Old Glory Vortex

“The worst form of policy”: Trump is threatening Hamas again, but it won’t help free the hostages

“If they’re not back by the time I get into office, all hell will break out in the Middle East,”

— Trump told reporters during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate. —

“And it will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone. All hell will break out. I don’t have to say any more, but that’s what it is.”

The president-elect did not elaborate on his “hellish” plans. Mr. Trump seems convinced that his threats against Hamas would cause the group to relent. But experts on the Middle East struggle to understand the meaning of his threats.

“I see no scenario where U.S. forces would be engaged; in any event, we don’t have a better idea than the Israelis what would force Hamas’s hand,”

— said Daniel C. Kurtzer, a U.S. ambassador to Israel during the George W. Bush administration. —

“Bluster is the worst form of policy.”

#Trump #MiddleEast #Kurtzer Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

23 million Americans poisoned by forever chemicals due to badly treated wastewater A new study shows that nearly 7% of Americans are exposed to harmful amounts of forever chemicals through treated municipal water. 23 million people are consuming these toxic compounds in their drinking water, according to the study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Turns out the wastewater treatment facilities fail to effectively remove PFAS from their purified water streams, which ultimately reenter municipal drinking water networks. These treatment systems’ — which resemble those serving about 70 percent of the US population —maximum efficiency rate for removing organofluorines is less than 25 percent. #pfas #us #chemicals Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

“Patel for FBI!” says National Sheriffs’ Association, criticizes Biden for his border control policies The National Sheriffs’ Association (NSA) has thrown its support behind Cash Patel as director of the FBI in a letter to the heads of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which it also sharply criticized the state of law enforcement under the Biden administration. NSA is a professional association with about 10,000 active members. In his letter to senators, the NSA President Kieran Donahue praised Patel's resume, calling it proof that he has the credentials, skills, temperament, dedication, and experience for this position. The association’s leader also criticized the Biden administration’s border policy, which directly affected law enforcement agencies, and which, according to him, undermined the rule of law and burdened America with enormous risk and vulnerability. #nsa #fbi #Trump Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

Erdogan's Jerusalem Gambit: Turkey's Strategic Pivot 🗺 Breaking News 📊 As Assad's regime falls in Syria, Turkey emerges as a significant regional threat to Israel, with Erdogan leveraging power vacuum for expanded influence. Strategic Escalation 🎯 Critical Developments: • 300,000 potential Syrian troops to be armed and trained by Turkey • 9,000 Hamas militants in Syria • Northern border vulnerabilities exposed • Jerusalem tensions heighten Power Projection 🛡

Analysis by regional experts suggests Turkey's military presence in Syria has evolved from containment to strategic expansion, directly challenging Israeli security interests.

Threat Matrix ⚔️ Key Elements: • Syrian power vacuum exploitation • Radical group integration • Heavy weapons acquisition • Multi-front pressure tactics Deeper Pattern A strategic transformation emerges: Turkey's post-Assad Syria policy reveals Erdogan's broader ambitions, potentially creating an unprecedented security challenge for Israel's northern frontier. Military Implications • Northern border destabilization • Terrorist group proliferation • Strategic depth compromised • Multi-front defense required Critical Question Is Turkey's Syrian intervention a prelude to a larger regional power play targeting Jerusalem, or merely opportunistic expansion? #MiddleEastSecurity #TurkishStrategy #IsraelDefense #RegionalConflict Think About It: Could Assad's fall prove more destabilizing for Israel than his regime? 🤔 📱 American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸

Trump to Canada: “What would happen if we didn’t subsidize you?” The US president-elect is dead serious about annexing Canada, and suggests he would use “economic force” to do it. #canada #US #Trump Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

