Swiss court to rule on landmark Trafigura corruption case Reuters
Hedge fund Elliott warns White House is inflating crypto bubble that ‘could wreak havoc’ FT
Tennessee GOP passes immigration law to criminalize elected officials’ votes The Tennessean
DC Airport Collision
The Near Misses at Airports Have Been Telling Us Something The Atlantic
Pilots have long worried about DC’s complex airspace contributing to a catastrophe AP
* * * Trump was challenged after blaming DEI for the DC plane crash. Here’s what he said (transcripts) AP
What the data says about Trump’s DEI air crash claims Axios
The FAA’s Hiring Scandal: A Quick Overview Tracing Woodgrains (albrt).
* * * Ex-Acting FAA administrator: Trump made ‘excellent choice’ with Christopher Rocheleau The Hill
Climate
Catastrophic tipping point in Greenland reached as crystal blue lakes turn brown, belch out carbon dioxide LiveScience
Researchers make disturbing discovery while studying organic waste: ‘This raises concerns about the long-term impact’ The Cooldown
Water
Ogallala Aquifer drops by more than a foot in parts of western Kansas KSN
Syndemics
Uh oh:
there are dead geese and swans everywhere on the charles https://t.co/GwUWAWZgaM pic.twitter.com/zOTYnX21io
— assistant inspector (@housetrotter) January 30, 2025
How to protect HHS, FDA, NIH, and other health agencies from political interference STAT
China?
Interview with Deepseek Founder: We’re Done Following. It’s Time to Lead The China Academy
AI race heats up as Alibaba announces new model it says surpasses DeepSeek CGTN
China builds huge wartime military command centre in Beijing FT
Could this new stress-tolerant rice from China boost crop yields? South China Morning Post
Myanmar
Myanmar Junta Extends Emergency by Another 6 Months The Irrawaddy
New report details Singapore firm’s role in supplying fuel to Myanmar military Myanmar Now
India
Death, Stampede and the Pitfalls of VIP Culture at the Kumbh: A First-Person Account The Wire
Reports of second stampede in Mahakumbh emerge; Mela authorities deny New Indian Express
Africa
Tough Decisions Must be Taken by Zimbabwe, World Bank Says Bloomberg
Syraqistan
Trump says ‘will make determination’ on US troops in Syria Anadolu Agency
Israeli military to hold on to Syrian territory indefinitely FT
Qatar’s Calculated Plan for Gaza Will Crush Far Right Israeli Dreams of War and Displacement Haaretz. The deck: “Israeli officials believe Qatar seeks a Middle East foothold via Trump ties, aiming to make Gaza a Mediterranean outpost. Its role in the hostage talks highlights a strategic vision, contrasting far-right Smotrich’s messianic territorial imaginations.”
Private US Company Is Reportedly Hiring US Veterans to Run Gaza Checkpoint Truthout
Israel and the delusions of Germany’s ‘memory culture’ Guardian
Challenging misconceptions that hinder Muslim response to child abuse Al Jazeera
New Not-So-Cold War
Russia Seizes Another Ukrainian Town in Push to Take All of Donetsk NYT. The deck: “Moscow’s troops used the same pincer tactic on Velyka Novosilka that has enabled their recent capture of town after town in eastern Ukraine.”
* * * Both sides pay terrible price in war, both must give in, US secretary of state says Ukrainska Pravda
Zelensky Demands an American Garrison The American Conservative. The deck: “President Trump should respond: Hell no!”
