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30.05.2026 - 17:17 [ New York Times ]

The Agony Around the Democrats’ Mysterious, Ridiculous Autopsy

(May 22, 2026)

Rarely has a document been at once as mysterious and anticlimactic as the Democratic National Committee’s autopsy of what went wrong in the 2024 election, which, after much drama and angst, was finally published on Thursday.

The committee’s chair, Ken Martin, promised a full audit of party operations when he was running for his seat, and again when he won it. Last July, officials said it would be out in the fall. Fall came and went, and in December, Martin said it wouldn’t be released at all. By hiding it, Martin made the report an object of suspicion and fascination.

25.05.2026 - 09:44 [ PressTV.ir ]

Leader’s advisor: Iran will break US naval blockade, exit NPT if attacked again

“If you enter the Persian Gulf, first of all, we will give a tough, painful and unprecedented response and break the naval blockade,” he warned Washington.

“But more importantly, we may withdraw from the NPT. Do you know what will happen to you if we withdraw? So… don‘t commit suicide.”

22.05.2026 - 00:51 [ Times of Israel ]

Gaza war and Israel go unmentioned in Democrats’ 2024 election autopsy report

Axios reported in February that the top Democrats who worked on the report concluded that Harris “lost significant support because of the Biden administration’s approach to the war in Gaza.”

If that’s the case, it’s not reflected in the document that CNN published on Thursday morning.

22.05.2026 - 00:43 [ CNN ]

Read the DNC’s 2024 autopsy obtained by CNN

CNN is publishing a copy of a report into why Democrats lost the 2024 presidential election conducted at the request of Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin.

This version of the report – better known as the 2024 autopsy – was written by Democratic strategist Paul Rivera. The DNC withheld the report until presented with CNN’s reporting about much of its contents. The copy published by CNN includes annotations in red that the DNC added to its version of Rivera’s report. CNN has not modified the report and does not vouch for the accuracy of any statements within the report or the DNC’s annotations.

21.04.2026 - 22:18 [ Spectator.com ]

When Mandelson could bring down Starmer

(March 14, 2026)

As my big piece on Starmer last month revealed, even after Mandelson was appointed, Starmer never quizzed him about how to deal with Trump. All this exposes a Prime Minister with Olympic levels of detachment. It has been known for a while that he has little interest in politics but those who have worked with him have been genuinely surprised at his lack of interest in the detail of governing.

(…)

The book also reveals that the decision to sack Mandelson was taken by McSweeney, not Starmer. On the day the PM defended Mandelson in the Commons, McSweeney was in a secure basement conference room without his phone when two of Starmer’s closest aides – Paul Ovenden and Stuart Ingham – came to find him. Ingham told him: ‘We just can’t answer these questions.’

McSweeney’s response – ‘It’s unsustainable’ – was the moment the decision was effectively made.

21.04.2026 - 21:57 [ PoliticsHome.com ]

Oiling the machine – inside the Number 10 policy unit

(November 20, 2024)

Though it has grown over the past fifty years, the Policy Unit today still comprises fewer than thirty special advisers and junior Whitehall officials. This little platoon tends to be most effective when it acts as both the prime minister’s “eyes and ears”, to borrow Wilson’s phrase, and what Sarah Hogg, John Major’s policy chief, termed “the grit and oil in the government machine.” In other words, the Policy Unit works best by offering the prime minister unvarnished intelligence and advice about the direction of departmental policy, while giving Whitehall strategic clarity about what the prime minister wants or doesn’t want.

21.04.2026 - 21:53 [ theNational.scot ]

No 10 bid for SECOND paedo-linked Labour ally to get ambassador role

He was later pushed on who had ordered him to look into getting Doyle a position, and who had ordered him not to tell the foreign secretary (which at the time was David Lammy).

Robbins said: “I don‘t know what the origin of the suggestion was, and I don‘t know who exactly was behind it or how serious it was.

“It was serious enough for the No 10 private office to ring up the head of the diplomatic service and ask for a forward look of available head of mission jobs, and that‘s the point at which I thought that I needed to lay down some markers.”

