Authored by Savannah Hulsey Pointer and Jan Jekielek via The Epoch Times,

A member of the European Union (EU) Parliament asserts that the EU’s way of governing is “anti-democratic.”

In a recent interview with The Epoch Times’s Jan Jekielek, host of American Thought Leaders, Christine Anderson, a member of the European Parliament representing the Alternative for Germany party, explained how the EU’s model of governance bypasses adequate representation for citizens.

Ms. Anderson underscored the inappropriate division of power that member nations have experienced, saying it violates fundamental principles in democracies.

Members of the government can bypass its democratically elected representatives and seek approval for laws at the EU level, the German politician explained.

This is how it works:

“Let’s say the German government wanted to pass a law, and the Bundestag, which is the democratically elected representation of the German people, said, ‘No … we will not vote for that.’

“The story wouldn’t be at an end right then and there.

But now the German government, all it has to do is pretty much take that law [and] bring it to the EU institutions, because in the council … they will pass the law on EU level.

She explained that this structure creates a system where “there is no division of power,” and officials are able to implement “the very same law” that failed to pass through the elected legislative body.

This undemocratic structure raises questions about accountability, she said, as politicians can deflect responsibility by passing legislative authority to agencies and experts.

Speaking about the options available to citizens, Ms. Anderson said, “The only way that I can change anything is by going after the elected officials. … I elected these people. They are responsible.

“They’re accountable to me, but I don’t know who’s above that, whoever it is.”

To ensure that elected officials remain responsible for the laws and policies that impact their citizens, Ms. Anderson stressed the need for transparency and accountability in EU governance.

Dealing With Dissent

A member of the European Parliament since 2019, she also discussed several other troubling trends that have been seen in her country and throughout the EU. They include labeling anyone who dissents from progressive ideology as “far right.”

Mr. Jekielek asked whether the EU is seeing the same trend as the United States, where dissenting voices are maligned by legacy media. Several prominent names were brought up to illustrate the recent political mood, including newly elected Argentinian President Javier Milei and tech mogul Elon Musk.

Confirming the mood of her home country and the EU, Ms. Anderson asserted that the term “right” was being misused.

“Everyone that is not in support of whatever globalist agenda is being advocated for or pushed at the moment” is given that label.

She argued that anyone not aligning with the current globalist agenda is labeled as “far right.” Using an example the protests in Berlin against COVID restrictions, she highlighted how individuals, originally left-leaning, were falsely branded as right-wing extremists by media outlets, going so far as to say, “We’re not far right, just right so far.”

This mislabeling of dissenters contributes to polarization and stifles genuine debate, said Ms. Anderson. She also emphasized the importance of acknowledging diverse perspectives within a democratic society, urging open dialogue and understanding.

By dismissing dissenting voices as “far right,” the discourse becomes polarized, hindering the democratic principle of free expression and critical debate, she said.

Impact in Other Nations

Eastern and Western Europe are not consistent in their ideology, however. According to Ms. Anderson, Eastern Europe is pulling away from the globalist agenda more intentionally because of its recent history with totalitarian rule.

“They remember. They recognize the mechanisms that recognize how totalitarian regimes go about doing certain things,” she said.

“They recognize the language; they recognize the gaslighting. So it’s not really working in the Eastern European countries, and that’s where we actually have the most resistance.”

The German politician also noted that she believes preparations are being made to pave the way for more expansive governmental rule, pointing out that Western nations are more apt to resist control and would need to be eased into total governmental control.

“You don’t have to get society ready for taking away freedom in North Korea,“ Ms. Anderson said.

”But you do have to do that in the United States, in the Western democracies … there is where you have to set the stage.”

She went on to assert that she has had to “come to terms with the fact that we will not be able to undo” some of the recent damage done in the EU, but that she does have hope for Western Europe.

Part of her hope lies in the United States, Ms. Anderson said, despite the fact that the country is facing some of the same struggles within government.

“My hope also lies actually with it, with the American people. Because the American people, they have [more] of a concept of freedom,” she said, adding what “an honor” it was to be asked to speak to the American people about freedom.

Near the end of her comments, Ms. Anderson made a plea to Americans, saying, “I really need the American people to just stay American people and uphold that concept of freedom that is deeply rooted within the Americans.

“We need that if we want to save all the peoples around the world from this tyrannical system they’re about to impose on us.”

Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Cradle,

In a single move, Yemen’s Ansarallah has checkmated the west and its rules-based order…

Whether invented in northern India, eastern China or Central Asia – from Persia to Turkestan – chess is an Asian game. In chess, there always comes a time when a simple pawn is able to upset the whole chessboard, usually via a move in the back rank whose effect simply cannot be calculated. 

