Reader’s Links for January 18, 2025

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Each day at just after midnight Eastern, a post like this one is created for contributors and readers of this site to upload news links and video links on the issues that concern this site. Most notably, Islam and its effects on Classical Civilization, and various forms of leftism from Soviet era communism, to postmodernism and all the flavours of galloping statism and totalitarianism such as Nazism and Fascism which are increasingly snuffing out the classical liberalism which created our near, miraculous civilization the West has been building since the time of Socrates.

This document was written around the time this site was created, for those who wish to understand what this site is about. And while our understanding of the world and events has grown since then, the basic ideas remain sound and true to the purpose.

So please post all links, thoughts and ideas that you feel will benefit the readers of this site to the comments under this post each day. And thank you all for your contributions.

This is the new Samizdat. We must use it while we can.

For those interested, please check out https://vladtepesblog.substack.com/ as an another avenue of expression. The Substack is a different project in a sense. It is older videos that in the light of subsequent events, look different or of increased importance, Check it out now and again if you like.

About Eeyore

Canadian artist and counter-jihad and freedom of speech activist as well as devout Schrödinger's catholic

16 Replies to “Reader’s Links for January 18, 2025”

    • “My Gun, My Choice” ~ ‘Second Amendment Guarantee Act’ Deserves Passage
      Ammoland Inc. Posted on January 18, 2025 by Alan Gottlieb
      Public Opinion Protest America pro gun iStock-Jon Rehg 1263488087
      iStock-Jon Rehg

      The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms says the newly-introduced Second Amendment Guarantee Act (SAGA) by U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) “is a timely proposal that deserves passage.”

      Congresswoman Tenney’s proposal, part of her detailed Second Amendment Plan, would prohibit the states from banning the manufacture, sale, importation, or possession of any rifle or shotgun that is lawfully permitted under federal law, according to a statement from her office. The measure is co-sponsored by Reps. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and Nick Langworthy (R-NY).

      Congresswoman Tenney Introduces the Second Amendment Guarantee Act to Defend New Yorkers 2A Rights.

      January 15, 2025
      Press Release
      Washington, DC – Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) today introduced the Second Amendment Guarantee Act (SAGA) to ensure that states are prohibited from banning the manufacture, sale, importation, or possession of any rifle or shotgun that is lawfully permitted under federal law.

      Additional cosponsors of this legislation include Representative Doug LaMalfa (CA-1) and Nick Langworthy (NY-23).

      New York’s SAFE Act, signed into law under disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo, prohibits law-abiding New Yorkers from purchasing, transferring, and owning certain firearms. If signed into law, this SAGA Act would nullify the SAFE Act and prevent New York and other states from passing unconstitutional gun bans.
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      “The Constitution clearly established our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. The SAGA Act nullifies New York’s unconstitutional SAFE Act and prevents other states from enacting laws that violate the Second Amendment. This legislation upholds our country’s founding principle of protecting the rights of law-abiding Americans, even from liberal states with anti-gun policies,” said Congresswoman Tenney.

      “No matter how hard radical Democrats in Albany attempt to limit lawful gun ownership, the New York Congressional delegation will stand firm to protect law-abiding New Yorkers and manufacturers in protecting their constitutional rights. I am proud to join Rep. Tenney and my New York colleagues in Congress to ensure these rights ‘shall not be infringed, and I will never back down in my fight to protect the Second Amendment,” said Congressman Langworthy.

      “This important legislation comes at a time when a minority of states, run by anti-gun legislative majorities, have adopted or are trying to adopt bans on the most popular rifles and shotguns in the country,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “These prohibitions deprive citizens in those states of their Second Amendment rights under color of state law, which cannot be allowed.”

      While Tenney’s legislation is described as a response to New York’s Draconian “SAFE” Act, which was signed into law by disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, passage of SAGA would nullify bans in other states, and prevent consideration of such laws in the future.

      “The Citizens Committee will encourage its members and supporters, and the tens of millions of honest American gun owners to energetically support the SAGA legislation,” Gottlieb said. “The time has come for our voices to be heard, on Capitol Hill and in the halls of every anti-gun state legislature and governor’s office in the country.

