Political Posts

[cubsfan]

20 hours ago, LC said:

 

Let me be the first to break it to you: There is this asshole guy in Russia named Vladimir Putin who is invading a sovereign country and killing its citizens. 

 

That is wrong.

 

Big thanks to the Europeans for doing nothing while Ukrainians get slaughtered.

 

All they do is talk and bluster, as this war started to be lost 2 years ago.

 

I love the grandstanding by UK PM and Macron - how they intend to take the fight to Russia.

Same shit, different day as 2 years ago. Talk & grandstand.

 

Europe has a couple thousand fighter jets and 500M citizens - but they think talk will scare Putin.

And certainly, Russians armed forces have been greviously wounded by brave Ukrainians, while Europe could have assisted.

 

Europe has no intention of fighting Russia - but will continue to jawbone Trump to fight their battles.

[LC]

If Trump is so concerned that Europe is not committing enough - he should put tariffs on European good and services, not Canadian and Mexican ones. And he could support NATO membership for Ukraine to further push for European military contributions for their defense.

[Ulti]

Trump ends program millions in China use for internet, worrying Congress

The demise of the Open Technology Fund could put millions at risk of being targeted by authoritarian governments for their internet activity.

Pranshu Verma

March 20, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. EDTToday at 6:00 a.m. EDT

The Trump administration’s move to shut down an internet freedom project that helped millions of people in China access the open web has stirred concern from lawmakers, including Republicans, who argue the nonprofit is a crucial tool to counter the rise of Beijing.

The Open Technology Fund (OTF), launched in 2012, was intended to allow people who live under repressive regimes to circumvent restrictions and access the internet. An early backer of the encrypted messaging app Signal and the anonymous internet browser Tor, the OTF became the world’s largest funder of products that allow people to freely access the web.

As of February, OTF funding provided tools to more than 6 million people in China and 18 million individuals in Iran, giving them the ability to circumvent government restrictions on the internet to access news sites, secure messaging services and social media platforms such as Reddit, the messaging app Telegram and X, according to private data reviewed by The Washington Post.

But President Donald Trump’s executive order Friday stripping independent agencies, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) — where nearly all of the OTF’s $43.5 million annual funding comes from — to the “maximum extent” possible essentially terminated the group’s budget. The OTF has long received support from several Republican lawmakers who have argued the group is crucial to Washington’s national security interests.

“The Open Technology Fund provides a lifeline for people living under oppressive regimes, including citizens of China, Hong Kong, and Iran, by allowing them to safely communicate with the outside world and each other,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a 2020 statement. “Every once in a while a government program acts exactly as intended,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) said in a 2021 video post on X, referring to the OTF’s internet security tools that helped Cubans access the internet amid government-sanctioned shutdowns.

The OTF’s grant termination has prompted members of Congress from both parties to contact the Trump administration to support the program, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. Officials are trying to find ways to preserve the organization’s work, but it is unclear whether efforts will be successful, the person added.

Now, millions of people — ranging from ordinary citizens to dissidents — who rely on the tools funded by the OTF to access the internet in China, Russia, Iran, Myanmar and Cuba may find those services go dark by the end of the month. They could permanently lose access to unrestricted internet and secure messaging platforms, potentially putting citizens at risk if they use less-secure technology.

“There are real humans we are abandoning in China and beyond,” said Laura Cunningham, president of the Open Technology Fund. “Without our technologies, we are leaving them vulnerable to surveillance, persecution or worse.”

The USAGM did not return a request for comment. Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said the Trump administration is “confident our reorganization efforts will strengthen American diplomatic efforts abroad.”

The Open Technology Fund started as a pilot program in 2012 under Radio Free Asia. In 2019, Congress authorized it to become an independent nonprofit grantee of the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

The OTF has worked to allow people to break through China’s censorship project, often called the “Great Firewall.” The organization’s “Surge and Sustain” program funds tools, called virtual private networks (VPNs), that allow people to freely access the internet.

