Donald Trump's fight with Zelensky reflects how the US treats Ukraine as a colony. He demands control of its rare earths & critical minerals, to weaken China, re-industrialize, and build tech products
Great analysis as always, Ben. On a side note, written transcripts of Trump's unscripted comments always show his immature use of language and his inability to articulate complex ideas.
Whatever the case, he has nonetheless proven to be extremely good at maniuplating the masses in the US, many of whom are not exactly intellectual giants. Arguably the idiot style makes one more relatable when the audience are dimwits.
Inarticulate or not, he brings to bear a high level of skill at depolying a million manipulation and bullying techniques. He is also extremely cunning, and time and again he is succesful at setting out linguistic traps for his political opponents to fall into; lures them into discussing things on the premises of his preferred ideological frameworks where they can only lose; and he touches upon all the subjects guaranteed to trigger the "lizzard brain" and move the conversation away from reasoning and rational behaviour.
So I'd worry more about his effectiveness and results in dragging the country deep into the gutter, and worry less about his style. He is far less stupid and less off the cuff than you might assume, and most of his opponents are more stupid and amateurish than you realise.
This is the reality you need to understand if you wish to succesfully oppose the horrible agenda he is on.
Amazing how the hypnotized dumb and deceived MAGA sheep are taught to worship the greatest evil scum on this planet as their messiah. An infantile narcissist greedy heartless ABUSER mafioso completely divorced from the value of life, who has the emotional maturity of a 3 year old. Criminal ABUSIVE MAFIOSOS, the lowest level of human development, are dominating and exploiting all life on this planet, and they can do this only becasue of how dumb gullible and deceived are their MAGA hypnotized worshippers.
PS. Of course the clueless mainstream liberals are also thoroughly propagandized and decieved and are a major asset to the empire (and i wrote about this extensively elsewhere) but in this comment i am focusing specifically on the hypnotized & deceived MAGA sheep because right now they are the ones that the empire relies on for blind support and cheerleading (and crushing all possibility of removing our hierarchical oppressors and jailors from power)
IMHO, what's unprecedented now is that the anti-life conservative billionaire abusers mass-murderers and theives (including their welfare state for billionaires, theor genocidal crushing of human beings, and their bringing in technocratic feudal domination system - creation of the digital technocratic prison for the masses of impoverished serfs dominated by a tiny group of ultra-wealthy love-ignorant heart-divorced scum, what's unprecendented is that this is being sold to their hypnotized gullible unintelligent and decived worshippers as "anti-elite" and "pro freedom" and "populist". The very people who should have known better are nkw the greatest cheerleaders for the domination of humanity by infantile billionaore low lifes.
The clueless propagandized mainstream liberals and the hypnotized dumb MAGA sheep are twins, two sides of the same coins. These two hypnotozed groups are the MAIN reason that the elite are able to get away with murder and theft and dominating us. They can rely on MAGA or clueless mainstream liberals to always support them and always object to any attempt to remove the scum ruling class billionaire abusers and dominators from power.
Yes, of course, i've said so numerous timrs. Been talking for ages about the evil of the pro-billionaire right wing capitalist DNC and how it is the other wing of the oligarchy, about the clueless mainstream liberals and what an asset they are to the billionaires' empire (can see my profile for more on that if interested, here is one example https://substack.com/@headandheart1/note/c-91175515), HOWEVER, what's unprecedented now IMHO is that the half of the oligarchy - the anti-life conservative billionaire abusers mass-murderers and theives (including their welfare state for billionaires and diligent work to enrich the ultra-rich and transfer humanity's wealth and resources upwards for private ownership by the ultra-rich, including their division of the 99% along religious lines and pitting us against each other, including their genocidal crushing of human beings, including their usheing in of the new feudalism, the technocratic feudal domination system - their creation of the digital technocratic prison for the masses of impoverished serfs dominated by a tiny group of ultra-wealthy love-ignorant heart-divorced mafioso scum) what's unprecendented is that all of this is being sold to their hypnotized gullible unintelligent and decived worshippers as "anti-elite" and "pro freedom" and "populist". The very people who should have known better have been turned by MAGA stupidity into the greatest cheerleaders for the abuse, oppression and domination of humanity by infantile billionaire low lifes, abuser mafia bullies, the LOWEST LEVEL OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. These are the anti-egalitarian hierarchical abusers, murderers, deceivers and jailors that the MAGA sheep are taught to worship as 'anti-elite rebels". That is what is so profoundly alarming and unprecedented!!
