[Monarch Butterfly]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2014444384691933185

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Sweden’s Largest Pension Fund Dumps $8.8B in US Bonds​

From https://thedeepdive.ca/swedens-largest-pension-fund-dumps-8-8b-in-us-bonds/

Sweden’s largest private pension fund has divested up to $8.8 billion in US Treasuries, marking the most significant withdrawal yet from American government bonds since President Donald Trump’s Greenland crisis erupted.

Alecta, which manages retirement savings for 2.8 million Swedes and 37,000 companies, sold most of its US Treasury holdings since early 2025 citing “increased risk and unpredictability in US politics,” business daily Dagens Industri reported Wednesday. The sell-off totaled $7.7 billion to $8.8 billion.

The move dwarfs Tuesday’s announcement by Danish pension fund AkademikerPension, which plans to dump $100 million in US Treasuries by February 1. Together, the Nordic divestments signal growing unease among European investors about America’s fiscal stability under Trump.

“This is connected to the decreased predictability of US policy in combination with large budget deficits and a growing national debt,” Alecta Chief Investment Officer Pablo Bernengo told Bloomberg. The fund adopted “a staged approach” to trimming holdings over the past year, well before Trump’s Greenland threats triggered this week’s market turmoil.

Markets plunged on Tuesday after Trump refused to rule out military force to seize Greenland, with the S&P 500 falling 2.1% in its worst day since October. Trump reversed course Wednesday, announcing a tariff pause after meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in Davos.

AkademikerPension emphasized its decision stemmed from concerns about US fiscal health rather than retaliation. “When the calendar says February 1st, there will be no US government bonds in our portfolio,” CEO Jens Schelde said, citing “weak public finances in the US.”

European countries collectively own about $8 trillion in US stocks and bonds, according to Deutsche Bank. The Nordic divestments represent a fraction of that total but carry symbolic weight as institutional investors question America’s creditworthiness.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed concerns, calling Denmark’s investment “irrelevant.” However, Alecta’s disclosure, which came hours after Bessent’s comments, revealed selling 77 to 88 times larger than the Danish fund’s holdings.

The 10-year Treasury yield spiked to 4.293% Tuesday but remained below the panic levels seen in April 2025, when Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs triggered a bond market revolt. “It’s not really a problem until 4.50% and higher,” Tom Essaye, founder of the Sevens Report on markets, said. “If yields keep rising, that will become an increasing headwind on markets and the economy.”

The divestments come as Trump pursues an aggressive foreign policy agenda that has rattled traditional US allies. When pension funds managing retirement savings for millions begin treating US government bonds as too risky, it signals a fundamental shift in how the world assesses American reliability.

 

[lenaitch]

Agreed, but funny thing that.........

For decades, the 2nd amendment was understood to reflect the right to bare arms, similar to, or equivalent to the shotguns/rifles of the period in which it was written, and not to enshrine a right to handguns or open carry.

For decades, 'Freedom of Expression' was ruled by the court to apply to words spoken, not to donating money to politicians or PACs (Political Action Committees).

In both cases the Supreme Court reversed past precedent and brought the constitution to life by inferring rights which are nowhere to be found in the original documents, yet, those decisions were written and supported, mostly, by so-called 'originalists'

Scalia's ruling on 2A in D.C. vs Heller would make an English professor, or gym teacher, weep. The linguistic contortions he weaved to decide that the whole reference to 'militia' was just irrelevant filler was epic.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

 

[PinkLucy]

It’s a tweet or whatever, not a letter. He does know that, right?

 

[urbanclient]

Then you tell me and the rest of us how to best bring him into account then. It almost feels like you are running to his defense anytime anyone brings this up otherwise.

Being realistic and sticking to what is reasonably probable is not being a doomer... Many of us like your end goals, we just don't think the means have opened up yet.

And Registered Republicans only represent just over 16.6% of the US voting public, and are outnumbered almost 1.2x by Registered Democrats. The rest of the voters (~55%) are undeclared/independents. In other words, ~35% of the votes were undeclared/independents who swung to Trump. Show me independents happy with him right now.

