Retired child and adolescent psychiatrist and American expatriate in New Zealand. In 2002, I made the difficult decision to close my 25-year Seattle practice after 15 years of covert FBI harassment. I describe the unrelenting phone harassment, illegal break-ins and six attempts on my life in my 2010 book The Most Revolutionary Act: Memoir of an American Refugee.
Iran has been crystal clear that it will close the Strait in the case of war. In other words, Iran holds a knife to the throat of the global economy.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water that links the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world.
It’s the world’s single most important energy corridor, and there’s no alternative route.
Five of the world’s top 10 oil-producing countries—Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait—border the Persian Gulf, as does Qatar, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter. The Strait of Hormuz is their only sea route to the open ocean… and world markets.
At its narrowest point, the space available for shipping lanes is just 3.2 kilometers wide.
According to the US Energy Information Administration, more than 40% of global oil exports (around 21 million barrels) transit the Strait daily.
That’s more than $1.5 billion worth of oil every day.
And that’s not considering the immense amount of LNG— about 33% of the world’s daily LNG exports—and other goods transiting the Strait.
It’s hard to overstate the importance of the Strait of Hormuz to the global economy.
If someone were to disrupt the Strait, it would cause immediate global economic chaos as energy prices skyrocket.
Thanks to its commanding geography and expertise in unconventional and asymmetric warfare, Iran can shut down the Strait, and there’s not much anyone can do about it.
It’s Iran’s geopolitical trump card.
Analysts believe it would take several weeks for the US military to reopen it, but nobody knows if it would succeed. Numerous Pentagon war games suggest it wouldn’t.
Military strategists have known about this situation for decades. But no one has found a realistic way to neutralize Iran’s power over the Strait.
Iran has been crystal clear that it will close the Strait in the case of war.
In other words, Iran holds a knife to the throat of the global economy.
The US has sought to overthrow the Iranian government since the 1979 Revolution—for over 40 years. Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz has always served as a big deterrent to US regime change ambitions and invasion plans.
Now, in 2025, Iran and the US are headed toward a confrontation that will almost certainly disrupt the Strait.
If war breaks out between the US and Iran—an increasingly likely outcome—I have no doubt that Iran will close the Strait of Hormuz.
To call that a severe oil supply disruption would be a major understatement.
Consider this…
During the first oil shock in 1973, about 5 million barrels were removed from the global oil market. Daily global oil production was approximately 56 million barrels per day at the time, which means about 9% of the supply vanished.
Oil prices roughly quadrupled.
During the second oil shock in 1979, about 4 million barrels were removed from the global oil market. Daily global oil production was approximately 67 million barrels per day at the time, which means about 6% of the supply vanished.
Oil prices nearly tripled.
During the third oil shock in 1990, about 4.3 million barrels were removed from the global oil market. Daily global oil production was approximately 66 million barrels per day at the time, which means about 7% of the supply vanished.
Oil prices more than doubled.
If Iran were to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, it would remove a whopping 21 million barrels of oil from the global market. Today, global oil production is around 96 million barrels per day, which means about 22% of the worldwide oil supply could disappear.
As we can see in the chart below, it would be the largest oil supply shock the world has ever seen… by far.
If war with Iran proceeds and Tehran closes the Strait of Hormuz, I think the effect on the price of oil will be at least as severe as it was during the 1973 oil shock, which saw oil prices go up 4x.
A similar move today could see oil prices around $300 a barrel.
However, I consider that a conservative estimate because closing the Strait of Hormuz would cause a much larger supply shock than the 1973 OPEC oil embargo.
Washington previously funded the vast majority of “independent news outlets” in the country, according to a Kiev-based NGO.
Multiple Ukrainian media outlets have issued appeals for emergency cash donations after US President Donald Trump suspended Washington’s foreign aid programs. USAID, the organization that funnels billions of dollars to international causes deemed worthy by Washington has been put on hold, pending reviews, and up to 60 senior staff have reportedly been suspended on full pay.
Nine out of every ten media outlets in Ukraine have been impacted by Washington’s decision, Oksana Romanyuk, executive director of the Institute of Mass Information in Kiev has claimed.
