The tumultuous, politically-driven tragedies and conflicts of the past week are numerous, and continue into the new week. Let’s take a look, and see what lessons we can uncover. As always, please feel free to read all, or just portions, of this special report, to leave and return, and to SHARE the internal links and the whole release! Be sure to head to Rumble or Gardner’s X at 6 PM eastern each M-F for the news, from Liberty Conspiracy LIVE! We hope to provide as much big info for freedom fighters as we can!! ALSO, check out the new Former Star Trek Writing Fellow Channels - On YT, and on Rumble!

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IMMIGRATION POLICE STATE, PRIVACY, FEDERALISM

-More than 1,000 protests/rallies are happening this weekend to oppose the Trump Admin ICE criminality. LINK
-In Oregon, the focus is on the TWO ICE Attacks in the form of shootings of two men. LINK
- This prosecutor says that the ICE agent who killed Renee Nicole Good is NOT immune. LINK
-The Mayor of Minneapolis not only demanded prosecution of the ICE agent who shot Renee Nicole Good, MN Atty Gen and others on the state level are rebuking the federal claims of “total immunity” for their goons. They are asking for as much evidence as the local people can provide. This is going to be a towering fight for whatever vestiges of state “power” as remain in the shredded death shroud of the US Constitution. LINK
-And Mayor Frey also noted Saturday that ICE agents plucked a person from a vehicle, and left it unattended, allowing it to roll on, endangering others.

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-And, in Minneapolis, this ICE goon threatens a woman video recording him, implying he can kill her. Amazingly blockheaded.

@Mollyploofkins) ","username":"TheTNHoller","name":"The Tennessee Holler","profile_image_url":"https://pbs.substack.com/profile_images/1088981389960196097/Sw1CTkQx_normal.jpg","date":"2026-01-10T17:31:00.000Z","photos":[{"img_url":"https://substackcdn.com/image/upload/w_1028,c_limit,q_auto:best/l_twitter_play_button_rvaygk,w_88/pylut5kvbixu38zr5x1q","link_url":"https://t.co/nKxFiOT77d"}],"quoted_tweet":{},"reply_count":770,"retweet_count":5351,"like_count":17660,"impression_count":543520,"expanded_url":null,"video_url":"https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2010041638773559296/vid/avc1/720x878/wpG8swNll4IoqBwq.mp4","belowTheFold":true}" data-component-name="Twitter2ToDOM">

-MINN 3rd Dist Congresswoman Kelly Morrison was denied entry to inspect a Twin Cities ICE detention facility:

-WSJ finds 13 instances of ICE agents discharging firearms at people in vehicles since July

-As Reason notes “DHS Invokes Immigration Enforcement To Justify Gathering Americans’ DNA” LINK
-And there’s this, from 2014

-By the way, federal goons now claim that even their unconstitutional “REAL ID” is insufficient to stop ICE and BP gangsters from kidnapping you.

-And 404 Media has this on phone monitoring. It’s a good thing the Fourth Amendment is there to prevent the US from skirting the Fourth Amendment. LINK

WAR

VENEZUELA

-It looks like locals are pushing back at US influence.

-Trump “rules out” new elections in Venezuela. He seems to think that the gov there will abide by US diktats, possibly with “US boots on the ground”. LINK
-Trump Friday met w oil corporation execs, and they expressed extreme hesitation and skepticism re re-investing in VZ. This might be a PR motif intended to give American’s the impression that the US has to get MORE involved there, or it might be the oil execs’ honest stance. Either way, no free individual is supposed to be wrangled into this against his will. I have not read this X user “StarBoySAR” before, but he lays it out very well:
‘A hilarious scene unfolded in the White House. The president, promising "total security," tried to rally oil execs for a Venezuela investment blitz. The response? A masterclass in capitalist realism
Why the skepticism?
For years, Washington weaponized sanctions to strangle Venezuela’s oil industry (you know, “humanitarian concern” my ass)—freezing assets, blacklisting companies, and making it impossible to invest without getting on Uncle Sam’s bad side. Now Trump’s like “Oops, never mind! Come spend billions!”
ExxonMobil's CEO didn't mince words: Venezuela is "uninvestible." Not because of sanctions they once cheered for, but due to a lack of "legal and commercial frameworks." The same cowboys who drilled in Iraq's war zones now want "stability guarantees" from a country the US sanctioned into the ground. Because this time the regime-change project is too messy, even for pirates!
Woods from Exxon wasn't wrong—legal frameworks don't exist. And there is a reason for it: they don't exist because Washington keeps ripping them up whenever Caracas elects the "wrong" leader.
Trump's Security Guarantee Mirage
Executives demanded ironclad security guarantees. Trump offered vibes. They worried deals wouldn't survive the next election—his or Venezuela's. This reveals the fatal flaw of Trump's imperial plunder: it requires permanent, costly occupation and boots on the ground. Something the American public is weary of...
Trump's team desperately tries to sell a $100 billion fantasy
The reality? Only Chevron is there, and it needs "permissions" just to modestly boost output. The grandiose vision collapses upon contact with reality—a metaphor for the American late-stage hegemony.
Now comes the part Western media won't touch: While Trump was getting ghosted by his own tycoons, Chinese firms never left.
CNPC maintained operations. Belt & Road infrastructure kept humming. Payments-in-oil continued. No regime-change demands. No PLA battalions guard oil fields. No "democracy" sermons. Just: "We signed a contract, we honor it"
Investments are structured through sovereign agreements, not imposed by gunboats. Stability comes from development, not regime change—That's the win-win multipolar model!
The real signal here isn't about oil—it's about credibility collapse
The oil execs' skepticism isn't a moral awakening. It's a cold cost-benefit analysis—When your own oil oligarchs, who've profited from every US war, won't touch your "reconstruction" plan? That's not a business decision. That's a vote of no confidence in American longevity.
They're asking the quiet part loud: "What happens when your protection racket folds?"‘

