Alex Finley
@alexzfinley
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Former CIA officer. #YachtWatch Author of the Victor Caro series:
Joined April 2013
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Look what just dropped.
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This is it UK. Roman Abramovich’s Eclipse is going through the Strait of Gibraltar. Right now. Last chance.
#YachtWatch
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Good morning, Oligarch
#YachtWatch
fans! I thought it would be a good idea to start the week off with a summary of where things float at the moment.
1. Four yachts were "frozen" last week. NB: not "seized" because it's not like the government took control and can sell them. 1/
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Oligarch yacht fans: I've got a story for you!
As many of you know, I have designated myself The Yacht Watcher and have done some Twitter tours of the mega yachts of oligarchs and other billionaires in Barcelona's port. 1/
I took this panorama shot of the Bcn port today. Off the top of my head, I spot four Russian superyachts. 1. Solaris (Abramovich) 2. Galactica Super Nova (Vagit Alekperov) 3. Aurora (Andrey Molchanov) 4. Sea Rhapsody (Andrey Kostin)
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I repeat for those in the back row: we may not think we are at war with Russia, but Russia thinks it is at war with us.
With US congress now paralyzed from preventing any of Russia's actions, FBI Director Wray confirms Russians are not only attacking US critical infrastructure such as cutting undersea cables, but doing reconnaissance on the US energy sector.
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Remember when Trump overrode security officials who determined Jared and others were not fit for security clearances? Good times.
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Remember when Barr presented a biased summary of the Mueller Report to make it sound like Trump had nothing to do with Russia when, in fact, the report made clear he had plenty to do with Russia?
JUST IN: Bad look for AG Barr here. Inspector general finds that he authorized release of "selective details" about a PA vote fraud probe in 2020 that supported Turmp's narratives even though DOJ had evidence that undercut it.
He also shared nonpublic info about probe with Trump
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Abramovich's other yacht [insert eye roll gif], Eclipse, is on the move. She left St. Martin March 4 and is now in the North Atlantic. Unclear if she is heading toward Gibraltar or more north. Maybe Murmansk? We'll keep watching.
And that's our wrap up of where things float! 7/
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I feel like I'm beating a dead horse here but I'll repeat:
Most ppl think when we talk about Russian influence we mean a few bots and trolls on social media.
No.
This is HUMAN INTELLIGENCE. Russia recruits humans, pays them to write articles, say certain things, influence 1/
Czech intelligence services have uncovered a Russian influence operation, based in Prague, designed to influence elections across Europe. They have placed sanctions on "Voice of Europe," a website that promoted far-right politicians and parties.
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I have made it my life's mission to be there when Roman Abramovich's yacht MY SOLARIS gets seized by Spanish authorities. 2/
I may head to the port to watch them seize Abramovich’s newest yacht, Solaris.
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Here's a pic of Barcelona's shipyard, with four Russian yachts currently in it.
1. Aurora (Molchanov), currently under scaffolding
2. Palladium (Prokhorov), currently under scaffolding
3. Valerie (Chemezov, sanctioned)
4. Solaris (Abramovich) (my precious) 6/
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It's just that no one can access or use the yachts. So for now, they are just sitting there taking up space. Those four yachts are:
*Dilbar (Usmanov, Germany). Reportedly, the crew has been dismissed and all work on the yacht has stopped.
*Amore Vero (Sechin, France) 2/
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This is important. Pay attention. Far right movements across the globe are organizing together. This is not a coincidence.
CPAC is going to Budapest. Mike Pence was just in Budapest talking about his hopes for the Supreme Court outlawing abortion. Tucker Carlson embraced Orban and his anti Semitic fascist state on Fox prime time. Why are they all going to Hungary? What magnetic force is drawing
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Last week, Czech intel revealed Russia has been paying a number of European politicians to say things like this. Probably just a coincidence
NEW and very disturbing:
Straight out of Putin’s talking points and out of RFK Jr.’s mouth — here he is saying Putin merely wanted to “de-nazify” Ukraine. Literally pure Putin propaganda for the invasion and war of Ukraine.
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I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: Ukraine is the kinetic part of a much larger war against democracy. We’re in this war, whether we like it or not.
A large-scale, full-spectrum war is underway in Europe: half of million Ukrainian soldiers are holding off Moscow’s genocidal fascists, who threaten us all.
