Thanks, B. 
 
We all appreciate you for all the wonderful, selfless things you’ve done for us. 
 
Best wishes for your happiness.
 
And to the Bar, I appreciate all of you. Even, maybe especially, when you don’t agree with me. I have learned a great deal from you. 
 
Happy trails. 

Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Dec 24 2025 11:46 utc | 3

To all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Humanity needs to strive for Peace and Equality…..

Posted by: georgeg | Dec 24 2025 11:55 utc | 5

Posted by: FromFrance | Dec 24 2025 11:28 utc | 1
[…]
Wow! Laurent Lafforgue is a Fields Medal winner.
The most intelligent are with us.

Posted by: Johan Kaspar | Dec 24 2025 12:06 utc | 7

Merry Christmas and blessed time with your families and friends and neighbors to all, regardless of your religious beliefs. Thanks, b.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Dec 24 2025 12:21 utc | 9

Happy holidays to you too b and also to all of you barflies who contribute to make the world if not a better then at least a more interesting place! In this bar of free speech.

Posted by: Avtonom | Dec 24 2025 12:53 utc | 11

Wishing you and your family all the best for xmas and new year. You perform a valuable service. Thank you.

Posted by: Kaiama | Dec 24 2025 13:08 utc | 13

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j29zzA8dWH8

Posted by: Apollyon | Dec 24 2025 13:20 utc | 15

Happy Christmas to everyone, freue Weihnachten zusammen.
 
Hang on to your hat in 2026, it will be interesting…
Thanks for all the hard work b.
 
JB

Posted by: Judge Barbier | Dec 24 2025 13:22 utc | 17

May all good things come to all of you and everyone you know.
 
 

Posted by: GreatLakesObserver | Dec 24 2025 13:58 utc | 19

Merry Christmas aĺl!

Posted by: Mark Gaughan | Dec 24 2025 14:19 utc | 21

Adieu!
To all barflies MoA especially bernhard and fam. 

Posted by: DunGroanin | Dec 24 2025 14:49 utc | 23

No one, and I mean no one should be celebrating Christmas whilst a genocide in ongoing in Gaza – picture the scenario in the West, all happy smiling faces on Christmas day – exchanging presents and pleasantries around the the dinner table,  in a nice warm comfy atmosphere.
 
What wrong with humanity, that its willing to allow a a much televised and documented genocide to continue unabated – we are the masses we control the world not some bunch of short term elected politicians and their MIC’s – for me the biggest culprits that keep the genocide going are the American public – its there obtuseness or sheer unwillingness to hold their governments Biden/Trump, to account by any means – that has allowed the Zionists to continue to keep carrying out this evil genocide – for if they grew a backbone and acted as they did with the Vietnam war – funding to Israel would stop and so would the genocide.
 
As you munch down your Christmas dinner – surrounded by family and friends, spare a thought for those utterly oppressed Palestinians sitting in rain soaked tents – too afraid to stick their heads outside incase a Zionist drone spots them and blows them up – humanity is truly f*cked.

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Dec 24 2025 14:57 utc | 25

Merry Christmas indeed.
Consider the discussions around the table the next day or two.
for all that matters to those in charge.

Posted by: Not Ewe | Dec 24 2025 15:01 utc | 27

Merry Christmas to all !
 
Bach: Christmas Oratorio
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30Y5BqK5f34

Posted by: John Gilberts | Dec 24 2025 15:06 utc | 29

Yuletide Greetings from a heathen in Moscow to all the barflies!

Posted by: Moscow Exile | Dec 24 2025 15:18 utc | 31

I like Jesus. And I liked JFK. Both were murdered by the same ideology that needs to prevent the rest of us from having nice things. 

