Vesper

Elon Musk Tells Extremist AfD Party Rally That Germans Need to “Move On” from “Past Guilt” “It’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything,” he said in a virtual visit. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/01/elon-musk-extremist-afd-party-rally-germany-past-guilt-holocaust-remigration/ https://archive.ph/2Er73 Because Elon Musk apparently did not create enough controversy for his liking this week, the tech billionaire also made a virtual appearance on Saturday at a rally for the extremist, right-wing, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany party ahead of the country’s snap elections next month. Musk told the crowd that he considers the party to be the “best hope” for Germany. The rally reportedly consisted of about 4,500 people, including the party leader, Alice Weidel, in the city of Halle. “It’s okay to be proud to be German,” Musk said. “This is a very important principle. It’s okay, it’s good to be proud of German culture, German values, and not to lose that in some sort of multiculturalism that dilutes everything.” He also said that the country needed to “move on” from “past guilt,” interpreted by many as referring to the Holocaust. “Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great-grandparents,” Musk said. Confusingly, Musk—a South African tech billionaire—also lamented “too much control from, sort of, global elite” in German affairs, adding, “There should be more determination by individual countries.” In addition to those hypocrisies, Musk also peddled at least one straight-up falsehood: He claimed Germany is “an ancient nation, [that] goes back thousands of years”—but the German Empire was founded in 1871. He concluded by claiming “the future of civilization could hang on this election,” before leaving the cheering crowd with the three words Trump yelled after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania: “Fight, fight, fight!” Unsurprisingly, Musk’s latest comments led to widespread condemnation. Dani Dayan, chairman of Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial to the victims of the Holocaust, said in a post on X: “Contrary to @elonmusk advice, the remembrance and acknowledgement of the dark past of the country and its people should be central in shaping the German society. Failing to do so is an insult to the victims of Nazism and a clear danger to the democratic future of Germany.” Donald Tusk, the prime minister of Poland, said: “The words we heard from the main actors of the AfD rally about “Great Germany” and “the need to forget German guilt for Nazi crimes” sounded all too familiar and ominous. Especially only hours before the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz,” referring to the 80th anniversary, which falls on Monday. On CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told host Dana Bash, “What he said does bother me,” also referencing the upcoming anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation. “I’m worried that 80 years on, we’re rewriting history here,” Graham added. “I want every German child, every American child, to know what happened and that it’s true, not a lie, and we never do it again.” As my colleague Alex Nguyen has written, AfD is controversial even among Europe’s nationalists: The party is also, like Trump, a fan of mass deportations of immigrants, which they term “remigration,” as my colleague Isabela Dias wrote about last year. (Weidel also used the word at the rally on Saturday.) As Mother Jones contributor Josh Axelrod, a Berlin-based reporter, wrote for us last month: Musk’s virtual appearance at the Saturday rally is just his latest show of support for the party, which has also included publishing an op-ed in support of them in one of Germany’s biggest newspapers last month, as I wrote then. He also interviewed Weidel, the party leader, on X earlier this month. The party is still polling in second place, at 20 percent. But the resistance to their rise is also strong: The Associated Press reported that tens of thousands of Germans protested the AfD in Berlin and other cities on Saturday.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

https://thedailybriefing.io/i/156084560/manchester-united Patrick Dorgu’s medical at Manchester United is to be re-scheduled and will now take place on Saturday. No issues or problems as the deal has been agreed but just due to documents/contracts being finalised. Rúben Amorim to TNT Sports ahead of Man United’s Europa League game: “I’m just happy to have Ale Garnacho here. He is improving a lot, he’s a young talented guy. I want to work with these talented guys.” Rúben Amorim after the game: “I put Kobbie Mainoo in the No.10 position because we need time to understand the players.He was struggling a lot defending as a midfielder, but as a No. 10 he was so free playing the ball near the box.” European giants Barcelona will make last-ditch attempt to sign 206 G/A Man United ace Marcus Rashford.

he looks fit enough to still play footie, lolol probably still, at 44yo, a better CB than Disasi

Eton brings back the classic white collar for the 2025 spring season The perfect companion to the return of the 80s power suit just dropped https://www.themanual.com/fashion/eton-white-collar/ We have been talking about it for months now; the past is coming back around to dress you like your ancestors. Or, in some ways, redress you the way you used to dress. Whether you are the kind of guy who wants to adopt the vintage aesthetic from the mid-century, the guy who wants to relive his 80s glory days, or the guy who wants to dust off his Y2K looks to justify listening to his Nickleback CDs, trends are going your way. For the 80s lover, you will be happy to know that the power suit is back, and it is time for you to dust it off and dominate the workday. There is also the drop of the power suit’s best friend with the Eton white collar collection that relaunches a menswear classic. Perfect 80s companion to the return of the power suit If you are a fan of 80s movies, you may be quite familiar with what we are talking about here. Michael Douglas’ Gordon Gecko was the pinnacle of style when he threw on his double-breasted pinstripe suit with his pink or blue dress shirt and red tie. But what made him stand out was the contrasting collar that gave his outfit a little more depth than those around him. The eye was drawn to him the moment others walked into the room. If you like more modern movies, think of Leonardo DiCaprio’s turn in The Wolf of Wall Street, where the same was true of him. With the return of this classic, along with the power suit, you, too, can command the room. Only, maybe don’t break the law like these fellas.

