Nancy Pelosi: ‘Follow the Money’

Published

2 years ago

March 26, 2023

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House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosis message at the annual South by Southwest festival could be summarized in three words: Follow the money.

Pelosi uttered that specific phraseand similar versions of itseveral times during her interview with Evan Smith, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, as part of the magazines Future of Democracy summit this morning in Austin, Texas.

Pelosi, who represents Californias 11th congressional district, began by discussing the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and the anxiety sweeping through not only her home district but the tech and financial industries as a whole. I dont think theres any appetite in this country for bailing out a bank, she said. What we would hope to see by tomorrow morning is for some other bank to buy the bank. She said there were multiple potential buyers, but she couldnt reveal their names. Pelosi pointed out that former President Donald Trump had authorized the reduction of certain Dodd-Frank protections that had been instituted following the 2008 financial crash: If they were still in place and the bank had to honor them, this might have been avoided, she offered. Rather than repeating our recent history and using taxpayer money to rescue the failed institution, Pelosi said the focus should be on protecting depositors and small businesses at risk of closing or not making payroll. We do not want contagion, she said.

Franklin Foer: Youll miss gerontocracy when its gone

Pelosi pointed to moneythe reckless use and exploitation of itas the root of virtually every problem facing America and the world today. Whether the potential fallout of a failed bank like SVB or the rise of autocracy around the world, it all comes down to money, money, money, and little else. Money buying Russian oil is paying for the assault on democracy in Ukraine, Pelosi said. She accused China of buying votes from smaller countries at the United Nations, and said the U.S. must join with the European Union in using the leverage of this big market to have the playing field be more even.

Pelosi refused to say Trumps name even once during her one-hour session, referring to the 45th president instead by Whats his name under her breath. Still, she condemned the extremism and anarchy that had overtaken American politics since Trump began his rise nearly eight years ago. Her husband, Paul Pelosi, who was struck in the head with a hammer by a home invader last fall, joined her on todays trip to Texas, which was unusual, given that hes still recovering from the attack. I was the target, she said. He paid the price.

She spoke of the January 6 insurrection with sadness and disgustanarchists making poo-poo on the floor of the Capitoland acknowledged the rioters goal to put a bullet in her head that day. Her successor, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, recently gave a trove of January 6 material to Fox News in the name of governmental transparency. Foxs biggest star, Tucker Carlson, downplayed the severity of the Capitol storming in a broadcast last week. Something must be wrong with Tucker Carlson, Pelosi said. Theres money that runs a lot of it.

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Taking a brief conciliatory note, she said she was hoping for the best for McCarthy as he continues his first year as House speaker. We need to listen, and I hope that Kevin will listen to other than just the very radical, right-wing fringe of his party, she said, apparently gesturing at Trump and other election deniers. When asked about the prospect of Trump again becoming the GOP nominee in 2024, she was ready with a canned line: If he is, we impeached him twice, and hes gonna lose twice. (Left unsaid was that neither impeachment resulted in Trumps removal from office.)

As for President Joe Biden, Pelosi called him a magnificent leader and said that she certainly hopes he will run again. (She joked that hes younger than she is.) Nevertheless, Pelosi seemed slightly agitated that Biden had yet to formally declare his candidacy, leaving other potential candidates in the Democratic Party with few options. I think it would be efficient for us to have a president seek reelection, and we should be moving on with it when we can. Whatever decision he makes, wed like to know.

Politics

Clampdown on social media ads for Channel crossings unveiled

Published

2 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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Clampdown on social media ads for Channel crossings unveiled

Anyone who advertises Channel crossings or fake passports on social media could face up to five years in prison under new government plans.

Research suggests about 80% of migrants arriving to the UK by small boat used internet platforms during their journey – including to contact agents linked to smuggling gangs.

While it is already illegal to assist illegal immigration, ministers hope the creation of a new offence will give police more powers and disrupt business models.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is also planning to introduce a fast-track scheme to tackle the asylum backlog, meaning decisions will be made within weeks.

It comes as official figures show more than 25,000 people have arrived on small boats so far in 2025 – a record for this point in the year.

Ms Cooper said it is “immoral” for smugglers to sell false promises online, adding: “These criminals have no issue with leading migrants to life-threatening situations using brazen tactics on social media.

“We are determined to do everything we can to stop them, wherever they operate.”

The new offence prohibiting the online promotion of Channel crossings is set to be included in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill already going through Parliament.

Officials from the National Crime Agency already work with tech giants to remove such posts – with more than 8,000 taken offline last year.

A Preston-based smuggler who was jailed for 17 years had posted videos of migrants thanking him for his help.

Meanwhile, Albanian smugglers have created promotions for £12,000 “package deals” which claim to offer accommodation and a job in the UK on arrival.

The Conservatives have described the measures as “too little, too late” – and say automatic deportations are the only way to tackle small boat crossings.

Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “Labour still has no clear plan to deter illegal entry, no effective enforcement and no strategy to speed up removals. This is a panicked attempt to look tough after months of doing nothing.”

It comes as protests outside hotels believed to be housing asylum seekers continue in towns and cities across the UK.

Several demonstrators were detained – with police breaking up brief clashes – outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in north London yesterday.

