Dear patient readers,
Our moderators and your humble blogger are wasting time on a persistent troll who has tried posting under many many handles. That is a violation of our written site Policies. We will keep not approving and on the occasion when they manage to briefly appear, ripping out these fuckwit comments and banning. Go find a better hobby.
Your humble blogger has also been a bit under the weather. So I am behind on getting to issues like Trump’s sudden enthusiasm for “affordability” measures like a credit card interest cap of 10%. I am working on why that is going to be more a backfire than a benefit.
‘Dilbert’ creator Scott Adams dies after prostate cancer battle Live Now Fox (Kevin W)
US FDA requests removal of suicide warnings from weight-loss drugs CNN (Kevin W)
‘A bombshell’: doubt cast on discovery of microplastics throughout human body Guardian (Paul R). resilc adds: “Who is paying who?”
Climate/Environment
The end of green energy Unherd
CARIBBEAN RECORD HEAT
Fierce heat in Mexico,Central America and Caribbean.
And Record again in the US Virgin Islands:
89F/31.7C Charlotte Amalie AP (St Thomas) Tied The Highest temperature ever recorded in the USVI in January pic.twitter.com/d4Y17R4C4P— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) January 11, 2026
CENTRAL ASIA WARM SPELL
Exceptional warmth spreads and intensifies in Central Asia with temperatures typical of May and around 20C above average.
Today temperatures reached up to +19C in KAZAKHSTAN at 1000m asl !‼️Next days we might see almost 28/30C in Turkmenistan pic.twitter.com/1X6Amdopm8
— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) January 11, 2026
Himalayas bare and rocky after reduced winter snowfall, scientists warn BBC
Floods Hit Several Indonesian Regions Over Past Two Days Tempo
Flying foxes die in their thousands in worst mass-mortality event since Australia’s black summer Guardian 🙁
Drop in ocean’s iron spells danger for seals, penguins, and whales Oceanographic 🙁
A rare meteotsunami triggered a sudden giant wave in Argentina’s coastal towns, killing one person and injuring at least 35 Times Now News
In a sane world, this would be front page news everywhere.
But it will hardly be covered anywhere.The North Pacific Ocean surface warmed over twice as much over the past 15 years than it did over the preceding 156 years.
That’s an increase in warming rate of >2000%! https://t.co/tPp1fTHiLO pic.twitter.com/vcN2JuZXyp
— Leon Simons 🌍 (@LeonSimons8) January 10, 2026
Atmospheric physicists find error in widely cited Arctic snow cover observations PhysOrg
DROUGHT | VERMONT DROUGHT FORCES DAIRY FARMS INTO COSTLY SURVIVAL MODE Edairy News. resilc: “Ice picking up Latino labor is a much bigger deal tho…”
Water
Water crisis hits Türkiye’s capital as drought, infrastructure issues deepen Hurriyet Daily News
China?
China blames US for trade imbalances as surplus hits record $1.2tn in 2025 Financial Times
Panama Could Terminate License of China’s CK Hutchison Wall Street Journal
Are You Dead?: The viral Chinese app for young people living alone BBC (Kevin W)
Southeast Asia
Indonesia’s Mount Merapi erupts, spewing ash up to 1,600 meters Anadolu Agency
At least 22 dead as crane collapses onto train in Thailand BBC. Live blog. A tragedy as well as not a good look.
Africa
Egyptian army holds billions in secret cash as country misses debt deadline, officials say Middle East Eye
Ethiopia, Djibouti Leaders Talk Geopolitics as Tensions Grow in the Region Borkena
Chad: Malnutrition is a silent crisis Doctors Without Borders
South of the Border
Venezuela winning by being too much of a basket case to loot wasn’t on my fight card, but, hey, credit where it’s due for an innovative siestamaxxing defense plan.
Has anyone else noticed the “drug boat” airstrikes have stopped? Yeah… https://t.co/IoJirCBqVJ
— Armchair Warlord (@ArmchairW) January 14, 2026
‘History will tell’: as US pressure grows, Cuba edges closer to collapse amid mass exodus Guardian
European Disunion
Europe must now tell Trump that enough is enough – and cut all ties with the US Guardian. Good luck with that. For starters, that would require kissing and making up with Russia.
Trump Gang Theft of Greenland: View from China Karl Sanchez
From Politico’s European morning newsletter:
What’s happening: The foreign ministers of Denmark and Greenland land in Washington for high-stakes White House talks with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, who insisted on being in the room.
The message: Greenland is not for sale — period. That’s the line Danish and Greenlandic officials plan to deliver, an EU diplomat familiar with the prepping told Zoya Sheftalovich. “It’s good to have an honest conversation with the administration,” the diplomat added….
How the tables have turned: I was in Strasbourg when Nielsen visited the European Parliament in October and said Greenland had “no plans” to seek EU membership. On Tuesday, his tone had changed. If forced to choose between the U.S. and Denmark, he said, “we choose NATO, we choose the Kingdom of Denmark, we choose the EU.”
Mixed signals from Capitol Hill: The talks come as a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday proposed a bill to prevent U.S. President Donald Trump from invading a NATO country by targeting funding for foreign military incursions. However, another lawmaker introduced the Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act proposing … Well, it would do exactly what it says on the tin.
Preserving NATO remains the bloc’s top priority, one EU diplomat said in this must-read POLITICO piece by Jacopo Barigazzi and Nicholas Vinocur. Trump himself has hinted it “may be a choice” between Greenland and the alliance, with both Frederiksen and EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius warning military action would spell the end of NATO….
