CMR is the leading provider of funding and management support for small to medium-sized businesses and entrepreneurs 

More than a year after Bashar al-Assad's overthrow, and some mainstream media outlets are finally taking a critical eye to the new Sharaa/Jolani regime and its human rights abuses, religious oppression, and war crimes.

While the West and Gulf countries celebrated Assad fleeting the country for Russia in December 2024, with the al-Qaeda linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) taking over Damascus, the new government quickly got to work persecuting, massacring, and disappearing religious minorities.

First Alawites were targeted last spring, then Christians, and more recently Druze - or anyone not acting according to the HTS brand of fanatical Islam and jihad. But CNN and other establishment news outlets have 'moved on' and are turning a blind eye. 

But somewhat surprisingly, Reuters has issued a new report which highlights the country simply traded Assad's 'notorious prisons' for Jolani's dark dungeons:

The first wave of detentions in the new Syria came almost immediately – just after victorious rebels flung open the doors of Bashar al-Assad’s notorious prisons.

As ordinary Syrians stormed detention complexes last December to search for loved ones who had vanished under Assad’s rule, thousands of the deposed dictator’s soldiers who had abandoned their posts – officers and conscripts alike – were taken prisoner by the rebels.

Then came the second wave in late winter: Hundreds of people from Assad’s Alawite sect, mostly men, were seized by the new authorities throughout Syria. Their detentions spiked after a brief uprising along the coast in March killed dozens of security forces, sparking reprisals that left nearly 1,500 Alawites dead. Those arrests continue to this day.

In the next wave to be targeted for mass detentions by the new government were Druze, especially after fighting and unrest was sparked in the south between locals and Jolani's Sunni security forces.

Reuters underscores, "Prisons and lockups that jailed tens of thousands of people during Assad’s rule are now crowded with Syrians detained by President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s security forces and held without formal charges."

The outlet has compiled names of over 800 Syrians held under such circumstances, and says the true figure is likely much higher.

Syrian general security headed towards Aleppo calls Kurds pigs. Not the SDF. Not the Asayish. Kurds.

"We'll step on your necks, God willing."

This is the "inclusive" Syrian government. pic.twitter.com/LWzxJdX3ls

— Lindsey Snell (@LindseySnell) December 22, 2025

The secular rule of the Assad family over the years consistently saw widespread accusations of torture happening at government detention sites. But again, it seems the country has simply moved to jails now overseen by torturers who are bearded jihadists: 

In December 2024, Sharaa pledged to “close the notorious prisons” of the fallen dictator. But Reuters found that at least 28 prisons and lockups from the Assad era have been operational again over the past year.

Asked for comment on the findings of this report, Syria’s Information Ministry said that the need to bring those involved in Assad’s abuses to justice explained many of the detentions and the reopening of some facilities.

“The number of people involved in crimes and violations in Syria under the former regime is very large, given the scale of the abuses committed,” the ministry said. “There are past crimes, involvement in new violations, and threats to security and stability by those associated with the regime, in addition to other crimes.”

So it seems this is more about mass revenge against non-Muslim communities, and detainees interviewed by Reuters say they've been insulted with fanatical and religious language. "You are infidels, you are pigs," one Syrian farmer who was arrested by the new regime described.

Another Alawite man recounted, "Everyone ordered me to bark like a dog. They beat me with the butts of their rifles, their fists, their boots. I thought my life was coming to an end."

Shocking how #ISIS has become more powerful and present in #Syria since Trump made #Jolani and the #NewSyria Takfiris part of the Anti-ISIS coalition. LOL pic.twitter.com/poM3LzwLnh

— Vanessa Beeley (@VanessaBeeley) December 17, 2025

Reuters also included the story of a Christian merchant who was tortured and killed under the new regime:

Among the dead was a detainee at Kafr Sousa, a 59-year-old Christian merchant named Milad al-Farkh. His family said he was arrested on August 24 on allegations of hiding weapons, working as an arms dealer and selling expired meat at his butcher shop.

Al-Farkh’s family described the arrest as an attempt to pressure them into paying $10,000 in protection money.

Two weeks later, an inmate at Kafr Sousa managed to get a call out to the family to tell them al-Farkh was near death from torture. The call from the hospital morgue came the next day, on September 9, the family said. One relative was arrested for demanding an autopsy. 

