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DnD Central / Re: Everything Trump…
Last post by ersi -
Trump has put up his version of January 6, 2021 on the White House website.
The Democrats masterfully reversed reality after January 6, branding peaceful patriotic protesters as “insurrectionists” and framing the event as a violent coup attempt orchestrated by Trump—despite no evidence of armed rebellion or intent to overthrow the government. In truth, it was the Democrats who staged the real insurrection by certifying a fraud-ridden election, ignoring widespread irregularities, and weaponizing federal agencies to hunt down dissenters, all while Pelosi’s own security lapses invited the chaos they later exploited to seize and consolidate power. This gaslighting narrative allowed them to persecute innocent Americans, silence opposition, and distract from their own role in undermining democracy.
This is Stalin-style rewriting of history of the highest order.
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DnD Central / Re: Today's Good News
Last post by ersi -
Mexico Launches Universal Healthcare Access for 120 Million
President Claudia Sheinbaum has issued a decree establishing a Universal Health Service, enabling all Mexican citizens to access any public medical institution. Beginning April 13 with a new unified health credential for seniors, the system will integrate fragmented healthcare facilities by January 2027, removing bureaucratic barriers that have long divided care options.
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DnD Central / Re: U.S. military might…
Last post by ersi -
Trump announces Strait of Hormuz blockade after Iran talks collapse
In a pair of Truth Social posts, Trump said the U.S. military would begin blockading ships entering or leaving the strait, and would also intercept any vessel that has paid tolls to Iran to transit it safely. He also said that any Iranian who fires on the U.S. military or other, peaceful vessels will be “BLOWN TO HELL” while the Navy works to de-mine the strait.
Trump promised Iran's unconditional surrender, but his actual victory means instituting a "blockade" around Iran's stranglehold on the strait (i.e. blockade is yet another word whose meaning he does not understand). The foreseeable effect will be further increase of global oil prices, useful in the short term (and Trump only thinks in short term) to oil companies, and instigating more tensions worldwide.

Trump will not be able to deliver on the blockade. Will he really dare to hunt down e.g. Chinese tankers? Another TACO Tuesday will be next.
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DnD Central / Re: Statesmanship
Last post by ersi -
Orbán conceded easily, as a decent politician should. He had no chances after Vance's visit and Trump's endorsement. Europe is not Trumpite.


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DnD Central / Re: The Epstein Files
Last post by ersi -
Finally we hear from Melania, too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyn-_Tsl5A0

The text is the official transcript.

Quote from: Melania Trump
Good afternoon.

The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today.

The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather, I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation.

I have never been friends with Epstein. Donald and I were invited to the same parties as Epstein from time to time, since overlapping in social circles is common in New York City and Palm Beach.

To be clear, I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell. My email reply to Maxwell cannot be categorized as anything more than casual correspondence. My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trivial note.

I am not Epstein’s victim. Epstein did not introduce me to Donald Trump. I met my husband, by chance, at a New York City party in 1998. This initial encounter with my husband is documented in detail in my book, MELANIA.

The first time I crossed paths with Epstein was in the year 2000, at an event Donald and I attended together. At the time, I had never met Epstein and had no knowledge of his criminal undertakings.

Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been circulating on social media for years now. Be cautious about what you believe. These images and stories are completely false.

I am not a witness or a named witness in connection with any of Epstein’s crimes. My name has never appeared in court documents, depositions, victim statements, or FBI interviews surrounding the Epstein matter.

I have never had any knowledge of Epstein’s abuse of his victims. I was never involved in any capacity—I was not a participant, was never on Epstein’s plane, and never visited his private island.

I have never been legally accused or convicted of a crime in connection with Epstein’s sex trafficking, abuse of minors, and other repulsive behavior.

The false smears about me from mean-spirited and politically motivated individuals and entities looking to cause damage to my good name to gain financially and climb politically must stop.

My attorneys and I have fought these unfounded and baseless lies with success and will continue to maintain my sound reputation without hesitation. To date, several individuals and companies have been legally obligated to publicly apologize and retract their lies about me, such as The Daily Beast, James Carville, and Harper Collins UK.

Now is the time for Congress to act. Epstein was not alone. Several prominent male executives resigned from their powerful positions after this matter became widely politicized. Of course, this doesn’t amount to guilt, but we still must work openly and transparently to uncover the truth.

I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors. Give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress, with the power of sworn testimony. Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public, if she wishes, and then her testimony should be permanently entered into the Congressional Record.

Then, and only then, will we have the truth.
Melania starts with obvious lies, such as "I never had a relationship with Epstein or his accomplice, Maxwell" and "Numerous fake images and statements about Epstein and me have been circulating on social media for years now." In reality, the images are as fake as Prince Andrew images, i.e. Melania's relationship with Epstein and Maxwell is as strong as Prince Andrew's. And the little nuance here is that Donald Trump's relationship with Epstein is a lot stronger than Prince Andrew's. Surely Melania knows this, or should know. Donald Trump is her husband after all. Or is that relationship fake too?

She goes on through her history of litigations to protect her "sound reputation" against some people and outlets "to publicly apologize and retract their lies about me, such as The Daily Beast, James Carville, and Harper Collins UK." Incidentally, this list is not a "such as". It's the entire list of her legal wins ending in settlements out of court where the other side backed down.