      “Thanks to Congresswoman Tenney’s proposal,” he observed, “America’s gun owners can put anti-gun lawmakers on notice that we’re tired of being treated like second-class citizens, and that our rights are more important than their ill-advised crusade to disarm law-abiding Americans and erase the Second Amendment from the Bill of Rights. Millions of people already own these firearms across the country and there is no good reason to penalize them for crimes they didn’t commit, and for merely choosing to exercise a right guaranteed by the Constitution.”

      Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

      With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (www.ccrkba.org) is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

      https://www.ammoland.com/2025/01/my-gun-my-choice-second-amendment-guarantee-act-deserves-passage/

  9. Former Trump Aide Hogan Gidley Suggests Security Concerns May Have Forced Trump’s Inauguration Indoors
    thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/former-trump-aide-hogan-gidley-suggests-security-concerns/
    Jan. 18, 2025 4:20 pm
    Screenshot: Benny Johnson/X

    President Donald Trump’s upcoming inauguration will be held indoors at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda due to what has been officially cited as extreme cold weather.

    However, former Trump White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley has hinted that security concerns may have played a significant role in the decision.

    President Trump, known for his crowd-pleasing rallies and larger-than-life persona, released a statement emphasizing the safety of all attendees as the priority.

    He explained that the Arctic blast sweeping through Washington, D.C., with temperatures predicted to plummet into the 20s and possibly lower with wind chill, necessitated the change.

    Trump invoked the precedent of Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985, when similar extreme weather moved the ceremony indoors.

    The statement read:

    “January 20th cannot come fast enough! Everybody, even those that initially opposed a Victory by President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration, just want it to happen.

    It is my obligation to protect the People of our Country but, before we even begin, we have to think of the Inauguration itself.

    The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows. There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way.

    It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!).

    Therefore, I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather.

    The various Dignitaries and Guests will be brought into the Capitol. This will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!

    We will open Capital One Arena on Monday for LIVE viewing of this Historic event, and to host the Presidential Parade. I will join the crowd at Capital One, after my Swearing In.

    All other events will remain the same, including the Victory Rally at Capital One Arena, on Sunday at 3 P.M. (Doors open at 1 P.M.—Please arrive early!), and all three Inaugural Balls on Monday evening.

    Everyone will be safe, everyone will be happy, and we will, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

    While Trump’s statement focused on the cold weather, Hogan Gidley, in a recent interview with Benny Johnson, suggested there could be more to the story.

    Benny Johnson:
    Okay, so, Hogan, your advice—maybe you were the one who advised President Trump to move his inauguration indoors. Can you talk us through that?

    Hogan Gidley:
    Well, I wasn’t the one who advised him of that. But listen, you’re talking about some security risks. I think we’re all worried about that. I mean, it’s not far-fetched to think someone would try to assassinate him for a third time.

    We’ve already had two warnings here, and paying attention to that is very wise. I was concerned the whole time. Is there a—if so, does he have a bulletproof Popemobile? I don’t know. When he goes out to speak, is he going to be behind or in some type of bulletproof glass or cage? I didn’t understand that.

    Trending: Barack Obama Posts Unflattering Photo of Michelle Amid Divorce Rumors

    But now, when you find out the temperature is going to be around 12 degrees, a lot of people are concerned. I think Trump understands, as you know, at the end of the day, he really is a host. He wants you to enjoy your time around him, enjoy your time at his properties. I think he took a look at the weather and went, “You know what? Let’s just move it inside.”

    By the way, he’s loaded up the calendar with so many events. It’s not like you’re going to have fewer than one chance to see him.

    You’ve got many opportunities now with a rally and other things. So he understands what the crowd wants to see. Monday can’t come soon enough. I mean, obviously, we’ve got to get this guy sworn in. I’m so excited for what he’s going to usher into this great republic that has been so destroyed for the last four.

    But I think moving it inside was probably the right move. I wanted to be outside in the cold and watch it, but hey, any way I can see this man get inaugurated, get sworn into office, I’m here for it.

