Deja vu all over again - No Kings

From Paul Johnson's Birth of the Modern page 444-445

 But George IV, no doubt because as heir apparent he had been more indulged and flattered than his brothers, was by common consent the worst of the lot. His instinct was always to desert and betray. 

Men disliked him particularly because he was an inveterate liar. Indeed he was a fantasist who could convince himself that certain imaginary things had happened

One collateral reason why men disliked George IV was that he was very much a ladies’ man, always surrounded by petticoats.

The fact that George preferred female company did not mean that ladies liked him; quite the contrary. Outside his own family, all the women with whom he was intimately connected came to regret it. 

As with all the grandest architectural schemes, George IV’s plan to transform and beautify London was not exactly carried through as he intended, and he was particularly unlucky with the palaces he built or altered. 

Trump targets enemies using mortgage records, a threat to D.C. elite

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/10/24/washington-politicians-mortgage-scrutiny-trump

President Donald Trump’s administration is using personal mortgage files to investigate, criminally refer and indict its enemies for fraud, zeroing in on people who appear to claim multiple homes as primary residences.

At least 41 members of the House — 29 Democrats and 12 Republicans — included multiple mortgages on their most recent annual financial disclosure reports, according to a Washington Post analysis of publicly available documents. At least 26 senators — 16 Republicans and 10 Democrats — disclosed multiple mortgages on their filings.

The tactic may pose a special threat in Washington, where dozens of lawmakers and other political figures also report holding mortgages on more than one home.

Yet the findings underscore the unusual nature of using the documents as basis for fraud.

“It’s in the same general ballpark of taking information about people that exists for a legitimate purpose,” Hedtler-Gaudette said, “and then trying to abuse and misuse it.”

How the Gaza Deal Got Done

https://time.com/7327675/trump-israel-gaza-deal-interview

 Trump’s envoys had brokered a deal with mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey to end two years of bombardment and bloodshed. The following Monday, the President told Netanyahu, they were going to announce the agreement—and the Israeli Premier had to accept it. “Bibi, you can’t fight the world,” Trump told him, recounting their conversation in an interview with TIME. “You can fight individual battles, but the world’s against you.”

Netanyahu pushed back, but Trump wasn’t having it. He launched into a profanity-laced monologue cataloguing all he’d done for Israel as President: moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing its sovereignty over the Golan Heights, brokering the Abraham Accords that normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states, even joining Israel’s strikes on Iran in June. Trump could no longer stand with Netanyahu, he suggested, if the Prime Minister didn’t sign onto the pact. “It was a very blunt and straightforward statement to Bibi,” says Steve Witkoff, Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, “that he had no tolerance for anything other than this.” (Netanyahu’s office declined to comment.)

By the end of the call, Netanyahu had agreed to a two-phase deal that included a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, secured the return of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees, allowed aid shipments into the ravaged enclave, withdrew Israeli forces from parts of the Gaza Strip, and opened negotiations for a final settlement. If it holds, the accord would end the longest war in Israel’s history, one that killed some 2,000 Israelis and nearly 70,000 Palestinians.

The next phase is even thornier. It includes defining the scope of Israel’s military withdrawal and the structure of a peacekeeping force; disarming Hamas; and determining who will govern postwar Gaza. “Those are very difficult things to do,” says Dan Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel under Barack Obama. Among the risks, Shapiro says, is that Trump could “end up with kind of a frozen conflict in the current situation, with Israel controlling half of Gaza, Hamas controlling the other half, suppressing its own people, and no real reconstruction.”

Erdogan Sides With Hamas, Demands Trump Stop Israel

 https://www.newsweek.com/erdogan-sides-with-hamas-demands-trump-stop-israel-10932029

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on President Donald Trump's U.S. to take the lead in applying pressure on Israel to stop violating the ceasefire with Hamas, claiming the Islamist militant group was adhering to the truce. Erdogan's remarks were reported by Turkish state media, including TRT and Anadolu Agency.

