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Effective Friday All USAID Employees Officially Placed on Administrative Leave

The following message is the only message on the landing site of USAID.Gov

“On Friday, February 7, 2025, at 11:59 pm (EST) all USAID direct hire personnel will be placed on administrative leave globally, with the exception of designated personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and specially designated programs. Essential personnel expected to continue working will be informed by Agency leadership by Thursday, February 6, at 3:00pm (EST).

For USAID personnel currently posted outside the United States, the Agency, in coordination with missions and the Department of State, is currently preparing a plan, in accordance with all applicable requirements and laws, under which the Agency would arrange and pay for return travel to the United States within 30 days and provide for the termination of PSC and ISC contracts that are not determined to be essential. The Agency will consider case-by-case exceptions and return travel extensions based on personal or family hardship, mobility or safety concerns, or other reasons. For example, the Agency will consider exceptions based on the timing of dependents’ school term, personal or familial medical needs, pregnancy, and other reasons. Further guidance on how to request an exception will be forthcoming.

Thank you for your service.”

[SOURCE]

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TikTok Platform Returns for U.S Users After President Trump Vowed Supportive Executive Order

Another thing to keep in mind about this TikTok platform is that its servers are hosted by Oracle, that’s Larry Ellison, and an arrangement that keeps U.S. data in America.

After President Trump sent out a message from his Truth Social platform. TikTok thanked President Trump and reactivated the platform for U.S users.

Here’s the first message from President Donald Trump.

“I’m asking companies not to let TikTok stay dark! I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security. The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order.

Americans deserve to see our exciting Inauguration on Monday, as well as other events and conversations.

I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture. By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up. Without U.S. approval, there is no Tik Tok. With our approval, it is worth hundreds of billions of dollars – maybe trillions.

Therefore, my initial thought is a joint venture between the current owners and/or new owners whereby the U.S. gets a 50% ownership in a joint venture set up between the U.S. and whichever purchase we so choose.” {Source}

A few hours later TikTok made an announcement via the Twitter App.

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TikTok Social Media Platform Scheduled to Go Dark in USA Sunday

TikTok CEO Shou Chew has been in several meetings with President-Elect Donald Trump to discuss the fate of the platform. 170 million American users are engaged on the TikTok social media platform. There is some rather significant gamesmanship afoot as things come to a head.

The U.S. legislative branch created a law banning TikTok if Chinese interests retained ownership. Joe Biden signed the law, and the Supreme Court delivered a final “per curium” opinion [SEE HERE] saying the law did not violate any constitutional limitations about government control on speech.

TikTok has not negotiated a deal to sell the platform to a non-Chinese entity. In an effort to soften the political backlash from angered domestic users of the platform, Joe Biden has attempted to hand the TikTok controversy to President Trump by saying the U.S. government (DOJ, SEC, Etc.) would not enforce the fines and accountability measures within the law.

On Friday TikTok CEO Sou Chew thanked President Trump for his support. Hours later TikTok announced it would go dark on Sunday. “Unless the Biden Administration immediately provides a definitive statement to satisfy the most critical service providers assuring non-enforcement, unfortunately TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.”

Is TikTok actually going to shut down or is Sou Chew playing the role of ‘Sad Panda’ creating a highly public optic that presents President Trump as saving the platform.  Because we are essentially dealing with the Beijing mindset here, the latter is a strong possibility.

President-elect Trump said he will work something out.  TikTok CEO Shou Chew will be attending the inauguration on Monday.

There’s something very Art of The Deal-ish afoot!

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Pam Bondi Confirmation Hearing, Day #2 – 10:00am Livestream

Pam Bondi appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for her second day of confirmation questioning.  The democrat ‘resistance’ generally failed to create their narrative on Day #1 and will now attempt to regroup for day #2.  Livestream Links Below:

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THE Conversation

As the Senate begins the confirmation process….. A POINT:

“If I understand this correctly, the Senate Intel Committee will only approve Trump’s nominee for ODNI if she agrees to support an un-Constitutional provision that permits the government that none of us trust to illegally surveille American citizens without a warrant…but a provision that also makes an exception for members of Congress or their staff, who presumably value their privacy and don’t want to be illegally surveilled.

Meanwhile, President Biden is preparing to issue a blanket pardon of all the bad actors who illegally surveilled, wiretapped, sued, imprisoned and tried to assassinate his political enemies, so that no one can legally surveille, wiretap, sue or imprison them…and they get off scott-free.

Do I have that right?”  ~LionTigerBear

Yes, you have that encapsulation correct.  Additionally, the discussion of Joe Biden pardons -both metered and predicted- outlines the ideological mindset behind those who believe they rule over us.

If you pull back from the granular debate and think about it, none of the FISA justifications align with reality.

The FISA system is a designated secret court system that is said to only pertain to “foreign nationals.”

Ok, so if we accept the premise. Foreign nationals do not have U.S. constitutional protection. So why does the surveillance and intercept of them require secret U.S. courts?

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Mark Zuckerberg Outlines Pressure from Biden Administration to Censor Facebook and Instagram

META CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared on the Joe Rogan podcast to discuss his recent announcement about removing all “fact checkers” from the operation of Facebook and Instagram and replacing the fact-checking system with ‘community notes.’

