Rep. Massie Blasts Trump's Iran Warning: "We Have Problems At Home"

First it was over the White House's Venezuela policy, but now conservative and contrarian libertarian-leaning firebrand Rep. Thomas Massie is lashing out at President Trump over his fresh Iran warning and ultimatum.

Amid the nearly weeklong economic and anti-government protests in Iran, Trump added fuel to the fire on Friday, stating on Truth Social that if Iran shoots and "violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue."

Massie and Trump have frequently clashed over the past year. File image

This sounded to many like threat of regime change in another Middle East capital - though Trump might be thinking of other 'options' such as more sanctions and efforts to further isolate the Islamic Republic on the world stage.

Massie on Friday in response listed three points as a counter to and critique of Trump: "We have problems at home and shouldn’t be wasting military resources on another country’s internal affairs," Massie wrote on X.

He said that second, "Military strikes on Iran require Congressional authorization." He followed with the final criticism of, "This threat isn’t about freedom of speech in Iran; it’s about the dollar, oil, and Israel" - while reposting Trump's original message.

Massie has long been a thorn in the side of Trump's latest foreign policy adventures, and the Republican from Kentucky along with Sen. Rand Paul has a significant following among Trump's MAGA base.

He indeed gives voice to the growing viewpoint that Trump should stick to his campaign promises and not allow the United States military to be the "police force of the world".

Journalist Glenn Greenwald has meanwhile also called out Trump for not being 'America First' enough, while highlighting Massie's commentary...

In case you're wondering why three fanatically pro-Israel oligarchs (Miriam Adelson, Paul Singer and John Paulson) are single-handedly funding the campaign to remove @RepThomasMassie from Congress, see below.

Too much America First. Can't have that: pic.twitter.com/i7NwMmkNC1

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 2, 2026

For many others, however, Trump's reviving a Monroe Doctrine concept of how foreign policy should work might sound promising and refreshing. But it does require Washington to lessen or remove its footprint from conflict theatres ranging from Eastern Europe to the Middle East, as well as perhaps a policy of much less provoking China over the hot button Taiwan issue.

* * *

And more shots fired from MGT to boot...

Tyler Durden Fri, 01/02/2026 - 14:40

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani Revokes Orders Issued After Adams' Indictment

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order on Jan. 1 that will undo orders his predecessor, Eric Adams, issued after being indicted on bribery and corruption charges in September 2024.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks after he was ceremonially sworn in as New York City’s 112th mayor at City Hall by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in New York City on Jan. 1, 2026. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The order, which went into effect immediately, is among a series of executive actions Mamdani signed on his first day in office after being sworn in as the city’s mayor on Jan. 1.

His office stated that the order would rescind executive actions issued by Adams on or after Sept. 26, 2024, when the outgoing mayor was indicted on bribery, campaign finance, and conspiracy offenses. It did not list the specific executive orders to be revoked.

Orders likely to be revoked include a directive Adams issued on Dec. 3, 2025, which barred agency staff and mayoral appointees from engaging in procurement practices that discriminate against Israel and Israeli citizens.

Another affected order, issued by Adams that same day, directed the New York Police Department commissioner to evaluate proposals for regulating protest activity near houses of worship to protect freedom of speech.

Mamdani told reporters on Jan. 1 that he intends to keep the Mayor’s Office to Combat Anti-Semitism, established by Adams in May 2025. Adams issued the first mayoral report on anti-Semitism one day before Mamdani was sworn in, highlighting the need to tackle anti-Semitism in the city.

“That is an issue that we take seriously, and it’s part of the commitment that we’ve made to Jewish New Yorkers to not only protect them, but to celebrate and cherish them,” the new mayor said.

In his inaugural address, Mamdani emphasized that his administration would not “hesitate to use its power to improve New Yorkers’ lives.”

“The only expectation I seek to reset is that of small expectations,” he said during his inauguration ceremony at City Hall. “Beginning today, we will govern expansively and audaciously. We may not always succeed. But never will we be accused of lacking the courage to try.”

The September 2024 indictment against Adams, the first against a sitting New York City mayor, alleged that Adams accepted illegal campaign contributions from foreign nationals during his 2021 mayoral campaign.

Adams was also accused of receiving improper benefits while serving as Brooklyn Borough president in 2014, including international travel from foreign businessmen and at least one Turkish government official.

He pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. A federal judge in April 2025 dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be brought again, after the Justice Department asked for the case to be dismissed.

The Epoch Times reached out to Adams for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

Other executive orders Mamdani signed included measures to revitalize the Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and to establish two new task forces focused on leveraging city-owned land to accelerate housing development and removing bureaucratic and permitting barriers that drive up costs and delay housing construction.

Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist, won the Nov. 4, 2025, mayoral contest over independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa.

Tyler Durden Fri, 01/02/2026 - 14:20

Kremlin Makes Show Of Handing Evidence To US Side 'Proving' Ukrainian Attack On Putin Residence

The Kremlin has really made a big show for the cameras of handing over to American officials what it says is evidence that Ukrainian drones had attempted to strike Russian President Vladimir Putin's residence in the Novgorod region Sunday night into Monday morning.

The international community has asked for evidence Putin's residence was targeted, and Moscow has responded. Footage released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday shows Igor Kostykov, head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Russian General Staff, meeting with the US defense attaché in Moscow and handing over what he identified as a "navigation unit" recovered from one of the drones shot down in Novgorod.

