Turkey Makes Another $9 Billion Bet On Russian Nuclear Power

Authored by Julianne Geiger via OilPrice.com,

Turkey just took another very large, very deliberate step deeper into Russia’s energy orbit — and this time it comes with a $9 billion price tag.

Ankara says that Russia has provided $9 billion in new financing for the Akkuyu nuclear power plant, Turkey’s first-ever nuclear facility, which is being built by Russia’s state-owned Rosatom on the Mediterranean coast. According to Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, the bulk of that money will be deployed in 2026 and 2027, with as much as $4–5 billion flowing next year alone. The plant is now expected to come online in 2026, after multiple delays.

While this may look like a straightforward infrastructure update, it’s more about how deeply intertwined Turkish and Russian energy interests remain, despite years of flowery talk about diversification and reduced dependence on Moscow.

Akkuyu has always been different from Turkey’s other energy ambitions. It is a build-own-operate project. This means that Rosatom shoulders the financial risk, owns the plant, and will operate it for decades. That structure is precisely why Akkuyu survived when Turkey’s second nuclear project at Sinop collapsed under runaway costs and political complexity. Only Russia stayed.

What makes the timing interesting is that this financing lands just as Turkey is loudly advertising its renewable credentials. The country’s installed renewable capacity has surged to roughly 74 gigawatts, solar capacity has doubled in under three years, and Ankara says wind and solar have helped avoid $15 billion in natural gas imports since 2022. Turkey has also set a 2053 net-zero target and is negotiating massive new solar projects, including a 5-gigawatt package with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power.

Yet nuclear sits outside that clean-energy narrative. Akkuyu alone is expected to supply roughly 10 percent of Turkey’s electricity demand once fully operational. It reduces gas imports, stabilizes baseload power, and quietly locks in a long-term strategic partnership with Russia that renewables simply do not replace.

Turkey is also talking to South Korea, China, and the United States about future nuclear projects in Sinop and Thrace. But talk is cheap. Russia already has steel in the ground, reactors rising, and now another $9 billion on the table.

For Ankara, this is more than simply choosing Moscow over Brussels or Washington. It is about leverage. Turkey is building an energy system that is diversified on paper, but ruthlessly pragmatic underneath. Russian gas, Russian nuclear financing, Middle Eastern solar capital, European grids, and domestic renewables all coexist because Turkey wants options and bargaining power.

So regardless of what Turkey says publicly about diversification, it is not finished doing business with Russia.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/27/2025 - 08:10

"Common Sense" Is Back: UK Finally Scraps Non-Crime Hate Incident Laws Nationwide

Police chiefs will reportedly seek to scrap non-crime hate incidents in plans they will present to the Home Secretary next month.

The Telegraph reports that police leaders have decided that NCHIs are no longer “fit for purpose” after warnings that recording them undermines freedom of speech and diverts officers away from fighting crime.

Under the plans, NCHIs will be replaced with a new “common sense” system, where only a fraction of such incidents will be recorded under the most serious category of anti-social behaviour.

An NCHI falls short of being criminal but is perceived to be motivated by hostility or prejudice towards a person with a particular characteristic.

They stay on police records indefinitely and can come up in background checks.

The move to scrap them follows high-profile cases such as that of Graham Linehan, the Father Ted co-creator, whose arrest for a series of posts on X was criticized by the Trump administration as a “departure from democracy”.

The plans will be published next month by the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and are expected to be backed by Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary.

Lord Herbert, the chairman of the College of Policing, told The Telegraph:

“NCHIs will go as a concept. That system will be scrapped and replaced with a completely different system."

“There will be no recording of anything like it on crime databases. Instead, only the most serious category of what will be treated as anti-social behaviour will be recorded. It’s a sea change.”

Their exclusion from crime databases means any incidents will no longer have to be declared as part of checks in job applications.

Police forces would be instructed not to log “hate” incidents on crime databases, instead treating them as “intelligence” reports.

Police guidance on the recording of NCHIs was first published in 2005, following recommendations by an inquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence - the London teenager who was stabbed to death in a racist attack in 1993.

As The BBC reports, Lord Herbert said "an explosion of social media" in the years since they were introduced has meant police had been drawn into monitoring "mere disputes" online.

Officers do not want to be "policing tweets", he told BBC Radio 4's Today program.

Last year, The Telegraph reported that 43 police forces in England and Wales had recorded more than 133,000 NCHIs since 2014.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/27/2025 - 07:35

Stockman: The Real Story Behind The Russia–Ukraine War... And What Happens Next

Authored by David Stockman via InternationalMan.com,

Notwithstanding the historic fluidity of borders, there is no case whatsoever that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was “unprovoked” and unrelated to NATO’s own transparent provocations in the region.

The details are arrayed below, but the larger issue needs be addressed first.

Namely, is there any reason to believe that Russia is an expansionist power looking to gobble up neighbors which were not integral parts of its own historic evolution, as is the case with Ukraine?

After all, if despite Rubio’s treachery President Trump does manage to strike a Ukraine peace and partition deal with Putin you can be sure that the neocons will come charging in with a false Munich appeasement analogy.

The answer, however, is a resounding no!

Our firm rebuke of the hoary Munich analogy as it has been falsely applied to Putin is based on what might be called the double-digit rule. To wit, the true expansionary hegemons of modern history have spent huge parts of their GDP on defense because that’s what it takes to support the military infrastructure and logistics required for invasion and occupation of foreign lands.

For instance, here are the figures for military spending by Nazi Germany from 1935–1944 expressed as a percent of GDP. This is what an aggressive hegemon looks like in the ramp-up to war: German military spending had already reach 23% of GDP, even before its invasion of Poland in September 1939 and its subsequent commencement of actual military campaigns of invasion and occupation.

Not surprisingly, the same kind of claim on resources occurred when the United States took it upon itself to counter the aggression of Germany and Japan on a global basis. By 1944 defense spending was equal to 40% of America’s GDP, and would have totaled more than $2 trillion per year in present day dollars of purchasing power.

Military Spending As A Percent Of GDP In Nazi Germany

• 1935: 8%.
• 1936: 13%.
• 1937: 13%.
• 1938: 17%.
• 1939: 23%.
• 1940: 38%.
• 1941: 47%.
• 1942: 55%.
• 1943: 61%.
• 1944: 75%

By contrast, during the final year before Washington/NATO triggered the Ukraine proxy war in February 2022, the Russian military budget was $65 billion, which amounted to just 3.5% of its GDP.

Moreover, the prior years showed no build-up of the kind that has always accompanied historic aggressors. For the period 1992 to 2022, for instance, the average military spending by Russia was 3.8% of GDP– with a minimum of 2.7% in 1998 and a maximum of 5.4% in 2016.

Needless to say, you don’t invade the Baltics or Poland—to say nothing of Germany, France, the Benelux and crossing the English Channel—on 3.5% of GDP! Not even remotely.

Since full scale war broke out in 2022 Russian military spending has increased significantly to 6% of GDP, but all of that is being consumed by the Demolition Derby in Ukraine—barely 100 miles from its own border.

That is, even at 6% of GDP Russia has not yet been able to subdue its own historic borderlands. So if Russia self-evidently does not have the economic and military capacity to conquer its non-Ukrainian neighbors in its own region, let alone Europe proper, what is the war really about?

In short, it is rooted in territorial disputes and civil strife in lands which have been vassals or integral parts of greater Russia for several centuries. As indicated, Ukraine actually means “borderlands” in the Russian language, connoting stateless areas that were first assembled into a coherent polity by Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev by force of arms after 1920.

In fact, prior to the communist takeover of Russia, no country that even faintly resembled today’s Ukrainian borders had ever existed. So what NATO’s proxy war actually amounts to is an insensible attempt to enforce the dead hand of the Soviet presidium, as we amplify below.

For avoidance of doubt here are sequential maps that tell the story, and which make mincemeat of the Washington/NATO sanctity of borders malarkey. The first of these is a 220-year-old map from 1800, where the yellow area depicts the approximate territory of the five regions—Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia plus Crimea—that will be allowed to go their own way, including back to Mother Russia, if the key ingredients of the Donald’s 28-point peace place can be resurrected.

As it has happened, these regions have voted overwhelmingly during referendums in 2023 and 2014, respectively, to separate from Ukraine in favor of affiliation with Russia.

Collectively, the five regions were historically known as the aforementioned Novorossiya or “New Russia” and had been acquired by Russian rulers, including Catherine the Great between 1734 and 1791.

The red markings within the yellow areas of the map designate the year of Russian acquisition. Self-evidently, therefore, the Russian Empire had gradually gained control over this vast area north of the Black Sea before the end of the 18th century. To that end, it had signed peace treaties with the Cossack Hetmanate (1734) and with the Ottoman Empire at the conclusion of the various Russo-Turkish Wars of that era.

Pursuant to this expansion drive – which included massive Russian investment and the in-migration of large Russian populations to the region – Russia established the “Novorossiysk Governaorate” in 1764. The latter was originally to be named after the Empress Catherine, but she decreed that it should be called “New Russia” instead.

The Provinces Of Ukraine Slated For Partition By The Trump Plan Were Part Of Russia Before The US Constitution Was Even Written

Map: © Роман Днепр, CC BY-SA 3.0

Completing the assemblage of New Russia, Catherine forcefully liquidated its aforementioned century-long Cossack ally known as the Zaporizhian Sich (present day Zaporizhia) in 1775 and annexed its territory to Novorossiya, thus eliminating the independent rule of the Ukrainian Cossacks. Later in 1783 she acquired Crimea from the Turks, which was also added to Novorossiya, as shown in yellow area of the map above.

During this formative period, the infamous shadow ruler under Catherine, Prince Grigori Potemkin, directed the sweeping settlement and Russification of these lands. Effectively, Catherine had granted him the powers of an absolute ruler over the area from 1774 onward.

The spirit and importance of “New Russia” at this time is aptly captured by the historian Willard Sunderland,

“The old steppe was Asian and stateless; the current one was state-determined and claimed for European-Russian civilization. The world of comparison was now even more obviously that of the Western empires. Consequently, it was all the more clear that the Russian empire merited its own “New Russia” to go along with everyone else’s New Spain, New France and New England. The adoption of the name of New Russia was in fact the most powerful statement imaginable of Russia’s national coming of age.

In fact, the passage of time solidified the borders of Novorossiya even more completely. One century later the light-yellow area of the 1897 map below gave an unmistakable message: To wit, in the late Russian Empire there was no doubt as to the paternity of the lands adjacent to the Azov Sea and the Black Sea: They were now part of the 125 years-old “New Russia”.

Where’s Waldo—Ukraine—on This Map

After the Russian Revolution, of course, the pieces and parts in this region of the old Czarist Empire were bundled-up into a convenient administrative entity by the new red rulers of Moscow, who christened it the “Ukrainian SSR” (Soviet Socialist Republic). In a like manner, they created similar administrative entities in Belorussia, Georgia, Moldavia, Turkmenistan etc.—ultimately confecting 15 such faux “republics”.

