BREAKING NEWS ~ Continuously Updated

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

^^

Just a head's up on these RT tweets. RT is blocked in the UK, so no one here can see these tweets or access them in any way.

---

In other news, Trump just gave ISIS a spanking. As the tweet says, he ain't effing around anymore.

https://x.com/PapiTrumpo/status/1885741828600656001

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/RollingStone/status/1885364003313979821

https://www.rollingstone.com/politic...rt-1235252444/

Elon Musk’s DOGE Wants Access to the Treasury’s Payment Systems

Senior Treasury Department official David A. Lebryk is expected to step down from his position as fiscal assistant secretary after more than three decades at the agency. According to The Washington Post, Lebryk’s departure was prompted by a clash with surrogates of billionaire Elon Musk over their attempts to gain access to sensitive department payment systems.

Musk, an unelected barnacle to President Donald Trump, has been installed as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) — a rebranded version of the United States Digital Service. Despite lacking congressional approval, DOGE has been tasked by the president with finding ways to slash government spending, bureaucracy, and regulations. DOGE has little legal authority to execute these cuts, and no mandate to meddle with the Treasury, but Musk has been leveraging his entanglement with the president to influence virtually every aspect of Trump’s early administration.

According to the Post, since shortly after the election, Musk’s DOGE team has been requesting access to payment systems under the Bureau of the Fiscal Service that control the distribution of more than $6 trillion in annual funds. Some of the payments that run through the bureau include Social Security and Medicare benefits, tax refunds, and federal salaries.

Popular on Rolling Stone

“This is a mechanical job — they pay Social Security benefits, they pay vendors, whatever. It’s not one where there’s a role for nonmechanical things, at least from the career standpoint. Your whole job is to pay the bills as they’re due,” former senior Treasury official Mark Mazur told the Post. “It’s never been used in a way to execute a partisan agenda,” he said, adding: “You have to really put bad intentions in place for that to be the case.”

Musk and DOGE’s reasoning for seeking access to the digital payment system is not clear. But the world’s richest man, who continues to run his companies while advising the president, has had a heavy hand in Trump’s hard-right takeover of the federal government.

Editor’s picks

According to a Tuesday report from Wired, Musk has succeeded in placing close allies at the head of the Office of Personnel Management, which recently sent out emails to federal employees encouraging them to resign, offering them months of paid leave in a message similar to the resignation letter sent to Twitter employees after Musk bought the platform. As Rolling Stone reported today, while the administration is pitching the resignation offers as “a nice vacation,” the government could still force the employees to work.

It’s not yet clear why Musk and DOGE are seeking direct access to the Treasury Department’s payment system, but according to the Post, the resignation of Lebryk — a career employee long seen as a nonpartisan actor — is expected to send shockwaves through the department should he step down.

If his social media posts are to be believed, Musk is getting a thrill out of exerting his newfound power over the government, but some of Trump’s inner circle are frustrated with what they see as abuses of his proximity to the president.

According to a report from Politico last week, White House staffers were livid after Musk publicly bashed a $500 billion artificial intelligence investment announced by Trump earlier this month.

“It’s clear he has abused the proximity to the president,” one Trump ally told Politico. “The problem is the president doesn’t have any leverage over him and Elon gives zero ****s.”

When asked about Musk’s criticism of the deal, the president dismissed it as a personal dispute between the Tesla billionaire and another investor, likely OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman.

“The government’s not putting up anything. [The investors are] putting up money. They’re very rich people, so I hope they do,” Trump said. “And, I mean, Elon doesn’t like one of those people.”

Is it a blatant conflict of interest to have the world richest man continue to profit off his investments while serving in a uniquely powerful and virtually unchecked role over U.S. policy, regulation, government spending, and investment? Yes. Will Republicans do anything to stop it? Don’t hold your breath.

[onawah]

Level 2 Hazmat Fire Erupts at California Refinery: Public Health Warning, Toxic Smoke Plume Released
DAHBOO77
516K subscribers
2/1/25

"California- On Saturday, the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded to a report of a level 2 Hazmat fire at the Martinez Refining Company in Martinez.

