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GoldenEye
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by The Macro Butler
Saturday, Jan 11, 2025 - 3:33
With 2024 in the history books, it’s time to look ahead and consider what the future holds for gold, an asset some market commentators still dismiss as a ‘barbaric relic.’ However, for those who have studied the business cycle and understand how to allocate portfolios using the Permanent Portfolio approach, gold proves to be not only a hedge against wars and reckless government policies but also a safeguard against the stagflationary effects of trade conflicts. Notably, the performance of gold in major currencies outside the USD, such as the JPY, CHF, EUR, and CNY, during 2024 reveals even stronger returns in these currencies compared to its performance in USD.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2025-01-11/goldeneye
Bezos, asbestos and ByteDance: SCOTUS skeptical of slippery-slope argument against TikTok ban
"You're ignoring the major concern here" of China manipulating content through TikTok's industry-envied algorithm and harvesting user data, Chief Justice John Roberts tells TikTok lawyer, Trump's former solicitor general.
The Chinese government has kidnapped the children of Jeff Bezos, forcing the owner of The Washington Post to print its propaganda. Congress orders him to shut down the storied newspaper, whose humble motto is "Democracy Dies in Darkness."
Is that constitutional?
The Supreme Court considered such eccentric hypotheticals Friday as it evaluates the pending U.S. ban on social media app TikTok absent its "qualified divestiture" by China-based ByteDance, with only nine days to rule before the bipartisan law signed by President Biden takes effect and the wildcard of pending Trump administration China policy starting the next day.
The law lets the president determine whether an owner subject to a "foreign adversary" has control over or an operational relationship with a U.S. entity, according to the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, which fears it could hit "news websites that offer even rudimentary user-comment functionality" and calls its adversary list "somewhat arbitrary."
https://justthenews.com/government/courts-law/bezos-asbestos-and-bytedance-scotus-skeptical-slippery-slope-argument-against
US intelligence split on origins of Havana Syndrome – report
Most agencies think that a foreign power is unlikely to be to blame for the unexplained health condition, but dissenting voices remain
The US intelligence community is split on the cause of the Havana Syndrome, a mysterious health condition that has affected numerous American diplomats stationed abroad, according to a new government report released on Friday. While most agencies believe it is “very unlikely” the condition is the result of a sophisticated attack by a foreign power, some officials think that an adversary could have created a device that causes the ailment.
Symptoms of the syndrome include headaches, dizziness, nausea, hearing loss, memory issues, and difficulty concentrating. The condition was first identified among US embassy staff in Havana, Cuba, in 2016.
https://www.rt.com/news/610733-us-intelligence-split-origins-havana-syndrome/
Spreading chaos: What’s in store for the Middle East after a bloody year?
Escalation has continued throughout the region in the past year, reaching critical points in several spots.
The year 2024 marked a significant escalation in armed conflicts across the Middle East. Alongside relentless bombardments of Gaza, Israel expanded its military operations into Lebanon, targeting Hamas’ ally, Hezbollah, whose forces launched hundreds of rockets into Israeli territory. For the first time in two decades, Israel also engaged in direct confrontation with Iran.
https://www.rt.com/news/610612-2024-violent-change-middle-east/
Anon thinks independently, do the best to think of others, while making things better is a goal.