Recent Items

Links 2/6/2025

Posted on by

An elusive California mammal has just been photographed alive for the first time SFGATE. The Spined Democrat?

Delta and Japan Airlines planes collide at Seattle Airport Daily Mail. ‘Tis a mystery!

The birth of naturalism Aeon

The Collapse of Ego Depletion Speak Now, Regret Later

Infrastructure Laundering: Blending in with the Cloud Krebs on Security

Climate

The climate crisis is set to erase $1.47 trillion in US home values. Here are 5 areas predicted to get hit hard. Business Insider

Carbon Dioxide Has Driven Drastic Changes In Earth’s Global Temperature Over The Past 485 Million years Astrobiology

Water

Report Reveals World’s Fourth Largest Lake Now a Deadly Desert Science Alert

Syndemics

Preprint: Active Surveillance of Companion Animals During The SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic Reveals > 25% Infected Avian Flu Diary

Deadly version of H5N1 bird flu spills over into Nevada dairy cattle LA Times. Meanwhile in NY:

And:

* * *

Nasal COVID-19 vaccine based on WashU technology to enter U.S. clinical trials (press release) Washington University in St. Louis

China?

Year of the Snake comes with a bite for Chinese consumers facing an economic slowdown NBC. Commentary:

China reopens antitrust probe into Google, Nvidia, and Intel may be next Tom’s Hardware

China launches WTO dispute over Trump tariffs South China Morning Post

India

The Big Ideas That Narendra Modi is Fully Committed to as India’s Leader The Wire. Gentlemen, I as leader will use power like a drum and leadership like a violin.

Africa

Africa’s expanding rail links benefit Chinese contractors and mineral needs South China Morning Post

Syraqistan

Malaysia says forced resettlement of Palestinians would be ethnic cleansing Al Jazeera

Saudi Arabia denies Trump’s claim, says no normalization with Israel without Palestinian state Anadolu Agency

* * *

US officials now say Trump only wants to displace Palestinians from Gaza temporarily AP

Mulvaney says Trump’s Gaza Strip proposal ‘wasn’t him’ The Hill

Trump’s real-estate instincts clash with his America First worldview BBC

Towards a Trump Tower in Gaza? Al Jazeera

What Trump Really Wants in Gaza Foreign Policy. Commentary:

* * *

Report: Netanyahu gifted Trump a golden pager; US president: ‘That was a great operation’ Jerusalem Post. Classy!

* * *

Trump calls for ‘nuclear peace agreement’ with Iran rather than blowing country ‘to smithereens’ FOX

* * *

In Damascus, café Rawda is a ‘lounge’ for exiled opponents and artists returning to Syria Le Monde. Commentary:

European Disunion

Why is Poland going nuts for 19th century artist Józef Chełmoński? EuroNewss

Hungary claims Ukraine spent “substantial funds” to discredit PM Orbán Ukrainska Pravda

New Not-So-Cold War

Most of USAID aid goes to Ukraine BNE Intellinews

Russia rejects Ukraine’s sovereignty and insists on further annexation – ISW Ukrainska Pravda

Kremlin confirms contact with Trump’s team, saying it has become more frequent Ukrainska Pravda

North Korean soldiers in Russia: Were they ever there? Responsible Statecraft

Bringing Out the Dead Scott Ritter Extra

South of the Border

How Trump could pave the way for China in Latin America LA Times

Ecuador to close its borders over the weekend Anadolu Agency

Feral Hog Watch

Wild hogs: why a gang of rogue pigs is causing chaos in Norfolk Guardian

Trump Administration

USAID and the Media in a ‘Time of Monsters’ Columbia Journalism Review

The 24-Hour Reality Check: Musk’s Impossible Power Grab And America’s Crisis TechDirt. Well worth a read.

Elon Musk will now ‘plug in’ to also commandeer US air traffic control system, says Transportation Secretary The Independent. Commentary:

Elon Musk’s Enemy, USAID, Was Investigating Starlink’s Contracts in Ukraine Gizmodo

Can Elon Musk shut down a federal agency? Yes, if presidential rule replaces constitutional governance LA Times

Justice Dept. official accuses FBI chief of ‘insubordination,’ tamps down talk of revenge on agents AP

* * *

‘Things Are Going to Get Intense:’ How a Musk Ally Plans to Push AI on the Government 404 Media

Trump OPM buyout offers leave federal workers with risky decisions The Hill. Commentary:

Trump’s birthright citizenship order is put on hold by a second federal judge AP

Trump budget bill could see ‘roughly’ $1 trillion in baseline spending cuts, top Republican says FOX

Legislators push to move crypto laws within Trump’s first 100 days Axios

Police State Watch

Officer-Involved: The Media Language of Police Killings The Quarterly Journal of Economics. From the Abstract: “We first document that the media use semantic structures—such as passive voice, nominalizations, and intransitive verbs—that obscure responsibility more often in cases of police killings than in cases of civilian killings…. [O]ur results suggest that narratives crafted by police departments are a more likely driver of media obfuscation.”

The Final Frontier

The Cislunar Competition Lawfare

Missing link still needed to save Mars Sample Return Space News

Healthcare

UnitedHealth Hires Defamation Firm Over Social Media Posts Bloomberg Law

Your Doctor Is Like Shakespeare (And That’s A Problem) 3 Quarks Daily

Zeitgeist Watch

Runaway teen hides in makeshift toilet paper fort in the middle of Walmart for days unnoticed Daily Mail

Avoiding Outrage Fatigue while Staying Informed Scientific American

Antidote du jour (Raf24~commonswiki):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

This entry was posted in Links on by .

About Lambert Strether

Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (“Because markets”). I don’t much care about the “ism” that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don’t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. To me, the key issue — and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me — is the tens of thousands of excess “deaths from despair,” as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics — even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton’s wars created — bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow — currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press — a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let’s call such voices “the left.” Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn’t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I’ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.

Subscribe to Post Comments
263 comments

  1. The Rev Kev

    “Report: Netanyahu gifted Trump a golden pager; US president: ‘That was a great operation’”

    Meanwhile, elsewhere-

    ‘Norman, how’s it going? I got you a pager”
    Zionist agitators harassed Jewish-American political scientist and author Norman Finkelstein on February 3, placing a pager in his jacket — a reference to Israel’s pager attack in 2024’

    https://x.com/trtworld/status/1887135338100920688?mx=2

      2. ambrit

        Hmmm…. Number of the Blast anyone? I understand that there is not a 666 Area Code, but this pager might be the exception.

    2. Zagonostra

      In September, thousands of pagers used by Hezbollah operatives across Lebanon suddenly exploded, killing and injuring dozens. A day later, hundreds of walkie-talkies also blew up, killing and injuring scores m

      Would that also include innocent bystanders, children, and women? Used by “Hezbollah,” how about regular non-combatants, doctors, nurses, etc…? Just collateral damage conducted by a demonic/damaged government and funded by you and me.

    3. Tom Doak

      Only Trump could receive a golden pager from Bibi and not consider the possibility of a veiled threat.

      Well, maybe Biden. Or maybe Harris.

      1. Jackiebass63

        If I am correct ,presidents don’t get to keep gifts given while in office. I don’t remember what happens to them.

          1. t

            There’s a review, possibly has to be paid for and there may be tax implications. It’s one of the minor business functions of the White House like reviewing requests for a letter and photo from the President to thank the Ladies Thursday Chess Club of Altoona, PA, for beautifying a local park.

      2. hk

        I wonder if he didn’t take it as a threat. Trump anx Netanyahu are not exactly on good terms nowadays…

    1. GramSci

      «Ultimately, the cislunar calculus fundamentally changes if—probably when—large numbers of humans are born, live, raise families, and die on the Moon and in other parts of the solar system, like Mars. Many of us foresee that future.»

      Stars in their eyes.

      1. Mikel

        They are telling people they think they are greater than the forces of the universe.
        Millions or billions of years for an organism to develop “the right” (for lack of a better word) inhabit a planet? They say “we can do it in a couple of decades. Give us money.” (wink, wink)

      2. Grateful Dude

        they’re rushing the demolition of the planet to extract as much as possible before they kill it. And the imminent demise of humanity here will force the rest of us to sign on to extraplanetary travel. Or maybe we’re already dead …

        We’re all being sacrificed for a grandiose delusion.

        So go already!

  3. GM

    Chinese cars at smartphone prices: Revolutionizing the budget car market

    That’s not a good thing, for sustainability reasons.

    1. Neutrino

      This could be a good place for an article with a Cory Doctorow link about enshittification. That has been an evergreen term at NC for some time.

      Check out the sections in the Table of Contents. The page linked above is for Smart TVs, with many more areas to explore.

    2. SteveW

      Given that argument, all of us should then give up personal transportation vehicles and air flights, and only use public EV buses.
      This low cost vehicle would likely have a battery 1/20 of a Tesla small battery. The vehicle would help a poor guy move a couple of hundred pounds of stuff he otherwise has to peddle around.

      1. GM

        The overall life cyce real (physical resource, that is) cost to produce it and run it is much more like 1/2 of that of a Tesla, not 1/20.

        In general efficiency gains are linear and fundamentally limited, while growth is exponential and unbounded.

        And yes, personal transportation should be banned altogether, that is correct.

        The alternative is certain global civilizational collapse and possibly human extinction.

        I don’t like it just as much as you don’t, but that doesn’t chane the objective facts.

      2. juno mas

        So, turning a personal automobile into something readily affordable by everyone simply makes everything about traveling by automobile worse: congestion, crashes, contention (for parking),
        and a sore back from sitting too much.

        Cheaper autos don’t scale cheaply (like Shakespear). More autos need more roadway, traffic control, repair, and recycling.

    3. Dr. John Carpenter

      All I could think of was no way you’re going to drive one of those on the streets around here. Not only would the monster trucks crush you like Bigfoot, but the potholes and poor street quality would swallow those cars.

      1. Socal Rhino

        E bikes are ubiquitous in my area. Not a wholly positive trend but I no longer see long lines of giant SUVs lined up to drop off children at school. Seeing a few street-legal golf carts too.

  4. Zagonostra

    >The Collapse of Ego Depletion Speak Now, Regret Later

    I had to confront an uncomfortable truth: the foundation of our celebrated paper was crumbling. Ego depletion—the once-famous idea that self-control relies on a finite resource that can be depleted through use—wasn’t real

    I’m not sure the article ever defines “Ego.” Maybe I missed it, or it’s in one of the footnotes, I’ll have to reread more carefully.

    I recently downloaded a free PDF of Max Stirner The Ego And Its Own but lost interest about a third of the way through. I don’t even know if the word “Ego” obscures more than it reveals. Freud mixed with Marxism, via Frankfurt School, made for some very exciting reading in early college days, it seemed to explain what was happening out there, with what was happening inside here. Turns out, much of everything I thought provided answers when young I’m rejecting/revising/revisiting as I get older, much like the history of WWI & WWII and U.S.’s role in it.

    1. Lieaibolmmai

      Ego in this case is defined by a “self” or “I” and is in contact with the external world through perception. Having a strong ego makes you more objective. The less ego the more subjective the world appears, which would be in line with many eastern religions (ie Daoism; “Am I a butterfly dreaming I am a person?”). Drugs that weaken the ego (like LSD) tend to make everything very very subjective.

