Will this term be better, worse, or about the same as his first term? My guess is the latter. In the words of John Prine, "Pretty good, not bad, I can't complain but actually, everything is just about the same". My hope is he pivots from global domination to domestic development, and focuses on this country. One thing's for sure, I'm glad that Biden, Blinky, Jake the Snake, and the rest of that disastrous administration is out of office. However, administrations come and go, but the oligarchs largely remain the same. Meanwhile we have raging fires in the west, a colossal unpayable national debt, and a tentative ceasefire in Gaza. More domestic and global news below the fold...

Trump or not, the system is so fundamentally flawed I don't think anyone can untie the Gordian knot.
I found this conversation based on historical development of US dysfunction well worth the time.

(51 min) In this insightful interview, Colonel Douglas Macgregor sits down with Scott Horton, author of the comprehensive and critically acclaimed book Provoked. They dive deep into the complex history of U.S. foreign interventions, exploring the causes, consequences, and the profound impact on global stability.
Horton provides an in-depth analysis of the provocative actions that have shaped modern geopolitics, offering viewers a detailed look into the book’s central themes and key revelations. Don’t miss this thought-provoking conversation on the intersection of war, policy, and international relations.

None the less Trump takes the reins of his (figurehead) position. Will it matter? Perhaps.

Pepe Escobar : I’m gonna MAGA you, baby! (22 min)

I’m Gonna MAGA You, Baby (Pepe Escobar)

It’s the greatest show on earth – unleashing a double bill of New Paradigm and Manifest Destiny on crack. We are the greatest. We will rock you – in every sense. We will crush you. We will take whatever we want because we can. And if you wanna walk away from the U.S. dollar, we will destroy you. BRICS, we’re coming to get ya. Trump 2.0 – a mix of professional wrestling and MMA played in a giant planetary cage – is in da house starting next Monday. Trump 2.0 aims to be on the driving seat on the global financial system; on control of the world’s oil trade and LNG supply; and on strategic media platforms. Trump 2.0 is gearing up to be an extended exercise in the capacity to hurt The Other. Any Other. Hostile takeovers – and blood on the tracks. That’s how we “negotiate”.
Under Trump 2.0, global tech infrastructure must run on U.S. software, not just on the profit front but also on the spy front. AI data chips must be American only. AI data centers must be controlled by America only. “Free trade” and “globalization”? That’s for losers. Welcome to neo-imperial, techno-feudal mercantilism – powered by U.S. tech supremacy. Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has named a few of the targets ahead: Greenland; Canada; assorted cartels; the Arctic; the Gulf of “America”; oil and gas; rare earth minerals. All in the name of strengthening “national security”. A key plank: total control of the “Western Hemisphere”. Monroe Doctrine 2.0 – actually the Donroe Doctrine. America First, Last and Always.
...
What Trump 2.0 actually wants from Greenland is crystal clear: total militarization; privileged access to rare earths; and commercially excluding Russia and Chinese companies. Chinese military expert Yu Chun noted that “soon, the long-desired ‘golden waterway’ of the Arctic Ocean is expected to open, allowing ships to traverse the Pacific Ocean and sail along the northern coasts of North America and Eurasia into the Atlantic Ocean.” As the Northern Sea Route is “a key element of Sino-Russian cooperation”, it’s inevitable that the U.S.’s “strategic vision is to prevent the establishment of a ‘golden waterway’ between China, Russia, and Europe by controlling Greenland.”

Worth the full read. Aggression is obviously still on the table, but with an emphasis on the Western Hemisphere. As Pepe put it, Trump is not a neocon, but an old time imperialist.

For those who want more Pepe, he also had a discussion with Nima this week.
Pepe Escobar: Trump's Masterplan Unfolds: A Game-Changing Strategy? (75 min)

Chas also had an interesting take on Trump 2.0

(65 min)
Russia Victory or Political Settlement in Ukraine - Chas Freeman, Alexander Mercouris & Glenn Diesen
He also discusses what he thinks Trump will bring in his second term

...and with Nima this week.
Amb. Chas Freeman: The Delusional Policies Driving America's Decline (50 min)

COL. Douglas Macgregor : Trump and American Expansion

(25 min)

