Links 2/1/2026

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1. The Rev Kev February 1, 2026 at 7:44 am

   “In this US county, measles starts to feel like next pandemic”

   I suppose that this is the way that it is going to be going forward. You will have a set of kids that will be vaccinated for measles and another who won’t be because their parents refuse to on religious or ideological reasons. But it may be that adults may have to consider getting vaccinated again lest they get infected by measles which is a much more serious proposition for an adult. This article mentions a teacher who was infected by a student and ended up in the ICU for a fortnight. This has all the makings of a bad brew moving forward.
   1. Carolinian February 1, 2026 at 8:25 am

      That county is my county and while mentioned here before the following bears repeating.

      Local officials and doctors say the recent outbreak has primarily affected Russian and Ukrainian immigrants in South Carolina, though others have been infected, too. The state has resettled hundreds of Ukrainian refugees, while thousands of Slavic immigrants have moved to the area in recent years, according to population estimates.

      Slavic churches had several measles exposures, with Kimbrell adding that some took a religious stance against vaccines. Some schools in the community have vaccination rates as low as 20%.

      Kimbrell said misinformation spread that the MMR vaccine contains fetal cells, a common conspiracy theory that he tried to combat by reiterating the safety and mechanisms of the MMR shot.

      As it happens I frequently shop at Aldi and Lidl–also imported from Europe–where these Slavic immigrants and their children are frequently to be seen. Hope my childhood measles immunity is good.
      1. Lee February 1, 2026 at 8:53 am

         Give up all hope, wear a mask instead, and breathe fearlessly.
      2. The Rev Kev February 1, 2026 at 8:53 am

         Might be wise to check with your doctor if you are still good to go and are still covered. That teacher mentioned was also vaccinated when young but wasn’t working when she was exposed. Not good that.
         1. Carolinian February 1, 2026 at 9:06 am

            IM Doc says the 1960s version of the vaccine not reliable whereas those who got measles as children (me, I think) should be safe.

            I do believe I’m seeing fewer of these Slavic immigrants in those stores lately. They are concentrated in a small town a dozen or so miles up the interstate and come to our smallish city to shop.

            And when I say see I mostly mean hear. People speaking Ukrainian/Russian are unusual in Dixie, needless to say.
            1. Yves Smith February 1, 2026 at 10:06 am

               Please don’t quote IM Doc incorrectly. He never said “not reliable”. Some of the pre-MMR measles vaccines did not confer lifetime immunity.

               See here for details: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/do-adults-need-a-measles-booster-an-epidemiologist-explains-who-is-immune
         2. KLG February 1, 2026 at 9:59 am

            Most, but not all, of us who were infected as children before the vaccine was introduced have antibody titers much higher than those who were vaccinated.

            Before the vaccine, between 500 and 1000 people died of measles every year in the United States. Around the world in the tens of thousands. The only thing that will get the attention of those in the thrall of RFKJr will be hundreds of unnecessary deaths or severe disability, mostly children. And that probably won’t work. After the vaccine injury panel is abolished, Pharma will stop producing vaccines.
            1. CanCyn February 1, 2026 at 10:31 am

               “And that probably won’t work”. No kidding. I rarely pay attention to Bill Mahar these days but he had Marjorie Taylor Green on recently so I caved and watched a clip. My lord, the tortured defence by Mahar trying to be a logical/rational anti-vaxer was something to behold. He reasoned something along the lines of there being no need to inject things in to our body when our immune system can just protect us naturally. We should let it do its job. Jeebus! And MTG just ignoring the science argument completely in the belief that it is a parent’s right to decide, not for the gov’t to dictate (thanks COVID policies). I won’t even link the clip here, I listened so you don’t to. My point is that there are a lot of people out there who think opinion rules over science or who haven’t bothered to learn the least little bit about infectious disease and how our immune system works. I have no doubt that deaths due to measles can easily be rationalized as something that would never happen to someone as healthy as Mahar. This is the real danger of Kennedy’s belief that we all just have to eat right and exercise to defend ourselves against disease.
               1. Jason Boxman February 1, 2026 at 11:35 am

                  Literally the whole history of human civilization demonstrates that just letting the immune system do its job doesn’t work, at least, if you want to minimize death and disability. If you’re into soft eugenics as COVID minimizers and deniers are, well, that’s another matter I guess.
         3. Jeff W February 1, 2026 at 3:55 pm

            Here’s what the article linked to by Yves says:

            First, if you were vaccinated between 1963 and 1967, one of the measles vaccines available at the time consisted of just proteins from the virus rather than a live, weakened version of it. Researchers soon realized this inactivated, or “killed,” vaccine was less effective and didn’t provide long-term immunity.

            A simple blood test will reveal if, in fact, a measles vaccine received at that time conferred long-term immunity. (I went and had mine checked—because I would have gotten a vaccine right within that specified period—when I had some other routine blood work done and found out that I was good to go.)
   2. Lee February 1, 2026 at 8:39 am

      “…measles which is a much more serious proposition for an adult.”

      The risk to children, even those with mild cases, is also quite serious. From the linked article:

      But some may not see the effects until years later. Measles can lead to long-term complications including encephalitis and immune amnesia, which resets the immune system, leaving it with only limited ability to respond to new infections.

      From Harvard Medical School:

      Reporting Oct. 31 in Science, the researchers show that the measles virus wipes out 11 percent to 73 percent of the different antibodies that protect against viral and bacterial strains a person was previously immune to—anything from influenza to herpesvirus to bacteria that cause pneumonia and skin infections.