As i said numerous times - the clueless propagandized mainstream liberals and the hypnotized dumb MAGA sheep are twins, two sides of the same coins. These two hypnotized echo-chambers are the MAIN reason that the elite are able to get away with murder and theft and dominating us. They can rely on MAGA or clueless mainstream liberals to always support them and always object to any attempt to remove the scum abuswrs from power.
The problem is (which is what i was trying to point out in tne comment) that the MAGA fools actually believe they are anti-elite and bringing down the 'deep state' and don't recognize how they are being played. That is what iwas focusing on, but yes, clueless mainstream liberals are just as much of a problem as tne MAGA sheep, and just as much of an asset for the ruling class as the MAGA sheep
The most amazing aspect of this current issue is level of gross, naked corruption Trump and the likes of Lindsey Graham are willing to display… obviously believing that most American will be onboard with it. Perhaps they are right. After what the mainstream media has condoned in Gaza, it seems there is no level of depravity to be taken off the table. The only thing that keeps me sane (if that can be the proper word in this context) is the knowledge that anthropogenic climate disruption, already well in motion, is in the process of releveling the playing field, and delivering to the human species what it has worked so hard to achieve. Coming soon to a city and shoreline near you.
Only it won't be level. The US, EU, UK and Russia are in the lucky latitudes. Africa, West Asia, parts of China, India, Pakistan and South America are going to be considerably worse off.
Widen your perspective. The Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) is melting at a rate that goes way beyond what past scientific estimates have projected. Melting of the GIS alone is projected to raise the ocean level 20 feet. Think of Florida alone: where will all of those people go… who have lost everything? Ditto NY! Coastal real estate (everywhere) will begin to become worthless as more folks become aware of the issue (especially in the next 5 to 10 years). Who picks up the slack? Banking, real estate, emergency services, governments… they begin to collapse into one another. It may not be level at first, but that will change soon enough. We are all f**ked; some just sooner than others.
"The US government pushed Ukraine into war with Russia."
This is true, but not the whole truth. The Ukrainian neonazi government did not need to be pushed. They wanted war. So much so, that as the country lies dying, this government still resists an end to the war that would likely save hundreds of thousands of their young men from a violent and pointless death.
I feel for the Ukrainian people, but their government is fascist and their leader has been a de facto dictator for many years now. Trump was absolutely correct to say so. He was also correct to point out the danger this war has created to the whole planet: nuclear WW3! I'm glad to hear him say that. It seems very sane compared to the Biden administration's attitude to this danger.
Also, the US is not the US. The Biden administration and the Dems, in particular have been and remain the most committed to the Ukraine strategy to weaken Russia. Trump seems to disagree with that strategy and is trying to undo it. Clearly there are two rival factions of the US ruling class with different foreign policy. Yes, they have the same imperialist strategy, but they have sharp tactical differences. That needs to be acknowledged in any analysis.
The uniparty has largely spoken with one voice on foreign policy for decades prior to Trump, so we are still conditioned to look at Imperialism as a monolith. This is no longer true and any analysis still approaching the question of Imperialist foreign policy this way will suffer for it.
To be more precise, the Dem wing of the ruling class "pushed" the more than willing neo Nazis government of Ukraine into an unwinnable war. The Dems and their Euro allies persist in this doomed strategy by painting Zelinsky as a true representative of the Ukrainian people and as a victim of Trump. The msm is filled with this message since the meeting. It is an absolute lie. The idea it to punish Trump for exposing their crimes and one of their henchmen, Z. They wish to dissuade him from ending this extremely dangerous war. Every sane person should want this war to end immediately.
The people of Ukraine have been primarily victimized by their own government and the Biden/Obama administrations. The government of Ukraine is no victim here. Trump pursued an economic deal with this corrupt government to increase the economic exploration of the country after the war ends. This indicates that although he doesn't want the war to continue, again very sane, he seeks to benefit Imperialism in his own manner and without the war. This is still unacceptable, but a tremendous improvement on the recklessness of the last administration.
There are minimal proven COMMERCIALLY RECOVERABLE rare earth minerals in Ukraine.
If there are commercially viable deposits, they are in the part of Ukraine currently considered by Russia to be Russian territory (the eastern Oblasts making up New Russia).