    WATCH:

    Former Trump White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley reveals security concerns could have played a role in moving Trump’s Inauguration indoors

    “You’re talking about security risks. It’s not far-fetched to think someone would try to assassinate him for the third time” pic.twitter.com/SgKDT3Hxp0

    — Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 17, 2025

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/former-trump-aide-hogan-gidley-suggests-security-concerns/

  10. Restructuring the People’s Liberation Army (PLA): China’s New Threat to American Interests
    thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/restructuring-peoples-liberation-army-pla-chinas-new-threat/
    Jan. 18, 2025 1:40 pm
    Photo courtesy of China Army

    China’s restructuring of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) represents more than just a military reorganization—it’s a bold statement of Beijing’s ambitions to challenge American interests and reshape the global balance of power.

    For decades, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has viewed the United States as the primary obstacle to its goal of national rejuvenation, which includes the forced unification of Taiwan and the expansion of authoritarian influence worldwide. The PLA’s modernization is not only a direct threat to America’s allies in the Indo-Pacific—most notably Taiwan—but also a calculated strategy to undermine democracy and freedom on a global scale.

    Xi Jinping’s vision of the “great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” hinges on building a modern, capable military to safeguard China’s development, territorial integrity, and the survival of the Communist Party (CCP). Drawing lessons from historical humiliations, such as imperial decline and Japanese occupation, Xi underscores military strength as essential to national security. Since taking power, he has prioritized modernizing the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by overhauling command structures, updating training, and strengthening civil-military technological cooperation.

    Central to this modernization is Beijing’s goal of “full reunification,” with Taiwan seen as essential to China’s sovereignty and stability. The CCP views Taiwan’s independence as a threat, dismisses its democratic elections as illegitimate, and justifies the use of force through the 2005 Anti-Secession Law if peaceful reunification fails. To achieve this, the PRC is building a world-class military capable of asserting control over Taiwan and countering external challenges.

    The restructuring of the PLA is central to Xi Jinping’s vision of transforming China’s military into a world-class force by mid-century. This strategy, outlined at the 19th Party Congress in 2017, establishes clear milestones: achieving mechanization and technological advancements by 2020, completing national defense modernization by 2035, and building a globally dominant military by 2049. The 2027 modernization milestone focuses on integrating mechanization, informatization, and intelligentization, enhancing the PLA’s capacity to support the forced annexation of Taiwan.

    The PRC’s defense policy, as detailed in its 2019 white paper, prioritizes safeguarding sovereignty, security, and development interests. Key objectives include deterring aggression, countering separatist movements, opposing Taiwan’s independence, and protecting territorial integrity. Beyond these goals, the PLA also seeks to secure maritime, space, cyber, and electromagnetic domains while safeguarding overseas interests and promoting sustainable national development—highlighting the increasing role of military power in advancing the CCP’s regional and global ambitions.

    Apart from its ambitious modernization efforts, the PLA is also undergoing extensive restructuring across all its branches—Ground Force, Navy (PLAN), Air Force (PLAAF), Rocket Force (PLARF), and the newly reorganized Strategic Support Force (SSF). These structural reforms are strategically designed to enhance the PLA’s operational capabilities across all domains.

    The People’s Liberation Army Ground Force has prioritized Taiwan as a contingency, evidenced by its reorganization, amphibious training, and enhanced capabilities for rapid strikes and large-scale amphibious operations. Six amphibious brigades—four in the Eastern Theater Command (ETC) and two in the Southern Theater Command—conduct realistic, large-scale training involving sea, air, and ground unmanned systems to refine tactics for potential beach assaults and logistical support in challenging conditions.

    The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has bolstered its capabilities with advanced surface combatants, submarines, and fourth-generation naval aircraft designed to achieve maritime superiority around Taiwan and counter third-party intervention. The commissioning of new YUSHEN-class amphibious assault ships and the use of civilian vessels to supplement amphibious capacity underscore the PLAN’s strategic focus, despite its modest investments in traditional landing craft.

    The People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) has maintained a robust force posture with advanced aircraft capable of conducting sustained operations against Taiwan, bolstered by long-range air defense systems and improved refueling capabilities to counter third-party intervention. Enhanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets further strengthen the PLA’s operational readiness, ensuring a coordinated and comprehensive approach to a potential Taiwan conflict.

    The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has transferred around 300 land-based aircraft to the Air Force (PLAAF) to focus on improving carrier-based air operations. Meanwhile, the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force (PLARF) has increased its presence along the Taiwan Strait with new missile brigades, signaling a growing stockpile of missiles ready to target Taiwan’s command and control (C2) facilities, air bases, and radar sites to degrade defenses, neutralize leadership, and weaken public resolve.

