December 18th • 3h 22m
Shownotes
Every new episode of No Agenda is accompanied by a comprehensive list of shownotes curated by Adam while preparing for the show. Clips played by the hosts during the show can also be found here.
764
Meta Sextortion lawsuit
The attached article describes a couple of newly
unsealed lawsuits in California. These suits allege that Meta knowingly
connected sexual predators with kids. These predators posed as young
girls and persuaded teenage boys to send sexually explicit photos. Once
the predators had the photos in hand, they’d spring the trap and
“sextort” the teens by threatening to send the pics to their friends and
family. Two boys ended up killing themselves, and now their parents
are suing.
Meta allegedly knew that
its AI-driven follower-suggestion engine was a “hunting ground” for
sexual predators. But instead of taking simple safety precautions, it
purportedly called in its “growth team,” which estimated that safety
precautions would cost 1.5 million teen users a year. So the AI-driven
recommendations allegedly continued, affecting some two million child
accounts in three months. Of these, 22% resulted in “follow” requests.
Moreover, while AI is adept at
connecting people, it is allegedly not good at stopping “sextortion”
once it begins. According to the suit, reporting mechanisms are
“broken” and Meta refuses to act. (Anyone who’s ever had to deal with
their customer service can relate.)
And now two teenage boys are dead.
764 BOTG
Adam and John,
As husband to Dame Chaos Pixie and someone involved in law enforcement, I wanted to take a moment to tell you that these 764 or Gore Groups are a real issue.
Every one of the 50 nationwide FBI offices has at least two of these cases that they’re working.
The group loves to prey on tweens and teens who they then lure into showing their “loyalty” to their recruiter by cutting themselves (even to the point of scrawling the name of their recruiter into their flesh), killing a family pet (hence the image of the knife with the dog), eventually working their way up to sending nudes or even committing suicide, school shootings, or even swatting. These videos are then shared within the 764 groups where these guys try to one-up one another with their “lore logs” showing these activities.
You might read the article in WAPO regarding a recent Gig Harbor WA teen suicide that took a lot of effort to track down their “handler.” HTTPS://bit.ly/4hWA5pp
I read (almost daily) the reports where spurned exes threaten to share nudes, or scammers try to get money out of victims by threatening the same. These 764 victims are NOT the same thing.
So while it’s easy to mock the victims of exes and scammers, these kids are actual victims. Yes, parents should be doing a better job of limiting and monitoring their children’s online activities, and who their communicating with, but by they time we see these victims, it’s often late in the game.
This is really no laughing matter.
- Hutch
Big Tech AI and The Socials
North Sea Nexus
Vanity Fair NSN link
As of late 2025, the Global Editorial Director of Vanity Fair is Mark Guiducci.1 While he is an American born and raised in Southern California, his career and education have strong links to the UK and British cultural institutions.
Here is how Guiducci and the magazine under his leadership tie into Britain and the Royals:
1. Mark Guiducci’s Personal Ties to the UK
Though Guiducci is from San Diego and a Princeton graduate, he has significant British connections:
Education in London: Guiducci spent time living in London to pursue an M.A. at the Courtauld Institute of Art, one of the most prestigious art history institutions in the world.2 This "British polish" is often cited as a key part of his editorial aesthetic.
The "Global" Mandate: He is the first person to hold the title of Global Editorial Director for the brand.3 Unlike previous American editors who mostly focused on the US, Guiducci is directly responsible for the British edition of Vanity Fair, effectively making him the "boss" of the magazine's presence in the UK.
2. Ties to the British Royal Family
Under Guiducci’s leadership, Vanity Fair has leaned back into its roots as the primary chronicler of the British monarchy for an American audience. The magazine maintains these ties through:
The "Royal Watch" Tradition: The magazine is famous for its deep-access profiles of the Royals. In recent years, it has been the primary stage for major royal stories, such as the coverage of the King Charles III coronation and the ongoing "Megxit" saga involving Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Katie Nicholl: The magazine’s Royal Correspondent, Katie Nicholl, is one of the most well-known British royal experts. She provides the magazine with a "boots on the ground" perspective from London, ensuring the American publication remains a top source for royal news.
High-Society Networking: Like his mentor Anna Wintour (who is British-American), Guiducci is a fixture in the international social scene where the worlds of British aristocracy and American celebrity collide—often seen at events like the Met Gala or major London fashion weeks.