Yes, a pawn can impose a seismic checkmate. That’s where we are, geopolitically, right now. 

The cascading effects of a single move on the chessboard – Yemen’s Ansarallah stunning and carefully targeted blockade of the Red Sea – reach way beyond global shipping, supply chains, and The War of Economic Corridors. Not to mention the reduction of the much lauded US Navy force projection to irrelevancy.

Yemen’s resistance movement, Ansarallah, has made it very clear that any Israel-affiliated or Israel-destined vessel will be intercepted. While the west bristles at this, and imagines itself a target, the rest of the world fully understands that all other shipping is free to pass. Russian tankers – as well as Chinese, Iranian, and Global South ships – continue to move undisturbed across the Bab al-Mandeb (narrowest point: 33 km) and the Red Sea. 

Only the Hegemon is disturbed by this challenge to its ‘rules-based order.’ It is outraged that western vessels delivering energy or goods to law-breaking Israel can be impeded, and that the supply chain has been severed and plunged into deep crisis. The pinpointed target is the Israeli economy, which is already bleeding heavily. A single Yemeni move proves to be more efficient than a torrent of imperial sanctions. 

It is the tantalizing possibility of this single move turning into a paradigm shift – with no return – that is adding to the Hegemon’s apoplexy. Especially because imperial humiliation is deeply embedded in the paradigm shift. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the record, is now sending an unmistakeable message: Forget the Suez Canal. The way to go is the Northern Sea Route – which the Chinese, in the framework of the Russia-China strategic partnership, call the Arctic Silk Road.

Map of North-East and North-West Passage shipping routes

For the dumbfounded Europeans, the Russians have detailed three options: First, sail 15,000 miles around the Cap of Good Hope. Second, use Russia’s cheaper and faster Northern Sea Route. Third, send the cargo via Russian Railways. 

Rosatom, which oversees the Northern Sea Route, has emphasized that non-ice-class ships are now able to sail throughout summer and autumn, and year-round navigation will soon be possible with the help of a fleet of nuclear icebreakers. 

All that as direct consequences of the single Yemeni move. What next? Yemen entering BRICS+ at the summit in Kazan in late 2024, under the Russian presidency?

The new architecture will be framed in West Asia 

The US-led Armada put together for Operation Genocide Protection, which collapsed even before birth, may have been set up to “warn Iran,” apart from giving Ansarallah a scare. Just as the Houthis, Tehran is hardly intimidated because, as West Asia analyst ace Alastair Crooke succinctly put it: “Sykes-Picot is dead.” 

This is a quantum shift on the chessboard. It means West Asian powers will frame the new regional architecture from now on, not US Navy “projection.” 

That carries an ineffable corollary: those eleven US aircraft carrier task forces, for all practical purposes, are essentially worthless.   

Everyone across West Asia is well aware that Ansarallah’s missiles are capable of hitting Saudi and Emirati oil fields, and knocking them out of commission. So it is little wonder that Riyadh and Abu Dhabi would never accept becoming part of a US-led maritime force to challenge the Yemeni resistance.   

Add to it the role of underwater drones now in the possession of Russia and Iran. Think of fifty of these aimed at a US aircraft carrier: it has no defense. While the Americans still have very advanced submarines, they cannot keep the Bab al-Mandeb and Red Sea open to western operators. 

On the energy front, Moscow and Tehran don’t even need to think – at least not yet – about using the “nuclear” option or cutting off potentially at least 25 percent, and up, of the world oil supply. As one Persian Gulf analyst succinctly describes it, “that would irretrievably implode the international financial system.”

For those still determined to support the genocide in Gaza there have been warnings. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has mentioned it explicitly. Tehran has already called for a total oil and gas embargo against nations that support Israel. 

A total naval blockade of Israel, meticulously engineered, remains a distinct possibility. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami said Israel may “soon face the closure of the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, and other waterways.”

Keep in mind we’re not yet even talking about a possible blockade of the Strait of Hormuz; we’re still on Red Sea/Bab al-Mandeb. 

Because if the Straussian neo-cons in the Beltway get really unhinged by the paradigm shift and act in desperation to “teach a lesson” to Iran, a chokepoint Hormuz-Bab al-Mandeb combo blockade might skyrocket the price of oil to at least $500 a barrel, triggering the implosion of the $618 trillion derivatives market and crashing the entire international banking system. 