During the course of this communist state-building, here is how and when these brutal tyrants attached each piece of today’s Ukrainian map to the territories acquired or seized by the Russian Czars over 1654-1917 (yellow area):

• The old Novorossiya of the Donbas and Black Sea rim was added to the Ukraine SSR by Lenin in 1922.

• The western territory around Lviv that been known as Little Poland and Galicia were captured by Stalin in 1939 and thereafter when he and Hitler carved up Poland.

• Upon the death of the bloody Stalin in 1954, Khrushchev made a deal with his Presidium allies to transfer Crimea from the Russian SSR to the Ukrainian SSR in return for their support in the battle for succession.

In a word, Ukraine is the bastard spawn of communist blood and iron. Yet during the last decade the Washington and the NATO warhawks have spent upwards of $300 billion to ensure that the handiwork of autocratic Czars and Commissars remains intact into the 21st century and presumably beyond.

It is ironic, therefore, that the historically illiterate Donald Trump has the good sense to dispense with one of the stupidest crusades that the War Party on the Potomac has yet concocted. So doing, he would enable the failed handiwork of communist tyrants to be made right with history—an outcome that can now happen if and only if the Donald gets the Rubio digression back on track.

Modern Ukraine: Born In Communist Blood and Iron

Image: © Sven Teschke et al., CC BY-SA 3.0.

Of course, had the above-mentioned 20th century communist trio been noble benefactors of mankind, perhaps their subsequent map-making handiwork and reassignment of Novorossiya to Ukraine might have been justified. Under this benign counterfactual, they would have presumably combined peoples of like ethnic, linguistic, religious and politico-cultural history into a cohesive natural polity and state. That is, a nation worth perpetuating, defending and perhaps even dying for.

Alas, the reason that Trump is right to attempt to end this bloody catastrophe via partition is that the very opposite was true. From 1922 to 1991 modern Ukraine was held together by the monopoly on violence of its brutally totalitarian rulers. And that became more than evident when the Kremlin temporarily lost control of Ukraine during the military battles of World War II. During that especially bloody interlude, the communist administrative entity called Ukraine came apart at the seams.

That is, local Ukrainian nationalists joined Hitler’s Wehrmacht in its depredations against Jews, Poles, Roma and Russians when it first swept through the country from the west on its way to Stalingrad; and then, in turn, the Russian populations from the Donbas and south campaigned with the Red Army during its vengeance-wreaking return from the east after winning the bloody 1943 battle of Stalingrad that turned the course of WWII.

Not surprisingly, therefore, virtually from the minute it came out from under the communist yoke when the Soviet Union was swept into the dustbin of history in 1991, Ukraine has been engulfed in political and actual civil war. The elections which did occur were essentially 50/50 at the national level but reflected dueling 80/20 vote breakouts within the regions. That is, the Ukrainian nationalist candidates tended to get vote margins of 80% + in the West/Central areas, while Russian-sympathizing candidates got similar pluralities in the mainly Russian-speaking East and South.

This pattern transpired because once the iron-hand of totalitarian rule ended in 1991, the deep and historically rooted conflict between Ukrainian nationalism, language and politics of the central and western regions of the country and the Russian language and historical religious and political affinities of the Donbas and south came rushing to the surface.

Accordingly, so-called democracy barely survived these contests until February 2014 when one of Washington’s “color revolutions” finally “succeeded”. That is to say, the Washington fomented and financed nationalist-led coupe d état ended the fragile post-communist equilibrium.

That’s the true meaning of the Maidan coup. It ended the tenuous cohesion that kept the artificial state of Ukraine intact for barely two decades after the Soviet demise. So save for Washington’s destructive intervention, the partition of a communist-confected state that had never been built to last would have materialized all on its own–perhaps like in Czechoslovakia—-and likely sooner than later.

At the end of the day, therefore, the necessary impending partition of the rogue state of Ukraine is not a case at all of legitimate sovereign borders being violated. Nor does it involve an assault on the hypocritical notion of a “rules-based international order” that has not actually ever existed and which, instead, has been a cover for Washington’s global hegemony all along.

But the lessons are nonetheless profound. History accumulates and eventually leads to destructive, but wholly unnecessary outcomes.

That is the case today with the utterly foolish action of Washington during the 1990s and 2000s to bring former Warsaw Pact Nations, and even breakaway Soviet Republics into a NATO alliance whose mission was over and done in 1991.

It should have been dismantled then and there. When the old Soviet monster with its 50,000 tanks and 7,000 nuclear warheads disappeared into the dustbin of history, there was no longer a threat to the east. There was no “front line” to defend.

At that point Washington should have and easily could have led the world to disarmament and to a revival of the lasting peace that had disappeared in the “Guns of August” in 1914.

But now the NATO section 5 mutual defense commitment to these 31 nations is equivalent to a stupid charity that the nearly bankrupt Federal government cannot afford in any case.

There is absolutely nothing in it for the enhancement of America’s homeland security, and huge incentives for the politicians of these nations to caterwaul against Russia rather than seek peaceful accommodation.

So here is the historic moment before us: The Donald now needs to tell Rubio in no uncertain terms to take a hike and then return to the essence of the 28-point plan and agree with Putin to a partition of Ukraine.

So doing, he would not only end the utter stupidity of NATO’s proxy war on Russia, but in the process accomplish something more of literally epic proportions: Namely,the defenestration of the neocons, official Washington, NATO, the rules based international order and all the other globalist humbug that has saddled America with $1.5 trillion per year Warfare State and Global Empire that it cannot afford and doesn’t need.

*  *  *

If the history laid out above makes anything clear, it’s that the real danger to America rarely comes from distant, shifting borders—but from the misguided ambitions of those who gamble with our future in the name of “global leadership.” As Washington sleepwalks deeper into conflicts that have nothing to do with genuine US security, the stakes for ordinary Americans grow higher by the day. That’s why now is the moment to get informed, not after the next crisis erupts. Legendary investor Doug Casey has issued a stark warning about what he believes may be the most dangerous event of the 21st century—an event set in motion by the very forces discussed in this article. His special report explains what’s coming, why it matters, and how you can prepare before it’s too late. If you want to understand the real risks ahead—and what they could mean for your freedom, finances and future—you can access Doug’s urgent video report here.

Tyler Durden Sat, 12/27/2025 - 07:00

The Real War Of The Century: Artificial Intelligence

Authored by Joaquim Couto via The Brownstone Institute,

There was a time when debates about determinism and free will belonged to philosophy departments and late-night dorm room conversations.

They were enjoyable precisely because they seemed harmless. Whatever the answer, life went on. Courts judged, doctors decided, teachers taught, and politicians were still—at least nominally—held responsible for their actions.

That era is over.

Artificial intelligence has transformed what once appeared to be an abstract philosophical question into a concrete issue of governance, power, and accountability. Determinism is no longer merely a theory about how the universe works. It is becoming an operating principle for modern institutions. And that changes everything.

AI systems are deterministic by construction. They operate through statistical inference, optimization, and probability. Even when their outputs surprise us, they remain bound by mathematical constraints. Nothing in these systems resembles judgment, interpretation, or understanding in the human sense.

AI does not deliberate.

It does not reflect.

It does not bear responsibility for outcomes.

Yet increasingly, its outputs are treated not as tools, but as decisions. This is the quiet revolution of our time.

The appeal is obvious. Institutions have always struggled with human variability. People are inconsistent, emotional, slow, and sometimes disobedient. Bureaucracies prefer predictability, and algorithms promise exactly that: standardized decisions at scale, immune to fatigue and dissent.

In healthcare, algorithms promise more efficient triage. In finance, better risk assessment. In education, objective evaluation. In public policy, “evidence-based” governance. In content moderation, neutrality. Who could object to systems that claim to remove bias and optimize outcomes? But beneath this promise lies a fundamental confusion.

Prediction is not judgment.

Optimization is not wisdom.

Consistency is not legitimacy.

Human decision-making has never been purely computational. It is interpretive by nature. People weigh context, meaning, consequence, and moral intuition. They draw on memory, experience, and a sense—however imperfect—of responsibility for what follows. This is precisely what institutions find inconvenient.

Human judgment introduces friction. It requires explanation. It exposes decision-makers to blame. Deterministic systems, by contrast, offer something far more attractive: decisions without decision-makers.

When an algorithm denies a loan, flags a citizen, deprioritizes a patient, or suppresses speech, no one appears responsible. The system did it. The data spoke. The model decided.

Determinism becomes a bureaucratic alibi.

Technology has always shaped institutions, but until recently it mostly extended human agency. Calculators assisted reasoning. Spreadsheets clarified trade-offs. Even early software left humans visibly in control. AI changes that relationship.

Systems designed to predict are now positioned to decide. Probabilities harden into policies. Risk scores become verdicts. Recommendations quietly turn into mandates. Once embedded, these systems are difficult to challenge. After all, who argues with “The science?”

This is why the old philosophical debate has become urgent.

Classical determinism was a claim about causality: given enough information, the future could be predicted. Today, determinism is turning into a governance philosophy. If outcomes can be predicted well enough, institutions ask, why allow discretion at all?

Non-determinism is often caricatured as chaos. But properly understood, it is neither randomness nor irrationality. It is the space where interpretation occurs, where values are weighed, and where responsibility attaches to a person rather than a process.

Remove that space, and decision-making does not become more rational. It becomes unaccountable.

The real danger of AI is not runaway intelligence or sentient machines. It is the slow erosion of human responsibility under the banner of efficiency.

The defining conflict of the 21st century will not be between humans and machines. It will be between two visions of intelligence: deterministic optimization versus meaning-making under uncertainty.

One is scalable.

The other is accountable.

Artificial intelligence forces us to decide which one governs our lives.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 22:30

Chinese Military Simulates Caribbean War Scenario Amid Trump's Gunboat Diplomacy

President Trump's Western Hemisphere defense posture, including expanded gunboat diplomacy in the Caribbean targeting Venezuela and, by extension, Cuba, is disrupting Venezuela-to-Asia oil flows, a U.S. foreign policy move that has angered Beijing. This friction was indirectly signaled by Chinese state media on Friday, which aired a segment featuring People's Liberation Army wargaming simulations of hypothetical conflict scenarios in the Caribbean theater.

The South China Morning Post reported that China Central Television (CCTV) showed red (PLA) and blue (enemy) forces maneuvering aircraft and warships near Cuba and Mexico, with blue units near Houston before moving into the Gulf of Mexico.

SCMP explained further:

One screen in the report showed red and blue opposing unit "indicators" – represented by aircraft and ships – manoeuvring near the coasts of Cuba and Mexico. Some of the blue side congregated near Houston, Texas, and headed southeast into the Gulf of Mexico, while the red side was seen in the Caribbean Sea.

