United Kingdom Prime Minister Andy Burnham and US President Donald Trump say they have established a good connection in their first meeting, despite differences on some foreign policy issues.

Talks as described covered Ukraine, Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, the Falkland Islands, and trade issues with Trump praising Burnham as a “natural businessperson.” President Trump was critical of the British plan to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, calling it a “terrible deal,” while Burnham pledged to find a solution.  WATCH:

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joins CNBC ‘Squawk Box’ this morning to discuss his 12-hour meeting with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng.  Within the interview Bessent details the ‘U.S.-China AI Dialogue’, the calls for a slowdown in AI development and whether regulation is needed.

Secretary Bessent notes President Trump is not going to deliver liability immunity to AI frontier labs and existing legal frameworks within the U.S. will remain as protective pathways as development moves from AI labs into engineering outcomes.

This is the core of the issue. The investors that poured money into the AI labs, now support immunity from legal liability that doesn’t exist in any other sector other than Big Pharma. AI wants the same protection as Big Pharma, and President Trump is not going to allow the shift in responsibility from AI developers to government. WATCH:

Also below is the full debriefing from Secretary Bessent and USTR Jamieson Greer that followed the Sunday meeting between the U.S. and Chinese counterparts.

As CTH has noted, the pace of these critical economic developments is going to speed up over the next several days and weeks.  It becomes increasingly important to stay tuned-in to the granular issues as they unfold in order to fully appreciate the landscape that surrounds us.   It can be challenging to absorb information as the pace increases, yet it is critical to remain aware so that each building block in the nationalist policy making remains in context.

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I suspect we will see similar realignment continues as the globalists like Canada and the EU try to oppose President Trump and U.S. best interests.

Belarus stands in ideological opposition to the globalists in Europe and President Alexander Lukashenko is an ally of Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin.  This announcement is a smack back against the leverage Canada claims to carry.  Again, creating more distance between the USA and the Snow Mexicans.

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Watch the interview with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to understand exactly where this is going.  The United States is systematically decoupling from Canada.  When we cut the economic lifeline represented by the USMCA, Canada will be adrift.

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Perhaps due to timing, or maybe content combined with the pragmatic answers dropping all pretense; or maybe, it’s just the two interviewers representing the globalist opposition and Greer facing them both down with easy dispatch. I’m not sure why, but this is one of the best discussions/interviews with USTR Jamieson Greer ever.

Soup to nuts Greer explains the policy, issues, friction points and pragmatic approaches that apply to economic adversaries like China.  Greer just cuts to the chase, you cannot truly negotiate with China because nothing about them is going to change, ever.  So, you manage your relationship with them, limit your exposure and limit as much risk as possible. Greer is exactly correct and makes no excuses. Pure economic pragmatism.

The same outlook applies to Canada.  Again, Greer isn’t playing the pretending game, and the panelist inquisitors are left jaw-agape while trying to frame a headline capture.  Listen to the conflict issues as outlined by Greer.  Canada is “doubling down on globalism”, the USA is not. That means we can never reach agreement, period – full stop, end of it!

Greer comes back to this point several times, including at the end when he outlines all the reasons why President Trump will terminate the USMCA trade pact.   This is a must watch interview:    

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This interview is like kryptonite to Canadians who are so caught up in their pontificating arrogance (Bloomberg) that they just cannot fathom the weakness of their position.  Canadian’s have bought the lies and nonsense from Carney, and it is very challenging to remain respectful of the Canadian position.

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Ahead of Chariman Xi’s visit to Washington DC for a state visit on September 24th and 25th, Reuters is reporting that China has asked Iran to halt all strikes on Saudi Arabia oil fields.

The request from China carries a self-interest as China’s oil dependencies have become problematic since the Strait of Hormuz became a point of economic friction between Iran and U.S. military forces. The Saudi East/West pipeline was also hit by Iranian backed Houthi rebels from Yemen, creating even more energy turmoil.

