Previously posted on my Facebook Page.
CBS: “Jared Kushner phone hack found billions in secret UAE fund, report claims.” Repeat: The zeal of news narratives these days is majorly geared at next month’s midterms. But for the heck of it, let’s dig this particular news story: According to a report excerpt from Matthew Cole's book “Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East,” the billions and hundreds of millions in secret accounts were allegedly tied to backroom foreign policy dealings, political influence, and regional arrangements during the Trump administration. Uh huh.
Should we go back to history? As far back to the 1920s. From the State Department’s demand of an "open door" policy to ensure American companies could compete for foreign concessions in the desert, following World War I? At that time, the San Remo Oil Agreement (which handed German shares in the Turkish Petroleum Company to France) was prominent. Prior to those years, Russian-tied enterprises (such as the Nobel Brothers' Branobel) controlled a vast share of petroleum in the Caucasus and Caspian (north of the Middle East), until the Soviets changed tact and preferred to focus on their own oil fields in Baku and Grozny. And so on and so forth.
Then came the Americans. Rockefellers and Gettys and stuff. Of course the U.S. stock in the region heightened when the British (and French) bungled in the Suez Crisis of 1956. Then we can also discuss “arms for oil” bilateral deals and Israel’s birth in 1948 as Washington’s bogeyman in the region etc etcetera.
Back to Jared. The Trump son-in-law has strongly denied Mr Cole’s allegations in his book, calling them "completely insane" and "complete fiction" with no verifiable proof, bank statements, or documentation.
The report alleges that UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (a.k.a. MBS) provided Jared access to roughly $2 billion across multiple secret or connected accounts to pay for or secure his influence within the U.S. government. (Refer to another story in The Economic Times.) Sources cited in the report claimed Mr Kushner promised to push the leaders' agenda with the White House in exchange for participation in a fund, specifically aiming to foster normalization agreements between Israel and Gulf nations to accelerate business deals.
Etc etcetera. Whether the allegations are true or not, and looking back in history, I’d simply shrug `em off. I am old, LOL! Son-in-law, so what? It doesn't alter the picture. Power play in the desert isn’t just Europe vs the U.S. anymore. American powers are also wrestling among themselves, plus China is in as well these days. Xi Jinping’s global vision per Belt and Road Initiative is no joke. The CCP’s agenda isn’t hawk-tied to military brawn, but trade expansionism. And BRICS buddies UAE and Saudi Arabia (add Egypt) are pretty much in the picture. Plus the Arabs aren’t camel herders anymore, right? They have mastered Western-styled capitalism.
Ergo, Donald Trump has to adapt and roll the dice beyond Washington's traditional pre-21st century MENA playbook. 🏛🗽🏛
Washington Post: “Elon Musk is preparing for a Democratic Congress and warns he'll fight back.” Elon is back in the political marquee. Let me set the record straight: I don't hate this dude. I am not at all bothered by his astronomical wealth. And I dug DOGE. I used to work for a similar anti-corruption agency in the Philippines (PCGG, a commission directly under then President Corazon Aquino).
I am not a fan of EVs but I am cool with Mr Musk sharing some of his millions$ to ordinary people and children. And yes, Starlink was very helpful during/after the Hurricane Helene devastation here in Asheville. In regards to the speed “throttling” of Starshield (the military-grade version of Starlink) in Ukraine, I concur with that, for obvious reasons. (Repeat: I am virulently anti-war. But that’d be for another discussion.)
Per this WP news: Elon’s “I’ll fight back!” stance vs his detractors, in relation to the coming midterms, is mostly media-induced drama. But then, who would fight the world’s unbelievably richest guy? Anyhow, he isn't “fighting” over some criminal issue. It is all election run-up stuff.
This is all about this: Blue has been dominating PAC funding since Obama years, yes? Including in this year’s election. But here comes Elon. According to recent Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings released this month, he has injected more than $445 million into Red’s political groups for the midterms. (Other Left-wing media sources claim the Musk election money for this year is actually in billions$.) 🏛🗽🏛
CBS: “Trump tells Ramaswamy to keep using an attack ad featuring rival's estranged mother.” Ah. This drama! GOP Vivek’s Ohio gubernatorial rival Mary Acton's case is not a make-believe, anyhow. Mary's life story, or riff with mom, is a “cultural fact.” No big deal, anyhow. (Google stuff if you missed it all. But the guilty person has been dead for years!) In fact, this sort of family story is an ordinary true-life Netflix series/movie staple. Less tragic but similar in dramatic tone, check out JD Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” (2020, starring Glenn Close and Amy Adams).
Repeat: An election run-up play around Ms Acton’s childhood could work for or against her. Spin doctors, get to work! But her memoir is a fact, per official records. Meanwhile, accusations hurled by the Left against the obvious dude? Pedophilia, Hitler, Nazi, dictator. Those are a lot nastier and make-believe. But Blue’s minions actually believe those are facts! Oh well. 🏛🗽🏛
Newsmax: “Melania Trump brokered a ceasefire to allow for war zone evacuation, White House says.” I can easily believe that. Albeit more high-profile and certainly in the line of notoriety, I remember Imelda Marcos of those years. The “Iron Butterfly” was a much better (or more effective) foreign policy envoy than the husband and all Filipino ambassadors in that era.
Meanwhile, regardless of her relative silence or “low-profile presence” beyond the First Lady limelight, Melania is still unfairly ridiculed. Because she was Slovenian? What if she is English or French? Because she was a “mere fashion model” before her Trump life? Level her with a Kardashian, maybe?
Whatever the case, I can believe it. That the First Lady brokered a localized ceasefire in the Russian-occupied city of Oleshky in the southern Kherson region of Ukraine. Proves that she can do some work, beyond photo-ops and smart quotes for the media to flash, mockery or admiration. (Photo: Newsweek.) 🏛🗽🏛
AFP: “Websites worldwide go dark after AI discovers major security flaws.” Data centers are physical facilities that store, process, and distribute digital information around the clock. They act as the foundational backbone of the modern digital world, housing the hardware and software that power everyday internet services.
With humanity’s obvious and continually intensifying reliance on the internet (and I am not just talking of Facebook and video-sharing platforms), I don’t think there is a way to stop the mushrooming of data centers all over the globe. Protest against them feeds the sublime angst or “pop-environtalism” (refer to Greta T.) but it is not realistic at all. Must I continue typing up my thoughts? You know. So why don’t we focus activism and advocacy in more “doable, solvable” imperatives? Anti-war, world hunger, pursuit of human traffickers and drug cartel monsters. Etc etcetera. 🦿🤖🦾
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