Friday, August 1, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

World Bank softens climate rhetoric to keep US backing

Donald Trump's USA

Published 21 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
World Bank President Ajay Banga was appointed by Joe Biden and has been a vocal advocate of the 'green transition' in the past.
3 minute read

The World Bank has clearly toned down its previously very explicit climate profile as the Donald Trump administration evaluates its support to international organizations and aims to reduce funding for various climate programs around the world.

However, according to sources within the department, this is a purely strategic adjustment to ensure continued US support, while the actual climate policy remains largely unchanged.

The Nordic Times reported that NATO is dropping its politically correct language and has removed or revised formulations relating to gender and climate in an attempt to appease the conservative Trump administration.

And they are not alone in trying to adapt to reality and the new US administration the World Bank and its top officials have also clearly changed their rhetoric since Trump became president.

World Bank President Ajay Banga has focused in recent months on labor issues and Republican-friendly energy sources such as nuclear power and natural gas, although he still believes that climate investment does not conflict with the Bank’s core mission of fighting poverty.

Remember, we have a board which has representatives of all our shareholders and all these words and thinking go through their system, Banga said during a press conference ahead of the bank’s spring meetings in Washington.

“Do you want to scream this all loudly?”

He confirmed that 45% of the bank’s loans in 2025 will go to climate-related projects, but also emphasized a broader energy strategy than before.

– There is no reason why a country in Africa should not care about affordable, accessible electricity – and it includes gas, geothermal, hydroelectric, solar, wind and nuclear where it makes sense.

According to former employees and current sources within the World Bank, the rhetoric is a trade-off to avoid conflict with the US, whose support is crucial. The Biden administration pledged $4 billion to the bank’s poverty-fighting work, but the sum must first be approved by a Republican-controlled Congress.

– Now, do you want to scream this all loudly? Probably not in this environment, said Samir Suleymanov, former head of the World Bank’s strategic initiatives.

A spokesperson for the bank, however, argued that the agenda has been consistent:

– For two years, we’ve been working to make the Bank faster, more efficient, and focused on creating jobs.

“Sort of a relief”

Trump allies have called on the US to leave the World Bank, arguing that it favors China and diverges from US interests. An investigation into US participation in international organizations is expected in August. However, a full withdrawal is considered unlikely, as it would open the door to China buying up US shares.

Karen Mathiasen, a former US representative at the Bank, notes a sharper tone compared to Trump’s first term:

– Now everything feels very hostile and adversarial.

But others welcome the rhetorical shift. Suleymanov argues that in the past, the focus on clean energy limited other emission-reducing projects.

– It may sound funny, but there is sort of a relief that this kind of pretend thing is over. The ideological underpinning took so much space. Everybody had the feeling they were caught in the game, like this is something that they have to do, but not necessarily with a clear practical outcome in mind.

It is worth noting that the World Bank’s sister organization, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has also recently toned down its climate rhetoric choosing instead to focus more on “trade growth and global challenges”. Here, too, it is said to be trying to maintain a good relationship with Trump and his inner circle.

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Trump: No trade deal if Canada recognizes Palestine

Donald Trump's USA

Published yesterday 15:25
– By Editorial Staff
Is Donald Trump's loyalty to the state of Israel beginning to affect the US negotiations on the country's trade agreements with other nations? NOTE: The image is an archive photo.
2 minute read

US President Donald Trump threatens to halt a trade deal with Canada if the country recognizes Palestine. The statement comes after Canada’s Prime Minister confirmed plans for recognition at the UN General Assembly this coming September.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced on Wednesday that the country plans to recognize Palestine as an independent state when the UN General Assembly convenes in September.

Carney highlighted humanitarian arguments and argued that prospects for a two-state solution have disappeared, which other countries – including France and the United Kingdom – have also expressed during the summer.

However, the recognition is conditional and dependent on reforms within the Palestinian Authority as well as promised general elections in 2026 – elections in which Hamas would not be allowed to participate.

Donald Trump reacted immediately and wrote on his Truth Social platform that Canada’s intended recognition would have serious consequences for relations between the countries.

– That will make it very hard for us to make a trade deal with them, Trump declared shortly after Canada’s announcement.

Shaky relations between US and Canada

Trump has previously threatened to impose 35 percent tariffs on Canadian goods from August 1, something that has already caused concern in trade relations between the neighboring countries.

According to American sources, Trump’s move aims to increase pressure on Canada to refrain from recognizing Palestine. The goal is also to defend US trade policy and geopolitical interests at a time of increased tensions surrounding Israel and the war in Gaza.

Mark Carney, (LPC), Canada’s Prime Minister. Photo: World Economic Forum/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The trade relationship between the US and Canada is among the world’s largest and has historically been very close, but over the past year several major conflicts regarding tariffs, energy and climate regulations have strained cooperation.

Analysts believe that an American trade halt or high tariffs could have significant economic consequences for Canada’s export industry.

It remains unclear how far the Trump administration is prepared to go, or whether Canada will stick to its planned recognition ahead of the UN meeting in September.

The situation is expected to be closely watched by both other allied countries and international organizations in the coming weeks.

Comment: EU will work on Washington’s terms – with higher prices as a bonus

Donald Trump's USA

Published 30 July 2025
– By Jenny Piper
1 minute read
This is an opinion piece. The author is responsible for the views expressed in the article.

US President Donald Trump has announced that the US and EU have reached a trade agreement whereby EU countries will open their markets for trade with the US without tariffs while EU goods will be subject to 15% import tariffs. The EU also agreed to purchase energy resources from the US worth $750 billion and to buy large quantities of American military equipment.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen looks very pleased in the photo despite having sold out the EU countries, but the woman who has given corruption in Brussels a face is probably satisfied with the reward awaiting her for good cooperation.