      So, if a person had 100 different antibodies against chicken pox before contracting measles, they might emerge from having measles with only 50, cutting their chicken pox protection in half. That protection could dip even lower if some of the antibodies lost are potent defenses known as neutralizing antibodies.
      1. Old Jake February 1, 2026 at 3:09 pm

         I had a moderate case of measles as a child in the 50s. I subsequently developed mild hearing loss which our pediatrician attributed to that case of measles. I did not improve things by exposing myself to loud noises in my early 20s, working in a factory and playing in a rock band. But the others in my band did not, as I did, require hearing aids by the time I was 40. There’s a lot of room for individual variation, but that case of measles probably had downstream effects in my opinion.
         1. CanCyn February 1, 2026 at 5:15 pm

            And this is why we should not treat any infectious disease as nothing to worry about. A so called mild case of the disease can have serious long term health consequences. To this day so many people say yeah, I’ve had COVID but it was just a mild case.
            1. ambrit February 1, 2026 at 7:22 pm

               Or; I had COVID an I are reel gud!
   3. Jon Cloke February 2, 2026 at 6:37 am

      If you’re a kid who catches measles because your parents are anti-vaxxers, you should be able to sue your parents for child neglect, or something like that, shouldn’t you?
2. Victor Sciamarelli February 1, 2026 at 7:55 am

   It’s natural when talking about Iran to discuss oil. What’s less discussed, if at all, is that Iran is a mineral rich country, so much so, that Iran is among the top 15 mineral rich nations. Iran is not just mineral rich it has a wide variety of minerals.
   Moreover, Iran has a valuable strategic location, a highly educated population and significant graduates in engineering and science.
   Trump would like to kill two birds with one stone: wreck Iran in behalf of Israel and, as greed is utmost in Trump, control Iran’s wealth and resources, as well as its people.
   1. flora February 1, 2026 at 12:45 pm

      Also not discussed much is the location of Iran, strategic location as you say, puts it in the center of the one of the crossroads of the proposed north-south route from RU to India (1),
      and part of the east-west middle corridor route from China to the EU (2).

      (1) https://www.alamy.com/instc-international-northsouth-transport-corridor-political-map-image547602421.html

      (2) https://qafsam.org/en/2023/05/09/strategic-importance-of-the-middle-corridor/

      Look at those routes and how they would upend existing transportation routes. Look at what nations would control the new transportation routes.
3. Es s Ce Tera February 1, 2026 at 8:03 am

   re: Will corporate America finally stand up to the Trump administration? The Guardian

   Those corporations which fully embraced DEI initiatives will protest, they’re the ones who created anti-discrimination policies, processes and procedures, made effort to hire more underrepresented groups, had more diverse workplaces, embraced immigrants.

   Meanwhile those corporations eager to be rid of DEI initiatives will likely support the anti-immigration purge, are probably secretly driving it.

   It might be good to keep track of these data points.
   1. Bugs February 1, 2026 at 11:12 am

      They’ve figured out a way to back off DEI without saying anything – it’s called AI.
   2. redleg February 1, 2026 at 11:59 am

      Here in occupied Minnesota, we are identifying the businesses that are collaborating with the brownshirts and making that public for the market to do its thing. As far as I know this info is being spread by word of mouth, but the news is covering protests at and complaints by executives from the collaborating businesses. IMHO that is what is going to force corporate America to make a stand.

      Off the top of my head, Target, Hilton, Enterprise* are the big names. If there are news reports of protests at stores that don’t seem to make sense, this is why.

      The same word of mouth publicity is being used to identify businesses that are not collaborating or that support protests. Lots of locals and niche companies but no big names that I’m aware of.

      * beware of used cars in the next year or three. The Feds are renting vehicles from Enterprise (et al.), and having run out of SUVs it’s whatever vehicle they have available. The used car market is eventually going to see these vehicles on the market, with the gas and pepper spray residue and undocumented collision damage included, whether or not it’s disclosed. Buyers beware.
      1. lyman alpha blob February 1, 2026 at 1:30 pm

         Yesterday in my ICE-infested area, I saw a guy dressed in nice black clothes shoulder to feet (black shoes, dress pants, topcoat) but with a full face camo mask and baseball cap, with sunglasses over the eyes. He was walking deliberately across the street with chest slightly puffed out, looking like he was trying to intimidate. It was extremely cold yesterday so I wasn’t 100% sure if he was ICE or just someone in serious need of fashion help.

         He was walking outside a Hilton hotel, so after seeing your comment, I’m pretty sure it was the former. Hilton must have a good hotel restaurant because nobody else here will let those clowns anywhere near their place of business.
4. flora February 1, 2026 at 8:04 am

   File under Markets and Empire: From Glenn Diesen, utube, ~47+ minutes.

   Larry Johnson: Decline of the U.S. Dollar & End of Empire

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9hU1lavcpY
   1. JCC February 1, 2026 at 1:38 pm

      And a Big Picture look with a former regular on this site, Philip Pilkington:

      https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0pPzS5QgVSA

      Matt Stoller also put out a good article on his substack, BIG:

      https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/the-boomcession-why-everyone-but

      So the question in my mind is, How much longer can the US economy function now that DJT and crew are putting the “pedal to the metal”?
      1. flora February 1, 2026 at 6:26 pm

         Thanks for the links.
   2. Rolf February 1, 2026 at 2:12 pm

      flora, thank you for the link.
   3. Henry Moon Pie February 1, 2026 at 4:29 pm

      I’ll be interested to see the impacts of this on Monday:

      WSJ: The $100 Billion Megadeal Between OpenAI and Nvidia Is on Ice
5. flora February 1, 2026 at 8:09 am

   File under No Longer Free Press: Judge Napolitano on Newsmax, utube, ~4+ minutes.

