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Links 12/17/2025

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Can Bibliotherapy Heal the Pain of the World?  Lit Hub

The Psychedelic Scientist Nautilus. “High on ayahuasca, Bruce Damer saw how life on Earth began. He may very well be right.”

A Thousand and One Nights in Italy Public Domain Review. “In mid-19th century Italy, two eccentric aristocrats set forth on parallel projects: constructing ostentatious castles in a Moorish Revival style. Iván Moure Pazos tours the psychedelic chambers of Rochetta Mattei, optimised for electrohomeopathic healing, and Castello di Sammezzano, an immersive, orientalist fever dream.”

Climate/Environment

Arctic endured year of record heat as climate scientists warn of ‘winter being redefined’ The Guardian

From Climate Reports to Security Planning New Climate Reality

TCB quick hit: How climate change broke the Pacific Northwest’s plumbing The Climate Brink

Wildfire smoke lofted miles high could have an unexpected effect on Earth’s climate Space.com

They lost their homes in the L.A. wildfires. Now they can’t get the mortgage relief the state promised LA Times

How natural disasters exacerbate inequity Phys.org

Water

‘No water, no life’: Iraq’s Tigris River in danger of disappearing The Guardian

From Tehran to Chennai, a city without water is a harbinger of a thirsty planet Economic Times

Pandemics

We can save disabled people’s lives if we listen to the recommendations of the Covid inquiry Big Issue

The Outbreaks Are the Point Pandemic Accountability Index

China?

Sanctions and Economic Warfare in the US–China Contest: The “Renmin School” Playbook Sinification

Where Is the China-GCC Free Trade Agreement? The Asia Cable

Why China isn’t rushing to buy Nvidia’s H200 AI chip ThinkChina

India

India and China in deep water over Himalayan hydropower East Asia Forum

Leveraging Taiwan: India’s strategic counterbalance to China Lowy Institute

Syraqistan

A Trump Associate Wants a U.S. Military Base in Israel. Government Officials Are Playing Along Haaretz

Israel’s ‘Algorithmic War’ & ‘Algorithmic Assassinations’ in Lebanon continue unabated Conflicts Forum

***

Plurality of Republicans say end US aid to Israel: poll Responsible Statecraft

Paper owned by Adelson (Full article):

O Canada

Canadian military intelligence officer allegedly shared classified information with Ukraine Globe and Mail

Old Blighty

Hunger Strikes and Court Cases Craig Murray

Downing Street insists negotiations over US-UK tech deal still live BBC

European Disunion

‘Discriminatory’: US threatens EU companies over tech fines Euractiv

Frontline states want EU cash as Russian threat intensifies Politico

Volkswagen Closes a Plant in Germany for the First Time in 88 Years TeleSUR

The EU’s problem isn’t Belgium — it’s Trump Politico.  Key section on Russian asset omnishambles:

“The flagging negotiations on Tuesday saw EU officials and leaders increasingly raise the nuclear option: ramming the reparations loan through with qualified majority voting ― in other words, ignoring some countries’ objections and plowing ahead anyway. But some officials said this would rip open an already fractured bloc and likely plunge it into into real crisis. Another alternative is for some countries simply to offer limited bilateral loans.”

Fitch Places Euroclear Bank on Rating Watch Negative Fitch Ratings

New Not-So-Cold War

Russia rules out any concessions at all on Ukrainian territory – Ryabkov Intellinews

If You’re Talking to Yourself, It Ain’t a Conversation… Trump’s Failed Diplomacy in Ukraine Larry Johnson

US elite split Events in Ukraine

***

Ukraine Claims World’s First Underwater Drone Attack On Russian Submarine The War Zone

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant switches to single external power line after fire Anadolu Agency

***

NATO-Ukraine war on Russia spreads to commercial vessels in the Black Sea WSWS

South of the Border

Trump Declares ‘Total and Complete Blockade’ of ‘Sanctioned Oil Tankers’ in and Out of Venezuela Antiwar

US officially labels Colombia’s EGC group a ‘terrorist organization’ Al Jazeera

Why Is Trump Giving Nicaragua’s Ortega a Free Pass? World Politics Review

Operation Condor: Transnational Murder Syndicate Kit Klarenberg

Trump 2.0

Susie Wiles, JD Vance, and the “Junkyard Dogs”: The White House Chief of Staff On Trump’s Second Term (Part 1 of 2) Vanity Fair

Susie Wiles Talks Epstein Files, Pete Hegseth’s War Tactics, Retribution, and More (Part 2 of 2) Vanity Fair

White House launches damage control over unfiltered Wiles interviews Axios. Some other tidbits:

***

DESIGNATING FENTANYL AS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION The White House

Pentagon plan calls for major power shifts within U.S. military WaPo

Imperial Collapse Watch

How Capitalism Replaced America Murtaza Hussain

Higher US Profits Are WHY The US Can’t Compete (American won’t re-industrialize) Ian Welsh

Trump targets defense giants’ shareholder payouts as cost overruns mount, sources say Reuters

GOP Funhouse

House Republicans block vote on extending insurance subsidies Regular Order by Jamie Dupree

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Russia expands biometric ID system (again) Edward Slavsquat

Police State Watch

DHS Denies That ICE Agents Pulled Over Ilhan Omar’s Son NOTUS

Meanwhile…

Feds say antigovernment group plotted New Year’s Eve bombings in Southern California LA Times

LONGTIME PAID FBI INFORMANT WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN TERROR CASE AGAINST “TURTLE ISLAND LIBERATION FRONT” The Intercept

American Exceptionalism

Executions nearly double in 2025 due to dramatic rise in Florida NPR

Immigration

Ghost Trucks Working Class Storytelling

Economy

US added 64,000 jobs in November as unemployment hits 4-year high USA Today

AI

Why Sam Altman is getting into the pornography business Oligarch Watch

King of Cannibal Island London Review of Books

Casino Nation

The high cost of the U.S. sports betting boom Axios

The Bezzle

Meta tolerates rampant ad fraud from China to safeguard billions in revenue Reuters

