Dec 29

Today’s News 29th December 2024

  • Al Qaida Is Winning – The New Caliphate In Syria
    Al Qaida Is Winning – The New Caliphate In Syria

    Authored by Sam Faddis via ANDMagazine.com,

    Biden began his term in office by abandoning Afghanistan to the Taliban and allowing the creation of a new terrorist super state. He is finishing his time in the Oval Office by watching helplessly as a new Caliphate is formed in the rubble of what was once Syria. Divorced from reality as always, his hapless State Department now calls the jihadi ruler of Damascus Al-Jolani a “pragmatist” and talks mindlessly about accommodation and cooperation with mass murderers and rapists.

    Meanwhile, inside Syria, the new Islamic rulers are losing no time in consolidating their rule and making clear their intentions. On 26 December, Al-Jolani appointed former Al-Qaeda commander and Nusra Front co-founder Anas Hassan Khattab as the head of the country’s general intelligence agency. Khattab was designated a “terrorist” by the United Nations a decade ago. According to the UN, he was involved “in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing, or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf of, or in support of” and “otherwise supporting acts or activities of” the Nusra Front. This Al-Qaeda offshoot was rebranded as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in 2017.

    Those are the guys who now run Syria.

    As the head of intelligence Khattab’s job will not be to prepare detailed analyses of foreign developments. He will be in charge of domestic security. His job will be to crush any dissent and guarantee Al-Jolani stays in power. He has already been performing that function in the areas that HTS has controlled for years, where torture and murder are common tactics used to stifle dissent.

    Last week, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, a founding member of Al-Qaeda in Syria, was appointed foreign minister for the new terrorist state being created in Syria.

    Meanwhile, more information is becoming available on the composition of the jihadist forces that drove Assad from power. Contrary to press reports that want to characterize the ousting of Assad as some sort of liberal, democratic, populist movement, the reality appears to be that substantial numbers of fighters from outside of Syria are present on the ground. Just before Christmas, a video surfaced of a Christmas tree in a town in Syria being burned by Islamists. It now appears the terrorists who carried out this action were Uzbek fighters fighting with Al-Jolani’s forces.

    In fact, substantial numbers of Central Asians are in Syria and serving the new Caliphate. According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI),

    “The exact number of Tajik, Uzbek, and Chinese Uyghur citizens present in Syria is unknown, but these individuals operate in three separate groups under the leadership of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham.”

    “Tajik jihadis residing in Syria operate under an organization called Jaish Al-Jihad Imam Abu Hanifa. Members of this group refer to its flag and name as the central focus of their activities on their Telegram channels. Several Telegram channels affiliated with this organization are active, sharing jihadi messages and reports from the Syrian battlefield.”

    “One of the Tajik jihadis in Syria, known as ‘Musafir Tactical’, produces videos on YouTube and Telegram to promote and recruit young Tajiks for the war. He also creates content teaching weapon usage, the operation of communication devices, the repair of automatic weapons, and guerrilla warfare tactics.”

    “Another member of the group, known as Mohsen Tajiki, also has thousands of followers on social media. Since the start of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham’s offensive on Aleppo, he has been providing updates moment by moment on the advances toward villages and towns under the control of Bashar Al-Assad’s government.”

    “The East Turkestan Islamic Party is one of the most active jihadi groups in Syria, and compared to other Central Asian-origin groups, it has more resources and manpower. This group is a Uyghur jihadi organization that has been active in the Syrian civil war since around 2012. Its stated goal is to establish an Islamic state in the Xinjiang region of China (East Turkestan) and it is aligned with various jihadi groups in Syria, including branches of Al-Qaeda.”

    “Fighters from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan are also present in Syria, having fought under the flag of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham during the attack on Aleppo, and are now on the front lines fighting to advance toward other cities in Syria. These Uzbek and Kyrgyz fighters operate within a group called Katibat Al-Tawhid wAl-Jihad, which was established in northern Syria in 2013.”

    “In March 2022, the U.S. Department of State designated this group as a terrorist organization due to its terrorist activities and its connections with international terrorist organizations, including Al-Qaeda.”

    None of this is consistent with the fiction that Syria is now controlled by individuals seeking a liberal democratic order and cooperation with the West. It is a picture of a nation that has fallen to radical Islamic forces and which will now in tandem with Afghanistan serve as a launching pad for attacks on the United States and its allies.

    Already Al-Jolani’s boys are moving fast to consolidate power. They are demanding that all rival groups turn in their weapons and disarm. They are beginning to proscribe rules for women’s dress throughout the country. They are also advising that anyone who fears Islamic rule is simply misinformed. You will live under Sharia law and you will like it.

    We spent twenty years fighting a war against Islamic terror. That war is not over. We simply stopped shooting back. In a matter of years, we have allowed the creation of two radical terrorist states from which attacks can be launched worldwide. The newest of those is in the heart of the Middle East.

    Don’t look now. Al Qaida is winning. There is a brand new caliphate in Syria.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 23:20

  • "We Tested 300 Bay Area Foods For Plastic Chemicals" Here's What We Found…
    “We Tested 300 Bay Area Foods For Plastic Chemicals” Here’s What We Found…

    Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has set his sights on the processed foods industrial complex. Nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy has long been an outspoken critic of toxic ingredients in food, including dyes and seed oils.

    Trump’s second term has yet to begin, but the merging of the ‘Make America Healthy Again‘ and ‘Make America Great Again’ movements has sparked a dietary awakening among millions of consumers.

    It’s not just dyes and seed oils poisoning Americans and ending their lives short; plastic chemicals are increasingly being found in popular fast foods and supermarket staples.

    The former CEO of GitHub, Nat Friedman, who is also an investor seeding AI, infrastructure, open source, and frontier tech companies and is focused on health, published data on X about plastic chemicals found in a majority of foods across the San Francisco Bay Area. 

    “We did it! We tested 300 Bay Area foods for plastic chemicals. We found some interesting surprises,” Friedman wrote on X. 

    Here are the top five findings from the test, most of which are shocking (full results published here): 

    1. Our tests found plastic chemicals in 86% of all foods, with phthalates in 73% of the tested products and bisphenols in 22%. It’s everywhere.

    2. We detected phthalates in most baby foods and prenatal vitamins.

    3. Hot foods which spend 45 minutes in takeout containers have 34% higher levels of plastic chemicals than the same dishes tested directly from the restaurant.

    4. The 1950s Army rations we tested contained surprisingly high levels of plastic chemicals.

    5. Almost every single one of the foods we tested are within both US FDA and EU EFSA regulations.

    Friedman noted:

    “An important disclaimer: we have refrained from drawing high-confidence conclusions from these results, and we think that you should, too. Consider this a snapshot of our raw test results, suitable as a starting point and inspiration for further work, but not solid enough on its own to draw conclusions or make policy recommendations or even necessarily to alter your personal purchasing decisions. These results represent point-in-time results of a small number of product samples and may not be representative of actual product contents. These tests, like all tests, have inherent uncertainties, and different testing methodologies are likely to yield different results. And the existence of a chemical in a food doesn’t necessarily imply a safety issue. We’d be thrilled to see serious efforts to replicate our results and we are open to any corrections you may have.” 

    “Was the Whole Foods meat from the counter or the packages on the shelves? I get this brand there,” one X user asked Friedman. 

    He responded…

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    The Ribeye steak from Whole Foods ranked fairly high on the list for plastic chemicals.

    Someone else said.

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    The great food awakening continues, broadening from warnings about dyes and seed oils to a new call for Americans to demand changes in food packaging and processing to eliminate plastic chemicals. 

    Studies reveal that microplastics accumulate in the body and pose “a significant health risk.” For more details, read here: “A Significant Health Risk’: How Everyday Items Fill Our Bodies With Microplastics.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 22:45

  • US, Japan Unveil 'Extended' Deterrence Guidelines, Citing Rising Nuclear Threats
    US, Japan Unveil ‘Extended’ Deterrence Guidelines, Citing Rising Nuclear Threats

    Authored by Tom Ozimek via The Epoch Times,

    The United States and Japan have unveiled new guidelines for “extended” deterrence, citing an “increasingly severe strategic and nuclear threat environment” that reflects heightened tensions in the Indo-Pacific, where China, Russia, and North Korea have taken steps to modernize their arsenals and project power.

    The guidelines, unveiled on Dec. 27 through coordinated statements from the U.S. State Department and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, underscore the two nations’ commitment to reinforcing their alliance to maintain regional stability and deter conflict.

    “The Alliance will continue to explore how best to ensure extended deterrence is strong and credible,” read the identical statements from the two countries.

    The guidelines are the culmination of long-running discussions under the Extended Deterrence Dialogue, a bilateral framework established in 2010 to address challenges to the U.S.–Japan alliance posed by evolving security threats.

    Details of the new guidelines have not been disclosed.

