Vice President JD Vance was previously scheduled to appear at the Mathias Corvinus Collegium in Budapest, Hungary, when the truce deal with Iran was made public. During his appearance, the Vice President was asked about his perspective on the negotiations. WATCH:
Full discussion is included in the full video below.
With a critical Hungarian election coming up on April 12th, Vice President JD Vance travels to Hungary to show support from the Trump administration for Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
In the background Hungary is under a great deal of pressure from the European Union for Orban’s resistance to expanded conflict with Russia. The various left-wing European media claim that Prime Minister Orban is a friend to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the political/intelligence operations of Ukraine have aligned with the EU to target Viktor Orban for removal.
Vice-President JD Vance held a joint press conference with Prime Minister Orban to outline the challenges to the EU, answer questions about the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict and discuss the current energy crisis that has unfolded in Europe as a result of chasing net-zero policies. WATCH:
.
There are approximately 45,000 U.S. troops on NATO bases within Germany. NATO General Secretary Mark Rutte is scheduled to arrive in Washington DC on Wednesday, following remarks by President Trump and Secretary of State Rubio about possible changes in the U.S. relationship with NATO.
Simultaneous to this, the German government has now enhanced their conscription laws with a requirement for all males aged 17 to 45 to request permission for travel out of Germany if their exit will be longer than 3 months.
As part of a rather unusual Russian invasion deterrence, Germany is trying to hit a new target of between 255,000 and 270,ooo active and trained military troops by 2030. The new conscription targets seemingly underpin a travel permit system for German men.
GERMANY – Germany has implemented a significant reform to its military conscription law effective in 2026, mandating that nearly all men aged 17 to 45 must obtain approval from the Bundeswehr before leaving the country for more than three months. This change, part of the Wehrdienst-Modernisierungsgesetz, expands the previous restrictions beyond crisis periods, applying continuously regardless of Germany’s security situation.
The reform aims to bolster the Bundeswehr’s personnel from about 184,000 to between 255,000 and 270,000 by 2035 by reintroducing mandatory conscription examinations for young men. However, the implementation details—such as the approval process and possible exceptions—remain unclear, creating uncertainty among affected individuals. The Bundeswehr is actively working to clarify these procedures and reduce bureaucratic hurdles but has not yet specified consequences for those who depart without permission.
Sky News economics and data editor Ed Conway presents a fantastic look at how the issue with the Strait of Hormuz has impacted the global distribution of energy, oil, LNG and Kerosene (jet fuel), with particular emphasis on the vulnerabilities of the “modern industrialized western nations.”
Conway never points the finger to the “net zero” carbon goals of Europe, the U.K and Australia. However, he shows the outcome of their dependence on production and refining by other non-participating nations. The timelines clearly show, as the Green Energy policies were pushed the vulnerability inherent within any supply shock begins to get worse. This is a very well-presented data-driven analysis that is worth watching.
The last two-minutes also shred the claims by EU and British leadership, and highlights how Europe and the U.K are now dependent on the United States to meet their energy needs. WATCH:
.
They stopped their oil and gas exploration. They chose to chase ‘net zero’ academic pontifications. They closed their refining operations. They took apart their coal-fired electricity plants. They disassembled their nuclear power capabilities. Then, the absolute cherry on the proverbial cake, they voted to stop purchasing oil and gas from Russia.
The EU is now in the Find Out stage of their FAFO positioning.
Gasoline prices have skyrocketed. The last shipments of jet fuel have arrived. Major airline carriers are cancelling flights due to lack of fuel. Faster than the EU can organize meetings to discuss their position, EU destined LNG shipments have diverted to southeast Asia and India as the ASEAN nations bid higher purchase prices for the vessels literally on the water.
Folks, it’s quite an article written by EU Politico as they outline how each of the leaders from the nation states are now discussing how vulnerable they are to the changed oil/gas environment with the mid east conflict ongoing. The entire energy sector in Europe is now in crisis mode with leaders predicting it will get much worse within days, not weeks.
EU Politico – “Germany’s Friedrich Merz warns the economic fallout from the war in Iran is on track to rival that of the Covid pandemic or the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
[…] With the war in Iran threatening to choke off energy flows for the foreseeable future, Europe is facing a supply shock that promises to cripple manufacturing, ground airlines, hike up the price of food, spike borrowing costs and send inflation spiraling back to crisis levels.
As the last tankers carrying fossil fuels from the Persian Gulf pull into European ports, the scale of what is about to hit seems to be dawning on the continent’s leaders.
Three days ago, the Australian government was downplaying reports of a serious shortage of fuel. Today the Australian Prime Minister gives a national address and warns Aussies to conserve fuel, or else things will get sketchy.
In non-pretending terms: it’s Australia – PREPARE FOR THE SKETCHY!
The leaders of Canada, Great Britain and now Australia have delivered national addresses in the past 36-hrs about Iran, the subsequent energy issues and the geopolitical shifts currently underway they cannot control. Keep in mind, the other thing these countries have in common is they are four (count NZ in AU) of the Five-Eyes countries. The remaining eye is the USA, and President Trump is scheduled to deliver his national address tonight at 9:00pm Eastern.
