Welcome to the gaslighting jungle

Let’s start with USAID.  There is rejoicing all around because it is going to be closed.  Musk thunders his ‘victory’.  (Let me say at this time that I am no fan of USAID or NED, and it should be dismantled – on the other hand, economic dependency on the US must be broken).  No, no, it’s not going to be closed.  It is just going to be hidden in the State Department.  Do you really think the empirical powers will let go of this nifty thing?  They are only finishing their faction fight.  Trump and the Tech Bros are winning the faction fight; hence, they are walking around and crowing like roosters.

Now, for the reality:

On USAID Website/X Account Being Down

▪️There is no evidence that USAID is being closed down – all talk is about putting it on an even shorter leash beneath the US State Department which would enhance, not diminish its use as a tool of foreign interference;

▪️USAID, the NED and their many subsidiaries have for several years been incrementally eliminating financial disclosures making it more difficult to detect and expose US interference abroad – mainly because many around the globe are becoming more aware of these tools and how dangerous they are;

▪️The US has also increasingly depended on private foundations like Open Society and its European proxies to carry out subversion where the US can no longer risk being seen as involved;

▪️Thus, these tools are – if anything – being reconfigured and better hidden, not surrendered, and will remain a danger to global peace and stability;

▪️The Trump administration through US Sec. of State Marco Rubio has made it very clear US political interference, political capture, and military aggression will continue, as will foreign aid in service of “advancing US interests” abroad;

See:  https://t.me/brianlovethailand/3665

And see:  https://x.com/_whitneywebb/status/1886415935600239092

And don’t forget to read Medvedev posted this morning.

Mexico

Trump releases one story, Claudia clarifies it, and the MAGA screams USA, USA, Mexico Caved –  It will be the 52nd state for sure.

Who Caved? Claudia kept her cool, placed tariffs equal to US tariffs, and insisted on talks, and what she gave here was simple to understand. So, who caved? At the moment, nobody has stepped back except Trump.

And from Claudia .. see what Trump left out …

1. Mexico will immediately reinforce the northern border with 10,000 members of the National Guard to prevent drug trafficking from Mexico to the United States, particularly fentanyl.

2. The United States is committed to working to prevent the trafficking of high-powered weapons to Mexico.

3. Our teams will begin working today on two fronts: security and trade.

4. They are pausing tariffs for one month from now.

Do you know what the absolute joke is?  Claudia puts 10,000 National Guard on the border to stare down the US forces on the other side of the river.  How many Fentanyl local backyard labs are in the US?  And how many US doctors use Fentanyl for medical purposes? Fentanyl is a potent synthetic opioid drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as an analgesic (pain relief) and anesthetic.  And where does that legal Fentanyl come from?  Yeah, you guessed, China.

Now for the reality:

Trump forgot to mention the weapons (bolded above) because he has to look strong as if he has not given anything in negotiating with the clever Claudia.

Talks. Tariffs? not yet.  Maybe not ever. Claudia gave away nothing.

China was brusque and said:  ‘Your Fentanyl problem is your problem and not ours.  We have been working with you but what you are doing is disturbing that work.’

Panama

Oh yes, Panama caved.

No, they did not, they gaslighted.

Panama Won’t Renew Belt and Road Agreement With China, Making It First Latin American Nation To Leave Initiativehttps://t.co/27sdwwgCUI

— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) February 2, 2025

and: Panama Won’t Renew Belt and Road Agreement With China, Making It First Latin American Nation To Leave Initiative. Rubio says CCP cannot ‘continue with its effective and growing control over the Panama Canal area’

https://freebeacon.com/national-security/panama-wont-renew-belt-and-road-agreement-with-china-making-it-first-latin-american-nation-to-leave-initiative/

Now for the reality:

It’s quite funny that after all these years people still do not understand the basics of what the Belt and Road Initiative is.

It is not an alliance or an institution that you join or exit. In fact no country is a “member” of the BRI so if you hear that a country is “leaving” the BRI you’re being gaslighted.

What the BRI is, similar to what the U.S.’s Marshall plan was, is a series of projects, investments, and infrastructure developments. When a country signs a ‘BRI agreement’ with China, it’s essentially expressing interest in pursuing such projects – that’s it.

It’s also particularly funny in Panama’s case to say that it is “leaving” the BRI since most of Panama’s major proposed BRI projects were already canceled or suspended back in 2019 when President Cortizo took office. Examples include the $4.1 billion Panama-Chiriquí Railway, which was scrapped, and the $900 million Panama Colon Container Port project, which had its concession revoked. The only major ongoing project is a $1.3 billion bridge over the canal being built by Chinese companies (which Panama won’t cancel since it’s already well underway).

As things stand, no new BRI projects are planned in Panama. So, this announcement that it is forgoing the BRI is probably a mutually agreed-upon talking point between Washington and Panama to make it look like U.S. pressure achieved something when, in fact, it basically changes nothing.

https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1886250663761653836

Panama granted the US the use of a military airstrip.  They even sweetened the gaslighting.  The US is fully militarily ready now to go and fight China in Panama.  /end sarc.

What else? Yes everybody caved because they are taking their migrants back. Oh deary me. No, that was not the issue. Latam countries have taken their migrants back month after month for years now. They are not against taking their migrants back. In fact, they are inviting them back and have adjustment programs and assistance for them.

The issue was no notice arrival of military airplanes, and of course, they were refused landing rights. The further issue was the treatment of the migrants, calling them criminals and treating them like criminals, handcuffed and, in some cases, beaten.

The statistics that Trump throws around, saying, “Look how many we stopped”, in fact, were prepared by Mexico already before Trump’s inauguration to prepare for talks with the new Trump administration. The reduction of migrants has been in the works and in practice for a time now, and Mexico has been talking to the US about that for years. They had an agreement and even an app. In Mexico or in their own countries, they could make an appointment to consult and put their case to the US authorities. That was a fair and legal procedure. Of course, that app was closed, and that is when we saw people just crying while waiting in migrant camps on the Mexican northern border for their appointment. The MAGAs, of course, have attention spans like guppies.

Canada

I won’t interfere while the empire fights the empire. Let it be. If a Canadian has an update, kindly feel free to put it in the comments.

South Africa

Ramaphosa is bellowing like a bull.  His country is not with him because the bill that was just passed, which is an open land grab, expropriation without compensation, is being resisted and is now being taken to court.  He will be forced to go and sit on one chair because with all the lovely BRICS talk, he is still sitting on two chairs.  The Bill itself is a slippery piece of work and commonly described as ‘a bad law made by bad legislators’.  His countrymen are warning him to treat Trump carefully, but it seems as if that message does not sink.  A little bit of Elon Musk here would be my guess :-).

Europe

Sanctions on Europe:  Let’s talk about that when they happen, and they will happen.

The core issue here is ownership of the world. There is nothing more and nothing less. It is all exceptionalism. The issues that we may debate are all destabilization factors for the current hegemon to maintain a fast-dissolving throne. This hegemon will attempt to destroy the world before it understands that it needs to go into its country or disappear.   It is good to know that Russia and China are under no illusions.  There are the attempts at Fortress America, and then there are the attempts to groom the hegemon’s favorites to build strength for itself.  That is why Elon is so involved in the German elections, openly standing for AfD as well as the UK issues, but as far as I know, he has not chosen his horse in that neck of the woods.  Exactly the same as Canada, if the empire fights with the empire, let them.

Finally, this is an example of Fortress America.  It is also Trump’s welcome gift for Bibi.

US to again withdraw from the UN Human Rights Council, stop UNRWA funding