”Unfortunately, almost 90% of Ukrainian media outlets were surviving on grants,” the head of the media-focused NGO told Hromadske Radio. Romanyuk described Trump’s decision as a threat to democracy in Ukraine, claiming that “oligarchs” may seize control of a media landscape “weakened” by the halt in American funding.
Hromadske is among the outlets soliciting private donations in the wake of aid freeze. Established in November 2013, just before the Maidan protests started, Hromadske received its seed funding directly from the US embassy in Kiev and George Soros’ Open Society Foundation. The broadcaster played a pivotal role in criticizing the government during the violent coup that overthrew a democratically elected president and put Ukraine on course for division and conflict.
In a statement announcing the suspension of some of its projects, Hromadske praised the US Agency for International Development (USAID) as one of the most generous donors of “independent media” and NGOs in Ukraine. The investigative journalism organization Bihus.info also acknowledged that much of its work has been funded by the US.
The campaign for emergency funding also extends beyond traditional news outlets. Detector Media, a self-styled watchdog ‘combating online disinformation,’ has warned that hundreds of organizations are facing shutdown without USAID support, and urged private citizens and business owners to donate.
Irina Vereshchuk, the deputy chief of staff to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, has called the suspension of US non-military assistance “unexpected and unpleasant”. Kiev will hold “consultations with our American partners” to resume the flow of money while implementing measures to “stabilize the situation” in the interim, she promised on Tuesday.
This episode continues with a detailed timeline of the current Israeli war on Gaza and its impact on the US political process:
November 5 (2023) – as Israel recognizes their error in anticipating a quick victory in Gaza, Israel’s minister of cultural heritage proposes destroying Gaza with a nuclear bomb. This is the first ever official acknowledgement ever that Israel (the only nuclear power refusing to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty) possesses nuclear weapons. Netanyahu immediately suspends him. In the US, numerous Muslim organizations announce they won’t vote Democratic in 2025. In 2000, the Muslim vote (59% for Biden) was crucial in three swing states. Many prominent Black, Latino, Asian and progressive Jewish groups also announce they can no longer support the Democratic party.
November 11 – Israel shells Al Shifa hospital, where 43 patients die after being cut off from life support.
November 21 – attempting to substantiate the hospital was home to a Hamas command center, Israel releases a video tour of Al Shifa hospital. It displays a half dozen weapons and some combat boots. For the most part, Western media reject this claim. Both the Spanish and Belgian prime minister condemn Israel’s deliberate targeting of civilians. After agreeing to a one-week ceasefire for prisoner exchange, Israel bombs two schools. Yemeni drone attacks increase on freighters and US ships traversing the Red Sea, with the majority of global freight companies ceasing deliveries to Israel. Insurance companies cease to provide coverage to container ships accessing the Suez Canal via the Red Sea, substantially increasing global shipping time and costs.
November 23 – During the ceasefire, Israel opens the Rafah crossing on the Egyptian border to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza.
December 5 – Netanyahu warns Hezbollah that he will turn Beirut into Gaza unless they stop their rocket attacks on northern Israel.
December 15 -Israeli snipers inadvertently kill three Israeli hostages, after mistaking them for Hamas operatives.
December 16 – Israeli snipers are condemned by the Pope for killing a Catholic Palestinian woman and her daughter as they leave a Catholic church.
An Indonesian man goes on a pro-Palestine rally in front of the US Embassy in Jakarta on Jan. 17, 2025. (Antara Photo/Indrianto Eko Suwarso)
Nada Shofa
[Ed: Now that Egypt and Jordan have vetoed Trump’s plan to resettle millions of Gazan refugees, Trump claims he’s talking with Indonesia and Albania to accept them. Albania denies being in talks with Trump to accept 100,000 Gazan refugees. As of January 2024, Egypt is allied with Russia, China and Iran as a BRICS member. As of January 2025 Indonesia is also a BRICS member. Surely Trump knows this?]
Jakarta. Indonesia called any displacement attempt of Gaza residents as “unacceptable” following US President Donald Trump’s plan to relocate some Gazans to the Southeast Asian country.
Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff recently floated a plan to temporarily relocate 2 million Gaza residents during the post-war rebuilding process. Witkoff said that Indonesia was among the possible host countries to accommodate some of those Gazans. The Foreign Affairs Ministry had denied ever hearing such plans on Monday. Indonesia also issued another statement the following day.
“Indonesia’s stance remains unequivocal: any attempts to displace or remove Gaza’s residents is entirely unacceptable,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said Tuesday.
“Such efforts to depopulate Gaza would only serve to perpetuate the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and align with broader strategies aimed at expelling Palestinians from Gaza,” the ministry said.
Indonesia also repeated its statement that the country had yet to receive any information from anyone, nor any plans regarding the relocation. Jakarta said that it would refrain “from speculating on issues of which no information is available.”
Indonesia — a staunch supporter of Palestinian independence — called the ongoing ceasefire as a momentum to start the negotiations towards a two-state solution. For context, the two-state solution calls for the establishment of an independent state for Palestinians alongside that of Israel.
The fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas is currently on a 6-week pause as part of a much-awaited ceasefire deal. This three-part ceasefire pact also includes release of hostages, and will eventually lead to the reconstruction of Gaza, something which could take years. Foreign Minister Sugiono said last week that Indonesia would help rebuild the lives of Gazans, including “supporting the reconstruction efforts”.
The ceasefire came into effect on Sunday local time after 15 months of intense war. Local health authorities reported that Israeli attacks on Gaza had killed over 47,000 Palestinians.
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has presented a bill to withdraw his own country from the WHO.
Matteo Salvini wrote in a post on X: “This morning the Federation presented its bill to LEAVE the WHO (World Health Organisation), as the US did with Donald Trump.”
“Italy no longer has to deal with a supranational power centre – richly funded by Italian taxpayers – that goes hand in hand with multinational pharmaceutical companies.”
He added: “Let’s use this 100 million to support the sick in Italy and fund our hospitals and doctors!”
President Trump issued an emergency directive to send active duty troops to California to help battle the fires that are still destroying people’s lives.
“The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond,” Trump announced on Truth Social.
“The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER,” the President asserted, adding “Enjoy the water, California!!!”
The move comes after Trump signed an executive order Friday titled “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas.”
“For weeks, residents of the Los Angeles area have watched raging fires consume their homes, belongings, beloved pets, and childhood memories. Almost immediately, firefighters were unable to fight the blaze due to dry hydrants, empty reservoirs, and inadequate water infrastructure,” the order reads.
It continues, “Today, at least 28 people have lost their lives and thousands more have lost everything else, with some damage estimates calculating hundreds of billions of dollars in damage.”
Good news for service members who were dismissed from the military for exercising their religious, medical, or philosophical freedom and refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
President Trump has said that he will sign an executive order today—Monday, January 27, 2025—to reinstate them with full back pay and benefits.
They “will be apologized to,” Hegseth insisted. “They will be reinstated [and] reinstituted with pay and rank.”
More than 8000 troops fired for refusing a for-profit pharmaceutical
Joseph Biden’s Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, fired over 8,000 military personnel who did not agree to get the vaccine, according to news sources.
The Hill reports that though military personnel were allowed to reapply for their jobs in 2023, only 43 servicemen did so.
I don’t know how we got so divided in this country.
I don’t know, really, what to think of or expect from Donald Trump.
But I do know that this is good news to wake up to on a Monday morning.
Our country was founded on freedom of religion. Freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, and freedom to choose what pharmaceutical products are injected intramuscularly into our bodies are fundamental human rights.
No one should lose a job over their decision to say, “No, thank you,” to a vaccine.
On Sunday, President Trump signed an executive order that aims to abolish the ‘corrupt’ Federal Emergency Management Agency for their perpetual mismanagement of disasters in the united States.
The order calls for the creation of a task force called the Federal Emergency Management Agency Review Council to review the agency and recommend drastic changes or abolishment.
Independentsentinel.com reports: The Council will be composed of the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense, as well as experts from the private sector.