Within the interview, Zuckerberg outlines examples of the Biden administration contacting the platforms to demand the removal of information the White House deemed against the interests of government.  Zuckerberg talks about the collapse in credibility within the platforms that happened as he lost control of the process and widespread viewpoint censorship became the norm.  WATCH:

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Core and Central: The Surveillance State, FISA and the Value of Liberty

There is nothing reconcilable about American Liberty when contrast with a looming surveillance state. There is no facet of American values, the essential core of what we define as Americanism, that can exist without true liberty.

While the Declaration of Independence is long regarded as the greatest written declaration of purpose, the latter created Bill of Rights, the first Ten original amendments to the U.S. Constitution, is just as important. The first declared our intent; the second defined how our founders intended to retain the intent during our collective assembly. Together they outline what set the course to make America great.

We have allowed the foundational intent of both sets of documents to be compromised, because, well, simply we were lazy and complacent. Now we are engaged in a time of great consequence that will determine whether or not the purpose of our assembly can continue.

We are, in factual reality, now deep inside a debate carried out in the world of politics. The stakes have never been higher.

In nine days, President Donald J Trump is scheduled to be sworn in as President of the United States. In my non-pretending world, this is likely to be the last time in our lifetime to drag the conversation of how we define liberty into the American psyche. All of my research in the past two decades indicates this likelihood is not hyperbole. We have one shot at this, and our time is now.

Liberty, the fundamental decision to retain it or lose it, is the context for all other contexts that have preceded it. The principles of liberty that we have defined for generations cannot exist in an American surveillance state. Thus, the secretive courts, the unlawful usurpation of the 4th Amendment, the short-sighted ramifications of the Patriot Act, the weaponization of our federal law enforcement and police agencies, all of it, must be reviewed through this fundamental core issue, Liberty.

I have traveled throughout the East and West to gain perspective on what makes us different, and what I can assert with clarity is that if we lose the Liberty argument, then the ideological representatives behind Barack Obama will have succeeded, the fundamental transformation will be irreversible.

This frames the cornerstone of my viewpoints on all of the characters in politics.  It is not a matter of debate that on these core issues of Liberty and the stopping of the Surveillance State, everything else is a downstream consequence.  The tiered system of constitutional protections for particular categories of personage must be rebuked.  On this matter there cannot be compromise, because every outcome that impedes our way of life is a derivative of this value.

I will oppose all interests who refuse to confront the Surveillance State.  I will draw bold attention to those who are willingly creating it, and I promise you I will call out every operational interest that is willfully blind to its creation.

This is my hill.

Love to all,

Sundance

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Supreme Court Refuses to Intercede in Advance of Trump’s New York Sentencing

Delivering a short ruling [pdf here], the Supreme Court has refused to intercede in the sentencing of President Trump in the Manhattan ‘hush money’ case.  The court apparently is providing Judge Merchan the opportunity to correct his prior rulings which are likely to be overturned on appeal.  The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Friday, January 10.e

Two of the high court’s Republican appointees, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, joined the court’s three Democratic appointees to turn down Trump’s last-ditch attempt to avert the sentencing.

[RULING LINK]

WASHINGTON DC – […] Trump has vowed to appeal to overturn his conviction, claiming that evidence and testimony was admitted that implicated his duties as president during his first term. Last summer, the high court ruled presidents were immune from criminal prosecution for some official acts. The high court’s brief order did not get into those issues in detail, but said Trump’s complaints of errors at his trial “can be addressed in the ordinary course on appeal.”

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Trump Effect – Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg Admits Platform Censorship Has Gone Too Far, Promises Fundamental Changes

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced that his platforms of Facebook, Instagram and Treads are going to change policies to permit free speech to reemerge on the social media networks.

According to the announcement, Zuckerberg admits his tech platforms have gone too far in their effort to control content, and censorship has been the outcome.  While providing no apology for the intentional control mechanisms that have created censorship, Zuckerberg notes he has met with Donald Trump and sees a “new opportunity” to reset his social media control to allow free speech to return.  WATCH:

Simultaneous to this announcement, Zuckerberg has offered Dana White a position on the board of directors.  Apparently, White has accepted. Dana White is a strong supporter of President Trump and the position by Zuckerberg is clearly an effort to open a channel of communication with the Trump administration.

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EU Not at All Happy with Elon Musk Tinkering with Long Standing Control of The Proles

Having spent some time drawing out the agenda within the Tech Bros as it pertains to that pesky ¹American liberty thing. We now return to our regularly scheduled anti-globalist programming where the Tech Bro alignment with MAGA is swimmingly synergistic.

Elon Musk is poking and prodding against the EU control apparatus, bringing an alternative perspective to our brothers behind enemy lines.  In his role as the snarky Toyko Rose of the modern social media interface, free speaking Americans -together with our comrades in Russia- can well enjoy Musk’s EU provocations.

The EU powerhouses of Germany, the U.K and France, are going bananas because Elon Musk is closely connected to President Donald Trump while simultaneously provoking them over their control of electoral outcomes.  Musk providing alternative, dare we say nationalist voices, is somewhat antithetical to the long-developed control system of the Brussels collective.

EUROPE – Elon Musk’s decision to host German far-right leader Alice Weidel in a livestream on X is sparking fury from European Union leaders and lawmakers, who on Monday urged Brussels to deploy its full legal might to rein in the billionaire tech magnate.

In response, the European Commission said the SpaceX founder and senior member of the incoming Trump administration could indeed land in legal hot water under the terms of the EU’s new digital rulebook, depending on the extent to which the Thursday livestream is deemed to boost Weidel unfairly over rivals ahead of Germany’s Feb. 23 election.

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