the orange one arranges some trade deals;

White House NEC Director Kevin Hassett gives an update on the current status of trade negotiations around the world.  After finishing a CNBC interview (also linked below) Director Hassett noted that Asia was likely to be the next place for an announcement following the completion of the United Kingdom deal.

Hassett outlines that approximately “two dozen” bilateral free trade agreements are completed within the reciprocity framework, and the sequencing of announcements is up to President Trump.  Japan, South Korea and ASEAN nations would be candidates for the next deal as announced. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer are currently in Switzerland and will be meeting with their Chinese counterparts to begin the first point of discussion...........more...........

larry johnson provides more clues on the israel game with the empire; 

Something potentially significant is happening with Trump’s foreign policy in West Asia. Let’s review the critical data points:

Michael Waltz — Trump demotes his National Security advisor, Michael Waltz, for conspiring with Bibi Netanyahu to push the President into attacking Iran. The Washington Post story from last Saturday, explaining why Waltz was ousted, was published with the cooperation of Trump’s White House. Whether this is true does not matter… it is the start of a narrative that the Trump Administration is pushing.

The Houthis Capitulate — During an Oval Office meeting with the newly minted Canadian Prime Minister, Trump made an offhand announcement that the Houthis had surrendered and promised to stop attacking US ships. This is utter nonsense. The real story is that the Sultan of Oman brokered the deal, which allowed Trump to save face by declaring victory and withdrawing US ships from the Red Sea. In fact, this was a victory for the Houthis. The icing on the cake… Trump did not inform the Israelis in advance. Trump’s uber Zionist ambassador, Mike Huckabee, confirmed this in remarks to the press:

‘We don’t need Israel’s permission to conclude an agreement with the Houthis.
If one of the 700,000 American citizens inside Israel is hurt by a Houthi attack, then we’ll respond, otherwise we have nothing to do with it.’

I do not think that Trump is engaged in some Rube Goldberg plan of deception. The insult to Netanyahu appears to be genuine. At least the Israeli press believes it. Consider the Haaretz assessment of the rift between Trump and Netanyahu:

Thus, for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump’s visit to the region is starting off on the wrong foot, even before the president has boarded Air Force One. Netanyahu finds himself in political limbo, and it’s no wonder: It’s hard to count the many scenarios that could emerge from this visit. Economic agreements? Diplomatic agreements? A visit to Tehran? Thursday night, Reuters reported that Trump wouldn’t demand Saudi normalization with Israel as a condition for a civilian nuclear deal from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the “antisemites,” wouldn’t have done that…..........more.......

 this is certainly an interesting item about the new pope;

Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born cardinal selected on Thursday as the new pope, is descended from Creole people of color from New Orleans.

The pope’s maternal grandparents, both of whom are described as Black or mulatto in various historical records, lived in the city’s Seventh Ward, an area that is traditionally Catholic and a melting pot of people with African, Caribbean and European roots.

The grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, eventually moved to Chicago in the early 20th century and had a daughter: Mildred Martinez, the pope’s mother.

{snip}

The pope’s background was unearthed Thursday by a New Orleans genealogist, Jari C. Honora, and confirmed to The New York Times by the pope’s older brother, John Prevost, 71, who lives in the Chicago suburbs.

{snip}

It’s unclear whether the new pope has ever addressed his Creole ancestry in public, and his brother said that the family did not identify as Black. {snip}

Mr. Honora, who works at the Historic New Orleans Collection, a museum in the French Quarter, began investigating the pope’s background because of his French-sounding name, Prevost, but quickly found connections to the South instead.

His trail of evidence linking Leo to New Orleans includes the grandparents’ marriage certificate from their Seventh Ward wedding in 1887, a photo of the Martinez family grave marker in Chicago, and an electronic birth record of Mildred Martinez that shows she was born in Chicago in 1912.

The birth record lists Joseph Martinez and “Louis Baquiex” as Mildred’s parents. The father’s birthplace is listed as the Dominican Republic; the mother’s, New Orleans.

Mr. Honora also found records from the 1900 Census that list Mr. Martinez as “Black,” his place of birth as “Hayti,” and his occupation as “cigar maker.” Mr. Martinez’s details appear on the sixth line of a page of the census that Mr. Honora shared with The Times.

“Both Joseph Norval Martinez and Louise Baquié were people of color, no doubt about it,” Mr. Honora said..........https://www.amren.com/news/2025/05/new-pope-has-creole-roots-in-new-orleans/

 i've been considering the idea recently that the trump is an 'inside' man for the motherwefers, a manchurian candidate, or an ignorant fellow traveler performing for the schwabbies but without full realization of his 'goals';

“A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty.”—James Madison

We are being frog-marched into tyranny at the end of a loaded gun. Or rather, hundreds of thousands of loaded guns.

