February 2025 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

"We are going to grow this economy in a way that people have never seen." - @HowardLutnick 🇺🇸 https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGYgDGqR57x/?igsh=ZWwyYjNxOWRiZ296
by Gunnar Larson 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGYgDGqR57x/?igsh=ZWwyYjNxOWRiZ296 "We are going to grow this economy in a way that people have never seen." - @HowardLutnick 🇺🇸

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News Host Joy Reid Raises Threat of Trump Selling U.S. to Putin; Ten Days Later Her Show Is Cancelled
by Gunnar Larson 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2025/02/news-host-joy-reid-raises-threat-of-… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: February 24, 2025 ~ Joy Reid, MSNBC News Host Joy Reid, MSNBC News Host On Thursday, February 13, MSNBC’s Joy Reid, host of the news program, The ReidOut, said this on air: “If Donald Trump announced tomorrow that he was selling the United States to Vladimir Putin personally and that we will now be owned by the Kremlin, every single Republican [in Congress] would say, ‘Yes, sir,’ and vote for it.” Reid’s remark came during her interview with Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Minority Leader of the House of Representatives. Jeffries had just indicated that all it would take is three House Republicans to vote with Democrats in order to do the right thing for the American people they represent. You can watch the exchange here. Just five days before Reid’s staff learned that her show had been cancelled – by reading about it first in leaked media reports and then having the fact confirmed by management – Trump and Elon Musk had appeared in a bizarre joint interview with Sean Hannity. In that interview, Trump specifically complained about MSNBC, stating the following: “And the media is so bad. When I watch MSNBC, which I don’t watch much, but you have to watch the enemy on occasion, the level of arrogance and — and cheating and — they’re just horrible people. These are horrible people.” Reid’s 7 p.m. weekday news program has been running since 2020. Over this past weekend, multiple media outlets reported that Reid’s show would end abruptly sometime this coming week. The abruptness raised suspicions of Trump’s brand of vindictiveness against his perceived enemies. Variety reported the following: “There has been growing concern within several news outlets about drawing the wrath of the Trump administration. CNN, part of Warner Bros. Discovery, has parted ways with some anchors who tilted hard against Trump’s policies and media practices, including, most recently, Jim Acosta.” Reid’s concerns about Trump’s closeness to Putin are not devoid of an evidentiary basis. Last week Trump declared that Ukraine had started the war with Russia. The Associated Press, which is suing the Trump administration itself for banning it from press events at the White House, Mar-a-Lago, and Air Force One, fact-checked Trump’s revisionist history as follows: “WHAT TRUMP SAID [about Ukraine]: ‘You’ve been there for three years. You should have ended it. … You should have never started it. You could have made a deal.’ “THE FACTS: Russia’s army crossed the border on Feb. 24, 2022, in an all-out invasion that Putin sought to justify by falsely saying it was needed to protect Russian-speaking civilians in eastern Ukraine and prevent the country from joining NATO.” Reid is also correct that the majority of Republicans in Congress have demonstrated that they are prepared to remain silent as Trump makes outlandish threats to take over Canada, Greenland, the Panama Canal, and grab ownership of the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian people. But Reid is incorrect about one thing. Not every single Republican in Congress is prepared to remain silent on the threat posed by Putin. On Thursday, February 20, Senator Thom Tillis stunned his Republican colleagues with a fiery speech against Putin on the Senate Floor. Tillis said this, standing in front of giant photographs of mass civilian graves in Ukraine: “Vladimir Putin is a liar, a murderer and responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. And that’s bad by itself. But, you know what’s worse? It’s when you employ tactics that intentionally terrorize the population.” A comment under the video summed up the rare nature of a Republican speaking out like this, writing: “One guy. A house and senate filled with self-righteous republicans, who know this goes against everything America stands for, and what do you get? One guy.”

