Sunday, June 29, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Concerns over Bilderberg executive’s influence on Trump

Donald Trump's USA

Published 11 March 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Tech billionaire Peter Thiel funded JD Vance's campaign and is often described as his mentor.
3 minute read

Tech mogul and multi-billionaire Peter Thiel wields significant influence over US President Donald Trump’s administration, according to a new Bloomberg review.

At least 15 representatives in the new US administration have clear ties to the Palantir founder, who, unlike adviser Elon Musk, prefers to keep a low profile in the background.

To the public, Thiel is perhaps best known as the co-founder of Paypal and the technology company Palantir Technologies. Palantir’s technology has been used by the US intelligence community to analyze data from surveillance tools, in the Ukraine war to help Ukrainian drones identify Russian soldiers, and to develop technology to automate the killing of human targets, with the AI making the final decision on who lives and who dies.

Peter Thiel has also been a very generous financier of the Republican Party and has funded several of the party’s presidential candidates’ election campaigns over the years – not least Trump’s. He also sits on the steering committee of the shadowy Bilderberg Group power network and is listed as one of the World Economic Forum’s “Young Global Leaders”.

The tech mogul himself has claimed that he is not as politically engaged today and that he would go “crazy” if he went around thinking about politics all the time. Nevertheless, the Trump administration is full of his friends, former partners and employees, and the multi-billionaire is seen as having great power to shape White House policy.

The vice president’s mentor

Trump’s “crypto tsar” David Sacks and Vice President J.D. Vance are two of the people who have a very close relationship with Thiel and the tech mogul is described as Vance’s mentor ever since he worked at Thiel’s venture capital firm Mithril Capitals. Later, the Paypal founder came to finance Vance’s election campaign and it is also said to have been Thiel who brought Vance and Trump together.

Although Thiel has no official position in the Trump administration, his voice is considered very important and Quinn Slobodian, a professor of international history at Boston University, believes that the influence of the tech establishment on the US government under Trump is “unprecedented in the modern era”.

According to the historian, representatives of big business have previously focused on making as much money as possible from government contracts – whereas now they are working to radically change the way government works and how the US is run.

Hundreds of government agencies could be shut down

Trump’s chief efficiency officer Elon Musk also has long-standing ties to Thiel and is highlighted as a clear example of the tech billionaires’ influence and changing political role.

Musk, now the world’s richest man, heads the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), tasked with overseeing and streamlining the spending of a number of agencies within the US government – often through unprecedented budget cuts.

The work is still in its early stages, but there has been talk of saving 2 trillion annually and laying off a majority of US government employees. Musk himself believes that more than 75 percent of the US authorities should be completely closed down or merged with others.

TNT is truly independent!

We don’t have a billionaire owner, and our unique reader-funded model keeps us free from political or corporate influence. This means we can fearlessly report the facts and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power.

Consider a donation to keep our independent journalism running…

Kennedy halts US support for global vaccine alliance

The criticized covid vaccinations

Published yesterday 12:37
– By Editorial Staff
According to Kennedy, Gavi has exhausted the public’s – and the US government’s – trust.
2 minute read

US Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced during a meeting in Brussels this week that the country is withdrawing its financial support for the global vaccine alliance Gavi.

The announcement comes as Gavi has launched a new funding round with the goal of raising at least $9 billion for the next five years.

Kennedy, who has long been highly skeptical of large-scale mass vaccination programs and experimental vaccines, sharply criticized Gavi and its collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) during the coronavirus crisis in a brief video address. He accused the alliance of systematically silencing “dissenting views” and ignoring health risks and safety issues related to the vaccines.

“In its zeal to promote universal vaccination, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has neglected the key issue of vaccine safety”, Kennedy later wrote in a post on X, and continued:

“When vaccine safety issues have come before GAVI, it has treated them not as a patient health problem, but as a public relations problem”.

Kennedy also questioned the safety of the combined vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, claiming that research shows girls who received the vaccine are at higher risk of dying from other causes than unvaccinated children. He also expressed skepticism about WHO’s and Gavi’s recommendation to vaccinate pregnant women against COVID-19 – a recommendation he called “questionable”.

“I call on GAVI to re-earn the public trust and to justify the $8 billion dollars that America has provided in funding since 2001. Until that happens the United States won’t contribute more to GAVI. Business as usual is over”, he declared.

US promised one billion

According to Kennedy, Gavi must start “consider the best science available, even when that science contradicts established paradigms”.

In a statement on Thursday, Gavi claimed that the organization’s highest priority is children’s health and safety. They also stated that all decisions about which vaccines to procure are made according to recommendations from WHO’s expert group on vaccines.

Gavi is a global partnership between WHO, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, the World Bank, and several governments, working to promote affordable mass vaccination programs in poor countries. The United States has long been one of the organization’s largest donors – and had, before Donald Trump’s re-election, promised support of $1 billion through 2030.

RFK Jr wants health trackers on every American within four years

Mass surveillance

Published 26 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
"We think that wearables are a key to the MAHA agenda", Kennedy claims.
3 minute read

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has presented a plan for all Americans to wear body-monitoring technology that tracks their health in real time.

