[John Day]

​ Germany’s Open Borders Have Made It a War Zone for Women—And Now They’re Criminalizing Self-Defense
​ A deadly incident at a German train station exposes the brutal reality of Germany’s open-border policies and their twisted priorities: protecting dangerous foreign attackers over their victims. A 20-year-old American woman now faces prosecution after fatally defending herself from a 64-year-old Eritrean migrant who allegedly sexually assaulted her… at Kaiserslautern train station, where the young woman was on an escalator when she was allegedly groped from behind by the Eritrean man. As any woman would, she reacted instinctively, attempting to ward off her attacker. A confrontation ensued, during which the woman, fearing for her safety, drew a switchblade.
​ Prosecutors confirm that video footage shows no premeditation—the attack happened suddenly, and her response was a clear reflex in the face of a physical threat. When the assailant escalated further, allegedly grabbing her arm, she stabbed him once in the chest. The knife struck his heart, and he died of his injuries.​.. Despite her voluntary surrender and clear evidence that the act was one of fear-driven self-defense, the German public prosecutor claims the stabbing was not proportionate. In other words, the state expects women to submit to assault rather than defend themselves with force.​ https://discernreport.com/germanys-open-borders-have-made-it-a-war-zone-for-women-and-now-theyre-criminalizing-self-defense/

​ Moderna Shuts Down mRNA RSV Vaccine Trial in Babies After Shots Linked to Severe Side Effects, FDA Document Reveals
The FDA’s vaccine advisory committee will meet tomorrow to discuss concerns about the vaccine, which the agency fast-tracked in 2021. Meanwhile, trials for investigational RSV vaccines for babies and some children are now on hold.
​ Moderna halted its clinical trial of experimental mRNA vaccines for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in babies after the shots were linked to severe side effects.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) disclosed this week in a briefing document that rather than protecting babies as anticipated, the vaccine likely caused higher rates of severe RSV illness among the vaccinated babies enrolled in the Phase 1 clinical trials.​ https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/moderna-stops-mrna-rsv-vaccine-trial-babies-side-effects-fda/

​ There is a lot of expertise that goes into studying candidate-vaccines for human benefit. There are specific ways to assess the risk to benefit ratios overall, and for various vulnerable sub-groups. That same expertise can be turned to the dark side, and only another expert might be able to explain how. Here is that explanation.
Meryl Nass MD, Comments Regarding Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Phase III Clinical Study, Which Led to the Product’s EUA
from a former FDA clinical reviewer, with valuable references to the law and FDA guidance documents​ https://merylnass.substack.com/p/comments-regarding-pfizer-covid-19

​ COVID Vaccine Makers Get Another Free Pass as Biden Administration Extends Liability Shield Through 2029
This is the 12th extension of the liability shield for COVID-19 countermeasures since January 2020, when HHS declared a public health emergency under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, or PREP Act.​ https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/biden-extend-covid-vaccine-liability-shield-2029/

​Quicker and cheaper than nukes, and it will place AI & Bitcoin where there is cheap pipeline gas. Exxon Plans Large Nat Gas Plants To Supply Electricity To Data Centers https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/exxon-plans-large-nat-gas-plants-supply-electricity-data-centers

[John Day]

San Diego Sheriff ‘Will Not’ Comply With New ‘Super Sanctuary’ Protections For Illegals​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/san-diego-sheriff-will-not-comply-new-super-sanctuary-protections-illegals

Conflicted? Rep. Brian Mast, Who Wears His IDF Uniform to Congress, to be Next House Foreign Affairs Chair​ https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64772

House Passes $895 Billion Defense Authorization Bill​ The spending allocation is $5.7 billion higher than the DOD requested.​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/heres-whats-895-billion-defense-authorization-bill

Government Spending Shock: US Budget Deficit Soars In Worst Start To Year On Record​ https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/government-spending-shock-us-budget-deficit-worst-start-year-record

​ Bankers conspire so very effectively to support their common interests… I’m not sure this can prevent a de-banking crisis, but it is a thought.
Ellen Brown, The Florida State Sunshine Bank: How a State-Owned Bank Can Protect Free Speech​ https://ellenbrown.com/2024/09/14/the-florida-state-sunshine-bank-how-a-state-owned-bank-can-protect-free-speech/#more-15838

[John Day]

​ Trump wants ‘day one’ US policy changes – Reuters
The incoming president will reportedly issue at least 25 executive orders immediately upon entering the White House​ https://swentr.site/news/609215-trump-executive-orders-plans/

​ RFK Jr. wants to prove CIA killed his uncle – Axios
The nephew of John F. Kennedy is reportedly lobbying for his daughter-in-law to serve as the agency’s deputy head​ https://swentr.site/news/609218-rfk-jfk-assassination-cia/

​ Head of influential sheriff’s group embraces Kash Patel as FBI director: ‘he’s a butt kicker’
Former Arizona sheriff Richard Mack, who founded and leads the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, said his group has already endorsed Patel and encouraged the nominee to pick a sheriff as his deputy director.​ https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/head-influential-sheriffs-group-embraces-kash-patel-fbi-director-hes

​ Homan heads to Chicago, promises citizens he’ll jail the mayor if he stops deportations…
President Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, appeared on Dr. Phil’s podcast to inform the American people about what’s happening at the Southern Border.
​ Dr. Phil asked Homan why this is so important to him to secure the border, here’s his response:
“The tragedies I’ve seen in my career, I started as a Border Patrol Agent in 1984. I’ve talked to young girls that were r​aped multiple times by members of the cartel. It moves you”​ “I stood in the back of a tractor trailer with 19 de*d bodies at my feet, including a 5 year old boy.”
​ “President Trump’s policy saved lives by the thousands. [It’s the] most humane policy they’ve ever seen.​”
Sticking with that America First theme, Mr. Homan recently showed up in Chicago and made it clear: if the mayor tries to block or interfere with deportations, he will be prosecuted.​ https://revolver.news/2024/12/homan-heads-to-chicago-promises-to-jail-mayor-if-he-stops-deportations/

Border Czar Tom Homan Welcomed with Cheers in Blue Chicago​ https://www.dailyfetched.com/border-czar-tom-homan-welcomed-with-cheers-in-blue-chicago/

[John Day]

The Washington Post: On the Eve of the Terrorist Offensive in Syria, Ukraine Transferred 150 UAVs to Militants and Deployed 20 Experienced Operators to Idlib​ https://en.topwar.ru/255510-the-washington-post-v-kanun-nastuplenija-terroristov-v-sirii-ukraina-peredala-boevikam-150-bpla-i-otkomandirovala-v-idlib-20-opytnyh-operatorov.html

Orban Says Zelensky Rejected Proposal for a Christmas Truce​. Zelensky criticized Orban for discussing the idea of a ceasefire with Putin​ https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/11/orban-says-zelesnky-rejected-proposal-for-a-christmas-truce/

​ These cities are either partly taken over by Russian forces, or soon to be taken, such as the regional mining and transit hub, Pokrovsk.
The Ukrainian authorities have given the order to prepare the public for the upcoming surrender of five cities in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). There are three settlements of exceptional strategic importance among them — Pokrovsk, Toretsk and Chasov Yar. These towns are known as “the keys to Donbass.”
https://english.pravda.ru/news/world/161346-ukraine-loses-territories/

Musk called it madness to allocate a loan to Ukraine at the expense of income from Russian assets​ https://www-kommersant-ru.translate.goog/doc/7364650?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

​Do deals the first day. Trump Invites China’s Xi To Attend Inauguration In ‘Signal To The Planet’​
Transition spokesperson Karoline Leavitt confirmed to CBS News on Thursday that Trump invited Xi and that it’s an example of Trump “creating an open dialogue with leaders of countries that are not just our allies but our adversaries and our competitors too.”​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-invites-chinas-xi-attend-inauguration-signal-planet

[John Day]

Israeli coalition downs proposal to form commission to probe October 7​ The Israeli occupation’s coalition government votes against a draft proposal to form a commission to investigate “Israel’s” October 7 fiasco.​ https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/israeli-coalition-downs-proposal-to-form-commission-to-probe

​This is an opportunity for Israel to change leadership, but Bibi is winning in Syria right now. Netanyahu’s trial: corruption, war crimes, and an Israel in crisis
Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial unfolds against a backdrop of bribery and fraud allegations, international war crimes charges, domestic scandals, and mounting global condemnation – all while he continues to fuel devastating wars with no end in sight.​ https://thecradle.co/articles/netanyahus-trial-corruption-war-crimes-and-an-israel-in-crisis

​Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 5 in Southern Lebanon as Ceasefire Violations Continue​ IDF tells northern Israelis that sounds of explosions in Lebanon nothing to worry about​ https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/11/israeli-strikes-kill-at-least-5-in-southern-lebanon-as-ceasefire-violations-continue/

Israel seeks to create autonomy in Syria with a Tel Aviv-controlled government​ https://en.topcor.ru/54448-izrail-dobivaetsja-sozdanija-avtonomii-na-territorii-sirii-s-podkontrolnym-tel-avivu-pravitelstvom.html​

Report: US Gave Kurds an Ultimatum To Withdraw from Manbij in North Syria​, The Turkish-backed SNA took the city after the Kurds withdrew​ https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/11/report-us-gave-kurds-an-ultimatum-to-withdraw-from-manbij-in-north-syria/

[John Day]

Shotgun Of News https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/shotgun-of-news

Israeli Strikes on the Gaza Strip Kill at Least 29 More Palestinians
A strike in the northern town of Beit Lahia killed at least 20 people, and an attack in Gaza City killed a female journalist and her son https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/11/israeli-strikes-on-the-gaza-strip-kill-at-least-29-more-palestinians/

In Gaza, 96% of children feel imminent death, around half wish to die: Study
The survey, whose results were published on Wednesday, was carried out by a Gaza-based NGO and was sponsored by the London-based War Child Alliance charity.
It showed that as much as 96 percent of the territory’s children felt that their death was imminent, and 49% actually wished to die.
The assessment also revealed that 92% of the minors were “not accepting of reality,” 79% suffered from nightmares, and 73% displayed symptoms of aggression.
Conducted back in June, it had surveyed parents or caregivers of 504 children from families where at least one child was disabled, injured or unaccompanied. https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/12/12/738940/Israel-war-Gaza-children-genocide-fear-of-death

The Palestinian movement Hamas has said for the first time since the outbreak of the Gaza war that it might agree to a ceasefire deal with Israel that would allow Israeli forces to stay temporarily in the enclave after the fighting stops, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing Arab mediators.
The mediators said Hamas had agreed to two of Israel’s key demands and also provided a list of hostages, including US citizens, that it would release under the new ceasefire.
The current proposal reportedly includes a 60-day ceasefire, the release of over 30 Israeli hostages in exchanges for several Palestinian hostages, and Israel allowing more humanitarian aid into the enclave. https://sputnikglobe.com/20241212/hamas-may-agree-on-deal-that-allows-israel-to-stay-in-gaza-after-ceasefire-1121151292.html

Ireland formally joins South Africa’s genocide case against ‘Israel’ Ireland has formally joined the genocide case raised against the Israeli occupation at the International Court of Justice https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/ireland-formally-joins-south-africa-s-genocide-case-against

[John Day]

In yer face:
Rep. Brian Mast, Who Wears His IDF Uniform to Congress, to be Next House Foreign Affairs Chair
https://www.informationliberation.com/?id=64772

[John Day]

@Mr. House, from late show yesterday.
I did read Ellen Brown’s piece fully. She wrote it for Scheerpost, and Global Research picked it up.
She’s no spring chicken, and it is an intricate and arcane topic, “money”, and economy and resets.

