Fellow Humans,
The essential step in totalitarianism is to dehumanize a group, and have the rest of society become complicit in the acts of robbing, imprisoning and killing them. All of the complicit people become guilty and insecure, clinging to the power-structure which can now consume them whenever it needs to.
Ruling elites go to this fallback strategy when economies crash and citizens get hungry and desperate.
We see attempts at this outgroup-dehumanization now. Please don't bite.
Yes, another great depression looms; let's not do world-war or civil-war.
Homeland Security funding won't fly, and a new budget can't be worked out in the House. Government Steams Towards Partial Shutdown Amid Democrat Demands Over ICE https://www.zerohedge.com/political/government-steams-towards-partial-shutdown-amid-democrat-demands-over-ice
Leavitt said at a press conference that to see a reduction in immigration forces, Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey must end so-called “sanctuary” policies, cooperate with immigration agents to identify unauthorized immigrants actively in custody for other crimes and have local police assist in detaining migrants who have committed crimes...
..It was a shift from a letter published by Bondi on Saturday, which included demands for the state to allow the Department of Justice to access Minnesota’s voter rolls and for the state to share records related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. https://www.notus.org/trump-white-house/white-house-leavitt-minnesota-pam-bondi
..It was a shift from a letter published by Bondi on Saturday, which included demands for the state to allow the Department of Justice to access Minnesota’s voter rolls and for the state to share records related to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. https://www.notus.org/trump-white-house/white-house-leavitt-minnesota-pam-bondi
We are still not told their official rules of engagement, but they can do this to us again: Trump Admin Wins Appeal Of ICE Injunction In Minnesota
The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit lifted the injunction of U.S. District Judge Katherin Menendez, who prevented officers from arresting, detaining, pepper-spraying or retaliating against protesters in Minneapolis without probable cause. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-admin-wins-appeal-ice-injunction-minnesota
So tell us; is it the NRA now? Patel Says FBI Has Discovered Groups Funding Minnesota Protests https://www.zerohedge.com/political/patel-says-fbi-has-discovered-groups-funding-minnesota-protests
Rob O’Neill, who claims he fired the fatal shots, now says he witnessed another operator shoot the wounded and dying terrorist leader in the face and the team lied about it. https://theiceman.substack.com/p/navy-seal-who-claimed-bin-laden-kill
The family cannot have any money, cannot appeal and cannot leave Germany: The EU has a powerful new weapon to attack press freedom, and it’s already wielding it to devastating effect - The EU, under the pretext of "disinformation," has frozen the bank account of German journalist Hüseyin Doğru in an extraordinary case. It could be only the beginning. https://rmx.news/article/the-eu-has-a-powerful-new-weapon-to-attack-press-freedom-and-its-already-wielding-it-to-devastating-effect/
Budapest and Bratislava will ask the EU’s top court to annul REPowerEU, arguing the bloc is overstepping its powers on national energy policy https://rmx.news/article/hungary-and-slovakia-vow-legal-challenge-against-eu-energy-plan-banning-purchases-of-russian-oil-and-gas/
Gilbert Doctorow, Very important “News of the Week” on Rossiya 1 that you have not yet read in Western media
I have in mind what took place during the visit of Trump’s envoys Kushner, Witkoff and Gruenbaum to the Kremlin on 22 January, Putin’s talks with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian State on the same day, and then the talks of Russians, Ukrainians and the Americans in Abu Dhabi on 23 and 24 January.....There were two lines of negotiation in Abu Dhabi. One line, between military experts from the Russian and Ukrainian sides, was over security issues, meaning in fact over conditions of the Ukrainian withdrawal from Donbas and the creation of a buffer zone between Russians and Ukrainians along the new borders. This line of discussion will resume next weekend in Abu Dhabi. The other line of discussion was between the Americans and the Russians over steps to normalize state-to-state relations as the war winds down and peace comes to Ukraine. These talks will resume early in the coming week...
