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New Delhi has been boosting energy purchases from Moscow despite Western pressure to shun sanctioned crude Indian officials believe that global crude oil prices would have skyrocketed if they had not ramped…

Latvia has reportedly delivered nearly 300 of the vehicles to Ukraine this year Latvia has donated 271 confiscated cars to Ukraine this year and is reportedly planning to send several dozen more…

Islamists Planned Huge Attacks In Europe On Christian Sites Over Christmas Period Authored by Paul Joseph Watson via Modernity,news, Authorities at key locations are on high alert after it was revealed that…

Lawmakers in Kiev are considering denying crucial services to men avoiding conscription on foreign soil Ukraine may punish draft dodgers who are hiding from mobilization abroad by denying them consular and banking…

“Mass Migration Blueprints” Reveal NGOs “Carefully Planned” US Migrant Invasion, Report Says A network of NGOs, or non-governmental organizations, seems to be playing a powerful role in coordinating the large-scale invasion of…

The Central African nation’s military initially promised to hold national elections within 18 months of taking control in 2021 Chadians have voted in favor of a new constitution, which would pave the…

Many countries are abandoning the greenback since it is used as a political tool, Vyacheslav Volodin has said The US has lost its economic dominance, Russian State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote…

The rate of fulfilling defense orders has reached 98%, a record high in the country’s modern history, Denis Manturov has said Russia is outpacing Western countries in arms production despite the latter’s…

The Christmas Truce Of 1914 Authored by Gary Kohls via LewRockwell.com, The folly of irrational war-mongering and other unlearned lessons from World War I… “…the ones who call the shots won’t be…

Maia Sandu has called for a referendum on potential accession to the EU Moldovan President Maia Sandu has announced that she plans to seek reelection next year. The politician, known for her…

The flight with over 300 passengers was detained for four days while refueling outside of Paris over suspected human trafficking France released on Monday a charter plane with over 300 people on…

The move reportedly follows the latest US sanctions banning countries from buying LNG produced by the plant Foreign shareholders in Russia’s new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant, Arctic LNG 2, have halted…

Kirill Budanov stands accused of masterminding 104 “terrorist attacks” against the country A Moscow district court has ordered the arrest on terrorism charges of Kirill Budanov, the head of the Ukrainian military…

The use of techniques applied during the Maidan coup in Ukraine was “obvious,” according to the Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Attempts by protestors to storm the Belgrade city administration building on Sunday were…

Moscow will no longer consider the assessments when making foreign loan decisions, effectively easing requirements for countries to borrow The Russian government will no longer base its foreign loan decisions on credit…

Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad have welcomed a Moroccan initiative to allow landlocked countries to leverage maritime trade The Foreign Ministers of Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad backed an initiative…

The US and Europe are “pushing other countries to war,” Fred M’membe told RT The West is forcing countries to war, while attempting to “rob” their resources, Fred M’membe, president of the Zambian…

Irish lawmaker Clare Daly says Ursula von der Leyen bears responsibility for Israel’s actions in Gaza Irish MEP Clare Daly has called European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “Frau Genocide” over…

However, they could lead to “more serious” bilateral agreements and a potential NATO base in Ukraine, Dmitry Medvedev says Western security guarantees for Ukraine are themselves useless but could pave the way…

Opposition activists forced their way into Belgrade city hall after claiming a municipal election was rigged Opposition forces in Serbia breached Belgrade’s city hall amid mass protests on Sunday. They claim the…

Turkish broadcaster TGRT Haber accused its news announcer of “covertly advertising” Starbucks on air Turkish broadcaster TGRT Haber TV has sacked an anchor for appearing on air with a cup from Starbucks,…

Russian blogger Anastasia Ivleeva expressed regret for being unable to control the privacy of the scandalous event Anastasia Ivleeva, a popular Russian blogger who hosted last week’s infamous ‘almost naked’ party in…

A payment mechanism is expected to be ready by February 2024, a lobby representative has said The Italian business lobby in Russia is finalizing a mechanism that would allow local buyers to…

Sanctions-makers have fallen into a “big country trap,” economists say Western sanctions have failed to sink the Russian economy due to a “big country trap” effect, a recent study by the Institute…

