Venezuela had a Russian-supplied integrated system focused on protecting Caracas and strategic sites. This included long-range, medium-range, short-range, and point-defense systems, supplemented by anti-aircraft guns and fighter interceptors.
They had around 12 batteries of…
— wretchardthecat (@wretchardthecat) January 4, 2026
They Got A Lot Of Stuff
The Kobeissi Letter- Most people do not realize how much the world just changed.
In other words, in 12 hours, the US has gained control of oil reserves worth more than the entire GDP of ALL countries in the world, aside from the US and China. That’s 4 TIMES larger than the GDP of Japan.
Then there’s everything else.
Pave The Swamp
Kash Patel announces closure of FBI HQ Hoover building;
“When we arrived, taxpayers were about to be on the hook for nearly $5 billion for a new headquarters that wouldn’t open until 2035. We scrapped that plan. Instead, we selected the already-existing Reagan Building, saving billions and allowing the transition to begin immediately with required safety and infrastructure upgrades already underway. Once complete, most of the HQ FBI workforce will move in, and the rest are continuing in our ongoing push to put more manpower in the field, where they will remain,” he continued.
Oh No! Anyway…
THERE GOES MY SPRING BREAK PLANS, THANKS A LOT DONALD DRUMPF
I HAD A FULL ITINERARY OF GETTING KIDNAPPED AND RANSOMED AND CATCHING AIDS ALL PLANNED OUT
AND NOW IT’S RUINED https://t.co/9DqB3GQpxm
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) December 26, 2025
Clean, Beautiful Coal
The US president marked Christmas Eve by quizzing children on their wishlists, while promising to not let a “bad Santa” infiltrate the country and even suggesting that a stocking full of coal may not be so bad.
Let That Sink In
The US State Department said Tuesday it would deny visas to a former EU commissioner and four others, accusing them of seeking to “coerce” American social media platforms into censoring viewpoints they oppose.
“These radical activists and weaponized NGOs have advanced censorship crackdowns by foreign states — in each case targeting American speakers and American companies,” the department said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
The measure targeted Thierry Breton, the former top tech regulator at the European Commission, who often clashed with tech tycoons such as Elon Musk over their obligations to follow EU rules.
Breton was described by the State Department as the “mastermind” of the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a major piece of legislation that imposes content moderation and other standards on major social media platforms operating in Europe.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X his country “strongly condemns” the visa restrictions, adding that Europe “cannot let the rules governing their digital space be imposed by others upon them”.
Where do I submit nominations?
A world wide system of censorship: Here is the full length video report into the mysterious ‘Global Disinformation Index’ and how it censors political speech across Europe and the US.
Jeffrey Epstein Didn’t Kill Himself
The DOJ releases 30K more documents;
Some of these documents contain untrue and sensationalist claims made against President Trump that were submitted to the FBI right before the 2020 election. To be clear: the claims are unfounded and false, and if they had a shred of credibility, they certainly would have been weaponized against President Trump already.
Nevertheless, out of our commitment to the law and transparency, the DOJ is releasing these documents with the legally required protections for Epstein’s victims.
And this is why the consequences for making a false accusation should be identical to the crime being alleged.
I’m not going to venture into the fire hose today because I have work to do, but a good starting point would be Mario Nawfal, (although it looks like he’s already been stung by one “manipulated image”).
My goodness, there are some real gems being uncovered.
Thank You For Your Attention To This Matter
“President Donald Trump revealed the Trump-class battleships Monday at his Palm Beach estate, joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Navy Secretary John Phelan, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. These 30,000-ton vessels upgrade from current destroyers with more missile tubes, space for hypersonics, railguns, and lasers, aiming to build two initially and scale to 20-25 amid China’s naval growth. The White House calls it a Golden Age for defense to modernize the aging 287-ship fleet, though critics like former Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery question the $5 billion-plus designs’ focus on aesthetics over lethality against China.” – Grok AI
More at Naval News. John Konrad reacts.
Reporter: “What are you doing with the [Venezeulan] oil you seized?”
“We’re going to keep it.”
Coulda Had A Pipeline
CBC suddenly realizes that Venezuelan oil is a lot like Canada's and that American refineries are specifically built and modernized to refine Canadian heavy oil… and can easily pivot to oil from Venezuela
CBC also realizing that Dave Eby and the US billionaire created… https://t.co/JLiYTR8yN1 pic.twitter.com/WaUTK2AosR
— cbcwatcher (@cbcwatcher) December 20, 2025
“years of mismanagement and underinvestment have seen exports crater” – that’s the CBC unmentioning that Hugo Chávez stole billions in investment when he seized US oil assets.
Interesting hypothesis: Why has the US assembled the largest naval force in the Caribbean since 1962? It’s not about drugs. It’s not about oil.
Better late than never: “I will approve a pipeline”
Thank You For Your Attention To This Matter
President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a total blockade of oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela, declaring the Nicolás Maduro regime a foreign terrorist organization and accusing it of using stolen U.S. assets to finance terrorism, trafficking and other criminal activity.
“Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America,” Trump said on Truth Social. “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before – Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.
“The illegitimate Maduro Regime is using Oil from these stolen Oil Fields to finance themselves, Drug Terrorism, Human Trafficking, Murder, and Kidnapping,” he continued. “For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION.
Who Cares?
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko freed 123 prisoners on Saturday, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski and leading opposition figure Maria Kalesnikava, after two days of talks with an envoy for U.S. President Donald Trump, an American statement said.
In return, the United States agreed to lift sanctions on Belarusian potash. Potash is a key component in fertilizers, and the former Soviet state is a leading global producer.