      Serotonin seems to link somehow to the ego and this conclusion comes from the fact that ego dissolution drugs activate a specific serotonin receptor, HTR2A.

      I do not see the benefit of having a strong ego, nor the benefit of having a no ego. A healthy life lives somewhere in between the two.

      As far as the theory of the ego depletion, it seems to have not made sense from the start. Because if you have no ego, then who is it that wants the cookie? In fact, I would say the lack of will power is from a strong sense of self, or too much ego. Sort of like how Elon and Trump cannot control themselves right now.

      1. Zagonostra

        I understand the “self” as a process between the “I” and the “me,” based on my study of George Herbert Mead, and also includes the concept of the “generalized other.” The “I” in isolation, I thought, would be similar to Freud’s “id.” Martin Buber would include, God as well…obviously to deep a subject to discuss in a comment box…

        1. jhallc

          The whole idea that of one of the developers of the theory of “Ego Depletion” (Bauminster) was having trouble “letting go” of his grand theory seems a little too ironic.

          The discussion was valuable for its pointing out many of the problems of being too invested in an idea ( see “droplet theory” for covid) and how one looks at data that from the lab.

        2. Grateful Dude

          ‘self’ used to be a noun. Now it’s also an adverb as in: ” I have to self quarantine myself.”

          Elegant, no?

  6. Zagonostra

    Djole 🇷🇸
    @onlydjole

    In China, the prices of new cars have reached incredibly low values, which are comparable to the prices of modern smartphones. Chinese automakers have managed to offer vehicles at prices ranging from just $610 to $1,714, making them the most affordable models in the world.

    I was on RedNote last night looking at the other end of the spectrum, upscale vehicles, and RV’s, the later which I wouldn’t mind living in. The technological advanced offering of a whole spectrum of Chinese vehicles is mind bending. It feels like I’m living in the stone age here, in the U.S.

    1. Tom Doak

      They look like golf carts.

      Here in America, you can buy a brand new golf cart for about $7000 – or up to $18,000 for the Rodney Dangerfield models.

      Prices before import duties, of course.

    2. timbers

      Stone age indeed here in USA the exceptionally indispensable numero uno best of everything nation of all time. Seeing and reading that link made me need the last link regarding outrage fatigue.

    3. PlutoniumKun

      The vehicles in that tweet are not cars, they are quadricycles – the tweeter clearly doesn’t know (or care about) the difference. These are (depending on local regulations) ‘sub’ cars which are usually banned from expressways and have speed limiters of around 30mph. They’ve been around European and Asian cities for decades – arguably, the Heinkel Bubblecar was the first, back in the 1950s’. Mainstream quadricycles in Europe, such as the Citroen Ami and Renault Duo, cost well under 10,000 euro. In India there are equivalents (ICE, not BEVs yet) costing 3-5,000 dollars, some of which are road legal (in India, anyway).

      These vehicles are almost entirely driven not by technology, but by regulation. The Japanese Kei cars (extremely compact, but expressway legal) were the result of specific regulations in Japan around parking and taxation (specifically, you didn’t need to own a parking space to be able to tax one). The Quadricycles in Europe came about due to a 1992 EU Directive setting out a number of sub-car categories – intended for mopeds, but someone worked out they could apply to four wheel vehicles too and so a whole new category and industry was formed.

      I would guess that the absence of these vehicles in the US owe more to regulation and consumer preference than any particular failure of the car manufacturers or anyone else.

      One reason mainstream car manufacturers have resisted EV’s is that they realised that they opened the door to a whole range of new vehicles filling potential gaps between a bicycle and a car. It is of course, idiotic that people feel they need 3 tons of steel and the horsepower of a Roman legion to haul someones ass to the local store to buy some milk.

      In my neck of the woods, the problem is that the exponential rise in power and reduction in cost of batteries is flooding us with very powerful ‘vehicles’ which are neither really bikes or cars (or motorbikes), and the are proving a huge hazard on roads and cyclepaths. There are ‘bikes’ now, with pedals that are largely ornamental, but with EV drivetrains that can easily match a mid range motorbike in speed and acceleration – but they are allowed on cyclepaths and even sometimes footpaths by default. This is increasingly applying to 3 and 4 wheel vehicles (even UPS now uses quads for urban deliveries).

      The problem is now that there is something of a ‘dance’ going on between manufacturers and regulators, neither wanting to make a move that could complicate things. But there is an urgent need to formalise the status of the new range of vehicles coming on the market. In China, the regulations are purposely looser, which certainly drives innovation, but can make navigating city roads to be, shall we say, an interesting experience at times.

      1. GramSci

        «It is of course, idiotic that people feel they need 3 tons of steel and the horsepower of a Roman legion to haul someones ass to the local store to buy some milk.»

        I continue to contend that most USians live in a continual state of fear. This is especially obvious when they get on the road.

        1. jhallc

          When 3 tons of steel meets one of those carts it’s not going to be pretty. I drive a tiny hatchback and when I park next to a Ford F150 it barely comes up above the wheel well.

          I used to work at a food pantry and would help one client out to his “Smart” car. It was a running joke between us when I would put his bags in the back, I’d ask where the rest of his car was?

        2. Cristobal

          Over here, these little put-put cars that sound like a lawn mower going by are usually driven by old people who can no longer get a license to drive a real car. Not a bad thing, IMO. Some day It might be me. And they’re cheap.

      2. Carolinian

        Thanks for the informative comment. We have a bit of an electric bike craze here with the often portly riders pretending to pedal as they speed down paved walking trails that are supposed to be “no motorized vehicles.”

        And in my upper middle class neighborhood there is a vogue for the golf cart form of mini vehicle although they mostly seem to sit in driveways as a symbol of affluence rather than practicality. Personally I find them obnoxious in an old neighborhood with lots of sidewalks but they are legal on streets with a 25mph limit.

        When not in their carts my neighbors drive two ton SUVs so no practicality there either. If the Trump admin already seems full of goofy ideas–including that cow pie he stepped in Tuesday–consider his constituents. Some Americans are very poor. Other Americans are very spoiled.

        1. Craig H

          We have a bit of an electric bike craze here with the often portly riders pretending to pedal as they speed down paved walking trails that are supposed to be “no motorized vehicles.”

          Ever see anybody you recognize doing that?

          If you take your walk right after sunrise you have a much higher probability of seeing pretty animals and none of these goofs.

          1. Carolinian

            Motorized bikes on trails have the same negative quality as regular bikes which is that they are silent and you can’t hear them coming. Whereas a with a gasoline dirt bike behind you one can at least hear them. Boy can you hear them.

            I’m a lifelong cyclist and believe in riding on pavement although on American streets this can be dangerous. Some EU countries now have bike only paved trails.

            1. Bsn

              Often bike rider myself. Though you can’t see a bike as easily as a car, they are slow enough so that you can respond if one shows up, aka you see it. And, in most US cities there are bike lanes (not all cities I understand). That helps define your glance: sidewalk – no one, bike lane – no one …… oops, I didn’t see you coming!
              The big difference is in the speed of E bikes. Driving our car, those E bikes show up quite fast. In the past I would see a bike and determine “OK, I have enough time to make this turn before the bike gets here”. Now, not so. I’ll see a bike and think, I have time, then all of a sudden, it’s there.

              1. scott s.

                Believe me, plenty of drivers think they can pass a trad pedal cyclist and make a turn, resulting in the infamous “right hook” (for those of us not in UK/JP and adjacent).

      3. Colonel Smithers

        Thank you and well said, PK.

        In bank lobbying, we call it an “elaborate dance”. It’s exactly how you describe.

        This said, one day a dozen years ago, European regulators invited finance, not just banking, lobbyists to Paris for a discussion. Securitisation, if memory serves. It was a Friday. France was hosting Ireland at rugby the next day.

        A discussion supposed to last a few hours, with a pause for lunch, terminated swiftly with an early and liquid lunch. Most attendees brought their significant others and made a long week-end of it on expenses. On Monday, colleagues were told that the regulators were in no mood to listen. Not much of a dance between us that day.

      4. mrsyk

        “I would guess that the absence of these vehicles in the US owe more to regulation and consumer preference than any particular failure of the car manufacturers or anyone else.”
        This, and I’m leaning “preference” between the two. We Americans have a peculiar adherence to “size matters” juiced with an equally peculiar view of “freedom”.

      5. SteveW

        We were in Qijin park/island, Kaohsiung, Taiwan a few years back. At a shop near the ferry pier, we rented a home-rigged electrified tricycle from a friendly old man. Four of us (560 pounds in total) saddled up and started peddling, assuming that the motor needed some supplementary manpower. “Don’t need to peddle”, the old man said. That tricycle gave us 2 hours of transportation at about 10 to 12 mph on flat terrain using only a single 12 volt lead old car battery, incredible. By the way, qijin park is a very nice and relaxing place, good food.

    4. Colonel Smithers

      Thank you, Z.

      It’s getting that way in some of Africa and Asia. Chinese manufacturers are ousting European and Japanese manufacturers.

      Readers should look up the Xiaomi SU7.

    5. Wukchumni

      I’m in the midst of pulling the trigger on buying a $50k truck, and I can buy a vehicle for about 1/90th of that price, hmmmmm.

      We spend a million on a ballistic missile to take out a $10k Houthi drone…

      Same-same

    6. John k

      Especially if you visit China and experience their infra. The Ca boondoggles with our ‘bullet train shows how we go about infra these days.

  7. Wukchumni

    Runaway teen hides in makeshift toilet paper fort in the middle of Walmart for days unnoticed Daily Mail
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    I grew up in the golden age of fort building and boy how we’ve regressed from sturdy fortifications constructed out of lumber, tar paper, shingles and floor to ceiling carpeting, to a friggin’ Charmin Igloo.

    1. Emma

      At the current rate that President Trusk (or Mump?) is upsetting the apple cart, obviously the only safe investments for the future are toilet paper and canned tuna. That kid is just on the bleeding edge.

    2. ChrisFromGA

      We used to build snow forts in the backyard, February was a good month, particularly if the snow pack was measured in feet.

      Jumping from the balcony into a a six-foot snow drift was another way to amuse ourselves during a dreary upstate NY winter.

      1. Wukchumni

        We had nothing but airdrifts to work with growing up in the SoCal tundra, our favorite was jumping from the 2nd story of some house being built (where we would later appropriate fort accoutrements) onto a 6 foot high sandpile.

        Most of us survive childhood, so we were pretty fearless.

        1. mrsyk

          Ah, I’m beginning to understand why the evolution of skateboarding took place in SoCal.
          Confession, I still jump off the roof if there’s enough snow.

          1. juno mas

            Skateboards were inventions of the surfing crowd trying to replicate the ocean experience on land. Maybe these guys (and they were guys) would also make daring jumps from rooftops, but it was the swooping glide of surfing they were trying to recreate.

            And from there arises the ‘Vert’ and ‘Street’ experience.