The paper tiger is in a jam 

Mao Zedong was right after all: the US may be in fact a paper tiger. Putin, though, is way more careful, cold, and calculating. With this Russian president, it’s all about an asymmetric response, exactly when no one is expecting it.

That brings us to the prime working hypothesis perhaps capable of explaining the shadow play masking the single Ansarallah move on the chessboard.       

When Pulitzer-winning investigative journalist Sy (Seymour) Hersh proved how Team Biden blew up the Nord Stream pipelines, there was no Russian response to what was, in effect, an act of terrorism against Gazprom, against Germany, against the EU, and against a bunch of European companies. Yet Yemen, now, with a simple blockade, turns global shipping upside down. 

So what is more vulnerable?

The physical networks of global energy supply (Pipelineistan) or the Thalassocracy, states that derive their power from naval supremacy? 

Russia privileges Pipelineistan: see, for instance, the Nord Streams and Power of Siberia 1 and 2. But the US, the Hegemon, always relied on its thalassocratic power, heir to “Britannia rules the waves.” 

Well, not anymore. And, surprisingly, getting there did not even entail the “nuclear” option, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which Washington games and scaremongers like crazy.

Of course we won’t have a smoking gun. But it’s a fascinating proposition that the single Yemeni move may have been coordinated at the highest level between three BRICS members – Russia, China, and Iran, the neocon new “axis of evil” – plus other two BRICS+, energy powerhouses Saudi Arabia and the UAE. As in, “if you do it, we’ve got your back”. 

None of that, of course, detracts from Yemeni purity: their defense of Palestine is a sacred duty. 

Western imperialism and then turbo-capitalism have always been obsessed with gobbling up Yemen, a process that Isa Blumi, in his splendid book Destroying Yemen, described as “necessarily stripping Yemenis of their historic role as the economic, cultural, spiritual, and political engine for much of the Indian Ocean world.” 

Yemen, though, is unconquerable and, true to a local proverb, “deadly” (Yemen Fataakah). As part of the Axis of Resistance, Yemen’s Ansarallah is now a key actor in a complex Eurasia-wide drama that redefines Heartland connectivity; and alongside China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the India-Iran-Russia-led International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), and Russia’s new Northern Sea Route, also includes control over strategic chokepoints around the Mediterranean Seas and the Arabian peninsula. 

This is another trade connectivity paradigm entirely, smashing to bits western colonial and neocolonial control of Afro-Eurasia. So yes, BRICS+ supports Yemen, who with a single move has presented Pax Americana with The Mother of All Geopolitical Jams.

The US Space Force launched a secretive plane on Thursday which has been equipped with heavier boosters that could feasibly send it further into orbit than ever before.

The launch marks the 9th flight of the three-core SpaceX Falcon Heavy booster, and the 7th flight of the US Air Force’s (not so) secret unmanned spaceplane, the X-37B (USSF-52).

The launch was previously scheduled for Dec. 10, however it was scrapped due to issues with ground equipment just 30 minutes before liftoff – pushing the event back 18 days.

Officially, the X-37B will enter into various orbits around Earth and serve as a testing ground for NASA’s study of the effects of long-duration exposure to space on organic materials, the Epoch Times reports, adding that the mission will also include experiments having to do with “space domain awareness,” which the US Space Force defines as the ability to “rapidly detect, warn, characterize, attribute, and predict threats to national, allied, and commercial space systems.”

Testing of such threat-detection technologies comes as tensions between the United States and a space-faring communist China remain high.

The Falcon Heavy has now launched five times in 2023, and while the space-enamored public is becoming more familiar with it, its cargo largely remains a mystery.

First launched in April 2010, much of the 29-foot-long robotic vehicle’s activities during its 3,774 total days in space remain classified. Even its return date remains unknown.

Designed by Boeing and operated by the United States Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office, the X-37B—also known as OTV-7—can fly as high as 500 miles above the Earth’s surface and carry out missions lasting 270 days. -Epoch Times

Previous missions involving the craft have included experiments involving Naval Research Laboratory experiments designed to harness solar energy and transmit power to the ground, as well as testing the effect of organic material’s long-duration exposure to space.

The X-37B is similar to the retired space shuttle – in that it has a cargo bay, black-tiled heat shielding, and the ability to land like an airplane. That said, it clocks in at roughly 25% the size of the shuttle, offering what Boeing describes as “the best of aircraft and spacecraft into an affordable system that is easy to operate and maintain.”

Via The Cradle,

On Friday Iraq broke ground on 30,000 housing units near Baghdad, as part of a $2 billion project in partnership with Chinese firms to build five new cities across Iraq, Bloomberg has reported.

