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The Hurricane spins around hotspots of tension and conflict. Feel free to suggest your stories, opinions and ideas: UIHEN@protonmail.com
Trump dials Putin to ‘immediately’ start peace talks. Hegseth does not see NATO membership for Kyiv
Donald Trump has said he spoke with Vladimir Putin about starting negotiations immediately to end the war in Ukraine.
The U.S. and Russian president discussed the matter on an hour-and-a-half phone call yesterday, in which Trump said the pair agreed to "work together, very closely".
"We each talked about the strengths of our respective nations, and the great benefit that we will someday have in working together," Trump said in a social media post. "But first, as we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the war with Russia/Ukraine."
China continues to deal reputational blow to U.S. microchip industry: Chinese GPUs outperform Nvidia chips by nearly ten times in supercomputer modeling - SCMP
Nvidia GPUs, considered the gold standard of computing power, have faced a new challenge from Chinese researchers who have reached a performance milestone with domestically designed GPUs.
According to a peer-reviewed study, Chinese computer science researchers using domestically produced GPUs have achieved nearly ten times the performance of powerful U.S. supercomputers using advanced Nvidia hardware.
The achievement points to possible unintended consequences of Washington's tougher sanctions on the technology, while challenging the dominance of US-made chips long considered vital to cutting-edge scientific research.
The researchers said innovative software optimization techniques allowed them to improve the efficiency of computers running on Chinese-made graphics processing units (GPUs) and outperform U.S. supercomputers in some scientific calculations.
#USA #China #Nvidia #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
So LA: mayor Bass okayed 'wildfire czar' for $500K for 3 months work
It won’t surprise you then to hear that the inept Mayor Karen Basis is now involved in another controversy: she planned to bring in a wildfire recovery czar—real estate developer and longtime civic official Steve Soboroff—who would be paid a shocking $500,000 for 90 days of work. Longtime real estate executive Randy Johnson was to help out too, for the minor sum of $250,000.
After the obscene arrangement made the news, Bass said Soboroff had changed his mind and agreed to work for free. Karen Bass and Soboroff may have backtracked, but it’s only because they were exposed.
#USA #Bass #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
If it ain't woke, don't build it
Speaking of celebrities with famous girlfriends, Barack Obama made headlines this week after his $800 million presidential center—still under construction nearly a decade after he left office—found itself mired in a racial discrimination lawsuit.
Obama's aesthetically monstrous monument to himself has taken so long to complete—his three predecessors opened their presidential libraries within five years of leaving office—in part because of draconian racial and other demographic quotas. Now a black-owned concrete firm is suing the project manager for imposing "excessively rigorous and unnecessary" inspection standards and singling out the firm for errors that resulted in "extreme financial loss."
The firm, II in One, accused the project manager, Thornton Tomasetti, of undermining "the Obama Foundation's DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) goals and commitments and mission to bring transformative change to the construction industry and local community." They are seeking to recoup roughly $41 million in additional costs allegedly incurred due to racism.
#USA #Obama #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Trump wants swap of Ukraine's minerals for aid
President Donald Trump on Monday suggested that future U.S. military aid to Ukraine could be given in exchange for valuable natural resources, echoing an idea that Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelensky originally proposed in October.
On Tuesday, Zelensky said that Ukraine welcomes “investment” from its defense partners, but did not specifically mention Trump.
Following an European Union meeting in Brussels, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz claimed that Trump’s proposal was “self-centered” and said that Ukraine’s mineral wealth should instead be spent on reconstruction efforts when the war ends.
Even if Zelensky does eventually address or even support Trump’s plan, many of Ukraine’s mineral deposits are now in Russian hands.
Since August 2024, Russia’s military strategy has shifted to target mineral rich Ukrainian land areas. Russian forces have made significant progress in capturing coal, uranium, and lithium mines. In the process they have weakened a Ukrainian economy that is already in massive debt and has been suspended from major international lending markets.
