Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi greeted Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin upon arrival in Beijing, China, for a summit with Chairman Xi Jinping just days after Xi and President Trump spent two days in personal conference.

There will be more details from this visit that will surface in the next several hours and few days; however, for those who walk the deep weeds the video of the arrival is very interesting.  Russia controls Russian interests in all things, including diplomatic missions.  Foreign Minister Wang Yi greets President Putin and there are customary celebratory festivities on the tarmac that most are familiar with.

Putin is walking briskly, very deliberately and giving warm waves to the assembled children. But Putin is all business, focused and walking fast.  Minister Yi slows his pace in an effort to slow Putin and emphasize the welcome. Putin keeps forward momentum. It’s subtle, but so typically Russian in approach. Nothing extraneous, nothing off script, nothing casual – straight, predictable and forward.

Notice the Russian control and immediate separation at the moment when they reach the end of the red carpet. Wang Yi and the Chinese welcome delegation as well as all security elements just disappear as in typical Russian fashion the Russian security service takes control from there.

It is a subtle difference between the merged casual formality of a U.S-China visit, and the hard lines of a Putin visit.  I find myself thinking about what a difference it would make in relations between our nations if Americans really understood Russians.  Russians are not cold per se’, they just don’t do casual very well.

There’s no “small talk” in Russian culture. There is talking that has a purpose and benefit – or there is silence. It is a facet of cultural distinction that many Americans just don’t understand.  There are no pretenses and everything is deliberate.

(more…)

President Trump took the press pool on a tour of the White House ballroom and defense infrastructure that is being incorporated into the design itself. As noted by President Trump the ballroom will sit atop a sub-surface system of hardened rooms, research facilities and military operations that will form a hub of interconnected executive office government defense operations.

The building is being built to withstand missile and drone attacks, with several floors underground that will serve as a defense system for the President and cabinet members. The ballroom that sits atop the underground network will be paid by President Trump and donors; the government funding is for the military defense complex that will sit underground approximately six stories down.  This is a remarkable explanation by President Trump. WATCH:

.

(more…)

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post anything relating to the Donald Trump Administration and Presidency.

This thread will refresh daily and appear above the Open Discussion Thread.

(more…)

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but DELIVER US FROM EVIL.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen †

.

(more…)

Remarkably, many news articles are citing confusion in trying to understand why U.S. Undersecretary of War, Elbridge Colby, announced the suspension of U.S. participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense with Canada. However, the announcement comes immediately after his meeting with U.S. ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, at the Pentagon and the comment, “we’re working closely to ensure every NATO partner, including Canada, reaches the Hague Summit’s 3.5% GDP defense spending target, a vital investment for North American and Arctic defense.”

The issue, as outlined by Undersecretary Colby, centers around Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent statements in antagonism toward the U.S., a public announcement that Canada would not be purchasing U.S. military equipment and the biggest issue of all, that Canada is not living up to the NATO defense spending agreements.

It was in December of 2024, immediately after the November election where Donald Trump won, when then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau flew to Mar-a-Lago for dinner with President Trump and told him there’s no way that Canada could meet their NATO obligations.  Canada had relied on the USA to provide all national defense and was 16th in defense spending at 1.1% of GDP. {CITATION}

The issue of NATO compliance was part of a larger discussion around trade imbalances, non-tariff barriers, intellectual property conflicts and legislative hurdles that Canada used as a crutch to retain economic benefit without reciprocity.

Trudeau was arguing that Canada could not change all the points of conflict, drop their non-tariff barriers, comply with NATO demands and simultaneously get into total alignment with the USMCA trade compact (CUSMA to Canada), because their climate policies did not support or match the heavy industrial processing capabilities of both the United States and Mexico.

This triggered President Trump to respond with the 51st state, notation.  Essentially, if you cannot be a partner with equal capabilities; and if you need to retain structural economic dependency; then Canada should just become a 51st state of the USA.

Since that time, things went downhill quickly.  Instead of trying to find ways to eliminate points of conflict, Prime Minister Mark Carney began a campaign of aggressive anti-Trump narrative distribution in order to maximize domestic political benefits.

President Trump then turned toward Mexico and began working with USTR Jamieson Greer to construct what is essentially a bilateral trade agreement between the U.S. and Mexico.

The administration began ignoring Canada, planning instead to announce the upcoming dissolution of the USMCA and then force Canada to negotiate a bilateral.  A jilted Canada then began doubling and tripling down on the anti-Trumpism, with Carney saying the era of trade between the USA and Canada is over.

Carney then reached out to Europe and China for trade replacement value and began making announcements about no longer purchasing U.S. manufactured fighter jets and military hardware.

U.S. Undersecretary of War, Elbridge Colby meets with U.S. Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra, and obviously the NATO stuff is just the straw that ended the U.S. participation in the Permanent Joint Board on Defense with Canada.  Not a complicated timeline to figure out.