Coulda Had A Pipeline
Iraq’s Oil Ministry has revealed that it has sent out exclusive invitations to several major U.S. energy firms to develop the country’s huge West Qurna 2 oilfield following the withdrawal of Russian oil number two Lukoil after Washington ratcheted up sanctions on Moscow. “It’s a huge turnaround in the trajectory it [Iraq] had been headed with Russia and China, marking a massive win for us [the U.S.] and Europe,” a senior legal source who works closely with the U.S. Treasury Department exclusively told OilPrice.com last week. “Stay tuned – there’ll be more of this to come,” he added.
The significance of this sea-change in Iraq’s geopolitical leanings can barely be overstated. Following the increasing perception among the Iraqi people that the U.S. had overstayed its welcome after it removed Saddam Hussein as leader in 2003, Russia and China – in that order – looked to boost their influence across the country for three key reasons. First, it offers a huge repository of oil at the world’s joint lowest average lifting cost of $2-4 per barrel, together with large quantities of associated and non-associated gas. Second, it occupies the geographical heart of the region, lying west of Iran, north of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, east of Jordan and Syria (with its long Mediterranean coastline offering access to further critical sea routes), and south of Turkey (affording an entry into the European continent). And third, it is a key member of the ‘Shia Crescent of Power’ geopolitical arc that stretches from Iran through Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, where Shia communities and Iran-backed groups exert significant influence over regional politics, economics, and security. In short, if you are a global superpower or wannabe, Iraq is where you need to be.
Unexpectedly
🚨 CNBC: September trade deficit comes in better than expected
"-$52 billion would be the lightest going back to… WOW we're really going back!… We're all the way back to June of 2020!" https://t.co/opzmTSCAIk pic.twitter.com/NnU6kQHtCb
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) December 11, 2025
Related: “You can look at the chart of inflation over the last 50 years, right? And you’ll see two big bumps, two big bumps.”
Art Of The Deal
"we assumed there was no money available because of the shutdown … They had already taken that into account, the money had already been set aside" https://t.co/UQ3U6YTLjh pic.twitter.com/ecBzXQ51Ej
— Whale Psychiatrist ™️ (@k_ovfefe2) December 9, 2025
Indeed
Christopher Landau is the US Deputy Secretary of State.
My recent trip to Brussels for the @NATO Ministerial meeting left me with one overriding impression: the US has long failed to address the glaring inconsistency between its relations with NATO and the EU. These are almost all the same countries in both organizations. When these…
— Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) December 6, 2025
Related: The money sent to Russia is in blue; the money sent to Ukraine is in orange.
Trump’s New National Security Strategy
The Trump administration’s just published new National Security Strategy has generated a lot of ‘shock’ and discussion since it appeared online early Friday. One of its more ‘controversial’ elements is the stark contrast in outlook on Europe in comparison with prior years’ national security strategy documents.
It warns that some of America’s oldest allies in Europe face “the real and more stark prospect of civilizational erasure” as a result of unchecked immigration, as well as the erosion of democratic principles. Alongside calling out irresponsible unchecked EU immigration policies, it further cites the curbing of free speech – also with the support for EU censorship excesses by transnational elite institutions, describing that “should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognizable in 20 years or less.”
Matt Gurney and Jenn Gerson discuss implications for a similarly compromised northern free rider.
Some of what the document lays out is simply true, and Canadian and other allied politicians, especially on the left, have ignored those realities at their peril. Some of it is debatable, or at least worth taking seriously. And some of it is outright nuts, pulled straight from the conspiratorial anxieties of America’s far-right social media ecosystem. But whether reasonable, arguable, or deranged, it is now official White House policy — and the rest of us are going to have to learn to live with it.
From there, the conversation turns to how Canadians are, or aren’t, learning to live with it. There is still very little evidence that anyone here grasps the scale of the threat or the urgency involved. Jen introduces a new theory: Canada as a nation is increasingly resembling the federal New Democrats — and that’s not good news for anyone.
Then they get angry that the document treats us like a bitter underachiever, before going full CBC derangement.
How High, Senor Maduro?
Everything about Venezuela is explosve these days: Maduro’s Ex-Insider Turns Snitch, Sends Trump an Explosive Letter
Related.
On Dec. 4, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization. Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and… pic.twitter.com/pqksvxM3HP
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 4, 2025
Collateral Damage?
Needless prosecution of a victimless crime, or a case of “the law is the law“?
The administration’s sudden expansion of immigration arrests in Chicago meant Guzmán was in the government’s custody for about 34 hours. She was kept in a holding facility that was intended to house people for only a small fraction of that time… Even though she was still trying to produce breast milk for her daughter, Guzmán had limited access to food and water at the Broadview Processing Center and was never provided a breast pump. She said she was never assessed by a medical professional while in the government’s custody. Guzmán was left to manage the pain of her C-section recovery as well as her Type 1 diabetes with the supplies she had in her backpack at the time of her arrest.
Who Cares?
Canadian taxpayers gave Stellantis $15 billion.
Today their CEO proudly told Donald Trump they’re putting almost that exact amount into new factories in the USA.
Mark Carney is a master negotiator!
Thank You For Your Attention To This Matter
Democrats’ll be wishing they’d just let him have that damned wall.
BREAKING: Effective immediately, USCIS has issued new guidance that halts all immigration & naturalization processes for migrants from 19 “travel ban” countries, including green card & US citizenship applications (legal immigration). This means if someone has already passed the…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 3, 2025
Reddit threads are popping up with people confused after receiving cancellation notices for their U.S. citizenship ceremonies.
The 19 countries in the USCIS guidance are: Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
— Grok (@grok) December 3, 2025

