Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
December 21, 2025
The MoA Week In Review – OT 2025-293

Last week’s posts on Moon of Alabama:

DNI Tulsi Gabbard @DNIGabbard – 21:02 utc · Dec 20, 2025

No, this is a lie and propaganda @Reuters is willingly pushing on behalf of warmongers who want to undermine President Trump’s tireless efforts to end this bloody war that has resulted in more than a million casualties on both sides.

Dangerously, you are promoting this false narrative to block President Trump’s peace effort, and fomenting hysteria and fear among the people to get them to support the escalation of war, which is what NATO and the EU really want in order to pull the United States military directly into war with Russia.

The truth is the US intelligence community has briefed policymakers, including the Democrat HPSCI member quoted by Reuters, that US Intelligence assesses that Russia seeks to avoid a larger war with NATO. It also assesses that, as the last few years have shown, Russia’s battlefield performance indicates it does not currently have the capability to conquer and occupy all of Ukraine, let alone Europe.

Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 @TulsiGabbard – 22:16 utc · Dec 20, 2025

Deep State warmongers and their Propaganda Media are again trying to undermine President Trump’s efforts to bring peace to Ukraine—and indeed Europe—by falsely claiming that the ‘U.S. intelligence community’ agrees to and supports EU/NATO viewpoint that Russia’s aim is to invade/conquer Europe (in order to gin up support for their pro-war policies). The truth is that ‘US intelligence’ assesses that Russia does not even have the capability to conquer and occupy Ukraine, what to speak of ‘invading and occupying’ Europe.


Other issues:

Gaza:

Venezuela:

Trump:

Epstein:

China:

AI:

Use as open (not related to the wars in Ukraine and Palestine) thread …

Comments

b.
Let me me be the first to wish you a merry Christmas,  a well earned one at that. You have broad shoulders thats for sure.
 
Their are at least to or 3 subjects that we are aware of that  are too hot to handle,  i get that,  clearly alot of others do to,  as evedent by their absense in the coments, i get that  too.
 
My tactic will be to watch and observe  the threads only.  Whilst enjoying this Chriztmas  as if it will be my last.
 
It will give my stalksrs and trolls  a clearly much needed break  (10/10 for effort guys)
 
Give b a break now . Pleeees

Posted by: Mark2 | Dec 21 2025 13:58 utc | 1

Happy Solstice everyone, may the light in your days grow longer. Peace to all.
 
Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Dec 21 2025 14:02 utc | 2

To add to my above….
If anyone needs my advice, dont hesitate to call.

Posted by: Mark2 | Dec 21 2025 14:02 utc | 3

@b  Yes – a useful read – Ta.
 
Explainer: Venezuela’s billions in distressed debt: who is in line to collect | Reuters
 
The Vultures are circling.

Posted by: Don Firineach | Dec 21 2025 14:03 utc | 4

Merry Holidays!  to b and everyone.  
 
On a narrow, non -hmm?-  controversial topic, as what is going on is opaque.  Tyler Robinson accused of killing Charlie Kirk.  
 
Footage of the first hearing where he, TR, is present. (link 2.)  My take. TR’s attorney (pro bono) is Kathryn Nester, the large lady who has her blond hair up in a clip. She has a good reputation, I have read.  I watched her in one of the previous hearings and she did OK imho.  The lawyer who is speaking for TR is an aide, I guess deputised to speak because it is a preliminary hearing, not that important, she is learning.
 
She is too emotional, too self-involved, but that is not exceptional.  (E.g. She refers to ‘MY client’ when it should be ‘Our client’ or ‘Mr. Robinson’…) The judge has been on the bench for a month or less (so it looks like he was nominated on purpose to handle this case) and imho he is not only inexperienced but bordering on incompetent, he is obviously someone who is asking for advice and being given it. 
 
He is hesitant, unsure, has trouble with proper wording, and is making a big deal out of issues that can be settled quickly. 
 
— I am not in the US and don’t know the details about judge nominations, Utah law, etc. – so IMHO —  
 
There was a first ‘closed’ hearing that lasted 2 hours, which imho was probably about security measures, as the Judge orders TR’s family away as well, and says, paraphrase, security measures have to be secret. 
 
The Prosecution was very formal, measured, but one can feel an aura of hesitation / reluctance. Something is complicated, not so simple, etc.
 
1 – Entin (present there), 26 mins, too long.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUWZOznV-gA
 
2 – Cams in the court house, 4 hours, with 2 hours ‘no image’ and some chunks ‘silent.’
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu5Er17UDBM
Tyler wore a pale blue shirt and a tie with a mix of pink and pale blue, boys can be girls, girls can be boys, mix it up …Possibly a message to Lance, his lover, who is silent and in an unknown location. 
 

Posted by: Noirette | Dec 21 2025 14:39 utc | 5

China’s bullet trains are famous for a reason. Many can go nearly 220 miles per hour — so fast that when you blast past a highway in one of these trains, cars look like they’re barely moving.
 
Don’t know quite what happened there, but my text spontaneously vanishex in a puff of smoke! I suspect a stray finger accidentally touched one of those nasty keys at the top of the input box, while trying to move the cursor.
 
Anyway, 220 mph is not FAST it is SLOOOOW. Bullet trains don’t snail along at 220 mph, they fly along at 600 km/h or 800 km/h or faster. 220 mph doesn’t even need dedicated tracks! I’m not uptodate with the latest developments, but I suspect some currently operating Chinese bullet trains probably already offer speeds significantly faster than 800 km/h. I base that claim on tech articles I was reading a couple of years ago on developments then said to be close. Cited from fallible memory, no guarantee of accuracy offered.
 
In any case, French TGV even 25 years ago was 600 km/h, Paris to Lyon in 50 mins flat.
 
As to NYT claims reports of driverless vehicle accidents are censored: typical US copium. Americans never could tell the difference between copium and reality.

Posted by: BM | Dec 21 2025 14:47 utc | 6

French TGV even 25 years ago was 600 km/h
 
Posted by: BM | Dec 21 2025 14:47 utc | 6
 
It is dependent on terrain, obviously. If the route happens to cross a mountain range and/or be forced to have sharp curves, the relevant portions will be less than maximum speed. In any case, my experience of bullet trains (TGV) is that the most impressive experience is when the power FAILS: absolute and utter silence (refuge from the noisy aircon), perfect stillness, utter absence of vibration of any kind, complete motionlessness – except that the scenery is gently and silently wafting past the windows at 100 km/h. 

Posted by: BM | Dec 21 2025 15:06 utc | 7

 
I know I do spin a preposterous yarn but I’m going to come right in with a leftfield perspective.
 
It’s bizarre that Christmas appears to be all the deadly sins rolled into one. Greed, sloath and gluttony in particular. The “Marketization” of the message. A festivity of mass consumption worthy of Saturnalia. 
 
I ask: what would Jesus say about Christmas today?
 
I don’t think Jesus was vegetarian. I don’t think it’s necessary to be vegetarian to ask the question: “won’t someone please think of the turkeys!”
 
An alternative Christmas poem by Benjamin Zephaniah:
 
Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas
Cos’ turkeys just wanna hav fun
Turkeys are cool, turkeys are wicked
An every turkey has a Mum.
Be nice to yu turkeys dis christmas,
Don’t eat it, keep it alive,
It could be yu mate, an not on your plate
Say, Yo! Turkey I’m on your side.
I got lots of friends who are turkeys
An all of dem fear christmas time,
Dey wanna enjoy it, dey say humans destroyed it
An humans are out of dere mind,
Yeah, I got lots of friends who are turkeys
Dey all hav a right to a life,
Not to be caged up an genetically made up
By any farmer an his wife.
Turkeys just wanna play reggae
Turkeys just wanna hip-hop
Can yu imagine a nice young turkey saying,
‘I cannot wait for de chop’,
Turkeys like getting presents, dey wanna watch christmas TV,
Turkeys hav brains an turkeys feel pain
In many ways like yu an me.
I once knew a turkey called…Turkey
He said “Benji explain to me please,
Who put de turkey in christmas
An what happens to christmas trees?”,
I said “I am not too sure turkey
But itÕs nothing to do wid Christ Mass
Humans get greedy an waste more dan need be
An business men mek loadsa cash’.
Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas
Invite dem indoors fe sum greens
Let dem eat cake an let dem partake
In a plate of organic grown beans,
Be nice to yu turkey dis christmas
An spare dem de cut of de knife,
Join Turkeys United an dey’ll be delighted
An yu will mek new friends ‘FOR LIFE’.
 
