New MAGA natsec strategy wants regime change to far-right in Europe, ex-Wirecard COO's 'missing millions' linked to Libya and drones spotted over French nuclear sub base

Another week, another retreat in the Swiss capital Bern to nonsense, this time in the form of a rigoroous debate around America's "chlorinated chickens". In reality, the numerous alcoholics and drug addicts around the central rail station in Bern are doing more harm to themselves and society than the US Department of Agriculture's food safety procedures. The Robert F. Kennedy Jr.-style fixation on public health as an approach to international relations fits Switzerland's Rudolf Steiner approach to national security. Before "chlorinated chickens," the Bernese left was indignant over white people playing reggae music. Concerns about cultural appropriation in the same circles though fall short though when it comes to kaffiyehs for reasons.

However, to participate in the real adult transatlantic conversation, read the US National Security Strategy that dropped last Friday. I know it is a challenge to call this adulting when the primary source is so puerile. Given the unpleasant world out there, retreating to the mountains or concern over "chlorinated chickens" is as effective as hiding under a rock. A retreat into nonsense does however feed a more potent nonsense narrative around "civilizational erasure" found in the US National Security Strategy.

The document bashes the European Union and effectively calls for regime change in various European countries towards the hard right. You know what is really helping this along? Nonsense from the left about chlorinated chickens, white reggae music and whatever the poles of political opportunism throw up. At present, the US nuclear security blanket for Europe includes even neutral Switzerland (Austria too!) regardless of feelings. The Russian missiles are not incoming for no other reason – for now. 

If you are not familiar with FUD, familiarize yourself, you are likely living it already. Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. This is how the Overton window expands for maximum nonsense, diluting the OODA loop, developed by US Air Force Col. John Boyd, which is how you actually make coherent decisions. It stands for: Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. Nobody loves acronyms more than the US defense establishment. And America's rise and glory days were fueled by a lot of chlorinated chickens and plenty of white versions of Black music.

If you have listened to rock and roll or ate fried chicken and never been under a Russian missile, you have enjoyed the benefits of American soft and hard power. You might even miss it should it go as then Europeans will then have to raise formidable armies, stand up for yourselves and not kill your neighbors – all tall asks in a world void of American power. Regime change in Europe was not something the US advocated for before now because the US crushed the sorts of regimes the new US National Security Strategy wishes to install. Now it is up to every individual to determine whether they want to drown in nonsense or live a life of consequence.

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WASHINGTON, DC – Trump's National Security Strategy wants MAGA allies out of the EU

• Defense One reports Tuesday the longer, not public version of Trump's National Security Strategy includes efforts to pull four MAGA allies including two Alpine nations, Austria and Italy, in addition to Hungary and Poland out of the EU to "Make Europe Great Again".
• The longer version of the document is also "Working from the premise that Europe is facing 'civilizational erasure'" due to immigration and the so-called "censorship of free speech," and seeks to solidify ties with destabilizing far-right parties in several European countries like the Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD) in Germany and France's National Rally.
• Specifically, the document says, "we should support parties, movements, and intellectual and cultural figures who seek sovereignty and preservation/restoration of traditional European ways of life".

LONDON, ENGLAND – Ex-Wirecard COO's 'missing millions' connected to Libyan firms

• The Financial Times reports Thursday that the paper successfully linked the "missing millions" of the ex-Wirecard Chief Operating Officer Austrian Jan Marsalek, "Europe's most wanted financial criminal – and most hunted Russian spy", to "strategic assets that passed into the hands of a businessman with connections to General Khalifa Haftar, the Russian-backed warlord who rules the east north African country."
• In a joint investigation with Bayerischer Rundfunk, "hundreds of pages of leaked documentation, court filings, interviews with current and former employees, investors and consultants, and Marsalek's own emails obtained after the collapse of Wirecard" reveal "his years-long involvement with LHG," the London-based Libya Holdings Group, "now known as LH Severus".
• If Marsalek "could still access them," his holdings in Libya "are now worth tens of millions of dollars." Marsalek currently resides "in Moscow under the protection of the Russian state" but "continues to wield influence over his holdings" even as "his current involvements in Libya are unclear."

ÎLE LONGUE, FRANCE – Soldiers fire on 'unidentified' drones over nuclear submarine base

• Euronews reports last Friday that French forces opened fire the night before on "five unidentified drones" over the Île Longue facility which "houses France's four nuclear ballistic missile submarines and provides maintenance for the vessels".
• The incident took place at approximately 7:30 pm local time at the Breton base near Brest in western France "which serves as the operational hub for France's nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines." The marine infantry batallion responsible for security at the base "immediately activated counter-drone protocols". Afterwards, "A comprehensive search operation was launched" but "Authorities have not confirmed whether any of the drones were successfully neutralised."
• Rennes public prosecutor Frédéric Teillet said, "No link with foreign interference has been established" and added marines had "fired a jammer and not a firearm". Regional maritime authorities said critical infrastructure was secure through the duration of the incident.

