😒 “Brussels is one of the world’s biggest spy hubs” - EU executive (Politico)

Brussels is crawling with spooks, the European Commission warned its staff Thursday.

EU officials received an email telling them the threat of espionage is “real” - from people wanting to steal the bloc’s executive’s secrets.

In some embassies, between 10-20% of the staff are intel officers, Belgian security officials claimed.

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🎯 Hamas Ambush Targets IDF Merkava Tank in Gaza

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🤔 ICYMI: US Army Rangers Take Part in ‘Neutralizing Enemy Underground Nuclear Facilities’ Drills

A US Nuclear Disablement Team trained with the 75th Ranger Regiment during operations under simulated fire at a decommissioned pulse radiation facility over the summer.

Ranger training on nuclear targets seems to signal a shift in their role. For decades, the mission to find and eliminate enemy nuclear facilities belonged to the secretive Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and its tier 1 special mission units.

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😒 JUST IN: Elon Musk joined Trump's call with Zelensky - Axios

Zelensky was reportedly somewhat reassured by what he heard from the president-elect, two sources told Axios.

Maybe he is off the CIA hitlist? 🤔

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😂 The Red Wall

Watching paint dry can be interesting…

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⚠️ China’s Top Legislature Condemns Philippines New Maritime Zones Act

The so-called act is an attempt by the Philippines to ‘enforce an illegal arbitral award on the South China Sea issue through its domestic legislation,’ the Foreign Affairs Committee of China’s National People’s Congress said Friday.

Adding, it is a ‘serious infringement upon China's territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea.’

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had earlier signed two laws reaffirming the extent of his country’s maritime territories and right to resources, including in the South China Sea - which Beijing claims almost in its entirety.

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🇷🇺🏆🆚🇺🇸 Trump Meets “The Art of the Russian Deal” – Will Hubris Lead to Humiliation?

In his latest geopolitical fantasy, President-elect Trump seems to think he can charm his way to peace in Ukraine by dangling a 20-year NATO “moratorium” in front of Moscow. But let’s get real: Trump’s 20-year pause is just a soft reset for NATO expansion, a sugar-coated “deal” that Russia will laugh out of the room. Trump’s version of diplomacy is the equivalent of painting over a crack in a dam; a cosmetic pause that does nothing to address the existential fault lines underneath.

Trump’s team has floated the idea of a 20-year waiting period before NATO could open its doors to Ukraine, with Europe and the UK enforcing an 800-mile “demilitarized” buffer zone. But look closer, and this “demilitarized” zone is as NATO as it gets—European and British troops patrolling along Russia’s borders, under the guise of non-NATO peacekeepers, in a scheme as transparent as glass. The Kremlin doesn’t suffer from Washington’s illusions. Moscow sees this for what it is: NATO dressed up in the emperor’s new clothes, a de-facto NATO encirclement that threatens Russia’s sovereignty as surely as any missile installation.

Russia's calculus here isn’t swayed by verbal sleight of hand or diplomatic smoke and mirrors. Moscow’s red lines are etched in stone, carved by centuries of history and the scars of NATO’s aggression. The SMO wasn’t launched on a whim; it was born from a necessity to prevent NATO from embedding itself on Russia’s doorstep. Any notion that Russia would acquiesce to “NATO-lite” in exchange for empty promises is laughable (been there, done that - not one inch eastward). Trump may style himself a dealmaker, but he’ll soon discover that the art of the Russian deal is a whole different beast.

Here’s the brutal reality that Washington refuses to acknowledge: Russia has not only held its own against Ukraine; it has defeated NATO itself, the combined military-industrial might of the West. The IMF confirms Russia now ranks as the world’s 4th largest economy by PPP, resurgent powerhouse that has defeated sanctions, total war, and mockingbird-media propaganda. The old unipolar order lies shattered, and Russia is not about to let NATO dictate terms, especially from across an “800-mile” charade.

So Trump can posture, he can “negotiate,” but the truth is, the Russian bear won’t dance to Washington’s tune. The West has tried and failed to corner Russia, militarily, economically, and diplomatically. Now, Trump, in his audacity, believes he can negotiate out of what is total defeat. But the Kremlin isn’t buying what Washington’s selling. Russia is ready to secure its national interests on her terms, not through some hollow Western concession.

But perhaps the greatest irony here is that Trump, in his ambition to make a deal, might just end up penning his name on NATO’s silent surrender, a signature on a capitulation crafted in the shadows. The art of this Russian deal may well mean that the ‘deal’ Trump envisions is one where the West’s so-called diplomacy bends before a resurgent Eurasian superpower. Trump’s ultimate realization might not be how to bring peace, but how to acknowledge defeat, one his own backers may insist he sugarcoat for domestic consumption

Trump might think he’s crafting a historic deal, but Moscow has already written the closing chapter: there will be no pause, no backdoor NATO-lite arrangement, and no illusion of “peace” on the West’s terms.

- Gerry Nolan

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⛔️ Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben Gvir are waiting for the hostages to die to ‘justify Gaza land grab’ - Ynet

The issue of the hostages in Gaza will be solved 'naturally and tragically,’ according to the Israeli leadership.

The right-wing ministers will then use these deaths as further pretext to permanently occupy and ‘establish Jewish settlements’ in Gaza, Ynet added.

It has never been about the hostages.

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⚠️ JUST IN: Trump had phone call with Putin this week, told the Russian president “not to escalate the war” in Ukraine - WaPo citing sources

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❗️JUST IN: Kremlin Denies WaPo Reports Putin-Trump Conversation Has Taken Place

“This is false information,” Dmitry Peskov said.

The Kremlin spox adding that there is no plans for any communication between the two presidents.

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😮 ICYMI: French Politician Thierry Breton Reveals EU Institutions Had “Absolutely No Right to Speak” About Stopping the War in Ukraine Before Trump’s Win

The former EU commissioner has just said the quiet part out loud - the bloc can’t even speak if that voice disagrees with US policy.

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