Doug also spoke with Danny...
Col Douglas Macgregor: Ukraine War Reality Tightens the Screws on Trump (42 min)
Trump initially claimed he would resolve the Russia-Ukraine war quickly, even before his potential inauguration, but later acknowledged the complexity of the conflict, shifting his timeline to 3–6 months after taking office. Analysts criticized his understanding of the situation, citing misinformation from advisors and unrealistic assumptions.
Commentators argued that resolving the conflict would require suspending U.S. military aid and withdrawing personnel from Ukraine, as continued support prolongs the war. Critics also noted that U.S. and European influence over Russia is diminishing due to strategic missteps and that nationalist movements in Europe may alter the geopolitical landscape, further complicating efforts to negotiate peace.
Proposed solutions, including diplomatic concessions, face skepticism due to entrenched globalist priorities and distrust among involved parties. Observers emphasized that the conflict's root causes, such as Ukraine’s militarization and historical grievances, need addressing, but political narratives and misinformation hinder realistic approaches to peace.

At least Trump is willing to speak with other major world leaders...
Trump Holds ‘Very Good’ Call With Xi
US President-elect Donald Trump has spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping by phone. According to Trump, the two leaders discussed trade, fentanyl, and the impending sale or shutdown of TikTok. “I just spoke to Chairman Xi Jinping of China,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Friday, adding that “the call was a very good one for both China and the USA.” “It is my expectation that we will solve many problems together, and starting immediately. We discussed balancing Trade, Fentanyl, TikTok, and many other subjects,” Trump continued. “President Xi and I will do everything possible to make the World more peaceful and safe!” Chinese state media confirmed that the call had taken place, but provided no further details.

President Donald Trump will become the first president since Ronald Reagan in 1985 to be sworn in indoors, breaking from the traditional outdoor inaugural ceremony. Reagan’s second inauguration was moved to the Capitol Rotunda due to brutal weather conditions, with temperatures dropping to 7°F and a windchill of -25°F.
Similarly, President Trump announced on Friday that his inauguration would take place indoors at the Capitol Rotunda, citing forecasts of severe winter weather. Temperatures in Washington, D.C., are expected to hover in the upper 20s on Monday, accompanied by ferocious winds that could make outdoor conditions unsafe for attendees. The indoor ceremony will include Trump’s inaugural address, along with prayers and speeches, offering a more controlled and comfortable setting amid the harsh weather.

President-elect Donald Trump is set to formally take office on Monday after which he is expected to sign an exploding ball of executive orders that will set the tone for his administration on key issues, namely border security and energy. On the campaign, Trump facetiously quipped that he would not act as a dictator or impose authoritarian rule “except for day one.” “We’re closing the border and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. Other than that I’m not gonna be a dictator,” he told an amused Sean Hannity during a town hall event last year. Since then, reports have emerged that Trump could sign as many as 100 executive orders on his first day in office. Trump himself made a litany of “day one” promises while on the campaign trail that included moves on nearly every key issue.

Hold on to your hats, I think it's gonna be a wild week.

Bye Bye Biden!

My guess is Trump 2.0 will be better, perhaps just slightly, but at least Trump is willing to talk with Russia, China, and other great powers.

Genocide Joe will go down in history, IMO.

(10 min from Jeff on how bad the Biden administration has been.)

Here' a bitter review of Biden...

Joe Biden: An Assessment (Jim Kunstler)

The four years of “Joe Biden’s” term-in-office that followed have induced the most severe disordering of the collective American mind in our history, lost in a fog of perfidious mendacity unmatched in scope by the Civil War, or any other national crisis. “Joe Biden’s” government went to war against the people of this land, at the same time it sold-out our vital national interests to the CCP, the WEF, the WHO, and other parties seeking our nation’s destruction. For years, we have been forced to swallow absurdities such as unsafe and ineffective vaccines, drag queens in the grade schools, borders wide-open to saboteurs (declared to be “secure”), and a stupid war against Russia that has destroyed the sad-sack nation of Ukraine.
“Joe Biden” has been a disaster and an embarrassment, easily the most damaging character to ever creep onto the US political scene. His one talent was for fakery. Even with sclerosis eating through his brain, he was able to go through the motions of faking it, reading his script off the teleprompter — though he was no longer up to casual questions in a news conference setting. The slime trail of crimes he leaves behind would be easy to follow by law enforcement officials actually interested in crime. He’s likely to pardon himself at the last moment, and pardon a long roster of federal officials who have committed crimes with and behind him. One way or another, they are going to be found out, even if many manage to evade prosecution. But at least we are going to learn a lot more about who was pulling “Joe’s” strings, and exactly what they did, and how — including the trick of making the news media hostage to their crimes.
So, adios, “Joe Biden,” you miserable, treasonous bastard. History will record you as the one president so far who was consciously a villain outright, in true self-knowledge of his own wickedness. You left your country a wreck in every dimension: in national security, national bankruptcy, national pride, and national confidence. Go back to Delaware and sit in the dim light of your room with the curtains drawn so you won’t have to hear about the gruesome discoveries to come of what you left behind. And when the day arrives for your funeral, be advised that it will not be much better than your campaign stop in Darby, PA, in June 2020, when you maundered pointlessly to a nearly empty room. . . before going out for ice cream with your secret service detail.