PARIS, FRANCE – France blocks €18 billion in Russian assets from EU's Ukraine reparations

• The Financial Times reports Monday Paris has withheld the names of private financial institutions holding €18 billion ($21 billion) in funds and interest belonging to the Russian state "for more than two years", citing client confidentiality laws.
• The issue is once again in focus as the EU attempts to leverage sanctioned Russian government assets as a "reparations loan" to Ukraine. The latest proposal involves sanctioned Russian assets scattered across EU nations not just €185 billion ($217 billion) at Euroclear, "the Brussels-based central securities depository." In theory, France backs the plan but opposes using "assets held at commercial banks, arguing the lenders are subject to different contractual obligations from those at Euroclear."
• France is believed to be in possession of "the second-biggest accumulation of immobilised Russian central bank assets in Europe."

VATICAN CITY – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meets with Pope Francis

• NBC News reports Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Pope Francis met at the Vatican on Tuesday "as Kyiv said it was preparing to send 'refined' proposals to the United States for ending the war in Russia" and before meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
• The meeting comes "Less than 24 hours after he reiterated that Ukraine would not cede land to Russia".
• Zelensky invited Pope Francis to come to Ukraine, writing on X that "This would be a powerful signal of support for our people".

PRAGUE, CZECHIA – Pro-Russian, anti-EU billionaire Andrej Babiš becomes Prime Minister

• Politico reports Tuesday that Czechia's new Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who previously served in the role from 2017 to 2021, has returned to office and "could find common cause with Hungary's Viktor Orbán and Slovakia's Robert Fico on several issues" including Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the EU.
• Before becoming Prime Minister, Babiš had to first resolve "longstanding conflict-of-interest issues" regarding his conglommerate Agrofert. In Brussels, there is considerable concern "that alliances he could form at the European level may tilt Central Europe in an anti-establishment direction." Together with Orbán and Fico, there is "the potential to jam up the legislative machinery in Brussels".
• Babiš "regularly speaks of reviving the so-called Visegrád Four", which became "largely dormant" after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Visegrád Four is a sort of post-Cold War Warsaw Pact of the eastern bloc era comprised of the same four countries, Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, just under a different name but without armies invading each other to protect Moscow's interests – though one can connect the dots between how Moscow might see this as a desirable development to counter Brussels within the EU. However, "Poland's current center-right prime minister, Donald Tusk, is staunchly pro-Ukraine and is thus unlikely to enter any entente with Orbán", however Polish President Karol Nawrocki "has been talking up the prospects".

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Appeals court denies request to extradite Dmytro Firtash to the US

• Reuters reports a Vienna appeals court "dealt a final blow" to American efforts to extradite the pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash to the US to face corruption charges by "rejecting an appeal against a ruling blocking the move."
• Firtash's fortune comes from seling Russian gas to Ukraine and he has fought US attempts to extradite him for more than a decade.
• In 2013, Firtash was indicted "along with a member of the India's parliament and four others" in a case where Firtash was accused of bribing Indian government officials. He is also wanted by US and Ukrainian officials who suspect he was instrumental in "embezzling nearly $500 million" from Ukraine's gas transit system. Firtash was a supporter of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych who currently resides in Russia. Firtash alleges the charges "are without legal foundation."

VIENNA, AUSTRIA – Law bans headscarves for girls under 14 years old in schools

• The BBC reports Austria passed a law banning girls under the age of 14 from wearing headscarves in schools.
• The measure applies in both private and public schools. Should a pupil violate the ban, the school will initiate "a series of discussions with school authorities and their legal guardians". Repeat violations would result in notifying the child welfare agency and a possible fine of €800 ($938) could be levied against the family.
• The three centrist parties responsible for the new law said the law is a "clear commitment to gender equality," while critics fear it will fuel anti-Muslim sentiment in the Alpine nation and might be unconstitutional. A similar ban was "struck down by the Constitutional Court" in 2020 as it "specifically targeted Muslims.

BERLIN, GERMANY – Almost 2,000 drone incidents, investigation links to Russian ships

• The Insider reports Wednesday that "Nearly 2,000 unidentified drones have been spotted over Germany since the beginning of the year" and a joint investigation of three German outlets, Die Welt, Bild and the Axel Springer Academy, shows "a pattern linking many of the drone sightings to the movement of three Russia-linked vessels operating in the Baltic and North Seas."
• In total, there were 1,072 incidents involving 1,955 unknown drones that "most frequently flew over Bundeswehr military sites, NATO training grounds, and critical infrastructure objects." Shipping records revealed "a small number of vessels were seen in close proximity to drone activity at the same hours the sightings were logged."
• The Russian vessels under scrutiny for involvement in the incidents are the Lauga, HAV Snapper and HAV Dolphin.

BERLIN, GERMANY – Bundestag approves 'voluntary military service plan'

• The AP reports the German Bundestag approved a plan last Friday for "voluntary military service that stops short of conscription" but leaves room to potentially draft "at least for a limited number of people" in the future who could potentially be "selected at random."
• The move comes as Germany "tries to boost the ranks" due to "the threat posed by Russia." Young men will face "mandatory medical checks." The vote in the lower house of the German Parliament was 323-272 in favor. Left leaning lawmakers called for young people to "strike" against the measure "and inform themselves about conscientious objection" not say events in Ukraine or Russian active measures against the West or the history of Soviet-backed repression in the former eastern bloc.
• Conscription in Germany was suspended in 2011 due to the post-Cold War peace dividend, coincidentally the same year two important events struck fear into the heart of the Kremlin: the death of late Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi at the hands of his people following a military intervention by NATO on behalf of rebel forces there and the Bolotnaya protests, the largest wave of opposition protests of the the Putin era.