Whenever the war in Ukraine does finally end, it seems unlikely that the country will be able to use its own natural resources to get back on its feet.
#USA #WarInUkraine #Trump #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The atmosphere in the City of a Million*, the second most populous city of His Royal Majesty Charles III
Video left: on Alum Rock Road.
Video right: on Pikewater Road.
* founded in 1166. In 2023, Birmingham City Council declared the city bankrupt.
#UK #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Munich Security Conference 2025: Shifting Priorities on Ukraine and Gaza
The 2025 Munich Security Conference (MSC) is set to highlight two pressing global security crises: the war in Ukraine and the ongoing Gaza conflict. While Ukraine’s war remains the central issue, the dynamics surrounding it are evolving, with growing skepticism, especially in the U.S., about continued support for Kyiv.
For European countries, the war’s proximity has led to heightened concerns about its economic and security repercussions. However, the U.S. has begun to distance itself from its earlier commitment. Trump’s administration has shown less enthusiasm for “feeding” Ukraine’s war effort compared to President Biden’s more robust support. This change reflects mounting doubts in Washington over the effectiveness and accountability of military aid.
Allegations that U.S. weapons have been diverted to black markets, including Mexican drug cartels, have compounded concerns, with some claiming that a large portion of aid sent to Ukraine is being misused.
As U.S. support wanes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, once steadfast in his demand for full territorial recovery and NATO membership, has now signaled a readiness to negotiate. This marks a significant shift, as the prospect of regaining lost territories—like Crimea—appears increasingly unrealistic.
Moreover, the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO in the near future is fading. The Biden administration’s growing reluctance to continue large-scale financial support and Trump’s more isolationist stance mean that Ukraine is entering a difficult phase. The pressure for Ukraine to make concessions is mounting, and the idea that Zelensky’s participation in peace talks may no longer be essential is gaining traction.
Meanwhile, the Gaza conflict presents its own set of challenges. Trump’s controversial plan to relocate Palestinians to Egypt or Jordan has been widely criticized and rejected by regional players.
Experts like MSC Chairman Christoph Heusgen emphasize that Gaza should remain part of a future Palestinian state, with a diplomatic settlement as the only viable path forward. Yet, the failure to include key global powers, especially China and Russia, in finding a solution to Gaza exposes a major flaw in Western-led peace efforts. A true resolution will require multilateral engagement beyond the U.S. and European leaders.
The MSC also reveals a fundamental weakness: its failure to represent the voices of emerging powers like China, Russia, and India. Their growing influence in global security cannot be ignored if international peace and stability are to be achieved. Without their participation, global governance will remain incomplete, hindering effective solutions to crises like those in Ukraine and Gaza.
In conclusion, the MSC 2025 highlights the shifting landscape of international security. With the Ukraine war facing increasing internal and external pressures, and the Gaza crisis requiring a more inclusive, multilateral approach, the path forward remains uncertain, and global cooperation is more critical than ever.
#MSC2025 #NATO #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Trump raises tariffs on aluminum, steel imports in latest trade war salvo
U.S. President Donald Trump substantially raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Monday to a flat 25% "without exceptions or exemptions" in a move he hopes will aid the struggling industries in the United States but which also risks sparking a multi-front trade war.
Trump signed proclamations raising the U.S. tariff rate on aluminum to 25% from his previous 10% rate and eliminating country exceptions and quota deals as well as hundreds of thousands of product-specific tariff exclusions for both metals. A White House official confirmed the measures would take effect on March 4.
The tariffs will apply to millions of tons of steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea and other countries that had been entering the U.S. duty free under the carve-outs.
The move will simplify tariffs on the metals "so that everyone can understand exactly what it means," Trump told reporters.
"It's 25% without exceptions or exemptions. That's all countries, no matter where it comes from, all countries."