It was reported there was a fire, possibly flaring, coming from the refinery with a cloud of black smoke. Contra Costa County Fire protection District firefighters were dispatched to the facility.

This is a public health advisory for Martinez and Pacheco. An incident at the Martinez Refining Company could affect individuals with respiratory sensitivities. Most people will not be affected. Eye, skin, nose, or throat irritation may be possible for some people in the affected area. If people experience any irritation, advise them to go inside and rinse any irritated area of their body with water. Handle this as advisory information only. For more info go to cchealth.org/hazmat. "

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SO-MtmUXwRY

[onawah]

BREAKING: United Airlines plane 'catches fire' at Houston airport | LiveNOW from FOX
LiveNOW from FOX
4.25M subscribers
Feb 2, 2025

"A United Airlines flight from IAH to LaGuardia caught the moment a fire took place during takeoff. The FAA said in a statement, "The crew of United Airlines Flight 1382 safely aborted its takeoff from the George Bush Intercontinental/Houston Airport in Texas due to a reported engine issue around 8:35 a.m. local time on Sunday, Feb. 2. Passengers deplaned on the runway and were bused to the terminal. The Airbus A319 was flying to LaGuardia Airport in New York. The FAA will investigate. Contact the airline for additional information."

Video shared by FOX 26 showed flight attendants asking for passengers to stay in their seats. "No, it's on fire!" one of the passengers can be heard saying in the background. Houston Fire said they did not have to put out a fire in connection to the incident.

United Airlines Statement:
"During takeoff, United flight 1382 received an indication about one engine and halted the takeoff while still on the runway. Passengers deplaned on the runway via a combination of slides and stairs and were bused to the terminal. There are no reported injuries at this time. We have lined up adifferent aircraft to take customers to their destination at 12:30 p.m. CT."

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=SO-MtmUXwRY

[Ravenlocke]

Text:

Pepe Escobar reports DeepSeek project manager:

🗨️ I won’t lie, our AI was created on the basis of Soviet developments – the OGAS system of academician Glushkov
🇷🇺

ℹ️ Soviet computer scientist V. M. Glushkov was born in 1923 in Rostov-on-Don, and became one of the founding fathers of Soviet cybernetics
🖥️

📅 In 1962 Glushkov began developing a project that later became known as OGAS, a national economy management system:

🖥️ The national automated system for collecting and processing information for accounting, planning and management of the national economy
🤖

https://x.com/lula_leftist/status/1886143647202058673

Text:
‼️🇨🇳DeepSeek CEO: We built our AI based on 1985 Soviet developments.

DeepSeek startup director Liang Wenfeng admitted that the basis for the most powerful neural network in existence today was a Soviet programmer's code, written in 1985.

"I'm not going to lie, our AI was created on the basis of Soviet developments, specifically Academician Glushkov's OGAS system," he said in an interview with Lex Friedman's YouTube channel. "Without it, we would never have caught up with the Americans and their ChatGPT."

The Soviet Union still haunting the so-called West 35 years later… ☭ ☭ ☭

https://x.com/SouthwestMarx/status/1886012327092187224

https://x.com/27khv/status/1886109025722302481

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/rawsalerts/status/1886203590198640717

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/volcaholic1/status/1886017716554784941

https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/12...smic-activity/

Schools closed on Santorini island due to seismic activity

Schools on the island of Santorini will remain closed on Monday, due to ongoing seismic activity in the region.

The decision follows a meeting with government officials, including Civil Protection Minister Vasilis Kikilias and Deputy Minister Evangelos Tournas, after increased tremors were recorded near the sea between Santorini and Amorgos.

The strongest quake measured 4.3 magnitude. Authorities clarified that the tremors are linked to tectonic movements, not volcanic activity.

Citizens are advised to avoid large gatherings in enclosed spaces and stay clear of the Amoudi and Old Port areas. The situation is being closely monitored, and further measures may be taken if necessary.

