THE BIG PICTURE

Burning It All To the Ground – “The real rot isn’t in the back alleys of trafficking or dope deals. It’s right there in the stock tickers and rigged asset prices, sucking $10 to $20 trillion a year out of the world’s pockets—and that’s been going on for over a century, clean and legal-like. Well, not exactly legal. Fraud, corruption, vice and human smuggling? Drug runs? They pull in maybe $2 trillion tops, year after year. Small change. Peanuts next to the big steal. Organized crime isn’t just about the cash, though. It’s a tool. A private army, funded by its own dirt, ready to scare, beat, or bury anyone sniffing too close to the financial heist. They own the shadows in every town, outgunning the cops who only hassle the little and the good guy. Social rifts? They’re stoked on purpose, poured gasoline on with billions. Race wars, culture clashes, flag-waving bullshit—none of it matters except to keep us fighting each other blind. Can’t spot the thieves when you’re punching your neighbor.” – E.M. Burlingame  – GOOD READ FROM E.M. TODAY!!!

ICE Must Get Off The Streets NOW! – “From the beginning of Trump’s current term in office, I repeatedly said that while I agree with the effort to remove illegal aliens from the U.S., I had deep concerns over the way Donald Trump would go about it. What Trump is doing justifies my concerns. In the first place, most federal “law enforcement” agencies are unconstitutional, including the agencies created under the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI. The Constitution clearly charges states and local communities with the responsibility of domestic law enforcement, NOT the federal government. In the second place, the Posse Comitatus Act, which became law in 1878, absolutely prevents the use of federal troops from enforcing domestic laws. Specifically, the law was passed due to the abusive conduct of Union troops to police elections in the recently subjugated Southern states. In the third place, the hypocrisy of both the Left and the Right is off the charts. And seeing what’s currently happening under Donald Trump, MAGA and evangelicals, I postulate that the political Right has become ten times the greater threat to liberty than the political Left. Pick your poison: Fascism or Communism. They are equally evil.” – Chuck Baldwin

AI as a Runaway Bullet Train – “Bursting Through the Guardrails” – Bill Astore  – SHORT CONCISE AND TO THE POINT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now You Will Know – “It has come into focus now and you no longer need to be perplexed, mystified, bewildered, or bamboozled by events unspooling in Minneapolis and other hotspots of Woke-Marxist-Jacobin delirium. You are seeing the infernal machine of a sponsored revolution. Its parts are visible. They can be named and clearly understood. I will tell you how this works.” – James Howard Kunstler

Dear ICE Protestors: We Need to Talk – “It’s been a rough few months out there. You’ve shown up. You’ve resisted. You’ve rallied. You’ve organized. You’ve made signs. So. Many. Signs. You’ve launched illegal fireworks, damaged property, blocked traffic, broken the law, bashed in windows, assaulted agents, and berated scores of strangers simply for doing their jobs. You must be exhausted. I see you. I feel you. I am in awe of your stamina. So let’s pretend, for argument’s sake and to give you a desperately-needed break, you win. Let’s pretend all the chanting, the honking, the whistling, the street-blocking, the papier-mâché puppets, the Sharpie signs, the interpretive screaming, and the celebrity Instagram threats finally break the will of the federal government and ICE collapses under the sheer weight of your moral outrage. Congratulations. I just have one question: Now what? No, seriously. What’s your plan? Because tragically, our towns are teeming with dangerous, law-breaking repeat offenders—many of them wanted for horrific, unspeakable crimes here and in other countries. Blaming ICE for trying to remove them would be like blaming the home inspector for finding asbestos in the dream house you just fell in love with.” – Jenna McCarthy  – OBVIOUSLY WE DON’T WANT TO TURN INTO A POLICE STATE AND IT’S LOOKING LIKE IT MORE AND MORE; BUT JENNA RAISES A GREAT POINT, “WHAT IS THEIR PLAN”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to Amerika: Chilling encounter with ICE agents caught on video shows why most conservatives are on the wrong side of this issue – “Video shows masked ICE agents warning American citizen she is now part of a federal database of suspected ‘domestic terrorists” – Leo Hohmann  – LINKED ABOUT THIS THE OTHER DAY AS WELL, BUT MOST PEOPLE JUST DON’T SEEM TO GET IT. WAKE UP SHEEPLE!!!

