Summary

The White House has directed the State and Treasury Departments to draft a proposal for lifting some U.S. sanctions on Russia as part of Trump’s effort to restore ties and end the Ukraine war.

The proposal could ease restrictions on select Russian entities and oligarchs, though it’s unclear what the U.S. would receive in return.

Trump has signaled openness to sanctions relief despite previously threatening harsher measures.

Talks between U.S. and Russian officials have intensified, with economic cooperation, including rare earth minerals, emerging as a key topic.

  • tyrant@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    This is so wrong. I hate what we’ve become. As an American, I’ve never been proud of what this country has done but I’ve never been THIS ashamed. I feel like a joke.

    • samus12345@lemm.ee
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      9 days ago

      There’s no more room for nuance. We (that is, our government) are the baddies. Straight up.

      • OutForARip@lemmy.ca
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        9 days ago

        So let’s stop beating around the bush at what has to be done, violent revolution is the only path to freedom.

        • samus12345@lemm.ee
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          9 days ago

          I’m approximately 2,700 miles from DC, so I’ll need several days’ notice for when the violent insurrection will be.

          • cyphear@lemm.ee
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            9 days ago

            Can it wait a few more months? I need a bit more PTO. Rent doesn’t pay itself.

            • 418_im_a_teapot@sh.itjust.works
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              8 days ago

              This is kind of an underrated sentiment. I think a big reason there aren’t more protests and revolting is because we really can’t afford it. The financial impact on each individual can be significant. Employers don’t support time off for anything of a political nature, not even voting.

              I don’t believe this situation isn’t intentional. It seems that countries who take two hour lunch breaks and don’t let their jobs dictate their entire lives are far more likely to protest en mass.

              https://youtube.com/shorts/en_VpZtUFcE

              • Sanctus@lemmy.world
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                8 days ago

                Thing is, saving that house now by forsaking the country could lead to that same door being kicked down by the feds in just a few months for that liberal Facebook post you made calling trans people human. Get in the Gitmo van.

              • metaldream@sopuli.xyz
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                8 days ago

                The BLM protests were the largest in US history. The fact is that most Americans have been coddled by a stable democracy and don’t care if they lose it, as long as someone puts a buck in their pocket. They think it won’t affect them because Congress bad, both sides bad.

                Of the ones who do care, they think protests dOn’T wOrK because BLM or the Palestine protests failed. Completely ignoring the fact that other civil resistance movements have succeeded and are historically more successful than armed revolts against the upper class.

    • Lit@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      To help Putin, he is bankrupting USA just like how he bankrupted his casinos.

    • Obinice@lemmy.world
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      7 days ago

      As an American? Surely you mean as a proud member of the new American Protectorate of the Russian Federation, comrade?

      APRF, got a ring to it!

      Anyway better start being proud or it’s off to Gulaganamo Bay…

  • Hlodwig@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    I have nothing against americans, but this is Hitler level bullshit and if americans dont wake up after this (like revolt level wake up), they are no better than today russians orks or past german nazis sympathizer. Until they get their shit together by getting rid of this orange shit pile, americans can just go fuck themselves…

    • margaritox@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      bUt wE hAvE oUr oWn PrObLeMs. tHiS dOeSn’T cOnCeRn Us.

      Fucking shameful and depressing. Makes me realize that slogans like “never again” are not at all realistic because they’ll always be idiots who think shit doesn’t concern them, until it does.

      • Taldan@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        [From interviews in 1953] The author determined that his interviewees had fond memories of the Nazi period and did not see Adolf Hitler as evil, and they perceived themselves as having a high degree of personal freedom during Nazi rule

        I never considered some Germans still favored the Nazi regime after WW2, or at least not a significant number, especially not otherwise normal people. I’ve ordered a copy of the book

        • metaldream@sopuli.xyz
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          8 days ago

          It was the generation after the Nazis that did all the work to redeem Germany. The Nazis themselves never admitted that what they did was wrong, even when it destroyed their own country.

          And of course they felt free. To the mediocre, the hateful, and the weak-minded, “freedom” means power over others, and the Nazis gave their supporters a tiny bit of that power.

    • MonsterMonster@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      I’m trying hard not to accuse America per se but recognise that this is Trump and his administration being driven by Kremlin interference and direct involvement.

      I cannot see the American people putting up with this nightmare but I fear it’s not hitting home as it should.

      Ukraine is just a part of a bigger picture where Russia is actively interfering with Western politics, business, governments, elections and referendums with the aim of bringing down the West.