In a typical PLA drill, the red side usually represents the Chinese military while the blue side is the enemy.

During the CCTV report, a close-up focused on Cuba showed the lines of trajectory of aircraft and ships in the region in what was likely a simulation of a tactical operation. Chinese researchers were seen pointing to the screen and discussing the situation.

The footage was recorded at a PLA wargaming event held in Xuchang, Henan province, which was attended by 20 units from across the military and its academies. Dozens of simulation systems were demonstrated – all of them developed in China.

PLA war games are rarely revealed, and to air on state television is yet another sign Beijing is furious with the Trump administration's gunboat diplomacy to topple regimes in Venezuela and Cuba. 

Earlier this week, China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian criticized the Trump administration for its seizure of multiple crude tankers.

Context is important: China has received much of Venezuela's seaborne crude exports in recent years, accounting for well over half of total shipments. This is facilitated through a network of "dark fleet" tankers.

PLA's decision to publicly broadcast wargaming scenarios, an unusually rare event, constitutes an external signal directed at the Trump administration in response to U.S. gunboat diplomacy in the Caribbean. The signaling reinforces the rationale for Trump's move to secure the Caribbean basin first, thereby preempting potential Chinese naval encroachment. This U.S. military reposturing is best characterized as a shift toward Western Hemisphere defense, a framework we view in play through the 2030s (here's how to profit).

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 22:00

How To Structure Your Estate So Your Heirs Avoid A Financial Headache

Authored by Javier Simon via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

When you leave this earth, you want to make sure your loved ones are taken care of and that you leave behind a cherished legacy. But without a plan, you can leave your family with some serious headaches. That’s why it’s important to take some steps today to make sure this doesn’t happen. Let’s take a look at some options.

Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock Consider a Living Trust

Without a proper plan dictating how you’d like your assets distributed after your passing, your estate—that is, everything you own—would need to go through a court process known as probate to determine who gets what. This can take months and even years. And with it can come hefty court fees and other expenses. Plus, it’s all public record.

But you can bypass this with a revocable living trust. As a trust grantor or creator, you can transfer various types of assets into a trust, such as cash, real estate, and investments. In the trust document, you can clearly outline how you’d want your assets distributed and under what terms. As trustee, you can also manage the assets in your lifetime or appoint someone else. In addition, you can appoint a successor trustee to manage and distribute assets based on your direction.

A living trust doesn’t go through probate. And because it removes assets from your estate, it can potentially shield you from the estate tax.

Update Beneficiaries

Certain accounts such as retirement plans can allow for beneficiaries that you may list when you open the account. This holds a lot of weight. In fact, it overrides wills. But as time passes, your intentions may change. Maybe you set your spouse as a beneficiary, but a divorce may have you thinking you’d want to change beneficiaries to someone else, such as your child. But if you don’t act fast, the initial beneficiary designation stays. So you may want to review beneficiary designations periodically to make sure they still align with your wishes.

Set Up a Durable Power of Attorney

Nobody likes to think about it, but anyone can become incapacitated at some point in their lives. This is why it’s important to establish a durable power of attorney. This individual, also called an agent, can step in to legally handle your financial matters should you become mentally incapable to do so. This agent also can oversee assets that don’t typically fit into a trust such as retirement plans.

In the durable power of attorney document, you should clearly outline your agent’s responsibilities, powers, and limitations.

But, overall, you’d have someone competent to continue managing your finances for the benefit of your loved ones.

Write a Will

Although a trust can open the door to a smooth distribution of your assets and avoid probate, a will can still come in handy.

More importantly, it allows you to designate legal guardians for any minor children. It also can provide guidance for personal items or assets unintentionally left out of your trust.

Take Advantage of Gift Tax Exclusions

So far, we’ve discussed passing on assets to your loved ones. But you can always pass on gifts to help your loved ones during your lifetime. In fact, current tax laws give you a lot of freedom here.

For 2025, as an example, you can give up to $19,000 per individual without incurring a gift tax. And married couples can double that limit, up to $38,000. But if you go over those limits, you generally won’t owe a tax. Still, you’d need to file IRS Form 709. And the amount that spills over decreases your lifetime gift and estate tax exclusion of $13.99 million for 2025 or $27.98 million for married couples. Once you go past those limits, you may face taxes.

However, the strategy of gifting substantially can shrink the size of your estate over time and potentially reduce or avoid the estate tax as a result.

Stay Organized

Even if you have the advantages of safeguards like trusts and durable power of attorney, one thing that could force the courts to step in is lack of information.

So, make sure you keep all important digital and physical documents safe and secure. Be sure to list all assets and asset types. Keep all account numbers, pins, passwords, and other crucial data safe and accessible for your agent or a trusted family member. Keep physical documents like financial statements, deeds, and titles in fireproof safes or something just as effective.

The Bottom Line

Without a solid plan, you may leave behind some stress for your family, and your assets may not be distributed as you would have thought fit. But you can take action to prevent this today. You can look into revocable living trusts, durable powers of attorney, wills, and more to create a sound estate-planning strategy. But as these tasks can be complex, it’s crucial that you design your plan with the help of a qualified estate-planning attorney.

The Epoch Times copyright © 2025. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors. They are meant for general informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation. The Epoch Times does not provide investment, tax, legal, financial planning, estate planning, or any other personal finance advice. The Epoch Times holds no liability for the accuracy or timeliness of the information provided.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 21:30

The Stoic's Guide To Life: Ancient Wisdom For Modern Struggles

Authored by Duncan Burch via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Epictetus, a Greek Stoic philosopher who flourished during the early second century, said the chief task in life is to separate what is within one’s control from what is not.

A man sits on the edge of Areopagus hill opposite the ancient Acropolis hill in Athens on November 21, 2025. Aggelos NAKKAS/AFP via Getty Images

“Externals are not in my power; will is in my power,” the famed Stoic said, according to a series of teachings compiled by his student Arrian and known as “The Discourses.” “Where shall I seek the good and the bad? Within, in the things which are my own.”

The philosophy of Stoicism promotes the reliance on reason and logic to determine what is good or virtuous and calls on its adherents not only to make such a determination but to act on it.

Stoic ideas have had a profound effect on Western culture, including in the fields of philosophy, literature, ethics, and even mathematics, and many of the teachings remain popular today.

The word “Stoic” derives from the Greek term “Stoa Poikile,” or “painted portico,” which refers to a colonnade adorned with murals depicting famous battles in the central public hub of ancient Athens. It was along this decorated colonnade that Zeno of Citium, the founder of Stoicism, walked with his students, imparting the tenets of his philosophy.

Born into a merchant family during the reign of Alexander the Great, Zeno initially took up his father’s trade. However, after surviving a shipwreck, he went to Athens, where he discovered teachings by Socrates and decided to devote himself to philosophy.

After studying under several prominent Athenian philosophers, Zeno opened up his own school. He taught regularly in the public marketplace for almost 40 years, until his death around 262 B.C., and his ideas became the foundation of what became known as Stoicism.

Although most of the writings of Zeno and the other early Stoic philosophers did not survive, their ideas had a profound influence on the philosophical discourse of the time, in Athens and beyond.

They became especially popular in the early period of the Roman Empire, where Stoic ideas were often part of the educational curriculum and espoused by prominent statesmen such as Cicero and Seneca, and even by the emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Statue of Socrates at the Academy of Sciences, Humanities and Fine Arts in Athens on January 11, 2023. Photo by Martin Bertrand/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images

Zeno and other early Stoics were undoubtedly influenced by Socrates, and the philosophy of Stoicism shares certain basic ideas with other philosophers in the Socratic tradition.

The four cardinal virtues taught by the Stoics—prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice—were also discussed in the writings of both Plato and Aristotle. Stoics considered these virtues to be the highest virtues, on which all other virtues depend.

Prudence

“It’s not the accident that distresses this person,” said Epictetus, according to a short manual of practical Stoic ideas compiled by Arrian known as “Enchiridion.” “[It] is the judgement which he makes about it.”

Prudence comes from the Latin word “prudentia,” meaning foresight or sagacity. It is described by Stoics as the ability to discipline one’s thoughts and actions through the use of reason.

Stoics taught that each individual has the potential to think and act in accordance with the divine reason of the universe by employing the portion of reason that resides in his or her own mind. By applying the intellect to the impressions created by the universe, one can make logical judgments concerning what is good or virtuous and what is not.

One of the main themes of Stoic philosophy is distinguishing between external factors that one can’t control and internal factors that one can. While many things that occur in the world are beyond our control, what we can control are our thoughts, actions, and reactions.

Fortitude

Roman statesman Seneca, who faced his death at the order of Roman emperor Nero with Stoic calmness, had written in one of his letters: “He who has learned to die has unlearned slavery; he is above any external power, or, at any rate, he is beyond it. What terrors have prisons and bonds and bars for him?”

Fortitude refers not only to patience and endurance, but also to courage and bravery. Stoics pointed to the importance of forbearance, of calmly enduring those things in life that cause pain and suffering, and of accepting those things as part of the world in which we live.

Suffering is an inevitable part of human existence. Though we can’t stop or prevent it, we can control how we react to it. To consider it reasonably and bear it nobly is wisdom.

Yet it is not only suffering that must be faced with courage, but also fear. Whether the fear of battle, loss, poverty, or even death, Stoics believe that it should be overcome with reason and faced with bravery.

Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (121–180) is known for his “Meditations.” Biba Kayewich

According to his student Arrian in “Enchiridion,” Epictetus said, “I must die. If now, I am ready to die. If, after a short time, I now dine because it is the dinner-hour; after this I will then die. How? Like a man who gives up what belongs to another.”

Another theme that recurs frequently in Stoic writings is that of acting in accordance with one’s beliefs. It is not enough to merely attain wisdom; one must act in a manner that conforms to the wisdom one has attained. This is especially true when those actions might bring trouble, condemnation, or even death, as a violation of one’s conscience is worse than all of those.

Temperance

Temperance means self-control or self-restraint, and it was often used by Stoics to refer to guarding against both the indulgence in pleasure and the avoidance of pain.

The early Stoic philosopher Chrysippus described passion, or strong emotions, as a misleading force resulting from a failure to reason. In his treatise “On Passions,” Chrysippus identified the four primary passions to guard against: sorrow, pleasure, fear, and desire.

He referred to sorrow and pleasure as present emotions, while identifying fear and desire as emotions directed at the future. In all cases, he believed these emotions should be constrained by reason whenever they appear in one’s mind.

Stoics did not believe in seeking pleasure, nor in pursuing wealth, fame, or status. They also did not advise avoiding hardship or shying away from difficult, unpleasant, or uncomfortable tasks. They believed in using reason to determine what is right, and in acting on that determination regardless of whatever emotions may arise.

