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Via Middle East Eye

The makers of the popular satirical cartoon show South Park turned their sights on Saudi Arabia in their latest episode, attacking American media personalities, politicians and sporting events for taking money from the state. Titled Turkey Trot, the episode starts with Mayor McDaniels convening a meeting with local businesses trying to secure sponsorship for its annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot race.

Struggling to find funds due to the economic crisis in the US, one character suggests there is someone "who'd be willing to give South Park a bunch of money", adding "they're giving money to everyone else". The scene then cuts to a mock advert for the Turkey Trot, which features mock Arabic singing, shots of Saudi men dancing and a warning that "disparaging remarks towards the Saudi Royal family are strictly prohibited".

That appears to be a reference to the recent Riyadh Comedy Festival, which Saudi Arabia hosted in September and October, and featured comedians including Kevin Hart and Dave Chappelle amid much criticism.

According to contracts for the event leaked by comedian Atsuko Okatsuka, performers had to abide by a list of conditions, which included agreeing not to disparage Saudi Arabia's political leadership, religious values and legal system.

As the South Park episode develops, the show's anti-hero Eric Cartman becomes an advocate for Saudi Arabia, eager to cash in on the Turkey Trot's $5,000 prize. When his teammate Tolkien Black bows out of the race because "it doesn't feel right", Cartman takes on the challenge of changing his mind.

"They're trying to be progressive, okay," he argues. "You want them to go back to what they were doing?"

"You want Saudi Arabia to go back to cutting people up and paying Kevin Hart," says Cartman. "Is that what you want?

"Them wanting to help pay for American things is good. Because, guess what, if Saudi Arabia is out paying for sporting events, they're not out hacking up reporters and inviting Pete Davidson to come do comedy." Cartman continues: "They allow women to drive! It's like practically a lesbian utopia over there."

Tolkien remains unconvinced despite Cartman's arguments, which at one point include blaming him if Saudi Arabia resumes "stuffing journalists into suitcases".

That reference is to the murder of Middle East Eye columnist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents in October 2017. Since Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became the kingdom's de facto ruler in 2017, Riyadh has diversified its investment interests to include sporting events and popular entertainment.

In entertainment, besides the Riyadh Comedy Festival, the country also hosts the Red Sea Film Festival, which opens next week and which regularly attracts Hollywood's A list. In sports, the LIV Golf tour attracts some of the best golfers in the world and the Saudi Pro League features football stars including Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane.

Performers and athletes are attracted to such events by industry-leading payments despite criticism that they are helping to sanitise Saudi Arabia's reputation.

Not all big names are taking the criticism lightly and have defended their right to perform in Saudi Arabia. The most significant of these was the comedian Dave Chapelle, who argued that US critics lacked the moral standing to criticize his appearance in Saudi Arabia given the state of free expression in their home country.

"Right now in America, they say that if you talk about Charlie Kirk, that you’ll get cancelled," Chappelle said during a performance in Saudi Arabia. "It's easier to talk here than it is in America."

Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef argued that the criticisms of comedians appearing in Saudi Arabia made no sense given that the US was also accused of human rights violations and no one had objected to their appearances there.

In a follow-up video, Youssef reiterated his point. "My point was that America is in no position to lecture other countries about morality or human rights violations," he said.

And in a reference to the Israeli war on Gaza, during which at least 69,000 Palestinians have been killed, he added: "It's not just because of the funding and enabling of a live streamed genocide for two years. Although that's a solid start."

After launching ZeroHedge store a year ago, we've been humbled by the overwhelming response. Between die-hard fans of IQ Biologix supplements, ZeroHedge gear, Rancher-Direct clean meats, hand-made knives, and more - your support is greatly appreciated. 

So since everyone else on the planet is doing a Black Friday / Cyber Monday promotion, we did one too. Until Monday at midnight: 

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When someone who used to be the queen of elite progressive philanthropy says the entire system failed - and may have been hijacked for something much darker - the world needs to hear it.