You mention wealth-redistribution pejoratively, but what now exists is something like 7:1 of “valid” claims-on-wealth to actual, physical material wealth, so “assignment of losses”, a favorite term of Nicole Foss’ is a better way to conceive of it.
Losses will be assigned to the dead, for sure. That one is progressing with COVID-shots and wars.
Amongst the living, assignment-of-losses is very difficult. Retirees can be assigned losses to a point, as can the middling-wealthy, but the rich & powerful will usually have to be convinced that they will lose the most if society fractures, or they won’t support society.
This is where adept political negotiators can actually be useful to society, in setting a new distribution of wealth-sharing and actual productivity, which maximizes societal wealth under new prevailing conditions, which I foresee as declining energy resources globally, and the end of unipolar-hegemony.

You might prefer this: Defusing the Derivatives Time Bomb: Some Proposed Solutions

Defusing the Derivatives Time Bomb: Some Proposed Solutions

[John Day]

​ Jamie Foxx Reveals His Brain Began Bleeding After Getting COVID Booster
​ “April 11, I was having a bad headache, and I asked my boy for Aspirin. I realized quickly that when you’re in a medical emergency, your boys don’t know what the fuck to do,” Foxx joked.
​ He said before he could even take the Aspirin, he blacked out and remained unconscious for weeks. “I don’t remember 20 days,” Foxx said. He was told that his friends took him to a doctor in Atlanta who gave him a cortisone shot and sent him on his way…
​ His sister Deidra Dixon, whom he described as “4-foot-11 of nothing but pure love,” knew that Foxx was experiencing something much more severe. “She says, ‘Get him in the car. That ain’t my brother right there,’” Foxx said. “She drove around — she didn’t know anything about Piedmont Hospital, but she had a hunch that some angels [were] in there.”
​ At Piedmont, a doctor told Dixon that Foxx was “having a brain bleed that has led to a stroke,” and that if they didn’t operate on him as soon as possible he would die. “My sister knelt down outside the operating room and prayed the whole time,” Foxx said.​ https://thepeoplesvoice.tv/jamie-foxx-reveals-his-brain-began-bleeding-after-getting-covid-booster/

IQ Scores In The US Have Recently Dropped For First Time This Century​. The biggest drop was found among younger people aged 18 to 22.​ https://www.iflscience.com/iq-scores-in-the-us-have-recently-dropped-for-first-time-this-century-67907

​Green tea is good for you, too. Giant Study Links Drinking Coffee With Almost 2 Extra Years of Life https://www.sciencealert.com/giant-study-links-drinking-coffee-with-almost-2-extra-years-of-life

Intersecting gravitational waves all over the place… Wow! We Now Have a Map of Gravitational Vibration of the Universe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoYir2k28qM

What is up with all the “drones” recently? UFO sightings alarm NJ: Police video shows army of 55 drones on the coast https://nj1015.com/drones-threat-new-jersey/

[John Day]

Ellen Brown shows steps in the transition out of supporting the value of the $US by interest payments. How to Escape the Federal Debt Trap. U.S. Debt is Now $36 Trillion! https://www.globalresearch.ca/escape-federal-debt-trap/5874742

I hope this is really investigated as a carcinogen, amongst other harms. In the Trump Administration Crosshairs: Cell Phone Radiation https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/12/in-the-trump-administration-crosshairs-cell-phone-radiation.html

​ Congress pushing HSB 737 bill to make pesticide manufacturers legally immune from prosecution for their poisoning of America
​ The pesticide industry is taking a page from the vaccine industry by trying to immunize itself against lawsuits for injuries and other health damage caused by its toxic crop chemicals.
​ In this in-between period between Joe Biden leaving the White House and Donald Trump reentering it, Congress is busy trying to pass new legislation called HSB 737 that just like the PREP Act did to immunize Big Pharma against lawsuits over Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) “vaccines” would protect the pesticide industry from having to face the rule of law.​ https://www.naturalnews.com/2024-12-09-congress-hsb737-pesticide-manufacturers-immune-poisoning.html

​”The AI hallucinated my homework”: Stanford “misinformation” expert caught citing two academic journal articles that DON’T EVEN EXIST https://www.naturalnews.com/2024-12-09-stanford-misinformation-expert-cited-fake-journal-articles.html

​ An AI companion suggested he kill his parents. Now his mom is suing.
​In just six months, J.F., a sweet 17-year-old kid with autism who liked attending church and going on walks with his mom, had turned into someone his parents didn’t recognize.
​ He began cutting himself, lost 20 pounds and withdrew from his family. Desperate for answers, his mom searched his phone while he was sleeping. That’s when she found the screenshots.
​ J.F. had been chatting with an array of companions on Character.ai, part of a new wave of artificial intelligence apps popular with young people, which let users talk to a variety of AI-generated chatbots, often based on characters from gaming, anime and pop culture.
​ One chatbot brought up the idea of self-harm and cutting to cope with sadness. When he said that his parents limited his screen time, another bot suggested “they didn’t deserve to have kids.” Still others goaded him to fight his parents’ rules, with one suggesting that murder could be an acceptable response.​ https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/an-ai-companion-suggested-he-kill-his-parents-now-his-mom-is-suing/ar-AA1vApPe

[John Day]

​ IG finds Justice Department spied on Patel and other congressional staffer without telling courts
As a result of the probe, the department obtained phone records from two members of Congress and 43 staff members, including President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI Director, Kash Patel.​ https://justthenews.com/accountability/watchdogs/ig-finds-justice-department-spied-congressional-staff-leak-probe-without

​ More than 250 veterans have signed a letter supporting former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), President-elect Trump’s nominee to be director of national intelligence.
The letter offers a fierce defense of Gabbard’s “lifelong devotion to service” and blasts critics who call into question her loyalty.​ https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5030937-veterans-defend-gabbard-dni-nomination/

​ Democrats Ignore Tulsi Gabbard’s Request To Meet
​ The return of Tulsi Gabbard to Capitol Hill began with breakfast in the Senate dining room courtesy of Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, followed by back-to-back meetings with other Republicans, all of whom were happy to welcome the former Hawaii Democrat and discuss her nomination to lead the U.S. intelligence community.
​ But members of her old political party, including one-time House colleagues, largely ignored her. It’s still early in the process, but Gabbard has been unable to schedule a single meeting with Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
​ Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, outgoing chairman of the committee, has not responded to her requests for a meeting, according to a source directly familiar with Gabbard’s efforts. Others have replied to her outreach but remain hesitant​ about putting anything on the books. At least one Democrat scheduled a sit-down this week only to abruptly cancel.​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/cold-shoulder-democrats-ignore-tulsi-gabbards-request-meet

​ Bernie Sanders says Musk is right on military spending
Sanders comments come before the U.S. House is set to vote on a compromise version of the National Defense Authorization Act​ https://justthenews.com/nation/states/center-square/bernie-sanders-says-musk-right-military-spending

​”Sell, Baby Sell!” (It’s better than maintaining the value of the dollar by paying trillions in interest, gutting real-economy.) Trump Plans to Turn US into World’s Gas Station He wants to reduce the US federal budget deficit to 3% of GDP, achieve an annual economic growth of 3% and increase the country’s oil and gas production by the equivalent of 3 million b/d (barrels per day) by 2028, compared to 30 million b/d in 2024. https://en.topcor.ru/54472-tramp-sobiraetsja-prevratit-ssha-v-mirovuju-benzokolonku.html

[John Day]

​ 104 journalists killed in 2024, over half in Gaza​
This year has been “particularly deadly” for journalists with 104 killed worldwide, over half of them being in Gaza, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said Tuesday.​ https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582467/media

The Russian Armed Forces liberated almost 5 times more territory in one month than in the whole of last year​ https://en.topcor.ru/54417-ukraina-za-mesjac-poterjala-pochti-v-5-raz-bolshe-territorij-chem-za-ves-proshlyj-god.html

​ Putin: Oreshnik IRBM system minimizes the need to use nuclear weapons
“We are not tightening the nuclear doctrine, we are improving it. And so, by and large, we now need to improve not the nuclear doctrine but the Oreshnik system. If you sort it out, enough of these modern weapon systems practically eliminate the need to use nuclear weapons,” he said.​ https://eu.eot.su/2024/12/10/putin-oreshnik-irbm-system-minimizes-the-need-to-use-nuclear-weapons/

​ Ex-defense chief suspected of plotting war with North Korea to justify martial law
Kim Yong-hyun is said to have called for strikes on sites from which North Korea was launching trash balloons and sending drones over Pyongyang​
​ Before publicizing the contents of the document, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Ki-heon claimed to have received information on how, only one week prior to the declaration of martial law, Kim had ordered Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairperson Adm. Kim Myung-soo to “fire warning shots before striking launch sites of North Korea’s trash-filled balloons” if any such balloons were seen floating in South Korean skies.
​ For that to happen, South Korean soldiers would have to attack North Korea’s southwestern Hwanghae region, where the trash balloons are being sent from, which could easily escalate into a limited war.​ https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1172239.html

Mangione’s Purported “Manifesto”​ Note allegedly found on alleged assassin is not a Ted Kaczynski style manifesto, but a self-incriminating document.
​ “To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it. My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has all​owed them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.​” https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/mangiones-purported-manifesto

[John Day]

​ 104 journalists killed in 2024, over half in Gaza​
This year has been “particularly deadly” for journalists with 104 killed worldwide, over half of them being in Gaza, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said Tuesday.​ https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582467/media

The Russian Armed Forces liberated almost 5 times more territory in one month than in the whole of last year​ https://en.topcor.ru/54417-ukraina-za-mesjac-poterjala-pochti-v-5-raz-bolshe-territorij-chem-za-ves-proshlyj-god.html

​ Putin: Oreshnik IRBM system minimizes the need to use nuclear weapons
“We are not tightening the nuclear doctrine, we are improving it. And so, by and large, we now need to improve not the nuclear doctrine but the Oreshnik system. If you sort it out, enough of these modern weapon systems practically eliminate the need to use nuclear weapons,” he said.​ https://eu.eot.su/2024/12/10/putin-oreshnik-irbm-system-minimizes-the-need-to-use-nuclear-weapons/