    Both the United States and Japan said that the document emphasizes enhancing strategic messaging to ensure adversaries clearly understand the alliance’s resolve and capabilities. The measures also include bolstering U.S. extended deterrence with Japan’s defense advancements, such as enhanced missile defense systems and readiness to respond to contingencies.

    The joint announcement coincided with Japan’s Cabinet approval of a record $55 billion defense budget for 2025, marking the third year of a sweeping five-year military buildup under Japan’s national security strategy adopted in 2022. The broader national budget bill, totaling over $730 billion, is set for parliamentary approval by March.

    Part of Japan’s plan involves bolstering its missile defenses. To this end, Japan has allocated another $3.37 billion for interceptors and a mobile reconnaissance radar on Okinawa, a strategic location hosting more than half of the 50,000 U.S. troops stationed in Japan.

    Japan is also preparing to deploy U.S.-made Tomahawk cruise missiles by late 2025, a pivotal step in its bid to acquire strike-back capability. The defense budget allocates $6 billion for a “standoff” defense system that includes long-range missiles, satellite constellations, and other advanced arsenals. Among these, $11.4 million is earmarked for outfitting Aegis-class destroyers to launch Tomahawks.

    The five-year strategy also aims to double Japan’s annual military spending to around $63 billion, positioning Japan as the world’s third-largest military spender, behind the United States and China.

    The new deterrence guidelines and Japan’s record defense budget signal a united front aimed at countering growing regional threats, reflecting concerns over China’s growing military assertiveness, North Korea’s persistent missile tests, and Russia’s activities in the Indo-Pacific.

    Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been outspoken about the inadequacy of traditional deterrence frameworks. In a recent interview with the Hudson Institute, Ishiba warned that developments in nuclear weaponry and delivery systems by adversaries could undermine U.S. extended deterrence.

    Ishiba has proposed the creation of an “Asian version of NATO” that would ensure deterrence against the “nuclear alliance of China, Russia, and North Korea,” while calling for nuclear-sharing agreements and the potential deployment of U.S. nuclear weapons on Japanese soil.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 22:10

  • Cooking Oils Used By Millions Linked To Cancer In Second Study In A Week
    Cooking Oils Used By Millions Linked To Cancer In Second Study In A Week

    Via The Mind Unleashed,

    Imagine if something as common as the oil in your kitchen could be silently contributing to cancer. For millions around the world, this unsettling possibility has moved from speculation to science. Two studies, released just days apart, have cast a harsh spotlight on widely used cooking oils, suggesting a troubling connection between their consumption and increased cancer risks, particularly in the colon.

    These findings are not just scientific footnotes—they are alarms ringing in households globally, where seed oils like sunflower, soybean, and canola are staples in daily cooking. As scientists dive deeper into the health consequences of these oils, they’re uncovering a hidden cost to convenience and affordability. Are we sacrificing long-term health for short-term savings? And if so, how can we protect ourselves from this unseen risk?

    What the Studies Reveal: Key Findings

    In two groundbreaking studies released just days apart, researchers have spotlighted a concerning link between widely used cooking oils and cancer risks, specifically pointing to tumor growth in the colon and other organs. These studies raise critical questions about the health implications of seed oils, a staple in kitchens worldwide.

    One study conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles, focused on the effects of certain oils on cancer progression. Dr. William Aronson, a professor of urology at UCLA School of Medicine who led the study, stated: “Our findings suggest that something as simple as adjusting your diet could potentially slow cancer growth and extend the time before more aggressive interventions are needed.” His team’s research suggests that dietary changes could be pivotal in managing the progression of diseases like prostate cancer.

    Meanwhile, another study examined how the consumption of seed oils, such as sunflower and soybean oils, could increase levels of carcinogenic compounds in the body. These compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are known to play a role in tumor development. The findings have sparked further investigation into the safety of these oils and their processing methods, especially when exposed to high heat during cooking.

    Together, these studies provide a sobering glimpse into the risks associated with cooking oils that millions consider harmless. By focusing on the potential long-term impacts, the researchers aim to ignite a broader conversation about diet, lifestyle, and cancer prevention.

    The Science Behind the Risk: How Cooking Oils Are Linked to Cancer

    Cooking oils, often seen as innocuous kitchen essentials, may harbor hidden dangers that extend far beyond their caloric content. The scientific findings point to a troubling connection between these oils and the development of carcinogens during their use. Specifically, when oils like sunflower or soybean are heated, they release harmful compounds that have been linked to tumor growth.

    One of the main culprits identified in the studies is the production of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and aldehydes. These toxic substances are formed when oils undergo thermal decomposition, a process that occurs when they are heated to high temperatures. These compounds have long been recognized for their potential to damage DNA and trigger cellular mutations, laying the groundwork for cancer development.

    Dr. William Aronson emphasized the importance of understanding how dietary choices influence cancer risks. As he explained, “This is an important step toward understanding how diet can potentially influence prostate cancer outcomes.” The research underscores the role of oxidative stress caused by these compounds, which not only fuels cancerous growths but also accelerates inflammation, a known precursor to various chronic diseases.

    Moreover, the risks aren’t confined to occasional deep frying or high-heat cooking. Even regular, everyday use of these oils in common cooking practices—like stir-frying or sautéing—can release these hazardous substances, making the threat widespread and pervasive. Understanding these mechanisms helps shed light on why the seemingly harmless cooking oils in our homes may be contributing to a growing public health concern.

    Seed Oils in the Spotlight: A Look at the Culprits

    At the center of these alarming studies are seed oils, a category that includes widely consumed options like sunflower, soybean, canola, and corn oils. Praised for their affordability and versatility, these oils have become staples in households and commercial kitchens worldwide. However, their widespread use comes with potential health risks that many consumers are unaware of.

    Seed oils are particularly problematic because they are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which are unstable when exposed to heat. When these oils are subjected to high temperatures during frying or other cooking methods, they degrade, releasing harmful chemicals such as aldehydes and PAHs. These compounds have been directly linked to cancer and other chronic diseases in multiple studies.

    Adding to the concern, seed oils are heavily refined and processed, often involving high heat and chemical solvents during production. This process not only strips the oils of any beneficial nutrients but also creates toxic byproducts even before the oils reach consumers.

    The global reliance on these oils is driven largely by their low cost and long shelf life. Sunflower and soybean oils, for example, dominate cooking practices in both high-income and low-income regions due to their availability and affordability. Yet, as these studies reveal, the convenience of seed oils may come at a significant cost to long-term health.

    This growing body of research is forcing a re-evaluation of seed oils’ place in the modern diet, with scientists urging caution and advocating for safer alternatives. The implications for public health are profound, as millions of people continue to rely on these oils in their daily cooking.

    The Global Impact: Millions at Risk

    The widespread use of seed oils places millions of people at potential risk, especially in regions where these oils dominate culinary practices due to their affordability and availability. Sunflower, soybean, and canola oils, among others, are often considered essential kitchen staples in low-income households and developing nations, making the health implications of these studies a global concern.

    A key issue lies in the balance between cost and safety. For many, these oils represent an economical solution to everyday cooking needs, but their long-term health costs are largely invisible. The findings from recent studies underscore that what appears to be a budget-friendly choice may carry hidden dangers in the form of increased cancer risks. This is particularly troubling in communities that lack access to healthcare resources, where prevention through dietary changes becomes even more critical.

    Additionally, the reliance on seed oils is not confined to individual households. They are heavily used in the food industry for frying, baking, and as key ingredients in processed foods. This amplifies exposure to the harmful compounds linked to these oils, as they are often consumed multiple times a day in various forms.

    The public health implications are significant. If these findings continue to hold true, governments and health organizations may need to revisit guidelines on cooking oils and promote education about healthier alternatives. Raising awareness about the risks and encouraging safer cooking practices could save countless lives while fostering a much-needed shift toward more conscious dietary choices.

    In a world where seed oils are deeply embedded in culinary traditions and food supply chains, the challenge lies in addressing this health threat without compromising affordability or accessibility. This makes the recent findings not just a wake-up call, but a critical step toward global dietary reform.

    Expert Opinions: What Scientists and Doctors Are Saying

    The recent findings linking cooking oils to cancer risks have sparked widespread concern among researchers and health professionals. Experts are emphasizing the need for awareness and further investigation into the compounds released during high-heat cooking with seed oils. These harmful byproducts, including aldehydes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), have been directly tied to cellular damage and tumor development.

    Researchers have also raised questions about the widespread reliance on highly processed seed oils in modern diets. The processing methods often involve high heat and chemical treatments, which can produce toxic residues even before the oils are used in cooking. This has led many health professionals to recommend exploring alternative oils with higher heat stability and lower risk profiles.

    While not all experts agree on the immediate implications of these findings, there is consensus that diet plays a critical role in preventing chronic diseases, including cancer. Public health advocates are urging consumers to consider these findings when making everyday dietary choices, highlighting the need for further research to solidify these early conclusions.