Rubio met with Netanyahu on Thursday and, like other U.S. officials and envoys visiting Israel this week, struck a tone of optimism about progress that has been made since the ceasefire began, while noting the challenges that lie ahead.

“No one is under any illusions. We’ve already done the impossible once and we intend to keep doing that," he said.

Microsoft pulls the plug on Israel—and shoots itself in the foot

 https://www.ynetnews.com/opinions-analysis/article/b10xzudrxg

Microsoft, the world’s second most valuable public company, recently took the unprecedented decision to disable Azure cloud and AI services for Israel’s military intelligence, known as Unit 8200.  

The decision was applauded by BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) activists, who have long sought to drive companies out of Israel to demonize and delegitimize the world's only Jewish state. The “No Azure for Apartheid” campaign declared victory and vowed to intensify pressure until Microsoft ends all “complicity in the Israeli economy of genocide, occupation, and apartheid.” 

Microsoft insists that its standards apply universally, regardless of geography. Yet, this appears to be the first time the company has unilaterally suspended services to a government under its own policies. (Microsoft restricted services in Russia, but only when legally required by government sanctions—not voluntarily based on any human rights assessments).

This decision singling out Israel stands in stark contrast to Microsoft’s operations in countries with troubling human rights records, from China’s persecution of Muslims and Christians to South Africa’s rampant crime and policing failures. If Microsoft has curtailed services in those markets based on human rights concerns, such actions remain largely unknown. 

A company with Microsoft’s global influence does not act in a vacuum. By pulling the plug on Israel to appease activists, Microsoft has shot itself in the foot—emboldening further demands and undermining the trust that sustains its business, a precedent that will haunt the company for years to come.

Vance Says International Security Force Will Take Lead on Disarming Hamas

 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/23/world/middleeast/rubio-israel-gaza.html

Vice President JD Vance said Thursday that an international security force that has yet to be formed would take the lead on disarming Hamas, which has been one of the thorniest issues when it comes to reaching a lasting peace in Gaza.

The cease-fire deal that came into effect earlier this month was based on a proposal outlined in September by President Trump, which includes a stipulation that a “temporary International Stabilization Force” be deployed in Gaza. But several countries have hesitated to commit troops to such a force because its exact mission in the devastated Palestinian enclave was unclear. The possibility that such a force might be drawn into direct conflict with Hamas fighters has also been a worry.

While they smear ‘No Kings’ rallies, Trump and his GOP can’t escape their own ‘Nazi’ problem

 https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-no-kings-protests-gop-nazi-b2849718.html

Republicans suffered a key defeat as one of Donald Trump’s nominees went down in flames on Tuesday.

An embarrassing spectacle played out over the course of several days on the Hill as the president’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel saw members of the GOP come out one by one to oppose his nomination. Paul Ingrassia withdrew his bid Tuesday evening after it became clear he was not going to receive enough votes for even a simple majority in a chamber where Republicans hold 53 votes out of 100 seats.

The reason for Ingrassia’s unpopularity was obvious: reports revealed that Ingrassia allegedly claimed to have “a Nazi streak” in texts sent to other Republicans. He is also accused of using racist slurs and allegedly referred to Martin Luther King Jr., the American civil rights champion, as “the 1960s George Floyd,” adding that “his ‘holiday’ should be ended and tossed into the seventh circle of hell where it belongs.”

US weighs which side’s red line to cross as it seeks to implement Gaza deal’s 2nd phase

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-weighs-which-sides-red-line-to-cross-as-it-seeks-to-implement-gaza-deals-2nd-phase

Saudi, UAE, Jordan, Egypt conditioning assistance on PA role, which Israel rejects, while Qatari help has fewer strings attached; MBS Nov. 18 DC visit seen as decision deadline

The four Arab countries have indicated willingness to either contribute funds to this effort or assist in the establishment of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) that will gradually replace the IDF in Gaza, the Arab diplomat and a US official said.

