The Maggie & Swan puff piece on Manafort is such a piece of propaganda I'm at a loss on how to unpack it.

nytimes.com/2024/05/11/us/…

Start with this line:

'Manafort was one of only a few Trump advisers who were sentenced to prison, for crimes unrelated to the campaign.'

I JUST WROTE ABOUT THIS!!!

open.substack.com/pub/alexzfinle…

Former President Donald Trump may face an IRS bill in excess of $100 million after a government audit indicated he double-dipped on tax losses tied to his Chicago skyscraper, according to a report by The New York Times and ProPublica.
trib.al/BAByel5

The smuggling trail keeping Russian passenger jets in the air

Sanctions have caused imports of spare parts to collapse. But airlines have found new ways to get components into the country.

Gift link tp keep up with the latest Bardakistan lunacy

on.ft.com/4dxd2z3

Russian government now saying all the things about the Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia that they said about Ukraine before invading.

'Russia has no moral right to abandon its compatriots living in the Baltic countries in trouble. - Russian Foreign Ministry'

Paul Manafort in 2022 tried to set up a $250 million deal to launch a streaming service in China that he said was blessed by the Chinese regime & that was partnering w/ a Chinese telecom firm the USG deemed a national security threat. 1/2
motherjones.com/politics/2024/…

From her book coming out in July, here's Anne Applebaum on 'the fire hose of falsehood,' which doesn't try to persuade you that up is down, but rather to give up on any hope of becoming an informed citizen in a working democracy. theatlantic.com/magazine/archi…

813 US billionaires control a record $5.7 trillion in wealth.

The bottom 50% of Americans control $3.7 trillion in wealth.

When ~800 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.

Emotional support tweets

BREAKING: Russia is believed to have jammed the satellite signal on an RAF aircraft carrying Grant Shapps back from Poland, in a “wildly irresponsible” act of electronic warfare thetimes.co.uk/article/russia…

Czechia places Russian GRU general linked to ammunition depot blasts on wanted list kyivindependent.com/czechia-declar…

Giuliani Is Suspended by WABC, and His Radio Show Is Canceled

nytimes.com/2024/05/10/nyr…

Financier Found Guilty in Trump Media Insider Trading Trial

Bruce Garelick was convicted of securities fraud for leaking confidential information about a merger involving the parent company of Truth Social, Donald Trump’s social media site.

nytimes.com/2024/05/09/bus…

😂 This is fun to read

This week’s Rant! features an excerpt from Kristi Noem’s newly renamed memoir, “This Definitely Happened.” She has met all kinds of world leaders, including Kim Jong Un, Emmanuel Macron, and Pol Pot. Because this definitely happened. open.substack.com/pub/alexzfinle…

Oh, hey! That’s me! (The author, not the North Korean dictator or crazy lady from South Dakota who definitely knows him.

Happy two-year anniversary to this actor playing me in a Japanese news show

If you want to know all about Khudainatov, and Italy, and how the Italian financial police consider him to be a mere front man for the “Putin yacht” seized in Marina di Massa, read “Il tesoro di Putin” (Editori Laterza). Chapters 4 and 5: 'The Prince of the 'front men''.

A fantastic piece on Europe's ace spycatcher, Alexander Toots, a one-man Mountie, who always gets his man.

John Sipher Alex Finley Marc Polymeropoulos Gen Michael Hayden Ben Hodges Asha Rangappa David Priess

Before Russia invaded Ukraine, its airlines got spare parts from Boeing and Airbus.

Now, they're buying from people like Timur Badr, a 39-year-old gym enthusiast with an outstanding arrest warrant. And the planes are still flying.

New FT investigation:
ft.com/content/f8d61a…