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Links 1/18/2026

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Patients Once “Paralyzed by Life” Show Lasting Recovery With Implanted Nerve Therapy SciTech Daily

You can now reserve a hotel room on the Moon for $250,000 Ars Technica

Horses can smell human fear when we sweat Phys.org

Reddit Is Suddenly Obsessed With Paris Hilton Cookware Wired

COVID-19/Pandemics

EID Journal: Thrombotic Events and Stroke in the Year After COVID-19 or Other Acute Respiratory Infection Avian Flu Diary

COVID pandemic enters seventh year with no end in sight Boing Boing

Climate/Environment

Iran’s regime has survived war, sanctions, and uprising. Environmental crises may bring it down. Grist

Tiny earthquakes are revealing a dangerous secret beneath California Science Daily

EPA rules that xAI’s natural gas generators were illegally used TechCrunch

US to repeal the basis for its climate rules: What to know Phys.org

South of the Border

Machado vows to lead Venezuela ‘when right time comes’ BBC

Venezuela’s New President Moves to Consolidate Power as Divisions Widen Modern Diplomacy

US issues aviation warnings for eastern Pacific over ‘military activities’ RT

Mexico’s week in review: Sovereignty debate reaches boiling point as Trump ramps up pressure on cartels Mexico News Daily

Colombia, Panama and Grenada – targets of U.S. intervention in the Cold War – see Trump’s actions with dread and déjà vu The Globe and Mail

China?


Trump’s protectionist trade policies allow China to swoop in Los Angeles Times

China Leads Air Logistics Revolution with First Test Flight of Tianma-1000 Unmanned Cargo Plane Military Watch Magazine

China is becoming more sexually liberal – if you are a man The Conversation

China Purchased No U.S. Soybeans An Unprecented Sixth Straight Month Forbes

Photos of China’s Green Energy Transition kottke.org

India

The tallest statue in the World is in India The International Affairs

In the great gig work debate in India, why the framing of ‘flexibility’ runs into economic reality The Indian Express

India turns to small modular nuclear reactors to meet climate targets physicsworld.com

Africa

West/Central Africa reel from humanitarian relief crisis APA News

Yoweri Museveni wins Ugandan election as opponent condemns ‘fake result’ The Guardian

President Hassan Sheikh Condemns Israel’s ‘Land Grab’ as Red Line dawan Africa

European Disunion

France backs Serbia’s EU accession, supports opening of key negotiation chapter Andolu Agency

Polish president slams EU as a ‘fading star’ while warning of Russian imperialism euronews

‘Not for sale’: massive protest in Copenhagen against Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland NPR

Trump: NATO members to face tariffs increasing to 25% until a Greenland purchase deal is struck CNBC

Old Blighty

Britain’s military disaster Our credibility is shot UnHerd

The one measure that can tell us a lot about the state of the UK economy BBC

Israel v. Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iran


In break with Trump, PM says makeup of key Gaza oversight panel ‘contradicts’ Israeli policy The Times of Israel

Photos: Gaza ceasefire brings no relief as Israeli bombings continue Al Jazeera

Trump’s ‘board of peace’ appears to seek wider mandate beyond Gaza Al Jazeera

‘If the Resistance Does Not Survive, Lebanon Will Not’: Naim Qassem Warns Amid Escalation The Palestine Chronicle

US paralysis on Iran crisis owes to Navy capacity gaps Asia Times

New Not-So-Cold War

Dark Kiev Moon of Alabama

Zelenskyy demands faster energy imports as Ukraine reels from power outages Al Jazeera

Russia considering strikes on substations serving Ukraine’s nuclear power plants, Ukrainian intelligence says Ukrainska Pravda

Zelensky says Ukraine’s air defence supplies ‘insufficient’ BBC

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv officials arrive in US for crucial peace talks with Trump envoys The Independent

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

TSA’s $45 ConfirmID Fee Ties Air Travel Access to Paid Identity Verification Reclaim the Net

Worried about surveillance, states enact privacy laws and restrict license plate readers News8000.com

Imperial Collapse Watch

Elite California college town races to stop outbreak of deadly tropical disease after dangerous bacteria found in homeless camp NY Post

Homeless shelters for seniors pop up, catering to older adults’ medical needs Apple Valley News Now

Trump 2.0

Doctor Says Trump Appears to Be Showing Signs of a Stroke Futurism

12 ways the Trump administration dismantled civil rights law and the foundations of inclusive democracy in its first year The Conversation

Why Trump wants Canada Expansion is America’s manifest destiny UnHerd

Trump says 8 EU countries to be charged 10% tariff for opposing US control of Greenland NPR

Musk Matters

Elon Musk is looking for a $134 billion payout from OpenAI and Microsoft engadget