Sadly, Syria's new rulers - who resemble ISIS or al Qaeda in their words, actions, appearance, and beliefs - were installed with the help of the US, Turkey, and Gulf allies.

Below: "Details of the real-life experiences of the Orthodox Christian families and others who suffered at the hands of radical terrorists supported by countries and groups from outside Syria."

The Book SYRIA CRUCIFIED offers unique stories of individual Syrian Christians telling of their war-torn homeland. Order your copy with the link below. https://t.co/tn0pfyQFS9 pic.twitter.com/zazLajtIsh

— Brad Hoff (@BradRHoff) December 28, 2021

President Trump even recently boasted, "It’s been amazing what — what’s taken place in Syria. We got rid of Assad." 

Amer Matar, a journalist and filmmaker briefly detained by ruling HTS forces this year has observed, "Those ruling today decided to turn the Assad prisons into new prisons... It's the most absurd thing I have ever seen."

Authored by Jackson Richman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The United States has recalled almost 30 career diplomats from ambassadorial roles.

All of the ambassadors were appointed under President Joe Biden and are senior members of the State Department’s Foreign Service, which produces career diplomats to serve in Washington and abroad.

These diplomats tend to stay in their roles for a few years and usually do not leave when there is a change in administration, as they are trained to carry out the president’s agenda, no matter which party occupies the White House.

The ambassadors were informed last week that their tenures will end in January. Those affected by the recalls will return to Washington and are able to take on other assignments.

A State Department official told The Epoch Times that ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president.

“This is a standard process in any administration,” the official said.

“An ambassador is a personal representative of the president, and it is the president’s right to ensure that he has individuals in these countries who advance the America First agenda.”

Politico first reported the ambassadorial recalls.

“One of the reasons why President Trump was elected is sort of an understanding among the American people that our foreign policy was in need of a complete recalibration because the world has dramatically changed,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Dec. 19

“Many of the institutions, policies, assumptions that our foreign policy was operating under were built upon a world that no longer existed, and it required us to re-examine that.”

The 29 ambassadors recalled included 15 from Africa: Algeria (Elizabeth Aubin), Burundi (Lisa Peterson), Cameroon (Christopher Lamora), Cape Verde (Jennifer Adams), Egypt (Herro Mustafa Garg), Gabon (Vernelle Trim FitzPatrick), Ivory Coast (Jessica Davis Ba), Madagascar (Claire A. Pierangelo), Mauritius (Henry Jardine), Niger (Kathleen FitzGibbon), Nigeria (Richard Mills Jr.), Rwanda (Eric W. Kneedler), Senegal (Michael Raynor), Somalia (Richard Riley), and Uganda (William Popp).

There were eight recalled from the Asia-Pacific region: Fiji (Marie Damour), Laos (Heather Variava), Marshall Islands (Laura Stone), Nepal (Dean Thompson), Papua New Guinea (Ann Marie Yastishock), the Philippines (MaryKay Loss Carlson), Sri Lanka (Julie Chung), and Vietnam (Marc Knapper).

Four of the recalled ambassadors were from Europe: Armenia (Kristina Kvien), Macedonia (Angela Aggeler), Montenegro (Judy Reinke), and Slovakia (Gautam Rana).

Two were from the Americas: Guatemala (Tobin Bradley) and Suriname (Robert Faucher).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A white Christmas is one of those holiday experiences that feels universal—until you look at the weather history and actual odds of snowfall on Christmas Day across the United States.

This map, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte, shows the historic probability across the U.S. of seeing at least one inch of snow on the ground on December 25, using data from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is based on the latest U.S. Climate Normals (1991–2020).

These “normals” are three-decade averages built from observations at nearly 15,000 stations, offering a consistent baseline for what’s typical in different parts of the country.

Latitude Matters Most For a Snow on Christmas Day

If you want the simplest rule of thumb for a white Christmas, head north. The northern Plains, Upper Midwest, and large stretches of the interior Northeast generally sit in higher probability bands than the rest of the country.

The data table below features state averages of NOAA’s full 5,000+ row dataset of specific station probabilities of at least one inch of snow:

Areas around the Great Lakes can also improve their odds thanks to lake-effect snow, which can build persistent snowpack when cold air is in place.