I'll wait.

There a lot more closet Republicans, closet Trumpers and MAGAs than you think... Just because they're not a registered Republican, doesn't mean they're unhappy with Trump right now.

 

[EBT]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2014409636938387748

PM Carney must not let disgraceful comment from Trump slide. If he has not done so already, Carney needs to issue a strong condemnation of Trump's remarks and demand an apology. Trump says lots of horrible things but spitting on the graves of the NATO soldiers who died in Afganistan fighting for the United States is unforgiveable. Canada lost 158 soldiers in Afghanistan. I remember witnessing many of the repatriations of the fallen soldiers to the downtown coroner's office. I would hope other NATO leaders would do likewise. On a per capita basis Denmark lost more soldiers in Afghanistan than any other NATO country.

 

[EBT]

Trump Casually Denigrates NATO’s War Dead - The Atlantic

https://www.theatlantic.com/nationa...t=SCYx-5scVta3-cr_IlgTyV16PwxxLY0bLQjMIpKciqU

 

[narduch]

Never thought it would be an American who killed NATO.

Wonder what happens to all thos bases in Europe.

 

[afransen]

Trump can get f*cked. He is the coward who hid from the draft.

 

[hw621]

Never thought it would be an American who killed NATO.

Wonder what happens to all thos bases in Europe.

Clearly a Russian asset.

 

[Full Metal Junkie]

It’s a tweet or whatever, not a letter. He does know that, right?

There is zero evidence that he knows.

 

[wopchop]

There is zero evidence that he knows.

WE ALL THOUGHT TWEETS WOULD GET DELIVERED BY OUR ONCE GREAT POSTAL SERVICE, DEVASTATED BY BIDEN. SAD. I HEREBY DECLARE THAT THE POST OFFICE WILL DELIVER ALL TWEETS GOING FORWARD. WE WILL MAKE USPS GREAT AGAIN. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.

 

[Monarch Butterfly]

Archbishop for U.S. Military Says It’s ‘Morally Acceptable’ for Troops to Disobey Orders Amid Escalating Trump Threats​

From https://time.com/7353662/trump-military-orders-disobey-venezuela-greenland-europe-catholic-leaders/

The archbishop for the U.S. military services said that it “would be morally acceptable” for troops to disobey orders that go against their conscience as the Trump Administration ramps up its military actions and threats, joining other prominent Catholic leaders in sounding alarms over President Donald Trump’s aggressive foreign policy moves.

“It would be very difficult for a soldier or a marine or a sailor to by himself disobey an order,” Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio told the BBC Sunday. “But strictly speaking, he or she would be, within the realm of their own conscience, it would be morally acceptable to disobey that order, but that’s perhaps putting that individual in an untenable situation, and that’s my concern.”

When asked if he was “worried” about the troops in the archdiocese he oversees, Broglio responded: “I am obviously worried because they could be put in a situation where they’re being ordered to do something which is morally questionable.”

Broglio, who has served as the head of the Washington, D.C.-based archdiocese of the U.S. military since 2007, specifically pushed back against Trump’s repeated threats to annex Greenland.

“Greenland is a territory of Denmark,” the archbishop said. “It does not seem really reasonable that the United States would attack and occupy a friendly nation.”
Read more: Trump Warns There’s ‘No Going Back’ on Greenland and Accuses U.K. of ‘Act of Great Stupidity’

A number of other high-ranking Catholic bishops and Pope Leo XIV have also raised vocal concerns in recent weeks as U.S. forces deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and the President has levied threats against several other countries and territories, including in his renewed push to acquire Greenland. The Pope, who—along with a number of U.S. bishops—has also challenged Trump’s immigration crackdown, recently condemned a “diplomacy based on force” in an annual speech at the Vatican.

“War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading,” the pontiff stated. He went on to call for respect for “the will of the Venezuelan people,” given “recent developments,” and spoke about several other areas around the world afflicted by conflict.

On Monday, three senior cardinals leading U.S. dioceses released a joint statement inspired by Leo’s comments, in which they called into question “the moral foundation for America’s actions in the world.”