Mother of Elon Musk’s Child Sues xAI Over Grok Abuse Futurism

Elon Musk Considers Buying Ryanair After Calling Its CEO ‘Utter Idiot’ NDTV.com

Elon Musk thinks you don’t need to save for retirement in an ‘abundant’ AI and robotics forward future mint

Democrat Death Watch

Progressive effort to primary Sen. John Fetterman ramps up NBC News

Trump Escalates His War on America as Dems Debate What Words They Can Say Zeteo

Immigration

Trump’s Twin Cities immigration crackdown has made chaos and tension the new normal AP

Racial quotas for immigration are back The Guardian

Our No Longer Free Press

Trump’s War On Journalism: Officials Proudly Defend Raiding A Journalist’s Home ScheerPost

Evidence Collection as Propaganda Olivier Boyd-Barrett

‘Stars and Stripes’ Responds to Pentagon Targeting ‘Woke’ Independent News Military.com

Mr. Market Is Moody

History offers warning on dollar and deficits Phys.org

China’s Holdings of U.S. Treasuries Fall to 17-Year Low Asia Business Daily

The S&P 500 Is Surging in 2026, but This Stock Market Indicator Could Be Sending a Warning Signal to Investors The Motley Fool

High‑valuation equity markets hinge on strong Q4 profit beat or risk volatility spike Cryptopolitan

AI

Coming soon: We interrupt this ChatGPT session with a very special message from our sponsors The Register

Matthew McConaughey Is Using a Clever Legal Trick to Bludgeon AI Companies Futurism

‘We could hit a wall’: why trillions of dollars of risk is no guarantee of AI reward The Guardian

AI Firms Rush into Healthcare Sector Whalesbook

WA lawmakers look to protect minors from AI chatbots KNKX Public Radio

The Bezzle

January scams surge: Why fraud spikes at the start of the year Fox News

Thai ruling party courts voters by vowing to end Cambodia conflict, close scam hubs SCMP

Guillotine Watch

Antidote du jour (via)

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here

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93 comments

  3. Bugs

    “The tallest statue in the World is in India”

    …and is absolutely hideous. I can’t believe that people make the journey there to see it. I’ve met some. Lots of love for Modi and BJP in Ahmedabad. It’s not easy to get to, being in the south of Gujarat and sort of off the usual routes.

    While it’s nominally a monument to unity for Patel’s work to bring all the states into the central government, imho the underlying sympathies of the Hindutva right for this construction are related to his role in lifting the ban on the RSS.

    Reply ↓
    2. Mikel

      If they believed the BS about all the future “abundance”, this wouldn’t be the kind of desperation on display.

      Reply ↓
  6. The Rev Kev

    “In break with Trump, PM says makeup of key Gaza oversight panel ‘contradicts’ Israeli policy”

    I think that Netanyahu’s problem is that a majority of that Board are not Israelis so that they can have total control of it. Instead, it is made up of hustlers who want to make bank using the reconstruction of Gaza as their preferred method.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      Meant to mention something that I came across about that Board-

      ‘US President Donald Trump wants countries to pay at least $1 billion to remain on the Gaza “Board of Peace” beyond a three-year limit, according to the text of the body’s charter obtained by multiple media outlets.

      “Each Member State shall serve a term of no more than three years from this Charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the Chairman,” the document states, according to the Times of Israel. “The three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force.” ‘

      https://www.rt.com/news/631096-trump-board-of-peace-seats/

      I’m sure that people will want to go on that Board out of the goodness of their hearts.

      Reply ↓
      1. flora

        Big bucks for visas, $45 bucks to let the TSA rummage through your personal info in order to fly, a billion bucks to set on a board renewable every 3 years (for another billion) …..

        The T admin is starting to look like a gigantic shakedown operation. / imo

        Reply ↓
        1. Louis Fyne

          the $45 is for REAL ID compliance (lack thereof) ….a post-9/11 law that finally is being rolled out nationwide 20+ years after bipartisan enactment.

          imperial federal and state rot is so deep that the US can’t implement a 9/11 law.

          Reply ↓
          1. flora

            You will be pleased to know the TSA accepts digital ids. (The thing everyone needs before the rollout of Central Bank Digital Currancy (CBDC) can begin. / ;)

            They’re also accepting ( I love this):
            Apple Digital ID
            Clear ID
            Google ID pass

            Really, TSA?

            (Why am I thinking the sudden, brutal ICE crackdown is designed in part to convince everyone they need a Real ID or a digital ID? )

            Anyway, here’s the TSA list of the acceptable ids:
            https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification

            I like the opening warning in small print on the TSA site:

            “The list of acceptable IDs is subject to change without notice. TSA strongly encourages you check this list again before traveling, so you do not arrive at the airport without acceptable ID.”

            Reply ↓
    2. Carolinian

      The Trump administration has become one astonishing scam after another. In the old days the Mafia would bribe cops but now we have a crime Don running the entire Justice Department and FBI.