The measure is described as a crucial part of the national initiative MAHA – Make America Healthy Again – which aims to reverse America’s widespread public health crisis using modern technology.

During a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, Kennedy revealed that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will launch one of its most extensive campaigns ever – to get Americans to wear so-called wearables, body-worn technology that collects health data around the clock.

– We’re about to launch the biggest advertising campaign in HHS history to encourage Americans to use wearables, Kennedy said.

Products mentioned in the initiative include FitBit, Oura Ring, and Apple Watch – popular devices that can measure heart rate, movement, sleep, and in some cases even blood glucose.

– It’s a way people can take control over their own health. They can take responsibility. They can see, as you know, what food is doing to their glucose levels, their heart rates, and a number of other metrics, as they eat it, he explained in a statement also published on the X platform.

“Key to the MAHA agenda”

Kennedy emphasized that he sees the technology as a crucial part of his vision:

– We think that wearables are a key to the MAHA agenda of making America healthy again and my vision is that every American is wearing a wearable in four years.

The Secretary, who belongs to the influential Kennedy family, often emphasizes individual responsibility for health but also links the issue to national security. During his Senate hearing, he described America’s obesity epidemic which now affects about 40 percent of the population as a threat to military readiness.

“Reduce global metabolic suffering”

One of the leading advocates for this type of technology is also President Trump’s nominee for Surgeon General, Dr. Casey Means. She is co-founder of Levels, a company that develops and sells Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGM) sensors attached directly to the skin that send blood glucose values to an app in real time.

Means claims in a blog post that “these small plastic discs” can “reduce global metabolic suffering” and provide much-needed help to the “93.2 percent of people” suffering from metabolic issues.

The food industry is also affected by MAHA. Kennedy recently revealed that Starbucks will make changes to its menu in line with the agenda – even though the company already avoids several common additives such as artificial colors, flavors, and high-fructose corn syrup.

Earlier this year, Kennedy implemented a ban on artificial colors in U.S. food production one of his first major interventions as Secretary. Critics have questioned both methods and priorities in the MAHA policy, but Kennedy sees it as a first step toward a healthier and more responsible nation.

Concerns about mass surveillance

The use of wearable health technology has raised questions about users’ right to privacy. Most health trackers collect large amounts of sensitive information including heart rate, sleep patterns, movement, and blood glucose levels stored in apps connected to companies.

Critics argue that there is a lack of clear transparency in how this data is used, shared, or sold, and that state-encouraged collection of health data risks blurring the line between voluntary health monitoring and systematic surveillance.

While Kennedy emphasizes voluntariness, some analysts warn that large-scale campaigns and technology adaptations by major companies may create indirect pressure to participate.

As more institutions such as employers, schools, or businesses adapt to health tracking, there is a risk that those who opt out may be seen as deviant, receive worse conditions, or be excluded from parts of society.

Fury from Israel lobby as Trump halts bombing campaign

Donald Trump's USA

Published 25 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Emily Shrader, an American political activist, has long worked to expand U.S. support for Israel and advocate for regime change in Iran.
3 minute read

Donald Trump’s harsh criticism of Israel and his call for the country to stop bombing Iranian targets has not been well received by the influential and bellicose Israel lobby.

American-Israeli opinion maker and lobbyist Emily Schrader is one of those calling for the hostilities to continue, going so far as to claim that Trump “is in bed with Qatar”.

Although the stated goal of the Israeli and then US attacks on Iran was initially claimed to be to eliminate the country’s ability to develop nuclear weapons, a long line of Israeli and neoconservative American voices have quickly shifted focus and are now demanding that the Iranian regime be overthrown – with US help.

After Trump criticized Israel in harsh terms and ordered the country’s military to stop bombing Iran, the Israeli lobby’s anger was not long in coming – and several of the figures who recently praised Trump for bombing Iranian nuclear facilities are now trying to discredit the president and portray him as an enemy.

One of those most upset that Trump has taken a stand against Israel’s bombing is Emily Schrader, who has long been involved in two issues: overthrowing and replacing the Iranian regime and increasing US support for Israel.

The lobbyist, who has both US and Israeli citizenship, claims that Trump “is in bed with Qatar” because he has demanded that the bombings stop.

“It must be done”

She also states that Iran’s leadership must be overthrown – and claims that no other alternatives are acceptable.

“The only way to ensure peace in the region is a regime change in Iran. It doesn’t have to be done through war, but it must be done. Trump is painfully naive as to the ideology and motivating factors of the Islamic regime in Iran”, she claims.

In another angry post, she claims that “In the last 24 hours, Donald Trump guaranteed a future war”.

“They’ll discard and mock him”

Critics point out that the Israel lobby is never satisfied – regardless of the concessions and efforts the US makes to appease Tel Aviv – and that they are only interested in supporting Trump if they can exploit him for their own purposes.

“Trump literally bombed Iran – he did that! – for this country’s government. The next day, if he doesn’t obey the next order they make up for him to do, Netanyahuists say he’s part of the Qatar World Conspiracy”, says Curt Mills, executive director of The American Conservative.

