Tuesday, January 7, 2025
Elon Musk loves to provoke – and Nigel Farage is his latest victim
And yet, just from a surfeit of human kindness, I feel like offering Farage some consolation: he could have fallen in line over Tommy Robinson, he could have signed up to Musk’s other tweet-proposition that Jess Phillips is a “rape genocide apologist”, and Musk would have found something more unhinged to say about British politics. Never mind that Musk is unconstrained in these pronouncements by reality or evidence; it’s all about the spectacle. Musk’s opinion-giving is dictatorial in its purest sense; he dares his acolytes to refute him, the better to flex his power over them. He wants to replace their observed reality with his own, and it has to be in public. He won’t be satisfied – and this goes for every politician he has in his pocket, up to and including the new US president – until he’s forced them to resile from their core positions while the world watches. This is why he picked a fight with Maga over visas before the inauguration was even cold, when reducing immigration was at the core of their offer. It’s chilling to witness, even if you have no time, let alone love, for its object, and don’t care to parse the fine differences of their dog-whistle politics. I’m not even looking forward to the bit where he gets Trump to surrender on the subject of high-skilled immigration. Nobody likes a sadist.
‘We stand by Jess’: Telford survivors criticise Musk’s attack on Phillips
A group of victims of gender-based violence has criticised Elon Musk for his remarks attacking Jess Phillips, saying the safeguarding minister had “devoted her life to fighting for women and girls”.
In a letter shared with the Guardian the seven women, including three survivors of the Telford sexual abuse scandal, came to the Labour MP’s defence and said that there was “no one in public life who has done more to support victims and survivors and to advocate for their interests”.
Their intervention came after Musk, the billionaire Tesla boss who is in line for a senior role in Donald Trump’s administration, posted on his platform, X, that Phillips should be jailed and called her a “rape genocide apologist”.
Capitol Police chief on possible Jan. 6 pardons: ‘What message does that send?’
“What message does that send to police officers across this nation, if someone doesn’t think that a conviction for an assault or worse against a police officer is something that should be upheld, given what we ask police officers to do every day?”
More than 100 police officers were injured during the attack. One Capitol Police officer died of a stroke a day after suffering injuries on Jan. 6, and four others died by suicide in the days and months after.
What Happens If Trump Pardons Jan. 6 Rioters
President-elect Donald Trump has said he plans to pardon many participants charged in the Jan. 6 riot. Experts and those involved in the event explain what it would take for Trump to follow through on that promise. Photo Illustration: REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo/Carol Guzy/ZUMA Wire
By Wall Street Journal
President Elon Musk Is Roiling European Politics
https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/elon-musk-is-roiling-european-politics-0199c66d?mod=hp_lead_pos1
Elon Musk is throwing grenades into Europe’s political mainstream over issues ranging from immigration to free speech, creating a dilemma for governments as they try to respond to the tech billionaire and key adviser to the incoming Trump administration.
President Musk plays politics abroad as world leaders brace for Trump’s return
Elon Musk’s personal foreign policy of promoting far-right parties is sparking outrage among leaders in Europe and handing them a dilemma: How do they rebuke the tech titan without angering his new patron — Donald Trump?
He’s also previewing the international disruption that likely lies in store when the president-elect returns to the White House in two weeks and the potential conflicts of interest ahead. That’s because the Tesla and SpaceX pioneer will not simply be a powerful free agent — but an inner circle adviser to the new US government at the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. It’s therefore going to be hard to know where Musk’s policy ends and official US foreign policy starts.
Congress certifies Trump’s 2024 win in sharp contrast to mob violence of 4 years ago
Trump denies that he lost four years ago, muses about staying beyond the Constitution’s two-term White House limit and promises to pardon some of the more than 1,250 people who have pleaded guilty or were convicted of crimes for the Capitol siege. He calls Jan. 6, 2021, a “day of love.”
Pence, who had been rushed into hiding that day as rioters threatened to hang him for his refusal to reject Biden’s win, wrote online that he welcomed what he called “the return of order and civility” to the certification process.