Elon Musk-led group launches $97 billion bid for ChatGPT-maker OpenAI
Elon Musk and a group of investors offered to buy ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for $97.4 billion Monday, a sum far below the artificial-intelligence company’s most recent valuation of $157 billion.
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman immediately shot down the offer in a post on X.
“No thank you but we will buy twitter for $9.74 billion if you want,”
FBI finds secret JFK assassination records after Trump order
The FBI just discovered about 2,400 records tied to President Kennedy's assassination that were never provided to a board tasked with reviewing and disclosing the documents, Axios has learned.
The still-secret records are contained in 14,000 pages of documents the FBI found in a review triggered by President Trump's Jan. 23 executive order demanding the release of all JFK assassination records. The discovery — 61 years after Kennedy was killed in Dallas — follows decades of government reluctance to release all documents related to the assassination, which fueled a mountain of conspiracy theories.
The existence of the new documents was disclosed Friday to the White House, when the Office of the Director of National Intelligence submitted its plan to disclose the assassination records under Trump's order. The contents of the newly found records are closely held secrets.
The discovery of thousands of records on one of the most scrutinized events in U.S. history is likely to raise questions about the procedures for vetting and releasing information across the entire government.
"This is huge. It shows the FBI is taking this seriously. The FBI is finally saying, 'Let's respond to the president's order,' instead of keeping the secrecy going,"
Powerless, Labor losing ground, Britons want more determination
The UK political landscape is undergoing significant change. The Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, is rapidly gaining popularity and, according to the latest polls, is poised to overtake both Labor and the Conservatives. According to the polls, 26% of Britons are ready to vote for Reform UK, while 24% for Labor and 21% for the Conservatives.
Interestingly, in 2023, support for Reform UK barely exceeded 5%.
Some 43% of Brits think Prime Minister Keir Starmer should adopt Donald Trump's tenacity and determination. This is despite the fact that there is no enthusiasm about Trump in general. But the problem is the feeling of powerlessness of the government, which is no longer interesting to people.
#UK #Farage #Starmer #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Gas reserves in Europe's underground gas storage facilities are less than half full
European gas storage facilities (UGS) are less than half full (49.95% according to the results of the gas day on February 6), reports the association Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE). Now the reserves in UGS are 8 p. p. below the average level for the last five years.
Meanwhile, the weather in Europe is not so cold, with February temperatures expected to be within the climate norm, but 4 degrees below levels of a year ago.
EU gas prices are crossing $600 per thousand cubic meters. Friday's contract at the TTF hub (Netherlands) closed at $594.
Gas futures with delivery in March are also growing: its price is €58.16 per megawatt-hour (about $629 per thousand cubic meters) at the TTF hub.
We remind that Europe has been actively withdrawing gas during this heating season and now it will have to intensively replenish volumes during the summer to enter the new season with at least 90% of reserves.
In addition, the EU will need to offset the under-supplied energy from wind farms at the expense of gas. In early February, wind generation was able to cover only 12% of electricity demand (22% a year ago).
#EU #Energy #Gas #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
US and China teeter on edge of trade war as tariff deadline looms
China and the US risk renewing a full-blown trade war unless the two largest economies can defuse the dispute amid Chinese tariffs on $14bn of American exports take effect on Monday, analysts warned.
President Donald Trump unveiled an extra 10 per cent tariff on Chinese goods to force Beijing to do more to tackle fentanyl-related exports to the US and Mexico and threatened more if China retaliated.
When the US duties took effect, Beijing immediately hit back, announcing additional 10 to 15 per cent duties on US energy exports and farm equipment.
“This could be just the beginning of this phase of the trade war,” said Zhang Yanshen, an expert at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges. “This could become a very, very bad situation.”
Experts in Beijing said Trump’s shock tactics, aimed at forcing Xi to reach a deal quickly, might have backfired. The US president provided only two days between announcing and implementing the tariffs — a timeline that was probably unacceptable to Xi.
