The center-right and center-left parties seeking to form Germany's new government have said they will invest "whatever it takes" in Germany's defenses. That could include modernizing the Bundeswehr on a massive scale. But what would that mean in detail?

How the Bundeswehr will spend hundreds of billions of euros
Nina Werkhäuser
Germany has paved the way for massive defense spending. What does the Bundeswehr need most urgently?

Ukrainian government is raising its own cannon fodder for the war against Russia from a very young age.

Here's how:

▪️A doll in Ukrainian military uniform without a leg BLEW UP minds on social media. Should such a toy prepare Ukrainian children for the same fate in the future?

▪️In December 2024, at a kindergarten party in Lvov, parents were advised to dress their children in costumes of 'Ukrainian heroes': Nazi collaborators Bandera, Petliura, and others.

▪️In September 2024, the subject "Defense of the Fatherland" was introduced in Ukrainian schools, starting from 10th grade. The theory of combat operations is mandatory for Ukrainian teenagers.

The phrase “changing world order” has become a familiar refrain in international affairs. But what’s often missed is how rapidly that change is now unfolding – and who is accelerating it.

Dmitry Trenin: Liberalism is dead, this is what comes after
In Trump’s world, great powers don’t preach – they compete

Democrats had a tough time at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing yesterday on the censorship industrial complex.

They had to argue there was never any censorship during the Biden administration (including during Covid!) and that free speech and freedom of the press were never threatened by the partnership of government agencies with private institutions to combat “disinformation.” After all, the government was just trying to catch foreign disinformation operations, they argued, so any censorship that did happen was necessary and proper.

At a Senate Judiciary hearing, Democrats can’t help but admit they support government censorship of free speech

There’s a scandal exciting American mainstream media and minds, and it has to do with bombing. Yet there is an important nuance: it is not the bombing itself that is so scandalizing.

What is troubling many Americans is neither what Russian philosopher Aleksandr Dugin has rightly called the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians with US bombs and support nor the renewed American air campaign against Yemen.

Labor’s pre-election budget provides well-targeted cost of living relief within the bounds of responsibility, but the restoration of living standards is some way off.

As widely anticipated Labor’s budget contained no surprises, except for the small income tax cuts. Apart from these, all the other major new policy proposals had been announced prior to the budget over the last couple of months.

The revelation was somewhat sudden, but it shocked the entire French government and a section of the European elite at once: to make munitions, to make cannons and airplanes, to train men and prepare them for war, it now seems undeniable that a hell of a lot of money is needed.

Once the shock has passed, let us acknowledge that our leaders have a certain alacrity in their almost reflexive response to what must then be done: large sums of public money must therefore be mobilized, quickly, in order to launch as quickly as possible this essential production of arms, munitions and training for the armies of Europe, ♩ before of course ♪ making it a large ♫ and beautiful European Army ♬. Send the fanfare, it must vibrate!

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has a big-name supporter for a possible presidential run in 2024: Elon Musk. 

Musk came out for the sunshine state gov in a brief Twitter conversation Friday night with the account @ProudElephantUS, who asked if he would back DeSantis.

“Yes.” Musk replied, before adding, “But Twitter as a platform must be fair to all.”

https://nypost.com/2022/11/26/elon-musk-backs-ron-desantis-for-2024-presidential-run/

2016

Tesla Motors Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk spoke up against Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump on an interview Friday.

In Tehran, Iranians are anxiously wondering whether, once their economy is exhausted and they can no longer defend themselves, the Israelis and the United States will bomb them. Under these circumstances, should they or should they not negotiate with the enigmatic President Donald Trump?

After Ukraine, Iran?
by Thierry Meyssan

IMAGINE YOU’RE A BRAND NEW YOUNG ADULT WHO HAS JUST BEEN GIVEN A WEAPON: THE RIGHT TO VOTE. In Australia, it’s also an obligation.

In just a few short days, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and their most obsequious supporters attempted to shift from America First to Empire First in a shocking rebranding of globalism that would make transnational institutions like the World Economic Forum, Council on Foreign Relations, and Bilderberg Group proud.

Stars & Stripes Globalism: Donald Trump’s Plan for a New World Order

By Stuart J. Hooper   January 20, 2025

The Zionist state is incurring significant violence on the innocent civilians of Gaza. Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ended the ceasefire to perpetuate his political ceasefire.

More than 670 innocent civilians, including women and children, have been killed by the Israeli Defense Forces, injuring hundreds of Palestinians. Peaceful and innocent civilians of Gaza are paying for a war that is unable to bring back the Israeli hostages but is only serving the political ambitions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hello, and welcome to my inaugural newsletter “Elie v. U.S.” You can subscribe to the newsletter and receive it weekly here. With the Donald Trump/Elon Musk administration shredding the fabric of American-style democracy faster than I can type “Once upon a time, Rome was a Republic,” it seems useful to do a weekly roundup of some stories, events, and developments I’d otherwise be unable to write about. Most will have a legal bent, but some might surprise you. Consider this my desperate attempt to create a record for my children when they ask me why breathable air now costs 25 dogecoins per five-hour bottle.

The Bad and The Ugly

The US military’s carbon bootprint is enormous. Like corporate supply chains, it relies upon an extensive global network of container ships, trucks and cargo planes to supply its operations with everything from bombs to humanitarian aid and hydrocarbon fuels. Our new study calculated the contribution of this vast infrastructure to climate change.

US military is a bigger polluter than as many as 140 countries – shrinking this war machine is a must
Published: June 25, 2019

Today, on the 22nd anniversary of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, key architects and commanders of this monstrous war crime, from Condoleezza Rice to David Petraeus, sit comfortably in cushy positions at top American universities.

War Architects Enjoy Top Academic Gigs 22 Years After Illegal Invasion of Iraq
As Gaza’s genocidaires receive plum positions at universities, they’re joining a cohort of experienced warmongers.

By Derek Seidman