Russia has been on an information blitz, putting out images of downed drones and televised interviews of local Russian eyewitnesses to the drone waves early this week. But the 'evidence hand-over' to the US side is ultimately strong signaling aimed at President Trump.

Kostykov described that the "decryption of the content of the memory of the navigation controller of the drones carried out by specialists of Russia’s special services confirms without question that the target of the attack was the complex of buildings of the Russian president’s residence in the Novgorod region."

MOMENT MoD hands over KEY data to US representatives

'Decryption of navigation controllers… unequivocally CONFIRMED that target of attack was Russian President’s residence in Novgorod region'

Military Intelligence Chief Igor Kostyukov transfers info to America https://t.co/XTCEc08DyD pic.twitter.com/V7xKBsxldD

— RT (@RT_com) January 1, 2026

Putin had informed President Trump about the alleged incident on the day it occurred via phone call, and Trump initially appeared to accept Moscow’s version, expressing sympathy and saying he "wasn't happy about it." He followed by sharing a New York Post article which said Moscow "is the one standing in the way of peace."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would not withdraw from peace talks with Washington, but would still adjust its negotiating stance and respond militarily, adding that potential targets had already been selected. "Such reckless actions will not go unanswered," he said.

What might this response look like? Author and geopolitical pundit Glenn Diesen writes the following:

WSJ reports that Russia’s attacks on Odessa (ports, bridges, etc.) are cutting Ukraine’s economic lifeline. This was a predictable Russian response after Ukraine/NATO began using Odessa to target Russian civilian ships.

It is equally predictable that Russia will annex Odessa if there is no peace agreement that restores Ukraine’s neutrality and prevents Odessa from being used as a NATO front line. Our political-media establishment should learn about the security dilemma instead of cosplaying a the 1930s.

Diesen ends with this apt conclusion: "NATO is not 'helping' Ukraine by intensifying attacks on Russia, it is sacrificing Ukraine in the hope of bleeding Russia."

Reporting in mainstream media indicates a US intelligence consensus which casts doubt on Ukrainian drones being intentionally sent against Putin's residence; however, there does seem to be acknowledgement that a drone wave was active in the general area.

Putin's residence at Valdai. Source: navalny.com

The below is conveyed from The Wall Street Journal report:

U.S. national-security officials said Wednesday that Ukraine didn’t target Russian President Vladimir Putin or one of his residences in an alleged drone operation, challenging Moscow’s assertion that Kyiv sought to kill the Russian leader.

That conclusion is supported by a Central Intelligence Agency assessment that found no attempted attack against Putin had occurred, according to a U.S. official briefed on the intelligence. The CIA declined to comment.

The U.S. found that Ukraine had been seeking to strike a military target located in the same region as Putin's country residence but not close by, the official said.

The big question remains, if drones did target the residence, was the CIA involved in assisting with targeting information?

Tyler Durden Fri, 01/02/2026 - 14:00

Pretense, Staging, Expediency: The "Solutions" That Implode The Whole Shebang

Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via OfTwoMinds blog,

Slapdash quick fixes and policies share one characteristic: they eventually implode the whole shebang.

We all know how this works: the business is failing and the divorce papers have been filed, but the optics are ugly, so the couple waltzes in, all smiles and lovey-dovey, for who wants to explain how it all went wrong?

To paper over the inevitable reckoning, expediencies are deployed: money is borrowed but the loans are kept off the books, defaults are buried, the kids' college fund is raided, promises that can't be kept are made, and so on.

To maintain the illusion that all is well, everything is carefully staged. The failing business still churns out PR, the yard service keeps the front yard tidy, and the inability to pay the university tuition is explained away as a "gap year" as the eldest child seeks work experience to bolster their career opportunities, etc.

2026 is the year when all the "solutions" of Pretense, Staging and Expediency implode on every level: household, enterprise, local, state and national, for Pretense, Staging and Expediency are scale-invariant "solutions": cooking the books, staging and hiding debt works for the state and nation just as well as it does for the sole proprietor and bankrupt household.

The only difference is the depth of the deviousness. The larger the organization, the greater the resources available to throw into Pretense, Staging and Expediency. So banks extend a new loan to borrowers who defaulted so they can make minimal payments, an expediency that enables the bank to keep the non-performing loan on the books as an asset in good standing.

Conventional economists are paid truckloads of cash to conjure up gamed statistics and bogus projections that act as eye-catching facades hiding the rotting mansion awaiting collapse.

The problem is Pretense, Staging and Expediency are not actual solutions. Since there's no actual long-term plan to address the dire consequences of previous "solutions," Pretense and Staging are deployed along with increasingly destabilizing Expediencies to mask the unintended consequences of slapdash quick fixes.

Policies touted as "solutions" that lack any consideration of the consequences are in effect Expediencies, as the first-order effects of policies that affect the entire system are hard enough to anticipate, while the second-order effects (consequences generate their own set of consequences) only unfold over time and cannot be fully anticipated.

Semantic / narrative-control Pretense and Staging are popular but self-defeating, as calling the risk-choked Shadow Banking System "private credit" doesn't change the dominoes-falling house of cards nature of expediencies as they implode. (Thank you, correspondent Anthony A., for this example.)