            See: https://sportsfoundation.org/skateboarding-history/

            1. mrsyk

              Once upon a time I was a Tony Hawk fanboy. Is he still considered GOAT? There’s a new Tom Brady after all. I would entertain a video if you’re bored.

        2. The Rev Kev

          I think that the rule was so long as you had no broken bones or gushing blood and were back before nightfall, then all was good.

          1. Jackiebass63

            I had to be home by 5:00PM or I would miss supper. Late and everything was gone or put away.

                1. Wukchumni

                  When it got dark was high time for pranks, and we thought up some really good ones, my favorite being the toilet paper rope…

                  Ok Wuk, what in the tarnation could that mean?

                  You roll out enough TP to cross the street and then twirl it so to resemble a rope, and then when a car approaches, have 3 people on either side of the street lift said rope and stop a car in its tracks.

                  Sometimes the drivers would get angry and deliberately run through your ‘rope’ which left ample opportunity to TP a house or at least get started, followed by a barrage of eggs.

                    1. Wukchumni

                      We once TP’d a house 3 weekends in a row. The adults there were super creepy…

                      The 1st week was a breeze, they never knew what hit them, while the 2nd weekend was more fraught with terror of being caught, but we pulled it off.

                      That 3rd weekend was scary as they had to be onto us, but we prevailed.

                  2. Kouros

                    Socialist kids had to economize on TP. Countriside folks learned the art of smoothing a newspaper with repeated wrinkage… Oh, the times…

        3. jhallc

          In the 60’s we used to jump off the top of a 30′ pile of sand sitting on the docks of the Niagara River. It was dumped by a dredge (“the Sandsucker”) which pulled it from the bottom of the river where it emptied into Lake Ontario. I try not to think of the heavy metals and dioxins that were likely there.

      2. mrsyk

        It’s snowing buckets here right now. I’ll be building a cat fort later today if it keeps up. Turrets and tunnels, gotta maintain my yelp review.

  8. Zagonostra

    >Most of USAID aid goes to Ukraine BNE Intellinews

    The number represents more than 60% of all US foreign aid listed on the website. The agency pays out only economic aid, with military aid being handled by the Department of State and the Department of Defence.

    Twitter/X clips of Ben Stiller, Angelina Jolie, Sean Pen, were making the rounds yesterday stating these celebrates made millions for their endorsement of Zelensky. Much back and forth denying and “debunking” these stories this morning so I’m not sure of the veracity on any side. What is not in dispute is that “USAID” had been used for nefarious purposes and that it’s apparent dismantling may be a shell game repurposing money for other ends.

    1. MicaT

      It’s certainly a bad situation , however there has been lots of work and it is starting to refill and is making noticeable improvements.

      It’s going to take a long time if it ever gets back to some semblance of normal.

      But I’ll take any good news I can get.

      Many links on line about what’s happening

      1. alfred venison

        they brought the Thames back from near death.
        they brought one (or two) of the Great Lakes back from near death.
        Maybe . . .

        2. Alan Sutton

          they brought the Thames back from near death.

          And then, just after that, Thames Water was privatised and polluted it all up again.

    2. Kurtismayfield

      They became farmers? The reason why the Aral sea has dried out is because the farms to the South and East suck up all the water. Kazakhstans population has quadrupled since the 1950’s, probably helped by all those crops.

      1. juno mas

        Yes, from Wiki:

        The water from the diverted Syr Darya river is used to irrigate about two million hectares (5,000,000 acres) of farmland in the Ferghana Valley

        The same thing is occurring with Walker Lake, NV.

        1. Emma

          It looks like we’re at the meth heads burning down the house for copper wires stage of the imperial collapse.

  13. JohnA

    Re Your Doctor Is Like Shakespeare

    This guy simply does not understand theatre at all.
    “Branagh — despite my love of Thor — is not on Shakespeare’s level. Not even close.”
    Er, Branagh is a brilliant actor and director. Not a writer. Shakespeare was a jobbing actor but a brilliant writer. Comparing apples and oranges.

    “if you can instantly distribute Shakespeare to the phone in everyone’s pocket, why would anyone go to the theater?”
    Because seeing theatre live is very different to seeing a recording of a production.
    I love theatre and have also seen a few streaming service productions of plays in the cinema and on TV. The latter are not even close to seeing a performance live in the theatre. Every seat offers a different perspective, every performance differs, even of a longstanding production. No two Hamlets are the same, and the same actor never plays Hamlet exactly the same from night to night. Theatre is 3D, cinema is 2D. I can vividly recall various performances of brilliant actors I have seen live. Streaming services not so much. Maybe because they are repeatable.

    1. ex-PFC Chuck

      I second your remarks about the incomparable nature of live theater. Two nights ago we saw a preview performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Guthrie. It was very well done and well received by the audience. Anyone who’s going to be in the MSP area sometime during the next six or so weeks should check it out.

    2. t

      The whole thing was just odd. The idea of teachers having Taylor Swift levels of wealth seemed something like black-and-white thinking, but worse. Is anyone sad because a 4th grade teacher isn’t a zillionaire?

      Ultimately, I became more and more confused with each paragraph.

      And the rich don’t have the best doctors except in dire circumstances.
      They have the most available and accommodating doctors.

  14. re silc

    Most of USAID aid goes to Ukraine BNE Intellinews

    Bad info. Israel and Egypt in top 3 too for USAID cash flow payments

  15. DJG, Reality Czar

    There is an old Soviet joke:
    What’s the difference between the East and the West?
    In the East, they tell you to shut up. In the West, they say, Keep talking.

    Mike Brock is persuasive, in the TechDirt article, Twenty-Four Hour Reality Check.

    This is the core: “These aren’t obscure regulations—they’re fundamental safeguards designed to maintain the separation between public authority and private interest that democratic governance requires. Just as there are twenty-four hours in a day, these laws mean what they say: You cannot simultaneously serve as a federal official and maintain control over companies directly affected by your official actions.”

    Yet like so many USonians these days, he is afflicted with logorrhea. He can’t help himself. Psychobabble and pseudopsychoanalysis are required.

    And then there is the Yellow Peril: “Musk’s troubling connections to China add yet another layer of concern to an already alarming situation. His consistent praise of the Chinese Communist Party, including writing an op-ed in a party mouthpiece celebrating their anniversary, stands in stark contrast to his criticisms of other countries and leaders. This discrepancy becomes even more troubling when we consider China’s status as America’s primary geopolitical adversary.”

    Primary geopolitical adversary? So I’m supposed to trade Elon Musk for Commies at the Gate fantasies?

    I’m reminded of way back when, the days of Watergate, when Sam Ervin would protest that he was just an old country lawyer. Brock should stick to the law, and he should stick to the idea that the law should now be applied by the (remarkably politicized and partisan) U.S. federal courts. Let justice reign even if the heavens should fall.

    If Musk is breaking six or eight laws, convict him and imprison him.

    But unlike the days of yore, when Nixon knew that he wasn’t quite above the law, today’s elites firmly believe that the law exists only to oppress the 90 percent.

    So they are afraid that the law be applied against anyone in the elite.

    Convicting Musk means convicting Trump of something with teeth and a prison sentence. Convicting Musk and Trump means convicting Hillary Clinton of any number of things (Libya looms large in Italy these days as the torture chamber of Africa and continuing scandal). And then Nancy Pelosi and the endless insider trading.

    Yes, get out Mr. Guillotine’s clever meat-slicer. And apply it.

    But don’t maunder on about the Commie Peril. Keep that goodthink to yourself.

    1. Steve H.

      Mike Brock is persuasive. I find it to be a well-crafted piece of persuasive rhetoric, with foreshadowing, repetition, and increasing stakes. I’ll get back to that.

      A quick reality check, my love, my precious. The post only mentions Communist once, and seemed to me to be within the context of a state official abetting a foreign power. A multinational corporation personified, I’ll suggest Musk is undermining ‘the fact that private organisation of production is a function of national concern, the organiser of the enterprise is responsible to the State for the direction given to production.’ Look up that quote to see how far he is from constitutional democracy, much less communism.

      Back to rhetoric. Yesterday a beloved commenter was unhappy with James Hansen for not raising his voice concerning climate change, but my unwrit thought was, that isn’t his job. That was Bill McKibben’s job before Gates bought him out. Hensen’s job was to not get hosed, as Boyd would say. To be the steely-eyed scientist that waves of rhetoric would break upon.

      I have been known to take a rhetorical baseball bat to those who would seduce my brothers and sisters in critical thinking. ‘Like One? Have Another!’ And that’s what this piece does. At any second the electronic infrastructure of the Federal Government can be crashed, and everyone involved pardoned. And that is the fulfillment of your list of the unconvicted evils which led to this.

    2. Neutrino

      Relayed by a traveler half a century ago in the Cold War days.

      Hungarian diplomat visiting Brezhnev, eventually has need to visit the loo.
      Finds that door won’t unlock, then a recorded voice says To exit, say Hail Soviet Union three times. So he does and exits.

      Soviet diplomat vists Budapest, visits the loo.
      Finds that the door won’t unlock, then a recorded voice says To exit, flush the toilet and wash your hands.

    3. Carolinian

      Thanks for reading article so I don’t have to. Musk is the latest boogie man and he is certainly not a nice guy according to many of his employees or those who have plowed into highway barriers due to his bargain basement self drive.

      But he’s not a fool either and both his cars and his rockets have had ground breaking influence. Given all the secretive manipulation that went on during the last administration, current objections seem to be more about who’s doing it rather than the doing. More info about this needed IMO and not from the usual partisan suspects.

      1. cfraenkel

        That’s too facile partisanship – the difference between SpaceX / Tesla and the current coup is that in the first case(s), he provided a bunch of really talented, highly experienced engineers hired out of the incumbent industries the funding and freedom to make mistakes and innovate… Resulting in many many crashed cars and ‘rapid unscheduled disassemblies’ before the current level of reliability was figured out.

        In the current case, he’s taken people selected primarily for loyalty and presumably software experience in the startup environment, turned them loose on an archaic, mission critical mainframe system that cannot fail without catastrophic effects on the financial system, the country, and you and I.

        Having suffered through all to many much much simpler development efforts, the current coup is just about guaranteed to fail. Who cares about which side does it when we’re all going to be picking through the flamming rubble?

        1. Carolinian

          I don’t really know what he is doing. Are you sure you do? As I just said in a non partisan manner I think we need to know more before jumping to conclusions.

          And I have read a couple of books about Musk. Yes he’s a promoter and raconteur who hires engineers. But he’s having a lot more success with rockets than dilettante Bezos.

          1. Socal Rhino

            Other than Nathan Tankus saying he was told that DOGE had been given admin access (never clarified whether that was network admin or admin access within an application) I have yet to see any evidence that systems have been seized or any production application code has been re-written. Maybe I missed it.

            Given the Dem track record of accusing Trump of all manner of crimes and consorting with enemy powers, I think some calmer, fact-based analysis would be helpful.

          2. Glen

            My basic fear is that applying “move fast and break things” to much of the US government IT systems is like forcing your 80 year old grandma to dance the macarena. A fall and broken hip is the most likely outcome.