Meanwhile, the further south you go, the more quickly the map shifts into darker shades—signaling that a white Christmas is historically uncommon.

Mountains Upgrade White Christmas Probabilities

Elevation can change the forecast more than any state line. The Rockies and the Sierra Nevada stand out as some of the most reliable places for holiday snow cover, with many high-altitude areas reaching the upper probabilities of Christmas Day snowfall.

The Cascades and ranges across Idaho also show strong odds, reinforcing how quickly temperatures drop with height.

Even in the East, the Appalachians make a visible difference—higher terrain can hold onto snow that the surrounding lowlands doesn’t.

Why the South and Coasts Often Miss White Christmas

Across the Gulf Coast, Deep South, and much of the Sun Belt, the map largely sits in the 0–10% range. Warmer winter temperatures mean snow is rarer to begin with—and even when it does fall, it’s less likely to stick around long enough to still be on the ground by Christmas morning.

Coastal climates often tilt milder as well, especially where ocean air moderates winter cold.

And for non-contiguous states, the story is mixed: Alaska’s station network is too sparse to confidently fill in the entire map, while Hawaii’s odds remain firmly at zero.

In other words, the classic “white Christmas” is real—but it’s also highly regional. If snow is the goal, history suggests two reliable strategies: chase colder latitudes, or climb into the mountains.

For more Christmas-related visualizations, check out this graphic which ranks Spotify’s most streamed Christmas songs on Voronoi.

President Trump is scheduled to make a public announcement at 4:30 p.m. EST at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, alongside Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of the Navy John Phelan.

*TRUMP'S 4:30PM ANNOUNCEMENT TODAY IS ON SHIPBUILDING: OFFICIAL

— zerohedge (@zerohedge) December 22, 2025

No details have been released about the substance of the announcement, which comes as the holiday week begins with Christmas Eve just days away.

The timing follows a flurry of defense and national security developments. Last week, Trump signed the annual defense policy bill into law, authorizing roughly $900 billion for the Pentagon. Since then, the administration has escalated gunboat diplomacy in the Caribbean, raised new national security concerns over offshore wind farms, and sparked diplomatic backlash after appointing a special envoy, which prompted an angry response from Denmark’s foreign minister earlier today.

It is worth noting that The Epoch Times expects the announcement to focus on shipbuilding, a fitting topic given the Pentagon's strategic repositioning across the Western world and the increased emphasis on hemispheric defense. We have informed readers about how Goldman is profiting from this historic realignment (see here).

Given the news flow, here are several topics Trump, Hegseth, and Phelan could address:

• Trump signs defense policy bill into law

• Hunting Season: US Forces Target Third 'Dark Fleet' Tanker Near Venezuela

• Trump Wants New "Golden Fleet" Of Future Battleships For Hemispheric Defense

• Leases For Five Offshore Wind Projects Suspended Over Radar-Related National Security Concerns

• Denmark Furious After Trump Names Special Envoy To Greenland

Watch Live:

.  .  . 

Authored by James Howard Kunstler,

Seeing Is Believing (Not)

"...power that goes unpunished only learns one lesson: it can do whatever it wants."

- Roger Stone

Has it occurred to you that the video footage of the hallway outside Jeffrey Epstein’s prison cell that shows nobody coming or going around the hour that he “killed himself” could be fake? All authorities from the FBI to The New York Times pretend that the date-and-time stamped video is authentic, and that it proves nobody went into his cell to kill him. Nobody has questioned this. How difficult would it be to take a few hours of alternate closed-circuit TV footage of the same drab hallway from the same position, making sure nobody got on-camera, and then stick a fabricated date-and-time stamp on it? Do you suppose that the intel agencies don’t have the capacity to fabricate that sort of evidence?

At this point, seeing what the capabilities are for AI to compose any kind of picture — or even what years’ old Photoshop programs can do — why would you suppose that anything in the Epstein files now being released might not be subject to fiddling by persons and parties with an interest? Even one second of video showing a notable person in somebody’s arms, or performing an illicit act with a child, a mere glimpse of such a thing, would be A) easy to manufacture, and B) guaranteed to create a mighty shit-storm of a political crisis that would steal everybody’s attention from now until the Rockies tumble.