 
Happy Christmas, Solstice, Saturnalia, whatever you make of it, and apologies to all turkeys that were harmed in this incident. 
 
https://youtube.com/watch?v=v4AgPSjzXkw&pp=ygUeYmVuamFtaW4gemVwaGFuaWFoIHR1cmtleSBwb2Vt
 

Posted by: lachaussette | Dec 21 2025 15:08 utc | 8

Sorry I omitted to explain that the latter was while gently wafting down a gentle incline at 100 km/h, hence the speed despite absence of power.

Posted by: BM | Dec 21 2025 15:09 utc | 9

b did not link it, likely because it was also posted today, but John Helmer’s latest is worth a read:
 
https://johnhelmer.net/explainer-friedrich-merzs-scheme-to-rearm-germany-by-stealing-russian-money-to-pay-the-bill-stealing-afd-votes-to-keep-power/

Posted by: Fool Me Twice | Dec 21 2025 15:11 utc | 10

Sorry, BM, but you are off, apparently from mixing up operational and record speeds. A quick AI search to squelch the discussion gives 

The highest operating speed for commercial TGV services in France is 320 km/h (approximately 200 mph), which is achieved on the newer high-speed lines, such as the LGV Est between Paris-Est and Baudrecourt.  While the TGV has achieved significantly higher speeds during test runs—reaching a world record of 574.8 km/h (357.2 mph) on 3 April 2007 during the Project V150 trials on the LGV Est —these speeds are not part of regular passenger service. The record was set on a specially modified trainset and required specific track conditions and infrastructure adjustments that are not used for daily operations.

Posted by: persiflo | Dec 21 2025 15:16 utc | 11

Possibly a message to Lance… 
Posted by: Noirette | Dec 21 2025 14:39 utc |
 
 
I suppose Ockham’s Razor would suggest “It’s just a tie” lol.
 
Nonetheless it has allowed you to report on Tyler Robinson’s alleged sexuality, so this violation of parsimony has been beneficial to the narrative you offer.  
 
Since you are so confident at reading the appearance of defendants in high profile trials, what did you make of Luigi Mangione’s sartorial choices at his first appearance in court? 
 
Several voices pointed out that Mangione’s clothes were remarkably similar to Lee Harvey Oswald’s appearance, in footage we see from Oswald’s brief public moments  before his death. What was the message Luigi was sending and who might he talking to do you think?

Posted by: will moon | Dec 21 2025 15:19 utc | 12

On the Reuters Venezuelan debt bullshit – maybe there is an honest analysis of Venezuelan debt out there somewhere – certainly none coming from Reuters.

Posted by: BM | Dec 21 2025 15:23 utc | 13

In any case, French TGV even 25 years ago was 600 km/h, Paris to Lyon in 50 mins flat.
Posted by: BM | Dec 21 2025 14:47 utc | 6

(Cough) Bollocks.
Max speed ever with a tricked out trainset: 574 kmh.
Regular in service max: 320 kmh (200mph).
TGV Wolrd Speed Record: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TGV_world_speed_record

Posted by: ChatNPC | Dec 21 2025 15:28 utc | 14

Once again b links to Tracey’s transparently dishonest “debunking” of the “Epstein saga,” joined now by the once dependable but now completely partisan Matt Taibbi.  And for good measure the recent limited hangout piece in the NY Times is included – though the Drop Site News response is not. Here is the latter for those who are interested:
 
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/jeffrey-epstein-iran-contra-planes-leslie-wexner-pottinger-leese-arms-weapons-smuggling
 
Tracey’s method is always the same. Choose either one of the sketchiest witnesses, or the weakest claim in the testimony of one of the witnesses, or a weak or careless statement by someone covering the case, and write hundreds (or thousands) of words of detail on these selected examples, creating doubts about or “debunking” them – while completely ignoring reams of other evidence on Epstein’s own predatory sexual practices, but also and *more significant*, on his links to to a wide network of elites, including those of foreign governments, financial institutions, and intelligence operatives that in turn related to a wide range of political influence, financial malfeasance, espionage, etc. There has been good work done not only by Drop Site, but by Bloomberg News, the Grayzone,  Mintpress News, even Forbes and the Wall Street Journal on this. Here are just a few citations; there are many more:
 
https://fair.org/home/emails-reveal-epsteins-ties-to-mossad-but-corporate-media-looked-away/
 
I have not even mentioned the work of Whitney Webb, which is extensive and detailed – and who was smeared in a couple of absolutely and transparently dishonest hit-pieces by Tracey. While Webb may occasionally connect a few too many dots, her dots themselves are almost always valid, and she provides a ton of references for her claims.
 
I have been puzzled why Tracey and now Taibbi have been so obsessed with and have devoted so much energy to this “debunking” crusade.  There are a number of possible reasons. Certainly Taibbi being “me tooed” by the liberal mob right after he expressed the mildest of doubts about Russiagate helped turn him into what now seems to be a MAGA apologist. But when I read this from the Taibbi article linked here, it makes me wonder:
 
“On closer examination, most elements of popular belief about Epstein collapse, leaving a manic, breathlessly wrong legend that’s on track to be remembered as a combination of Salem and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion…”
 
The “Protocols”?! Is Taibbi actually holding this up as a baseless “antisemitic” attack? And why would that be? But even more important for me, someone who rarely comments here but has been reading Mof A religiously for years — why does b continue to promote this transparently one-sided “debunking” line without at least providing balance from a variety of reliable sources he would not hesitate to cite on other issues? Once again, please b, at least provide some balance here. 
 
 

Posted by: pjay | Dec 21 2025 15:32 utc | 15

RT News – December 21, 2025 (09:00 MSK)
 
https://www.rt.com/shows/news/629819-rtnews-december-21-09msk/
 
“US forces seize a second tanker near the Venezuelan coast. Warshington claimed it carried sanctioned oil that falls under Donald Trump’s blockade…”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Dec 21 2025 15:40 utc | 16

Rhys  @RhysSullivan
 
“made an epstein file viewer because the governments website sucks
 
hosted for free at: https://epstein-files-browser.vercel.app
 
https://x.com/rhyssullivan/status/2002158815639203908

Posted by: GreatLakesObserver | Dec 21 2025 15:44 utc | 17

GE: Ben Norton – ‘Above the Law’
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpHC5GAPR-M
 
“USA thinks it’s above the law, demands impunity for war crimes. But overwhelming evidence shows Washington violates international law more than all other countries on earth.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Dec 21 2025 15:45 utc | 18

Okay, I’ll admit the discussion degenerates into a nine-pound epithet-hurling contest. Candace really is quite Catholic, so when she swears she has to remember to tell Padre about it come the next confession. Last Friday, she prepared her very first online f-bomb for her former Daily Wire boss, Ben Shapiro. Still and all, deriding little Ben has become something of a national pastime. A little ad hominem can be diverting, at times…

“I’m here to let you know that I’m done with it. This slave is so fully off of the mother effing plantation. Truly, Ben Shapiro, fuck you and the midget horse that you rode in on.”

https://candaceowensfan.substack.com/p/candace-aims-her-first-online-f-bomb
 
To all my fellow barflies of internet noir I’d like to wish a very Happy Soltice!

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Dec 21 2025 15:45 utc | 19

lachaussette@8…..thanks for the laugh and the vid………
 
Cheers M 

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Dec 21 2025 15:47 utc | 20

Stumbled upon a faerie
By the wishing well,
She said, “here try this” 
Casting a simple spell
 
 
https://share.google/TD60k7xItCGf1kixh
 
Cheers M 
 
 

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Dec 21 2025 16:02 utc | 21

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Dec 21 2025 16:02 utc | 21
 
######
 
Who is M?

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Dec 21 2025 16:06 utc | 22

Happy Sonnenwende, fellow barflies.

Posted by: Nervous German | Dec 21 2025 16:12 utc | 23

@Aleph_Null #19 — I can’t remember you usually bending down to such minor scuffles of special interest (ZeroHedge interest at best) nobody could give a f*ck about, to borrow the language you are quoting.  Am I missing some greater relevance or more fundamental implications?  We all see DEI and their purveyors imploding in plain sight, but the big bang has yet to be heard in Europa.

Posted by: Nervous German | Dec 21 2025 16:23 utc | 24

thanks b..
 
that comment from tulsi gabbard is interesting… i don’t recall a usa admin complaining about propaganda before.. she has a point.. maybe she thought this way about colin powell, or bush/blair bullshit prior to iraq 2003 as well… hard to know… countries lies regularly and get the media to cover it for them.. a lot of the time is is the lie of omission, but it can be more then that too..  will check out some of the articles.. thanks.. 

