Devoted Bernese Puppy Loves Taking Blind Chow Chow on Walks Laughing Squid (resilc)
Cuttlefish use polarized light to create a dramatic mating display invisible to humans PhysOrg
The scale of this landslide is mind-blowing!
About 1,500 people have been evacuated from Niscemi in Sicily after a landslide caused by heavy rain from Cyclone Harry tore through a hillside on the town's edge.
The landslide, which started moving on Sunday, has now formed a 4… pic.twitter.com/1TynHqSOpP
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) January 27, 2026
Keto diet weight loss may come with a hidden cost Science Daily (Kevin W). n=1 but yours truly has experimented with keto (the NIH should pay me for all the dietary supplement and diet experiments I have conducted on myself). It does work. It sort of has to because when you are in a ketogenic state, you metabolize consumed calories less efficiently. You have to break down proteins and fats to make blood sugar, which is less efficient than using carbs for that. Your brain works fine on keto but exercise, particularly cardio, becomes really arduous. I have never thought keto was a good idea other than for short term (say weeks to a couple of months) because you have to so restrict the types of food you eat that it is pretty hard not to be limiting the micronutrients you get from fruit and veg. This shows it has other negatives when practiced on an ongoing basis.
Climate/Environment
In polar regions, microbes are influencing climate change as frozen ecosystems thaw PhysOrg
Collapse at Lake Chad: How Climate Stress Transforms Resources Into Flashpoints International Affairs Review
China places blankets on ice: the experimental strategy that could slow glacier melting Noticias Ambientales
‘Air conditioners are struggling': parts of NSW, Queensland and Victoria swelter as heat records tumble Guardian (resilc)
Dire Colorado River outcomes may be unavoidable, US report shows HavausNews
China?
Xi's Military Meltdown China Talk
Prime minister flies to China for three-day visit BBC (Kevin W)
India
‘Mother of all deals': EU and India sign free trade agreement Guardian
Southeast Asia
South of the Border
Venezuelan Crude Is Losing Its Appeal in China OilPrice (resilc)
Venezuela's Strategic Oil Reorientation: Defying The Blockade, Securing Sovereignty Popular Resistance
European Disunion
Now others are blackmailing: Europe is dissolving in self-pity Overton via machine translation (Micael T)
From Politico's morning European newsletter:
WHAT EUROPE WAS TOLD ABOUT TRUMP'S STATE OF MIND: One of Europe's most pro-Donald Trump leaders came back from a meeting with the U.S. president badly rattled — and told this to some of his counterparts at last week's EU summit, according to five diplomats who spoke to POLITICO for a major story published on our website this morning….
Dangerous: Fico's conversation with his European counterparts took place in an informal huddle on the sidelines of last Thursday's emergency EU summit, with the Slovak PM and a small bunch of other leaders and EU officials. Fico said he was concerned about the U.S. president's “psychological state,” two of the diplomats said. Fico used the word “dangerous” to describe how the U.S. president came across during their face-to-face meeting at Trump's estate, according to two of the diplomats.
A notable verdict: These remarks carry extra weight because Fico is no Trump skeptic. Quite the opposite. He regularly echoes Trump's critique of Europe, has spoken of him in glowing terms and — even after the Mar-a-Lago meeting — posted a Facebook video touting Trump's “respect and trust.” Publicly, Fico said their talks were “informal and open.”
Hungary to challenge EU ban on Russian gas imports at European Court IntelliNews
Old Blighty
Bailey warns shadow banking could threaten financial system The Times
UK: Pro-Palestine protesters charged with calling for ‘intifada' Middle East Eye (resilc)
The great Ministry of Defence-to-Palantir pipeline openDemocracy (Colonel Smithers)
Record number of people in UK live in ‘very deep poverty', analysis shows Guardian
Why Britain's crumbling canals are a ticking timebomb Daily Mail
Sewage Map (Colonel Smithers). Aieee!
Israel v. the Resistance
Map shows what would happen to Gaza under the US ‘master plan' Aljazeera (Kevin W)
Iranian government braces for possible attack as US navy arrives in region Guardian
If war with Iran happens, it could be a disaster for Trump Conflicts Forum
War w/Iran Would NOT be Short /Alastair Crooke & Lt Col Daniel Davis YouTube
Syraqistan
Beyond a reset: US-Pakistan ties exemplify new era of pragmatism Asia Times (Kevin W)
New Not-So-Cold War
Kommersant Interviews Dmitri Medvedev Karl Sanchez
Germany decided that it needed air defense systems more than Ukraine TopWar (Micael T)
How history punished Finland for its aggression toward Russia Vzglyad via maching translation. Micael T: “After you read this, you really wonder what the hell the Finns are thinking, if at all, in their aggression towards Russia. Seinähullu!”
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes Wired (resilc)
Police Told to Be ‘as Vague as Permissible' About Why They Use Flock 404 Media
Imperial Collapse Watch
Davos, Carney and the staged revolt against American hegemony Thomas Fazi
Managing The Powerful Aurelien
Trump's Board of Peace Cracks the BRICS Wall Foreign Policy. We have said that the significance of BRICS has been considerably exaggerated, aside from one very important initiative, that of serving as a venue for promoting the development of bi-lateral trade plumbing. Most BRICS members individually and key BRICS official position statements make clear that most BRICS members want to get on with the West and in particular preserve the current international institutional architecture (World Bank, IMF, WTO, UN) but have Global South countries exercise more power in them. So the positioning of the piece is a straw man…..albeit many anti-globalists have also been way out over their skis re BRICS.
