Devin Nunes Archives - The Automatic Earth

“Is anyone paying attention to what’s happening in London?”

“You have a massive Muslim take over The United Kingdom right before our eyes”

Listen to American Senator Chip Roy comment on the plight of Britain ‼️ pic.twitter.com/A6ZYxVAt8t

— Concerned Citizen (@BGatesIsaPyscho) January 2, 2025

Vegas

So the Green Beret identified as the Vegas truck bomber was burnt "beyond recognition" and his weapons were disfigured but his military ID was intact? What luck! Oh and out of all guns, he shot himself with a Desert Eagle…

Does this make sense to you? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/MhZesiecFF

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) January 2, 2025

JUST IN: Family of accused Trump hotel truck bomber Matthew Livelsberger says he was a “big Trump supporter,” questions the incident.

Odd.

The uncle of Livelsberger told the Independent that he is confused by the explosion because his nephew could rig a bomb to blow up half the… pic.twitter.com/uJ4uDmfWzR

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 2, 2025

Ilias Makris

Why does Merchan do it? Because Trump would be the first -convicted- felon to assume the presidency. No need for a penalty, the conviction is the prize. And they know it will end up at the Supreme Court. And there’s still not one iota of proof.

• Judge Orders Trump Sentenced On Jan. 10 In Stormy Daniels Case (Hill)

A New York judge has ordered President-elect Trump’s criminal sentencing for Jan. 10, rejecting his demand that his hush money case be dismissed to accommodate his presidency following his election victory. Judge Juan Merchan signaled he is inclined to impose no punishment for Trump’s 34-count felony conviction, given concerns about his immunity from criminal prosecution upon taking the oath of office. Merchan said an unconditional discharge “appears to be the most viable solution” and he would allow Trump to appear virtually.

“While this Court as a matter of law must not make any determination on sentencing prior to giving the parties and Defendant an opportunity to be heard, it seems proper at this juncture to make known the Court’s inclination to not impose any sentence of incarceration, a sentence authorized by the conviction but one the People concede they no longer view as a practicable recommendation,” Merchan wrote. The jury of 12 New Yorkers in May found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment his ex-fixer made to porn actor Stormy Daniels with the intention of unlawfully influencing the 2016 presidential election.

Daniels was paid during the campaign to keep quiet about an affair she alleged with Trump, which he denies. Merchan’s decision keeps Trump’s criminal conviction on the books, meaning he would be the first felon to assume the presidency, though Trump still can appeal the jury’s verdict. Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement following Merchan’s decision that there should be no sentencing, suggesting that the “deeply conflicted” judge’s ruling violates the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling. “This lawless case should have never been brought and the Constitution demands that it be immediately dismissed,” Cheung said. “President Trump must be allowed to continue the Presidential Transition process and to execute the vital duties of the presidency, unobstructed by the remains of this or any remnants of the Witch Hunts.”

[..] Trump was slated to be sentenced in New York in November. Since the election, his lawyers have argued his status as president-elect compels the case to be tossed entirely. The judge wrote that he was “not persuaded” and he would allow Trump to appear virtually at his sentencing to accommodate his transition duties as president-elect. “Having addressed and resolved all matters brought before this Court and the verdict now more than half a year behind us, all that remains outstanding in this case is the issuance of this Decision and the imposition of sentence,” Merchan wrote. “Scheduling sentence is a function that remains exclusively within the purview of the trial judge and can be easily set down for a date and time certain to minimize disruption and inconvenience, provided that applicable statutory obligations are met,” he added.

The judge also emphasized the importance of keeping the New York jury’s guilty verdict against Trump intact, writing that its importance could not “possibly be overstated.” “Indeed, the sanctity of a jury verdict and the deference that must be accorded to it, is a bedrock principle in our Nation’s jurisprudence,” he said. Merchan went on to reject an alternative suggested by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), whose office is prosecuting the case, that the judge treat the case as if Trump had passed away. Trump’s attorneys called the scenario “absurd” and a “dark dream scenario,” but Bragg said the first-of-its-kind solution was warranted given the unprecedented circumstances.

The criminal justice system in NYC is so f’d that Alvin Bragg and this kangaroo court spend more time using it to hurt Donald Trump politically than keeping violent people off the streets and subways. Outrageous. My take tonight on @cnn. pic.twitter.com/oQVUU3faxv

— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) January 4, 2025

He won, and in round 1. Now he, and the rest of the GOP, will have to do what Trump wants.

• Mike Johnson Narrowly Re-Elected As US House Speaker (RT)

US House Speaker Mike Johnson has been re-elected, in a narrow, party-lines vote. Johnson was elected after a pause in voting, with multiple Republicans initially refusing to back him. Johnson was elected on Friday by 218 votes to 215, with Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie the sole member of the GOP to vote against him. All 215 House Democrats voted for New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries. With Republicans holding a slim 219-215 majority in the House, Johnson could afford only two defections. When voting opened earlier on Friday, Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Keith Self of Texas joined Massie in opposing Johnson’s nomination. However, both lawmakers changed their minds after speaking to Johnson during a brief recess.

Johnson replaced California Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker in October 2023, after a small band of hardline Republicans ousted McCarthy for his perceived loyalty to the party’s Democrat-friendly establishment. While Johnson was previously viewed as a member of the GOP’s establishment wing, he has spent much of his speakership portraying himself as a stalwart ally of President-elect Donald Trump. Trump lent Johnson his endorsement on Monday. In a post on his Truth Social platform, the incoming president described Johnson as “a good, hard working, religious man.”

