Venezuela Update!

   Not 3 days have passed and already 2026 seems to be at the top of its potential for worrying news on the path to World War III. 

   Trump said that the operation had to wait for the weather to be perfect, and indeed, it was, since yesterday was the deadline for the disclosure of the Epstein papers documenting the entrapment of the US Government by a foreign entity. 

   Beyond the blatant disregard for "international law", but is there such a thing? The most striking aspect of the operation is that it was announced at the very beginning of the Trump administration early last year. It was preceded by the idea of a "friendly" merger offer to Canada to become the 51st state. Rejected. Then a takeover bid for Greenland which was likewise declined by Denmark. In the end, Trump went for the easier target in South America: Venezuela.  

   In fact, the only difference between the Trump administration and its predecessors is the "in your face" total and utter lack of diplomacy. But why bother with niceties when you are convinced that the dollar hegemony and your superior firepower can insulate you from any blow-back? 

   To reflate the US economy, Trump needs a new "frontier" and especially resources. Venezuela has plenty of them, starting with oil in the Orinoco basin. (Around Maracaibo, North Western part of the map below.)

    What's next then?

   A few hours before the attack, Maduro had just met with a Chinese delegation visiting Caracas to increase commercial and military cooperation. This is clearly a slap in China's face as well as a warning for other South American Nations. From now on, the Monroe doctrine will be applied ruthlessly. 

   The real risk is that Trump, the good Las Vegas player he is, will not stop now believing that this is a winning streak. China needs, must in fact put an end to the show, otherwise its growing economic might will end up being a pyrrhic victory just like Japan in the 1980s destroyed by the Plaza Accord of 1985.  

   The next target on the menu list is of course Iran. The fall of the country would corner China, proving to the rest of the world that it is a paper tiger and reversing the integration progress of the BRICS. The problem is that Russia will probably be bogged down in Ukraine for the rest of 2026 and China doesn't yet have the capability to project its power all the way to the Middle East. So how exactly do you stop a bully without starting World War III? Silence will be interpreted as a sign of weakness and negotiation welcomed with treachery. Is this the ominous game where the only winning move is not to play? Hopefully, the combination of AI and Sun Tzu military wisdom will generate an unlikely solution. We probably won't have very long to wait to know the answer. Once again: Welcome to 2026!      

   Here's the comments from Jeffrey Sachs: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhZuTOuwKGA

   Here"s the comments from Douglas Macgregor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfA20zBIUGs

  And here's The Duran:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSs8cbPbBlk&t=1s

TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts Induce Measurable “Brain Rot”

   As we have discussed several times already, the Internet experience is significantly become worse almost by the day now. YouTube is quickly becoming a junkyard of unwatchable SLOP, Zero Hedge which I used to follow closely thanks to its valuable and counter-cyclical, not to say contrarian, market comments is overwhelmed by mainstream propaganda, not to mention the monstrosities that TikTok, Instagram and Facebook have become with their addictive "reel" systems which measurably "rot" the brain of younger people as described below. 

   To be honest, the Internet never approached even remotely the transparency promised in the early days. Quickly Google realized the power of becoming the gateway and soon after dropped its "Don't be Evil" modus Operandi. But that was only the manipulative aspect of things and was to some extent to be expected. 

   What was less clear, is that no social responsibility whatsoever was to be expected from the main tech and social platform players which would optimize income over any other consideration year after year defeating local, national laws thanks to their international structure and immense financial means.      

   Where do we go from there? I am afraid that just as the last 20 years saw the transformation from citizen to consumer, the next 20 years will see a shift from consumer to slave. A modern, technological version of the old status, but something people 2,000 years ago would have readily recognized as such. 

TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts Induce Measurable “Brain Rot”

January 2nd, 2026

Via: Focal Points:

Now, a peer-reviewed paper titled, Demystifying the New Dilemma of Brain Rot in the Digital Era: A Review, confirms that brain rot is real: the digital environment is chemically, cognitively, and psychologically degrading the developing human brain. And the damage is measurable.

The review shows that young people now average 6.5 hours per day online — primarily on algorithm-driven platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and endless-scroll feeds engineered for split-second novelty.

Most of the content involves rapid, low-information stimuli: ultrashort videos, memes, reaction clips, and trivial entertainment fragments that provide novelty without cognitive substance.

These platforms deliver rapid bursts of artificially rewarding stimuli, creating a cycle of:

Constant cognitive overstimulation

The brain never enters a “rest” mode or deeper thought state.

Weakening of working memory

Information is consumed too quickly to be consolidated.

Fragmented attention networks

Short-form content trains the mind to expect constant novelty.

Difficulty processing long or complex information

Deep reading and sustained focus become neurologically harder.

Mental fatigue & reduced executive function

Chronic overstimulation taxes the prefrontal cortex — the center of planning, reasoning, and self-regulation.

The study describes this as a shift from healthy, top-down cognitive control to bottom-up, dopamine-seeking impulsivity.

2026 - The end of Zero Hedge?

   A long, long time ago, Internet-wise, in 2009, Zero Hedge started posting non mainstream market comments. This was post-2008 sub-prime crisis when the financial authorities decided to double down, flood the system with liquidity and hope for the best. At the time, most articles were quite critical but of high quality. Later, they expended to diverse subjects with less and less authority, re-posting articles of sometimes dubious origin and in doing so, slowly but surely lost their edge. 

  And here we are now, 15-so years later. Like so many alternative news media, Zero Hedge in order to grow had somehow to find money and consequently compromise. A little at first, then more... 

  I am sure trading desks have changed since I worked there but this looks more like Slop to attract views than genuine stuff... Unfortunately, I am afraid this is what's in store for us almost everywhere from now on. Already and incredibly almost half the videos on YouTube are Slops. Soon it will become impossible to compete for the algorithm without some use of AI.  

  We'll see. For now, let's try to stay edgy while keeping the naughty stuff in the back office. 

  Happy New Year 2026!