IS 9:1-6 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone. You have brought them abundant joy…

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And…

Born In A Police State: The Deep State’s Persecution Of Its Most Vulnerable Citizens Authored by John & Nisha Whitehead via The Rutherford Institute, “When the song of the angels is stilled,…

Israel Routinely Dropping US-Supplied 2,000-lb Bombs In Dense Civilian Areas As civilian casualties in the Israel-Hamas war continue to mount — surpassing 20,000 from a population of just 2 million — alarm…

The Donetsk People’s Republic was hit 42 times in the last 24 hours, according to local officials The city of Gorlovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) came under heavy Ukrainian shelling…

“Years from now, it is unlikely anyone will remember that thing they unwrapped.  What they will remember, what will have much greater impact, is a message from YOU to THEM that they…

Iran ‘Shortly’ Expected To Execute Swedish Citizen Accused Of Spying Via Middle East Eye Iran is “shortly” set to execute a dual Swedish-Iranian citizen accused of spying, according to the UN, after a…

A former chief of staff for France’s air force has warned that Kiev will only be able to defend its current positions, “at best” A retired French general and former NATO commander…

American Achilles In The War On Terror Authored by John J. Waters via RealClear Wire, Professor Emily Wilson has achieved celebrity status … for translating Homer. University students use her work, and…

Fast Food Places & Restaurants Open For Christmas Day 2023 While the vast majority of restaurants and businesses across the land will be closed on Christmas Day, with many also shuttered the…

  Posted in Uncategorized The post Gloria In Excelsis Deo appeared first on The Last Refuge.

Moscow shared vital intelligence with Belgrade, according to PM Ana Brnabic  Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabiс has expressed gratitude to the Russian security services who alerted Belgrade of the planned riots in…

Will The Guardians Of The Narrative Win? Authored by Roger Kimball via American Greatness, Much that is happening in the spectacle of America’s legal-political  life today reminds me of some pages in…

The rioters claimed they intended to “liberate” and “defend” the government institutions, as they smashed windows Hundreds of anti-government protesters attempted to break into the Belgrade City Hall on Sunday evening, in…

Israel’s Military Strikes Hezbollah Command Center In Serious Escalation This weekend has witnessed a significant escalation between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hezbollah along the southern Lebanese border.  Israeli media reported…

The US president has demanded more favorable coverage of his economic policies US President Joe Biden has paused on his way to a Christmas holiday break to demand more favorable media coverage…

Most will not see the forest through the trees.  I have shortened this longer interview with Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, to emphasize a point. Monaco is one of the extreme control…

Turns Out, Alcohol is Good For Your Health! Authored by Tony Edwards via DailySceptic.org, Will you sign up to Dry January this year? If you do, you won’t be alone. According to…

Metropolitan Police have not yet recovered the artwork, a stop sign decorated with three drones The second of two men seen in a viral video removing a Banksy artwork from a south…

The display’s creator cited Pope Francis allowing priests to bless same-sex couples in his defense of the controversial scene Tens of thousands of Italians have called on Catholic authorities to condemn a…

“Everyone” may end up getting a call, including those who left the country, the defense minister says Ukraine has been working on a single database to list all the potential recruits, with…

Dave Collum’s 2023 Year In Review: Down Some Dark Rabbit Holes, Part 2 Authored by David B. Collum, Betty R. Miller Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology – Cornell University (Email: dbc6@cornell.edu, Twitter: @DavidBCollum),…

President Trump releases his 2024 Christmas message. {Direct Rumble Link} […] “This holiday we give thanks for the many blessings God has bestowed upon us. We pray for the safety of our…

The Israeli leader has denounced a media report suggesting the US president persuaded him to cancel a strike against Hezbollah Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed that a Wall Street Journal…

This is a repeat post from years past. I like to post it on Christmas Eve, a place to share our own best memories of Christmases past. The Secret Sam was my…

A “Textbook” Sudden Stratospheric Warming Event Appears To Be Unfolding Meteorologists on social media channel X are posting weather models about the increasing threat of a so-called sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) over…