Posted by: james | Dec 21 2025 16:24 utc | 25

 
Posted by: will moon | Dec 21 2025 15:19 utc | 12
 
Luigi Mangione wears the regular shirt and suit neutral  costume.  Without a tie.  Idk what the without-a-tie means in the US, in France it is a sign of belonging to the ‘left’, the ‘lower down’ -> “We don’t do the super dress-up, boss thing, we are rebels, etc.”  BS of course.  Maybe his Italian roots have some influence here, Idk.
 
One pic from a few days ago.
 
https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/t_fit-1000w,f_auto,q_auto:best/rockcms/2025-12/251218-luigi-mangione-ew-312p-059d14.jpg
All this is a distraction?  Yes…   Nevertheless, visual symbols play some role, heh.  

Posted by: Noirette | Dec 21 2025 16:26 utc | 26

Seasons greetings, barflies, and safe travels home!

Posted by: Alex Cox | Dec 21 2025 16:27 utc | 27

—  sorry link doesn’t work. 
 

Posted by: Noirette | Dec 21 2025 16:30 utc | 28

US Vassal Kamla Warns Trinis: ‘Don’t Badmouth the American Bully’
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWUVdZB-soQ
 
“Venezuela chaos will hit the Caribbean!”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Dec 21 2025 16:33 utc | 29

thanks for the archived link to the wapo article – Trump says Venezuela stole U.S. oil, land and assets. Here’s the history…
 
does trump or stephen miller ever read an article like this? or is it all about regime change, no matter the costs? it seems the later… 

Posted by: james | Dec 21 2025 16:45 utc | 30

Steven Jermy: US-EU Conflict Is Coming – Time to Dissolve NATO
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaJhLt7LNC4

Posted by: ChatNPC | Dec 21 2025 16:57 utc | 31

💢  HUGE! Venezuela – Trump and Maduro continue to work in tandem:  The US Treasury Department under Trump through OFAC, extended the protection of shares of Venezuela’s state-run Citgo Petroleum in the US until February 3, 2026, which prevents any sale or transfer without express authorization from Washington. The measure freezes the progress of the judicial auction in Delaware compelled by the Biden administration in 2022 and 2023, despite there already being a preliminary winner with an offer of $5.9 billion for the refiner’s parent company.The extension means that Venezuela’s Citgo continues to operate profitably in the US, and seeks to allow for negotiations between creditors and representatives of Venezuela that would avoid the forced liquidation of the company. While the Maduro government qualifies the process as “looting”, the US Treasury proposes this pause as a tool to facilitate refinancing agreements under a favorable licensing scheme that keeps all existing parties vested (including Maduro’s PDVSA).Trump’s Treasury did not have to keep Citgo from being liquidated, and in fact a real move to isolate Maduro would entail allowing Biden era liquidation orders to be carried out.  Yet it repeatedly chose to keep Citgo running, preserving Venezuela’s single most valuable foreign asset while allowing the company to keep operating.Maduro predictably kept up the revolutionary denunciations for domestic and global anti-imperialist consumption, while in reality this is the best of all possible policies for Venezuela at this moment, and defies narratives that the US policy is to undo the Maduro government. The result here instead is a mutually intelligible arrangement where Washington maintains leverage and Caracas avoids an irreversible strategic loss.  All the while Citgo continues generating revenue, and creditors are encouraged toward negotiation instead of regime change. Now understand all of this in relation to news about Maduro’s PDVSA owned Citgo in the US from February: “Citgo outlines Western US expansionThe fuel provider has extended its brand licensing program to retailers in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah.“https://www.cstoredive.com/news/citgo-outlines-western-us-expansion/740401/XFSubscribe @NewResistance

Posted by: Jo | Dec 21 2025 16:59 utc | 32

Am I missing some greater relevance or more fundamental implications?
@ Nervous German | Dec 21 2025 16:23 utc | 24
 
In a word: yes. If you don’t understand the cultural significance as we watch ZOG crumble here in USA, as we seen their so-called influencers tumbling into the ashcan of history, then I’m not here to explain it to you.
 
Old folks (like foggy me, myself) overpopulate this old-fashioned blog. Media and mindsets have radically migrated from written to video publishing, while the control of commentary has disintegrated into a whole new paradigm. Candace is ten times more important than FOX CNN and CBS combined — not only because she gets more views, also because the people watching Candace are young folks, along with a healthy helping of sages such as Lionel Nation who, unlike almost everyone else in our generational consort, gets it.
 
I never expected to see such a stark generational divide. Young folks don’t understand the planet you old people live on. Their broad reorientation is the only thing which gives me hope.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Dec 21 2025 17:01 utc | 33

US Troops Hit Chinese-Owned Tanker Off Venezuela in Pre-Dawn Chopper Strike
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMWXLx3h568
 
 
TEN: Why Trinidad Needs Caricom More Than Ever: ‘We Are Stronger Together’
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEh2gykfsW0
 
“Recent statements from T&T’s Prime Minister have raised serious questions about foreign policy, regional unity and long-term strategy. ”
 
Americans stop your government!

Posted by: John Gilberts | Dec 21 2025 17:01 utc | 34

Re:
Posted by: Noirette | Dec 21 2025 16:26 utc | 26
(Mangione)
Imo, his case is being delayed because the For Profit Medical Insurance Industry wants his trial to be conducted in a closed courtroom so that his valid complaints can’t endanger the reputation and privileged rip-off future of the Industry.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 21 2025 17:08 utc | 35

Given the large amounts of back and forth on the subject of the PRC, some may find this Warwick Powell essay useful:
 
The Vanity Project of Liberal Orientalism
https://warwickpowell.substack.com/p/the-vanity-project-of-liberal-orientalism

Posted by: ChatNPC | Dec 21 2025 17:17 utc | 36

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Dec 21 2025 17:01 utc | 33

 
Thanks for the explainer — my bad!  ZOG is the keyword and Candace is on one level with Tucker Carlson and Charlie Kirk, perhaps maybe Elon and JD Vance as well.  Got it.

I never expected to see such a stark generational divide. Young folks don’t understand the planet you old people live on. Their broad reorientation is the only thing which gives me hope.

 
I sign up to this;  reorientation it is indeed, because the original orientation/conditioning they “enjoyed”, the one in favor of DEI|ClimateCult|LGBT+|otherMSMbullOfTheDay, has led them straight to a dead end.

Posted by: Nervous German | Dec 21 2025 17:22 utc | 37

Noirette@1626:  Decades ago, when the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) was still somewhat objective in their nightly “As it Happens” a.m. radia presentation, several decades ago; Alan Maitland, I seem to recall, was interviewing a Canadian anthropologist who pointed out that the deepest dyed slaves were those who were obliged to wear a submission symbol around their necks.  
 
That presentation stuck with me as I had been fired from my last official professional position, a scene in which I was obliged to wear a necktie.  Ever since that morning in April of ’73 I have assiduously avoided wearing one of those quasi-strangulation symbols.  It does remind me of a hangman’s noose…comparing poorly with cravats and other loose and flowing neckware such as dickies.
 
Being a rural man since ’73, my cultural matrix is such that we tend to avoid those who symbolize submission to the ruling elite. Personally, I refuse to trust any man who demonstrates his status as a servant…or worse.
 
Cultural revolution indicaates a refusal to go by the unstated rules of the so-called elites and their minions and serfs.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 17:23 utc | 38

@22 LoveDonbass
 
good question

Posted by: M | Dec 21 2025 17:24 utc | 39

US Troops Hit Chinese-Owned Tanker Off Venezuela in Pre-Dawn Chopper Strike
Posted by: John Gilberts | Dec 21 2025 17:01 utc | 34

 
Piracy in intl waters is a real threat again, this time state-sponsored and on official duty.  Tankers will have armed personnel, heavy weaponry and anti-aircraft defense.

Posted by: Nervous German | Dec 21 2025 17:26 utc | 40

James@1645:  We should ever bear in mind that those “assets” which Trump insists were stolen by Venezuela, were originally granted by totally corrupted and highly submissive and mostly of military coup background dictators of that land.  In a sense these bought and paid for (by the Rottenfeller Crime Clan and a few other Big Oil Barons) were surrendering Venezuelan natural resources for the legendary “mess of pottage” were guilty of high treason versus the people of that land.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 17:29 utc | 41

Jo@1659:  Does the Venezuelan government receive ANY of the proceeds emanating from Citgo…or are those profits sucked up by the corruptive Big Oil barons, in cahoots with corrupt pro$titicians in the Di$trict of Corruption?