“A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129-year most consequential Presidential Election,” Trump added. Johnson angered hardline Republicans last year when he passed a series of mammoth foreign aid bills, including one that gifted $65 billion in military assistance to Ukraine. The Louisiana lawmaker has since said that he no longer has “an appetite for further Ukraine funding,” and has backed Trump’s repeated promises to end the conflict shortly after being sworn into office later this month.

From before the vote.

• Mike Johnson Vows Big Spending Cuts, Like $200b Student Loan Giveaway (JTN)

House Speaker Mike Johnson told Just the News he is confident he will be reelected and is eager to craft large government spending cuts starting with Joe Biden’s green energy and student loan giveaways. “I’ve been working with all of our colleagues here today. We have a very small margin. We can only shed two votes. I think we’ll get over that threshold, and we’ll get this done,” Johnson said Thursday night during an interview on the Just the News, No Noise television show. He said he’s confident that Congress will make “significant” cuts to the budget, and they’ll use the budget reconciliation process to accomplish that, which allows Congress to enact legislation on taxes, spending, and the debt limit with only a majority.

“We’ve got to reduce the size and scope of government. Government’s too big. It does too many things and does almost nothing,” Johnson said. He said while some parts of the budget, such as Social Security, will need to be preserved, some non-mandatory discretionary spending could be targeted such as the Biden student loan bailout, which he estimated could save $200 billion. “Unwinding the green New Deal and all these aspects of what the Democrats did for the last few four years will help us substantially. Then we’ll be going through with the fine tooth comb the rest of the budget. So it’s going to be a long, laborious process, but I think in the end, the results will be well worth it, ” he added. The vote happens at 12 p.m. Friday.

Raise the flags on Jan 20. Lower them again the next day. Done before. Problem solved.

• Trump Fumes Over Half-Mast US Flags At His Inauguration (RT)

US President-elect Donald Trump has expressed his disapproval over the decision to keep American flags at half-mast during his inauguration on January 20. The lowering of the flags was ordered by President Joe Biden in honor of former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on December 29 at the age of 100. According to US flag code, flags should remain at half-mast for 30 days following the death of a current or former president – in this case, until January 28. In a statement released on Friday, Trump accused Democrats of being pleased that the flags will remain at half-mast during his inauguration, suggesting it reflects a lack of patriotism.

“The Democrats are all ‘giddy’ about our magnificent American Flag potentially being at ‘half mast’ during my Inauguration,” he said. “They think it’s so great, and are so happy about it because, in actuality, they don’t love our Country, they only think about themselves.” Trump claimed it would be “the first time ever” that US flags are flown at half-mast during a presidential inauguration, insisting that “nobody wants to see this, and no American can be happy about it.” However, the flags were flown at half-mast when former President Richard Nixon was sworn in for his second term in January 1973, after he ordered them lowered following the death of former President Harry S. Truman.

Historically, there have also been instances where the 30-day half-mast period was temporarily adjusted at the discretion of the sitting president. In 1973, following the death of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, Nixon ordered flags raised to full-mast for one day to honor returning American prisoners of war from Vietnam before lowering them again to continue the mourning period. Trump has previously expressed dissatisfaction with the practice of lowering flags. In 2018, following the death of Senator John McCain, flags were briefly returned to full-mast before being lowered again after public outcry. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to Trump’s remarks, stating that the Biden administration does not intend to reconsider the decision to keep flags at half-mast during the inauguration.

“Trump appointed him to become chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, which oversees the conduct and performance of America’s intelligence agencies.”

• Devin Nunes Reemerges (Victor Davis Hanson)

2024 proved to be the year of the reemergence of many once and unfairly pilloried public figures. Elon Musk weathered nonstop attacks on his X social media platform. Furor escalated over his newfound 2024 Trump advocacy—even as he ended 2024 with his iconic Tesla brand still the best-selling car in six states and the most popular electric vehicle in the entire nation. Tesla’s rising stock prices ensured by year’s end that Musk was by far the richest man in the world with a net worth of well over $400 billion. His recyclable SpaceX Super Heavy starship rocket booster mesmerized the nation as it returned to the launch pad to be caught by a huge mechanical arm. After January 6, 2021, the media swore that Donald Trump was supposedly washed up. He left office with a 34 percent approval rating. Over nearly the next four years, Trump would face 91 felony indictments and be liable for over $400 million in assorted fines.

Now he is a reelected president. Former oppositional world leaders traipse to Mar-a-Lago to seek his approval even before his tenure begins. His erstwhile critics at home are scurrying about in disarray. The Trump-hating media who swore Joe Biden was “sharp as a tack” and “fit as a fiddle” are mostly discredited and are, for now, still bleeding audiences. And Trump’s chief political adversaries, Nancy Pelosi, Liz Cheney, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and the Obamas are increasingly either unpopular or irrelevant—or both. Yet one unremarked-upon return is that of former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), who, after 20 years of representing Central California in Congress, retired on January 1, 2022, from the House to become CEO of the newly formed Trump Media & Technology Group, tasked to oversee its social media platform, TruthSocial. Nunes has regained public attention over the last two weeks after Trump appointed him to become chairman of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, which oversees the conduct and performance of America’s intelligence agencies.

And once more he too is the target of tired residual left-wing venom, as a “pugnacious Trump loyalist” in the words of the New York Times. Like almost all former chairs of this nonpaying advisory board, Nunes keeps his full-time job. His old critics claim he has conflicts of interest, given he serves Trump in both a private and public capacity. Of course, these complaints come from those who saw no conflict of interest when Vice President Joe Biden flew to China with his son on Air Force Two to shake down foreign communist oligarchs and apparatchiks by using his office to enrich, tax-free, the Biden family syndicate. And no one alleges that Nunes ever became rich, in the fashion of the two Pelosis, who leveraged privileged congressional insider knowledge to make “wise” investments.