As 'Camus' writes in a post on X, Nicole Shanahan - ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, former running mate of RFK Jr., and someone who personally signed nine-figure philanthropy checks - just went full whistleblower on the entire Silicon Valley “tech wife mafia” and how they were used.

"...the whole model is broken... the whole model makes everybody worse off..." exclaims Shanahan confirming what Desiree Fixler said, that:

"The WEF sold the “Great Reset” as “build back better” — climate action, ESG, inclusion, and PPP.

In practice, it shifted power away from voters to NGOs, corporate elites, and unelected technocrats.

Policy was relabeled “science” to silence debate.

Markets were warped by ESG scores, carbon taxes, and paper-pushing regulation.

Corporations were turned into enforcers of ideology."

As Shanahan exposes in this shocking insider account, communities weren't uplifted - wealth and power were pushed upward, and the 'tech mafia wives' were simple 'useful idiots':

"I don't think many of the tech mafia wives realize… they were used to set the groundwork for what Klaus Schwab calls The Great Reset.

Their money especially was being conscripted through a network of NGO advisors, Hollywood, Davos, and their own companies.

A really small group of people... completely blind to how their groundwork is being used to enable these Great Reset policies."

Then she reflects on these 'tech mafia wives' orienting their values around these actions but really just being 'useful idiots':

“These women find their meaning through philanthropic work. I really believed I was helping Black communities and indigenous communities rise up..."

For Shanahan, she admits:

“My version of success is those communities are actually uplifted. Not just more money pumped into them.”

But now the problems have gotten worse, she admits: 

"Crime worse. Mental health worse. The whole model is broken.

At the end of the day they always go: 'But climate change...'

Social justice + climate change - it gets progressive women 100% of the time."

Fixler agrees vehemently:

"We got higher energy bills, debased money, an affordability crisis, fewer jobs, and creeping control over how we live and speak."

This is the one of the most jaw-dropping few minutes of 'pulling back the curtain' you will watch this year...

This is the most jaw-dropping 4 minutes and 21 seconds you will watch this year.

Nicole Shanahan — ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, former running mate of RFK Jr., and someone who personally signed nine-figure philanthropy checks — just went full whistleblower on the… pic.twitter.com/fFpN1C5BlV

— Camus (@newstart_2024) November 28, 2025

h/t Camus (@newstart_2024)

President Donald Trump has reportedly rejected Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's request for broad amnesty during a newly disclosed phone conversation last week, telling Maduro and his top advisers to drop their demands and swiftly exit Venezuela as US military pressure intensifies, which has lately included an order to halt all flights in the country's sovereign airspace.

According to people familiar with the exchange who spoke to The Wall Street Journal, Trump and Maduro discussed a sweeping amnesty plan, during which time Maduro is said to have sought blanket legal protection for himself, his senior officials, and their families. "Trump told Maduro that if he didn’t leave willingly, the US would consider other options including the use of force, according to people familiar with discussion," WSJ wrote.

Many of those same officials are at this moment under US sanctions or face criminal charges related to corruption and narcotics trafficking. 

President Trump is said to have dismissed the proposal while warning Maduro that the United States would ramp up military action if he refused to step down. This is consistent with prior Washington regime change operations in places like the Middle East, which has seen many longtime rulers overthrown - including Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi, and Bashar al-Assad.

A number of top-ranking Maduro officials have been called out by the Trump administration, and urged to leave the country immediately - including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, and National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez.

Trump while speaking at Mar-a-Lago during Thanksgiving, apparently days after the secretive Maduro phone call, hinted that US ground operations against Venezuela could begin soon. "The land is easier. That’s going to start very soon. We warned them, stop sending poison into our country."

According to some of the details of the newly disclosed call via The New York Times:

The conversation took place late in the week, two of the people said. It included a discussion about a possible meeting between the two men in the United States, according to the people with knowledge of the matter, who were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. There are no plans at the moment for such a meeting, one of the people said.

