Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

Monsters Of The Deep

“Timing, not haste, drives what will happen next.”

– Thomas Sowell

Minneapolis, the sucking chest wound on America’s body politic, gets a break this week from Gawda’mighty, who is turning the heat down to subzero so that ICE-Watch nose-rings can hole-up in their Soros-paid motels, play League of Legends with their DoorDashed Chick-fil-A nuggets, and rest up for the next inning of their motley revolution. ICE itself might even have to lay off its daily round-up of rapists, cut-throats, and child-molesters, to wait out the cold-snap.

Meanwhile, things elsewhere roughen up a little.

For instance: Davos, Switzerland, where the World Economic Forum (WEF) holds its annual jamboree of vampire squids. Klaus Schwab is out, by the way. He skulked off in a malodorous cloud of embezzlement and sexual irregularities, to be replaced by Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the hedge fund that owns everything in the USA and wants more.

Larry Fink is living proof of the banality of evil, an early pioneer of mortgage-backed securities, which nearly blew up the global banking system in 2008-09, after which he pioneered the wholesale purchasing of foreclosed houses by hedge funds. Neat trick. Cornered the market on all the inventory, so, now, nobody under age-fifty in America can afford to buy a house — but you can rent one from BlackRock!

Larry Fink of BlackRock and the World Economic Forum

Larry Fink landed as interim head of the WEF largely because BlackRock has been espousing Klaus Schwab’s ideas about “Stakeholder Capitalism,” which allows global corporations to pretend that they have beneficent “societal purpose” while they go about ass-raping the common folk of Western Civ. Climate change and green new deals top that agenda, along with diversity, equity, and inclusion and additional bullshit about “environment, social, and governance factors” (ESG) in its global strategies portfolio — meaning, mandates for exactly the kind of policies that are destroying Europe’s economies, de-industrialization foremost.

Among the invited speakers at Davos this year: one US President Donald Trump. He is going to kill them with kindness, a tongue-bath of Trumpian compliments — you are the greatest. . . beautiful leaders like the world has never seen before — while he artfully inserts a stiletto in the WEF’s liver. You might not even know that the org is a walking corpse until a few weeks after the Davos meeting shuts down. But Mr. Trump is going to terminate its influence and send a message that the era of globalist shenanigans is over.

The president can point to two demonstration projects.

First, the USA’s acquisition of Greenland one way or another, either ownership or some leasing agreement or revised treaty arrangement. You can be sure that the EU does not like that — big bully America picking on cuddly little Denmark, “the world’s happiest country.” But since they are happily oblivious to Greenland’s strategic importance (vis-a-vis China’s nefarious ambitions there) it is up to America to prepare the game-board. The art of the deal, of course, is making it fait accompli before the targeted property-owner has even entered the discussion. How that works will be a painful discovery for the walking dead Davosanistas.

The second demo will be how the recent arrest of Nicolás Maduro leads to revelations of the globalist conspiracy to interfere in elections here, there, and everywhere. Señor Maduro sold his Smartmatic system to all comers, and you can bet that the plea bargain talks are already underway in Brooklyn (if not already concluded). Yes, it is our old friend, the Kraken, which is a related species of giant squid to the vampire variety convened in Davos.

The Kraken breeches…

This election fraud business is really consequential. It redounds to the criminality of the Democratic Party that had the impudence to jam an enfeebled marionette, “Joe Biden,” into the Oval Office, allowing a treasonous cabal of nihilists to nearly wreck the country. The massive evidence of that crime was clumsily suppressed by the cabal and its allies in the news business.

But it is surfacing again, now with Señor Maduro’s imprimatur, and it will turn into a force five storm off the coast of Florida as grand juries in Fort Pierce and Fort Lauderdale were empaneled a week ago to consider the myriad lawless operations mounted against Mr. Trump since 2015, including election fraud. The lawless are going to be rounded up, from Raffensperger in Georgia, to Katie Hobbs in Arizona, to Jocelyn Benson in Michigan, to Jena Griswold in Colorado, to dozens of other officials who were in on the big vote switcheroo of Nov. 3, 2020.

And when the revelations finally come, it will be too much for the foot-dragging villains in the US Senate to continue resisting — they will have to pass the SAVE Act or some legislation like it that requires voter ID, one election day, and paper ballots counted by humans, not machines.

It remains to be seen whether the Democratic Party goes extinct because of its exposed, widespread criminality, or because it simply can’t win an election without massive ballot fraud.

Washed-up former CNN host Don Lemon has been put on notice by the U.S. Department of Justice over claims that he joined a far-left group of anti-ICE protesters who stormed a Sunday church service in St. Paul, Minnesota.

“A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service,” Harmeet Dhillon, the DoJ’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, wrote on X.

“You [Lemon] are on notice!” Dhillon wrote. In a separate post, she said that the FBI has been “activated” and accused the left-wing mob of “desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”

She also said, “The DoJ’s Civil Rights division is investigating the potential violations of the federal FACE Act by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers.”

The @CivilRights is investigating the potential violations of the federal FACE Act by these people desecrating a house of worship and interfering with Christian worshippers. @AGPamBondi https://t.co/uZBBv1iuuH

— AAGHarmeetDhillon (@AAGDhillon) January 18, 2026

Dozens of left-wing activists, some potentially paid agitators and others who admitted they were from out of town, stormed the Cities Church sanctuary on Sunday after believing that one of the pastors was the acting director of ICE’s St. Paul field office.

Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote: “I just spoke to the pastor in Minnesota whose church was targeted. Attacks against law enforcement and the intimidation of Christians are being met with the full force of federal law. If state leaders refuse to act responsibly to prevent lawlessness, this Department of Justice will remain mobilized to prosecute federal crimes and ensure that the rule of law prevails.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned: “President Trump will not tolerate the intimidation and harassment of Christians in their sacred places of worship.”