            I spent my career, over 40+ years designing, building automation, and writing software for real time control, functional testing, etc. This is where if things go badly wrong, people get hurt, killed, equipment/facilities get damaged/destroyed. One learns through hard experience to proceed applying first do no harm especially to old, not well documented or understood systems (building all new was much easier). But there are also controls such as review board approval (peer review), software testing, hardware testing, etc – a high visibility approach in the user community so everyone gets a look, analysis, and approval. Is any of that happening with DOGE?

            What I’m hearing about with regard to DOGE scares the [family blog] out of me. How will your community fare if SS payments stop for a month or two? Same with Medicare payments, SNAP, etc. What if even the pathetic efforts by FEMA for Helene victims/damage gets stopped?

            I’m not saying reform isn’t required, but this is not the way to do it.

            1. juno mas

              Allow me to share my current experience with SS payments system. I’m one of 3M workers who payed into SS, but only received a radically reduced payout because I worked ten years in a state government position that didn’t pay into the SS system. The SS Fairness Act, signed into law 1-5-25, attempted to correct that long term reduction. I was expecting a fairly rapid remittance of my delayed payments. No chance. The SSA has informed me that it has no way to electronically (digitally) discover who the 3M valid recipients are and will have to search their data by hand. Since they are short available workers to do this research, it is expected to be at least a year before funds will be payable.

          3. heh

            I don’t really know what he is doing.

            He is acquiring more power in order to acquire more money. It ain’t rocket science, and he ain’t no rocket scientist either.

  16. pjay

    – ‘In Damascus, café Rawda is a ‘lounge’ for exiled opponents and artists returning to Syria’ – Le Monde

    As I read this headline my brain kept translating “cafe Rawda” as “Hotel Rwanda.” This was before I even consciously realized the deeper link between the two. Though I can’t be sure since I didn’t get past the paywall, I’m guessing that the Le Monde article is written to convey certain sad truths about Syria to an educated, sympathetic, and “humanitarian” audience. These “truths” will be factual at a certain level. But they will manipulate the emotions and interests of this readership to keep them ignorant about other truths at a higher level. This was the function of ‘Hotel Rwanda,’ after all. Those who read beyond the paywall can correct me if I’m wrong.

  17. Wukchumni

    The climate crisis is set to erase $1.47 trillion in US home values. Here are 5 areas predicted to get hit hard. Business Insider
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Couldn’t get past the great paywall, but they had Kern County as 1 of the 5 areas predicted to get hit hard, and when you say Kern County, you’re really saying Bakersfield-and it isn’t as if there is a lot there, there.

    Bakersfield exists so that Fresno wouldn’t get an inferiority complex, or was it the other way around?

    1. jefemt

      I was amazed Florida missed the top five. And then, of course, I started to wonder about the source, the data, the ‘information age’.

      1. Emma

        A single prolonged Pineapple Express event is sufficient to turn all of Central Valley back into a lake.

      2. Carla

        Yeah, the absence on the list of any areas in Florida cements Business Insider as a useless source for just about anything, in my book.

    3. Joe Renter

      Yes, but Bakersfield produced Merle Haggard, sort of. Well he lived there. A friend went to high school with his daughter. A limo took her every day.

      1. Wukchumni

        There is a ‘Bakersfield Sound’ (Buck Owens too) but there certainly isn’t a ‘Fresno Sound’.

        1. ambrit

          I understand that the “Fresno Sound” has a pronounced ‘gangsta’ vibe.
          I would ask Fresno Dan about it but he seems to be enjoying married life too much.
          Still no information from Radio Pink Bunnys on that front.

      1. cfraenkel

        The whole thing was laughable. There was an article yesterday re a new estimate on frequency and magnitude of heat waves over the whole southwest by end of century where the peak temps are shown reaching 170 degrees F. What’s the market value of the state of Arizona when the market drops by 95%?

  18. CA

    Notice that manufacturing productivity has been decreasing since the beginning of 2011 through the close of 2024. That is 14 years of decreasing manufacturing productivity. There has been no near comparable period in American history since 1905:

    https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=m2mx

    January 30, 2018

    Manufacturing Productivity, * 1988-2024

    * Output per hour of all persons

    (Percent change)

  19. GramSci

    Re: North Koreans in Ukraine

    «If they really weren’t [there], then the whole affair was a sleight of hand to justify … the escalatory risk of granting permission to Ukraine to fire U.S. supplied long-range missiles deeper into Russian territory.»

    I’ll repeat my contention that the plan was to establish a funding/weapons pipeline to Ukraine through South Korea, a pipeline that Trump could be persuaded to maintain. Yoon’s impeachment screwed that plan.

    1. The Rev Kev

      What you say seems logical and might imply that Yoon trying to seize dictatorial power may have been part of this plan so that any local dissent could be suppressed. The guys at The Duran have the same theory too about Biden trying to establish a weapons ratline between South Korea and the Ukraine which they featured in a recent video. But it looks like Yoon has been left holding the bag who can hardly admit why he was doing all this. Certainly Trump is not going to save him.

      1. CA

        “What you say seems logical and might imply that Yoon trying to seize dictatorial power may have been part of this plan so that any local dissent could be suppressed…”

        The astonishing point is that the Biden administration was evidently trying to take control of Korean governmental policy, and Yoon had decided accordingly to betray the Korean Constitution either to serve the Biden administration or as an excuse for a dictatorship.

      2. GramSci

        Someone here, possibly the Duran, cited Philip Goldberg, current U S ambassador to South Korea, expelled U S ambassador to Bolivia as the factotum.

        Wikipedia: «From June 2009 until June 2010, he [Goldberg] was the coordinator for the implementation of UNSC Resolution 1874 (Sanctions) on North Korea.»

        But the U S Dept of State does not want for factota.

      3. hk

        One flaw in the argument is that it fails to offer a reason as to why Yoon would want to risk his literal life for nutty fantasies of Blinken and Sullivan, in a scheme that was absurdly cartoonish. Real coups/martial laws except in fevered imaginations of western PMCs. (Although, in a way, Yoon is himself a Western PMC who looks down on his own country like most “democracy activists”)

          1. hk

            That, by itself, is fairly typical: every SK president and their spouse, if there were one, was undwr investigation for some form of corruption or other for decades. What was different is that both Yoon and the leading “opposition figure” (incidentally, rivals in the same allegedly leftist party before Yoon lost the power struggle and defected to the other side.) were under investigation for credible charges of serious malfeasance (again, not unusual–both Yoon and Lee (or however he anglicizes his name) were major figures in the previous admin with a reputation for abuse of power and, in case of Lee, much corruption). So there was quite a bit going on in addition to Yoon himself getting unpopular and desperate. A lot of it was personal.

        2. Lefty Godot

          Yoon and his spouse were under some type of criminal investigation, I believe, so that may have made him more willing to go along with a scheme proposed by a powerful patron.

    2. Katniss Everdeen

      …But, beyond the statements of American, Ukrainian, and South Korean officials, there is still no verifiable proof that North Korean troops were ever actually fighting in Russia.

      This “wondering” whether North Korean soldiers were there or not takes on added significance with the recent revelation that US”AID” funded 90% of the ukrainian “media.”

      This cia composed “reporting” was then relayed to the american public as “news,” and unabashedly exploited by the blinken junta and its corrupt allies in “congress” to “justify” insane, incendiary “policies.”

      I’d imagine most, if not all, of american foreign “policy” over the past decades has been established in this dishonest, uber-manipulative way by the cia goons, who are now getting a tiny modicum of richly deserved comeuppance.

      “We have to fight them ‘over there’ so we don’t have to fight them ‘over here’.”

      1. hk

        In a way, I suspect it’s more problematic than that. CIA might be clownish goons, but I don’t think they are too often under illusion that they are doing some great (social) “justice.” At least based on my experience, USAID draws in do gooder fanatics who mistake their racist and imperialist impulses for some kind of global justice (and consider their thinking “anti-racist” to boot.) who work with equally misguided locals. If what people suspect is true, Yoon is a special (and new) kind of local pawn: a “democracy activist” who changed side but not his mindset (and doesn’t know a thing about his own country’s modern history beyond the PMC mythos).

  20. Mark Gisleson

    NPR’s David Folkenflik has written a fairly long piece about Brendan Carr and 60 Minutes that somehow manages to equate editing an interview with editing a news story. And does so with as few words as possible, moving on as quickly as dignity permits.

    This soft-spoken screed should be cited when they explain why NPR has to be shut down. Everything about it is calculated to distract you from the core issues involved: “hey, just us, your locally subscribed to CIA-funded national news service whispering in your ear but don’t worry, we’re being objective.”

  21. GramSci

    Re: Justice Dept official accuses FBI

    «There’s also been no evidence any FBI agents or lawyers who investigated or prosecuted the cases did anything wrong.»

    That’s a bald assertion from the AP.

  22. The Rev Kev

    “US officials now say Trump only wants to displace Palestinians from Gaza temporarily”

    Trump might have spouted this Zionist wet dream of having the US ethnically cleanse Gaza on behalf of Israel but gosh darn it, reality keeps on getting in the way. When Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth realized that this plan mean that US troops would be battling Hamas in the streets of Gaza, he started backing away real fast saying that the US is a long way off deploying US troops there. And when MAGA woke up to the fact that the US would be on the hook for tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars of clearing and construction costs, Trump himself was forced to back away from that idea and saying that of course the regional powers like Saudi Arabia would be funding it because all those Arab nations just love throwing money at Israel. Then Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt had to state that Trump really did not men that the Palestinians were going to be ejected for good because they are getting so much heat for that idea. Finally Jordan and Egypt have said now way are they going to accept up to two million people as they will be in their countries forever and at that it would destabilize their regimes and topple them. God, Trump can be so stupid at times.

    1. JohnA

      Israel is now demanding that countries that support a Palestinian state ‘must’ accept Palestinians expelled from Gaza. ‘chutzpah’ could only have come from the Hebrew language. One can only hope that one day, that good old German word Schadenfreude will be applicable to such Israelis.

        1. Emma

          The Palestinians could be housed in homes vacated by Israelis who fled the country and the border with Lebanon. In fact, if the Palestinians live there, that would ensure that Hezbollah would refrain from hitting those areas.

          Or just set up “gated communities” for Jewish Israelis in certain parts of LA (I heard some open spaces just opened up in the Pacific Palisades, Brooklyn, and Florida and then move the displaced Palestinians into their “abandoned property”. Like what the Allies did to German populations to house Jewish survivors after WWII.

          2. Carolinian

            I agree that if a new Trail of Tears is in order we should take them in here since we supplied the bombs to destroy their homes. Or perhaps they could return to their original homes in Israel since almost all Gaza residents and descendants are there due to the Nakba.

            Latest speculation is that Trump’s scheme tracks back to his dreadful son-in-law Jared who has been promoting the resort possibilities of genocide. The Kushners are tight with Netanyahu.

            1. Emma

              I was suggesting that the Palestinians get houses in vacated homes within historic Palestine. The Jewish Israelis can camp out in the Pacific Palisades provided that they’re safely gated, for their protection of course.

            2. ChrisFromGA

              No. While we may be accessories to the crime, the principal criminal needs to pay. Israel needs to figure out what to do – you break it, you bought it as Colin Powell (?) may have said about Iraq.