Yet the US, UK, Canada, Germany & other allies do not work toward victory because we are still losing the propaganda war.
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Hey
@GOP
: The reason Putin did not invade Ukraine while Trump was president was because he didn't have to. Trump was ready to hand Ukraine over to him on a silver platter, which would have saved Putin a lot of money and bloodshed. 1/
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Other yachts belonging to individuals who are already sanctioned, include:
*Valerie (Chemezov, Barcelona, Spain)
*Tango (Vekselberg, Palma de Mallorca, Spain)
*Nord (Mordashov, last seen in Seychelles)
*Clio (Deripaska, heading toward Maldives?)
4/
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Good morning. A quick
#YachtWatch
summary after the events of yesterday. We are now at 9 yachts detained (I think I counted right this time), with Italy and Spain in the lead with 3 each. Here's the list:
ITALY:
LENA (Timchenko)
LADY M (Mordashov)
SAILING YACHT A (Melnichenko) 1/
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*Lady M (Mordashov, Italy) (Note: Mordashov's other yacht, Nord, was last seen in the Seychelles)
*Lena (Timchenko, Italy) 3/
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Want to learn about Russian Influence Operations from a former spook? Check out my Chapter course, starting Jan. 31. Like a book club, but more fun (because it's with me!)
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My husband is putting together his resistance group to fight for democracy and he has settled on the name “Forces Against Republican Tyranny.”😂
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Come join me and learn about Russian Influence Operations in a cozy, book club-like setting. All the cool kids are doing it.
Starts Jan. 31
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I truly believed the bank owed me money, so I went to the bank and took it. No crime!
Habba says that Trump believed the election was stolen, therefore there was no crime (that is now how it works)
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*Sea Rhapsody (Kostin, Seychelles)
*Rahil (Arkady Rotenberg, last seen in Turkey in November)
*Dream (Frolov, last seen in Croatia)
*Royal Romance (Medvedchuk, last seen in Croatia)
*Madame Gu (Skoch, last seen in Dubai) 5/
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This should serve as a warning for the US. Orbán and Heritage Foundation are working together.
This is an amazing article on how Viktor Orban wins elections. Highly recommended for anyone interested in how autocrats-in-making cling to power, beyond Hungary too. The techniques are universal. This is a must-read in my syllabus.
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You mean this Jill Stein?
Scooplet: Steve Kramer — the consultant who was indicted in NH for creating deepfake Biden robocalls — was paid $150,000 by Jill Stein's campaign in May for ballot access petitioning work in New York.
Her campaign says they were unaware of the scandal, which broke in February.
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So will his last seven days in office finally be infrastructure week?
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Yay Spain!
VIDEO: A convoy of 29 taxis and around 60 drivers arrives back in Madrid after driving to Warsaw in Poland and returning to Spain with Ukrainians displaced by the war
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Start your new year off right, with my course on Russian Influence Operations, through
@chapter_HQ
Start Jan. 31!
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Oligarch
#YachtWatch
:
Another one down
Italy’s police has just seized “Lady M Yacht” - a €65m yacht belonging to Alexey Alexandrovits Mordaschov located in Imperia (Liguria) - in compliance with the recent EU sanctions.
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omg, read to the end
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Then I passed Aurora ($120 million), owned by Andrey Molchanov, a real estate and construction magnate in Russia. If he gets sanctioned, he might be screwed because Aurora is in dry dock. 9/
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Once again for the folks in the back: We may not think we are at war with Russia, but Russia thinks it is at war with us.
“Russia has already begun to more actively prepare covert bombings, arson attacks and damage to infrastructure on European soil, directly and via proxies, with little apparent concern about causing civilian fatalities, intelligence officials believe.”
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WHEN DOES SHE TALK ABOUT THE SHARK AND BATTERY AND HANNIBAL LECTER???
I am going to put together a thread covering Kamala Harris's rally in Atlanta, Georgia. Follow along for clips and commentary 👇
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But when I checked this morning, the ship, which had been undergoing repairs, had left the port. First time in weeks! I figured I had missed the boat (literally!). But as I checked open sources on the yacht's location, it was heading north. Weird. 6/
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First, I passed Galactica Super Nova (stupid fucking name), owned by Vagit Alekperov (president of Lukoil). The yacht is worth about $80 million. It was just docked there. No commotion. Nothing. 8/
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"Some far-right Republicans, such as Kari Lake and Paul Gosar, said they would like to see the “Hungarian model” transplanted to the US"
Yes, by all means, let's aim to be non-global power Hungary rather than global superpower United States.
