New trend: Young people want a “perfect” anus Expressen via machine translation (Micael T). So anal sex is now preferred among heteros?
If a Tree Falls Harper’s (Micael T)
You’re Writing a Book. So Stop Writing a Movie. Rebecca Makkai. Micael T: “Old but still interesting and a nice break from violence.”
How Big Tech killed literary culture Unherd (Micael T)
The 4x rule: Why some people’s DNA is more unstable than others Science Daily (Kevin W)
Why It Still Makes Sense to Limit Saturated Fats Undark
Does running wear out the bodies of professionals and amateurs alike? The Conversation
Climate/Environment
Breaking News!
Code Yikes!The latest CO2 data just came in from Mauna Loa and the 3-year rate of CO2 growth just hit a new record high, now growing at a rate of 7.97 ppm per 3 years.
(That dip in the mid-1990’s is Mt. Pinatubo. Google is your friend.) pic.twitter.com/3WtTmvlMs3
— Prof. Eliot Jacobson (@EliotJacobson) January 6, 2026
Update:
We are witnessing the most insane unbelievable event in European climatic history.
Greeks from Crete sleeping with AC in January
with temperatures up to 26C in the middle of the night.
It’s like August.
3 centuries of European climatic history is rewritten today https://t.co/txQW8Vc8rh— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) January 8, 2026
HISTORIC HEAT IN MIDDLE EAST
Hundreds of records smashed between Europe,Africa and Asia
35.0C at Yenbo on the North Red Sea coast:
Hottest January day in history.
Over 170 countries are breaking heat records:
never happened anything like this
and will be much worse next days. pic.twitter.com/HfvinYFIaP— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) January 7, 2026
New ECMWF guidance aggressively predicts the development of a planet-warming El Niño this year, with changes in Pacific wind patterns signaling that a transition is underway.
While possible impacts vary by region, El Niño would play a key role in shaping global weather patterns. pic.twitter.com/1P1QaWjXzt
— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) January 6, 2026
Oceans struggle to absorb Earth’s carbon dioxide as microplastics invade their waters PhysOrg
People are leaving cities to escape toxic air Mongabay
Climate change shifts the North Pacific storm track polewards Nature
America’s tornado hot spots are shifting. Experts say this might be why Independent
California is completely drought-free for the first time in 25 years Guardian (resilc)
China?
Beijing moves to cut losses in Venezuela after Maduro’s capture Asia Times (Kevin W)
China’s Housing Slump Deepens as New-Home Sales Fall to Pre-2010 Levels Caixin
The Taiwan ‘Idiocy’: Why Game Theory Rules Out A 2027 Invasion – OpEd Eurasia Review
It’s Very Difficult To Believe China’s Claim Of Mediating Between India & Pakistan Andrew Korybko
Africa
UK government co-owns Somaliland port at centre of Horn of Africa crisis Middle East Eye
South of the Border
South Florida: When local politics become rogue US foreign policy Responsible Statescraft (Kevin W)
Trump promises oil companies ‘total safety’ in Venezuela as he urges them to invest billions Guardian (resilc)
Trump seeks $100bn for Venezuela oil, but Exxon boss says country ‘uninvestable’ BBC (Kevin W)
US military forces seize fifth tanker in effort to control Venezuelan oil Guardian (Kevin W)
Uruguay no reconoce a Delcy Rodríguez como presidenta de Venezuela: “Son parte de la misma realidad que no fue electa democráticamente” El Observador. Robin K: “Relatively progressive Uruguay is not giving recognition to Venezuela’s Delcy Rodriguez.”
The battle for seeds in Latin America: how the legal blockade is progressing and how the people are responding Rebelion via machine translation (Micael T)
European Disunion
Will Europe ever wake up? America loathes the continent’s elites Thomas Fazi, Unherd
European Union Agrees to Landmark Free-Trade Deal With South America New York Times (resilc)
Germany’s local governments face financial collapse DW
France’s economic crisis PressTV
Greenland should hold talks with the US without Denmark, opposition leader says Reuters. resilc: “Bidding war started, like with Paramount.”
Two years of BSW Overton via machine translation (Micael T)
Greek Prosecutor Launches Inquiry After Yanis Varoufakis Admits to Past Ecstasy Use Greek Reporter. Micael T: “EU values in action. Any and every dissident will be squashed in any and every way possible.”