      Of course Dems like Biden and Pelosi set ample precedent, with Biden pardoning his entire family on the way out the door. As long as both sides are raking it in they have no reason to meaningfully oppose each other.

      Only a bottom up revolution can save us from elite ethical collapse.

      Reply ↓
  7. Louis Fyne

    >>you can now reserve a hotel room on the Moon for $250,000

    ….you can be a chump and give an unsecured 0% loan to a start-up in return for 0% equity.

    Or maybe the company is ethical and will sequester the cash properly and not co-mingle it w/regular funds; not holding my breath

    Reply ↓
    2. Ken Murphy

      I’m having a flashback to around the time my Cislunar Econosphere article was published, and I was asked for an interview by an Israeli publication. Apparently someone was selling retirements on the Moon and they wanted more info about such things.
      The thing is, there would be particular benefits for older folks on the Moon. The lower gravity makes it easier for the heart to pump blood up to the brain, at least at the start. We’ve learned from microgravity experience that the body doesn’t want to waste energy maintaining stuff it’s not using (like bones that aren’t fighting gravity). Falls would be more manageable. The air would be canned and clean. It has its attractions.
      Had I the resources I would absolutely want to go to the Moon, knowing the many, myriad risks involved. I got to experience Lunar gravity on a Zero-G flight and it was incredible. Lunar tourism will happen; probably not soon, but if humanity does decide to grow beyond this planet then the Moon will be a key stepping stone to points beyond. In my view we really need to be focused on tapping the energy and resources of our Moon, but tourism is fun to think about too.

      Reply ↓
      1. Kouros

        In the movie Contact with Jodie Foster, the billionaire backing the search and building of the alien designed structure dies on a space station because gravity is no more…

        Reply ↓
      2. Alice X

        My continuing fantasy is that a benign alien entity arrives and ships off our capitalist afflicters to Mars (it could be Ganymede or Titan or…). The aliens great medical acumen allows them to live out an exaggerated number of years free of health concerns, but alas for those transported, their environment is a single cell each.

        What becomes of the earthly many? The aliens have a benign intention.

        So that is what I have devolved to, because I don’t think humanity can deal with what is upon us.

        Reply ↓
  8. Quentin

    I’m very reassured Naked Capitalism seems on top of the decadent luxury market for old wine and whiskey. Someone trying to increase the site’s clicks? The topic pointedly adds to the authenticity of the site’s name.

    Reply ↓
    1. Yves Smith

      It appears you are not reading Haig’s Sunday links regularly. He has a plutocratic excess feature.

      And our ads are not based on content we run. Our ads are sold in a package with other finance sites based on our demographics.

      Reply ↓
      1. Earl

        Plutocratic excess and wine are included in the category of Things Very Rich People Like (TVRPL). This includes items like art, yachts and sports teams. Plutocratic collectors of wine and art have been known to have been victims of theft and stung by forgeries. Regarding art, plutocratic collectors have been known to buy stolen or looted items.

        The high-end wine trade is described in Benjamin Wallace’s book, The Billionaire’s Vinegar. This describes how a German wine seller fraudster, counterfeited an alleged 1787 bottle of Chateau Lafit that he claimed belonged to Thomas Jefferson. He even duplicated an eighteen-century glass bottle. It was sold at auction in 1985 for $157,000 to a Koch billionaire who after an exhaustive forensic effort proved the fraud. The seller was never charged.

        David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs was the victim of the theft of several expensive bottles from his Manhattan apartment by his trusted personal assistant in 2014-2018; he sold them to an online west coast wine dealer. The stolen bottles were worth several thousands of dollars each and included some from Domaine se la Romanee Conti which is the same vintner who produced the NC post’s record selling 1945 vintage bottle. The theft was discovered a Napa wine expert who traced their origin back to the Solomons. The assistant who had fled to Rome killed himself after his arrest when returned here. The Solomon’s sued the online seller for over $1M. http://nypost.com/2018/goldman-sachs-chief-goes-after-buyer-of-his-stolen-wine-after-ex-aides-suicide-leap/

        Reply ↓
    2. Bugs

      People actually buy this stuff to stock bars in clubs, yachts, etc. No one usually drinks it, except for perhaps the occasional interloper who knows what it really is and gets a bit. Myself having been one of those, when I circulated in a different milieu. Those days are gone for me at least.

      The Burgundy will likely be put in a cellar and cared for properly, until it can be resold or perhaps two glasses will be poured for some plutocrat chuds, who will freak out at the taste and won’t finish it, and the rest will be drunk by the sommelier once they’re gone.

      Reply ↓
    3. Alice X

      I’m very reassured Naked Capitalism seems on top of the decadent luxury market for old wine and whiskey.

      Yes, pictures at an exhibition of capitalist decadence. Are the capitalists going to open those bottles? No, they will wait for the next breakthrough bid.