..Russia’s contribution of the 1 billion dollars entrance fee for permanent participation in the Board is to come from Russia’s frozen state assets held in the USA. Almost certainly, Russia’s decision to take part in the Board and to contribute its billion was the main subject of the talks that Putin had with President Abbas. Moreover, as Kiselyov discretely slipped into his remarks, it is likely that the remaining $4 billion in frozen Russian assets in the USA will now be earmarked for aid in the reconstruction of Gaza.....The release of the assets for the sake of reconstruction in Gaza sets the precedent for something I have advocated for more than a year: the $300 billion in frozen Russian state assets held in Belgium and other European States could constitute part of the $800 billion in reconstruction funds that Trump is said to be offering Kiev as the price for their withdrawal from Donbas and recognizing the territory as Russian in order to conclude a peace treaty...
..Finally, I mention that Kiselyov’s presentation of the Davos events showed Russia’s enormous satisfaction that Trump has shattered European arrogance and unity. Twice Kiselyov put up Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever’s statement in Davos that the Europeans have been utterly humiliated, his admission that they have been happy vassals and now face the ignominy of being unhappy slaves. https://gilbertdoctorow.com/2026/01/26/very-important-news-of-the-week-on-rossiya-1-that-you-have-not-yet-read-in-western-media/ John Helmer's take: AT WHAT POINT, CAPITULATION OF THE KIEV REGIME? CAN PRESIDENT TRUMP AND GENERAL GRYNKEWICH SAVE IT
At Abu Dhabi each of the Americans displayed open-neck, casual clothing. This dress-down Friday costume was a calculated insult to both the Ukrainian delegation – Rustem Umerov in uniform and Kirill Budanov in suit and tie—and to the Russians, Kostyukov and his second at the table, General Alexander Fomin. Kostyukov wore a dark civilian suit and a white collared shirt buttoned at the neck. But Kostyukov’s tie wasn’t tightly drawn. Was he sending the Russian Army’s message that it hasn’t reached the point of strangulation for the other side, yet?
The American signal was that they are dictating terms; that they retain escalation control over the Russians and they must capitulate, along with the NATO allies and the Zelensky regime. This is not the “coordinating” role which, after the two-day meetings concluded, Witkoff announced. “On Friday and Saturday, the United States coordinated a trilateral meeting alongside Ukraine and Russia, graciously hosted by the United Arab Emirates. Talks were very constructive, and plans were made to continue conversations next week in Abu Dhabi. President Trump and his entire team are dedicated to bringing peace to this war.” Russian sources believe Witkoff’s stop to “this war” is no stop to the continuation of the war against Russia which the US, with the NATO allies, continues to escalate on land northward to Finland and Greenland; in the nuclear arms race in space; and at sea on all of Russia’s trade routes – the Baltic Sea through the Danish Straits, the Northern (Arctic) Route through the Bering Strait, the Black Sea through the Dardanelles, the Mediterranean, Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean.
This larger peace is what Putin claims Trump agreed in the “understandings of Anchorage, Alaska” – the terms the two presidents discussed last August before Trump cut their meeting short and flew home. https://johnhelmer.net/at-what-point-capitulaton-of-the-kiev-regime-can-president-trump-and-general-grynkewich-save-it/#more-93252
US has increased total supply of interceptors that may be needed for a fresh round of strikes on Iran, former US official says https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-weighs-precision-strikes-iranian-officials-military-build-surges-sources
Such a government won't achieve Iraqi and Syrian aspirations 'for a brighter future,' says envoy Tom Barrack https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-warns-that-an-iran-installed-government-in-iraq-will-not-be-successful-/3811613
Russia is withdrawing forces from an airport in northeastern Syria, moving to end its military presence in a corner of the country where the Damascus government is trying to seize control from Kurdish forces, five Syrian sources said, according to Reuters.
Russia has stationed forces at Qamishli airport in the northeast since 2019, a relatively small deployment compared to its air base and a naval facility on Syria's Mediterranean coast, both of which it is expected to maintain.