During Trump’s first administration, then-USAGM head Michael Pack sought to defund the program. These efforts were unsuccessful after Democratic and Republican lawmakers urged officials to keep it funded. In a 2020 congressional hearing, many lawmakers said that the OTF had proved essential to stemming the advance of Chinese and Russian surveillance technology and was crucial for human rights activists and journalists across the world.

Concerns rose that the USAGM would lose funding after the president appointed Kari Lake, who ran unsuccessfully for governor and Senate in Arizona, to serve as a special adviser at the agency, with a goal to “streamline” the agency and its grantees, according to Voice of America.

“While at USAGM, I vow to fully implement President Trump’s executive orders in his mission to reduce the size and scope of the federal government,” Lake said in a statement on Saturday. “The U.S. Agency for Global media will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview and shed everything that is not statutorily required.”

With the OTF’s funding essentially canceled, lawmakers have weighed in.

McCaul, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the OTF’s technology aided efforts to publicize his report related to the pandemic’s origins. “USAGM programs including the Open Technology Fund played a critical role in translating it into Mandarin, penetrating the CCP’s firewall, and disseminating it throughout mainland China,” McCaul said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

“We are certain that the White House is working to ensure that individuals living under oppressive and authoritarian regimes will continue to have access to a free internet,” Audrey Cook, a spokesperson for Blackburn, wrote in a statement.

Internet freedom experts said they are particularly worried about the impact it will have on people using its tools in China.

“Once we lose a user from one of our VPNs, particularly in China, it is almost impossible to get them back,” Cunningham said. “This has clear consequences for any future U.S. government effort to reach people behind authoritarian fire walls.”

[Gregmal]

1 minute ago, Ulti said:

Trump ends program millions in China use for internet, worrying Congress

The demise of the Open Technology Fund could put millions at risk of being targeted by authoritarian governments for their internet activity.

Pranshu Verma

March 20, 2025 at 6:00 a.m. EDTToday at 6:00 a.m. EDT

The Trump administration’s move to shut down an internet freedom project that helped millions of people in China access the open web has stirred concern from lawmakers, including Republicans, who argue the nonprofit is a crucial tool to counter the rise of Beijing.

The Open Technology Fund (OTF), launched in 2012, was intended to allow people who live under repressive regimes to circumvent restrictions and access the internet. An early backer of the encrypted messaging app Signal and the anonymous internet browser Tor, the OTF became the world’s largest funder of products that allow people to freely access the web.

As of February, OTF funding provided tools to more than 6 million people in China and 18 million individuals in Iran, giving them the ability to circumvent government restrictions on the internet to access news sites, secure messaging services and social media platforms such as Reddit, the messaging app Telegram and X, according to private data reviewed by The Washington Post.

But President Donald Trump’s executive order Friday stripping independent agencies, including the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) — where nearly all of the OTF’s $43.5 million annual funding comes from — to the “maximum extent” possible essentially terminated the group’s budget. The OTF has long received support from several Republican lawmakers who have argued the group is crucial to Washington’s national security interests.

“The Open Technology Fund provides a lifeline for people living under oppressive regimes, including citizens of China, Hong Kong, and Iran, by allowing them to safely communicate with the outside world and each other,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said in a 2020 statement. “Every once in a while a government program acts exactly as intended,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tennessee) said in a 2021 video post on X, referring to the OTF’s internet security tools that helped Cubans access the internet amid government-sanctioned shutdowns.

The OTF’s grant termination has prompted members of Congress from both parties to contact the Trump administration to support the program, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues. Officials are trying to find ways to preserve the organization’s work, but it is unclear whether efforts will be successful, the person added.

Now, millions of people — ranging from ordinary citizens to dissidents — who rely on the tools funded by the OTF to access the internet in China, Russia, Iran, Myanmar and Cuba may find those services go dark by the end of the month. They could permanently lose access to unrestricted internet and secure messaging platforms, potentially putting citizens at risk if they use less-secure technology.

“There are real humans we are abandoning in China and beyond,” said Laura Cunningham, president of the Open Technology Fund. “Without our technologies, we are leaving them vulnerable to surveillance, persecution or worse.”