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/FT/status/1886216628259508281

https://www.ft.com/content/27ba0a6a-...9-730b581c0481

Musk vows to cancel grants after gaining access to US Treasury payment system
System disperses trillions of dollars in US government spending each year, including social security

Elon Musk has vowed to unilaterally cancel hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of government grants after apparently gaining access to review the US Treasury’s vast payments system, a move that prompted the sudden resignation of one of the department’s most senior officials.

The world’s richest man, who bankrolled Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and was tasked by the president with running the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency, boasted on his social media site X that he was “rapidly shutting down . . . illegal payments” after a list of grants to Lutheran organisations was posted online.

The threat came after Musk appeared to confirm on Saturday that DOGE had access to the Treasury system, which disperses trillions of dollars each year, including social security payments.

He justified the move by claiming his team discovered “that payment approval officers at Treasury were instructed always to approve payments, even to known fraudulent or terrorist groups”.

The system has been run by career civil servants and the Treasury already has an in-house team tasked with identifying fraudulent payments. A source with knowledge of the situation said that DOGE representatives did not have the authority to cut payments, only to read the data.

Senator Ron Wyden, the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate finance committee, said his office had been told that Treasury secretary Scott Bessent had granted DOGE “full” access to the system.

“Social Security and Medicare benefits, grants, payments to government contractors, including those that compete directly with Musk’s own companies. All of it,” he said.

He has written to Bessent demanding answers on Musk’s access, saying: “I can think of no good reason why political operators who have demonstrated a blatant disregard for the law would need access to these sensitive, mission-critical systems.”

Musk’s comments came after David Lebryk, who had spent more than 36 years in government and had briefly run the Treasury while Bessent was awaiting confirmation, resigned abruptly on Friday. Lebryk was responsible for overseeing the operation of the department’s financial infrastructure.

The extent of DOGE’s access to the payments system appeared to be laid bare on Sunday by Musk, who responded to a post on X which contained a spreadsheet showing payments to a number of Lutheran charities.

The spreadsheet was posted by Mike Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, who was pardoned in 2020 after pleading guilty to lying about his contacts with Russians.

Flynn claimed that the screenshots showed “there are MANY more organisations cashing in on our hard-earned money”, adding: “These entities are receiving huge sums, which raises serious questions about how taxpayer funds are being spent and who’s benefiting.”

Musk responded saying “The @DOGE team is rapidly shutting down these illegal payments”. It is unclear whether the billionaire, who has yet to take an official role within government, would have the legal authority to do so.

Musk, the US Treasury, a spokesperson for Bessent and a spokesperson for DOGE did not respond to requests for comment.

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/ggreenwald/status/1886111807372148905

Text:
Most governments don’t want USAID funds flowing into their countries because they understand where much of that money actually ends up.

While marketed as support for development, democracy, and human rights, the majority of these funds are funneled into opposition groups, NGOs with political agendas, and destabilizing movements.

At best, maybe 10% of the money reaches real projects that help people in need (there are such cases), but the rest is used to fuel dissent, finance protests, and undermine administrations that refuse to align with the globalist agenda.

Cutting this so-called aid isn’t just beneficial for the United States; it’s also a big win for the rest of the world.

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

Disclose.tv
@disclosetv
NOW - Emergency crews have deployed on Santorini, and evacuation plans are reportedly being prepared as an earthquake swarm hits the Greek island for the fourth day.
https://x.com/disclosetv/status/1886381144142188984

[rgray222]

Five people shot on Swedish school campus, as police say danger 'not over'

Teacher heard five shots, then a pause and then five more shots



I studied in Orebro - it is a relatively small place in terms of population and it is the sixth largest city in Sweden.

I am in touch with my professors and they are absolutely shocked. The town, they say, has been deserted and people are not going out of their houses, staying put and staying in as they are afraid of what is going on at this very moment.

I have been monitoring the local broadcaster and they are saying the five injured people are being treated in a local hospital.

We have also been hearing the latest from the teachers who were in the school at the time.

It was at an adult school - an adult training centre - and one of the teachers there has been quoted saying she heard about ten shots. Five shots, then a pause, then five more shots.

Full Story: https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c206q444zx3t

[Delight]

So far so good.....