Government forces under President Ahmed al-Sharaa have taken swathes of northern and eastern Syria from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces this month, as Damascus aims to assert its authority over the entire country. https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5233904-russia-withdrawing-troops-airport-northeast-syria
Russia has stationed forces at Qamishli airport in the northeast since 2019, a relatively small deployment compared to its air base and a naval facility on Syria's Mediterranean coast, both of which it is expected to maintain.
Government forces under President Ahmed al-Sharaa have taken swathes of northern and eastern Syria from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces this month, as Damascus aims to assert its authority over the entire country. https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5233904-russia-withdrawing-troops-airport-northeast-syria
Ahmed al-Sharaa told Kurdish leaders in Kobane that their rights would be protected under new government, sources say
The sources said that those who attended the meeting were from among the Kurdish political spectrum, and included figures close to the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as well as others who oppose the group.
The sources said that during the meeting, Sharaa stressed the need to fully implement his recently announced declaration recognising Kurdish civil and cultural rights.
He expressed his willingness to engage with all Kurds and repeatedly told them their rights would be protected by the new Syrian state. However, according to the sources, Sharaa criticised SDF leaders during the meeting. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-ahmed-al-sharaa-reaches-out-kobane-kurds-after-sdf-leader-rattles-us-envoy
The sources said that during the meeting, Sharaa stressed the need to fully implement his recently announced declaration recognising Kurdish civil and cultural rights.
He expressed his willingness to engage with all Kurds and repeatedly told them their rights would be protected by the new Syrian state. However, according to the sources, Sharaa criticised SDF leaders during the meeting. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syria-ahmed-al-sharaa-reaches-out-kobane-kurds-after-sdf-leader-rattles-us-envoy
Israel’s restrictions on shelter and medicine have left displaced families helpless as newborns succumb to exposure and preventable disease. https://www.972mag.com/gaza-wet-tent-syndrome/
Currently, few buildings remain standing between the new block line and the old armistice demarcation, creating a new Israeli military corridor. https://www.telesurenglish.net/israel-illegally-moves-the-yellow-line-and-expands-territorial-control-in-gaza/
No Palestinians need apply: Exclusive: Leaked “Board of Peace” Resolution Outlines U.S.-Led Plan to Rule Over Gaza
The draft framework, obtained by Drop Site, would bestow sweeping authority on Trump to determine all aspects of Gaza’s governance and future. https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/leaked-board-of-peace-resolution-gaza-trump-us Government by AI? Trump Administration Plans to Write Regulations Using Artificial Intelligence
The Transportation Department, which oversees the safety of airplanes, cars and pipelines, plans to use Google Gemini to draft new regulations. “We don’t need the perfect rule,” said DOT’s top lawyer. “We want good enough.” https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-artificial-intelligence-google-gemini-transportation-regulations?
At least 10 were left to drown: Death toll from US strikes on alleged drug boats reaches 126 people https://ground.news/article/death-toll-from-us-strikes-on-alleged-drug-boats-reaches-126-people_6e659b
Now that she won't be killed in 15 minutes... Venezuela acting president says she’s had ‘enough’ of orders from Washington https://thehill.com/homenews/5706483-delcy-rodriguez-venezuela-trump-orders/?tbref=hp
Cuba is facing a severe and worsening energy crisis driven by a tightening U.S. blockade, part of President Trump's gunboat diplomacy across the Caribbean region, as reported Sunday,.. "Cuba's electrical system has completely collapsed in Havana after more than 20 hours of blackouts," Venezuelan-born political commentator Eduardo Menoni wrote on X. Menoni said this widespread blackout for most of the day could last for weeks, as there is no known timeframe for when the grid will be fixed. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/communism-shtty-deal-cubas-power-grid-descends-further-blackout-nightmare
President Trump threatened to hike tariffs on goods from South Korea to 25% from 15%, citing in a Truth Social post what he said was the failure of the country’s legislature to codify the trade deal the two nations reached last year, a failure which was obvious from miles away as the terms of the trade deal require Korea to invest hundreds of billions - which it doesn't have - in the US. https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/trump-threatens-raise-tariffs-south-korean-goods-25-won-slides
"Redheaded stepchild" of deals? EU, India Sign 'Mother Of All Deals' Free Trade Agreement In Rebuff To Trump: What's In It https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/eu-india-sign-mother-all-deals-free-trade-agreement-rebuff-trump-whats-it
Charles Hugh Smith, Why the Next Recession Will Be the Catalyst for Depression
This time around, the economy is saturated with debt, income has stagnated and cannot support more borrowing, and the credit-asset bubbles in housing and financial assets has reached unprecedented heights of risk, i.e. fragility.