EU debates return to Russian gas as part of Ukraine peace deal FT
Kremlin signals efforts to sway Trump towards accepting Putin’s demands – ISW Ukrainska Pravda
* * * SITREP 1/29/25: Ukraine’s Mass Drone Heave Conceals Spreading Foundation Cracks Simplicius, Simplicius the Thinker
Trump Administration
4 of the biggest clashes between Patel, Senate Dems at his confirmation hearing FOX
Why the intel community needs Tulsi (but is too blind to know it) Responsible Statecraft
Key takeaways from Tulsi’s US Senate confirmation hearing Al Jazeera
* * * Trump rescinded a half-century of environmental rules. Here’s what that could mean Vox
EPA dismisses science advisers The Hill
Scientists scramble to understand Trump administration actions NPR
Spook Country
Matt Taibbi: All the Top Secret Information Trump Is Releasing & What He Should Declassify Next (video) TNC
Senior FBI officials forced to resign amid leadership shakeup: Report Anadolu Agency
The National Security Establishment Needs Working-Class Americans Foreign Policy
Digital Watch
DARPA To Launch Pre-Crime AML Program The Rage. AML = Anti-Money Laundering
Drones
NJ residents in disbelief over White House answer on drones The Hill
The Final Frontier
Researchers confirm the existence of an exoplanet in the habitable zone (press release) Oxford University
Greenland
Imperial Collapse Watch
“For those within the Empire’s inner core, the full, seismic implications of Trump’s “aid” suspension may not be fully obvious” Kit Klarenberg, ThreadReader.app
US aid was long a lifeline for Eastern Europe. Trump cuts are sending shockwaves through the region AP. Commentary:
One of the largest Hungarian opposition media outlets is upset by Trump’s executive order halting U.S. foreign aid for 90 days, as Hungary’s “independent” press stands to lose millions of forints in funding. Makes you wonder how independent one can be when relying on another… pic.twitter.com/BqXVP9dzg7
— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) January 29, 2025
Halt Of USAID Exposes Malign Foreign Influence Moon of Alabama
Class Warfare
The Case for Kicking the Stone Los Angeles Review of Books
Antidote du jour. Via Innocent Massawe:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
“NJ residents in disbelief over White House answer on drones”
As long as Trump is declassifying a whole bunch of files, maybe he could also do the ones connected with all those drones flying over New Jersey last year. Maybe too White House files to find out why a spokesperson did not give a press briefing to explain all about those drones and tell people to relax.
RE: Israel and the delusions of Germany’s ‘memory culture’ Guardian
I lived in Germany for seven years. I’m not sure how to explain them as a society. There is a definite massive collective failing to have dealt with WWII adequately. They had a perfunctory show trial and moved on. Barely anyone was punished. What followed was a great silence. The relationship with Israel is certainly sick. Two psychologically sick entities in a sick relationship.
I believe Germans think they were wrong to make war on the Jews as they could have, in hindsight, realised their ambitions for Weltmeisterschaft with them as allies. Zionism and Nazism are almost the same ideology. The Jews are a very psychologically damaged people with high incidences of mental illness and neurosis. The Germans are also highly neurotic. Genocide is baked into both their collective histories. The Jews laud it in their holy books. The Germans wielded it as a tool of empire without qualm in the name of progress.
It is my firm believe that after WWII Germany should have been broken up into its constituent parts and never ever be allowed to form as one nation. They are incapable of normalcy. I don’t mean that insultingly, but whatever it is about their genius leads them to collective insanity. ‘Wahnsinn’ they call it. An intelligent German with a few drinks in him will tell you that it is ‘the German Sickness’.
At the risk of being accused of US-centrism, I think much of this reflects the central role of Germany in the Cold War immediately after WWII – which involved rapid rehabilitation of many “former” Nazis by the US in order to combat the perceived Soviet threat. The mea culpa for a fascist past had to be attenuated in a particular way.
Quite a tour de force by Pankaj Mishra, especially given that it was published in the Guardian. I love his closing quote from Gunter Grass:
“History, or, to be more precise, the history we Germans have repeatedly mucked up, is a clogged toilet. We flush and flush, but the shit keeps rising.”
For me this is an excellent description of postwar US history as well.
>4 of the biggest clashes between Patel, Senate Dems at his confirmation hearing FOX
Someone should compile a “Top Ten” clips of hearing. For Patel confirmation, my pick is Schiff asking Patel to turn around and look at Capitol Police. Patel does not comply and responds “I’m looking at you.”
A little over 3min at clip below.
https://youtu.be/VHNIVlep30M?si=KHqDWHQQsF_fmNVM
Antidote du jour.
A lion again…hmmm.
You’re not lyin’.
In honor of Corbyn quoting Shelley:
> Catastrophic tipping point in Greenland reached as crystal blue lakes turn brown, belch out carbon dioxide LiveScience
Hunter S. Thompson > There are times, however, and this is one of them, when even being right feels wrong. What do you say, for instance, about a generation that has been taught that rain is poison and sex is death? If making love might be fatal and if a cool spring breeze on any summer afternoon can turn a crystal blue lake into a puddle of black poison right in front of your eyes, there is not much left except TV and relentless masturbation. It’s a strange world.
(Hat tip, J St. Clair)
So Hunter was in Greenland…makes me think
Forgive me, not the intent to imply that he went to Greenland.