The USAGM did not return a request for comment. Brian Hughes, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said the Trump administration is “confident our reorganization efforts will strengthen American diplomatic efforts abroad.”

The Open Technology Fund started as a pilot program in 2012 under Radio Free Asia. In 2019, Congress authorized it to become an independent nonprofit grantee of the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

The OTF has worked to allow people to break through China’s censorship project, often called the “Great Firewall.” The organization’s “Surge and Sustain” program funds tools, called virtual private networks (VPNs), that allow people to freely access the internet.

During Trump’s first administration, then-USAGM head Michael Pack sought to defund the program. These efforts were unsuccessful after Democratic and Republican lawmakers urged officials to keep it funded. In a 2020 congressional hearing, many lawmakers said that the OTF had proved essential to stemming the advance of Chinese and Russian surveillance technology and was crucial for human rights activists and journalists across the world.

Concerns rose that the USAGM would lose funding after the president appointed Kari Lake, who ran unsuccessfully for governor and Senate in Arizona, to serve as a special adviser at the agency, with a goal to “streamline” the agency and its grantees, according to Voice of America.

“While at USAGM, I vow to fully implement President Trump’s executive orders in his mission to reduce the size and scope of the federal government,” Lake said in a statement on Saturday. “The U.S. Agency for Global media will continue to deliver on all statutory programs that fall under the agency’s purview and shed everything that is not statutorily required.”

With the OTF’s funding essentially canceled, lawmakers have weighed in.

McCaul, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the OTF’s technology aided efforts to publicize his report related to the pandemic’s origins. “USAGM programs including the Open Technology Fund played a critical role in translating it into Mandarin, penetrating the CCP’s firewall, and disseminating it throughout mainland China,” McCaul said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

“We are certain that the White House is working to ensure that individuals living under oppressive and authoritarian regimes will continue to have access to a free internet,” Audrey Cook, a spokesperson for Blackburn, wrote in a statement.

Internet freedom experts said they are particularly worried about the impact it will have on people using its tools in China.

“Once we lose a user from one of our VPNs, particularly in China, it is almost impossible to get them back,” Cunningham said. “This has clear consequences for any future U.S. government effort to reach people behind authoritarian fire walls.”

Isn’t this just plain and simple meddling? Deliberately trying to undermine foreign(dare I say sovereign!) nations under the standard guise of “bringing the gift of democracy to the world”? Imagine if China or any of these other countries did as much as maintain Twitter accounts in America…oh wait. 

[LC]

Just some more news from our totally legitimate administration:

 

Elon Musk’s DOGE Uses Police to Seize Independent Nonprofit

https://newrepublic.com/post/192854/elon-musk-doge-police-independent-nonprofit-usip

 

Steve Bannon circumventing Constitution / Presidential term limits:

https://www.news10.com/video/steve-bannon-trump-will-run-and-win-again-in-2028-cuomo/10551016/

 

 

[Ulti]

6 minutes ago, Gregmal said:

Imagine if China or any of these other countries did as much as maintain Twitter accounts in America…oh wait. 

That’s hilarious and so true 

[cubsfan]

8 minutes ago, LC said:

Steve Bannon circumventing Constitution / Presidential term limits:

https://www.news10.com/video/steve-bannon-trump-will-run-and-win-again-in-2028-cuomo/10551016/

 

Why not?  Obama got his 3rd term in

[Sweet]

4 minutes ago, cubsfan said:

 

Why not?  Obama got his 3rd term in

 

More trolling?  These limits are probably good.

[Gregmal]

Nah...I mean when the idea was first brought up, I was pretty against it. However, given the fact that his first term was effectively stolen....there isn't a President whom wasn't assassinated that one could argue got more of an unfair first term than Trump...doubt even his critics can argue that...the Russia Hoax, the undermining from the swamp creatures even within his own party and Cabinet, then the Covid nonsense led by all the blue states deliberately killing their economies....folks forget, prior to COVID, Trump was seen as a runaway for a second term....then also consider that what he's trying to do, described by @changegonnacome, is indeed something that likely isnt feasible in just 4 years. 

