A group of hikers from Ohio were stunned and “freaked out” after stumbling upon a burning tree dubbed the “devil tree” during a routine hike last week.  The two hikers filmed a video of the spectacle and shared it on social media where users could clearly see a raging inferno burning inside of the tree but without any smoke or apparent damage to the outside of it. Dailymail.co.uk reports: In the beginning of the 30-second video, one of the hikers can be heard saying ‘What the f***,’ as the person filming aims the camera at the top of the tree, which is engulfed in flames from the inside.

China has expressed ‘concerns’ over the escalating tensions in the Middle East between Iran and Saudi Arabia, after both countries severed diplomatic ties with eachother following the execution of top Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.  “Like the international community, China is highly concerned about the developments and expresses concern that the relevant event may intensify conflict in the region,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

Submitted by John Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute,

“When it gets down to having to use violence, then you are playing the system’s game. The establishment will irritate you – pull your beard, flick your face – to make you fight. Because once they’ve got you violent, then they know how to handle you. The only thing they don’t know how to handle is non-violence and humor.”

- John Lennon

Yes, the government is corrupt.

Exclusive: President Obama seems so scared of offending the Saudis and their Israeli allies that he will tolerate almost any outrage, including Saudi Arabia’s mass beheadings and/or shootings of the regime’s enemies including a Shiite political leader who dared criticize the monarchy, writes Robert Parry. By Robert Parry As the New Year dawns, the neocons and…

Some sobering words about China's imminent crisis, not from your friendly neighborhood doom and gloom village drunk, but from BofA's China strategist David Cui.

Excerpted from "2016 Year-Ahead: what may trigger financial instability", a must-read report for anyone interested in learning how China's epic stock market experiment ends.

A case for financial instability