Rogue states using crypto gaps to finance weapon programs Asia Times

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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123 comments

  1. Wukchumni

    Oh, the situation outside Caracas is frightful
    But the blockade not so delightful
    And since we’ve no place to go
    Let it snowball, let it snowball, let it snowball

    Man it doesn’t show signs of stopping
    And I’ve brought some corn for popping
    The expectations are turned way down low
    Let it snowball, let it snowball

    When we finally get our comeuppance
    How I’ll hate losing our hegemony to a dalliance
    But if you really hold onto greenbacks tight
    All the way home you’ll be in for a fright

    And our democracy is slowly dying
    And my dear we’re still continually lying
    But as long as it must be so
    Let it snowball, let it snowball and snowball

    When we finally kiss off and piss off the world
    How I’ll hate going out this way
    But if you just sit here in a ball all curled
    Back at home in a lack of passion play

    Oh, the economy is slowly dying
    And my dear we’re still online good buying
    But as long as it must be so
    Let it snowball, let it snowball and snowball

    Reply ↓
  2. The Rev Kev

    “DESIGNATING FENTANYL AS A WEAPON OF MASS DESTRUCTION”

    All this is so that it gives the Trump regime future justification for attacking various countries. I heard that Greenland is a notorious source of fentanyl as an example. If Trump had been really serious, then in his first term he could have designated OxyContin as a weapon of mass destruction which killed tens of thousands of Americans each and every year and there would have been the receipts for that. The Sackler family could have been fitted with orange jumpsuits and it would have made his reputation. But of course he never did.

    Reply ↓
    1. Adam1

      It’s crazy how the war on drugs is just such a political ploy. In today’s world the worst drugs all require some pharma grade ingredients to be made. When was the last time you heard about quaaludes? Well back in the 1980’s an international treaty was signed so that the production of those pharma grade ingredients are highly regulated and tracked. No more quaaludes on the streets. Meth, Fentanyl, etc… they too could go the way of quaaludes if the politicians really wanted them too. But there’s too much money to be made and who wants to give up all that comes with needing a war on drugs like Fentanyl.

      Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni

        Fentanyl seems tailor-made for a city to rid themselves of those that will take more than they will give, in terms of cost to the municipality.

        I mean you could mail out nooses instead with directions to the nearest rafter-but you’d be so obvious, and aren’t fent deaths always the most peaceful, perfect for an open casket funeral!

        Reply ↓
          1. Wukchumni

            But think of flower sales, tuxedo rentals, and all around grieving GDP in the bigger picture…

            I realize it sounds crass, but isn’t money always the bottom line in everything that happens in our country?

            Reply ↓
        2. LawnDart

          I mean you could mail out nooses…

          Doesn’t work with the homeless– they lack rafters. But I believe that I can point you towards a libertarian-leaning rag where your comment would be met with thunderous applause and serious consideration– nice one, Wuk.

          Reply ↓
        3. converger

          The best part? Because fentanyl maximizes cartel shareholder profits, it has made decent street heroin very difficult to find. Heroin is far less dangerous and far less socially corrosive, on multiple levels.

          Reply ↓
      2. Carolinian

        When my aged and somewhat dementia plagued mother was in the hospital all the doctors could think of to do was to recommend a fetanyl patch. Their solution to her old age was to dope her up.

        Meanwhile in Canada they are cutting to the chase and suggesting that elderly people accept assisted suicide for the good of society apparently. Funny how “liberals” are so much more inventive at creating excuses for their cruelty.

        Reply ↓
        1. Wukchumni

          In our camp in 2022, one of the burners from Chicago broke his leg falling off a barstool (the consensus was that the story needed to be gussied up into something more fantastic) and there is pretty much a full hospital on the playa and they administered Fentanyl to him in an Rx dose, and the joke on him was he went to Burning Man to do Fentanyl.

          Reply ↓
        2. cfraenkel

          Please stop the editorializing trying to shove your ‘morals’ down everyone’s throat. A more honest rewording of your sentence would be: Meanwhile, in Canada they are finally listening to terminally ill patients, and allowing them to end their pain and suffering with dignity, without putting their caregivers at risk of being charged with murder by do-gooders like yourself.

          Kind of changes the meaning a bit. “for the good of society” ffs! What ‘good’ does it do society to force patients who know they’re going to die to lie there in pain, for days on end?

          Reply ↓
          1. Don

            The big concern in Canada is that MAID (Medical Assistance In Dying) is opted for by many as a response to no medical care or financial support being offered to the poor, whose life would/could be worth living with said care and support, but without it, it is not.

            Is stating this editorializing?

            Reply ↓
            1. cfraenkel

              That wasn’t what Carolinian said. Nice of you to try to salvage the situation. “accept assisted suicide for the good of society apparently” and framing it as “cruelty” is, in fact, editorializing.

              Reply ↓
              1. Carolinian

                You are entitled to criticize my rhetoric but you are doing the same (being rhetorical) by saying it is only for the terminally ill.

                As for cruelty, I watched my mother die in hospice–a kind of assisted suicide where the dying may not know they are being suicided–and it seemed very callous to me. I will suggest that those who consider the Canadian policy controversial are not all right wing wackos.

                Reply ↓
            2. Skookumchuck

              “The big concern in Canada is that MAID (Medical Assistance In Dying) is opted for by many as a response to no medical care or financial support being offered to the poor…”

              Actually, that’s only a concern here among the pearl-clutching wing of the Conservatives. Here’s a link to Health Canada’s Sixth Annual MAID report, covering 2024:

              https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/health-system-services/annual-report-medical-assistance-dying-2024.html#a4.5

              The numbers show that lower income people choose MAID in slightly greater numbers than those with higher incomes but that’s neither surprising nor sinister. Very nearly as many high-income people make the choice as well.