​ Ex-defense chief suspected of plotting war with North Korea to justify martial law
Kim Yong-hyun is said to have called for strikes on sites from which North Korea was launching trash balloons and sending drones over Pyongyang​
​ Before publicizing the contents of the document, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Ki-heon claimed to have received information on how, only one week prior to the declaration of martial law, Kim had ordered Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairperson Adm. Kim Myung-soo to “fire warning shots before striking launch sites of North Korea’s trash-filled balloons” if any such balloons were seen floating in South Korean skies.
​ For that to happen, South Korean soldiers would have to attack North Korea’s southwestern Hwanghae region, where the trash balloons are being sent from, which could easily escalate into a limited war.​ https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1172239.html

Mangione’s Purported “Manifesto”​ Note allegedly found on alleged assassin is not a Ted Kaczynski style manifesto, but a self-incriminating document.
​ “To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it. My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has all​owed them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.​” https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/mangiones-purported-manifesto

[John Day]

In new cease-fire violation, Israeli army hits home, demolishes buildings in Lebanon
Lebanese authorities reported at least 176 Israeli cease-fire violations since last month https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/in-new-cease-fire-violation-israeli-army-hits-home-demolishes-buildings-in-lebanon/3419930

Israeli PM says won’t stop Gaza war ‘now’
Netanyahu reiterated that he had set the goal of “the annihilation of Hamas, the elimination of its military and administrative capabilities” to prevent future attacks https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582451/middle-east

​ Israel’s Genocide Day 430: Progress reported in ceasefire talks as Israel continues to carry out massacres across Gaza
Israel continued its attacks across the Gaza Strip as a Hamas delegation returned from Egypt amid reports of progress in ceasefire talks.​ https://mondoweiss.net/2024/12/israels-genocide-day-430-progress-reported-in-ceasefire-talks-as-israel-continues-to-carry-out-massacres-across-gaza/

​ Israeli Attacks in Gaza Kill at Least 50 More Palestinians Over 24 Hours
At least 10 were killed while waiting in line for flour, and a significant number of children were killed and wounded in central Gaza​ https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/09/israeli-attacks-in-gaza-kill-at-least-50-more-palestinians-over-24-hours/

Israel Continues to Violate Lebanon Ceasefire, One Civilian in Latest Strikes​, The Lebanese military said four soldiers were wounded by the Israeli attack​ https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/09/israel-continues-to-violate-lebanon-ceasefire-one-civilian-in-latest-strikes/

[John Day]

Demilitarizing Syria for years to come: Israel Says It Launched 480 Strikes in Syria Since Fall of Assad
The Israeli military has pushed further into Syrian territory and is said to be only 25km from Damascus https://news.antiwar.com/2024/12/10/israel-says-it-launched-350-strikes-in-syria-since-fall-of-assad/

Israel had warned Russia to get its ships out early last week to avoid damage. Israel confirms attack on Syrian naval fleet https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqx808q7lrno

Protecting the best farmland and oil-wells from Syrians… White House: US troops are staying in Syria https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/us-troops-remain-syria-damascus-assad-ouster-islamic-state-4799046

Israeli tanks spotted 20 kilometers from Damascus — TV https://tass.com/world/1884873

​ Extremist groups carry out revenge, sectarian killings in HTS-controlled Syria
Dozens of summary executions have been reported across the country since former Al-Qaeda and ISIS leaders took control of Damascus​ https://thecradle.co/articles/extremist-groups-carry-out-revenge-sectarian-killings-in-hts-controlled-syria

[John Day]

Seizing Syria https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/seizing-syria

How long is “forever” in Netanyahu-years? Netanyahu says illegal occupation of Syrian land is ‘forever’
The Israeli prime minister has been condemned across the Arab world for sending troops into a demilitarized part of the Golan Heights
In a statement on Monday, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry called the move “a dangerous development and a blatant attack on Syria’s sovereignty and unity, as well as a flagrant violation of international law.” Egypt accused Israel of exploiting the fall of Assad “in order to occupy more Syrian land and to impose a new reality on the ground in contravention of international law.” https://www.rt.com/news/609102-israel-netanyahu-golan-heights/

Saudi Arabia says Israel’s Golan buffer zone seizure confirms continued Israeli violation of international law https://www.arabnews.com/node/2582453/saudi-arabia

Türkiye condemns Israel’s violation of 1974 agreement in Syria, ‘Israel once again displaying its occupier mentality,’ says Turkish Foreign Ministry https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkiye/turkiye-condemns-israel-s-violation-of-1974-agreement-in-syria/3420174

US backs Israeli invasion of Syria
The IDF’s advance past the Golan Heights will prevent terrorists from taking over the border area, according to the State Department https://www.rt.com/news/609116-us-backs-israeli-invasion-syria/

[John Day]

Luigi’s Manifesto https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/mangiones-purported-manifesto

To the Feds, I’ll keep this short, because I do respect what you do for our country. To save you a lengthy investigation, I state plainly that I wasn’t working with anyone. This was fairly trivial: some elementary social engineering, basic CAD, a lot of patience. The spiral notebook, if present, has some straggling notes and To Do lists that illuminate the gist of it. My tech is pretty locked down because I work in engineering so probably not much info there. I do apologize for any strife of traumas but it had to be done. Frankly, these parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the [indecipherable] largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these [indecipherable] have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allwed them to get away with it. Obviously the problem is more complex, but I do not have space, and frankly I do not pretend to be the most qualified person to lay out the full argument. But many have illuminated the corruption and greed (e.g.: Rosenthal, Moore), decades ago and the problems simply remain. It is not an issue of awareness at this point, but clearly power games at play. Evidently I am the first to face it with such brutal honesty.

[John Day]

United Healthcare kept stiffing his mom, who had painful neuropathy.
Is this the real reason Luigi Mangione gunned down UnitedHealthcare CEO?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14179053/Luigi-Mangione-allegedly-murdered-healthcare-CEO-Podcast-claims-manifesto.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490

[John Day]

Ex-president Rivlin: Queen Elizabeth ‘believed that every Israeli was either a terrorist or a son of a terrorist’
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/ex-president-rivlin-queen-elizabeth-believed-that-every-israeli-was-either-a-terrorist-or-a-son-of-a-terrorist-report/

[John Day]

Ex-defense chief suspected of plotting war with North Korea to justify martial law
https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1172239.html

[John Day]

​I covered this when it first came out. BOMBSHELL Study: Covid ‘Vaccines’ Alter Human Behavior
An alarming new study into Covid mRNA “vaccines” has sent shockwaves through the scientific community after researchers confirmed that the injections are altering human behavior.​ https://lionessofjudah.substack.com/p/bombshell-study-covid-vaccines-alter

​That study: Psychiatric adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination: a population-based cohort study in Seoul, South Korea
​ Evidence has suggested an increased risk of psychiatric manifestations following viral infections including coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). However, psychiatric adverse events (AEs) after COVID-19 vaccination, which were documented in case reports and case series, remain unclear. This study is aimed to investigate the psychiatric AEs after COVID-19 vaccination from a large population-based cohort in Seoul, South Korea. We recruited 50% of the Seoul-resident population randomly selected from the Korean National Health Insurance Service (KNHIS) claims database on 1, January, 2021. The included participants (n = 2,027,353) from the Korean National Health Insurance Service claims database were divided into two groups according to COVID-19 vaccination. The cumulative incidences per 10,000 of psychiatric AEs were assessed on one week, two weeks, one month, and three months after COVID-19 vaccination. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% Confidence interval (CIs) of psychiatric AEs were measured for the vaccinated population. The cumulative incidence of depression, anxiety, dissociative, stress-related, and somatoform disorders, sleep disorders, and sexual disorders at three months following COVID-19 vaccination were higher in the vaccination group than no vaccination group. However, schizophrenia and bipolar disorders showed lower cumulative incidence in the vaccination group than in the non-vaccinated group. Depression (HR [95% CI] = 1.683 [1.520–1.863]), anxiety, dissociative, stress-related, and somatoform disorders (HR [95% CI] = 1.439 [1.322–1.568]), and sleep disorders (HR [95% CI] = 1.934 [1.738–2.152]) showed increased risks after COVID-19 vaccination, whereas the risks of schizophrenia (HR [95% CI] = 0.231 [0.164–0.326]) and bipolar disorder ​decreased after COVID-19 vaccination (HR [95% CI] = 0.672 [0.470–0.962]).
​ COVID-19 vaccination increased the risks of depression, anxiety, dissociative, stress-related, and somatoform disorders, and sleep disorders while reducing the risk of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Therefore, special cautions are necessary for administering additional COVID-19 vaccinations to populations vulnerable to psychiatric AEs.​ [Who ​alive is not vulnerable?] ​ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-024-02627-0

[John Day]

​ A​ Midwestern Doctor presents the current case. Who’s Trying to Stop America Becoming Healthy Again?​
Untangling the century of dark industry tactics that have poisoned the health of America
​ Since COVID-19 began, those who tried to warn the public about the clear dangers of how we were addressing COVID-19 (e.g., lockdowns, vaccines, and remdesivir) have been targeted and silenced. While many were initially in disbelief our government could do something like this, more cynical parties (e.g., myself) suspected something like this would happen (as it always does) and caught the early warning signs of it.
​ In my eyes, beyond the over-the-top marketing throughout the media to promote the COVID boondoggle, there were three particularly noteworthy (and interwoven) facets to this campaign:
​ 1. Widespread censorship of opposing ideas (e.g., GoFundMe deleting fundraisers for individuals who had severe COVID vaccine injuries and nowhere else to turn for help since those fundraisers alerted people to the vaccines not being completely “safe and effective” and most of the news networks refusing to question the COVID narrative). Of note, from the start, I assumed there had to be shadow banning occurring (as I could see the effects of it happen in real time) and coordination between the social media platforms and the Biden administration—an illegal activity which was gradually confirmed by lawsuits (e.g., due to the Twitter file) and other leaks that revealed shadow banning was widespread on the tech platforms.
​ 2. The establishment targeted anyone who dissented against the narrative in a coordinated fashion. For example, many absurd complaints were used to target the medical licenses of physicians who were saving patients from dying from COVID (e.g., Meryl Nass, whose suspension was so absurd that 13 members of Maine’s legislature formally complained to the medical board about it).
​ 3. A very aggressive and coordinated campaign to neutralize anyone who disputed the narrative on social media. Early on, I began to suspect this was happening because I’d see the same bad actors (typically doctors) use the same sculpted talking points. In April 2024, I found out an industry funded group did indeed exist, and that:
•Many of the people I’d suspected were in a coordinated conspiracy did indeed belong to a secret group (“Shots Heard”) dedicated to fighting misinformation online.
•That group was tied to the Federal Government and funded by the pharmaceutical industry.
•That group, one by one, would target dissident healthcare workers and attempt to both get them removed from social media, to have their medical licenses taken away or get them fired from work, and in some cases, to directly harass them at their homes.​..
​..One of the things I find truly remarkable about RFK’s nomination is that most of the opposition to it (and the money to fund that opposition) is coming from the same people who constantly claim to advocate for our health—but in truth have only let things get far far worse.
​ This touches on why I believe public relations is so toxic to Democracy—by turning public opinion into something that could be shaped with well-crafted campaigns, it made it much easier for governments and corporations to create the perception they were doing good, rather than actually earn the public’s trust through doing the right thing.
​ Fortunately, the core aspects of human nature rarely change, and Harvey Wiley’s lessons from fighting the food and pharmaceutical industry over a century ago are just as applicable now as they were back then. He faced the same unscrupulous tactics and junk science we see now. He correctly concluded that the only way to fix that mess was to galvanize the public into demanding it—something we are finally seeing again with the Make America Healthy Again Movement.
​ Likewise, when Wiley proposed his reforms (e.g., not using toxic food preservatives or selling adulterated foods), he was met with stiff opposition from the industry that widely decried the severe damage his unnecessary policies would do to their businesses.​ https://www.midwesterndoctor.com/p/whos-trying-to-stop-america-becoming