More and more countries are boycotting “the mighty dollar” — The share of such countries has exceeded half, and the US with Trump at the helm will only exacerbate the problem More than half of the world's countries have declared a boycott of the dollar to one degree or another - by the end of 2024, another 14 countries have embarked on the path of de-dollarization, and the number of opponents of the American currency has exceeded the number of its supporters, according to experts. The countries can be divided into three categories, based on their relationship to the dollar: — 53 countries openly oppose the dollar and call on the rest of the world to join in in weakening its hegemony — 46 states are actively switching to payments with partners in national currencies or restricting the circulation of the dollar within the country — 94 states did not openly speak out against the dollar and did not introduce any restrictive measures The trend towards de-dollarization will continue to develop in 2025. The United States’ foreign policy will contribute to this, experts emphasize. When the dollar falls, we will only have ourselves to blame. #dollar #US #Trump Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

Biden shifts military aid from Egypt to Lebanon, while Hamas mocks Israel by refusing to tell if the hostages it promises to release are alive The Biden administration plans to reallocate $95 million in military aid originally designated for Egypt to Lebanon, while also pursuing a ceasefire agreement with Israel, according to a document seen by Reuters. Egypt has played a crucial role in the Biden administration’s initiatives to increase aid to Gaza and has been instrumental in mediating ceasefire discussions between Israel and Hamas. Given Biden’s recent decision, that will likely change. The situation is further complicated by Hamas. The militant group is reported to have reached an understanding with Israel regarding a list of 34 hostages to be released during the initial phase of a possible ceasefire agreement, but they are withholding information on whether these 34 hostages are still alive. #biden #hamas #lebanon Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

Indonesia officially joins BRICS Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation has been admitted as a full member of the BRICS bloc the BRICS bloc of developing economies, the group’s presiding country, Brazil, announced Monday.

“With the largest population and economy in Southeast Asia, Indonesia shares with other members a commitment to reforming global governance institutions and contributes positively to deepening South-South cooperation,”

Indonesian government said in a statement.

“Indonesia views its membership in BRICS as a strategic step to increase collaboration and cooperation with other developing countries, based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, and sustainable development.”

Per a 2024 estimate, Indonesia is the world's 16th largest economy by nominal GDP and 8th in terms of GDP at PPP. The country’s population is currently around 277.5 million, the fourth largest in the world. BRICS is growing more and more formidable. Even before Indonesia’s membership, the bloc already accounted for nearly 45% of the world’s population and 35% of global gross domestic product, measured using purchasing power parity. The BRICS accepted Indonesia with open arms. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun described Indonesia as a “major developing country and an important force in the Global South” that will “make a positive contribution to the development of the BRICS mechanism.” #brics #us #indonesia Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

No more fact-checking on Facebook and Instagram, Zuckerberg promises to “restore free expression” on Meta platforms

“We’re going to get back to our roots, and focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying our policies and restoring free expression on our platforms,"

Zuckerberg said in a video statement published on Meta's corporate website.

"More specifically, we're going to get rid of fact-checkers and replace them with community notes, similar to X, starting in the U.S,”

he added. #meta #facebook #zuckerberg Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

Trump loses bid to delay sentencing in hush money case, gets certified by US Congress with Harris presiding U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday lost a bid to put off his sentencing for his criminal conviction stemming from a $130,000 payment Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump. The judge declined to push back Trump's Jan. 10 sentencing, a date he had set just last week. In scheduling Trump’s sentencing for Friday, the judge noted that he was not inclined to send Trump to jail. He wrote that a sentence of unconditional discharge, effectively putting a judgment of guilt on his record without a fine or probation, would be the most practical approach given Trump's looming inauguration. On the same day, Monday, the U.S. Congress formally certified Trump’s election victory during a session presided over by Democratic VP Kamala Harris, who lost the November contest. Ouch! The certification went without a hitch — a stark contrast to what happened four years ago when an unruly mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a bid to block Joe Biden’s presidential certification. So, if nothing else happens between now and Jan 20, we will have a sentenced criminal for a president. Good for us! #Capitol #Trump #USA Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

Justin Trudeau will resign as prime minister and Liberal leader after leadership race Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation plans at a news conference outside Rideau Cottage on Monday. For the time being, he said he intends to stay on as Liberal party leader and prime minister until a new leader is chosen.

