NICE FAKE NEWS NETWORK YOU’VE GOT THERE, IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF ANYTHING WERE TO HAPPEN TO IT: Trump’s New FCC Chief Just Read the Riot Act to Disney’s Bob Iger.

COMMIES GOTTA COMMIE: Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force.

New Vietnamese internet rules requiring Facebook and TikTok to verify user identities and hand over data to authorities came into force on Wednesday, in what critics say is the latest attack on freedom of expression.

Under “Decree 147”, all tech giants operating in Vietnam must verify users’ accounts via their phone numbers or Vietnamese identification numbers and store that information alongside their full name and date of birth.

They must provide that data to authorities on request and remove any content the government regards as “illegal” within 24 hours.

The new rules came into force on Wednesday, state media VNExpress said.

All social media sites had been given 90 days to provide data on “the total number of regular visits from Vietnam” and the number of regular users per month to authorities, the website said.

“Decree 147 will be used to publicly suppress those with different viewpoints,” said activist Dang Thi Hue, who writes about politics and social issues on her Facebook account, which has 28,000 followers.

Lefties would love to be able to do the same in this country.

LEADERSHIP MATTERS: Americans Are Hopeful Again… Can You Guess Why?

MAYBE WE’RE JUST DONE WITH BEING FORCE-FED PROPAGANDA: Americans are exhausted by political news. TV ratings and a new AP-NORC poll show they’re tuning out.

CHANGE: These large companies are funding Trump’s inauguration despite pledge to withhold support after Jan. 6. “People just really want to move forward and move on. The election results were very clear.”

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING (CLASSIC): Dreams Can Come True. “One of my clearest and fondest memories from the 2016 presidential election involved the few minutes leading up to the announcement that Donald Trump had won the state of Pennsylvania, and the next several minutes after that. The looks on the faces of the mainstream media talking heads are forever etched in my mind. They knew what the Trump victory in the Keystone State meant, and the sheer panic was delicious.”

“THE BEST PART IS NO PART”: The Musk-Led Manufacturing Revolution Nobody Is Talking About. “When most analysts discuss Tesla, they focus on new vehicles or the electric vehicle company’s advancements in autonomy. Yet, according to Launch i/o CEO Jeff Lutz, one of the most significant—and under-discussed—developments at Tesla is happening not in its design studios or on the road, but in its factories. Lutz, a former executive at Google and Motorola, argues that Tesla’s true innovation isn’t just the electric vehicles or robots it’s building, but how those products are being made. The company’s first-principles approach to manufacturing is a radical departure from the industry norm, focusing not just on cheap labor or existing models, but on rethinking the entire production process.”

CORN, POPPED: It’s Even Worse for the Dems Than They Thought And It Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better.

BIG BROTHER BILL IS WATCHING YOU:

No greater nightmare. This is the window they want to break through into the house. Then they will own it and you'll be in the wilderness, being tracked by drones. https://t.co/ohQXtLh7Ms

— Walter Kirn (@walterkirn) December 26, 2024

Neither 1984 nor Brave New World were instruction manuals.

NO, I DID NOT: Did You Have ‘CIA Docs Say There Was Life on Mars’ On Your Bingo Card?

THOSE ARE ROOKIE NUMBERS: Airport security stunned by ‘extremely concerning’ contents of woman’s carry-on bag. “The officer opened the bag in front of the passenger and was shocked to see what was inside: 82 fireworks, three knives, two replica firearms and a canister of pepper spray — none of which are allowed in carry-on luggage.”

ATTENTION, LAST-MINUTE SHOPPERS: What’s open and closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day 2024?

HOWEVER MUCH YOU DESPISE THE MEDIA…

Wait, I just found some articles in the media about this.

They called it "far-right" 🙄

— PeterSweden (@PeterSweden7) December 23, 2024

…it isn’t enough.

THE DEFENSE INDUSTRY COULD USE A GOOD SHAKING UP: Palantir, Anduril In Talks With OpenAI, Elon Musk’s SpaceX To Take On Defense Giants.