Baptist minister Paul Chappell condemned Lemon and the left-wing activists:

We condemn the actions of Don Lemon and the group of activists who stormed Cities Church today in St. Paul, Minnesota, in clear violation of the FACE Act. Christians everywhere should demand that the Department of Justice arrest those who participated. We must protect religious liberty in this country.

We condemn the actions of Don Lemon and the group of activists who stormed Cities Church today in St. Paul, Minnesota, in clear violation of the FACE Act. Christians everywhere should demand that the Department of Justice arrest those who participated. We must protect religious… pic.twitter.com/YlkjJC3YCv

— Paul Chappell (@PaulChappell) January 19, 2026

Left-wing violence in Democrat-run blue cities in America is absolutely alarming. The president last week threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to restore order in Minneapolis after dark-money funded nonprofits and militant left-wing groups mounted pressure campaigns to impede federal deportation operations of criminal illegal aliens.

Meanwhile, left-wing Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has demanded the troops “get the f*** out of Minneapolis.” The mayor did admit in a television interview about a network of nonprofits operating a pressure campaign against the federal government.

POLITICAL VIOLENCE: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey refuses to reveal the identities of the NGOs he’s working with to organize protests in his city. The DOJ is investigating the groups with funding and directives from Soros and CCP-linked NGOs. pic.twitter.com/C9cWgIZ5VN

— @amuse (@amuse) January 8, 2026

Trump has sent 3,000 ICE agents to the sanctuary city, with 1,500 troops on standby if social unrest worsens.

What’s important to understand is that if temperatures hadn’t been averaging around 10F, the Democratic Party and its billionaire-funded NGO network would have unleashed riots and chaos if temperatures had been just a bit warmer. This is a warning that Democrats are preparing to unleash chaos come spring, whether protests, riots, and whatever else, as we’ve warned – this is part of a color-revolution operation. This is highly organized and structured.

Related:

• NYC Socialists Prepare Mass Mobilization Of 4,000 Anti-ICE Army

Why a left-wing mob and a former CNN host are roaming a sanctuary city hunting for a church pastor sounds like something that would only happen under Marxist regimes in third-world countries.

Lemon, in damage control mode, calls everything that happened “fake news” … 

NEW: Don Lemon blames the organizer of the group who stormed the MN church after the DOJ launched an investigation into the incident.

Lemon, who uploaded a video of himself defending the mob from inside the church, says he was simply engaged in “an act of journalism.”

“Why… pic.twitter.com/t0Fi2SGLiZ

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) January 19, 2026

Let’s not forget that even the deep state publication The Atlantic had to admit an uncomfortable truth for Democrats: “Left-Wing Terrorism Is on the Rise.”

Submitted by Tight Spreads

The DOE has been flooding their sites with white-papers and latest Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap (FS&T Roadmap) are not just a scientific plan, but an industrial policy designed to transition fusion from the laboratory to the commercial market by the mid-2030s. The DOE has prioritized its actions to align with the aggressive “fast-track” development cycles of nuclear fission and fusion companies:

Near-Term (Next 2-3 Years): Digitalization & Infrastructure Prep

• AI-Fusion Convergence: Launch the AI-Fusion Digital Convergence Platform to use machine learning to speed up materials discovery and predict plasma behavior.

• Infrastructure Start: Build small-to-medium test facilities and complete the design for large-scale “First-of-a-Kind” (FOAK) facilities.

• Regulatory Frameworks: Finalize licensing and safety standards to give investors, consumers, and citizens alike certainty on how these plants will be regulated.

Mid-Term (3-5 Years): Prototype Integration

• Pilot Plant Construction: Support the private sector in constructing the first fusion pilot plants (FPPs).

• Fuel & Materials Testing: Delivery of integration platforms for testing tritium fuel cycles and materials under intense radiation.

• Supply Chain Seeding: Support domestic manufacturing for high-heat components and superconducting magnets.

Long-Term (5-10 Years): Grid Delivery & Scale-Up

• Commercial Operation: The first fleet of pilot plants begins delivering power to the grid.

• Commercial Maturity: Expand public infrastructure to support a global market, focusing on lowering the levelized cost of energy to make fusion competitive with other generation technologies today.

The Six Core Technical Challenge Areas

These are the gaps the DOE is prioritizing through its public research budget to ensure relevant companies succeed.

1. Structural Materials: Developing metals that won’t become brittle or weak after years of intense neutron bombardment. Metals such as Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic (RAFM) steels can withstand intense neutron damage without swelling or becoming brittle.

2. Plasma-Facing Components (PFCs): Creating “first walls” that can survive heat fluxes equivalent to the surface of the sun.

3. Confinement Systems: Optimizing magnets and lasers to hold the superheated fuel stable for long periods. Relevant companies: BRKR, COHR

4. Fuel Cycle & Tritium Processing: Establishing a closed loop fuel system to breed, recover, and recycle tritium fuel, as it is extremely scarce in nature. Relevant companies: OKLO, ASPI, BWXT

5. Blankets: Engineering the wrapper around the reactor that captures heat for electricity and breeds the fuel.

6. Plant Engineering & Integration: Linking a fusion reactor to standard turbines and maintenance via robotics. Relevant companies: NVDA, IBM

The Future of Energy: Understanding the Mechanics of Fusion

To grasp the next frontier of the energy transition, we need to distinguish between the nuclear power we use today and the “holy grail” of energy: Nuclear Fusion. Nuclear fusion is the process of combining two light atomic nuclei to form a single, heavier nucleus. This process releases a massive amount of energy as it typically uses two hydrogen isotopes for fuel: Deuterium and Tritium (D-T fuel). Nuclear Fission is the splitting of heavy atoms, such as the current method of commercial nuclear power plants with Uranium.

What is Plasma?

We are typically taught that there are three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. Plasma is the fourth state, and it is the most common form of matter in the visible universe. Plasma is created when a gas is heated to such extreme temperatures that the electrons are stripped away from their parent atoms. This results in an “ionized” gas—a hot, soup-like mixture of free-moving positively charged nuclei (ions) and negatively charged electrons. It is highly conductive and can be manipulated and shaped by magnetic fields. This characteristic is the lynchpin of modern fusion reactor design.