              I’d read the data as saying access to MAID in Canada is universal and fair despite what those with political and religious agendas will claim.

              Reply ↓
          3. The Rev Kev

            Not so fast there. I was reading about a Canadian vet who had a lot of pain issues through injuries received in action. She was not old at all but she had medical people try to convince her to take an early exit as it would be best for all. But I’m sure they would have thanked here for her service first.

            Reply ↓
        3. show_me

          “Meanwhile in Canada they are cutting to the chase and suggesting that elderly people accept assisted suicide for the good of society apparently.”

          Please document.

          Reply ↓
        4. Kevin Smith

          I am a doctor in Canada, and I am not aware of ANY “suggesting that elderly people accept assisted suicide for the good of society”. Maybe some screwball somewhere in Canada, but certainly that would not be a widely held view.

          Reply ↓
        5. Van Varga

          Post a link or some kind of verification of this statement.
          Ignorant lie as far as I can tell living here in Canada. I volunteer at a hospice.

          Reply ↓
      3. Joe Renter

        Ludes is what we called them.I abused myself with those. Almost ended up in the hospital mixing them with tequila. I was lucky in that I left town to get away from the drug scene that was rampant in the 80’s. Ended up in Alaska for a drying out more or less.

        Reply ↓
  3. Wukchumni

    Meanwhile up over in the Gulag Hockeypelago*…

    …how many Chuks could a Canuck chuck if a Canuck could chuck Chuks?

    * with apologies to Terry Sawchuk

    Reply ↓
    1. ambrit

      “…how many Chuks could a Canuck chuck if a Canuck could chuck Chuks?”
      That depends on how good a horse rider he or she is.

      Reply ↓
    2. jefemt

      Tkachuk. One retired, two verrrrry active. That place has more Chuks than you could throw a stick at.
      And don’t get me started on the Hughesez. The Canucks chucked a Hughes.
      Pronounce hews. As in wood-chucking.

      None of it holds a laser beam to the speed-demon McArms race between McDavid and McKinnon.
      Lordy Lordy!

      Reply ↓
      2. cfraenkel

        Technically, both the Hughes and the Tkachuk brothers are good old USA stock. And now, only one is playing north of the border. The others are in NJ, NJ, MN (now), and FL.

        Reply ↓
  4. The Rev Kev

    “Russia rules out any concessions at all on Ukrainian territory – Ryabkov”

    I’m sure that what Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov originally said was Russia rules out any concessions at all on Russian territory. And on that note I see that Huliaipole has almost being taken. The pace is being picked up.

    Reply ↓
        1. Anthony Noel

          Hence the monument.

          Unfortunately Canada had our own little version of Operation Paperclip after WWII, where we covertly brought tens of thousands of Banderite Ukrainians into the country and scrubbed their Nazi background. They were largely settled in the Western Provinces in order to act as a bulwark against the growing socialist movement in the West, and metastasized into a very powerful political and finical bloc of over 1 million people. In a country like Canada with a population of around 34 million, that’s alot of power.

          Chrystia Freeland, who up until last year was very obviously being groomed to take over as the leader of the Liberals and was the heir apparent to Justin Trudeau is the grand daughter of Michael Chomiak, who worked directly for Joseph Goebbels as an editor of a pro nazi, pro Banderite newspaper in the Ukraine. She got her start working for Volodymyr Kubijovyč, a Ukrainian Nazi collaborator, member of the UCC and virulent anti semite who called for the ethnic cleansing of Ukraine of Jews and was a co founder of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, or the Galician SS, whose members have been officially honored and openly applauded on the floor of parliament, who we also happily let into Canada after the war despite being a war criminal. She then went onto work for other Canadian and American Banderite backed organizations.

          And they want to erect a monument to all their Nazi and Neo Nazi relatives. The fact that they received millions in public funding is illustrative of exactly who runs Canada.

          Reply ↓
        1. Oregon Lwhobbit

          In Argentina?* :P

          * I mean, there were certainly enough of them there after the war that it was not statistically impossible….

          Reply ↓
  6. ddt

    Today’s antidote reminds me of the Dr Seuss bird who grew her tail too long and couldn’t fly anymore.

    Gertrude McFuzz I think it was…

    Reply ↓
  7. LawnDart

    Heads-up:

    Re; Israel’s ‘Algorithmic War’ & ‘Algorithmic Assassinations’ in Lebanon continue unabated

    Signals collected by drones are combined with metadata, AI analysis, ground informants, and environmental profiling. From this mesh, a detailed map of the target’s presence emerges. And then comes the kill map…

    Within a year or two, AI-enabled drones will be patrolling USA borders, launching automatically, swapping their own batteries, with no need for human presence. This will be brought to you by an American company via the Department of Homeland Security… sort of…

    Ondas continues Israel defense-tech buying spree

    In 2025, the pace was stepped up considerably. Within five months, Ondas acquired seven more Israeli companies, each of which added a different capability to the array…

    We can expect an enormous increase in the use of drones by law enforcement very shortly. And you thought license-plate scanners were bad…

    Reply ↓
    1. LawnDart

      Oh brother…

      This came out a half-hour ago:

      Ondas Autonomous Systems and HEIDELBERG Enter Into Negotiations on the Establishment of a Cooperation

      MOU was signed today during ceremony marking 60 years of diplomatic relations between Germany and Israel

      Intended partnership with a focus on counter-UAV (C-UAV) solutions and ISR systems to support Europe’s defense modernization

      Planned collaboration expected to materially accelerate Ondas’ expansion across the continent by combining OAS’ multi-domain autonomous technologies with Heidelberg’s industrial manufacturing expertise and European production capability

      The net is drawing to a close.