   Judge Andrew Napolitano on possible charges for Don Lemon | National Report

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCaIxTM9_D8
   1. vao February 1, 2026 at 8:44 am

      There was Charlie Kirk, somebody I had never read or heard about before, who supposedly became an immensely important personality upon his death — to the point that battalions of political prominences attended his funeral. Nobody has been talking about him for months now.

      Now there is that Don Lemon, somebody I had never read or heard about before, who supposedly has just become an immensely important personality for a reason that remains obscure to me and that his Wikipedia page did not help to clear up. I bet nobody will talk about him in a few weeks.

      Who in the USA is manufacturing those baffling 15-minutes of fame overnight celebrities out of parochial players from the mainstream and alternative media, and for what purpose? From far away, this phenomenon looks really weird.
      1. flora February 1, 2026 at 10:30 am

         If you’re from far away I assume your country does not have an equivalent of the US’s First Amendment, which includes freedom of the press.

         This is a big issue in the US, much bigger than Don Lemon. It happens that he’s famous enough that this case brings more attention than it otherwise might. Suddenly mainstream reporters are being targeted, not just small town newspaper reporters or online newsletter writers who few people recognize or online broadcasters no one much liked.
         1. flora February 1, 2026 at 10:43 am

            adding: there was at least one other small-name journalist arrested for covering the same church protest as Lemon. Few people have ever heard of her. She’s independent journalist Georgia Fort. From Forbes:
            https://www.forbes.com/sites/maiahoskin/2026/01/30/what-the-arrest-of-journalist-georgia-fort-could-mean-for-women-in-media/

            It’s Lemon’s arrest that’s focusing the attention of the MSM on the govt attacks on journalism.
      2. MaryLand February 1, 2026 at 1:03 pm

         Don Lemon was well known in the US before his arrest.

         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Lemon
6. Wukchumni February 1, 2026 at 8:21 am

   Warm Winters Are Breaking the Ski Industry — and Artificial Snow Isn’t Enough Skift.com
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Skied 5 days @ Alta, Deer Valley & Solitude resorts this past week, and if it wasn’t for manmade snow, wouldn’t have been able to, the situation is so bleak in the mountain west.

   We got 3 inches of powder overnight on Wednesday, and it was tantamount to a rich layer of whipped cream on the faux piste de la resistance-exceptional skiing on Thursday @ Alta, but the other days were ok at best.

   Nobody I know yearns for artificial snow, and attendance was on the slim side, as an added detraction.

   Overnight temps have been well below freezing, so the snow blowers have been busy all over the mountain, but its crazy spendy for Altera & Vail-the big players in the biz who rule the roost in the western USA.

   The bigger story is the building catastrophe for Utah, Idaho and Colorado, if they don’t get a snowpack, and more importantly all the tributaries for the Colorado River really have nothing going on.

   The 10 day out forecast shows nothing until Feb 10th when a few inches of snow are expected. Time is running out~
   1. Lee February 1, 2026 at 8:47 am

      Summer is coming.
      1. mrsyk February 1, 2026 at 10:14 am

         Hah, I agree, yet the temperature has hovered around or been below zero (f)) each of the last nine straight mornings. It was minus six when I rose this morn. The ten day forecast calls for more of the same with no break.
         I am concerned that a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the south. There are still 150K “customers” without power (read addresses, the human count is likely more than double that), and temps are going to be well below freezing.
         
         Major winter storm in progress for the Carolinas, while Arctic air continues to surge toward Florida, Balanced Weather
         Alan Gerard
         1. Carolinian February 1, 2026 at 11:25 am

            Last weekend’s ice storm was apparently very bad up in Nashville but less so here in SC. Yesterday’s snow storm a pain here because not much plowing so it can take a couple of days or more for the roads to clear. The good news though is that we do get a melt off whereas when I lived in NYC for awhile a heavy snow might hang around for a month–in part due to being plowed into roadside banks.

            NOAA says we are 20 or 30 degrees below normal for this time of year so the cold is the most remarkable thing at the moment. Because we have so many trees that can break we’ve had extended power outages in the past.

            I don’t believe it snowed at all here last year.
            1. mrsyk February 1, 2026 at 1:00 pm

               With fascination I watch the woodpile disappearing at an alarming rate. I’ve already burned through as much wood as I used all last heating season. I have backup heat that burns propane, but fuel delivery here on the hill is a tricky thing. So I let the camp go cold at night to conserve wood. It was 41 degrees f inside, minus six out, when I got up today. I’ve got it up to 60 now, it’s ten degrees outside.
               All of this to say that we are having an unusual stretch of cold weather.
   2. Carolinian February 1, 2026 at 9:13 am

      Take our snow, please! We got a half a foot or so yesterday. I may have to carve some handy two by fours into cross country skis. Coming up next: ice fishing….
      1. juno mas February 1, 2026 at 12:42 pm

         Weather Underground predicted 78F for my west coast city. It was 81F. Next Wednesday is anticipated 81F. It will likely be 85F.

         Please take it away. The ocean current/temp are too cold to enjoy the beach.
         1. Wukchumni February 1, 2026 at 5:29 pm

            Drove home on the Pearl Harbor Survivors* Memorial Highway-also known as the 99, and there was a bit of Tule Fog going through the very site of the 59 vehicle pile up (they did a good job cleaning it up!) yesterday, and where it happened was fortunate in that there was only a few mile stretch where drivers and passengers could get away from the roadbed by walking over concrete barriers into a safe traffic-free zone.