    By spotlighting the risks associated with widely used oils, these studies are a call to action for consumers, policymakers, and the food industry alike. The goal is not only to reduce exposure to potentially harmful substances but also to promote safer, healthier cooking practices on a global scale.

    What You Can Do: Healthier Alternatives and Precautions

    While the findings on seed oils are alarming, they also serve as an opportunity to take proactive steps toward healthier cooking practices. By making informed choices, consumers can minimize their exposure to potentially harmful compounds and reduce their risk of associated health issues.

    1. Choose Safer Cooking Oils
      Replace seed oils like sunflower, soybean, and canola with alternatives that have higher heat stability and fewer harmful byproducts. Oils such as extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and coconut oil are better suited for cooking at higher temperatures and are less likely to produce toxic compounds. Additionally, cold-pressed oils are less processed, retaining more of their natural nutrients and antioxidants.
    2. Modify Cooking Techniques
      The method of cooking can significantly impact the safety of oils. Opt for low-heat cooking methods such as steaming, baking, or slow cooking, which reduce the risk of forming carcinogenic compounds. Avoid deep frying or prolonged high-heat cooking, and ensure proper ventilation in the kitchen to minimize exposure to any airborne toxins.
    3. Incorporate Fresh and Whole Foods
      Diversifying your diet with fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can help offset the potential risks associated with oils. These foods are rich in antioxidants and nutrients that combat inflammation and oxidative stress, two key factors in cancer development.
    4. Stay Informed and Read Labels
      Pay close attention to the labels on cooking oils. Look for minimally processed options and avoid products that list additives or chemical stabilizers. Awareness of how oils are processed and the conditions under which they are used can help you make safer choices.

    Small changes, like swapping oils and tweaking cooking methods, can have a significant impact on long-term health. By taking these precautions, individuals can mitigate risks and empower themselves with healthier, more conscious dietary habits.

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 21:35

  • Doug Casey On 2024's Defining Events And What Comes Next
    Doug Casey On 2024’s Defining Events And What Comes Next

    Via InternationalMan.com,

    International Man: As we approach the end of the year, let’s take a step back, review the Big Picture, and assess 2024’s major developments to better understand what may come next.

    Before we drill down into specifics, what’s your high-level view of what happened in 2024?

    Doug Casey: Let’s break it down into politics, economics, technology, and culture.

    Politically, the election of Trump, against the will of the Elite, the Deep State, and the Establishment—they’re pretty much the same thing—came as a surprise to me. I suspected they’d succeed in stealing the election. More important than the election of Trump, though, is the defeat of Kamala and the Jacobins of the Democrat Party.

    That defeat is echoed by a reaction against the Left most everywhere. The leftist German government—it was starting to mimic the old East German regime—will hopefully be replaced with the AfD. The elitist Macron is on his way out in France, as is Trudeau in Canada. In Romania, the election of Georgescu (see our interview with him) is being fought tooth and nail by their Deep State, but I think he’ll triumph. Hungary and Slovakia won’t participate in the insane war in the Ukraine. There’s a growing reaction against both war and Wokeism.

    Regarding the economy, the average guy’s standard of living is flat to descending, albeit propped up by debt. He’s buried under mortgage debt, auto loans, student debt, and credit card debt. It is, to use a currently fashionable word, unsustainable like that of the government itself. On the bright side, the top 10%, and especially the top 1%, aided by a roaring stock market, are doing better than ever. Will it lead to a violent wave of resentment among the hoi polloi? When has it not?

    Technologically, Artificial Intelligence finally came into its own in 2024. It’s widely used, and scores of gigantic data centers, which consume gigantic amounts of power, are being built everywhere. AI itself is cause for huge optimism. But it also, almost inevitably, means there will be a renaissance of nuclear power; even Greens seem to recognize it.

    Space exploration is advancing rapidly with the success of SpaceX, which has taken over from NASA, the Europeans, and the Chinese.

    Culturally, it seems 2024 was the year of Peak Woke in the universities, media, and corporations. The idiotic bubble has finally burst. One sign of that was the delegitimization of mass media. Nobody trusts CNN, MSNBC, or any other networks. People increasingly get news from decentralized sources.

    At the same time, there’s a growing trend towards delegitimizing government in general, and the US government in particular. We saw this with the hurricane in North Carolina, where FEMA was not only unhelpful but counterproductive. And the hundreds of large drones floating around the Northeast at night. The government proved itself too incompetent to solve the mystery and too dishonest to discuss its findings, if any. Across the country, people have become pretty fed up with the old order.

    So, except for the underlying rot in the economy, this is all good news.

    International Man: Trump winning the 2024 presidential election was a defining moment in 2024.

    What are your thoughts on the political and cultural changes sparked by this?

    Doug Casey: Sometimes a man makes the times, and other times, the times make the man. It’s the latter with Trump.

    History is punctuated by people like Alexander, Caesar, Genghis Khan, Louis XIV, Napoleon, and Hitler. People like that—and it’s a hugely abbreviated list—change the nature of life, mostly by leaving a trail of dead bodies in their wake. The most famous men in history are, perversely, and almost without exception, the most criminal.

    Americans escaped, by the skin of their teeth, what would have become a Democrat “people’s republic” under the dim and evil Kamala. That said, the election of Trump will break a lot of rice bowls, which is great. It’s needed, and I’m all for it. But anything can happen with the economy, the political system, American culture, and the international situation all on shaky ground.

    Maybe Trump augurs morning in America, as did Reagan. But when Reagan was elected, the stock market was around 1000—in real terms, a historic low. Interest rates were over 15%, historic highs. And Reagan was philosophically quite libertarian. Now, however, the stock market is at all-time highs, in bubble territory. Interest rates have started rising from all-time lows. And Trump is no libertarian; he lacks a philosophical center.

    Those are scary differences.

    It’s said that a butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon can cause a flood in China. Trump is like a butterfly the size of Rodan. And he’s righteously pissed off about what the Jacobins tried to do to him.

    We’re in for big changes. But let’s look at this from a historical perspective. The long-term trend of history, since the end of the Neolithic 12,000 years ago, is that everything’s been getting better in all ways at an accelerating rate. Unless we suffer a real disaster, like WW3, economic and technological progress will almost certainly continue. The installation of Trump, Kamala, or whoever is no more than a bump in the road.

    International Man: One of the most significant financial events of 2024 was the Federal Reserve’s pivot back to monetary easing under the pretext of having defeated inflation.

    What are your thoughts on this policy shift and its broader economic implications?

    Doug Casey: I’m amazed that anybody really cares about what the Federal Reserve says or seems to do. Manipulating short-term interest rates by a quarter or a half of a percent here or there is trivial. Long-term rates are what count; long-term, not short-term, rates represent the cost of capital to build industry and develop property. With the Fed creating dollars by the trillions to support the government, rates can only go up.

    The dollar has lost at least 98% of its value since the Fed was created 111 years ago. And that trend is accelerating as the US government runs multi-trillion-dollar deficits, which can only be financed by the Fed, creating more dollars. They have no real choice.

    The question is not whether the Fed is going to adjust rates up or down. It’s whether we will have a 1923-style German runaway inflation or a 1929-style catastrophic deflation. If the Fed doesn’t print money fast enough to finance all the debt in the world, the whole system will come unglued in a deflation. So, I’m betting on more money and credit being created. And higher prices to go with them.

    International Man: What were the most crucial geopolitical events of 2024, and how might they shape the future?

    Doug Casey: The most important geopolitical event has received the least press: the election of Javier Milei in Argentina. His success in rolling back the size of the Argentine government is historic. He has fired scores of thousands of government employees, abolished agencies, abolished many taxes, and abolished a lot of price controls and subsidies. The government, which has perpetually run in deeply the red, financed by printed fiat money, is now in the black after only one year. This is a really major change, a veritable first in world history, and a change in the megatrend, with any luck.

    A lesser noticed but related sea change is the triumph of Bukele’s policies in El Salvador. Two years ago, it had probably the world’s worst crime problem after Haiti. Now, it’s one of the world’s safest countries. It was solved, at least temporarily, by locking up about 65,000 known gang members. In the meantime, there’s complete freedom of speech and opinion, and property rights are secure. As a bonus, Bitcoin is recognized as an official currency.

    The other big event is the collapse of the Assad regime. There will be complete chaos as numerous groups jockey for control of Syria. I think it’s a template for the future in most of the artificially constructed countries of the Middle East and Africa—the whole world, in fact—although hopefully more peaceably in most places.

    International Man: Gold and Bitcoin hit new all-time highs in 2024, while the S&P 500 rose around 24% year-to-date at the time of writing.

    What’s next?

    Doug Casey: Gold is no longer cheap. It’s about where it “should” be, compared to historical prices of houses, cars, clothes and food.

    Bitcoin, as a new asset class, a digital age money, is finding its level. As it catches on with the world at large, it’s going higher. But this isn’t the time to discuss why I think that’s true.