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Was it a dry run (well, wet run) to make sure the ship is sea worthy for a quick escape? Or were these just routine trials? I'll keep watching! But still, if they seize it, I want to watch! 16/
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But don't sell MY SOLARIS short for her size. She is valued at $600 million, with an annual running cost around $60 million. She can accommodate 36 guests with a crew of 60 (this is an estimate. I've never been invited on board). 4/
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If you're interested in learning more about Russian Influence Ops, check out my course w/
@chapter_HQ
. We'll dive into Russian intelligence operations and their objectives, with insight from yours truly. Starts Jan. 31. Sign up now!
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A little background on MY SOLARIS. This wee little dinghy is 140m (461 ft) in length. That's actually pretty small as mega yachts go. For comparison, Abramovich's OTHER mega yacht [insert eye roll gif], ECLIPSE, is 162.5m (533 ft). 3/
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Don’t tax billionaires, they said. They’ll contribute through philanthropy, they said….
Australian billionaire Clive Palmer announces he is going through with plans to rebuild an exact replica of the Titanic, aiming to set sail in 2027.
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New from
@zachsdorfman
Russia has been providing indirect support to right-wing groups in the US. Those of us who follow this long suspected it. I also have a hunch we will eventually uncover more direct connections. See next tweet 1/
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Heading east again. I have a real hard time imagining the yacht left port the day Putin starts a war just by chance. As my long-term followers know, I'm not big on coincidences. 17/
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And then, MY SOLARIS turned EAST and started going faster. Mother fucker! 13/
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By this point, it was clear that MY SOLARIS was heading back to Barcelona. Again, she had been in the shipyard. Maybe they were finally taking her out for sea trials? My plan was to film her coming back into the port. I found a good spot and took a few pics as she got close. 10/
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Anyway, MY SOLARIS has been docked at the MB 92 shipyard in Barcelona for several weeks now. 5/
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If it were fleeing, it would either go east toward the Bosphorous and the Black Sea or south west toward Gibralter and the open ocean. In any case,I wanted to see if there were indications of officials preparing to seize boats, wrap chains around propellers, that kind of thing.7/
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We're at 5, so far.
Italy is in the lead with 3:
LENA (Timchenko)
LADY M (Mordashov)
SAILING YACHT A (Melnichenko)
France:
AMORE VERO (Sechin)
Germany:
DILBAR (Usmanov)
Spain:
VALERIE (Chemezov)
#YachtWatch
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Yes, because none of it is true. Reminder: the idea of Biden corruption was made up by Russian intel and fed to Rudy Giuliani and others by Russian proxies. See next tweet for more
The entire Republican narrative about Joe Biden pushing to fire a Ukrainian prosecutor to help out his son gets eviscerated in this interview
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I thought that was it. I had just witnessed MY SOLARIS fleeing. I wasn't the only one who thought so. But... 14/
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I’ve said from the beginning: Putin chose to invade bc he thought he bad laid enough groundwork to divide the West. But as long as we remain united, Russia will lose.
It seems that the approval of aid for Ukraine by the US Congress came as a big surprise to Russia.
Judging by their reaction, they had no plan B and believed there would be no help. But, it turns out that now Ukraine and the West are destroying the remnants of the high-tech part
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Damage of Russian hack of Microsoft is bigger than originally thought. Affects the USG. As I've been saying: we may not think we are at war with Russia, but Russia certainly thinks it is at war with us.
Federal government affected by Russian breach of Microsoft
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And soon after, the dinghy that I thought maybe was a pilot ship came back to port. If any sleuths have any idea what this boat was used for, let me know. My guess: picking up or dropping off personnel. 12/
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But then she stopped! And a small dinghy approached her. Pilot ship? To help bring her back in? I couldn't tell. Then the damn boat started to turn AWAY from the port. 11/
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I took this panorama shot of the Bcn port today. Off the top of my head, I spot four Russian superyachts. 1. Solaris (Abramovich) 2. Galactica Super Nova (Vagit Alekperov) 3. Aurora (Andrey Molchanov) 4. Sea Rhapsody (Andrey Kostin)
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I have to admit, I am a little emotional watching the D-Day celebrations. These people fought--and many of them died--for something so many people today are ready to do away with.