            * they survived, I thought memorials were for the dead, and yeah all the Pearl Harbor survivors are gone now.
7. The Rev Kev February 1, 2026 at 8:25 am

   “Hungarian premier says Ukraine’s EU membership ‘out of the question,’ warns of economic consequences”

   He’s right. The member States of the EU are mostly broke already as a consequence of the war in the Ukraine. If the Ukraine did join the EU, where would the hundreds of billions of Euros come from annually to reform that country and rebuild it? The only way that they could do it would be with Eurobonds – but which in a few years would result in trillions of Euros in debt. Any investment in the EU proper would come to a grinding halt and the population further impoverished. Time to cut the Ukraine loose.
8. Richard 111 February 1, 2026 at 8:33 am

   ‘No humans needed…’

   Humans got smarter over the ages by communicating with each other. So is Moltbook, a place where AI agents hang out, the precurser for the ‘singularity’ some have been concerned about?
   1. Richard 111 February 1, 2026 at 9:00 am

      Oops! I’ve just read the article which answers my query.
   2. Clankenfoot February 1, 2026 at 9:07 am

      At a glance* it appears to be a lot of nonsense where all the ‘interesting’ posts are either drafted by humans or prompt-directed by humans, in spite of the claim that it is a bot-only space. Filing under ‘part of the grift’ for now. The moltbook platform also appears to be an unmitigated security disaster for naive humans giving over their computers to their bots and to the platform itself. It may before long be another source of ‘my AI assistant deleted my computer and emptied my credit card’ stories.

      * ok I looked through several twitter threads about it, a few HN threads, an astralcodexten post (I was surprised by Scott Alexander’s seeming credulity), and sundry other chatter.
      1. albrt February 1, 2026 at 1:22 pm

         Scott and Zvi Mowshowitz have gone off the rails on a number of subjects. I’m starting to wonder if it is impossible for a human to be exceptionally smart over an extended period of time. Maybe smart people can only be exceptional for a short period when their priors happen to line up unusually well with reality for a while.

         Yves might be the exception that proves the rule, although perhaps that is due to her approach of acting as a skeptical conduit on most subjects rather than trying to be ahead of the curve with original syntheses on everything all the time.
         1. caucus99percenter February 2, 2026 at 2:44 am

            NC taught me the importance of “counter-suggestibility.” In a world full of propaganda, advertising, marketing, PR, hasbara, and other industrially produced lies, you always have to ask yourself, “Wait a minute, by saying this, who is trying to get me to believe what, and why?”
   3. Hazelbee February 1, 2026 at 10:21 am

      I posted about this in yesterday’s links comments

      Have a look there for more commentary from others

      There are many many angles to this.
      Collective action.
      Emergence
      Security is going to be bad for those not aware of how to try and protect themselves.
      Crypto scams . That version of Reddit a cesspool already with karma farming, self appointed kings. You name it it’s there.

      E.g “shellraiser” karma farming then launching a crypto rig pull on solana. Trading volume was at $8 million when I checked yesterday. That is real money someone has made from a rug pull

      But I’m calling the biggest impact here the social one.

      There were one and a half million agents on moltbook this morning. That means that many humans have installed it and let agents connect.

      That to me looks like a big viral awareness of what agents can do. In a similar way to how chatgpt raised massive awareness of LLM, so I think this raises awareness of agents.
9. Wukchumni February 1, 2026 at 8:54 am

   Dimensions of Trump’s massive new ‘Triumphal Arch’ are revealed as president ‘chooses the biggest size possible’ to honor America and wow visitors Daily Mail
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Adolf had grandiose plans for Berlin including a 380 foot tall Volkshalle and a triumphal arch even bigger than DT Barnum’s~

   It never happened…

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germania_(city)
   1. Carolinian February 1, 2026 at 9:18 am

      They should build it out of lath and plaster as was done with the 1890s Colombian Exposition in Chicago. Easier to tear down.

      Ironically Trump and frau had to watch the Melania doc in the East Room because he tore down the While House movie theater with the East Wing.
      1. .human February 1, 2026 at 11:16 am

         How else are they gonna build this thing in five months? What a joke.
   2. Rolf February 1, 2026 at 11:38 am

      Looking at the photos in that story reminded me of This Is Spinal Tap and their Stonehenge disaster, LOL.

      https://youtu.be/zg5Ovdu6bOE
   3. erstwhile February 1, 2026 at 1:02 pm

      …and Mexico will build it. That might explain the taco food truck proposed for visitors, manned by an erstwhile kash patel and singer lady-friend.
10. MicaT February 1, 2026 at 8:57 am

    Solar in Africa.
    First off pretty much all lithium batteries these days are LFP, iron phosphate especially those for energy storage. There are no heavy metals like those associated with NMC nickel manganese cobalt.
    And the leading battery companies in China are rapidly moving to sodium which has no metals or lithium
    Solar panel companies don’t make batteries.
    And the vat reduction is going from 9% to 6% and then possibly to zero in 27. So even if they do go up 9% they are still way cheaper and way safer for the environment than lead acid.

    Off the grid solar in Africa is a growing rapidly do to the low cost hi quality equipment from China.
11. Rolf February 1, 2026 at 9:13 am

    After one president who went senile in office and another who is nuttier than a Payday candy bar, we can only conclude that the 25th Amendment of the Constitution is just there for decoration.