The military is babying F-35s to hide their true cost to taxpayers Responsible Statescraft (Kevin W)
READING: THOUKYDIDES: On the Civil War in Korkyra Brad DeLong
Trump 2.0
US quietly passes new rule to track millions on Social Security – will your trips be watched? Daily Observer. Note this is a plan to enforce existing Security rules aggressively. I read a lot of “retire abroad” books and articles. Not a single one mentioned these Social Security regulations. This would screw a lot of expat retirees, many of whom can't afford to live in the US on Social Security or could not live anywhere near as well. A decent % also depend on Social Security to provide an adequate income level to meet visa requirements in their new home country. And don't assume that you can fly under the radar (say by taking your Social Security in the US and transferring it overseas and relying on enforcement efforts going after those who have their Social Security direct deposited abroad, which here seems to be just about everyone). Getting paid too much in Social Security due to a failure to report = fraud. They will claw back the money. From what I have seen here, the foreign recipient bank (only one, Bangkok Bank, receives Social Security payments), is extremely sensitive to potential Social Security fraud and would jump if Social Security asked them to.
Trump's Adaptability Is a Virtue, Not a Vice American Conservative. resilc: “Too funny.”
ICE Rampage
Trump Backs Noem After Sending Border Czar to Revamp Minnesota Deportation Effort Bloomberg
Man tackled after spraying Omar with unknown substance at Minneapolis town hall The Hill
War Secretary Greenlights ICE Using Military Base in Minnesota Antiwar.com (Kevin W). Haha, can't get hotel space.
Masked thugs, sneering elites and terrified citizens: a picture of the US today. We used to have a name for this Guardian. resilc: “All this gets lots of TV time in France.”
ICE Math YouTube (resilc). Those ICE bonuses are not what they seem to be!
Tillis says Noem should be ‘out of a job' over Minneapolis response The Hill versus Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti Wired (resilc)
Emerson Poll shows Trump's support slipping nationwide James Dorsey
Trump splits with Vance over Minneapolis shooting Telegraph
Trump Advisers Quietly Turn on Stephen Miller as Brutal ICE Poll Hits New Republic (resilc). One can hope…
Not AI, her employer reacted:
Meet Melinda, a healthcare worker at @VCUHealth. She posted a series of videos encouraging people to inject ICE agents with succinylocholine, a temporary paralysis drug, and spray poison on them. She also encourages woman to go on dates with agents and drug their food.
Any… pic.twitter.com/CMJN12GhOc
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) January 27, 2026
IM Doc's comments:
Succinylcholine is an instant paralytic. It will knock out every muscle in your body in seconds. Including your diaphragm. The sensory system is 100% intact. The victim will be unable to move, breathe, scream, say anything – all the while they will feel themselves dying over several minutes. So heinous that not even the most horrific of criminals in the USA is executed this way – they are given succinylcholine in lethal injection – but only after they are completely knocked out with multiple other drugs. This CRNA is suborning murder in the most hideous fashion possible. This is just incredible to me. The cheering squad I read through in its original post is for the ages. I no longer even remotely recognize my country, much less my profession. Again, how are we attracting these psychos? Does the thought ever cross her mind that she is literally throwing her entire career down the toilet? All the years of work?
The risk and legal departments at VCU are now going to have a shit storm. Every single death under her care is now going to have to be thoroughly investigated – every single death under her care is now likely to be a lawsuit – and if the victim is MAGA or law enforcement – sorry to say – they are absolutely screwed.
This is just incredible. It is what I am saying all along – we are surrounded by psychos on every side. This country is really in for it.
posted on substack by a person named Teri Leigh
I'm writing this from Minnesota.
These are just a few things that may not be making the national or international news.
a beloved local donut shop Glam Doll Donuts across the street from where Alex Pretti died turned into a…
— Stephanie “LB” 🟧 (@LincolnsBible) January 27, 2026
Our No Longer Free Press
Social Media Giants Face Landmark Legal Tests on Child Safety New York Times
The Lies Get So Tedious Caitlin Johnstone (Micael T)
Economy
What Do Truck Shipping Indexes Say About the US Economy? Michael Shedlock. Props for an exacting analysis
US consumer confidence plunges to 12-year low Financial Times
Mr. Market is Giddy
Just How High Can Silver Really Go? Ian Welsh. I remember at the height of the Hunt silver squeeze that consumers were bringing in silver sets and candlesticks to be melted for their metal content.
Frosts overheated the EU and US gas markets Vzglyad via machine translation (Micael T)
Investors bet on ‘hot' US economy heading into midterm elections Financial Times. Lead story
AI
Computers can't surprise aeon (Micael T)
Data centers are facing an image problem. The tech industry is spending millions to rebrand them Grist
Microsoft's plans for 15 more data centers win approval at former Wisconsin Foxconn site CNBC (Kevin W
The Bezzle
Private credit firms sell debt to themselves at record rate Financial Times
Guillotine Watch
Elon Musk Haters Have Found a Hilariously Easy Way to Make Money on Polymarket Futurism
The billionaire boys fight the wealth tax Oligarch Watch
Class Warfare
Scott Galloway Explains How YOU Can Stop Government Overreach Using the Power of Your Purse Open Culture. Micael T: “I do like the concrete proposals but ffs the problem is not government overreach but oligarch overreach.”
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus:
Momma cow is watching the camera guy very carefully from the back pic.twitter.com/OjGjQctdQz
— Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) January 28, 2026
A second bonus:
A compilation of seals and sea lions being funny, playful, and effortlessly adorable
— Science girl (@sciencegirl) January 28, 2026
And a third:
Cat bullying dogs 😼😭 pic.twitter.com/bHiuWGvx8d
— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) January 25, 2026
See yesterday's Links and Antidote du Jour here