      Reply ↓
  8. communistmole

    About Jacques Baud in swiss MSM media:

    On Monday, the EU sanctioned a Russian military unit, a propaganda group, and twelve private individuals for destabilizing activities. Among those sanctioned is Swiss citizen Jacques Baud, who resides in Belgium.

    He is accused of acting as a mouthpiece for pro-Russian propaganda and spreading conspiracy theories. As an example, it is cited that he accused Ukraine of orchestrating its own invasion in order to join NATO.

    Baud has also made public appearances in Switzerland. According to the newspaper “24 Heures,” his speeches there, which are said to resemble Moscow propaganda, have made him popular on pro-Russian and conspiracy websites such as Agoravox TV, Omerta, and Le Média en 4-4-2, as well as on Russian state television, Russia Today.

    https://www.bluewin.ch/de/news/international/ehemaliger-oberst-der-schweizer-armee-steht-auf-eu-sanktionsliste-3010764.html

    The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) in Bern has stated that it is aware of the EU decision and thus also of the sanction against Baud. However, Switzerland will not adopt the latest sanctions list, as SECO informed the Keystone-SDA news agency upon request.

    https://www.bluewin.ch/de/news/international/ehemaliger-oberst-der-schweizer-armee-steht-auf-eu-sanktionsliste-3010764.html

    His statements sound like Russian propaganda – and this resonates well with pro-Russian or conspiracy-theory media outlets such as Agoravox TV, Omerta, and the Russian state broadcaster Russia Today.

    As recently as Friday, Jacques Baud stated in response to an inquiry that he knew nothing about potential sanctions and had not received any advance warning. The EU generally avoids confirming sanctions in advance to prevent those affected from transferring their assets before the measures take effect.

    The EU sanctions against individuals involved in destabilizing activities – which includes the dissemination of Russian propaganda – were introduced in October 2024. These include freezing assets and banning entry into the EU. They are also prohibited from accessing financial resources within the EU. These measures could severely impact Jacques Baud: The retired Swiss businessman now lives in Brussels, and his current main publisher, Max Milo, is French. The sanctions prohibit him from asserting his copyrights in the EU. Switzerland, however, does not apply the EU measures against “destabilizing activities“.

    https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/jacques-baud-eu-setzt-ex-oberst-auf-sanktionsliste-765014946113

    Reply ↓
    1. NN Cassandra

      I like how the possible offenses space keeps getting wider. It’s no longer criminal just to repeat pro-Russian propaganda (whatever that means), now you will get into trouble if some commissar thinks you sound like you do.

      Reply ↓
      1. .Tom

        I’m curious how a case like that of Jacques Baud is opened. Is there a way for the public to submit complaints? Does the Comission have its own methods for finding suspects?

        Reply ↓
          1. Polar Socialist

            On the surface EU pretends that it’s a legal and transparent process:

            It is a fundamental principle of EU sanctions that, where persons and entities are targeted by these measures, their fundamental rights must be respected. This includes the due process rights of the listed persons and entities, in accordance with the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

            Council Decisions are based on the rule of law. Once a person has been listed, she is informed by the EU of her listing. She has the right to make representations to the Council and request the Council to de-list her. Any listed person has the right to bring a legal challenge and contest the listing in front of the European courts. The contents of these representations and legal cases are confidential.

            EU sanctions regimes are regularly reviewed and, if necessary, amended. The Council reassesses the circumstances pertaining to each listed person and determines whether changes to the legal acts should be made.

            Given how the current EU “leadership” has trampled on each and any right it has previously declared holy, I wouldn’t bet on just and fair.

            Reply ↓
            1. NN Cassandra

              Someone could argue that legally contesting anything is effectively impossible after your bank accounts are frozen, unless you are oligarch with couple of billions stashed in places where EUcrats hide their own loot and so sanctions can’t reach them by design. But that someone would probably be Russian mouthpiece, if not Putin himself. So nothing to see here.

              Reply ↓
            2. Jokerstein

              Fair and Just by Kevin Bloody Wilson, about corrupt Aussie cops:

              “I’m a fair dinkum arsehole, and I’m just a proper c***
              We used to be Gestapo but this is much more fun.
              Kicking’ arse and cracking skulls, and busting our own mums,
              The best two coppers you can buy they call us Fair and Just.’

              Reply ↓
  10. The Rev Kev

    ‘Ryan Goodman
    @rgoodlaw
    It is international law 101 that a military blockade is not just a violation of the UN Charter, but a crime of aggression.’

    In this tweet is a long screed that Trump posted on Truth Social. But near the bottom of it this appears-

    ‘America will not allow Criminals, Terrorists, or other Countries, to rob, threaten, or harm our Nation and, likewise, will not allow a Hostile Regime to take our Oil, Land, or any other Assets, all of which must be returned to the United States, IMMEDIATELY.’

    No matter how I look at it, it seems to say that Trump regards Venezuela’s oil, land and other stuff belonging to America. So that tanker that he had seized he would regard as containing American oil that Venezuela was trying to take out of the country. I wonder if there are other countries where he thinks the same.

    Reply ↓
    1. Oregon Lawhobbit

      As the video/meme said, “All Your Base Are Belong To Us.”

      So are soldiers and sailors obeying the orders to take part in that crime of aggression war criminals? Or just regular ones?

      Asking for a friend in Caracas…. ;-)

      Reply ↓
  11. Tom67

    About: “How climate change broke the Pacific Northwest’s plumbing”. No, it’s not climate change. It was a disaster waiting to happen. The Northwest and California were settled by people who didn´t understand the ecology. Something like this was bound to happen. And this one was still mild. Take a look at the flood of 1862. Here a wikipedia link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Flood_of_1862 Maybe there are other areas in the world with such incredible recurring floods but I am not aware of one. According to projections climate change will make thing worse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARkStorm But 1862 was already a disaster of biblical proportions and – as was since found out – a recurring one. The truth of the matter is most likely that the way of the Pacific West – storing water behind dams for the dry season – cannot continue on this scale as these dams should be used much more for flood control. But then today’s way of farming in CA is over. Good riddance…

    Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni

      The flood of record here was in 1955, and not just here but all over central to northern California, it was the flood of record too.