Posted by: Ralph Conner | Dec 24 2025 15:40 utc | 33

No one, and I mean no one should be celebrating Christmas whilst a genocide in ongoing in Gaza – picture the scenario in the West, all happy smiling faces on Christmas day –
@ Republicofscotland | Dec 24 2025 14:57 utc | 25
 
I, for one, can appreciate Republic’s dour holiday attitude. Across the bay from me, in San Francisco, thousands lost their Xmas turkeys to an exquisitely ill-timed four-day blackout, courtesy of PG&E & Waymo, whose zombie taxis blocked firetrucks from accessing the critical fire at a power substation. Were we to exchange notes of gratitude at the next family dinner, I’d be saying how blessed I am to not live in San Francisco.
 
Someone suggested that Tucker should vist Bethlehem this Christmas, to bring a little reality back into collision with holiday cheer. But TC already dropped an absolutely heartbreaking documentsry about Palestine, for which he just clinched Antisemite of the Year!  Hearty congratulations and Merry Christmas to Tucker Carlson, in Christ’s name.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Dec 24 2025 15:55 utc | 35

Merry Christmas to all of us. It should be easier to restore a building than a corpse, but the Christ came back after three days and the Second Temple did not.

Posted by: They Call Me Mister | Dec 24 2025 15:59 utc | 37

Merry Christmas.
 
Be good to one another.
 
We’re all brothers and sisters.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Dec 24 2025 16:02 utc | 39

I like Jesus. And I liked JFK. Both were murdered by the same ideology…
@ Ralph Conner | Dec 24 2025 15:40 utc | 33
 
I dunno, we might be running afoul of IHRC guidelines here (and on Christmas Eve!) Since the Bondi false flag it’s actually illegal to accuse the juice of anything in Australia, you know. IHRC is also the law in all California classrooms, thanks to thought-scrubbers like Scott Weiner, infesting Sacramento.
 
But Merry Christmas, anywho. Some folks are your friends, others not so much. The advantage humans have, in which AI will never catch up, is the gift of discernment — distinguishing friends from enemies. Because you do have enemies, you know, and you can only slide by pretending to ignore them for so long. And no longer.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Dec 24 2025 16:08 utc | 41

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Hoping ’26 is a better year.
Thank you b for sharing this beverage consumption spot with the planet.
Educational, entertaining, a community of humans (mostly). Some have to be bots…
Thanks.

Posted by: Ledovik1 | Dec 24 2025 16:20 utc | 43

Merry Unorthodox Christmas!

Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayastha | Dec 24 2025 16:25 utc | 45

Festive times have arrived again for the Fortunate Class. As usual, I cite The Kinks: “Don’t forget the kids who have nothing as you’re drinking down your wine.” And then there are the many no longer with us through no fault of their own. So, please, at least a minute of silence in respect. 
 
My thanks to b for continuing to manage the bar and for all its well-intentioned patrons. 

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 24 2025 16:38 utc | 47

A round of drinks for all at the bar – Tullamore Dew on the rocks with a dash of water for me please !

Posted by: tobias cole | Dec 24 2025 16:49 utc | 49

Christmas in Palestine.
 
Monitor𝕏 (@MonitorX99800): “🇮🇱🇵🇸✝️⚡- The Israeli Police harassed and arrested Palestinian Christians who were celebrating Christmas in Haifa Earlier today, Israeli settlers set fire to a Christmas tree in the West Bank, and IDF soldiers beat up an elderly man in Bethlehem who carried a cross pendant around his neck.” | nitter.poast.org

Posted by: Republicofscotland | Dec 24 2025 16:57 utc | 51

Merry Christmas to you and your family, Bernhard. I look forward to another year of your incisive analysis.
To your good health!

Posted by: nwwoods | Dec 24 2025 17:03 utc | 53

Spaghetti alle vongole per vigilia…and a Paolo Bea white…
 
…while we wait for that chubby dude to come down the chimney we don’t have.
 
Cheers!

Posted by: john | Dec 24 2025 17:17 utc | 55

Wishing peace and harmony for all this Christmas.
 