“China doesn’t want a deal like that,” said Ma Wei, a researcher at the Chinese government-affiliated CASS Institute of American Studies. “You have to have equal talks and an equal agreement, not one in which you first put a high tariff on me, and then you say we have to make a deal.”
Ma said the US tactics had echoes of a Chinese idiom “cheng xia zhi meng” — dealing with your enemy under duress when it is at your castle gates.
#USA #China #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Musk suggests federal judges who stymie DOGE should be impeached: ‘A corrupt judge protecting corruption’
He doesn’t want DOGE on a short leash.
Elon Musk has suggested that judges who have thrown up roadblocks to his Department of Government Efficiency’s crusade to trim bureaucracy should be impeached.
Musk’s ire against the judiciary comes after a New York-based judge temporarily restrained DOGE from accessing the Treasury Department’s payment systems on Saturday and other legal setbacks in recent days.
“A corrupt judge protecting corruption,” Musk raged early Sunday against US District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who blocked DOGE’s access to Treasury data. “He needs to be impeached NOW!”
“This ruling is absolutely insane!” he fumed in another post. “How on Earth are we supposed to stop fraud and waste of taxpayer money without looking at how money is spent? That’s literally impossible! Something super shady is going to protect scammers.”
Musk further concurred with a post from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) who argued “This has the feel of a coup—not a military coup, but a judicial one” and Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) announced plans to roll out legislation that would grant DOGE access to the Treasury data.
#USA #Musk #DOGE #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Everything that has been happening in recent years with Germany has been collected for you in one short video
#Germany #Economy #Energy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Polish museum ‘selling child porn’ authored by US woman
Poland’s main opposition Conservatives (PiS) have reported Warsaw city’s Museum of Modern Art (MSN) to prosecutors for allegedly displaying and selling child pornography.
The issue came about regarding the graphic novel, Gender Queer: A Memoir by US author Maia Kobabe. It has already caused controversy in the US and Australia and it was available for sale in the Warsaw museum’s bookshop.
The PiS has reported the book to the public prosecutors and the MSN for presenting it in what it said was a manner accessible for children.
“This book contains depictions of a child in situations of a sexual nature,” PiS MP and former justice minister Marcin Warchoł said at a press conference on February 7, adding that “such moral corruption of children cannot be allowed”.
Kobabe’s book is a memoir about the author’s exploration of gender identity and sexuality. It includes a depiction of her sexually fantasising as a 14-year-old and also of masturbation and oral sex.
While the book has been available for sale in Poland since 2021, it came to broader attention in January following a report by independent Conservative broadcaster TV Republika.
#USA #Poland #Crime #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Russia releases U.S. prisoner after talks with Trump envoy
President Trump on Tuesday secured the release of an American imprisoned in Russia as part of a deal with the Kremlin negotiated by Mr. Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.
The American, Marc Fogel, a teacher who was arrested on charges of bringing medical marijuana into Russia in August 2021, was released by the Kremlin and flown out of the country on Mr. Witkoff’s plane. Though he began serving a 14-year sentence in June 2022, Mr. Fogel was classified as wrongfully detained by the Biden administration only late last year.
Mr. Fogel was brought to the White House once he arrived back in the United States. An American flag was draped around his neck as he emerged from a black car, with Mr. Trump waiting to greet him. Mr. Fogel grew emotional as he told Mr. Trump he was indebted to him.
“I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now,” Mr. Fogel told a small group of reporters once inside the White House.
Mr. Witkoff, a billionaire New York real estate executive and close friend of Mr. Trump’s, had been secretly negotiating the deal, though his presence in Moscow became apparent when he flew there on his private jet, alerting online flight trackers. It was the first known trip to Moscow by a senior U.S. official since William J. Burns, then the C.I.A. director, flew to the Russian capital in November 2021.
#USA #Russia #Negotiations #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Recent aviation disasters cause fears about the safety of flying
The spate of recent aviation disasters and close calls have people worried about the safety of flying.