The phone call, which included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, came days before a State Department designation of Mr. Maduro as the leader of what the administration considers a foreign terrorist organization, the Cartel de los Soles, came into effect.

After this, Trump announced that the airspace over Venezuela should now be considered closed. "To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP," Trump wrote on X. 

Earlier this month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned pilots to "exercise caution" near Venezuela's airspace due to the "worsening security situation and heightened military activity.

??Alert: In Emergency Phone Conference between President Trump and Dictator Maduro, Trump tells Maduro the only way to stop an attack is to step down and leave the country NOW!! pic.twitter.com/IIgtKdC9fd

— US Homeland Security News (@defense_civil25) November 30, 2025

The Pentagon has been deploying warships and other military assets in the Caribbean this year. The deployment centers around bolstering Hemispheric Defense, and the Trump administration has formally characterized Nicolás Maduro as the head of a terrorist organization and considers his government illegitimate. 

Quick response after the US orders what's effectively a total airspace closure over the Latin American country:

0 planes over Venezuela after Trump shuts its airspace pic.twitter.com/wyUwzcTcjy

— RT (@RT_com) November 30, 2025

This policy hearkens back to the first Trump administration, during which time there appeared to be clandestine efforts to foment unrest or else a military coup. These activities didn't amount to much, however, and Maduro had vehemently denounced external meddling and vowed to go after and punish collaborators.

Last year, on the Trump campaign trail, the would-be second term president didn't mention anything in his policy platform about sweeping regime change action in Venezuela - which likely would have been met with a lot of opposition within the MAGA movement.

By Peter Tchir of Academy Securities

The market figured out a holiday recipe that works well:

• A Healthy Dose of Fed Puts.

• A Dash of Trade Hopes.

• A Smidge more Fed Puts because you can never have enough Fed Puts.

In the past 5 trading days (including Friday November 21st):

• The Nasdaq 100 is up 5.7% (outpacing the “rotation” trade of the S&P 500 Equal Weight which is up 3% in those same trading days).

• The probability of a Fed cut at the December meeting spiked to 83% from 35% (well within the range where the Fed would be unlikely to disappoint). 10s rallied as well, though “only” from 4.07% to 4.02%.

• Bitcoin, which traded below $82,000 on the 21st, has reclaimed the $90k threshold.

• Credit spreads joined in the party as CDX went from 56 to 51. That was matched by the Bloomberg Corporate Bond OAS, which tightened from 85 to 80.

There were a couple of other “events” during the week that created some interesting movements (at least briefly). First, and possibly most interesting longer-term, was the sudden need to understand a TPU versus a GPU.

We were able to talk about this, the Fed, and risks to the economy in the first segment of last week’s Bloomberg TV interview. The second segment focuses more on geopolitical issues.

Briefly (only briefly) did the TPU vs GPU story seem to help answer the questions posed last weekend: Is the pAIn Over? Are we at the end of “Free” Money?

Any questions on spending and risks to growth were overwhelmed by the Fed Put (and some signs that the administration would let/even encourage chip sales not just to the Middle East, but also to China).

In addition, please see the link to our November ATW that we released this week. We are focused on the U.S. pressure being put on the Maduro regime.

The Fed Put is In Full Force

You may not believe in Santa, or the Santa rally, but the Fed Put might be the strongest it has been in some time.

• The recognition that the Fed Put is in full effect started last Friday, with Williams coming across more dovish than most supposed.

• It continued over the weekend as more Fed speakers seemed to shift to the dovish side of the ledger.

• Then, finally, it was reported that Kevin Hassett would get the nod to be the next Fed chair.

  • The market, correctly, interpreted this as a signal that the Treasury, the Fed, and the admin would work more closely together – helping pave the way for lower yields and easier monetary conditions.

  • There is “chatter” that Hassett will act as a “shadow” chair at the December meeting ensuring a cut.

• The most material change in the week leading up to this barrage of dovishness wasn’t in the data, but in equity prices.