    The restructuring of the Strategic Support Force (SSF) into the Aerospace Force (ASF), Cyber Support Force (CSF), and Information Support Force (ISF) reflects an emphasis on space, cyberspace, and electronic warfare (EW) domains. These units are tasked with achieving information dominance during a Taiwan contingency. Additionally, the former SSF’s 311 Base continues to focus on political and psychological warfare, including propaganda campaigns to sway Taiwanese public opinion and promote Beijing’s narrative. Collectively, these capabilities enable the PLA to integrate strategic intelligence, EW, and psychological operations into its broader Taiwan strategy.

    The PRC has refined its military reforms by organizing its forces into five Theater Commands—Eastern, Southern, Western, Northern, and Central—aligned with Beijing’s strategic ambitions and threat perceptions. The Eastern Theater Command (ETC), which focuses on Taiwan and the East China Sea, is expected to lead any potential campaign against Taiwan.

    The loss of Taiwan would deal a significant blow to the United States, not just morally or ideologically but also in practical and economic terms. Taiwan stands as a solid U.S. ally only 81 miles from China’s shores. If Beijing were to seize Taiwan, it would not only undermine U.S. surveillance capabilities in the region but also compromise control of the Taiwan Strait, granting China the ability to disrupt global shipping routes. For these reasons, preserving Taiwan is a critical pillar of U.S. defense strategy. However, the PLA’s modernization and reorganization have raised the stakes, making Taiwan’s defense and China’s containment increasingly costly and challenging for the United States.

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/restructuring-peoples-liberation-army-pla-chinas-new-threat/

  11. Jeffrey Epstein’s Cellmate Alleges Late Pedophile Was Offered ‘Sweetheart Plea Deal’ if He Gave Incriminating Information To Impeach Trump – But He Had Nothing on Him!
    thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/jeffrey-epsteins-cellmate-alleges-late-pedophile-was-offered/
    Jan. 18, 2025 1:20 pm

    Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were two fabulously rich guys in Palm Beach, Florida. But that’s where the similarities end.

    They were not friends. Trump barred him from Mar-a-Lago.

    And when Palm Beach police first investigated Epstein, Trump was the only famous name to help police in their inquiries.

    Now, evidence has arisen that suggests Jeffrey Epstein was offered by the DOJ a ‘sweetheart plea deal’ if he could provide ‘incriminating information’ that would lead to President Trump’s impeachment.

    The revelation was made by Epstein former cellmate.
    Former cop and convicted quadruple murderer Nichiolas Tartaglione.

    Former cop and convicted killer Nicholas Tartaglione shared a cell with Epstein at the Manhattan MCC weeks before his death in August 2019.

    Tartaglione, in a call with with Jessica Reed Kraus, said the King of Pedophiles told him about the proposal after one meeting with the feds.

    New York Post reported:

    “[Epstein] said [to Tartaglione ‘They told me they’d let me plead out something small, and I’ll do just a couple of years in a camp, if I can give them something on Trump to get him impeached. […] The government told me I don’t have to prove what I say about Trump, as long as Trump’s people can’t disprove it’, Tartaglione said — adding that Epstein considered ‘making stuff up’ to save his skin. Tartaglione never said what Epstein ultimately planned to do.”
    Epstein was found dead in his cell under mysterious circumstances.

    Tartaglione has been convicted of murdering four people, and sentenced last year to four consecutive life sentences.

    On July 23, 2019, Epstein was found with neck bruise marks. He told his lawyers that Tartaglione ‘roughed him up’, which he denies.

    “Epstein was removed from Tartaglione’s cell and put on suicide watch. He killed himself three weeks later on Aug. 10 — though questions over the possibility of foul play remain. While he was supposed to be placed with a new cellmate, Epstein was alone, according to a report from the Department of Justice Inspector General.”

    Tartaglione allegedly heard from Epstein that he knew Trump ‘only socially’ and they were not friendly.
    Epstein with Bill Clinton, Bill Gates and Prince Andrews: dangerous liaisons.

    Trump threw Epstein out of a party at Mar-a-Lago for flirting with ‘young women’.