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 17:33 utc | 42

@33 aleph
 
I want to echo you here in response Nervous German. It may seem, like Parisans, we are just talking about ourselves to no end, leaving the rest of the universe outside the orbit. But you are right in that we are talking about the future trajectory of MAGA, the western-right, and therefore the tacit endorsement of the hoi polloi to the excesses of empire and its tentacles. Also the JQ: are they mere debt-collectors for TPTB or are they Masters of the Universe?
 
Important? Yes. Difficult to keep up if you are not from the states? Yes. 

Posted by: NemesisCalling | Dec 21 2025 17:40 utc | 43

@ aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 17:29 utc | 41
 
thanks… that is highlighted in the wapo article i reference… check it out..

Posted by: james | Dec 21 2025 17:42 utc | 44

Aleph Null@1701:  Yes, that 35 and under demographic assiduously distrusts all established institutions…and unfortunately for contemporary literacy also eschew print materials of all iterations.  In his monumental “Gutenberg Galaxy” Marshall McLuhan traces the problem with print as due to the totally abstract and concretely reductionist/materialist ethos which has been dominant since the mid 17th Century.
 
Intellectually and spiritually stimulating writers such as McLuhan and deeply visionary Lewis Mumford prove the case that the offerings of monumental thinkers tend to elicit original thinking from those who strive to understand and  incorporate those seminal intellects…along with spiritual wisdom not overly burdened by reductionist materialism.
 
 In my personal experience, underlining, marginal notes and even short essays were stimulated by those original thinkers and cultural analysts.  Electronic media moves too rapidly for proper mindful mastication of their thoughts and projected conclusions and insights.  Thus, it must be noted that there will be a place for print media in the not so distant future.  Preservation ofthe sharings by the wise minds of our history are essential to retroprojecting accumulated wisdom of humanity.
 
We tend to think in images and symbols, not so in abstract presentations such as the English iteration of the ancient Phoenician COMMERCIAL alphabet.  That alphabet was revolutionary in its day and for centuries afterwards, even on a planetary basis, simply because of its relative simplicity and ease of learning of those 26 letters.  However, abstraction engenders obstruction.
 
Consider the roughly ten percent of American males who happen to be dyslexic.  They are the canary in the coal mine. Their mental architecture simply does not compute those exclusively abstract letters, as McLuhan so pointedly expressed in Gutenberg. However, when exposed to imagistic and symbological translations of those abstractions, they tend to be surprisingly quick learners.
 
Transmutation is the remedy.  Keeping the simplicity of the current alphabet, there is a need for each and every one of those letters to be “alchemically” transformed into easy to grasp symbols and images, based upon both the world of nature and cosmic connectivity.  Such a transformation would also jump the cultural barriers in which the current phoenetic abstractions are no longer merely culturally specific.  The New World Cosmographic Alphabet, soon to be released to the public, addresses hat issue as it is inclusive of East Asian, Native American, Vedic and other symbological imagery.
 
Alphabetical universality would appeal to  young, open minds, commencing with Kindergarten and early school years, beginning, perhaps with those Waldorf schools, some 800 in number in several lands, as originally proposed and conceptualized by the redoubtable Rudolf Steiner, who along with Carl Jung, emblemated the transition out of the Kali Yuga Epoch into a more inclusive cultural matrix, one in which peace and harmony prevail…as against competition, greed and war, the hallmarks of the Kali Yuga Epoch.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 18:03 utc | 45

James@1742:  The WaPo?   Mirable Dictu!  A huge surprise to me as that organ is closely tied to the “suggestions” of The Agency. Checking out the article you presented should be quite enlightening as to somewhat of an aperatura by that publication.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 18:06 utc | 46

Happy Solstice to all.
Common sense can tell you that Epstein did not become a millionaire through blackmail of the rich and famous.   
Rich homies don’t play that game.   Epstein would have been offed back in 1989 when he signed up Adnan Khashoggi as his first client, if he had tried to blackmail him into wealth. 
Epstein would never have been offered Iran’s mansion in Manhattan, or been allowed to broker the sale of the CIA plane to Lex Wesner.
Whitney Webb has a great imagination, but no common sense, and neither does anyone who actually believes that Bill Gates and Bill Clinton frequented Epstein’s mansions for years, while being blackmailed.
 
I go with Mike Benz on this subject.   Epstein was a mover and a shaker, a financial dealer, and the parties were marketing events and networking.  The women were party favors.

Posted by: wagelaborer | Dec 21 2025 18:09 utc | 47

Arnaud Bertrand: Frankly extraordinary to hear Rubio, of all people, say that his “job is to find opportunities to work together with the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government” yada yada yada. Arnaud should know better than to listen to what comes out of his mouth instead of looking at his actions.
Narco Rubio and the empire he represents have just boarded and robbed a Chinese tanker. A third tanker seemingly doesn’t belong to China.
 
Marco Rubio: his family ties to a convicted drug trafficker from the 1980s.
“Marquito definitely doesn’t want us to talk about this. His brother-in-law, Orlando Cicilia, was one of the most prolific cocaine traffickers in Miami in the 1980s. He was convicted of moving thousands of kilos of drugs and money laundering, sentenced to 25 years… but only served 12. And here’s the worst part: When he was arrested, he was living in the same house as Marco Rubio. The DEA broke down Rubio’s front door.”
The influencer added that in 2002, when Cicilia was already free, Rubio—then a political upstart—sent a letter of recommendation for his brother-in-law to obtain a real estate license in Florida, omitting their relationship. Despite the fact that drug trafficking convictions typically preclude such licenses, Cicilia received it.
The revelation contrasts with Rubio’s current stance, who as Secretary of State promotes mass deportations of migrants with drug offense records, even minor ones like those of his relative.
Univisión Investigations had already documented this connection in 2011: Cicilia, the husband of Rubio’s sister, Bárbara, was arrested in 1987 during “Operation Cobra”—one of the largest drug trafficking crackdowns in Florida—for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, links to homicide, and bribery of police officers.
The blockade and the blowing up of fishing vessels and murders of sailors also in the western Pacific off Colombia’s coast (Venezuela doesn’t have pacific shores) starts to look like an anti-China blockade.

Posted by: xor | Dec 21 2025 18:11 utc | 48

Horsewhisperer@1718:  So the biggest drug dealers on the planet, enjoying massive profiteering via their patents here in the Untied States of a Miracle as compared with even neighboring Canada and Mexico…have pole-vaulted into this “justice” system and its many ways of being for Just U$.  Good insights.  Thanks.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 18:11 utc | 49

In my opinion, the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia looks more than anything like a trick of the ruling class of both nations. Xenophobia and sabre rattling have been used by ruling classes for centuries to keep the oppressed classes distracted and pacified. And I think that’s exactly what we are seeing in both countries. Until the workers of Cambodia and Thailand develop class consciousness, I worry that both nations will be susceptible to this kind of deception.

Luna Oi! on the latest in the Thai-Cambodia conflict:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl3tjEBXhLg

Posted by: ChatNPC | Dec 21 2025 18:11 utc | 50

@ ChatNPC | Dec 21 2025 18:11 utc | 50
 
Thanks for this. I’m glad to see that someone gets it!

Posted by: malenkov | Dec 21 2025 18:19 utc | 51

Last night’s sunset, which I described on the previous open thread, ushered in the solstice for me, so today’s day is most definitely the day of the sun’s standing stillness.  I will be out gardening and yes, james, seeding away!
 
For me, the Christmas will be a Russian one, but happy Christmas upcoming to all who celebrate it this week!!

Posted by: juliania | Dec 21 2025 18:21 utc | 52

Posted by: juliania | Dec 21 2025 18:21 utc | 52
Here in the soggy higher latitudes we had fog and failing daylight by 3:30pm.
Makes its inversion all the sweeter 6 months hence though. Happy solstice.

Posted by: ChatNPC | Dec 21 2025 18:25 utc | 53

xor@1811:  Thanks for the valuable insights into that Gusano’s background and associations.  He has to have close ties to the CIA, as Gary Webb revealed in his coverage of the Contra connexions who airlifted thousands of pounds of the white powder into Florida, where magically those flights were not disturbed by Law Wnforcement agencies which had been forewarned by THE Agency that they “are ours”.
 