    Resource stocks—gas, oil, uranium, coal, gold, silver, copper, etc.—are truly cheap. They’re the best speculative vehicles I can think of. Will they go 10-1 as a group? It wouldn’t be the first time.

    As for the bubbly stock and bond markets, there’s an incoming tsunami. Get out of the water.

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    Doug Casey’s forecasts helped investors prepare and profit from: 1) the S&L blowup in the ’80s and ’90s, 2) the 2001 tech stock collapse, 3) the 2008 financial crisis, 4) and now… Doug’s sounding the alarms about a catastrophic event. One he believes could soon strike. To help you prepare and profit, Doug and his team have prepared a special video. Click here to watch now.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 21:00

  • Plane With 175 Passengers Crashes At South Korea Airport, At Least 85 Dead
    Plane With 175 Passengers Crashes At South Korea Airport, At Least 85 Dead

    At least 85 people were killed when a Jeju Airlines airplane veered off the runway and erupted into a fireball as it slammed into a concrete wall at South Korea’s Muan International Airport on Sunday, Yonhap reported, after its landing gear malfunctioned following what aviation authorities say was a likely bird strike.

    Video shared by local media showed the twin-engine aircraft skidding down the runway with no apparent landing gear before slamming into a wall in an explosion of flame and debris. Other photos showed smoke and fire engulfing parts of the plane.

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    The crash occurred shortly after 9 a.m. (0000 GMT) as Jeju Air flight 7C2216, yet another unfortunate Boeing 737 aircraft (an 800, not a Max), was carrying 175 passengers and 6 crew members to Muan International Airport, in the country’s south from the Thai capital Bangkok.

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    At least 33 bodies have been recovered but that number is not final, a fire official told Reuters.

    Two people were found alive and rescue operations were still under way, a Muan fire official said. The official and the transport ministry could not confirm the reports of 28 dead. Yonhap said three people had been rescued. Authorities were working to rescue people in the tail section, an airport official told Reuters.

    The passengers included two Thai nationals, and the rest are believed to be South Koreans, according to the transportation ministry.

    Jeju Air, the airplane’s operator, was seeking details of the accident, including its casualties and cause, an airline spokesperson said.

    South Korean acting President Choi Sang-mok, who was named interim leader of the country on Friday after the previous acting president was impeached amid an ongoing political crisis, ordered all-out rescue efforts, his office said. His chief of staff convened an emergency meeting.

    The incident is suspected to have been caused by a landing gear malfunction following a bird strike, according to the local fire department.

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    The Korean transport ministry said it was investigating the crash. The airline and the fire department were not immediately available for comment.

    The fatal crash takes place just days after a Dec. 25 crash involving an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane, killing dozens.

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    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 20:21

  • Lefty Legal Experts Urge Congress To Disqualify Trump In Last Ditch Effort To Keep Him From Taking Office
    Lefty Legal Experts Urge Congress To Disqualify Trump In Last Ditch Effort To Keep Him From Taking Office

    Authored by Debra Heine via American Greatness,

    Two Democrat legal experts are calling on Congress to take immediate action to prevent President-elect Donald Trump from taking office, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

    Evan A. Davis, the former editor in chief of the Columbia Law Review and David M. Schulte, the former editor in chief of the Yale Law Journal, called for Trump’s disqualification in an opinion piece for The Hill, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

    Davis is a New York City attorney and a former president of the New York City Bar Association. He worked on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee impeachment inquiry staff during the impeachment process against Richard Nixon.

    Schulte is an investment banker and good friend of Barack Obama. He owns the oceanfront Martha’s Vineyard home where the Obama and his family used to vacation when he was in office.

    Section 3 of the 14th Amendment bars individuals who have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or given aid or comfort to its enemies from holding “any office, civil or military.”

    In a unanimous decision last March, the Supreme Court tossed out a Colorado court decision that barred Donald Trump from appearing on the state’s Republican presidential primary ballot.  The lower court had based its decision on 14th Amendment  provision.

    In their 9-0 ruling, the Supremes concluded that “states have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency.”

    But Davis and Schulte argue that evidence of Donald Trump engaging in “insurrection” is “overwhelming” and that Congress has the authority to block Trump from being inaugurated under the Constitution and the Electoral Count Act of 2022.

    The act, which was intended to prevent another January 6 scenario, added certain procedures for the counting of electoral votes following a presidential election.

    In January 2021, the then-Democrat controlled House of Representatives impeached Trump for “incitement of insurrection” following the January 6 Capitol riot, but the Senate acquitted him,  falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for conviction.

    The Democrat lawyers argue that the majority (57-43) vote in the Senate supports their case for disqualification under the 14th Amendment.

    They say that any votes cast for Trump should be deemed “not regularly given” due to his alleged disqualification.

    “Democrats need to take a stand against Electoral College votes for a person disqualified by the Constitution from holding office unless and until this disability is removed,” the Davis and Schulte wrote.

    “No less is required by their oath to support and defend the Constitution.”

    Most legal experts however agree that the notion of Republican lawmakers supporting a move that could elevate Kamala Harris to the presidency is highly improbable and at the moment, Democrats just don’t have the stomach for such a fight.

    “Republicans and Democrats seem to agree they’ll give Trump the smooth, drama-free transfer of power he denied Democrats in 2020,” Politico reported Thursday, adding “top Democrats say they have no plans to stand in the way of Trump’s victory — and they’re not even sure their rank-and-file colleagues will make the token objections they’ve lodged in years past.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 19:50

  • 'Philanthro-Capitalism' – RFK Jr. Questions Bill Gates' Motivations
    ‘Philanthro-Capitalism’ – RFK Jr. Questions Bill Gates’ Motivations

    “I know most about Gates, you know, because I’ve written a book about him,” says Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – President-elect Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services – recollecting his 2021 book, “The Real Anthony Fauci’, where RFK Jr exposes Gates’ so-called “philanthro-capitalism”, which, he explains is “using philanthropy to make yourself rich and you use it strategically and that’s what he’s done again and again.”

    “He’s gotten control of the World Health Organization so that they mandate vaccines all over the world and the companies that make those vaccines are, Gates’ and many of them the major shareholder. And so and he did the same thing with the green revolution.”

    RFK Jr.  – full of facts and not conspiracies (for, if they were, where are the defamation suits) – then unraveled one of Gates’ greatest disasters:

    “He got a hold of the the regulatory agencies in African countries and forced them to take, to change the nature of agriculture. You know, there there’s there’s 20,000 generations of agriculture of of people being, growing, crops like sorghum and plantains and yucca and all these plants for subsistence.”

    “And he said, no. We’re gonna transfer them all to these, you know, GMO monocultures of corn, and then we’re gonna bring in, the companies that he owns Kraft, Coca Cola, McDonald’s, these big food companies, processing companies to buy that and that’s gonna be the deal.”

    “And then of course during COVID, all of that shut down and you had, you know, there’s 30,000,000 Africans now as a direct result of Gates’s policy who are now on the edge of starvation.”

    But, it gets worse, as Gates ‘ventured’ into the vaccine world:

    “I think the the big the real tell was what happened with the DTP vaccine, which is diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. Because of Gates pushing this this shot, it’s now the number one vaccine in the world, DTP.”

    “And it’s mainly given in Africa. It was that particular shot is discontinued in the United States because it was killing 1 out of every killing or badly injuring 1 out of every 300 kids who took it. We ended it in Europe and the United States, but there’s Gates giving it to every kid in Africa. And in 2017, he asked the Danish government for money to support this program and he said, we’ve saved we’ve saved 20,000,000 kids. The Danish government said, can you show us the data?”

    “He couldn’t. So the Danish government went and did its own study, and they had records of 30 years of this vaccine in a country called Guinea Bissau. And, they looked at the records and what they they realized in retrospect, which they were never seeing, is that the the girls who were getting that vaccine at 6 months of age were 10 times more likely to die over the next 6 months as children who didn’t get it. “

    “Wow. And they were dying of things that nobody on the ground had ever associated with vaccination.”

    “They were dying of anemia and bilharzia and malaria and dysentery, and, and, and nobody had ever had made the connection that it’s only the girls who got the vaccine who were dying of those things, that the other kids were much healthier. ”

    “And the Danish government had hired the retained the greatest, vaccine scientist all and were pro vaccine. A guy called Peter Aaby who’s like a deity in that space, and another guy called Soren Morgensen.”

    “And a whole team of scientists did that, and those scientists started speaking up and saying you got to discontinue this vaccine. And their careers, Gates made sure their careers were destroyed.”

    All of which left RFJ Jr with no doubts:

    “So that’s when I understood that he actually understands what he is doing. And, you know, this is not just him being hypnotized. He knows that this is wrong because he’s this science was indisputable. And it really made me wonder about what his motivations are.”

    Watch the full conversation here:

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    h/t Camus

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 19:15

  • Bankrupt Big Lots Strikes Sales Deal, Preserves Brand Name
    Bankrupt Big Lots Strikes Sales Deal, Preserves Brand Name

    Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

    Big Lots finalized a deal that preserved the brand name and prevented the discount retail chain from entirely going under.

