What if a country could bomb another nation… kidnap its president… and claim its natural resources as its own?

On January 3rd, 2026, under the leadership of Donald Trump, the United States launched a shocking military operation over Caracas, Venezuela. 150 warplanes. A full blackout. And the capture of Venezuela’s sitting president Nicolás Maduro.

Trump claimed Venezuela had “stolen American oil.” But was that oil ever America’s to begin with?

This video breaks down the real history of Venezuela’s oil industry, from foreign contracts with companies like ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell to the 1976 nationalization under Carlos Andrés Pérez. We uncover the truth behind ownership, compensation, and the global energy struggle.

The struggle between Liberty and Authority is the most conspicuous feature in the portions of history with which we are earliest familiar, particularly in that of Greece, Rome, and England. But in old times this contest was between subjects, or some classes of subjects, and the Government. By liberty, was meant protection against the tyranny of the political rulers. The rulers were conceived (except in some of the popular governments of Greece) as in a necessarily antagonistic position to the people whom they ruled.

On Liberty

John Stuart Mill — 1859

INTRODUCTION

The German Bundeswehr has for the first time officially adopted a military strategy, citing an increasingly dangerous international situation. The strategy defines the future focus of the German armed forces and analyzes how the Bundeswehr can counter potential threats.

"Rarely has a military strategy been as necessary as it is in this historic period," Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said during the presentation of the new strategy in Berlin.

Germany unveils first-ever military strategy for Bundeswehr

Australia’s defence and foreign policy settings are focused on geopolitical rivalry, while far greater systemic risks – especially climate disruption – receive little strategic attention.

Blinded to the greater risks, the Albanese Government and the security commentariat have spent four, unrelenting years making the case that China is the biggest threat to Australia’s future.

David Spratt

CNN — [2024] Elon Musk says artificial intelligence will take all our jobs and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“Probably none of us will have a job,” Musk said about AI at a tech conference on Thursday.

While speaking remotely via webcam at VivaTech 2024 in Paris, Musk described a future where jobs would be “optional.”

Finnish Finance Minister Riikka Purra has warned of growing pressure on the country’s public finances. The warning comes just days after the government unveiled a multi-year fiscal plan that combines increased military aid to Ukraine with domestic spending cuts.

The government’s fiscal plan for 2027–2030 was presented earlier this week. It includes cuts of €240 million to social and healthcare spending but €300 million in increased military support for Ukraine.

“The state of public finances is extremely difficult, and the debt-to-GDP ratio is approaching 90%,” Purra said in an interview with the outlet Yle on Saturday.

“We’ve been hit not only by external shocks,” she highlighted, adding that the nation struggles with high unemployment, near-zero economic growth and an aging population.”

There is no good and evil… only desires of intent that are natural for survival but extended by humans [homo dumbdumus] into the realm of stylistic choices. Some of these desires encroach on others’ desires. Conflict will happen.

Daily we deal with these conflict with a reasonable ability while also managing boredom… Most of the artful dramas and comedies are based on these conflicts. The medium have extended from early greek stage performance, from myths of antiquity told through Homer and others, to TV shows. 

At a civilisation conflict level, these desires have led to war. Plenty of it. We know.

In the past, these conflicts were localised, until the Roman Empire took most of the mediterranean nations and a few other places like England.

This was the beginning of the geopolitical age.

We are on the biggest heist and media/political snowjob in Australia today. Shell’s Australian boss fronted a parliamentary inquiry into gas this week and somehow could not say what revenue her company made or how much Australian gas it exported. Meanwhile, Ken Henry, one of the country’s most respected tax experts, told the same inquiry to “just do it” and “stop the crap” on taxing Australia’s finite natural resources.

The gas lobby has spent years convincing politicians, media and the public that foreign multinationals should keep exporting Australian gas while paying little in the way of income tax and royalties. Now they are making super profits thanks to the US/Israel war on Iran. 

WHY WOULD THE WEST WISH PUTIN TO INVADE UKRAINE? GOOD QUESTION MR WATSON...

THE ANSWER LIES MANY YEARS EARLIER AND A FEW YEARS LATER... WE KNOW THAT AMERICA AND THE BRITISH HEGEMONY HAD PREPARED THE GROUND FOR WAR... THE TERM "UNPROVOKED" WAS ALREADY WRITTEN IN THE RESPONSE OF THE WEST TO THE "PUTIN INVASION".

FOR YEARS, NATO HAD REINFORCED THE UKRAINIAN ARMY, WHICH FOR ALL INTENT AND PURPOSES HAD COLLAPSED IN 2014, FORCING THE MINSK AGREEMENT I AND II... FROM THIS TIME ONWARDS, THE WEST WAS PREPARING TO FORCE RUSSIA INTO A VIETNAM-STYLE WAR OF ATTRITION IN UKRAINE, THAT WOULD WEAKEN RUSSIA, EVENTUALLY LEADING TO THE COLLAPSE OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. THIS COLLAPSE HAS BEEN THE AMERICAN GOAL SINCE 1917....

Once the Nazis were done, quite a few people started scratching their heads. Obviously one thing to baffle any sane observer was the sheer enormity of their crimes, accomplished, moreover, with frenetic, really start-upish drive and ambition in a mere 12 years: World War? Check. Genocides? Check. Bad hairstyle? Check.

Mein AI – Palantir’s Alex Karp wants us to know he has big plans

The surveillance giant is not even hiding its truly evil plans for humanity anymore, and its only downfall might be its hubris

BY Tarik Cyril Amar

Public Opinion sets the scene for the ensuing drama: Eurydice is dissatisfied. Her husband, Orpheus, is obsessed with music, and she wishes to have a more attentive admirer. In fact, she has already taken a new lover, the shepherd Aristaeus (the mortal disguise of the god Pluto, ruler of the Underworld). When she is mortally wounded, Pluto reveals himself, and the two go happily off to the Underworld. Orpheus is pleased with the outcome. Unfortunately for him, Public Opinion declares that decency requires the reluctant Orpheus to retrieve his wife.

Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the US president's son-in-law Jared Kushner are heading to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran on Saturday morning, the White House has said.

"The Iranians want to talk," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, adding that US Vice-President JD Vance was "on standby" to travel if the talks proved successful.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said he and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had arrived in Islamabad early on Saturday, and Araghchi would be meeting "Pakistani high-level officials".

He added that: "No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US. Iran's observations would be conveyed to Pakistan."

Wouldn’t it be ironic if Donald Trump made us see sense.

In a foreign-policy way.

It has been said before – but it seems we need to say it again – Australia is in desperate need of a Foreign Policy Rethink. But perhaps now, with our closest ally in the grip of a chaotic and corrupt regime, we will be forced to step up to the plate and actually do it. So maybe Trump can be put to good use after all?

Catriona Jackson

In American history, scandal of the early 1920s surrounding the secret leasing of federal oil reserves by the secretary of the interior, Albert Bacon Fall. After President Warren G. Harding transferred supervision of the naval oil reserve lands from the navy to the Department of the Interior in 1921, Fall secretly granted to Harry F. Sinclair of the Mammoth Oil Company exclusive rights to the Teapot Dome (Wyoming) reserves on April 7th, 1922. He granted similar rights to Edward L. Doheny of Pan American Petroleum Company for the Elk Hills and Buena Vista Hills reserves in California. In return for the leases, Fall received large cash gifts and no-interest “loans.”