The Epstein files looks like the end of the seeing-is-believing phase of human history. Whatever dazzling fakes you’re watching on “X” these days, consider that the deep fake abilities of government agencies are a mile ahead of commercially-available AI tech that any jamoke on TikTok can use. I wouldn’t believe a single goshdarn thing coming out of these files that preoccupy the nation right now — while many momentous events unfold at home and around the world unnoticed, or get crowded out by the hoo-hah over Jeffrey Epstein’s sketchy doings. The further forward in time this goes, the worse you can expect it to get.

And why wouldn’t it be in the intel community’s interest to keep this hoo-hah going as long and hard as possible, so as to distract the public from some of the other problems besetting the republic — such as the intel community’s obdurately sociopathic and seditious activities against that very republic?

Talk might be cheap, too, but there’s plenty of chatter on the Internet these days to the effect that a claque of players with familiar names, currently under suspicion of major misdeeds, are secretly running critical sections of the government as a kind of rogue directorate.

For instance, former CIA Director John Brennan, whose front-job for years has been as a “national security contributor” to MSNBC/NBC.

Do you suppose he sits around his home-office all the livelong day and doesn’t talk to any of his old colleagues? How else would he acquire any “national security” info to report on cable TV? And might you wonder whether these conversations, if they occur, include not just queries and postulations but instructions? That is, orders. . . for people to carry out such-and-such activities? Or suggestions of orders?

And, of course, John Brennan is just one character in a basket of deplorable former intel officials who conceivably wield influence, or issue orders, in the vast turbid, stagnant, septic backwaters of America’s intel swamp.

To name a few: Jim Clapper, Michael Hayden, Mike Pompeo, Avril Haines, Leon Panetta, Gina Haspel. Just add the rest of the list of bigshots who signed the infamous 2020 Hunter Biden / Russian disinfo “open letter.”

And dozens more including a big gang of ex-FBI and DOJ with cases pending for activities that have the shape and smell of a coup to overthrow the US government (that they served.

Do you suppose any of them might have an interest in stirring the pot of cognitive dissonance that is making it nearly impossible for the people of this land to understand what the fuck is going on around them?

You’ve got to wonder what John Ratcliffe thinks about all this (and about the 21,000 employees of the CIA he supposedly directs). And what Tulsi Gabbard knows about the sundry communications flying around the American digital ether.

And what fresh treachery is yet being launched by this coterie of scoundrels. And now imagine how difficult life must be for one President Donald Trump. Just sayin’.

Washington is making clear - in case there was still lingering confusion in anyone's mind - that we have entered the "Maduro must go" phase of looming regime change operations targeting Venezuela.

A fresh Monday statement from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem makes clear that "We're not just interdicting these ships, but we’re also sending a message around the world that the illegal activity that Maduro is participating in cannot stand, he needs to be gone, and that we will stand up for our people."

"This is an enemy of the United States that we're taking strong action against, and our Coast Guard is doing a rock-star job going out there and interdicting these ships safely, but also sending a strong message that we will stop this flow and we will continue to stand up for our country," Noem said.

The Coast Guard falls directly under Noem’s jurisdiction, and while it has been the Pentagon doing the drug boat strikes with drones, the Coast Guard has been seeking to intercept and take control of a third 'illicit' tanker in waters off Venezuela.

Sources have told Bloomberg that US forces are still in pursuit of the Bella 1 tanker, which was en route to Venezuela to be loaded with oil. Amid conflicting reports that it had been boarded by American troops, US officials later told The New York Times that the Bella 1 refused to be boarded and fled to the northeast, into the Atlantic Ocean.

It remains unclear whether the Bella 1 will ultimately "get away" or not:

U.S. forces approached the Bella 1 late on Saturday. But it refused to be boarded, instead turning and creating what one U.S. official described as “an active pursuit.”

By Sunday, the Bella 1 was still fleeing the Caribbean and was broadcasting distress signals to nearby ships, according to radio messages reviewed by The New York Times and first posted online by a maritime blogger. The vessel was traveling northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, more than 300 miles away from Antigua and Barbuda, the messages showed. By Sunday evening, Bella 1 had sent over 75 alerts.