      One thing I noticed after the 1994 Northridge earthquake with parts of freeways falling down and such, was when you drove on Sepulveda Blvd which parallels the 405 Freeway-and often congested, for about 6 months after the quake if it was stop and go traffic, people wouldn’t enter the underpass-a knee jerk reaction to recent memories of what could happen, and then by a year later, everybody didn’t give it any thought.

      When the flood of ’55 is now the second biggest one, basically all of the businesses and homes along Highway 198 will be destroyed. but really nobody thinks about it, and why should they, it’s been awhile.

      Reply ↓
    2. Carolinian

      Interesting. See Cadillac Desert for info on how we spent the last century terraforming the West. Here in the South we once allowed cotton farming to wreck the soil with eroded mini Grand Canyons the result and Kudzu the proposed, unstoppable solution.

      Reply ↓
    4. urdsama

      I take it you ignored the multiple news stories that mentioned it is unseasonably warm for the Pacific Northwest? What should be snow, is mostly rain.

      It was not bound to happen, as the ecology is changing, but acknowledging that would make it hard to ignore the reality of climate change.

      This attitude is why humanity is doomed.

      Reply ↓
      1. Tom67

        Please read the wikipedia article about the flood of 1862 which I linked above. Also the article about the arkstorm scenario. Even without climate change something like this was bound to happen and what happened was only a mild foretaste of what will happen in the future judging by the history of the region. There’s a reason why there was never any large scale agriculture in the Pacific West (as opposed to New England for instance) before the advent of Europeans. Europeans have only been in the Pacific West for a short time. 1862 was not a one off and nor – and much more so – was this year.

        Reply ↓
        1. urdsama

          Your response does not address my underlying point. What is currently occurring in the Pacific Northwest is NOT part of normal climate patterns. While it is true the issue you raise makes things worse, it is not creating the climate changes that will only get stronger as time goes on.

          To come at it from the other side, even if you could wave a magic wand and restore land use to its “natural” state, if nothing else is altered (i.e. energy use, human expansion, etc.) climate change will still exist and continue to get worse.

          As I said previously, it is this type of distraction from the true root cause that will cause nothing to be done because people will use any excuse to the deny climate change is an existential threat.

          Reply ↓
          1. Tom67

            It depends of what you define as “normal”. If you look at the last hundred years the precipitation is definately not “normal”. But if you take a longer view there has been much worse precipitation. Precisely the whiplash of warm and cold combined with excessive precipitation created the catastrophe of 1862 and many others before.
            Even if there was no climate change today’s settlement pattern in the Pacific West would be simply unsustainable. Somebody mentioned above “cadillac desert”. It is a fantastic book. The overarching theme is the fact that people from a completely different ecology move to a region where – instead of adapting – they impose their cultural pattern in a way that is not sustainable.
            The central valley used to flood in spring. In bad years it would be all covered in water. Now not anymore. All the water is stored in huge dams like Oroville or Shasta. The problem is that in most years it will work out. That is the dams fill up in winter and empty out during summer. All the flood plains were settled and agro business took over. One day though the dams will not be able to hold all the water coming in, the old pattern will reassert itself and the central valley will be one huge lake again. That is what the arkstorm scenario is predicting.
            After such a catastrophe the dams will not be allowed to fill up as much as they used to. That is their role will switch from mostly providing big Ag with water to mostly flood prevention.
            If indeed climate change yet increases the occurrence of such floods then maybe cities like Sacramento must be abandoned altogether.
            All I am saying is that the floods in the Northwest are only exceptional in the minds of a population that has resided there for a mere 175 years. Whether we do anything about “climate change” or not is completely immaterial to the situation facing the Pacific West. Climate change isn´t the root cause of the flooding. We can confidently predict though that is will only make things worse.

            Reply ↓
    5. Glen

      In the PNW two dams were put in, one on the Green River and one on the White river, both for flood control:

      Howard A. Hanson Dam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_A._Hanson_Dam

      Mud Mountain Dam https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mud_Mountain_Dam

      But honestly, the Kent Valley where the flooding is occurring used to be primarily river bottom farm land, but has increasingly become industrial parks, and housing as the area has built up.

      It also has been warm for this time of year so until last night, it’s been raining rather than snowing up in the Cascades which has certainly made the flooding worse since the flood control dams are dumping water to allow for the expected inflow. Once it gets colder, and the snow level comes down, the flood control dams will stop dumping water.

      Reply ↓
      1. juno mas

        Yes, encroachment onto the river floodplain usually ends badly, eventually. Most people don’t understand that the ‘banks’ of a river are formed by the 2 year flooding event (a regular occurrence). River control infrastructure is designed for a ‘reasonably expected’ flood event: 20 -30 yr.). Exceed that and you get the recent PNW flooding disaster.

        Climate Change (warmer oceans) is putting more moisture in the atmosphere and it is falling as rain, not snow. That rain falling on more impervious surfaces (encroachment) is increasing the rapidity of river flood stages and presenting evacuation conundrums for those living in the encroachment zone.

        Creating flood control measures to accommodate the ‘new normal’ will bankrupt federal, state, and local government. The solution is reducing CO2 emissions and moving to higher ground.

        Reply ↓
  13. Carolinian

    Thanks as always for Craig Murray’s report on the increasingly Orwellian UK. The Trumpies are taking notes.