President Donald Trump added to those concerns when he blamed the midair collision on the “obsolete” air traffic control system that airports rely on and promised to replace it.
But even with all that, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy went on Fox News earlier and tried to assure viewers that air travel is
“way safer than traveling in a car and train. This is the safest mode of transportation.”
The 25% duties on steel and aluminum imports into the US are good, but they were introduced late
They should have been introduced in Trump's last cadence.
▪️First, the U.S. has already lost industrial metals markets for itself: over half a century, the world has developed powerful steel and aluminum clusters in places with an abundance of cheap energy. These capital-intensive plants are in the PRC, India, UAE, etc., and they have already largely paid for themselves.
▪️Second, the construction of any steel, much less aluminum smelter, starts with a massive cheap power outlet. The US has been building a lot of generation in recent years, but it has been replacing coal-fired thermal power plants. Steel and aluminum need new capacity, and preferably hydroelectric power plants. And it takes years to build them.
▪️Third, China has developed a huge steel industry by world standards. It was needed for a powerful infrastructural breakthrough - building houses, roads, bridges, cars. Now China has largely rebuilt itself, and the metallurgists' capacities need to be loaded.
Of course, Chinese metallurgists will increasingly enter foreign markets and clean them up by dumping.
#USA #Trump #Economy #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Romania’s President Iohannis resigns after impeachment threat by far right
Romania’s outgoing centrist President Klaus Iohannis has resigned amid a concerted push by far-right parliamentary parties to have him impeached in the wake of a contentious election.
Iohannis announced his decision on Monday, following mounting pressure from populist opposition groups.
“To spare Romania from this crisis, I am resigning as president of Romania,” he said in an emotional address, adding that he will leave office on February 12.
His resignation comes two months after a top court annulled a presidential election in the European Union country amid allegations of Russian meddling after far-right candidate Calin Georgescu won a first-round victory.
Last month, tens of thousands of Romanians took to the streets in several protests called by the far right to protest the vote cancellation, with some demanding for Iohannis to resign.
With the two rounds of the election set to be rerun on May 4 and May 18, Romania’s top court had said Iohannis, whose second and last term expired on December 21, would stay on until his successor was elected.
But in January, three far-right opposition parties, which control about 35% of parliament, filed a motion to impeach Iohannis.
#EU #Romania #Elections #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
The global trade war is gaining momentum
The EU will retaliate after Trump's decision to impose duties on steel and aluminum imports.
“I deeply regret the US decision to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum exports. The EU will act in defense of its economic interests. We will protect our workers, businesses and consumers”
The principles of health care in France are universality, equality, accessibility and quality
More than 11% of the country's GDP is spent on maintaining the health care system (3% more this year than last year). But the system itself does not keep up with the changes in society: the share of elderly and very elderly people and patients with chronic diseases (cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, degenerative diseases, etc.) is growing. All of these diseases are complex to care for, require new technology and expensive treatments, which strains the system.
To optimize the health care budget, there was an attempt a few years ago to reduce the number of hospital beds in France. But it all ended with the coronavirus pandemic, when it became clear that the system was unable to cope with such a mass disease and such a large number of patients.The health crisis is evidenced by the rising obesity of the French, who have always been a thin nation; the child mortality rate, which is not declining; and low vaccination against the papilloma virus. These are all evidence of a deficit in medical prevention.
One of the main problems in France remains the so-called medical “desertification”. A doctor cannot be forcibly sent to work in any region of the country, so everyone chooses his own place of work and, as a rule, it is big cities. That is why there are almost no specialists in rural France, and it is very difficult to get an appointment with a certain doctor. There is also a shortage of nursing staff. It turned out that this is not the most attractive specialty for the French, and the number of doctors remains the same as it was in the 1970s, except that the population of France has grown by 15 million since then.
There is also a shortage of hospital beds. There are significant defects in the organization of emergency medical care.