      With the traditional USA out of the game Russia will move on to eastern Europe. In the meantime China makes it’s move on Taiwan and others in the region; the Trump USA taking Canada, Greenland, Western Europe; the middle east being carved between Russia and Trump USA.

      It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better whilst Trump is in power.

      • WindyRebel@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        I sincerely hope that the military, even red state members, would recognize invading Canada or any of these countries as being a real fucked move and not what they signed up for.

    • Someone@lemmy.ca
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      9 days ago

      I hadn’t thought of it that way before but I think you nailed it. History won’t care who you voted for.

    • Paul@lemmy.esquiretheduke.nohost.me
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      7 days ago

      I posted this on a Reddit thread, but we have become very dependent on certain technologies. The resistance is taking a while to get warmed up. One of the biggest issues is our communication channels used in the first administration have all been compromised. Twitter, Whatsapp, and Reddit are all being used against us. There may never be a hashtag protest again.

      No one thinks this is normal or okay. But there is an air of fear that the secret police tech bros are listening.

      • Hlodwig@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        FYI if everybody no longer pay their taxes and no longer work, its game over for the government in less than a year and in a peacefull way… (Excluding food, energy and health sector of course, and people will need to be able to rely on their communities exclusively, but lets be honest, in the US its already the case…)

        Imagine a COVID but as a national and perpetual strike/protest. Even with a third of the population doing that, it would work.

    • PsychedSy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      8 days ago

      Even though the EU has been funding Russia with fossil fuel imports? Kinda feels like we’re the only country that was willing to make a stand and did it alone while Russia’s GDP rose last year.

  • MonsterMonster@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    Is this being reported in the US in the mainstream media?

    The possibility of a US coup is becoming more real everyday with the Trump administration.

    • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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      9 days ago

      Possibility? … this coup is more like watching moss grow over concrete … it’s taking time but it will soon cover everything and everyone is making it as hot and moist as possible to speed up the process

    • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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      9 days ago

      The possibility of a US coup is becoming more real everyday with the Trump administration.

      A US coup is becoming more real everyday with the Trump administration.

    • catloaf@lemm.ee
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      9 days ago

      It doesn’t look like it’s being reprinted yet. Reuters just published the story about two hours ago.

  • dogslayeggs@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    You know what would help end the war in Ukraine? Letting Russia keep all their money and having no repercussions for their actions. That should do the trick.

  • perestroika@lemm.ee
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    9 days ago

    If the US does lift sanctions on select oligarchs from Russia, I think the EU should consider sanctions on select oligarchs from the US.

    I can suggest one such oligarch, Elon Musk - he’s associated with wielding illegitimate power, manipulating social media and interfering in elections (both national and primary) using wealth.

    How about freezing his assets? I don’t think he has taken the prudent step of collecting all his money and stowing it under Donald’s presidential seat.

    • matlag@sh.itjust.works
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      7 days ago

      Unfortunately, the EU still didn’t even manage to block Twitter and even less to touch Starlink, or send promised money to Ukraine in less than months. I wouldn’t hold my breath on anything further out of what they’ve planned at least 6months ago already, and sanctions against US oligarchs was definitely not on the list.

    • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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      7 days ago

      I think the EU should consider sanctions on select oligarchs from the US.

      I can suggest one such oligarch, Elon Musk

      All of the billionaires who were mugging for the camera at the inauguration.

        • Fair Fairy@thelemmy.club
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          8 days ago

          This is a total lie. there is no sense to keep funding stupid usaid propaganda - it keeps population dumb

          • Brumefey@sh.itjust.works
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            8 days ago

            it keeps population dumb

            You mean dumb like all those Trump Musk supporters ? Or dumb because educational programs have been defunded, and fed by social media and classic media controlled by the rich men having power ?

          • Devanismyname@lemmy.ca
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            7 days ago

            Well Russia was doing all this same stuff back the too so I’m not really wrong. They certainly aren’t more peaceful these days.

      • Zron@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Yeah, note instead of Russia being a communist authoritarian hellscape, it’s a capitalist authoritarian hellscape.

        Very different

        • Crikeste@lemm.ee
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          7 days ago

          He came into power almost a decade after the Cold War ended, so I don’t get what you mean

          • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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            7 days ago

            You’re an idiot then. He was literally a KGB agent. This isn’t even hard to find information, if you Google him it’s on Wikipedia you’ve done literally zero research.