    But of course the strategy of the Zionists and their puppet politicos to use lawfare against the public requires a kangaroo court version of the law that suggests the real chaos is in the minds of the enforcers. Indeed at times it seems as though all of this–including the mess in the ME–is only about keeping Netanyahu out of jail. Alastair Crooke quotes a source who says the case against him is iron clad.

    Reply ↓
  14. .Tom

    I am more perplexed than before. The idea that the US navy taking pot shots at unidentified little boats in the Caribbean Sea constitutes a show of military force is too weird. It’s a show of weakness, not strength, especially after the retreat from Yemen. So weak that I couldn’t believe it’s part of a real military regime change plan for Venezuela. Hence I assumed it was for domestic politics; Trump and Hegseth flexing to get attention away from Epstein or something.

    So now Susie Wiles confirms I’m dead wrong about this. I need to re-calibrate something. I know Trump and Hegseth are bozos but…

    Reply ↓
    1. alrhundi

      I think it accomplishes both. Think about if your country’s boats were being bombed like that. Many people would be seething for retaliation and vengeance when it would play into what the US wants. Many people would also be seeing messaging about how it’s because of the current government, so they might start turning on them in hopes that the bombings won’t continue. It creates chaos and division to make it easier for regime change.

      Reply ↓
      1. Alejandro

        “It accomplishes” neither. This reflects a limited and superficial understanding. Some may fear the perceived overwhelming power of a bully, but no one likes nor welcomes their brutish presence. Time does not favor a continued abuse of power. Those that believe that regime change will be “easy”, have not been paying attention and have learned nothing from the previous decades. What it will predictably “accomplish” will be unnecessary death, destruction, and suffering. All for the phantasm of an immediate bonanza for transnational corps., most of which have little to no loyalty to any nation.

        Reply ↓
  15. The Rev Kev

    ‘Dane
    @UltraDane
    The largest online media outlet in Israel is now calling for a global Jewish security architecture that will connect Israeli security forces with local law enforcement— “especially in the U.S.”— to identify instances of antisemitism and take action against them.’

    Trying to imagine it now. Each country having a bunch of ex-IDF guys suffering from PTSD and wandering around and carrying Uzis. Yeah, what could possibly go wrong? I could see some at Bondi having a gun battle with those shooters but if a bunch of civilians got shot up, well, that would be just collateral damage. And what if one of these goons was shot and a shooter now had his Uzi? (‘Now I have a machine gun. Ho, Ho, Ho.‘) Back in 80’ I was in Belgium and in a main street of a city saw a local cop carrying an assault rifle but which did not make me feel safe at all. Too much spray-and-pray for my liking.

    Reply ↓
    1. vao

      So they want to “establish[…] a permanent global structure that creates an international Jewish safety net.”

      How are they going to call that plan? The protocols of the elders of Zion?

      This is insane. The zionists seem intent on validating forcefully every judeophobic trope contrived since the Berliner Antisemitismusstreit. This will not end well.

      Reply ↓
    2. ACPAL

      Israel is well known for its expertise and proclivity in assassinations. Sure, let’s bring the IDF into our local law enforcement agencies. Someone speaks up for Palestine? No problem.

      Reply ↓
    2. Glen

      Thanks flora!

      Another Judge Nap here, this time with Tucker Carlson:

      Tucker Carlson : War, Peace, Trump, and the Constitution.
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sgUp-Q2kWg

      So I have to admit, I was not a Judge Nap or Tucker Carlson fan in the past, but at this particular point in time, I am [minor family blog expletive] glad they are speaking out today.

      Reply ↓
  18. The Rev Kev

    “If You’re Talking to Yourself, It Ain’t a Conversation… Trump’s Failed Diplomacy in Ukraine”

    Maybe it is not a failure. By now even Trump can see the Russians rolling up the Ukrainian positions where before he thought that it was the Ukrainians that were winning. So maybe he will let these talks go on and on and on. And when the Russians have declared a military victory, will go out and say that he could have had a deal with Putin but that it was the Europeans and the Ukrainians that deliberately sabotaged the talks so “losing the Ukraine” was not his fault but it was them, not him.

    Reply ↓
    1. Oregon Lawhobbit

      Yeah, a variety of analysts, written and video, are suggesting things there are moving into a game of “who gets stuck standing when the music stops?” as fingers point and stories prep for assigning blame.

      It’s not helped by the Russopathic Eurofringe who really do think the war needs to keep going until the last Ukrainian. I’m surprised there isn’t more news about shipping a lot of cannon fodder … I mean, “refugees” back. Especially now with the Ukraine simply sending draftees straight to the front without training…

      Reply ↓
    1. AG

      p.s. MOON OF ALABAMA

      “(…)
      English Outsider On Dirty British Intel And Other Stuff

      by English Outsider (lifted from a comment)

      “Hudson’s chat with Glenn Diesen today is excellent, Michael Hudson: The Economic Unravelling of the Political West”

      Posted by: karlof1 | Dec 16 2025 18:21 utc | 42

      Karlof1 – a lovely lucid opening exposition from Hudson. Covers the ground he covered in “Super Imperialism” on the demise of the Sterling Area. Hudson’s practical experience in the money markets gives him a credibility almost all other economists lack.
      (…)”

      Reply ↓
  20. pjay

    – ‘US elite split’ – Events in Ukraine

    Though I disagree with a few of its specifics, the main argument of this piece is important. In general:

    “There is no such thing as American isolationism. There are different vectors of American expansionism, representing different economic interests and strategies. To understand these different foreign policies, it is necessary to understand the split in the governing class.”

    In other words, it is not “globalists” vs. “nationalists,” “liberals” vs. “conservatives,” “internationalists” vs. “isolationists,” and certainly not “elites” vs. “populists,” that define our politics. It is, rather, different factions of the elite, representing somewhat different combinations of economic and/or ideological interests, that constitute the background of our political theater at the national level. However it is framed for mass consumption, behind the curtain it is a Game of Thrones competition for power. Presidents and their administrations do not determine these interests or outcomes. Rather, they are determined *by* them.