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/BowesChay/status/1887042328482783542

https://x.com/StarboySAR/status/1887049000097858035

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
🇨🇦🛑🇺🇸American alcohol is being removed from shelves in Canada, people are writing online. Also is advised to the people to buy locally produced drinks instead

The sale of alcohol from the US has been banned in response to Trump's import tariffs. Canada has responded with tariffs on hundreds of American products, from coffee and toilet paper to clothing and motorcycles

https://x.com/Hawkeye1745/status/1886541805254062555

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
🇺🇸🔫🇨🇦🇲🇽🇨🇳By imposing duties on exports from Canada, Mexico ad China, Trump is overlooking that these are also the largest markets for products made in the United States

Exports to these countries are technological. The main export item from the U.S. to Canada is automobiles, to Mexico it is petrol. Compare that to China's purchases, which mainly takes soybeans and LNG from the US.

It is logical that the response of the Canadian and Mexican governments will be mirror duties of 25% on products from the United States: imagine the Chinese and European car industry drooling on the solvent market of Canada.

However, the Mexican government does not even need to introduce mirror measures, but just start looking towards BRICS: go to events, publicly inquire how things are going, and buy a couple of large shipments of fuels and lubricants (necessarily from under-sanctioned vessels) in Russia.
This will be quite enough to drive the new White House administration first to rage, then to depression, bargaining, etc. and the probable loss of more than 4 million jobs.

https://x.com/Hawkeye1745/status/1886481615699755305

Text:
🇨🇳❌🇺🇸China announces 15% retaliatory tariff on U.S. coal and LNG, as well as 10% tariff on crude oil and other US-made products like machinery and agriculture, moments after Trump's new 10% tariffs came into effect

China has no issue to buy more coal and LNG from Russia or other countries. The same goes with machinery and agriculture products.

https://x.com/Hawkeye1745/status/1886674233142424058

[norman]

Posted by Delight (here)
So far so good.....

Yea but . . .

2 Republicans forced him to promise he wouldn't mess with the childhood vaccine schedule to get their votes.

I hope he was lying to them to get his foot in the door.

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
🛑 Senegal 🇸🇳- “Donald
Trump has blocked a project in Senegal worth more than 316 billion FCFA.” - Ousmane Sonko

“You heard the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announce the suspension of all programs intended for developing countries for a period of three months, the time to evaluate them and decide on the follow-up.

Senegal was to benefit from this project in the field of energy, to the tune of more than 500 million dollars,”
@SonkoOfficiel
said on the sidelines of the launch of a project to supply drinking water in rural areas.

He called on the Senegalese to concentrate more on work and to reduce their dependence on external aid.

“Can we continue to hope for what comes from abroad? It is time to refocus on our work,” he said.

Yes Mr Prime Minister, get your people to work because, it’s not Trump’s job to provide you with potable water.

It’s just a disgrace that in 2025, a large population of Africans still don’t have potable water. What a shame!

https://x.com/marcus_herve/status/1886891334969012596

[Ravenlocke]

Text:
🚨#BREAKING: A Japan Airlines jet has collided with parked Delta jet at Seattle Tacoma International Airport

📌#Seattle | #Washington

Watch as footage captures the moment a Japan Airlines jet collides with a parked Delta Air Lines aircraft at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Seattle Washington. According to airport officials, the Japan Airlines plane struck the tail of the stationary Delta jet while taxiing. Delta later confirmed the incident, stating that its aircraft was unoccupied at the time. Emergency crews responded quickly and all passengers aboard the Japan Airlines flight were safely evacuated. No injuries were reported, and authorities are investigating the cause of the collision.

https://x.com/rawsalerts/status/1887235225576468956

[Ravenlocke]

https://x.com/NewsNation/status/1887140968794648605

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by norman (here)
2 Republicans forced him to promise he wouldn't mess with the childhood vaccine schedule to get their votes.

I hope he was lying to them to get his foot in the door.

Just because he might not directly mess with the childhood vaccine schedule doesn't (to me, at least) he won't pry open ways for genuine, independent, evaluation of each vaccine, for its actual ingredients and actual medical benefits and/or damages, across the population taking these vaccines.