‘My Colon Literally Blew Up’: Thousands Sue Over GLP-1 Weight Loss Drug Side Effects – “A growing wave of lawsuits is challenging the safety warnings accompanying blockbuster weight-loss drugs that have rapidly reshaped American medicine and culture, raising questions about whether patients were adequately informed of the risks tied to medications now used by tens of millions of people.The plaintiffs’ stories vary widely, but share a common claim: that drugs known as GLP-1 receptor agonists – including Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro – caused severe, life-altering injuries that were not sufficiently disclosed at the time they were prescribed.” – Tyler Durden

Study Finds Barents Sea Polar Bears Thriving Despite Arctic Sea Ice Loss – “Both male and female polar bears were fatter and healthier after 1995, researchers found.” – Susan J Crockford

Berlin hospitals struggle to treat hundreds of slip-and-falls after repeated snow and ice storms because environmental laws forbid the use of melting agents on stairs and sidewalks – eugyppius

 

 

NEWS

Three Possibilities – “Many of us are trying to understand why Trump has been doing the things he’s been doing lately – because they seem to be destructive things, as regards the political palatability (and so, viability) of MAGA. It was weird – and a little appalling – when Trump suddenly sicced the military on Venezuelan speedboats, blowing not just them but also their helpless occupants into oblivion. Then Trump sent in the Hut! Hut! Hut! crew to literally kidnap a foreign head of state. Whatever you think about Maduro, he was the president of Venezuela. Where did Trump get the authority to just remove a foreign head of state? Then there’s Greenland. All of a sudden it is a strategic – and existential – necessity for America to annex it. Never mind that there is already an American base there and it’s not 1945 anymore. Most recently, Trump has made public anti-gun utterances after his FBI director made similar utterances. So, why? What is going on with Trump? There are arguably three main possibilities. The first is that he’s being ill-advised. The second possibility is that he is not right in the head. The third possibility is the one that’s hard to consider. It is that all of this deliberate. ” – Eric Peters

How Donald Trump Lost The Plot * – “Make America Great Again. Who, that is actually an American, wouldn’t want that? It has the ring of a slogan that could have come to symbolize a generation or more of positive, durable change — much like Reagan’s “Its Morning in America.” As with all slogans they’re marketing messages and thus contain the term of art known as “puffery” in the legal world; this is why when you buy a new car advertised by a sexy young thing and don’t get laid you can’t sue over your lack of new-found luck in the sack. So here we are roughly a year into Trump’s second term and yet where is the alleged progress? There hasn’t been any, unless you measure “progress” in the price of stocks, of course.” – Karl Denninger

The Ruthlessness and Brutality of the U.S. Government – “I have long maintained that one of the big obstacles libertarians face in the achievement of a genuinely free society is the fact that most Americans honestly believe they are free. After all, how can a society genuinely be considered free when the government wields the omnipotent power to kill anyone it wants? And make no mistake about it: As we have seen, U.S. officials have the omnipotent power to kill any American they want. That’s a harsh reality that so many Americans still do not want to accept.” – Jacob G. Hornberger

Trump’s Gunboat Diplomacy Targets Cuba’s Oil Lifeline, Puts Suppliers In Crosshairs – “Cuba “will be failing pretty soon,” President Trump told reporters Tuesday during a visit to Iowa. “They got their oil from Venezuela. They’re not getting that anymore.”” – Tyler Durden

Disturbing Allegations Against Bill Gates Emerge in New Epstein Files – “According to documents released Friday, Epstein accused Gates of sleeping with Russian women, contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), and seeking antibiotics he could secretly administer to his then-wife, Melinda Gates, without her knowledge or consent.” – Frank Bergman

Don Lemon Arrested – “It was not immediately clear what charges he would be facing. Lemon claims he was just being a journalist.” – Nick Arama  – LAST I KNEW BEING A JOURNALIST DOESN’T PUT YOU ABOVE THE LAW ANY MORE THAN ANY ONE ELSE!!!

After the Exit: How California Quietly Re-Routed the World Health Organization – “Within days of the U.S. withdrawal becoming official, California Governor Gavin Newson announced that California had become the first and only U.S. state to join a World Health Organization–coordinated global outbreak response network, the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN). This was not a press-release coincidence. It was a workaround. States are not sovereign nations. They do not conduct foreign policy. They do not enter treaties. And yet, here we are. California now participates in a WHO-coordinated international response network after the federal government has formally withdrawn from the same institutional ecosystem. Supporters insist this confers no regulatory authority and imposes no international mandates. That may be technically true. But it misses the deeper point.” – Sayer Ji

Iran’s protests and the dirty numbers game: The manufactured ‘death toll’ – “The US-funded ecosystem of Iranian ‘rights groups,’ Israeli operatives, and monarchist activists has become a revolving door of unverifiable statistics and atrocity propaganda” – Robert Inlakesh

Five Insights Into The Trilateral Russian-Ukrainian-US Talks – “Russia’s agreement to this format represents a significant policy shift. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the second round of the trilateral Russian-Ukrainian-US talks in Abu Dhabi will be held on 1 February. There haven’t been many leaks from the first round so observers can only speculate about the subject and significance of this new format.” – Andrew Korybko

 

 