Russia must take urgent action to ensure the “proliferation” of its people, Patriarch Kirill believes Russia must take “extraordinary and effective measures” to fix its demographic situation, the head of the Russian…

The Grinch Who Overpriced Christmas: Biden’s Christmas Tree Inflation Authored by Catherine Salgado via PJMedia.com, Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow… money. The Grinch in the White House is…

The Fed Is Afraid… Of Something Authored by Mark Jeftovic via DollarCollapse.com, In the last issue we covered how Ecoinmetrics posited that the Bitcoin rally wasn’t being confirmed on-chain and that there was a…

Belgrade was warned in advance about a plot to storm government buildings, the Serbian president has said Pro-Western demonstrators have attempted to break into government buildings in Belgrade in what Serbian President…

Papal envoys in Moscow and Kiev “are doing an excellent job,” Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi said Pope Francis’ efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine are gaining pace, the pontiff’s lead negotiator…

Carry On Carolling! Why Bizarre Warnings About Christmas Customs Should Be Ignored Authored by William Brooks via The Epoch Times, American historian Paul Kengor has amply documented the early poems and plays…

One In Five Americans Will Flock To Church This Christmas One in five Americans will be heading to church on Christmas this year, according to a survey by Statista Consumer Insights. You will find more…

It is often said in recent years that events in Europe present as the precursor for events that later follow in the U.S. and North America.  Indeed, there are many points of…

Andrzej Duda denounced the newly elected Polish government’s “blatant violation of the Constitution” Polish President Andrzej Duda vetoed a 2024 budget bill on Saturday to protest the newly elected government’s controversial overhaul…

Tehran’s navy has unveiled a new long-range weapon that can switch targets after being launched The Iranian navy has upgraded its firepower with the addition of domestically produced missiles that have a…

The Battle For Higher Education Authored by Bruce Abramson via RealClear Wire, Higher education is making news these days.  In Congressional testimony, the Presidents of Harvard, MIT, and Penn couldn’t tell whether…

The idea that a US president commissioned a move aimed at a close ally, however, remains a taboo in the West The attack on the Nord Stream pipelines commissioned by US President…

Pierre Krahenbuhl was accused of spending UN money to take his married girlfriend traveling The Red Cross announced on Friday that Pierre Krahenbuhl will take over as director-general of the organization. Krahenbuhl…

Rocky Mountain High: Why Trump Should Love The Colorado Ruling Authored by Tim Donner via RealClear Wire, The Colorado Supreme Court, acting as supplicants for the enemies of Donald Trump seeking the…

The California man allegedly threatened to commit a “mass murder spree” at an FBI office US federal agents arrested a California man on Friday for allegedly threatening to detonate a “dirty bomb”…

Taunting Biden, Iran Now Threatens To Close Mediterranean Sea Over Gaza War Pressure is mounting on the Biden administration to respond to Iran or its Middle East regional proxies in some way…

Everyone Loves A Generous Government Until They Have To Pay For It Authored by Charles Hugh Smith via Substack, Not only does everyone love getting “free money” from the state, they also…

Former Estonian FM Urmas Reinsalu has said that Russians living in the EU should not be allowed to vote in the 2024 presidential election The Russian Foreign Ministry has called out what…

The deputy head of Zelensky’s office believes the holdouts will have the political will to eventually endorse the document Six EU member states have yet to support a declaration on security guarantees…

The former president has been criminally charged for allegedly provoking the Capitol Hill riot US President Joe Biden has said that he “can’t think of one” former president who should be immune…

Uran Ferizi reportedly snuck into Britain on the back of a truck pretending to be a refugee Albania’s new envoy to the UK entered the country illegally in 1998 and made a…

Josep Borrell believes uncertainty could lead Europeans to demand drastic changes in the upcoming parliamentary election The stakes will be high in the European parliament election next June, as many EU voters…

The African country has quit the cartel after 16 years of membership Several members of OPEC affirmed on Saturday their commitment to the organization and its objectives after Angola decided to quit…

The French bank had been a controlling shareholder of the Russian lender before it divested amid Ukraine-related sanctions last year Russian lender Rosbank has received permission to buy out the local assets…