Criminals and venture capital companies should get out of healthcare! Tidningenrorelsen via machine translation (Micael T)
Old Blighty
Treasury doesn’t understand risks of shadow banking bubble, Lords warn Telegraph
Israel v. The Resistance
On 11 Sep 2024, during the mass-extermination phase of the genocide, high ranking educators organized a meeting to figure out how they could continue educating children in Gaza.
Israel bombed the meeting. https://t.co/kK8rpwMi1D pic.twitter.com/PvP7QWpWhl
— Zionism Observer (@receipts_lol) January 9, 2026
* * * Probably F15s, F16s, F22s And F35s : Dozens Of US Jets Now Converging On The Middle East BOC-maintenance (resilc)
Iran’s collapsing currency exposes the profiteers behind the crisis The Cradle. Micael T: “Trita Parsi told me once that in the Middle East, there are no good guys. The unrest on Iran is also a murky mix of murky interests, as it seems. Not only CIA-supported traitors but also local nasties.”
Huge anti-government protests in Tehran and other Iranian cities, videos show BBC
🇷🇺🇮🇷arme nucléaire russe pour protégé l’Iran:Dimitri Medvedev,vice président russe dit que la Russie serait près à offrir la bombe nucléaire a l’Iran si jamais le guide suprême le demandait et il confirmé que cela fait partie du traité de défense que la Russie et l’Iran ont signé pic.twitter.com/s9n25Dy6jM
— Le Liptako Gourma (@LiptakoGourma3) January 8, 2026
Syraqistan
Syria live: Fighting resumes in Aleppo after ceasefire collapses Aljazeera
New Not-So-Cold War
Another group of #NATO officers killed by a drone strike in #Ukraine #Russia #Odessa pic.twitter.com/prbLBv0Ri8
— Lochdale (@ELINET19) January 8, 2026
Iraq has handed over control of Lukoil’s oil field to another company Top War
Unexpected Warriors: Scandinavia’s New Assertive Posture Forvm Geopolitica (Micael T)
Poland removed as host of weightlifting championships for refusing Russian athletes Notes from Poland (resilc)
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
UK Orders Ofcom to Explore Encryption Backdoors Reclaim the Net
Imperial Collapse Watch
Former CIA director William Burns: ‘Imitating autocrats is not a winning formula’ Financial Times
The Empire Strikes Back: Trump, Netanyahu, and the Death of International Law Council Estate Media (resilc)
Is America on Step 1? 11 To Go? Corbin Trent (resilc)
The Long 20th Century Is Over. A New World Is Being Built Through Self-Determination Russia in Global Affairs (Micael T)
Trump 2.0
Trump Has Changed And TDS With Him Moon of Alabama (Kevin W)
Trump threatens US defence firms over executive pay, slow production Aljazeera (Kevin W)
Trump’s Big Tech takeover of the federal workforce The Hill (fk)
Trump orders ‘my representatives’ to buy $200 billion in mortgage bonds in effort to lower housing costs CNN (Kevin W). Sigh. This is explicitly what Bernanke did with QE. He repeatedly said, and few listened. that he was seeking to lower both longer-term Treasury rates and mortgage bond spreads over Treasuries so as to lower mortgage rates. Buying mortgage bonds alone won’t do the trick.
Washington National Opera to move out of Kennedy Center after Trump ‘takeover’ Guardian
ICE Murder
NEW Video Of ICE Shooting Released Young Turks. Normally I am not a fan of Cenk’s rants, but this one is spot on. His fellow broadcaster highlights at the top that the cop shooter, right after firing, called Good a “fucking bitch,” showing he acted out of rage, not fear of injury. Also reports that clip was given by the cop to right wing Alpha News, then went to CNN and beyond and confirmed as authentic by DHS
2 things stand out to me about the assassination of Nicole Renee Good.
1) An American, award-winning poet mother of 3 and a former veteran shouldn’t be interacting with ICE.
2) Her genuinely kind soul when she said to the masked officer, “That’s fine dude, I’m not mad at you.” pic.twitter.com/FUhuHvtW6K
— PRⓞTⓄTYPE e/acc (@PrototypeLive) January 10, 2026
Described by JD Vance 🇺🇸 as:
‘Using domestic terror techniques’
Nicole Good, mother of 3, told an Immigration Agent:
“That’s fine dude. I’m not mad at you.”