Slapdash fixes / policies share one characteristic: they eventually implode the whole shebang when the failure of Pretense, Staging and Expediency to actually resolve structural problems becomes unavoidably obvious. Hope clings tenaciously to Pretense, Staging and Expediency, but when this faith in falsehoods and fakery finally expires, there's no outrunning the consequences.

We'll know things are serious when those in charge are reduced to relying on lies as their last-ditch cover story.

Alternatively, we'll know things are serious when the AI chatbot declares all this is a fringe conspiracy theory and then three questions later, it's recommending survivalist strategies of the fringe conspiracy theory variety.

*  *  *

My new book Investing In Revolution is available at a 10% discount ($18 for the paperback, $24 for the hardcover and $8.95 for the ebook edition). Introduction (free)

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Tyler Durden Fri, 01/02/2026 - 13:40

Minnesota To Mandate K–12 Ethnic Studies Instruction In 2026

Authored by Aaron Gifford via The Epoch Times,

In the coming weeks, school boards across the Land of 10,000 Lakes state will decide on curricula to meet ethnic studies mandates for the 2026–2027 academic year.

There appear to be limited alternatives to the free instructional materials developed with taxpayer dollars and endorsed by the state teachers’ union.

That curriculum instructs 6th graders to learn the 13 guiding principles of the Black Lives Matter movement; 7th graders on how protesters have breached federal buildings; and higher schoolers to “identify plans of action that people have used to resist, refuse, and create alternatives to oppressive systems,” according to the materials developed by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender and Sexuality Studies (RIDGS).

“Students will be able to explain how race is socially constructed and how that social construction has been used to oppress people of color, specifically in relation to Jim Crow, segregation, and racial covenants,” reads the description for the 11th and 12th-grade Jim Crow of the North course.

The Center of the American Experiment, a Minnesota-based education policy organization that opposes partisan and race-based curricula, is helping districts find politically neutral alternatives that it says are more like traditional social studies and history electives and less like social justice advocacy guidance.

“The words ethnic studies have been hijacked,” Catrin Wigfall, a policy fellow with the center, told The Epoch Times.

“But boards [of education] have more power in this than they might think.”

Additionally, state laws allow parents to review a curriculum and opt their child out of any instruction they find objectionable, in which case the school is required to provide alternative materials, Wigfall said.

The Minnesota Department of Education defines ethnic studies as an interdisciplinary area of instruction that “analyzes how race and racism have been and continue to be social, cultural, and political forces, and the connection of race to the stratification of other groups.”

The state law requires public schools to incorporate ethnic studies lessons in mandatory social studies courses across all grade levels, in addition to offering a stand-alone ethnic studies elective course for high school juniors and seniors.

In 2023, the Minnesota Department of Education stipulated that the ethnic studies context is expected to be embedded in other subject areas, including math, physical education, and health, as courses are periodically revised.

The Center of the American Experiment argues that those standards habituate angry, inaccurate, and “identity-first” ideological and political perspectives.

By definition, ethnic studies should focus on global histories, cultures, and religions, but the instruction pushed in Minnesota schools forces a polarizing and narrow political worldview, Wigfall said.

“It’s been a bait and switch campaign,” she said.

The center endorses the American Experience curriculum by the Foundation Against Tolerance and Racism, which Johns Hopkins has approved as a model for ethnic studies instruction, as a suitable alternative to the University of Minnesota’s instructional materials.

In addition, the 1776 Unites free curriculum focuses on historical stories that “celebrate black excellence, reject victimhood culture, and showcase African-Americans who have prospered by embracing America’s founding ideals,” according to its website.

Wigfall said her organization will work with school districts to navigate curriculum choices and the timetable for meeting state requirements across various subject areas.

The center isn’t advocating litigation over the mandate, but local education leaders, under federal Title VI provisions, have legal recourse if they are forced to foster a hostile learning environment under state requirements.

“It will be interesting to see what the rollout looks like,” she said. “When you emphasize tribalism, what does that do to knowledge development?”

Minnesota isn’t the only place grappling with debates surrounding ethnic studies mandates.

The California Department of Education strongly recommends the curricula, but has yet to require them.

The Defending Education parents’ organization recently reported that K–12 districts in 22 states spent more than $17.5 million since 2017 on “liberated” ethnic studies instruction.

Mitch Siegler, founder of the THINC Foundation, which promotes K–12 curriculum transparency and is closely monitoring California’s moves, said his situation is similar to Minnesota’s in that consultants and content creators focusing on such ethnic studies collaborate with districts and teacher unions to “promote the only game in town.”

THINC is developing alternative materials that emphasize civics and American history.

“Warts and all,” Siegler said in an email response to The Epoch Times. “And which teaches students to debate complex issues and disagree in an agreeable fashion. That’s a far cry from the ideological approach which the ‘liberated’ consultants advocate for.”

The Epoch Times reached out to the Minnesota Department of Education and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Tyler Durden Fri, 01/02/2026 - 13:00

UBS Says Soaring Memory Chip Prices To "Turbo-Charge" Samsung Earnings

For several months, we have tracked a sharp increase in DDR5 DRAM pricing, as evidenced by DRAMeXchange data, driven primarily by surging AI-related cloud computing demand and hyperscalers accelerating data center buildouts.