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It looks like that isn't the case. As of 19:00 CET, MY SOLARIS once again was heading back to the shipyard in Barcelona. 15/
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Eagerly awaiting Tucker’s exposé on Russian prisons and how they are so much nicer than in the US. He can interview Mariia Butina, who told Navalny his penal colony was nicer than many Russian hotels.
Note to self: avoid Russian hotels
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This whole thread is good and I would add here: I think Putin also believed he had destabilized the West enough that he had an advantage. He thought that, due to his malign influence operations, we were so polarized and internally focused we (the West) would be incapable to act 1
3. The West. The Russian ruling elite believed its own propaganda that Pres. Biden is mentally inept. They also thought the EU was weak because of how toothless their sanctions were in 2014. And then the U.S. botched its withdrawal from Afghanistan, solidifying this narrative.
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What was that quote? When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the American flag and carrying the Bible… or something like that?
Putting a flag on a Bible then adding political documents to it to repackage and sell it for $60 by a man who has never read it is really some sick, twisted stuff. This is not the christianity that comes from Jesus.
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I keep saying Trump is not running to win the election. He is using the election to seize power. This from
@MattGertz
is one of the best, most digestible articles explaining how Trump and his minions plan to do so.
I warned three years ago that Fox News had become a loaded gun pointed at American democracy.
The bullet is in the chamber.
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Spoiler: Rule of law only exists if we are prepared to hold accountable those who break the law.
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Amazing how they got all the other countries on Earth to go along with this.
They are going to try and sell us new “Variants” for the rest of our lives if we don’t tell them to shove it.
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A few thoughts I’ve already shared but I think are worth sharing again:
What is happening in Ukraine is the kinetic part of a much larger war. Putin’s war is a war on democratic institutions. Democracy anywhere is a threat to autocrats everywhere. 1/
Putin “has made it very clear that he sees this war [in Ukraine] as a war against democracy,” says historian
@anneapplebaum
– and other autocrats are on his side. “That’s why it’s so important that the democracies continue to fight back.”
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This is being held at Heritage and I 100% guarantee there will be people there who are on Russia's payroll.
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We used to get dinged on the polygraph if we admitted taking home a government pen.
"National Archives had to retrieve Trump White House records from Mar-a-Lago,” reports
@washingtonpost
.
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Me, furiously googling how to make vaccine salad dressing... Seriously, they expect us to do everything??
Michael Flynn: The 'Deep State' is plotting to spike your salad dressing with the COVID vaccine
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Periodic reminder that the "corruption" narrative Republicans are trying to pin on Hunter Biden (and all the other Bidens somehow) was likely fully invented by Russian intelligence and given to a Ukrainian oligarch to feed to Rudy Giuliani.
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Is the dam finally breaking inside the GOP?
Republican Congressman Gonzales: I serve with some real scumbags. Matt Gaetz, he paid minors to have sex with him at drug parties.
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This pretty much nails it. Everyone knows Trump is incapable of governing (and has no interest in doing so), so they are writing the rules themselves and will spoon-feed it to Trump and promise him money or something in return.
👀 ‘A little bold and gross’: Oil industry writes executive orders for Trump to sign - POLITICO
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Trump wants to control us. Doesn't sound like freedom to me.
Trump on President Xi: "He's a brilliant man. He controls 1.4 billion people with an iron fist. He makes guys like Biden look like babies."
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"My Pillow Guy content"😂
BREAKING: A Trump-appointed judge has ordered QAnon conspiracy theorist Doug Jensen locked up until trial because he violated his conditions of pretrial release by consuming My Pillow Guy content online.
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Another Russian energy exec has died. He fell off his yacht near Vladivostok. Anyone know the name of the yacht?
#YachtWatch
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How did Grassley/Comer/Jordan know to ask for the 1023 in which Smirnov, an agent of Russian intelligence, reported (falsely) that the Bidens were corrupt?
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As I’ve been saying: the war in Ukraine is the kinetic part of a much larger global battle
New --> Russian hackers targeted NATO forces and diplomats to aid Ukraine war effort
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I wrote this!👇
A former CIA officer asks a legitimate, and deadly serious, question: Have Russian operatives paid any Republican officials?
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Russian intelligence was paying Hungarians working for the Hungarian partner of CPAC.
So when Heritage hosted Orban and when CPAC partnered with Hungary, Russian intelligence was involved.