    I also like that the author utilizes a neglected but (in my opinion) very useful work in framing our understanding of current politics: ‘The Yankee and Cowboy War’ by Carl Ogelsby. Though I have quibbles with some of Ogelsby’s specifics as well, I thought his interpretation of the political landscape of the 60s and 70s was much better than the usual mainstream or partisan stories of those times.

    Reply ↓
    1. gf

      “Globalists” was always completely phony framing.
      Just a way for conservatives to evade their responsibility for where we are now as the Reagan-Thatcher went after labor.

      Reply ↓
      1. AG

        Thanks to both comments.
        It´s so old a truth that it´s new again.
        And still never thoroughly understood.
        Or is it, and that´s why they hide it?
        Or at least deny it.

        Reply ↓
    2. Acacia

      Yes, thanks for this. Didn’t know about Glassman’s Drums of War which looks excellent.

      The full article of “US Elite Split” is paywalled by substack, alas.

      Reply ↓
    3. Alex Cox

      Yankee & Cowboy war is a fascinating book but in retrospect…

      The Pentagon controlled the JFK autopsy, and ex-CIA Dulles controlled the Warren Commission.

      And that is all ye need to know.

      Reply ↓
  21. Wukchumni

    They lost their homes in the L.A. wildfires. Now they can’t get the mortgage relief the state promised LA Times
    ~~~~~~~~~~~

    What’s really telling here, is Pacific Palisades is/was the toniest of tony locales in the City of Angles, the power & pull the good citizenry had, you would think…

    …but no

    Reply ↓
  22. Balan Aroxdale

    The largest online media outlet in Israel is now calling for a global Jewish security architecture that will connect Israeli security forces with local law enforcement

    Its not a security architectute, just a political censorship apparatus. A way for the connected to abuse the levers of state in their own private interest. What used to be called corruption before newspapers started laundering it as “partnerships” and policy.

    Reply ↓
  23. Carolinian

    Re How Capitalism Replaced America–this is spot on and highlights, not just the contrast between Chinese and American capitalism, but the contrast between pre WW2 nationalist America capitalism and current globalist American capitalism. MAGA thought they were voting for the former and got the latter in spades–the big switcheroo.

    In practice, his alliances with Gulf Arab and Israeli elites reveal where Trump’s loyalties truly lie. Many Americans whose concerns have been ignored for decades see this plainly. A 2023 PRRI survey found that 65% of Republicans and 40% of Democrats believe “the country is being run for the benefit of outsiders.” Regardless of how they feel about their government and domestic elites, can any comparable number of people in China believe that their country is being administered for the benefit of foreign powers?

    Meanwhile China is less democratic but far more nationalist and therefore representative of its populace. Of course this is easier in more homogenous Asian nations and the author sees hope and benefit in American diversity. But consensus is hard to find here except among the elites who are in for themselves. In that pre ww2 era they at least pretended to be for the whole and even felt obligated to go to war to prove it.

    Reply ↓
    1. Mikel

      The “elites” provide each other with escape hatches when the populations of their respective countries of residence start to get a grip on their collars.

      Reply ↓
    2. Rod

      I liked this insight:
      Understanding the America that global capitalism has built is also key to understanding the populist anger that now defines much of our politics. people are finding out uh huh
      time to try citizenship-v-consumerism as prophylactic

      Reply ↓
  24. Jason Boxman

    MAGA on the March

    Trump Dangles Cash Payments to Buoy Voters’ Views of the Economy

    Tariffs are unpopular, prices remain stubbornly high and Americans are souring on President Trump’s handling of the economy.

    So Mr. Trump has reprised a familiar political strategy: promise people cash.

    The White House is trying to tamp down Americans’ economic anxieties by dangling the prospect of checks and other paydays next year, hoping that the money might assuage voters who blame the president for their rising cost of living.

    Mr. Trump, who is set to address the nation on Wednesday night, has repeatedly teased the idea of sending one-time $2,000 rebate checks to many families, funded using money collected from his sweeping global tariffs. But he has not devised a detailed plan for providing the rebates, an expensive policy that Republicans in Congress must approve and one that they have not yet considered.

    Pathetic.

    Reply ↓
      2. JBird4049

        Well, President Trump’s political future is in trouble and the checks he sent out in his previous administration helped. Since the economy is looking to crash, burn, and explode in ‘26, which will kill the Republican Party in the next elections as well, it is not completely unreasonable to expect a check or two.

        Reply ↓
        1. skippy

          Its sorta a reverse Saloon bribe like back in the wild west. Saloons were the key voter place, during elections, for some reason the one that bought the most drinks won most of the elections. Hence dry days during elections in some places.

          In this case it seems Trump is trying to buy approval ratings after election promises not only fell flat but, worse than before.

          Reply ↓
        2. Dr. John Carpenter

          Oh, I agree. But, as the kids used to say, show me the money! His word is as good as a Trump University diploma. Talk is cheap and Trump’s is cheaper than most.

          Reply ↓
    2. Huey

      You know, unless my math is way off, 1T/2K is 500M, so, we’re at the truly evil point where 2 or 3 billionaires and/or some interested lobbies could pool together practically couch lint with/without taking some kinds of loans to provide it (for taxpayers to pay back of course), and just donate 2K to each member of the masses. This way they can satisfy them and keep their man in office to run the meat grinder ’til, supposedly, not even mass economic destitution and demands for handouts can threaten the hegemony.