“The events in Venezuela, Ukraine and Greenland have raised basic questions about the use of military force and the meaning of peace,” Cardinals Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago; Robert McElroy, archbishop of D.C.; and Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark wrote, adding, “Our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination.”

They went on to call for a “genuinely moral foreign policy” and stated that “military action must be seen only as a last resort in extreme situations, not a normal instrument of national policy.”

Trump has also faced pushback over foreign policy from a number of world leaders and congressional lawmakers, including some members of his own party.

In November, six Democratic lawmakers released a video in which they told members of the military and intelligence community not only that they could decline to follow unlawful orders, but that they must.

“Our laws are clear: You can refuse illegal orders,” the lawmakers said. “You must refuse illegal orders. No one has to carry out orders that violate the law or our Constitution.”

The group of politicians, all of whom are either veterans or former intelligence analysts, included Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Reps. Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, Rep. Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire, and Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado. They didn’t reference any specific orders troops might be receiving. But the video came as Trump faced scrutiny over his deployment of troops to multiple cities in the U.S. amid his crackdown on crime and immigration and the deadly strikes his Administration was carrying out on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that it alleged were transporting drugs.

Trump accused the group of “seditious behavior, punishable by death” in the wake of the video’s release, and the lawmakers have said they are being investigated by the Administration over their participation in it.

Deluzio, Houlahan, and Goodlander said last week that they had received inquiries from the Justice Department over the video last week, while Slotkin and Crow said that Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney general in D.C., had reached out to them for interviews.

The Pentagon has also taken steps to demote Kelly, a retired Navy captain, and thereby reduce his military pension. Kelly sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying the move was unconstitutional.

Under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, members of the military swear an oath of enlistment to “obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me.” There is a strong presumption that orders are lawful under military law, but service members are allowed to disobey unlawful orders and can even be prosecuted for carrying out patently illegal orders, such as war crimes. Though Trump and other Administration officials have contended that the lawmakers’ comments in the video were “seditious” and violated the law, legal experts told TIME that there was nothing illegal about their message.

Broglio’s comments come as Trump is set to arrive in Davos, Switzerland, to attend the World Economic Forum, where his plans to take over Greenland are expected to be discussed with European leaders in what is being seen as an emergency summit.

 

[thettctransitfanatic]

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/23/politics/rnc-midterm-convention-republicans

Republicans move forward with plans for a midterm convention featuring Trump

The Republican National Committee voted Friday to move forward with holding a midterm political convention, an unusual GOP festival that President Donald Trump would headline in hopes of rallying supporters to focus on the critical fall fight for control of Congress.

To fulfill Trump’s wish of staging a political convention later this year, Republican leaders had to change party rules that previously only called for a convention during presidential election years. They did so by unanimously passing a resolution Friday during the party’s winter meeting in Santa Barbara, California, an RNC official said.

A memo obtained by CNN said the rule change allows for the “possibility of an America First midterm convention-style gathering aligned with President Trump’s vision for energizing the party this fall.”

For months, the president has been signaling his interest in holding a 2026 political convention, saying last year the event would “show the great things we have done since the Presidential Election of 2024.”

The new rule requires the convention be called at least 60 days in advance. The White House will determine the date and location in the coming weeks, GOP officials said, with Las Vegas among the cities under serious consideration.

The decision to hold the first GOP political convention during a non-presidential election year underscores the degree to which Republicans are placing Trump at the center of the party’s strategy and attempting to nationalize midterm races.

GOP officials acknowledge the potential risks of putting Trump at the center of their midterm election fight. But they say their best chances in November rely upon Trump motivating his base, particularly those who may not otherwise vote in the 2026 contests.

Susie Wiles, the White House chief of staff, is a leading proponent of that argument.

“Typically in the midterms it’s not about who’s sitting at the White House. You localize the election, and you keep the federal officials out of it,” Wiles said in an interview last year with “The Mom View,” a conservative program. “We’re actually going to turn that on its head and put him on the ballot because so many of those low propensity voters are Trump voters.”