Additionally, Beijing is the most exposed to the recent congressional sanctions applied toward countries that retain trade relations with Russia.

Both President Trump and Chairman Xi have a vested interest in seeing an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. However, with EU-NATO still provoking expanded conflict the dynamic has become one of middle-powers (Canada, U.K, EU) against significant energy powers China, USA and Saudi Arabia.

Another way to look at it is the coalition of Green Energy nations -vs- Low Cost energy nations.

The U.K, Canada and Europe have been supporting attacks against gasoline and diesel fuel refineries in Russia. This approach appears to contain a political motivation to drive up gas/diesel prices in the USA as part of an anti-Trump election strategy. The state visit by Chairman Xi comes at a critical time in the global energy dynamic.

HOUSTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – Oil prices fell on Friday after China, acting on a request from Saudi Arabia, asked Iran to limit attacks by Houthi rebels on Saudi oil infrastructure that have threatened a second oil export route in the Middle East.

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Toward Latin America there are multiple options, but it’s likely a significant U.S. military footprint is destined for Greenland.  If you read President Trump’s earlier announcement you might note:

…”We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many. We will work with the people of Greenland in its development and construction.”

This announcement comes directly after President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a review of NATO forces in Europe with the expressed intention of drawing down the U.S. footprint. The Pentagon announced a six-month review of US forces in Europe in June, directing US Air Force General Alexus Grynkewich, the head of US European Command, to assess future force requirements.

According to media, “The proposed reduction could involve around 25,000 troops, which is roughly one-third of the approximately 80,000 US service members currently stationed in Europe. Some officials involved in the discussions have indicated that the figure could be considerably higher, potentially reaching 40,000, or about half of the American military presence on the continent, according to NBC News.”

Germany is the largest American military hub on the continent, with around 36,000 US troops. Italy hosts about 12,000 US troops and several major air bases. Spain, meanwhile, provides important air and naval facilities in the country’s south.  These would be the bases most likely to see significant withdrawal.  All three nations are a hot mess of political manipulation, economic turmoil, internal friction and opposition to the U.S. national security framework.

Revisit President Trump and Marco Rubio’s National Security Strategy:

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After a careful review of HR5334, the Lindsey Graham Russian Sanctions Bill [pdf HERE], I can certainly see why President Trump would happily sign it.

The bill has several elements that are immensely useful for President Trump, beginning with the fact that the baseline of the bill sits upon the cornerstone of current U.S. sanctions against Russia.   This is a critical aspect to understand, because if you take away the originating Russian sanctions, HR5334 disappears.

Secondly, the bill grants President Trump the ability to place 100% tariffs on the top five trading partners of Russia, but the bill also grants wide latitude as to how those top five are determined.  Top five oil, top five gas, top five financial, top five sector specific (energy, grain, oil, minerals etc.) the actual parameters or definitions of the “top five” are undetermined except by monetary value.

Some have just realized what this bill empowers. Others have yet to catch on.  Additionally, The bill gives President Trump the ability to impose tariffs of up to 100% within 30 days on all goods imported into the US from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil or gas as well as any country that knowingly made new purchases of oil or gas 30 days after the law was enacted or was among the top five countries helping Russia evade sanctions.

But there’s the key, again the authority is based on the pre-existing “sanctions.” So, who determines sanction relief? [interim, temporary, or strategic, in coordination with the policy objectives of the President] That would be U.S. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent.

Remember the previous 30-day interim sanction relief that Bessent and Trump provided for Russian oil/gas “on the water’?  In that scenario, the legislatively authorized tariff authority becomes entirely subject to the application determination of President Trump.  Ex. give a 30-day waiver and suddenly oil/gas are no longer the largest monetary trade issues. Instead, it could be as simple as who buys the most Russian caviar; maybe it’s Italy or Spain, or even Canada. lol 😂

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Readers here have significant knowledge of how the overall western intelligence apparatus works to control the activity of their respective governments. Factually, the intelligence apparatus never really changes with each election within each of the respective nations that makes up the “Five Eyes” assembly.

