COL BILL ASTORE—Imagine if Venezuela attacked the U.S. Imagine if President Trump and Melania Trump were seized, and that the Venezuelan attorney general said they would face justice in Venezuela. I’d imagine that nearly all Americans would see this as an act of war, a gross violation of national sovereignty. American vengeance would be swift.
LARRY C JOHNSON—idn’t take the CIA too long to try to debunk Russia’s claim that Ukraine, with the assistance of NATO intelligence, launched 91 drones at the official residence of Vladimir Putin in Novgorod… A CIA report was leaked to the media. The headlines last night — 31 December — in the NY Times and the Wall Street Journal insisted that the Russians were lying. The NY Times proclaimed: Ukraine Did Not Target Putin’s Home, C.I.A. Finds. The WSJ followed suit: U.S. Finds Ukraine Didn’t Target Putin in Drone Strike.
PETER HAENSELER—One recalls with horror Adolf Hitler’s speech on November 2, 1942, in Munich’s Löwenbräukeller, where he invoked the impending victory in Stalingrad. Twenty days later, the 6th Army was completely surrounded and lost in the course of Operation Uranus.
And that’s exactly what happened to Merz: he put all his eggs in one basket—and lost dismally. This is now being reported by German newspapers—practically in unison.
His X-message after losing the battle, in which he described the complete defeat as a victory, “Financial package is in place—as I demanded,” is unbeatable in its pitifulness.
DD—The video transcript centers around Tucker Carlson’s recent public commentary on the controversial topic of Jeffrey Epstein’s connections to Israeli intelligence, and the circumstances surrounding Charlie Kirk’s death and legacy. Carlson’s remarks, initially made at the Turning Point USA conference, sparked significant backlash due to their sensitive nature, particularly his emphasis on Epstein’s foreign intelligence ties, especially to Israel. Notably, Carlson shares that he initially hesitated to discuss Epstein because it would upset Charlie Kirk’s donors, but Kirk encouraged him to proceed fully. The transcript also touches on the reaction from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Kirk’s death, which Carlson describes as self-serving and opportunistic.
DW—The dialogue expands to the broader European context, where the United States’ Cold War–driven strategy dominates, forcing Europe to isolate Russia and China economically while subordinating its own industrial and trade interests to US demands. This results in Europe’s deindustrialization, economic decline, and political instability, as governments struggle to maintain social welfare amid budget constraints and growing opposition from left-wing and labor movements. The attempt to relocate European industry to the US is met with practical challenges due to America’s unstable socio-political environment and high costs.
