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Coup in Romania – Fascinating interview with Presidential hopeful Calin Georgescu

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Funny how a lot of people branded “far right” by progressives and the corporate media sound pretty reasonable when you see / hear them in conversation.

Take Romanian Presidential candidate Calin Georgescu.  As an independent candidate, Georgescu found himself leading the current Presidential race in Romania when his campaign found itself under attack.

Georgescu opposes financial and military support of the war in neighbouring Ukraine.  For that he’s been called not pro-peace, but pro-Russian and anti-NATO.  His campaign effectively used TikTok as any other potenial candidate hoping to win an election in 2024 would do.  Opponents say his social media success simply has to be the result of Russian influence.  They have no proof, but they’re already in power so they don’t seem to need any.

Georgescu has an extremely interesting resume for someone who is apparently ‘far-right’. In 2015 and 2016 he was Executive Director of the United Nations International Institute for Sustainable Development.  His political experience in Romani comes from a long stint in the Office for the Environment including two years as Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment.

He followed that up with a long run as Executive Director of the National Centre for Sustainable Development  in Bucharest, before joining the United Nations.

Fascinating route to far-right extremism indeed.

Of course no one called him ‘ultranationalist, extremist, or far-right while he was polling around 5%.  But when his success in the first round catapulted him to 23% of the vote for President, putting him in the lead heading into the decisive second round of Presidential voting, the Constitutional Court of Romania annulled the results.

Among his “far-right” campaign initiatives were strengthening Romania’s defence capabilities, diversifying Romania’s diplomatic relations, increased support for farmers, promoting energy and food production, and reducing dependency on imports.

From Viva Frei on Rumble

Călin Georgescu’s unexpected success in the first round of the presidential election was attributed to a massive social media campaign on TikTok, which was later scrutinized for possible foreign influence, particularly from Russia. The court’s decision to annul the election results was based on these concerns and allegations of campaign finance irregularities. It is nothing less than the desecration of the democratic process.

 

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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conflict

Russia rejects offer to swap territory gained with Ukraine

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MXM logo  MxM News

Quick Hit:

The Kremlin has flatly rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to swap Russian-held Ukrainian land for territory in Russia’s Kursk region controlled by Kyiv. Moscow insists it will not negotiate on its occupied land and has vowed to expel Ukrainian forces from Kursk.

Key Details:

  • The Ukrainian president suggested exchanging parts of Kursk that Ukraine controls for unspecified Russian-occupied Ukrainian land.
  • Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared the idea “impossible” and insisted Russia would never discuss swapping territory.
  • Russian forces continue fighting to push Ukrainian troops out of Kursk, while Ukraine attempts to regain control of its own land.

Diving Deeper:

Russia has firmly rejected a proposed land swap suggested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, dismissing any notion of trading occupied Ukrainian territory for parts of Russia’s Kursk region that Kyiv seized in a cross-border attack last year.

The idea, which Zelensky discussed with The Guardian, was aimed at finding a diplomatic path toward ending the war. “We will swap one territory for another,” Zelensky said, though he did not specify which Russian-occupied areas Ukraine would demand in return. He emphasized that every piece of Ukrainian land is important, declining to name any priorities.

Moscow’s response was swift and unequivocal. “This is impossible,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “Russia has never discussed and will not discuss the exchange of its territory.” He reaffirmed Russia’s determination to remove Ukrainian forces from Kursk, either by force or by expulsion.

Ukraine’s military made a surprise incursion into Kursk last August, securing pockets of land that Russian forces have been struggling to reclaim. President Vladimir Putin previously assured Russians that Ukrainian troops would be removed but declined to specify a timeline.

Currently, Russia occupies nearly 20% of Ukraine—more than 112,000 square kilometers—while Ukraine controls around 450 square kilometers of Kursk, according to battlefield maps.

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U.S. Seizes Fentanyl Shipment From Canada In Seattle, As Washington Pressures Ottawa on Crime Networks

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Sam Cooper

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have intercepted a shipment containing more than one pound of fentanyl from Canada, marking the latest sign of an accelerating crisis along the BC-Washington border. The fentanyl, concealed within a package believed to have originated in British Columbia, was discovered during a targeted enforcement operation at a Seattle shipping facility on February 6.

The package contained a brown, rock-like substance wrapped in plastic bags. Subsequent testing confirmed it was fentanyl, the synthetic opioid driving tens of thousands of overdose deaths in North America each year.

Area Port Director Rene Ortega, speaking about the seizure, underscored its broader implications. “Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous synthetic drug that continues to devastate communities across the United States,” Ortega said. “CBP remains committed to using every available tool to stop these lethal substances before they reach our streets.”

The latest seizure is part of an escalating pattern that has prompted increasingly aggressive responses from Washington. President Donald Trump has warned of sweeping tariffs in the coming weeks unless Ottawa delivers a credible, actionable plan to crack down on transnational crime networks driving fentanyl production. These networks—operating primarily out of British Columbia—are deeply entrenched with organized crime groups from China and Mexico.

The Bureau has reported extensively on Washington’s mounting frustration with Canada’s handling of the fentanyl crisis. BC Mayor Brad West, who has been in direct communication with senior U.S. officials, has described an urgent shift in tone from American law enforcement and intelligence agencies. In a high-level 2023 meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, West was briefed on just how seriously Washington views Canada’s role in the illicit drug trade.

“This is no longer just a Canadian domestic issue,” West told The Bureau. “Secretary Blinken made it clear that the Biden administration sees fentanyl as an existential threat. They’re building a global coalition and need Canada fully on board. If we don’t show real progress, the U.S. will protect itself by any means—tariffs or otherwise.”

Concerns extend beyond law enforcement. According to multiple sources with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence assessments, American agencies have begun withholding key evidence from their Canadian counterparts, citing a lack of confidence that Ottawa will act on it. West confirmed that in his ongoing discussions with senior U.S. officials, they have voiced alarm over the level of access major figures in Asian organized crime appear to have within Canada’s political class.

“They’re basically asking, ‘What’s going on in Canada?’” West said.

The frustration is not new. For years, U.S. and international law enforcement agencies have sought to curb the transnational reach of organizations like Sam Gor, the powerful Asian organized crime syndicate that dominates much of the fentanyl precursor supply chain. But Canada’s response has been widely seen as inadequate. Critics argue that political sensitivities and reluctance to confront entrenched criminal networks have left Canadian law enforcement hamstrung.

The question now is whether Ottawa will take decisive action. Bringing forward measures as sweeping as a RICO-style anti-mafia statute or invoking the notwithstanding clause to bypass legal obstacles to tougher enforcement would represent a sharp departure from the status quo. Both approaches would require confronting entrenched political, legal and economic interests, as well as explaining why existing laws have failed to secure convictions against the most powerful actors in organized crime.

West believes the shifting geopolitical landscape may force Ottawa’s hand. Washington’s patience, he warns, ran thin years ago—and the U.S. is now signaling it will no longer wait.

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