The Hostile Takeover Continues, Flare-ups in Asia, And Some Troubling Economic News

A detailed recount mixed with meme comedy to mark our times at Week 35 of 2025 featuring source material from Gundam Gquuuuuux, Jentry Chau Vs The Underworld, Star Trek Lower Decks, and Hailey’s On It

Aug 31, 2025

The Trump Show: Series 2 - Hostile Takeover: Insert Place/Government Agency Here

"A lot of people are saying maybe we like a dictator. I don't like a dictator. I'm not a dictator. I'm a man with great common sense and a smart person,” Trump said. During a meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, the US counterpart repeatedly praised the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un and expressed willingness to meet him. Trying to get on Trump’s good side, Lee said "I hope you can bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, the only divided nation in the world, so that you can meet with Kim Jong Un, build a Trump World (real-estate complex) in North Korea so that I can play golf there, and so that you can truly play a role as a world-historical peacemaker.” From the “pro-peace candidate” of the 2024 election, brings you a rename of the Defense Department into the “Department of War.” Days after being released from a Tennessee jail, Kilmar Abrego Garcia arrived outside a Baltimore immigration office on Monday, before he was taken into ICE custody. Last week, a court filing revealed immigration-enforcement officials told Abrego Garcia’s lawyers that he could be deported to Uganda, after rejecting a plea deal that would deport him to Costa Rica. Hours later, a federal judge barred Abrego Garcia’s deportation to Uganda until she can hold a hearing that allows him to contest the removal. In a damning public letter to members of Congress and other officials, about 150 FEMA employees warn that the agency’s direction and inexperience among leadership are harming FEMA’s mission and could result in a Katrina-level disaster. Trump signed executive orders forcing DC and other jurisdictions to abandon their cashless bail policies, as its plans were first reported by Axios as a bid to reshape the US capital’s law enforcement operations. Aside from that, Trump signed another executive order directing his administration to prosecute people who “desecrate” the American flag, which courts have repeatedly determined as an act protected by the First Amendment. In Congress, the House Oversight Committee subpoenas the Epstein estate for any “client list,” as well as “any document or record that could be reasonably construed to be a potential list of clients involved in sex, sex acts, or sex trafficking” facilitated by Epstein. On the same day, House Oversight began investigating allegations that DC police allegedly faked lower crime rate data, echoing a probe by the DOJ. Despite ardently supporting the Texas redistricting plan that gives Republicans 5 new seats, Trump threatened to sue California over a redistricting plan that favors Democrats. Oh, and the Labor Department draped a giant Donald Trump portrait, a totally non-dictatorial move there.

Escalating the fight over DC, Trump called for the death penalty for murder cases in the nation’s capital as a “preventive” measure. Doing a 180 on higher education, Trump said he would allow 60,000 Chinese students to study in the US, which is double the current number of Chinese foreign students studying in America. A day after FEMA employees signed the open letter warning of what’s to come for their agency, the Trump regime has notified some staffers that they are placed on leave. Concerning legal developments, a judge threw out a lawsuit by the Trump regime against all Maryland federal judges over a standing order that limits the government from quickly deporting immigrants, while the NAACP and the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed a lawsuit to halt Texas’s new redistricted map. Meanwhile, Politico reported that Trump has privately pressed top Indiana Republicans to redistrict their state during a White House meeting. On public health, RFK Jr announced he is on track to identify “interventions” that are “certainly causing autism” and address solutions to them by September, while the CDC quietly scaled back a surveillance program for foodborne illnesses. In other headlines, Cracker Barrel scrapped its new logo after backlash from Trump and MAGA supporters, a whistleblower said DOGE is putting Social Security data at risk, and Trump appointed long-time loyalist Dan Scavino in charge of hiring at the White House.