​ Meryl Nass MD, Remember when I asked if FDA was trying to pull a fraud on the court? Well, FDA got its hand slapped.
FDA was trying to withhold a million pages from its Pfizer document cache from the public and tried to get a court to allow its dodge.​ https://merylnass.substack.com/p/remember-when-i-asked-if-fda-was

​More on that from Dr. Nass: Asked by CHD’s Defender to comment on the FDA’s failed attempt to bury a million pages on Comirnaty, I fleshed out an answer for those less familiar with the details. I want to be sure all my readers understand what is at stake in this case.
​ IMHO FDA attempted a fraud on the court by:
Failing to produce documents it knew it was required to make public, based on the original court ruling and FDA law.
​ And then FDA tried to trick the court into acquiescing with its partial production as if it was the whole enchilada.
And then it came up with a lame excuse for why it had gone down this route, probably expecting the court to give it deference, as it had done during the 40 years of the Chevron deference doctrine.
​ As Judge Pittman noted, the language in the original ruling was crystal clear. And I would point out that the law is also clear regarding the requirement to put the entire package of documents used in a licensing decision in the public domain, once a product is licensed—yet FDA decided to attempt a fraud, regardless. Thus it must have had something big to hide.​ https://merylnass.substack.com/p/asked-by-chds-defender-to-comment

​ Sasha Latypova also has the story: FDA is ordered to produce 1 million more pages of Pfizer’s Biologics License Application for covid injections
Chemistry Manufacturing Controls documentation has not been produced yet. I hope it will be now. Does it even exist?​ https://sashalatypova.substack.com/p/fda-is-ordered-to-produce-1-million

​ No escaping it? New Study Finds Concerning Evidence of COVID-19 ‘Vaccine’ Shedding
Menstrual Abnormalities Strongly Associated with Proximity to COVID-19 Vaccinated Individuals​ https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/new-study-finds-concerning-evidence

[John Day]

​ Trump vows to pardon Jan. 6 rioters on day one after getting into office
“These people are living in hell,” Trump told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” While he believes he was wronged, Trump said he will not appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden.​ https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/all-things-trump/trump-vows-pardon-jan-6-rioters-day-one-after-getting-office

State Department Scrambles To Scuttle $100M Censorship Network Before Trump Takes Office​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/state-department-scrambles-scuttle-100m-censorship-network-trump-takes-office

​A bomb? What? ​Former Secret Service Agent: Trump Likely To Be Attacked Before Inauguration “It’s going to be something of a much bigger magnitude” https://modernity.news/2024/12/06/former-secret-service-agent-trump-likely-to-be-attacked-before-inauguration/

Kyle Young still ranches on the US/Mexico border. Update from the Border War Zone​, memo to Tom Homan
Warning! Some of the video coverage of cartel activity along the Arizona border with Mexico is brutal.
​ Because his tell-it-like-it-is style doesn’t go over very well with the sanctimonious sanctuary types that populate much of the legacy media, Tom Homan, Trumps pick to be the new Border Czar, has been generating a lot of coverage. How much of what he’s been saying is hype and how much will translate into an effective reality remains to be seen.
​ So far, Trump has been populating his cabinet and inner circle with a host of characters, ranging from neocons like the war hawks Marco Rubio and Mike Waltz who back Israels genocide of Palestinians, to globalist transhumanists like Elon Musk (DOGE), to digital ID pushers like Vivek Ramaswamy (DOGE) and Peter Theil (advisor), to globalist carbon credit scammers like Howard Lutnik (Sec. of Commerce). All of these people have very profitable agendas they’ll be seeking to impose on all of us average American.​
​ I see RFK Jr (HHS), Kash Patel (FBI director) and Tom Homan as the only three bright spots in the Trump administration. Today’s post is about what Tom Homan faces.
​ Tom Homan’s position as the border czar carries no official authority. It doesn’t even require Senate approval. He’ll probably just hold a staff position in the White House. But he may be able to sway people who are in positions of authority to do something about the war zone along the border. It’s for this reason I’m making this post – I hope he reads this to get a good handle on what’s really going on down here along the border.
​ Very few people know anything about what’s really happening along the border. Not only does the legacy media not cover it, they depict the border as being a highly controlled zone where law and order prevail. Nothing could be further from the truth.
​ Because I’ve lived near the border for most of my adult life, because I’ve traveled extensively in Mexico and because my friend Tim Foley heads up the Arizona Border Recon group, earlier this year I wrote a series of articles about the issues facing those of us who live along the border. I’m going to link all of those posts here. There has been some interesting developments regarding the video featured in the first post. That video was taken with a hidden camera placed next to a ranch gate on the border by my friend Tim Foley. https://secularheretic.substack.com/p/update-from-the-border-war-zone

​An economy full of honest participants is much more efficient and quickly adapts to changes. Charles Hugh Smith What Happened to Integrity and Honor?
The hope here is that facing the reality of moral collapse frees us of the delusion that fiddling with technocratic financial abstractions and policy tweaks can reverse moral collapse.​ https://charleshughsmith.substack.com/p/what-happened-to-integrity-and-honor

[John Day]

​ Simplicius has more on the harsh left-fascist backlash in Europe. Cynical Overtakes Sacred, as the West Bares its True Face
​ One can hardly believe it anymore. The West has dropped all pretense of their sacred cow of ‘democracy’, used for generations as an instrument of moral superiority with which to browbeat the rest of the world.
​ Romanian candidate Calin Georgescu larruped his opponent in the first round of presidential elections, only for the entire result to be ‘nullified’ by a Romanian court, absurdly citing “Russian interference on TikTok”—with no real evidence.​..
..But the entire system walks a thin line because the people have slowly figured it out, and the globalist technocrats’ political duplicity is already revving at max thresholds; they simply cannot afford to steal every future election without the system collapsing beneath the weight of its runaway tyranny. It is already buckling, and a handful of rouged up globalist finger puppets are fain to put up a smiling facade of normalcy before cameras, while the foundations groan beneath them.
​ This political order is not just a sick man of Europe, but the veritable sick man of the world, coughing up his infectious spume onto all nearby. This is the cynical twilight of the West, which has chosen terror, oppression, and political manipulation against its own citizens as a way of coping with the slow loss of its imperial entitlements. It’s only inevitable that the rising tide of anti-establishment political parties continues to sweep this canker away. But before this happens for good, Europe will likely see a destabilizing political paralysis for several years, as a kind of final death throes of the globalist holdouts and political hacks like Starmer, Macron, Scholz, and co., whose only jobs will be to delay the fall as long as possible. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/cynical-overtakes-sacred-as-the-west

​ 30% of demonstrators were foreign color-revolution-tourists: Georgia has prevented Maidan-style coup – PM
The country’s authorities have thwarted a regime-change attempt coordinated from abroad, Irakli Kobakhidze has said
​ Georgia has prevented an attempted overthrow of the government orchestrated by foreign powers, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said. He compared the scenario allegedly prepared for the nation with the situation in Ukraine in 2014.
​ Speaking on Monday, Kobakhidze referred to the US-backed Maidan coup in Kiev a decade ago, which ousted Ukraine’s democratically elected president, Viktor Yanukovich, and precipitated the current conflict between Moscow and Kiev.
​ “It took the [Georgian] Ministry of Internal Affairs exactly five days to neutralize the resource of violence of the radical opposition,” Kobakhidze said at a cabinet meeting, thanking the head of the ministry, Vakhtang Gomelauri, and police officers.
​ He added that the ministry had acted in accordance with standards “higher than the American and European ones.”​ “This is how the attempt of Maidan in our country was stopped in exactly five days,” Kobakhidze concluded.​ https://swentr.site/russia/609085-georgia-prevented-coup-premier/

​ The underlying problem: Fuel feeds modern economy. European industry is starving to death. Europe’s Downward Spiral Accelerates
​ Europe is in trouble. After struggling with high energy prices and stagnating then falling demand for three years in a row, companies have run out of leeway. Now, we are witnessing the effects of a chronic under-consumption crisis and a loss of competitiveness on a historic scale. This is not your run-of-the-mill economic downturn from which there is a quick rebound. In fact, the basket case of Europe has provided us with a preview what the relentless rise of the energy cost of energy means for the economy, and ultimately for industrial civilization as a whole.​..
..What started as a “failure” to meet the energy demands of a post-COVID rebound, has now turned into a full blown energy crisis unwilling to recede. As lockdowns eased and economic activity returned in 2021, demand for natural gas has increased substantially worldwide. Many oil and gas wells — shut-in during 2020 — on the other hand, could not return to full production and as a result a natural gas price rally began; half a year earlier than the fighting in Ukraine escalated into an all out war.
​ Fighting alone had little effect on the price of natural gas in Europe, though. Various sanctions, lawsuits, asset confiscations and seizures, abrupt withdrawal of permits, “mysterious” pipeline explosions and denial of payments from the European side, on the other hand, had a significant role to play in the rally depicted on the chart above. Just for context: before the war Germany used to import 50% of its coal, 55% of its natural gas, and 31% of its crude oil from Russia, representing 33% of Germany’s total energy consumption — all of which falls under some sort of sanctions today…
​..Europe is deindustrializing fast. Half of the continent’s steel, glass and aluminum capacity, together with fertilizer and chemical plants have already left in the first wave (in late 2022 and early 2023). Now, it’s time for the automotive and machine manufacturing sector to go, together with the “renewables” and battery businesses. ​ Well, energy is (still) the economy, it seems. As industrial demand recedes, however, so does consumer demand. With mass layoffs, and in response to a huge drop in the purchasing power of their money, people started to buy less and less products made with expensive energy, and turned down the heating in their homes even further.​..
..Despite the disappearance of cheap gas from the market we will neither see another price rally, nor run out of gas by the end of winter. It will not be a smooth ride though. Were it not for “renewable” energy, we would “only” see a slow dying of the natural gas intensive part of the economy — which is still a big deal on its own. With the predictable unpredictability of wind and solar, however, and with a massive reliance on natural gas fired power plants to balance electricity demand, Europe just saw the fastest drop in natural gas storage in years. Yes, the weather was cold in the past couple of weeks, but it wasn’t nearly as cold as it could get in the dead of winter. Wind on the other hand stopped blowing, which not only resulted in lower electricity generation from wind turbines, but also in thicker clouds and more persistent fog… Leading to a much diminished solar power generation.​..
..The lack of cheap pipeline gas in combination with an ever increasing share of “renewables” has led to a sharp rise in electricity prices all across Europe…
​..Now the chickens come home to roost. First the German, then the French government (two of the biggest economies in the EU) collapsed over debates on soaring debt levels and deficit spending. Again, no (cheap) energy, no economy. No economy, no consumption, no tax revenues. Irrespective of who is called the next chancellor or prime minister, he or she will have to deal with a massive debt crisis, and in case of France, an even bigger one than that of Greece’s in 2009.​ https://thehonestsorcerer.substack.com/p/europes-downward-spiral-accelerates

