Musk’s SpaceX “preparing for flotation that could value it at over $1 trillion”

Source: The Guardian [UK]

“Elon Musk’s space exploration company SpaceX is preparing to list on the stock market next year in a move that could raise more than $25bn (£19bn) and value the business at more than $1tn, according to reports. SpaceX, which designs, builds and launches rockets, is said to have started discussions with banks about an initial public offering (IPO). It could join the stock market in about June or July, according Reuters, which cited an unnamed source familiar with the matter. A flotation could rival the market value that the oil company Saudi Aramco achieved during its listing in 2019, which remains the biggest in history. It raised $29bn at the time, at a valuation of $1.7tn.” (12/10/25)

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/10/elon-musk-spacex-preparing-for-2026-flotation-of-more-than-1tn

Trump Says That You Are the Problem

Source: Paul Krugman
by Paul Krugman

“Last night Donald Trump gave an important speech on the economy in Pennsylvania …. The event was initially touted as the start of an ‘affordability tour,’ the first of a series of speeches intended to reverse Trump’s cratering approval on his handling of inflation and the economy. A number of news analyses suggested that he would use the occasion to blame Democrats for the economy’s troubles. That was never going to happen. … to blame Democrats for the economy’s problems he would have to admit that the Trump economy has problems. … Trump and his minions seem to have come around to admitting that Americans are, in fact, unhappy with the state of the economy. But if the economy is A+++++, why don’t people see it? The problem can’t possibly lie with him — so it must lie with you.” (12/10/25)

https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trump-says-that-you-are-the-problem

Militarism Without Strategy: How the 2025 National Security Document Institutionalizes Perpetual Conflict

Source: Antiwar.com
by Peter Rodgers

“On December 4, 2025, the Trump administration released a document claiming to herald a ‘Golden Age of Peace;’ yet a careful reading reveals an entirely different picture: a roadmap for institutionalizing chronic militarism and perpetuating conflict in a new form. The new U.S. National Security Strategy portrays Trump as the ‘Peace President’ who has allegedly ‘chieved peace in eight global conflicts,’ yet the same document simultaneously authorizes the use of ‘lethal force’ in other countries, the expansion of military deployments at borders, and the weaponization of economic tools. This apparent contradiction is not accidental; it is part of a structural logic that links claims of non-interventionism with the reality of expanding military dominance.” (12/10/25)

https://original.antiwar.com/peter_rodgers/2025/12/09/militarism-without-strategy-how-the-2025-national-security-document-institutionalizes-perpetual-conflict/

Madeira: Europe’s Forgotten Miracle

Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes

“In 1978, a tiny, dirt-poor Atlantic island of 250,000 souls decided to do the one thing Brussels now treats as heresy … It cut its corporate tax rate to the bone and built Europe’s last genuine special economic zone. And now, 47 years and countless European Union investigations later, that same island shows the opposite of decline: its GDP has quadrupled since 1995; it has narrowed the gap with the European average by more than 20 percentage points; unemployment in recent years has fallen below mainland levels; and its 5% corporate tax regime has been legally renewed until 2033. No oil. No tech miracle. No massive subsidies. Just lower taxes and the freedom to keep the money you earn. This is the story Europe’s central planners don’t want you to hear.” (12/10/25)

https://fee.org/articles/madeira-europes-forgotten-miracle/

Norway: Machado’s daughter accepts Nobel Peace Prize in Venezuelan opposition leader’s absence

Source: WRAL News

“Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s daughter accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on her mother’s behalf Wednesday, hours after officials said Machado would miss the ceremony. Machado has been in hiding and has not been seen in public since Jan. 9, when she was briefly detained after joining supporters in a protest in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. … Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, told the award ceremony that ‘María Corina Machado has done everything in her power to be able to attend the ceremony here today — a journey in a situation of extreme danger.’ ‘Although she will not be able to reach this ceremony and today’s events, we are profoundly happy to confirm that she is safe, and that she will be with us here in Oslo,’ he said to applause.” (12/10/25)

https://www.wral.com/news/ap/a26f4-machados-daughter-accepts-nobel-peace-prize-in-venezuelan-opposition-leaders-absence/

The Gratitude Prescription: Lessons from Steve Jobs and Everyday Life

Source: Mindset Shifts
by Barry Brownstein

“Is it just the long lines that make trips to the post office or DMV so unpleasant? The reality goes deeper. In many states, a significant number of government employees act as though they’re doing you a favor by helping you. These workers seem to find no meaning in their work, and they stubbornly refuse to allow any joy into their workday. Passion for our work develops from our commitment to being good at our job. Those who would rather be idle because they feel no passion are deluded about cause and effect. In contrast to experiences at government offices, market transactions are shaped by mutual benefit — each participant values what they receive more than what they give. This interdependence naturally fosters a sense of gratitude.” (12/10/25)

https://mindsetshifts.substack.com/p/the-gratitude-prescription-lessons

From Doxxing to Dot.Gov: the White House Has Set Up a Taxpayer Funded Enemies List

Source: CounterPunch
by Laura Flanders

“Doxing, swatting, bogus FBI calls, stalkers live-streaming outside their homes — it used to be marginal maniacs who saw journalists as targets to be neutralized. Now it’s the President. A government that pardons violent insurrectionists, guts research on far‑right terror, and redirects agents from tracking neo‑Nazis to hunting immigrants is turning its full weight on the people who dare to report any of it.” (12/10/25)

https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/12/10/from-doxxing-to-dot-gov/

US regime plans to start snooping into all tourists’ social media

Source: Sky News [UK]

“According to a notice published in America’s federal register on Tuesday, foreign tourists would need to provide their social media from the last five years. It will be ‘mandatory’ to hand over the information, and other details – including email addresses and telephone numbers used in the last five years, as well as the names, addresses, numbers, and birthdays of family members – will also be required. … There have been several reports of travellers already having been denied entry into the US over social media posts and messages found on their personal devices after President Donald Trump took office in January.” (12/10/25)

https://news.sky.com/story/us-plans-to-start-checking-all-tourists-social-media-13481642