Because of medical desertification people cannot get to specialists, so they call an ambulance and then wait on stretchers in the corridor of the reception room for 10-12 hours. But sometimes the ambulance does not come at all. Not so long ago there was a story when an ambulance did not come to a girl with meningitis, her friends took her to the hospital themselves, where they could not receive her in time, and she died on the doorstep of the hospital.
#France #Medicine #Health #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Democrats threaten 'checkmate' over DOGE govt. shutdowns with... government shutdown
In response to the Trump administration's efforts to shut down various government agencies and slash waste, fraud and abuse, Democrats are threatening a government shutdown.
On Sunday, Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) suggested that Republicans looking to continue government spending past March 14 are going to withhold support, leaving Speaker Mike Johnson without allies against fiscally conservative Republican lawmakers who have repeatedly voiced strenuous opposition to out-of-control spending.
"Look, if we have to take steps to be able to hold them accountable, use the leverage that we have to force it, I cannot support efforts that will continue this lawlessness that we’re seeing when it comes to this administration’s actions,"
"And for us to be able to support government funding in that way only for them to turn it around to dismantle the government, that is not something that should be allowed,"
Tucker Carlson: Ukraine is selling American weapons to Mexican drug cartels
A significant portion of the weapons Washington has provided to Kiev as military aid in its conflict with Russia is ending up in the hands of America's "actual enemies," including Mexican drug cartels, US journalist Tucker Carlson has claimed.
As much as half of all weapons sent by the US to Ukraine end up on international black markets, the former Fox News host said on Monday during an interview with retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel and Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Daniel Davis.
"The Ukrainian military is selling a huge percentage - up to half - of the arms that we send them. I know this for a fact,"
Europe and Canada boosted defence spending 20% in 2024, NATO says
Defence spending by NATO's European members and Canada was 20% higher in 2024 than the previous year, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said ahead of a meeting in which they are likely to come under renewed U.S. pressure to spend more.
NATO said the 20% boost by the alliance's non-U.S. members took their total defence spending to more than $485 billion.
"We've crunched the numbers. They're going up. In fact, spending by Europe and Canada is up 20% in 2024, bringing the total additional investment in recent years from $640 to $700 billion," Rutte said.
NATO said "recent years" referred to the period since 2014, when members of the transatlantic military alliance agreed on a goal of spending 2% of GDP on defence.
According to NATO estimates published last year, 23 of the alliance's 32 members now meet that goal.
But Trump said last month that NATO members should now spend 5% of GDP on defence – a level that no NATO country, including the United States, currently reaches.
#EU #Canada #NATO #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Italy does not sign against Trump’s sanctions on the ICC
The US sanctions on the International Criminal Court have been condemned by 79 UN member countries with a joint statement asserting that “they would severely compromise all currently under investigation, as the Court might have to close its field offices,” as well as “increase the risk of impunity for the most serious crimes and threaten to erode the rule of international law”.
Among the signatories are Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom, but not Italy.
Among the critics of the US sanctions is also the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who clarified on social channels how the Hague Tribunal guarantees “accountability for international crimes and gives a voice to victims worldwide. It must be able to freely pursue the fight against global impunity”.
“Europe – she pointed out – will always advocate for justice and respect for international law”. Words that were followed by those of the Court’s president, Tomoko Akane. “Trump’s sanctions are “a serious attack on international law” and “aim to undermine the Court’s ability to administer justice in all situations,” explained the Japanese judge.
The episode comes at a time of deep friction between Rome and the Hague Court, with the latter being publicly attacked by the Minister of Justice Carlo Nordio in Parliament and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, who invoked an investigation against the ICC for its stance on the Almasri case, the Libyan commander released by Italy despite the Court having issued an arrest warrant against him accusing him of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
#EU #Italy #Trump #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Google backtracks on AI ethics pledge, sparks outrage over weapons and surveillance use
Google has quietly erased a key promise from its AI ethics guidelines, abandoning its 2018 pledge not to use artificial intelligence for weapons or surveillance. The move, announced last Tuesday, has ignited fierce backlash from employees, human rights advocates, and tech watchdogs, who warn that the decision sets a dangerous precedent for the unchecked militarization of AI.