Justice

Cicero, who wrote extensively on Stoic ideas in “On Duties,” deemed justice as “the crowning glory of the virtues” and its primary duty to “keep one man from doing harm to another.”

He said that justice constitutes the common bond of human society and of a virtuous community of life. The Stoic virtue of justice is based on acting in accordance with the highest good.

Volunteers serve food during the "Turkey and Blessing" dinner at Lindale Church in Houston on Nov. 25, 2025. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images

In other words, justice compels each person to conscientiously perform whatever duties fall to them, and it requires doing what is best for the community in which one lives. Thinking and acting with justice means fulfilling your duties to your fellow man, whatever they may be.

Justice, then, to the Stoic, is not some external system of punishment and reward, but rather a way of thinking and acting.

“Neither the senate nor the people can give us any dispensation for not obeying this universal law of justice,” Cicero wrote in “Treatise on the Commonwealth.” “It needs no other expositor and interpreter than our own conscience.”

Enduring Value of Stoic Virtues

These four cardinal virtues of Stoicism—prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice—are interdependent.

Courage without prudence or temperance, or for purely selfish means, is not true courage, and neither is wisdom of any value without the fortitude to act on it. And of course, temperance, prudence, and fortitude are all necessary components of acting in service of the highest good, which is justice.

The virtues of Stoicism still provide guidance to the people living in modern society. The fact that this ancient philosophy has endured throughout the centuries and continues to inspire people around the world is a testament to its inherent value.

“The true felicity of life is to be free from perturbations, to understand our duties towards God and man, [and] to enjoy the present without any anxious dependence upon the future,” Seneca wrote in “Seneca’s Morals of a Happy Life, Benefits, Anger and Clemency.”

“[Rest] satisfied with what we have, which is abundantly sufficient; for he that is so, wants nothing,” he continued. “The great blessings of mankind are within us, and within our reach.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 20:30

Chinese Cargo Ship Converted Into Concealable Missile Destroyer

Concealing missile and rocket artillery launchers, as well as loitering munition swarms, within civilian-style transport platforms such as container ships and commercial trucks is a long-established and well-documented tactic in asymmetric warfare.

Over the years, we have observed a wide range of these concealable missile systems:

• Watch: Hellfire Missile Launcher Hidden Inside Civilian Box Truck

• Ukraine Receives Missile System Disguised As "Ordinary" Shipping Container

• There Are Growing Fears That China Could Be Hiding Missiles In Containerships Worldwide

• Ukrainian Drone Swarm Attack Marks Grim "Inflection Point In History Of Warfare"

The latest example comes from a report published earlier this week by The War Zone, which documents a Chinese commercial cargo ship converted into a heavily armed vessel equipped with containerized weapons and high-tech sensors.

"It appears we are getting at least one installment of this in the form of a medium-sized cargo ship packed full of containerized vertical launchers, along with sensors and self defense systems," TWZ's Tyler Rogoway wrote in a note, adding, "The message is clear, China is making it known that it could, and likely will, turn ships from its behemoth of a commercial fleet into not just shooters, but arsenal ships."

Rogoway noted that one of the most striking features is a deck covered with containerized vertical-launch system modules, providing an estimated 60 large launch cells, approximately two-thirds of the missile capacity of a U.S. Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. This suggests that the vessel will serve as a multi-operational platform. 

One factor that does make me wonder if this whole thing is real, however, is the text on the containers...

If one is able to read Chinese, the text is rather... amusing, for proper PLA projects. https://t.co/gmv3z2Pf1A pic.twitter.com/H6eq5kgDc8

— Rick Joe (@RickJoe_PLA) December 25, 2025

We have long pointed out that weaponized container ships constitute a credible asymmetric threat...

... with Beijing reportedly wargaming scenarios in the Caribbean theater amid elevated tensions over President Trump's gunboat diplomacy aimed at destabilizing the Venezuelan and Cuban regimes, the big question is how many such ships China has already outfitted with VLS modules.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 20:00

Washington's National Security Strategy Sends Mixed Signals To India

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

The worsening of Indo-US ties under Trump 2.0 has been one of the most unexpected foreign policy outcomes of his second presidency thus far, which this analysis here argues is due to him wanting to punish India for refusing to subordinate itself to the US.

Pakistani-US ties have inversely strengthened despite being very troubled under Trump 1.0, so much so that there’s been talk about Pakistan giving the US a commercial port for re-establishing its regional presence, which could have dual military purposes.

This background explains why Trump 2.0’s new National Security Strategy (NSS) was such a surprise for South Asian observers. Pakistan is only mentioned once and just in the context of Trump’s contentious boast of brokering a ceasefire between it and India even though Pakistan has been the centerpiece of this second administration’s regional policy up till this point. India is mentioned three other times in the document, however, with the next one pertaining to the Quad.

In their words, “We must continue to improve commercial (and other) relations with India to encourage New Delhi to contribute to Indo-Pacific security, including through continued quadrilateral cooperation with Australia, Japan, and the United States (‘the Quad’).”

They then proposed that “America should similarly enlist our European and Asian allies and partners, including India, to cement and improve our joint positions in the Western Hemisphere and, with regard to critical minerals, in Africa.”

In connection with that, “We should form coalitions that use our comparative advantages in finance and technology to build export markets with cooperating countries. America’s economic partners should no longer expect to earn income from the United States through overcapacity and structural imbalances but instead pursue growth through managed cooperation tied to strategic alignment and by receiving long-term U.S. investment.”

This can be interpreted as an allusion to India’s allegedly “unfair” trade practices.

The final reference was about “keep[ing] [South China Sea] lanes open, free of ‘tolls,’ and not subject to arbitrary closure by one country. This will require not just further investment in our military—especially naval—capabilities, but also strong cooperation with every nation that stands to suffer, from India to Japan and beyond, if this problem is not addressed.” In other words, building upon the second Quad-related reference, the US wants India playing a more active military role in the South China Sea.

Putting it all together, the US’ NSS sends mixed signals to India.

On the one hand, Pakistan’s conspicuous omission except in the context of Trump’s boast about brokering spring’s ceasefire should please India, provided that it believes that this presages a policy recalibration.

On the other hand, this is apparently conditional on India ramping up cooperation with the Quad, cooperating with the US on African mineral deals, opening its markets to more US exports, and containing China in the South China Sea.

Joint projects in third countries are possible as is India’s lowering of tariffs on US imports, but the Quad’s role has been overshadowed by AUKUS (and its informal NATO-like expansion of AUKUS+), while the incipient Sino-Indo rapprochement makes India reluctant to contain China outside of South Asia.

If the US’ attaches security strings to improving ties with India, particularly if it demands that India contain China in the South China Sea, then India will likely decline this proposal to avoid becoming the US’ proxy.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 19:30

Federal Judge Rules California Can't Hide Child Gender Swaps From Parents

A federal judge on Monday issued a permanent injunction - ruling that California can't prevent parents from learning when their children switch genders. 

The U.S. flag and a judge's gavel, in this illustration taken on Aug. 6, 2024. Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

US District Court Roger T. Benitez (Bush) entered the injunction barring officials from enforcing state policies, writing in in a 52-page decision "The State’s desire to protect vulnerable children from harassment and discrimination is laudable," but that "the parental exclusion policies create a trifecta of harm: they harm the child who needs parental guidance and possibly mental health intervention to determine if the incongruence is organic or whether it is the result of bullying, peer pressure, or a fleeting impulse."

"They harm the parents by depriving them of the long-recognized Fourteenth Amendment right to care, guide, and make health care decisions for their children, and by substantially burdening many parents’ First Amendment right to train their children in their sincerely held religious beliefs And finally, they harm teachers who are compelled to violate the sincerely held beliefs and the parent’s rights by forcing them to conceal information they feel is critical for the welfare of their students," the decision continues. 

Among California's policies are rules prohibiting teachers from telling parents when their children begin going by a different name and/or gender, and forces teachers to use the child's chosen names and pronouns when parents are not around. (Homeschooling FTW). 

Lawyers for the state argued that the policies provide a safe learning environment such that children "can learn without fear of being outed to their parents before they are ready."

In his ruling, Benitez said that the state's interest is too broad and not narrowly tailored to respect parental rights.

"In articulating their interest, the State Defendants completely ignore the fact that parents of students possess a free exercise right to direct a child’s religious teaching," he said. 

As the Epoch Times notes further, the permanent injunction includes language that bars any employee in California’s education system from “misleading the parent or guardian of a minor child in the education system about their child’s gender presentation at school, whether by: (i) directly lying to the parent; (ii) preventing the parent from accessing educational records of the child; or (iii) using a different set of preferred pronouns/names when speaking with the parents than is being used at school.”

Attorneys for the Thomas More Society, who are representing teachers in the case, celebrated the ruling.

“The Court’s comprehensive ruling—granting summary judgment on all claims—protects all California parents, students, and teachers, and it restores sanity and common sense,” Paul Jonna, special counsel at the society, said in a statement.

“With this decisive ruling from Judge Benitez, all state and local school officials that mandate gender secrecy policies should cease all enforcement or face severe legal consequences.”

The Office of the California Attorney General has not yet released a statement on the decision, and an email seeking comment was not returned by publication time.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 19:00

The New Battle For The Americas: Why The Western Hemisphere Is Becoming A Global Flashpoint

Authored by Nick Giambruno via InternationalMan.com,

Below is a geopolitical map of the Western Hemisphere as I see it today.

The principal geopolitical foes of the US in the Western Hemisphere—Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua—are firmly in the China and Russia camp.

Other countries can shift depending on the outcome of recent elections.

Here’s an overview of some of the most geopolitically important countries in the Western Hemisphere to help frame the broader picture.

Venezuela

A military confrontation over Venezuela appears increasingly likely.

Since Hugo Chávez’s rise to power in 1999, Caracas has aligned itself with Russia and China. Venezuela’s vast oil and gold reserves make it a geopolitical prize. The country holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves—over 303 billion barrels, around 17 % of the global total—concentrated in the Orinoco Belt. That’s more oil than Saudi Arabia’s reported reserves.

For China and Russia, Venezuela represents a geopolitical foothold in America’s backyard—much like how the US uses Taiwan and Ukraine to do the same to Beijing and Moscow.

Trump’s renewed “war on drugs” is a thinly veiled pretext for the US to advance its geopolitical interests in the Americas.

Further, earlier this year, Washington labeled Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and the Cartel de los Soles as “foreign terrorist organizations,” a dramatic escalation without precedent. The designations paved the way for military and covert actions under counterterrorism authorities.

The US has amassed an impressive naval force off Venezuela’s coast in what Trump described as a campaign against “narco-terrorism.”