There are reports that FEMA has deliberately ignored Republican areas of the country when his by disaster, particularly after Hurricanes Helene and Milton. They were allegedly ignored because they are Republican.
In an interview with Sean Hannity last week, Trump said, “FEMA is getting in the way of everything.”
“FEMA has not done their job for the last four years,” he added.
According to Axios’s Andrew Freedman, There is agreement among many experts in the disaster management community that some reforms to FEMA are necessary.
Trump suggested states should be allowed to respond to disasters and seek federal funding and resources if needed. However, due to their comparative lack of resources, governors are likely to push back against attempts to have them shoulder the full burden of disaster response.
President Trump has not appointed an agency head.
JD Vance has found apartments for displaced Western North Carolinians. Donald Trump sent the Army Corps of Engineers.
Ignoring a foreign-imposed ceasefire ‘extension,’ southern Lebanese residents are reclaiming their villages from Israeli occupation, exposing the failures of both the invasion and US mediation – and it’s happening in both Gaza and Lebanon at the same time.
The image that Israel sought to project – both to its settlers and to the wider Arab world – of a resistance subdued, a nation defeated, and a broken will crumbled at dawn on 26 January as the 60-day deadline for the implementation of the ceasefire with Hezbollah approached.
The shattering moment came as the Lebanese people triumphantly returned to their recently occupied villages with unrelenting resolve, putting an end to two months of perceived acquiescence and Israeli ambitions to extend its occupation of the country beyond the truce.
Scrambling to attach legitimacy to Israel’s continuing violations beyond the ceasefire deadline, the White House issued a very brief statement on Sunday evening, announcing that the agreement would remain in effect until 18 February.
Within hours, the Lebanese presidency’s X account posted: “There is no truth to the news about Israel informing Lebanon that it will remain at five border points for 15 days.”
Israel’s miscalculated strategy
The occupation state, once again miscalculating the realities on the ground, appeared to have banked on its extensive aggression in southern Lebanon, coupled with a brutal two-month rampage through southern villages under the guise of implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, to craft a facade of victory.
During this time, villages south of the Litani River – spared military occupation during the war thanks to the fierce resistance – were ravaged through relentless bombing and destruction right up until the deadline. Tel Aviv seemed confident this violence, shielded by the ceasefire agreement, would entrench its control and bolster its narrative of dominance – a narrative it had deceived itself into believing.
The arrogance of Israel’s leadership, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his far-right political allies and opposition leaders, underestimated the resilience of the Lebanese. The illusion that the war and its aftermath had crushed the will of the southern villagers or forced new terms upon Hezbollah was put to an unanticipated test.
During Lebanon’s observance of the ceasefire – marked by the deployment of its army south of the Litani and Hezbollah’s adherence to truce terms –Israel misread this restraint as weakness. Toward the end of the truce period, Israeli leaders openly discussed prolonged occupation of southern Lebanon, citing security concerns for northern settlers who had yet to return home.
What Israel did not foresee was the convergence of two historical moments: the Lebanese reclaiming their villages and Palestinians in Gaza defying displacement by returning northward from the strip. This dual movement after two ceasefire agreements, powered by an unyielding indigenous attachment to the land despite a genocidal campaign against its natives, exposed the failure of Israeli calculations and those of its allies in the west and West Asia.
A ceasefire undermined by violations
The recklessness of the US-led armistice committee, chaired by US General Jasper Jeffers, compounded the situation. By treating Israel’s numerous violations of the ceasefire lightly, the committee allowed Tel Aviv to interpret the agreement as it pleased.
Under this pretext, Israeli forces executed airstrikes, demolished entire residential neighborhoods, and bulldozed agricultural and forest areas, electrical network lines, water wells, and numerous roads. The occupation army uprooted infrastructure and disrupted civilian life in southern Lebanon at a scale rivaling the destruction during the 15-month war itself.
According to estimates by Lebanese authorities, there were over 800 violations during the ceasefire, yet the armistice committee offered no meaningful condemnation. Civilians attempting to return home were targeted indiscriminately; as of Sunday night, the Lebanese Ministry of Health recorded 24 more martyrs and over 134 wounded across 21 southern villages, many of them women and children, in addition to the nearly 100 lives lost since the ceasefire began.