(more…)

Speaking from the White House, President Trump, HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz and various officials from the pharmaceutical industry held an event to deliver information about the latest updates to TrumpRx.   More prescription brands have been added to the exchange, and the website has significant updates allowing price comparison and shopping.   Additionally, Amazon Rx executives were on hand to announce their joining with TrumpRx to offer fast delivery options.

At 19:31 of the video below, President Trump takes questions from the assembled press pool on a variety of current events including the $1.776 billion weaponization compensation fund, the conflict with Iran, the Ebola virus and other issues. WATCH (prompted): 

.

(more…)

Barbara Boyd from Promethean Action PAC gives her take on the current situation.

“Barbara Boyd argues the key outcome of Trump’s China visit was the personal trust between Trump and Xi, symbolized by Xi’s “secret garden” tour previously reserved for Putin, and framed as establishing guardrails for U.S.–China strategic and tech competition amid the Iran war and energy geopolitics. She says London and Democrats are “screaming” because Trump is reshaping global economic relationships while Treasury Secretary Bessent lifts U.S. sanctions on Russian exports. The episode targets Mark Carney and Keir Starmer as City of London figures who tried to capture China finance, advance BRICS as a dollar alternative, promote a synthetic reserve currency via CBDCs, and steer $130T through green finance—efforts Boyd says have failed as Trump reverses “Green New Deal” policies. She highlights DOJ election-rigging probes, renewed scrutiny of “Russiagate,” anti-fraud prosecutions, voter backlash, and insurgent politics in Los Angeles and London.”

.

(more…)

Homeland Security Task Force members from a variety of federal law enforcement agencies announced a major arrest in Puerto Rico taking down a large narcotrafficking network and criminal underground.  [Press Release] According to the DOJ, 23 people were arrested with 14 potentially facing life in prison and death sentence eligible.

Charges range from RICO organization, money laundering, murder, drug crimes, racketeering and firearms violations.  The joint task force effort took down a large network as noted in the press release. “The transnational criminal organization referred to as La Familia Nunca Muere (LFNM), composed of Las FARC (also known as Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Cantera and Las FARC Company), Cantera Nueva Generación (CNG) and other gangs from the areas of San Juan, Bayamón, Comerío, Trujillo Alto and Carolina including its members and associates, constituted an “Enterprise,” as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 1961(4) (“the Enterprise”), that is, a group of individuals associated in fact, whose members functioned as a continuing unit for a common purpose of achieving the objectives of the Enterprise. The Enterprise was engaged in, and its activities affected interstate and foreign commerce.”

DOJ – SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On May 12, 2026, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging 23 members of a racketeering enterprise known as La Familia Nunca Muere (LFNM) with racketeering—murder, drug trafficking, and firearms violations. This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.

(more…)

President Trump announced on Truth Social that he is delaying further strikes against Iran pending current negotiations with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.  According to the announcement the Gulf States are negotiating a ‘zero nuclear’ position.

This is an interesting development as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were previously the ones urging President Trump not to halt the military pressure campaign.

PRESIDENT TRUMP – “I have been asked by the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, and the President of the United Arab Emirates, Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to hold off on our planned Military attack of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which was scheduled for tomorrow, in that serious negotiations are now taking place, and that, in their opinion, as Great Leaders and Allies, a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond. This Deal will include, importantly, NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS FOR IRAN! Based on my respect for the above mentioned Leaders, I have instructed Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, The Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Daniel Caine, and The United States Military, that we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, in the event that an acceptable Deal is not reached. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

~ President DONALD J. TRUMP

(more…)

I’m not going to spend too much time on this as I suspect most readers are well aware of my predictions on the matter.  Suffice to say Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended the sanctions waiver on Russian oil and gas for another 30-days. {citation}

[SOURCE]

The OFAC waiver targets Russian oil/gas that was loaded onto floating storage platforms as of April 17, 2026.  The destination of the oil/gas will primarily be China, India and Southeast Asia; westbound Arctic supply route. The general license means all of the ASEAN countries can purchase in dollars and provides Russia with an exchange for the same currency valuation.  Once again, Zelenskyy -and Europe- will not be happy.

There is a certain irony in Europe previously banning the import of Russian oil/gas (EU sanctions) and now, when they desperately need it, the supply is flowing in the opposite direction.  Both Russia’s Arctic I and Arctic II platforms are operating to produce the supply; however, as many readers here will note they coincidentally :::nudge, nudge – wink, wink::: started pumping supply to “on the water” storage for six months prior to the beginning of the Iran conflict.   This is the third U.S. waiver of sanctions.

Russian Federation President Vladimir Putin is scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday. {GO DEEP}

(more…)