But more importantly, why would Trump not pick Nunes to enact the board’s mission statement to oversee “the Intelligence Community’s compliance with the Constitution and all applicable laws, executive orders, and presidential directives?” After all, he shattered the Democratic hoax of Russian-Trump collusion between 2015 and 2018, even as his lead investigator, Kash Patel, the next FBI Director, was himself an object of FBI surveillance. As Nunes once pointed out, why did Obama’s non-intelligence officials, like UN Ambassador Samantha Power, seek to unmask dozens of names of U.S. officials, most of whom were political opponents? So, who could Trump better trust to oversee the intelligence and investigatory bureaus than someone who knows all too well the descent of these agencies into Trump-Derangement-Syndrome-inspired chronic dissimulation and illegal surveillance?

“You don’t hate the legacy media enough.”

• Musk Considers Suing Media Over Cybertruck Incident Coverage (RT)

Tesla CEO Elon Musk could take legal action against media outlets over their coverage of an explosion involving a Cybertruck in Las Vegas, renewing his criticism of mainstream media for perceived bias. The vehicle, which was parked outside the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas on New Year’s Day and loaded with fireworks and gas canisters, exploded in the hotel’s valet area. The sole occupant of the Cybertruck, 37-year-old Army Special Forces soldier Matthew Alan Livelsberger, shot himself prior to the blast. Authorities are investigating the incident as a possible act of terrorism. The incident has sparked heated debate over media coverage. Conservative activist Robby Starbuck criticized outlets for headlines that allegedly impugned Tesla’s reputation. He reposted Business Insider’s headline and claimed that Musk “should consider suing outlets who framed the story like this.”

“Maybe it is time to do so,” Musk replied. The Cybertruck’s design may have actually helped minimize damage, according to Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. ”The fact that this was a Cybertruck really limited the damage that occurred inside the valet because it had most of the blast go up through the truck and out,” he said.

Maybe it is time to do so https://t.co/2i4q5QZOUn

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 2, 2025

Another user on X expressed similar frustration, stating: “Media headlines are misleading audiences, suggesting the Cybertruck caught fire or exploded due to a malfunction. The truth is that explosives were placed in the back and intentionally detonated, likely as part of a terrorist act.” Musk responded to the post, writing, “You don’t hate the legacy media enough.” He also accused the legacy media of distorting the facts, targeting the Associated Press (AP) in particular. Referring to the agency as “Associated Propaganda,” Musk claimed it had twisted the narrative surrounding the explosion.

In December, Musk also criticized AP for its coverage of a deadly incident in Germany, accusing it of spreading biased narratives. Last year, Musk remarked that the “propaganda level” in traditional media outlets was “tediously high,” and he has repeatedly accused established organizations of skewing narratives to fit particular biases. Officials have acknowledged the symbolic nature of the incident, given Tesla’s connection to Musk and its proximity to the Trump International Hotel. “It’s a Tesla truck, and we know that Elon Musk is working with President-elect Trump, and it’s the Trump tower,” McMahill said. “There’s obviously things to be concerned about there.”

“Autopilot will not function unless it detects an attentive person in the driver’s seat.”

• Elon Musk Dismisses ‘Cybertruck Bomber’ FSD Theory (ZH)

Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters on Thursday that the Cybertruck bomber, Matthew Livelsberger, a 37-year-old Green Beret, died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head just moments before the detonation outside Trump’s hotel in Las Vegas. This sequence of events is based on the official statements from law enforcement. However, speculation on X, particularly among internet sleuths, has brought up alternative theories regarding the timing of Livelsberger’s death. Rogan O’Handley, aka “DC Draino” on X, floated two scenarios about Livelsberger’s final moments: Now that we know the Vegas suspect was found with a bullet in his head, I see 2 possible scenarios: 1. He shot himself – he was planning to commit suicide & didn’t want to risk being burned alive. 2. He was shot by someone else & the Tesla was auto-pilot navigated to the Trump hotel

“A long fuse could’ve been lit, a timer could have been set, or the bomb could have been remotely detonated I wonder if anyone in the vicinity heard a gunshot That would help confirm where the car was when he was shot,” O’Handley wrote in another post. Tesla’s Elon Musk quickly dismissed the second scenario, stating, “Autopilot will not function unless it detects an attentive person in the driver’s seat.” Tesla vehicles have a cabin camera that monitors driver attentiveness and provides audible alerts when FSD is engaged. The camera is mounted above the rearview mirror.

“Like other Autopilot features, Full Self-Driving requires that the driver pay attention to the road, their surroundings, and other road users,” Tesla wrote on its website under the “Driver Attentiveness” section of FSD. Tesla said, “The cabin camera does not require full visibility of the driver’s eyes in order to monitor attentiveness. The system is still active, for example, if the driver is wearing sunglasses.” “If the cabin camera does not have clear visibility of the driver’s hand and arm locations, Full Self-Driving periodically displays a message reminding the driver to apply slight force to the steering wheel,” Tesla continued.

It noted, “If the driver repeatedly ignore prompts to apply slight force to the steering wheel or to pay attention, Full Self-Driving displays a series of escalating warnings and, if those warnings are ignored, disables for the rest of the drive and displays the following message.” What’s apparent from Tesla’s description of how FSD works suggests any scenario with Livelsberger shot in the head well before the bombing would be extraordinarily hard to trick the camera. X users should call on Musk to release the cockpit camera footage and any other recordings from the high-tech EV truck to disprove O’Handley’s second scenario. Additionally, footage from charging stations could provide valuable insights into what happened leading up to the bombing. We’re sure the FBI is already doing this..