The government is legally required to provide accommodation and subsistence to destitute asylum seekers while their claims are being decided, most of whom are prohibited from working.

World

Just 36 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, Palestinian officials claim – short of 600 needed

Published

2 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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Just 36 aid trucks entered Gaza yesterday, Palestinian officials claim - short of 600 needed

Just 36 aid trucks entered Gaza on Saturday – despite the humanitarian situation in the enclave worsening, Palestinian officials have warned.

According to the Gazan government’s media office, most of the humanitarian supplies were looted and stolen – “as a result of the state of security chaos that the Israeli occupation systematically and deliberately perpetuates”.

Officials say at least 600 truckloads of aid are required on a daily basis, adding: “The needs of the population are worsening.”

A statement released late last night called for “the immediate opening of crossings, and the entry of aid and infant formula in sufficient quantities” – and “condemned in the strongest terms the continuation of the crime of starvation”.

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, refuted this – and accused Hamas of “stirring up a slanderous propaganda campaign against Israel”.

He said: “The cruelty of Hamas has no boundaries. While the State of Israel is allowing the entry of humanitarian aid to the residents of Gaza, the terrorists of Hamas are deliberately starving our hostages and document them in a cynical and evil manner.

“The terrorists of Hamas are deliberately starving the residents of the Strip as well, preventing them from receiving the aid.”

It comes as the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza said its headquarters in Khan Younis were hit by an Israeli strike, killing one staff member and injuring three others.

Footage posted on social media shows a fire broke out in the building.

Indirect negotiations between Hamas and Israel for a 60-day ceasefire, and a deal for the release of half the hostages still held in Gaza, ended in deadlock last week.

US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy told the families of the hostages yesterday that he was working with the Israeli government on a plan that would end the war.

Steve Witkoff claimed that Hamas was willing to disarm to stop the conflict, despite the group’s repeated statements that it would not do so.

In response, Hamas said it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established with Jerusalem as its capital.

After Mr Witkoff’s meeting with the families of the hostages, Hamas released two videos of an emaciated Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, who was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023 and has been held in captivity in Gaza since.

The 24-year-old looked skeletal, with his shoulder blades protruding from his back. He was heard saying that he had not eaten for three days. The distressing videos show him digging his own grave, he said in the footage.

World

Videos of emaciated Israeli hostage Evyatar David released by Hamas

Published

2 hours ago

August 3, 2025

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Videos of emaciated Israeli hostage Evyatar David released by Hamas

Two videos of an emaciated Israeli hostage, Evyatar David, have been released by Hamas, after US special envoy Steve Witkoff this week met with the families of the hostages.

The now 24-year-old looks skeletal, with his shoulder blades protruding from his back, and says he has not eaten for three days.

The distressing videos show him apparently digging his own grave.

He worked in a restaurant, according to a video posted by Labour Friends of Israel, before he was abducted from the Nova music festival on 7 October 2023.

Since then, he has been held in captivity in Gaza, and the videos suggest he is being kept in dark tunnels and surviving on scarce portions of lentils and beans.

Gaza itself is suffering “man-made mass starvation” because of Israel’s blockade on aid to the enclave, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has previously said.

In the second video, released on Saturday, Mr David – according to the English subtitles – says: “I haven’t eaten for three days.”

The captions continue as he speaks while in an underground tunnel: “There’s no [sic] enough food. I barely get drinking water.”

The video shows him talking through what he ate in July, which has been recorded on a handmade calendar hung up on the side of an underground Gaza tunnel.

Speaking while under captivity and under duress, he adds: “They give me what they can get.”

At the end of the video, he is digging a hole. The subtitle reads: “This is the grave where I think I’m going to be buried in. Time is running out.”

He then appears to break down, crouching on the floor and leaning his head on his arm while still clinging to the shovel.

In a statement, his family said: “We are forced to witness our beloved son and brother, Evyatar David, deliberately and cynically starved in Hamas’s tunnels in Gaza – a living skeleton, buried alive.

“Our son has only a few days left to live in his current condition.”

They added: “Israel and the international community must oppose Hamas’s cruelty and ensure that our Evyatar immediately receives proper nutrition.

“The intentional starvation, torture, and abuse of Evyatar for propaganda purposes violate even the lowest standards of humanitarian law and basic human decency.”

‘Famine’ looms in Gaza

On Friday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff visited a site where the US and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has been distributing food in Gaza.

The controversial GHF scheme has been widely condemned, including by the UK government, after fatal shootings ever since it was set up earlier this year.

According to the United Nations’ human rights office, at least 859 people have been killed “in the vicinity” of GHF aid sites since late May.

The Israel Defence Forces has repeatedly said it “categorically rejects the claims of intentional harm to civilians” and has blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians.

Meanwhile, the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IFSPC) this week said a “worst-case scenario of famine” was sinking in across the besieged enclave.

It has also said more than 20,000 children have been treated for acute malnutrition since April.

Families of the 50 hostages still in Gaza are concerned they are also starving, and blame Hamas.

On Saturday, Gaza’s health ministry said a further seven Palestinians had died of malnutrition-related causes in the past 24 hours, including a child.