    Via NR’s Jim Geraghty, cited in The ‘mad king’: has Trump finally lost it? I have no clue if his cabinet of ideologues and sycophants has the wherewithal and moral backbone to remove him. And unlike Biden, Trump’s affection for Adderall and the camera will short circuit any attempt to conceal public collapse. But of one thing I have become certain: our current path with Trump at the wheel is unsustainable, and will end well short of November 7, 2028.
    1. albrt February 1, 2026 at 1:27 pm

       I think they will either remove him or poison him. With that many, shall we say, “opportunists” in one room it’s just a matter of time. Poisoning is probably more likely because it presents less of a collective action problem.
       1. lyman alpha blob February 1, 2026 at 1:44 pm

          I certainly wouldn’t put it past some faction of elites to remove Trump, however having an incompetent POTUS is apparently very useful for those éminence grise types in the background, as we’ve had more incompetents than not over the last nearly half century now.

          Reagan wasn’t all there. Shrub was a useful idiot while the neocons got their rocks off. One term of Dementia Joe and about a term and a half of the no-nothing blowhard Trump.
          1. ISL February 1, 2026 at 2:54 pm

             Obama was mentally there, but then again he set all the precedents (and failed to bail out main street) that are now seen as abusive. Not saying crazy can’t accelerate trends, just that trends seem to persist with crazy or sly.
12. Will February 1, 2026 at 9:18 am

    re ICE abandoning detainees in the woods

    Immediately brought to mind the Starlight Tours. Cops in Saskatoon, Canada, would pick up Indigenous men and women, often with no cause, and dump them well outside town on freezing winter nights. Happened from at least 1976 to the early 2000s.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saskatoon_freezing_killings
    1. The Rev Kev February 1, 2026 at 9:26 am

       Hope that they do not take them on midnight helicopter flights over the Great Lakes come to think of it. With ICE, you just never know.
    2. johnnyme February 1, 2026 at 9:46 am

       Thank you very much for this information!
    3. Paleobotanist February 1, 2026 at 11:12 am

       Happened in Quebec too. Here it’s the cure géographique.
    4. B Flat February 1, 2026 at 2:25 pm

       After about a week of TikToks by nurses talking about how they plan to harm or kill any ice agents under their care, it’s not surprising that we have counter TikToks now. My opinion, there are too many vested interests in our media controlled civil war to believe most of what’s on TikTok,X, etc etc
       1. Vincent February 1, 2026 at 4:53 pm

          This commenter has been banned for multiple rule violations, including Being an Asshole.
13. The Rev Kev February 1, 2026 at 9:25 am

    ‘ִֶָ. ..𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ🪽་༘࿐ 𝓟𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓵
    @__pearII
    physical education in a kindergarten in China’

    I doubt that that is an AI video as I have seen similar videos like this in the past. The Chinese idea sees to be to make sure that those kids know how to use their bodies, learn about coordination and maybe have some fun along the way.

    And how cool is that 3D floor in Thailand. Kids would absolutely love that.
14. alfia February 1, 2026 at 9:42 am

    Re ICE- pertinent Charlie Hebdo cartoon:
    https://charliehebdo.fr/editions/1749/
15. The Rev Kev February 1, 2026 at 9:44 am

    “Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado says she “will be president when the time comes” ”

    I don’t think that Machado has worked it out yet. Her usefulness is now over. They don’t need her anymore and will caste her aside like a dirty sock. You don’t hear anybody saying that they should also bring back Juan Guaidó either. Maybe Machado and Guaidó can hook up in a bar somewhere and tell fellow drinkers that they could have each been the President of Venezuela. Should be worth a few free drinks for them to tell their stories.
    1. ambrit February 1, 2026 at 10:14 am

       If said bar were in Davos however….
       Looking on the bright side, they can hang out around Zelinsky’s pool in Miami.
       Come to think on it, that would make a killer “reality” program, “Wannabe Big Brother.” A group of luckless would be “Heads of State” share a villa in the South of France and scheme against each other to win an all expenses paid regime change operation financed and run by the Three Letter Agency Corporation. An eclectic mix of ‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Shark Tank,’ ‘Survivor,’ and ‘Playboy After Dark.’
       Stay safe. Fame is but fleeting.
16. lyman alpha blob February 1, 2026 at 9:52 am

    RE: It’s Starting to Look Like AI Has Killed the Entire Model of College

    TL:DR: College enrollments dropping, tuition rising, businesses not hiring graduates because “AI”.

    Well, in a company I’m familiar with, there has been a recent push to get everybody to use “AI” but nobody quite knows what for. Don’t feed it financial info because it can’t be trusted, so numbers are out. You can use it to summarize long documents, but again, output can’t be completely trusted so you’ll still need to read the documents to ensure accuracy. It is quite good at correcting the grammar on business emails which seems to be the most popular use case to date.

    The cost of an “AI” subscription (because you can’t just own the thing, you must pay tribute to Silicon Valley forever) is around $250K/year.

    I don’t know what they teach the brain geniuses in MBA school, but it occurs to me that a company could probably get themselves a real live English major for a lot less than a quarter million per annum, so maybe there’s hope for academia after all.
    1. The Rev Kev February 1, 2026 at 9:57 am

       It’s Dutch Tulips all over again-

       https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulip_mania
    2. tegnost February 1, 2026 at 11:28 am

       I’ll take an english major who gets king lear over an mba who gets say’s law any day of the week. Lear had supply (money) and his kids had demands (wanted money, with caveats) pretty much backwards of say’s law which has the supplier with no money and the demander with money?
       I’m sure it’s more complicated than that but the sussing of it all would be better arranged by an english major while an mba can get by fine with the bullshit generator (AI). I’m being unfair of course as there are surely many less predatory mba’s out there who are not bad people, but their faceless corp hires them for the predation so like cordelia there are some consequences for not playing the game.,,,
    3. Laura in So Cal February 1, 2026 at 12:09 pm

       So my Boss was all over us to use CoPilot etc but we had the same issue. A lot of my job is to get people to fix errors and data problems. I get my best results from asking in person which isn’t always possible, so my emails are super friendly and sound like me. CoPilot wants to make my emails generic which makes them less successful in getting results so I ignore it’s inputs.
       The only really useful thing was when I had to write some procedures and work instructions and you want to be as generic as possible. I would write it and then had CoPilot edit it paragraph by paragraph. BUT I still had to review it carefully as sometimes it was nonsense.
       1. JCC February 1, 2026 at 2:31 pm

          It’s amazing what a single semester of Technical Writing 101 at a local Community College can teach you about this.

