You might want to watch this brief video a few times, once with the sound low or off and pay attention to the body language of the participants as the remarks to the media are delivered.  Vice-President Vance opens the remarks followed by President Zelenskyy, then back to JD Vance.

Marco Rubio is stone cold focused (perf). JD Vance is personable and pragmatic.  Zelenskyy is deferring and at the very end the Ukrainian officials exhibit the attitude they are known for within Eastern Europe. Perhaps Americans don’t know because Western media hide it, but the scope of corruption within the Ukrainian government is so well known, most Eastern Europeans view current Ukranian govt officials as mere financial beneficiaries to the indulgences of war. WATCH:

All over Europe Ukranian govt officials are seen driving exotic cars, arriving in multi-million-dollar yachts, staying at the most expensive hotels, shopping at exclusive stores, buying jewelry and watches. They Ukraine military and govt officials are generally living a life of stunning opulence and overwhelming indulgence.  When you travel there, people simply nod toward the visibility of it and say, “Ukraine.” It’s an open joke, and they are hated.

Generally speaking, the government officials from Ukraine are considered vile, vulgar, rude and cruel by the ‘simple people’ who see them.  And trust me, it is impossible to miss their arrogance.   I never had an opinion about them until I witnessed it myself. The vibe they give off is foul.

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A little detail from behind the wire.  I was asked very recently for my thoughts on why President Trump is a giant of influence in world leadership, my response was simple:  President Trump’s power is bottom up, historic global power structures are top down.

President Trump doesn’t just represent an office or title, nor does he simply represent the majority of the American people; President Trump’s voice is the voice of every ordinary person, what the non-English speaking world defines as “simple people,” and he channels a global message from the majority to the top of the highest power structures.

Smart leaders like Vladimir Putin recognize this power source, and they don’t challenge it – they align with it.  Stupid leaders, those who do not recognize their national nakedness like Emmanuel Macron, attempt to avoid & manipulate it.  The Make America Great Again doctrine is a borderless goal, empowering people to make their own lives great.

(VIA ABC) – […] Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday he stands by his comments from Brussels earlier this week on it being unrealistic for Ukraine to be offered NATO membership as part of a settlement, for it to regain its pre-2014 territory, or for U.S. troops to enter the country to keep the peace. 

“My job today, and in Brussels, was to introduce realism to the conversation – the reality that returning to 2014 borders as part of a negotiated settlement is unlikely; the reality of U.S. troops in Ukraine is unlikely; the reality of Ukraine membership in NATO as a part of a negotiated settlement unlikely. And I stand by the comments that I made on that first day in the Ukraine Contact Group,” Hegseth said at a press conference in Poland Friday. (source)

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President Trump held an Executive Order (XO) press conference in the oval office today and took questions from the assembled press pool.  Included in the executive orders was the reversal of the plastic straw ban, no more paper straws.  The President also implemented a 25% tariff rate on imported steel.  The import tariff rate for aluminum increases from 10% to 25%.

At 09:00 of the video, President Trump reads prepared remarks on the implementation of the steel tariffs. At approximately 15:00 of the video, President Trump begins taking questions from the media.  The full video of the event is below:

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(Via NBC) – President Donald Trump signed an order Monday that imposes a 25% tariff on all steel imports to the United States.

“This is a big deal,” Trump said while signing the order in the Oval Office. “The beginning of making America rich again.”

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Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba was asked for his first impression of President Donald Trump at the conclusion of their first meeting.  You could hear a pin drop as the White House press pool listens to the respect delivered.  WATCH:

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Regarding the politics of the Japanese military aspect to the reply.  It is the legacy of assassinated Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was a close and dear friend of President Trump, that set Japan on the path to rebuilding their military and independent national security.  PM Abe was crossing the country to talk about the need for a newly built military that would provide American defense forces the ability to draw down.  PM Ishiba is continuing that legacy initiative.

RIP Shinzo Abe. He is greatly missed.

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The sub-heading tells the story. It is essentially, a predictable outcome, a conversation we began here several months ago.

...”At the Education Department, the [DOGE] team has turned to artificial intelligence to hunt for potential spending cuts — part of a broader plan to deploy the technology across the federal government.”… (link)

The tone of the Washington Post article is about Musk and DOGE potentially violating privacy rules by extracting data held within the U.S. Dept of Education. However, if you take out the narrative engineering political part, what you are left with is the core issue we have discussed. The tech team approach is to pull the govt data into their AI model and use the modeling to evaluate efficiency.