On day one of the new year, Samsung co-CEO Jun Young Hyun told employees in an internal memo that customers have praised the differentiated competitiveness of its next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, or HBM4, saying, "It's even earning an assessment from customers that 'Samsung is back'." He noted that Samsung will also benefit from favorable memory market conditions this year, as demand for artificial intelligence chips has materialized much quicker than initially anticipated.

The other week, Goldman analyst Maho Kamiya told clients that mounting concerns about soaring memory prices posed new risks for Nintendo, which manufactures consumer electronics such as the popular Switch 2.

"Some investors think that Nintendo will be selling Switch 2 at a loss and gross profit falling into the red. While rising memory prices are a risk factor that could depress hardware margins, we think concerns are somewhat excessive," Kamiya told clients last week.

While end-use consumer electronics companies such as Nintendo may be pressured by higher memory costs, the same pricing surge is expected to "turbo-charge earnings" for Samsung's memory business, according to UBS analyst Nicolas Gaudois.

Gaudois explains why:

DDR and NAND contract pricing coming out higher than expected

With 4Q25 memory contract pricing negotiations now completed, we lift our forecast for DDR contract pricing to +35% QoQ (was +21%), and for NAND +20% (was +15%). We believe customers are trying to secure 1Q26 contract pricing in earnest, with further potential for upside. We now forecast blended DDR contract pricing to increase 29% QoQ (was +15%) and NAND +20% (was +10%) in 1Q26. From there on, we continue to forecast DRAM to remain undersupplied until 1Q27, and NAND 3Q26. We see the ongoing upside in conventional memory pricing as the main stock driver for Samsung. At 1.43x NTM book, we believe the stock is not yet discounting the strength and length of the upcycle ahead.

HBM shipments to catch up in 2026E

While we maintain our 2026 DRAM bit growth forecast of 15% YoY, we could see up to 2 pct pts upside depending on production yields / efficiency / mix. We continue to forecast HBM shipments to reach 7.5bn Gb in 2026, up 77% YoY. We continue to expect Samsung to provide HBM4 samples to Nvidia by February, which could lead to qualification by 2Q26 (with production starting earlier in 1Q). We believe Samsung remains first source for HBM for AMD and Open AI. Regarding Google, we believe Samsung is second source for TPU 7p, while Micron may be second source for TPU 7e (first source in both cases being SK Hynix).

Increasing forecasts well ahead of consensus on DDR/NAND ASP estimates

We increase our 4Q25 OP forecast to Won18.1tn from Won15.0tn (VA consensus: Won15.3tn) on the back of increased DRAM and NAND ASPs. We raise 2026E/27E OP to Won135.3tn/Won143.6tn (from Won101.2tn/Won109.5tn respectively), well ahead of consensus Won86.9tn/Won109.6tn respectively, and lift our 2026/27 EPS forecasts by 31%/29%. These changes are due to raised DDR/NAND ASPs as well as DRAM bit growth forecasts, which more than offset us lowering smartphone margins due to rising memory prices.

Valuation: lift price target to Won154,000 from Won128,000 – Buy

We value Samsung ordinary shares at 1.97x NTM book (was 1.79x) considering our 2026-30 average ROE estimate of 16.3% (was 14.6%) and CoE of 8.3% (was 8.2%). We also raise our Samsung GDR PT to US$2,610, from US$2,230, with the latest FX.

We've shown readers DDR5 DRAM pricing via DRAMeXchange...

Update: two months later https://t.co/Q4TPIrpzxV pic.twitter.com/O3KTKxZOVE

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 22, 2025

But now, take a look at DDR5 DRAM pricing on Amazon!

As a reminder, AI workloads are built around memory.

ZeroHedge Pro Subs can view the full note in the usual place, which includes a thesis map of the memory cycle.

Tyler Durden Fri, 01/02/2026 - 12:40

10 Very Important Trends To Watch As We Enter 2026

Authored by Michael Snyder via TheMostImportantNews.com,

Are we on the brink of a worldwide nightmare? Many have described what we are currently experiencing as a “perfect storm”. We have been getting hit with one crisis after another as global events have greatly accelerated in recent months. But now it feels like the next chapter that we are entering is going to take things to an entirely different level.

On New Year’s Eve, something very unexpected happened at our most important landmark in the middle of the country.  You will want to read all the way to the end of this article to see what I am talking about.  This year is already off to a very unusual start, and I fully expect a lot more craziness in the months ahead.  

The following are 10 very important trends to watch as we enter 2026…

#1 The Price Of Silver

The price of silver is telling us that there is big trouble under the surface of the global financial system.  Even though there was a dramatic attempt to suppress the price of silver this week, it was still up about 140 percent in 2025.

And the difference between the price of paper silver and the prices that physical silver is going for around the world has become extremely alarming…

Silver at $130 in Japan, $106 in Kuwait, $97 in Korea, and “$71” on Western screens is not a market; it is a confession. The numbers read like a crime scene diagram: in the real world where bars change hands and coins disappear into safes, silver has quietly migrated into triple‑digit pricing, while the supposed “global benchmark” in New York and London is still stuck in a fantasyland of leveraged promises.​

In Tokyo shops and Japanese bullion counters, you are not buying silver in the 70s; you are paying the equivalent of $120–130 an ounce because that is what it costs to replace inventory once you factor in tight wholesale supply, shipping, insurance, currency chaos, and the growing sense that the next shipment might not show up on time, or at all. Kuwait tells the same story in a different language: retail bars priced around $100+ an ounce are not a fat merchant’s greed; they are the market’s answer to a simple question—what will it really take to pry physical metal out of the pipeline in a world where everyone suddenly wants the same scarce asset at the same time.​

#2 The Affordability Crisis

In 2025, I wrote about the affordability crisis in the United States a lot.