Webb, the courageous reporter, broke up the entire case in his journalistic endeavors, where he traced the trans-shipments of that white powder to the South LA. ghetto where Freeway Ricky and his associates cooked down the powder into high-potency globules which were marketed by the Crips to various gangs in America;s ghettos.  Destruction of Black community coherence, emblemated by folks like the Black Panther movement, was the apparent aim of those central suppliers/bigtime pushers of crack coke and quite likely fantynal poison which currently is devastating younger folks, mostly in the devastated Rust Belt and nowadays right across the fruited plain.  Could Bill Gates and his euthenasia agenda be involved?  Ditto, the Rottenfeller Crime Clan and their major support for eliminating those “useless eaters?

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 18:26 utc | 54

ChatNPC@1825:  Shades of the North Sea and its environs at this time of year, grey, dank and bone-chilling.  Here in the western fringe of Minnesota’s Northwoods, we are blessed this Solstice morning and early afternoon by sunny skies and no movement on the nearby flagpole…in sharp contrast to the past few days when arctic cold, compounded with biting winds were our lot.  
 
So a high holy day Solstice to you and all posters on the “Moon”.  This afternoon, early evening I plan on attending a Solstice get together with a group of friends, mostly organic gardeners and such, who have eschewed organized religion of the Abrahamic iteration, while working and striving to create lives close to Mother Earth and to Cosmic Consciousness.
 
Blessed Be.

Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 18:34 utc | 55

“BS of course.”
Noirette@16:26
 
Lol. I think it  was the following  two photos that were being speculated upon.
 
Mangione – first appearance in court, the  most well known moment barring the Hannibal Lector shot – a chained  monster surrounded by heavily armed guards.
 
https://gbvm.knoios.com/mmedia/20179/luigi-mangione-38996.jpg
 
Oswald – the most famous photo from a sequence ending in his shooting
https://i2-prod.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article2710501.ece/ALTERNATES/s1200c/Lee-Harvey-Oswald.jpg

Posted by: will moon | Dec 21 2025 18:34 utc | 56

When Tulsi Gabbard was an anti-war Dem, I respected her. To be anti-war is good. But as I’ve learned more about her and her history, I’ve lost respect. She’s a deep-dyed Muslim hater, and not just because of a brain defect. She was raised in a Hindu fundamentalist cult, an off-shoot of the Hare Krishnas.  She’s expresses too much admiration for Narendra Modi (who has caused large numbers of Muslims to die, in order to advance his political career).  Then she switched from the Dog Turd Party (Dems) for the Cat Turd Party (Reps), and owned Trump has her Lord and Savior. Now she’s accusing those who DON’T think Trump is Lord and Savior of mental illness, Trump Derangement Syndrome!  Well, I have been alive and awake during the same years that you have ms. Gabbard, and Trump is no one’s savior.  He’s just another GOP false messiah, like Nixon, Reagan, Bush I and Bush II. (List Dem false messiahs at pleasure….)  
 
When the Ukraine War ends, it will because of Russian outright victory. Zelensky et al. should be allowed to flee at the end, not fight to the death like Hitler or any number of Japanese outposts. That will save lives.
 
If the USA does not end up like Attila’s empire, it will be because “He Who sits in the heavens laughs them to scorn”. (Psalm 2:4)/

Posted by: lester | Dec 21 2025 18:45 utc | 57

@  aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 18:06 utc | 46
 
wapo – washington post.. nyt   – new york times.. wsj – okay, you get it, lol.. 

Posted by: james | Dec 21 2025 18:51 utc | 58

@  juliania | Dec 21 2025 18:21 utc | 52
 
is it due the change in calendars that the orthodox celebrate at a different time?? i think it is, but i could be wrong! i am gigging away here at present with a blues christmas today in the afternoon with some musicians i never play with.. their drummer couldn’t make it… 

Posted by: james | Dec 21 2025 18:53 utc | 59

John Gilberts | Dec 21 2025 15:45 utc | 18
 
That’s why it’s quite correct to call it te Outlaw US Empire as it’s been breaking the law since October 24, 1945 and can also be termed a serial outlaw and even a serial killer. 
 
As for the Reuters item about China having a technological “Manhattan Project,” I cover that here with a scathing Global Times editorial rebuttal, Global Times: Yearender 2025: Graphic Analysis: Sci-tech Innovation Drives China’s Steady Economic Growth & an Editorial. I also have another Chinese article in my queue hat skewers a WaPost item claiming robot vacuums are a threat:
 

The article claims that the sweeping robot is essentially a “mini unmanned vehicle” that can draw a map of the home, and can collect sensitive data such as house plans, location information, and various application information connected to the home wireless network when cleaning; In the absence of unified digital privacy laws and security standards in the United States, it is difficult for consumers to ensure the security of personal information while enjoying the convenience of technology, especially after the change of ownership to Chinese companies….

 

The article also claims that U.S. officials have vague definitions of which Chinese technologies have security risks, making it difficult for the public to discern the real risks.
 
 
After such a big circle, the American media finally had a showdown and no longer concealed its sinister intentions. It urges the U.S. government to do something about it as soon as possible, otherwise it is “paving the way for Chinese companies” and harming the interests of its own consumers….

 
 

The report also further fanned the flames, claiming that Chinese companies have dominated many technology fields such as high-end batteries, solar panels, drones, electric vehicles and various smart home devices, and American politicians and the public should seriously think about whether this is an opportunity or a cost.
 
 
Obviously, this series of arguments is not so much a real concern for data security as a use by the US media to urge the government to strengthen its deliberate suppression of the rise of Chinese technology companies. The Washington Post cannot deny that iRobot has fallen from an industry pioneer to now being acquired, which just reflects the profound changes in the global sweeping robot market pattern.
 

 
As the Global Times editorial says, the Reuters article isn’t the only hysterical media moan arising in the West about China and its technological prowess. It’s quite likely similar crap is being published by other newspapers in an attempt to promote FUD. Careful, those Chinese screws you bought will undo themselves and cause your furniture to collapse, or your appliance to explode. Or, beware: Chinese nails always bend, and that shower head has a built-in webcam.  
   

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 21 2025 18:55 utc | 60

China is allowing their oil tankers to be seized.  Why?
 
No way to answer that question with the limited information we have.  However, we can guess at a few possibilities.
 
1.  Blockades are an act of war.  By blockading Venezuelan ports and harbors, the United States has declared war on Venezuela.
 
2.  The United States has argued, for most of its existence, that “neutral ships make neutral cargo.” This was the official position of the U.S. government.  By seizing a neutral country’s ships (China), the U.S. has officially changed its policy to “all ships, including neutral ships, entering a blockaded port can be seized.
 
3.  If a neutral country sends one of its ships into blockaded waters and that neutral ship gets seized, the United States can’t complain.  It does that too.
 
4.  If that same neutral country then attempts to use warships to protect their cargo ship, then the neutral country has declared its warships are legitimate targets.
 
5. With all that said, what are the Chinese doing allowing their oil tankers to be seized by the U.S.?  Here are a few possibilities:
 
a.  The Chinese can begin to arm Venezuela’s military with anti-ship missiles.  The U.S. is at war with Venezuela.  The Chinese, although neutral, can sell weapons to Venezuela.  It’s all part of war.  Nobody can complain.
 
b.  China can go to the UN security council and propose a resolution that the U.S. has unilaterally declared war on Venezuela.  This resolution would be a bare statement of facts with no condemnation.  However, it would set up future UN security council confrontations if China unilaterally attacked another country (Taiwan).  If the U.S., or other western countries, proposed a resolution of condemning China, China could point to the U.S. attack on Venezuela.  In other words, China sets up a future “fuck you” if the U.S. attempts to bitch about China moving on Taiwan.
c.  China could be setting up a precedent for it’s planned, future blockade of Taiwan.  If the U.S. or other western countries try to send cargo ships to Taiwan, China could seize those ships.  If anyone complained, China could say, “Go bitch to the U.S., they set the rules.”
d.  If the U.S. Navy attempts to escort cargo ships into Taiwan, if China blockaded Taiwan, then China could go to the UN security council and point out the entry of U.S. warships into a blockaded area, was an official entry into the war between China and Taiwan.
 
I don’t know if China plans to do anything I suggested.  I do know China is doing something by allowing the U.S. to seize its ships.  I suspect whatever China has planned will be an ugly surprise for the U.S.