21.04.2026 - 21:30 [ theGuardian.com ]

Olly Robbins: I was asked to find job for Starmer aide and not tell David Lammy

Testifying to MPs at parliament’s foreign affairs select committee on Tuesday, Olly Robbins said he had several conversations with No 10 about finding a role for Matthew Doyle, who was later suspended as a Labour peer after it emerged he had campaigned for a friend charged with possessing indecent images of children.

Robbins said he had been asked not to mention the idea to David Lammy, who was foreign secretary at the time.

Robbins described the conversations as part of more general pressure from people at the top of the government to place senior political figures in senior diplomatic posts.

21.04.2026 - 15:35 [ Independent.co.uk ]

Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson: Who are Starmer’s new joint chiefs of staff?

(February 8, 2026)

With Morgan McSweeney’s enforced departure over the Mandelson scandal, his former deputies Vidhya Alakeson and Jill Cuthbertson have both been promoted to replace him as joints chiefs of staff

21.04.2026 - 15:27 [ theGuardian.com ]

Olly Robbins says he faced ‘constant pressure’ to get Mandelson in post

Asked who in No 10 had applied pressure, he said it was mainly the prime minister’s private office, which is staffed by civil servants. But he added: “I think that the private office would only have been [putting on] this pressure themselves if they were under pressure.”

21.04.2026 - 14:54 [ New York Times ]

Fired U.K. Official Describes ‘Pressure’ From Starmer’s Office for Envoy’s Appointment

The former top civil servant in Britain’s foreign office, who was fired by Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week, said on Tuesday that Mr. Starmer’s office had a “dismissive attitude” about the security vetting of Peter Mandelson, an associate of Jeffrey Epstein who became ambassador to the United States despite concerns raised during the vetting process.

The former civil servant, Olly Robbins, testified in Parliament that he and other officials in charge of deciding whether to grant Mr. Mandelson a high-level security clearance were working in “an atmosphere of pressure” to ensure that nothing got in the way of Mr. Mandelson’s appointment.

03.04.2026 - 09:49 [ Reuters ]

Exit of Trump officials including FBI director Patel under discussion, Atlantic reports

(April 2, 2026)

There are discussions about ​FBI Director Kash ‌Patel, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll ​and Labor ​Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer leaving ⁠the Trump ​administration, the ​Atlantic reported on Thursday, citing people familiar ​with White ​House plans.

The timing is ‌uncertain ⁠and President Donald Trump has not yet ​made ​up ⁠his mind, the Atlantic ​reported.

03.04.2026 - 09:34 [ CNN ]

Hegseth ousts US Army chief of staff and two other generals amid Iran war

George found out in a phone call from Hegseth on Thursday while he was in a meeting, a second US official said. He later spoke to his staff in person about the announcement, and his staff was “very stoic” when receiving the news, the official said.

As the Army chief, George has worked closely with Army Secretary Dan Driscoll — a senior official close to the White House whom Hegseth has perceived as a threat and at times had a contentious relationship with.

01.04.2026 - 12:24 [ CBS News ]

Trump advisers fear GOP midterm losses as gas prices spike

On Tuesday, gasoline prices in the U.S. topped $4 a gallon for the first time since 2022, according to AAA. Several officials concede there will be Republican losses in the midterms if they don‘t turn around the trending numbers.

A Republican source says the House will be difficult for the GOP, but Republicans expect to retain control of the Senate.

06.03.2026 - 10:06 [ Daily Beast ]

DHS Insiders Spill What Really Got ICE Barbie Fired

The axe fell on the 54-year-old Homeland Security secretary almost immediately after her humiliating performance on Capitol Hill. Noem testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday and the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday. They were her first congressional appearances since federal agents under her command killed two U.S. citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, both 37, during Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis in January.

Already facing backlash for Good’s killing when Pretti was shot dead just a few days later, Noem sparked outrage by falsely describing Pretti as a domestic terrorist—and then privately trying to pin the blame for the fiasco on White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

“She was blaming Miller for a lot. No way Trump lets her stay after that,” the DHS insider said.