  • If you could point to some serious change in the data, we could argue that the Fed Put isn’t real, and that they are just “data dependent.” But that wasn’t the case at all. What seemed to drive the rush to get easy money back on track was the performance of equities, and the risk that they were breaking through some serious support levels, causing concern of further downside. Not something that the admin or the Fed wants – especially in an illiquid holiday season.

• The Nasdaq 100 had not broken below its 50-Day Moving Average since the rally that started with the admin retracting the Liberation Day tariffs. It crossed that technical threshold, and almost immediately fell to the 100-Day Moving Average, which it also breached (almost like a hot knife through butter). For many technicians, that put the 200-Day Moving Average in play, which would have been a further 7% decline. It is impossible, at least for me, to look at this chart and think anything other than that the Fed Put is not just alive and well, but it will also flourish under this admin. The admin did go from talking about “Main Street over Wall Street” at the time of the Liberation Day tariffs, to changing track and cheering the stock surge. The admin has continued to point to stocks as a benchmark (not truly unique to this admin, but this admin seems to have a better understanding of markets, and the machinations that can help markets, than prior administrations).

There are a few things that I find surprising about the market reaction (and the Fed hitting the “panic” button):

• I did believe the market pullback had more to do with concerns about the AI spend, than it did about the Fed not cutting in December (obviously, given the market reaction, that assessment was wrong).

• We have not wavered in our assessment that we will likely see Fed Funds effective at 2.875% (100 bps lower than today) by next summer. We did not think that whether we get a December cut or not would matter much (yes, it clearly did). The market is “only” pricing in three cuts between now and September 2026 – that seems too few/too slow. More potential for the markets to get surprised to the upside by easy money and looser financial conditions.

• There is a sense of “irony” or “paradox” or “Catch 22” (or some other word) that fears about the stock market seemed to trigger the shift to the dovish side, and now we will potentially get a cut while stocks may be at all-time highs.

Is the Fed Enough?

I do believe that the risks to spending are greater than the benefits of a 25 bps rate cut, BUT:

• December, with low liquidity and strong seasonals, tends to support strength.

• A market that was already set up for a nice end of year rally is likely to reset itself to that mindset (it is an “easy” and comfortable way to finish the year).

• The government shutdown did end, so with backpay, we could see some boosts to the economy.

• While questions are mounting about domestic AI spend and valuations, the potential for selling chips to other countries has grown in scale and scope of late.

Chips for Everyone

While the questions surrounding TPUs vs GPUs were interesting, they did little for markets. Just like DeepSeek was quickly brushed off as some “one-off” type of thing, the market continues to see demand for high-end chips as “virtually” insatiable.

While some questions remain about the longer-term risk of selling chips to competitors (like China) or even some countries that we don’t fully align with (parts of the Middle East), we seem to be set to sell those high-quality chips to those countries.

This will:

• Substantially change the trade balance with many countries. This is one of the administration’s top goals (though I’m not sure how making something in Taiwan and shipping it across the Strait to China exactly works, but it does for now – and makes, at least to me, the imperative to manufacture more and better chips in this country even more obvious – thinking ProSec™).

• Allow for growth.

• Highlight the competitive advantage other countries have in electron production. The production of electricity is increasingly recognized as a potential roadblock to the planned growth of AI and Data Centers. Countries like Saudi Arabia are better prepared for this need for electricity than we are (once again, highlighting the need for ProSec™). China too has been growing its electricity production through any and all means possible, including, but not limited to, coal, solar, nuclear, and aggressive development work on fusion.

• It is clear that the Middle East will want to buy and use the U.S. chips (designed in the U.S. even if not fully produced in the U.S.). It is less clear that China will go down that path aggressively or not. This could be a test to see if China is truly committed to developing their own industry, even at the risk of working with inferior equipment in the near-term, or whether the need is so great, that they will delay the progress of their own chip industry. The latter would be nice and a big win in the trade wars – but I’m not sure how likely it is, or whether or not we will regret the decision down the road.