This is why a recession that clears the system of excessive debt, leverage and speculation leaves a devastated economy incapable of expansion: the system is now totally dependent on excesses of debt, leverage and speculation for its survival, never mind expansion, and once that collapses (as all bubbles do), the signaling, confidence and wealth that enabled the bubble will no longer exist. As for saving the system by converting fiat money to precious metals or cryptocurrencies: the debt--and the income needed to service the debt--will also be converted, and that doesn’t change the inevitable collapse of credit-asset bubbles and all the economic activity that depended on the permanent expansion of that credit-asset bubble.
This is why a recession will catalyze a collapse of the credit-asset bubble-dependent economy down to its foundations. A re-inflation of a new credit-asset bubble will be viewed as the “solution,” but that unstable system will no longer be viable. The real solution will be re-arranging the economy to thrive not on credit-asset bubbles but on productivity gains that are widely distributed to all the productive elements, not just the wealthiest asset owners.
This process will be time-consuming and difficult, as all the “winners” in the current bubble economy will expect both a return to outsized gains and a continuation of their outsized share of the gains. Neither will be possible, as the changes will demand time, sacrifice and massive long-term investment in productive assets.
The systemic risks inherent to a credit-asset bubble-dependent economy cannot be extinguished, they can only be cloaked or transferred to others. These artifices enable the expansion of the bubble at a cost paid by everyone when the system’s self-liquidating dynamics pop the bubble. https://charleshughsmith.substack.com/p/why-the-next-recession-will-be-the
We can make spears without Chinese inputs: Gold & Geopolitics, Weaponizing the periodic table - China won this war without firing a shot
This one’s going to be heavy on the numbers. I’m talking percentages, production figures, price movements, stockpile comparisons, the whole data-laden works. Because when you’re discussing whether the United States can manufacture ammunition, fighter jets, or data centers without Beijing’s permission, vague hand-waving doesn’t cut it. The specifics matter. The percentages matter. The timelines matter...
..In July 2023, China announced export licensing requirements for gallium and germanium. The announcement received approximately the coverage you’d expect for a mid-tier commodity story - which is to say, almost none. Commodity traders noticed. Defense analysts should have noticed. The general public remained blissfully unaware that Beijing had just proven it could shut down semiconductor manufacturing worldwide whenever it chose to do so.
China controls 94% of global gallium production and 83% of germanium. But more importantly, China had demonstrated the template. Not an outright ban. Not a dramatic announcement with threats and posturing. Just licensing requirements. Applications welcome. Processing times... variable.
The licenses, in practice, never came.
By August 1, 2023, when the gallium controls took effect, Chinese exports had already collapsed. Not declined. Collapsed. European buyers scrambled for inventory that increasingly did not exist at any price. The message was unmistakable, delivered in bureaucratic language that Western governments somehow failed to translate into strategic alarm: we control what you can build, and we can turn it off whenever we want...
..The strategic implication is that when export restrictions hit, China can maintain domestic industrial production using reserves while Western manufacturers scramble for spot market supplies that don’t exist. China controls 94% of global gallium production and 83% of germanium. But more importantly, China had demonstrated the template. Not an outright ban. Not a dramatic announcement with threats and posturing. Just licensing requirements. Applications welcome. Processing times... variable.
The licenses, in practice, never came.
By August 1, 2023, when the gallium controls took effect, Chinese exports had already collapsed. Not declined. Collapsed. European buyers scrambled for inventory that increasingly did not exist at any price. The message was unmistakable, delivered in bureaucratic language that Western governments somehow failed to translate into strategic alarm: we control what you can build, and we can turn it off whenever we want...