06.03.2026 - 09:16 [ New York Magazine ]

Top Goon Kristi Noem is the face of Trump’s police state. Corey Lewandowski is the muscle. Who really runs DHS?

(September 22, 2025)

On paper, Noem sits at the top of this empire. In practice, power over immigration policy is fractured, shaped by competing factions, starting with deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who has vowed in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination to destroy nameless forces that have conspired against the right — the long arm of law enforcement, he warned them, “will be used to find you, will be used to take away your money, take away your power, and, if you’ve broken the law, to take away your freedom.” Noem will be among those at the forefront of any such effort, surrounded by a tight inner circle that can be difficult to penetrate and often impossible to work with. “The culture over there is terrible,” the administration official told me. “People are scared shitless of Corey.”

25.02.2026 - 21:51 [ Fox News ]

Who is Boris Nikolic? Epstein-named executor is former Bill Gates adviser

(August 20, 2019)

Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender, signed a will detailing nearly $600 million in assets just two days before he killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell. In the will, he named biotech venture capitalist Boris Nikolic as „successor executor,“ the person who would take control of the estate if the two named executors are unable or unwilling to.

(…)

Court records show the two executors, Darren K. Indyke and Richard D. Kahn, each signed an oath confirming their willingness to serve as executor. But no such oath was filed by Nikolic.

25.02.2026 - 20:37 [ Los Angeles Times ]

Larry Summers will resign from teaching at Harvard during review of Epstein ties, university says

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will resign from teaching at Harvard University amid a campus review of his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the university announced Wednesday.

Summers, who has been on leave since November and whose name appeared hundreds of times in newly released Epstein files, will leave at the end of the school year, according to a statement from Harvard spokesperson Jason Newton.

22.02.2026 - 12:37 [ U,S. Department of Justice ]

From: Jide Zeitlin To: jeffrey E. (…) Subject: Re: Nigeria Date: Fri, 08 Jun 2018

Who do you not know!

On Jun 8, 2018, at 17:39, jeffrey E. wrote:

you do know that kathy ruemmler is my close buddy

22.02.2026 - 12:19 [ Drop Site News ]

Epstein Flipped Israel’s Gaza-Tested Biometric Scanners Into Nigeria Ports Deal for UAE

(February 16, 2026)

Epstein was keen to profit from armed conflicts on the African continent. While negotiating DP World’s access to Nigeria, he was also helping Zeitlin navigate around U.S. sanctions on Ivan Glasenberg, the Israeli-South African CEO of mining giant Glencore, and Oleg Deripaska, then-chairman of the Russian aluminum titan Rusal. Glencore’s operations had been disrupted by a fraud probe into their dealings with Israeli mining kingpin Dan Gertler in Congo-Kinshasa. “Do you know Oleg Deripaska or Ivan Glasenberg?” Zeitlin asked Epstein. “Easy,” Epstein replied.

The American financier had deep ties to Israeli mining and military outfits in Africa, which he helped support alongside former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak—a close associate with whom Epstein corresponded almost daily. “With civil unrest exploding in ukraine syria, somolia, libya, and the desperation of those in power,” Epstein wrote in a 2014 email to Barak, “isn’t this perfect for you.” Barak replied, “You’re right [in] a way. But not simple to transform it into a cash flow.”

22.02.2026 - 11:26 [ U.S. Department of Justice ]

From: Terje Rod-Larsen (…) To: Jeffrey Epstein (…) Subject: Fwd: Strictly Confi: Covert Pak deal with Saudis on Yemen

Date: Tue, 07 Apr 2015 12:09:44 +0000

Further to my email of 1 April, herewith update:
Pakistan Covert Deal with Saudi on Yemen:
Status:
For Yemen war, Saudi King basically asked Pak PM for ground troops to gain control of & hold a swathe of land inside Yemen on very sensitive part of Saudi border. Pak Army refused, national consensus remains against entering the war, offering however, defence of Saudi soverignty & territorial integrity & support for a negotiated solution. Pak has not yet decided if it will officially enter the regional alliance.
Next: Saudis asked Pak for military aircraft & warships to control Yemen ports, esp. Aden — Pak Army again refused physical presence on Yemen soil.

