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The White House became Fantasyland today as President Trump’s alternative to the United Nations, his much-ballyhooed Board of Peace, held its first meeting. The board, of course, is part of Trump’s 28-point plan to secure peace on the Gaza Strip and then transform the area into a version of the French Riviera (pictured). So far, the board members have pledged $8 billion for reconstructing the wartorn and devstated peninsula. As the Trump plan envisions, the board will also oversee peace in Gaza with an announced but still-undefined International Stabilization Force. But a huge hurdle stands in the way of both peace abd reconstruction: Hamas must disarm before the board can take over. As things stand now, Hamas has shown no intention of ever disarming and accepting their free lifetime vacation passes to Qatar. Also, if those $8 billion ever do materialize, they will hardly make a dent in reimagining and rebuilding Gaza. Change the B in billion to the T in trillion, and you might have enough to do the job. Trump, who (natch) is chairman of the board, wrote on Truth Social in advance of the gathering this morning: “The Board of Peace will prove to be the most

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew) has become the first senior member of the British royal family to be arrested in modern history. His arrest comes as a result of his involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and follows the recent release in the U.S. of voluminous files on l’Affaire Epstein. The arrest occurred on his 66th birthday following an investigation by the Thames Valley Police. He was detained on suspicion of misconduct in public office, a serious offense related to allegations that he shared confidential government information with Jeffrey Epstein during his time as a UK trade envoy. While this is an unprecedented moment for a modern senior royal, there are important distinctions regarding other family members and historical figures. Modern Comparison: Convictions vs. Arrests: Before this event, other royals faced the legal system, but they were not formally arrested or taken into police custody in this manner: Princess Anne: In 2002, she became the first member of the modern royal family to have a criminal record. She pleaded guilty to a charge under the Dangerous Dogs Act after her dog bit two children. She was also convicted of speeding in 2001. However, she was issued a court summons rather than being

Lech Walesa, leader of the Polish labor group known as Solidarity — the person and the group that led to the downfall of Soviet Communism — still thinks commuism has a better message than does capitalism. The 82-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner has been on the lecture circuit this year and has spoken of current affairs, even giving advice to Cubans on how to change the system. Walesa — and I agree — still believes that communism resonates most with young people and the downtrodden because it promises so much. “[C]ommunism has beautiful slogans,” he told a Meeting of the International Bar Association. It promises a utopian society based on an equitable world. That can seem nice to people. “ He said a major fallacy underlay the West’s view of the fall of the Soviet system. Leaders in the West felt that eliminating known “bad actors” as leaders of Russia would transform the entire system, but that proved false. “Gorbachev did not want to change the political system in Russia, because in this system, another Putin or Stalin can appear and rebuild the Soviet Union. This is why we are threatened with the same situation right now in Russia because