Continuing the street cleaning (Sorry, I meant takeover) of DC, the Transportation Department head Sean Duffy announced plans to take over management of the capital’s Union Station. According to JD Vance, he told USA Today that Trump won’t keep troops in cities as a long-term plan, but the National Guard would stay to fight crime. Making a preview of what comes next, the regime wants to use a military base near Chicago as the launchpad for potential ICE operations. Legally, as DC judges and grand jurors were pushing back on a policing surge overseen by the president, a grand jury declined to indict a man arrested for throwing a sandwich at federal law enforcement. It was a day of upheaval in public health, starting with the FDA approving updated Pfizer COVID shots but with new limits on kids and the elderly. CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted from her agency weeks after being tasked to lead it, which we soon learned the ouster follows a confrontation with RFK Jr, as Monarez pushed back on Kennedy’s vaccine stance. As attorneys for Monarez said the ousted CDC director was targeted for “protecting the public over serving a political agenda,” and she refuses to resign, 3 CDC leaders announced their resignations by citing the “weaponizing of public health.” By nightfall, the administration announced Monarez had been fired from the CDC role. On immigration, lawyers for Abrego Garcia told a federal judge that he wants to seek asylum in the US, and a Florida official said in an email that “Alligator Alcatraz” will likely be empty within days. Following a horrific shooting in a Minneapolis Catholic Church that killed two children, the FBI announced it is investigating the attack as a hate crime and domestic terrorism targeting Catholics. Democrats snatched up another victory in a contested state Senate seat in Iowa, breaking the GOP supermajority in a district that heavily voted for Trump last year. At the same time, a Democrat for a Georgia state Senate seat is poised to advance to a runoff against a Republican opponent in a deeply conservative district. In other news, the DHS moved to bar states and nonprofits like the Red Cross from helping undocumented immigrants after disasters, the John Bolton inquiry looks into whether the former national security advisor’s emails were obtained by foreign governments, the regime asked the Supreme Court to allow a freeze on foreign aid, and Trump said George Soros should be charged with racketeering.

In a small victory for the press, a federal judge ruled Kari Lake cannot fire the director of the VOA. We learned the now former CDC acting director, Susan Monarez, refused to “rubber-stamp” vaccine changes and fire top agency leaders before being sacked by the Trump regime. Despite Moranez insisting that she refuses to resign, RFK Jr adviser Jim O'Neill was selected to become the new acting director. Pennsylvania activist Heather Honey, whose faulty findings were cited by the Trump campaign in 2020 as evidence of voter fraud, was appointed to an election integrity role in DHS. The US Air Force would provide military funeral honors for Ashli Babbitt, the rioter who was killed on January 6, 2021. Concerning less important news, Trump signed an executive order aiming to make “federal architecture beautiful again,” South Carolina asks the Supreme Court to let the state enforce its cruel transgender bathroom ban, and the White House sacked a Democratic board member belonging to the federal regulator responsible for approving railroad mergers.

Kicking off the day with Trump’s decision to cancel Kamala Harris’s Secret Service detail, which was extended from July 21st by Joe Biden in a previously undisclosed order. The redistricting war got a lot hotter on Friday, as Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed the GOP-drawn redistricting map that would provide the party with 5 additional congressional districts. Moments later, Missouri joined the redistricting game with its Republican governor, Mike Kehoe, calling a special session in the state legislature to address the issue. In the latest challenge to Congressional authority, the White House bypassed Congress to cancel nearly $5 billion in previously approved USAID funding. On immigration, the UN found more than 14,000 US-bound people, mostly Venezuelans, have returned south since Trump's border crackdown. By nightfall, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s effort to expand fast-track deportations. Multiple reports say Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, who addressed a constituent’s concerns over Medicaid by saying, "We are all going to die," is not seeking re-election in 2026.

Despite a wild couple of hours on Twitter (X), Trump dispersed rumors that he was dead as he hit the golf course. Aside from the cankles and hand bruises, Trump’s non-public appearance for days following the Tuesday cabinet meeting sparked online speculation. In media news, Trump officials moved to fire most journalists working for VOA, sparking a potential legal battle in the courts. Within the EPA, the Trump regime purged at least 8 employees who signed a letter of dissent criticizing the agency’s current direction and policies. Concerning immigration news, a federal judge on Sunday temporarily blocked the government from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan children who had crossed the border without their families. Setting up the umpteenth legal battle, Trump announced he would sign an executive order to mandate identification for all US elections, which is widely seen as unconstitutional.