      Someone trying to increase the site’s clicks?

      If you like to view decadence then maybe it is a go. I don’t demure at being reminded that those that have, and have taken too much should be held to scorn.

      The topic pointedly adds to the authenticity of the site’s name.

      No, not the topic, but the adherence to principles of the commentariat lends to the authenticity.

      From each according to their abilities, to each according to their need.

      Reply ↓
  9. johnnyme

    Pentagon readies 1,500 troops to possibly deploy to Minnesota, US media say

    Jan 18 (Reuters) – The Pentagon has ordered about 1,500 active-duty soldiers to prepare for a possible deployment to Minnesota, the site of large protests against the government’s deportation drive, U.S. media reported on Sunday.

    The army placed the units on prepare-to-deploy orders in case violence in the northern state escalates, the Washington Post reported, citing unnamed defense officials, adding that it is not clear whether any of them will be sent.

    Reply ↓
    1. Lefty Godot

      Translation: Pentagon being ordered to incite violence so it can then claim it’s there to fight violence. Same routine as our approach overseas.

      Reply ↓
    2. Alice X

      Preparations for the Insurrection Act (1808). It would override the Posse Comitatus Act (1878).

      Caligula has his instructees.

      Reply ↓
      1. redleg

        People here in MSP assume that is inevitable. Compliance will not stop the occupation. My social group sees a predicament: if we do nothing, the occupation continues unabated and without limits, yet if we fight back the occupation turns into Gaza.
        The only peaceful resolution to this predicament is for the paramilitary occupiers to leave.

        Reply ↓
  10. LawnDart

    Re; Doctor Says Trump Appears to Be Showing Signs of a Stroke

    I’m no doc, but I thought he was showing signs of constipation… or maybe demonic possession. Wasn’t it dementia a few weeks ago? What’ll it be next week?

    Place your bets.

    Reply ↓
    1. ambrit

      Ten quatloos on narcissistic megalomania.

      Edit; who knew that a reference to an obscure plot item from the old Star Trek would trip the dark fantastic?

      Reply ↓
        1. ambrit

          Yikes Stripes! I had not heard of that blog before. I guess I am way behind the curve.
          When I hear Quatloos, I think of scantily dressed thralls.

          Reply ↓
    2. Carolinian

      IM Doc says White Matter disease–hardening of the arteries and poor blood flow to the brain causing nerve deterioration. Can cause slurring of speech, poor balance and other symptoms.

      Of course that doesn’t mean he didn’t also have some sort of minor stroke.

      In the movie Dave they enlist a lookalike when the president has an incapacitating stroke but now we have AI.

      Reply ↓
      1. LawnDart

        …that doesn’t mean he didn’t also have some sort of minor stroke…

        Jeeze, why’d my mind immediately turn to Epstein?

        Reply ↓
        1. Dalepues

          Great movie! And a great cast too…with a happy ending, when the truly decent VP (Ben Kingsley) becomes President.

          Reply ↓
      3. Lefty Godot

        “Silent strokes” (or “pin strokes”) are a thing, and while they may evade notice at first I believe there is a cumulative effect of a bunch of multiple small brain areas being snuffed out over time. If the areas are not in the main sensory and motor control centers, the effects (on cognition, executive function, motivation, etc.) may be subtle. At first.

        Reply ↓
        1. amfortas

          TIA’s is what i heard them called when i was one of the caregivers for my great grandma in her last years.
          “mini-strokes”= transient ischiemic attack(sp-4), or something.
          and they are cumulative. i watched her consciousness/presence recede, very subtly over a couple of years, until she was just no longer in there.
          i suspect mom of having them for the last couple of years…makes the narcissism worse, by increments…(cant remember the lies, for one thing,lol)….(but covert narcissism is a harder nut to crack than trumps kind).

          Reply ↓
    3. Elena

      I am a retired health care professional. I don’t see signs of a stroke. I do see a neuro degenerative process and possible medication effect. I see a progressive decline over the past year which we can expect to continue.

      Reply ↓
      2. redleg

        That Soviet joke about the newspaper is appropriate. It goes something like:
        Every day comrade Ivan would go to the newsstand, look at the papers in the display, sigh and leave looking disappointed. One day Max the vendor asked him if he was looking for something in particular.
        Ivan said that he was looking for the obituaries.
        “But Ivan, the obituaries are in the back of the paper,” said Max.
        Ivan replied, “Not the obituaries I’m looking for!”

        Reply ↓
    4. ISL

      I can assure you from direct information (from Willow – aka Buffy’s sidekick) that demons definitely can possess the demented.

      Seriously, almost everyone will have multiple health problems in their last years – sorry to inform – that is how our loving creator designed humanity (not sharks), your genes turn on you, and multiple systems start failing in a cascade that eventually medical science can no longer address.