The government of Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani is seeking to build 250,000 to 300,000 housing units for poor and middle-class families. The new city on the outskirts of Baghdad will include universities, commercial centers, schools and health centers and should be completed in four to five years.

Contracts to build the housing units were awarded to East China Engineering Science and Technology Co., Ltd. and China National Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd along with their Iraqi partner Shams al-Binaa. 

Contracts to build four more cities are expected to be awarded soon and another 10 will be announced next year, including in Karbala, Anbar, Nineveh and Babel governorates.

Chinese firms have increased their presence in Iraq in recent years, in part due to a deal between Baghdad and Beijing.

In 2019, Iraq signed a 20-year contract, agreeing to supply Chinese firms with 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, with the revenue earmarked for funding various development projects in Iraq undertaken by Chinese firms.

Following the deal, Chinese firms built 1,000 schools, developed the Nasiriya city airport, erected power plants, and completed several other infrastructure projects.

China has accelerated its investment in Iraq and other West Asian nations as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) announced in 2013. 

China-built largest thermal power plant in Iraq has generated nearly 150 billion kwh of electricity to date. At the peak of its power generation, it ensured 70% of the power supply in the capital Baghdad while providing the entire country with 30% of its power needs.
🇨🇳🤝🇮🇶 pic.twitter.com/m9NfmQDKcY

— ShanghaiPanda (@thinking_panda) December 12, 2023

China seeks to maintain stability in West Asia, given the region’s energy resources and geo-strategic location, to safeguard Beijing’s energy imports and shipment of manufactured goods to foreign markets.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Gone are the days of Windows 95; heading into the year 2024, there’s an entirely new “blue screen of death” people apparently need to be watching out for – in their cars.

This week a photo went viral on social media purporting to show a Ford vehicle displaying a “your vehicle cannot be driven” message after a failed software update. “Please call customer support,” the screen urges. 

Owning a car is about to get *really* weird.

Ford might be first but won’t be the last. pic.twitter.com/WSgOoMx0hj

— Car Dealership Guy (@GuyDealership) December 26, 2023

A post on one car enthusiast forum questioned the authenticity of the screenshot, stating: “This is going around on Twitter, but I couldn’t find any mentions of it here.
Is this even real? The phone number, when Googled doesn’t turn up anything official.”

One person responded: “That’s the message you will see on the rare occasion that an OTA fails. It’s a special customer service phone number for dealing with failed OTAs. It’s from a user on Reddit, his car has since been fixed and is back to normal FYI.”

“If an OTA update fails in such a way that this screen would be necessary, they should automatically revert to the last working state and notify the user,” another user posted in response.

“This is essentially a solved problem in the world of computing. I’m sure there’s some wrinkles that make it difficult, but it’s fundamentally something that they should change their systems to make it impossible,” they said.

In response, another shared issues they were having with Ford’s OTA updates, stating: “I’m still dealing with a failed OTA update. My 6.2.0 was incomplete. Called Ford Motor Company and they confirmed the failed update and stated the update would try again within 30 days. 60 days later, with no update, they sent me to a dealer for service.”

The nightmare continued: “Dealer claimed to have updated the software. My car was delivered to my home and nothing was fixed. In fact, my software reverted to 4.2.1. Now my service manager has no idea what to do. I can’t change drive modes, open trunk or frunk, and pre-collision warning turns on all the time. I can still drive but with limited capability. Feels like a car with a sprained ankle.”

Another mechanics forum user posted a photo of the picture with the comment: “I sort of hope this is a fake, but if it hasn’t happened yet, I presume some day it would. The old joke used to be that if Microsoft made cars, every once in a while they would just quit. Everyone would have to get out, walk 360 degrees around the car and get back in. This would be accepted as normal.”

Here’s an explanation from YouTube:

Via The Libertarian Institute, 

The death toll for Israeli soldiers continues to grow. Nearly 400 members of the Israeli security forces were killed on October 7. Since the Israeli Defense Forces invaded Gaza, at least over 150 soldiers have been killed. 

After several revisions, Tel Aviv now says about 1,050 Israelis were killed during the October 7 Hamas attack, including 373 soldiers. Following the Hamas assault, Israel devastated Gaza with a ruthless bombing campaign, then deployed the IDF into the Strip. The ground invasion has led to the deaths of 164 Israeli soldiers, according to the Times of Israel and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The Israeli Defense Ministry said that 3,000 soldiers have been wounded in combat. Some media outlets have reported the current wounded count is far higher, 5,000. An expert speaking with the Associated Press estimates the number will be about 20,000 once cases of PTSD are diagnosed. 