SCOOP — PARLIAMENT POISED TO DELAY KEY U.S. VOTE: A crucial vote on lifting tariffs on U.S. industrial goods is facing a delay, four parliamentary officials told POLITICO’s Camille Gijs and Max Griera. It’s being proposed as a tactical response to Trump’s threat to annex Greenland and would almost certainly anger Washington.
Imagine the delight and laughter in Moscow and Beijing over the US Congress being obliged to pass a bill to prevent the president of the United States from invading another NATO country. https://t.co/IPHxGnVMut
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) January 14, 2026
France to open its consulate in Greenland on Feb. 6 amid rising US threats Andaolu Agency
Sorry, the EU has no right to cry ‘McCarthyism’ Responsible Statecraft. Can’t be said too often.
Israel v. The Resistance
Gaza: Storms worsen already dire humanitarian situation, UN warns UN
Gaza: A ceasefire that still kills children is not enough, says UNICEF UN
Jewish terrorist who killed Palestinian family said allowed conjugal visits Times of Israel (resilc)
Iranian protesters reject US and Israeli interference Middle East Eye
The deranged US & Israel-backed Iranian opposition is boasting of the terror tactics its forces are deploying inside Iran, from the murder of civilians to arson attacks on places of worship
See the replies cheering the ISIS like violence and calling for similar acts in the US https://t.co/OoaKx7YChW
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) January 13, 2026
Trump vows ‘very strong action’ if Iran executes protesters BBC Lead story with VPN set to US. A Global South diplo-connected colleague reports that 3 slotted for execution are Mossad.
Douglas Macgregor: U.S. War on Iran Risks Triggering World War Glenn Diesen, YouTube
New Not-So-Cold War
No power or water and -19C: Kyiv seeks relief from Russian strikes and cold BBC
France, Spain Increase Russian LNG Imports as EU Ranks Among Top Buyers Kyiv Post
Long but effective:
“All wars are wars of Resources”
Natural Gas reserves by country, look out for Ukraine (now you understand why Uncle Sam is so interested?)
And watch until the end, and you’ll understand why Russia is such an irresistible target for Western bankers pic.twitter.com/ttUj7Iy8wf
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) January 13, 2026
Imperial Collapse Watch
Shadi Hamid on the Case for American Power Sam Mace. Wowsers. Must be nice to smoke what he is smoking.
Mere Anarchy Aurelien
Loosing the Republic Scott Ritter
Pentagon bought device through undercover operation some investigators suspect is linked to Havana Syndrome CNN (resilc)
Trump 2.0
How It Stops, How It Ends Rick Wilson (Bill L). Important.
Is the US government using ‘Nazi-inspired’ slogans? Metro (resilc)
Ex-Presidents and Democratic Leaders Silent on the Impeachment of Donald Trump Ralph Nader, Counterpunch (resilc)
Stephen Miller’s Worldview Is Straight Out of “Starship Troopers” Washington Monthly
America: Breaking Bad – Again Julian Macfarlane. A rogue’s gallery.
Trump v. Powell
The not just one but two lead stories at the Wall Street Journal now:
versus:
The Billionaires and the November Election Dean Baker
Immigration
US businesses hit by anti-Indian backlash as Trump restricts foreign labour Financial Times
ICE Rampage
ICE agent who shot Renee Good gets $10K donation from Bill Ackman USA Today (resilc)
Joe Rogan criticizes ICE tactics: ‘Are we really going to be the Gestapo?’ NBC
Plenty like this on Twitter, and remember, its algos dampen “left wing” content:
Today at 34 & Park in Minneapolis, a woman tried to drive down the street where a protest had broken out in front of a home ICE was raiding, saying she had a doctor apt to get to. ICE agents busted out her windows, cut off her seatbelt, and pulled her out before arresting her. pic.twitter.com/Y9bDF1xfKW
— amanda moore 🐢 (@noturtlesoup17) January 13, 2026
A 21-year-old in Santa Ana was permanently blinded in one eye after a DHS agent fired a “less-lethal” round at close range. He underwent six hours of surgery to remove plastic, glass, and metal embedded in his face.pic.twitter.com/XwdyrfZUZO
— WarMonitor (@TheWarMonitor) January 14, 2026
Key West protest of Trump’s ICE death squad murder of Renee Good Lucy Komisar
L’affaire Epstein
House GOP moves to hold Bill Clinton in contempt of Congress in Epstein probe Axios
Facing Contempt Threat, Clintons Refuse to Testify in Epstein Inquiry New York Times
Mr. Market is Giddy
Blistering Metals Rally Sends Silver, Tin and Copper to Records Bloomberg
AI
The rapid rise and slow decline of Sam Altman Gary Marcus
America’s Biggest Power Grid Operator Has an AI Problem—Too Many Data Centers Wall Street Journal
ChatGPT Killed a Man After OpenAI Brought Back “Inherently Dangerous” GPT-4o, Lawsuit Claims Futurism
The Bezzle
Eric Adams Launched a Crypto Coin. A Day Later, $1 Million Was Missing. New York Times
Guillotine Watch
Meet the pro-Trump billionaire buying up a Pennsylvania town Oligarch Watch
L.A. Rams Owner Stan Kroenke Becomes Largest Private Landowner in the U.S. New York Times
Peter Thiel makes $3m donation to fight California’s proposed billionaire tax Guardian (resilc)
Class Warfare
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus:
In Nara, deers have learned to open the doors of food establishments and bow to ask for food 🦌 pic.twitter.com/A7bdoAqyQ3
— Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) January 11, 2026
A second bonus:
Counting the sheep.. 😅 pic.twitter.com/47ZSiCtO40
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) January 14, 2026
And a third (Constance C):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