Perhaps one day the Biden Crime family will be exposed.

Blinky...
His last press conference is a perfect end to his incompetent role as Secretary of State.
Max Blumenthal : MAX CONFRONTS BLINKEN!

(26 min)

Max also spoke with Jimmy about the incident...

(11 min) Journalists DRAGGED OUT Of State Dept Briefing For Asking About Israel! w/Max Blumenthal

Thanks God we have freedom of the press. Am I right?

The Gaza Ceasefire

Chris Hedges: The Ceasefire Charade

Israel, going back decades, has played a duplicitous game. It signs a deal with the Palestinians that is to be implemented in phases. The first phase gives Israel what it wants — in this case the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza — but Israel habitually fails to implement subsequent phases that would lead to a just and equitable peace. It eventually provokes the Palestinians with indiscriminate armed assaults to retaliate, defines a Palestinian response as a provocation and abrogates the ceasefire deal to reignite the slaughter.
If this latest three-phase ceasefire deal is ratified — and there is no certainty that it will be by Israel — it will, I expect, be little more than a presidential inauguration bombing pause. Israel has no intention of halting its merry-go-round of death.
...
The deal includes three phases. The first phase, lasting 42 days, will see a cessation of hostilities. Hamas will release some Israeli hostages – 33 Israelis who were captured on Oct. 7, 2023, including all of the remaining five women, those aged above 50, and those with illnesses – in exchange for up to 1,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
The Israeli army will pull back from the populated areas of the Gaza Strip on the first day of the ceasefire. On the 7th day, displaced Palestinians will be permitted to return to northern Gaza. Israel will allow 600 aid trucks with food and medical supplies to enter Gaza daily.
The second phase, which begins on the 16th day of the ceasefire, will see the release of the remaining Israeli hostages. Israel will complete its withdrawal from Gaza during the second phase, maintaining a presence in some parts of the Philadelphi corridor, which stretches along the eight-mile border between Gaza and Egypt. It will surrender its control of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt.
The third phase will see negotiations for a permanent end of the war.
But it is Netanyahu’s office that appears to have already reneged on the agreement. It released a statement rejecting Israeli troop withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor during the first 42-day phase of the ceasefire. “In practical terms, Israel will remain in the Philadelphi Corridor until further notice,” while claiming the Palestinians are attempting to violate the agreement. Palestinians throughout the numerous ceasefire negotiations have demanded Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza. Egypt has condemned the seizure of its border crossings by Israel.

The following interview expresses a similar point of view...

(48 min) Laith Marouf: Ceasefire in Gaza - Who's the New Prime Minister of Lebanon?
He goes into the regional politics of west Asia between Arabs and other tribes.

Israeli Government Approves Hostage/Ceasefire Deal, To Take Effect Sunday

Netanyahu says Trump "emphasized" to him that the ceasefire is "temporary," and Israel will have "full backing" to resume the war in Gaza. He says Trump has decided to "lift all the remaining restrictions" on US munitions, allowing Israel to resume the war with "tremendous force"

As for Netanyahu’s talk of the deal being ‘temporary’ it’s unclear whether the Trump team agrees with this assessment. There hasn’t been any initial reaction from Trump as he prepares for the inauguration Monday. But Trump without doubt wants a ceasefire to stick, and is likely to be celebrating its implementation during some of Monday’s inaugural remarks. He has vowed to wind down various conflict hot spots, especially Ukraine, and bring peace. He has also warned that there will be “hell to pay” if Hamas doesn’t uphold its end of the truce deal. This suggests Netanyahu could be telling the truth, or at least an interpretation of it. An initial small group of hostages are expected to be returned to Israel by Sunday evening, with hopeful families awaiting and on edge.

Bibi is a liar, so there's no telling, but I suspect he will make some excuse to start the genocide again.