“If this isn’t evidence they’ll discard and mock him once he’s no longer president and they’ve used him, nothing is”, he continues.

The Nordic Times has previously highlighted the remarkable influence of the Israel lobby over American politics – and, among other things, pointed out how AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel lobby group, openly boasted during the last election that almost all the candidates they had financed won their respective elections.

“AIPAC endorsed 362 candidates and won in every primary we had a candidate on the ballot! We helped our friends win and defeated 11 anti-Israel candidates”, they proudly declared.

Middle East expert: Trump starting to realize Israel doesn’t want peace

Donald Trump's USA

Published 25 June 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Trump needs to understand that Israel will never prioritize US interests first, observes Trita Parsi.
5 minute read

President Donald Trump is beginning to realize that Israel does not want peace – but is doing everything it can to drag the US into a major war with Iran. This is the conclusion of Middle East expert and political scientist Trita Parsi.

“If Trump wants peace and for the US and Iran to strike a deal, he has no choice but to FORCE Israel to accept that America has to put America first”, he emphasizes.

In a widely shared video clip on social media, President Donald Trump launches a fierce attack on Israel shortly after the country intensified its bombing of Tehran just hours after Trump announced that the parties had agreed to a ceasefire.

– Israel, as soon as we made the deal, they came out, and they dropped a load of bombs the likes of which I’ve never seen before, the biggest load that we’ve seen. I’m not happy with Israel. When I say, ‘Okay, now you have 12 hours’, you don’t go out in the first hour and just drop everything you have on them. So, I’m not happy with them.

– I’m not happy with Iran either. But I’m really unhappy if Israel’s going out this morning because of one rocket that didn’t land that was shot, perhaps by mistake, that didn’t land. I’m not happy about that. We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the [bleep] they’re doing. Do you understand that? said the visibly upset president to a journalist.

Even on his own platform, Truth Social, Trump sharpened his tone toward the Israelis and ordered them to stop the bombings.

“Israel. Do not drop those bombs. If you do it is a major violation. Bring your pilots home, now!” he wrote.

Photo: facsimile/Trump/Truth Social

Continued bombing

In a later post, Trump claimed that “Israel is not going to attack Iran. All planes will turn around and head home, while doing a friendly ‘plane wave’ to Iran”.

“Nobody will be hurt, the ceasefire is in effect”, he promised.

Shortly thereafter, however, Iranian news agencies reported that Israel had carried out attacks in the western part of the country. According to ISNA, explosions were heard near the cities of Babol and Babolsar, while the Mehr news agency said the projectiles struck an empty, uninhabited area.

Israeli officials told The Times of Israel that the IDF had carried out “a minor strike” against an Iranian radar north of Tehran in response to an earlier attack by Iran.

“The US must put its own interests first”

Swedish-Iranian political scientist and Middle East expert Trita Parsi has reacted to Trump’s tone towards his closest ally and believes that Trump seems to be beginning to understand that Israel is not interested in creating peace in the region – and will do everything it can to drag the US into the war.

“Trump is also starting to discover the core of the problem: Israel doesn’t want peace and doesn’t want to allow the US to stay out of the war Israel unnecessarily started. If Trump wants peace and for the US and Iran to strike a deal, he has no choice but to force Israel to accept that America has to put America first “, he writes on X, continuing:

“If he doesn’t, Netanyahu will make sure that Trump puts Israel first and drags the US into an endless war with Iran. There are no other choices”.

In an interview with Democracy Now, Parsi elaborates on his reasoning. He believes that Trump is very frustrated that Israel is ignoring US directives and doing everything it can to escalate the conflict – and ensure that the US also intensifies its military involvement.

Israel wants to continue this war. Israel wants only unilateral ceasefires in which it is allowed to continue to bomb the countries in question. That’s exactly what it has done in Gaza, that’s what it has done in Lebanon, and they wanted the same thing here. And they wanted to make sure that the United States could not keep itself out of the war that Israel unnecessarily started, Parsi assesses.

Believes Trump has genuine intentions

He believes that Trump is genuine in his desire to reach a sustainable ceasefire agreement and put an end to the fighting – but that the president has chosen the wrong path and methods.

I think he was genuine about getting the ceasefire, staying out of this. We have seen the revolt that has taken place in large parts of his own base. And now, he’s discovering that the Israelis, at the end of the day, wanted to drag him to this point in order to keep him in the war, not allow him to get out of the war or not allowing a peace or a ceasefire to break out.

Initially, the bombing campaign against Iran was said to be about preventing the country from acquiring nuclear weapons – a message repeated by neoconservatives and Israeli voices for over 40 years.

However, Israeli representatives and Republicans soon began declaring that the Iranian regime must be overthrown, by force if necessary, and replaced with a more pro-Israel and Western-friendly government. Even Trump has expressed support on social media for forcing regime change in Iran, which has led to harsh criticism from his own voter base.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
Consider a donation.

You can donate any amount of your choosing, one-time payment or even monthly.
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Dont miss another article!

Sign up for our newsletter today!

Take part of uncensored news – free from industry interests and political correctness from the Polaris of Enlightenment – every week.