3. The "British Influence" in the Office
Anna Wintour’s Oversight: As the Chief Content Officer of Condé Nast, the legendary British editor Anna Wintour is Guiducci’s direct supervisor. Her influence ensures that Vanity Fair maintains a "British sensibility"—a mix of high-brow intellectualism and sharp social commentary.
The British Edition: While Guiducci sits in New York, the UK edition remains a separate, physical entity in London that produces its own unique content about the British "Establishment," which often then gets shared with the US audience.
Summary of TiesConnectionDetailEducationStudied Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London.RoleFirst Global Director, overseeing the UK edition directly.MentorHeavily influenced and promoted by Anna Wintour (British).ContentEmploys top British royal experts (like Katie Nicholl) for inside access.
Qualification of WMD
In federal law, a Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) is defined primarily by its ability to cause widespread death or serious injury through specific mechanisms.1
As of December 15, 2025, illicit fentanyl and its precursor chemicals have been officially designated as Weapons of Mass Destruction by executive order.2
1. The Statutory Definition (18 U.S.C. § 2332a)
Under U.S. federal law, specifically 18 U.S.C. § 2332a, a weapon of mass destruction is defined as:
Destructive Devices: Any explosive, incendiary, or poison gas (including bombs, grenades, or rockets).3
Chemical Weapons: Any weapon designed or intended to cause death or serious bodily injury through the release, dissemination, or impact of toxic or poisonous chemicals.4
Biological Weapons: Any weapon involving a biological agent, toxin, or delivery system.5
Radiological/Nuclear Weapons: Any weapon designed to release radiation or radioactivity at levels dangerous to human life.6
2. Does Fentanyl Qualify?
Yes, as of December 2025.7 While fentanyl was historically treated solely as a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act, a recent Executive Order (signed December 15, 2025) formally classified illicit fentanyl as a Weapon of Mass Destruction.8
Why the change?
The administration's justification for this classification rests on several key points:
Extreme Lethality: Just 2 milligrams (roughly the size of a few grains of salt) can be fatal, which officials argue makes it comparable to chemical warfare agents.9
Mass Casualties: The drug is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths annually, a scale the government now views as a "mass-casualty threat" rather than a standard narcotics issue.10
Potential for Weaponization: The order highlights the risk that organized adversaries could use concentrated forms of fentanyl in large-scale terror attacks.11
3. What This Means Legally
This designation is a significant shift in how the federal government handles drug trafficking. It allows for:
Sentencing Enhancements: Prosecutors can seek significantly tougher penalties and longer prison terms for trafficking cases.12
Military Involvement: The "Secretary of War" (and Department of Defense) is directed to provide resources to the DOJ to combat fentanyl, treating it as a national security threat.13
Intelligence & Sanctions: It enables the use of tools typically reserved for counter-proliferation to track financial networks and manufacturing chains abroad.14
Financial Stability Oversight Council
The 2025 FSOC Annual Report marks a significant strategic pivot in how the U.S. government approaches financial stability. Under the leadership of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the Council has shifted from a "top-down" approach (focusing primarily on the plumbing of financial markets and bank regulations) to a "bottom-up" approach that prioritizes the financial resilience of American households as the bedrock of a stable economy.
The following summary outlines this shift, specifically contrasting the traditional focus on financial markets with the new emphasis on households and families.
1. The Core Philosophical Shift: "Real Economy First"
The report explicitly acknowledges a "dramatic turnabout" in causality. Historically, financial stability policy was designed to prevent disruptions in financial markets from spilling over into the "real economy."
* Old Focus (Protective/Prophylactic): Focused on tightening regulations, increasing capital requirements for banks, and monitoring market "plumbing" to prevent a 2008-style collapse.
* New Focus (Growth-Oriented): The 2025 report argues that the chain of causality also runs from the real economy to financial markets. It posits that a weak real economy (poor growth, household distress) is itself a primary threat to financial stability.
2. The Household Resilience Working Group
A centerpiece of this shift is the creation of a new Household Resilience Working Group. This group moves the Council's gaze away from the balance sheets of Wall Street banks and toward the balance sheets of Main Street families.
* Focus Areas: The group is tasked with monitoring household debt levels, savings buffers, and access to credit.
* The Rationale: The Council now views "financially resilient households" as a shock absorber for the entire system. When families have strong balance sheets, they can withstand job losses or illness without defaulting on debt, which in turn prevents systemic shocks from hitting the banking sector.
3. Financial Markets: From "Warning Siren" to "Market Plumbing"
While financial markets remain critical, the report changes how they are supervised.