The aim is to take on traditional defense giants such as Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman (NOC), Boeing (BA) and RTX (RTX), most likely with artificial intelligence-enabled autonomous technology.

Palantir and Anduril also reportedly are talking to Saronic and Scale AI. Palantir and Anduril aim to announce a series of alliances next month, the FT said.

Meanwhile, Trump on Sunday named Scale AI’s managing director, Michael Kratsios, as the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He will advise artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency czar David Sacks. Kratsios also served in the first Trump administration.

Further, Scale AI holds a nearly $14 billion valuation.

Anduril has been developing pilotless fighter jets and other autonomous systems. It was founded by former Facebook executive Palmer Luckey and three Palantir executives.

In addition, Saronic is developing autonomous ships.

Faster, please.

SCOTT PINSKER: Back Down, Double Down, or Down and Dirty: Weaponized PR and Matt Gaetz, Joe Biden, and Blake Lively.

COLD WAR II: Philippines says it will acquire U.S. Typhon missile system, sparking warnings from China.

The U.S. Army deployed the mid-range missile system in the northern Philippines earlier this year for annual joint military exercises with its longtime ally and decided to leave it there despite criticism by Beijing that it was destabilizing to Asia.

Philippine Army Chief Lieutenant-General Roy Galido told a news conference on Monday that the missile system would be “acquired because we see its feasibility and its functionality in our concept of archipelagic defense implementation.”

“I’m happy to report to our fellow countrymen that your army is developing this capability for the interest of protecting our sovereignty,” he said, adding that the total cost of the acquisition would depend on “economics.”

The presence of the U.S. missile launcher had angered Beijing, whose navy and coast guard forces have engaged in escalating confrontations in recent months with the Philippines over disputed reefs and waters in the South China Sea.

Beijing claims almost the entire South China Sea, a key global shipping route, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.

Beijing has been on a “might makes right” bender in the SCS. If Xi doesn’t like Manilla buying medium-range missiles, maybe he should try being less of a bully.

IS THAT A FEATURE OR A BUG? The Pernicious Effect of the Daniel Penny Prosecution on Subway Safety.

CHANGE (IT BACK): Trump to rename Denali to Mount McKinley after Obama changed it. “It was known as Mount McKinley from 1917 until 2015 and Trump vowed Sunday at the Turning Point USA AmFest conference in Phoenix that the mountain will once again honor America’s 25th president, a hugely popular Republican candidate who successfully won the office twice but was assassinated in 1901.”

PETA’S AGITPROP NEEDS SOME WORK: PETA Goes for the Gross When It Comes to Santa Claus.

AS A MATTER OF FACT, I WOULD LIKE PEACE: You Want Peace? This Is How You Get Peace.

WELL, GOOD: Trump vows to stop ‘transgender lunacy’ and make two genders official US policy.

CONQUEST’S SECOND LAW OF POLITICS REMAINS UNDEFEATED:

Wikipedia’s annual budget report from 2023—2024 reveals that they spent over $50 million of their total $177 million budget on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Stop donating to Wokepedia pic.twitter.com/bGYsCIzy9L

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) December 23, 2024

I HAD BEEN ASSURED BY ALL THE VERY BEST PEOPLE THAT THE SCIENCE WAS SETTLED: Recent Studies Freeze Climate Alarmist Claims.

DISPATCHES FROM WEIMAR AMERICA:

INSANITY: California judge rules a man who allegedly raped women in prison must be referred to as ‘she/her’ during trial because he 'deserves dignity' pic.twitter.com/lISInd1xc4

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) December 23, 2024

The victim, not so much.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Greenland Seems Like a Wonderful Stocking-Stuffer. “Trump’s big Greenland tease during his first term was a real palate cleanser in the midst of all of the turmoil back then. It was also impossible to tell back then if he was serious, but who cares? The entertainment value is in the swagger. That whole, ‘Maybe I’ll just buy it,’ attitude reminds of of Rodney Dangerfield’s Al Czervik character in ‘Caddyshack.'”