In reality, this looks more like classic gunboat diplomacy—the drugs-and-terrorism narrative is merely a thin patina of propaganda used to justify the policy. Venezuela is not a major cocaine producer, nor does it play any significant role in fentanyl trafficking.

Venezuela now stands at the crossroads of a changing world order. It’s difficult to imagine the US securing its sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere while Venezuela remains in its current geopolitical orientation—promoting an ideology that Latin America should be independent of the US.

Guyana

Guyana has quietly become one of the most geopolitically significant states in the Western Hemisphere. Its oil boom, its vulnerability to a long-running territorial dispute with Venezuela, and its growing alignment with the US situate it at the forefront of the conflict over control of the Western Hemisphere.

Washington’s recent deepening of economic and security ties signals recognition of that shift. Meanwhile, Caracas’s legislative and military moves to assert control over Guyana’s Essequibo region reflect a bold challenge—not just to Guyana, but to the US’s hemispheric influence.

Cuba

Cuba may look small on a map, but its position—just 90 miles from Florida—makes it one of the most strategically important pieces on the hemispheric chessboard.

In a world where geography still defines power, Cuba’s proximity to the US and its historic defiance of Washington give it an outsized geopolitical weight.

As the US refocuses on consolidating influence in the Western Hemisphere, Cuba is a challenge.

For Washington, the island’s alignment with China and Russia complicates efforts to assert control over the region.

For Beijing and Moscow, Cuba offers a rare foothold in America’s own backyard—a place to project soft power, intelligence, and potentially even military influence, without crossing direct red lines.

Economically, Cuba’s partnerships with China and Russia help it survive under US sanctions. Beijing has become Cuba’s largest trading partner and a major investor in telecommunications, ports, and infrastructure. Moscow, meanwhile, has pledged more than $1 billion in economic cooperation and continues to strengthen energy and defense ties. These relationships allow Havana to maintain political autonomy and serve as a symbolic anchor for anti-US sentiment across Latin America.

In short, Cuba is more than a relic of Cold War geopolitics—it’s a live variable in today’s multipolar order.

Cuba is also a stark reminder of the limits of the US government’s power. Since 1959, Washington has unleashed covert operations, economic embargoes, and numerous attempts to topple the Cuban regime—and yet it remains.

What new move could the US now deploy that it hasn’t already tried?

Short of a full-scale military invasion—which would itself offer no guarantee of success—I don’t see any viable alternative.

That means the Cuban government is likely to maintain its current geopolitical orientation and continue serving as a thorn in the side of US ambitions in the Western Hemisphere.

Colombia

Colombia has long been one of Washington’s most reliable allies in Latin America. Hugo Chávez famously—and derisively—referred to it as “the Israel of South America.”

That pattern has shifted under the country’s current left-wing president, Gustavo Petro. Earlier this year, he traveled to China and signed a cooperation plan marking Colombia’s formal accession to the Belt and Road Initiative—a move that rattled Washington. In response, Trump announced the suspension of US aid and threatened tariffs against Colombia, accusing Petro’s government of failing to curb narcotics.

The key question now is whether Colombia’s pivot toward Beijing marks a lasting strategic realignment or simply a temporary detour under Petro’s leadership. The direction Colombia ultimately takes will carry major geopolitical implications for the Americas—especially given its position bordering both Venezuela and Panama.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua has firmly aligned itself with China and Russia, positioning the Ortega government as one of Washington’s most outspoken adversaries in the Western Hemisphere.

Economically, Nicaragua has embraced China as a partner in infrastructure and investment, offering Beijing a strategic toehold in Central America. The Ortega administration has actively courted Chinese financing for energy, telecommunications, and port projects—moves that fit neatly into Beijing’s broader Belt and Road ambitions. Relations with the US, by contrast, have deteriorated sharply amid sanctions, trade restrictions, and public criticism of Ortega.

Brazil

Brazil, Latin America’s largest country by size and population, finds itself at a pivotal juncture in the hemisphere’s evolving geopolitical map.

Under former president Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil aligned closely with the US—sharing trade policies and strategic cooperation. That posture shifted with the return of Lula da Silva, who has pushed Brazil toward stronger ties with China.

Tensions with the US erupted recently when Trump imposed a sweeping 50% tariff on Brazilian exports, citing Brazil’s prosecution of Bolsonaro and what Washington called unfair trade practices. Brazil responded by filing a complaint at the World Trade Organization, invoking its new Reciprocity Law and hinting at retaliatory tariffs of its own. The result: a major rift with the US and a clear signal that Brazil is recalibrating its strategic orientation.

Brazil’s direction matters enormously. A lasting US-Brazil split could realign trade flows, shift regional power dynamics, and boost China’s influence in Latin America. Conversely, if Brazil ultimately steers back toward Washington, it would reaffirm the US’s dominant position in the hemisphere.

Panama

Panama has emerged as a crucial flashpoint in the contest for influence across the Western Hemisphere.

With the Panama Canal at the center of global trade and US naval strategy, the Trump administration views any Chinese foothold near the waterway as intolerable.

Earlier this year, Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited Panama and delivered a blunt message: reduce Chinese influence around the canal or face consequences. Within days, Panama announced it would not renew its memorandum with China’s Belt and Road Initiative—a move widely seen as a victory for US pressure.

The backdrop is unmistakable: Trump himself has publicly questioned the sovereignty of the canal, suggesting the US might ”take it back.”

The strategic intent is clear—Panama must align with the United States rather than Beijing. The canal is too vital for Washington to treat as neutral.

Washington’s recent hard line evokes echoes of 1989, when US military forces invaded Panama to remove Manuel Noriega and install a friendly regime.

Mexico

Mexico sits squarely at the heart of the Americas both geographically and economically. As the US’s largest trading partner, Mexico has deep economic, manufacturing, and logistical links with Washington—from cross-border supply chains to shared infrastructure.

At the same time, Mexico engages with China economically. Chinese goods and investment are flowing into Mexico at a growing pace, sometimes causing friction with the US, which worries that Mexico could become a backdoor for Chinese influence or trade. Mexico’s leadership also shows signs of asserting greater independence, pursuing its own path on global diplomacy and trade policy rather than fully falling in line with Washington.

Further, Mexico faces new pressure from Washington to treat its drug cartels as terrorist threats. The Trump administration has declared major Mexican criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations and is laying plans for military operations inside Mexico’s borders.

For Mexico’s leadership, this presents a serious challenge. Mexico firmly asserts that no foreign military operations may take place on its soil without authorization, and sees unilateral US action as a breach of national sovereignty.

Mexico could become a pivot point where US geopolitical strategy collides with Latin American autonomy.

El Salvador

El Salvador is an interesting example of the geopolitical tug-of-war between China and the US in Latin America.

A defining moment came when Washington paid roughly $6 million to El Salvador to detain hundreds of deportees—mainly Venezuelans—in the country’s maximum-security prison. Shortly after, the US hosted President Bukele at the White House, praising his government’s hard-line approach to gangs, migration control, and internal security.

At the same time, Bukele has deepened ties with China. Beijing has financed major Salvadoran infrastructure projects, including the new national library, a modern stadium, and an expansive waterfront tourism corridor.

So far, Bukele has managed to balance relationships with both Washington and Beijing. Whether that balance can hold remains to be seen, but for now, El Salvador stands as one of the few countries effectively navigating both sides of the great-power rivalry.

Argentina

Under Javier Milei, Argentina has become a key partner for the US in South America.

That’s why the US has made an unusually large and openly political bet on Argentina. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and President Trump previously announced a $20 billion currency swap that allows the US Treasury to buy Argentine pesos and deliver dollars to help stabilize Argentina’s financial system. They also outlined plans to assemble another $20 billion from US banks and private funds, bringing total potential support to around $40 billion.

Trump described the deal as an “economic Monroe Doctrine,” making clear that this is not simply an economic program but a geopolitical play. He tied the continuation of US support directly to President Javier Milei’s political success.

The US interest in Argentina is not hard to understand. Argentina is the third-largest economy in Latin America, with a GDP of about $600 billion. It is a major exporter of agricultural products and holds some of the world’s largest shale gas reserves. It also possesses huge lithium deposits. These resources are strategically valuable in a world where supply chains for food, energy, and critical minerals are becoming more important amid rising tensions with Russia and China.

What makes Argentina stand out is its political direction. While many large Latin American economies maintain closer ties to China or are leaning toward the BRICS bloc, Argentina under Milei has taken the opposite path. Milei withdrew from the BRICS expansion plan, canceled or froze Chinese infrastructure agreements, scaled back the use of China’s currency swap lines, opened the strategic Paraná River region to US military cooperation, and began signing new mineral agreements with US partners. For Washington, reducing Chinese influence in Argentina and securing access to critical resources are major incentives behind the financial support.

For Argentina, the US swap line is meant to stabilize the peso and support Milei’s market-friendly reforms. But the political conditionality creates risk. If reforms stall or if Milei loses legislative momentum, the US may pull back, which could quickly destabilize the currency again.

In the most recent national elections, Milei’s party made significant gains, winning roughly 41% of the vote and increasing its congressional representation enough to strengthen its ability to block opposition measures. Markets interpreted this as a sign that US backing will continue for now and that reform efforts will remain in place.

The bigger picture is that Washington is using financial leverage to secure influence in a strategically important, resource-rich country.

When Geopolitics Shifts, Financial Reality Follows

The great-power struggle unfolding across the Western Hemisphere isn’t just a regional contest—it’s a sign of the deeper economic fractures now spreading through the global system.

As the US, China, and Russia compete for influence in Latin America, the financial foundations that once underpinned American global dominance are weakening under the weight of inflation, debt, and an overstretched monetary order.

Geopolitical realignment is accelerating a financial reckoning that will affect every saver and investor long before it reshapes national borders.

To understand how this hemispheric tug-of-war connects directly to what may be the most dangerous economic crisis in a century—and to learn the three essential strategies you need right now to protect yourself—I strongly recommend reading my free PDF special report, The Most Dangerous Economic Crisis in 100 Years: The Top 3 Strategies You Need Right Now. Click here to access it now.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 18:30

Ultraprocessed Food Makers Respond To MAHA Amid Record Lobbying Effort

For much of the past year, America’s largest food manufacturers haven't been able to rebut Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s repeated claims that ultraprocessed foods are making Americans sick - something most Americans believe. 

So instead of even trying to pretend their products are even the slightest bit healthy, the industry appears to have settled on a narrower counterargument; Yes, the food may be bad for you, but it's CHEAP! And in an era when grocery bills have become a political liability (and who cares about the long-term drag on the healthcare system), that may be defense enough.

Food companies are making the case as they seek to blunt a growing wave of state-level efforts to regulate ingredients commonly found in ultraprocessed products. Those efforts, encouraged by Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement, range from restrictions on synthetic dyes to warning labels for chemical additives. Industry executives and lobbyists argue that such measures, taken state by state, will drive up costs for consumers already struggling with inflation.

