Odds and Ends — 1 March 2025

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Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, and Debt:

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Coronavirus and Public Health:

RFK Jr. Moves to Eliminate Public Comment

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. posted a document Friday proposing to strip public participation from much of the business his department conducts.
The move comes during a time of major upheaval across federal health agencies, and as the public waits to see how Kennedy will enact his pledge of ‘radical transparency’ at the department.

Politics:



Zelensky Walked Into a Trap

Donald Trump and J. D. Vance appear to have entered today’s Oval Office meeting with the goal of generating a pretext for a diplomatic break with Ukraine.



It Was an Ambush

Leave aside, if only for a moment, the utter boorishness with which President Donald Trump and Vice President J. D. Vance treated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House today. Also leave aside the spectacle of American leaders publicly pummeling a friend as if he were an enemy. All of the ghastliness inflicted on Zelensky today should not obscure the geopolitical reality of what just happened: The president of the United States ambushed a loyal ally, presumably so that he can soon make a deal with the dictator of Russia to sell out a European nation fighting for its very existence.
Trump’s advisers have already declared the meeting a win for ‘putting America first,’ and his apologists will likely spin and rationalize this shameful moment as just a heated conversation—the kind of thing that in Washington-speak used to be called a ‘frank and candid exchange.’ But this meeting reeked of a planned attack, with Trump unloading Russian talking points on Zelensky (such as blaming Ukraine for risking global war), all of it designed to humiliate the Ukrainian leader on national television and give Trump the pretext to do what he has indicated repeatedly he wants to do: side with Russian President Vladimir Putin and bring the war to an end on Russia’s terms.


At Least Now We Know the Truth

At least the Oval Office meeting held by President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was held in front of the cameras. False friendliness in public by Trump and Vance, followed by behind-the-scenes treachery, would have been much more dangerous to the Ukrainian cause.
Instead, Trump and Vance have revealed to Americans and to America’s allies their alignment with Russia, and their animosity toward Ukraine in general and its president in particular. The truth is ugly, but it’s necessary to face it.
Today’s meeting gave the lie to any claim that this administration’s policy is driven by any strategic effort to advance the interests of the United States, however misguided. Trump and Vance displayed in the Oval Office a highly personal hatred.


Trump administration retreats in fight against Russian cyber threats

Recent incidents indicate US is no longer characterizing Russia as a cybersecurity threat, marking a radical departure: ‘Putin is on the inside now’

Israel Wants Russian Bases to Stay in Syria

Israel is lobbying the United States to keep Syria weak and decentralised, including by letting Russia keep its military bases there to counter Turkey’s growing influence in the country.
Turkey’s often fraught ties with Israel have come under severe strain during the Gaza war and Israeli officials have told Washington that Syria’s new Islamist rulers, who are backed by Ankara, pose a threat to Israel’s borders.

Why exactly would the new Syrian government agree to this?

Russia and China Trying to Recruit Disgruntled Workers

Foreign adversaries including Russia and China have recently directed their intelligence services to ramp up recruiting of US federal employees working in national security, targeting those who have been fired or feel they could be soon.
The intelligence indicates that foreign adversaries are eager to exploit the Trump administration’s efforts to conduct mass layoffs across the federal workforce – a plan laid out by the Office of Personnel Management earlier this week.

Trump’s Media Company Defends Diversity and Inclusion

Donald Trump has made purging the government of diversity, equity and inclusion programs a top priority of his new administration, calling them ‘illegal’ and ‘immoral.’ But throughout his career Trump has espoused the opposite view and has often highlighted the importance of such initiatives in business.
Corporate governance documents of his media company, which owns the Truth Social platform, just last year pledged to foster a “culture of diversity and inclusion” among a handful of guidelines adopted before the company went public.

Hegseth Warns Mexico of Military Strikes

Hegseth told the officials that if Mexico didn’t deal with the collusion between the country’s government and drug cartels, the U.S. military was prepared to take unilateral action… Mexico’s top brass who were on that call were shocked and angered.

U.S. Terminates Support of Ukraine’s Energy Grid

The State Department this week terminated a U.S. Agency for International Development initiative that has invested hundreds of millions of dollars to help restore Ukraine’s energy grid from attacks by the Russian military.

Trump Fires Hundreds Working on Weather Forecasts

Serendipity:

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Odds and Ends — 1 March 2025 | Ecency