    Ohio-based Big Lots announced it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, citing economic pressures. The company tried to sell its business to Nexus Capital Management but failed to strike a deal. On Dec. 27, Big Lots announced a sales transaction with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners.

    As part of the agreement, North Carolina-based Variety Wholesalers will acquire around 200 to 400 Big Lots stores “which it plans to operate under the Big Lots brand.”

    Variety, which owns more than 400 retail stores in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic United States, may also “employ Big Lots associates at the acquired stores and distribution centers, as well as certain corporate associates.”

    Bruce Thorn, chief executive officer of Big Lots, said the sale to Gordon Brothers and transfer to Variety is a “favorable and significant achievement.”

    “This sale agreement and transfer present the strongest opportunity to preserve jobs, maximize value for the estate, and ensure continuity of the Big Lots brand,” he said.

    The agreement now needs to be approved by the bankruptcy court and must undergo other closing conditions.

    Big Lots operates more than 1,400 stores across 48 states in the United States. While filing for bankruptcy, the company cited issues like inflation, saying that rising prices have changed the spending behaviors of customers.

    “The prevailing economic trends have been particularly challenging to Big Lots, as its core customers curbed their discretionary spending on the home and seasonal product categories that represent a significant portion of the company’s revenue,” it said in September.

    Big Lots listed assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion, owing money to 5,001 to 10,000 creditors. The company’s shares have crashed by more than 99 percent this year.

    Last week, the company said it intends to kick off a “going out of business” sale at its stores.

    Bankruptcies on the Rise

    Multiple American retail chains have entered bankruptcy over the past year. In June, apparel retailer Bob’s Stores went bankrupt and decided to sell all its stores in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.

    In July, furniture retailer Conn’s announced filing for bankruptcy, closing down all its 553 stores nationwide following a sales slowdown over past years.

    New Jersey-based Party City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, and said it was preparing to close down almost 700 stores across the country. This was the second time in two years that the company filed for bankruptcy.

    According to an S&P report, there have been 634 U.S. corporate bankruptcy filings in 2024, up to the end of November, with the figure on track to potentially hit a new 14-year annual high. S&P bankruptcy numbers only take into account large companies that exceed certain asset and liability thresholds.

    The jump in bankruptcies comes as businesses face challenges like inflation, elevated interest rates, and changing consumer spending patterns, it said.

    “While the US Federal Reserve has begun lowering its benchmark interest rate from a 20-year high, the pace of further cuts may slow in 2025 amid challenges posed by persistent inflation and potential tariffs implemented by President-elect Donald Trump,” said the report.

    “However, Trump’s election victory in November did provide an initial boost to stock markets and investor risk appetite.”

    The American Bankruptcy Institute reveals that overall commercial bankruptcy filings fell 1 percent yearly in November, according to a Dec. 4 statement.

    Michael Hunter, vice president of bankruptcy filing data provider Epiq AACER, attributed this small decline to fewer business days and the holiday season.

    ABI Executive Director Amy Quackenboss said that “elevated interest rates, tougher lending terms, and increased geopolitical tensions continue to impact the balance sheets of many struggling businesses and families.”

    “While still below the levels recorded prior to the pandemic, the steady growth in filings reflects the growing financial challenges faced by distressed companies and consumers.”

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 18:40

  • Fani To Be Slapped With Subpoenas After Court Rules Lawmakers Can Demand Answers
    Fani To Be Slapped With Subpoenas After Court Rules Lawmakers Can Demand Answers

    Lawmakers in Georgia have been granted the authority to serve subpoenas on Fulton County DA Fani Willis as part of an inquiry into her prosecution of President-elect Donald Trump.

    In a Monday ruling revealed later in the week, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shukura Ingram allowed the Georgia Senate to compel Willis’s testimony – giving her until Jan. 13 to argue that the lawmakers’ demands are overly broad, or seek confidential information.

    Willis plans to appeal the ruling, the Epoch Times reports.

    “We believe the ruling is wrong and will appeal,” said Willis’s attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes.

    Earlier this year, a state Senate committee was formed over allegations of misconduct by Willis during her prosecution of Trump and his co-defendants (one of whom revealed that Fani hired her lover to help with her prosecution). In August, the committee subpoenaed Willis, who then skipped a September hearing, delaying the inquiry. Her attorney argued that the committee’s subpoenas are overly broad and lack legitimate legislative purpose – and that they seek confidential information.

    Republican state Senator Greg Dolezal applauded the ruling.

    “Judge Ingram has ruled the state Senate does indeed have the power to subpoena D.A. Fani Willis,” Dolezal wrote on X. “We’ll see you soon, Madam D.A.“

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    As the Epoch Times notes further, scrutiny of Willis intensified after the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled earlier in December to disqualify her from the Trump case. The split 2–1 decision cited an “appearance of impropriety” stemming from her romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade. While both Willis and Wade have admitted to the relationship, they said it began after Wade was hired and ended before Trump’s indictment. Willis’s office filed a notice of intent to ask the Georgia Supreme Court to review the decision.

    This came after earlier rulings, including one by Judge Scott McAfee, who described Willis’s actions as a “tremendous lapse in judgment” and allowed her to continue prosecuting Trump if Wade stepped aside—a condition that was met.

    The Senate committee’s investigation also highlights concerns over Willis’s hiring of Wade, which legislators allege created a “clear conflict of interest” and defrauded taxpayers.

    Following the court of appeals’ decision to disqualify Willis, Trump proclaimed the election case “dead” and alleged corruption within her office.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 18:05

  • Amazon Slammed For Editing Classic Christmas Movie
    Amazon Slammed For Editing Classic Christmas Movie

    Authored by Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov via Headline USA,

    Conservatives recently criticized Amazon for editing the iconic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life, removing the crucial part of Frank Capra’s work.

    In the movie, the main character, George Bailey, played by Jimmy Stewart, tells his guardian angel, Clarence, that it would’ve been better for everyone if he had never been born. After that, Clarence shows him the dark and depressing world without Bailey to show him that his life matters and positively affects many people. After that, Bailey abandons the idea of committing suicide and returns home to his family and friends.

    In one of the movie versions available on Amazon Prime for streaming, the part where Clarence shows Bailey the world without him was removed, eliminating the film’s entire point.

    Breitbart reported that the abridged version of the movie was presented because the suicide scene was “too dark.”

    The news source also revealed that the movie “has been beset with copyright issues after Capra apparently used the short story The Greatest Gift as the basis for the removed scene and never credited its writer for its use.”

    “If you want to know what’s wrong with the world, Prime Video has an ‘abridged’ version of It’s a Wonderful Life that removes THE ENTIRE POTTERSVILLE SCENE where George sees life if he wasn’t born. That’s all that abridged. The best, most crucial part of the movie. Just. Wow,” Germain Lussier of Gismodo wrote. “Just beyond awful.”

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    Lussier then wrote that Amazon Prime offered both black-and-white and colored full versions of the movie, noting that the fact that this edited version exists makes watching it “weird.”

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    “It’s a Wonderful Life has been reduced to a Not-So-Wonderful Hour. It may be because Congress continues to daisy-chain extensions of copyright periods. As Clarence said,  ‘Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives.’ The same can be said of copyrights,” law professor and legal analyst Jonathan Turley wrote.

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    Self-described “grumpy American cartoonist” George Alexopoulos also mocked Amazon by remembering the ultra-woke Lord of the Rings series, The Rings of Power.

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    “100% unacceptable. That’s like making a Lord of the Rings prequel starring Galadriel as an action hero,” he wrote.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 17:30

  • US Says Putin Treating North Korean Troops As 'Expendable' Amid Mass Casualties
    US Says Putin Treating North Korean Troops As ‘Expendable’ Amid Mass Casualties

    The White House has said Moscow is treating its North Korean partner forces as “expendable” in its war against Ukraine, and following South Korean and Pentagon intelligence assessments which say North Korea has suffered at least 1,100 casualties so far

    National Security communications adviser John Kirby said in a Friday press briefing, “It is clear that Russian and North Korean military leaders are treating these troops as expendable and ordering them on hopeless assaults against Ukrainian defenses.”

    Getty Images

    “These North Korean soldiers appear to be highly indoctrinated, pushing attacks even when it is clear that those attacks are futile,” he added.

    Kirby said there have been reports of North Korean troops committing suicide due to the battlefield conditions and hopelessness of the situation. He presented this as anecdotal and tangential evidence pointing to massive losses, but the assertion could very well be wartime propaganda.

    “We also have reports of North Korean soldiers taking their own lives rather than surrendering to Ukrainian forces, likely out of fear of reprisal against their families in North Korea in the event that they’re captured,” Kirby asserted.

