GERMANY - Germany’s far-right Reichsbuerger movement has grown to almost 16,000 members, while some of them are eying their own armed wing and are preparing for 'Day X', Focus magazine reports, citing intelligence sources. The stunning revelation came into the spotlight earlier this week after Germany’s Focus magazine published a report citing an assessment of the domestic intelligence agency, the BfV. Responding to Focus’ request for comment, the BfV, the agency in charge of monitoring extremist groups threatening constitutional order, said the number of Reichsbuerger (Citizens of the Reich in German) members had grown to 15,600 as of January – with the figure marking a dramatic increase of more than 50 percent within one year.

USA - In a Daily Beast opinion piece on December 15, Paul Offit — one of the vaccine industry’s most strident ambassadors — puzzles over a seeming contradiction. How, Offit wonders, could the state of Mississippi, which has “the worst overall health in the nation,” have used standout “efficiency” to achieve over 99.4% vaccine coverage in kindergartners? Rather than seriously investigate this apparent enigma, Offit presents his ready-made answer and reveals his article’s true purpose.

USA - If you’ve ever wondered to yourself how society got to the point where those who accept their God-given gender roles as male and female are now being pushed to the margins of mainstream culture, look no further than the infamous communist revolutionary Karl Marx. His tactical blueprints for transforming a society from free to enslaved actually necessitate the reassigning of normal human behaviors as obscure, a process that includes making up words like “cis-gender,” for instance, which are meant to normalize depraved concepts like “transgender.”

USA - The stock market has been compared to the bitcoin bubble by an asset management firm chief who declared both the stock market and cryptocurrencies are overpriced. Francesco Filia, chief executive at asset management firm Fasanara Capital believes the stock market is heading for a crash thanks to the combined efforts of overvalued stocks, high indebtedness, low cash balance and a drawback in flows from central banks.

EUROPE - Kurz leads a stable coalition government after a clear electoral victory based in part on his stringent stance on the issue that is the conservative Merkel's Achilles' heel: how to stem the flow of migrants and refugees to Europe. German and Austrian conservatives now seem to have agreed on a formula for their future approach to the issue: "The EU should determine who comes to Europe and not the human traffickers."

AUSTRIA - After all, it was not just the brazen self-confidence of Austria's political superstar that got him into the chancellery. Kurz has an instinct for populist sentiment and, above all, he is willing to make deals from which others would shy away. In fact, his governing coalition with Austria's far-right Freedom Party FPÖ – close allies of French far-right firebrand Marine Le Pen's National Front – is exactly the kind of deal that prompts Merkel to turn away in disgust. Any cooperation with the FPÖ's German equivalent, the far-right "Alternative for Germany" (AfD), is in her view simply unthinkable. Now Austria has become Germany's latest ally to lean to the political far-right. Merkel has already paid dearly for refusing to go with this political trend.

GERMANY - Confronted with a crucial vote this weekend on whether to enter formal coalition talks with Angela Merkel’s bloc or cast themselves into the wilderness to rebuild the party, many SPD members are coming to the conclusion that a return to government carries the lesser risk.

GERMANY - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives said on Tuesday they would not prevent the Alternative for Germany (AfD) from chairing parliament's powerful budget committee if the far-right party becomes the largest opposition force. Merkel hopes to form an alliance with the Social Democrats (SPD) to extend her 12 years in power. That tie-up would make the anti-immigrant AfD the largest party represented in parliament that is not in government. Tradition dictates that the largest opposition party gets to take the helm of the budget committee - a position that would give the AfD and its economic ideas prominence. Last year lawmakers changed the rules for the ceremonial post of president - who gets to open the first session of parliament - to prevent an AfD member from getting it.

USA - Hardly anyone will buy President Donald Trump’s explanation for his abruptly canceled visit to London next month. The real reason, no doubt, was to avoid embarrassing scenes of mass street protests marring his official welcome. Whatever has become of the so-called “special relationship”? Given that Britain is America’s supposedly closest international ally, what does it say about Washington’s present standing in the world when the president is obliged to call off his visit – out of concerns that he’s not welcome by the British public? Trump’s snubbing of the Paris Climate Accord, his disdain for the international Iran nuclear deal, his cowboy-like declaration of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, and his incendiary threats to totally destroy North Korea – have all contributed to the US becoming more isolated and deprecated by the rest of the world.

USA - Georgetown University has approved the establishment of an LGBT-only campus living facility, appealing to the “Jesuit values” that inspire the university’s mission. The new residential living space is reserved exclusively for students interested in “exploring” gender and sexuality, according to a report by Campus Reform. According to vice-president of student affairs Todd Olson, the new LGBT campus housing “will provide a community space for discussion on gender and inclusion while upholding the Jesuit values of community in diversity and educating the whole person.”

VATICAN - In a nuanced address Sunday for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis seemed to walk back earlier statements denouncing “xenophobia,” acknowledging instead that fears associated with mass migration are logical and justifiable. “Local communities are sometimes afraid that the newly arrived will disturb the established order, will ‘steal’ something they have long laboured to build up,” Francis said in a Mass celebrated with migrants and refugees living in Rome Sunday. “These fears are legitimate, based on doubts that are fully comprehensible from a human point of view.” Earlier this month the Pope criticized those who challenge the wisdom of mass migration, accusing them of demagoguery and promoting xenophobia.

USA - In order to ensure that college students are completely insulated from ever having their feelings hurt, a pair of social workers believes that everyone involved with the educational system should be required to wear name tags once a week for the entirety of a semester that clearly indicates their “preferred gender pronouns.” University of Washington lecturer Justin Lerner and Simmons College professor Dr Anjali Fulambarker published their manifesto on this topic in a recent issue of the Journal of Teaching in Social Work, in which they argue that forcing all students to wear gender pronoun name tags will help to sanitize classrooms of “microaggressions” while helping students to “avoid being mislabeled.”

UK - Drug dealers are openly using Facebook to target children, a Daily Mail investigation reveals. Scores of criminals are freely touting for business on the site and other social media giants including Instagram and Twitter. Many are offering cannabis for sale. One dealer, when contacted, offered to sell cocaine. A reporter posing as a teenage boy found dealers on Facebook willing to supply him with drugs even when they knew he was still at school. The Mail’s investigation followed a report earlier this month that warned that children as young as 13 were using social media to buy drugs online.

GERMANY - Germany finally came one step closer to forming a government on Friday, months after an election that saw both of its major parties lose seats, empowered the far right, and left Chancellor Angela Merkel scrambling to assemble a coalition, even as she secured a fourth term in office.

CHINA - In its latest reminder that China is a (for now) happy holder of some $1.2 trillion in US Treasurys, Chinese credit rating agency Dagong downgraded US sovereign ratings from A- to BBB+ overnight, citing "deficiencies in US political ecology" and tax cuts that "directly reduce the federal government's sources of debt repayment" weakening the base of the government's debt repayment.