He may have to wait until Farage is elected.

• Trump Calls On UK To Open Up North Sea, Get Rid Of Wind Farms (OP)

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has called for opening up the UK North Sea to oil and gas and getting rid of windmills, in response to the recent announcement by Texas-based Apache that it would cease oil and gas production in the region due to the uneconomical windfall tax. “The U.K. is making a very big mistake. Open up the North Sea. Get rid of Windmills!” President-elect Trump posted late on Thursday on social media platform Truth Social. Trump attached an article about Apache’s recent announcement that it would exit the UK North Sea. In November 2024, U.S. oil producer Apache said that it plans to cease oil production at its assets in the UK North Sea by 2030, due to the windfall tax on operators.

Apache’s parent company APA Corporation said in an SEC filing that its assessment of the impact of the windfall tax, officially known as the Energy Profits Levy (EPL), resulted in findings that continued production in the UK North Sea would be uneconomical. The ruling Labour Party’s Autumn Statement confirmed that the windfall tax on UK North Sea operators is rising to 38% from 35%, effective November 1, 2024. The tax will now expire on 31 March 2030, a year later than the previous tax regime. The government is also removing the 29% investment allowance.

Since the tax was initially introduced by the Conservative government at the height of the energy crisis in 2022, oil and gas companies operating in the UK North Sea have been calling for certainty in the regulatory and tax framework. Recent changes in policies and the rising taxes have driven away operators, who say that a lack of North Sea investments would only make the UK more dependent on oil and gas imports. U.S. President-elect Trump, for his part, has been a vocal critic of offshore wind. In the United States, offshore wind faces an uncertain future under Trump’s second-term administration. The President-elect has criticized offshore wind as the most expensive form of energy which, Trump says, also ruins the environment.

The last days of Volodymyr and the Banderites.

• ‘Unpredictable’ Trump Could Help End Ukraine Conflict – Zelensky (RT)

US President-elect Donald Trump could play a major role in ending the Ukraine conflict, Vladimir Zelensky has suggested. He made the remarks during an interview with Ukrainian TV that aired on Thursday, describing Trump as “unpredictable” and capable of achieving peace through “resolute” actions. During his presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly claimed he could end the conflict in 24 hours. His team’s reported peace plans call for a 20-year delay in Ukraine’s NATO membership aspirations, a freeze in the fighting, and the establishment of a demilitarized zone patrolled by European peacekeepers to monitor the ceasefire. According to Zelensky, Trump’s pledge to end the conflict in one day may be unrealistic, but strong US leadership which he represents could make a significant difference in achieving peace.

“Trump can be decisive. I think for us this is the most important thing. He can be resolute, he can really stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin or help us stop Putin,” Zelensky stated. “A lot depends on Trump… I think Putin is afraid of him… I think he is strong and unpredictable and I believe he really wants to end the war,” he added, saying that with Trump on Kiev’s side it would be “easier” for Ukraine to gain support from its European allies and approach negotiations with Russia “from a position of strength.” Zelensky also called for firm security guarantees for Ukraine, including NATO membership, as the foundation for long-term peace. He stressed that any settlement must respect Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

In early December, Zelensky met with Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris for talks about possible steps toward peace. Following the meeting, Trump said Ukraine “would like to make a deal” with Russia and called for renewed negotiations and a ceasefire. Zelensky, however, later rejected Trump’s call, writing on X that a “ceasefire without guarantees can be reignited at any moment.” Moscow counts Kiev’s aspiration to join NATO as among the root causes of the conflict and has insisted that all the goals of its military operation, including Ukrainian neutrality, demilitarization, and denazification, must be a part of any potential peace deal. A settlement must also begin with Ukraine ceasing military operations and acknowledging the “territorial reality” that it will never regain control of its former regions that chose to join Russia.

Earlier this week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian authorities do not believe the fighting between Moscow and Kiev can be stopped at the moment. He reiterated Russia’s readiness for peace talks, but added that it will continue its advances on the front line as long as Kiev remains reluctant to negotiate.

That’s a big red line.

• Kiev Set To Comply With US Demand To Draft Teenagers – Moscow (RT)

Kiev will make a decision soon on how to respond to US demands that it lower the conscription age in the country to 18, in order to bolster troop numbers on the front lines of the conflict with Moscow, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) claimed on Friday. Concerns are growing in Western countries regarding the Ukrainian army’s capacity to withstand pressure from Russian forces, an SVR statement has claimed. US President Joe Biden could intervene to prevent this, according to the agency. Merely supplying advanced weaponry, including long-range missile systems, will not be enough to stabilize the front lines, the SVR added.

“Countries in Eastern Europe bordering Ukraine are quietly preparing to receive new waves of Ukrainian refugees, who this time will be fleeing not from an imaginary threat posed by Russia, but from the real danger of getting a one-way ticket to the front lines,” the press release claimed. According to the SVR, Western leaders are acutely aware that the conflict represents an “existential” challenge for Russia, and retreat is not an option. In a televised interview on Ukraine’s Telemarathon on Thursday, Zelensky acknowledged that desertions within the army surged in 2024 amid escalating war fatigue and a shortage of reserve forces.

“..4.2 million Ukrainians have been granted temporary protection status within the EU..”