Through the poesy, my hydrology and toxicology priors recognize a lake turnover event. I do not suggest searching up the Lake Nyos event.
>Interview with Deepseek Founder: We’re Done Following. It’s Time to Lead The China Academy
The current pricing allows for a modest profit margin above our costs…
What’s your core philosophy when it comes to competition?…whether something elevates societal efficiency and whether we can find our strength in the industry value chain.
Making money isn’t as easy as it used to be—not even driving a taxi is a viable option anymore. Within just one generation, things have shifted.
Fascinating interview. I’m a bit weary on that “societal efficeiency.”
The other day I received a “server busy” message when using DeepSeek. Now I know why. If they can’t compete head to head, then there is always the “by hook or crook” method.
@CarlZha
“Over 83 hrs, Deepseek server cluster was subjected to over 230 million DDoS malicious requests per second, with the total attack volume equivalent to the total internet traffic of Europe for three days”
I wonder who has the capability to carry out attack on such scale?🤔
Relentlessly hostile actions from the US only serve to awaken the Dragon, there’s no putting it back into a box. US will reap what it sowed thorough the coming decades
Did you hear that Meloni’s Italy has become the first country to ban DeepSeek ‘citing concerns over its handling of personal data.’ You know, just like they did with Tik Tok. Sounds like Ireland and South Korea might be thinking of doing the same. So if you can’t compete with Chinese-based software, you just ban your citizens from using it. Frankly I think that my data might be safer in China rather than on one of Mark Zuckerberg’s servers-
https://www.rt.com/news/611961-italy-blocks-deepseek/
How does that work when you can download the entire thing and run it locally?
There is no platform to ban. If they try to restrict Chinese IP addresses, hello VPN.
It’ll be like trying to fight Napster, circa 1999.
Good luck with that, Meloni.
>Key takeaways from Tulsi’s US Senate confirmation hearing Al Jazeera
“The American people elected Donald Trump as their president, not once, but twice,” she said
Some, including Putin, would say three times.
My takeaway is that certain well known and key Democrat Senators will never recover from these hearings. The viral clips of Senator Warren and Bernie Sanders being ridiculed on Twitter/X, with the former dressed up as Pocahontas and the latter being dressing down by the likes of Jimmy Dore for defending big Pharma will remain in memory long after nominees are confirmed. The Democrats, individually and as a Party are moribund.
It was strange seeing Senator Warren and Bernie Sanders sitting side by side when it was not that long ago she accused him of sexually harassing her. What if Bernie tries to play footsies with Warren under that table? But Bernie was making himself a parody of himself. He flipped out when RFK jr pointed out to him that he was the biggest receiver of funds from Big Pharma and totally lost it over a company that RFK jr used to own selling ‘onsies’ with political logos on them-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGn33L9JFHo (9:53 mins)
He’s been the Dem’s court jester since 2021. They wheel him out whenever they need a good laugh.
Life imitates art dept:
Having 2 air traffic controllers in Humordor doing the job of 4 air traffic controllers strikes me as similar to Breaking Bad when an air traffic controller in Albuquerque distraught over his daughter’s overdose on heroin and inattentive, allows 2 planes to collide in midair.
Reflection.
I spent a lot of “trips” in and out of Reagan National, and before that National airport!
Always enjoyed coming in on a clear day, did a lot of sight seeing on approach.
Always awed by the scenery and the amount of traffic. Several encounters of the political elite. A few “run ins” with former associates.
As my mother would say: “But for the grace of God”…..
I have an aversion to strapping in to one of those huge aluminum cylinders.
I probably flew a million miles around the world in the 80’s and 90’s, but have only flown 4 times domestically since 9/11.
I’d rather drive and check out the lay of the land, stop along the way at restaurants where they serve me the equivalent of what you’d eat in first class (with genuine naugahyde booths no less) and trust me with cutlery, even serrated steak knives.
Yes, Road trip!
I like “diner” food along the more traveled roads. Truck stop coffee!
Just don’t eat at any place named Moms.
Most trips are northeast USA. I look for Greek and or NY deli’s.
Short trip toward the end of February!
I like performing a meta study on road slices, sort of a sightseers lit-review of (usually) frozen pizza.
