Salt: Not Just a Rock We Eat — Part I Enlightened Omnivore
Climate/Environment
World’s sinking river deltas put over 236mn people at risk Intellinews
NASA reports record heat but omits reference to climate change France24
Air pollution denial is now EPA policy HEATED
Coal power generation falls in China and India for first time since 1970s The Guardian
Pandemics
Dementia timebomb warning as scientists find Alzheimer’s proteins in long Covid patients’ blood Daily Mail. Full study.
Ten mechanisms by which Covid infection could increase dementia risk:
— tern (@1goodtern) January 14, 2026
The Koreas
Special counsel demands death penalty for Yoon over martial law declaration; ruling set for Feb. 19 Yonhap
China?
Beijing tells Chinese firms to stop using US and Israeli cybersecurity software Reuters
Taiwan, US set to coproduce 155mm shells Taipei Times
Trump Declared a Space Race With China. The US Is Losing Wired
U.S. Government initiated 4.5-year lawfare program against Chinese nickel mining through Indonesian labor unions All-Source Intelligence
Syraqistan
Witkoff announces launch of ‘phase two’ of Trump’s Gaza plan New Arab
🔴 Several of the US and Israeli officials now shaping Gaza’s postwar governance were previously central to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the Financial Times reports. The failed aid scheme facilitated the daily killings of starving Palestinians by Israeli soldiers, and… https://t.co/tYFFikmreS pic.twitter.com/R6tpo2GNXp
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) January 14, 2026
Deconstructing Trump’s Gaza ‘Peace’ Plan (w/ Norman Finkelstein) The Chris Hedges Report
***
Trump says he’s been assured Tehran has stopped killing protesters as Iran reopens its airspace – live The Guardian
US Ramping Up to Attack Iran… But Larry Johnson
Iran warns of retaliation if Trump strikes, US withdraws some personnel from bases Reuters.
🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇱➖🛢 Oil prices fall by 5% after Trump’s statements about Iran “stopping” the killings of rioters, suggesting that whatever strikes directed at Iran may be postponed for the time being.
However, due to the Trump Administration’s close ties with betting sites like… pic.twitter.com/GK6ukfMh3X
— dana (@dana916) January 14, 2026
Exclusive: Armed Kurdish groups sought to cross into Iran from Iraq, sources say Reuters
Former Head of Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate: There Is A ‘Very Significant Influence Operation By The US’ In Iran. The Dissident
We reported tonight on Channel 14: foreign actors are arming the protesters in Iran with live firearms, which is the reason for the hundreds of regime personnel killed.
Everyone is free to guess who is behind it.
— תמיר מורג Tamir Morag (@Tamir114) January 13, 2026
Iran protest-riots can only achieve US-Israeli intervention, ‘shadow CIA’ concludes The Grayzone
This should be a monumental scandal.
At the exact same time that Netanyahu flew to DC to convince Trump to launch another attack on Iran…. Israeli officials were in Russia giving secret guarantees that they wouldn’t attack Iran.
THEN Israel activated its armed Mossad agents… https://t.co/H8Utwpp62h pic.twitter.com/6qoG8FiF94
— Mel (@Villgecrazylady) January 14, 2026
Maidan massacre in Ukraine déjà vu in NYT, Guardian & other reports from Iran with no evidence needed & no questions asked:
“Witnesses spoke of seeing snipers positioned on rooftops in downtown Tehran and firing into crowds; of peaceful protests turning abruptly into scenes of… pic.twitter.com/xDXusqLxq0
— Ivan Katchanovski (@I_Katchanovski) January 14, 2026
***
Qatar and UAE to join US-led effort to bolster technology supply chain Express Tribune
Africa
‘Last straw’: Somalia cuts UAE ties after Yemen separatist’s illegal entry Al Jazeera
Is China doing “colonialism” in Africa? Jason Hickel
European Disunion
European nations to send troops to Greenland as US annexation threats escalate CNN
Now Is Europe’s Opportunity to Reach Out to Russia The Mercenary Diplomat. It’s been the opportunity for decades.
Ukraine able to buy weapons from non-European suppliers with €90bn EU loan The Guardian
Fantasy “Loan” for Ukraine Gets Adjusted Again as EU Faces Priorities Reality Check Simplicius
EXCLUSIVE: EU to become ‘military powerhouse,’ von der Leyen told MEPs Euractiv
Europe shifted right — it’s time centrists do too, says Manfred Weber Politico
Former Corsican separatist leader Orsoni assassinated at mother’s funeral France24
Old Blighty
Peter Thiel’s New Model Army How to Survive the Broligarchy
Government drops plans for mandatory digital ID to work in UK BBC
New Not-So-Cold War
‘The strangler’, pt I Events in Ukraine
Ukraine’s tech prodigy becomes new minister of defense Politico
Why’d The US Signal Support For NATO Troops In Ukraine? Andrew Korybko
If Europe starts attacking Russian cargo ships, all bets are off Responsible Statecraft
South of the Border
US gets first $500 million Venezuelan oil deal, holding some proceeds in Qatar Semafor. Quite the arrangement.
