USA - A reader points out that the US prison population is higher by 21,100 than the combined prison populations of China and India, the two largest countries in terms of population whose combined populations are eight times larger than that of the US. America is a country of scandals. The latest scandal is the Jewish multi-billionaire Mike Bloomberg’s use of prison labor call centers to spread the message of his presidential campaign. It seems to me that Bloomberg’s attack on the American Constitution is the scandal, not his use of prison labor. Bloomberg wants to repeal the Second Amendment and disarm the American people right at the time that the country is falling apart spiritualy, morally, economically, and politically. The contractors who lease prison labor to Bloomberg, to Apple, to the Department of Defense, are the ones who make the money. They are paid the state minimum wage for the prison labor, and the prisoners are paid a few dollars a month.

USA - Undersea volcano spews millions of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere. Iceland volcano eruption (2012) caused havoc over Europe, Philippines Mount Pinatubo (1991) blasted ash and gas for three days, Hawaii’s Kilauea continues erupting since 1983, and Alaska's Pavlof; Toba caldera in North Sumatra, Sakurajima Japan, Pacana Chile, Popocatepetl & Colima Mexico, New Zealand’s Taupo caldera, Indonesia Mount Sinabung and many others under oceans are all still releasing CO2 in massive amounts the Earth’s natural capacities are able to cope with. Just one major volcano has produced more CO2 than man has ever produced — the current amount of CO2 (0.04%) is irrelevant compared to natural and volcanic emissions. An estimated 139,096 undersea volcanoes are active and 1,581 on land. Will the Greens please protest where the real CO2 problem lies — inside the volcanoes.

SPAIN - They came for your car, your light bulb, your dishwasher and washing machine, your electricity, your airline flight and so much more. Add your steak to the list. The global warming agenda is the gift that keeps on giving for everyone who wants to control what you do, and like the mafia, wants a piece of the action whenever money is on the line. Anti-meat crusaders have been pushing hard in recent months to use climate change to achieve their goal of forcing you into an all plant-based diet. This year their rhetoric became a big part of the dialogue at UN COP 25. They've introduced a new buzzword you'll be hearing a lot of, "peak meat." As CFACT's team learned - as usual, it's do as I say, not as I do. What was the big seller for anyone looking for lunch at the UN climate conference? Burger King - Delicious all meat American burgers, with not a single one of Burger King's latest meatless Whoppers in sight.

SPAIN - The UN climate summit in Madrid has been hit with a whopper of hypocrisy as delegates and activists attending are lining up daily for hamburgers at the conferences’ onsite Burger King despite the UN warnings that eating meat is not climate-friendly. UN climate summit attendees devoured the Burger King burgers daily, despite the UN’s loud admonitions on the alleged climate dangers of consuming meat. Climate Depot was able to confirm that the onsite Burger King at the UN summit DID NOT offer any fake meat alternatives like the Impossible Burger. Burger King only offered real cow meat at the summit location. No fake meat burger available is even more ironic, given that the UN just gave its “Planetary Heath” award to the company responsible for Burger King’s fake meat “Impossible Meat” burgers on December 10. The UN climate summit features anti-meat protestors outside the entrance with many messages to urge a halt to meat-eating. But this did not phase the hungry meat-eaters inside.

USA - Do you think the US is headed for a civil war? There are too many articles predicting America is in for another Civil War. Since the beginning of 2019, there's a new one every week. I've come to see these stories as PREDICTIVE PROGRAMMING which is psychological conditioning provided by the media to acquaint the public with planned societal changes. When these changes are put through, the public will already be familiar with them and will accept them as natural progressions, thus lessening public resistance and commotion.

CHINA - High-flying Chinese firms that once relied on government bailouts in times of crisis may no longer be safe. Corporate bond defaults reached a record high in mid-December in the world’s second-largest economy, the Nikkei reported Friday. Shanghai DZH, a data provider, said defaults on Chinese corporate bonds reached $23 billion, an increase from 2018 when defaults were already rising, according to the report. Government-owned companies are not immune to defaults because authorities are taking a more laissez-faire approach; an international bank executive who spoke to the Nikkei said the “tacit government guarantee” is no longer the norm. Sheets said the Chinese leadership feels “comfortable enough about the outlook that they’re willing to let some firms fail.”

USA - A searing essay in the Christian Post Friday examines Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s misapplication of the Bible to justify “far-left positions” on everything from economic policy to same-sex marriage. Writing for the Christian Post, guest columnist John Stonestreet observes that a growing biblical illiteracy in America allows public figures like Buttigieg to make ridiculous claims in the name of sacred Scripture with almost no pushback from the public.