          And the benefit is that you don’t end up having to write your document twice – once before you feed it to your AI tool of choice, and then a second time afterwards in order to repair all the slop.
    4. curlydan February 1, 2026 at 12:56 pm

       The weird thing is the #1 skill sought after by employers (“fluency in artificial intelligence”) also is one of the main factors in eroding critical thinking skills.

       https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/no-1-skill-employers-looking-222929833.html

       My college-aged son is a major Chat GPT user, so I give him warnings about it, but it’s hard to tell him not to use it.
17. eg February 1, 2026 at 9:56 am

    “Will corporate America finally stand up to the Trump administration?”

    Throwing a flag at Betteridge’s law violation.

    Of course they won’t — capital always sides with thuggery.
18. William Beyer February 1, 2026 at 9:56 am

    Regarding, “Once Thought To Support Neurons, Astrocytes Turn Out To Be in Charge – Quanta Magazine:”

    I read in the book, “Listening to Prozac,” that, if the human brain was simple enough to be understood, we humans would be too simple to understand it.
19. chuck roast February 1, 2026 at 9:58 am

    Microplastics

    The photo in the piece shows a hands holding tiny plastic pellets. Shore birds and marine life are dependent on an abundance of eggs from fish, arthropods, decapods and other watery critters. Widespread plastics pollution is almost certainly impacting marine life in my neighborhood.

    In the summer I take great pleasure in following plovers and sandpipers as they cruise the surf edge looking for eggs. A number of years ago there was great concern that the numbers of these birds and similar dune nesters were decreasing because of habitat loss. In recent years, following widespread shoreside protection their populations increased dramatically. Nowadays I’m much more concerned about their food-chain.
    1. ambrit February 1, 2026 at 10:18 am

       Echoing the Alchemist’s Creed, “As Above So Below,” I would also worry about the impact of microplastics on the head primate’s food chain.
       1. mrsyk February 1, 2026 at 10:25 am

          The plastic spoon in my head agrees.
          1. ambrit February 1, 2026 at 2:05 pm

             A wonderful lyric from The Who. The song is “Substitute.” The lyric is, “I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth.”
             See and hear “Substitute”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37qk8Q7xNHI
20. Mark Gisleson February 1, 2026 at 10:18 am

    If you examine a topographical map of Minnesota you will see that the forests (dark green) are nowhere close to the Twin Cities which is surrounded by farmland, parks and rivers.

    The tell is that they ask you to watch out for victims while walking in the park. ? Parks are not “the woods.” If they are getting frostbitten patients from exposure, it would seem far more likely that those persons ran from ICE while not fully dressed. Every part of Minnesota is well below freezing in January with subzero temps at night.

    Not saying these patients don’t exist, I’m just saying that while ICE is indirectly responsible I doubt very much they’re catching people and then turning them loose in the wilds. Anyone half-dressed turned loose in an actual forest would never make it to a hospital, not in this weather.

    I’m guessing this is 1) a language issue (not understanding the true meaning of “the woods”), and 2) a well-intended lie meant to further dirty ICE’s blood-spattered reputation. I’ve wracked my brain on this and even to someone from a desert country I cannot think of any metro area parks large enough to get “lost” in.
    1. johnnyme February 1, 2026 at 11:04 am

       The only places I can think of in the Minneapolis area where this would be remotely possible are in portions of the nearby larger wildlife protected areas like the Louisville Swamp section of the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge southeast of the metro or the Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area or the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge north of the metro. I’ve spent plenty of time in those places and they are not well traveled in winter.

       Carlos Avery is 25,000 acres/10,000 hectares and Sherburne is 30,000/12,000 hectares. Plop someone in the middle of them in shorts and a t-shirt right now and they’d be in trouble.
       1. redleg February 1, 2026 at 9:46 pm

          There are places in Carlos Avery where, back when I was a MN DNR Hydrologist, we needed a police or conservation officer escort to safely access. Would they shoot at the Feds like they would DNR? I don’t know. Would they shoot at dark skinned strangers? Undoubtedly, IMO. That would be a place to dump people because it’s a sprawling forested swamp with few access points and no straight roads. The fact that the locals in that neck of the woods tend to be Army of God (google that one) boogaloo boi types would make this ideal for ICE. However, it’s more than an hour from the Whipple building.
          1. johnnyme February 2, 2026 at 12:05 am

             Yowsers. Good thing I never decided to do any bushwhacking there…
    2. tegnost February 1, 2026 at 11:50 am

       I believe care should be given in a situation like this one where stuff needs to get covered up so likely stories can come up and be used to discredit true events and no example of that matches this… And it’s about texas so you know it’s big…

       https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/truth-or-consequences/

       Great travelogue for those of us engaged at the time.
       1. tegnost February 1, 2026 at 12:11 pm

          just sordid…who remembers the tv show, oops documentary called Dallas with Larry Hagman, well hang in there for yet another texans edifying journey through time (chuckle)

          https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2004/07/tom-delay-200407

