Saturday Morning Roundup, 2/22/25
This will be a bit of a mixtum gatherum of topics that have caught my eye so far this morning. The common or unifying theme is the dangerous international situation that Trump faces. I’ll start with two articles by Larry Johnson that I don’t think readers will want to miss. The first—which falls outside the common theme—has to do with the helicopter - airliner tragedy at Reagan National—it’s a highly detailed article, and I’ll leave the details to LJ:
Potomac River Midair Collision: An Accident Waiting to Happen
Bottom Line Up Front: This was an accident that was not just waiting to happen, but had been narrowly averted dozens or hundreds of times. Helicopters flying the FAA-published route along the Potomac River routinely flew directly across the path of airplanes that were seconds from landing on Runway 33.
There are right-of-way rules for flying. Here are portions of a key one, from Federal Aviation Regulations:
…
Why were the tower controller, the helicopter pilots, and the airliner pilots following the published routes put into a position where their flights could collide? What put them there? Even if it is established that the helicopter exceeded their maximum altitude by 150 feet, are margins this razor thin a normal or acceptable part of airline travel? No, they are not.
Next, LJ follows up on his article from a day ago. Here’s the link to that article, but I’ll precede the link with a telling tweet. What we’re seeing is proof that Netanyahu never had an interest in getting Israeli prisoners back from Gaza—that was forced upon him by Trump.
Israel: *drops a 1-ton bomb on Shiri Bibas*
Also Israel: "Where is Shiri Bibas ??!"
Quote
Israel ישראל @Israel
Where is Shiri Bibas?
So LJ wrote this article on Feb 20, which is itself a bit of a mixtum gatherum of topics:
An Israeli False Flag and Zelensky Cooks the Polling Results
First point. This article contains a video of Sheri Bibas’ husband blaming Netanyahu for the death of his wife and child. You won’t see that on Zionist controlled American MSM. Nor will you be informed that, following Israel’s killing of the two Bibas family members, Hamas offered to return the bodies—but Israel refused to allow the return.
Second point, LJ calls out the highly suspicious bombing of empty buses in Israel as an Israeli false flag op of some sort. That false flag op—because that’s what it was—has been immediately followed by a Zionist speciality: Lurid atrocity fantasies portraying Arabs as sadistic killers, Arabs beating small children to death “with their bare hands.” Coordination between the fake bombings and the atrocity fantasies that have been splashed across American media? Count on it. As LJ maintains in the next article, this is all designed to provide cover for the Israeli offensive on Palestinians in the West Bank.
This morning LJ follows up:
Israeli media has confirmed that the supposed “terror” bombings were, in fact, perpetrated by Israeli Jews who have been arrested by Israel’s internal security service, Shin Bet. Given that Shin Bet has made these arrests my presumption is that the perps are probably from the nutso “settler” faction of Jewish life in Palestine.
Now, LJ begins by referring to the Friday intel roundup he routinely does on Judge Nap’s show. I listened to that yesterday afternoon and I thought that LJ came out well ahead in the exchange in his analysis of what Trump is up to:
I am not privy to the behind-the-scenes maneuvering between the Trump administration and Netanyahu’s government, but I believe Trump, despite his anti-Palestinian rhetoric, wants the ceasefire to remain in place. I know that many folks around this blessed world believe that Trump is nothing more than a puppet of Bibi and is under the full control of the Zionist lobby. I raised a contrarian view with Judge Nap and Ray during the Friday roundtable, i.e., that because Trump is already rich and does not need to build a reserve of funds to run in 2029 — he is proscribed from doing so by the Constitution — he is not going to accede to Bibi’s demands to destroy Iran and green-light a renewal of the genocide in Gaza.
Judge Nap was on side with LJ, maintaining that Trump—no matter his rhetoric—does not want to be seen as backing more war. I agree and would add—as in the past—that a renewal of war, especially on the scale that Netanyahu wants, would end up throwing a spanner in Trump’s plans for MAGA. At any rate, read it all at the link. Trump always seeks to project an image of strength, but this is a reminder that he’s crossing a geopolitical minefield and that powerful political forces are trying to get him off the safe track.
A quick lead-in, but very important:
Armchair Warlord @ArmchairW
People don't really appreciate the fact that at this point literally everyone in Russian politics who isn't an employee of the CIA is more hawkish than Vladimir Putin.
We're three years into World War Three with the serial numbers filed off and he still wants to negotiate.
Which means that Putin, despite his sky high approval ratings, is not in a position to rush ahead with any deal. He will go slowly, both because that’’s his natural inclination but also for his own political considerations at home.
And a brief video presentation on why the proxy was so necessary:
Trump continues the push for a real settlement. Unspoken by Trump—but strongly implied—is that he’s playing a high stakes game with a weak hand, trying to extricate America from this mess so he can get on with MAGA:
Megatron @Megatron_ron
 Speaking on Fox News Radio today, Trump said that Russia is dictating the terms of the ceasefire because Ukraine has no more "cards to play"
He also stated that Russia now has the capacity to take over all of Ukraine.