BERLIN, GERMANY – Young people protest 'against militarisation and conscription'

• The hard-left World Socialist Website reports "tens of thousands of young people took to the streets" last Friday "in more than 90 cities to protest against the reintroduction of conscription," which is not quite what the new law is but what far left publication does not find hyperbolic framework irresistible?
• Labeling the demonstrations "a powerful expression of the enormous opposition to German militarism and the danger of a third world war", the World Socialist Website aligns with customary Russian talking points that consistently transform the victim and would-be victims of Russian aggression into the aggressor. One banner referenced in Stuttgart captured the vibe and succinctly shows how this aligns with Russian interests: "Red Front, not Eastern Front".
• Language like "nationwide school strike" should sound familiar to those who tracked youth movements in Germany, first with the climate protests around Swedish activist Greta Thunberg's "Fridays for future" and later with the human road blocks formed by the so-called Last Generation activists. Lost in all this heady revolutionary babble: the freedoms that need protecting (such as freedom to love who you want, which we know Gen Z cares greatly about).

HAMBURG, GERMANY – Only Jewish 'antisemitism czar' stepping down

• The Times of Israel reports Monday that "Hamburg's antisemitism commissioner Stefan Hensel, the only Jewish official in such a role in any German state," said he will retire from his post at the end of the year, citing "a wave of hatred and lack of political backing".
• Hensel officially announced his resignation October 1 and said he "now requires personal security at public events". As a result of the restrictions on his "personal freedom of movement", he said, "I just don't want to  [do this] anymore". Following a mid-November article in Stern after his resignation, "his office has been continuously flooded with hateful messages."
• Hensel also cited incidents in Hamburg cultural and educational spaces, including at the University of Hamburg "where, according to him, anti-Israel and antisemitic statements are made 'regularly.'" His two person staff has long given up on trying to record every incident, Hensel said. On the plus side, "the Jewish community has also received steady signs of solidarity from non-Jewish residents" who remember why there is even a state of Israel.

BERN, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland adopts national strategy against racism, antisemitism

• Swissinfo reports Monday Switzerland has "adopted the first national strategy against racism and anti-Semitism," citing a need based on the fact that "One in six people in Switzerland say they have expeirenced racial discrimination in the last five years."
• Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider told the media there are "four areas of action" including the need to improve the recording of incidents, protect victims, strengthen prevention at an institutional level and promote societal commitments in this regard.
• The Federal Department of Home Affairs called racism and antisemitism "a reality in our country", which one supposes is a step in the right direction, namely acknowledging the problem.

ROME, ITALY – Police block pro-Palestine protesters from disrupting Olympic torch relay

• Fox News reports police in Rome blocked pro-Palestine protesters from "interfering with a sacred Olympic tradition" last Saturday as they attempted to disrupt the Olympic torch relay.
• Police said "Both groups of protesters were removed" before they could reach "the relay route" in Rome and "A third group of about 10 people" was "monitored" as they waved Palestinian flags while "the relay passed by the city's biggest university, La Sapienza." By the US Embassy, "There were also three people carrying signs in support of Venezuela".
• In recent months, Italy has faced general strikes with sentiment in support of Palestine a significant driver of large attendance at protests, inclduing in October when "more than 2 million demonstrators marched through more than 100 Italian cities to protest the war in Gaza."

BRINDISI, ITALY – Police disperse anti-Israel crowds after arrival of cruise ship

• The Jerusalem Post reports police dispersed a crowd that gathered last Friday to protest "against the arrival of the Crown Iris, which was transporting Israeli passangers".
• Local media and social media footage showed "a group of alleged Israeli tourists" who were "performing the Roman salute, swearing, and mimicking a throat-slitting gesture" while "Videos posted later in the day show further confrontations on the street" including "one woman, alleged to be Israeli, responding" with curses "to being told 'Free Palestine'." The same woman later tells "the pro-Palestinian supporters that homosexuality is not accepted in Gaza and later spitting at the group while threatening them."
• Locals responded in kind, with one woman "telling the Israeli 'you f***ing kill children.'"

And finally…

BINNINGEN, SWITZERLAND – Husband charged with murdering Miss Switzerland finalist

• The Daily Mail reports Wednesday on the exceptionally gruesome murder of Miss Switzerland finalist Kristina Joksimovic whose husband was charged with strangling her, decapitating her, cutting out her womb and then pureeing her body parts in a blender.
• Her dismembered body was found near their home in Binningen near Basel on February 13, 2024. The couple had two young children.
• While he was dismembering her and pureeing her organs in "a powerful industrial blender" before "dissolving some in a chemical solution" he played videos on YouTube.

Stay safe and enjoy some fried chicken and rock 'n' roll as we ride out the storm!

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