    On Friday Kiev forces claimed to have actually captured North Korean troops on the battlefield. These foreign troops are believed mainly deployed in Russia’s Kursk region, to assist Moscow in regaining its lost territory.

    “Today we received reports on several soldiers from North Korea, our warriors managed to capture them. But they were seriously wounded and could not be resuscitated,” Zelensky had said in an address.

    “This is one of the manifestations of the madness dictatorships are capable of,” he continued. “The Korean nation should not lose its people in the battles in Europe.”

    Zelensky also called on China to exert pressure on Kim Jong-Un to abandon the deployment in the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Beijing, however, has remained mum on the issue.

    Kirby in his briefing had also vouched for recent South Korean intelligence figures: “Our estimate is that, to date, they have suffered more than 1,000 killed or wounded in this particular fighting in just the past week of them fighting on the front lines,” he said.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 16:55

  • There Is No Pardoning The Biden Administration
    There Is No Pardoning The Biden Administration

    Authored by Eric Utter via AmericanThinker.com,

    This is going to be controversial to many, but I am going to tell it like I see it, so damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

    The Biden administration, set up as it was by the Obama administration, has been a clear and present danger to the United States of America. In almost every way imaginable.

    It has tanked an economy that otherwise was on the way to (an almost inevitable) rapid, post-pandemic recovery, causing pain to countless American families.

    Speaking of the pandemic, its ludicrous lockdown policy, and a host of other counterproductive and destructive policies, caused immeasurable physical, mental, and emotional harm to millions of people—and summarily destroyed many small businesses, particularly restaurants. It fostered a growing oligarchy by ensuring certain government-approved giant corporations prospered while the small businesses were devastated. It nourished this budding fascism even as it took every opportunity to baselessly label Donald Trump and his supporters as “fascists.”

    Similarly, it incessantly talked of “saving our democracy” even as it tried to destroy it by pushing for the end of the Electoral College and the filibuster, supporting the advent of congressional representation for Washington, D.C., urging the granting of statehood to Puerto Rico, and, most egregiously, going to any and all lengths to get rid of its chief political opponent, Donald J. Trump. It is still doing all it can to obstruct the will of the people, as was evident in its post-election auctioning off materials for the border wall for pennies on the dollar, as well as in placing various other roadblocks in front of the incoming administration. (In other words, it is doing everything possible to counteract the will of the people. Doesn’t sound very democratic to me.) Leaving the border wide open for years has created the greatest current—and latent—security threat the nation has ever faced. Period. 

    In colluding with the social media giants to suppress the Hunter Biden laptop story, or with foreign agents to concoct the Russian-collusion hoax, Democrats have shown, time and again, they will do anything to attain and retain power.

    The Biden administration made that abundantly clear…seven ways from Sunday.

    In its constant use of lawfare and its “accountability for thee but not for me” perversion of the justice system, it has created a two-tiered system of justice that is deeply anti-American and monstrously pernicious.

    And that is troubling—and frightening—to most Americans.

    The Biden administration has helped make a mockery of common sense—if not of reality itself—with its official inability to define what a woman is, and to simultaneously approve of “gender reassignment” surgeries and procedures (even for the very young)…and biological men in women’s locker-rooms, bathrooms, and on their sports teams. It has done grievous damage to our culture—and unity—by endlessly promoting the absurd ideologies of DEI and CRT.

    Its unwillingness to ever be available, accountable, or transparent is only matched by its overwhelming desire and propensity to lie to the very citizens it is supposed to serve. Which we have seen in its attempts to protect itself, smear Trump and his supporters, give a pass to the Chinese spy balloon, and in its flat-out refusal to tell Americans anything resembling the truth about the drone fiasco that has been ongoing for over a month. The non-answers and gibberish that has spewed from the mouths of “government officials,” has been truly mind-blowing…on this and numerous other matters.

    As if all of this weren’t enough, its foreign policy may yet lead to our destruction. It essentially surrendered to goat-herders in Afghanistan, leaving behind billions of dollars of high-end military equipment, more than a dozen dead Americans, and our reputation and dignity. It has bizarrely coddled Iran while playing hardball with Israel, the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. And it seems almost determined to get us directly involved in a shooting war with Russia, if not a nuclear one. 

    To me, this is far worse than incompetence, more than malfeasance. 

    To me, it spells T-R-E-A-S-O-N. 

    Were this an age of reason, what other conclusion could be reached?

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 16:20

  • Mexico Develops App To Aid Its Citizens In US Facing Deportation
    Mexico Develops App To Aid Its Citizens In US Facing Deportation

    Authored by Rudy Blalock via The Epoch Times,

    Mexico is developing a new cellphone app for its citizens who are in the United States illegally so they can notify their family members and the nearest Mexican consulate if they are facing deportation, according to a Mexican official on Friday.

    The move comes in response to potential mass deportations of illegal immigrants in the United States under the incoming Trump administration.

    Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Mexico’s secretary of foreign affairs, said the app is currently in small-scale testing, and it “appears to be working very well.”

    De la Fuente described it as a “panic button” in a statement to The Associated Press.

    “In case you find yourself in a situation where detention [by U.S. immigration authorities] is imminent, you push the alert button, and that sends a signal to the nearest consulate,” he said.

    De la Fuente did not say whether the app includes a feature to cancel an alert if detention does not occur.

    In addition to the app, the Mexican government has established a 24-hour call center to address questions from its citizens illegally in the United States or those who are unsure of their status. Mexico has also bolstered its consular staff and legal aid resources to assist illegal immigrants in navigating the deportation process.

    According to Mexican government estimates, there are approximately 11.5 million migrants with some form of legal residency in the United States and 4.8 million who are there illegally.

    The app is expected to be fully launched in January, coinciding with President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20. During his campaigning, Trump repeatedly said he would implement mass deportations once back in office.

    The development also comes amid ongoing discussions between Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum regarding immigration policies. Trump recently claimed a victory in stopping illegal immigration through Mexico following a conversation with Sheinbaum.

    Trump stated on his Truth Social account that Sheinbaum “agreed to stop Migration through Mexico.”

    Sheinbaum’s own social media post suggested a different perspective, stating, “We reiterate that Mexico’s position is not to close borders but to build bridges between governments and between peoples.”

    Sheinbaum further said that Mexico is already addressing migrant caravans, saying, “I told him the caravans are not reaching the northern (U.S.) border, because Mexico is taking care of them.”

    The conversation between the two leaders occurred shortly after Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Canada and Mexico as part of his strategy to combat illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Trump described the potential tariffs as “effectively closing our Southern Border.”

    Citing data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, AP reports that arrivals at the U.S.-Mexico border have dropped 40 percent from an all-time high in December, largely attributed to increased Mexican vigilance around rail yards and highway checkpoints.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 15:45

  • Trump Asks Supreme Court To Pause TikTok Ban So He Can Negotiate Resolution
    Trump Asks Supreme Court To Pause TikTok Ban So He Can Negotiate Resolution

    Authored by Sam Dorman via The Epoch Times,

    President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to block a law that could ban TikTok within the United States, stating that he would like to pursue negotiations to resolve some of the issues involved and salvage the platform.

    The Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments over the law on Jan. 10, just nine days before the deadline for TikTok’s parent company to either divest from the platform in the United States or face an effective ban.

    That Jan. 19 deadline is also just one day before Trump is expected to be inaugurated for his second term as president.

    “President Trump alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform while addressing the national security concerns,” his Dec. 27 amicus brief read.

    Trump’s brief underscored the importance of the timing and urged the court to give him more of an opportunity to handle the issue as chief executive.

    “This timing binds the hands of the incoming Administration on a significant issue of national security and foreign policy, and thus it raises significant questions under Article II,” the brief read.

    Article II refers to the section of the constitution vesting executive authority with the president. Trump’s brief said the law raised questions about legislative encroachment on executive authority.

    “The Executive, not Congress, is primarily charged with responsibility for the United States’ national security, its foreign policy, and its strategic relationship with its geopolitical rivals,” his brief read.

    The law in question was passed with bipartisan support and signed by President Joe Biden earlier this year. TikTok challenged the law in federal court, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that it satisfied a high level of scrutiny under the First Amendment.

    Although the Supreme Court has decided to take up the First Amendment issue, Trump said he took no position on the merits of the underlying dispute.

    He did, however, raise concern about the impact of the law on TikTok’s 170 million users and indicated that upholding it could create a “slippery slope toward global government censorship of social-media speech.”

    Trump’s brief took issue with how the law directed the president to work through an interagency process “instead of exercising his sole discretion over the deliberative processes of the Executive Branch.”

    In asking the Supreme Court to halt the law, TikTok similarly cited Trump’s incoming administration and the potential for his intervention.

    On the day of TikTok’s application to the Supreme Court on Dec. 16, Trump gave a press conference in which he expressed sympathy for the platform.

    “We’ll take a look at TikTok,” he said, noting that he had a “warm spot” in his heart for the platform. He added that TikTok had an effect on the support he received from young people in the election.