-David Stockman provides some clarity. He notes that the oil execs know that the heavy crude is not at a price that would attract wise investment. It’s too costly to move to refineries. Stockman sees this meeting as a push by the Oilies to get subsidies from Trumpola:

- Max Blumenthal makes a powerful point here re Halliburton in VZ. His knowledge of Venezuela and the US-UK meddling there is extensive.

Share Gardner Goldsmith

-And Max makes ANOTHER key point:

-Trump once claimed that the VZ oil was terrible.

-In the US attack and kidnapping of Maduro, the US used sonic weapons that caused nosebleeds and vomiting of blood LINK
-To reiterate, the head of Exxon-Mobil said reentry into VZ is a no-go, based on a lack of surety that the corporation will not, again, see its investment taken away by political forces.

-And, in classic fashion for his total lack of care for anything other than his own plans and his interest in strong-arming what should be private industry, Trump Friday issued an Executive Order that prohibits U.S. courts from enforcing ConocoPhillips’ $12 billion claim on seized Venezuelan assets against oil sale revenues, aiming to incentivize NEW “investment” by the shielding funds.

• The order addresses a key barrier for oil majors, as Conoco’s long-standing lawsuit stemmed from Venezuela’s 2007 nationalization of assets, which had been used by the U.S. as “justification” for unconstitutional sanctions and threats of intervention; Chevron remains the only major U.S. firm actively operating there under license.

• Amid Trump’s White House meeting with ExxonMobil and Conoco executives—where Exxon pledged rapid assessment if deals materialize— executives cautioned on Venezuela’s heavy oil economics and political risks despite promised “total safety.”

-Let’s not pretend that Machado is anything but a US tool. LINK
-Sheldon Richman has key thoughts on the US warmongers in the House, Senate, and WH. LINK

IRAN

-The US and Israel are pushing chaos in Tehran. LINK
-Trump is preparing to do Israel’s aggressive bidding. LINK The Trumpers are claiming that they have some kind of prerogative to “support” protesters (many of whom likely are doing the bidding of CIA cutouts, paid w US, Israeli, or UK money).
-The son of the CIA-installed Shah encouraged the protests and unrest in Iran. What a surprise. LINK
-More

-The Iranian Foreign Ministry is responding with a blunt statement: Iran is prepared to fight back, hard. LINK