Bottom Line

We can all sleep more comfortably and enjoy the holidays a little more with the Fed Put on full display. Who needs to see the tree at Rockefeller Center when the Fed Put is obvious every time we glance at our screens.

I think there are issues regarding valuations, spending, and the state of the consumer/economy, but with earnings season behind us, little “new” or useful data, strong seasonality, and a Fed that seems determined to cut, we should be in for a “normal” December – rather than what we seemed to be facing as markets started to trade on November 21st!

What a difference a week can make!

Things could change – the fears expressed recently are real, but it seems we will be given the opportunity to get our portfolio ready for the new year to capture the opportunities that are unfolding as we speak (especially making things domestically that we need for “security”).

The NY Times has thrown Minnesota governor Tim Walz under the bus over a massive and sprawling fraud scandal that federal prosecutors say siphoned over $1 billion from the state's social safety net programs - more than the entire state spends annually to run its Department of Corrections.

The fraud involved a series of schemes that federal authorities say took root over the past five years, many centered within Minnesota’s Somali diaspora, where individuals established companies that billed state agencies for services that were never performed. Prosecutors say 59 people have been convicted across various cases so far, in three separate plots.

Minnesota’s fraud scandal stood out even in the context of rampant theft during the pandemic, when Americans stole tens of billions through unemployment benefits, business loans and other forms of aid, according to federal auditors. - NYT

Federal prosecutors have emphasized the seriousness of the cases being prosecuted by career federal attorney Joseph H. Thompson - who warned that the scale of fraud threatens public confidence. “No one will support these programs if they continue to be riddled with fraud,” Mr. Thompson said. “We’re losing our way of life in Minnesota in a very real way.”

Feeding Programs and Expanding Fraud

The first public indication of a systemic problem emerged in 2022, when attorneys began prosecuting fraud related to pandemic-era child nutrition programs. 

Prosecutors charged that Feeding Our Future, a Minneapolis nonprofit, partnered with dozens of local businesses to claim reimbursements for tens of thousands of nonexistent meals. The funds were allegedly used for luxury spending, including homes, vehicles, and international real-estate investments.

Investigators later determined that the problem extended beyond the food-assistance program. Two additional fraud schemes came to light last year, including inflated reimbursement claims for services to people at risk of homelessness and fraudulent autism-therapy certifications involving children recruited from Somali communities in Minneapolis.

One provider in the autism program, Asha Farhan Hassan, is accused of facilitating $14 million in fraud. Her attorney, Ryan Pacyga, said she entered the field with good intentions but eventually engaged in falsifying invoices and intends to plead guilty. Pacyga added that some defendants believed state agencies were enabling the fraud. “No one was doing anything about the red flags,” he said. “It was like someone was stealing money from the cookie jar and they kept refilling it.”

Political and Cultural Fault Lines

The cases have fueled debate about whether state officials hesitated to intervene due to concerns over accusations of racism or political backlash. A report by Minnesota’s Office of the Legislative Auditor found that threats of discrimination lawsuits influenced regulatory decisions, including early warnings issued by Feeding Our Future that challenging claims from minority-owned businesses would trigger litigation and public accusations.

Kayseh Magan, a former fraud investigator at the Minnesota attorney general’s office, said that pushback contributed to reluctance among Democratic officials. “There is a perception that forcefully tackling this issue might cause political backlash among the Somali community, which is a core voting bloc,” Mr. Magan said.

Amid the prosecutions, allegations even spilled into courtroom misconduct: defendants attempted to bribe a juror with $120,000 and a note asking, “Why, why, why is it always people of color and immigrants prosecuted for the fault of other people?”

Mr. Thompson argued that heightened racial sensitivities following the death of George Floyd in 2020 affected oversight and enforcement. “This was a huge part of the problem,” he said. “Allegations of racism can be a reputation or career killer.”

Walz’s Response

Walz (D), now in his second term and seeking a third, acknowledged that pandemic policies prioritized speed and accessibility of assistance. “The programs are set up to move the money to people,” Mr. Walz said. “The programs are set up to improve people’s lives, and in many cases, the criminals find the loopholes.”