    TikTok had asked the D.C. Circuit to halt the law but was rejected.

    “The petitioners have not identified any case in which a court, after rejecting a constitutional challenge to an Act of Congress, has enjoined the Act from going into effect while review is sought in the Supreme Court,” a December 13 order from the court reads.

    Attorney General Merrick Garland, whom TikTok sued in the D.C. Circuit and is the respondent at the Supreme Court, defended the law. In a Dec. 27 filing, the Department of Justice said the law “addresses the serious threats to national security posed by the Chinese government’s control of TikTok, a platform that harvests sensitive data about tens of millions of Americans and would be a potent tool for covert influence operations by a foreign adversary.”

    The case drew many amicus briefs from organizations, including the Cato Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union. Both of those supported TikTok. A group of former national security officials backed the D.C. Circuit’s decision.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 14:35

  • MSM Pounces As 'MAGA Vs Technocrats' H1-Bomb Explodes Ahead Of Trump Inauguration
    MSM Pounces As ‘MAGA Vs Technocrats’ H1-Bomb Explodes Ahead Of Trump Inauguration

    Update (1400ET): President-elect Trump has broken his silence on H1B-gate, appearing to agree with Elon Musk in support of H-1B visas for skilled workers in the U.S., as the right spars on the ongoing immigration debate.

    “I’ve always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That’s why we have them,” Trump told the New York Post Saturday.

    Trump said that he recognizes the visas on his properties, saying, “I’ve been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It’s a great program.”

    And cue the MSM…

    *  *  *

    By now, unless you were living under a rock or so focused on your kids opening their gifts you forgot to check your phone for news, you’ll be aware of what the mainstream media is gloatingly calling a ‘civil war’ breaking out between the MAGA right of Trump’s base and the Musk-ian middle over the topic of ‘legal’ immigration – specifically H1Bs.

    As we detailed fully here, not all immigration is bad, but focus on Americans first. To over-simplify the issues (well maybe not):

    • There is a contingent of MAGA that wants a total shutdown of migrant activity and a moratorium on work visas.  

    • On the other side, some in MAGA want to end illegal immigration while supporting legal immigration of skilled workers.

    • The threat of a complete shut down of all immigration, including skilled workers, has the tech industry concerned. 

    The tensions escalated (and were obviously amplified by the media) after Elon and Vivek turned the rhetoric dial up to ’11’ with comments about “war” and “go fucking yourself” as well as implicit reflections on the lack of work culture among young American workers – none of which which plays well against the longstanding DEI backdrop of white students, and white employees, being passed over for non-whites with similar scores and credentials.

    As ‘sundance’ wrote at The Last Refuge:

    It always appeared the MAGA alignment with Silicon Valley would not be an issue until the interests of the billionaire tech team came into conflict with the MAGA base.  I did not anticipate the fracture being so fast, nor did I anticipate immigration would be the trigger.  However, H1B visa issuance is apparently a key part of the Silicon Valley business model.

    That said, several pragmatic aspects of the discussion are now being lost amid a very toxic shouting match that has begun.

    We would agree – a lot of nuance has been lost in the furor.

    Former RFK Jr. running mate Nicole Shanahan wrote a lengthy statement on X (but this introduction nailed it):

    “Having lived in Silicon Valley for 20+ years and founded and sold an AI company, I’ve seen firsthand how we rely on H-1B to fill grueling, unglamorous coding jobs. These jobs are essential, and we need capable people doing them. But the system needs an overhaul.”

    Overhaul indeed…

    While Silicon Valley may indeed be short of coders, we find it hard to believe America is suffering enough of a shortage of Golf Instructors to warrant H1Bs…

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    …or math teachers…

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    Of course, none of this is new.

    Here’s Trump in March 2016:

    “Megyn Kelly asked about highly-skilled immigration. The H- 1B program is neither high-skilled nor immigration: these are temporary foreign workers, imported from abroad, for the explicit purpose of substituting for American workers at lower pay. I remain totally committed to eliminating rampant, widespread H-1B abuse and ending outrageous practices such as those that occurred at Disney in Florida when Americans were forced to train their foreign replacements. I will end forever the use of the H-1 B as a cheap labor program, and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program. No exceptions.”

    …and remember this from 2020…

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    …to which Musk responded at the time…

    But H1B denial rates surged under Trump’s last term…

    So far, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg have been quiet on the subject – perhaps this chart explains why…

    May we humbly suggest there is a balance between Biden’s 2% denial rate (basically no denial at all – even golf instructors and math teachers) and Trump’s 24% denial (show us your special skills and here’s the red carpet, otherwise ‘nope’).

    The Biden administration reversed some restrictive policies introduced during Trump’s administration, though recent proposed policies have become more restrictive as well…

    Big Tech and IT outsourcing now receive nearly equal volumes of H-1B approvals, a shift from 2017-2018 landscape where IT outsourcing dominated. Big Tech companies have ramped up H-1B sponsorships as they have grown their US headcount significantly over the past decade. Since 2017-18, when IT outsourcing firms led in H-1B approvals, the landscape has shifted. As of 2024, Big Tech and IT outsourcing now receive nearly equal volumes of H-1B approvals.

    Finally, while the mainstream media is more than happy to perpetuate this splintering among Trump’s supporters, we suggest getting worked up now is futile since the Biden administration has already enacted more restrictive rules which are due to be put in place in early 2025.

    “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS] is committed to the president’s goal of restoring faith in the legal immigration system and attracting global talent,” said a USCIS spokesperson.

    “USCIS will continue to promote policies and procedures that attract the best international talent, expand economic prosperity, maintain America’s competitive edge in STEM fields and uphold the country’s promise as a nation of welcome and possibility with fairness, integrity and respect for all we serve.”

    However, as we noted previously, as usual, whenever there is a divisive issue causing internal conflict and debate among conservative groups there are doom mongers that dance around the edges and act as if the entire movement is suddenly fracturing.  Conservatives have never agreed on solutions – This is normal. 

    They are not a hive mind like the political left, which is a good thing.  Such debates are a sign of a healthy political process.     

    What we really have here is an artificially created either/or scenario; skilled labor shortages should be treated as a “why not do both” scenario.

    In the long term, the national education system needs to be completely overhauled and a focus on practical skills and advanced STEM has to be championed.  Incentives to lure Americans back into science and engineering fields may be necessary. 

    The US can do both:  Cut immigration down to only the best and brightest, or down to labor pools with proven shortages, while also encouraging native-born American interest in such fields and creating a domestic pool of skilled assets.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 14:00

  • Russia Surrounds Vital Ukrainian Stronghold After Devastating Power Grid Attack
    Russia Surrounds Vital Ukrainian Stronghold After Devastating Power Grid Attack

    Ukraine is facing a long period of rolling blackouts this winter after Russia’s “Christmas attack” on the country’s energy infrastructure.  Ukraine reports at least 70 ballistic missiles and hundreds of drones were involved in the onslaught which has left at least 50% of Ukrainians without power (accurate reports on true grid damages are impossible to come by and Ukraine keeps such information censored).   

    The usefulness of targeting the power grid is undeniable – Any attempt to establish a reliable manufacturing base in western Ukraine to produce armaments will be impossible.  Regular scheduled blackouts are now in effect in many parts of Ukraine in order to preserve power resources.  Energy Research Center Director Oleksandr Kharchenko says electricity consumption restrictions in Ukraine may remain in effect for another 2-3 years, and that’s if the war ends soon.

    Another strategic advantage of grid attacks is the use of cold weather conditions to force civilians out of certain energy weak population centers, making it easier to bombard those areas later without producing heavy casualties of non-combatants.

    The large scale missile strikes are dominating the news feeds, while Russian advancements on the eastern front are barely reported.  

    Southwest of the key city of Pokrovsk, Putin’s forces are currently surrounding another “linchpin” town called Velyka Novosilka.  The area is considered a gateway to the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast region and its fall would give Russia easier access to central Ukraine due to thinner defensive lines.  The town is currently surrounded on at least three sides and experts suggest Ukraine is unlikely to order their troops to retreat due to the importance of the location.  Kyiv now fears that the soldiers in the area will soon be encircled.

    Velyka Novosilka is vulnerable to Russian attack after Ukraine retreated from Vuhledar, roughly 30 kilometers [18 miles] east of Velyka Novosilka.  The Ukrainians originally claimed that Vuhledar was strategically “unimportant”, but the loss has proven to be disastrous. 

    Russian gains are expected to slow as winter weather takes hold, but so far there have been no signs of relent.  Velyka Novosilka will fall within weeks, and Pokrovsk is likely to fall within the next couple of months.  The capture of these two vital strongholds will give Russia near total control of the Donbas and Eastern Ukraine.  It is not known if the Kremlin intends to continue pressing to the west, or if they only plan to take control of the East and annex the region in a settlement with Trump and the US. 

    A lack of manpower has been blamed for Ukraine’s increasing strategic failures.    