(though with 7 grandchildren in play tomorrow I can’t see much of either happening here…)

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Dec 24 2025 17:28 utc | 57

Happy Christmas everybody!
 
 

Posted by: El.Lissitzky | Dec 24 2025 17:38 utc | 59

Merry Christmas, Herr b and all the MoA crew! 
God willing, things won’t get terribly worse.
Thanks to everyone here who have taught me so much.

Posted by: lex talionis | Dec 24 2025 17:53 utc | 61

Thanks for the sight and all that you do, b.

Merry Christmas to one and all.
Christmas mobarak.

Posted by: Sakineh Bagoom | Dec 24 2025 17:57 utc | 63

Peace and goodwill to all.
 
Maybe our last Christmas together. Those in charge will try and nan MOA. In the name of hate speech 

Posted by: Bingo | Dec 24 2025 18:21 utc | 65

Merry Christmas B, thank you for providing the outlet!
 
And to all commenters of good spirit Merry Christmas!
 
And to all those sour Grinches of the greater commentariet…Merry Christmas to you too…may God shower mercy onto you and then lead you to a better path!

Posted by: S Brennan | Dec 24 2025 18:29 utc | 67

Don’t post much here anymore but MoA is still one of my remaining lifelines for reality-based news and analysis, not to mention the always entertaining and frequently informative back and forth of the barroom commentariat. Thanks b, Merry Christmas and a Happy Healthy New Year to you and to all barflies. Posted by: KMRIA | Dec 24 2025 12:59 utc | 12
Ich schließe KMRIA an und möchte mit den Worten von Hannah Arendt
“zu Jesu Salbung durch eine Sünderin (Lukas 7,36-50): „Nur denen, die geliebt werden, kann vergeben werden; nur denen, die man liebt, kann (und darf) man vergeben; nicht das Unrecht, das ich getan habe, kann vergeben werden, sondern nur mir, der geliebt wird.“
In “Ethik des Evangeliums”
allen ein gesegnetes Weihnachtsfest wünschen.
 
 
 

Posted by: Stella | Dec 24 2025 18:41 utc | 69

Thanks `b` and all the other shining lights here at the bar. 
`Me sister
Me brother
Rise up clever`
Greetings and love to all from France x

Posted by: extremebuilder | Dec 24 2025 19:16 utc | 71

Try again with a bit more spacing!
 

King of Crumpets, Roi des crepes

“Tap, Tap”, the loud knock at the door
made Pa hurriedly cross the floor,
A man stood there, a strange looking fellow
with wavy hair, glistening golden-yellow
 
“I am the Crumpet King, dealer of sweet delights
mega thick crepes with Musk and exotic fruits.
I want everything I touch to turn to gold
just like the King Midas could do of old.
But I wish my golden syrup and royal honey
would both turn into my crypto money
 
I want all of the countries, both near and far
to give me Greenland, Canada and Panama.
As nobody can benefit from them like me
I’ll also take the North Pole as my territory
because from now, you will all belong to me.
 
When you are part of my promised golden age,
the gnomes must work for a miniscule wage.
I’ll employ many slick robots to be freer
and simply fire all the overweight deer.”
 
Thought Pa, who was feeling lazy
“I think this guy is completely crazy”.
he said, “Now you must go to many places,
and give away toys to kids of all sorts of races”
 
“Give?” roared Crumpet, “you don’t make them pay?”
His face lost all colour and his hair turned quite grey
“Not getting paid is something that I really detest
So if you keep the North Pole, I’ll take all the rest.”
He was so shocked that he flew back to the U. S. of A
Where they don’t want him either, so they say

Posted by: Stonebird | Dec 24 2025 19:27 utc | 73

Merry Christmas to you too b. For the first time I am aware that the war on Christ is being waged with new intensity even in secular Australia. His is the most profound revolutionary message: we are all, every living thing, the children of God. The implications of this truth are beyond comprehension, and they hate him for it. Who? Those who know that those implications mock them and cast down their petty thrones. Yet he is born anew each year.
 