Posted by: Nobody Special | Dec 21 2025 18:59 utc | 61

Narquito Rubio’s brother-in-law
Posted by: xor | Dec 21 2025 18:11 utc | 48
Thanks xor.
One important detail about little Narco’s brother-in-law: he came from Cuba in 1972.
“A Cuban immigrant who moved to the U.S. in 1972, Cicilia was convicted in 1989 for distributing $15 million worth of cocaine as part of a major drug ring.” https://killbait.com/en/marco-rubios-brother-in-laws-cocaine-trafficking-past-revealed/
I don’t know if he became a citizen but this whole story will likely preclude Rubio from slithering into the White House.

Posted by: migueljose | Dec 21 2025 19:02 utc | 62

interesting speculation from ‘events in ukraine’ substack..
Diplomacy, corruption, politics
 

Posted by: james | Dec 21 2025 19:08 utc | 63

The solstices always make me ponder Stonehenge; who built it? Why? How?
 
But whoever, whyever, however, they were pretty darned accurate.
 
Found this Druid blessing online:

The sun rises, the sun sets, the days grow dim,The winter dreams of a land that sleeps,Silent the fields, silent the lark.Yet with a new dawn, and a reborn sun,This light shall be renewed …
The life shall wake, the life shall dance once againGood winter tidings these are,Many solstice blessings to all of you.

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Dec 21 2025 19:13 utc | 64

MOATS with George Galloway: ‘The Cover-Up’
 
https://www.youtube.com/@GeorgeGallowayOfficial
 
“Epstein files blackout| Syria attack diversion|Another Venezuela tanker seized. With Scott Ritter & Garland Nixon.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Dec 21 2025 19:19 utc | 65

Posted by: Nobody Special | Dec 21 2025 18:59 utc | 61
 
I don’t think you understand how the rules-based order works.
The US makes the rules.  The US enforces the rules.  The US changes the rules at will, as in changing last week’s “We are grabbing sanctioned ships” to this week’s “We are grabbing ships with sanctioned oil”.
 
No one else gets to the make the rules.   The US doesn’t have to follow the rules.   No one else gets to hold the US to the rules.   
 
By the way, Taiwan is not a different country than China, it is part of China.    So China would not use Venezuela as a precedent if it attacked Taiwan, which is very unlikely anyway.   The US has been pushing that line for decades, and it’s getting a bit old, imo.

Posted by: wagelaborer | Dec 21 2025 19:22 utc | 66

Noirette @ 5

Merry Holidays!

Amazing how people publicly display their Christ-hate and, apparently at least, think they are being friendly.  Don’t be a hater! 

Posted by: CalDre | Dec 21 2025 19:23 utc | 67

@60 Karl re: Floor cleaning robots. The Global Times article is right. China spying on you is not the problem.  It is well known those robots can spy on you. They have cameras, both IR and visible light and many other sensors.   You get the Apps to operate them with your phone from a Google Store not China. Like any other smart appliance they are always on and watching. The people spying are not in some far off exotic land. The spy is  much closer to home.
Simple solution. Don’t connect the machine to the internet. They still clean just as well but require some manual operation. But in today’s fat, lazy society. Picking up the machine by hand and pressing the clean button, vs a voice command over your phone may be too much effort. Its much, much easier just to let the machine shoot a vid of you while on the toilet.

Posted by: golddigger | Dec 21 2025 19:27 utc | 68

Posted by: golddigger | Dec 21 2025 19:27 utc | 68
Sadly people will always surrender agency for convenience.
“It’s all on ma phone, isn’t it great!”
The Powers That Should Not Be know this fine well, to all our detriment.
The bewitched majority will not realise until the digital noose it tightened around their necks.

Posted by: ChatNPC | Dec 21 2025 19:38 utc | 69

BM @6: “Bullet trains don’t snail along at 220 mph, they fly along at 600 km/h or 800 km/h or faster.”
 
 
I’m guessing you have never actually been on a train, much less a high speed one. Stop spouting utter nonsense. And please have the sentience and decency to feel embarrassed. 

Posted by: William Gruff | Dec 21 2025 19:46 utc | 70

Merry X-mas everyone!

Posted by: William Gruff | Dec 21 2025 19:56 utc | 71

Posted one year ago:
 
Interest cost of federal debt as percentage of federal revenues:
 
 
Actual
~2% 2019
~9% 2021
~18% 2024
Projected
~24% 2025
~xx% 2026
~xx% 2027

My back of the envelope shows 28-30% in 2026 and 30-34% in 2027.  If that’s true, then the Federal Gov‘t will face an insolvency crisis in early 2027.
 
 
Watch 10 year treasury interest rate: if stays above 4% then bond market agrees with my prediction of an insolvency crisis; if 10 year drops below 3% then I am wrong. TBD

Note: Federal Revenues are roughly $5 trillion

Posted by: Exile | Dec 21 2025 19:56 utc | 72

Is there anyone on the net keeping a close track on the various pirated ships and their destinations, progress, etc. and summarizing it with their sources? I am currently unable to do the work myself or to use the ship tracking pages.
 

Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Dec 21 2025 20:04 utc | 73

The truth is that ‘US intelligence’ assesses that Russia does not even have the capability to conquer and occupy Ukraine, what to speak of ‘invading and occupying’ Europe.

 
I thought this was pretty obvious.  But what is needed to be explained what someone who boasted Russia could overrun Europe thought they were doing?  Unfortunately, the theory that this is warmongering makes no sense coming from an administration PR flack. Trump is pursuing a gigantic military expansion and insists on an equally gigantic military expansion from all his so-called allies. I think Trump would stroke out if Europeans claimed they needed to increase military spending to 5% of GDP because of the American threat! So, no Trump is not pursuing peace. He’s simultaneously ordering his subordinates to pay more for America’s extended rule over the planet. If Gabbard really believes that drivel it merely suggests she has no central nervous system. The notion that this war mongering is because of opposition to Trump’s hypothetical push for peace is partisan hackery. 

Posted by: steven t johnson | Dec 21 2025 20:05 utc | 74

NBC News
Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie say they’re considering inherent contempt charges against Pam Bondi
1 hour ago

The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that federal courts possess inherent authority to punish contempt—i.e., disobedience of a court order or obstruction of justice—and to impose other sanctions on parties or attorneys who engage in misconduct. [ https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artIII-S1-4-3/ALDE_00013522/ ]
 
AI Overview
Inherent authority is the power an agent has to act for a principal, not from specific instructions, but from the very existence of the agency relationship, existing to protect third parties dealing with the agent by allowing necessary actions to fulfill granted authority (like signing contracts to sell property). It’s also used in law for courts’ inherent powers to manage proceedings or for Indigenous nations’ inherent right to self-governance, meaning power derived from their fundamental nature or existence, not just delegated laws.
 
AI Overview
U.S. Congress’s inherent authority refers to powers not explicitly listed in the Constitution but deemed essential for a sovereign national government to function, like regulating borders, immigration, and foreign affairs, stemming from the nature of sovereignty itself, though its scope is sometimes debated and often tied to implied powers (Necessary & Proper Clause) and presidential actions
 
. While Congress holds broad powers, inherent authority helps address governmental needs not covered by expressed grants, acting as a logical extension for effective governance, particularly in areas of national security and international relations.

 
Grist for the mill. (And I really do appreciate not having to track all that info down and type it out in my own words.)
 

Posted by: Laurence | Dec 21 2025 20:23 utc | 75

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/ro-khanna-thomas-massie-inherent-contempt-bondi-kaine-epstein-rcna250298

Khanna and Massie’s remarks came after Sen. Tim Kaine said that Congress has other mechanisms to force the release of additional Epstein files.

Posted by: Laurence | Dec 21 2025 20:35 utc | 76

Posted by: lester | Dec 21 2025 18:45 utc | 57
 
Yes!  Some people apparently have GDS unfortunately.

Posted by: linda | Dec 21 2025 20:36 utc | 77

Tis the season of Felices Fiestas, starting with Winter/Summer Solstice yesterday, lasting through Orthodox Christmas 6 January.
  The occupant of the White House surpasses his predecessor, not only is he a serial murderer, he has become a pathetic pirate. He has also turned the White House into a petty oligarch’s  cottage and added a ‘ballroom’ without foreseeable purpose.  He needs keep hands off public property. 
The occupant of the White House had shared interests with Epstein, both trawled the pool of young, good looking women, Trump to populate the beauty pageants he  was impresario and suited voyeurism, while Epstein trawled for those useful for more ‘hands on’ purposes with plenty of camera shots of his clients that left little doubt that other ‘observations’ had been made (or not), either way equally ‘persuasive’. This mutually beneficial arrangement failed when one started pilfering the bevy of the other.  
The occupant of the White House is a very angry man, a man out of balance, a very dangerous man, a man who needs to be removed from access to power as he is incapable of self restraint as well as being irresponsible  for his actions. The Republic may not survive the administrations of an ill-; ; a democracy cannot survive for sure.educated, ignorant, self-centred  fool

Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Dec 21 2025 20:42 utc | 78

#Can’t ContinueError: Go figure. 
 