ECONOMIC NEWS

MARKETS Silver drops 30%, gold tumbles 10% as Trump Warsh pick eases Fed independence fear, triggers dollar rally – “The sharp moves down were initially triggered by reports of Warsh’s nomination. However, they gained steam in afternoon U.S. trading as investors who piled into the metals raced to book profits. Metals were also under pressure as the dollar spiked higher, making it more expensive for foreign investors to buy gold and silver. “This is getting crazy,” said Matt Maley, equity strategist at Miller Tabak. “Most of this is probably ‘forced selling.’ This has been the hottest asset for day traders and other short-term traders recently. So, there has been some leverage built up in silver. With the huge decline today, the margin calls went out.”’ – Chloe Taylor   – KEEP A PERSPECTIVE ON ALL OF THIS, IF YOU HAD BOUGHT SILVER ON JAN 2 IT WAS AROUND $72. AT $85 YOU ARE STILL UP 20% FOR ONE MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gold and silver sell off – “The naysayers are crowing, saying gold and silver have peaked. This week’s volatility was certainly unnerving, a sharp lesson for whipsawed traders. But we assess the true position. Gold and silver have had a turbulent week, hitting all-time highs yet again before a sharp fall on Monday, followed by sharp falls yesterday and this morning (Friday). All this suggests that the sharp falls on Comex were purely technical, and the passing of February contracts should see a rebound in prices in the next week or two. ” – Alasdair Macleod

Here’s Why Gold’s Overpowering the Fed by a Mile – “10 years. 80 Fed meetings. 15 hikes. 10 cuts. 1 winner” – Nomi Prins.

Trump Reportedly To Announce Kevin Warsh Next Fed Chair Friday Morning; Bitcoin, Gold Tumble, Dollar Soars – Tyler Durden

Is Warsh the Needle This Current Stock Market Bubble Was Looking For? – “I must be blunt: I did NOT see Warsh coming as the Fed Chair. His entire career he’s been hawkish. Indeed, once he left the Fed in 2017, he’s launched some of the most scathing attacks on the Fed of any public official.Given that the Trump administration has made it clear it wants the Fed to ease monetary conditions, Warsh is an odd choice. I assume the President made this pick based on his usual criteria: loyalty over alliance to the President’s goals. The markets are certainly confused by this pick. ” – Graham Summers, MBA

Wholesale prices rise sharply and show new Fed chief could confront stubborn inflation – “Producer-price index jumped at the end of 2025” – Jeffry Bartash

Job Recession Ending? – “Unemployment Claims Are Down. Will Jobs Rise Accordingly? Amazon’s latest layoff announcement, in which it stated it would shed some 16,000 corporate jobs, might easily be seen as yet the latest indicator that the jobs recession is getting still deeper. Is it really that, however? Are the layoffs at the country’s number 2 employer a sign that jobs markets in this country are continuing to deteriorate, or are they starting to improve despite Amazon’s job cuts? The answer is unclear, because the data is unclear.” – Peter Nayland Kust

Europe’s Industrial Base is Imploding – “The German economy — the powerhouse of Europe — grew for the first time in 4 years, by a laughable 0.2% And even that was entirely bought with government money. Meanwhile the US is currently growing at 5.3% — faster than China. So 27 times faster. Sadly, Germany’s 15 minutes of growth won’t last given their crushing energy problems, crushing migrant crisis, and the fact Donald Trump is stealing Germany’s industrial crown jewels that form the backbone of European industry.” – Peter St Onge

Just Like We Witnessed During The Great Recession And The Great Depression, Economic Activity Is Slowing Down All Around Us As Chaos Breaks Out In The Financial Markets – Michael Snyder

Silver To Hit $500/oz By Summer??? (VIDEO) with Michael Oliver – “The recent price action in the precious metals, especially silver, has been nothing short of astounding. But it has been no surprise to today’s guest, who boldly predicted this violent upside breakout. Questions are now flying fast & furious:” – Adam Taggart | Thoughtful Money®

 

 

SURVIVAL, PREPAREDNESS AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY

It’s COMING! ULTIMATE Winter Storm Prep Guide! (VIDEO) – “Over half of americans, 250 million people, could be without power, heat and water soon! Here are the 5 categories to prep for. Winter storm survival for your family isn’t about luck—it’s about preparation and skills. With Winter Storm hitting the Southeast right now and major winter weather across the country in January 2026, this complete guide covers everything you need to protect your family when power goes out for days, temperatures plummet, and ice makes roads impassable.” – Jason Salyer

Winter Weather Exposes Weak Plans Fast… This Is How To Build A Strong One For The Next Outage – “Because a winter blackout doesn’t fail loudly—it fails quietly. The house goes still. The thermostat stops responding. The cold doesn’t rush in; it settles. And every small assumption you’ve been leaning on—running water, hot food, charged phones—starts collapsing one by one.” – Bill Heid

5 Simple Pieces of LIFESAVING Medical Knowledge- Daisy Luther

Long-Term Winter Camp Setup: Sustainable Outdoor Living in a Canadian Winter – “Long-term winter camp setup is not about enduring a miserable night outdoors—it is about creating a system that allows you to live, work, and recover in sustained cold. In Canadian conditions, where snow depth, wind, and prolonged sub-zero temperatures are normal rather than exceptional, this skill determines whether an outdoor situation stabilizes or collapses under fatigue and exposure.” – denob

Landscaping Techniques You Can Use to Reduce Risk of Fire – Tasha Greer

 

 

VERSES FOR THE DAY

Ephesians 4:1-3     I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,  With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;  Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

 

 

IMAGE FOR THE DAY