​Surplus Energy Economics, Dr. Tim Morgan (similar story) The perils of extremes​, A VERY BRITISH CRISIS
Britain is far from alone amongst Western countries in experiencing the effects of economic deterioration. The average British person has gradually been getting materially poorer ever since 2004, but the accelerating pace of this impoverishment has been driving social discontent and political fragility just as surely in France, Germany and America as in the United Kingdom.
​ Britain does, though, stand out from the crowd in several significant respects. As we shall see, these include excessive indebtedness, and outsized exposure to rate and currency risk.
​ Even more seriously, the steps necessary for effective preparation for economic contraction may be hard to implement in Britain because they run contrary to long-established, cross-party support for the failed and divisive doctrine of extreme neoliberalism.
​ As you may know, the essential context for the British economic challenge is that the global economy is in the process of inflecting from growth into contraction as the fossil fuel impetus on which the industrial economy was built fades away.
​ The critical marker for this process is the Energy Cost of Energy, a measure of the proportion of accessed energy which, being consumed in the energy access process, is not available for any other economic purpose.
​ Globally, trend ECoE has risen from 2.0% in 1980, and 4.2% in 2000, to 11% now, and is set to reach 13% by 2030, 18% by 2040 and 25% by 2050.
​ This relentless rise in ECoEs is ruinous for all industrial economies. In high-maintenance Western countries, prior growth in the material prosperity of the average person went into reverse at ECoEs of around 5%.
​ By this measure, the average British person was 11% poorer last year than he or she had been back in 2004, when prosperity per capita peaked at a national ECoE of 4.7%.​…
..However we look at this, it’s clear that significant changes will need to be made in the allocation and prioritization of dwindling economic resources. And this is where Britain’s commitment to extreme neoliberal doctrines is such a handicap to adaptation.
To be absolutely clear about this, Surplus Energy Economics is avowedly non-partisan in politics, but does mistrust economic extremes, and interprets the evidence as favouring the mixed economy model which seeks to optimise the different strengths of private and public provision. This was the post-war Keynesian consensus which, in Britain, was abandoned in 1979.
In any case, neoliberalism has long ceased to be a matter of party contention in British politics…
..Economic extremism almost always comes at a price. In Britain, the price for ideological neoliberalism was paid, in the first instance, in the destruction of manufacturing industry, the loss of control over many nationally important assets, and the conversion of much of the former ‘working class’ into a precariat with scant resources and very limited protections.
Beyond its shaky economic contentions, neoliberalism has always been as much a state of mind as a set of policies. The ideals of neoliberalism are based on the creed of short-term self-gratification and a belittling of almost anything that smacks of collective social endeavour. Excessive dependence on foreign investors and lenders, and extreme vulnerability to adverse currency and credit market movements, can be traced directly to the adoption of this creed.
The strange thing about this is how far the tenets of neoliberalism seem to have been accepted even by its victims…
..In Britain, a group of opportunists sought to craft a wholly different narrative, effectively re-writing history even as it was still being made. Their assertion was that the travails of the 1970s weren’t caused by the 1973-74 and 1978-79 oil crises, but by left-wing government and over-powerful organized labour. The solutions were to roll back the state, and destroy the power of the unions.
​ They embarked on an orgy of privatization, selling off to private investors everything from the supply of water, gas and electricity to telecommunications, railways, steel-making and car manufacturing. Various “watchdogs” were set up to try to limit abuse of the many natural monopolies included in this programme.
​ The proceeds of this privatization exercise, boosted by a temporary revenue bonanza from North Sea oil and gas, were used for two purposes, both of which a reasonable person might well regard as nefarious.​ The first was the financing of enough unemployment to break the power of organized labour. The second was the granting of tax cuts to anyone who didn’t actually need them…
..The situation now is that economic contraction is going to compel the abandonment of extreme neoliberalism. But this won’t be easy in a country so heavily committed to it. Elon Musk was a long way wide of the mark when he said that civil war in Britain was “inevitable”. The UK is no more politically unstable than Germany, France, Italy or a starkly-polarized United States.
Much likelier is a more insidious process whereby Britain becomes ungovernable, in the sense that no government, irrespective of party, can meet the demands of an increasingly impatient and discontented electorate.
This has been reflected in the very short honeymoon enjoyed by the Labour government elected with a big parliamentary majority in July. The right-wing Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, won a remarkable 14.3% of the popular vote in the July election, on a platform of lower immigration, reduced taxation and opposition to the Net Zero environmental agenda.
Beyond the gyrations of national politics, the problem here is that the global economy isn’t going to sit around waiting while the British debate the respective merits of social cohesion and a mantra of individual self-gratification. https://surplusenergyeconomics.wordpress.com/2024/12/06/294-the-perils-of-extremes/

​ This will work until it is maxed-out, but Europe and others will already be collapsing. Trump pledges to ‘drill, baby, drill’
The incoming president has vowed to boost oil and gas production to provide the US economy with affordable energy​ https://swentr.site/business/609063-trump-pledges-drill-oil-gas/

[John Day]

Also mentioned above; Bomb, Bomb, Bomb: Israel Striking Bases & Equipment Across Syria https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/israel-striking-bases-equipment-across-syria-including-assads-chemical-weapons-sites

​The gas pipeline to supply Europe that Syria wouldn’t allow, prompting the 2011 proxy war. Qatar-Turkey Gas Pipeline https://www.gem.wiki/Qatar-Turkey_Gas_Pipeline

​ Gilbert Doctorow: ‘No Nuclear War’: 7 December at The National Press Club
​ What is the value of the Opposition in the USA and Europe in preventing a looming nuclear war? A look at The National Press Club event organized by Scott Ritter yesterday provides some answers.
​ The ‘No Nuclear War’ proceedings in Washington, D.C. on 7 December (Pearl Harbor Day in the United States) will no doubt be put online by various internet platforms. I used the following channel hosted by Daniel Haiphong:​ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh_Rckp1BXI​ …
​..28 November, at his press conference in Astana concluding his two-day state visit to Kazakhstan, Vladimir Putin said that any further missile attacks on Russian territory coming from Ukraine would result in Russia’s unleashing its
​ Oreshnik on the ‘decision making and command and control centers of Ukraine,’ meaning in essence decapitation of the Zelensky regime and death of the senior American and other NATO officers who are directing the Ukrainian military operations from their underground bunkers in Kiev, Lvov and elsewhere in the country.
​ It would appear that by this time the devastating destructive force of the Oreshnik for the stated applications was fully understood in Washington and since that time no further missile strikes have taken place, even if Ukrainian drones continue to deliver their pin-prick strikes on towns across Russia, nearly all of which are effectively frustrated by Russian air defenses.
​ For the above reasons, I remain fairly confident that in the closing days of the Biden administration and in the time in office of the incoming Trump administration whoever is in charge of military and foreign policy, whether Neocon in political persuasion or just ‘normal’ patriots, shall we say, Washington will do the right thing now because it has tried everything else till today and failed.​ https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2024/12/08/no-nuclear-war-7-december-at-the-national-press-club/

​Times are tough and getting tighter. I wonder if the tide is about to turn. Democracy Is Dead: A Coup Against Right Wing Movements Is Underway In Europe
​ In the past, progressive elites were not generally threatened by the campaigns of the old center and center-right parties because those groups have long been managed by fake conservatives with no intention of disturbing the deviation of the Overton Window to the radical left. But of course, times have changed. Legitimate opposition to the far-left is rising in the form of political parties fighting for secure borders and anti-wokeness initiatives, and the progressives are furious.​ They’ve had a taste of near total power, and though they claim to be the patron saints of Democracy they are openly adopting authoritarian ideals in order to keep that power.
​ In the US the far-left has been pursuing an all out propaganda war and has abused the legal system for years as a means to stop conservatives from returning to government. The lawfare tactics utilized against Donald Trump were unprecedented, but ultimately failed. In Europe, though, leftists are finding more success.​ https://www.zerohedge.com/political/democracy-dead-coup-against-right-wing-movements-underway-europe

[John Day]

This has good color coded visual maps and explanations of all of the moving pieces on the territory of Syria and recent context. It’s a British take, so shaded that way. 10 min.
The INSANE situation in Syria explained​ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snObSKVYQwY

​Syria update in first 5 minutes, then Ukraine: Advances Towards Damascus Uspenivka Fortified Area Has Fallen​ Military Summary 2024.12.10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuTcuzA42X4

Andrew Korybko Trump Isn’t Telling The Whole Truth About Russia & Syria
​ At the end of the day, what happened was a disaster and no honest observer can deny that, but they also shouldn’t try to spin it as Russia’s fault like Trump did in his posts.
Trump posted twice thus far about Russia and Syria at the time of this analysis’ publication. His full messages can be read here and here, but what follows are the relevant excerpts as they pertain to those two. Here’s what he wrote in his first post:
​ “Russia, because they are so tied up in Ukraine, and with the loss there of over 600,000 soldiers, seems incapable of stopping this literal march through Syria, a country they have protected for years. This is where former President Obama refused to honor his commitment of protecting the RED LINE IN THE SAND, and all hell broke out, with Russia stepping in. But now they are, like possibly Assad himself, being forced out, and it may actually be the best thing that can happen to them. There was never much of a benefit in Syria for Russia, other than to make Obama look really stupid.”
​ And here’s what he wrote in his second one:
​ “Assad is gone. He has fled his country. His protector, Russia, Russia, Russia, led by Vladimir Putin, was not interested in protecting him any longer. There was no reason for Russia to be there in the first place. They lost all interest in Syria because of Ukraine, where close to 600,000 Russian soldiers lay wounded or dead, in a war that should never have started, and could go on forever. Russia and Iran are in a weakened state right now, one because of Ukraine and a bad economy, the other because of Israel and its fighting success.”
​ As can be seen, both reference Ukrainian claims of Russia suffering over 600,000 casualties, which is just a cheap propaganda point in this context to emphasize its commitment to the special operation. Russia’s prioritization of its military operations against Ukraine over its anti-terrorist ones in Syria is also mentioned in each post too. Unlike the casualty figures that Trump cited, this is mostly accurate, but he still put a negative spin on it claiming that Russia was incapable of stopping the terrorists’ march.
​ The reality is that Russia could have hypothetically diverted some of its Aerospace Forces from the Ukrainian front to the Syrian one, but that would have been a waste of resources since the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) surrendered entire cities without putting up a fight.​ https://korybko.substack.com/p/trump-isnt-telling-the-whole-truth

