Emergency Powers Remove Regulations
President Donald Trump is invoking emergency powers to boost the US’s ability to produce critical minerals—and potentially coal—as part of a broad effort to ramp up the development of domestic natural resources and reduce the country’s reliance on foreign imports.
According to a White House official, the president’s executive order signed Thursday taps the Defense Production Act to provide financing, loans, and other investment support to process critical minerals and rare earth elements domestically. The US International Development Finance Corporation, working with the Department of Defense, will finance new mineral production projects.
The order, which also encourages faster permitting for mining and processing projects and directs the Interior Department to prioritize mineral production on federal land, directly responds to long-held concerns among the US and allies that China overwhelmingly controls the processing of some of the most essential critical minerals.
These elements are used in many products, from batteries to defense systems, and are crucial to the nation’s energy and security. According to the White House, despite possessing some critical minerals, the US imports a significant amount, creating economic and security risks. The administration said the US is import-reliant on at least 15 critical minerals and that 70% of imports of rare earths come from China.
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What Happened to the Zagros?
The Houthis said on Telegram they had targeted the USS Harry S. Truman carrier group with missiles and drones, making the attack the “third in the past 48 hours” in the northern Red Sea.
There have been reports of the Iranian reconnaissance ship Zagros being targeted and sunk by the United States military in the Red Sea, according to Saudi media outlet Al-Hadath. The Iranian naval intelligence ship specializes in signals intelligence (SIGINT) and is regarded as Iran’s navy’s most advanced reconnaissance vessel. It is also recognized as the country’s first intelligence-gathering ship.
Did the Houthis accidentally target and sink their own spy ship? (Zagros – right) It was the newest ship in Iran’s fleet, commissioned on January 15, 2025, and entering the service of the Imam (also known as Iran’s Supreme Leader). Now nobody can find it. Maybe if they looked down, they’d see something.
Energy Interest Alignment
Russian and Chinese interests don’t align on this particular issue and its associated dynamics. Bloomberg reported, “Russia Is Wooing Arctic Gas Buyers With Life After US Sanctions.”
They cited unnamed sources to report that Novatek, the company behind the Arctic LNG 2 megaproject, is courting American, European, and even Indian buyers ahead of Trump possibly curtailing or lifting sanctions on their initiative as part of the nascent Russian-US “New Détente.” According to them, a senior executive pitched this as “a way to counter a rising China,” which has a certain logic.
From the perspectives of those three potential clients, all of whom have troubled ties with China, whatever they might buy from Arctic LNG 2 would reduce the amount available to Beijing.
There’s also the chance they elbow China out of this megaproject entirely if they collectively replace its lost investments after private Chinese companies pulled out of Arctic LNG 2 due to American sanctions. This could prospectively be achieved if Japan and South Korea, which have similar interests, get involved too.
That could, in turn, force China to rely more on comparatively costlier LNG from other sources like Australia and Qatar. Both of these countries are American allies, and the US Navy could more easily cut off their exports during an Asian crisis, thus applying pressure on China in that scenario. Russia is neutral in the Sino-U.S. dimension of the New Cold War, just like China is neutral to the Russian-American one, with both prioritizing their national interests as their leaders understand them to be.
Bullet Points:
** Worldwide demand for liquefied natural gas will increase by about 60% in the next decade and a half, thanks to economic expansion, emissions-cutting efforts, and the growth of artificial intelligence, Shell said this week (Reuters). Forbes reported: “President Donald Trump’s guarantee to supply liquefied natural gas to Europe furthers his broader push for U.S. “energy dominance,” marking a stark reversal of the Biden Administration’s pause on approving new LNG export infrastructure permits. While Trump’s approach to energy policy correctly identifies LNG as a growth driver and an essential geopolitical lever, expanding LNG exports risks domestic energy prices and should be balanced with other reliable energy sources like nuclear power to maximize its benefits and ensure long-term energy security.”
** Last week, Don Lemon just showed up on Bill Maher’s podcast and shared his brilliant vision for the future of the Democrat Party. And let me tell you, I love his vision. He says the Democrats should put forward the people everyone loves—like AOC, Jasmine Crockett, and Eric Swalwell. Yes, you heard that right: Eric Swalwell. Let’s just let that sentence sink in for a second. That sentence alone might be the first time anyone has uttered “love” and “Eric Swalwell” in the same breath. I’m sure the Chinese spy probably told him she loved him. She probably said, “I love you, Eric Swalwell,” He didn’t think it was weird that she used his full name. And don’t forget Jasmine Crockett, who I’m pretty sure most people think works the drive-thru at Arby’s, not as a member of Congress.