Complicit silence of ‘mediators’
Israel’s actions, enabled by international complicity, emboldened it to extend its occupation and deepen the suffering of the Lebanese. Meanwhile, General Jeffers, tasked with overseeing the ceasefire and implementing Resolution 1701, remained a bystander to these crimes.
His silence showed, yet again, Washington’s inherent bias, which – far from being a neutral mediator – has historically aligned with Tel Aviv’s interests. This raises a pertinent question: can the US genuinely claim impartiality in Lebanon’s political and security affairs?
A political source close to the resistance in Lebanon, speaking to The Cradle, says this bias risks destabilizing the country and rendering the truce meaningless.
The resistance, represented by Hezbollah, set things straight with its statement last Thursday, which warned against “a continued violation of Lebanese sovereignty.”
Hezbollah insisted that these violations must be dealt with “by the state using all means and methods guaranteed by international conventions … to reclaim the land.”
“While we will follow the developments of the situation, which are supposed to culminate in a complete withdrawal in the coming days, we will not accept any violation of the agreement and commitments, and any attempt to evade them under flimsy pretexts.”
Hezbollah’s warnings realized
Sunday’s events confirmed Hezbollah’s warnings. As civilians re-entered their villages en masse, the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) followed, deploying in areas where Israeli troops were reluctant to surrender. This mass mobilization dismantled Israel’s scorched-earth strategy, which sought to make the region uninhabitable and reconstruction efforts near impossible.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, desperate to balance internal political pressures and its failed Gaza offensive, miscalculated again. Instead of breaking the Lebanese spirit, it was met with a formidable display of unity and defiance.
In exchange for the Lebanese commitment to implement the requirements of the ceasefire, Hezbollah parliamentary representative Ali Fayyad says that this was met with “Israeli treachery, international complicity, and indifference.”
A source close to the resistance also tells The Cradle that the presence of Israeli occupation forces on even a single inch of Lebanese territory serves as a justification for continued resistance.
The source elaborates that the Netanyahu government, by attempting to circumvent the truce deadline, is pursuing several interconnected objectives. Chief among them is the strategy to intensify pressure on Beirut, both politically and militarily, with the aim of forcing it into submission to Israeli demands.
Additionally, Israel seeks to establish a so-called “burned zone” along the border, creating a buffer area that would further entrench its occupation. This maneuvering, the source adds, also serves Netanyahu’s domestic agenda.
By maintaining a foothold in southern Lebanon, he aims to deflect criticism from opposition figures within Israel who are pressuring him to avoid a full withdrawal. Moreover, Netanyahu is using the situation to attempt a rehabilitation of his government’s tattered image.
After the Gaza ceasefire exposed severe cracks in Israel’s political and military apparatus – especially as Palestinian resistance fighters emerged with renewed confidence and resilience – the embattled Israeli prime minister is desperate to project strength, particularly in the Lebanese context, as a way to recover from these reputational blows.
Unified resistance
Military Correspondent in the North for Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth, Yair Kraus:
“These are exactly the images that used to scare people in the north: Hezbollah members, residents of villages near the border in southern Lebanon returning carrying Hezbollah flags.” pic.twitter.com/x1eHC65Cbu
This synchronized resistance across Lebanon and Palestine serves as a reminder of the region’s enduring struggle against occupation. As Israeli commentators acknowledge divisions within US policy circles – some supporting Israel’s attempts to prolong its occupation while others insist on adherence to withdrawal terms – Netanyahu’s agenda remains in disarray.
Reports of him lobbying President Donald Trump to permit the retention of five military sites in southern Lebanon show his desperation, but the people of Lebanon have already rendered this strategy futile.
The Lebanese resistance, bolstered by the actions of its citizens, has proven yet again that the occupation can and will be challenged.
Civilians liberated roughly 30 towns on Sunday, paving the way for the Lebanese army’s advance and signaling an unyielding determination to reclaim their sovereignty. While Israel may seek to manipulate international dynamics, the people of Lebanon have drawn a clear line: their land, their will, their victory.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, the residents of South Lebanon defied all odds, reclaiming their rightful lands with unparalleled courage.