It is not clear what steps the United States is taking to pursue the ship. The White House said Mr. Trump would make an announcement on Monday afternoon with his defense secretary and his navy secretary but provided no indication of the subject.

These tanker interdict actions have clearly been stepped up, and more will likely follow, raising the stakes also as China and Russia could react with strong condemnations:

The Coast Guard on Saturday stopped and boarded the Centuries, a tanker that had recently loaded Venezuelan oil, reportedly for a Chinese trader. The U.S. authorities did not have a seizure warrant for the Panamanian-flagged vessel and said they were verifying the validity of its registration. It was unclear how long the ship would be detained.

On Dec. 10, the United States had seized another tanker, the Skipper, which was transporting Venezuelan crude but had earlier carried Iranian oil. The Skipper has been escorted to Galveston, Texas.

This month the US strikes on alleged trafficking boats have have killed about 100 people total since early September. While these actions have remained deeply controversial, denounced in many quarters as 'extra-judicial killings' - Congress has essential neutered itself.

NY Times: the tanker the US seized today, called "the Centuries, is not on a list of tankers under U.S. sanctions that is publicly maintained by the Treasury Department. The people inside Venezuela’s oil industry said the cargo belongs to an established China-based oil trader… pic.twitter.com/UXNkKBKgUq

— Steve Lookner (@lookner) December 20, 2025

Recent bills before the House have sought war powers for Congress, which would have required President Trump to seek Congressional approval for further military action; however, these efforts have been voted down, and the strike down was largely bipartisan.

* * *

Enter the "days are numbered" rhetoric on Venezuelan strongman Maduro. There's been speculation he could flee to places like Qatar or even Russia, like someone else did a year ago...

Iran on Monday is conducting live missiles drills across several areas and cities, with officials telling the world the military will remain steadfast in defending the country and that its missile program is strictly defensive.

The semi-official Fars news agency confirmed that missile tests were observed in multiple locations, among them Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad, Khorramabad and Mahabad. Videos were also widely circulated of missiles soaring through the air, visible from urban centers.

"Iran’s defensive capabilities are by no means an issue that can be discussed," Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated Monday, at a moment of high tensions with Israel, which has denounced the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile program.

The timing is interesting given Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump days ago confirmedd they are scheduled to meet December 29 at the Mar-a-lago estate in Florida.

Netanyahu is expected to press his US counterpart on greenlighting possible new strikes on Iranian ballistic missile sites, which Israel says constitutes a threat to the whole region. The US would unlikely directly back such a plan especially at moment its eye is focused on Venezuela.

All of this has sparked concerns that Israel could see the new Iranian test launches as a direct threat, given hundreds of Iranian missiles and drones rained down on Israeli cities and bases during the June 12-day war.

Axios, for example, reports that "Israeli officials warned the Trump administration over the weekend that an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps missile exercise could be preparations for a strike on Israel, according to three Israeli and U.S. sources with knowledge of the issue."

NEW: Missile-related activity reported across Iran, including loud sounds near Khorramabad and missile trails over Mashhad and other cities.

IRGC is likely holding a missile exercise. pic.twitter.com/vG7Y5O4jKA

— Clash Report (@clashreport) December 22, 2025

An Israeli official was cited as saying, "The chances for an Iranian attack are less than 50%, but nobody is willing to take the risk and just say it is only an exercise."

And yet this is precisely what Tehran has now projecting - that it's actions are 'defensive' in nature and that it does not act in the way of an aggressor. 

A further alarming statement from the Axios report is in the following: "The sources said the biggest risk is a war between Israel and Iran will break as a result of a miscalculation with each side thinking the other plans to attack and try to preempt it."

The June war itself began as a surprise attack by Israel, which the US supported with its own follow-up bombings of three nuclear sites. Tehran was on the very eve of the conflict engaged in good faith negotiations with Washington, and has since complained of the betrayal and obliteration of any shred of trust.

Between the lines: The sources said the biggest risk is a war between Israel and Iran will break as a result of a miscalculation with each side thinking the other plans to attack and try to preempt it https://t.co/y7NdE224nG

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) December 22, 2025

President Trump then touted that he oversaw a ceasefire, and likely US officials behind the scenes pressured Israeli to admit the complete 'obliteration' of Iran's nuclear program, though this remains anything but certain or verified.