Glory to Ukraine!
Glory to the defenders of Ukraine and the entire modern civilization!
Today in the issue:
- ICE committed another murder of a US citizen in Minneapolis
- Talks in Abu Dhabi
- A poll by the New York Times and Siena University: all aspects of Trump’s policies are record unpopular among Americans
▶ On Saturday morning, federal immigration agents, who have been conducting a “law enforcement operation” in Minneapolis for three weeks as described by Homeland Security Secretary Noem, but in fact carrying out a punitive operation against the “blue,” Democratic state, shot 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretty, a US citizen and an ICU nurse at a Veterans Army hospital. This is the second murder of an American citizen committed by immigration police agents in Minneapolis. Renee Good was shot on January 7.
Homeland Security Secretary Noem and the Deputy Chief of Staff of the White House and “unofficial” Interior Minister Miller have already stated that the deceased was an “internal terrorist” based on their claim that he threatened immigration police while armed with weapons and ammunition magazines.
Pretti had an official permit to carry a weapon (without it, one cannot legally possess a firearm in Minnesota) and, by carrying a weapon, was exercising the Second Amendment so cherished by Republicans. He definitely did not threaten the immigration police agents with his weapon. His killing was recorded on video by many witnesses. He was filming another raid by the immigration police on his phone. Several immigration officers knocked him down, pinned him, and shot him when he clearly could not offer any resistance. Furthermore, the video clearly shows that Pretti’s gun (which was in its holster, he did not threaten anyone with it) was taken before five targeted shots were fired at him.
Now, on Saturday evening in Minneapolis, it’s minus 21 degrees Celsius, and despite the cold winter weather, thousands have gathered in a spontaneous protest at the site of Jeffrey Petri’s killing, demanding that the immigration police leave the city and the state of Minnesota.
The immediate withdrawal of three thousand immigration officers from Minneapolis was demanded by the Governor of Minnesota, former vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, both Minnesota senators Klobuchar and Smith, Mayor of Minneapolis Frey, and Democratic Party members of the House of Representatives representing the state.
Democratic Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, representing Illinois’ 3rd district, called the Department of Homeland Security under Noem a “domestic terrorist organization” on MS NOW TV Saturday evening.
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen from Maryland stated that Democrats will not vote for the 2026 budget in the Senate next week unless funding for immigration police is removed. If Congress does not pass the budget by January 30, there will be another shutdown of the federal government, as the budget passed last November after the longest 43-day shutdown in history is temporary and valid until January 30.
The immigration police have been operating in Minneapolis for three weeks like an occupying army, conducting raids and cracking down on demonstrators protesting their presence and actions. They are allegedly searching for illegal immigrants, roughly detaining all people of Latin American appearance, from a 5-year-old child (which happened just a couple of days ago) to the elderly. Many of the detained turn out to be U.S. citizens.
In fact, the 47th president has turned the immigration police into something of his personal “guard” or stormtroopers, who are effectively placed above the law and granted immunity for any actions carried out under any orders from the president and his Secretary of Homeland Security.
▶ On the negotiations in Abu Dhabi and the “peace process”. The details of the negotiations remain unknown. The fact that no agreements have been reached, except for the agreement to continue talks with a new round next week, suggests that the Russian side is using an old and well-known Soviet negotiation tactic: meeting, discussing something, presenting their demands, waiting for the other side’s negotiation group to discuss these demands with their leadership, then meeting again, discussing something again, insisting on their previous demands or presenting new ones, depending on the circumstances. The USSR conducted negotiations with the US in Geneva for years about reducing and limiting nuclear weapons. For example, negotiations on the SALT II treaty lasted for seven years, from 1972 to 1979. Negotiations on the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty took three years. Negotiations on ending Soviet aggression in Afghanistan and withdrawing Soviet troops from there lasted for nearly four years. Therefore, Russia has extensive experience in stalling for time, putting forward various demands, and disagreeing with the other side’s terms.
The real position of Russia is the barbaric missile and drone terrorist attacks on residential buildings in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and other Ukrainian cities, as well as on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. The real position of Russia is to freeze Ukraine, take it by cold, and force it into capitulation.
There is, however, a characteristic moment distinguishing the negotiations in Abu Dhabi from the Soviet delegations’ negotiations with the Americans in the 70s and 80s. At that time, the negotiations were conducted by professional diplomats from both sides. Now, it seems there was only one professional diplomat involved from all three sides of the talks – Sergiy Kyslytsya, who is currently working in the Office of the President of Ukraine, not the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, holding the strange positions of “friend of the president” and “son-in-law of the president,” are de facto the collective Secretary of State of the USA, as they, rather than the official Secretary of State Marco Rubio, represent the US at the most significant international negotiations. All three delegations included high-ranking military personnel and intelligence officers.