Jan 6. Becomes 1984 All Over Again Thanks to Trump's Doublethink
https://www.newsweek.com/jan-6-becomes-1984-all-over-again-thanks-trumps-doublethink-opinion-2010554
Trump's years-long Orwellian disinformation campaign justifying the riot as legitimate political expression and lionizing the perpetrators as heroes suffering from unjust persecution succeeded in muddying what should have been crystal-clear waters. After getting wound up with one of Trump's patented speeches featuring a firehose of lies, non-sequiturs and bombast, thousands of brainwashed MAGA die-hards descended, lemming-like, on the United States Capitol Building, scaling the walls, roaming the halls and creating violent mayhem. Some of them were armed with guns, carried zip ties and had plans to capture and possibly kill members of Congress. Others likely believed they were along for some kind of twisted joyride and seemed to be having the time of their lives.
Britain's new PM promises change, supports Israel
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/hj4hzfbva
Starmer stands by Israel's right to self-defense and backs an end to the war only when hostages are freed; he is expected to be more critical of Netanyahu's government and supports a Palestinian state after a comprehensive peace agreement
Monday, January 6, 2025
Musk savages Farage, calls for new Reform UK leader
Musk’s strident criticism of centrist politicians like Prime Minister Keir Starmer (whom he called a “national embarrassment” who “must go” on Sunday) is not unexpected — the Tesla entrepreneur’s politics have veered ever further to the right on race and migration in recent years, and he often picks fights online with left-wing leaders.
But his schism with Farage, a darling of the anti-immigration movement, is more surprising. Earlier on Sunday, when asked in a television interview about the insults and semi-truths Musk has thrown at Labour politicians, Farage defended Musk’s right to free speech.
Musk says UK’s Starmer should be in prison
https://www.politico.eu/article/elon-musk-us-says-uk-keir-starmer-should-be-in-prison/
“Prison for Starmer,” Musk posted on his X platform Monday, as he shared a post from an anonymous account claiming that Starmer prioritized tackling anti-Muslim abuse over condemning a child-killer. The billionaire followed that up with a poll asking whether America “should liberate the people of Britain from their tyrannical government.”
UK leader hits back at Elon Musk’s ‘lies’ over handling of child sex abuse scandal
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/06/uk/starmer-musk-child-sex-abuse-intl-gbr/index.html
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has criticized those “spreading lies and misinformation” about child sex grooming gangs in the United Kingdom, responding to an online storm whipped up by Elon Musk.
“Those that are spreading lies and misinformation, as far and as wide as possible – they’re not interested in victims, they’re interested in themselves,” Starmer told reporters Monday.
For days, Musk – the world’s richest man and the owner of X – has used his social media platform to dredge up a years-long scandal over historic child sex abuse in parts of England.
Following his success in helping to re-elect Donald Trump in the United States, Musk has increasingly inserted himself into the political discourse of other countries.
Last month, Musk endorsed the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, ahead of federal elections to be held in February. As well as a string of posts on social media, Musk penned a weekend op-ed for a major German newspaper, explaining his support for the party, which has been accused of resurrecting Nazi-era ideology and slogans.
Did George Soros Help Nazis Confiscate Jewish Property?
https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-did-george-soros-help-nazis-confiscate-jewish-property-1801194
Papers for a young man named Sandor Kiss "who had been born into a Hungarian family in Romania and who had made his way to Hungary after the war stated" were given to Soros.
During that time, Soros accompanied Baumbach as he took inventory of a wealthy Jewish aristocrat, Mor Kornfeld. The book says that Soros was not involved in the confiscation of property: "Baumbach was ordered to go to the Kornfeld estate and inventory the artworks, furnishings, and other property. Rather than leave his 'godson' behind in Budapest for three days, he took the boy with him.
"As Baumbach itemized the material, George walked around the grounds and spent time with Kornfeld's staff. It was his first visit to such a mansion, and the first time he rode a horse. He collaborated with no one and he paid attention to what he understood to be his primary responsibility: making sure that no one doubted that he was Sandor Kiss."