Sadly, at this stage approximately two-thirds of the entire U.S. population is struggling to even pay for the basics…

About 7 in 10 Americans polled by CBS News in December said they were struggling to pay for food, housing and health care, underscoring the affordability issues affecting millions of households.

#3 Israel And Iran

This is a big one.

Once Israel and Iran start fighting again, global events will go into overdrive.

Apparently a new round of airstrikes on Iran was discussed during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with President Trump on Monday, and I am convinced that it won’t be too long before those airstrikes actually begin…

On Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, during which the two leaders discussed efforts by Iran to reconstitute its nuclear program following the Israeli and American airstrikes in June, and to expand its ballistic missile arsenal.

During the meeting, Netanyahu shared with Trump details regarding Israel’s planning for a possible follow-up air campaign against Iran, should Tehran continue to refuse to halt its efforts to enrich uranium.

According to a US official and two other American sources, Israel is considering airstrikes in 2026.

#4 The War In Ukraine

Russian forces are steadily moving forward on the eastern and southern fronts in Ukraine, and so the Russians will not be inclined to give the Ukrainians and our European allies what they are demanding…

• Russian President Vladimir Putin inspected a command post of the Russian Armed Forces
• Putin received reports from Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and the commanders of Russia’s Center and East groupings of forces.
• Russian commanders told Putin that their army has captured the cities of Mirnohrad, Rodynske, and Artemivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, as well as Huliaipole and Steponohirsk in the Zaporizhzhia region.

#5 Europe Preparing For War

Russia has made it very clear that it does not intend to attack any other European countries.

But for some reason, the Europeans are feverishly preparing for war anyway.

In fact, Germany is now requiring all 18-year-old males to complete a compulsory survey about military service…

Germany is stepping up preparations for war – starting with its teenage boys.

From this week, every German male will be legally required to answer questions from the army the moment he turns 18, as part of a sweeping new military service scheme approved amid mounting fears of a major conflict in Europe.

Tens of thousands of teenagers will be sent a compulsory 14-question survey by the Bundeswehr, asking not only how interested they are in joining the military, but how fit they are to fight and how quickly they could be ready for service.

Ignoring the form is not an option. Young men who refuse to complete the questionnaire – or repeatedly ignore follow-up demands from the army – face fines of up to €1,000 (£800), even though ministers insist the scheme falls short of full conscription.

#6 Venezuela

The Trump administration has been bombing drug boats, seizing oil tankers and threatening the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

This could put the U.S. on a collision course with China.

China does not intend to stop buying oil from Venezuela.  If the U.S. starts seizing Chinese oil tankers that approach Venezuela, that could cause a major international incident.  According to Newsweek, there are two Chinese oil tankers that are expected to arrive in Venezuela very soon…

Chinese oil tankers are pressing ahead with Venezuela-linked voyages despite a U.S. blockade and an escalating campaign of tanker seizures.

Two Chinese-flagged VLCCs are operating near Venezuelan waters, with the Thousand Sunny due to arrive in mid-January and the Xing Ye waiting off French Guiana, according to a new report by Lloyd’s List.

Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.

#7 Taiwan

The Chinese just concluded military exercises that practiced what a full-blown blockade of Taiwan would look like.

At this stage, tensions between China and Taiwan are higher “than at any point in recent years”…

As 2025 ends, tensions between China and Taiwan are higher — and more overt — than at any point in recent years, fueled by expanded U.S. military support for Taipei, increasingly bold warnings from regional allies, and Chinese military drills that look less like symbolism and more like rehearsal.

Beijing has spent the year steadily increasing pressure on Taiwan through large-scale military exercises, air and naval incursions, and pointed political messaging, while Washington and its allies have responded with sharper deterrence signals that China now openly labels as interference.

#8 Pestilences

The bird flu continues to kill millions of birds all over the globe, various strains of mpox continue to circulate, and the pestilence that erupted in 2020 is still making people sick throughout the world.  Meanwhile, some U.S. states are seeing a historic spike in flu cases…

The ‘super flu’ is exploding across the US, with some states seeing more cases than ever before.

The latest CDC data for the week ending December 20 shows positive flu tests are up 53 percent compared to the week prior. Positive tests are up nearly 75 percent from this time last year.

During the week ending December 20, the number of people hospitalized surged 51 percent, and the number already in hospital has nearly doubled compared to the same period last year.

It is just a matter of time before the next great global pandemic arrives, and scientists are warning us that it could come from a multitude of potential directions…

Scientists continue to discover viruses with worrisome characteristics (Chen et al. 2025). Some experts worry about the potential for a leak from pathogen research labs (Palacios, Garcia-Sastre, and Relman 2025), or AI’s ability, in the wrong hands, to help with the creation of a bioweapon (Tjandra 2025). Out in the open, H5N1 avian influenza continues to spread and infect a wide range of animal species—the virus perhaps just a mutation away from becoming a human threat (Lin et al. 2024). Another pathogen, most likely an influenza or another coronavirus is waiting to break out.