* Reducing "Red Tape": The 2025 report shifts away from "prophylactic" or precautionary regulation that the Council now deems an "undue burden" on growth. Instead, it seeks to simplify the regulatory framework to ensure markets can facilitate "price discovery" and "capital supply" more efficiently.
* Market Resilience vs. Market Restriction: Rather than imposing more restrictions on market participants, the report emphasizes "market mechanics" and "operational resilience"—ensuring that the underlying infrastructure (like Treasury clearing and AI adoption) works smoothly without hindering innovation.
4. Key Priorities for Households vs. Markets
The report highlights specific areas where the focus has migrated to the family level:
* Housing and Mortgages: Rather than just looking at the risk to mortgage-backed securities (market focus), the report examines the role of nonbank mortgage servicers and their impact on homeowners' ability to stay in their homes during stress (household focus).
* Economic Security as Stability: The report ties "economic security" (the ability of a workforce to be mobile and entrepreneurial) directly to financial stability. It suggests that high investment rates and small business creation by families are better indicators of a stable system than low-volatility market indices.
* AI for Inclusion: The Council recommends using AI to promote the "resilience of the financial system" by potentially lowering costs and increasing efficiency for consumers, rather than just focusing on the risks AI poses to market high-frequency trading.
Summary of the Conflict/Trade-off
The report concludes that the "past approach," where nearly every sector of the economy was viewed as a potential "vulnerability" to be regulated, actually undermined stability by stifling growth. By shifting focus to household health and reducing regulatory friction in markets, the FSOC aims to create a "virtuous cycle" where a strong real economy provides the most durable protection against financial crashes.
From the oil baron
Adam per John’s comments on clean oil. He’s partially correct. High gravity oil is easier to refine. However, chem plants benefit from heavy crudes. I know this for a fact because of knowledge and familiarity with marketing our own oil production in the past. Asphalitines from heavy crude oils are used for diesel, asphalt, carbon black and a multitude of other byproducts for the petrochemical sector. Here in the U.S., we use so much heavy crude that we have to import a large amount from other countries. I lived in a city for 4-5 years that had a Fina owned refinery and a carbon black plant associated with it. Small city. Big Spring Texas. The carbon black plants take the sulfur and cook it down into bales that are shipped to various industries like tire manufacturing. My father in law worked at that Fina refinery (now Delek) for 39 years. I knew a lot of people that worked there and we had 2000 BOPD pipeline to that refinery everyday. So I know that side of it extremely well. Also, Houston refineries were designed for heavier crudes. We had issues selling high gravity oil to that market without blending it. So in the Permian when we hit the newer geologic zones that produced the higher cleaner gravities, I had to work with our marketers to blend down the lighter crudes due to RVP (Reed Vapor Pressure) issues. RVP, in a nutshell, happens when the oil is so light, the gas molecules will breakout causing shrinkage. So as an example, say you produce 100 bbls into a tank, the vapor pressure releases, gas molecules migrate out of the oil and the associated result could be 4-5 bbls of shrinkage. That’s a lot of money over the course of a day when you’re producing 250,000 BOPD like we were at my last company.
Trump in Venezuela theft of oil and land
Yes, you have identified a very relevant secondary layer to his comments. While the "stolen" part mostly refers to past nationalizations, the "energy rights" and "land" phrasing is closely tied to the current conflict between Venezuela and its neighbor, Guyana.
The situation in Guyana has become a major flashpoint for the Trump administration for several reasons:
1. The Dispute over the Essequibo
Venezuela claims roughly two-thirds of Guyana’s territory, a region called the Essequibo. This land is largely jungle but is adjacent to massive offshore oil deposits (the "Stabroek Block") discovered by American companies.
* The American Connection: ExxonMobil (an American giant) is the lead operator in Guyana’s oil fields.
* The Threat: In 2024 and throughout 2025, Venezuela’s Maduro regime increased military presence near the border and issued laws claiming the region as a Venezuelan state. Trump’s administration has framed these threats as an attack on "American energy rights" because of Exxon's multi-billion dollar investment there.
2. Physical Incidents in 2025
The rhetoric intensified following several military encounters this year:
* March 2025 Incursion: A Venezuelan warship entered Guyana's waters and confronted an ExxonMobil facility (Liza Destiny).
* The "Skipper" Seizure: In December 2025, the U.S. seized the tanker Skipper off the coast. Interestingly, this tanker was reportedly using "spoofing" techniques to appear as if it were in Guyanese waters while it was actually loading oil in Venezuela.
