“In June 1983, Paramount Studios released a comedy starring Dan Akyroyd and Eddie Murphy which culminates in an attempt by two wealthy commodity brokers to corner … the market in frozen concentrated orange juice futures, of all things. The film was called ‘Trading Places’ …. This was a peculiarly commercial example of Art imitating Life. Three years earlier, Bunker and Herbert Hunt, Texan heirs to an oil fortune, had attempted to corner the market in silver. … Although the current silver market environment would seem to suggest that the story of the Hunt Brothers – wild bull market followed by calamitous crash – is playing out all over again, there are some key distinctions this time around …” (01/06/26)
“Removing Maduro: What is the Point? MAGA Goes Full Neocon: Embracing Lindsey Graham and Imperialism; Trump Influencers Spread Fake Videos as U.S. Government Propaganda.” (01/05/26)
“When Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU high representative for foreign affairs Kaja Kallas said that ‘sovereignty, territorial integrity and discrediting aggression as a tool of statecraft are crucial principles that must be upheld in case of Ukraine and globally.’ These were not mere words. The EU has adopted no less than 19 packages of sanctions against the aggressor — Russia — and allocated almost $200 billion in aid since 2022. Surely one would expect, then, the EU to condemn the U.S. unilateral attack on Venezuela in early days of 2026, resulting in an abduction of its leader Nicolás Maduro? Yet, nothing of the sort happened. In fact, the EU has already demonstrated its selective approach to the international legality when it failed to condemn its violations in Gaza half as vociferously as it did in Ukraine, shredding Europe’s credibility in the Global South and among many European citizens as well.” (01/06/26)
“A Minnesota hotel that wouldn’t allow federal immigration agents to stay there this month is apologizing and saying the refusal violated its own policies. The Department of Homeland Security had accused the global Hilton hotel chain of a ‘coordinated’ effort to refuse service to its employees. Hilton and local operators of the Hampton Inn Lakeville property released statements within hours apologizing and said the messages refusing to serve agents who were focused on immigration enforcement didn’t reflect their policies.” (01/05/26)
Source: Orange County Register
by Patrik S Ward & Abigail R Hall
“In the early hours of January 3, U.S. forces entered and carried out strikes in Venezuela, removing Nicolas Maduro from power. The operation was swift, decisive, and framed as a necessary act — an intervention to combat narco-trafficking, restore order, and free a population suffering under an entrenched dictatorship. We’ve seen this movie before; we know better than to think it will be ‘smooth sailing’ from here. It is worth stating what is obvious: Maduro was a dictator. His government repressed political opposition, hollowed out democratic institutions, and oversaw an economic collapse that drove millions of Venezuelans to flee. Many Venezuelans — though not all — are celebrating his removal. The question is not whether Maduro was a problem. The question is whether the U.S. invasion and forced regime change can provide a long-term solution. History offers a sobering answer.” (01/05/26)
“President Donald Trump’s fans like to cheer on his most audacious moves by declaring, ‘I voted for this.’ It is safe to assume, though, that very few people who pulled the lever for Trump in 2024 expected that he would soon announce that he had seized control over Venezuela. One of Trump’s most popular qualities has always been his supposed opposition to foreign wars, his anti-imperialist isolationism. Yet J. D. Vance, who once wrote an op-ed headlined ‘Trump’s Best Foreign Policy? Not Starting Any Wars,’ now declares the new war in Venezuela to be a glorious and necessary exercise of America Firstism. MAGA is primarily a personality cult, the objectives of which evolve to suit Trump’s capricious moods. Yet his pivot to new wars of conquest is not some shocking reversal.” (01/05/26)
“Switzerland has frozen any assets in the country owned by U.S.-detained Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and others associated with him to ensure that if they were stolen from the Venezuelan people, they can be rightly returned. The asset freeze went immediately into effect when it was announced on Monday, but does not impact members of the current Venezuelan government, Switzerland’s Federal Council said in a statement. The freeze is to prevent funds from leaving the country. In the case that future legal proceedings show that the assets were illicitly acquired, Switzerland said it will ‘endeavor to ensure that they benefit the Venezuelan people.'” (01/06/26)