Caity's take on the ceasefire...

Israel and Hamas have reportedly agreed to a ceasefire and hostage deal, which is scheduled to take effect January 19. The deal as written is apparently virtually identical to the one Hamas agreed to last May, which Netanyahu then sabotaged with the complicity of the Biden administration.
As usual, Israel appears to be ramping up its aggressions to kill as many people as possible before the fighting comes to an end. These next few days will be an especially terrifying time to be living in Gaza.
The Times of Israel reports that according to two unnamed Arab officials, the middle east envoy for the incoming Trump administration did more to sway Netanyahu in one day than the Biden administration did all year. The Trump camp’s pivotal role in securing the deal has been acknowledged by pretty much everyone at this point, including Biden’s State Department.
So it looks like Trump winning ended up being the better result for the people of Gaza, as weird as that sounds. Not because he’s a fantastic peacemaker, but because he did something instead of doing nothing.
Which would mean that everyone who said a Trump win will make things worse for Gaza was objectively wrong, and that Biden-Harris were undeniably the greater evil.
...
I am allowing myself to feel some sliver of hope that, in this one small part of the world, things might start getting a little better.

Like Jimmy said the other week, "I have hope but I don't have faith."

Arab Officials: Trump Envoy Did More To Pressure Israel in One Meeting Than Biden Did All Year

California Fires...

Tucker Carlson and Michael Shellenberger Break Down the California Fires

Michael Shellenberger may be the best reporter in America. Here’s what he’s learned about the fires in Los Angeles (2.25 hours)

LA Firefighters Blow Whistle On Shocking Fire Chief Incompetence! (15 min)

But What About TikTok?
Some 170 million US users of the viral social media app TikTok faced a blackout of the service on Saturday, days after the Supreme Court passed a decision that could lead to a national ban of the platform. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that TikTok needs to divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, by Sunday or face a ban. Late Saturday, users in the US received an update for TikTok, blocking the application’s use and explaining the outage. “We regret that a US law banning TikTok will take effect on January 19 and force us to make our services temporarily unavailable,” the messages said. “We’re working to restore our service in the US as soon as possible.” TikTok warned about the possible suspension of its services in a statement on its newsroom page on Saturday.

Evidently users are shifting to another Chinese platform, Red Note.

The US move to ban TikTok has backfired as millions of young people switch to alternative Chinese social media, demonstrating that what they've been told about the country is a lie.

Let's close with a note of cooperation and community...

(22 min) Twenty-two years ago, a group of friends bought a very affordable cornfield in rural Denmark and set out to build homes that were both debt-free and waste-free.
What began as a bold experiment with 13 families soon transformed the land into the eco-village of Friland (which means "Freeland"), a tight-knit community committed to back-to-basics living.
The homes were constructed with natural and recyclable materials like straw bales, seashells, sawdust, and sod roofs, reflecting the community’s deep respect for the environment.
Today, Friland is home to 45 families and has become a beacon of cooperative, low-impact living. At the core of Friland’s philosophy is the principle that residents cannot take on mortgages to build their homes, meaning they must save enough money in advance. Many begin by living in campers, while most build their homes slowly and by hand, prioritizing self-reliance and resourcefulness.
Steen Møller, one of the village’s founders, has turned his home's waste into resources. A trained farmer, Møller designed and built a thermal mass heater that heats his 75-square-meter home using minimal wood and then he captures the stove's exhaust pipes it into a buried greenhouse where he grows lettuce during the winter (even when there's snow on the ground).
Møller also captures his household's greywater, piping it beneath his home’s greenhouse, where it’s stored in a bladder filled with mussel shells that filter the water and provide nutrients to a very abundant fruit and vegetable garden.
Beyond its innovative homes, Friland encourages local enterprises. Residents support each other through shared projects like a volunteer-run grocery store and café, monthly communal dinners, and an annual assembly where they plan new initiatives.
The village even boasts a Michelin-recognized restaurant, Restaurant Moment, run by former residents, which uses locally sourced ingredients and greywater recycling to align with Friland’s ethos. United by a common goal, Friland’s residents strive to live debt-free, reduce their environmental impact, and foster a lifestyle rooted in connection and collaboration.
Web site here.

I think we're going to need to build community and rely on one another as our governments don't address the needs of their people.

Take care friends. Stay warm. We'll just have to wait and see how the Trump team progresses (or regresses). The thread is open... any and all stories and ideas are welcome.