Roadblocks around cities will start appearing next week, military officer Nazariy Kishak has claimed Ukrainian authorities will start erecting roadblocks around cities and between regions in the last week of December with…

12 Days Of Christmas Conspiracies Authored by Nicole James via The Epoch Times, The 12 days of Christmas are sometimes also known as Twelvetide. Those are the days of drummers drumming and…

Democrats Rob Youth Of Future As Inner City Education Implodes Progressives often pride themselves as the sole party focused on education, particularly in inner cities, and frequently criticize conservatives for being ‘heartless’…

Saudi-French Plan Proposes Exile For Hamas Leadership Via The Cradle, The French newspaper Le Monde published details this week of a Saudi document containing a plan to end the war in Gaza, which stipulates the…

Shipments of crude to China and India have surged as Moscow redirects supplies from the EU Russia has sharply increased oil shipments to China and India this year, Nikolay Tokarev, the CEO…

India says extremists in foreign countries should not have space to operate, amid an ongoing row with the US and Canada  New Delhi reacted strongly on Saturday to the defacement of a…

Barbie, Shakira, & War In Israel Dominated Google Search In 2023 2023 has been eventful, to say the least, and a look at the biggest trending Google searches this year can serve as a…

The plan to replace coal-fired plants by 2030 is “unrealistic,” lobby chief Siegfried Russwurm has warned Berlin’s plan to phase out coal-fired power plants ahead of schedule is likely to fail, the…

EU Asylum Deal Proves Our Elites Don’t Really Believe “Diversity Is Our Strength” Authored by John Cody via ReMix News, The new EU migration pact will allow countries like Germany to dump…

The unsatisfied demand for workers is stalling economic growth, a researcher says The Russian economy is suffering from a shortage of skilled labor according to a recent study by Nikolay Akhapkin, a…

Italian defense chief Guido Crosetto believes the hostilities can only be stopped at the negotiating table It is time for all countries involved in the Ukraine conflict to start looking for a…

Aleksey Makeev, Kiev’s envoy to Berlin, made the denial amid media claims that a top German official had privately endorsed the idea of territorial concessions Ukraine’s ambassador to Germany, Aleksey Makeev, has…

The increase will be included in a new budget plan to aid the struggling health sector in part of the UK Wide-ranging cuts to public services have been announced by the Welsh…

Reading 1 2 Sm 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16 When King David was settled in his palace, and the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he said to…

Officials have reportedly said that the damage caused by the scandal outweighed the security threat Officials from the administration of US President Joe Biden initially hoped to conceal the Chinese balloon incident…

The British security firm Ambrey has described the Chem Pluto as Israeli-affiliated The Pentagon has accused Iran of orchestrating a drone attack on an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean on Saturday,…

The nation still remembers the old days of real sovereignty it had before 2011 Twelve years ago, the so-called Arab Spring visited Libya, ending Muammar Gaddafi’s rule and plunging the country into…

Big brands have warned about supply shortages due to the shipping disruption through the Suez Canal The disruption of cargo ships in the Red Sea due to attacks by Houthi militants from…

‘Letters From Father Christmas’ By J.R.R. Tolkien Authored by Anita L. Sherman via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), When I was a very small girl, one of my favorite places to be…

The Chinese currency has topped the Japanese yen in international transactions, according to data The Chinese yuan has risen to become the fourth most active currency for global payments by value in…

Falling consumer sentiment has been attributed to fear of economic shocks Online and offline Christmas sales in Germany have slowed amid rising economic uncertainty, the managing director of the German Retail Association…

In an effort to keep the Daily Open Thread a little more open topic we are going to start a new daily thread for “Presidential Politics”. Please use this thread to post…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. THY WILL BE DONE, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And…

Israel’s Eilat Port Sees 85% Drop In Activity As Mediterranean Imports Also Take Hit This week the chief executive of Israel’s Eilat Port confirmed that Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping has…

Supreme Court Will Reverse Trump Ballot Removal But Dodge Insurrection Question, Expert Predicts Authored by Petr Svab via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), The U.S. Supreme Court is likely to strike down…