Wuk, I’m pretty sure you can’t answer this, but I have questions:
x.com/rawsalerts/status/1884827088437264387
I’d read elsewhere [micaT, yesterday’s links] the helicopters are supposed to maintain 200 feet. Let me be corrected if I’m wrong, that the copter starts at 300, drops to 200, then jumps back to 300 before the crash.
Tower can’t do nuthin’ ’bout that.
Nearest major airport near us would be Brisbane airport. But I’m pretty sure that our air force out of RAAF Amberley Base does not run training mission in their take-off and descent corridors, especially at night. That would be considered nuts.
Context:
A couple of smidgens that I gleaned from the Wikipedia entry on US Agency for International Development (USAID):
It should have been plain as day, and in a sense, it is worse than it seems:
The administrator under Biden was Samantha Power, the Kaja Kallas of U.S. politics.
Regular attendee of the National Security Council. How altruistic can an agency get?
And then some history: “In the exceptional circumstances of Vietnam in the 1960s and Afghanistan and Iraq in the 2000s, the government of the United States had USAID integrate selected staff with U.S. military units for “counterinsurgency” (COIN) operations.[48] The integrated institutions were “CORDS” in Vietnam (“Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support”) and “PRTs” in Afghanistan and Iraq (“Provincial Reconstruction Teams”).”
Exceptional? Don’t count on it.
So we see an agency that was set up ostensibly to do good but that has been degraded by empire, neoliberalism, and colonialism into a Graduate Seminar on Coups in Deserving Uppity Countries.
USAID is tightly connected to CIA and always has been. Usually, CIA officers in embassies had the cover of being USAID officers.
That’s interesting, because I hadn’t heard or seen that.Traditionally, intelligence officers work in the Political Section, because that gives them access to the kind of potential sources they might try to cultivate. And working in a USAID office that might be outside the Embassy would be problematic for operating a Station, since Aid organisations employ lots of local personnel and contractors, among whom there will inevitably be those who report to local intelligence services. So I wondered which Embassies you were thinking of, and widely how the affiliation of the individuals there was known: quite widely, I presume if you had heard of it.
It’s been awhile since I read it, but if IIRC, Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins describes first hand the un-holy incestuous relationship between USAID and the CIA.
Back in the 1960s when my Dad worked in South America for a USAID sub-contractor he remarked that the organization was a front for the “spooks.” Their history as “useful idiots” and worse for the American Intelligence agencies goes back to the beginning.
Marianne Faithfull, muse of the Rolling Stones and sixties pop star (“As Tears Go By”) died in Paris this week, where she had lived for some years. In her later career she sang a lot of Brecht/Weil compositions, including this one “The Ballad of the Soldiers Wife” which is horribly relevant to our current situation. Make sure you listen to the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL3AJaTajoc
Wild horses couldn’t drag me away…..
Rest In Peace.
‘assistant inspector
@housetrotter
there are dead geese and swans everywhere on the charles’
The other day it was mentioned by someone that 300 million birds had already died. I guess that this is what it looks like out in the wilds. Ugly. Real ugly.
Re Ogallala aquifer in Kansas, “Kalbas presented a graph showing farmers and other water users on one part of the aquifer needed to reduce pumping by 17.5% to stabilize the supply.” That seems doable. Will steps be taken before it gets out of hand? Doubt it. Gotta have Growth.
There must be a Philip K. Dick joke in here, but my pre-joke abilities are not reporting properly today.
Regarding “The Case for Kicking the Stone” I’m surprised there’s no mention of Marshall McLuhan, someone (along with his critics) I can’t help thinking about whenever the subject of humanity and its communications technology arises. Those who are interested in this subject might enjoy his Understanding Media which is almost as old as I am.
“This Religious Ritual Is Creeping Into Schools in Central Israel, With Boys Being Bullied to Take Part”
This is why I never joined an organized religion. Most of them want you to do stupid stuff. I know about Shoeonhead but putting a box on your head? Seriously?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tefillin
I’m reading between the lines here and I can see that secular Israelis are going to be the new Palestinians. There is too large a gap between the secular and religious in Israel and with this article you can see that the religious are determined to occupy and settle secular grounds. It may end up having huge numbers of secular Israelis leaving Israel with their families eventually which the religious will not care about but they should. This will be the brains of Israel leaving that country taking their skills, training and experience. You can see here how they accuse Israelis not doing some religious rite as not being Jews and I suspect that there will be consequences down the track for those who refuse. It’s a bad brew a brewin’.