What politicians BELIEVE to be there, when NOT BASED on accepted geological evidence and long-established regulations for declaring the existence of commercial deposits in developed economies (like the US and Canada), is propaganda. This data does NOT exist for rare earths in Ukraine.
Assertions, without proper geological sampling and certified laboratory assays as proof, and sworn to by govt.-licensed Geologists, would be considered illegal content if a mining company made those baseless claims in a SEC filing. No intelligent, moderately sophisticated investor or bank, would believe the evidence provided to support the existence of huge economically exploitable rare earth deposits in Ukraine.
In addition, it is IRONIC that a UK propaganda rag labelled the US actions Imperialistic and/or Colonialist, given the long history of English exploitation of its colonies around the globe, which continues. The Ukraine has become a defacto British (and US) Colonial dependency, given the influence of MI6 and the British Military in Ukraine. Recent evidence is the newly signed 100 Year Support Agreement PM Starmer has signed with Ukraine... a pact reputed to have non-public clauses that gives the UK control of Ukrainian Ports, mineral deposits and other types of infrastructure...for those 100 years (does Hong Kong ring a bell?)
The idea that the US and its NATO allies were ever giving Ukraine hundreds of $Billion out of ALTRUISM and concern for Democracy is foolish and/or naive to begin with.
The people in charge of Ukraine knew this all along. They knew this when Blackrock and other players signed longterm leases on Ukrainian lands (because it used to be illegal for non-Ukrainians to own the land, so the oligarchs and politicians owned the land and leased it. After the war started, Ukraine changed the laws and the owners started to sell the land so they could pocket huge sums, having some doubts about how many years they could continue to collect the rents.
Also ironically, in the talks between the US and Russia, there has apparently been an agreement to explore the possibility of a joint venture between the two super-powers. The potential deals are set to jointly explore and exploit rare earth and other mineral deposits located in what used to be Ukraine and in Russia. Russia has much more of the earths valuable minerals than the USA and much more than it needs for itself.
As for environmentalists objecting... of course there would be at least some who would object to ANY mining venture. They would also object to making the lands in the US Midwest (or the Ukrainian Steppes) into farms, because it would require ruining the vast prairie habitat.
The hidden sell-off Ukranian land has been going on for over a decade, as per requirements of the IMF and the European reconstruction development bank. Via companies in tax avoidance countries and debt laden on Ukrainian companies with the debt held by foreign financial companies.
This is spot on. Glad to see some emotion at the vileness of the US empire. We're not whining liberals; we should feel sorry for Z and Ukraine. They've been well and truly f£cked over.
I wonder if the raw (sic) earth will be found in whatever's left of Ukraine or in the part that will be/is now Russian?
You briefly mentioned the environmental cost of extracting minerals long protected by the people of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland is the colonial name), Trump is going to trample on indigenous people without a second thought.
You also mentioned that Ukraine feeds Africa. This gives Trump incredible political power. As the climate crisis accelerates, with Ukraine being in a lucky latitude and Africa being in a very unlucky one, we can forget rare minerals, food will be the tool of power.
He’s not a dictator. He’s an actor they gave a lot of cocaine to to be in the impossible position of supposedly getting rid of Neonazis, funded and armed by the US and UK, who then credibly threatened to kill him if he tried to. Who was ready to sign a peace deal in 2022 but had considerable pressure applied to him not to.
He’s a vain man and is well out of his depth. But I’m not perfect either.
People aren’t good or evil. We’re all products of our conditioning and upbringing. We’re punished by what we do, not because of it. I have compassion for everyone.
If that makes me a whining f-ing liberal then so be it.
No, well yes, but this is what the British, Europeans and US have been doing for centuries. In the beginning we were open about our supposed superiority and entitlement, then we had to dress it up as spreading democracy. Now Trump has taken us back to open white supremacy. The US takes whatever it wants because of the divine right of Kings, not because they pretend its for the greater good.
WHY UK WANTS UKRAINE'S COBALT AND RARE EARTH MINERALS
Do you remember Trump's enigmatic tweet "Covfefe"? It was not a typo! It was a clue to the importance of Ukraine to the electronics and energy industries.
Did Sir Keir Starmer get the jump on Trump over the rare earth minerals in Ukraine?
Alex Krainer thinks so, citing the 100 year agreement made between UK and Ukraine in January 2025. Trump was just the last to know…. what is worse, today’s Lancaster House, London summit on Ukraine includes 19 world leaders, but Trump was not invited.