Moon of Alabama: Syria – Winners And Losers Or Both
​ Israel is grabbing another large amount of Syrian land. It has taken control of the Syrian city of Quneitra, along with the towns of Al-Qahtaniyah and Al-Hamidiyah in the Quneitra region. It has also advanced into the Syrian Mount Hermon and is now positioned just 30 kilometers from (and above) the Syrian capital.
​ It is also further demilitarizing Syria by bombing every Syria military storage site in its reach. Air defense positions and heave equipment are its primary targets. For years to come Syria, or whatever may evolve from it, will be completely defenseless against outside attacks.
​ Israel is for now the big winner in Syria. But with restless Jihadists now right on its border it remains to be seen for how long that will hold.
​ The U.S. is bombing the central desert of Syria. It claims to strike ISIS but the real target is any local (Arab) resistance which could prevent a connection between the U.S. controlled east of Syria with the Israel controlled south-west. There may well be plans to further build this connection into an Eretz Israel, a Zionist controlled state “from the river to the sea”.
​ Turkey has had and has a big role in the attack on Syria. It is financing and controlling the ‘Syrian National Army’ (previously the Free Syrian Army), which it is mainly using to fight Kurdish separatists in Syria.
​ There are some 3 to 5 million Syrian refugees in Turkey which the wannabe-Sultan Erdogan wants, for domestic political reasons, to return to Syria. The evolving chaos will not permit that.
​ Turkey had nurtured and pushed the al-Qaeda derived Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to take Aleppo. It did not expect it to go any further. The fall of Syria is now becoming a problem for Turkey as the U.S. is taking control of it. Washington will try to use HTS for its own interests which are, said mildly, not necessary compatible with whatever Turkey may want to do.
​ A primary target for Turkey are the Kurdish insurgents within Turkey and their support from the Kurds in Syria. Organized as the Syrian Democratic Forces the Kurds are sponsored and controlled by the United States. The SDF are already fighting Erdogan’s SNA and any further Turkish intrusion into Syria will be confronted by them.
​ The SDF, supported by the U.S. occupation of east-Syria, is in control of the major oil, gas and wheat fields in the east of the country. Anyone who wants to rule in Damascus will need access to those resources to be able to finance the state.
​ Despite having a $10 million award on its head HTS leader Abu Mohammad al-Golani is currently played up by western media as the unifying and tolerant new leader of Syria. But his HTS is itself a coalition of hardline Jihadists from various countries. There is little left to loot in Syria and as soon as those resources run out the fighting within HTS will begin. Will al-Golani be able to control the sectarian urges of the comrades when these start to plunder the Shia and Christian shrines of Damascus?​ …
..The incoming Trump administration sees China as its major enemy. By throwing Syria (and Ukraine) into chaos the outgoing Biden administration has guaranteed that Trump will have to stay involved in the Middle East (and eastern Europe).
​ The massive U.S. ‘Pivot to Asia’ will again have to wait. This gives China more time to build its sphere of influence. It may well be the only power that has been a winner in this.​ https://www.moonofalabama.org/2024/12/syria-winner-and-losers-or-both.html

​As mentioned above: US Bombs 75 ISIS Targets Across Syria After Assad Overthrown https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-bombs-75-isis-targets-across-syria-after-assad-overthrown

[John Day]

How The Syrian House Of Cards Fell https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/how-the-syrian-house-of-cards-fell

Please forgive my hubris in the title, but it suggests itself, and it was the immediate question in every “inquiring mind”. I present many answers here, with lots of overlap.
If I might simplify, things have been very hard in Syria for 13 years since Assad would not allow the Qatari pipeline through Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to Europe, to pass through Syria, protecting Russian and Iranian interests, thereby, and incurring the wrath of empire.
Basher al Assad was an Ophthalmologist. His older brother had all the training to succeed Dad, and the spirit for it, and died in a car wreck. Basher loves his wife who got over breast cancer 4 years ago, just to get diagnosed with Leukemia, which happens to be a common side effect of COVID gene-therapy “vaccine products”, which she might have received. Basher wants to set up some eye clinics in Russia, they say.
The Syrian army was starving, exhausted, unmotivated, and officers had been covertly corrupted to desert in the face of the enemy, which had been planned a long time in Turkey, funded through Qatar, and covertly supported through middle-men by the US and Israel. It went so well taking Aleppo, that the 30,000 HTS forces just kept rolling to Damascus, surprising themselves as much as Trump was surprised to win the 2016 election.
There is no force that is large enough to hold the country, and something like 6 armed forces now in-theater. Israel is bombing the hell out of everything military in Syria, and advancing upon Damascus, to seize the capital, while Turkish surrogates and forces are attacking US Kurdish proxy forces to take the oil and farms in Northwest Syria, beginning to restore the Ottoman Empire.
Russians were supposedly warned by Israel to get their fleet out of Tartous to avoid damage, which they did, but there seem to be agreements all around that Russia can keep that naval base and their air-base, which makes sense for both Israel and Turkey, so as to counterbalance the US, and each other in this delicate and unstable new setting. Russia seeks to avoid losses. Iran is seeking to avoid losses, and possibly to re-align politically with the west. Hezbollah has no supply lines, and Hamas supports the “rebels” in Syria, which they might as well do now.
HTS “Woke Jihadi” Abu Mohammed al-Jolani has a family name that means “from Golan”, and is the son of Palestinian/Syrian refugees from there. He is now a “friend of Israel”, but that is new. That’s not what he said a very few years ago. He appears to be politically adept and intelligent enough to avoid battle with such a small army. He is currently on good terms with Turkey and Israel, but not trusted by either country, which are rapidly grabbing territory while the grabbing is easy.
Syrians are robbed and looted by armed bandits and are fleeing when they can. They have been starved for 13 years already… Maybe the US will lift sanctions, maybe not.

Vanessa Beely has been a long-time resident of Syria. She just fled with one suitcase and one dog. Thanks Lucy. Safe while Syria burns​. Just a very quick update
​ More than 350 Israeli airstrikes targeting Syrian territory in the past hours, and an enemy Israeli occupation of Syrian territory equivalent to twice the size of the Gaza Strip, and their army is less than 40 km away from the capital Damascus.​ [Already ​within 20 km, I read. JD]
​ After a rather turbulent 48 hours I am safe and will be writing and broadcasting as normal very shortly. I had one hour to pack one suitcase, take one dog and get through a border swarming with armed thugs looting and fighting amongst themselves over the spoils. The night before was spent besieged by armed groups firing in the air to celebrate their “victory” while Israel started using bunker buster bombs on Syrian military sites and air defence close to the house. The house shook from top to bottom. At 10am truckloads of armed thieves arrived and battered at my front gate. I was on the phone to a friend who begged me to find a weapon – clearly I don’t have any. I yelled at them from inside and the dogs went crazy. After three batterings they left.
​ Much more to recount over the coming days. Social media is a mess of lies, misinformation and downright hypocrisy. Thank you to everyone who emailed and messaged, it really lifted my spirits at an all time low.
​ I wrote this note this morning. I need a long time to process the loss for the whole world and for me as a human being who saw my future living in my beloved Syria.
​ Anyone who can explain why Assad’s pre-recorded farewell speech and possible explanation of the catastrophic events was not aired, as planned, after he left the country, please get in touch.
​ All the backstabbers who are now turning against Assad, protecting their interests – you were in a position to say something for 14 years. Why didn’t you?
​I don’t blame any of the ordinary people for adopting the new era. People in Syria are isolated and afraid, some are terrified.​ https://beeley.substack.com/p/safe-while-syria-burns