Plasma in a fusion fusion reactor:

Plasma’s Significance in a Fusion Reactor

In a fusion reactor, plasma is not just a byproduct; it is the reaction medium itself. It plays three critical roles toward enabling fusion energy:

• The Coulomb Barrier: Atomic nuclei are positively charged and naturally repel one another. To overcome this “Coulomb Barrier,” the fuel is heated into a plasma state, providing the extreme kinetic energy necessary for the nuclei to collide and fuse.

• Magnetic Confinement: Because no physical material can withstand fusion temperatures (upwards of 150 million degrees Celsius), the plasma must be suspended in mid-air. Scientists use the plasma’s electromagnetic properties to hold it in place using powerful superconducting magnets.

• Self-Sufficiency: The ultimate goal is to achieve a burning plasma. This is a self-sufficient state where the heat generated by the fusion reactions themselves maintains the required temperature, eliminating the need for external heating.

Plasma as a medium in a Tokamak Fusion Reactor:

The Role of Materials in Fusion Architectures

Structural materials form the physical vessel and internal supports of a fusion plant. Materials must withstand unprecedented neutron flux, high thermal loads, and corrosive environments while maintaining the precise vacuum required for plasma stability.

Materials that are prioritized include Reduced Activation Ferritic Martensitic (RAFM) steels and vanadium alloys. These are engineered to minimize long-lived radioactive waste, ensuring that the structural “backbone” of either machine doesn’t remain hazardous for centuries after the plant is decommissioned. Easily produced RAFM steels and vanadium alloys strategically provide supply chain independence, dual-use applications in defense and aerospace, and enable closed fuel cycles to enhance commercial viability.

Plasma-Facing Components (PFCs) & Interactions

PFCs are the “first wall” materials that directly interact with the 100-million-degree plasma. They must exhaust extreme heat without contaminating the reaction. Tungsten, a critical material for PFCs, is a key focus of domestic mineral security.

Layers of a fusion reactor:

Magnetic and Inertial Confinement Fusion

The DOE’s FS&T Roadmap follows a dual-track approach pursuing two distinct methods to contain fusion: Magnetic Confinement Fusion & Inertial Confinement Fusion.

Magnetic Confinement Fusion: This method utilizes High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) magnets to create powerful magnetic “bottles.” These magnets suspend and stabilize the superheated plasma, preventing it from touching the reactor walls. There are two primary magnetic confinement architectures: Tokamaks and Stellarators:

• Tokamaks: These are doughnut-shaped devices that use a combination of external magnets and an internal electrical current flowing through the plasma to maintain stability.

• Stellarators: These use a complex, twisted ring of external coils to confine the plasma without needing an internal current. While more stable than Tokamaks, the geometry of a Stellarator is very intricate.

Companies that produce HTS magnets that make compact fusion possible:

• Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR): Known for scientific instruments, BRKR additionally serves as a critical industrial partner to the DOE through its subsidiary Bruker Energy & Supercon Technologies (BEST). BEST is known for its the stewardship of HTS magnet technology engineering. In the pursuit of next-generation energy solutions, BRKR has been a critical supplier of advanced Niobium-Tin and High-Temperature Superconductor (HTS) conductors for several high-stakes DOE initiatives: fusion energy, accelerator upgrades, and NMR proving grounds (relevant for testing the accuracy of isotope purities).

Inertial Confinement Fusion: This approach takes a “pulsed” path, using high-energy lasers to rapidly compress tiny fuel pellets. This intense compression triggers a series of micro-explosions that ignite the plasma, creating a steady stream of energy production similar to the internal combustion of an engine.

Inertial fusion requires pulsed lasers of incredible power and precision. The companies that build the optical components and high-power diodes are the primary enablers:

• Coherent Corp. (NYSE: COHR): A critical business in this sector. Their LEAP excimer laser platform is actually used by REBCO manufacturers to deposit the superconducting layers onto the tape. Furthermore, they provide high-power diode lasers essential for pumping the large-scale lasers used in fusion experiments.
• Syntec Optics (NASDAQ: OPTX): A U.S.-based manufacturer of precision optics. They provide the specialized lenses and mirrors required for high-energy laser systems.

Inertial Confinement Fusion:

The race for fusion is one of the key drivers for the U.S. massive push to securitize a domestic rare earth and advanced materials supply chain. A primary driver is the production of HTS magnets, which rely on Rare-Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO). These specialized materials allow for more compact and efficient fusion reactors, but their utility extends far beyond energy; REBCO technology is also essential for next-generation MRI machines and high-speed maglev rail systems.

The Fuel Cycle & Tritium Breeding

The DOE is pursuing a “closed-loop” fuel cycle where fusion and fast reactors breed their own tritium fuel using lithium-containing blankets. Because tritium is rare and radioactive, the FS&T Roadmap emphasizes advanced accountancy and Direct Internal Recycling to minimize inventory. The DOE is prioritizing Tritium as a vital material for the U.S. nuclear stockpile, critical for national defense and nonproliferation. Establishing a domestic supply of light isotopes—specifically Lithium-6, Tritium, and Deuterium for fusion breeding and fuel—ensures that the U.S. does not depend on international sources for its most critical nuclear assets.

Companies that are produce light isotopes and/or have breeder reactor capabilities include:

ASP Isotopes (ASPI): ASPI hopes to contribute to Li-6 supply in 2026/2027, as mentioned in their shareholder letter from September of 2025:

“There is a considerable amount of customer demand for HALEU, as well as Lithium-6 and Lithium-7. We expect to have the first Lithium-6 plant operational during 2026, subject to the timely receipt of all required permits and licenses.”

BWXT & The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): As of late 2025, TVA has emerged as the primary “Tritium Hub.” Leveraging their experience producing Tritium for the nuclear stockpile at Watts Bar, TVA is exploring the use of the BWRX-300 SMR to host Tritium-Producing Burnable Absorber Rods. By replacing standard neutron absorbers with lithium-based rods, these SMRs can “harvest” Tritium as a byproduct of normal electricity generation.