      (I have come to the conclusion that the evolutionary reason is that to have the bad leave this mortal coil, so must the good, to it all to the next generation.)

      Reply ↓
      1. amfortas

        yeah, the versailles furry thing,lol.
        ive seen very little actual info on all that(but i have been rather uncomfortably busy)
        “dog faced pony boys”…and girls?
        i mean, what the hell?
        my twitter feed is like a 50 clowncar pile-up, these days.
        i look at it after second cup of coffee and think: welp, these are the days of miracles and wonders, and the absolutely stupidest timeline.

        Reply ↓
  11. Victor Sciamarelli

    When you view these ICE videos, it’s not merely the heavy-handed ICE tactics but I think Americans, now more than ever, sense the two-tier system of justice which is unfair and prejudiced; that’s not stable.
    We never saw agents using a battering ram to enter one of Jeffrey Epstein’s homes even though he was known as a pedophile back in 1996. There is no video of masked agents screaming orders at Larry Summers. During the 2008 financial collapse non of the bankers most responsible for causing the crisis had federal agents busting into their homes. Rather they were bailed out and which often included their bonus; and on and on.
    Moreover, Martin Luther King condemned politicians who “are more devoted to order than justice.”

    Reply ↓
    1. ZapMan

      Have you ever watched the Chapelle show skit titled “Tron Carter’s Law & Order” from 2004? It is hilarious commentary regarding exactly what you mention in your comment.

      Reply ↓
  12. The Rev Kev

    “Machado vows to lead Venezuela ‘when right time comes’ ”

    Of course she will. In the fullness of time, in due course, when conditions allow, and at the appropriate juncture. When the moment is ripe. When the necessary procedures have been completed. Nothing precipitate, of course. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

    Has she offered up a Machado coin yet? Asking for a friend.

    Reply ↓
  13. ilsm

    Asia Times article on USN “capacity gaps”.

    USN operating against Iran has a capability gap!

    Should USN be able to deploy 4 CSG these are totally deficient in a mission capability no one is talking about: defeat /suppression of enemy anti ship defenses.

    For a CSG to operate within aircraft range of Iran it would need huge ground based bombing to suppress anti ship fires. Seems MbS has not cooperated on letting F 15 and F 18 operate in KSA to bomb Iran missile sites.

    CSG are not capable to survive without huge preparation of the battle space by USAF and USMC land based support.

    This is not a new issue.

    US keeps building super ships that can’t survive near the Houthi, who learned a lot from months of shooting through Aegis screens,

    Reply ↓
    1. Carolinian

      That was a silly article that said more US defensive missiles needed in the region before an attack but carriers don’t fire missiles at all do they? Adding more carriers just means more missile firing ships needed to defend the carriers.

      Perhaps the problem can be solved by leaving Iran alone.

      Reply ↓
      1. ilsm

        Trump’s international handlers won’t “just leave that oil alone”!

        One CVN left the Philippines sea on Thursday…. another may be on the way from the Mediterranean area.

        More target practice for the Houthi in the Red Sea?

        Reply ↓
    2. ISL

      It was hard to understand what, other than more cash for the MICC (conflict of interest?), was being argued for – if the US did somehow revive its moribund shipbuilding industry (without asking the question why it whithered), there was no mention of where the sailors would come from – today’s Navy is decommissioning vessels due to lack of personnel.

      Given the navy’s age and thus, accelerating maintenance costs – maintenance contracts are not sexy (aka not cost plus) – the problems will grow even in the face of an avalanche of money.

      My SWAG is that Navy contractors are jealous of Air Force contractors and the F-35 cash avalanche and lust after a new cash cow (cancelling the dysfunctional littoral combat ship was such a disappointment).

      Reply ↓
  14. Carolinian

    Not sure whether Construction Physics got linked up this week.

    https://www.construction-physics.com/p/the-surprisingly-long-life-of-the

    The Ukrainians allegedly found vacuum tubes in the discarded booster of the Oreshnik. It was explained that the devices persist in nuclear capable missiles because, unlike digital, they are immune to radiation. I have heard that if you have an old device that needs vacuum tubes the only place that still makes them is Russia. This info may be a bit old.

    Reply ↓
    1. doug

      I kept my old Dynaco tube stereo equipment running for a long time with Russian tubes. They worked great, and the writing on the packaging was exotic. That was a couple of decades ago, so a bit old.

      Reply ↓
    2. TheMog

      I’m fairly sure that Russia is still one of the main sources of vacuum tubes. A lot of electric guitar and to a lesser extent, bass amplifiers still run tubes (especially the classic amps) and there aren’t many sources of replacement tubes that aren’t relabelled Russian tubes. At least at the more affordable end of the market.