But Israel has made clear that it will condition the IDF’s continued withdrawal on the disarmament of Hamas, which the terror group has shown little indication that it is prepared to carry out.

Haredi draft dodgers complain about detention conditions

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/416692

Nahum Mikler, a married yeshiva scholar from Modi'in Illit who was arrested about a month ago at the airport on his way to Uman and was held for 13 days in the military prison, described the detention conditions this morning (Thursday), calling them a "spiritual danger."

"Eight people in one room - seculars, Druze, front-line soldiers. A very difficult atmosphere, especially for someone who comes from the world of Torah," he described the initial cultural shock in an interview with Kol Chai.

Trump’s Muslim ambassador pick faces GOP backlash over anti-Israel, antisemitic posts

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/416753

After Amer Ghalib became the most prominent Muslim politician in the country to endorse Donald Trump for US president last year, he did so on pro-Palestinian grounds. And he was rewarded with a plum position: the administration’s ambassadorship to Kuwait.

But the mayor of Hamtramck, Michigan, had to get through Senate approval first. And at Thursday’s confirmation hearing before the foreign relations committee, multiple Republicans broke rank and took Ghalib to task for his past social media posts and actions about Jews and Israel.

“It appears you have a deep-felt and passionate view about the Middle East,” Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told Ghalib. “But it is a view that is in direct conflict with the policy positions of President Trump and this administration.”

Cruz grilled the Yemen-born mayor on Hamtramck becoming the first American city to adopt a boycott, divestment and sanctions policy against Israel; on his previous “liking” of Facebook posts comparing Jews to monkeys; and on his past stances opposing the Abraham Accords.

Trump insists he can strike alleged drug traffickers without Congress declaring war

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/23/politics/trump-drug-traffickers-congress-venezuela

President Donald Trump on Thursday insisted that he could continue to launch strikes against alleged drug traffickers abroad without Congress first passing an official declaration of war.

“I’m not going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war,” he said. “I think we’re just doing to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them, you know, they’re going to be like, dead.”

Trump’s dismissal came as he suggested his administration would soon begin targeting those deemed as cartel members within countries like Venezuela, in addition to continuing to strike alleged drug boats in international waters.

The lethal strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and east Pacific have unnerved some lawmakers, given the little evidence the administration has presented proving that the targets were so-called narco-terrorists.

On Thursday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted that the military has confirmed that each targeted boat is trafficking drugs. Still, he defended the decision to return two survivors of a recent strike as “standard” practice in war.

Trump’s teardown of White House’s East Wing raises questions of authority

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5569609-white-house-east-wing-trump-demolition-authority/

But the enthusiasm over the ballroom isn’t widespread among the public. On Wednesday, a YouGov America poll found that 53 percent of Americans somewhat or strongly disapprove of the East Wing’s demolition. Fifty percent disapproved of the plans to build the ballroom.

Frustrations boil over as Vance delivers ‘firm’ message to Netanyahu

 https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/23/frustrations-boil-over-as-vance-delivers-firm-message-to-netanyahu-00621213

The mounting frustrations come as a succession of senior officials are passing through Israel this week looking to keep a fragile ceasefire in place. They see some recent developments — the Israeli Defense Force’s counter-attack in Gaza on Sunday, and the Knesset’s vote in favor of West Bank annexation, which Trump has ruled out — as detrimental to the already fragile agreement between Israel and Hamas.

That so many administration officials criticized Israel so unequivocally less than two weeks after Trump landed to a hero’s welcome and promised eternal friendship and peace underscores how frustrated the White House is with the Netanyahu government.

This is how Israel has become a US protectorate

 https://www.israelhayom.com/2025/10/21/this-is-how-israel-has-become-a-us-protectorate

In the Gaza War, the war against Iran, and now during the ceasefire, it increasingly appears that Israel is losing its freedom to maneuver, as Washington takes the wheel. Alongside diplomatic backing, here are four points showing how Israel seems to have become America's 51st state.