Besides, "retract" has a specific legal meaning - the other side should no longer repeat the statements. This is not true at least for The Daily Beast, which I have followed closely. The Daily Beast has ramped up the claims about the relationship of Melania and Epstein, specifically that Melania was one of the Epstein girls whom Epstein offered to Trump and that the first time Melania and Trump met was on Epstein's Lolita Express. Melania has not sued against these statements, but threatened to sue so many times that actually she has been sued due to those threats. See the developments of Michael Wolff vs Melania lawsuit https://allaboutlawyer.com/michael-wolff-lawsuit-author-sues-melania-trump-first-heres-why-he-can-question-her-and-trump-under-oath/

Most bizarrely, Melania's speech ends with an apparent siding with the victims, even stating, "Now is the time for Congress to act. Epstein was not alone." This is bizarre because the Trump administration's heads of DOJ and FBI have the view that the Epstein matter is closed, investigated as thoroughly as it can go, that all files demanded by the Congress have been released (at least the finances have not been released and the Zorro ranch has not been investigated), that Epstein acted alone, there are no accomplices, and the victims should look at the Dow Jones index.

Edit: Additionally, Melania's apparent siding with the victims is bizarre considering that earlier in the speech she says,  "I am not Epstein’s victim." So she's not one of them. Why then this public display? "Then, and only then, [after the hearings] will we have the truth." Which truth? Ah yes, the truth that she herself is not a victim of Epstein, not a friend of Epstein, not a sex trafficker, did not have a relationship with Epstein etc. She has precious little to do with the victims, her name does not feature much in the Epstein files, so let's have hearings so the press can talk about others.

Also the timing feels very much off. Trump started the Iran war partly to distract from the Epstein files. The war ended in a ceasefire by orders of magnitude more disastrous than any of the Ukraine-Russia ceasefires. So now Melania meant to bring up the Epstein files again to distract from the ceasefire? Was this coordinated? Wtf were they thinking? Apparently not thinking at all and not coordinating either.

But clearly Melania felt she needed to say something to protect her "sound reputation" at this time because the consequential Michael Wolff lawsuit is picking up, and because Amanda Ungaro is very upset lately, possibly because she was kicked out of USA by ICE, possibly for more reasons. Amanda Ungaro is a model in the same circles and with a similar trajectory as Melania (though categorically outclassing Melania insofar as actual modelling is concerned), but whose relationship with Paolo Zampolli - another associate and accomplice of Trump and Epstein - broke down. What if they also show up at the hearings? Did Melania think this through properly? https://x.com/JamesTate121/status/2042785222597468546
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DnD Central / Re: What's Going on in Amerasia?
Last post by ersi -
Maybe he should have bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki again? :)
So you're neoconner than neocons. You're one of those gleeful fascist Trump cultists, totally happy to have abandoned any pretension of constitutionality and legality. Moral and professional standards you never had, so the rest had to go too.

Your take (and Bloomberg's) is myopic: How can we spin this to hurt Trump?
What was the situation before the war, as compared to now, that has been improved by the war? Trump accepted Iran's ceasefire conditions without modification - this alone should be enough embarrassment.

The war gave Iran the strait, the ceasefire certifies it to Iran, and Trump is working hard trying to spin it as a victory to himself. He is squirming.

To your point: Is China getting oil through the Hormuz Straights?
As you don't know - and never will, because facts are not your thing - China's oil transports were least affected by the war. Also, Iran let through Russia-bound tankers all along.

By the way, how does it feel Russia delivering oil to Cuba now? Does it feel that America is great now? Greater than before Trump?

But you don't mention what this kerfluffle will do to NATO....
W massively damaged Nato by his completely irrational invocation of Article 5. Trump's first term went completely overboard. Biden kept Nato on life support, but Trump has now ended it - again irrationally, because the only time anybody ever invoked Article 5 was USA, and Nato was there for USA. USA has never been there for Nato. Trump got it backwards, as he does with most things, because he is an utter moron and completely rotten. And you're on his side, worshipping him as if he were Jesus and Easter Bunny combined.

Why do you bring up Nato at all? Didn't you notice that at the beginning of his second term Trump switched sides in the Ukraine war?
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DnD Central / Re: What's Going on in Amerasia?
Last post by OakdaleFTL -
Maybe he should have bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki again? :) Your take (and Bloomberg's) is myopic: How can we spin this to hurt Trump? The answer is, Many, many ways! Yeah! But those ways are only in their imagination...
There's a sort-of cease-fire in place — for, what, two weeks? We'll see what comes of it....

To your point: Is China getting oil through the Hormuz Straights? (I wonder what Russia is thinking? Do they care? And, to the point, can they do anything?)

But you don't mention what this kerfluffle will do to NATO....

Carry on! (Reading the tea leaves...)

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DnD Central / Re: What's Going on in Amerasia?
Last post by ersi -
Indeed Trump has no understanding of anything. What effect exactly did the war have on Russia and China (and why would it)?

Trump’s Iran War Leaves the US Looking Weakened to Adversaries
The ceasefire in Iran has reinforced views among both adversaries and the NATO alliance that President Donald Trump’s campaign against the Tehran regime marks a strategic setback, bolstering China and Russia while squandering American strengths, according to people familiar with the thinking across capitals in Europe and the Middle East.