          An adventurer, Charlie DeLay flew escort planes in World War II and later broke horses, ran a tool shop, and failed as a rancher (in Arkansas) before becoming an oil wildcatter, supervising drilling operations in Venezuela, where the family lived for seven years in a kind of higher nomadism, moving from site to site. “No telephone, no television, and a country club in every camp,” as Tom DeLay has said. He caddied for money and acquired an enthusiasm for golf, along with a touch of colonial affectation. (He has been known to wear plus fours when he plays at his club in Texas.) In Venezuela he learned to crack a whip and was good enough at age seven, he has said, to “flick a hummingbird off a bush.”
       2. Mark Gisleson February 1, 2026 at 12:53 pm

          Thanks for this excellent long read that I missed in real time. I didn’t realize that Harry “Buckhead” MacDougald’s expose had been undone by factchecking done later. I got into long and bitter arguments over those memos. Bush was always GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! but I’m pretty sure most Americans have no memory of any of this. Not their first win, but most certainly a huge win for Big Disinformation aka The Blob.
       3. LifelongLib February 1, 2026 at 3:30 pm

          Thanks for the link. I’m sure this kind of stuff is always going on in the political background, but it’s jaw-dropping to see it explicitly layed out.
    3. ISL February 1, 2026 at 2:40 pm

       Per the linked video, these people are turning up with cracked skulls and needing amputation at ERs. Smash someone against concrete enough and they will be lost anywhere – the point is there are no witnesses to the dump.

       I suppose they could have fell down and hit their head – all of them – but snow is soft.

       And I used to live in a northern state – your coat was always near the door because as you left you needed it.
    4. Offtrail February 1, 2026 at 4:57 pm

       If someone is telling this story knowing it not to be true, it is not “well-intended”.
    5. redleg February 1, 2026 at 9:31 pm

       I’m afraid that you are dead wrong in this case.

       The Mississippi Wildlife Refuge is adjacent to Ft. Snelling and the airport, with access being Post Road. The park, which is below the bluffs at River level, is a maze of islands, swamps, fens, and forest. Back when I was in ROTC we would conduct field exercises there to train in land navigation and small unit tactics.
       There is also the old Bureau of Mines property that is now a park, I think an extension of Minnehaha Falls park, that extends from the falls to Coldwater Spring to the bluffs below Fort Snelling north of the Mendota Bridge.
       I’ve conducted recent geological field work in that area- it’s quite remote. It’s accessible by vehicle but most residents don’t know that this large tract of dense forest, a National Wildlife Refuge, is even there. It would be awfully convenient for the Feds to drive maybe 5 minutes, cross highway 5 to Post Road, go into the park and dump people (or bodies) there.
    6. Lark February 1, 2026 at 11:33 pm

       I’m from the Twin Cities and have some inside knowledge of the broader ICE situation. My bet is that this is a slight misunderstanding of what’s going on, because I heard from a reputable source that people were being taken from Whipple and dumped in the wooded areas around Whipple – it’s near a number of large parks and undeveloped riverside land. In the cold at night without a coat you could be in big trouble if someone dumped you in Hidden Falls Park, for instance. This would not be out of line with cop/ICE behavior.

       Hidden Falls Park is…hidden! It’s below a bluff near the river., you have to drive down a fairly steep road if you go by the main entrances. People do in fact go walking “in the park” and while it’s no Appalachian Trail someone could absolutely be in real trouble there. You’re not exactly “hiking” in that park, but it’s big and wooded – it’s not Central Park either. It’s a kind of forest preserve in the city.

       What I hear is that our folks are trying to be around Whipple enough that they can help anyone who is driven off site in this way.
21. Mark Gisleson February 1, 2026 at 10:27 am

    AI Wants to Hire Award-Winning Writers to Train Elon Musk’s Stupid AI Chatbot Gizmodo

    If you want to improve Chatbot’s AI you would hire linguists and coders, not writers. Writers are the meatbag version of bad AI: we are rarely paid to simply communicate, we communicate in colorful and not entirely honest ways. Even the best of us use facts and truths to tell lies. Award winning authors are exceptionally good at this; suspense comes from misdirection, i.e., tricking your readers.
    1. mrsyk February 1, 2026 at 10:56 am

       Nora Roberts ‘28!

       I’ll see myself out.
    2. Acacia February 1, 2026 at 3:46 pm

       tricking your readers

       But that’s what AI is all about, i.e., pretending there is consciousness when in fact there is not.
22. pjay February 1, 2026 at 10:32 am

    – ‘Imagine There’s No NATO: Germany as a New Middle-Sized Military Power in an Anarchic International Order’ – Fair Observer

    Well, at least in this version of liberal court history Trump is compared to Kaiser Wilhelm II rather than Hitler. Otherwise it’s pretty much the usual. The US and NATO were the “benign” guarantors of European security which allowed it, and especially Germany, to prosper. Things were purring along, but then: “Enter Trump”! The author is an American academic who is supposedly an expert on postwar German history. He is also an expert on right-wing political movements, so of course he is quite worried about the rise of the “far-right” in Germany. Curiously, he provides no socio-economic or political analysis as to why this rise has occurred; it just seems to have appeared, threatening the postwar liberal order. Not surprisingly, these threats mirror those posed by the “far left,” which for some unfathomable reason “remain deeply suspicious of NATO and the United States, often rationalizing Russian behavior.” Apparently they are ignorant of the history provided by experts like Elliot Neaman:

    “What is striking is that both extremes converge on a pro-Putin, anti-American position. The AfD criticizes sanctions on Russia, opposes military aid to Ukraine, and demands the removal of US troops and nuclear weapons. Segments of the left insist (ahistorically) that NATO expansion “provoked” Russia and present distancing Europe from Washington as the path to peace, while treating China’s cynical “peace plans” with naive and unwarranted seriousness.”