• Zelensky Criticizes EU’s Use Of ‘Cheap Labor’ From Ukraine (RT)

Some Western countries regard Ukrainian immigrants as “cheap labor,” Vladimir Zelensky has said. He claimed that they want to keep those who benefit their economies, but would like to send the unemployed back home. In an interview on Friday during Ukraine’s Telemarathon, Zelensky expressed frustration with what he described as a selective approach to Ukrainians in some Western countries. ”Let’s be honest: There are many Ukrainians abroad. In some countries, they have been seen as a cheap labor force. And now, they realize Ukrainians are often more skilled than their own citizens,” he said. Zelensky went on to accuse his Western counterparts of trying to downplay the matter, adding that they want Ukraine to take back the unemployed, urging him to “just tell them to return.”

“I say: ‘Look, give me a bit more air defense, and I’ll tell everyone to come back immediately,’” he said, stressing that the appeal would be addressed to all Ukrainians, not only to the unemployed. “And they reply, ‘No, let those who work here stay, but the rest should return.” Zelensky went on to say that many Ukrainians are likely to return home once the conflict ends and reconstruction begins, as these efforts will potentially attract international investment and provide job opportunities. As of October 2024, approximately 4.2 million Ukrainians have been granted temporary protection status within the EU. The primary host countries include Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic, which collectively accommodate a significant portion of these individuals.

Employment rates vary significantly, with about 65% in Poland finding work, while only 18% in Germany have secured employment. Kiev has reportedly been trying to force Ukrainian men to return home, barring them access to consular services, while pressuring the EU to cut financial aid to refugees. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has denied the allegations, explaining that it wants to encourage rather than force citizens to return. In Ukraine, however, the authorities have been organizing raids for potential recruits on the streets as part of a mobilization campaign, often leading to violent clashes between military officers and draftees.

Nobody speaks for Western Europe.

• Western Europe Risks Losing Everything (Lukyanov)

In February 2022, I argued that Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine symbolized – whether intentionally or not – a profound break with the policies initiated in the Gorbachev era. At that time, rapprochement with the West was seen as a way for Moscow to integrate into a larger, Western-led system. That path, pursued in one form or another for over three decades, failed to produce the desired results. The reasons for this failure – whether due to unrealistic expectations or irreconcilable differences – are a debate for another time. What is undeniable now is that the turnaround has been dramatic, accelerated by recent geopolitical shifts.

The world Russia once aspired to join is now itself in turmoil. A German acquaintance recently observed that US President-elect Donald Trump and Tesla tycoon Elon Musk are shaking up the Western establishment much like perestroika destabilized the Eastern Bloc. In the 1980s, the GDR government banned the Soviet magazine Sputnik, fearing its progressive ideas would undermine their rigid system. Today, the EU scrambles to deal with Musk’s growing influence, as his bold actions and statements threaten to undermine the stability of its institutions from within. Western Europe, once the chief beneficiary of Gorbachev’s ‘new thinking’, now finds itself as the potential main loser.

Questions long thought resolved – like the inviolability of borders – are resurfacing. Trump’s earlier remarks about Canada joining the US no longer come across as mere jokes, given his past comments about Greenland and the Panama Canal. In the Middle East, borders have become fluid abstractions, while Russia’s statements about “ever-changing realities” suggest a willingness to challenge territorial norms in practice. The US, meanwhile, has abandoned its role as the champion of a ‘rules-based’ global order. Instead, it pursues a doctrine of dominance, driven by technological and economic superiority. Trump’s ‘peace through strength’ strategy relies on exerting pressure, not building consensus.

This marks a departure not only from Gorbachev’s vision of institutional harmony, but also from America’s own post-Cold War strategy of embedding its dominance within international frameworks. Russia, for its part, has grown disillusioned with the ‘new thinking’ that once promised integration and mutual respect. Now, it finds itself pushing back against a global order that has failed to recognize its interests. Ironically, it is the US – through its rejection of the very rules it once championed – that has thrown the system into disarray. Trump embodies this shift, signaling a world where strength dictates outcomes, leaving institutions as secondary players. Western Europe faces an uncertain future. Its reliance on American leadership has become a double-edged sword.

While the US remains a critical ally, its increasing unpredictability under leaders like Trump threatens to destabilize the very order Europe depends on. The EU’s struggle to manage Musk’s influence is emblematic of a deeper malaise – a failure to adapt to a world no longer governed by clear rules or shared values. Meanwhile, its internal cohesion is threatened as the political center cracks. Perestroika sought to harmonize the world through institutions, offering hope to a generation weary of confrontation. Today, we see its inverse: Institutions seen as obstacles, multilateralism discarded, and power wielded unapologetically. Trump’s mantra of ‘America First’ has evolved into a broader ethos of ‘me first’, in which nations prioritize their immediate interests over collective solutions. The path forward promises no easy answers. But, as was often said in the USSR before perestroika, no one ever promised it would be easy.

“Kamala Harris and Joe Biden, in 2024, agreed to play out their roles as uncontactable zombies, baying for the blood of Americans at the altar of a dying Moloch.” — Celia Farber

• The Twilight of Twilight (James Howard Kunstler)

I hope that the first lesson of the Bourbon Street massacre is not lost on you: There is no end of opportunity now for Jihadis and other maniacs to attack soft targets across the land. Americans are sitting ducks. And there is no shortage of jihadis and maniacs at large in our land, thanks to “Joe Biden” and Alejandro Mayorkas. Do you have any idea how much carnage can be created with what are called small arms, meaning, light weapons, guns, rifles, grenades, and improvised explosives used tactically in public places by enemies of our country? It looks like we are going to find out. And just regular motor vehicles, too, as in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Among the millions of foreign vagabonds ushered across the border illegally are perhaps tens of thousands fanatically avid for mayhem, many of them surely organized into cadres trained to carry out atrocities, just hanging back with their US government-issued debit cards, enjoying DoorDash deliveries in their government supplied hotel rooms, waiting for the signal to activate themselves.

