this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2026
356 points (98.6% liked)

politics

27908 readers
2903 users here now

Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!

Rules:

  1. Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.

Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.

Example:

  1. Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
  2. Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
  3. No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
  4. Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
  5. No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning

We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.

All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.

That's all the rules!

Civic Links

• Register To Vote

• Citizenship Resource Center

• Congressional Awards Program

• Federal Government Agencies

• Library of Congress Legislative Resources

• The White House

• U.S. House of Representatives

• U.S. Senate

Partnered Communities:

• News

• World News

• Business News

• Political Discussion

• Ask Politics

• Military News

• Global Politics

• Moderate Politics

• Progressive Politics

• UK Politics

• Canadian Politics

• Australian Politics

• New Zealand Politics

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
outrageousmatter@lemmy.world
aidan@lemmy.world
jordanlund@lemmy.world
little_cow@lemmy.world
Theonetheycall1845@lemmy.world
JuBe@lemmy.world
Lasherz12@lemmy.world
356
Staggering evidence trove shows who put Trump in the White House — and controls him still (www.rawstory.com)
submitted 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) by Substance_P@lemmy.world to c/politics@lemmy.world
55 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Paywall removed:

Intelligence sources believe Epstein was running ‘the world’s largest honeytrap operation’ on behalf of the KGB when he procured women for his network of associates.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] wuffah@lemmy.world 40 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (3 children)

Weak damaged man, weak damaged president, weak damaged nation.

The office of the president is far too powerful, just as the anti-federalists feared:

Holly Brewer, the Burke Professor of American History at the University of Maryland and the brief's main author, told ABC News that historical writings from key figures, including Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and others as well as the records from the states as they ratified the Constitution explicitly show they were against "another runaway monarchy" after suffering under Great Britain's King George III.

And now, Putin is our defacto president. Disgusting.

[–] Mulligrubs@lemmy.world 11 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

They also fought tooth and nail against fiat currency/central banking...

So of course we have the FED, the king of all central banking!

They also fought tooth and nail against the federal government being a moral arbiter with too much power....

So of course we now have a goliath super surveillance state working hand in hand with megachurches and companies!

They also fought tooth and nail against military/police power abuse...

So of course now we now have asset forfeiture and immunity to prosecution!

etc., etc.

The problem with ignoring the constitution for decades is you can't decide it counts now and try to enforce it...

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 22 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

The office of the president is far too powerful

The office of the Republican president is far too powerful.

The office of the Democratic president is impotent and feeble.

Putin is our defacto president

It's so funny to see the US intelligence services working overtime for sixteen years to do regime change in Russia. And because they keep fucking it up, the presumption is that we're in Russia's thrall.

Meanwhile, Benjamin Netanyahu takes flights out to DC every few years to give joint chamber speeches at our own capital building. He gives his minions in our legislature explicit marching orders, while his affiliates in AIPAC drop billions of dollars into primary and national congressional races, influence peddle to affect judicial appointments, and lobby states to outlaw criticism of the Israeli state, and we're just like "Oh yeah, this is normal, nothing to see here".

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 16 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Trump didn't nail up a pic of him and natanyahu on the white house wall a few weeks ago, but he did putin. Besides they can all be in bed together, which is probably the most likely.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 4 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Trump didn’t nail up a pic of him and natanyahu on the white house wall a few weeks ago

Trump shaking hands with Netanyahu doesn't Own The Libs. It's one of those issues Chuck Schumer races Mitch McConnell and Mike Johnson to applaud him on.

Besides they can all be in bed together

I don't think for a second that anyone believes Democrats are in bed with Putin. And the urgency to take the fight to Russia is a major dividing line between MAGA Republicans and Neocon leftovers. (One that Trump was on the other side of as late as 2019)

It would be safer to say Netayahu is in bed with Putin, pulling strings on his behalf, than that the Trump GOP is aligned with Putin directly and not just playing Ukraine and Russia off against one another for their own benefit.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 10 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Besides they can all be in bed together

I mean Putin, Natanyahu and Trump are in bed together.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I think the situation is more complex than that. These are three expansionist imperial powers in a very loose coalition, perfectly happy to stab the other two in the back if it suits them.

The idea that Putin "owns" Trump is American media fiction. It's not Devin Nunes sitting in the VP chair and its not Aleksandr Dugin operating as his Homeland Security Advisor. The folks that have their hooks deepest into Trump are 100% American.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 3 points 5 hours ago (1 children)
[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

Also research Cambridge Analytica

Cambridge Analytica Ltd. (CA), previously known as SCL USA, was a British political consulting firm that came to prominence through the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal. It was founded in 2013, as a subsidiary of the private intelligence company and self-described "global election management agency" SCL Group by long-time SCL executives Nigel Oakes, Alexander Nix and Alexander Oakes, with Nix as CEO. Cambridge Analytica was hired by a variety of political actors, including the Trinidadian government in 2010 and the 2016 presidential campaigns of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump.