For the record the days are getting shorter here. And Christmas in Sydney is usually bloody hot, but it’s only forecast to be 23c today, praise the lord.

Posted by: Patroklos | Dec 24 2025 19:51 utc | 75

#1 lafforgue text is a great Xmas gift! Thanks! 
Happy hope to all! 

Posted by: Baile | Dec 24 2025 20:09 utc | 77

On Xmas Eve the maniac in Kyiv destroying his state in a Western led proxy war .. for what purpose ⁉️
 
Obviously facing an humiliating defeat after 4 years fighting NATO’s war.
 

President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the nation on Christmas Eve, recalling a traditional belief that “the heavens open” on this night and that Ukrainians make a single wish
 
“‘May he perish,’ each of us may think to ourselves,” Zelensky said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “But when we turn to God, of course, we ask for something greater.”
 
➡️
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he
wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only
known on this day what would bring you peace—but
now it is hidden from your eyes … because you did
not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
(Luke 19:41-42, 44)

Posted by: Oui | Dec 24 2025 20:33 utc | 79

another year passes, I thank all contributors that supported b, so all the very best wishes for Christmas and 2026 for the blog and most of all thank you to b. In view of the still arising hysteria ,misinformation, disinformation, outright political interference in the media and freedom of reporting and those dutiful investigators couragously bring independant journalism , may they and us  be protected in 2026 from the pysochtic delusional so called leaders that believe they are defending us but actually entrapping us into their political madness.

Posted by: Jo | Dec 24 2025 20:41 utc | 81

☦️Xchristos se Rodi ☦️

Posted by: Exile | Dec 24 2025 20:58 utc | 83

https://youtu.be/4LZ7Zk5Ju3g?si=TfrteICCOPQ4eiNg    

Posted by: BoardinDundee | Dec 24 2025 21:04 utc | 85

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaQiXftHSlA
Putin Honors Maria Zakharova with Prestigious State Award

Posted by: Bart | Dec 24 2025 21:20 utc | 87

… Jingle bells, jingle bells , ….
 
❝Saudi Arabia sees rare snowfall for the first time in decades chevron_right❞

Posted by: Laurence | Dec 24 2025 21:25 utc | 89

Wishing peace, love and joy this Christmas for b and all at the MOA bar. May you all have a healthy New Year.
On a lighthearted note – The wrong Christmas present.
https://fixvx.com/mylordbebo/status/2003915318184628355
 

Posted by: Siddhartha | Dec 24 2025 21:40 utc | 91

Indeed, Happy Christmas to y’all!! Peace of God, Christ is born!!!

Posted by: Marwan | Dec 24 2025 22:04 utc | 93

It is -9C in Kiev on Christmas Eve. That is going to be tough with minimal heating.  Other places in Ukraine are even colder. 

Posted by: Norwegian | Dec 24 2025 22:46 utc | 95

Merry Christmas, friends, strangers, idealists, realists,
left, right, undecided, and “just here for the whisky.”!
May our whisky be smoky, our politics civil,
our facts occasionally checked,
and our arguments end the way all good ones should
– with another round.
May the holidays remind us that
no argument survives long enough
when the bottle is empty.

Posted by: Juan Moment | Dec 24 2025 22:52 utc | 97

Does anyone here have a subscription to Taibbi’s Racket Substack? If so I’d really appreciate if someone could post the full Candace Owens hit piece in the Open Thread.
 
https://www.racket.news/p/candace-owens-great-american-basket
 
I refuse to pay $9 to read Taibbi pushing smear-smut and while nobody is perfect (I think Candace is off the mark on Macron’s wife, but whatever), she’s been instrumental in keeping the Epstein and Kirk topics active due to her large audience. 
 
If that’s a thing someone can do, I’ll buy you a beer! 

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Dec 24 2025 23:06 utc | 99