The U.K, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the United States make up the intelligence control group.  Together with the U.K., four of the five eyes are British Commonwealth nations, so it doesn’t seem odd to see the intelligence assembly follow the geopolitical shift underway.

Great Britain has previously outlined how despite their Brexit the institutional intelligence remained connected to the European Union.  With Canada now taking on “Associate Member” status within the EU, Carney is just bringing them into alignment.  Now, reports are surfacing that Australia and New Zealand are also open to remaining attached to their British cousins.

(AUSTRALIA) – The Albanese government is open to considering associate member status with the European Union despite threats issued by US President Donald Trump.

EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola put the idea on the table following an address by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney where he welcomed the possibility of becoming an “associate member” of the Union.

Ms Metsola said Australia and New Zealand were among the countries “with which we want to deepen our relationship”. Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Matt Thistlethwaite told News24 the government would “consider” the proposal. (read more)

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In this outline Promethean Action’s Susan Kokinda summarizes how energy prices are being weaponized to influence the 2026 midterm election.  The multinationals, Canada, Europe, NATO and those opposed to America-First sovereignty are waging an economic war against President Trump’s geopolitical and economic reset.

This midweek update argues that the midterm elections are being shaped less by campaign ads than by coordinated economic and political pressure: rising diesel prices tied to Ukrainian strikes on Russian diesel infrastructure, energy pricing set by European exchange traders in London rather than producers, and continued Iran conflict framed as being prolonged to affect the vote.

Kokinda also cites Canada’s trade war and targeted tariffs as politically timed, alongside attacks on U.S. bonds and pressure to raise interest rates, describing “full spectrum economic warfare” against Trump’s agenda. A second front is an accelerated AI panic, beginning with viral warnings from an ex-Anthropic researcher and followed by Anthropic CEO calls for regulation, which Trump and allies call a control-driven “hoax.” The script traces AI-ban lobbying to London-based Control AI, highlights foreign funding networks, and links the push to international oversight and reduced national sovereignty.

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Sometimes Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin just nails the issue in a way that is difficult for western voices to deconstruct. This is one of those examples.

Using the reference of the EU recently raising interest rates in an effort to lower energy costs, a seemingly disconnected approach that attaches energy policy to monetary policy, Vladimir Putin outlines exactly why the EU Central Bank approach is used.  This is a really important dynamic to understand.

For a long time, Russia battled with the EU over the pricing process for oil and gas.  Russia, specifically Putin, wanted to sell oil/gas to the EU based on production prices and fair profits.

Europe wanted to buy Russian oil/gas based on “market prices” which are manipulated by speculation and traders.

Putin doesn’t like this pricing approach because it artificially inflates the price based on speculation, trading and inorganic influences.

Instead, Putin always said the “market approach” makes your energy prices go up, even when production capacitary prices go down (productivity).

Producers can provide increases in energy volume at lower per unit levels just by turning a dial on gas volume.  Why would Europe want to pay more, when the cost to deliver a higher volume lowers the per unit price.  The EU never had a good answer, other than that’s just the way the ‘western market’ works.

Concluding the first day of his working visit to India for the BRICS meeting, Vladimir Putin answered a media question about the EU and used this reference to outline why the financial system of the EU is actually the underlying reason for their need to have conflict with Russia.  This is really interesting.

Question: You have spoken at length today about the BRICS countries. I would like to raise a question concerning a nation which, though geographically more distant from here, is perhaps closer to you personally – Germany. As is known, elections have recently taken place in Saxony, where the Alternative for Germany secured a decisive victory. It appears a similar trend is emerging in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as well. How do you view these developments?

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: I do not wish to, nor will I, comment on matters of the internal political developments currently unfolding in the Federal Republic.

However, there are points which merit attention in this context – and I will explain why. In my view, all that is now happening across Europe as a whole is the consequence of systemic errors committed by the so‑called West, or, to be more precise, by the globalist circles of the West, in the political, security and economic spheres.

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