US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has sparked a backlash after posting an image showing a popular children’s cartoon character attacking what appear to be drug traffickers. This comes as the administration of US President Donald Trump faces renewed scrutiny over lethal strikes against alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean.

The meme posted by Hegseth on X is designed as a book cover featuring Franklin the Turtle standing in a helicopter clad in military gear, holding a bazooka and firing rockets at boats with armed gunmen transporting cargo. The caption in the image reads “Franklin targets narco terrorists.” Hegseth suggested that people should add the mock book to their Christmas wish list.

While some commenters expressed support for the crackdown on drug cartels, others expressed outrage over Hegseth’s meme. 

Washington has decided to stop negotiating with the supporting cast and go straight to the main stage. For the first time since the US revived its push for a negotiated end to the Ukraine conflict, the center of gravity has shifted to Russia.

Donald Trump’s designated ‘dealmaker’ – envoy Steve Witkoff – is set to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow today. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who has been informally involved in back-channel discussions, has reportedly contributed to the US debate over how to approach Russia and will accompany Witkoff.

Witkoff in Moscow: Is Kiev still at the table or on the menu?
After days of shuttle diplomacy with Kiev, Washington moves straight to Moscow – sidelining the EU and testing how far Zelensky can resist US pressure amid a deteriorating front line...

The conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff was constructive, very useful, and substantive, according to Russian Presidential aide, Yuri Ushakov.

He made the comment after five hours of talks between the Russian president, his envoy Kirill Dmitriev, and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Wtikoff which fininshed after midnight local time.

”No compromises have been found as of yet,” Ushakov said after the meeting. A meeting between Putin and Trump is not currently planned, he added.

“We discussed the substance, not specific wording and solutions. The parties see enormous potential for cooperation,” Ushakov said.

Documents obtained by independent media outlet The Greyzone show Australia’s Attorney-General in discussion with secret British committee on controlling ‘submissive’ mainstream media.

The Government has been exploring ways to censor the media, taking advice from secretive UK body, Defence and Security Media Advisory (DSMA) Committee, which claims success in controlling the UK’s submissive press through its ‘D-Notice’ system where media orgs seek permission to run stories and defence types “back-brief” editors on what they should publish.

What we are witnessing today is the steady transformation of the federal government—especially the executive branch—into a criminalized system of power in which justice is weaponized, law is selectively enforced, and crime becomes a form of political currency.

While the American police state has long marched in lockstep with the old truism that power corrupts—and absolute power corrupts absolutely—the Trump administration has ceased even the pretense of being bound by the Constitution.

America’s Crime Syndicate Government: Profiteering, Protection Rackets & a Pay-to-Play Presidency

When Kaja Kallas steps in front of the cameras and warns that Europe must brace for war or that negotiations with Moscow are “naïve,” the media presents her as the principled voice of a small nation with a painful history. She is framed as a kind of moral compass pointing toward courage while the rest of Europe dithers. It is an attractive story. It is also incomplete in ways that matter.

The Old Europe Behind the New Flags

Phil Butler, December 02, 2025

Europe’s most vehemently anti-Russian leaders, such as Kaja Kallas and Ursula von der Leyen, are not moral beacons but heirs to long-standing ideological lineages that continue to shape Europe’s confrontational posture toward Russia.

On 27th November, ten of the UK’s leading experts briefed an invite-only audience of around 1,250 politicians and leaders from business, culture, faith, sport and the media with the latest implications for health, food, national security and the economy.

Sign the letter to Keir Starmer and broadcasters

New polling reveals a clear and sustained decline in public approval of Trump and his policies that is already reshaping US electoral prospects, with significant implications for Congress and beyond.

There has been a significant and measurable decline in Americans’ assessment of President Trump.

Bob McMullan

NATO members should find ways to be more aggressive towards Russia, the US-led bloc’s top military chief has said.

Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, chair of the NATO Military Committee, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Sunday that member states have been weighing options to respond to what he described as Russia’s “hybrid war.”

“We are studying everything … being more aggressive or being proactive instead of reactive is something that we are thinking about,” Dragone said.

The commander added that a “pre-emptive strike” could be considered a “defensive action,” though it would be “further away from our normal way of thinking and behavior.”

Oops. Kaja Kallas, the de facto EU foreign minister already notorious for her chirpy incompetence, has done it again: displayed such elementary ignorance that you have to rub your eyes and double-check before you believe it’s true. But – as always with her – it is. This time, she has informed the world that Russia has not been attacked by anyone for a hundred years.

The EU’s top diplomat casually rewrites WWII history on her way to WWIII
Kaja Kallas’ striking ignorance – or willful revisionism – is precisely why no one is taking the bloc seriously anymore...

BY Tarik Cyril Amar

While prominent figures in the political and academic worlds bitterly acknowledge the failure of the European project they have always championed, Brussels institutions are multiplying decisions that reveal France's growing powerlessness to influence the European Union.

Europe Running Out of Breath: When Liberals Confess to the Failure of the European Dream

Article of General Interest

Elucid readers voted to make this article free.

Newly declassified files show President John F. Kennedy’s alleged assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was monitored for years by James Angleton, the CIA’s infamous veteran counterintelligence chief, right up until the President’s death.

In this context, freshly released FBI documents indicating Oswald was removed from Bureau watchlists six weeks before Kennedy’s assassination, despite being judged a high security risk, at the express direction of Angleton’s staff, take on a distinctly disquieting character.

The US-Russian peace plan for Ukraine certainly puts an end to a conflict. But, above all, it paves the way for a rewriting of history. No, the Russian military operation was not an "illegal, unprovoked, and unjustified military aggression," but rather an application of Security Council Resolution 2202, in accordance with international law. If the people of Europe recognize that they were mistaken, or that they were misled, they will change their regimes just as Ukraine will change its own.—

The Fall of Zelensky’s Regime and Those of His Allies
by Thierry Meyssan

UNFORTUNATELY, THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS TOO REAL... IT COULD BE A SPOOF — OR WELL DISGUISED SATIRE AS FAR AS I COULD MAKE IT... BUT.....

Christmas is, without a doubt, the time to pull out the big gun gifts — especially when buying for the Second Amendment lovers in your life. Whether you need help scoping out the best presents for your firearm-loving friends and family or you are ready to pull the trigger on a purchase for yourself, you’re in luck. Get the most bang for your buck with these nine handpicked suggestions.

On Target: The Perfect Guide To Gifting Your Favorite Firearm-Loving Friends And Family

BY: TREVOR BOYD

Starting off strong, we have Sig P365 — SIG Sauer’s hottest carry gun of all time.