Oklo (Aurora Powerhouse and Atomic Alchemy): While Oklo’s primary Aurora powerhouse is a fast fission reactor capable of breeding tritium, its radioisotope pilot facility and VIPR technology have capabilities inclusive of producing specialized the “light isotopes” used in the breeder blanket and fuel. As of early 2026, Oklo’s subsidiary, Atomic Alchemy, has transitioned into active execution under a DOE Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) to fast track their radioisotope business and production.

TerraPower (Natrium): As a similar reactor design to the Aurora Powerhouse, the Natrium reactor is an ideal candidate for isotope production. Fast reactors can irradiate lithium targets, potentially producing Tritium at a much higher rate than traditional light-water reactors.

Holtec (SMR-300): Holtec has positioned its SMR as a multipurpose tool. Their recent filings suggest that their reactors at the Palisades site could be configured with specialized “target” assemblies to produce various isotopes, including Tritium, for both commercial fusion and medical use.

Blanket Science and Technology

The blanket of a reactor in the latest FS&T Roadmap has been reimagined as the “Energy Engine” of the fusion power plant. While the plasma provides the environment for the reaction, the blanket is the critical interface where that reaction is converted into tangible products: usable heat for the electrical grid and essential fuel for the reactor’s continued operation. This massive component surrounds the fusion core and serves three non-negotiable functions:

1. It facilitates energy conversion by capturing high-energy neutrons—which carry approximately 80% of the fusion energy—and converting their kinetic energy into thermal heat.

2. It enables tritium breeding by using those same neutrons to strike lithium-6 atoms, transmuting them into Tritium.

3. It acts as a radiation shield, protecting delicate superconducting magnets and exterior plant components from intense neutron flux to ensure structural longevity.

One of the most significant strategic shifts in the 2025 Roadmap is the explicit move to leverage advanced fission R&D to accelerate these fusion milestones. The molten salts used in fusion blankets are nearly identical to the coolants required for Generation-IV Fission Molten Salt Reactors. By aligning these technologies, the DOE is creating a unified domestic supply chain where purification systems, high-temperature pumps, and specialized alloys developed for advanced fission can be utilized directly in the fusion sector.

Plant Engineering & Systems Integration

This challenge focuses on the Balance of Plant (BOP)—the turbines, heat exchangers, and robotic maintenance systems that turn a “fusion engine” into a grid-ready power plant. The priority is reliability, availability, maintainability, and inspectability. Here, the AI-fusion digital convergence becomes the primary tool. AI-enabled “Digital Twins” will manage the plant’s complex systems in real-time, just as they optimize hyperscale data centers today. This creates a massive opportunity for the AI ecosystem; companies like NVIDIA and IBM are already leading efforts (such as Stellar-AI) to provide the supercomputing clusters needed for these simulations.

Many often focus on the “Fusion Core,” but the Balance of Plant is where 50% of the capital cost lives. This is the traditional engineering—turbines, heat exchangers, and cooling systems—that turns heat into electricity. Standard steam turbines may not be efficient enough. This requires innovations such as Supercritical CO2 turbines which are developed by only a handful of agencies and almost exclusively by Oklo commercially. These turbines are smaller and more efficient than steam, and are being prioritized to keep the plant footprint small.

* * *

Read more at the TightSpreads substack

US natural gas futures erupted Monday morning as some of the coldest Arctic air of the Northern Hemisphere winter season poured into the eastern half of the Lower 48. Snow threats across the region are increasing through the end of the month.

Average temperatures across Washington, DC, are plunging and could average around 10°F by the weekend. This cold blast is far more extreme than the one in the first half of December. Notably, this period typically coincides with the most intense part of winter.

“DANGEROUS COLD is likely on Saturday across much of the United States, with wind chills forecasted to fall below zero for over 100 million people,” weather observer Max Velocity wrote on X. “Additionally, wind chills could be as low as 60 DEGREES below zero in the far Northern Plains at this same time. This dangerous cold will likely set up a rare Southern USA Winter Storm on Friday and Saturday.”

DANGEROUS COLD is likely on Saturday across much of the United States, with wind chills forecasted to fall below zero for over 100 million people.

Additionally, wind chills could be as low as 60 DEGREES below zero in the far Northern Plains at this same time. This dangerous cold… pic.twitter.com/xbtm2nsQdv

— Max Velocity (@MaxVelocityWX) January 19, 2026

Private weather forecaster BAM Weather warns of increasing risks of winter activity across the eastern half of the US this week:

A storm will develep Friday night into Saturday across the deep south and track northeast with a tap to the Gulf of America allowing plentiful moisture to produce a large area of a high impact winter storm. Strong high pressure will come south from Canada and bring Arctic air with it allowing there to be plenty of cold air available to produce snow and ice across several thousands of miles in the central and eastern US.

Winter Storm Scenario #1 

Winter Storm Scenario #2

The cold blast has sent heating demand through the roof.

NatGas futures in the US are up 18% as of early Monday, the largest intra-day jump since October 2024.

NatGas prices surging again.

Cold air is in place. The weather pattern is set.

Map showing the chances for at least three inches of snow through Monday.

That’s a lot of real estate ❄️

High chances for accumulating snow in the Southern Plains, Mid-South, Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic this weekend. Lots of ice possible in the South. pic.twitter.com/yrtTYn4h8F

— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) January 19, 2026

All eyes are on the next possible major snowstorm targeting the Southern Plains, Mid-South, Appalachians, and Mid-Atlantic by next week.

By Benjamin Picton, senior markets strategist at Rabobank

If Mighty Ducks 2 taught me anything it’s that “Greenland is covered with ice, and Iceland is very nice.” While that might be a handy geographic mnemonic, for the purposes of US national security policy it is, in fact, Greenland that is very nice..