“The dynamic here is affordability,” Sam Geduldig, a managing partner at the Republican lobbying firm CGCN, which represents Kraft Heinz, told Politico. “You have a MAHA movement that would like to accomplish one goal, and then you have an inflation, economic affordability issue on the other side that runs counter.”

The argument has been sharpened for political effect. In late October, major food companies and trade groups - including Kraft Heinz, Nestlé and PepsiCo - launched a coalition called Americans for Ingredient Transparency. The group has begun a six-figure advertising campaign warning that a patchwork of state regulations would raise grocery prices and urging Congress to establish a single federal standard that would override state rules.

Businesses have long preferred federal preemption when faced with divergent state requirements, and the food industry is no exception. What is new is the framing. The coalition’s message is calibrated to appeal to Republican lawmakers uneasy about rising costs and skeptical of regulations that might be blamed for them.

“President Trump is cutting costs and delivering real relief for working families,” Andy Koenig, a senior adviser to the coalition and a former Trump administration official, said in a statement, “but these well-intentioned state bills are creating a patchwork of labeling regulations that could undermine his goal to lower costs for Americans.”

The industry’s push comes amid record lobbying spending in Washington. Trade groups and major manufacturers have poured millions into K Street as the Trump administration - more insular and more openly skeptical of corporate influence than in its first term - has proved harder to access. Polling commissioned by the industry underscores why affordability has become its chosen refrain: A recent POLITICO survey found that nearly half of Americans now consider grocery prices the "most challenging" household expense, outranking housing and health care.

Yet the industry’s economic argument runs alongside another political reality. Polls also show broad agreement with Mr. Kennedy’s view that ultraprocessed foods are damaging public health, particularly for children. In October, a survey by KFF and The Washington Post found that large majorities of Americans see highly processed foods as a major health threat.

Kennedy has leaned into that sentiment, often naming familiar brands. At his confirmation hearing, he contrasted the ingredient lists of American products with their counterparts abroad. “If you buy McDonald’s french fries in our country, there’s 11 ingredients,” he said. “If you buy Froot Loops in our country, they’re loaded with food dyes—yellow dye, red dye, blue dye.”

At the federal level, Kennedy is pursuing a rule change that would require additional scrutiny when food companies alter recipes or introduce new ingredients. At the same time, he has encouraged states, including Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, to move ahead on their own. Legislatures across the country have responded. More than a hundred bills targeting sugar, synthetic dyes and chemical additives have been introduced this year, nearly five times as many as last year, according to a POLITICO analysis.

Lobbying spending by major food companies and their trade associations has reached record highs this year. | AP Photo/Patrick Sison

Some measures have already passed. California enacted the nation’s first ban on ultraprocessed foods in public schools. Texas approved a law requiring warning labels on products containing any of 44 additives—a statute the food industry is now challenging in court.

“These state laws are ultimately going to lead to increased cost,” said Charles Leftwich, vice president for food safety and quality assurance at Sysco, the country’s largest food distributor. “Those costs are ultimately going to get passed down to consumers.” (or not?)

Consumer advocates and MAHA supporters dispute that framing. They argue that federal preemption would weaken standards rather than harmonize them, particularly given the industry’s influence in Washington.

“A federal standard favors large multinational companies with a lot of money to lobby for less restrictive standards,” said Jennifer Galardi, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation who focuses on MAHA-aligned issues. “We see a state-by-state approach as emulating the checks and balances that our federalist system was designed to produce.”

The tension is already visible inside the administration. The final version of a Kennedy-backed report on childhood chronic disease released in September softened language from an earlier draft that had described ultraprocessed foods as “detrimental” to children’s health. The revised document instead called for a federal definition of ultraprocessed foods—a shift some advocates attribute to industry pressure.

Earlier this year, companies including Kraft Heinz and Nestlé pledged to voluntarily phase out artificial dyes. But those gestures have not slowed a lobbying counteroffensive aimed at stopping state laws before they spread.

“It is one of the top things we are planning around,” said one lobbyist for a beverage company, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The strategy mirrors tactics used by other industries navigating the Trump administration. In November, a coalition backed by artificial intelligence companies launched a $10 million advertising campaign urging federal standards for AI regulation. The president signed an executive order weeks later. Health insurers and hospital groups have deployed similar campaigns to preserve Obamacare subsidies.

For MAHA advocates, the pattern is familiar - and troubling. States, they note, have often led the federal government on public health, from trans fat bans to chemical warning labels.

“This isn’t about affordability,” said Melanie Benesh of the Environmental Working Group. “This is about maintaining the status quo.”

Whether Congress embraces a federal food standard will test an open question in Republican politics: whether the party remains reflexively aligned with business interests, or whether Mr. Kennedy’s populist critique of corporate power has lasting influence.

For now, the industry’s most persuasive response to being accused of poisoning Americans is not a denial. It is a reminder that the poison, at least, is cheap.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 18:00

"This Is The Finale Of The Great Financial Reset"; 'Dr.Gold' Warns They're Gobbling Up All The Physical Supply

Via Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com,

Financial writer and precious metals expert Bill Holter (aka Mr. Gold) has been sounding the alarm of the profound risk in the financial system.  

At the beginning of December, Mr. Gold warned about the record setting silver prices and said, “It’s pretty clear and pretty obvious that something behind the scenes is breaking.”

What is “breaking” is the extremely leveraged futures markets with not enough physical silver to deliver.  

Fast forward to the end of the month, and new record highs in gold and silver are happening every day.  Mr. Gold says,

“They are gobbling up all the supply available because they understand this is the end of the fiat currency experiment that started August 15 of 1971.  Fiats are collapsing. 

This is the Hunt brothers on steroids because you have the entire world buying physical.  The Hunt brothers got into trouble because they were buying paper contracts, and COMEX changed the rules.  COMEX can change any rules they want . . . it won’t matter because the rest of the world is buying cash and carry . . . they will not accept paper contracts.  They want real physical metal.”

Here is where it gets both interesting and dangerous.  What happens if the short sellers cannot deliver the silver promised?  Mr. Gold says,

“People say if they can’t deliver, and I am going to tell you at some point they will not be able to deliver, when that moment happens, it’s game over for the entire financial system.  Silver, and I believe it will be silver that fails to deliver, silver is the blasting cap to the gold nuclear bomb.  When silver fails to deliver, then immediately there will be a pile into COMEX gold, and they will not be able to deliver the gold.  Once that happens, you have failures of contracts that are proven fraudulent.  They are zeroed out and cannot perform.  Then it spreads to cattle, pork bellies, grains and you name it.  This is not to mention the financials of stocks and bonds.  Once you prove fraud in silver, that’s going to spread to all the derivatives, and we will have a derivative meltdown. . .. The world wants gold and silver because those are the only two monies that cannot default.”

What you are seeing in the gold and silver markets now is far from a top.  This is just getting started.  Mr. Gold says,

“These contracts are a zero-sum game.  There is a winner and a loser.  If the loser loses so big that they go belly up, then the winner becomes a loser because they can’t get paid.  That is the problem. . .. When this actually hits and there is a failure to deliver, gold and silver will be wiped off the shelves, and there will be none to be bought. . .. This will be a run for safety, and fear is the greatest emotion there is.  Fear is a far greater emotion than greed. . .. This is going to turn into a reverse bank run into gold and into silver because they cannot default in a world that is defaulting. . ..  What you are witnessing is the end of trust.  When you have the end of trust, the confidence breaks and credit is forthcoming only when there is trust.  Once confidence breaks, the credit markets will begin to seize up. . .. When credit stops, it’s game over.  You will see markets, institutions and stores shutter.”

Holter says you should be able to be self-sufficient for a while when the system shuts down.  Storing up food and water is a good place to start.

In closing, Holter says, “This is the finale of the great financial reset.  Make no mistake, what you are watching is the world resetting before your very eyes.”

There is much more in the 43-minute interview.

Join Greg Hunter of USAWatchdog as he goes One-on-One with financial writer and precious metals expert Bill Holter/Mr. Gold as the financial system begins its reset for 12.23.25.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 17:30

The Apocalyptic Shortage That Never Happened: Democrats' Tariff Doomsday Narrative Imploded  

Remember earlier this year when President Trump was locked in a tit-for-tat trade war with China? Then, a broad coalition of Democrats, corporate media outlets, mainstream economists, and left-leaning think tanks warned that higher tariffs would spark pandemic-era supply-chain chaos and trigger price spikes for consumers. Two quarters later, those dire predictions have yet to materialize.

MSM propagandists sounded the apocalypse alarm:

• March: KOMO News: 'It's worse than COVID': Point Roberts seeks state aid amid US-Canada tariff crisis

• April: NBC News: Product shortages and empty store shelves loom with falling shipments from China

• April: Fortune: Tariffs threaten a pharmaceuticals shortage, as 95% of ibuprofen comes from China

• April: CNBC: The trade war's wave of retail shortages will hit U.S. consumers in stages.

• April: Axios: How Trump tariffs could cause a global recession

• April: Vox: America may be headed for this rare type of economic crisis

• April: CNN: Trump took the US economy to the brink of a crisis in just 100 days

• May: The Guardian: Trump's tariffs: 'It feels like Covid 2.0. So many things are getting disrupted'

• May: Business Insider: The worst is yet to come: Trump's tariffs could mean even higher prices and empty shelves within weeks

Democratic Party and MSM's supply-chain apocalypse alarm peaked in mid-April, then resurfaced in a smaller echo wave by August, according to Bloomberg data tracking mainstream media headline counts for the term "tariff."

However, there is only so much economic doom the MSM can push in a propaganda campaign built on a shaky foundation, because none of the predictions above have come remotely true eight months later.

In fact, quite the opposite. The latest PCE data (September) shows no signs at all of the runaway tariff-driven costs that so many establishment economists proclaimed were imminent...

On the supply-chain front, Goldman analysts led by Jordan Alliger published the latest Supply Chain Congestion Index, showing that no bottlenecks have materialized since Trump decided on trade war 2.0 with China. The surge in congestion seen in 2021 and 2022 was driven by Covid-era disruptions, when governments shut down large parts of their economies.

As for the Democratic Party's dire prediction of an "actively tanking economy" - have you seen the third-quarter print?

• Q3 GDP Unexpectedly Surges To 2 Year High On Soaring Health Insurance Spending

And it is no surprise that trust in the mainstream media has collapsed to record lows. For 16 years, ZeroHedge readers have understood that the MSM is little more than a propagandist and PR arm for whoever happens to be the highest bidder.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 17:00

No Fat Ladies Heard Singing... Yet!