              Even the Arab states have more complicity, as they did nothing to stop the destruction of Gaza. Notable exception for Yemen. I hear there is some vacant real estate in Syria … Saudi Arabia has lots of land, too.

            3. Carolinian

              From the son-in-law horse’s mouth

              “In March 2024, amid the ongoing genocidal atrocities, Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, said that the Gaza waterfront property could be very valuable, suggesting Israel should remove civilians as it ‘cleans up’ the Strip. As Trump’s senior foreign policy adviser, Kushner had been tasked with preparing a peace plan for the Middle East. So, his comments unleashed a tsunami of international indignation.

              Kushner had a direct stake in the outcome of the Gaza War. After his time at the White House, he founded a private equity firm deriving most of its funds from Saudi government’s sovereign wealth fund. He invested the millions into Israeli high-tech, which plays a central role in the military and security equipment used in the occupied territories, including the Gaza War.

              Kushner characterized the Gaza atrocities as ‘a little bit of an unfortunate situation there, but from Israel’s perspective I would do my best to move the people out and then clean it up.'”

              https://original.antiwar.com/Dan_Steinbock/2025/02/05/ethnic-cleansing-for-gazas-riviera/

              And the Israelis or do I repeat myself have it all mapped out

              “The ominous Option C

              The secret document outlined three possible options:

              The population remaining in Gaza and the import of Palestinian Authority (PA) rule.
              The population remaining in Gaza along with the emergence of a local Arab authority.
              The evacuation of the civilian population from Gaza to Sinai.

              Of these three, the memo recommended C: the forcible transfer of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents to Egypt’s Sinai as the preferred course of action. It encouraged Israel’s government to lead a public campaign in the West to promote the transfer plan. This would be done by presenting the expulsion of Gaza’s population as a “humanitarian necessity.'”

              Caitlin says Trump is just following Zionist orders but the quick partial walk back suggests that anything Trump says has to be taken with a grain of salt.

          3. Cristobal

            re: Palestine relocation
            Mr. Trump, for once, has hit the nail on the head. We have had years and years of fooling ourselves about a supposed ¨two state solution¨. That will never happen. The time has come to face facts and stop posturing. We have allowed this farce to continue for way to long. God is not and has never been in the real estate business. There is no ¨chosen people¨. The Palestenians and the Zionists cannot get along. They will never be able to live together in one place – or even in near proximity. One of the two must be removed. As the old miners´ union organizing song goes: Which side are you on? I know which side I am on. We no longer need to be afraid to say it: The Zionist state must go. It is a malaign cancer that has been festering since its implantation in lands that belonged to someone else. Its roots go very deep, at least from the British anti-semitism of the early twentieth century, through its afinity with the German Nazi ideologies, to todays utterly depraved florescence. To salvage what remains or our so-called humanitarian and ¨Christian¨ values we must say plainly, the Zionist state must go. It must be wiped from the face of the earth in such a way that the Jewish people will recognize and acknowledge their errror and guilt in much the same way that the German people of today are overcompensating for their guilt of the 1930s. Which side are you on?

    2. bertl

      As a footnote to The Rev on the broader consequences of Trump’s “I really dig Gaza” moment:

      I’ve been informed that 4 generations of Israeli Jews have at least one passport issued by another country. Many have more. Palestinians, for the most part, do not have a first, let alone a second passport. I have always thought it easier to disperse and settle the (very few?) Israeli Jews who will not face war crimes tribunal and my bet is that this will be the likeliest outcome of this farrago.

      And the Israelis and the Trump imagination combined to give the American Empire it’s only fitting Epitaph:
      “Robbers of the world, having by their universal plunder exhausted the land, they rifle the deep. If the enemy be rich, they are rapacious; if he be poor, they lust for dominion; neither the east nor the west has been able to satisfy them. Alone among men they covet with equal eagerness poverty and riches. To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a solitude and call it peace.” (Attributed to Calgacus by Tacitus)

      All of the US allies are up in arms about the Gaza nonsense (apart from the Israelis, which is to be expected, and, quite possibly, Argentina’s tot-sized mini-Trump) and The Donald is effectively getting the world to rethink their positions on the most productive political and economic partners in today’s world. I expected this to be the outcome of Trump’s Presidency but I didn’t expect events to move quite as rapidly as they have done. AfD is in a very strong position in Germany and it is getting stronger by the day and will likely end up as the majority party and gain the Chancellorship. To survive, let alone thrive, Germany needs to re-establish its economic and social relationships with Russia, and that means it has to establish a strong, workaday political (and, ideally, military) relationship with the Russian state, and similarly with China.

      Europe is falling apart and the Biden years of government by the demented coupled with an outstandingly dimwitted and pathetically incompetent European political élite have meant that their identification with the Ukraine and Gaza slaughterhouses have completely changed the local narratives in the barnyards, villages, towns and cities of the EU, apart from the cretinous Baltic hamlets and the suicidal overlords of Finland and Sweden.

      Le Pen pretty much has the French Presidency gig sewn up. Starmer, a creepy pro Zionist non-functioning light bulb at the best of times, can only attract attention by crashing to the ground while the Labour party breathes a sigh of relief, although the loss of an empty space still means you’re left with an empty space, particularly if the rather peculiar vote negating Wes Streeting, also a creepy Zionist, becomes Leader as, for some esoteric reason, the least sharp of Labour’s intellectual blades find desirable. Tom Driberg, the acute analyst of political psyches, where are you when we need you most?

      Truly we live in interesting times.

  23. Wukchumni

    Who let the DOGE out?
    Who, who, who, who, who?
    Who let the DOGE out?
    Who, who, who, who, who?
    Who let the DOGE out?
    Who, who, who, who, who?
    Who let the DOGE out?

    Well, the GOP party was nice, the party was pumpin’
    Heya, yippie yi yo
    And everybody havin’ a ball
    Huh, huh, yippie yi yo
    I tell the fellas start the name callin’
    Yippie yi yo
    And the Greys respond to the call
    I heard the Donkey Show shout out

    Who let the DOGE out?
    Who, who, who, who, who?
    Who let the DOGE out?
    Who, who, who, who, who?
    Who let the DOGE out?
    Who, who, who, who, who?
    Who let the DOGE out?
    Who, who, who, who, who?

    I see de do dalliance people had a ball
    ‘Cause they really want to break swamp town
    Get back, Elon, back, Markko
    Get back with your 25 year old wunderkind

    Gonna tell myself, “hey, man no get angry”
    Heya, yippie yi yo
    To anybody callin’ them asinine
    Hey, yippie yi yo
    But they tell me, “hey, man, it’s part of the party”
    Yippie yi yo
    You put Trump in front and his Richie Rich man behind
    I heard the Donkey Show shout out

    Who let the DOGE out?
    Who, who, who, who, who?
    Who let the DOGE out?
    Who, who, who, who, who?
    Who let the DOGE out?
    Who, who, who, who, who?
    Who let the DOGE out?

    Baha Men – Who Let The Dogs Out (Original version) | Full HD | 1080p

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qkuu0Lwb5EM

    1. dave -- just dave

      The Mood on Capitol Hill yesterday – a lobbyist’s observations

      A longtime cybercorrespondent of mine works inside the beltway. For a couple of decades they were in the executive branch, now they are working as a lobbyist for an NGO – a coalition of state and local govts and other interested groups centered on a topic related to their previous work as a civil servant.

      When I got up I saw they had written me at quarter of four this morning. I asked. “Is it because these are exciting times that you were up so very late, or so very early?”

      Their reply:

      I’ve been on Capitol Hill the last two days leading a group of folks around to talk about [topic area]. And we had a group dinner last night where I had a glass of wine and dessert and as a result I often wake up in the middle of the night and can’t get back to sleep. Hence the middle of the night email! Normally I’m asleep at that hour. I really shouldn’t drink wine with dinner but I do sometimes and this is what happens!

      As for “exciting times” yes there is a lot of news everyday and throughout the day…..interesting to hear the members of Congress we met with talk about it. A senior Democrat said all the republicans are afraid of the administration. A senior Republican noted that all these changes are just part of the transition. Some democratic staff feel bleak and helpless; others are fired up; the republican staff aren’t sure what is going to happen on anything but they know they’re in the majority and are quiet about all the chaos.

      My cybercorrespondent, while a registered Democrat, seems to see mass firing at agencies, while unfortunate, as business as usual. Like the Republican congresspeople, it is not clear to my informant that the piano wire is already around the necks of the old constitutional order – metaphorically speaking. But maybe I’m the one taking it too seriously. Time will tell.

  24. The Rev Kev

    “Trump calls for ‘nuclear peace agreement’ with Iran rather than blowing country ‘to smithereens'”

    Trump already had that with the nuclear peace deal back in 2016 but which he reneged on. Iran agreed to scale back their nuclear activities and in return they would be able to do business with the west, among others. But that was nearly a decade ago and a lot has changed since then. Trump could offer to do the same deal as it was written under Obama but there are two, no, three problems with that idea. First, Iran has zero trust in the US not to renege on that deal as soon as Iran’s nuclear activities had been curtailed. Second, they would have zero trust that Trump would not decide to put on other restrictions like Obama did after he signed that deal. Thirdly, the US would demand that more provisions be put into that treaty such as getting rid of much of their missile program which in fact the US already tried. Not optimistic here.

    2. Kouros

      Israel has no interest in an Iran that is without nukes but has the ability to do trade with the rest of the world. A rich Iran, that is sovereign and has deep pockets to fund Hezbollah (the way The Emirates for instance are free to fund any terrorist pet project they have) if they so choose is a threat for Israel. Israel wants regime change in Iran, the same way they wanted for Syria, or Iraq, etc. Leaving behind a country destabilized, in ruin, with internal strife, with its wealth left for the outsiders to plunder.

  25. Max Z

    > The 24-Hour Reality Check: Musk’s Impossible Power Grab And America’s Crisis TechDirt. Well worth a read.

    “The reality is brutally simple: What’s happening is illegal. ”

    Presidential pardon incoming in 3… 2… 1…

    1. Bsn

      And, Iran and perhaps others can wait ’till theres a few hundred “contractors” rebuilding ther and then tapping them on the shoulder wth a few well placed hypersonics. “Would you prefer an espresso or a hyper-spresso?”
      As they say “aint gonna happen”.

  26. The Rev Kev

    “China launches WTO dispute over Trump tariffs”

    China just dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s. They know going in that the WTO is hamstrung as the US has refused to let more judges be appointed. So no China launches WTO dispute over Trump tariffs is possible. Seems that a few cases went against the US causing outrage in Washington. But I think that China wants to be seen following all the international rules for form’s sake before launching their trade counter-attacks.

    1. Mikel

      The same WTO many protested back in the day. Kind of a predecessor of the energy that brought Occupy WallStreet.
      Interesting.

  27. Wukchumni

    Welcome on board Musk International Airlines, we know you had no choice in the matter as far as Elon et al being your new carrier of air traffic control, and now just sit back and enjoy the fright.