Trade Off - Economic Blows

After Monday’s announcement that Trump has fired Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook from her post, effective immediately, over allegations of falsifying documents on mortgage applications, the US dollar saw a dramatic drop, while gold rose, and the Japanese Yen saw an appreciation. In response, Cook said the president “has no authority” to fire her and vowed not to resign. Hours later, both Cook and Trump said they are ready for a legal fight in the courts to determine whether the Fed Governor can stay or not. Lisa Cook officially sued the Trump administration on Thursday, with Cook’s lawyers suggesting an unintentional "clerical error" potentially being the cause of the mortgage dispute. The next day, Trump asked a judge to deny a request by the Fed Governor to issue an injunction, which prohibits the president from firing her.

Following the US government having a 10% stake in Intel last week, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett told CNBC that the federal government could take stakes in other domestic semiconductor companies or expand it to other industries. A day later, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said military leaders in the Pentagon are “thinking” about taking equity stakes in defense contractors.

On Wednesday, Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian exports took effect, as the additional secondary tariffs punishing New Delhi for purchasing Russian oil kicked in. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported the EU proposed to fast-track legislation by the week’s end to remove all tariffs on US industrial goods, fulfilling a Trump demand. In a report by the NYT, as Trump is pressuring foreign countries in trade talks, the president is pressuring other nations to relax their pledges to fight climate change and rely more on fossil fuels. On Friday, Trump lifted the “de minimis exemption” for small packages, which subjects billions of dollars' worth of foreign products to import taxes after months of delays.

Soon after that, a federal appeals court dropped a bombshell on Trump’s tariff plans, ruling that most of the president’s highest new tariffs are illegal. Affirming a lower court’s finding earlier this year that Trump does not possess unlimited power to impose taxes, which the White House claimed they had while citing a decades-old economic emergency law. Trump took the news well, posting on Truth Social that “If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America.” The implementation date for the appeals court ruling is in October, giving Trump time to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court, which he has hinted at doing.

Middle East War Watch - RIP Journalists (AGAIN!!!)

As Israel’s offensive continues, the Gaza Health Ministry reports more than 20 Palestinians were killed in a “double tap” Israeli strike on Nasser Hospital. Among the dead are five journalists: Hussam al-Masri (who worked for Reuters), Mohammad Salama (who worked for Al Jazeera), the freelance reporter Mariam Abu Daqqa (who worked with the AP), Moaz Abu Taha, and Ahmed Abu Aziz. Netanyahu’s office called the incident a “tragic mishap,” claiming “Israel values the work of journalists, medical staff, and all civilians.” On the other side of Israel’s border, Israeli forces say they will scale back the number of troops deployed to southern Lebanon if the country’s armed forces disarm Hezbollah. Oh, and last Sunday, Israel bombed Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in a move to target the Houthis.

On Tuesday, Australia expelled Iran’s ambassador to Canberra after PM Anthony Albanese blamed Tehran for executing two antisemitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne. As condemnation from allies and critics alike against the recent Israeli strike grew, the IDF claimed they “saw a Hamas surveillance camera” planted in the hospital and launched the strike to eliminate several agents who belonged to the extremist group. The Nasser Hospital rejects the claim. In a letter to Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron defended his call to recognize Palestinian statehood and pushed back on accusations that he had not done enough to protect French Jews from antisemitic attacks. As the division within the US Democratic Party grew over Gaza, Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin withdrew a resolution addressing the conflict after a rival resolution failed, while stressing the need for party unity, and a task force was called for to continue “the discussion.”

As Israel continues its invasion of Gaza, Trump convened a meeting at the White House to discuss a new postwar plan for the besieged enclave. Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said the “large meeting” would focus on a “comprehensive” plan for the region, a day after telling Fox News the war could be ended in four months. Some of the attendees include Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and former UK PM Tony Blair. With more than 300 Palestinians being starved to death due to Israel’s ongoing war campaign, Pope Leo XIV demanded that Israel stop its “collective punishment” of the Gaza population and begged “for a permanent ceasefire to be reached.” Figures from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) published in The Lancet reveal that children under the age of 15 make up almost a third of outpatients treated for wounds in field hospitals operated by the humanitarian organization. In the UN, all Security Council members except the US called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the reversal of Israel’s decision to expand its military operations there. Aiming to raise attention to end the Gaza war, Israeli protestors held their “day of disruption,” pressuring Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire deal, while activists in Italy tried to shift the Venice film festival’s attention to the plight of Gazans.

