The Shatterbelt Brief is a weekly column by Brian Whitmore examining the shifting political and geopolitical dynamics of Eastern Europe

I was grilling chicken on a sweltering summer night in the Washington, D.C. suburbs, when I peeked at my phone and saw that a senior official in the administration had just accused me of lying to C…

powervertical · PUTIN'S EUROPEAN FRONT Europe is on edge. And it is preparing for the worst. Lithuania is prepping evacuation routes. Poland is planning for the possible influx of refugees fro…

The Shatterbelt Brief is a weekly column by Brian Whitmore examining the shifting political and geopolitical dynamics of Eastern Europe

A century ago, oil money got very cozy with presidential power. The receipts are worth rereading.

America Cancels. Europe Connects

What happens when a president has no ideas, runs out of steam, and loses credibility?

Moral dilemmas, choices, and consequences

The Shatterbelt Brief is a weekly column by Brian Whitmore examining the shifting political and geopolitical dynamics of Eastern Europe

Nicolle Wallace just had the best line about Kash Patel as FBI director: “He‘s binging beers and defending goat sex.” I almost spit out my soda on air.

Donald Trump is for now. A Brussels bureaucrat is forever.

Trump has eliminated the LGBQT suicide hotline, so Canada has made theirs availabale to Americans. 1-877-565-8860

An unelected American 🇺🇸 with no diplomatic experience is telling me to surrender my home, and telling Ukraine 🇺🇦 to surrender even more land, to an imperialist, fascist dictator committing acts of te...

There’s something about this photograph that makes me deeply melancholy.

Jared Kushner: Zelensky refuses to accept russia's peace terms. Kushner: ”Putin's laid out his line of what he wants to achieve.  If Ukraine wanted to withdraw to that line, then obviously we have th...

powervertical · DÉJÀ VU DIPLOMACY So here we go again. U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow and Kyiv last weekend to, yet again, try to broker a peace deal between Russia …

From Weimar Germany to the AfD and MAGA, the politics of feeling unnecessary

The Shatterbelt Brief is a weekly column by Brian Whitmore examining the shifting political and geopolitical dynamics of Eastern Europe

The Shatterbelt Brief is a weekly column by Brian Whitmore examining the shifting political and geopolitical dynamics of Eastern Europe

One week after Canada's counter tariffs hit, Europe is going public with a partnership built to route around Washington. Carney speaks to the European Parliament the day after.

Five ways to shop online and support the resistance!

History rhymes.

In any other walk of life, representatives of a convicted felon meeting a man indicted for war crimes to discuss an invasion the UN has delcared illegal would be called a "criminal conspiracy". Not ...

Why Ukraine will be asked to pay

powervertical · UKRAINE AT 35 In case anybody missed it, Ukraine turned 35 last month. And when Ukrainians celebrated Independence Day this August 24, was the 13th consecutive time they have marked…

Brian Whitmore is a contributor writing for Independence Avenue Media. The views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily

https://www.cbo.gov/data/budget-economic-data

Brian Whitmore is a contributor writing for Independence Avenue Media. The views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily

Spoiler alert: it’s going very badly.

FUCK YOUUUUUU, APPLE MAPS!

America itself began as a runaway editorial decision. That’s exactly why we should refuse to rename Lake Ontario.

powervertical · MR. RATCLIFFE GOES TO MOSCOW The U.S. spy chief made a secret trip to Moscow – but it turned out to be not so secret. With Russia’s war against Ukraine going poorly for …

YouTube video by ABC 7 Chicago

Trump Signs Executive Order Renaming Montreal Canadiens "Montreal Americans"

So let me get this straight: In the middle of a grinding war, soaring prices, and a collapsing trade negotiation… the big strategic move is renaming Lake Ontario to “Lake America”? We are living insid...

Canadian PM Mark Carney. Elbows up!

As long as we’re renaming things, let’s rename the Leader of the Free World “Mark Carney”

Brian Whitmore is a contributor writing for Independence Avenue Media. The views expressed are the author’s and do not necessarily