A source in Middle East Eye lays out whey the IDF casualty count could be much higher than publicly acknowledged:

Another Palestinian source close to Hamas, who fought with the group until 2021 when he sustained an injury, told MEE that Qassam fighters were engaged in urban fighting reminiscent of the house-to-house fighting seen in the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004 following the US-led invasion.

“What is happening now in Gaza is a kind of guerrilla war,” the source said.

“It is unnecessary and risky to mobilize a force of thousands for this war. For hit-and-run operations, fast, few-man teams are enough. These teams are also very small in terms of targets and minimize casualties,” the source added.

While Israel has caused death and devastation across Gaza, it is unclear how much success Tel Aviv has had in wiping out Hamas. At the end of November, the IDF reported killing 1,000–2,000 Hamas fighters.

Over the past month, Tel Aviv has increased its assertion to 7,000 members of Hamas killed. The group reports losing about ten percent of its members, or approximately 3,000 fighters. 

Footage shows Israeli military helicopter UH-60 Black Hawk, also known as Yanshuf, aborting an attempt to evacuate wounded soldiers in Gaza.

The video was aired on Israel’s Kan11 where they said the helicopter managed to escape and released flares to divert incoming projectiles. pic.twitter.com/ZUI8ckUWA3

— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) December 29, 2023

The Israeli operations appear to be having a far greater impact on the civilian population of the besieged enclave. Over 21,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including 8,000 children. Additionally, Israel has destroyed the medical, food, water, and sewage infrastructure of Gaza, putting the Palestinian people on the brink of epidemic and famine.

Elon Musk red-pilled users on X, allowing them to visualize “the immense and growing size of illegal immigration” pushed by radical progressives in the White House that have flooded the nation with millions of migrants. 

Musk commented on a post by X user “~~datahazard~~,” who said: “Since August, there are officially more arriving each month than there are children being born to American mothers. And these are just the official encounters — we don’t know how many avoided detection.” 

To give you a sense of the immense and growing size of illegal immigration! https://t.co/DcMQIUbCOM

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 29, 2023

Illegal immigrants outpacing US births reminds us of a comment from Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who stated at a recent debate that the “Great Replacement Theory is not some grand, right-wing conspiracy theory,” but rather a “basic statement of the Democratic Party’s platform.”

🇺🇲 Wow! Vivek Ramaswamy just stated the Great Replacement is NOT a conspiracy theory, but government policy.

Time to mainstream this discussion across the West. #GOPDebate
pic.twitter.com/KSQmByREAM

— Keith Woods (@KeithWoodsYT) December 7, 2023

Radicals in the White House have no interest in fixing the southern border crisis. Just look at the latest US Customs and Border Protection data showing the southern border invasion. 

Fox News reporter Bill Melugin revealed stunning data earlier on Friday of how encounters at the border hit record highs in December. 

BREAKING: CBP sources tell FOX there have now been over 276,00 migrant encounters at the southern border in December, the highest single month ever recorded, breaking the prior record set in September at 269,735, and there are still 3 days of December left. Record is being…

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) December 29, 2023

Let’s not forget the Biden administration conceals its true agenda of flooding the nation with millions of illegals with misinformation campaigns waged at the taxpayers. 

“I want to be very clear, our borders are not open” – @SecMayorkas, May 11th, 2023

This might be the biggest lie of the year from the Biden regime. pic.twitter.com/rVNf94Ck9n

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 27, 2023

Nothing to see here! 

Karine Jean-Pierre claims the border crisis is “not unusual.”

FACT CHECK: This is the worst U.S. border crisis on record, by far. pic.twitter.com/LheysOgg1O

— GOP (@GOP) December 23, 2023

Who is aiding in the invasion? Well, some taxpayer-funded NGOs or non-governmental organizations. 

Illegal Alien Invasion Maps Exposed – CRITICAL THREAD EXPOSING NUMEROUS MASS MIGRATION BLUEPRINTS

Muckraker has obtained multiple maps, handed out by non-government organizations across South and Central America, that detail the routes to take to the U.S. and where to cross the… pic.twitter.com/wt0DDslM4w

— Muckraker.com (@realmuckraker) December 23, 2023

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently wrote on X: “I’ve never seen such hostility to the rule of law in America. Biden is destroying America.” 

X user Robby Starbuck responded to Musk’s post, noting:

This is literally “the great replacement” in action. I’m Latino so I don’t want to hear how the great replacement is racist. It’s not. It’s political. Dems want more illegals so they can manufacture votes and cheap labor. They also want it to happen so fast that no one assimilates. 