#9 Seismic Activity Along The Pacific Ring Of Fire

Seismic activity along the Pacific Ring of Fire increased dramatically in 2025.

And as we enter 2026, the state of California is being shaken by significant earthquakes on an almost daily basis.

In fact, we just witnessed a magnitude 4.9 quake that really shook a lot of people up…

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake was recorded near the town of Susanville in Lassen County on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake was centered around nine miles northwest of Susanville at 9:49 p.m. It was downgraded from an initial magnitude of 5.3.

#10 The Greatest Global Food Crisis In Modern History

We are in the midst of the greatest global food crisis in modern history.

But don’t just take my word for it.

The following comes from the official website of the UN’s World Food program…

Yes. Right now, there is a global food crisis – the largest one in modern history. Since the United Nations World Food Program’s (WFP) creation in 1963, never has hunger reached such devastating highs. From the eruption of new conflicts and the escalating impacts of the climate crisis to soaring food and fuel costs, millions of people are being driven closer to starvation each day.

Nearly 350 million people around the world are experiencing the most extreme forms of hunger right now. Of those, nearly 49 million people are on the brink of famine. Behind these massive statistics are individual children, women and men suffering from the dire effects of such severe hunger. Malnourished mothers give birth to malnourished babies, passing hunger from one generation to the next. Children’s physical and cognitive growth is stunted. Farmers are unable to grow enough food to provide for their families and communities. Entire towns are forced to leave their homes in search of food.

We really are living in apocalyptic times.

Sadly, many in the western world don’t seem to understand this since we don’t have war or famine on our own soil.

But for those that are watching carefully, it is exceedingly clear that we have arrived at a truly unique chapter in human history.

So many incredibly strange things are occurring all around us.

On New Year’s Eve, a green meteor dramatically flew past the most important landmark in the center of the United States…

A shimmering meteor was spotted cutting across the sky over the famed Gateway Arch in Missouri hours before revelers rushed to a New Year’s Eve celebration at the monument’s base.

“HEY LOOK, it’s… A meteor saying hi to the Gateway Arch on New Year’s Eve!” The St. Louis Gateway Arch’s X account wrote in a post shared with the breathtaking video.

In the six-second clip, a small white speck appears over one end of the arch. It grows into a green blaze that pulses once before disappearing back into the dark obscurity provided by the predawn sky — right as it reaches the arch’s peak.

The viral video was captured on an Earth Cam situated at Malcolm Martin Memorial Park in east St. Louis. The camera is angled directly towards the city’s skyline all day, every day.

That is something that you don’t see every day.

Of course so many weird things have been happening in the heavens over the last couple of years, and most of the population simply doesn’t care.

Most of us have an unbreakable addiction to entertainment at this point, and getting people to focus on anything other than entertainment is becoming exceedingly difficult.

Most people are just going to continue to stare at their screens as the world falls apart all around them, and that is extremely unfortunate.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

Tyler Durden Fri, 01/02/2026 - 12:20

Peter Schiff: Printing Money Is Not the Cure for Cononavirus



In his most recent podcast, Peter Schiff talked about coronavirus and the impact that it is having on the markets. Earlier this month, Peter said he thought the virus was just an excuse for stock market woes. At the time he believed the market was poised to fall anyway. But as it turns out, coronavirus has actually helped the US stock market because it has led central banks to pump even more liquidity into the world financial system. All this means more liquidity — central banks easing. In fact, that is exactly what has already happened, except the new easing is taking place, for now, outside the United States, particularly in China.” Although the new money is primarily being created in China, it is flowing into dollars — the dollar index is up — and into US stocks. Last week, US stock markets once again made all-time record highs. In fact, I think but for the coronavirus, the US stock market would still be selling off. But because of the central bank stimulus that has been the result of fears over the coronavirus, that actually benefitted not only the US dollar, but the US stock market.” In the midst of all this, Peter raises a really good question. The primary economic concern is that coronavirus will slow down output and ultimately stunt economic growth. Practically speaking, the world would produce less stuff. If the virus continues to spread, there would be fewer goods and services produced in a market that is hunkered down. Why would the Federal Reserve respond, or why would any central bank respond to that by printing money? How does printing more money solve that problem? It doesn’t. In fact, it actually exacerbates it. But you know, everybody looks at central bankers as if they’ve got the solution to every problem. They don’t. They don’t have the magic wand. They just have a printing press. And all that creates is inflation.” Sometimes the illusion inflation creates can look like a magic wand. Printing money can paper over problems. But none of this is going to fundamentally fix the economy. In fact, if central bankers were really going to do the right thing, the appropriate response would be to drain liquidity from the markets, not supply even more.” Peter explained how the Fed was originally intended to create an “elastic” money supply that would expand or contract along with economic output. Today, the money supply only goes in one direction — that’s up. The economy is strong, print money. The economy is weak, print even more money.” Of course, the asset that’s doing the best right now is gold. The yellow metal pushed above $1,600 yesterday. Gold is up 5.5% on the year in dollar terms and has set record highs in other currencies. Because gold is rising even in an environment where the dollar is strengthening against other fiat currencies, that shows you that there is an underlying weakness in the dollar that is right now not being reflected in the Forex markets, but is being reflected in the gold markets. Because after all, why are people buying gold more aggressively than they’re buying dollars or more aggressively than they’re buying US Treasuries? Because they know that things are not as good for the dollar or the US economy as everybody likes to believe. So, more people are seeking out refuge in a better safe-haven and that is gold.” Peter also talked about the debate between Trump and Obama over who gets credit for the booming economy – which of course, is not booming.