Over the weekend President Trump announced additional tariffs of 10% from February 1st – rising to 25% from the 1st of June – for eight European countries resisting US efforts to acquire Greenland. The affected countries are Denmark, France, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Trump said via Truth social that the tariffs would remain in place until a deal for the sale of Greenland to the United States is concluded. Consequently, gold is hitting fresh record highs, long yields are rising, equity futures point negative and both Cable and EURUSD have opened the Asian session well bid. Japanese long yields are surging for idiosyncratic reasons, but should be getting high enough to worry even the most sedate money managers.

One can probably imagine the reaction in European capitals. The Financial Times is reporting that the EU is preparing €93bn in retaliatory tariffs to give European leaders “leverage” in negotiations with Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week. Emmanuel Macron was quick out of the gates with a representative of his office saying that the French President will be arguing for the EU to deploy its much-vaunted ‘trade bazooka’ (known less sensationally as the anti-coercion instrument) while Politico quotes former French diplomat Jeremie Gallon as saying “I am convinced that we must not give in… Resisting a new attempt at humiliation and vassalization is the only way Europe can finally assert itself as a geopolitical actor.”

Resistance is all well and good, but effective resistance requires the means to resist – and Europe does not have it. An ECB report released in February of last year noted that 61% of all card payments in Europe are processed by international (read: US) card schemes while thirteen EU countries are solely reliant on international schemes like Visa, Mastercard and ApplePay for electronic payment processing.

Likewise, since the start of the war in Ukraine Europe has become dependent on American energy as it attempts wean itself off Russian supplies. Before the war it was already dependent on the Eurodollar market for capital and on the American consumer for export earnings as deflation and state mercantilism in China diminished that alternative.

Over the weekend German Chancellor Merz conceded that Germany’s shutdown of its nuclear energy industry was a “serious strategic mistake” that has left the country with insufficient energy generation capacity. As a consequence of cumulative strategic mistakes, European industry is now being squeezed between the pincers of loss of input sovereignty and loss export markets. Loss of domestic industry is another way of saying loss of industrial sovereignty (for more on that, see Sky News’s excellent exposé on the parlous state of UK industry) – and industrial sovereignty is requisite for dreams of strategic autonomy.

Furthermore – and though it hardly bears saying – the EU under NATO remains a US garrison state with major US bases in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Belgium, Portugal, Greece and Norway. Without the US security umbrella, the EU nuclear deterrent collapses into internecine politicking over France’s willingness to play guarantor for other member states who – once upon a time – France was sceptical about admitting to the EU in the first place. This is important in a context where – as ECB’s Kazaks pointed out overnight – Europe is already at war with Russia.

Herein lies the Achilles Heel for Europe in seeking genuine strategic autonomy: the lack of political union makes it all too easy for great powers like the United States or China play member states off against each other to get what they want. Already we can see Italy’s Georgia Meloni taking the opposite approach to Macron by striking a much more conciliatory tone towards the Americans, framing recent deployments of European troops to the territory as a ‘misunderstanding’ and seeking to de-escalate. In this respect, Europe is the new Balkans that risks becoming the plaything of empires.

Perhaps Canada offers an example of an alternative approach? Mark Carney just made the first visit to China by a Canadian Prime Minister in almost a decade. Canada’s name has been mud in Beijing for years after the former Trudeau government complied with a US warrant for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in 2019. Trudeau then placed substantial tariffs on imports of Chinese steel, aluminium and electric vehicles – where duties were set at 100% for the latter.

Carney has now signed a deal with China to lower EV tariffs to 6.1% up to an annual quota of 49,000 vehicles. In return China will drop tariffs on Canadian canola to 15%. Having previously described China as the greatest threat to Canada’s national security, Carney is now saying that the relations with the Middle Kingdom are more predictable than relations with the United States, and is making a show of cozying up to Beijing.

As one observer puts it on X, Carney’s pivot is a “vintage Gaullist move.” Carney is attempting to leverage Trump by signing deals with Beijing and even flirting with the idea of sending Canadian troops to Greenland. With Chinese influence having been ejected unceremoniously from Venezuela, and under pressure in the Panama Canal, the last thing the Trump administration would want is for Canada to offer China another geopolitical toehold in the Western hemisphere. Carney offering that toehold in the Arctic, directly adjacent to Greenland, must be particularly ‘de-Gaulling’ for Trump, who is so far calling the bluff by shrugging his shoulders.

However, this strategy is incredibly high risk. Not only does Carney’s backdown on Chinese EVs threaten Canada’s own auto industry (see criticism from Ontario Premier Doug Ford here), but there is always the chance that poking the (US) bear might actually elicit a response from the bear.

Canada sends ~75% of its goods exports to the United States while the United States is by far the largest supplier of armaments to Canada. Consequently, Carney will be hoping that Trump’s response is to offer him a better deal than Xi Jinping is willing to give. However, with the USMCA trade agreement up for renegotiation and the US back in a Great Power frame of mind, Carney runs the risk that Donald Trump might instead decide that Canada is also very nice…

Stocks sold off and gold hit a new record as trade tensions between the US and Europe erupted over Trump’s push to take control of Greenland (which we learn today is due to Norway’s snub of Trump for the Nobel peace prize). While US cash markets are closed for the MLK holiday, S&P futures dropped 1.1% and Nasdaq futures tumbled 1.4%, while Europe’s Stoxx 600 was on track for its worst day in two months led by luxury stocks and German automakers as BMW dropped 3%. The dollar retreated 0.2%, while the Swiss franc outperformed. Gold topped $4,670 an ounce. US markets are shut today for a public holiday.

In corporate news Nvidia supplier Micron Technology said an ongoing memory chip shortage has accelerated over the past quarter and reiterated that the crunch will last beyond this year due to a surge in demand for high-end semiconductors required for AI infrastructure.

• Apple Inc. retook the top spot in China after iPhone shipments jumped 28% during the holiday quarter despite a worsening shortage of vital memory chips, according to Counterpoint Research.
• Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said the electric carmaker will resume work on the Dojo3 project after making progress on the design of its AI5 chip.
• Bayer AG’s shares surged after the US Supreme Court said it would hear the company’s appeal in a Roundup case that could undercut thousands of lawsuits tied to the weedkiller.