      Reply ↓
      1. marku52

        China (of course) makes Psvanes, and others. JJ’s come from Slovakia. Old NOS USSR tubes are available off ebay.

        tube tech…….

        Reply ↓
    3. Polar Socialist

      Not to the radiation, but to the electromagnetic pulse caused by the ionized atmosphere right after a nuclear detonation. It will induce a voltage to any electric device within range, and vacuum tubes can handle much higher voltage than solid state circuits.

      Mostly because they operate themselves at much higher voltage than solid state devices, but also because they are also voltage limiters, so for a short duration (like EMP) they can prevent the high current going trough the filament in the vacuum, while the 5-6 atomic layers of metals in a transistor gate will melt together or burn away immediately.

      It’s estimated that vacuum tubes are millions of times more resistant. The downside is the size, weight, slowness and they also create electric disturbance (so shielding is often required) themselves.

      It was quite common at some point to arm the anti-ICBM missiles with nuclear warheads, as a kinetic kill was quite unlikely, but a nuclear detonation in the vicinity would likely achieve a mission kill, if not outright destruction of the incoming warhead(s). The defense literally had only one shot, so it had to count.

      Reply ↓
    4. amfortas

      i keep a 70’s era tube stereo for backup, when all this bluetooth enabled walmart dreck fails, finally.
      and back when, i had the foresight(or hoarder pathology) to scavenge all the tubes from myriad tvs before they went to the dump.
      many of those would work in an old guitar amp.
      2 medium sized boxes of those in my library, somewheres.

      Reply ↓
    5. Acacia

      In the audiophile world, tubes are still a thing.

      They give some warmth to the sound that you don’t get from solid-state tech. And you can get an inexpensive tube combo amp like the Fosi T20 that will accept line or Bluetooth in to power some passive speakers.

      Typical tube might be the 6J4 which is made in China. There are also “New Old Stock” (NOS) which were manufactured decades ago but are still perfectly usable.

      Reply ↓
    1. Acacia

      Elite California college town = Berkeley

      Funny how Berkeley used to be a scruffy place straight outta Robert Crumb Zap Comix or even Daniel Clowes Eightball, but FF to the present and it’s become an “elite” college town (not wrong, tho).

      Reply ↓
    2. IM Doc

      It is a bit strange hearing lepto referred to as a tropical disease. That seems to me to be a way to minimize its American footprint.

      It is a disease in dogs and other small mammals like rats and mice. At least once or twice a year in the inner city hospital I worked in, it would show up in a homeless person. It was common enough that we all knew the symptoms in case they showed up in someone from that demographic. I have never seen it except in a homeless person.

      Who knew that letting people, usually with many other physical and mental issues, languish in large unruly areas with all kinds of animal exposure would be a problem? It is amazing how we completely ignore things that have been known for millennia. I guess we can do that…..after all we are special and indestructible. These diseases used to be almost exclusively in the South. It is fascinating to see that indeed incompetence has consequences even in our blue states which always do everything so much better than everyone else.

      Reply ↓
  16. Mikel

    Elon Musk thinks you don’t need to save for retirement in an ‘abundant’ AI and robotics forward future – mint

    Although there is the section called “Musk Matters”, I’m thinking “The Bezzle” is much more on point for this article. It’s BS tropes that not only Musk is spouting.
    All that mess comes from the “AI” grifter playbook.

    These lyin’ rats…

    Reply ↓
    1. Mikel

      “Goods and services will become close to free. It’s not as though people will be wanting in terms of goods and services. You have tens of billions of robots that will make you anything or provide any service you want for basically next to nothing,” said Musk in the interview.

      The reality expressed here: The establishment wants their slaves back. Badly. LOL. All problems for them derive from having to pay actual people to do things.

      Note that with all the alleged “abundance”, they did not say there will be no need to be a billionaire.

      Reply ↓
      1. lyman alpha blob

        When everything costs next to nothing, expect to see nexttonothingaires controlling the show, buying up everything with their penny collections. The rest of us will, of course, have absolutely nothing, making next to nothing out of reach.

        Reply ↓
        1. Mikel

          “Abundance”: brought to you by an establishment bought and paid for by those who don’t have a concept of “enough” .

          Reply ↓
      2. flora

        Spinning straw into gold, eh? Another fairy tale from the mind of Musk. / ;)

        Or maybe it’s a sales pitch to the ultra wealthy who might be wondering about how to replace their servants and business owners wondering how to replace employees.

        Reply ↓
  17. Mikel

    China is becoming more sexually liberal – if you are a man – The Conversation

    “Most notably of all, the rapid growth of internet use has been hugely influential, helping to spread information about sexual behaviour.”

    The government may have strict regulations, but online porn exists in China. The p word was not mentioned once in the article as one other contributing factor. One has to wonder…

    Reply ↓
  18. steppenwolf fetchit

    The title ” Reddit Is Suddenly Obsessed With Paris Hilton Cookware ” is a pure clickbait title.
    Reddit is not obsessed. Reddit does not even care.