Perhaps I'm too cynical but to me the Trump/Vance/Zelensky dummy spit was theatre, like Trump's embrace of Netanyahu's 2035 plan for a transit port/resort in north Gaza. Trump is a devious manipulator. Zelensky is no innocent and immediately ran to UK/Europe for "protection" which resulted in promises of more troop support etc. Trump tells MAGA that US gets nothing from Ukraine, however as this report says "the US military-industrial complex made a killing off of Ukraine "aid"... a major win for the weapons industry and shareholders. Control of nuclear power reactors and uranium supply in Ukraine has gone from Russia to Westinghouse (now US /Canada owned) in the last few years. (More shareholders). As Kojo shows above, US and other int finance now own Ukraine's fertile farmlands. Russia pushed into disputed Ukraine territory in Feb 2022. Two months later in April 2022 this "commentary" on rebuilding Ukraine through more privatisation etc was floated. Part of a very early "plan" with no regard for the destruction of human life in Ukraine or Russia... just deliberate manipulation and financial theft of a vulnerable country. Too cynical ?
It's more about staking out that Rump Ukraine and Novorossiya are off limits after war to EU, China, and any other players who also depend on USA market, with the aim of making Ukraine into a festering mess that keeps the EU and Russia occupied and less likely to challenge USA. Anyone who attempts to use any assets in Rump Ukraine/Novorossiya without USA approval will also be hit with sanctions for "theft" of US owned assets. That's why the agreement is so broad that even Odessa Port, already promised to British would become USA asset instead.
Great analysis as always, Ben. On a side note, written transcripts of Trump's unscripted comments always show his immature use of language and his inability to articulate complex ideas.
Whatever the case, he has nonetheless proven to be extremely good at maniuplating the masses in the US, many of whom are not exactly intellectual giants. Arguably the idiot style makes one more relatable when the audience are dimwits.
Inarticulate or not, he brings to bear a high level of skill at depolying a million manipulation and bullying techniques. He is also extremely cunning, and time and again he is succesful at setting out linguistic traps for his political opponents to fall into; lures them into discussing things on the premises of his preferred ideological frameworks where they can only lose; and he touches upon all the subjects guaranteed to trigger the "lizzard brain" and move the conversation away from reasoning and rational behaviour.
So I'd worry more about his effectiveness and results in dragging the country deep into the gutter, and worry less about his style. He is far less stupid and less off the cuff than you might assume, and most of his opponents are more stupid and amateurish than you realise.
This is the reality you need to understand if you wish to succesfully oppose the horrible agenda he is on.
Amazing how the hypnotized dumb and deceived MAGA sheep are taught to worship the greatest evil scum on this planet as their messiah. An infantile narcissist greedy heartless ABUSER mafioso completely divorced from the value of life, who has the emotional maturity of a 3 year old. Criminal ABUSIVE MAFIOSOS, the lowest level of human development, are dominating and exploiting all life on this planet, and they can do this only becasue of how dumb gullible and deceived are their MAGA hypnotized worshippers.
PS. Of course the clueless mainstream liberals are also thoroughly propagandized and decieved and are a major asset to the empire (and i wrote about this extensively elsewhere) but in this comment i am focusing specifically on the hypnotized & deceived MAGA sheep because right now they are the ones that the empire relies on for blind support and cheerleading (and crushing all possibility of removing our hierarchical oppressors and jailors from power)
IMHO, what's unprecedented now is that the anti-life conservative billionaire abusers mass-murderers and theives (including their welfare state for billionaires, theor genocidal crushing of human beings, and their bringing in technocratic feudal domination system - creation of the digital technocratic prison for the masses of impoverished serfs dominated by a tiny group of ultra-wealthy love-ignorant heart-divorced scum, what's unprecendented is that this is being sold to their hypnotized gullible unintelligent and decived worshippers as "anti-elite" and "pro freedom" and "populist". The very people who should have known better are nkw the greatest cheerleaders for the domination of humanity by infantile billionaore low lifes.
The clueless propagandized mainstream liberals and the hypnotized dumb MAGA sheep are twins, two sides of the same coins. These two hypnotozed groups are the MAIN reason that the elite are able to get away with murder and theft and dominating us. They can rely on MAGA or clueless mainstream liberals to always support them and always object to any attempt to remove the scum ruling class billionaire abusers and dominators from power.