  28. The Rev Kev

    “Bringing Out the Dead”

    Prediction here. We will never learn how many soldiers died in the Ukraine. Yes, there are all sorts of tools and methodologies that would give us a fairly good idea but the west will never let that happen as they will try to hide the true cost of the war so that they do not look personally bad. So I guess that they will go with Zelensky’s figure of 43,000 soldiers killed in this war instead.

    1. eg

      “Never” is a long time. I expect it will eventually be revealed, but only long after those responsible are beyond accountability and when the subject becomes little more than an academic curiosity — sort of like the eventual admission of CIA/MI6 involvement in the overthrow of Mossadegh.

  29. Wukchumni

    The birth of naturalism Aeon
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~
    I guess i’m a naturist naturalist trying to blend in with the rest of Mother Natures clients who also wear the emperors new clothes.

    Wilderness is very much my bulwark of truth against the world of lies and mistruths and worse going on in so-called civilization.

    Everything is as it appears in the natural world, sure there’s deception going on all over the place-because everything is somebody else’s meal depending on your ranking in the food chain.

  31. pjay

    – USAID and the Media in a ‘Time of Monsters’ – Columbia Journalism Review

    My second comment today about liberal media types using smaller truths to completely mystify larger truths for their educated liberal readers. For example,

    “… one Iranian human rights expert noted to the New York Times that cutting off support to outlets that seek to hold the country’s rulers accountable doesn’t seem compatible with Trump’s “maximum pressure” approach to the regime; as I’ve reported, US government funding has also been steered to independent media in parts of the world where China is seeking to make inroads, a key stated concern of the new administration’s. As I’ve also reported, China and Russia have not been shy about exporting propaganda across the world and seeking to co-opt journalists on the ground into bolstering it. We shouldn’t want a US equivalent, of course—but truly independent journalism can shine a light through this sort of behavior, and through the workings of autocrats more broadly, in ways that are good for the truth and also for US strategic goals.”

    I’m wondering how the history of the Ukraine conflict would be conveyed by “truly independent journalism.” I notice that its author was a contributing analyst for NewsGuard. That was one of the many “fact-checking” sources created in the ‘AT’ (after Trump) era to guard against disinformation (there was an “app” for that, if I recall). According to its Wikipedia entry, “… Its advisors include former officials such as Tom Ridge (former Secretary of Homeland Security), Richard Stengel (former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs), Michael Hayden (former Director of the CIA), Anders Fogh Rasmussen (former Secretary General of NATO), and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales…” So I’m sure that from their point of view what’s “good for truth” can also be “good for US strategic goals.”

    I have no illusions whatsoever about the efforts of Trump, Musk, et al. But come on.

    1. lyman alpha blob

      Thank you. And of course when a foreign country gives money to US media outlets, that is NOT considered “independent journalism”. Instead, the US throws the book at them – https://www.fox13news.com/news/uhuru-group-convicted-conspiring-russian-agent-acquitted-acting-behalf-foreign-government

      Also, the few thousand dollars this group received came from a Russian person, but I don’t believe it was ever shown this person had ties to the Russian government.

      I don’t remember CJR decrying that and the quick search I did on their own website just came up empty. Yet another double standard, it seems.

    2. CA

      China [has] not been shy about exporting propaganda across the world and seeking to co-opt journalists on the ground into bolstering it…

      [ Please show an example of China “exporting propaganda across the world and seeking to co-opt journalists.” ]

      1. Emma

        He’s quoting and not speaking for himself. “Journalists” in the West pretty much all have to genuflect on Russian/Chinese nefariousness before they can make any criticisms of the United States.

        Also, Americans reacting to American public figures doing bad things Americanly – “OMG we’ve been taken over by the see see pee”.

        1. CA

          “Pjay’s quoting and not speaking for himself…”

          Yes, thank you Pjay and Emma:

          I understood and should have made completely clear that the words are from Columbia Journalism Review. The Columbia Journalism Review makes no effort to show the words are justified or correct. This becomes a lesson in irresponsible journalism.

          “China [has] not been shy about exporting propaganda across the world and seeking to co-opt journalists on the ground into bolstering it…”

          Again, show me an example.

  32. Mark Gisleson

    Just a note of thanks to the NC crew for doing the extra work of embedding tweets instead of just linking to X content. Over at Revolver this morning it seemed like half the links were to X where each time I was told as a suspended person that I was rate limited and couldn’t see that tweet.

    Suspension from X is very strange. I’ve never been told why I’m suspended, none of my appeals get past an automated reply, and my “rate limit” trigger doesn’t always kick in during peak hours but can and has shut me out at 4 a.m. which for my timezone is peak hours somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

    I love that the Biden administration and social media are being exposed for their censorship of the right, but I’m still waiting for the Twitter files that explain how the left is being censored. I don’t think Team Trump will break that story for us, and for some reason the “liberal” news media won’t touch it.

    Too many bad things have happened in this country in this century. Now Trump gets to pick and choose which atrocities to highlight while the establishment’s attacks on activists like myself will go uninvestigated not to mention valuable sites like Consortium News and Naked Capitalism being banned as sources by Wikipedia, rarely quoted by other media, and subject to cyberfoolery by political hacks in our government, often working through cutouts (NGOs etc).

    How much longer will The Blob be allowed to silence its critics?

    1. Carolinian

      NC “banned” from Wikipedia? Do you have a source for that?

      We all know that Wikipedia is under deep statey influence but I”m not sure a preference for not citing blogs in general would be evidence of that bias. Happy to be proven wrong.

  33. jefemt

    Hey MSN search…. where is the best location in the United States to “Quiet-Quit” and “Opt-out” of supporting government?
    “There are no results for where is the best location in the United States to “Quiet-Quit” and “Opt-out” of supporting government?”
    and this:
    “There is no clear consensus on the best location in the United States for “quiet-quitting” and “opt-ing” of supporting government. The practice of “quiet-quitting” refers to employees performing their job without active engagement, while “opt-ing” refers to individuals voluntarily reducing their support for government policies or institutions. These practices can occur in various locations and contexts, and their impact may vary depending on individual circumstances and organizational culture”
    and then this… VERY interesting, I do not recall seeing this one. Very Good Read!!

    https://www.ecosophia.net/walking-away-from-the-marketplace/ John Michael Greer 5/15/2004

    The information age. Coming Right At Ya! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comin%27_Right_at_Ya

  35. Mikel

    Malaysia says forced resettlement of Palestinians would be ethnic cleansing – Al Jazeera

    The USA and Israel want to see if they can get away with it. Then they have a place for any administration or regime to send their “unwanted”. People can be wiped out at once, used for slave labor, experiments, or a number of things.

    Just spitballin’ about the alternative multipolar order nobody wants to acknowledge is still possible with people in too many places admiring the worst.

  36. Bill B

    Most of USAID aid goes to Ukraine
    I’d like to get a breakdown on how much goes to actually helping people, not just where it’s being spent.

    “The USAID suspension has halted national food programs serving millions and shuttered hundreds of community kitchens that operate in areas too dangerous for big agencies to enter.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/04/africa-trump-musk-usaid-funding-cuts/?utm_campaign=wp_todays_headlines&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F40e823d%2F67a344bbec8fa6347585f016%2F596a5df2ade4e20ee37172da%2F18%2F68%2F6

    You’d think that genius Musk and his tech bros could figure it out.

    Trump must care about this, right? Maybe we could work with the UN to deliver humanitarian aid where it’s needed. Oh wait. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-signs-orders-iran-withdrawing-us-un-human-rights-council-unrwa-2025-02-04/

    In FY 2022, USAID funded $21.4 billion of programming through the United Nations and other international organizations.
    chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://oig.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/2023-05/UN%20Orgs%20Graphic%20051823.pdf

    US funding pause leaves millions ‘in jeopardy’, insist UN humanitarians https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/02/1159746

    1. Mikel

      Looks like USAID is trying to be rebranded.

      Seems like there’s a drive to shift the foreign aid to Israel.
      Ethnic cleansing will be the new brand under another name.

        2. Mikel

          Neither camp has a problem with regime change or soft power operations: it’s only who they want to pay to do it and how that differs..

    2. Mikel

      “US funding pause leaves millions ‘in jeopardy’, insist UN humanitarians”

      This is the time for that grand multipolar world everybody is talking about to step up. Right?

    4. jhallc

      Re: “USAID funds go to Ukraine” along with “Hungary claims substantial Ukraine funds used to discredit Orban”

      No mention of where the funds are coming from but, there might be a whiff of smoke.

      Lots of good linky-linkage today.

  37. Mikel

    The 24-Hour Reality Check: Musk’s Impossible Power Grab And America’s Crisis – TechDirt

    “This isn’t about government efficiency or reform— it’s about converting public institutions into instruments of private power.”

    Yeah, like some of the provisions in global trade agreements.

  38. Wukchumni

    Hey-hey, Musk, said the way you move
    Gonna make ’em sweat, gonna make ’em lose their groove

    Ah, ah, man-child, way you shake that thing
    Gonna make ’em learn, gonna make ’em sting

    Hey-hey, Elon baby, when you walk that way
    Watch your young accomplices, can’t keep away

    Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
    Oh, oh, oh
    Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
    Oh, oh, oh

    I gotta roll, can’t stand still
    Got a running start, can’t get my fill

    Five Eyes that shine, burning red
    Dreams of you all through my head

    Ah, ah, ah, ah
    Ah, ah, ah, ah
    Ah, ah, ah, ah
    Ah

    Hey, baby, oh, baby, pretty Elon baby
    Darling Grey, can’t you do me now?

    Hey, baby, oh, baby, pretty Elon baby
    Move my files around while you do me now

    Didn’t take too long ‘fore I found out
    What people mean by down and out

    Spent severance money, took away their jobs
    Started telling friends he’s gonna save money, gobs!

    I don’t know, but I’ve been told
    Asperger’s types ain’t got no soul

    Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
    Oh, oh, oh
    Oh, yeah, oh, yeah
    Oh, oh, oh

    All I ask for, all I pray
    Steady-rollin’ administration gonna come my way

    Need a President gonna hold my hand
    But tell me no lies, make me a happy man

    Black Dog, by Led Zeppelin

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBuub4Xe1mw

  39. hk

    Seems that Larry Johnson is thinking a little bit like what I was thinking wrt Trump’s Gaza remarks.

    https://sonar21.com/what-is-trump-really-thinking-about-gaza/

    It was weird to me that Trump was insisting that Gaza would be “ours,” not Israel’s, and was referring ambiguously to “people of the region” not anyone specific. He also ducked precision when the reporter asked whether US was right to take over “sovereign” territory–which would be an awkward question to field in front of Netanyahu, if Trump was trying to fudge–is Gaza sovereign Palestinian territory or does it belong to Israel? (Nevermind the international–there’d be, eh, issues if a US president publicly started referring to sovereign Palestinian territories at this stage.) No question that Trump was using very peculiar lingo that obscured anything specific about what he was talking about. No, I’m not holding my breath, but these are some peculiar details.

    1. Emma

      I’m finding his comment about “if I get assassinated, Iran gets bombed to hell” to be very odd. He must realize that it comes across as an open invitation to Netanyahu, who he personally dispises and who made his desire for the US to invade Iran very clear, to assassinate Trump.