Stocks around the world were knocked lower by Trump’s threat to impose levies on countries opposing his bid to assert authority over Greenland, which risks reigniting the tariff-fueled volatility that rattled markets in the early months of his second term. The selloff deepened as Monday’s session wore on after European officials signaled they were unlikely to back down and were considering retaliation. 

“Markets are sensitive to the dynamic developments regarding new tariffs as a basis for negotiating security issues,” said Guillermo Hernandez Sampere, head of trading at MPPM. “Rising uncertainty, as seen last year, will weigh on all markets.”

The standoff is coming at a time when risk appetite has been supported by resilient corporate earnings and sustained investment in artificial intelligence. The outlook will hinge in part on the European Union’s response, with the bloc in talks to impose tariffs on €93 billion of US goods. 

“The key element to watch in the coming days is whether the message translates into formal measures or remains purely rhetorical, which would make a clear difference in the market reaction,” said Francisco Simón, European head of strategy at Santander Asset Management.

The tensions are also adding to the significance of a pending US Supreme Court ruling on some of Trump’s earlier tariffs, with a decision possible as soon as Tuesday.

“It is not about whether the US can roughly maintain its tariff levels,” wrote Krishna Guha, head of central bank strategy at Evercore ISI. It is “rather about whether Trump has to use regular order to impose tariffs, reducing uncertainty and his ability to weaponize tariffs for geopolitical purposes.”

Trump’s threats raise the possibility of European governments trimming their holdings of US assets, supporting the euro, according to George Saravelos, Deutsche Bank’s global head of FX research. As we reported last night, Europe is the US’s largest lender with its countries owning $8 trillion of US bonds and equities, almost twice as much as the rest of the world combined. 

“The key thing to watch will be whether the EU decides to activate its anti-coercion instrument,” Saravelos said. “It is a weaponization of capital, rather than trade flows, that would by far be the most disruptive to markets.”

While Trump’s threats have reignited the ‘Sell America’ trade, some traders expect the swings to be short-lived.

“My working assumption is that an ‘off-ramp’ from these threats will soon be found,” said Michael Brown, senior research strategist at Pepperstone. “With the fundamental bull case for risk still a resilient one, and providing that any European retaliation remains largely rhetorical, I would view equity dips as buying opportunities.” 

In Europe, the Stoxx 600 is down 1.3%, on track for its worst day in two months. Autos & parts, luxury and tech are seeing a brunt of the selling pressure. There is no US cash trading today, however, futures are notably weaker with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq contracts down 1.1% and 1.5%, respectively.  Here are the biggest movers Monday:

• D’Ieteren shares gain as much as 9.2% after the auto distributor announced that its Belron unit had successfully repriced a loan, while the Financial Times reported that Belron was in talks on a stock market listing
• Bayer shares rise as much as 8.4% after the US Supreme Court agreed to hear the German company’s appeal taking aim at thousands of lawsuits targeting Roundup weedkiller for causing cancer
• Ageas shares rise as much as 3.3%, the most since June, after the Belgian health insurance firm boosted its net operating profit guidance for the full year, beating the average analyst estimate
• ASM International shares rise as much as 2.5%, bucking a decline in Europe’s tech sector, after the chip equipment firm reported preliminary orders well ahead of consensus estimates, while seeing a “healthy increase” in 1Q revenue versus 4Q
• Europe’s tariff-exposed sectors — including autos, drinks and shipping — are trading lower on Monday, after President Donald Trump announced on Saturday a new 10% levy on eight countries opposed to his plans to seize Greenland
• LVMH drops as much as 4.8%, and is among the weakest members of the Stoxx 600 consumer products and services index on Monday, as Morgan Stanley downgrades to equal-weight
• Adidas shares fall as much as 4.8% to the lowest level since November, after Bank of America forecast the sportwear retailer’s fourth-quarter sales to undershoot market expectations
• Banca Generali shares declined as much as 5.2% in Milan trading, the most since Aug. 21, after Kepler Cheuvreux analysts cut the recommendation on the stock to hold from buy, ahead of the 2025 results

Asian stocks erased an early decline, as gains in South Korea and Taiwan defied broader market concerns over the latest tariff threats from Trump’s administration. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fluctuated in a narrow range, after capping its best week since early October. Benchmarks declined in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and India, amid global risk-off trading after Trump announced new levies on goods from European countries that have rallied to support Greenland. The tech-heavy markets of South Korea and Taiwan shrugged off the regional selloff, extending rallies driven in large part by investor optimism over artificial intelligence demand. TSMC and SK Hynix rose, even after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Friday that Korean and Taiwanese companies that aren’t investing in the US may face up to 100% tariffs.

In rates, bunds are a touch higher, coinciding with a decline in European natural gas futures, which are trimming last week’s rally. UST and gilt futures are slightly weaker. The yield on 30-year Japanese debt climbed 11 basis points to 3.58%, while rates on 10- and 20-year notes rose to their highest levels since 1999.

In FX, the dollar is softer versus most peers with the Bloomberg Dollar Index down 0.1%. The euro has been resilient in the face of the trade conflict, but the Swedish krona and Norwegian krone are both weaker. The Swiss franc tops G-10 currencies while the yen has seen little follow-through from Japanese PM Takaichi’s widely-expected decision to call an election for Feb. 8.

In commodities, the latest tariff flight-to-quality triggered further record highs for spot gold and silver, up 1.5% and 3.5% respectively. Bitcoin is down by 2.5%.

