#US already blinked. Europe must not

#Putin offered to resume gas supplies to the continent his #missiles are #destabilizing

- Before Brussels or Berlin reaches for phones, best pause & recall what #energy dependence on Russia actually costs

While #Ukrainian cities are shelled & soldiers die, Western govts looking nervously price of oil, wondering if #sanctions, 1 of strongest levers over Russia , will survive

https://kyivindependent.com/is-europe-really-about-to-buy-russian-gas-again/

#DementiaDon #RussianAggression #RussianInvasion

On Russian oil, the US has already blinked — Europe must not do the same

Vladimir Putin is feeling generous. With tankers stalled in the Strait of Hormuz and European energy prices spiking, the Russian president has offered to resume long-term gas supplies to the continent his missiles are helping to destabilize. Before anyone in Brussels or Berlin reaches for the phone, they might pause to recall what energy dependence on Russia actually costs. While Ukrainian cities are shelled and soldiers die, Western governments are looking nervously at the price of oil, wonder

The Kyiv Independent

RE: https://fairdinkum.one/@John/115839456036624772

#Trump’s actions in #Venezuelan do not make America safer, stronger, or more affordable.

That #Maduro is a brutal, illegitimate dictator does not change the fact that this action was both #unlawful and #unwise.

We've seen this movie before. Wars for #regimechange or #oil that are sold as strength but turn into chaos, and American families pay the price.

The American people do not want this, and they are tired of being lied to.

This is not about #drugs or #democracy. It is about oil and Trump’s desire to play the regional #strongman. If he cared about either, he wouldn't pardon a convicted drug trafficker or sideline Venezuela’s legitimate opposition while pursuing deals with Maduro’s cronies.

The president is putting troops at risk, #spendingbillions, #destabilizing a region, and offering no legal authority, no exit plan, and no benefit at home.

America needs leadership whose priorities are lowering costs for working families, enforcing the #ruleoflaw, strengthening alliances, and - most importantly - putting the American people first.
- #KamalaHarris

#uspol #auspol

Published technical data shows #Russian #drones are packed with foreign-made components despite Western #sanctions.

With Shahed drones, #Iran & #Russia rely on electronics from Western & other countries - #US, #Switzerland, #China, #Japan, #Taiwan, #Netherlands, #Ireland

#Iranian #weapons undergo combat testing on Ukrainian soil in confrontation with Western technologies

#Technological data obtained will be used in future #destabilizing actions worldwide

https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-releases-list-of-foreign-components-in-russian-shahed-107-drones-used-to-strike-front-line-areas/

#Ukraine

HUR exposes foreign-made backbone of Russia’s Shahed-107 drone striking Ukraine’s front line

Ukraine's military intelligence agency has revealed new details of Russia's Shahed-107 attack drone used to strike front-line areas.

The Kyiv Independent

Sunday, August 31, 2025

Russian soldier allegedly executes unarmed civilian in Donetsk Oblast, video shows -- Ukraine's intel chief warns of Russian disinformation wave ahead of Zapad-2025 military drills -- Russian units surrounded near Dobropillia -- "We are already in conflict with Russia," Merz says Putin destabilizing Germany ... and more

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/08/sunday-august-31-2025/

Amid #Trump-imposed #chaos, #IRS loses its 4th commissioner in 3 months

How short was #GaryShapley's tenure? He's out after >1 week on the job.

In recent weeks, the Internal Revenue Service has lost its chief of staff, its chief financial officer, its chief information officer & its top officials overseeing #privacy & #risk policy, all of which has had a predictably #destabilizing effect on the #tax agency.

[begs the question: why did I file/pay #taxes this year??]
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-imposed-chaos-irs-loses-fourth-commissioner-three-months-rcna201914

Amid Trump-imposed chaos, IRS loses its fourth commissioner in three months

How short was Gary Shapley's tenure as IRS commissioner? He's out after less than a week on the job.

MSNBC

#Trump’s federal cuts threaten #Indigenous communities

They told U.S. House lawmakers that the administration’s “chainsaw approach” to government cuts will disproportionately harm #IndianCountry

by Shondiin Silversmith, Mar 6, 2025

"From securing funding for #IndianHealth Services and ongoing #WaterSettlements to increasing investments in infrastructure, education and law enforcement, many Indigenous leaders and organizations are raising the alarm about the devastation that federal funding cuts could bring for #NativeAmericans.

"More than 60 tribal leaders and organizations from across Indian Country testified over three days to a U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee on the federal funding needs of Indigenous people and their communities nationwide.

"'I know there’s never enough funding to go around,' Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis said, and he appreciates how the subcommittee has consistently set aside several days to hear Indian Country’s funding priorities.

"'It is the process that starts the funding decisions for tribal programs, staffing and priorities for this administration,' he added. Tribal leaders and organizations gave five-minute testimonies to the subcommittee from Feb. 25 to Feb. 27.

"Lewis used his five minutes to discuss the Trump administration’s actions and their impact on his community.

"There is 'real fear' within tribal communities about what is happening in Washington, D.C., he said, referencing the freezing of federal funding and the mass firing of federal employees across the government.

[...]

"He added that the cuts are being made without considering how they will impact services. Rather than making the government more efficient and effective, it is 'creating a federal workforce that is paralyzed by fear.'

"Lewis called the administration’s actions #destabilizing and said they will have a disproportionate impact on Indian Country.

"'The government-to-government relationship is only as strong as our federal partner,' he said. 'And right now, there is a real concern that the federal side of this partnership has the real potential of being dismantled.'"

Read more:
https://ictnews.org/news/tribal-leaders-sound-alarm-as-trumps-federal-cuts-threaten-indigenous-communities-
#USPol #WaterIsLife #LandIsLife #AirIsLife #RespectTheTreaties #USGovtCleanUpYourMess #UraniumMining #UraniumMilling #IndigenousHealth #IndigenousNews #BadDOGE #DOGE #HealthCare

Canada and Mexico Move to Retaliate on Trump Tariff Orders

The New York Times
China drills destabilizing, Taipei says

台北時報
Chocolate: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

YouTube

They see an #American #PoliticalSystem lurching down the path of #dysfunction & a #legislature increasingly dominated by #politicians uninterested in actual #governance or #democratic deliberation. And they see the asymmetry of what’s in motion — where the #Republican Party, beholden to fmr president #Trump & a #FarRight Trumpist base, is the principal vehicle for the #destabilizing forces coursing through the American body politic.

#UnitedStates #NationalSecurity #democracy #WorldPower