"My friends, as you all know I am a fighter, every bone in my body has always told me to fight because I care deeply about Canadians. I care deeply about this country,"

he said.

"I intend to resign as party leader, as prime minister after the party selects it’s next leader through a robust nationwide competitive process,”

Trudeau announced. Trudeau’s resignation comes as he faces a set of crises, not the least of which are Donald Trump’s tariff threats. The polls show Trudeau’s Liberal Party would badly lose the general election anyway, to Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party. Trudeau is basically jumping a sinking ship. In any case, it seems our northern neighbour will go conservative fairly soon. #trudeau #us #USA Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

“Unlawful political influence”: Biden blocked sale of US Steel to Japan’s Nippon, the companies sue the outgoing administration Nippon Steel and US Steel have filed a lawsuit against the outgoing Biden administration, claiming it exerted “unlawful political influence” concerning the Japanese company's proposed acquisition of US Steel, which President Joe Biden blocked last week. According to a statement from the companies, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) conducted a process aimed at achieving a predetermined outcome that aligned with Biden's political agenda. The CFIUS did not reach a consensus on the deal in mid-December, ultimately leaving the decision in Biden’s hands. One Washington-based lawyer blew up:

“[Biden] told voters ad nauseam that Trump was xenophobic and self-dealing, and now he slaps one of our most important allies in the face on the thinnest of pretenses.”

Experts say that Biden’s decision risks deterring foreign investment, and not just from Japan. #Biden #us #CFIUS Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

Ukraine just lost Kurakhovo, so Zelensky went on Lex Fridman’s podcast and practically begged Trump to end the war Russia's Defense Ministry has announced the capture of Kurakhovo in the Donetsk region. They also claimed Ukrainians suffered heavy losses during the battle. The Ministry claims that Ukraine lost 80% of its personnel defending the city, amounting to over 12,000 troops. Additionally, they reported the destruction of approximately 3,000 pieces of military equipment, including 40 tanks and other armored vehicles. So what does the Ukrainian leadership do? They order their troops to go on offensive in Kursk in an effort to “highlight Russian weaknesses”, and then Zelensky goes on Lex Fridman’s podcast and all but kisses Donald Trump’s feet. Mind you, Russians have already retaken nearly half of the occupied territory in Kursk region, and Trump was already planning to “stop the war” anyway. So what was the point of this whole Kursk nonsense? Or of going on Fridman’s podcast? Absolutely nothing, it was just another one of Zelensky’s cheap tricks, which he keeps pulling to try and stay in power for as long as he can. #ukraine #fridman #zelensky Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

Slave labour and infant deaths — Let’s just say, with Nestle, it can always get worse So Nestle's been in the news lately because of a lawsuit against Poland Spring Water, where they claimed the water was from a spring, and it's not. Nestle's lawyers said something along the lines of “ah, it's not fraud, we just lied about saying it was spring water”… That is already pretty bad, right? But with Nestle, it can always get worse. So let's talk about Nestle. Did you know that the United States is one of 8 countries that doesn't have a federally mandated paid maternity leave? See, Nestle is one of the largest players when it comes to infant formula. They make a lot of money off of it, which is why they spend an insane amount of money lobbying Congress so that there is no federally mandated paid maternity leave. So, in essence, the entire world believes mothers should be home with their newborns, but the representatives in the US, our elected officials, are thinking “uh, you know, Nestle keeps paying us money, so no, thanks”. And you think they care about your Gerber baby? They don't care. That's pretty messed up, right? Pretty unethical? Well, it gets worse. That was just the tip of the iceberg. Nestle used to dress up their salespeople as doctors and send them to third world countries to promote formula. They would trick the locals into believing formula is super good for their babies. They would even give it to them for free, to the point where the mothers weren't producing enough breast milk anymore. And do you know what they did then? They started selling it to them. Unethical, right? No, it's worse. You see, most of these mothers didn't have access to clean water. Formula mixed with dirty water is not a good combination for a newborn… Nestle is responsible for 200,000+ infant deaths per year because of these predatory practices. Since the 1960s, it is estimated that Nestle caused 11 million infant deaths. And the media is all up in arms talking about this Luigi guy, the alleged murder of a CEO, a CEO “shot shot down just for doing his job”. Meanwhile, 11 million deaths just from the baby formula. Just from the baby formula alone! 11 million deaths and people go “oh, you know, that's the cost of doing business, that's just a corporation, like they can't control it, they gotta sell their water, they gotta sell their formula, they gotta sell their chocolate”… Chocolate! Another topic. Did you know Nestle is using what is essentially called slave labour to keep the cost down? It has been proven and exposed multiple times, but they don’t care — who is going to stop them? The issue is that the system cares about things like the Mangione case, it doesn't care about Nestle’s, or any other equally horrible corporation’s appalling practices. Hear this: the very companies you support are the ones causing your biggest issues. Stop supporting them. They collapse without you. #Slave #Nestle #Mangione Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