Top Overnight News

• US President Trump hit 8 European countries with a 10% tariff, effective February 1st, over Greenland. The 8 countries include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, Finland, the Netherlands and the UK. The tariff will be increased to 25% on June 1st, unless a deal is reached for the purchase of Greenland.
• Pentagon readies 1,500 troops for potential Minnesota deployment: RTRS
• Trump Invited Putin to Join Gaza ‘Board of Peace,’ Kremlin Says: BBG
• The EU is preparing €93bln of tariffs on the US or restrict American companies’ from the European market, in retaliation to the latest threat by US President Trump as European leaders meet for an emergency meeting on Thursday: FT
• French President Macron plans to urge the EU to use the Anti Coercion Instrument to retaliate against US President Trump’s new 10% tariff on European countries: FT 
• Germany Says Trump Reached Red Line With Greenland Threat: BBG
• Denmark Officials Skip WEF Over Trump’s Greenland Threats: BBG
• Trump’s Greenland threat puts Europe Inc back in tariff crosshairs: RTRS
• Canada Weighs Sending Troops to Greenland Despite Tariff Threat: BBG
• At least 39 dead in Spain after two high speed trains collide: RTRS
• The EU is proposing to phase out Chinese-made equipment from critical infrastructure in a move to revamp its security and tech policy: FT
• Cook case could lead to ’cause’ protections for Fed, or a roadmap for dismissals: RTRS
• Qatar Wealth Fund CEO Signals Nuanced Approach to AI Investments: BBG
• Hohn Breaks Citadel’s Record With $18.9 Billion Trading Profit: BBG
• Jane Street India’s Trading Gains Soared 494% Before Curbs: BBG
• Japan PM Takaichi to call Feb 8 snap election on spending, tax cuts and defence: RTRS
• Jeremy Grantham Says AI Is Indeed a Classic Market Bubble: BBG
• Guatemalan prison hostages freed, president declares state of siege: RTRS
• Trump Says Mamdani Facing ‘Big Test’ From NYSE’s Texas Trading Outpost: BBG

Trade/Tariffs

• Trump links Greenland threat to Nobel Peace Prize snub, EU eyes trade retaliation: Reuters
• The US is seeking a rare-earth deal with Brazil as Washington is looking for alternative sources away from China, the FT reports citing sources.
• The EU is proposing to phase out Chinese-made equipment from critical infrastructure in a move to revamp its security and tech policy, the FT reports.
• South Korea’s Trade Ministry said South Korea and China are to hold a new round of free-trade negotiations on services and investment.
• US President Trump, on Carney in China, said it’s OK for him to get a deal with China and if he can get a deal with China, he should do that.
• Brazilian President Lula said he wants to build new partnerships with Mexico, Canada, Vietnam, Japan, and China.

As news began breaking very early Monday of President Trump’s scathing letter to Norway over the country’s failure to award him the Nobel Peace Prize, some pundits and journalists immediately questioned whether it is real.

But confirmation came soon after. In the letter addressed to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, Trump explained that he no longer feels obligated to focus exclusively on peace, while repeating his intent for US control over Greenland. In essence he lays out that no Nobel might turn into no Greenland for Europe (as Denmark exercises control over the resource-rich autonomous territory).

“Dear Jonas: Since your country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for stopping 8 wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of peace, although it will always be dominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States,” the US President wrote.

Such is an example of kind of over the top and trolling-style rhetoric in the letter which has given people pause, questioning its authenticity. 

“Denmark cannot protect this land from Russia or China… The world is not secure unless we have complete and total control of Greenland,” he added.

As for whether Trump indeed wrote it, and concerning the bombastic letter’s authenticity, Forbes has noted that “According to PBS Newshour’s Nick Schifrin, who first reported on the matter, the letter has been forwarded by the National Security Council staff to multiple European ambassadors in Washington.”

The President also in the letter takes the opportunity to bash Denmark, saying it cannot protect Greenland from Russia or China, and again questioned its legal rights to Greenland: “There are no written documents; it’s only that a boat landed there hundreds of years ago, but we had boats landing there, also.”

The message in full, as first reported by a PBS correspondent:

Norway’s PM Store has since explained that letter came in response to a joint message he had earlier sent to Trump together with Finnish President Alexander Stubb, rejecting White House plans to impose higher tariffs on Scandinavian countries. Other leading EU countries have also complained and are pushing back publicly:

MERZ: GERMANY, EU ALLIES DETERMINED TO AVOID TARIFF ESCALATION

“We pointed out the need to de-escalate the exchange and requested a phone call between President Trump, President Stubb and myself,” Store said, and reiterated Norway’s stance on Greenland is unchanged.

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity.news,

Books featuring graphic nudity and pushing contested LGBTQ+ ideologies are currently brazenly displayed in a children’s reading room at London’s Young V&A museum, sparking outrage from parents who see it as a direct threat to childhood innocence.

One visitor branded the material “a useful tool for paedos to groom children,” highlighting the dangerous normalization of adult themes in spaces meant for kids.

The setup, in the heart of Bethnal Green, East London, mixes classics like The Gruffalo and Peter Pan with titles that expose young eyes to naked adults and advanced sexual concepts. The museum, chaired by Keir Starmer’s chief economic adviser Minouche Shafik and run by former Labour MP Sir Tristram Hunt defends the choices as “age appropriate,” but critics aren’t buying it.

‘Willies aren’t silly’, V&A tells children in book blasted as ‘a tool for paedos’ https://t.co/gHOAZSqQK8

— Daily Mail (@DailyMail) January 18, 2026

The Daily Mail notes that one picture book, It Isn’t Rude To Be Nude, sits prominently at the front of the room, featuring a drawing of a naked man sprawled across its opening pages. Other illustrations include nude adults with exposed genitalia, accompanied by captions like “willies aren’t silly” next to drawings of penises.

The cover boldly states “contains nakedness – and that’s OK!” Images from the book’s interior include pages of diverse bums and nipples with messages like “Everyone has a bum” and “Nipples are normal.”

Parents visiting the museum expressed shock. One said: “Kids should not tolerate grown men in the nude around them. I was shocked to see it on display at a museum aimed at young kids. An essential part of safeguarding is to alert parents or teachers when strangers even discuss the subject of intimate areas, never mind actually showing them to kids, and here is this book, and a few others in the library, implying to kids that having nude strangers around you is acceptable.”

Another parent described having to “dodge” the “pornographic” books to prevent their toddler from spotting them, calling the selection “psychological warfare” on children.