Nigel John Oakes (born July 1962) is a British businessman, and the founder and CEO of Behavioural Dynamics Institute and SCL Group

Alexander James Ashburner Nix (born 1 May 1975) is a British businessman who was the former CEO of Cambridge Analytica

Alexander Waddington Oakes (born November 1968) is a British businessman, and the co-founder and an executive of Behavioural Dynamics Institute and SCL Group

So, I'm seeing a country's name come up over and over again. But it's not Russia.

The firm maintained offices in London, New York City, and Washington, D.C.

Cambridge Analytica (SCL USA) was incorporated in January 2013 with its registered office being in Westferry Circus, London and consisting of just one staff member, director and CEO Alexander Nix (also appointed in January 2015).[13] Nix was also the director of nine similar companies sharing the same registered offices in London, including Firecrest technologies, Emerdata and six SCL Group companies including "SCL elections limited".[14] Nigel Oakes, known as the former boyfriend of Lady Helen Windsor, had founded the predecessor SCL Group in the 1990s, and in 2005 Oakes established SCL Group together with his brother Alexander Oakes and Alexander Nix; SCL Group was the parent company of Cambridge Analytica.[15] Former Conservative minister and MP Sir Geoffrey Pattie was the founding chairman of SCL; Lord Ivar Mountbatten also joined Oakes as a director of the company.[12] As a result of the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal, Nix was removed as CEO and replaced by Julian Wheatland before the company closed.[16] Several of the company's executives were Old Etonians.

Yeah, I'm seeing a whole lot of Brits show up in this article.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 hours ago (1 children)
[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 0 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

Aleksandr Kogan, the Cambridge University academic who orchestrated the harvesting of Facebook data

Aleksandr Kogan (born April 6, 1986) is a Moldovan-born American scientist

Education University of California, Berkeley (BA)

University of Hong Kong (MA, PhD)

:-/

The chief executive of Lukoil, Vagit Alekperov, is a former Soviet oil minister who has said the strategic aims of Lukoil are closely aligned with those of Russia. “I have only one task connected with politics, to help the country and the company. I’m not close to Mr Putin, but I treat him with great respect,” he told the New York Times.

In 1990, Alekperov was appointed deputy minister of the Oil and Gas Industry of the Soviet Union and became the youngest deputy energy minister in Soviet history

At this time, Western oil companies began actively seeking partners in Russia. During a visit to British Petroleum facilities in the United Kingdom in 1990, Alekperov personally headed the Russian delegation at the negotiations. Rondo Fehlberg, an executive at BP, told NY Times that Alekperov took control of the agenda during that 1990 trip, sternly asking the BP executives to explain how a modern oil company should be set up.

...

During at least three meetings in Turkey and London in 2014 and 2015, executives associated with Alekperov's firm Lukoil allegedly questioned persons at the Alexander Nix associated firms SCL Group, which is closely associated with Aleksandr Kogan, and Cambridge Analytica, which is closely associated with Steve Bannon, who supported Donald Trump's 2016 campaign for President of the United States, and Robert Mercer, who supported Ted Cruz's campaign for President of the United States, about how United States election data about American voters could be used to target them according to Christopher Wylie

...

In 2000, Lukoil acquired the distribution and marketing operations of American oil company Getty Oil. This resulted in the control of a network of gas stations in the United States, as well as the first time Lukoil entered the American oil market.

In September 2004, ConocoPhillips purchased a 7.6% stake in Lukoil for about $2 billion. According to some commentators, the sale of this deal was planned before in a personal meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and ConocoPhillips' president and CEO, James Mulva. After the auction, Lukoil and ConocoPhillips announced the creation of a strategic alliance. Later, the American company increased its stake to 20% in Lukoil and sold to the Russian company part of its network of gas stations in the United States and Western Europe. The two oil companies also agreed to jointly develop an oil and gas field in the northern Timan-Pechora area of Russia (Komi Republic) and intended to secure the rights to develop the West Qurna Field in Iraq, one of the country's largest.

Hey look there's more....

The EU’s gas love-in with Azerbaijan is a gift for the Russian oil giant Lukoil

Lukoil gas station rebranded BP

UK extends sanctions exemption for Lukoil Bulgaria subsidiaries

Oh what a tangled web we weave.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 1 points 42 minutes ago

Oh okay. You obviously didn't look at the links from c/politics sidebar. Putin, get off the internet, lol. You're too old for this.

[–] whereIsTamara@lemmy.org 1 points 4 hours ago

Are you willing to admit Trump is a pedophile yet?