Her friend said:
“We don’t change our plates every morning…come talk to us later”
Then shot in the head
Dead. pic.twitter.com/fhuUGxhm7U
— Howard Beckett (@BeckettUnite) January 9, 2026
ABC made a second-by-second reconstruction of the killing of Renee Good. Her partner saw the whole thing. https://t.co/JZp322Swqg
— MaaikeDx 🖌 (@RembrandtsRoom) January 9, 2026
As I said in comments:
I follow civil rights videos by lawyers and ex prosecutors. The order to get out of the car was illegal. In a traffic stop (not clear this was even arguably that) they can ask for ID and registration. They can’t order an exit from the car or a search unless they have probable cause and can articulate specific reason to suspect a crime. The word normally used is “particularized”. Can’t be a hunch. It is also DHS policy not to shoot into a moving car unless it might contain a bomb or otherwise poses an imminent and severe hazard.
And there is plenty of precedent for sweaing at cops being legal. First Amendment and all that in the context of cops merely arresting someone for getting mouthy with them. Courts have even ruled that cops as supposed pros are to be able to take that, are held to a higher standard, and not have it affect how they perform their duties. In no universe does telling off a cop (as the passenger did) warrant a violent response.
* * * Schumer, Jeffries Refuse to Join Democrats’ Growing Calls to Slash ICE Spending Common Dreams
‘Disturbing’ JD Vance ICE ‘door-to-door’ comments compared to ‘1930’s Germany’ after horror shooting The Mirror (resilc)
Omar Fateh Speaks to Zeteo at the Scene of Renee Nicole Good’s Murder Zeteo
‘A beautiful spirit’ – the Christian work of woman shot dead by ICE BBC (resilc)
* * * Following ICE murder of Renee Nicole Good, Trump officials threaten mass repression Countercurrents
In ICE’s Own Words, It’s “Wartime” in America New Republic (resilc)
Spotify no longer running ICE recruitment ads, after US government campaign ends Guardian
GOP Clown Car
Not even a trial balloon, more a provocation:
LOYALTY TEST INITIATED:
One Congresswoman Just Pulled the Pin on a Political Grenade That Could WIPE OUT Dozens in DC
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) didn’t just make a statement — she launched a war.
Standing before the House, she demanded what no one in Washington wanted to… pic.twitter.com/desf2yT6Bl— Mike Netter (@nettermike) January 7, 2026
Our No Longer Free Press
NEW:
In an incredible twist, Megyn Kelly says the media is controlled by people beholden to Israel.
She says this Zionist chokehold is making even her question her beliefs about Islam.
We are being force-fed a takeover when the takeover already happened pic.twitter.com/8ljgJFqeFl
— ADAM (@AdameMedia) January 8, 2026
Economy
Big copper shortage to pose ‘systemic risk’ to global economies, warns S&P Financial Times
No-one is predicting a US recession in 2026 despite this simple indicator having a 100% track record of success. This time may well be different, but you’ve got to have a bloody good reason to ignore this. Are you feeling confident? https://t.co/LmqUTOAgh8 pic.twitter.com/cvaNRLEPTb
— Albert Edwards (@albertedwards99) January 8, 2026
AI
Data Centers Are Asked to Bring Own Power Generation… or Shut Down OilPrice
Class Warfare
Power created neoliberalism, not economic theory Rebelion via machine translation (Micael T)
Ohio spends billions to create jobs. Economists say the lack of jobs is making people leave Ohio Capitol Journal (Carla)
More gen Z men live with parents in this city than anywhere in the US. How do they date? Guardian (resilc)
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus:
One changed its mind
pic.twitter.com/qHDwTSR8YX— Science girl (@sciencegirl) January 9, 2026
A second bonus:
This is Sir Reginald Fluffington the Third, bravely conquering the Mighty River of Doom (depth: 1.2 inches). After intense training and several motivational treats, he crossed the heckin’ torrent. would award Medal of Valor and extra zoomies.
pic.twitter.com/hKWk09Zn3B— Puppies 🐶 (@Puppieslover) January 6, 2026
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