Turns out global markets stop being global when the supplier decides to nationalize flows. And just-in-time supply chains fail catastrophically when the critical inputs don’t arrive at all.
The antimony case proved the template works. Each following restriction will prove the template is repeatable. The question is not whether Beijing will weaponize mineral dominance again. The question is which material delivers maximum strategic impact with minimum public comprehension.
Magnesium restriction would cause immediate, cascading industrial failure. No stockpile exists. None can exist. No substitutes work. And production concentration is situated in a single Chinese county which provides maximum leverage. Public perception? Just above absolute zero.
Heavy rare earth processing cutoff would cripple precision weapons production. Public awareness exists but the fifteen-year timeline to alternatives is incomprehensible to most voters.
Bismuth represents the “nobody saw it coming” option. Essential for AI data center construction and pharmaceuticals. No stockpile exists. The tech industry is more vulnerable than defense to this particular chokepoint.
The November 2025 temporary suspension provided some breathing room until November 2026. It covered commercial end-uses which creates the illusion of de-escalation while military restrictions remained permanent and new restrictions on Japan and silver proceeded on schedule.
The pattern is clear: restrict, suspend, escalate elsewhere. Military end-use restrictions remain permanent. China’s processing dominance cannot be replicated within a decade. US strategic stockpiles remain at historic lows. Physical delivery stress on Western exchanges intensifies... Heavy rare earth processing cutoff would cripple precision weapons production. Public awareness exists but the fifteen-year timeline to alternatives is incomprehensible to most voters.
Bismuth represents the “nobody saw it coming” option. Essential for AI data center construction and pharmaceuticals. No stockpile exists. The tech industry is more vulnerable than defense to this particular chokepoint.
The November 2025 temporary suspension provided some breathing room until November 2026. It covered commercial end-uses which creates the illusion of de-escalation while military restrictions remained permanent and new restrictions on Japan and silver proceeded on schedule.
..Perhaps 15-20% of a $14+ billion estimate should be invested NOW. When China can escalate within days, and ramping up production is measured in years or decades. China already knows the next metal. They’re just waiting for the right moment. https://no01.substack.com/p/china-usa
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-01-26
China-COMEX silver arbitrage hits historic levels - Shanghai trading at $131-133 while COMEX sits at $103, a 30% spread. Silver Santa reports Shanghai premium at 15%, highest ever recorded. Confidence: HIGH (multiple sources)
Silver exports from China completely halted - JustDario confirms no silver exported from China since January 1st with trusted sources. Combined with record Shanghai premiums, this signals severe physical dislocation. Confidence: HIGH (multiple independent confirmations) Thailand suspends silver futures trading - TFEX temporarily suspended silver online futures trading, another data point suggesting global market stress. Confidence: HIGH (official exchange action)
COMEX registered silver collapsing - JustDario reports another ~1M oz shifted from Registered to Eligible, leaving only 113.3M oz available against 810M oz in futures (162k contracts). Physical squeeze intensifying. Confidence: HIGH https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-01-26-b6d
I don't want your promises any more: The Gold Move Is A Vote Of No Confidence In The Entire Global Financial Architecture
Professor Ugo Bardi, History Rhymes: Why Societies Under Stress Become Violent - For everything that happens, there are reasons for it to happen. That doesn't necessarily make it painless
These phases of madness are typical of societies under heavy stress, where a necessary change has been repressed for a long time and where, at a certain moment, the only way to keep it repressed is to use violence. There are several examples in history: Nazism in Germany, the French Revolution, the Roman Empire lashing out at Christians, and others. There are other cases. As usual, history rhymes: ordinary people are the typical victims of the wave of violence...
..We are getting to that moment for shale oil. It was always expensive, and it produced only modest profits, if any. Now, people are starting to realize that the bubble is going to explode, not only because of depletion, but also because of the switch of the world market from liquid fuels. The euphoria of just a few years ago is gone, and it is becoming clear that we have reached the second US oil peak. This was commonly said and discussed among people involved with the oil industry. What wasn’t understood, so far, was that the second oil peak could lead to the second US civil war.