Simplicius has most of the story in one long read. Syria’s Fall: In-Depth Analysis
What do we know so far?
Firstly, there are now indications ‘rebels’ informed Turkey of their intentions to launch an offensive on Aleppo six months ago, according to Reuters…
​..I mostly agree with Scott Ritter’s take here that the operation was never meant to topple all of Syria and that this became a kind of emergent improvisation after all the hyenas of the region saw how weak Syrian armed forces were in responding to the initial foray. There is ample ancillary evidence to suggest the assault was initially meant to be limited—but of course grew in scope as Israel, US, Turkey, and others began to see opportunity and activated their various sleeper cells, as well as began to secretly court Syrian generals and other influential army figures to essentially surrender or betray Assad in one way or another.
​ Here’s one analyst’s take on how the militants did not expect such success. It mentions that the Russian army reportedly offered to upgrade and train the SAA much more directly several years ago, but was for some reason refused.
​ We now have a better understanding of why, precisely, events unfolded, and how Syria had become so weak, directly from first hand sources. Though he’s the least trustworthy character, Erdogan explained that he had offered Assad a deal—in his words—to bring back some Syrian refugees as well as for Assad to influence Kurds on the Turkish border to pull back. One suspects there’s much more to the ‘deal’ than Erdogan reveals, but other figures have somewhat corroborated the above.
​ Here, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi openly reveals that Assad had become too inflexible in being open to the Astana process ‘dialogues’ with the opposition…
..First he mentions that Assad himself was shocked at his own army’s collapse. The FM implies Assad had poor working knowledge of the internal situation of his own military, which we’ll get to in a moment.
​ Then he lays it out:​ “It must be said that the path did not progress as well as expected, and Mr. Assad’s government in this regard was somewhat inflexible and slow in making progress.”
​ But now the Syrian ambassador to Russia himself, Bashar al-Jafaari, went even further in condemning the decadence under Assad​. The government’s rapid fall is evidence of its unpopularity among the people and army, the diplomat has said.
​ Granted, he could just be trying to curry favor with the new ‘administration’ to jockey for a job, but his words seem to echo other officials in close contact with Assad’s government​…
​..There are other perspectives, of course. For instance, here an Iranian hardliner claims that the ‘progressive’ new president Masoud Pezeshkian simply did not allow Iranian forces to fight in Syria…​ Iranian hardliner and expert on Syrian affairs Sohail Karimi claims that the reformist government of Pezeshkian does not allow Iranian troops to fight in Syria:​ “We are not allowed to fight in Syria.​ We gave 6,000 martyrs in Syria to fight these terrorists, their death should not be in vain…”
​ And here former deputy of the Iranian Quds forces says Turks and other Arab countries deceived Tehran, which was reportedly ‘worried about movement in Idlib two months ago’.​ “We asked the Turks and some Arab countries and received assurances that there would be no movement. Hakan Fidan in particular told us this. I wish we had not been deceived by them and had taken precautions and reinforced our forces in Syria.”
​ Many people obviously feared that Pezeshkian would be some kind of Western-liberal plant, but I don’t think it’s so black and white. A combination of the above factors was clearly responsible for what happened and how rather than direct and pre-planned betrayal on the part of the Iranians or Russians…
​..There are many videos of SAA soldiers condemning the army, Assad, etc., during the events of the past few days. Here one angry SAA soldier shouts that Hezbollah Radwan special forces sold them out, Iran, Russia, and Assad himself all ‘sold them out’…
..I’ve now seen statements that Hamas supports the revolution and welcomes the new Syrian government, so you can add them to the list too…
​..I consider Assad a kind of tragic figure because it appears now in retrospect that while he was a good man and kind leader, he may not have been an effective leader. The reality is that he was never meant to become ruler. He was a simple doctor-in-training while his older, firmer brother Bassel al-Assad, elder son of Hafez, was meant to inherit the throne until he tragically died in a car accident in 1994:
​ Bashar al-Assad was not initially destined to become the president of Syria. His older brother, Basil al-Assad, was being groomed for this role by their father, Hafez al-Assad. Basil was seen as the preferred successor and had been prepared for leadership from a young age. However, his life took a tragic turn when he died in a car accident in 1994, which drastically altered the succession plan.
​ Following Basil’s death, Bashar, who was studying ophthalmology in London at the time, was recalled to Syria. He had to abandon his medical career and quickly adapt to a political and military role. Hafez al-Assad then began to prepare Bashar for leadership by enrolling him in military training and positioning him within the government. Despite his lack of political experience, Bashar eventually succeeded his father as president after Hafez’s death in 2000.
​ Just look at the eldest son’s training—that’s who was meant to lead Syria:
​ Trained in parachuting, he was commissioned in the Special Forces and later switched to the armoured corps after training in the Soviet military academies. He rapidly rose through the ranks, becoming a major and then commander of a brigade in the Republican Guard.
​ It can be inferred that Bashar’s lack of training for the role, and his incompatible disposition likely led to his not being a good military commander-in-chief.​..
​..The soft-spoken, mild-mannered, intelligent ruler may not have had the required gravitas to properly thrive in a barbarous region overrun with vicious enemies on all sides.​..
..As an anecdotal aside, Assad’s emails were once hacked by rebels at the start of the war, and virtually the only ‘incriminating’ material they could find were love notes to his wife; e.g. from CNN:
“If we are strong together, we will overcome this together … I love you …” al-Assad wrote his wife the day the Arab League suspended its monitoring mission in Syria… ​..Asma, who boasts in one e-mail to a friend that she is the “REAL dictator” in her relationship, reciprocates the affection, once writing her husband a short poem.
“Sometimes at night, when I look to the sky, I start thinking of you and ask myself, why? Why do I love you? I think and smile, because I know the list could run on for miles.”​
​ Now in the overthrow’s aftermath rebels have ransacked Assad’s residence and found his private family album, again revealing nothing more than a wholesome family man starkly contrasted with the picture the cretinous West has painted of him…
..Assad—who has now been confirmed by Russian foreign ministry as being safe in Moscow—intends to go back to private life and open up some kind of ophthalmology clinic in Russia…
​..For the Empire, a Historic Victory or Grand Illusion?
​ Many now espouse the understandable sentiment that Israel and the US have achieved an unprecedented victory over their enemies. The Hamas October 7th attack which unleashed a domino effect of consequences has been deemed as one of the most catastrophic blunders in history.​..
..Israel is no closer to achieving its aims of returning its hostages, repopulating its citizens, or actually defeating Hezbollah as a fighting force on the battlefield. Israeli society has taken major blows in the last year of this crisis, and the trust in the government which was lost will not be recovered for a long time, if ever. The same goes for institutional trust, particularly between the military and political wing. Israel still appears headed toward decline.
​ Granted, there are potentialities for Israel to emerge on top, they simply don’t look likely just yet…
​..At first glance, such developments appear to hint that Israel has a love affair with the rebels, and they together have achieved a great victory over their enemies. However, there are many problems with this analysis.
​ Firstly, Turkey is most likely to emerge as the chief victor and dominant influence over the powers in the region. Ostensibly, the group it controls most is the SNA rebels—aka FSA or TFSA, which are not on perfect terms with HTS. However, ultimately the Syrian project has been a Turkish one, and Turkey’s main drive of Ottoman Empire revanchism will eventually clash with Zionism’s Greater Israel project.
​ Recall that the Ottoman Empire has classically controlled all of Palestine for hundreds of years, which includes Israel itself. You can levy accusations against Erdogan double-dealing and supplying Israeli oil and such, but these are all realpolitik practicalities and do not change the ultimate telos of Turkey’s destiny: to pursue restoration of its lost Ottoman lands, which includes not only all of Syria but Palestine as well.
​ That means by defeating an ‘independent’—but ultimately innocuous—Syria, Israel has just condemned itself to a future fate far worse than facing even distant Iran.​..
​..Does Israel even realize what it has just helped to facilitate? Instead of a peaceful secular state on its borders, it may soon have a rabid caliphate, led by someone without Assad’s temperance and pumped up by Turkey into a reconquista of Jerusalem and Gaza. Israel thinks it has eliminated Iran from the chessboard but instead it has potentially brought on someone even far more historically aggressive, and someone who—unlike Iran—has an actual, real historical bone to pick with the colonial pretender that is Israel.
​ Israel seems to perhaps sense the blunder, as it began to immediately destroy ex-SAA military infrastructure before it falls into the new rebels’ hands: both Mezzeh airbase in Damascus and Syrian ships in Latakia were hit.​..
..Syrian ‘revolution’ journalist from Daraa expresses outrage at Israel’s sudden attacks on Syria, which underscores the wider sentiment of the ‘opposition’…
..That’s not to mention a plethora of FSA revolutionaries have inexplicably come out celebrating Assad’s downfall with glorifications of….Saddam Hussein.​ “Saddam is the true leader of all Sunni Arabs!”​ Not exactly a good sign for the US-Israeli axis.
​ More and more recently Israeli figures have noted the need for expansion, hearkening to long-awaited Greater Israel prophecies…
..Dugin reminds us of the eschatology of top Likudniks who’ve promised to demolish Al-Aqsa in order to build the Third Temple and bring about the messiah…
..Recall that Golan Heights is the eponym from which the nisba Al-Jolani (Golani) comes from. The HTS leader’s family is from the Golan Heights, and was displaced by Israel in the Six Day War. Can you see the problem here? …
..Even as of this writing, Israel appears to be making a play toward Damascus, which Smotrich and others have promised to capture.
​ Israel is on a preordained path to more than just ‘local friction’ with Sunni groups: this is an eschatological show down that appears to be proceeding precisely to plan, which will lead down the line to Israel’s ultimate destruction.​..
..Iran still maintains its influence over the region via Iraq and its growing normalization with other Arab countries. Has Israel severed Iran’s ability to supply Hezbollah, causing Hezbollah to eventually wither at the root? That could be—time will tell. But Israel may have just invoked a far worse enemy on its border. Even so, clipping Hezbollah’s wings does nothing really to Iran itself, it just takes away one Damocles sword Iran had over Israel. But does that somehow give Israel its own Damocles sword over Iran? No. Plus, Iran could find new ways to supply Hezbollah, particularly with the melange of new alliances which are soon to form from this heady brew. After all, despite various blockades Iran has found ways to supply Yemen.
​ And Russia: has Russia been “defeated” by the US or Israel? Well, thus far the ‘rebels’ have already stated a desire to have diplomatic relations with Russia and have given permission for Russia to retain its naval bases…
​..A Syrian opposition representative said good relations with Russia are needed: it is “a very important actor in the world.”​…
..So what did Russia lose? For now, Russia lost the money-sink of pouring billions of dollars into protecting Assad’s government, potentially freeing up vast amounts of both troops and funding to serve the SMO. Does that sound like a loss?
​ There are many different ways the situation can fork from here on out, with some rumors claiming the establishment of some new and closer Russian-Israeli alliance vis-a-vis Syria, while I can see potential for an increased Russian-Turkish proximity in the future, particularly given Erdogan’s odd new remark that he and Putin are ‘the only two leaders in the world.’
​ Critics point to Russia losing its resupply operations to Africa via Latakia and Tartus: as can be seen, for now there is no threat of that. It’s the US itself which remains on unstable footing given that Iraq is seeking to boot the US with increased urgency, not to mention Trump’s claims of withdrawing from Syria.​..
..Iran and Russia did not lose one soldier or any amount of vital assets over this. They are at their full readiness. And now the West has to sort out Syria, explain to the world what it’s doing there, and pay for its rehabilitation. Does this sound like such a bad deal?​…
..It’s impossible to tell for certain what the future holds for the Syrian people themselves. However, there is some chance for optimism. If the US gets the format it likes it may rescind sanctions and resume aid which will ultimately be better for the Syrian people themselves, so long as Al-Qaeda—I mean, the new ‘democratic government’—honors their newly redefined role as true ‘moderates’, even if it’s just for show.​
​ In fact, Biden was quick to already announce new ‘relief aid’…​ The ideal for the US would be to prepackage the narrative that Assad was the source of Syrians’ suffering by quickly showing a new ‘prosperous’ Syria, when in reality it was simply the sanctions tap being turned on or off at will that exercised total dominance over Syrians’ future and wellbeing.​ https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/syrias-fall-in-depth-analysis

​From May: Syrian first lady Asma al-Assad has leukemia, presidency says​ https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrian-first-lady-asma-al-assad-has-leukemia-presidency-says-2024-05-21/

​Judge Napolitano with Pepe Escobar, mainly about Syria, not Russia, Start at 2:25 (27 min from there) Pepe Escobar : Russia’s Next Move https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWBrLsUP5eQ

[John Day]

Did Luigi Mangione Want to Be Caught?
The young man arrested in Pennsylvania on Monday apparently kept incriminating objects on his person and did not change clothes.
https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/did-luigi-mangione-want-to-be-caught
(Different, but similar gun, too?)

[John Day]

Dr. Gilbert Doctorow: Russia & the Turmoil in Syria & Georgia

[John Day]

Daniel Penny & The Twilight Of The Race Hustle https://www.zerohedge.com/political/daniel-penny-twilight-race-hustle

[John Day]

What We Know About Luigi Mangione, “Person Of Interest” Arrested In UnitedHealthcare CEO Shooting
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/person-interest-nyc-assassination-being-questioned-police-pa

[John Day]

New Photos of Alleged Assassin
Images show alleged assassin of Brian Thompson getting into a taxi on the Upper West Side.
https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/new-photos-of-alleged-assassin

2 “assassins” work better than one, as demonstrated with the “missed by that much” Trump assassination attempt.

[John Day]

Big explosion this time? Hard to miss…
Former Secret Service Agent: Trump Likely To Be Attacked Before Inauguration

[John Day]

Good Morning, Germ.
;-(
The kids are not alright…

[John Day]

Now you’re talkin’!
Trump vows to pardon Jan. 6 rioters on day one after getting into office

Russia advancing in Novorusiya, and has “deal” with Erdogan to keep Syrian bases. Israel advances towards Damascus, the new Israeli focus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RNIOvoA1dQ

[John Day]

How much “Europe” will be left by the time the Qatari gas pipeline goes through?