As the Gaza Health Ministry announced more than 63,000 Palestinians killed, Israel declared Gaza City a “combat zone” and suspended humanitarian aid pauses. The IDF announced they have recovered the bodies of two hostages, including the Israeli hostage Ilan Weiss. Ahead of the UN General Assembly, the US State Department has denied visas to members of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA), including PA leader Mahmoud Abbas. Speaking of the UN, hundreds of employees working for the organization’s leading human rights agency urged the leadership to declare the Gaza war a genocide. Concerning developments in other parts of the Middle East, the UN Security Council voted to extend its peacekeeping mission in Lebanon before 2026, then gradually withdraw the forces in the year after that. The UK, France, and Germany plan to reimpose sanctions on Iran, citing fears of Tehran creating a nuclear weapon. Israeli forces have raided a former air defense base in southern Syria, as part of the Israeli government’s farthest operation of such scale inside Syria since Bashar al-Assad was ousted last December.

Over the weekend, the Houthis vowed “vengeance” against Israel after they confirmed an Israeli strike on Thursday killed the extremist group’s government leader, Ahmed al-Rahawi, and other senior members. Meanwhile, not only did Hamas casually confirm Israel assassinated their leader, Yahya Sinwar, the extremist group also announced an Israeli strike killed the group’s armed wing spokesman, Abu Obeida. Greta Thunberg and other activists set sail as part of the Global Sumud Flotilla, carrying humanitarian aid heading towards Gaza. It comes months after Thunberg was detained by Israeli authorities as she was on board another aid flotilla carrying humanitarian aid for Gazans. According to the Washington Post, a postwar plan for Gaza would transform the Palestinian territory “into a trusteeship administered by the United States for at least 10 years while it is transformed into a gleaming tourism resort and high-tech manufacturing and technology hub.” The Post added the 38-page prospectus plans a “voluntary” relocation of the entire population, including paying Gazans to leave their territory. Further cracking down on Palestinian voices in America, the US made a sweeping suspension of visa approvals against all types of Palestinian passport holders.

Ukraine/Russia War Watch - Bomb Like There’s No Peace Deal

According to the FT, the US promises to offer its intelligence assets and battlefield oversight to any Western security plan for postwar Ukraine, adding it will also join a European-led air defense shield to protect the country. On Tuesday, Ukraine admitted Russia had crossed into the eastern industrial region of Dnipropetrovsk, the first attack “of such a large scale,” according to military officials. In a change to border crossing rules, Ukraine now allows young men aged 18 to 22 to leave the country. It comes as an amendment years after the Russian invasion led to a government order that all men below 60 stay in the country.

Overnight on Thursday, at least a dozen people were killed as Russian forces pummel Kyiv in a wave of airborne attacks. Russia’s overnight drone and missile attack also damaged the EU delegation’s building in Kyiv, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the delegation’s staff is safe while urging Russia to stop its “indiscriminatory attacks” against Ukraine. It marks the fiercest attack on Ukraine’s capital since the Trump-Putin summit. Speaking of the summit, days after the Trump-Putin meeting, Trump and DNI Tulsi Gabbard purged a top CIA Russia expert who had been expected to take an imminent move to Europe for a prestigious assignment, approved by CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

As Trump continues to pursue that non-existent peace deal that Putin will definitely agree with, the US President suggested deploying Chinese troops as peacekeepers to monitor a neutral zone in Ukraine. In Lviv, the former chair of Ukraine’s parliament, Andriy Parubiy, was shot dead in a “carefully planned” attack. The suspect was arrested days later, as Zelensky wrote on Telegram that “The necessary investigative actions are ongoing.”

Asian Political Shocks - Shin-a-whatttttttt!?