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

"We were so busy saving democracy that we forgot to tally. . . "

- Joe Rogan on the 2020 election

While you were busy decking the halls with boughs of holly, chomping spiced nuts and cheese straws, and quaffing the eggnog this Christmas, 2025, the USA was still suffering indigestion from the Nov 3, 2020 election, repeatedly throwing up in its mouth as reports dribbled in about voting irregularities around the country that long-ago dreary night when “Joe Biden” was so thumpingly voted-in as the 46th president.

Newly-minted multi-millionaires Ruby Freeman and daughter Andrea “Shaye” Moss

So far, the state of Georgia only appears to be the worst case because activists on the losing side have persisted in demanding investigations and some of the results are now out. And what the Georgia State Election Board turned up the past two weeks was that 315,000 early in-person ballots were not processed according to legal procedure. More than 130 tabulator tapes — printed “receipts” from ballot-scanning machines — lacked required signatures from poll managers and witnesses. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger downplayed its significance, stating it was a “clerical error.” This is also called a broken chain of custody, meaning officials can’t account for the veracity of the vote, but apparently that’s a minor consideration. It does not amount to fraud per se, but it puts out an odor that tells you fraud might be found if you look a little closer.

Accordingly, on Christmas Eve, as the elves loaded Santa’s magical sleigh, and after a years’ long struggle, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney finally granted the board access to Fulton County’s 2020 presidential election ballots and related records hidden under lock and key. This includes physical paper ballots, ballot stubs, envelopes, and scanned digital ballot images. Now, perhaps you’ll see what that odor of fraud actually indicates.

For instance, it’s alleged that some of these ballots were counterfeits, that is, fakes, based on affidavits from poll managers and audit monitors who reported observing ballots that appeared pristine (lacking creases from mailing), printed on incorrect paper stock, marked identically in down-ballot races without signs of being filled by hand. Estimates from these affidavits suggested the number of such ballots could reach tens of thousands. Some analyses push estimates of duplicate-scanned ballots as high as 200,000 to 375,000. Chain of custody issues were also alleged for drop-box ballots, with improper or missing forms for over 100,000 ballots statewide (including significant numbers in Fulton County). Out of a total 4,935,487 votes cast in Georgia, “Joe Biden” won by 11,779 votes, a margin of 0.23 percent.

A Georgia State Election Board member, Dr. Janice Johnston, said she “apologized profusely” for the clerical errors discovered, explaining how, in a comparably important matter she was familiar with, surgeries, the doctors and nurses must count all the instruments and sponges three times to make sure that nothing is left inside the patient’s body after suturing-up — and that nobody is allowed to leave the operating room if the count is off.

Much so-called “de-bunking” has been going on around the country for years following the 2020 election. It begins to look now as if the “debunking” was actually just another round of bunkery, and you can easily see how that worked. It started with the massive censorship campaign when the FBI colluded with Facebook, Twitter (as it was called then), and other platforms to aggressively censor any discussion of these matters.

Meanwhile, Norm Eisen’s lawfare squad went after any lawyers connected to the Trump campaign who showed an inclination to pursue election fraud. Trump-allied attorney John Eastman got run through a wringer by the California Bar Association alleging he engaged in misconduct involving moral turpitude, dishonesty, and corruption by promoting false claims of widespread election fraud and advancing an unsupported legal strategy to disrupt the electoral vote certification. That was just for drafting memos for actions that Vice-president Mike Pence might theoretically take while presiding over a joint session of Congress to certify the 2020 election — to be held Jan 6, 2021 (yes, that Jan 6). The board recommended disbarment and Eastman’s case remains pending before the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Eastman is forbidden to practice law.

Rudy Giuliani was crucified for alleging that two temp workers, Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, committed election fraud at the Fulton County State Farm Arena, a central absentee ballot tabulation center. This was the incident where a “broken toilet” was used as an excuse to shut down the facility for several hours, when poll-watchers were sent home. Then, after midnight rolly-bags of ballots were retrieved from under a table covered in draperies, and Freeman and Moss processed the votes in their scanners. Mainstream media claims this has all been debunked, too. Freeman and Moss won a $148-million defamation judgment against Giuliani, who reached a negotiated settlement with the pair in January, 2025. He was also disbarred.

A so-called “fake elector” case was brought against Trump-aligned lawyers Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Christina Bobb, Boris Epshteyn by Arizona AG Kris Mayes in April, 2024. This involved arrangements for an alternate slate of electoral college electors in the event that fraud was discovered prior to certification of the 2020 election. The case is ongoing. Trial is set for Jan, 2026. The defendants argue political motivation.

In a similar “fake elector” case in Michigan, charges lodged by Michigan AG Dana Nessel were dismissed in December by a Michigan judge.

December 9, 2025, during a public appearance, President Donald Trump has recently alleged that conclusive information proving widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election would soon become public.

“It was a rigged election. It’s gonna come out over the next couple months too, loud and clear. Because we have all the information.”

His statements are tied to ongoing efforts by his administration, including the U.S. Department of Justice’s December 2025 lawsuit against Fulton County, GA, to access sealed 2020 election records (ballots, envelopes, stubs, and digital files) that Judge McBurney ordered released just before Christmas.

This isn’t over. Those were fake fat ladies you heard singing.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 16:30

Blackstone's LivCor Settles DOJ's Alleged Rental Price-Fixing Claims

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

LivCor, one of the largest landlords in the United States, has entered into a proposed consent decree with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve price manipulation claims made by the department, the DOJ said in a Dec. 23 statement.

On Jan. 7, the DOJ announced it was suing tech company RealPage and six landlords, including LivCor, which operates under asset management company Blackstone. The department accused the landlords of using RealPage’s software to participate in algorithmic pricing schemes that harmed renters.

In its latest statement, the DOJ said LivCor and other landlords “shared competitively sensitive data to generate pricing recommendations using RealPage’s algorithms, which also included anticompetitive rules that aligned their pricing.”

“In addition, LivCor and other landlords discussed competitively sensitive topics—including pricing strategies, rents, and selected parameters for RealPage’s software—directly with each other,” it said.

The tactics aimed to decrease competition among landlords with regard to apartment pricing, thereby harming millions of renters in the United States, the DOJ said in January.

RealPage’s actions ended up enriching itself and the landlords “at the expense of renters who pay inflated prices and honest businesses that would otherwise compete,” the department said in its lawsuit.

The proposed consent decree between the DOJ and LivCor prohibits algorithmic coordination and the exchange of sensitive data with competitors.

LivCor is required to refrain from taking part in or attending meetings involving competing landlords that are hosted by RealPage. The company must also cooperate with the United States’ claims against other defendants in the case.

In the case that LivCor uses a third-party pricing algorithm not certified in line with the terms of the consent decree, it must allow a court-appointed monitor, the department said.

The decree must now be approved by the court.

“The Trump-Vance Administration is committed to an economy that works for all Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater from the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.

“Landlords across America are on notice that the competition laws protect renters from the harms caused by competitors sharing competitively sensitive information or aligning prices, whether through an algorithm or otherwise.”

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

The agreement with LivCor follows the DOJ’s obtaining consent decrees from RealPage and two of the landlords from the January complaint—Cortland Management LLC and Greystar Management Services LLC.

RealPage Agreement

RealPage had settled the claims brought by the DOJ last month. According to the proposed content judgment filed on Nov. 24 in a federal court, the company is barred from using competitors’ real-time, nonpublic data to generate rent recommendations.

The decree requires RealPage to remove features from its software that discourage landlords from cutting prices.

Texas-based RealPage denied any wrongdoing and said the agreement provides clarity while avoiding costly litigation. According to the company, the deal includes no admission of liability and carries no financial penalties.

“This resolution marks an important milestone for RealPage, our customers, and the multifamily industry,” said Dirk Wakeham, RealPage president. The company is “part of the solution to addressing the cost of housing,” he said. Moreover, RealPage’s tools help operators make “informed, independent decisions in a complex housing market,” he added.

The company said the agreement formalizes changes that it had been implementing over the past year.

The DOJ said the settlement restores free-market competition for millions of American renters.

Slater criticized RealPage’s system for having replaced independent pricing decisions, and said the deal was a big step in ensuring that rental housing markets remained “fair and competitive.”

“It means more real competition in local housing markets. It means rents set by the market, not by a secret algorithm,” she said. “It is a win for renters, and it means more affordable options for Americans trying to make ends meet.”

Meanwhile, the DOJ recently filed a statement of interest in another case related to protecting the interests of homebuyers in the real estate market, according to a Dec. 19 DOJ statement.

The lawsuit, brought by multiple buyers, accused real estate brokerages and the National Association of Realtors, a trade association of brokerages, of entering into anticompetitive agreements. These deals ended up inflating broker commissions, raising home prices for Americans.

In its statement of interest, the DOJ argued that competition among brokerages is critical to protect American homebuyers.

“Purchasing a home is the single biggest purchase most Americans make in a lifetime,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater, from the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.

“Today’s soaring housing prices make competition in real estate brokerage more important than ever. Antitrust laws are key to safeguarding competition, which reduces prices and improves services for homebuyers.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 15:45

"You Know Who I Am, Right?" Viral Video Shows Entitled Democrat Taunt Cops, Play Victim During DUI Stop

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

What is the next worst thing to being arrested for DUI just before Christmas with a viral video of you berating an officer? Being confused with that person by irate citizens because you share the same name, Maria Bucci. It is particularly unwelcome when you are a substance abuse counselor.

On December 18, Maria Bucci, a 51-year-old Rhode Island political figure, was pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving by an officer in East Greenwich. The Chairwoman of the Democratic Committee in Cranston is shown on the police bodycam video invoking her special or influential status: “You know who I am right?”

The Cranston Herald reported Bucci is a former Cranston mayoral candidate who previously served on the City Council and made an unsuccessful bid for the Rhode Island House of Representatives last year.

The officer responds by saying, “I don’t know who you are, miss. You can start throwing out names and start doing out what you need to do, it’s not going to work with me, I’m telling you right now, I’m not the guy for that.”

That only seemed to set Bucci off, who then abused the officer. The most ironic statement was the following:

“Call my husband right now, and call the attorney general and everybody else in town, cause this is disgusting, God forbid I was a Black person, I’d be arrested.”

So, after invoking a special privilege or status, Bucci attacked the officer as presumptively racist for not arresting white people for crimes that Black people are arrested for.

He then arrested her for a misdemeanor as she declared, “You’re a d**k … Like I am not drinking, you’re a loser.”

If she were drunk, it would seem a case of in vino veritas, or “in wine there is truth.” The immediate response of this politician is to reveal a deep dislike of police officers and her view of officers as inherently racist.

Bucci will have to deal with the consequences, but it should be the right Bucci. While the real Bucci asked “You know who I am, right?” some appear to have done little to answer in the affirmative before going on the attack.

The problem is that East Greenwich has a second Maria Bucci, who is also a substance abuse counselor. She was apparently deluged by trolling and angry citizens.