We are living in crazy times. I have a hard time believing that most of the general public is not awake, but in reality, they are. We've never seen anything like this; I mean not even under Obama during the worst part of the Great Recession." Now the Fed is desperately trying to keep interest rates from rising. The problem is that it's a much bigger debt bubble this time around , and the Fed is going to have to blow a lot more air into it to keep it inflated. The difference is this time it's not going to work." It looks like the Fed did another $104.15 billion of Not Q.E. in a single day. The Fed claims it's only temporary. But that is precisely what Bernanke claimed when the Fed started QE1. Milton Freedman once said, "Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program." The same applies to Q.E., or whatever the Fed wants to pretend it's doing. Except this is not QE4, according to Powell. Right. Pumping so much money out, and they are accusing China of currency manipulation ? Wow! Seriously! Amazing! Dump the U.S. dollar while you still have a chance. Welcome to The Atlantis Report. And it is even worse than that, In addition to the $104.15 billion of "Not Q.E." this past Thursday; the FED added another $56.65 billion in liquidity to financial markets the next day on Friday. That's $160.8 billion in two days!!!! in just 48 hours. That is more than 2 TIMES the highest amount the FED has ever injected on a monthly basis under a Q.E. program (which was $80 billion per month) Since this isn't QE....it will be really scary on what they are going to call Q.E. Will it twice, three times, four times, five times what this injection per month ! It is going to be explosive since it takes about 60 to 90 days for prices to react to this, January should see significant inflation as prices soak up the excess liquidity. The question is, where will the inflation occur first . The spike in the repo rate might have a technical explanation: a misjudgment was made in the Fed's money market operations. Even so, two conclusions can be drawn: managing the money markets is becoming harder, and from now on, banks will be studying each other's creditworthiness to a greater degree than before. Those people, who struggle with the minutiae of money markets, and that includes most professionals, should focus on the causes and not the symptoms. Financial markets have recovered from each downturn since 1980 because interest rates have been cut to new lows. Post-2008, they were cut to near zero or below zero in all major economies. In response to a new financial crisis, they cannot go any lower. Central banks will look for new ways to replicate or broaden Q.E. (At some point, governments will simply see repression as an easier option). Then there is the problem of 'risk-free' assets becoming risky assets. Financial markets assume that the probability of major governments such as the U.S. or U.K. defaulting is zero. These governments are entering the next downturn with debt roughly twice the levels proportionate to GDP that was seen in 2008. The belief that the policy worked was completely predicated on the fact that it was temporary and that it was reversible, that the Fed was going to be able to normalize interest rates and shrink its balance sheet back down to pre-crisis levels. Well, when the balance sheet is five-trillion, six-trillion, seven-trillion when we're back at zero, when we're back in a recession, nobody is going to believe it is temporary. Nobody is going to believe that the Fed has this under control, that they can reverse this policy. And the dollar is going to crash. And when the dollar crashes, it's going to take the bond market with it, and we're going to have stagflation. We're going to have a deep recession with rising interest rates, and this whole thing is going to come imploding down. everything is temporary with the fed including remaining off the gold standard temporary in the Fed's eyes could mean at least 50 years This liquidity problem is a signal that trading desks are loaded up on inventory and can't get rid of it. Repo is done out of a need for cash. If you own all of your securities (i.e., a long-only, no leverage mutual fund) you have no need to "repo" your securities - you're earning interest every night so why would you want to 'repo' your securities where you are paying interest for that overnight loan (securities lending is another animal). So, it is those that 'lever-up' and need the cash for settlement purposes on securities they've bought with borrowed money that needs to utilize the repo desk. With this in mind, as we continue to see this need to obtain cash (again, needed to settle other securities purchases), it shows these firms don't have the capital to add more inventory to, what appears to be, a bloated inventory. Now comes the fun part: the Treasury is about to auction 3's, 10's, and 30-year bonds. If I am correct (again, I could be wrong), the Fed realizes securities firms don't have the shelf space to take down a good portion of these auctions. If there isn't enough retail/institutional demand, it will lead to not only a crappy sale but major concerns to the street that there is now no backstop, at all, to any sell-off. At which point, everyone will want to be the first one through the door and sell immediately, but to whom? If there isn't enough liquidity in the repo market to finance their positions, the firms would be unable to increase their inventory. We all saw repo shut down on the 2008 crisis. Wall St runs on money. . OVERNIGHT money. They lever up to inventory securities for trading. If they can't get overnight money, they can't purchase securities. And if they can't unload what they have, it means the buy-side isn't taking on more either. Accounts settle overnight. This includes things like payrolls and bill pay settlements. If a bank doesn't have enough cash to payout what its customers need to pay out, it borrows. At least one and probably more than one banks are insolvent. That's what's going on. First, it can't be one or two banks that are short. They'd simply call around until they found someone to lend. But they did that, and even at markedly elevated rates, still, NO ONE would lend them the money. That tells me that it's not a problem of a couple of borrowers, it's a problem of no lenders. And that means that there's no bank in the world left with any real liquidity. They are ALL maxed out. But as bad as that is, and that alone could be catastrophic, what it really signals is even worse. The lending rates are just the flip side of the coin of the value of the assets lent against. If the rates go up, the value goes