On Friday, the Thailand Constitutional Court ousts Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra, citing ethics violations in a leaked phone call in June with influential former Cambodian leader Hun Sen. It marks the end of Paetongtarn’s short-lived premiership barely a year into office, and deals a blow to the Shinawatra family’s mounting political challenges. Not only is Paetongtarn the second leader to be removed by the Constitutional Court in one year, she is also the third member of her family to be removed from the job, and the fifth Thai PM to be sacked by the Constitutional Court in 17 years. The decision to remove Paetongtarn was effective immediately, as the Court also dissolved her cabinet, plunging the country into fresh political upheaval. Thailand’s Parliament would have to convene in three days to begin the process of selecting the next leader, as the ruling Pheu Thai party is losing bargaining power while trying to shore up a fragile alliance with a razor-thin majority. Among the potential PM candidates are former justice minister and attorney general Chaikasem Nitisiri from the ruling party, former interior minister and deputy premier Anutin Charnvirakul, and ex-premier Prayuth Chan-ocha, who led a previous coup against the last Pheu Thai government.

In nearby Indonesia, discontent flares in the country after a motorcycle taxi driver was struck and killed by an armored police vehicle during protests on Thursday night. There has already been simmering outrage over excessive allowances for lawmakers while workers struggled to fight for a rise in the minimum wage, among other cost-of-living issues. This posts a test for President Prabowo Subianto, who is less than a year in office. In Prabowo’s first remarks since the incident, he apologized for the driver’s death and pledged to hold the police officer involved accountable. On Friday, protests spread wider and more rapidly across the country, with students taking the lead in many demonstrations. Police and government buildings were damaged by some protestors. At least three people died and five were injured after some protestors stormed and burned down a government building.

Ahead of China’s V-Day military parade in Tiananmen Square to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that 26 world leaders will come to Beijing next Wednesday and witness the big event. One of the headliners is North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, marking his first visit to China since 2019. Some of the other key guests include Russian President Vladimir Putin, Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Serbia’s leader Aleksandar Vucic, and Slovakia’s Robert Fico. Fast forward to Sunday, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) kicked off in Tianjin, as President Xi Jinping called for the group to play a bigger role in protecting regional peace and stability, while touting Beijing’s position as a stable power championing the developing world and the Global South. Across the weekend, Xi met with more than 20 world leaders attending the summit, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian PM Narendra Modi.

Europe Mayhem - Preparing For French Governmental Upheaval

France is bracing for another government collapse, as opposition to French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou’s government gained momentum at the beginning of the week. The three opposition parties (The far-right National Rally, the leftist France Unbowed, and the Socialists) have indicated they would vote against a confidence vote next month and force the government to resign. It leaves French President Emmanuel Macron in a tough spot, as he can only decide whether to appoint a new prime minister, reappoint Bayrou, or dissolve parliament, which could energize the opposition. On Wednesday, Macron backed Bayrou as a spokesperson said the government is in a “fighting spirit,” while calling on budget critics to show “responsibility” about the state of France’s public finances.

As the far-right Reform UK party surges in popularity, its leader, Nigel Farage, announces his mass deportation plans to solve the thorny issue of illegal immigration. Claiming “we are not very far away from major civil disorder,” Farage vowed for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, or ECHR. The Reform leader promised to also repeal the 1951 UN Refugee Convention for five years, and any other barriers that could prevent deportation efforts. It comes as the number of asylum seekers and migrants illegally entering the country via small boats operated by human-smuggling gangs has grown considerably in the past few years, as well as protests against the government offering hotels to house asylum seekers that have turned violent temporarily. By Friday, three senior judges in the Court of Appeal overturned an injunction imposed by a lower court that prevented a hotel in Epping from housing asylum seekers. The Home Office says the ruling "avoids chaos," vowing to close all asylum hotels by 2029.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen summoned the top US diplomat in the country over alleged covert American influence operations on the island, reportedly linked to President Trump. According to the Danish public broadcaster DR, the aim was to ”infiltrate society and promote its secession from Denmark to the US,” with the country’s intelligence service warning Greenland is targeted by "various kinds of influence campaigns.” Meanwhile, the Danish government apologized to Greenland, following revelations that involved doctors inserting intrauterine devices in Greenlandic girls and women without their consent, which lasted for years.