So at this point in the Keltpo Kaiser's funhouse mirror presidency, is anyone surprised to learn the regime is using ongoing trade negotiations under Trump's tariff framework to pressure other countries to greenlight Elon Musk's Starlink satellite company in their nations? I'd guess it's not, but given how terrible everything about Trump's scheme to leverage tariffs for trade concessions have been for the American people, it's worth pointing out that at least part of why the regime is conducting a global trade war is to make Elon richer and more powerful, with no real benefit to the United States at all.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/elon-musk-starlink

'The Corruption Is Staggering': Trump Officials Push Tariffed Nations to Approve Musk's Starlink

"Lisa Gilbert, co-president of the U.S.-based consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, said in response to the Post's reporting that "the glaring conflict of interest inherent in this pressure to preference a Musk-owned company is disgusting."

"The bottom line here is that tools of trade and government should be utilized for the benefit of the American public, not abused for personal tech bro profiteering," Gilbert added.

Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called the revelations "a huge new scandal."

"Trump and Musk are using tariffs as leverage to get other countries to buy from Musk's companies. Working families pay $4,000+ more a year so Musk gets new deals," Casar wrote on social media. "They get richer. Everyone else gets screwed."

There's something strange about the way the the fascist activities of the Trump regime, and the anti-human apocalyptic futurism of Musk himself, render stories about mere obscene levels of corruption between the regime and the world's richest nazi something of a side note. The fact is however that cratering the entire American economy so Elon Musk can get Starlkink deals around the world is a grotesque level of corruption and criminality that would, under other circumstances, sink entire US administrations. As American storeshelves start to empty over the next month, folks have a right to know that they can't buy everyday goods at normal prices because Elon needs more toys and international influence, and Trump owes him his seat in the White House.

Finally, while I honestly break out in hives every time I hear the words "national security," I'm absolutely baffled that foreign governments would even consider giving Elon Musk control over their communications apparatus through Starlink, to any degree, at all. I mean we're talking about an unhinged Nazi who thinks we're in a race war for the future of human civilization and our destiny as a species is to create an AI god and/or colonize Mars; no matter how many bodies it takes. Even setting aside that he's a comic book villain, he's also working directly with a fascist Trump regime that's openly talking about bombing Mexico, annexing Canada, and occupying Greenland; these are not the kinda people you want to trust with critical communications in a crisis or heaven forbid, a war. Welcoming Musk into your most sensitive operations, at this point in human history, might be one of the dumbest ideas ever proposed.

#Trump & #Canada Prime Minister #MarkCarney will have a working luncheon now. #JDVance, #Commerce Secretary #HowardLutnick & Secretary of #State #MarcoRubio will be present from the US side, as will their Canadian counterparts.

But >100 days into his 2nd term, #Trump has seemingly lost interest in #Gaza. A fragile #ceasefire collapsed in early March, & Trump did little to salvage it as the White House shifted the focus of its regional diplomacy toward #Iran. #Israel’s airstrikes & bombardments resumed, killing myriad #civilians. No lucrative real estate deals for Gazan waterfront properties seem in sight.

#geopolitics #MiddleEast #HumanitarianCrisis #Netanyahu #ForeignRelations #BrokenPromises #FactCheck #TrumpLies

The statement was signed by the top-ranking #Democrats on a trio of #NationalSecurity panels: Senators #JackReed of RI, of the #ArmedServices Cmte; #JeanneShaheen of NH, of the #ForeignRelations Cmte; & #MarkWarner of VA, of the #Intelligence Cmte. Senator #ChrisCoons of DE, another snr member of the foreign relations panel, also signed on.

For many companies, though, moving a major chunk of production to the #US is unrealistic, said Agathe Demarais, a snr policy fellow at the European Council for #ForeignRelations.

#Costs are too high. American #workers are not willing to accept the low #wages that initially drove companies to move to countries like #Mexico.

Mazda & Toyota have already struggled to ramp up production at their joint US factory because of a lack of workers.

"For you, I will do this," the German chancellor told President #Biden, acc/to a senior admin official familiar w/the private meeting.

Great article detailing the long complex process of the negotiations to achieve this feat of #diplomacy by #POTUS & the #BidenAdministration by Arden Farhi, Olivia Gazis, Camilla Schick :

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-russia-prisoner-swap-frees-americans-evan-gershkovich-paul-whelan/