 

So when I think about it, given the Swamp stole term 1, given that voters would still have to actually vote for him, given also probably his age(definitely nearing the expiration date), given that the critics just sat around and pushed Kamala on us even though they completely shit all over the democratic process doing so...I'd guess I could live with a 3rd term. 

Edited March 20, 2025 by Gregmal

[Sweet]

1 minute ago, Gregmal said:

Nah...I mean when the idea was first brought up, I was pretty against it. However, given the fact that his first term was effectively stolen....there isn't a President whom wasn't assassinated that one could argue got more of an unfair first term than Trump...doubt even his critics can argue that...the Russia Hoax, the undermining from the swamp creatures even within his own party and Cabinet, then the Covid nonsense led by all the blue states deliberately killing their economies....folks forget, prior to COVID, Trump was seen as a runaway for a second term....then also consider that what he's trying to do, described by @changegonnacome, is indeed something that likely isnt feasible in just 4 years. 

 

So when I think about it, given the Swamp stole term 1, given that voters would still have to actually vote for him, given also probably his age(definitely nearing the expiration date), given that the critics just sat around and pushed Kamala on us even though they completely shit all over the democratic process doing so...I'd guess I could live with a 3rd term. 

A fourth term?

 

I don’t agree his first term was stolen, although I agree Russia collusion was a load of crap etc.

[Gregmal]

3 minutes ago, Sweet said:

A fourth term?

 

I don’t agree his first term was stolen, although I agree Russia collusion was a load of crap etc.

3rd term it would be. 

 

First term was absolutely stolen. They took 3 years with the Russia thing which was a total embarrassment given the only thing determined was that it was fabricated by a guy who was paid for opposition dirt by the Clinton Campaign. The whole system was weaponized against him. He had these clowns even within his own party undermining him constantly. This is the first term where he has his people and no overhead BS so if he's effective why not? So we can get back to the swamp things running it all?

Edited March 20, 2025 by Gregmal

[Ulti]

3 minutes ago, Gregmal said:

3rd term it would be. 

 

First term was absolutely stolen. They took 3 years with the Russia thing which was a total embarrassment given the only thing determined was that it was fabricated by a guy who was paid for opposition dirt by the Clinton Campaign. The whole system was weaponized against him. He had these clowns even within his own party undermining him constantly. This is the first term where he has his people and no overhead BS so if he's effective why not? So we can get back to the swamp things running it all?

Hell by your logic old slick Willie should have been eligible for a 3rd term …. I mean it was only oral sex haha
 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton

[Sweet]

2 minutes ago, Gregmal said:

3rd term it would be. 

 

First term was absolutely stolen. They took 3 years with the Russia thing which was a total embarrassment given the only thing determined was that it was fabricated by a guy who was paid for opposition dirt by the Clinton Campaign. The whole system was weaponized against him. He had these clowns even within his own party undermining him constantly. This is the first term where he has his people and no overhead BS so if he's effective why not? So we can get back to the swamp things running it all?

I agree with much of what you said except the stolen term.  He had a team handling all that crap.  He had time to advance his agenda, he got some major legislation passed, new trade deals etc. He had a Republican majority in the Senate and impeachment was never going to happen.

[Gregmal]

1 minute ago, Ulti said:

Hell by your logic old slick Willie should have been eligible for a 3rd term …. I mean it was only oral sex haha
 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton

We woulda been better off with Blowjob Bill than changing to old Dubya just cuz the old scroll said so....

[LC]

15 minutes ago, Gregmal said:

However, given the fact that his first term was effectively stolen

 

Oh poor Trump, woe is him. 

 

Let's get him a bottle of milk - we can burn the Constitution to warm it up for him.