3. Why Trump says "Land"
When Trump demands the return of "Oil, Land, and other Assets," it is widely interpreted by analysts as a dual reference:
* Past: Land and refineries seized from American oil companies during the Chávez era (2007).
* Present: Protecting the "land" (and maritime territory) in Guyana where American companies have legal contracts to drill, which Venezuela is effectively trying to "take" through annexation.
Summary of the "Our Oil" Perspective
The administration’s logic, as recently echoed by advisors like Stephen Miller, is that "American sweat, ingenuity, and toil" built the oil infrastructure in both Venezuela (historically) and Guyana (currently). Therefore, any attempt by Venezuela to seize those fields or block those operations is seen as "stealing" American property and rights.
Gen Z
Gen X sad about dating and women
Adam, I apologize for the lack of a big donation...
smaller donations will eventually affect up. Both you and John seem to
be befuddled by dudes not wanting chicks. Allow me to enlighten you
both... we do! But... they're out of reach due to their expectations.
Young men are shifting more trad, body count matters, and the women have
unrealistic and entitled requirements. The rules of 6 are a thing...
for the boomers (6 feet, 6 pack, 6 figures) and younger men might have
the first 2. For me... I'm a twice divorced 52 yo male... and its
gross. It's why most men have just checked out. Using the internet for
anything other than a hookup is dead, not because of bots... but
because of the poison. My last gf was a grad student (plot twist i
know), I've been moderately successful and now when I think maybe a mate
a little more mature? He'll. No. These old bats are more entitled
than the younger ones. The wine hasn't aged gracefully, its soured.
Not a 1 off... opening reply to a comment about this or that on line...
How much do you make.
Yep.
Spend a few hours, day, months, years being single and you'll both see
why we don't want anything to do with the fairer sex. Because they
aren't fair... we, as men, are just a resource.
Sad.
EU UK Ukriaine an NATO
Reiner
Six Week Cycle
Turtle Island summary
The "Turtle Island" group you are referring to is the Turtle Island Liberation Front (TILF).
Four members of this group were arrested in the Mojave Desert on Friday, December 12, 2025, and charged with conspiracy to bomb multiple targets in Southern California on New Year's Eve.
Below is a summary of the affidavit and the details surrounding the arrests.
The Official Affidavit & Charges
The criminal complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. You can typically find the full PDF by searching for "United States v. Audrey Illeene Carroll et al. Complaint" or visiting the Department of Justice press release page for the Central District of California.
Case Details:
* Defendants:
* Audrey Illeene Carroll (30, a.k.a. "Asiginaak")
* Zachary Aaron Page (32, a.k.a. "AK")
* Dante Gaffield (24, a.k.a. "Nomad")
* Tina Lai (41, a.k.a. "Kickwhere")
* Charges: Conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371) and Possession of an Unregistered Destructive Device.
Key Details from the Affidavit
According to the affidavit filed by the FBI, the investigation revealed the following timeline and evidence:
* "Operation Midnight Sun":
* In late November 2025, the lead defendant (Carroll) allegedly provided a confidential human source with an 8-page handwritten document titled "Operation Midnight Sun."
* The document outlined a plot to detonate improvised explosive devices (IEDs) at five different commercial/logistics locations in Los Angeles on New Year's Eve (December 31, 2025).
* The group also discussed future plans to target ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents and vehicles in early 2026.
* Surveillance & "Black Lotus" Chat:
* The group communicated via an encrypted Signal group chat called "Black Lotus."
* They used this chat to coordinate the purchase of bomb-making materials, including PVC pipes, potassium nitrate, sulfur powder, and fuses.
* The Arrest (Mojave Desert):
* On Friday, December 12, 2025, the four defendants traveled to a remote location in Lucerne Valley (Mojave Desert) to construct and test their explosives.
* FBI aerial surveillance observed them setting up a tent and unloading materials (PVC pipe, gasoline, rags, and chemical precursors) onto a table.
* Federal agents and SWAT teams moved in and arrested them before a functional device could be fully assembled or detonated.
Background on the Group
* Ideology: The DOJ and FBI describe the Turtle Island Liberation Front as an "anti-capitalist, anti-government, and pro-Palestine" extremist group.
* Name Origin: "Turtle Island" is a name used by some Indigenous peoples for North America; the group uses it to emphasize themes of decolonization and tribal sovereignty.
* Propaganda: Flyers found at the scene and in the defendants' homes reportedly included slogans like "Death to America" and "Free Palestine."
M5M
Biden's red light devil Christmas message