Do you think we can harden the millions of targets out there, make them secure? Forget about it. Many of these are plain old streets in the cities, countless bridges and tunnels, endless runs of railroad track and highway, hundreds of airports, not to mention malls, schools, big box stores, office buildings, restaurants, sports venues, cruise ships, skating rinks, theaters, churches. It would only take a couple-three more episodes like the New Orleans incident to paralyze public life in America just as badly as the Covid-19 op did. Are tourists rushing back to Bourbon Street now? Will they return for Mardi Gras on March 4? And now, of course, the matter of drones has been brought to your attention. How many thousands (millions?) of these ingenious toys have been sold over recent years.

You can walk into Best Buy today and get one, ranging from a couple of hundred bucks to models with advanced guidance electronics at several thousand bucks. Timers are cheap. C-4 and Semtex plastic explosives are easy to purloin from military bases, or just traded on black markets. Drones can be launched from anywhere, including out of windows anywhere. They can be launched in swarms. You must also imagine that these Jihadis and other maniacs are primed to let loose on the imminently incoming Trump admin. The “Joe Biden” regime years were just the set-up period. Why open up with terror ops and show your hand prematurely while “JB” offered so much free and easy assistance in preparing the battlefield? And anyway, since so much of what “Joe Biden” was up to on his own initiative was obviously damaging to the USA in three dimensions — economically, strategically, and psychologically — then why interrupt all that serendipitous mishchief?

In the twilight of his twilight presidency, “Joe Biden” makes his final moves — that is, the people in the shadows behind “Joe Biden” make their moves — to fortify the progress he made working to destroy his own country, really anything that might hamper Mr. Trump’s ability to correct the deliberate desecration of our national life. And, of course, to shelter any of those persons responsible from a legal reckoning in the future. In a most garish example, “JB” awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal to former Rep. Liz Cheney for her role on Congress’s J-6 committee. This, you understand, was done in defiance of what is already known and alleged about the treasonous misconduct of that body — withholding and destruction of evidence, tampering with evidence, coaching witnesses, lying to the media about testimony received, and obstruction of justice. You might lay a conspiracy charge over all those misdeeds, since they involved the formal agreement, discussion, and knowledge of it all among committee members. That is, it was done clearly in concert. This is howThe New York Times put it:

The plea there is transparently and obviously mendacious, yet The Times, being the mouthpiece of the nervous DC blob, can’t resist laying out the game: how can you prosecute somebody for acts they’ve been given a presidential award for committing? Of course, a pardon will signal that Liz Cheney is, ipso facto, a criminal. And would “Joe Biden” then have to pardon every member of the J-6 Committee — since, being a conspiracy, are they not all culpable for the same crimes? But then, the J-6 Committee crimes against the people of America comprise only a small portion, a side dish, to the many other crimes committed by the officials working under “Joe Biden.” If he pardons Liz Cheney, won’t this president also have to pardon hundreds of other officials from Mayorkas, Wray, Garland, Fauci, Walensky, Austin, Blinken, Sullivan on down?

“..as much as 80 percent of Americans support voter identification laws across party lines..”

• California Rings in the New Year with New Push to Block Voter ID (Turley)

In California, Democrats are ringing in the New Year with a new push against voter identification. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has been hammering Huntington Beach because the city recently amended its municipal laws to require basic voter identification. While voters overwhelmingly support voter identification, Democrats in California recently passed a law making it a crime to ask for voter identification at polling places. Now, Bonta is asking for an appellate court to intervene to prevent Huntington Beach from asking for IDs before people vote. After Huntington Beach passed Measure A requiring voter identification in 2026, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill banning voter identification requirements. Bonta then sued the city but the California Superior Court ruled it too soon for a lawsuit.

California Superior Court Judge Nico Dourbetas wrote that “this matter is not ripe for adjudication, as [the change to] the City’s Charter is permissive and discretionary in character, and thus currently presents no conflict with state elections law.” Bonta, however, wants a ruling to prevent voter identification before the 2026 elections. Secretary of State Shirley Weber insisted that California residents are already required to verify their identity when they register to vote, but the city argues that it does not mean that the person voting is that same person. Democrats have continued to block voter identification laws and policies despite Gallop and other polling showing as much as 80 percent of Americans support voter identification laws across party lines. The Biden Administration was widely criticized for its effort to prevent Virginia from removing the names of people who previously stated that they were not U.S. citizens.

Thirty-six states have laws requesting or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the polls. While Weber denounced the laws as a form of voter suppression, there is no evidence that such laws have had any such material effect. Indeed, President Biden and Democrats widely denounced voting laws in states like Georgia as “Jim Crow 2.0,” but under these laws, Georgia and other states set records in the turnout of voters. Bonta’s actions show that Democrats will not yield on the effort to prevent voter identification at polling places. Instead, they seem to be doubling down with less than a third of Americans supporting the effort. So much for political resolutions to realign the party after the election losses in November.

Left joins right.

• German MP Calls For NordStream To Be Reactivated (RT)

Germany should respond to the rising energy prices caused by Ukraine’s halting of Russian gas transit by repairing and reactivating the Nord Stream pipelines, leftist German MP Sevim Dagdelen has said. Ukraine refused to extend its transit contract with Russia’s Gazprom beyond the end of 2024, effectively cutting off the flow of natural gas to some EU countries as of Wednesday. Under the old contract, Ukraine moved gas through its own pipeline network and into Moldova, Romania, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, and then on to Austria and Italy. Ukraine’s decision caused EU gas prices to spike to €50 per megawatt hour, a figure unseen since October 2023. “Ukraine drives the energy price up further by stopping the transit of Russian gas in Europe,” Dagdelen wrote on X on Thursday, complaining that “the German government and the EU are happily watching the destruction of European industry due to high energy prices.”