It’s why far left cities are now legalizing illegals voting and places like California let them get licenses, pass a law for automatic voter registration when you get a license and then “accidentally” register them to vote when they get their license. None of this is hard to figure out. They want to destroy the foundations of our country so they can steal total power.

This is literally “the great replacement” in action. I’m Latino so I don’t want to hear how the great replacement is racist. It’s not. It’s political. Dems want more illegals so they can manufacture votes and cheap labor. They also want it to happen so fast that no one…

— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) December 29, 2023

“There are many people in the US government who would never let Israel have open borders but desperately want the US to have them because they believe that is the only way they can continue getting elected,” X user Matt Wallace said.

There are many people in the U.S. government who would never let Israel have open borders but desperately want the U.S. to have them because they believe that is the only way they can continue getting elected.

Many of them also hate our culture and want to destroy it painfully!

— Matt Wallace (@MattWallace888) December 29, 2023

Wallace added: “Many of them also hate our culture and want to destroy it painfully!”

Authored by Fred Fleitz via American Greatness,

A failed, last-minute visit to Mexico by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas this week perfectly reflected the Biden Administration’s dismal foreign policy record in 2023 and what may lie ahead in 2024.

Blinken and Mayorkas traveled to Mexico City to meet with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to discuss how to stem the surge in illegal migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico. But instead of offering constructive proposals to address this crisis, López Obrador mocked Blinken and Mayorkas by dismissing the border crisis as a U.S. problem, called for opening border crossings, and urged the U.S. to strengthen its ties with Cuba and Venezuela.

This latest Biden Administration foreign policy debacle reflected how world leaders increasingly view Joe Biden as a weak and indecisive leader with an incompetent foreign policy. This debacle also reflected the incompetence of Biden’s foreign policy team because López Obrador was allowed to ambush Blinken and Mayorkas. A competent state department would have ensured this visit was a scripted affair, with differences between each country resolved privately and in advance during lower-level meetings.

Blinken and Mayorkas traveling to Mexico without knowing what López Obrador would offer was a rookie mistake one would expect during the first few months of a new U.S. administration, not from one that has been in office for almost three years.

The outcome of the Blinken/Mayorkas Mexico trip and Biden’s refusal to implement serious measures to stem the flow of illegal migrants crossing the U.S. southern border will have major security implications for the United States in 2024. Given a growing perception that Biden may be a one-term president who will be succeeded in January 2025 by a new president who will take aggressive action to close the border, the United States will likely see the largest surge of illegal immigration in history in 2024 as migrants from around the world rush to Mexico to take advantage of Biden’s weak border security policies.

This means the number of criminals, drug dealers, Islamist terrorists, Chinese spies, Russian spies, drug dealers, and people transporting fentanyl in the United States is certain to skyrocket in 2024.

U.S. security interests in the Middle East have also been gravely undermined by President Biden’s weak leadership and foreign policy and are likely to further deteriorate in 2024. Many experts believe the horrific October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack on Israel would not have occurred if the Biden Administration had a coherent national security policy that was not appeasing Iran and coddling the Palestinians.

As I wrote in a recent Newsmax article, the Palestinians have received more than $1 billion in U.S. taxpayer dollars since Biden took office, even though Biden officials knew these funds would boost Hamas. By contrast, the Trump Administration cut off all U.S. aid to the Palestinians.

In addition, the Heritage Foundation’s Daily Signal assessed that Iran received approximately $71.02 billion more in revenue (mostly from oil sales) under the Biden administration than it did under the Trump presidency.

Meanwhile, Joe Biden, worried about how growing protests against the Israel-Hamas war by his progressive supporters will affect the 2024 elections, has begun to turn on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to pressure him to end the war quickly and put the corrupt Palestinian Authority in charge of running Gaza. Biden continues to claim he is solidly behind Israel’s right to defeat Hamas but also lectures Israel on the way it is conducting the war and human rights violations. Although the Netanyahu government has been careful to avoid criticizing Biden officials for such contradictory statements, it will not prematurely end the war because of the U.S. political calendar.

Iran’s nuclear weapons program made major advances during the Biden Administration, including enriching uranium to the near-weapons grade level of 60% uranium-235 for the first time. Iran’s nuclear weapons program was greatly assisted by a secret, unwritten deal that the Biden Administration agreed to in the spring of 2023 that allows Iran to continue to enrich at the 60% level, keep its advanced enrichment equipment, and promised Iran at least $20 billion in sanctions relief.