This means that Ukraine's defenses are on the verge of collapse, and US weapons can no longer stop it.
Trump also publicly and loudly blamed Biden and Zelensky for the war, who miscalculated that they could win.
He also said that Europe has done nothing to try to stop this war, but on the contrary, it is fueling it all the time.
Trump is aware that this war has already become a huge expense for the United States, putting great pressure on the US budget and foreign debt, and may even be left without the natural resources he seeks from Ukraine, most of which are already under Russian control.
This is actually the last attempt by the United States to recoup the investment it made in Ukraine.
Poland sees what’s coming. They’re efforts to somehow retain importance for America, however, are doomed, IMO. They should have known better and should have looked out for their own interests instead of relying on far off “allies”—once again—who have no real stake in or interest in Poland. Poland is an absolute key to the NATO war effort, so this shows how NATO is falling apart. Duda attempts a smart about face ahead of the other Western knuckleheads:
Andrzej Duda @AndrzejDuda
A few minutes ago, President @ZelenskyyUA called me. We had a candid conversation on the heels of the recent meetings with General Kellogg and other developments. I conveyed to him that we consistently believe there is no other way to stop the bloodshed and achieve lasting peace in Ukraine except with the support of the United States.
For this reason, I suggested to President Zelenskyy to remain committed to the course of calm and constructive cooperation with @POTUS Donald Trump. I trust that good will and honesty form the foundation of the U.S. negotiation strategy. I have no doubt that President Trump is guided by a deep sense of responsibility for global stability and peace.
However, Sergei Ryabkov—Russian FM Lavrov’s deputy—made a statement that, to me, is one more indication that Russia has a very long list of topics that need to be addressed, and will insist that each topic be thoroughly worked through before any deal can be finalized. That suggests that Trump will not get a deal on his preferred timeline and that no ceasefire should be expected in anything remotely like the near term:
Geopoliticalfocus @Geopoliticaleco
A meeting between Russia and the United States at the level of heads of relevant departments is planned for the next two weeks. The parties will discuss eliminating irritants in bilateral relations, said Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.
Moscow is paying close attention to public signals from Washington about the need to restore the previous number of embassy personnel in the Russian Federation and the United States. But first, the problems of the diplomats already working must be resolved on the basis of reciprocity, and then talk about increasing the embassy staff and resuming the work of the consulates general.
At the current stage of the dialogue with the Americans, the return of 6 objects of Russian diplomatic property is one of the priority issues for the Russian Federation, Ryabkov emphasized.
Lastly—China! The Aussies and Kiwis are upset because the Chinese navy is conducting “freedom of navigation” exercises in the Tasman Sea—that’s the body of water that separates Australia from New Zealand. Well, Canadian and Australian warships—for reasons that weirdly make sense to their governments—have chosen to transit the Strait of Taiwan. Time to reconsider foolishly doing the bidding of American hawks? I’m with Doug Macgregor on this. There is no strategic interest for the US in ringing China with military bases, and yet screaming when Russian and Chinese naval vessels cruise the North Pacific.
Sky News shared this graphic a while back of US military operations around China. One of these countries is the aggressor, and the other is responding defensively to those aggressions. If you can't tell which is which, it's because empire propaganda has melted your brain.
Look at Australia whining like a little bitch about Chinese warships 400 miles away from Sydney! How many times has Australia ganged up with the US to exercise “freedom of navigation” in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea? Do unto others…
It is indeed a minefield, but Trump seems to be handling it quite well. For Ukraine, as (I think) George Orwell once said, the quickest way to end a war is to surrender. Maybe Trump should make good his threats to the Euroweenies and Z and just walk away. Most normal Americans and Brits are sick to the back teeth of the word "Ukraine" and would probably welcome such a move. Of course, the usual suspects will cry "betrayal!" and "giving in to dictators!" Let them. The key is MAGA on the homefront.
Megatron misses the key factor
"Trump said that Russia is dictating the terms of the ceasefire because Ukraine has no more "cards to play" He also stated that Russia now has the capacity to take over all of Ukraine.
This means that Ukraine's defenses are on the verge of collapse, and US weapons can no longer stop it."
The key factor is Russia has Grown - and US Weapons could never stop it
It was reported Russia entered Ukraine in 2022 with some 150,000 - 200,000 soldiers
they now have grown their military to more than 2 million most fully trained and with a 2 + year grinding daily combat experience
Russia technology and weapon manufacturing has also grown exponentially Russia weaponry out paces US in Every Category a) technology b) cost c) ability/speed to manufacture
There is no stronger experienced military anywhere in the world and no stronger supported / equipped military - no one could possibly challenge Russia in Europe meaning in that geographic region - logistics matter.