And of course since Walz is seeking a third term next year and fraud has become a central theme in the upcoming governor’s race, he's introduced stricter measures, including:

• a task force to pursue fraud cases

• enhanced inter-agency data-sharing

• new technology — including AI — to detect suspicious billing

Community Impact and Racial Tensions

The fallout has reverberated sharply within Minnesota’s Somali community of roughly 80,000 residents. Many say the scandals have cast suspicion on innocent families and entrepreneurs. Rep. Ilhan Omar, whose district includes Minneapolis, urged Minnesotans not to generalize wrongdoing. “We do not blame the lawlessness of an individual on a whole community,” she said.

Except - as Somali-American professor Ahmed Samatar of Macalester College argues, the scandal demands honest reflection. 

Dr. Samatar said that Somali refugees who came to the United States after their country’s civil war were raised in a culture in which stealing from the country’s dysfunctional and corrupt government was widespread.

Minnesota, he said, proved susceptible to rampant fraud because it is “so tolerant, so open and so geared toward keeping an eye on the weak.” -NYT

Some Somali social-service providers have criticized the increased scrutiny, with the Minnesota Somali Community Center asserting that heightened enforcement has left legitimate organizations feeling “criminalized and intentionally targeted.”

 

Kazakhstan is angrily denouncing and protesting the "deliberate attack" on critical energy transport infrastructure of the international Caspian Pipeline Consortium in the waters of Russia's port city of Novorossiysk, after on Saturday a naval drone sent by Ukraine severely damaged one of its three loading points.

Kazakhstan's Foreign Ministry said on Sunday, "We emphasize that the Caspian Pipeline Consortium plays an important role in supporting the stability of the global energy system."

It added: "We view what has occurred as an action harming the bilateral relations between the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and we expect the Ukrainian side to take effective measures to prevent similar incidents in the future."

This marks a rare moment that the former Soviet satellite state in central Asia is directly calling out the Ukrainian government and military.

A key section of Caspian Pipeline Consortium near Novorossiysk has as a result of the attack been taken offline until repair and restoration works are completed.

The consortium's over 930-mile pipeline connects oil fields in western Kazakhstan and Russian offshore fields in the Caspian Sea to a marine terminal in Novorossiysk, which means the location serves as the main export route for Kazakh oil, and is one of the world’s largest oil conduits by volume.

Regional sources note that the pipeline transports about 80% of Kazakhstan’s oil exports. According to the consortium's confirmation of the weekend attack:

CPC said on Saturday that a November 29 naval drone attack on its terminal had “significantly damaged” Single-Point Mooring (SPM) 2 – essentially a floating buoy which connects to tankers to load oil.

“Further operation of Single Point Mooring 2 is not possible,” CPC said. “Loading operations and other operations were stopped [and] tankers were withdrawn from the CPC water area.”

“We believe that the attack on the CPC is an attack on the interests of the CPC member countries,” CPC said.

Kazakhstan Has No Choice. It Changes Oil Export Route After Attack on Novorossiysk

Following a nighttime attack by Ukrainian naval drones on the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's marine terminal in Novorossiysk, Kazakhstan has announced that it is forced to seek alternative routes… pic.twitter.com/SerTXJtYK4

— Belsat in English (@Belsat_Eng) November 29, 2025

Moscow for its part decried the Ukrainian attacks as amounting to terrorism and further alleged that European powers are currently engaged in an intense hybrid war against Russia.

However, Ukraine can in turn point to constant and devastating Russian aerial attacks against its energy grid, ahead of what is likely to be a harsh winter - at a moment much of the country is under a rolling power blackout regimen.

Over in Europe, Hungary has also long complained of these Ukrainian attacks on pipelines and energy infrastructure. This summer crude oil flows from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline suffered forced disruptions after Ukrainian drone strike crippled transformer stations and other elements.