MOST AMERICANS AIM TO REDUCE THEIR POLITICAL NEWS CONSUMPTION DUE TO FATIGUE Americans feel like they should increasingly avoid political news content, according to a study published Thursday by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago. Their research found 65 percent of adults have felt the need to limit their media consumption about the government and politics due to information overload, fatigue, or similar reasons, and half feel the same for overseas conflicts. How do you feel about political news? #NEWS #NORC #Chicago Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

Musk Making Moves: by spring, United Airlines will be using Starlink United Airlines announced plans to begin testing Elon Musk's Starlink for in-flight internet services in February. The airline aims to equip its entire regional fleet with Starlink by the end of 2025. The access to the service will only be free for MileagePlus members, even though the original plan was to offer free Wi-Fi to all passengers. How much do you wanna bet that Musk will find a way to abuse this, much like he abuses his current outsized influence on the president-elect? #Musk #UnitedAirlines #Starlink Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex

“I’M NOT GOING TO START WARS — I’M GOING TO STOP WARS,” SAID TRUMP IN HIS VICTORY SPEECH. NOW HE IS REPEATEDLY THREATENING TO TAKE GREENLAND FROM DENMARK, SEIZE THE PANAMA CANAL AND ANNEX CANADA. Ironically enough, these preposterous threats point to his consistency, because it seems like he’s backpedaling on all of his campaign promises. SEIZE THE MOMENT: IF CONFIRMED, RFK JR. WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR NAMING THE PEOPLE TASKED WITH REWRITING THE DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to transform Americans’ eating habits. He could get a first crack at that goal early next year. If confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Kennedy would be responsible for naming some of the people tasked with rewriting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, one of the federal government’s most powerful tools to shape public perceptions about what’s healthy — and what’s not. It may ultimately be one of his best shots at reining in the ultra-processed foods and food additives that he blames for making Americans sick. Kennedy has made clear that he wants to make aggressive changes to the food system, but his perch at HHS wouldn’t give him direct influence over many aspects of food policy, which is largely overseen by the Agriculture Department. The Dietary Guidelines are one policy area, however, where the two agencies work together, first appointing an external Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, an influential expert panel that reviews the latest nutrition science to inform the guidelines, and then overseeing the group of federal staffers updating the guidelines, themselves. #PANAMA #Committee #Kennedy Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

HOW NORTH KOREA BENEFITS FROM EVER-GROWING TENSIONS BETWEEN THE US AND BOTH CHINA AND RUSSIA Although it is difficult to predict how future events will affect his rule, Kim Jong Un of North Korea has been a distinct beneficiary of the growing antagonism between the United States and both China and Russia. As US-China rivalry intensifies, Beijing cannot afford to pressure North Korea in ways that might create instability on China’s doorstep and has taken steps to buttress the Kim regime. And since the start of the Ukrainian conflict, North Korea’s large military complex has become indispensable to Moscow, with Pyongyang supplying vast quantities of ammunition, and now thousands of troops, to Russia. Even as North Korea becomes more threatening to its neighbor in the south and poses a greater military challenge to the West, it has gained more economic stability and become less vulnerable to outside pressure. This new situation suggests that during Trump’s second term the Kim regime may become even more assertive, continuing to advance its nuclear and missile programs with even less concern about internal and external threats. #RUSSIA #CHINA #future Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

