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P a u l ◉

P a u l ◉

@SkylineReport

Tenacious news curator and incisive commentator championing evidence-based journalism and social justice with razor-sharp analysis against disinformation.

Katılım Kasım 2008
59.3K Takip Edilen101.5K Takipçiler
P a u l ◉
P a u l ◉@SkylineReport·
Every sovereign nation on Earth has the right to defend itself. That’s not controversial, that’s Article 51 of the UN Charter. So when U.S. officials act like Iran simply having missiles is some kind of crime, they’re not making a legal argument. They’re selling you a political one. Because here’s the reality they don’t want to say out loud: If the standard is “you’re not allowed to build weapons that could threaten us,” then only one side gets to be armed. That’s not international law. That’s dominance. Now, are there limits? Yes. Nuclear-capable systems, proliferation, transfers to proxies, violations of UN resolutions like 2231. That’s where the fight actually is. But basic defensive capability? That’s a right every country has. So strip away the rhetoric and what’s left is this: “We have missiles. They can’t.” Dress it up however you want. That’s the argument.
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Acyn
Acyn@Acyn·
Hegseth: Iran is an energy rich country. instead, like so many other places, driven by a radical ideology, instead of investing in their people… they invested in missiles, and they invested in launchers and UAVS.
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P a u l ◉@SkylineReport·
Holy shit. We are completely fucked. They’re about to send more American servicemen into harm’s way while dodging the one thing that matters: accountability. Congress won’t authorize it. They won’t debate it. They won’t even own it. They just don’t give a shit who pays the price.
Republicans against Trump@RpsAgainstTrump

Raju: If there are U.S. ground troops in Iran, should the administration go to Congress for approval? Speaker Mike Johnson: “If we're completing the mission, and it's a limited scope, then that's not a declaration of war.”

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P a u l ◉@SkylineReport·
The Trump administration collected over $1 billion from legal immigrants and their sponsors for applications it had little to no intention of approving—while failing to warn them they were effectively banned. Roughly 2 million rule-following applicants paid into a system stacked against them, turning legal immigration into what critics call a government-run fee extraction scheme.
P a u l ◉@SkylineReport

x.com/i/article/2034…

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P a u l ◉@SkylineReport·
I’d say I’m shocked. I’m not. People are watching this grift happen in real time and just… shrugging. So what’s the number? How many billions does it take before people actually give a damn?
P a u l ◉@SkylineReport

🚨 ICYMI: Missile Money → Trump’s Future Museum Piece You know that whole “defense budget protects the country” idea? Cute. Watch what actually happened. * The Pentagon accepted a luxury Boeing 747-8 from Qatar to use as a temporary presidential aircraft. * Then it kicked off a massive retrofit, adding secure comms and defensive systems so it can function like Air Force One. So far, just expensive. Now it gets… interesting. * $934 MILLION was pulled out of the Sentinel nuclear missile program. * That money was redirected into a classified Air Force project, widely tied to upgrading this jet. Let that sink in: Funds meant for nuclear deterrence → rerouted into refurbishing a gifted luxury plane. And the punchline, because there’s always a punchline: * After Trump leaves office, the aircraft is expected to be transferred to his presidential library or foundation. * Translation: taxpayers help turn a foreign gift into a future museum centerpiece with his name on it. 🧠 What this actually means This isn’t just “government spending is messy.” This is: * Military funding being reshuffled away from a strategic weapons program * Into a high-end aircraft retrofit * That ultimately becomes part of Trump’s personal legacy infrastructure So yeah, in case you missed it: We’re not just upgrading a plane. We’re effectively subsidizing a presidential trophy with defense dollars. Sources PBS — Defense Department accepts luxury jet from Qatar for Trump’s use pbs.org/newshour/polit… New York Times — Air Force One retrofit cost details nytimes.com/2025/07/27/us/… Forbes — Trump’s “free” Qatari jet could cost $1B in renovations forbes.com.au/news/world-new… Politico — Air Force estimates on jet modification costs politico.com/news/2025/06/0… Defense News — Plans for post-presidency transfer to Trump library defensenews.com/air/2025/06/05…

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P a u l ◉@SkylineReport·
Trump Jr. lands a $1 billion government contract. Pretty sweet deal, right? Apparently he’s now the most qualified person in America to build rare earth magnets. Because that’s been his life’s work… right?
StockMarket.News@_Investinq

The US government gave a three year old startup a $620 million loan, the largest Pentagon loan of its kind ever and the president's son had already invested in that same company months before the check was signed. The company is called Vulcan Elements, and their goal is actually legitimate. They want to build the largest rareearth magnet factory outside of China, right in Johnston County, North Carolina. These magnets are inside everything that matters, fighter jets, drones, nuclear submarines, iPhones, electric vehicles. And right now, China controls somewhere between 94–98% of the global supply. That is a real problem and a real national security risk. So the Pentagon stepped in with a $620 million loan, the Commerce Department added $50 million and took an ownership stake in the company, and the government got the option to buy Vulcan stock in the future. The total deal comes out to $1.4 billion in government commitments. Here is the problem. Donald Trump Jr. is a partner at a venture capital firm called 1789 Capital. That firm invested in Vulcan Elements in August 2025, just a few months before the Pentagon announced its record breaking loan. So taxpayer money flowed into a company that also happens to benefit the president's son financially. And it is not an isolated case. At least four companies in 1789 Capital's portfolio have won government contracts since Trump took office, totaling over $735 million combined. The firm also holds stakes in SpaceX, Anduril, and xAI, all companies doing business with the federal government. Trump Jr. and his team call this "patriotic capitalism" they say they are just backing American companies that compete with China. Vulcan's CEO says Trump Jr. had nothing to do with winning the contract. The deeper tension here is that even some Republicans are squirming over this. Traditionally, conservatives have pushed back hard on the government picking private winners with taxpayer money, they called it socialism when Obama did it with green energy companies. Now the same model is happening, just with defense aligned companies connected to the MAGA orbit, and the ideological discomfort is real even if nobody is saying it loudly. Three Democratic senators have already sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth demanding answers on whether political connections influenced who got the money. The national security argument for Vulcan's factory is strong and genuinely hard to argue against, 1,000 jobs, domestic rare earth production, less reliance on China. The question nobody can cleanly answer is whether this specific company should have gotten a record government loan, or whether the deal was always going to land wherever the president's family had already placed their bet.

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Tony Bell https://spoutible.com/Tony_Bell
@SkylineReport "Either the war isn’t over, or they’re lying about what this money is actually for." It may be that it's not an "either-or" situation. We already know they're lying about the 1st thing. Sadly, there's a very real possibility that they're also lying about the 2nd.
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P a u l ◉
P a u l ◉@SkylineReport·
If the war is “over,” why the hell is Trump asking for $200 billion? You don’t drop that kind of money on something that’s finished. Either the war isn’t over, or they’re lying about what this money is actually for. Either way, someone’s full of shit.
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P a u l ◉
P a u l ◉@SkylineReport·
@AnnFowlerAvery It’s always striking how these cabinet picks don’t just mirror Trump’s leadership—they amplify its worst instincts, turning dysfunction and dishonesty into policy.
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P a u l ◉
P a u l ◉@SkylineReport·
The federal Commission of Fine Arts officially voted Thursday to approve a new 24-karat commemorative gold coin featuring President Donald Trump.
P a u l ◉ tweet media
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