Under pressure from Congress, the Biden Administration on October 12 froze a $6 billion payment to Iran after the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack, a transfer that was actually a ransom payment to release five innocent Americans imprisoned in Iran. But incredibly, the Biden Administration agreed the following month to a sanctions waiver that gave Iran access to more than $10 billion

The consequences of Biden’s feckless Middle East policy have been demonstrated by the surge in attacks on U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria over the past two months by Iranian-backed militias and attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The U.S. response to these attacks has been weak, causing such attacks to grow in number. Neither Iran nor its terrorist proxies are worried the U.S. will make them pay a price for these provocations that are endangering U.S. troops and global shipping.

The Middle East will remain volatile in 2024. Israel will continue the war to defeat Hamas and promote its security, despite growing demands by the Biden Administration to end the war. Attacks by Iranian-backed terrorist proxies in Iraq and Syria, the Houthi rebels, and Hezbollah in Lebanon will probably increase unless there is significant pushback from the United States. Israel will continue to respond militarily to some of these attacks, while Biden probably will not during an election year.

The 2024 U.S. elections and President Biden’s weak leadership and foreign policy will also affect other global hot spots.

• Ukraine. Despite claims by the Ukrainian and U.S. governments that the Ukrainian army would turn the tide of the war in 2023 with its counteroffensive, this didn’t happen. Russian forces dug in, and the conflict has become a long-term war of attrition. With Republican House members and Biden allies like MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough saying the war is no longer winnable, Congressional support for arming Ukraine is likely to be sharply reduced in 2024. Although Congressional Republicans are currently blocking additional U.S. military aid for Ukraine unless President Biden agrees to take significant action to stem the flow of illegal migrants at the U.S. southern border, even if an agreement can be reached to break this deadlock, growing bipartisan concerns in Congress over the trajectory of the war may finally force the Biden Administration and Ukrainian President Zelinsky in 2024 to pursue a cease-fire and an agreement to end the war and secure Ukraine from a future Russian invasion.

• Russia/China “Axis.” The U.S.-led global order will take a hit in 2024 as Russia and China continue to build their security and economic relationships at America’s expense. This will include further improving their trade and defense relationships with North Korea, Iran, and the Persian Gulf states. Iran and North Korea will probably step up their arms sales to Russia for the war in Ukraine. There will be some progress in “de-dollarization,” mostly with more agreements to not use dollars for bilateral trade.

• China/Taiwan. Chinese President Xi told President Biden at the November 2023 APEC Summit that Beijing intends to reunify Taiwan with China, but the timing has not yet been decided. However, a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is unlikely in 2024 for two reasons. First, the Chinese military is probably not prepared to invade the island nation. But second, and more importantly, Xi is worried that President Donald Trump could be reelected in November 2024. Xi believes Trump will have a much tougher China policy and prefers to continue to deal with Biden, whom he views as a considerably weaker president than Trump. Therefore, although Chinese provocations against Taiwan and in the South China Sea will continue in 2024, Xi will try to improve relations with the U.S. to help reelect Biden. If this happens, China could possibly plan to invade Taiwan during a second Biden term.

• North Korea. A surge in missile tests and nuclear weapons development caused by the Biden Administration’s neglect of North Korea will continue to rise in 2024. North Korea might conduct a seventh nuclear test next year to embarrass Biden, help reelect Trump, and resume Trump’s partially successful personal diplomacy with Kim Jong Un.

With the prospect of a major political change in the United States next November, 2024 could be a very unstable and dangerous year for American and international security. Sensing that Biden could be a one-term president, illegal immigration will surge, and America’s adversaries will employ all possible means to exploit what could be a final year of exceptional American weakness. This could result in a major terrorist attack, possibly by terrorist organizations like ISIS that have been relatively quiet recently. Iran could begin to enrich uranium to weapons-grade. China and Russia will try to expand their influence at America’s expense with new trade deals, especially with the Persian Gulf states.

Now more than ever, it is clear that a strong and decisive U.S. president with a competent foreign policy is essential to American and global security, and that a weak American president with a weak and frivolous foreign policy can have a disastrous effect on global security. Therefore, it will be far more apparent in 2024 than in previous years that U.S. presidential elections matter for global security.

The first real-world accident involving a Tesla Cybertruck occurred in Northern California’s Bay Area this Thursday. Photos of the accident, uploaded on the r/Cybertruck subreddit by user u/boddhya, reveal that the Cybertruck’s super-strong 301 stainless-steel exoskeleton sustained minimal damage after being hit by another vehicle. 