main CFs on the board for now or summer Lautaro Martínez Alexander Isak Viktor Gyökeres Victor Osimhen Benjamin Šeško Jonathan David (free in the summer, an absolute steal) Liam Delap Dušan Vlahović doubt we would go back in for Samu Aghehowa (I still want to know what happened)

zero fucking chance I would move from Milano to North London (unless they were doubling or tripling my wages) it is not like he is going get European football at Spuds (which he does get at AC Milan)

On 21 August 2024, Félix returned to Chelsea, signing for them on a seven-year contract for a fee of €52 million (£42 million) plus €5 million (£4.3 million) in potential add-ons.

maybe the Baggies will bring back Tony Pulis and Guiu can feel they joy that comes from being the lone upfield player in a flat-back 9

Brighton only dropped £7.5m on him

I am not sold on Nico González ex Barca lad, he is decent but suprised Citeh though he is their level, he was often the Barca weak link in MF when he played for them many better options out there DMF Bruno Guimarães Aurélien Tchouaméni João Neves Martín Zubimendi Aleksandar Pavlovic Carlos Baleba Alan Varela Adam Wharton Marc Casadó CMF Federico Valverde (basically zero chance I wager) Pedri (just renewed yesterday) Gavi Eduardo Camavinga Nicolò Barella Warren Zaïre-Emery Vitinha Pablo Barrios Fermín López Éderson (Atalanta) Tijjani Reijnders Frenkie de Jong João Gomes Quinten Timber Ayyoub Bouaddi (youth, is still 17yo, until October 2025) Gabri Veiga Javi Guerra Lazar Samardžić Jobe Bellingham

he missed an absolute sitter in the Europa League game 2 nights ago versus Ajax (at Ajax) cost Gala their 26 game unbeaten streak all comps (they lost 2 1)

Evan Ferguson had 2 knee injuries starting in September 2023, the second one, in April 2024 he destroyed his knee far worse than the first one he will perhaps be Fofana 2.0 if we are stupid enough to buy him 13 total EPL career goals in 59 EPL games (2557 minutes) ONE EPL goal since November 2023 and he had NO EPL goals in the last 15 EPL games he played BEFORE he blew out his knee in April 2024

wtf!!!