Energy costs soared in Germany after the government renounced Russian oil and gas imports in 2022. Whereas the country once relied on Russia for around 55% of its natural gas supply, it has struggled to make up the shortfall, and its leading manufacturers – including Volkswagen, Bosch, and BASF – have all announced layoffs and plant closures. Prior to the start of the Ukraine conflict, Germany received gas from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipelines, while Nord Stream 2 was due to come online in 2022. Berlin revoked the certification for Nord Stream 2 several days before Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began, and both sets of lines were destroyed in an act of sabotage in September of that year.

While German investigators have reportedly settled on the theory that the pipelines were destroyed by Ukrainian saboteurs, American journalist Seymour Hersh maintains that they were blown up by the CIA and US Navy. The head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergey Naryshkin, has blamed “professional saboteurs from the Anglo-American special services,” referring to the US and UK. In her post, Dagdelen called for the pipelines to “finally be put into operation,” and for the German government to “stop giving money to Kiev!” Dagdelen is a member of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW), a leftist political faction that supports rapprochement with Russia and shares the right-wing Alternative for Germany’s (AfD) anti-immigration stance.

The party’s leader, Sahra Wagenknecht, recently blamed the Ukraine conflict on the failure of the US to acknowledge Russia’s “red lines.” Back in September, Wagenknecht declared that “if Ukraine is responsible for the terrorist act against the German energy supply, the arms deliveries must end immediately and the question of compensation must be put on the table.” Dagdelen is not the first German MP to demand that Nord Stream be reopened. In September, AfD co-leader Tino Chrupalla called the undersea pipes “a lifeline of German industry,” and declared that “Nord Stream must be repaired, opened, and secured.”

Creative with words: “The economy is at the beginning of a strong aging spurt..”

• Germany Facing Longest Recession Ever – Handelsblatt (RT)

The German economy is on course for its longest post-war recession, with a third consecutive year of contraction projected for 2025, according to the Handelsblatt Research Institute (HRI). The institute predicts a 0.1% decline in 2025, following contractions of 0.3% in 2023 and 0.2% in 2024. This economic slump surpasses the two-year downturn of the early 2000s and reflects the compounded effects of an energy crisis, persistent inflation, and the Covid-19 pandemic. “The German economy is in the midst of its greatest crisis in post-war history,” HRI chief economist Bert Rurup said. Demographic challenges, such as an aging population, are adding to the strain. The HRI estimates Germany’s growth potential has fallen to just 0.5% annually. “The economy is at the beginning of a strong aging spurt,” Rurup noted. Official data from the Federal Statistical Office, expected on January 15, is likely to confirm the contraction in 2024.

While the HRI forecasts modest recovery in 2026, growth is expected to reach just 0.9%, far below pre-crisis levels. The German central bank has also adjusted its 2025 growth outlook, revising it down from 1.1% to 0.2% in December. Germany’s shift from affordable Russian gas to more expensive liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US has driven up energy costs, severely affecting manufacturers and small businesses. Rising costs have led to shutdowns and bankruptcies across industries, including major players like Volkswagen. Before the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, Germany relied on Russian gas for over half of its energy needs. Following EU sanctions on Moscow, gas deliveries were drastically reduced or cut off entirely. In September 2022, the Nord Stream pipelines, which transported Russian gas to Germany, were destroyed by explosions. On January 1, 2025, Russia was forced to officially suspend gas transit to the EU through Ukraine.

Germany’s export sector, particularly high-value manufacturing, remains one of the few strengths in the economy. However, it also faces challenges from global uncertainties and high energy prices. The loss of affordable Russian energy and rising costs have made recovery difficult. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel recently criticized the decision to abandon Russian gas. In an interview with France 2 TV in December, she called the past arrangement a “win-win situation,” saying it provided Germany with low-cost energy, while now prices have “exploded.” The economic crisis has become a pressing issue for Germans. A poll in December conducted by public broadcaster ARD revealed that the economy is the top concern for voters. The early general election scheduled for February 23 follows the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left coalition in November.

“Carter’s biggest annual deficit in constant 2024 dollars of purchasing power was just $240 billion during the recession year of 1980 [..] the Federal deficit clocked in at $367 billion in the month of November 2024 alone..”

• The Brewing US Debt Ceiling Crisis (David Stockman)

The MAGA folks are going to be in for a rude awakening. That’s because Donald Trump has been taking to the public stage in recent weeks promising a new “golden age” of American prosperity upon his return to the Oval Office, but nearly the opposite is just around the corner. What’s actually coming down the pike is the UniParty’s revenge— a financial and economic shitshow that is likely to dwarf all that has gone before. There is no mystery as to why. To wit, there is a demolition derby brewing in the bond pits that threatens to extinguish any even faint remaining hope that Washington’s Fiscal Doomsday Machine might be unplugged.

We are referring to the utter fiscal paralysis that stems from the combination of the GOP’s addiction to tax cuts and Big Defense budgets and the Dem’s demagoguery about Social Security, Medicare and the rest of the Welfare State. This means that down on the banks of the Potomac there is virtually no one left in the camp of fiscal rectitude. And, equally importantly, there is no political hay to be harvested by campaigning against the “borrow and spend” proclivities of an overweening central government, which has now become heavily insulated from the daily life of the people as they struggle to pay their bills and ward off the economic imprecations of inflation and taxes.