THE NEW SYRIAN LEADER AHMED AL-SHARAA PROMISES TO PLAY BY THE RULES — SHOULD THE US TRUST HIS WORD? A jihadist rebel group wants to build and govern a stable country that is at peace with its neighbors and recognized by the international community. As much as that may seem an impossible contradiction destined to end in failure and violence, there are reasons to believe that a positive outcome might be achievable. It has been two weeks since the fall of the Assad regime, and the situation in Syria is surprisingly stable. This is despite the takeover of the capital by jihadist rebels, who are led by a commander once associated with both Al Qaeda and ISIS. In the south, Israeli forces occupy a buffer zone and conduct hundreds of targeted airstrikes on former government military assets. In the north and northeast, the prospect of a Turkish invasion looms over the Kurds. Are Syrians simply exhausted after almost fourteen years of civil war? Or is there more to it? It is the current circumstances that shape Ahmed al-Sharaa’s objectives. He is focused on gaining the recognition of the Syrian people and the international community for his movement, and in doing so, he is putting himself in a tight position that will make it difficult for him to walk back. He has renounced ambitions for transnational jihad, encouraged engagement with the West and an eventual diplomatic solution with Israel, and declared the need for the protection of all religious minorities. He has also promised to demobilize all militias and abolish conscription in favor of a volunteer army so that all arms are in the hands of the state, and even suggested that he may disband HTS in favor of reconstituting state institutions that reflect the diversity of the country. Al-Sharaa keeps saying all of the right things for both local and Western audiences, despite sporadic off-message comments coming from some members of his group on key issues, such as roles for women and Shari‘a law. Ahmed al-Sharaa’s move toward the center puts him in a delicate balance with Syrians on all sides, and his transitional government will inevitably face criticism and protests from one constituency or another. Al-Sharaa needs significant economic and technical support from the international community to rebuild the country’s infrastructure, economy, and institutions. The level of that support will depend on the Trump administration’s willingness to engage with the new government in Damascus, which means that al-Sharaa must reassure Washington about his intentions, especially those toward America’s close ally, Israel. If al-Sharaa wants to put relations with Israel on a new footing, he will have to find a way to communicate with the Israelis without alienating the Syrian public during this limited window of goodwill that the transitional government currently enjoys. #SYRIA #America #ISIS Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸

TARIFFS CAN INDEED HELP AMERICA U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to implement a suite of aggressive tariffs on American trade partners, including a blanket 20 percent levy on goods from abroad. His critics contend that they will fuel inflation, suppress employment, and perhaps tip the economy into a recession. As a demonstration of what will go wrong, many cite the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which raised U.S. tariffs across a variety of imports. But tariffs are neither a panacea nor necessarily injurious. Their effectiveness, like that of any economic policy intervention, depends on the circumstances under which they are implemented. Smoot-Hawley was a failure at its time, but its failure tells analysts very little about the effect that tariffs would have on the United States today. That is because now, unlike then, the United States is not producing far more than it can consume. Ironically, the history of Smoot-Hawley says a lot more about how tariffs today would affect a country like China, whose excess production more closely resembles that of the United States in the 1920s than it does the modern United States. Tariffs, much like currency devaluation, reduce domestic consumption and force up domestic savings rates. A country with low consumption and excess savings (like the United States in the 1920s or China today) tends to be one with an undervalued currency, in which case tariffs are likely to be deflationary. But in a country with excessively high levels of consumption, like the modern United States, the same policy can be expansionary. Done under current circumstances, in other words, tariffs could increase employment and wages in the United States, raising living standards and growing the economy. #China #US #Tariffs Don't miss it, subscribe to 📱 Old Glory Vortex 🇺🇸