down. And with rates spiking to 10%, how far does the value fall? Enormously! And if banks had to actually mark down the value of the assets to reflect 10% interest rates, then my god, every bank in the world is insolvent overnight. Everyone's capital ratios are in the toilet, and they'd have to liquidate. We're talking about the simultaneous insolvency of every bank on the planet. Bank runs. No money in ATMs, Branches closed. Safe deposit boxes confiscated. The whole nine yards, It's actually here. The scenario has tended to guide toward for years and years is actually happening RIGHT NOW! And people are still trying to say it's under control. Every bank in the world is currently insolvent. The only thing keeping it going is printing billions of dollars every day. Financial Armageddon isn't some far off future risk. It's here. Prepare accordingly. This fiat system has reached the end of the line, and it's not correct that fiat currencies fail by design. The problem is corruption and manipulation. It is corruption and cheating that erodes trust and faith until the entire system becomes a gigantic fraud. Banks and governments everywhere ARE the problem and simply have to be removed. They have lost all trust and respect, and all they have left is war and mayhem. As long as we continue to have a majority of braindead asleep imbeciles following orders from these psychopaths, nothing will change. Fiat currency is not just thievery. Fiat currency is SLAVERY. Ultimately the most harmful effect of using debt of undefined value as money (i.e., fiat currencies) is the de facto legalization of a caste system based on voluntary slavery. The bankers have a charter, or the legal *right*, to create money out of nothing. You, you don't. Therefore you and the bankers do not have the same standing before the law. The law of the land says that you will go to jail if you do the same thing (creating money out of thin air) that the banker does in full legality. You and the banker are not equal before the law. ALL the countries of the world; Islamic or secular, Jewish or Arab, democracy or dictatorship; all of them place the bankers ABOVE you. And all of you accept that only whining about fiat money going down in exchange value over time (price inflation which is not the same as monetary inflation). Actually, price inflation itself is mainly due to the greed and stupidity of the bankers who could keep fiat money's exchange value reasonably stable, only if they wanted to. Witness the crash of silver and gold prices which the bankers of the world; Russian, American, Chinese, Jewish, Indian, Arab, all of them collaborated to engineer through the suppression and stagnation of precious metals' prices to levels around the metals' production costs, or what it costs to dig gold and silver out of the ground. The bankers of the world could also collaborate to keep nominal prices steady (as they do in the case of the suppression of precious metals prices). After all, the ability to create fiat money and force its usage is a far more excellent source of power and wealth than that which is afforded simply by stealing it through inflation. The bankers' greed and stupidity blind them to this fact. They want it all, and they want it now. In conclusion, The bankers can create money out of nothing and buy your goods and services with this worthless fiat money, effectively for free. You, you can't. You, you have to lead miserable existences for the most of you and WORK in order to obtain that effectively nonexistent, worthless credit money (whose purchasing/exchange value is not even DEFINED thus rendering all contracts based on the null and void!) that the banker effortlessly creates out of thin air with a few strokes of the computer keyboard, and which he doesn't even bother to print on paper anymore, electing to keep it in its pure quantum uncertain form instead, as electrons whizzing about inside computer chips which will become mute and turn silent refusing to tell you how many fiat dollars or euros there are in which account, in the absence of electricity. No electricity, no fiat, nor crypto money. It would appear that trust is deteriorating as it did when Lehman blew up . Something really big happened that set off this chain reaction in the repo markets. Whatever that something is, we aren't be informed. They're trying to cover it up, paper it over with conjured cash injections, play it cool in front of the cameras while sweating profusely under the 5 thousands dollar suits. I'm guessing that the final high-speed plunge into global economic collapse has begun. All we see here is the ripples and whitewater churning the surface, but beneath the surface, there is an enormous beast thrashing desperately in its death throws. Now is probably the time to start tying up loose ends with the long-running prep projects, just saying. In other words, prepare accordingly, and Get your money out of the banks. I don't care if you don't believe me about Bitcoin. Get your money out of the banks. Don't keep any more money in a bank than you need to pay your bills and can afford to lose.











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The Financial Armageddon Economic Collapse Blog tracks trends and forecasts , futurists , visionaries , free investigative journalists , researchers , Whistelblowers , truthers and many more

The FBI released a summary of its file from the Hillary Clinton email investigation on Friday, showing details of Clinton's explanation of her use of a private email server to handle classified communications. The release comes nearly two months after FBI Director James Comey announced that although Clinton's handling of classified information was "extremely careless," it did not rise to the level of a prosecutable offense. Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced the next day that she would not pursue charges in the matter. "We are making these materials available to the public in the interest of transparency and in response to numerous Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests," the FBI noted in a statement sent to reporters with links to the documents. The documents include notes from Clinton's July 2 interview with agents, as well as a "factual summary of the FBI's investigation into this matter," according to the FBI release. Throughout her interview with agents, Clinton repeatedly said she relied on the career professionals she worked with to handle classified information correctly. The agents asked about a series of specific emails, and in each case Clinton said she wasn't worried about the particular material being discussed on a nonclassified channel.