Does this mean that mostly military issues were discussed? But the military does not decide anything on their own – neither in the USA, nor in Ukraine, nor in Russia.
One thing is clear, as it was long before the talks in Abu Dhabi. Putin will agree to halt the war only if he sees serious problems in the economy, leading to an inability to have enough resources to continue the war while simultaneously maintaining social standards that guarantee peace within the country and the inviolability of his power. However, he will never abandon his goal of destroying Ukraine and restoring the Russian empire.
▶ Next week, the results of the latest survey by the country’s most authoritative sociological service, Gallup, will be published on people’s attitudes toward the president and various aspects of his policy.
This past week, attention was drawn to a poll conducted by the New York Times and the Siena University sociological service. Questions similar to those asked by Gallup were posed to citizens.
The poll showed that Trump and all aspects of his policy are, as they say in America, “underwater”—he and his policies are extremely unpopular among Americans. Here are some figures published by the New York Times on January 22:
Do you think the United States is moving in the right direction or the wrong direction?
✓ right direction – 37%
✓ wrong direction – 56%
✓ undecided – 7%
Do you approve or disapprove of how Donald Trump is handling his duties as president?
✓ strongly approve – 25%
✓ somewhat approve – 10%
✓ somewhat disapprove – 10%
✓ strongly disapprove – 46%
Speaking of the country’s economy, how would you rate the current economic situation?
✓ excellent – 4%,
✓ good – 25%,
✓ fair – 32%,
✓ poor – 38%
If the general congressional elections were held today, which party’s candidate would you most likely vote for in your district?
✓ Democrat – 48%
✓ Republican – 43%
✓ don’t know – 9%
Who did you vote for in the 2024 presidential elections: Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, or did you not vote at all?
✓ Trump – 37%
✓ Harris – 37%
✓ did not vote – 19%
✓ another candidate – 2%
Do you think Trump’s policies have made life in the US more affordable or less affordable (in terms of costs)?
✓ more affordable – 24%
✓ less affordable – 51%
✓ somewhat less affordable, no change – 23%
Do you approve or disapprove of the following aspects of Donald Trump’s policies:
Economic Policy
✓ strongly approve – 21%
✓ somewhat approve – 19%
✓ somewhat disapprove – 16%
✓ strongly disapprove – 42%
Immigration
✓ strongly approve – 31%
✓ somewhat approve – 10%
✓ somewhat disapprove – 9%
✓ strongly disapprove – 48%
Do you approve or disapprove of the actions of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, widely known as ICE, in carrying out their duties?
✓ strongly approve – 24%,
✓ somewhat approve – 12%,
✓ somewhat disapprove – 8%,
✓ strongly disapprove – 55%
Russia-Ukraine war
✓ strongly approve – 14%
✓ somewhat approve – 20%
✓ somewhat disapprove – 16%
✓ strongly disapprove – 42%
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
✓ fully approve – 20%
✓ partially approve – 17%
✓ partially disapprove – 15%
✓ fully disapprove – 39%
Policy towards Venezuela
✓ fully approve – 27%
✓ partially approve – 14%
✓ partially disapprove – 11%
✓ fully disapprove – 42%
Foreign policy in general
✓ fully approve – 23%
✓ partially approve – 16%
✓ partially disapprove – 11%
✓ fully disapprove – 47%
Management of the federal government
✓ fully approve – 27%
✓ partially approve – 15%
✓ partially disapprove – 9%
✓ fully disapprove – 48%
Do you think Donald Trump is on his way to becoming
✓ one of the best presidents in U.S. history – 19%
✓ an above-average president – 15%
✓ an average president – 11%
✓ a below-average president – 12%
✓ one of the worst presidents in U.S. history – 42%
All the data presented shows that no more than 41% of Americans fully or partially support different aspects of the president’s policy, and, for example, only 34% of Americans support his policy towards the Russian-Ukrainian war. More than 50% of Americans fully or partially disapprove of all aspects of Trump’s policies.
There are 1,091 days left until the end of the story called “Fear: Trump in the White House” © (the title of Bob Woodward’s book published in 2018).
Thank you to everyone who read. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Take care of each other, help one another. Health to all.
Ultimately, what happens in the world depends on us. On whether we fight against evil, do Good, remain mere spectators, passively wait and believe that someone somewhere will decide for us, or we fight against evil and do everything possible for Good to prevail.
We must not allow evil to win. The victory of evil would mean the end of the world we live in. We cannot allow this. Especially now.
Ukrainian Friends, I embrace and love you all. Take care of each other, I urge you strongly.
Ukraine is and always will be.
And evil will be defeated and punished. And this is certain.