            • Crikeste@lemm.ee
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              7 days ago

              Oh so being a KGB agent is being the president, got it. Who’s the idiot again?

      • uienia@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        Which has nothing to do with anything, but I bet it sounded cool in the goo in your numbskull.

      • jj4211@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        Both Putin and Trump are 80s relics and so it matters little how much the wor[l]d has changed, the cold war facet applies to the blindly pro-russian stance of Trump.

        Of all the stances to take, this one is insane. Almost every violent conflict has shades of gray, nuance rather than unambiguous good and bad. The Ukraine-Russia conflict is one of those supremely rare straightforward ones where Russia is just straight up the bad guys.

        • Fair Fairy@thelemmy.club
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          7 days ago

          If china is about to kill you economy, who gives a damn about Russia?b

          And u clearly have no historical knowledge of that conflict.

  • tiredofsametab@fedia.io
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    9 days ago

    Kick the US out of Nato and any special status in the UN. Sanction the everliving fuck out of everything US. This will destroy the retirement I was at least partially expecting to get, but fuck it.

    • jballs@sh.itjust.works
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      9 days ago

      Trump is such a master negotiator. Betray our allies, threaten to leave the UN, stop all cyber security operations against Russian, lift sanctions against Russia that are working, block Ukraine from joining the UN, and say that any chance of ending the war has to result in Ukraine ceding stolen territory.

      All before negotiations even start. What a mastermind.

      • Lit@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        There should be a rule in UN that any threat made to leave UN by the leader of the country should lead to immediate suspension and sanctions from the UN.

        If you want to leave, submit a resignation and leave, no theatrics and threats allowed even if you are a TV show host president like Trump.

        • DicJacobus@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          the UN is just a clubhouse where people agree to talk. nothing more

          No country with nuclear weapons gives a flying fuck about what anyone at the UN says, coincidentally, many of them are permanent security council members.

    • imvii@lemmy.ca
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      8 days ago

      I would like to see mass sanctions on the US. Isolate the crap out of them.

    • DicJacobus@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      neither of those things are possible.

      DJT is where he is, because of legalese. and as far as alliances and memberships to intnl groups go, the US is untouchable.

        • DicJacobus@lemmy.world
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          8 days ago

          There is no mechanism to removing someone from NATO, or the UN, especially the UN Security council. literally meaning, there is no way it will be done that will be recognized

          a far more effective method would be for protesting nations to leave those orgs themselves. UNSC members could literally drop nuclear weapons on half the world, and still be untouchable in the UN. its a broken system that aimed to add permanent power to the victors of WW2. except, all countries are corruptable.

    • lepinkainen@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      Nothing. 50% of the country loves their strongman president more than freedom or common sense

        • 60d@lemmy.ca
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          7 days ago

          “In reality, there is no such thing as not voting: you either vote by voting, or you vote by staying home and tacitly doubling the value of some Diehard’s vote.”

          ~ David Foster Wallace

          70% of Murca voted for him.

            • 60d@lemmy.ca
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              7 days ago

              I’m saying they voted tacitly in agreement with everyone that voted for him. Whether they love the man doesn’t matter. They supported him by voting with their asses.

              • witten@lemmy.world
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                7 days ago

                I was originally replying to the post above that said: “50% of the country loves their strongman president more than freedom or common sense.” And I was specifically disputing the 50% figure in regards to “loving” Trump. So you’re arguing something else entirely.

                It’s an important distinction because falsely claiming that half the country loves Trump legitimizes his authoritarian rule.

                • 60d@lemmy.ca
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                  7 days ago

                  I understand what you’re saying. I also dispute the 50% number.

                  I’m saying only 30% of the country voted for him, 30% against, and 40% voted with their asses, making the effective amount of “love” 70%, not 50%.

                  Approval rating of ~50% notwithstanding, he has a 70% mandate to fuck shit up when we have 40% ass-voters.

        • nico198X@lemmy.zip
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          9 days ago

          and another third doesn’t give AF as long as they are fed and entertained.

      • WhiskyTangoFoxtrot@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        And the other 50% thinks that the best avenue for social change is to attack people who don’t like the latest Disney movie.

      • DicJacobus@lemmy.world
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        8 days ago

        kindly, Fuck off.

        A couple of suspicious sounding phone calls intercepted from an embassy, when every embassy in the country was having their own discussions about their preferred outcome to the collapse of a government, do not influence millions of Ukrainians who know their own country and government, to take to the streets in a riot over being betrayed over something they voted for.