What’s happening has been the plan all along. The dems are equally responsible. Did you miss that part?
Yes, of course, i've said so numerous timrs. Been talking for ages about the evil of the pro-billionaire right wing capitalist DNC and how it is the other wing of the oligarchy, about the clueless mainstream liberals and what an asset they are to the billionaires' empire (can see my profile for more on that if interested, here is one example https://substack.com/@headandheart1/note/c-91175515), HOWEVER, what's unprecedented now IMHO is that the half of the oligarchy - the anti-life conservative billionaire abusers mass-murderers and theives (including their welfare state for billionaires and diligent work to enrich the ultra-rich and transfer humanity's wealth and resources upwards for private ownership by the ultra-rich, including their division of the 99% along religious lines and pitting us against each other, including their genocidal crushing of human beings, including their usheing in of the new feudalism, the technocratic feudal domination system - their creation of the digital technocratic prison for the masses of impoverished serfs dominated by a tiny group of ultra-wealthy love-ignorant heart-divorced mafioso scum) what's unprecendented is that all of this is being sold to their hypnotized gullible unintelligent and decived worshippers as "anti-elite" and "pro freedom" and "populist". The very people who should have known better have been turned by MAGA stupidity into the greatest cheerleaders for the abuse, oppression and domination of humanity by infantile billionaire low lifes, abuser mafia bullies, the LOWEST LEVEL OF HUMAN DEVELOPMENT. These are the anti-egalitarian hierarchical abusers, murderers, deceivers and jailors that the MAGA sheep are taught to worship as 'anti-elite rebels". That is what is so profoundly alarming and unprecedented!!
As i said numerous times - the clueless propagandized mainstream liberals and the hypnotized dumb MAGA sheep are twins, two sides of the same coins. These two hypnotized echo-chambers are the MAIN reason that the elite are able to get away with murder and theft and dominating us. They can rely on MAGA or clueless mainstream liberals to always support them and always object to any attempt to remove the scum abuswrs from power.
The problem is (which is what i was trying to point out in tne comment) that the MAGA fools actually believe they are anti-elite and bringing down the 'deep state' and don't recognize how they are being played. That is what iwas focusing on, but yes, clueless mainstream liberals are just as much of a problem as tne MAGA sheep, and just as much of an asset for the ruling class as the MAGA sheep
Both trumpism AND anti-trumpism are fake decoy "revolutions" https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/both-trumpism-and-anti-trumpism-are?utm_campaign=posts-open-in-app&triedRedirect=true
Thanks for clarifying!
The most amazing aspect of this current issue is level of gross, naked corruption Trump and the likes of Lindsey Graham are willing to display… obviously believing that most American will be onboard with it. Perhaps they are right. After what the mainstream media has condoned in Gaza, it seems there is no level of depravity to be taken off the table. The only thing that keeps me sane (if that can be the proper word in this context) is the knowledge that anthropogenic climate disruption, already well in motion, is in the process of releveling the playing field, and delivering to the human species what it has worked so hard to achieve. Coming soon to a city and shoreline near you.
Only it won't be level. The US, EU, UK and Russia are in the lucky latitudes. Africa, West Asia, parts of China, India, Pakistan and South America are going to be considerably worse off.
Widen your perspective. The Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) is melting at a rate that goes way beyond what past scientific estimates have projected. Melting of the GIS alone is projected to raise the ocean level 20 feet. Think of Florida alone: where will all of those people go… who have lost everything? Ditto NY! Coastal real estate (everywhere) will begin to become worthless as more folks become aware of the issue (especially in the next 5 to 10 years). Who picks up the slack? Banking, real estate, emergency services, governments… they begin to collapse into one another. It may not be level at first, but that will change soon enough. We are all f**ked; some just sooner than others.
"The US government pushed Ukraine into war with Russia."
This is true, but not the whole truth. The Ukrainian neonazi government did not need to be pushed. They wanted war. So much so, that as the country lies dying, this government still resists an end to the war that would likely save hundreds of thousands of their young men from a violent and pointless death.
I feel for the Ukrainian people, but their government is fascist and their leader has been a de facto dictator for many years now. Trump was absolutely correct to say so. He was also correct to point out the danger this war has created to the whole planet: nuclear WW3! I'm glad to hear him say that. It seems very sane compared to the Biden administration's attitude to this danger.