The controversy extends to another title, Rainbow Revolutionaries, 50 LGBTQ+ People Who Made History, a graphic novel celebrating drag queens and transgender figures while presenting disputed trans theories as fact.

Its glossary defines terms for kids like “gender affirmation surgery” as “surgery that helps trans people feel more comfortable in their body,” “polyamorous: when someone openly has multiple partners at the same time,” and “asexual: not having any or having very low desire for sex.” It also details flags for transgender, pansexual, and gender-queer identities.

Kate Barker, CEO of the charity LGB Alliance, urged “This is grooming in plain sight: an egregious safeguarding failure and the latest example of organisations using the rainbow flag to cloak the sexualisation of children. After recent scandals like Pride in Surrey [a festival whose founder was jailed for child rape], ordinary LGB people are sick of being associated with the TQ+ and their Trojan Horse tactics of using gay rights to gain legitimacy for their sinister goals.”

Shadow equalities secretary Claire Coutinho added: “It is madness that the children’s section of the V&A bans children from wearing costumes but allows them to read about what it means to be ‘polyamorous’ or ‘pansexual’. Cartoons of naked adults saying it ‘isn’t rude to be nude’ are an obvious safeguarding risk.”

Other politically charged books in the mix include Act Now – Kids Fight Climate Change and Rise Up, which spotlight young environmental activists—further injecting leftist agendas into playtime.

A V&A spokesman responded: “The reading room at Young V&A is a free drop-in space for families to enjoy spending time reading together. All the books available have been reviewed by our staff to ensure they are age appropriate and grown-ups can choose which books they read with their children.”

This U.K. debacle mirrors a pattern of leftist efforts to sexualize children that’s plagued the U.S. for years.

As these institutions, often led by elitist ‘progressives’, prioritize ideology over innocence, the real victims are the kids. Safeguarding childhood means rejecting this grooming playbook outright—parents and policymakers must demand accountability to preserve freedom from such manipulative overreach.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Germany – whose chancellor just admitted they made a ‘serious strategic mistake‘ chasing green unicorns when they shut down their nuclear plants – has just forced Lexus to deactivate the remote start feature which pre-warms an owner’s car so they don’t freeze their nethers off first thing in the morning in the winter.

Toyota spokesman Ralph Müller confirmed the measure, telling BILD that the pre-heating feature, which was previously free via MyToyota or Lexus Link Plus apps – is now deactivated on all combustine-engine vehicles across the country, as legislators consider remote engine warm-up “unnecessary running” that creates “avoidable exhaust pollution.” 

What’s more, Toyota has used remote access to disable the function to comply with the order, protecting owners from potential penalties by German authoritarian regulatory enforcers. The feature is still available on pure EVs and plug-in hybrids, which allows for cabin heating without starting the combustion engine. 

🇩🇪‼️🚨 BIG BROTHER: German authorities forced Lexus to turn off the parking heating in Lexus cars! Just when it got cold and people needed it!

Imagine you bought a car and paid for specific features, but the government just turns it off because it’s NOT GREEN!

I’m not joking,… pic.twitter.com/x3wMmwVCNu

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) January 15, 2026

As Gadget Review notes further, Car idling bans stem from Germany’s broader assault on fossil fuel heating systems.

This crackdown connects to Germany’s Building Energy Act, requiring 65% renewable energy in new heating systems by 2024. The law aims to phase out gas and oil heating by 2045, but critics highlight massive costs and slow adoption rates—gas still heats 56% of Germany’s 43 million apartments.

Coalition plans to reform the controversial “heating law” by February 2026 promise more flexibility and technology openness. But car owners are collateral damage in this green transition, where authorities apparently can’t distinguish between heating a building and de-icing a windshield.

Your luxury car just became the latest battlefield in Europe’s climate wars, where bureaucrats decide which buttons work in your own vehicle. The real question isn’t whether remote start causes pollution—it’s whether you still own the features you bought.

Authored by Paul Craig Roberts,

In a democracy, the government in office cannot ban an opposing candidate from running on the grounds that the candidate would win and take the place of the current government.

But that is what President Macron has done to Marine Le Pen.

Le Pen heads the largest political party in France.

She has been banned by a French court from holding office for five years.

This prevents her from competing in the 2027 presidential election, where she has long been considered to be the leading candidate.

The excuse used by the French government to frustrate the popular will is that Le Pen was convicted of “misappropriating EU funds.”

She was convicted of using money intended for her European Union staff for her French staff.

Money, of course, is fungible, and the orchestrated charge succeeded only because the establishment presstitutes hyped it over and over.

Marine Le Pen is a controversial figure with the French establishment because she represents ethnic French nationalism, not the globalism of open borders and multiculturalism, that is, she stands for France, not for a Tower of Babel.

All over Europe the left-wing ideologues have succeeded in associating ethnic nationalism with Nazism.

An effort has been underway for decades to destroy the sovereignty of national states, and to merge them into the European Union.

Le Pen has fought the effort to abolish France, and for her efforts she has been branded a Nazi.

Despite the French establishment’s attempt to demonize her, her party has the largest public support.

Over the years, the European left succeeded in branding national sovereignty “right-wing.” Even the Russian news site RT unthinkingly uses the propaganda term of the European left, thus demonstrating how unaware the Russian media is of the character of their European enemies.

When Le Pen appealed the ruling at the European court of human rights the court side-stepped the issue by ruling that she had not shown an “imminent risk of irreparable harm” to herself.

Of course, the harm was done to French democracy and to the French electorate, an issue that the court avoided.

Clearly “European democracy” stands unified in opposing democracy and has prevented the French people from exercising their will in a presidential election by banning the opposing candidate from running for the presidency.

Le Pen has again appealed and declared “I hope I will be able to convince the judges of my innocence.”

But for the establishment, the question is not one of innocence or guilt.

The the issue is that the European elite intend to prevent any revival of national sovereignty.

The people’s will is no longer tolerated in Western Europe.