Europe

Angela Merkel is again calling for the European Union to create its own army warning that the bloc will not be able to rely on others to guarantee its security any more. She believes that the US and UK are both too weak now that Donald Trump is about to enter the White House and Britain is about to leave the EU The Express reports: The Berlin chief said Brussels will have to take on “more responsibility in the world” as she predicted a cooling in trans-Atlantic ties under the eurosceptic President-elect.

This article by David Haggith was first published on The Great Recession Blog:

Having learned previously both the identity of the former British intelligence officer who compiled the "Trump dossier", revealed by the WSJ earlier this week as former MI-6 staffer Christopher Steele, currently director of London-based Orbis Business Intelligence, and that John McCain was the person who delivered the report to the FBI, one question remained: who commissioned the original report meant to uncover a material,i.e., campaign-ending, weakness in Donald Trump's past.

Submitted by Mac Slavo via SHTFPlan.com,

Is there a coup underway, while America is in the transition period, and before Trump swears in as the 45th president of the United States?

How real is the clash between the rogue Manhattan billionaire and the intelligence gang behind the throne? Who will win the struggle for power over foreign policy? These are serious times and require serious considerations.

Is Trump Already Finished?

Paul Craig Roberts

It did not take long before we knew there was no hope of change from President Obama. But at least he went into his inauguration with an unprecedented number of Americans on the Mall showing their support for the President of Change. Hope was abundant.

But with Trump, we are already losing faith, if not yet with him, at least with his choice of those who comprise his government even before Trump is inaugurated.