      So why did he say it?

      My 11th dimension chess brain suggest that he knows that the US deep state absolutely will not allow a hot war with Iran right now, but they might assassinate him for some of his wilder Project 2025 antics or yanking the markets around with his constant tariff threats. So maybe this is actually a cunning form of self protection.

      Or he’s really that stupid and will be dead or comatose within a few months.

      1. Mikel

        “yanking the markets around with his constant tariff threats”

        There a players in the markets that make a trade out of the volatility. A nice chunk of change could be had if one knew inside info about what stance Trump will take each day.
        In other words, that could be a game too.

    3. Cristobal

      Living far from the doings in the US, and often confused as to what day It is where, I may be full of s**t, but I read that Bibi came for his visit a day early. Where did he stay overnight? With whom? He is reputed to be a frequent guest of the son-in-law Jared. Who provided the notes that Trump was obviously reading from the next day? Just my deranged imagination I suppose.

      1. Wukchumni

        I’m used to Zionsism here in the states in the Beehive state, and you see it everywhere, Zions Bank, Zions Pizza, Zions Dry Cleaners, Zions Mufflers, etc.

        Now how Zionism came to be calling the shots, i’m not sure but they must have some quite juicy exploitative goodies on everybody that matters among the 535 + 2…

    4. lyman alpha blob

      I have not seen the video yet, but a friend mentioned to me earlier today that when Trump said this about Gaza, Netanyahu looked shocked and a bit scared as if he wasn’t briefed ahead of time either. If that’s the case, then this bluster by Trump makes a little more sense. Maybe it was intended as a stick to get Netanyahu in line? Or maybe just the usual blustering without thinking first.

      1. Emma

        The more I think of it, I actually do think Trump may be offering the best available option to the Palestinians. If he doesn’t get the Americans involved, the Israelis will leave before the end of the first stage of the ceasefire and continue to exterminate Palestinians.

        Now that Trump is committing the Americans, on an uncertain time table and contingent on other parties taking in Palestinians in reasonable numbers and still at least verbally committing to letting Palestinians return to Gaza, that makes it harder for Israelis to unilaterally break from the ceasefire.

        Now the Israelis can’t completely leave the ceasefire process and fully restart the war against the Palestinians. Peace is not a win for Netanyahu or his allies since Israel is already tearing itself apart on economic, ethnicity, and religious lines. As for moving Palestinians or building his big beautiful whatever on the Mediterranean Coast, if that’s done with Gulf money then GCC will likely have a say.

        It’s not going to mean independence or autonomy for Palestinians until the US stop supporting Israel, but that was always the case. Once Israel loses strong US backing, the Palestinians will always have to reopen the question of right of return, sovereignty, etc.

        1. Late Introvert

          I have none of your confidence. The fact he hasn’t touted his ending the Genocide and now this latest dog barf comment. And kissing Bibi’s er, ring. Not a good look at all.

          1. Emma

            I agree that it could all be wishful thinking by me. However no American executive branch officer is ever going to say “genocide” wrt the Palestinians.

            My “optimistic” outlook isn’t that optimistic, it still means the Palestinians will be coerced and many deported, possibly a take over by a corrupt PA administration and West Bankification of Gaza. But as long as Palestinians physically survived (and they will, far too many live outside of areas of control by Israel), I believe they will return as soon as the US abandons West Asia.

            And at the speed that Trusk is wrecking the US administrative state, that’s coming soon. It’s one last smash and grab and turning the US into Milei’s Argentina with nukes.

            1. Emma

              I see that Trump is trying to force a coup or civil war on Lebanon, so yeah, I’m probably wrong.

              I’m be optimistic and say that if the US gets into the West Asia again, it will lose there and then lose its ability to “power project” in Latin America or Asia, and maybe even Europe.

  40. Mikel

    Elon Musk’s Enemy, USAID, Was Investigating Starlink’s Contracts in Ukraine – Gizmodo

    Many of his attacks are all about him. Remember those civil rights violations he was hit with in Cali?

    1. MartyH

      If you read the article, it says USAID’s watchdog was looking in oversight of Starlink terminal usage in Ukraine. With that in mind I’m not sure how usage is Musk’s responsibility or, other than losing the usage (presumably beneficial to Ukraine in some way) and associated revenues is such a gotcha.

      Just using the content of the article, not other information available.

  42. Wukchumni

    An elusive California mammal has just been photographed alive for the first time SFGATE. The Spined Democrat?
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Perhaps you are thinking of the Pork-u-Pine For Democrat?

    A heretofore camera shy shrew, who knew?

    1. Jorge

      It’s by Mono Lake! I stayed at the local motel on a bike trip once (Lee Vining) and got to see a Genuine Local Character: a guy dressed up in ww2 fatigues riding around on a ww2 Harley Davidson military messenger hog. Smokey as hell, like it was a 2-stroke?

      Long may he wave.

  43. Mikel

    Elon Musk will now ‘plug in’ to also commandeer US air traffic control system, says Transportation Secretary – The Independent

    Holy F***. Now I’m going to have to do a long drive again for my visit with family this year. Dammit!!

    1. Wukchumni

      If commercial planes start running into one another and otherwise falling out of the sky, the public wont have Mayo Pete on their side to look important wearing a hard hat at the scene of decline, and demand answers from Elon!

      Wait, who am I kidding we are in the midst of the most apathetic era in my lifetime.

      2. Mikel

        The 24-Hour Reality Check: Musk’s Impossible Power Grab And America’s Crisis – TechDirt.

        And I’m reminded of this part:
        “Consider what we’re being asked to believe about Elon Musk. That he is simultaneously managing Tesla, a global automotive manufacturer facing fierce competition and complex production challenges. That he is overseeing SpaceX, a company conducting human spaceflight and handling critical national security contracts. That he is running X/Twitter through a tumultuous transformation affecting global discourse. That he is developing experimental brain implants at Neuralink under federal investigation. That he is competing in the most sophisticated artificial intelligence race in human history through xAI.

        And now, through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), we’re asked to believe he is also reorganizing the entire federal government. His twenty-something operatives are gaining unprecedented access to Treasury payment systems. Career civil servants are being purged for following security protocols. Congressionally established agencies are being illegally shuttered.

        This isn’t just implausible—it’s physically impossible. Each of these companies requires intensive, full-time executive attention. Tesla alone, with its global manufacturing operations and fierce competition in the rapidly evolving electric vehicle market, would fully occupy any normal CEO. SpaceX, dealing with literal rocket science and human lives, demands constant high-level oversight. Yet we’ve collectively suspended our disbelief, accepting an obvious fiction because we’ve been conditioned to believe in the mythology of the tech genius who transcends normal human limitations.”

        So demand answers and accountablility from a group.

  44. Mikel

    I’m also thinking lately: How can it be a surprise that it’s come to this point when the nation has spent decades, over a century, exalting a group of men that were actually called “robber barons”?

  45. hk

    Wrt the Starlink article, the premise seems peculiar. It wasn’t the USAID investigating Starlink, but USAID IG investigating the USAID’s involvement in supplying Starlink to Ukraine, which probably would be questionable since USAID doesn’t do military aid, in principle, among others. USAID is not an investigative agency. USAID funds bring used for military assistance seems illegal or, at least, questionable. Doubtful that it was Musk that was in the lead in this scheme.

    1. Wukchumni

      I’ve been numb to it all, when I saw what was happening 20 years ago and told everybody I knew what was coming down soon, the general consensus was i’d gone off my rocker, until it all became fact and a few asked how I knew, but it didn’t go any deeper than that.

      Everybody knows there is something horribly wrong about this life we’re leading, when I was ensconced in Vegas for a day a fortnight ago, I tried to imagine what ghost-town Vegas would look like, and it wasn’t that pretty at all.

      The missive says maybe the best thing you can do now is enjoy doing something you like, and i’m going skiing next week and then hope to be shortstop on the Saline Valley upper springs softball team-the Misfits, going against the Skins from the lower springs. Hidden ball tricks are difficult when all you have is sandals on.

    2. Bsn

      Well, revolutions are sloppy. Don’t know if this is a revolution, but many things are changing shape. I see some good, some bad, and just some impossible (“taking Gaza”).

    3. judy2shoes

      Thanks for the link Jeremy. Similar to you, I resonate with everything the author wrote. I, too, like Wuk, have attempted to rouse people from their slumber but no one believes this could happen here – even while watching the growing numbers of homeless, deaths of despair, towns and cities hollowed out by industrial flight, institutions not fit for purpose anymore, rampant and obvious corruption within those institutions – the list goes on and on. Everyone thinks it couldn’t happen to this country or to them, but I’ve seen cracks in those belief systems. One wealthy person I know was complaining about certain parts of the health care system, another one living in an exclusive enclave that lost power complained that sort of thing shouldn’t happen where she lives. These people are not living in reality at all, but they soon will be, I think.

      And yes, I despair and I sometimes lose it.

  48. ChrisFromGA

    Maybe He’s A Goner

    (Sing to the tune of, “Lady Madonna” by the Beatles)

    Maybe Mitch is a goner
    Nancy’s off her feet
    Wonder if they ever wish they’d never seen K-street
    Who pays the money? Governance for rent
    Did you think that money wasn’t techlord sent?

    Friday night arrives without a suitcase,
    They’re too old for creepy Epstein fun
    Monday morning, falling down a staircase
    See how the aides run!

    Mitch needs his walker
    Ambulatory rest
    Wonder how we’ll manage when he’s Heavens guest?

    [Instrumental break]

    See how the aides run!

    Lady Pelosi lying on her bed
    Listen to the regrets playing in your head

    [instrumental break]

    Demands of money masters neverending
    Wednesday morning, lucidity didn’t come
    Thursday night, your face is needing mending
    See how the aides run!

    Maybe they’re both goners
    Nancy’s off her feet
    Wonder if they ever wish they’d never seen K-street

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48eW3VL-95g

    1. Wukchumni

      You’re in good form!

      In a highly unusual move, Mitch demanded his body lie in state in the House so that hosannas and assorted sweet nothings can be uttered in his presence before the expiration date kicks in, why wait?

      1. ChrisFromGA

        Thanks, I really liked “Who let the D.O.G.E. out.” I pictured a pack of panicked dems dancing in the background. Maybe twerking, although that might not have been a thing back in 2002 or so when the video came out.

        Something tells me we can do these all day long … creative inspiration is not lacking in our present target rich environment.

  49. Not Again

    Now that it has been outed as “state-sponsored media” can we stop posting any references to The New York Times?

  50. upstater

    The 420… let the potheads begin their anecdotes. Realists have data.

    Marijuana Dependence Linked to Higher Risk of Death (NYT archive)
    Two new Canadian studies are the largest to date looking at death rates and psychosis associated with cannabis use disorder.

    Changes in Incident Schizophrenia Diagnoses Associated With Cannabis Use Disorder After Cannabis Legalization (JAMA network open)

    Key Points

    Question Were the liberalization of medical cannabis and the legalization of nonmedical cannabis in Canada associated with changes in the population-attributable fraction of cannabis use disorders associated with schizophrenia?