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GREENLAND

In a brazen display of neo-colonial ambition, President Donald Trump has once again set his sights on acquiring Greenland, framing the autonomous Danish territory as a strategic prize essential for U.S. national security. This latest escalation, marked by threats of military intervention if “diplomatic avenues” (i.e. if Denmark doesn’t capitulate to his demands) fail, underscores the persistent undercurrents of American imperialism that have long fueled global instability and conflict. As anti-war advocates and international observers decry the move as a dangerous provocation, it harkens back to historical precedents where superpowers have justified territorial grabs under the guise of defense, often leading to unnecessary wars and the erosion of sovereign rights.The most recent developments erupted this week when Trump, during a White House roundtable with oil executives on January 9, 2026, declared that the U.S. would “do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not.” He warned that if America doesn’t seize control, Russia or China would step in, somehow positioning the island as a “threat.” This rhetoric echoes the Cold War-era justifications for U.S. interventions abroad, where fearmongering about communist or adversarial expansions served as pretexts for military adventures in places like Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan—conflicts that claimed millions of lives and destabilized entire regions without enhancing true security. White House officials have confirmed that Trump is “actively” discussing options with his national security team, including a potential offer to buy the island or, alarmingly, resorting to military force. Secretary of State Rubio reportedly briefed members of Congress that while purchase is preferred, invasion remains on the table. Such statements have ignited fears of a NATO fracture, given Denmark’s membership in the alliance; a U.S. attack on Greenland could invoke Article 5, pitting allies against each other in an absurd intra-alliance war. Anti-imperialist critics argue this is textbook gunboat diplomacy, reminiscent of 19th-century European colonialism, where might makes right and indigenous populations are treated as mere footnotes in great power games. Greenland’s leaders have responded with unanimous defiance. In a joint statement from five political parties in the Greenlandic parliament, they asserted that “Greenlanders don’t want to be Americans” and that the island’s future must be decided by its people, not imposed by foreign diktat.
Prime Minister Múte Egede and other officials have rejected Trump’s overtures outright, emphasizing Greenland’s path toward greater autonomy or independence from Denmark, not absorption into another empire. This resistance highlights the human cost of imperial pursuits: Greenland’s Inuit-majority population now faces the specter of becoming pawns in Washington’s geopolitical chessboard. At the heart of Trump’s fixation lies a cocktail of motivations—strategic military positioning in the Arctic, access to vast mineral resources like rare earth elements crucial for green energy transitions, and a desire to project dominance amid rising tensions with Russia and China.
Yet, from an anti-war perspective, this is a manufactured crisis. The U.S. already maintains a military presence at Thule Air Base in Greenland, rendering full ownership redundant unless the goal is outright colonization, mineral extraction, and geopolitical blockage of transit for ships from other nations.
Critics, including European diplomats, dismiss Trump’s security claims as exaggerated, suggesting instead that the push could be leveraged as bargaining chips in unrelated negotiations, such as those over Ukraine. This opportunistic maneuvering risks escalating global militarization, diverting resources from diplomacy and climate cooperation toward arms buildups and potential confrontations. The anti-imperialist lens reveals this as part of a broader pattern: America’s history of territorial expansion, from the Mexican-American War to the annexation of Hawaii, has often been cloaked in manifest destiny or security imperatives, but at its core, it’s about power and profit. Trump’s Greenland gambit threatens to reignite such dynamics in the 21st century, potentially sparking conflicts that anti-war movements have long fought to prevent. As meetings between U.S., Danish, and Greenlandic officials continue—with another round scheduled for next week—international solidarity is crucial to counter this aggression. Peace advocates urge a rejection of militarized solutions, advocating instead for multilateral Arctic governance that respects indigenous sovereignty and prioritizes environmental stewardship over empire-building. In an era where wars in Ukraine and the Middle East already strain global peace, Trump’s threats against Greenland serve as a chilling reminder: imperialism isn’t a relic of the past but a living force that must be actively resisted to avert further bloodshed. LINK

UKRAINE-RUSSIA

-The Russian government continues to try to get the US and NATO-EU to see that NATO ties to any Ukraine-after-the-war will not be accepted. LINK
-The UK Defense Minister didn’t add to anything by claiming it would be great to kidnap Putin. This, after the CIA was revealed to have been tied to the Ukraine drone attack on Putin’s Novgorod home. LINK

-Pepe Escobar’s new piece is a MUST Read!!!!!! LINK

-Alan Mosely also has written a powerful opinion piece on the fact that many Americans seem to love war LINK

THE US AND INTERNATIONAL (US-TAX-FED) ORGS

-As we reported Thursday, Trump “withdrew the US” from 66 international organizations, nearly half of them tied in some way to the UN. But he has pulled back from his dizzying rhetoric about withdrawing the US from the UN, and even hints at giving it more military power. Here is the New American on it LINK

US ECONOMY

-The WSJ Reports on the monthly losses of manufacturing jobs since Trump announced his tariffs on April 1, last year. LINK

HEALTH

-Pasco, Washington, just ended fluoridation of municipal water. Here’s an idea: stop having a central “authority” control the water LINK

NOW, TIME FOR VIDEO LINKS!

ONE - Daniel Davis has a great overview of the past few days of Trump’s criminality re VZ, Greenland, and the Russia-EU-US-UKRAINE situation.

And the Judge, Ray McGovern, and Larry Johnson are outstanding as they look at both the VZ situation, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and Trump’s acquisitive pronouncements about Greenland!

That’s it for now, all! Thank you for believing in freedom!

And come back Monday for our new DAILY NEWS NOTES! It’s for paid subscribers, and will give you a midday look at some of the breaking news you might want to follow, to compare notes with others, and utilize to keep an eye on the statists in politics and the statists in the “commentary/reporting” realm! Remember, you can watch Liberty Conspiracy Live, each weeknight, at 6 eastern! Help others learn about all the facets of freedom, from markets, to privacy, to speech, to parental control and education, and much MORE! You can watch, listen, and join the chat for freedom as we broadcast on my X and Rumble. Hit me up at X as @gardgoldsmith there and on GAB as “GardnerGoldsmith”! And, of course, I want to mention that if you’d like to get some of my fiction, grab my current novellas at Amazon and Barnes and Noble!! As a rocking opener, I recommend “Fishing” as a dark, well-composed crime tale with some very unusual turns (this contains some scenes of dark violence, so please, be warned)…

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