    “I [Tartaglione] said, ‘Well, do you know Trump?’” Tartaglione claimed in the phone call. “He says, ‘Well, you know, I know him. I met him, but we don’t like each other.’ I laughed. I said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Trump threw me out of a party at his place in Florida.’ “I said, ‘Why [did] he throw you out? He said, ‘Oh he got mad, I was talking to some girl.’ And I said, ‘How old was the girl, Jeff?’ And he says, ‘Oh about 18, 19.’ So, I was a cop. I said, ‘Jeff, that means probably 14, 15.’ And he says, ‘Well he threw me out. I haven’t talked to him since’.”

    Tartaglione said Epstein admitted, ‘I don’t know anything’ about Trump.

    Lawyer Alan Dershowitz:

    “Anything is possible when it comes to high-profile cases like this. They are career makers. It could have originated at some point lower than the US attorney or one of the middle ranking officials at the Southern District of New York or the FBI. They are always looking to make cases.”

    Read more:

    LOST KINGDOM: British PM Starmer Chooses Lord Peter Mandelson, Who Was Jeffrey Epstein Acquaintance, as New US Ambassador

    https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/01/jeffrey-epsteins-cellmate-alleges-late-pedophile-was-offered/

  13. The following is a brief history of the left gas lighting the West about the danger of various nations and political movements.

    In 1937 the Second Sino Japanese war started, there were many reasons but the main one is that Japan has for Centuries dreamed about conquering China just as the Chinese have dreamed about conquering Japan.

    After roughly 5 years of fighting the Japanese were winning and committing many atrocities, the list is long and not really pertinent to this dialogue so I will ignore them. In July of 1941 President Roosevelt seized the Japanese assets in the US and stopped selling scrap metal and oil to Japan. Japan having no other source of metal to build weapons or oil to fuel their weapons invaded the Dutch held Islands now known as Indonesia. This created the situation where war between the US and Japan was inevitable.

    Prior to this people who were watching what was going on warned about a war between the US and Japan, the left called these people bigots for spreading the misinformation of a “Yellow Peril”. Granted the early warnings were about China but the shifted to warnings about Japan after the Boxer Rebellion was defeated and China lost control of most of its provinces to various European nations.

    After WWII was won and we defeated North Korea and China in the Korean War, the people who paid attention to what was happening around the world started warning about the Soviet Unions attempts to take over the world the left started calling them bigots and talked about the “Red Scare”. They went to the extent of saying the Cold War was over when JFK was elected and talked about how we should disarm.

    After we won the Cold War and the Soviet Union collapsed the left started to call the people who warned about China and the illegal aliens who were crossing our Southern Border the left started saying Communism was destroyed and anyone who said different was stupid as well as bigoted against China and South America.

    The left has managed to damage the US military to the point we will need around 2 years to become combat ready and longer then that to build new weapons to replace those the left either sold to scrap or gave to Ukraine. The Silver lining in these dark clouds is that the majority of the people now recognize the danger we are facing and are behind the US fighting and winning this war. Trumps Cabinet picks were chosen over the last 4 years to rebuild the US Government and return it to serving the people and protecting our rights instead of enslaving the people and destroying our rights. This fight will begin on Monday after Donald Trump is sworn in and will continue long after he has been replaced by Jack Vance.

    President Trump has talked about using the US Military to remove illegals, we have it on good authority that a lot of the Chinese who crossed our Southern Border were members of the Chinese Army. I think they are the ones who will be removed by the US Military. They will also be used on any other foreign troops that are attacking the US, and this will probably include the Cartel Members in Mexico and further south.

    The information above is a short summery of the chaos I see coming to the US, chaos that will touch everyone living on North America and some living overseas.

    The following is a very brief list of some of the things that have happened over the last couple of years that smell to high heaven.

    Both of the attempts to assassinate President Trump.

    The murder of the Insurance CEO.

    The New Orleans terror attack.

    The Las Vegas bombing.

    The drone incursions.

    The LA wild fires.

    The number of incidents involving commercial airplanes having maintenance problems.

    The Lawfare against President Trump and his people.

    There are probably a lot more incidents I aren’t springing to mind but feel free to add to the list.

    • The Biden Administration leaving 7 BILLION dollars worth of Military Equipment in Afghanistan —who is using it now