For the folks down under it is worth remembering their COVID-19 experience. When the government starts saying, ‘we hope you will voluntarily consider doing XXX’, the next thing that comes in the ‘conservation’ effort are government mandates, travel restrictions, lockdowns, rations and severe authoritarian control mechanisms. It’s the Australian way.
For this example, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivers “a rare address to the nation” outlining his government’s response to the Middle East conflict and fuel crisis. “The months ahead may not be easy. I want to be up front about that,” Albanese warns. He then continues, “we will deal with these global challenges, the ‘[¹]Australian way’,” which should forewarn every person in Australia that government control mechanisms are being planned immediately. Good luck! WATCH:
.
I always found it rather remarkable that the countries who pushed the Build Back Better agenda the hardest; the countries who pushed climate change and complete restructuring of energy policies the most; were the exact same countries who triggered the expansive sanction regime against Russia. (reminder map below)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio appears on Fox News to discuss the various goals and objectives of the U.S. military operation against Iran. As part of the interview Secretary Rubio was asked about the strategic conflicts and hypocrisies now flowing from NATO member states.
The U.S. supports our NATO posture in Europe in part because it provides us with strategic military bases and operations that are considered vital to our national interests. However, as outlined in the Iran conflict, when we need to use those strategic bases the NATO member states withdraw previous permissions. France has blocked us from flying over their airspace, Spain and Italy have said the U.S. cannot use our military bases on their soil for operations. The U.K has refused to protect and/or escort their own energy assets.
The NATO membership is now a one-way street where they demand our military protection, but Europe blocks us from using our own military assets for our independent operations.
Europe, while hiding behind the NATO protection skirt of the U.S, is simultaneously telling the U.S. what we can and cannot do with our own military. Secretary Rubio and President Trump are now confronting this very visible one-way benefit head on. WATCH (prompted).
.
Against the backdrop of the Iran conflict, crisis in the Middle East and the disruption of energy supplies due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, U.K Prime Minister Keir Starmer held an urgent meeting with British business leaders, finance and bankers as well as U.K insurance leaders. At the conclusion of that meeting, he informed media of a national address.
During the national address to the people of Great Britain, Prime Minister Starmer emphasized that events in the Middle East have forever changed the landscape of U.K. economic and geopolitical policy. Signaling an inflection point crossed, the British prime minister announced that urgent actions were being taken to mitigate a national crisis.
Additionally, accepting the U.S. position toward NATO, and the U.K appears to be permanently shifted, Starmer said the British relationship with Europe now becomes critical to their vital national security interests. Against the backdrop of an end to the “special relationship” with America, the Brexit independence from the European Union is now a threat.
The United Kingdom must find a way to reunite with the European Union, because if it remains alone, without key support and protection from the USA, the British Empire is at risk of collapse. WATCH:
.
President Trump is also scheduled to deliver a national address at 9:00pm Wednesday. Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave an interview with Fox News last night specifically centered around a changed U.S.-NATO relationship (that interview coming next).
Senator Lindsey Graham (U-DC) has never met a military combat operation he didn’t like. In his career Graham, like his friend John McCain (RIH), has always supported war against every country.
However, beyond the unquenchable bloodlust there is one thing Senator Graham fears, an exit from NATO. With the Iran conflict providing buckets of citations for why the United States should pull back from the NATO alliance, citations that Graham cannot easily refute, the war monger is worried the old war ethos of NATO could be lost.
[SOURCE]
[Tweet Below: Samantha Power in Ukraine, October 2, 2024]
The essence of the reports is that Ukraine officials discussed a scheme to receive money from USAID, essentially from the CIA, then launder the money through fake Ukraine ‘clean energy programs’ using various front groups, eventually culminating with the money being transferred to the Joe Biden reelection effort. That’s the gist of the report.
However, as much as this story is of great interest to me, for reasons outlined below, there are multiple red flags which should indicate serious caution needs to be applied.
First red flag. Every single report about the issue links back to the original John Solomon report, written mostly by Jerry Dunleavy. [SEE HERE]. There is no follow-up reporting from any other outlet or source on this exceptionally explosive claim.
Second red flag. Despite the report centering around a “declassified intelligence intercept” under review by DNI Tulsi Gabbard, there is no citation for the interpretation of the information itself. There is no visibility into a declassified report, which if genuinely declassified would be easy to share with readers.
The absence of citation for the core claim, while simultaneously stating the information has been declassified, is a significant flag. This type of reporting relies on the reader accepting the interpretation of the author who chooses -without saying why- to keep it hidden.
Third red flag. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has not commented on the declassified originating information, nor on the reporting or interpretation of it by Solomon. This is not to say the reporting itself is inaccurate, but simply to note that no one is going on the record to substantiate it; and again, the information is hidden.
Fourth red flag. If the core information was accurate, it would be attacked (spun and shaped) in a defensive posture by the leftist media who have direct contacts with allied intelligence officials who would know about it. When an explosive IC claim is ignored by leftist media (NYT, WaPo, Politico, et al) generally that means they want to see the narrative advance or be emphasized. This posture of advancement is generally made when information is being wrongly interpreted, and that plays positively toward their interests.