MAGA
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Colo. – U.S. Northern Command activated a new Joint Task Force today at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, to tactically synchronize Department of Defense (DOD) efforts to secure and seal the southern border.
Under the direction of USNORTHCOM, Joint Task Force-Southern Border (JTF-SB) assumed the synchronizer of several USNORTHCOM activities and military forces from Joint Task Force-North (JTF-N). The transfer of authority, or TOA, to JTF-SB aligns efforts to seal the southern border and repel illegal activity under a single Joint Task Force responsible for full-scale, agile, and all-domain operations, allowing for more effective and efficient DoD operations. Joint Task Force-North will continue its core mission of detecting and monitoring transnational criminal organizations’ threats within and along approaches to the continental United States.
A Ceasefire Violation?
A Ukrainian drone attack targeted Russia’s Engels Air Base in the Saratov region, 300 miles from the Ukrainian border, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials. These claims are supported by an abundance of dramatic imagery footage. At this stage, it’s unclear whether any Russian aircraft were damaged in the incident, although there are strong indications that the primary target may have been a weapons storage area at the base.
Long-range bombers flying from the air base regularly attack Ukraine and the airfield, and others like it have long been high-priority targets for Kiev. Videos and photos posted to social media showed the attack and its aftermath early this morning, local time. Some of these videos have since been independently verified.
The strikes were made by Ukrainian-made long-range one-way attack drones, with at least one video seemingly indicating the use of the twin-boom Lyutyy or the visually similar PD-2. These types have been used multiple times to attack targets deep inside Russia.”
Identify the Aircraft
1
Three built
Double header! Love it! Quick lunch break and more great news! MAGA? V.M. has always been great. On the off days I read the archives!
X2
Zagros – if you want to make it hard for enemies to find a ship, hide it at the bottom of the sea.
Maybe the moo-las will reflag it as a submarine to keep it on the active list?
That was not Zagros.
That was Zagros.
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Antonov An-71 Madcap
Yes. It was never ready for prime time.
MAGA (and all the Military acronyms that followed in that most excellent Brief): Wonder if some DFJ (my own acronym for District Federal Judge, aka “black robe subversive”) will forcibly wade into the Border SITREP and tell USNORTHCOM to cease and desist “until he or she has an opportunity to review their action”…because…”I wear a black robe doncha know and I can have a say into anything I damn well please!…or some such anarchy nonsense?
BTW, notice Putin’s not messing with Finland…SISU baby!
Those boys and girls are crazy tough and know how to survive in the great white North, they don’t need tanks, just an RK 62 and a Iisakki Järvenpää when they run out of ammo.
Emergency Powers Remove Regulations
The environazis are clutching their pearls and shopping for sympathetic judges. So long as the money flows, the law firm billings will be fat.
All Finland needs is another Simo Häyhä and they will be Ok.
It Seems Kiev does not want the Stream of Ill gotten Monies to dry up ,So they will continue to wage a losing War.
My Take on the whole war is simply the same basically as the Cuban Missile Crisis to the US . However the big difference to that is the Amount of Money Grifted from the Us to Keep Zalinski Quiet and both he and the Dems (as Well as MANY Republicans Rich )
dumb question:
is Z-skyy (or his long-range one-way attack drone manipulators [ADMs]) that foolish to break the ceasefire (at this time)?
as little as I think of Z-skyy, I find it very difficult to believe this; it would be of zero benefit to the Ukr from any direction I can see
OTOH, I keep thinking that V-V is a master chess player, paranoid that I am
Somebody has an interest in continued fighting and used US intel to target the place.
” it would be of zero benefit to the Ukr”
Agreed. That said, I am not convinced that the best interests of the Ukraine or its people are Zelenskyy’s priority.
The ceasefire only applies / applied to energy infrastructure.
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Reports indicate the Russians are still targeting energy infrastructure.
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I doubt that Putin will like what happens (whatever it is) if he negotiates
with Trump in bad faith (Zelensky doesn’t seem to be enjoying his results),
but I don’t know if Putin is actually capable of negotiating in good faith.
– Kle.
I ‘think’ Zagros is playing a submarine right now…
Artificial reef now – very woke
If anything happened to Zagros, it might have just sunk all by itself.
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I doubt we sank it, in any case. If we’re going to sink one Iranian ship,
why not just sink them all? The effort is essentially zero in either case.
– Kle.
> other sources like Australia and Qatar. Both of these countries are American allies, and the US Navy could more easily cut off their exports during an Asian crisis, thus applying pressure on China in that scenario.
Because blockading trade of oil to Japan worked so well the last time??