    Findings In this population-based cohort study comprising 13 588 681 individuals, the population-attributable fraction of cannabis use disorder associated with schizophrenia increased significantly from 3.7% in the prelegalization period to 10.3% during the postlegalization period.

    Meaning These findings suggest that the association between cannabis use disorders and schizophrenia is an important consideration for the legalization of cannabis.

    My anecdata is my son’s heavy use of high THC weed in late high school and early university resulted in psychosis NOS and eventual diagnosis of schizophrenia. 14 years later it appears to be a life long disability. There is a huge societal cost of causing lifelong disability of young people with cannabis use.

    2. Late Introvert

      NYT has no credibility whatsoever. They literally lie. And America’s health institutions are even worse.

      1. Yves Smith

        That is ad hominem and a violation of our site Policies. And the NYT here is citing studies, so you can hardly accuse them of lying. You need to look at research cited and show why it is deficient or alternatively, provide other studies that contradict these finding.

        Generally speaking, drugs have side effects even if they are mild and/or the benefits generally outweigh them. With psychoactive drugs, it’s not hard to think that heavy use/overuse would be detrimental. So these studies have some underlying plausibility.

        If you can’t control your emotions and make reasoned critiques, you will no longer be welcome here.

  52. Tom Stone

    When I read that Harris was backed by @80 Billionaires while Trump was backed by @50 Billionaires it became clear to me that the elephants were squaring off for a fight to the death.
    Intra-Elite conflict is the formal phrase.
    It’s going to get extremely messy, soon.

  53. Mikel

    “CDC & NY State is now recommending the IMMEDIATE testing & subtyping of all hospitalized flu A cases & unknown/suspected flu cases—in order to identify human bird flu. ➡️This implies CDC believes avian flu has now crossed into wide community transmission”

    Just in time for the tech bros setting up in DC with their digital ID ideas.
    Yes, I think the transmission is real, butthe timing is just too….

    1. AG

      I have watched that part of the hearing.
      That Senate Committee is about as honest as “The Friends of the Italian Opera” in Billy Wilder´s “Some like it Hot”. Actually much worse. Criminal liars, sick people, and jingoist opportunists who should rot in prison. Senator Warner? Seldom have I seen an egotistic hypocrite of that scale. Despicable people (at least 90%).

  55. AG

    re: Germany fear of right-wing

    This is the reason why nothing will change at least as Germany is concerned.

    BERLINER ZEITUNG reporting:
    Germans are more afraid of political extremism than climate change
    Five years ago, Greta Thunberg mobilized the masses, today it is the AfD. A comparison shows: Berliners have never been so moved.

    https://archive.is/6iA40

    The flavourism of politics has pushed out structural understanding and substantial analysis.
    Climate change and WWIII are of less relevance now than a totally uncertain idea of immigration.
    Hardly anyone of these protesters will understand or draw conclusions from the interconnections between their Apple and immigration. Or the fact that their parents own several apartments which they will inherit and German industry smashing up Eastern Europe. Or the relationship of climate and immigration. And eventually the fact that the state and nature of immigration as created by the German political administrative elites in the past 30 years has been shaped without an AfD but parties they vote for. It reminds me a bit of Yves´s entry on immigration. Disinfo for well-meaning idiots.

  56. Mikel

    Already talks about getting started with QE Lite…which will be reframed down the road as “productivity growth”.
    The asset bubbles are all they got….

    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps-focus-on-10-year-treasury-yield-to-cut-borrowing-costs-raises-curiosity-and-problems-290fb175?mod=mw_latestnews/
    “…The challenge in the short term is that “we are running above-trend growth of between 2% to 2.5% and inflation between 2.5% and 3%,” he said via phone. “So how much lower can rates go? If we are able to get energy prices down from here, rates will come down in the long end and short end, too. That, to me, should be the objective: focusing on energy prices, policy and supply. When you throw in other variables like tariffs, it becomes harder for markets to interpret.”

    Moreover, the large amount of government debt hitting the market every month to finance the government’s operations “makes it very challenging” to bring rates down and keep them down, according to Faranello.

    While the Treasury Department could still do an Operation Twist-style program, Faranello added, “I’m not too sure it makes a ton of sense, given that the ability to do that is limited and the longer-term effect of these operations don’t have a meaningful impact. The biggest driver in terms of interest rates is inflation.”
    —–
    https://www.thebalancemoney.com/what-is-operation-twist-416914/
    “Operation Twist is a name given to a type of monetary policy operation performed by the Federal Reserve Bank. It involves buying and selling government bonds in an effort to provide monetary easing for the economy, although it’s not quite as aggressive as another type of monetary policy called quantitative easing.”

    1. Henry Moon Pie

      “The challenge in the short term is that “we are running above-trend growth of between 2% to 2.5% and inflation between 2.5% and 3%,” he said via phone. “So how much lower can rates go? If we are able to get energy prices down from here, rates will come down in the long end and short end, too. That, to me, should be the objective: focusing on energy prices, policy and supply.”

      I guess no one has explained Energy Return on Investment (EROI) to Mr. Faranello, source of the quote, or Trump who spouts the same foolishness. We’re at the point where no amount of “Drill baby, drill” will reduce energy costs because the easy-to-get oil has nearly all been gotten and burned years ago. What’s left is hard to get to and develop or hard to refine. Here’s what the Society of Petroleum Engineers has to say about the very near future of EROI:

      The global energy landscape is facing a crucial turning point. Various studies show that oil liquid production is expected to peak in 2035 at a magnitude of 500 petajoule per day (PJ/d), but when the energy required for the extraction and production of these liquids is taken into account, the net-energy peak is expected to occur in 2025 at a level of 400 PJ/d (Delannoy et al. 2021). For context, the US consumed 100,000 petajoules of energy in 2021.

      Unless Trump can decree that oil companies produce at a loss, he won’t be able to change energy prices unless dropping EROI for oil is compensated for by increasing coal usage (Strip mine, baby. Strip mine) or some fusion magic. More likely is that EROI will be ignored, oil extraction will be even more subsidized, and we’ll end up with “energy cannibalization:”

      The concept of energy cannibalism is becoming increasingly relevant, as mounting energy use in oil production means the very resources needed for the transition to renewable energy may be constrained, particularly when viewed from a net-energy perspective and in terms of economic growth.

    3. nyleta

      Interest rates and the Fed balance sheet are now second order effects. The question is with record leveraged speculative activity, will the big players get bailed out again. If so nothing fundamental has changed. I expect the debt ceiling to be abolished altogether in the big upcoming March session of Congress. Both credit adventurism and monetary adventurism have been trialed and failed. What remains is government spending, a crisis is needed to activate it in a Covid emergency like manner for oligarchs only.

      GDP deflator is being gamed big time ( Sales deflator floating around 2 % really ? ) US is probably in mild stagflation and if I remember in the last stagflation investment returns on most asset classes just kept up with real inflation but without centralised wage fixing this time it may be a different ball game once the layoffs start in earnest.

  57. AG

    Germany survey:

    “Majority suspects election interference

    Berlin. According to a survey, 88 percent of eligible voters believe that actors from abroad are trying to influence the federal election via social media. This was the result of a representative survey published on Thursday by the digital association Bitkom. According to the survey, voters suspect influencers in Russia (45 percent), the USA (42 percent) and China (26 percent). “This is an important first step in the fight against fake news,” commented Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst. The survey also showed that a large majority (82 percent) consider personal conversations with friends, acquaintances and colleagues to be the most important source of information. (dpa/jW)”

  58. CA

    As for Air Traffic Control, the New York Times has made clear there has long been a serious problem of too few and overworked controllers.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/31/business/air-traffic-controllers-understaffed.html

    January 31, 2025

    285 of 313 Air Traffic Control Facilities Are Understaffed

    Persistent staff shortages have raised safety concerns. At many facilities, staffing is so low that at least a quarter of the work force is missing.
    By Aaron Krolik

    More than 90 percent of the country’s 313 air traffic control facilities operate below the Federal Aviation Administration’s recommended staffing levels, according to an analysis of staffing data from the union representing controllers obtained by The New York Times…

  60. AG

    re: Germany missiles


    DKP: Constitutional complaint against approval of US missile deployment

    The German Communist Party (DKP) announced on Wednesday that it had filed a constitutional complaint against the Federal Government’s approval of the stationing of US medium-range weapons:

    “German war policy is going to court. The chairman and deputy chairman of the DKP, Patrik Köbele and Wera Richter, as well as the lawyer Ralf Hohmann, are filing a constitutional complaint against the Federal Republic of Germany’s approval of the stationing of new US medium-range missiles in Germany. They are requesting that the agreement between the USA and Germany on the stationing of missiles be declared incompatible with the Basic Law and international law and that the Federal Government must withdraw its agreement to station them.
    “These missiles are offensive weapons. Because there is practically no warning time, stationing them in Germany entails a huge risk of escalation,” says Patrik Köbele, chairman of the DKP. “NATO wants to use the missiles to increase its first-strike capability. The stationing must be stopped before Germany becomes a battlefield and a major war breaks out!” says Köbele. “In our view, the approval of the missile stationing violates Article 1 Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law, according to which the German people ‘acknowledge inviolable and inalienable human rights as the basis of every human community, of peace and justice in the world’, as well as Article 2 Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law, according to which the state must ensure the protection of the ‘right to life and physical integrity’,” Köbele explains the legal thrust of the constitutional complaint. In addition, the peace requirement of the Basic Law is also violated (…). “We see our legal initiative as support for the necessary political struggle against the stationing of US missiles. (…) The struggle against the stationing must be won on the streets and in the workplace. We therefore call for support for the ‘Berlin Appeal’,” said Köbele.”

    https://archive.is/J6l3L

    Embarrassment to all other left parties.

    However I wonder if the lawyers too considered an angle bringing NATO vs. the Paris Declaration (NATO´s obligation to solve problems peacefully) to the European Court or some other legal body.

    If the law is not only to confirm the existing order but offer paths to alter it this should be applicable to intern. law and intern. treaties too such as the Washington Treaty and agreements to solve issues peacfully and with respect towards the safety of each nation.

    A complete security architecture including non-proliferation and non-deployment of WMDs combing intern. law and the realm of national and intern. security and WMDs regulation needs to be put in place. Currently they are co-existing, with no connection whatsoever. Which grants those agreements and bodies concerned with the arms leverage over those concerned with peace.

  61. Roger Boyd

    Benjamin Feve has written for Foreign Affairs, for three years The Syria Report (founded by Jihad Yazigi who was a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Affairs and published an article with Chatham House), went to school in Brussels and is bilingual in English and French. He also worked at the think tank Vocal Europe in Brussels and interned at the Global Governance Institute think tank in Brussels which is funded by the EU and the Heinrich Boell Institute.

    The contents of the twitter thread plus his background scream Western propagandist. Researching the above takes time, but you need to do it with such people. I have no reason to believe a word that he writes.

  62. Richard Hagen

    What Trump and the his Project 2025 crazies have been doing to our various government agencies in the last few days is creating the same chaotic emotional atmosphere as was seen on January 6th 2021. He’s started his Presidency right from where he left off.

Comments are closed.