Reflections from the Heart of the Empire: Slip-Sliding Away

Plus at least one crotchety turtle

• Donald Trump now says “nobody is talking about forcibly expelling Palestinians from Gaza.”

• After you stop laughing, remember Trump’s blustery history and his ability to read a room, which is a helluva lot better than that of either neocons or Democrats. Just how much policy did that $100 million of Adelson money actually buy? I have the feeling that it may not be as much as they think. No, I can’t prove it; just a feeling from the usually more accurate cynical part of my mind.

  

• When you manufacture your own monster, you can’t count on it obeying you and ignoring its own self-interest, especially if you found the raw material in the New York real estate market.

• Speaking of New York, hundreds of activists from Jewish Voice for Peace occupied the lobby of Trump Tower to protest the unconstitutional arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, and another little bell tolled for Israel. Israel delenda est.

  

• The new Al-Qaeda regime in Syria proclaimed an interim constitution, which hasn’t been written yet but will impose Sharia law on Syria. Meanwhile, they are massacring Christians and Alawites, but that’s OK because Israel still bombs them. (below: Damascus, March 13, 2025)

• The Trump Administration expelled the South African ambassador to the US for saying Trump mobilized, among other things, a “supremacist instinct and white victimhood” during the 2024 election campaign.

  • Bullshit. He was expelled because the South African government calls the Israeli spade a spade and/or because Elon Musk thinks they stole shiny profits which were his by right of birth.

• The chain for DOGE’s wrecking ball is starting to develop kinks. I know— Musk has always been kind of kinky— but Federal judges are starting to rule, correctly, that DOGE doesn’t have the legal authority to fire anyone.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said that thousands of Ukrainian troops are surrounded in the Kursk region and called upon them to surrender. (Below: wrecked Ukrainian tank in the region)

• A Russian spokesperson stated that European countries do not want peace in Ukraine, want to prolong the war, and that European peacekeepers in Ukraine after the war are unacceptable to Russia.

  • No lies detected. The best propaganda is the truth, especially for the Russians, who are rank amateurs at the other kind when compared to Madison Avenue.

• Venezuela announced it will sign a new “comprehensive strategic cooperation agreement” with Russia in May.

  • Plain English translation: Those state of the art Russian anti-air and anti-ship defenses will stay in Venezuela, and the Pentagon will stay any invasion plans from the likes of Rubio.

• Over 170 people were successfully evacuated from an American Airlines plane whose engine caught on fire after landing in Denver. Yes, the plane was a Boeing 737-800. No, I won’t fly. Any questions?

• The UN issued a report concluding the Israelis are systematically targeting Palestinian women and children for extermination. If you want all the stomach-churning details, nobody does it better than

  Palestine Will Be Free
  :

'More than a human can bear': How Israel has systematically raped and sexually abused Palestinians since October 7

• Uganda sent troops into South Sudan as a brand new and no doubt profitable for someone civil war looks like it’s starting there.

• French-Algerian relations are at their lowest point since the Algerian War of Independence. This was triggered by Macron’s recognition of Morocco’s claims to Western Sahara.

  • Fun fact: According to tourist videos, you can legally buy marijuana and alcohol in Algeria; you’re just not supposed to indulge in public. Al-Qaeda they ain’t.

• The probable next German Chancellor, this guy,

  

  who bears a remarkable resemblance to some turtles I have known,

  

  announced a new spending deal complete with a bigger & badder defense budget and oodles more euros for the Green Grift and said Germany is back.

  

• Finally, a man was detained at the Newark airport after a TSA scanner discovered a turtle stuffed into the crotch of his pants. Exactly why the man was attempting to smuggle a turtle disguised as his package remains unknown, but both turtle and package are reportedly unharmed.

Thank you for reading, good day or night, and good luck.

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