1. Blockades are an act of war. By blockading Venezuelan ports and harbors, the United States has declared war on Venezuela.2. The United States has argued, for most of its existence, that “neutral ships make neutral cargo.” This was the official position of the U.S. government. By seizing a neutral country’s ships (China), the U.S. has officially changed its policy to “all ships, including neutral ships, entering a blockaded port can be seized.3. If a neutral country sends one of its ships into blockaded waters and that neutral ship gets seized, the United States can’t complain. It

Also: #Formula2Complex …
 

Posted by: Laurence | Dec 21 2025 20:45 utc | 79

NBC News
U.S. Coast Guard ‘in active pursuit’ of third vessel off the Venezuelan coast
48 minutes ago

Posted by: Laurence | Dec 21 2025 21:03 utc | 80

James@1742:  The WaPo?   Mirable Dictu!  A huge surprise to me as that organ is closely tied to the “suggestions” of The Agency. Checking out the article you presented should be quite enlightening as to somewhat of an aperatura by that publication.
Posted by: aristodemos | Dec 21 2025 18:06 utc | 46
 
****************
 
I look forward to more detail once you have digested the article!

Posted by: General Factotum | Dec 21 2025 21:04 utc | 81

Tis the season of Felices Fiestas, starting with Winter/Summer Solstice yesterday, lasting through Orthodox Christmas 6 January.
  The occupant of the White House surpasses his predecessor, not only is he a serial murderer, he has become a pathetic pirate. He has also turned the White House into a petty oligarch’s  cottage and added a ‘ballroom’ without foreseeable purpose.  He needs keep hands off public property. 
The occupant of the White House had shared interests with Epstein, both trawled the pool of young, good looking women, Trump to populate the beauty pageants he  was impresario and suited voyeurism, while Epstein trawled for those useful for more ‘hands on’ purposes with plenty of camera shots of his clients that left little doubt that other ‘observations’ had been made (or not), either way equally ‘persuasive’. This mutually beneficial arrangement failed when one started pilfering the bevy of the other.  
The occupant of the White House is a very angry man, a man out of balance, a very dangerous man, a man who needs to be removed from access to power as he is incapable of self restraint as well as being irresponsible  for his actions. The Republic may not survive the administrations of an ill-educated, ignorant, self-centred  fool; a democracy cannot survive for sure.  
Edited version, so sorry.

Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Dec 21 2025 21:48 utc | 82

Posted by: wagelaborer | Dec 21 2025 19:22 utc 
Brilliant!
Merry Christmas, all.

Posted by: spudski | Dec 21 2025 21:55 utc | 83

Mike Benz has put out a new video talking about BCCI, and the connections Epstein had with that “Bank Of Crooks and Criminals” bank, the Iran-Contra drug and gun running deals, the various intelligence agencies involved,  etc.
He was the Forrest Gump of crooked deals, and shady intelligence criminality.  But sure, keep on believing that his connections were only about girls, if that is the level you prefer to stay at.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzdZp11SQMo

Posted by: wagelaborer | Dec 21 2025 22:05 utc | 84

Posted by: wagelaborer | Dec 21 2025 22:05 utc | 84
I’m not sure what to think about Mike Benz, who you recommend as the go-to guy for Epstein. He has a shady past as a pseudonymous right-wing “influencer” before emergence as a ubiquitous former State Department expert on the Deep State. Yet much of what he says in his various online appearances rings true. This includes what I’ve heard of his comments on Epstein. I don’t trust Benz at all, yet much of what he says is interesting and is backed up elsewhere.
For example, a lot of Benz’s observations, going back to the 1980s and Iran-Contra, reinforces the work of Drop Site News and other sources which I cited in an earlier comment here.  It is also congruent with a lot of Whitney Webb’s research, despite your rather disparaging reference to her in your earlier comment. But most importantly, it suggests why the Epstein link is significant for a number of issues of interest to the readers of this blog – and why the “debunking” efforts of Tracey and Taibbi are so frustrating and, um, “puzzling.” Make no mistake, they are not trying to move the focus from sex to more “relevant” issues; they are trying to ridicule the whole thing as hysterical “conspiracy theory.”

Posted by: pjay | Dec 21 2025 22:31 utc | 85

Some roots that still clutch. A metal cover of Winter from Vivaldi’s 4 Seasons. if it’s not your cup of tea, there’s always the original.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du1JIZFenFU
Andre Antunes
 

Posted by: duck n cover | Dec 21 2025 22:50 utc | 86

golddigger | Dec 21 2025 19:27 utc | 68
 
Thanks for your reply. The long citation was from the Guancha article. Global Times was clearly aimed at Western BigLie Media hysteria led by Reuters.
 
Formerly T-Bear | Dec 21 2025 20:42 utc | 78
 
Very pleased to read your comment. Yes, he has the anger associated with elderly tyrants. One hopes he does us all a favor and pops a cerebral blood vessel. My best wishes for you in 2026 and that you’ve learned how to make your computer read PDF text to you so you don’t have to strain your eyes too much. 

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 21 2025 23:12 utc | 87

I don’t think you understand how the rules-based order works.The US makes the rules.  The US enforces the rules.  The US changes the rules at will, 
Posted by: wagelaborer | Dec 21 2025 19:22 utc | 66
 
Rules based order = The ruler rules.
 
Laws-based order = Fantasy.
 
Does that help?

Posted by: HB Brian | Dec 21 2025 23:42 utc | 88

is it due the change in calendars that the orthodox celebrate at a different time?? i think it is, but i could be wrong! i am gigging away here at present with a blues christmas today in the afternoon with some musicians i never play with.. their drummer couldn’t make it… 
Posted by: james | Dec 21 2025 18:53 utc | 59

 
Not all the orthodox have stayed on the old calendar,  james.  The Russians have, and as our little church was mostly Russians, we did.  I had at one point an article  (it’s here somewhere)  from the Paris theological seminary explaining the importance of old calendar as far as how the cycle of fixed feast days coordinates with the moveable feast of Easter. (In other words, there’s a better ‘mesh’ old calendar).
 
 Lent and Easter are  celebrated by all Orthodox at the same time, and please don’t ask me to explain the reasoning for when that cycle occurs.
 
My own simplified preference simply goes with continuity.  In other words, switching from old to new must have involved a break in the daily rythm of services.  I also like not being totally bound by science,  the reality of the services having their spiritual importance emphasized more,  just as we think of sun and moon circling above us  more than we think of ourselves turning and travelling as we actually are.  A slightly different take on reality, but really no biggie.  I suppose by the time the calendars were so far apart as to seem ridiculous, it might be then time to reset, but that is going to take a while.
 
 

Posted by: juliania | Dec 21 2025 23:42 utc | 89

Do barflies know there’s a Leo Tolstoy Peace Prize? It was established in June 2022. Today, the jury panel awarded the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov, the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, and the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev for their significant personal contributions to promoting peace and security in the Central Asian region. The video shows five speeches of about 4 minutes each in a hall within one of the St. Petersburg Tsar Era halls I hadn’t seen before with an orchestra waiting patiently on the stage. Putin spoke at the outset for about four minutes:
 

V. Putin: Dear colleagues! Ladies and gentlemen! Dear friends!
 
 
I am pleased to welcome you all at the International Peace Prize ceremony and to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the awardees.
 
 
I consider it deeply symbolic that the prize is named after Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, our outstanding writer and a recognized classic of world literature, a great thinker and humanist. His philosophical worldview and rich creative legacy are recognized for their ideas of moral and spiritual self-improvement, love, kindness, compassion, and mercy, as well as their struggle against evil and violence.
 
 
As a Russian military officer and a participant in the heroic defense of Sevastopol, Leo Tolstoy knew the devastation and suffering caused by armed conflicts, the lasting wounds they inflict, and the natural human desire for peace. With his immense moral authority, Tolstoy worked tirelessly to prevent wars, advocate for peace and harmony among nations, and preserve their cultural diversity. As he once wrote, “All people of the world have the same rights to enjoy the natural blessings of peace and the same rights to be respected.”
 