Let’s not mince words: President Trump’s April 28 executive order is the oldest trick in the authoritarian playbook: martial law masquerading as law and order.

Officially titled “Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens,” this order is a “heil Hitler” wrapped in the goosestepping, despotic trappings of national security.

Don’t be fooled by Trump’s tough-on-crime rhetoric, cloaked in patriotic language and the promise of safety.

This is the language of every strongman who’s ever ruled by force.

The White House claims the order will “empower state and local law enforcement to relentlessly pursue criminals and protect American communities.” But under this administration, “criminal” increasingly includes anyone who dares to exercise their constitutional rights.

The order doesn’t merely expand policing—it institutionalizes repression.

It sets us squarely on the road to martial law.........more......

 three minute russian song from ww2;

watch.....

and this victory parade;

https://youtu.be/9KhhTbgXn8o

 i have this wacky idea that 'our' government's primary concern is americans and our country, and other countries should have no influence upon us beyond our borders, or constitution;

Governor Greg Abbott today sent a letter to the City of San Marcos condemning its proposed antisemitic resolution openly flouting Texas state law. 
 
"Israel is a stalwart ally of the United States and a friend to Texas," reads the letter. "I have repeatedly made clear that Texas will not tolerate antisemitism. Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies. Over a year ago, following Hamas’s cowardly attack and campus disruptions openly celebrating terrorism, I issued an executive order addressing antisemitism in higher education. I have proudly signed legislation prohibiting government entities from supporting efforts to boycott, divest from, and sanction Israel. That remains the law here."
 
In the letter, Governor Abbott noted that San Marcos is required to certify that it will comply with all state laws when it enters into grant agreements with his office, including laws prohibiting government support for boycotts of Israel, and that the Governor's Office is currently reviewing active grants to determine whether the City has breached terms. If the City adopts the antisemitic resolution, the Office of the Governor will immediately terminate all active grants not in compliance with state law.
 
Governor Abbott has taken significant action to bolster security and combat antisemitism across Texas amid acts of war against the State of Israel and innocent civilians by the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, including:
•    Distributing over $4 million in grant funding to 31 Jewish organizations that will support security enhancements
•    Directing the Texas Department of Public Safety to coordinate with local partners and federal intelligence agencies on heightened public safety measures across the state
•    Issuing an Executive Order directing all Texas state agencies to refrain from purchasing goods produced in or exported from the Gaza Strip and from any organization or state actor with ties to Hamas
•    Ordering Texas flags lowered to half-staff in honor of lives lost amid act of war in Israel
•    Bolstering education resources to increase awareness and understanding of the Israel-Hamas war for Texas students
 
Read the Governor's letter to the Mayor of the City of San Marcos. .......https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-condemns-city-of-san-marcos-antisemitic-resolution

 phil giraldi provides more info on the trump ignoring bibi which if true would be a great step forward;

I have in the past speculated that the day might come when President Donald Trump, he of a massive ego, might just become tired of his being manipulated and controlled by America’s Israel Lobby and by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in particular. I thought, and hoped, that he might become so annoyed that he might move to take control of the so-called tail wags the dog relationship that has for so long put Israel in the driver’s seat. While I am loathe to read too much into several recent developments, the first suggestion that all is not well in Washington’s relationship with what has been euphemistically referred to as “America’s best friend and closest ally.”

Many observers are now openly voicing their view that Israel and its all-powerful Lobby in the United States have corrupted and now control many aspects of government, starting at the top in Washington and working its way down to state and local levels. Witness the near worship of Netanyahu by groveling congress critters during recent visits to Capitol Hill if you want a tangible display of government serving no conceivable national interest. Or check out the “antisemitism” and anti-Boycott legislation currently moving through Congress that will strip all Americans of free speech and free association, leaving them able to demonstrate against or even criticize their own country or other nations with the single exception of the Jewish state. If you don’t believe that will happen, check out the current tale coming out of San Marcos in Texas at the hands of ardently Zionist Governor Greg Abbott.

Given that Jews constitute something like 3% of the US population the establishment of such control through bribery and the support of a compliant media is truly a remarkable achievement but one might plausibly argue that it has done terrible damage to the country as a whole and has contributed nothing to benefit the American people. Israel is currently carrying out a genocide against the Palestinians that is funded, armed and provided with political cover by the Trump Administration, following on to the model established by Genocide Joe Biden, which could be stopped with one phone call to Netanyahu from the White House. But, unfortunately, up until now no one has been picking up the phone.......more........