    It is one lonely single subreddit that is obsessed. Only one, out of the thousands of subreddits that exist.

    And having skimread the article, I wonder whether Hilton is even doing this to even attempt to make money . . . or whether she is just trying to stay marginally famous and relieve boredom.

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  19. Tom Stone

    ICE agents have been told that photographing them is an act of terrorism and VP Vance has stated that their agents have absolute immunity.
    So it isn’t surprising to see them act like the STASI and I expect that they will act with increasing violence until Trump has an excuse to invoke the Insurrection Act.
    At which point it will get much worse in a big hurry.
    The arrogance and stupidity are breathtaking.

    Reply ↓
    1. flora

      Lawsuits are being filed. Minnesota judges are pushing back against ICE abusesof power and illegal arrests.

      Jan 17, 2026 12:49 PM CT
      Judge Imposes Sweeping Restrictions on the Tactics ICE Can Use Against Protesters in Minnesota

      https://time.com/7347110/ice-minneapolis-judge-arrests/

      From Politico:

      Judge limits ICE’s crowd control tactics following Minneapolis shooting

      The judge’s order prevents federal agents from arresting peaceful protesters.
      https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/16/ice-minneapolis-arrests-judge-protests-00735416

      Reply ↓
  20. AG

    re: Carl Schmitt & AfD “derangement syndrome”

    wow

    What a giant piece of propaganda garbage served to us by JACOBIN.

    I already suspected something is off when I saw that the author is “associate professor in human geography at Oxford University” – what the hell is “human geography”.

    Germans Are Reading Carl Schmitt in the Ruins of Atlanticism

    By Ian Klinke

    With Atlanticism fraying, Nazi thinker Carl Schmitt is being reread in Germany as a theorist of a world divided into power blocs, a reading that Donald Trump’s “Donroe Doctrine” is helping to underscore.
    https://jacobin.com/2026/01/germany-schmitt-afd-monroe-doctrine

    “(…)
    One thing is clear. Unlike Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s Rassemblement National (RN) or Giorgia Meloni’s government, AfD has never attempted to break with Vladimir Putin’s Russia — a state that has also been following the Schmittian rule book. Since February 2022, the AfD has consistently opposed and undermined the Ukrainian war effort. When Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Bundestag in 2024, only a handful AfD parliamentarians remained in the chamber. They have since been sidelined. AfD’s pro-Russian stance is not just rooted in the party’s East German and Russian German votership or in its shared political ground with Putinism, but also in its Schmittian respect for what it sees as Russia’s legitimate sphere of influence. (Schmitt, it should be noted, never called for Nazi Germany to invade the Soviet Union and, as a fascist who had no proverbial dog in the fight, did not pick sides in the Cold War).

    What if Germany pursued its own sphere of influence in the ruins of liberal Atlanticism, just like Russia or the United States? An order of great spaces would cast Germany as Europe’s imperial core — a Reich empowered to redraw territorial borders within its regional bloc at will, at least if one follows Schmitt to the letter. But although land grabs may be popular in Moscow, Washington, Jerusalem, and perhaps in Beijing too, they have few advocates in Germany.
    (…)”

    It seems if you happen to be a “scholar” in the humanities in Europe and it comes to Russia you develop a fascinating skill of ignoring facts that do not fit your pre-conceived fairy-tales which you purport to be serious analyses.

    “(…)
    As AfD surges ahead in the polls, it is worth reexamining what Schmitt had to say in this essay the Right now urges us to read. As always, context is crucial. Schmitt published his pamphlet between the invasion of Czechoslovakia and before the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact. It therefore belongs to the geopolitics of the mature and high imperial stage of the Third Reich — not yet that of Barbarossa and Wannsee. In the 1940s, Schmitt would be superseded by even more radical ideologues inside the Nazi regime who regarded his vision of regionally ordered imperial space as an egalitarian residue that clashed with the idea of Aryan supremacy.
    (…)”

    Rrrright – because until 1940 there had been zero military buildup and German tanks and fighter planes and battleships and guns had been churned out virtually over night. And there had never been a deal on limitation of German Navy with GB in 1935 accomodating German interests. No Italo-Abyssinian War with the support of Germany and GB. No efforts to neuter USSR´s attempt to build an alliance throughout the 1930s. No Condor Legion from 1936. And no French heavy industry bosses who opted for Hitler undermining their own leftwing government appointed the same year.