“On December 28, 2023, at approximately 2:05 pm, California Highway Patrol (CHP) Redwood City units were dispatched to a two-vehicle crash on SR-35 (Skyline Boulevard), south of Page Mill Road. Our preliminary investigation indicates a Toyota Corolla was traveling south on SR-35 southbound, south of Page Mill Road, at an unknown speed, when the driver, for unknown reasons, turned to the right and subsequently struck a dirt embankment on the right shoulder,” California Highway Patrol wrote in a report. 

CHP continued: “The Toyota then re-entered the roadway, crossed over the double yellow lines into the northbound lane, and crashed into a Tesla Cybertruck traveling north on SR-35 northbound. The Tesla driver sustained a suspected minor injury and declined medical transportation. No other injuries were reported. It does not appear that the Tesla Cybertruck was being operated in autonomous mode. The investigation into this incident is ongoing.” 

Images of the crash show the truck sustained minimal damage. Meanwhile, the Corolla appears to be totaled. 

And a video of the accident scene. 

Tesla has confidently touted the Cybertruck’s super-strong 301 stainless-steel exoskeleton. 

It’s not about the size of your crumple zone, it’s about how you use it

When in a high-speed collision, Cybertruck’s front underbody casting is designed to break into small pieces. This helps reduce occupant impact by absorbing & dispensing energy pic.twitter.com/84JiGzzw1M

— Cybertruck (@cybertruck) December 12, 2023

Musk has also boldly declared that the Cybertruck is one of the safest trucks for both occupants and pedestrians. Yet there has yet to be any confirmation due to no third-party testing.  

“If you have an argument with another car, you will win,” Musk said at the Cybertruck delivery event in Austin earlier this month. 

Authored by Kurt Cobb via OilPrice.com,

• The ban includes technology for making rare earth magnets used in various industries.

• China, controlling 90% of the refined rare earth metal market, seeks to maintain its processing monopoly.

• The US has made efforts to incentivize domestic mining of critical minerals, but challenges remain due to China’s market dominance.

China just expanded its already tight restrictions on export of technology related to refining rare earth minerals. The most recent restrictions involve technology for making rare earth magnets which are used in electric motors and generators. These minerals are also used extensively in the automotive industry and in consumer electronics such as cellphones.

I have previously written that the clean energy economy is a metals energy economy, and rare earths constitute a substantial and key part of that metals energy economy.

Export of rare earth extraction and separation technology had already been banned by China. The most recent and previous restrictions are part of a broader trade war between the United States and China over exchange of technology.  In late 2022 the United States banned exports of advanced microchips. China responded with a ban on the export germanium and gallium, two metals crucial to the manufacture of advanced chips. The United States imports half of its germanium needs and all of the gallium it uses.

What exactly are the Chinese hoping to achieve?

The answer becomes pretty clear when you realize that China supplies 90 percent of the volume of refined rare earth metals to the world. The country produces 60 percent of the ore. That means the rest of the world is sending three-quarters of its ore to China for processing, and the Chinese would like to continue to enjoy its near monopoly on processing. That puts China in a commanding position to decide who will get these metals and even whether the rest of the world gets any at all. China unexpectedly and dramatically reduced its rare earth exports in 2010, driving prices skyward.

The obvious response to such uncertainty would be to encourage the mining of rare earths outside of China. The current U.S. administration rolled out a modest program to incentivize U.S.-based mining of critical minerals such as lithium, nickel, graphite, cobalt and manganese. Many rare earths are already on what is known as the List of Critical Minerals and thus eligible for incentives to encourage domestic production. A small amount of funding has been allocated for this purpose.

A private attempt to revive a closed rare earth mine, the largest in the United States, resulted in a colossal financial loss for the investors when rare earth prices plummeted after China resumed its previous level of exports following the reduction in 2010.

This shows how China can easily sabotage any attempts to challenge its dominance of the rare earth market.

Given the close relationship between China’s government and its rare earth industry, the only reasonable way to break the Chinese stranglehold on the rare earth market would be for governments to guarantee the price of rare earths mined by domestic companies. That runs so counter to the neoliberal free market ethic of the past 40 years that I don’t see it becoming a reality.

In a world where the consensus regarding the free exchange of goods is breaking down and geopolitical interests are coming to the fore, China seems to care far less about living up to free trade rules than protecting its perceived national interests.

If other major trading countries and blocks start moving in the same direction, the easy availability of cheap goods and resources produced in faraway locales may become increasingly problematic.