What are they really bombing?
US Bombs 75 ISIS Targets Across Syria After Assad Overthrown
https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/us-bombs-75-isis-targets-across-syria-after-assad-overthrown

[John Day]

Dima figures Russia and Iran are getting out while Turkey and “greater” Israel try to carve up Syria and Turkey eradicates Kurds. Russia gets Ukraine… That’s somebody’s deal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrgEi84Adxk

[John Day]

​ The viruses we caught were very far removed from those initially found in wild bats. You don’t say? How could that be? Got any other samples of viruses that are closer?
Wuhan lab samples hold no close relatives to virus behind COVID
​ After years of rumours that the virus that causes COVID-19 escaped from a laboratory in China, the virologist at the centre of the claims has presented data on dozens of new coronaviruses collected from bats in southern China. At a conference in Japan this week, Shi Zhengli, a specialist on bat coronaviruses, reported that none of the viruses stored in her freezers are the most recent ancestors of the virus SARS-CoV-2.​ https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-03982-2

​ Underreported, but we see the same sorts of complications: France Identifies 53 Unique COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Signals
New study reports 190,000 adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in France, with 25% classified as serious.​ https://petermcculloughmd.substack.com/p/france-identifies-53-covid-19-vaccine

​Immediately-active vitamin-D is explained by David Grimes MD. We should have access in the US: Vitamin D as Calcifediol is now available in the UK http://www.drdavidgrimes.com/2024/09/vitamin-d-as-calcifediol-is-now.html

That product, “Domnisol”: https://www.mims.co.uk/drugs/nutrition/vitamin-and-mineral-supplements/domnisol

​ Meryl Nass MD, Door to Freedom is prepared to go full-on, engaging with the new administration over the WHO, UN, a better food supply and an improved and cheaper healthcare system.
Meantime, I thought you might like to know about the complicated agency regulation of our food supply. Who does what? https://doortofreedom.org/door-to-freedom-is-prepared-to-go-full-on/

[John Day]

Why the Clintons Need Biden’s ‘Blanket Pardons’ More Than Other Democrats​ https://sputnikglobe.com/20241206/why-the-clintons-need-bidens-blanket-pardons-more-than-other-democrats-1121111090.html

​ South Korea’s President Survives Impeachment Vote As Protests Erupt
Days after President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a brief state of emergency martial law (probably the shortest on record), an opposition party’s attempt to impeach him failed when most lawmakers from his conservative ruling party boycotted the vote.​ https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/south-koreas-president-survives-impeachment-vote-protests-erupt

​ London declining as financial center – Bloomberg
The stock market is shrinking at its fastest rate in more than a decade, the business news agency reports
​ In 2024, some 45 firms reportedly delisted from the London stock market, 10% more than the whole of last year. It’s the highest number of companies to leave the exchange since 2010. At the same time, the volume of deals targeting UK corporations have soared 81% this year to more than $160 billion.
​ Data tracked by the news agency also shows that only 11 companies have completed IPOs in London during the current year, raising a total of $1 billion, which is down 11% from the amount raised during the same period in 2023.
​ “Unless the UK gets its act together, it’s going to continue to lose ground and relevance,” Liad Meidar, managing partner at investment firm Gatemore Capital Management, told Bloomberg. “Quite simply, companies can’t get the right cost of capital. They can’t get the valuation they want.”…
..The UK stock market remains popular with bargain hunters, Bloomberg said, noting that British equities are currently trading at a record discount of over 40% compared to peers globally.
​ “If London wants to keep its place as the financial center of Europe, major reforms are needed,” said Joachim Klement, a strategist at British advisory firm Panmure Liberum, as quoted by the agency. “It is time for UK investment banks, the London Stock Exchange, and regulators to realize the seriousness of the situation and take action. Unfortunately, there are no easy fixes.”​ https://swentr.site/news/608835-london-declining-financial-center/

Why are so many top CEOs psychopaths? Psychopathic personality traits are common amongst business leaders​ https://brainfodder.org/ceo-psychopath/

“Next Few Weeks”: FDA On Verge Of Possible Toxic Red Dye Ban Across America’s Food Supply Chain​ https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/next-few-weeks-fda-verge-possible-toxic-red-dye-ban-across-americas-food-supply-chain

[John Day]

‘Feds Were Behind January 6th!’: Trump’s FBI Pick Kash Patel Vows to Free ‘J6 Hostages’​ https://thepeoplesvoice.tv/feds-were-behind-january-6th-trumps-fbi-pick-kash-patel-vows-to-free-j6-hostages/

​ Trump’s Pro-Israel Dream Team: Patel Nomination Caps Hawkish Cabinet
​ Patel has consistently advocated for a hardline approach to China and is an unabashed supporter of Israeli interests, often prioritizing them over U.S. considerations. On October 7, marking the first anniversary of the Hamas attack, Patel delivered a fiery interview on Fox News. During the segment, he vowed that the incoming Trump administration would intensify its crackdown on anti-Israeli elements.
​ “We should be side by side [with Israel]…When we are back in power with President Trump…we will shut off the machinery that feeds money into Iran…We need America to wake up and prioritize Israel, and that is not what Kamala Harris is about, we need to bring home Americans and end this war, bring home Israelis, and stand by our number one ally in Israel, and people need to wake up on November 5.”​ https://scheerpost.com/2024/12/06/trumps-pro-israel-dream-team-patel-nomination-caps-hawkish-cabinet/

​ Free speech crises loom with crackdown on Israel criticism
​ As one administration exits and another takes form, a harsh reality is becoming clear for critics of maintaining U.S. support for the Israeli government: in government bureaucracies and university campuses alike, crackdowns and pressure on free expression and assembly will continue in force.
​ Precisely how the incoming Trump administration will handle such criticism remains to be seen — but views expressed by his congressional allies and recent cabinet picks suggest a further diversion from upholding freedoms of speech and assembly in the name of maintaining support for Israel’s war on Gaza and beyond.
​ Most recently, Trump selected Pam Bondi as his new nominee for attorney general. Last year, Bondi told Newsmax that students demonstrating in support of Hamas should be deported, whether they are here on student visas or as American citizens.​ “Frankly, they need to be taken out of our country,” Bondi said. “Or, the FBI needs to be interviewing them right away.”
​ Trump himself echoed similar sentiments on the campaign trail, telling a group of donors in May that he would “throw out” any student that protests for Palestine and calling on the Biden administration to revoke the visas of foreign nationals who “support Hamas.”
​ Trump’s congressional allies have echoed the same sentiments in recent weeks. In October, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) met with members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) during which he threatened to revoke accreditation to universities that allow purported pro-Hamas or anti-Israel sentiment. Scalise discussed the various “levers” and “tools” by which the government can crack down on universities, even threatening their existence altogether.
​ “Clearly this administration doesn’t care, but if you get an administration that actually says ‘we’re not going to play the game anymore,’ there’s a lot of levers and tools that will get [universities’] attention, day one,” Scalise said. “Your accreditation is one the line, you’re not playing games anymore or else you’re not a school anymore.”​ The hour-long meeting was framed as a discussion about antisemitism, but no one present attempted to differentiate between prejudice against Jews and criticism of the Israeli government and its actions.​ https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-protests/

​ Americans overwhelmingly oppose Biden’s pardon of his son Hunter, poll finds
Voters also rejected the 46th president offered in explaining his clemency, and signaled they believe Donald Trump was more a victim of malicious prosecution than Hunter Biden​ ​ Rasmussen’s Napolitan News Service survey found 62% oppose the pardon, including 41% who strongly opposed it. Only 30% of voters favored Biden’s clemency,
The poll also found Americans rejected the rationale the 46th president offered in explaining his decision.
​ Biden has said that Hunter Biden was unfairly targeted by prosecutors for political purposes, but 54% disagreed with his rationale, while 37% agreed.
​ Voters were more sympathetic to President-elect Donald Trump, with 46% declaring they believed that the Department of Justice unfairly targeted him under Biden’s leadership, while 42% disagreed.​ https://justthenews.com/accountability/political-ethics/americans-overwhelmingly-oppose-bidens-pardon-his-son-hunter-poll

​ Jim Kunstler, Not a Joke
​ The Hunter Biden super-sized blanket pardon went over so well around the country that “Joe Biden” — or the shadowy league of not-quite-geniuses who run the twilight White House operation — floated the idea of issuing preemptive pardons for a few of the most spectacularly dishonest characters in US political life: Dr. Fauci, Senator-elect Adam Schiff, and Liz Cheney…
​..None of the three has been convicted of a crime to be pardoned for, or even been hauled-in for questioning by federal law enforcement agents on a probable cause writ. But a pardon would necessarily paint them as criminals, ipso facto. Would they accept a pardon, with what it implies, or run shrieking from it as from an apple polished with novichok?
​ The proffer of a pardon itself must amount to a declaration of probable cause, igniting the very legal process it seeks to dispose of. An inquiry would have to be launched to discover what laws these three desperadoes might have broken, followed perhaps by a grand jury to evaluate the evidence, and so on. “Joe Biden” himself might have to answer some basic questions, such as: at what time prior to issuing the pardon did he begin to suspect some laws had been broken? And, since the president’s chief duty is to enforce the law, was “JB” negligent and culpable himself for misprision of felonies?​ …
​..Pardon me for saying: I fear that “Joe Biden” might have started something that isn’t going to end well for “Joe Biden” and many others. The little goldfish bowl of the White House is surrounded by the vast, pulsating DC blob and its million-footed ranks of officials deserving of pardons. You know the floated names Fauci, Schiff, and Cheney were only representative samples, denoting a certain managerial class of blobists that runs to the thousands of federal employees at least. What about Garland, Monaco, and Gupta at DOJ, and their paladin prosecutor Jack Smith, and his many deputies? Or Comey, Wray, Abbate, Sallet, McCabe, Rosenstein, Strzok, Page, Pientka, Priestap, McCord, Horowitz out of the FBI? Or Mueller, Weissmann, Dreeben, Van Grack, Rhee, and Quarles from that spin-off Special Counsel venture? Or Boasberg, Chutkan, and Sullivan in the DC judiciary? Or, Collins, Walensky, Cohen and their many deputies in Covid-land? Surely, they all deserve pardons now, and their crimes can be sorted out later.
​ There would appear to be no precedent for a chief executive pardoning the entire federal government, or we would have heard of it by now.​..
..What I await in the sunsetting “Joe Biden” presidency is whether he will go ahead and pardon the other members of the Biden family beyond just “first son” Hunter: brothers Jim and Frank and the wives and various offspring who received cash “gifts” from officials in foreign lands laundered into their personal bank accounts amounting to millions of dollars…
​..Perhaps that’s what is spurring the league of not-quite-geniuses behind the Big Guy to try to start World War Three this Christmas Season — to distract the public from the inevitable Biden family blanket pardon.​ https://www.kunstler.com/p/not-a-joke

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