22.02.2026 - 11:18 [ Middle East Eye ]

Epstein briefed on ‚covert‘ plan to deploy Pakistani special forces to Saudi-Yemen border

(February 19, 2026)

Convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was briefed on a “covert deal” for Pakistan to send commandos, known as the „Black Storks“, to Saudi Arabia’s border with Yemen to support the kingdom’s war against the Houthis, according to an email released by the US Justice Department.

The email, dated 7 April 2015 and titled “Pakistan Covert Deal with Saudi on Yemen”, was written by Nasra Hassan, a Pakistani who worked as an official for the United Nations for 27 years, and also for the Arab League. At the time the email was written, Hassan was advising the International Peace Institute.

The email was sent to the organisation‘s former president, Terje Rod-Larsen, a man who the Financial Times described as one of Norway’s most famous diplomats, for his role brokering the 1990s Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.

22.02.2026 - 10:56 [ Zeenews.india.com ]

Shocking: Epstein was offered chance to buy US Pentagon and FBI buildings

(February 20, 2026)

In a separate email from 2015, Stern presented Epstein with another opportunity – a potential investment in two FBI field offices located in Richmond, Virginia, and Baltimore, Maryland, along with associated courthouses. The documents described these federal properties as attractive assets and outlined a structure requiring an initial $25 million contribution followed by an additional $80 million. Ownership would have been routed through an offshore entity registered in the Cayman Islands.

Both real estate proposals originated with investor Jonathan D. Fascitelli, a noted person in commercial property development.

22.02.2026 - 10:53 [ Yahoo.com ]

Epstein offered chance to buy Pentagon and FBI buildings

(February 18, 2026)

The three documents – an email describing the offer, an investor deck, and a deal summary – were released as part of the millions of Epstein Files.

The offer was forwarded to Epstein by David Stern, a businessman who called himself Epstein’s “soldier” and who was also a close aide to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

In the same year Stern sent the proposal to Epstein, he was made director of the St George‘s House Trust at Windsor Castle and was invited to an event at St James’ Palace, where he sat directly next to Queen Elizabeth II.

14.02.2026 - 05:59 [ Boston Herald ]

High-profile resignations and replacements as Epstein case fallout spreads

Apart from the former Prince Andrew, none of them face claims of sexual wrongdoing. They have been toppled for maintaining friendly relationships with Epstein after he became a convicted sex offender.

Here’s a look at some of those caught up in the scandal:

14.02.2026 - 04:33 [ New York Times ]

Goldman’s Top Lawyer Departs Amid Revelations About Her Ties to Epstein

Mr. Epstein, in turn, provided career advice on her move to Goldman, introduced her to well-known businesspeople and showered her with gifts of spa treatments, high-end travel and Hermès luxury items. In total, Ms. Ruemmler was mentioned in more than 10,000 of the documents released by the Justice Department.

Ms. Ruemmler, in addition to being Goldman’s general counsel since 2021, was a partner and vice chair of its reputational risk committee. She earlier served as White House counsel under President Obama and was a white-collar defense lawyer at Latham & Watkins.

05.02.2026 - 23:46 [ Norman Solomon / Common Dreams ]

Ending GOP Authoritarianism Will Require Overcoming the Democratic Leadership

(January 20, 2026)

A key reason is a reality that Sen. Bernie Sanders described soon after Trump’s 2016 win: “Certainly there are some people in the Democratic Party who want to maintain the status quo. They would rather go down with the Titanic so long as they have first-class seats.”

Democratic Party leaders should be removed from seats of party power or bypassed as relics of bygone eras. Their ongoing refusals to distance from corporate power, rich elites, and militarism have alienated much of the party’s base.

As I wrote in my free new book The Blue Road to Trump Hell, “The Democratic Party enabled Donald Trump to become president twice because of repetition compulsions that still plague the top echelons of the party.” To eject Republicans from power – and to advance a strong progressive agenda – true leadership must come from grassroots mobilization.