 
I would like to note that the prize named after Leo Tolstoy was recently established. However, this initiative has proven to be highly relevant and has garnered significant public and international attention. The purpose of this prize is to promote unity around the noble ideals of peacebuilding, strengthening friendship between nations, protecting human rights and freedoms, and fostering a just and multipolar world order based on principles of sovereign equality and respect for each other’s legitimate interests, as well as the supremacy of international law.
 
 
Today, we are honoring the new recipients of the Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy Prize: President of the Kyrgyz Republic Sadyr Nurgozhoevich Japarov, President of the Republic of Tajikistan Emomali Sharipovich Rahmon, and President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev. I believe that the jury of the prize, which includes prominent public and political figures, renowned scientists, and representatives of the cultural community from eight countries, has made a worthy selection. The leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have been awarded the prize for their significant personal contributions to promoting peace and security in the Central Asian region.
 
 
As you know, on March 31 of this year, an unprecedented historical event took place in the ancient Tajik city of Khujand: the signing of a treaty on the point of intersection of three state borders and a declaration of eternal friendship. Thanks to the political will, wisdom, and foresight of the leaders of the three countries, a long period of uncertainty in border issues has been overcome, and the legal registration of common borders has been fully completed, creating a foundation for expanding cooperation based on good-neighborliness, trust, and mutual benefit. The settlement of the state border issue also opens up additional opportunities for further strengthening of multilateral economic ties, launching infrastructure and production projects, and attracting new investments. It is also important that regional security guarantees are strengthened, and prospects for coordinated efforts to combat cross-border threats such as terrorism, extremism, drug trafficking, illegal migration, and smuggling are opened. And we certainly have a good reason to congratulate Sadyr Nurgozhoevich, Emomali Sharipovich, and Shavkat Miromonovich on their awards. We will take an example from you.
 
 
I wish our dear laureates good health and further success in their noble mission of serving peace and mutual understanding, and I wish the friendly peoples of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan stability and prosperity.
 
 
Thank you for your attention.

 
Given the utter bankruptcy of the Nobel Peace Prize, I hope the Leo Tolstoy Peace Prize ousts it. 

Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 21 2025 23:44 utc | 90

Merry Winter solstice barflies. (here in the northern hemisphere, summer in the southern of course) 
 It is important to UNDERSTAND that all religions, regardless of where they originate are primarily about NOTING such astronomical cycle turning points. They are thus scientific! 
 
That is ALL.
Man has for eons stared at the sky and understood it as the clock face of the annual rhythm.
 
There are also other cycles.  Moon, planets… the 18000 year precession!
 
The fact that some religions have ‘holy’ days which encompasses even such long cycles – shows how much our ancestors figured out about the Earth below our feet as much as the sky above! 
 
By the way this solstice, in the temperate latitudes anyway, represents the BEGINNING of winter. Not the midpoint and certainly not it’s end. 
 
It’s only once the spring equinox has come does the sun shine longer than half the day (12 hours +) so the ground gets more warming than cooling overnight. That’s when spring starts, the flowers bloom …
 
 
Whatever way you note or celebrate the solstice days – have a happy one – there are many who don’t have any opportunity to do so. That is an evil that humanity must remove for human civilsation to progress. 
 
PS  – in the spirit of the season of rebirth of the sun (in the NH) perhaps an amnesty should be tolerated for any wayward ‘sons’ of the bar to post their greetings if nothing else😉

Posted by: DunGroanin | Dec 21 2025 23:50 utc | 91

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!  
Thanks for the rich collection this Sunday, B.  Unfortunately, nearly all of it looks so boring and redundant at this point in time.  
I did like the historical perspective of the Bertrand speech on China.  Definitely worth a read:
Seeing China Clearly: How to Read a Rising Power (Speech to German Business leaders) – Arnaud Bertrand

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Dec 21 2025 23:58 utc | 92

Posted by: juliania | Dec 21 2025 23:42 utc | 88
In the days before clocks, most people across the world followed a solar-lunar calendar as it matches better seasonal variations in the weather. That’s why so much farming lore is linked to the moon cycle and more loosely the solar cycle. It’s also why Easter, whenever it falls in the UK, has guaranteed poor weather – precluding the planting of certain tender crops. (that’s only half joking).
Once clocks were invented then the scientists forced the seasons onto a strict solar timetable, requiring a new Gregorian calendar for everything to work like clockwork. Farmers and gardeners know better.

Posted by: ChatNPC | Dec 22 2025 0:13 utc | 93

William Gruff @ 71

Merry X-mas everyone!

Spell out Christ, you Christ-hater.  This “X” was made up by Christ-hating Jews (tautology) so they don’t have to write a name they revile, 
It’s not funny, it’s not merry, it’s a big F*** YOU to every Christian, just randomly thrown out there.  What does that say about you?

Posted by: CalDre | Dec 22 2025 1:33 utc | 94

For you to disappear on account of three.

Posted by: Laurence | Dec 22 2025 2:18 utc | 95

@  juliania | Dec 21 2025 23:42 utc | 88
 
thanks.. your commentary is very interesting! as i said, i am enjoying the timothy ware book which i am almost finished.. the gig this afternoon was super fun.. played with some musicians i have never played with before.. it was a last minute thing as their drummer couldn’t make it… christmas blues music – bb king, charles brown, big joe turner, fats domino, eric clapton and more… it might not compare to orthodox liturgical music, speaking of which, i was really impressed with this russian composer who did the music for the movie on andrei rublevs life which you and others might enjoy.. i watched it the past few days – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=je75FDjcUP4
 
more info on him and this film below… 
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Rublev
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Rublev_(film)
 
if you do find a link somewhere on your computer that covers this topic in an online paper, i’d be very curious… i think it is essentially the difference between the gregorian and julian calendar, but i could be mistaken… 
 
what do you make of leo tolstoy, seeing as karlof1  has highlighted putins sharing of this special peace prize from 2022??  only answer if you feel like it.. cheers james.. 

Posted by: james | Dec 22 2025 2:51 utc | 96

Posted by: Nobody Special | Dec 21 2025 18:59 utc | 61
 
I was hoping it wasn’t the case, but Brian Berletic has proven to be right again. With the recent seizing of the Chinese super tanker, it confirms the US will be using naval blockades to interdict international shipping as their main WW3 strategy.
 
I don’t think there’ll be a military response from China aside from supplying some weapons however, as Venezuela is too far away from their power projection sphere. China’s military build up is mainly focused on defending its home region around the South China Sea with anti-access missiles. A cargo ship or oil tanker is fucked if it has to travel half way around the world. It’s possible China may take asymmetric measures against Japan as it seems to be all over their media and that’s more feasible given their home advantage.
 
Regardless, it looks like we’re about to see much higher shipping rates, and eventually an era where overseas trade can’t happen unless it’s escorted and protected from piracy.
 

Posted by: Jules | Dec 22 2025 2:53 utc | 97

@ ChatNPC | Dec 22 2025 0:13 utc | 92
 
there’s some truth to what you say, but i don’t know that is the whole story… the equinox and solstice where put as the beginning of the 4 seasons… the sun- moon cycle has been studied and followed from at least babylonian times, probably before..  they kept records of the eclipse cycles – the saros cycle and etc. etc. which is sort of an important foundation for astrological lore from day one essentially… easter in the west is always the first sunday after the first full moon in spring, which starts around march 20/21st area…  so easter is a lunar type cycle influence for sure…  i think islam and judaism rely more heavily on the lunar cycle for many of their special religious events… not sure the bhuddist folks…   christmas came out of saturnalia – pagan essentially…  that is what little i know and can always be corrected too, lol.. 

Posted by: james | Dec 22 2025 2:59 utc | 98

Spell out Christ, you Christ-hater.  This “X” was made up by Christ-hating Jews (tautology) so they don’t have to write a name they revile, It’s not funny, it’s not merry, it’s a big F*** YOU to every Christian, just randomly thrown out there.  What does that say about you?  Posted by: CalDre | Dec 22 2025 1:33 utc | 93
 
Gosh, you seem nice.   Do you attribute that to your religion?   

Posted by: wagelaborer | Dec 22 2025 3:05 utc | 99

A monatery sovereign that issues its own currency cannot go bankrupt. See Japan about 4 years ago.
 

Posted by: ChatET | Dec 22 2025 3:05 utc | 100