    Donald Trump continues to call for an expedient peace plan which includes Ukraine formally giving up some territory to the Russians.  Vladimir Zelensky has recently admitted that it is unlikely that Ukraine will ever be able to gain back the land lost to Russian forces.   

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 13:25

  • Court Blocks Biden From Selling Off Portions Of Southern Border Wall
    Court Blocks Biden From Selling Off Portions Of Southern Border Wall

    Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

    The Biden administration has been instructed by a federal judge not to sell off portions of the U.S.–Mexico border wall, which would allow President-elect Donald Trump to use these materials.

    On Dec. 17, the State of Texas filed a lawsuit at the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas McAllen Division after reports of the Biden administration selling segments of the border wall along the U.S.–Mexico Border.

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he secured a victory in the case after a hearing on Friday.

    The Biden administration agreed to a court order preventing the federal government from “disposing of any further border wall materials over the next 30 days—allowing President Trump to use those materials as he sees fit,” Paxton’s office said.

    If the order is violated, the court has the authority to enforce it.

    “This follows our major victory forcing [President Joe] Biden to build the wall, and we will hold his Administration accountable for illegally subverting our Nation’s border security until their very last day in power, especially where their actions are clearly motivated by a desire to thwart President-elect Trump’s immigration agenda,” Paxton said in a Dec. 27 statement.

    Congress had dedicated around $1.4 billion to build fencing along the southern border as part of Trump’s bid to counter illegal immigration. After Biden came to power, he issued an executive order ceasing wall construction and asked the Department of Homeland Security to use the funds for other purposes.

    In May 2024, Attorney General Paxton secured a court order forcing the Biden administration to spend the funds on the border wall. Selling off portions of the border wall that was bought using funds allocated for the purpose would be deemed a violation of this order.

    The Dec. 17 lawsuit was filed after reports that the federal government “may be auctioning off up to half a mile per day of border wall sections for a mere fraction of the original purchase cost,” Paxton’s office said. “In some cases, the government is allegedly listing entire wall panel sections for sale at a starting bid of just $5.”

    Border Security

    During a Dec. 16 press conference, Trump said he spoke with officials in Texas regarding reports of the wall parts auction.

    “We’re going to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more on building the same wall we already have,” Trump said. “It’s almost a criminal act.”

    The president-elect said he had spoken with Paxton about securing a restraining order against such actions. “I’m asking today, Joe Biden, to please stop selling the wall,” Trump said.

    Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said selling the border wall was like “treating our national security as if it’s a yard sale,” according to a Dec. 16 X post. “This isn’t just a fight against the incoming president—it’s a fight against the American people.”

    Last year, the Biden administration allowed the construction of 20 miles of the southern border, with the president saying he had no choice in the matter but to allow the allocated federal funds to be used for the project.

    “The money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money,” Biden said in an address. When asked whether the border wall was effective, the president replied, “no.”

    In 2020, the Department of Homeland Security said that the border wall resulted in a decline in incidents of illegal crossings, smuggling of drugs, and human smuggling.

    Earlier this year, Melissa Dalton, the assistant secretary of defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, told lawmakers that “a border barrier can help mitigate the flow” of illegal immigrants.

    Most Americans also favor building a U.S.–Mexico border wall. A Monmouth University poll released in February showed that 58 percent of respondents supported such a measure, breaking the previous high of 48 percent in 2015.

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 12:50

  • Former State Department Official David Asher: Americans "Will Soon Learn" COVID Origins Truth
    Former State Department Official David Asher: Americans “Will Soon Learn” COVID Origins Truth

    Revelations that senior US intelligence officials in the early days of the virus pandemic suppressed research indicating a Chinese lab leak as the origin of Covid-19 surfaced in a new Wall Street Journal report titled “Behind Closed Doors: The Spy-World Scientists Who Argued Covid Was a Lab Leak” late this week. 

    The investigation by WSJ’s Michael Gordon and Warren Strobel shows the disagreements within the intelligence community over Covid origins…  

    But an investigation by The Wall Street Journal shows that the disagreements among intelligence experts over what should be included in the report ran deeper than is publicly known. Nor were the FBI scientists the only ones who believed that the intelligence directorate’s review didn’t tell the whole story.

    Three scientists at the National Center for Medical Intelligence, part of the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency, conducted a scientific study that concluded that Covid-19 was manipulated in a laboratory in a risky research effort. But that analysis was at odds with the assessment of their parent agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and wasn’t incorporated in the report presented to Biden. -WSJ 

    Specifically, who decided to exclude input from the Defense Department and the FBI—the only agency to conclude with “moderate confidence” that a lab leak was the likely origin—from the August 2021 briefing to President Biden and the subsequent official federal conclusion that Covid most likely originated naturally?

    David Asher, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former head of State Department investigations into Covid origins, joined Vince Coglianese, host of WMAL’s “The Vince Coglianese Show,” on Friday evening to discuss the cover-up of Covid’s origins during the Biden administration.

    “We can confirm based on public commercial business records with Chinese government businesses were controlled by the Chinese intelligence service. I mean, the stuff about Hunter and James Biden, you know, his son and brother being tied to CEFC, a company that was infamously associated with the Ministry of State Security in China … I think it has a lot to do with it, and that needs to be investigated as well. I mean, there’s no logical reason why Biden would not continue the Covid investigation that I started. He was briefed on it and he buried, it” Asher said. 

    Asher continued, “The Chinese created Covid. It was not Fauci – he did contribute science, technology, and US taxpayer dollars to it. So did the US State Department and United States Agency for International Development provided huge amounts of money to the Chinese for investigating bat coronavirus viruses and then doing in effect gain of function type research in China.” 

    “We have a Deep State that is so out of control…” Asher emphasized. 

    He continued, “We have so much to do in the second Trump Administration to uncover the origin of Covid, assess the costs culpability and responsibility of the Chinese, and then go after our own government Deep State apparatus that covered this thing up with the Chinese in their own sort of parallel universe of a premeditated cover-up.” 

    “We had a senior scientist named Adrienne Keen who used to brief people like me at the State Department. She didn’t tell us that she was also working for the World Health Organization, apparently at the time, as a contractor. I mean, like, I can’t start the level of which this is crazy. I mean, the FBI’s investigation clearly indicated that this thing came out of a lab based on a suspected animal accident,” the former State Department official said. 

    He noted that the American people “will soon learn” the truth about the origins of Covid.

    “Remember Biden Declassified all the Covid intelligence, but nothing was actually put out there. There’s a lot of intelligence that John Ratcliffe will get out the door very very soon,” Asher said. 

    He added, “I’ve met with some of the NSEC team already about it. I know that Senator Paul, who is up on The Hill, will attack this with a bulldozer and machine gun if necessary to get to the bottom of this. The FBI just recently put out with its spokesman on the record that they maintain their investigation, and I wouldn’t be surprised that there might even be criminal charges against some of these people involved – probably not Fauci himself because he’ll get away forever with anything – but I wouldn’t be surprised if Biden pardons him preemptively and probably pardons his brother preemptively. His brother did not create Covid but his brother was getting millions of dollars in money from the Chinese, which is why Biden didn’t want to investigate the origin of Covid because it would get in the way of that uh relationship.” 

    Asher said, “The FBI is sitting on a huge case file of over 200 people that they ran a criminal investigation in effect … and maybe we’re going to see criminal charges because somebody in the US government needs to be blamed” for Covid. 

    Separately on X, Asher wrote:

    “This was why I told people that we at State—via “deep State”—were partially to blame for the coverup. It wasn’t the team I advised, certainly, leading the investigation, not Secretary Pompeo. It was a certain senior official in charge of “arms control” and his minions, including Keene. They were the ones who warned us repeatedly we were opening something akin to a Pandora’s box, which would blow up in our faces. I made it clear whatever is inside the box, I didn’t care if it blew up in THEIR faces—We needed to get to the bottom of what caused COVID, why the Chinese were covering it up and facilitating its release, and why NIH and a bunch of scientists they funded were in on the Fauci organized US coverup. Scientific Wuhangate continues but will be getting exposed under Donald Trump II. Much more to come, I hope.” 

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    In another X post, he said, “We all need to get ready to help President Trump make America truly Great again by holding the ChiComms accountable for mass murder and Fauci and “scientific” associates as accessories of the crime. I’m now triple deep black MAGA on COVID, fentanyl, and making China pay.” 

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    Asher also noted on X, “President Trump absolutely should pull the plug on the WHO. It’s a worse than useless organization. It totally failed us in the biggest public health crisis modern world history. It’s a disgrace and a disservice to civilization.” 

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    And this…

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    As well as, let’s not forget about the documentary “Thank You, Dr. Fauci,” which provides the American people with an understanding of Covid origins… 

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    The American people are set to receive a truth bomb about Covid origins—something Zero Hedge readers have been well aware of since January 2020 (see: here).

    Tyler Durden
    Sat, 12/28/2024 – 12:15

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