WASHINGTON DC – […] The DOGE team is using AI software accessed through Microsoft’s cloud computing service Azure to pore over every dollar of money the department disburses, from contracts to grants to work trip expenses, one of the people said. Lower-level department staffers were directed by agency leadership to let Musk’s teams access the sensitive financial data, the person said.

The use of AI inside the Education Department, which has not previously been reported, shows how Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which includes former employees from his tech empire, is tapping the favorite tool of Silicon Valley as part of its mission to drastically slash the size and functions of the federal government. {READ MORE}

I’m sure there is some value in this process. In fact, I am certain that utilization of enhanced algorithmic AI software to streamline government data systems does hold merit. However, that’s not the big picture issue that concerns CTH. {GO DEEP}

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The CIA and Intelligence Community working together with Silicon Valley tech teams to develop best in class AI systems, using references from prior nuclear weapon development, “The Manhattan Project.”  Huh, what could possibly go wrong. {GO DEEP}

BREITBART – CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Breitbart News last week that President Donald Trump’s administration is considering creating a national laboratory akin to the Manhattan Project to help develop and steer the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

“When you talk about AI, one of the things I want to explore is whether we can expand and establish a national laboratory for the development of AI to help the U.S. government leverage emerging technology to make sure American leadership is that,” Ratcliffe told Breitbart News in his first interview as CIA director last week.

[…] Ratcliffe explained the idea for national laboratories dates back to the Manhattan Project, where the U.S. government helped scientists develop nuclear weapons that won World War II for the United States and allied nations. He said the recent announcement from Trump of “Project Stargate,” the half-trillion-dollar initiative to promote AI, could be expanded upon to include more public-private partnerships akin to the Manhattan Project that get the U.S. out in front of the nation’s adversaries on AI.

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth started his first official day on Monday morning, by answering a few questions from the media on the steps of the Pentagon. Hegseth committed to supporting President Donald Trump’s initiative of mass deportations.  WATCH:

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Vice President JD Vance swears-in newly confirmed Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary.  Both Vice-President Vance and Secretary Hegseth delivered remarks during the ceremony. WATCH:

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President Trump ordered the U.S. Defense Department to make “homeland security a core mission of the agency.”  In one of the first actions to support an executive order on border security, the Pentagon sends an additional 1,500 active-duty troops to support Customs and Border Patrol.

(Via Reuters) – […] The additional troops include 500 Marines, as well as Army helicopter crews and intelligence analysts. They will join 2,200 active-duty troops and thousands of National Guard that were on the border prior to Trump’s inauguration this week.

A separate official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said there had been informal discussions about sending as many as 10,000 troops over time. But, officials cautioned, a final figure had not been determined, and troop numbers would depend on several factors, including impact on military readiness and what the Department for Homeland Security requests.

[…]  Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said the U.S. military would help provide flights for Department of Homeland Security-led deportations of more than 5,000 immigrants held by U.S. authorities in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego, California.

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The top tier of our military being completely compromised must put a smile on the face of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping.  However, the results of the last several years have proven that’s exactly our situation within the Department of Defense (DOD).

An undercover investigator with James O’Keefe group, exposes yet another contractor within the Pentagon network who admits he is working with generals on a stop-Trump effort.  O’Keefe has released the video of the undercover operation with the commentary below. WATCH:

“I’ve been in conversation with a couple of retired generals to explore what we can do,” Jamie Mannina, advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, former FBI Special Agent, and self-proclaimed “spy hunter,” disclosed to an undercover OMG Journalist his plans to utilize irregular strategies to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency.

Mannina also described his “ghost writing” with a 501(c)(4) advocacy organization, National Security Leaders for America, saying, “What we were doing was we were trying to explain to the American people the national security consequences of another Trump presidency.” He elaborated on his recent activities, saying, “Since the spring, I was working with these retired generals, retired ambassadors,” adding, “They’re like one, two, or three-star generals and admirals. You probably know maybe four stars.” He acknowledged the organization’s ultimate goal, emphasizing, “This organization tried to defeat Donald Trump.”

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