Lebanese women stood in the face of the Israeli war machine, unwavering against gunfire. They confronted tanks from point-blank range, embodying a defiance that no weapon can silence.
Their steps, steady and resolute, took them back to their homes and towns on the border, undeterred by the occupation’s blatant violation of the ceasefire.
These women, unarmed yet fearless, proved that the spirit of resistance cannot be broken, even when met with the full force of oppression.
In yet another blatant and documented Israeli assault, a Merkava tank went after unarmed Lebanese civilians in Odaisseh, who were trying to return home following the end of the 60-day withdrawal deadline for Israeli occupation forces as stipulated in the ceasefire agreement reached on November 27, 2024.
Yet, even as the tank pursued and opened fire on the people, one defiant hand rose, flashing the victory sign in the face of the Israeli aggressor, declaring that no amount of firepower can suppress the will to reclaim what is justly theirs.
A circulated video shows how Israeli soldiers opened fire at civilians driving a car in South Lebanon. A child can be heard screaming in distress as the bullets penetrated the car.
Yesterday, there were a number of “headlines” in the US media claiming all foreign aid was stopped—except for Israel and Egypt. But the Pentagon weighed in today denying that it affects Ukraine:
“A Pentagon official confirmed that Trump’s executive order freezing foreign aid applies only to development programs, not security assistance to Ukraine.” -VOA
When I spoke with Judge Napolitano and Nima today, I had not seen these reports. However, while Trump’s order does not curtail security assistance (i.e., weapons, vehicles and ammunition) already in the pipeline, it does freeze the assistance funds that flow through State Department channels:
The Trump administration has reportedly frozen USAID projects as part of its foreign assistance audit
The Trump administration has frozen projects in Ukraine that were funded through the US Agency for International Development, Reuter reported on Friday, citing a USAID official.
The official told the news agency that USAID officers responsible for projects in Ukraine were told to stop all work. The projects that were frozen reportedly include support for schools and healthcare, including maternal care and the vaccination of children.
So part of the Ukrainian grift machine is shut down for the next three months. That is a start in the right direction.
Even if the US under the Trump administration continues to funnel weapons to Ukraine, this does not solve Ukraine’s fundamental weakness — i.e., the lack of trained soldiers. The New York Times published a bizarre piece of illogical nonsense today under the title, Ukraine Is Losing Fewer Soldiers Than Russia — but It’s Still Losing the War. This is simply a pile of fetid horse manure. I am not even going to waste time deconstructing the lies the permeate this piece of propaganda. Let’s deal with facts:
Russia has at least an 8:1 advantage in artillery shells since 2022.
Russia has air supremacy and is able to drop massive glide bombs on Ukrainian positions, while Ukraine has not comparable capability.
Russia has more drones and has deployed drones guided by fiber optic cable and artificial intelligence. Ukraine has no such capability.
Russia has more tanks and armored personnel carriers.
But we also have hard numbers from Ukrainian sources about a Ukrainian / Russian exchange of dead soldiers. Check out this graphic:
Yes, you are reading that correctly. Russia received the bodies of 49 soldiers and, in turn, delivered the remains of 757 Ukrainian troops. In other words, for every dead Russian soldier there were 15 dead Ukrainians. That data tells you everything you need to know about the true extent of Ukrainian losses and exposes the prevarication of the New York Timesreporters.
However, the Times makes one damning admission:
Western intelligence agencies have been reluctant to disclose their internal calculations of Ukrainian casualties for fear of undermining an ally. American officials have previously said that Kyiv withholds this information from even the closest allies.
Yes, the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency are not reporting the real Ukrainian losses because of politics. Just one more example of the politicization of intelligence.
Ignoring a foreign-imposed ceasefire ‘extension,’ southern Lebanese residents are reclaiming their villages from Israeli occupation, exposing the failures of both the invasion and US mediation – and it’s happening in both Gaza and Lebanon at the same time.
The Most Revolutionary Act 