they came for Sterling, he refused

To Pay for Trump Tax Cuts, House GOP Floats Plan to Slash Benefits for the Poor and Working Class A menu of options being circulated by congressional Republicans also includes new tax cuts for corporations and the ultrawealthy. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-tax-cuts-congress-republicans-plan-slash-benefits One of the hallmarks of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign was a promise of sweeping tax cuts, for the rich, for working people and for companies alike. Now congressional Republicans have the job of figuring out which of those cuts to propose into law. In order to pay for the cuts, they have started to eye some targets to raise money. Among them: cutting benefits for single mothers and poor people who rely on government health care. The proposals are included in a menu of tax and spending cut options circulated this month by House Republicans. Whether or not Republicans enact any of the ideas remains to be seen. Some of the potential targets are popular tax breaks and cuts could be politically treacherous. And cutting taxes for the wealthy could risk damaging the populist image that Trump has cultivated. For the ultrawealthy, the document floats eliminating the federal estate tax, at an estimated cost of $370 billion in revenue for the government over a decade. The tax, which charges a percentage of the value of a person’s fortune after they die, kicks in only for estates worth more than around $14 million. Among those very few Americans who do get hit with the tax, nearly 30% of the tax is paid by the top 0.1% by income, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center think tank. (Many ultra-wealthy people already largely avoid the tax. Over the years, lawyers and accountants have devised ways to pass fortunes to heirs tax free, often by using complex trust structures, as ProPublica has previously reported.) Another proposal aims to slash the top tax rate paid by corporations by almost a third. Trump promised such a cut during the campaign. But Vice President JD Vance came out against it before Trump picked him as his running mate. “We’re sort of in line with the OECD right now,” he said in an interview last year, referring to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, a group of 38 wealthy developed nations. “I don’t think we need to be cutting the corporate tax rate further.” In Trump’s first term, he brought the top corporate rate down from 35% to 21%, where it’s at now, taking the U.S. from a high rate compared to other OECD nations to about average. The proposed cut to 15% would make the United States’ rate among the lowest of such countries. To pay for new tax cuts, the House Republicans’ proposal floats a series of potential overhauls of government programs. One major focus is possible cuts to Medicaid, the health care program for people with low incomes that is administered by the states. Medicaid expansion was a key tenet of the Affordable Care Act, passed under President Barack Obama. Many Republican governors initially chose not to take advantage of the new federal subsidies to expand the program. In the intervening years, several states reversed course, and the program has expanded the number of people enrolled in Medicaid by more than 20 million, as of last year. The deep cuts to the program floated in the document include slashing reimbursements to the states. States would need to “raise new revenues or reduce Medicaid spending by eliminating coverage for some people, covering fewer services, and (or) cutting rates paid to physicians, hospitals, and nursing homes,” according to an analysis by KFF, a health policy organization. Trump has been inconsistent in his position on Medicaid over the years. He sought to slash the program in his first term. But he has also made statements about protecting it over the years. As recently as a 2023 campaign event, Trump promised that “we’re not going to play around with Medicare, Medicaid.” But it’s not clear whether the comment was a throwaway: While preserving Medicare, the program that covers health care for the elderly, has been a focus for Trump, maintaining Medicaid has not. The official GOP platform rolled out by Trump last year, for example, promised not to cut “one penny” from Medicare but was silent on Medicaid. In separate remarks during the campaign last year, Trump appeared to endorse cuts to "entitlements," after an interviewer asked about Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. Other proposals would eliminate tax breaks for families with children. Currently, parents can get a tax credit of up to $2,100 for child care expenses. The House Republican plan floats the elimination of that break. The cut is estimated to save $55 billion over a decade. Vance, in particular, had promised economic policies that would lessen the load on parents. “It is the task of our government to make it easier for young moms and dads to afford to have kids,” he said last week. (He campaigned on a proposal to more than double the child tax credit.) Another proposal in the list of options takes aim squarely at parents raising children on their own. The provision would eliminate the “head of household” filing status to collect almost $200 billion more in taxes over a decade from single parents and other adults caring for dependents on their own. The “head of household” status was created in the 1950s under the rationale that single parents should have a lighter tax burden. Eliminating it would affect millions of Americans, largely women. (The after-tax pay of people with incomes between the 20th and 80th percentiles, those making between about $14,000 and $100,000, would fall by the highest percentage, according to an analysis by the Tax Foundation.) Democrats have criticized the proposals as a gift to the wealthy at the expense of the working class. “Republicans are gearing up for a class war against everyday families in America,” Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said in a statement. A White House spokesperson did not respond to questions about the specifics in the House GOP document but said in an email that “This is an active negotiation and process one that the President and his team are working productively with congress. His visit to the House Retreat [Monday] was a sign that he wants to prioritize unity and a good deal for American that achieves his campaign promises.” A spokesperson for the House Budget Committee declined to answer specific questions but said “this is a menu of policy options for authorizing committees to consider as members navigate the reconciliation process.” Some of the proposals would fulfill Trump’s campaign promises geared toward the working class. The document includes a plan to eliminate income taxes (but maintain payroll taxes) on tips, at a cost of $106 billion over a decade. The proposal is one Trump touted while campaigning in Las Vegas to win support from the city’s huge contingent of service workers. Trump’s Democratic opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, later pledged to do the same. Economists have criticized the idea as one that unfairly benefits one group of working-class employees over others who get paid the same but work in other industries that don’t deal in tips. Another Trump campaign promise included in the document is ending taxes on overtime pay, at a price of $750 billion over a decade. That proposal has also been criticized by tax experts as an inefficient way to provide relief for lower-paid workers who are eligible for overtime because they’re paid hourly and perform repetitive tasks. The provision, critics say, would invite gaming and further complicate tax reporting by creating new reporting requirements about the hours a taxpayer worked. One of the biggest-ticket proposals to raise new revenue in the House Republicans’ document would hit a tax break cherished by upper-income Americans: eliminating the mortgage interest deduction. The document estimates $1 trillion in savings over 10 years by eliminating the break. Because of a complex interplay of different features of the tax code, an estimated 60% of the value of this deduction flows to Americans making over $200,000 per year, according to the Tax Foundation. Eliminating the mortgage interest deduction would have an uneven geographic impact: analyses have found the tax break is more valuable to Americans in Democratic-dominated states such as California, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

MADNESS

I have always rated Chilwell, it is just that he is made of glass when healthy he is a real weapon

Osimhen has looked horrid tonight against Ajax so many missed chances https://www.vipleague.pm/europa-league/ajax-amsterdam-vs-galatasaray-3-live-streaming

finally some due diligence

£80m for Garnacho is INSANE Mudryk 2.0 money

probably the best game Ajax v Gala https://www.vipleague.pm/europa-league/ajax-amsterdam-vs-galatasaray-3-live-streaming https://favs.soccerstreams100.io/event/uefa-europa/hoffenheim-vs-anderlecht-live-soccer-stats/720502