What we are seeing now is a gang war among various power groups in the US (if you like to call them “mafias,” it is a good definition). They are trying to turn the impending collapse of oil production into an advantage for their specific turf. https://senecaeffect.substack.com/p/history-rhymes-why-societies-under
Charles Hugh Smith on assuming systemic continuity (guest essay by longtime correspondent 0bserver): The Fatal Limits of the Technocrat Class I’ve been reading Luke Kemp’s Goliath’s Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse with care, because the book is serious, well-researched, and written from within institutions that spend their days thinking about systemic fragility. Kemp is not unserious, nor is he shallow. His diagnosis of elite failure, complexity, inequality, and institutional overreach aligns with much of what many of us have been warning about for years.
Where I think the book ultimately fails, however, is not in what it sees--but in what it cannot see from the altitude at which it operates.
Kemp’s collapse framework is managerial. Collapse is treated as a system-level pathology to be prevented through coordination, governance, and institutional reform. This makes sense given his professional formation and affiliations, but it creates a blind spot that becomes more consequential the longer one reads: continuity is assumed, not explained.
The book speaks fluently about sustainability, inequality, elite capture, and long-term risk. Yet it does not seriously engage with inheritance--not inheritance as wealth alone, but inheritance as transmission: skills, trades, family structure, norms, fertility, competence, and responsibility carried forward across generations. Sustainability is framed as system stability rather than generational renewal.
This omission matters, because collapse is not the absence of order. It is the failure of particular scales of organization. When large institutions fail, life does not disappear--it reorganizes. The question is not whether systems can be stabilized indefinitely, but whether anything capable of inheritance remains when stabilization fails.
Luke Kemp is excellent at identifying fragility in centralized systems. He is far less interested in, or perhaps less equipped to examine, the base-rate reality that most societies muddle through breakdowns via informal order, households, and local competence... ..When collapse looms, the remedies offered are more coordination, better governance, stronger institutions, improved global frameworks, and smarter management of risk. Complexity is to be handled by expertise; inequality by policy; instability by coordination. The scale that failed is asked to save itself. This is the core problem. The solutions operate at the same level as the failure. Centralization is offered as the cure for overextension. Governance is offered as the cure for institutional fragility. Coordination is offered as the cure for complexity. The very mechanisms meant to prevent collapse amplify its consequences when they fail. https://charleshughsmith.substack.com/p/the-fatal-limits-of-the-technocrat
Medical Emergency Powers Justify Everything, not just forced-vaccination: Sasha Latypova explains this court ruling. Lawsuit Urges US Supreme Court to Review Ninth Circuit Ruling That Allows Virtually Limitless State Power Under the Guise of Public Health https://sashalatypova.substack.com/p/lawsuit-urges-us-supreme-court-to
Meryl Nass MD excerpts a Politico article about political leverages to be applied to the popular and divisive aspects of Secretary Kennedy's MAHA efforts: Will the Trump Team Allow Bobby to Help Them Win the Midterms? If they are serious about winning, they will have to unleash him to do all the good he has spent his life preparing for https://merylnass.substack.com/p/will-the-trump-team-allow-bobby-to
A clearly detailed, yet concise history of the effects of fluoride injestion and the sales job for it: The Great Fluoride Reckoning https://www.themahareport.com/p/the-fluoride-heckoning
The New Dietary Guidelines: a Victory for ‘Real Food’ and the Future of Healthy Fats https://www.themahareport.com/p/the-new-dietary-guidelines-are-a Miracle Plant Used in Ancient Greece Rediscovered After 2,000 Years The “miracle” plant Silphium consumed by Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians, which was thought to have become extinct two thousand years ago, has recently been rediscovered in Turkey by a professor, who thinks he’s found a botanical survivor.
The plant, which the Ancient Greeks called silphion (silphium), was a golden-flowered plant. It was once the most sought-after product in the Mediterranean even before the rise of Athens and the Roman Empire. https://greekreporter.com/2025/08/21/plant-ancient-greece-rediscovered/
Horticulturist (pictured with ice covered banana plants that won't produce this year, either)
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