This will cost the European population, which is already carrying a heavy economic burden, not to mention European industry that is collapsing in the wake of Brussels’ policies that have made production in the EU too expensive after cutting off cheap electricity from Russia that was the cornerstone of German industry, among others. The US will likely also buy oil from Russia and resell it to the EU at a profit – Putin and Trump have every reason to smile.

The US thus achieved its goal of removing competitor EU from the Russian market, and now the vassals in Europe will work entirely on Washington’s terms – with higher prices as a bonus that we pay.

 

Jenny Piper

All Jenny Piper's articles can be found on her blog.

Gabbard accuses Obama of years-long coup against Trump

Donald Trump's USA

Published 24 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
There is indisputable evidence that shows in detail how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence assessment that they knew was false, according to Gabbard.
3 minute read

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has released a previously classified report that she claims reveals how former President Barack Obama and his administration deliberately created false information about Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Gabbard describes it as “the most egregious weaponization and politicization of intelligence in American history”.

At a White House press conference on July 23, Gabbard presented the declassified report from the House Intelligence Committee, which was originally produced in September 2020.

The report questions the foundations for the assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have wanted to help Donald Trump win the election.

The stunning revelations that we are releasing today should be of concern to every American. This is not about Democrats or Republicans. This has to do with the integrity of our Democratic Republic, Gabbard said at the press conference.

Obama “knew the report was false”

Gabbard accuses the Obama administration of deliberately creating an intelligence assessment that they “knew was false”. She claims they created a fabricated narrative that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Trump win.

There is irrefutable evidence that detail how President Obama and his national security team directed the creation of an intelligence community assessment that they knew was false, Gabbard explained.

According to the report, Obama allegedly issued “unusual directives” to expedite the publication of the intelligence assessment before Trump’s inauguration, bypassing normal coordination procedures within the intelligence services.

CIA accused of inadequate sources

The report criticizes the CIA for failing to follow its own standards and for basing its conclusions on what is described as “scant, unclear, and unverifiable fragment of a sentence from one of the substandard reports”.

Gabbard claims that then-CIA Director John Brennan and the intelligence community deliberately suppressed information showing that Putin “held back from leaking compromising material on Hillary Clinton prior to the election”.

Brennan and the intelligence community mischaracterized intelligence and relied on dubious substandard sources to create a contrived false narrative that Putin developed a quote clear preference for Trump, she said.

Claims about Clinton’s health condition

The report describes extensive material that Russia allegedly had about Hillary Clinton, including documents that according to Gabbard showed “psycho-emotional problems, uncontrolled fits of anger, aggression” and claims that Clinton was “on a daily regimen of heavy tranquilizers”.

Gabbard also claims that the intelligence community excluded important information that would have contradicted their main conclusions, including reports that “some Russian intelligence officials were planning for candidate Hillary Clinton’s victory”.

Demands for judicial review

She has demanded a criminal investigation of officials from the Obama era and accuses them of manufacturing a false narrative to discredit a sitting president. Trump has supported her conclusions and demanded prosecution of Obama and senior officials in his administration.

They conspired to subvert the will of the American people who elected Donald Trump in that election in November of 2016 they worked with their partners in the media to promote this lie ultimately to undermine the legitimacy of President Trump and launching what would be a years-long coup against him and his administration, Gabbard said.

The report also claims that internal US intelligence assessments consistently concluded that Russia lacked both the capability and intent to intervene in the 2016 election, but that these findings were deliberately suppressed.

Russia has denied all involvement in American elections, and President Putin has repeatedly said that Moscow does not favor any particular American political candidate.

Trump accuses Obama of “treason” – urges justice department to act

Donald Trump's USA

Published 24 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Donald Trump has made strong accusations against former President Barack Hussein Obama, now accusing him of treason and being responsible for "the Russiagate hoax."
2 minute read

US President Donald Trump has accused his predecessor Barack Obama of “treason”. Trump states that he wants the Justice Department to “go after” Obama and former intelligence chiefs for their alleged conspiracy to “manipulate elections” and stage what Trump calls “the Russiagate hoax”.

Trump made these statements during a meeting with reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. He was responding to questions about the report that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released last week, in which she claims that officials under the Obama administration fabricated intelligence to falsely accuse Trump of collusion with Russia.

This was treason. Barack Hussein Obama is the ringleader. Hillary Clinton was right there with him, and so was Sleepy Joe Biden, and so were the rest of them: Comey, Clapper, the whole group, Trump said, referring to former FBI Director James Comey and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

They tried to rig an election, and they got caught. And then they did rig the election in 2020. And then because I knew I won that election by a lot, I did it a third time, and I won in a landslide, he added.

Report with over 100 documents

Gabbard’s report was “irrefutable proof that Obama was seditious”, according to Trump, who accused his predecessor of “trying to lead a coup”.

— This is the biggest scandal in the history of our country, the president said.

The report, which contains over 100 declassified documents, suggests that Obama’s intelligence chiefs discarded all intelligence assessments that found no Russian involvement, and replaced them with fabricated claims. This paved the way for the Russia investigation, which Gabbard describes as a “multi-year coup” against Trump.

Obama denies the allegations

Obama has strongly denied the allegations and reiterated his position shortly after Trump’s latest statements from the Oval Office. Gabbard’s report contains nothing that “undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes”, Obama’s office said in a statement.

“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one. These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction”, the statement claimed.

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