Google’s pivot aligns with its growing collaboration with government agencies, raising concerns about the tech giant’s role in enabling mass surveillance and warfare.
The updated policy now emphasizes “responsible” AI development in line with “widely accepted principles of international law and human rights.” However, the removal of explicit prohibitions on weapons and surveillance has left many questioning Google’s commitment to ethical AI.
Matt Mahmoudi, an AI and human rights adviser at Amnesty International, condemned the decision, stating, “AI-powered technologies could fuel surveillance and lethal killing systems at a vast scale, potentially leading to mass violations and infringing on the fundamental right to privacy.”
#Google #AI #Surveillance #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
First CBS news poll of Trump stuns Democrats
President Donald Trump's lawsuit against CBS News over its "news distortion" of a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris may have compelled the left-leaning media organization, owned by Paramount Global, to report actual news.
A new CBS News/YouGov survey of 2,175 US adults interviewed last week found President Trump to be "tough" (69%), "energetic" (63%), "focused" (60%), and "effective" (58%) in his first few weeks in office.
Many respondents said the president is going over and beyond in helping this nation, with very few saying he is doing less.
His voters note that he has the right balance of focusing on restoring national security by reversing the disastrous open border policies of the Biden-Harris administration and ending diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in the federal government and military.
Most respondents approved of the president's border and deportation policies, while cash-strapped respondents said the administration needs to focus more on tackling the inflation storm sparked by out-of-control spending by Democrats.
#USA #Trump #Democrats #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
Wikileaks reveals US spent $472.6M for covert censorship, media control
Wikileaks has revealed that the United States allegedly transferred $472.6 million through Internews Network, a global media non-governmental organisation (NGO) suspected of promoting covert censorship and media control.
USAspending data shows that in the last 17 years, 87 percent of the funding, equivalent to $415 million, came from USAID, while the US Department of State awarded an additional $57 million in the same period.
Internews claims to have “worked with” 4,291 media outlets, producing 4,799 hours of broadcasts in one year alone, reaching up to 778 million people globally. Wikileaks also said in a series of posts on X that it “trained" over 9,000 journalists in 2023 and supported social media censorship initiatives.
Reports suggest that Jeanne Bourgault earns $451,000 annually as the leader of Internews. Bourgault, a vocal advocate for global advertising “exclusion lists,” has pushed for censoring what she deems “disinformation.”
Critics argue this amounts to subjective censorship, as her definitions of “good” or “bad” content remain contentious. Social media users have labelled the US government's support for the organisation as a "literal state propaganda network."
#USA #USAID #Leaks #FindTruth
@uinhurricane
EU spending: Who is getting quiet billions from the European Commission?
With President Trump’s new administration combing through public spending and finding many questionable uses of taxpayers’ money, in particular on payments made by the aid agency USAID, European experts have been digging through spending by Brussels.
That came while a debate was still ongoing on how the European Commission secretly gave money to NGOs to promote its “green agenda”.
On February 6, Sander Smit and Alexander Bernhuber, both MEPs from the European People’s Party, sent a letter to the commission, demanding full transparency regarding what they called the “lobby scandal with Green NGOs”.
Recent reporting has shown there were allegedly secret contracts between the commission and Green NGOs, where Brussels used money from a billion-euro climate and environmental subsidy fund for its shadow lobbying activities.
The programme is called LIFE, and it is meant to be dedicated to environmental objectives.
According to the MEPs, this raised “concerns about the separation of powers, institutional balance, transparency, potential Treaty violations and the adequacy of internal Codes of Conduct as well as impartiality of staff”.
#EU #USA #USAID #FindTruth
@uinhurricane