USA - The west coast never stops shaking, but lately the shaking has gone to an entirely new level, and this has many people deeply concerned about what may be coming. Last summer, a series of alarming foreshocks immediately preceded the two historic quakes that shook the Ridgecrest area in southern California. But those quakes were nothing compared to “the Big One” that scientists assure us is way overdue. Someday an earthquake that is hundreds of times stronger will absolutely devastate the California coastline, and it may be arriving a lot sooner than many people think. Farther north, the Cascadia subduction zone is a ticking time bomb that could literally unleash an unprecedented disaster at any moment.

NIGERIA - Bloodthirsty ISIS terrorists have reportedly beheaded 11 Christian hostages on Christmas Day in Nigeria. The militants said in a sickening video that the mass killing was in revenge for the deaths “of our leaders, including Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi”. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was deeply concerned about reports that civilians have been executed, and others abducted, by an armed group in northern Borno State, northeastern Nigeria. Conflict journalist Ahmad Salkida, who monitors terrorist activities in Nigeria’s northeast, wrote: “The decision to execute the captives was rather swift, abrupt and shocking. ISWAP had reportedly opened a window of negotiations… to exchange the freedom of the captives with those of its members in government custody. But the Nigerian government failed to take the offer.”

PHILIPPINES - A strong typhoon that barreled through the central Philippines left at least 28 dead and 12 missing, and forced thousands to flee their homes, devastating Christmas celebrations in the predominantly Roman Catholic country. Typhoon Phanfone stranded many people in sea and airports at the peak of holiday travel, set off landslides, flooded low-lying villages, destroyed houses, downed trees and electrical poles and knocked out power in entire provinces. One disaster response officer described the battered coastal town of Batad in Iloilo province as a “ghost town” on Christmas Day. About 20 typhoons and storms batter the Philippines each year. The Southeast Asian nation is also located in the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions often occur, making the country of more than 100 million people one of the world’s most disaster prone.

ISRAEL - The rocket attack Wednesday by Palestinian terrorists on an Israeli city where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was appearing at an election campaign event is just the latest example of how the Gaza Strip has become a base for anti-Semitic murderers out to kill as many Jews as possible. Israel responded forcefully and justifiably to the unprovoked rocket fired from Gaza. Israeli Defense Forces fighter jets and helicopters attacked targets used by the Hamas terrorist group in Gaza, including the group’s military complexes. Let’s imagine for a moment what the reaction of the United States would be – under any leader who takes the security of Americans seriously – if a rocket attack was launched toward a campaign event being held by a presidential candidate. What would America or any other nation do? I think it is fair to say that the reaction to such an attack would be quick, decisive and punishing.

ISRAEL - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu trounced his rival Gideon Sa’ar in the Likud leadership race early Friday, winning some 72.5% of the party vote in a landslide victory for the longtime Likud leader. Netanyahu declared victory soon after midnight Thursday-Friday, as the count was underway, while Sa’ar conceded an hour later. As the final results were announced, Sa’ar called Netanyahu to congratulate him. “This is a huge victory! Thank you Likud members for your trust, support and love,” Netanyahu said in a message to supporters, vowing to “lead Likud to a great victory in the upcoming [national] elections and continue to lead the State of Israel to unprecedented achievements.”

EUROPE - Several European governments donated funds to organizations specifically for the purpose of fighting Israel in international legal forums, including the International Criminal Court, which announced last week that it will investigate alleged war crimes committed by Israel and Palestinians. Among the governments funding lawfare against Israel via Palestinians and Israeli organizations are Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, France and the EU, the think tank NGO Monitor found. International Jewish Lawyers Association President Meir Linzen told Channel 13 this week that the ICC's Chief Prosecutor refused a meeting with him, in which he intended to "expose the war crimes committed by the Palestinians."

LEBANON - In mid-December, a month and a half into protests that have crippled Lebanon and placed its political class in the dock, a priest caused a stir by telling his congregation to start stockpiling food. Fragile even in a good year, Lebanon’s economy is disintegrating at an alarming rate, sparking a currency devaluation, a mass flight of money, restrictions on withdrawals, a grave threat to the country’s banking system and a guarantee that – without a foreign bailout – the country will default on its enormous debts by March at the latest. The extent of the economic collapse was on show across the country in the lead-up to Christmas, with close to 400 restaurants closing, malls that usually teemed with expatriates home for the holidays empty and local businesses reporting a plunge in trade of up to 80%.

USA - Despite a 100% vaccination rate, a Texas school closes early for winter break due to a whooping cough outbreak. Clearly the vaccine is failing to work as advertised. If ever there was convincing proof that vaccination does not equate to bona fide immunity, it is at St Theresa Catholic School in Texas... Reported by FoxNews.com on December 19th, the school experienced an outbreak of whooping cough, causing them to close their doors and start their winter break early. In response to this incident, Children’s Health Defense (CHD) posted an article titled, “Pertussis: Vaccine Failure, Not Failure to Vaccinate,” explaining how despite propaganda to the contrary, it is clearly not conscientious objectors to vaccination driving outbreaks like these (ie so-called “anti-vaxxers”), but a failing pertussis vaccine.