    „(…)
    Any territorially revisionist agenda will run up against an obvious problem: Poland. German right-wing circles may have many disagreements with their Polish counterparts that could spark conflict between an AfD-led Germany and its eastern neighbor.
    (…)
    The AfD is, moreover, still not entirely clear on how it wants to position itself in relation to France, the other potential hegemon in continental Europe. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the French and German right went separate ways. Indeed, Le Pen’s RN kicked AfD out of the European Parliament’s Identity and Democracy grouping in 2024 after Krah spoke positively about the Waffen-SS. The issue has weighed on AfD. In recent days, Dimitrios Kisoudis, an advisor to party coleader Tino Chrupalla, has said that the answer to the question of who should be Europe’s hegemon — France or Germany — is to be found in Schmitt. (It is no mystery what the AfD’s answer would be).
    (…)“

    The author has chosen the wrong “scholarly” subject and should write fiction instead.

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  21. JonnyJames

    Maybe it has been this way for awhile, but BBC.com is now pay-walled. I wouldn’t pay a penny for MI6 story-lines, I can get that for free many other places.

    Also, regarding the mental/physical health of the current geriatric emperor: while I have zero expertise in the matter, it seems obvious that the dude has not been playing with a full deck for a long time now. I have seen serious analysts openly laugh when asked questions about the emperor’s utterances and actions. It is hard not to laugh (though tragic) at the buffoonery, idiocy and irrational statements. Is kakistocracy inevitable for declining corrupt societies?

    Like the Roman emperor Commodus, he (and many of his followers) fancies himself as a god. The DT could be dressed up as Hercules and put in battle with gladiators dressed up as Maduro, Putin, etc. for entertainment.

    Are we not entertained?!

    (Commodus never got the chance to grow old, and of course was assassinated)

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  22. Ignacio

    ‘Not for sale’: massive protest in Copenhagen against Trump’s desire to acquire Greenland NPR

    IMO, the Greenland thing came back as a vendetta by Trump after the Europeans boycotted his diplomatic efforts on the war in Ukraine. All the calculations made months ago by the Europeans on the US coming back to it’s senses when Trump would discover that Putin could not be trusted have failed. They were trying to be manipulative and “clever” with Trump and now they find in stupor that not only the US is not reverting to the good old days of the CW united against evil Putin but making things turn difficult for the vassals now loosing ground and credibility on the East and, very possibly, on the West. Might this vindictive attitude by Trump be closely related with senility? This is what I suspect.

    Lesson learnt? I doubt it. European leaders will remain confused and doubling down in idiocy until forcefully removed or something.

    Reply ↓
    1. JonnyJames

      ? Scott Ritter and others say that DT and crew tried to assassinate Vladimir Putin. Any “diplomatic effort” was a farce to begin with. It should be clear by now that there was no genuine effort, just blah blah BS as usual. The meeting in Alaska was a set-up.

      Reply ↓
    2. Mikel

      “Might this vindictive attitude by Trump be closely related with senility? This is what I suspect.”

      Tech bros want Greenland. Senile or not, apparently he is also there to serve.

      Reply ↓
    3. nyleta

      Mr Trump has been claiming royal prerogatives for a while now. He will declare Greenland terra nullius and grant Mr Thiel either letters patent or a land grant over an area they want for their modern slave cities a la Gaza. Perhaps he will rip the mask off and make it a fiefdom. It is just the new Pennsylvania.

      People around him will be finding a way to fund the gov. In case of Congress cutting the purse strings and investigating how a Rump Congress would operate in reverse. History rhymes.

      Reply ↓
    4. Mikel

      Part of me thinks it is already as good as “sold” and all of this is political theatre from the bought and paid for actors (all over the world) called “representatives”.
      Because they aren’t talking about rebelling against those puppet masters.

      This malaise goes on and on as long as people can be convinced troubles can be attributed one man’s disorder.
      Then they set up the next pinata for people to whack at while the next heists are prepared.

      Reply ↓
  23. Mikel

    Coming soon: We interrupt this ChatGPT session with a very special message from our sponsors – The Register

    The teeth of the snake eating its own tail.
    So predictable. No one should be surprised.

    Reply ↓
  24. Tom Stone

    I see that ICE/DHS have ordered 1.3MM rounds of ammunition and purchased between 3,500 and 4,000 rifles from Geiselle.
    Those are REALLY NICE rifles, AR15’s that will put 10 shots into .5″ or less at 100 meters, or ten shots into five inches center to center at 500 meters.
    Why ICE needs thousands of sniper rifles is an interesting question…
    And yes , I would like one, without the giggle switch.

    Reply ↓
  27. David in Friday Harbor

    Puh-leeze.

    The photo leading into the Science Daily press-release stenography about “Tiny earthquakes are revealing a dangerous secret beneath California” has nothing to do with seismic activity: it is of the intersection of West Cliff Drive and Woodrow Ave in Santa Cruz CA, where wave action where the Pacific Ocean meets Monterey Bay has undermined the sandstone schist cliffs for decades.

    Ironically these cliffs did just fine in the 1989 Loma Prieta 7.1 earthquake.

    Reply ↓

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