      Reply ↓
  25. AG

    re: EU Ukraine + Jacques Baud

    Comment by former German MP SEVIM DAGDELEN:

    use google-translate

    A coalition of the willing in the Ukraine war
    https://overton-magazin.de/kolumnen/dagdelen-direkt/mit-einer-koalition-der-willigen-in-den-ukraine-krieg/

    Final paragraph on Baud:

    “The EU has now imposed sanctions on 14 more individuals in connection with the war in Ukraine, including Jacques Baud, a former army colonel, Swiss intelligence analyst, and UN and NATO employee in Ukraine. The accusation: Baud is spreading pro-Russian propaganda. The EU, which preaches democracy and human rights to the world, is in the process of establishing a systematic censorship regime to shield its war propaganda. Freedom of expression and of the press are being sacrificed on the altar of its war preparations. The von der Leyen system is a Metternich system that is gradually expanding. Anyone who doesn’t conform could be next. Jacques Baud’s fight for the freedom to express his opinion is a fight for freedom itself. Baud deserves the solidarity of all peace- and freedom-loving people.”

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      Jacques Baud lives in Belgium right now but he should move back to Switzerland before they start doing things like freezing his bank accounts and even arresting him.

      Reply ↓
      1. bertl

        When you think the buggers have already breached the outer limits of insanity, they still manage to go one step further. Must be something to do with Nazi bloodlines as much as native stupidity. To very roughly paraphrase Virgil, “Looking ahead, I see the Senne foaming with a helluva lot of blood”, and it may well give some of us hope for the future of a Europe of independent nation states. Alternatively, it may be when it all goes wrong and it’s all being done and dusted, the Amstel, Spree Danube, Vantaa, Seine, Dvina, Norrström, Piritta, Neris and Thames follow suit and the Europeans will have fifty years of re-building to do, that is, if Russia signs off the permits.

        Reply ↓
        1. hk

          Well, Rutte apparently wants to do fight the Russians like his grandfather did. As Colonel Davis said, which side was grandpa Rutte on?

          Reply ↓
          1. AG

            Is that rhetorical question?!
            I missed that insight.

            Although I am strictly against blaming the young for mistakes and crimes of their ancestors. Germany fought over this for almost 70 years. The children vs. their parents. Most so-called 68ers are still carrying this around.

            Reply ↓
      2. Jonhoops

        I believe Baude’s bank accounts and credit cards are effectively frozen in Belgium. He can’t even get food delivered (bought by someone else) to his address. He is depending on the generosity of strangers for food.

        Reply ↓
  26. AG

    re: racism against whites

    Taibbi on white men vs. DEI

    Are White Men a “Lost Generation”? Interview With Author Jacob Savage
    The disenfranchisement of young men has already come at a heavy cost, and the biggest consequences likely lay ahead

    Matt Taibbi

    https://www.racket.news/p/are-white-men-a-lost-generation-interview?publication_id=1042&post_id=181878597

    1st paragraph:

    “The doors seemed to close everywhere and all at once. In 2011, the year I moved to Los Angeles, white men were 48 percent of lower-level TV writers; by 2024, they accounted for just 11.9 percent. The Atlantic’s editorial staff went from 53 percent male and 89 percent white in 2013 to 36 percent male and 66 percent white in 2024. White men fell from 39 percent of tenure-track positions in the humanities at Harvard in 2014 to 18 percent in 2023.

    In retrospect, 2014 was the hinge, the year DEI became institutionalized across American life.”

    Dear Matt,
    your beloved capitalism comes at a cost. Its rules are absolute and they know no mercy.
    Or as they like to say in German: “Either you are pregnant. Or you are not.”

    p.s. But I urge you to read it. Even if its only the preview, unfortuntaley.

    (flora where are you ???!!!)

    Reply ↓
    1. Alex Cox

      This is pathetic whining from somebody who didn’t get their desired job in Hollywood.

      If tbat is your goal, irrespective of your race, color or creed, you are already lost.

      Reply ↓
  29. amfortas

    for the Solstice:
    burn the year=thing i instituted: write year ending on a board, scrapwood…write what you want to get rid of, be done with, etc on the other side…and burn that motherfucker in a fire.
    boys do it, now,lol.
    tradition, and all

    Reply ↓
  30. amfortas

    i just confessed to a jelly jar of ashes….in Her coozy, with a drunk bear on a bicycle…that i was angry at her for dying.. now 3 1/2 years ago

    and wept…pretty dramatically, it turned out. even the ducks are elsewhere, at the moment. so no one to witness.

    and i burned all my microsoft ships, and am a linux guy, now. but cannot access all the files i saved on an ext harddrive.
    so i have either the various radio streaming things, youtube(with the ads)
    or the music in my head

    which has been “The Parting Glass” for a week, now,lol.
    Solstice is sunday, but ill burn the year saturday, 80 degrees, sunny, and thats anniversary of our 1st date.
    close enough
    ·

    Reply ↓
    1. herman_sampson

      My condolences; as an old song says, ” memories fade, but the mood still remains.” All we can do is remember those we have lost, and keeping those relics to help us to remember.
      Be patient with the hard drive; the library should have books on linux and the hard core computer whiz community who know linux I think could help.

      Reply ↓
    2. JM

      I’m sending good thoughts and vibes your way Amfortas!

      For the hard drives, give this a look when you have a chunk of time: https://www.system-rescue.org/. I’ve used ddrescue to copy a failing disk before, but it can be tricky. If its because of the format, check for ntfs support – you might need to install something but ahould be able to read it.

      Reply ↓
    3. anonymous

      Amfortas. I love your expressions of humanity. I, too, lost a loved one too soon. Some nights are near impossible. But dawn brings new energy to live. Best of a New Year for you.

      Reply ↓
  31. herman_sampson

    Notes from Trump’s eruption tonight:
    Wellie, $1776 for each service member as the bonus from the tariffs.
    [Just like Biden stiffing us $600.]
    And gasoline under $2.00/gallon [where?]
    Government jobs do not bolster the economy [tell that to anybody who benefited from WPA or CCC].

    Reply ↓

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