Also, the US is not the US. The Biden administration and the Dems, in particular have been and remain the most committed to the Ukraine strategy to weaken Russia. Trump seems to disagree with that strategy and is trying to undo it. Clearly there are two rival factions of the US ruling class with different foreign policy. Yes, they have the same imperialist strategy, but they have sharp tactical differences. That needs to be acknowledged in any analysis.
The uniparty has largely spoken with one voice on foreign policy for decades prior to Trump, so we are still conditioned to look at Imperialism as a monolith. This is no longer true and any analysis still approaching the question of Imperialist foreign policy this way will suffer for it.
To be more precise, the Dem wing of the ruling class "pushed" the more than willing neo Nazis government of Ukraine into an unwinnable war. The Dems and their Euro allies persist in this doomed strategy by painting Zelinsky as a true representative of the Ukrainian people and as a victim of Trump. The msm is filled with this message since the meeting. It is an absolute lie. The idea it to punish Trump for exposing their crimes and one of their henchmen, Z. They wish to dissuade him from ending this extremely dangerous war. Every sane person should want this war to end immediately.
The people of Ukraine have been primarily victimized by their own government and the Biden/Obama administrations. The government of Ukraine is no victim here. Trump pursued an economic deal with this corrupt government to increase the economic exploration of the country after the war ends. This indicates that although he doesn't want the war to continue, again very sane, he seeks to benefit Imperialism in his own manner and without the war. This is still unacceptable, but a tremendous improvement on the recklessness of the last administration.
Thank you Ben Norton. As always you iluminate a subjectthoroughly
There are minimal proven COMMERCIALLY RECOVERABLE rare earth minerals in Ukraine.
If there are commercially viable deposits, they are in the part of Ukraine currently considered by Russia to be Russian territory (the eastern Oblasts making up New Russia).
What politicians BELIEVE to be there, when NOT BASED on accepted geological evidence and long-established regulations for declaring the existence of commercial deposits in developed economies (like the US and Canada), is propaganda. This data does NOT exist for rare earths in Ukraine.
Assertions, without proper geological sampling and certified laboratory assays as proof, and sworn to by govt.-licensed Geologists, would be considered illegal content if a mining company made those baseless claims in a SEC filing. No intelligent, moderately sophisticated investor or bank, would believe the evidence provided to support the existence of huge economically exploitable rare earth deposits in Ukraine.
In addition, it is IRONIC that a UK propaganda rag labelled the US actions Imperialistic and/or Colonialist, given the long history of English exploitation of its colonies around the globe, which continues. The Ukraine has become a defacto British (and US) Colonial dependency, given the influence of MI6 and the British Military in Ukraine. Recent evidence is the newly signed 100 Year Support Agreement PM Starmer has signed with Ukraine... a pact reputed to have non-public clauses that gives the UK control of Ukrainian Ports, mineral deposits and other types of infrastructure...for those 100 years (does Hong Kong ring a bell?)
The idea that the US and its NATO allies were ever giving Ukraine hundreds of $Billion out of ALTRUISM and concern for Democracy is foolish and/or naive to begin with.
The people in charge of Ukraine knew this all along. They knew this when Blackrock and other players signed longterm leases on Ukrainian lands (because it used to be illegal for non-Ukrainians to own the land, so the oligarchs and politicians owned the land and leased it. After the war started, Ukraine changed the laws and the owners started to sell the land so they could pocket huge sums, having some doubts about how many years they could continue to collect the rents.
Also ironically, in the talks between the US and Russia, there has apparently been an agreement to explore the possibility of a joint venture between the two super-powers. The potential deals are set to jointly explore and exploit rare earth and other mineral deposits located in what used to be Ukraine and in Russia. Russia has much more of the earths valuable minerals than the USA and much more than it needs for itself.
As for environmentalists objecting... of course there would be at least some who would object to ANY mining venture. They would also object to making the lands in the US Midwest (or the Ukrainian Steppes) into farms, because it would require ruining the vast prairie habitat.
The hidden sell-off Ukranian land has been going on for over a decade, as per requirements of the IMF and the European reconstruction development bank. Via companies in tax avoidance countries and debt laden on Ukrainian companies with the debt held by foreign financial companies.