This embedded fiscal paralysis is actually something new under the sun, however. It was actually far different as recently as the late 1970s. Back then we found plenty of company among the GOP backbenchers in the US House as we launched full-throated political campaigns against the rising public debt and the “modest” rivers of red ink being incurred by “big spender” Jimmy Carter. We employ the quote marks here because as it has turned out Carter’s biggest annual deficit in constant 2024 dollars of purchasing power was just $240 billion during the recession year of 1980. Given that the Federal deficit clocked in at $367 billion in the month of November 2024 alone, it can be well and truly said that the Washington UniParty is now capable of generating more red ink in 20 days than Jimmy Carter did during his worst year.

Of course, that outcome earned him in short order a one-way ticket back to Plains Georgia. Yet that electoral rebuke was no fluke nor was it even due to the superior campaigning style of the Hollywood B actor who displaced him. Back then the deficit had immediate ramifications on main street because the Fed was not yet monetizing the flow of Treasury paper. Accordingly, the Treasury Department’s sharp elbows in the bond pits caused interest rates to materially rise and private sector borrowers to be “crowded out”.

Needless to say, representing a typical “town and country” district in Michigan, as we did, our political support base was especially attuned to the effects of Uncle Sam sucking up the available supply of private savings. Among these supporters, for instance, were car dealers, whose floor plan financing costs got jacked-up by rising interest rates, and Savings and Loan executives, whose book of fixed rate mortgages got nailed by sharply higher funding costs. There were also farmers, who suffered ballooning financing costs for fuel, fertilizer, tractors etc. and small manufacturers, who needed to finance inventories and equipment—among countless other productive citizens immediately and adversely impacted by Federal deficits.

Not surprisingly, therefore, the Federal deficit’s adverse economic impact on main street was rapidly and thoroughly transmitted to Washington via the incoming Congressional mail and hometown political pressure – a potent force that was not lost on the Congressional Democrats led by Speaker Tip O’Neill. In fact, we backbenchers used to send the Speaker into paroxysms of ill-temper with our deficit-howling on the floor of the US House because he knew full well that keeping his gavel in hand could be jeopardized in swing districts all around the country by GOP candidates on the warpath about spending and deficits—most especially during periods of rising inflation or other economic distress.

What existed until the era of Alan Greenspan and his subsequent heirs and assigns, therefore, was a form of politico-economic checks and balances. The Federal debt never really got out of hand because there was a feedback loop in the nation’s governance process that motivated the GOP to function as the anti-government party and Watchdog of the Treasury against the Dem’s self-designated role as the Government Party and champion of the people and the havenots.

The resulting tolerable political equilibrium is more than evident in the post WWII path of the Federal debt claim on the GDP. After bouts of bipartisan wartime finance, the debt ratio came down with regularity, falling from the 120% WWII peak to a bottom of just 31% in the early 1980s. Indeed, it was only after Paul Volcker was given his walking papers in 1987 by the easy money man at the US Treasury, James Baker, that this debt-containing governance equilibrium finally failed.

“..guidelines state that a single vaccine dose should not contain more than 10 nanograms of residual DNA [..] levels in Pfizer’s vaccines exceeding this limit by six to 470 times.”

• Study Finds DNA Contamination In Pfizer Covid-19 Vaccines (RT)

Pfizer’s mRNA Covid-19 vaccines contain residual DNA levels exceeding regulatory safety limits, according to a peer-reviewed study published this week in the Journal of High School Science. The research was conducted by student scientists at the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) White Oak Campus lab in Maryland. Residual DNA refers to small pieces of genetic material that may remain in vaccines or medicines after manufacturing. These fragments come from the cells or processes used to make the products. World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines state that a single vaccine dose should not contain more than 10 nanograms of residual DNA. The study, however, found levels in Pfizer’s vaccines exceeding this limit by six to 470 times.

Researchers analyzed vaccines obtained from BEI Resources, a supplier linked to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. They used NanoDrop and Qubit methods to measure DNA levels. Both methods showed contamination above acceptable thresholds. Residual DNA was found in six vials from two different vaccine lots. While the study stated that health risks posed by the DNA fragments are “currently unknown,” researchers warned that, in theory, they could integrate into human DNA and increase the risk of gene mutations. They also raised concerns that the fragments may contain oncogenes, which could lead to cancer. The authors recommended further testing to assess the potential risks.

The FDA has not yet commented on the findings. While reports of DNA contamination in Covid-19 vaccines have been circulating for years, US regulatory authorities have repeatedly brushed them off, stating that they pose no health risks. Kevin McKernan, founder of Medicinal Genomics, described the findings as a “bombshell,” and warned that DNA fragments might overstimulate the immune system, potentially “fueling cancer growth.” “Repeated exposure to foreign DNA through Covid-19 boosters may amplify this risk over time, creating conditions conducive to cancer development,” McKernan said in an interview with Maryanne Demasi, an Australia-based investigative journalist who first drew public attention to the study.

Nikolai Petrovsky, professor of immunology and head of Vaxine, an Australian biotechnology company, said the findings were a “smoking gun” and needed urgent attention from regulators. Petrovsky also accused the FDA of withholding information from the public, saying that the study “clearly shows the FDA was aware of these data,” given that it was conducted in its own lab under the supervision of its own scientists.

Tommy

pic.twitter.com/9PnTcdoU44

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2025

Vaccine

Watch this Evil Witch’s body language. She’s lying and she knows it.

‘Leading Vaccinologist’ Dr. Kathryn Edward’s gets absolutely annihilated by Attorney Aaron Siri…

“No, I don’t have any studies proving that the vaccines do NOT cause autism…” pic.twitter.com/1rISIj941J

— Liz Churchill (@liz_churchill10) January 3, 2025

Math