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Midterm Election Prospects: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGdaA1DsIoz/?igsh=MXJkbW43ZDFrdHBteQ==
by Gunnar Larson 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGdaA1DsIoz/?igsh=MXJkbW43ZDFrdHBteQ==

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In other news: Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus invited Elon Musk to visit and launch Starlink satellite internet service in the country. [Bloomberg]
by Gunnar Larson 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

In other news A new polio vaccination campaign began in Gaza Saturday, *aiming to immunize 600,000 children* after the virus was found in wastewater. [UN News <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGY1tFx0NJHxwbwdYV8cJ4jUFtqIyufM05-kca…> ] Bangladesh’s interim leader *Muhammad Yunus invited Elon Musk to visit and launch Starlink* satellite internet service in the country. [Bloomberg <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGY1tFx0MqL2yrzk8f9AwlSasJFjFC_Jjwn59l…> ] *China will deepen its rural reforms to boost agriculture and food security* amid U.S. tariffs, economic slowdown, and climate change, state media reported. [Nikkei Asia <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGY1tFx0ANRmQILiR7tlppu4pTmROVRRF5Is_g…> ]

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All roads lead to Rome: Delegates from the U.N. Biodiversity Conference, aka COP16, are meeting tomorrow in the eternal city to tie up the loose ends from the last gathering in Cali, Colombia.
by Gunnar Larson 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

Let’s shift gears from Washington and Kyiv to Rome, where a major conference on nature loss isn’t grabbing international headlines — *but is highly consequential to the global south and the planet* for that matter. Delegates from the U.N. Biodiversity Conference, aka COP16, are meeting tomorrow in the eternal city to tie up the loose ends from the last gathering in Cali, Colombia <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POoixSUS6VEsTDFKugZeUZKHuvc4RNAem…> . Many of the disagreements that bedevil all COP negotiations are sure to rear their head again: unfulfilled financial promises; the push from developing countries to get their wealthier counterparts to pay up; the reluctance of wealthier countries to do so; talks on the toughest topics saved to the last possible minute, etc. Still, there’s a positive vibe at this COP, writes my colleague Jesse Chase-Lubitz, who has a cheat sheet on what to expect <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POga9-9HSPjvqqkdP9RcuOdxACFiqsb8P…>. While the three days in Rome this week won’t have the same pomp and circumstance as Colombia, that means the discussions will be far more concentrated on the meaty stuff right away. “I think we're all feeling fairly optimistic that we'll be able to come together and set out a road map for how the post-2030 resource mobilization architecture will look and so I'm feeling pretty hopeful,” says Linda Krueger of The Nature Conservancy. *Read:* At COP16 take two, delegates aim to finalize funding for biodiversity <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POga9-9HSPjvqqkdP9RcuOdxACFiqsb8P…>

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EU better work
by Gunnar Larson 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

EU better work With Trump’s voice currently the loudest on Ukraine, the EU will need to speak up and chip in if it wants to have a seat at the negotiating table <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POhclVMjy-fPC1nQx1DZzXLm3x_9Ws7Ml…>. That means not just security guarantees, but development assistance, argues Julian Bergmann of the German Institute of Development and Sustainability in an opinion piece for Devex. “As the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 report indicates, the U.S. administration will *likely leave it completely to Europeans ‘to address Ukraine’s economic needs,’”* he writes. “The EU needs to prepare for such a scenario.” *Opinion:* Amid US fallout, time for the EU to step up assistance to Ukraine <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POhclVMjy-fPC1nQx1DZzXLm3x_9Ws7Ml…>

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From Russia, probably not with love: "... Anticipating that potential cutoff, the Biden administration tried to Trump-proof billions in assistance to Ukraine via a newly created World Bank fund. Former U.S. President Joe Biden put $20 billion in U.S. contributions into the fund as part of a plan among the world’s biggest economies to use the interest from Russia’s frozen assets to provide $50 billion in loans for Ukraine, Jen Kirby writes for Devex."
by Gunnar Larson 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

From Russia, probably not with love If it wasn’t clear on the campaign trail, it’s crystal clear now: Trump ain’t giving Ukraine a dime any time soon, if ever. As he sides with Russian President Vladimir Putin and calls Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a “dictator,”* Trump has loudly telegraphed that the spigot of U.S. assistance is closed*. Anticipating that potential cutoff, *the Biden administration tried to Trump-proof billions in assistance to Ukraine* via a newly created World Bank <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGY1tFxzzWPE-SvlDBcwNwaH6PYO4rra_HtHc-…> fund. Former U.S. President Joe Biden put $20 billion in U.S. contributions into the fund <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POsOu8-V3XC2wqJP1JI_OWCtNEQ750yrW…> as part of a plan among the world’s biggest economies to use the interest from Russia’s frozen assets to provide $50 billion in loans for Ukraine, Jen Kirby writes for Devex. “Frankly, what we came up with is something that wasn't that novel. It's what lots of rich people in the United States do every day,” a former Biden official said. After disbursing $16 billion weeks before Trump took over Washington, D.C., *about $4 billion in U.S. money remains in the fund, yet to be allocated* — a decision that the next Trump administration can influence, but likely cannot fully block. As the senior Biden Treasury official stated: “We wanted to give some certainty that some of the money would be in the hands of the Ukrainians.” *Read:* How the US helped protect a $20B promise to Ukraine ahead of Trump <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POsOu8-V3XC2wqJP1JI_OWCt0PhK5nIrp…>