Predates the war that began in 2022
https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/war-theft-takeover-ukraine-agricultural-land
Wamsley calls the claim of rare earths in Ukraine a scam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tILXLxMTmgA&
This is spot on. Glad to see some emotion at the vileness of the US empire. We're not whining liberals; we should feel sorry for Z and Ukraine. They've been well and truly f£cked over.
I wonder if the raw (sic) earth will be found in whatever's left of Ukraine or in the part that will be/is now Russian?
You briefly mentioned the environmental cost of extracting minerals long protected by the people of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland is the colonial name), Trump is going to trample on indigenous people without a second thought.
You also mentioned that Ukraine feeds Africa. This gives Trump incredible political power. As the climate crisis accelerates, with Ukraine being in a lucky latitude and Africa being in a very unlucky one, we can forget rare minerals, food will be the tool of power.
We should feel sorry for Z? Are you sure your not a whining liberal? Don't conflate the dictator with the people of Ukraine, please.
He’s not a dictator. He’s an actor they gave a lot of cocaine to to be in the impossible position of supposedly getting rid of Neonazis, funded and armed by the US and UK, who then credibly threatened to kill him if he tried to. Who was ready to sign a peace deal in 2022 but had considerable pressure applied to him not to.
He’s a vain man and is well out of his depth. But I’m not perfect either.
People aren’t good or evil. We’re all products of our conditioning and upbringing. We’re punished by what we do, not because of it. I have compassion for everyone.
If that makes me a whining f-ing liberal then so be it.
I hope that the Taiwanese are watching very carefully.
So Trump becomes the global poacher, and a19th century robber baron incarnate.
No, well yes, but this is what the British, Europeans and US have been doing for centuries. In the beginning we were open about our supposed superiority and entitlement, then we had to dress it up as spreading democracy. Now Trump has taken us back to open white supremacy. The US takes whatever it wants because of the divine right of Kings, not because they pretend its for the greater good.
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal”.
Ukraine and the rest of Europe are discovering the truth of Kissinger's famous statement this week.
WHY UK WANTS UKRAINE'S COBALT AND RARE EARTH MINERALS
Do you remember Trump's enigmatic tweet "Covfefe"? It was not a typo! It was a clue to the importance of Ukraine to the electronics and energy industries.
https://open.substack.com/pub/francesleader/p/why-uk-wants-ukraines-cobalt-and?r=1qpmbr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false
President Trump was pipped to the post!
Did Sir Keir Starmer get the jump on Trump over the rare earth minerals in Ukraine?
Alex Krainer thinks so, citing the 100 year agreement made between UK and Ukraine in January 2025. Trump was just the last to know…. what is worse, today’s Lancaster House, London summit on Ukraine includes 19 world leaders, but Trump was not invited.
https://francesleader.substack.com/i/158226367/president-trump-was-pipped-to-the-post
Perhaps I'm too cynical but to me the Trump/Vance/Zelensky dummy spit was theatre, like Trump's embrace of Netanyahu's 2035 plan for a transit port/resort in north Gaza. Trump is a devious manipulator. Zelensky is no innocent and immediately ran to UK/Europe for "protection" which resulted in promises of more troop support etc. Trump tells MAGA that US gets nothing from Ukraine, however as this report says "the US military-industrial complex made a killing off of Ukraine "aid"... a major win for the weapons industry and shareholders. Control of nuclear power reactors and uranium supply in Ukraine has gone from Russia to Westinghouse (now US /Canada owned) in the last few years. (More shareholders). As Kojo shows above, US and other int finance now own Ukraine's fertile farmlands. Russia pushed into disputed Ukraine territory in Feb 2022. Two months later in April 2022 this "commentary" on rebuilding Ukraine through more privatisation etc was floated. Part of a very early "plan" with no regard for the destruction of human life in Ukraine or Russia... just deliberate manipulation and financial theft of a vulnerable country. Too cynical ?
https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2022/04/rebuilding-ukraine.html
It all makes sense now!
Logical! USA has no other interest in Ukraine so businessman Trump tryes to gain something from Bidens desaster.
It's more about staking out that Rump Ukraine and Novorossiya are off limits after war to EU, China, and any other players who also depend on USA market, with the aim of making Ukraine into a festering mess that keeps the EU and Russia occupied and less likely to challenge USA. Anyone who attempts to use any assets in Rump Ukraine/Novorossiya without USA approval will also be hit with sanctions for "theft" of US owned assets. That's why the agreement is so broad that even Odessa Port, already promised to British would become USA asset instead.