          • DicJacobus@lemmy.world
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            7 days ago

            Sounds like thats the Ukrainian SBU’s business, and no one elses.

            you’re asking the location of a world leader who has had countless attempts on his life and is actively at war. Do you normally ask stupid rhetorical questions?

            • TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.zip
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              7 days ago

              I meant Yanukovych ran away to hide in Russia at the first sign of trouble and Zelensky stayed in Ukraine even with bombs falling on Kyiv

  • Treczoks@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    And another piece of evidence that Trump is nothing but a Russian agent in the Oval Office. When will the US media finally start to ask about this?

  • Bronzebeard@lemm.ee
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    9 days ago

    And red voters will still find ways to deny that he’s Putin’s little bitch boy

    • PM_Your_Nudes_Please@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      Whether or not he’s a Russian asset is ultimately irrelevant. All that matters is that he is acting like a Russian asset. He’s doing everything a Russian asset would do. So it doesn’t actually matter if Putin has kompromat on Trump, because he is clearly willing to act like an asset even if he’s not.

  • NightCrawlerProMax@lemm.ee
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    8 days ago

    Wow! It’s amazing how most of the voters who voted for him grew up hating “commies” but suddenly Russia is their ally. Astonishing.

    • alekwithak@lemmy.world
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      8 days ago

      Russia used to be godless commies, but now it’s viewed as a white, Christian capitalist state with a strong leader. It’s not, but that’s the bullshit Fucker Carlson and other Russian sponsored propagandists have been spewing for the last decade or so.

    • Wrrzag@lemmy.ml
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      8 days ago

      Maybe that’s cause Russia hasn’t been communist in a long while.

      • Undearius@lemmy.ca
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        8 days ago

        It hasn’t stopped people from thinking that “communism” is a synonym for “bad”.

        • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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          What’s quite funny is that in Europe there was never really much hatred for communism. It wasn’t what we did, but we weren’t bothered by it. The red scare was an entirely American phenomenon.

          However fast forward 40 years and suddenly it’s the reverse. America like Russia and Europe is talking about the threat of invasion.

  • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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    9 days ago

    In Europe many leaders still claim USA is our most important ally. I wonder if they say it.hoping it will make it true, or if they really still believe it?

    • FoxyFerengi@lemm.ee
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      9 days ago

      With the number of nukes the US has, and the impulsiveness of people in charge, it might be safer to keep calling it an ally

      • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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        We don’t call Russia an ally just because they have nukes.
        If USA lift sanctions on Russia, they are working against NATO interests, and against a world of law, and against democracy.
        That cannot be an ally of Europe, and we shouldn’t sugarcoat it.

        • MonsterMonster@lemmy.world
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          Here in the UK people have been asking privately if Trump is a Russian asset. It is now being asked openly in the mainstream media.

          • samus12345@lemm.ee
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            9 days ago

            He is and has been for decades, well before he became president the first time.

          • Buffalox@lemmy.world
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            9 days ago

            Seems to me very likely that he is, why else would he have such a hard-on for Russia?
            Why else would he blurt so much bullshit about Ukraine being corrupt, and Zelenskyy a dictator? When we know Russia is very corrupt an a totalitarian country!
            There are dozens of examples of similar bullshit comments by Trump, Musk and JD Vance. They are all in it, USA has been taken over by Russian and/or Chinese agents.

    • samus12345@lemm.ee
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      9 days ago

      They say it because saying the truth (that they’re an enemy of all democratic countries) is seen as too risky when they remain so intertwined with other countries worldwide. There are US military bases all over the world, for example.

    • Daemonia@lemmy.world
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      9 days ago

      Many EU leaders like to pretend things are just fine when they’re not because it’s easier than dealing with the problem. We got lulled into a false sense of security the past few decades and being woken up so rudely seems to be difficult for our lazy asses.

    • Ledericas@lemm.ee
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      8 days ago

      pretty much, they switches thier strategy to using propaganda and bribing since the 80s;.

      • FauxLiving@lemmy.world
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        7 days ago

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foundations_of_Geopolitics

        In the Americas, United States, and Canada:

        -Russia should use its special services within the borders of the United States and Canada to fuel instability and separatism against neoliberal globalist Western hegemony, such as, for instance, provoke “Afro-American racists” to create severe backlash against the rotten political state of affairs in the current present-day system of the United States and Canada. Russia should “introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social, and racial conflicts, actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics”.