[Gregmal]

The constitution was written "for the people". Today it's weaponized and manipulated "for the ruling class". Even outside of government, the obvious stuff, big stuff like Epstein, or even small stuff like Justin Timberlake's folly in the Hamptons...you wanna benefit from your "rights", you need lots of money to grease the system so you get the desired outcome. Everyone else just has the old scroll used against them.

[Spekulatius]

Looks about right:

 

[cubsfan]

35 minutes ago, Gregmal said:

The constitution was written "for the people". Today it's weaponized and manipulated "for the ruling class". 

 

Yup, the populist is in charge and the ruling class just can't stand it.

 

Their only hopes are the entrenched bureaucrats and the judge shopping.

It's not looking good.

[cubsfan]

16 minutes ago, Spekulatius said:

Looks about right:

 

 

Damn, that hilarious.

 

Zelenskyy really blew himself up in the White House. What a fucking moron.

An amazing fall from grace.

 

Not only did he have to come crawling back to Trump after his disaster - but he turned most of 

America against him with his unabashed greed and total lack of appreciation. 

 

If there is one thing Americans can't stand, it's an ungrateful little child having a tantrum.

 

It was great for Americans to see it first hand:  he went from media darling to zero in just one meeting.

[rogermunibond]

Oops I guess tax cuts are on hold for “the people”

 

[John Hjorth]

NBC News - National Security [March 18^th 2025] : Trump admin considers giving up NATO command that has been exclusively American since Eisenhower.

 

Subtitle : The move is being discussed as part of a possible restructuring of combatant commands that would help the Defense Department cut costs.

 

- - - o 0 o - - -

 

The House Armed Services Committee [March 19^th 2025] : Chairman Rogers, Chairman Wicker Joint Statement on Reports of Potential Combatant Command Changes

 

Quote

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-AL), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, responded to press reports suggesting that the United States might soon change its entire combatant command structure, withdraw from NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) command structure, and cancel modernization plans for U.S. Forces Japan:
 
“U.S. combatant commands are the tip of the American warfighting spear. Therefore, we are very concerned about reports that claim DoD is considering unilateral changes on major strategic issues, including significant reductions to U.S. forces stationed abroad, absent coordination with the White House and Congress. We support President Trump’s efforts to ensure our allies and partners increase their contributions to strengthen our alliance structure, and we support continuing America’s leadership abroad. As such, we will not accept significant changes to our warfighting structure that are made without a rigorous interagency process, coordination with combatant commanders and the Joint Staff, and collaboration with Congress. Such moves risk undermining American deterrence around the globe and detracting from our negotiating positions with America’s adversaries.” 

 

What is going on behind curtains?

 

If this is correct, why should POTUS be 'chief negotiator' in the Russian - Ukranian conflict peace efforts, where the outcome and consequences are of direct importance [, because the're next in line after Ukraine,] for fellow European NATO member countries, who by now are held on the sidelines in the peace efforts, as if they were members of the press?

[james22]

 

[John Hjorth]

3 hours ago, Ulti said:

Hell by your logic old slick Willie should have been eligible for a 3rd term …. I mean it was only oral sex haha
 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Bill_Clinton

 

3 hours ago, Gregmal said:

We woulda been better off with Blowjob Bill than changing to old Dubya just cuz the old scroll said so....

 

Now that was fun [or not], now please follow me to the nearest bathroom where we all can wash and scrub our mouth, language, mindset and way of thinking :

 

 

[TwoCitiesCapital]

7 hours ago, LC said:

 

Oh poor Trump, woe is him. 

 

Let's get him a bottle of milk - we can burn the Constitution to warm it up for him.

 

 

"So this is how liberty dies. With a bunch of ignorant f*ck nuts shouting that he deserves a third term because his first one was 'stolen'." - Star Wars in some other universe

 

 

Can you even imagine what uproar there would have been if Obama had tried this? 

 

 

'Oh! Well that was different. He was black.' - a conservative somewhere in Florida

 

 

 

[Spekulatius]

 

He could run against Clinton. After all Bill Clinton is younger.

 

But yes, Kings don’t have term limits. Or elections for that matter. 

Edited March 21, 2025 by Spekulatius