Trump officials eye private security contractors to safeguard oil assets in Venezuela CNN
Chinese Supertankers Turn Back as US Moves Ahead to Extort Venezuelan Crude Venezuelanalysis
Russian State Oil Company Confirms Continued Operations and Energy Projects in Venezuela Orinoco Tribune
Pentagon bought device through undercover operation some investigators suspect is linked to Havana Syndrome CNN. Gotta attack; can’t have Cuba with these WMDs!
Trump 2.0
Dingbat Imperialism, the Lowest Stage of Capitalism Unpopular Front
Trump Beats Back GOP Rebellion on War Powers as Two Pivotal Senators Flip NOTUS
Trump flips off worker who called him ‘pedophile protector’ RT
The Trump administration can’t stop winking at white nationalists Vox
Police State Watch
Exclusive: Secret ICE Programs Revealed Ken Klippenstein. Important.
Second person in a week shot by federal immigration agent in Minneapolis Minnesota Reformer
Gov. Tim Walz encourages Minnesotans to film ICE agents for future prosecutions Minnesota Reformer
House Homeland Democrats launch investigation into Noem with eyes on impeachment The Hill
MAHA
A new entry in the dietary guidelines: advice on maintaining healthy testosterone levels STAT
Testosterone: The Great Male Optimization Myth Psychology Today
Democrats en déshabillé
Do the Democrats Have the Guts to Outflank Trump on Defense Industry Looting? Wall Street’s War on Workers
Why Elizabeth Warren Declared War on Abundance Billionaires Liberty and Power
Bodyguards for a Broken System America’s Undoing
Our Famously Free Press
De-Banked Scott Ritter. Ritter’s accounts zeroed out without explanation.
F.B.I. Searches Home of Washington Post Journalist in a Leak Investigation New York Times
Boeing
Faulty Engine Mount Discovered In UPS MD-11 Crash Was Flagged By Boeing 15 Years Ago Simple Flying
Immigration
US to pause immigrant visa processing for 75 countries including Egypt, Iraq and Yemen The National
AI
How AI Destroys Institutions UC Law Journal
The Bezzle
Data Centers Are Pushing Arizona’s Grid to a Breaking Point Distilled
Oracle sued by bondholders over losses tied to AI buildout Reuters
Cerebras scores OpenAI deal worth over $10 billion ahead of AI chipmaker’s IPO CNBC
Class Warfare
Regulators say DoorDash and Uber Eats chiseled NYC delivery workers out of $550M in tips Gothamist
On the Cumulative Power of Human Ingenuity The Sense of an Ending
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
In the category news you can use…
https://www.thefirebreak.org/p/the-firebreak-food-pyramid?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1817835&post_id=184529520&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=9u80f&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
eat real food, mostly plants, not too much. no sugar, no soda, to the extent reasonably possible. it ain’t easy, lmao.
ps, the median Med. diet means 2 tablespoons of olive oil per day (which is a lot by USAian standards)
More news you can use…
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
https://www.dcdave.com/article3/991228.html
“US Ramping Up to Attack Iran… But”
I take it that Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz is what made Trump hesitate. The Pentagon would have had to tell him that they cannot stop the Iranians doing this. And that they couldn’t even stop the Yemen people semi-closing theirs. Bessant would have had to tell Trump that if this happened, that it would end up in gas prices in the US skyrocketing which people would – rightly – blame Trump for. No quick victories to claim here but perhaps weeks of strikes on Israel and US bases such as in Bahrain. Sending aircraft over Iran might be risky too as it would depend on what equipment the Russians and the Chinese have brought in. So maybe, just maybe trump is doing a TACO.
Trump is being cute!
I take his mild manner from last night as lulling the Iranians, as he did in June 2025.
The USS Teddy Roosevelt is not in the Red Sea; the Houthi would be shooting! The USS FDR destroyer is somewhere near Oman.
However, moving USS Abe Lincoln CVN 72 west from Philippines Sea last night does not sound like Trump standing down.
Watch what US does.
Correct link for How AI Destroys Institutions – UC Law Journal.
Updated. Thanks!
Antidote du jour-
‘horse
@horseimage
perhaps he would’ve enjoyed the beautiful scenery if he had not been blindfolded’
And here I was thinking that it was airborne cavalry. A comment says that they use blindfolds for horses in situations like this as ‘They started using those actually after a horse had a heart attack mid-air due to stress.’
https://open.substack.com/pub/emmanueltodd/p/dialogue-between-kaho-miyake-and?r=blt6&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
Brilliant discussion between Emmanuel Todd and Kaho Miyake, about the relations between men and women in different cultures, and the different personalities they each adopt. I’ve thought that Donald Trump is the most purely American president we’ve ever had – a grifter president of a grifter nation (I’m American, btw). He’s also the weakest man we’ve ever had in the White House, a bully and coward, a man terrified of life. This discussion sheds light on who Trump is and how he got that way