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Unpause: "...Over the weekend, staff members started to receive letters indicating their employment was terminated. My colleague Sara Jerving obtained copies of termination notices — including to someone stationed abroad — in which Peter Marocco, USAID’s acting deputy administrator, said they were “being released” from their “competitive level” because that “competitive area is being eliminated.”
by Gunnar Larson 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

Unpause That didn’t take long. After a court order Friday paved the way for thousands of USAID staffers to be placed on administrative leave (more on that below), employees received a notice Sunday alerting them that not only will most USAID direct hires worldwide be placed on leave, but that 1,600 personnel in the U.S. will be fired <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlEl9RSRUZlYbrmNpaBWzbOpU-jtGmM6…> — or, in government speak, *subject to a “reduction-in-force.”* “As of 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, February 23, *all USAID direct hire personnel*, with the exception of designation personnel responsible for mission-critical functions, core leadership and/or specially designated programs, *will be placed on administrative leave globally*,” the notice stated. It isn’t clear which staff at USAID will be affected by the 1,600 firings, my colleague Elissa Miolene reports. *“Is this civil service? Foreign service? All?”* asks one USAID staffer. “No clarity.” “There’s more order and yet they still are producing chaos,” the staffer says. “We keep getting these big, scary emails on weekends. There’s *no day free of the scare tactics and mental torture.”* Over the weekend, staff members started to receive letters indicating their employment was terminated <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlEl9RSRUZlYbrmNpaBWzbMJpzFzneHJ…>. My colleague Sara Jerving obtained copies of termination notices — including to someone stationed abroad — in which Peter Marocco, USAID’s acting deputy administrator, said they were *“being released” from their “competitive level”* because that “competitive area is being eliminated.” USAID employees also received more details over the weekend about the State Department <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGY1tFx0Cu3ppBk47Shu8OM5ckHaUoOVX8Dnh6…> team tasked with recalling staff members abroad. One USAID employee abroad tells Sara that while this new coordination team may be able to handle simple logistics, *it doesn’t have a clear mandate for families with complicated situations.* Sara was informed of one case where USAID’s finance team called a staff member's child’s school abroad to inquire about refunding the tuition already paid — for a child with special needs. “It’s inhumane and humiliating,” the USAID employee abroad tells Sara. *Read:* USAID to cut 1,600 staff, place nearly all direct hires on leave <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlEl9RSRUZlYbrmNpaBWzbOpU-jtGmM6…> *Read more:* USAID staff start receiving termination letters <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POlEl9RSRUZlYbrmNpaBWzbMJpzFzneHJ…>

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Payday Lender Says CFPB Uncertainty Should Pause Suit
by Gunnar Larson 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

Payday Lender Says CFPB Uncertainty Should Pause Suit <https://www.law360.com/banking/articles/2301321?nl_pk=e602c558-f520-472e-90…> By Katryna Perera ACE Cash Express has asked a Texas federal judge to pause a case launched by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau accusing the payday lender of concealing free repayment plans from struggling borrowers, saying it is unclear how the agency will move forward with the action now that the Trump administration has effectively shut it down. Motion attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/banking/articles/2301321?nl_pk=e602c558-f520-472e-90…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/banking/articles/2301321?nl_pk=e602c558-f520-472e-90…>

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Lenovo CLO Announces Retirement, Successor Named
by Gunnar Larson 24 Feb '25

24 Feb '25

Lenovo CLO Announces Retirement, Successor Named <https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/2301225?nl_pk=b6acf8b6-b37c-4b07…> By James Boyle Consumer technology company Lenovo will be shaking up its leadership team with retirement plans for its chief legal officer and chief financial officer, announced Friday. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/2301225?nl_pk=b6acf8b6-b37c-4b07…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/technology/articles/2301225?nl_pk=b6acf8b6-b37c-4b07…>

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