🕵️How the Kremlin's intelligence service-run foreign influence operations blend with Viktor Orbán's: Voice of Europe, the Prague-based covert Russian influence operation network distrupted by Czech counterintelligence, has reportedly been paying Hungarians as well.
The site is
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Well,
#YachtWatch
fans, there's news... 1/
Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's 512-foot yacht has been seized by German authorities in the northern city of Hamburg.
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Dictator says what?
I mean that literally. This is what a dictator says: have your own media
Viktor Orbán tells CPAC the path to power is to ‘have your own media’
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ALL OF THIS is why Putin did not invade when Trump was president. Putin's investment in the GOP, in conservative politicians, organizations, media, etc. was paying off. And it still is paying off! Cut the shit and get on the right side of history. 4/
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As Russia again mounts its military on Ukraine’s border, we’ve started to see some new talking points in the last few days that boil down to: Give Russia what it wants.
A thread.
1/
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He will claim he won, no matter what the actual results are. And he will unleash his violent mobs. Even if Biden wins by a landslide, he will insist it was rigged and there will be violence. Do people not get this??
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Not a huge Petraeus fan but he’s right on this one
4-Star General & CIA Director David Petraeus (Ret.): If we allow Ukraine to fall, Russia will next invade Moldova or the Baltics. Ukraine only needs a very small part of our own military budget. We must help Ukraine achieve victory.
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Harvard owes us all an apology
LMAOOO Mr. Vivek “Went to Harvard College and Yale Law School But Thinks the United States Constitution Predates the Battle of Yorktown and the Treaty of Paris” Ramaswamy
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Today, I went on a
#YachtWatch
hunt. On Friday,
@nytimes
reported that the yacht Scheherazade, which might be a Putin yacht, has a sister ship named Crescent. She last pinged in November 2021 in Tarragona, near Barcelona. 1/
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Reminder: the narrative that Biden is corrupt bc something something Ukraine Burisma… all those narratives originated with Russian intelligence
Holy shit! Rudy is now telling Mike Johnson & Jim Jordan to do exactly what Trump was impeached for: “Somebody should lean on Zelensky. You want another penny, give us your Biden file.”
And we are supposed to believe that Trump & Rudy didn’t do this?
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Look at the guy's body language, smug, but also defensive. Feigning confidence. Arrogant
Crockett details the horrors of Project 2025, which one of the Republican witnesses is involved with
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Putin's trip to UAE last week was part of this. Dubai is a massive washing machine for Russian cash. Putin had to check in on that; he needs that cash to keep paying his proxies in Europe and the US (influencers, activists, politicians, journalists, etc.). 1/
In Dubai 🇦🇪 I had a couple of conversations with people in the 🇷🇺 security intelligentsia. They were hell bent on continuing the war against 🇺🇦. The minimum objective was described as occupying Odesa and Kharkiv as well, and then some sort of controlled regime in Kyiv.
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Oh, hey! That’s me!
A former CIA officer explains how a vast, pro-Putin corruption network uncovered in Europe is a warning sign for the U.S.
From
@alexzfinley
:
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Today would be a great day for Donald Trump to be indicted.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin over the deportation of Ukrainian children.
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This will be where Putin’s investment in conservative politicians across Europe and the US will pay off.
The far-right wing of the American conservative movement is breaking hard in favor of Putin and against the post-World War II order. It won’t be long before elected Republicans start to fall in behind them.
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The headline and the story state that Netanyahu was warned about the attack, but the article still frames it as an intel failure. If policy makers choose not to act on intel that’s a policy failure, not an intel failure “Netanyahu Got All the Warnings”
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Germany recently arrested Russians who were scouting US military bases for sabotage attacks
US military bases in Europe raise security threat levels
Level Charlie, “applies when an incident occurs or intelligence is received indicating some form of terrorist action or targeting against personnel or facilities is likely"
EUCOM statement coming
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Are jackets stuffed with cash allowed under the new Senate dress code?
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I’ll be talking with
@Lawrence
on
@MSNBC
tonight, in case you haven’t gotten enough of me lately.
#YachtWatch
It will be 4am for me, so pls be kind.
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This wasn’t already prohibited??
⚡️ The EU is planning to prohibit political parties and think tanks from accepting Russian funding as part of its latest round of sanctions against Moscow, Bloomberg reported on May 6.
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