The “other” Maria Bucci is also from Cranston but works in East Greenwich. She is 61 years old and was surprised to find herself taking the heat for someone else over the holiday.

It was bad enough that East Greenwich News ran a story to ask people to stop harassing the poor woman, noting that the newspaper:

“typically doesn’t use names when people who get arrested unless there is a public service aspect. We did not consider Bucci’s arrest rose to that level but we are writing about it now to clarify that the Maria Bucci who works for the Town of East Greenwich is not the same Maria Bucci arrested by EGPD Dec. 18 (here is that arrest report: 25-251-AR).”

Legally, the “other” Maria Bucci could sue for a publication that falsely claims she was responsible for this viral encounter. (So far, no news organizations have committed that error). However, such litigation is expensive and trolls are notoriously difficult to track down. That leaves Maria Bucci in the unfortunate class of others who share names with notorious figures, as Dr. Jeffrey Epstein recently learned after a bizarre shoutout from ep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX). Indeed, even spelling “Madoff” with one “f” does not help when you are scooped up in the sensation of a crime.

Bucci is clearly not on the same level as an Epstein or a Madoff. This is, after all, a still unproven misdemeanor. However, in the community of Cranston, Rhode Island (pop. 84,934), it is hard to shake a viral story with your name. The greatest penalty likely to befall the real Maria Bucci is the reputational damage, which should not be shared with that “other” Maria Bucci.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 15:05

Comer: The 'Walls Are Caving In' On Tim Walz

House Oversight Chairman James Comer declared this week, “The walls are caving in on Tim Walz,” as a federal probe into Minnesota's sprawling fraud scandal intensifies. Whistleblowers, mayors, and lawmakers now enter the fray, spotlighting waste in social programs that hammer everyday residents. 

The fraud Comer described reaches far beyond accounting errors. Minnesota taxpayers now must endure cuts to basic services because billions of dollars earmarked for social programs vanished due to fraudulent schemes, most of which are tied to the state's Somali community. The scale of the fraud has forced state officials to slash budgets and shift costs to local governments, leaving mayors across Minnesota scrambling to maintain essential services like police protection, infrastructure maintenance, and emergency response without bankrupting residents through property tax hikes.

The House Oversight Committee is coordinating with federal agencies and preparing subpoenas for records and testimony to trace the money and identify the culprits. 

Comer stopped short of demanding Walz resign but made it clear that the governor cannot escape accountability. "He deserves due process, and we're going to give him due process," Comer said.

Walz, of course, isn’t happy about the federal investigations and insists he can 

“This [was] on my watch,” Walz said last week. “I am accountable for this, and more importantly, I am the one that will fix it.”

Walz added, “Unlike the president, I’m governor now [and] whether these programs happen before we got here or afterwards, it doesn’t matter. We’re here now. We’re the ones fixing it. You have my guarantee on this, that I certainly will have this thing fixed.”

A Walz spokesperson dismissed the congressional probe as partisan theater designed to muzzle a vocal Trump critic. "This is clearly a coordinated political attack to try to silence one of the President's most effective critics," the spokesperson stated. "The Governor takes fraud seriously and wishes they would too.”

Comer, however, dismissed Walz's suggestion that the Oversight Committee should step aside and let him investigate the fraud. "No one in America believes that. We are going to investigate this,” Comer said.

The scandal traces back to at least 2020 and involves fraudulent billing across numerous government programs, concentrated heavily but not exclusively within the Somali population. Federal prosecutors revealed that the Feeding Our Future case alone, which already resulted in charges against nearly 80 people, involved roughly $250 million in bogus claims for pandemic nutrition aid. Last week, prosecutors revealed the total fraud across Minnesota's social services system could reach $9 billion or more.

Comer emphasized that successful congressional investigations depend on insiders willing to break ranks, and he now has them. "The key to a good congressional investigation is having whistleblowers. And, fortunately for us, we have some state employees who have bravely stepped forward. We're going to get them under oath, and they're going to tell us everything they know. And we're going to go from there.”

The revolt against Walz extends beyond Washington. Nearly 100 Minnesota mayors delivered a stinging rebuke Monday in a letter to Walz and state legislative leaders, blaming fraud, reckless spending, and erratic fiscal management in St. Paul for crippling their cities. "Fraud, unchecked spending, and inconsistent fiscal management in St. Paul have trickled down to our cities," the mayors wrote. "Our state owes it to our citizens to practice responsible fiscal management and to stop taxing our families, seniors, and businesses out of Minnesota.”

The mayors also pointed to Minnesota's declining position in national economic rankings over the past six years, echoing a Minnesota Chamber of Commerce report that described the state's trajectory as a wake-up call. Once boasting an $18 billion surplus under Walz's watch, Minnesota now faces a projected $3 billion deficit for the 2028-29 budget cycle. This means that the mayors are now being forced to raise taxes, cut services, delay infrastructure projects, or stretch municipal employees even thinner.

With subpoenas imminent and state employees preparing to testify under oath, Walz is staring down a political reckoning that could permanently end his career. The investigation is tightening, the facts are coming to light, and the collapse of trust alone may prove impossible to overcome.

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 14:40

Mortgage Rates Dip To 3-Year-Lows As Home-Sellers Outnumber Buyers

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times,

The weekly mortgage rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to 6.18 percent for the week ending Dec. 24 as the housing market continues to lean in favor of buyers.

The 6.18 percent rate is the lowest level since 2022 and a slight decline from 6.21 percent the previous week, according to Freddie Mac data. The current rate is 0.86 percentage points below the yearly peak of 7.04 percent reached in mid-January.

The recent rate decline comes as the U.S. housing market registered 37.2 percent more sellers than buyers in November, real estate brokerage Redfin said in a statement on Dec. 23.

“That’s the largest gap in records dating back to 2013 aside from this summer. It compares with 35.6 percent a month earlier and 17 percent a year earlier,” the brokerage said.

“Redfin defines a market with over 10 percent more sellers than buyers as a buyer’s market. By this definition, it has been a buyer’s market since May 2024.”

The 37.2 percent gap translates into 529,770 more sellers in the market.

Among the 50 most populous U.S. metropolitan regions, Austin, Texas, was the strongest buyer’s market last month, with 114 percent more sellers than buyers, according to Redfin.

This was followed by San Antonio, Texas; Nashville; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, each of which had sellers outnumbering buyers by more than 100 percent.

Out of the 50 metros, 36 were buyer’s markets, seven were balanced, and the remaining seven were seller’s markets.

The number of home buyers hit the second-lowest level on record in November, as many backed off amid economic uncertainty and high housing costs, the statement said.

“A modest improvement in housing affordability could bring some homebuyers off the sidelines in 2026, which could narrow the gap between homebuyers and sellers,” Redfin senior economist Asad Khan said.

“But the housing market is likely to remain in buyer’s market territory for the foreseeable future, with sellers cutting prices or offering concessions to lure buyers.”

Builder confidence in the market for newly built single-family homes inched higher this month despite businesses facing challenges such as rising construction costs, economic uncertainty, and buyer hesitation, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said in a Dec. 15 statement.

“In positive signs for the market, builders report that future sales expectations have been above the key breakeven level of 50 for the past three months, and the recent easing of monetary policy should help builder loan conditions at the start of 2026,” NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz said.

The Federal Reserve has cut its benchmark interest rates three times this year, pushing it down to a range of 3.5 to 3.75 percent.

In a Dec. 11 commentary, Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at real estate data company Bright MLS, suggested that even if mortgage rates were to decline further, other concerns are weighing on prospective buyers’ minds.

On the positive side, Sturtevant expects mortgage rates to fall further.

“Expect mortgage rates to ease somewhat in 2026, though Bright MLS forecasts are for rates to remain above 6 percent through the end of next year,” she wrote.

“Slightly lower rates and slower price growth should improve affordability a little, which could bring more buyers into the market.”

President Donald Trump has vowed to lower mortgage costs.

“I will announce some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history,” he said during a televised address on Dec. 17.

Trump said he plans to announce a new Federal Reserve chairman who will support lower interest rates, which will trigger further decline in mortgage rates.

He suggested that illegal immigration under the Biden administration contributed significantly to housing costs.

“Over 60 percent of growth in the rental market came from foreign migrants,” the president said. “For the first time in 50 years, we are now seeing reverse migration as migrants go back home, leaving more housing and more jobs for Americans.”

Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 14:15

NATO Countries Scare Their Populations On Christmas With Hyped 'Russian Nuclear Bombers' Flight

On Western Christmas, December 25, Russian nuclear-capable bombers conducted a "scheduled" flight over waters in the Arctic region, specifically in neutral waters of the Norwegian and Barents Seas. This prompted "fighter jets of foreign countries" to escort them and mirror them from afar, Russia's defense ministry has confirmed.

While the country origins of the Western aircraft which responded remain unclear, the Kremlin had notified NATO in advance of the somewhat routine flight path. The bodies of water in question lie north of Scandinavia and northwest of Russia, which is quite far from the UK, and yet British media did what they do best: exaggerate and hype Russian nuclear bombers being "sent" by Putin "to the UK"...and on Christmas!

And never mind the fact that for Russia and its Orthodox Church, it is not Christmas. Russian Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7, according the Julian calendar ecclesiastical dating system.

These bodies of water lie far away from Britain, and is a standard flight path for Russia's military. "At certain stages of the route, long-range bombers were escorted by fighter jets of foreign countries," the Russian defense ministry disclosed.

The ministry further said that such flights "regularly take place in many regions and are in accordance with international law."

Highlighting that these bombers were not at all 'sent' to the UK, one political commentator says as follows:

British media outlets like the Mirror and The Sun have reported that Russian nuclear-capable bombers flew a long-range patrol over the Norwegian Sea on Christmas Day Dec 25, 2025. Which was described as a deliberate act close to the notional "Santa Claus flight path". NATO warplanes were scrambled to monitor the aircraft.

This is how the media spinned it! When it was two Russian Tu-95MS long-range bombers known as "Bears" that conducted a scheduled routine, seven-hour flight over "neutral waters" in the Barents and Norwegian Seas. The media made it sound like they were threatening NATO. When NATO was informed by the Russians the path that was taken.

The distant, far northern body of water in question...

via World Atlas

Similar Russian bomber flights have recently occurred over the Sea of Japan, and in coordination with China's military in the East China Sea, and such flight paths have even lately traversed the Black Sea.

Given the Ukraine proxy war is about to reach its fourth year, we are indeed living in dangerous times, but the situation is not helped when European press endlessly fearmongers and exaggerates. Of course, this is stoked by defense officials in London and Brussels, who keep pushing for bigger defense budgets, and for taxpayers to keep on funding Ukraine. 

NATO apparently wanted young British boys and girls to know that its warplanes are keeping European skies safe from the 'Russian aggressor'... 

via US Air Force Tyler Durden Fri, 12/26/2025 - 13:50