    Note the sarcasm quotes here. “Provoked”?? How “ahistorical.” What possible reason could the left have to claim Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “provoked”? Why, surely any rational observer could see that Putin’s lies were as “cynical” as China’s “peace plans.”

    I could go on, but why? This obliviousness by “liberal” academics is getting SO old and aggravating. There is always enough real history in theses “expert” commentaries to convince fellow academics and liberal consumers of “serious” scholarship that such court history is the Truth. Trump is quite dangerous, to be sure, but sometimes his honesty about US interests is refreshing.

    Thanks for posting the Thomas Fazi piece next to this one, so I can cleanse my brain with some reality.
    1. eg February 1, 2026 at 2:23 pm

       I note also with amusement how Neaman manages the cognitive dissonance of simultaneously praising Bismarck’s diplomacy while studiously avoiding any acknowledgment of its central tenet, as this quote from the Iron Chancellor himself puts it: “The secret of politics? Make a good treaty with Russia.”
23. YuShan February 1, 2026 at 10:54 am

    “Gaming market melts down after Google reveals new AI game design tool — Project Genie crashes stocks for Roblox, Nintendo, CD Projekt Red, and more”

    A few months ago I saw a YouTube video where they had AI creating Photoshop software within minutes! It was far from perfect yet, but many features worked. And this was with very little effort, and with AI still improving.

    Just imagine the threat to monopolies like Adobe. Some hobbyist could simply generate a free open source version of photoshop.
    1. scott s. February 1, 2026 at 1:21 pm

       <"Some hobbyist could simply generate a free open source version of photoshop."

       And call it something like "Gimp"?
24. jefemt February 1, 2026 at 10:59 am

    Antidote: Expensive Bullfight.

    The ruining of the bulls?
    1. Yves Smith February 1, 2026 at 11:59 am

       This is probably fake and I was forced to remove it.
       1. YuShan February 1, 2026 at 12:44 pm

          Yes, AI generated. You could tell by the windscreen repairing itself after getting smashed by the bull. AI still does stuff like that, LOL.
          1. Jokerstein February 1, 2026 at 2:59 pm

             I was suspicious of the convenient fact that the car was a Lamborghini: logo, rampant bull…
25. Trees&Trunks February 1, 2026 at 11:02 am

    So the terrorist attacks in Iran have begun?

    When will stuff in Israel start to explode?

    Is it time to drink that bottle of expensive stuff saved for a special or the last occasion?
    1. JonnyJames February 1, 2026 at 12:12 pm

       You can go party in Tel Aviv eh. Nothing to worry about

       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFTONTxiZGE
    2. ISL February 1, 2026 at 2:46 pm

       Most likely, it is cells that are in a use-it-or-lose-it mode while on the run due to the large number of Starlink-equipped handlers who were captured and “encouraged” to reveal all. Additionally, it is likely there were Mossad and other foreign managers in country, some of whom were swept up and also revealed portions of the networks. The longer Trump dithers, the more of these cells will be deactivated. Since the goal is regime change, these cells are critical – there already was a decapitation strike with no regime change, which also wiped out the pro-negotiations faction.

       It is unlikely it is special forces, as they would try to time many to impact right before the air strikes – and this is too few to make any impact – plus not strategic.
26. Bob from Kansas February 1, 2026 at 11:05 am

    First time commenter, long time reader, and I did not want to introduce myself this way.

    I am noticing that the morning links has been sharing obvious AI generated videos more frequently lately. Today we have “physical education in a kindergarten in China” and the “most expensive bullfight” as examples of AI slop that has been passing through your filters.

    This is upsetting because AI is just creating more work for all of us, draining our cognitive load, and you folks have enough on your hands.
    1. Yves Smith February 1, 2026 at 11:59 am

       Thank you for your readership and your desire to preserve the integrity of the site.

       The China video is genuine. There are many older videos of kids in China being led in classes vigorous exercise and they perform well. The Twitter account is long established with many high quality videos. Please do not make unwarranted accusations.

       I agree the bull v. car looks fake. I removed it and told Haig to be more careful.
       1. jhallc February 1, 2026 at 1:51 pm

          I don’t disagree that the kids video is of real kids, in the last 5 or so seconds or so they are in better sync than the Rockettes. Impressive.
27. Lefty Godot February 1, 2026 at 11:23 am

    Re: Black families having deja vu…yes, smearing the victims of police violence seems to be a priority for the right-wing media ecosystem. And as far as the racial aspect of it, yes, it’s there, but “white privilege” is exaggerated to some extent. More white people get killed by police, it’s the percentages that are skewed toward black people getting a disproportionate share of the violence. And the “privilege” probably pertains to a certain segment of the white population, but since we don’t want to talk about class in the media, ’tis a mystery how that shakes out.
28. hk February 1, 2026 at 11:30 am

    My view is that the alleged “white privilege” is what perpetuates police violence: that signifies that the societal semi-elite (that is, the people who are not really elite, but who think they are, ie the PMC), who are, admittedly, mostly white think that they are inherently immune from police violence. So they are happy to just “fight against” police violence irresponsibly because they want to feel good about themselves…but it’s ultimately other “lesser” people’s problem.

    The sooner people realize it’s “everyone’s” problem, the better.
    1. Roxan February 1, 2026 at 1:32 pm

       Old white lady, here. In my experience, white working class people are routinely targeted. Drive through any small town in an older car, and cops will follow you. I had a terrifying encounter, one night, when I was living in a small town in VA. We were stopped for no reason, around 10pm–no other cars around. The cop interrogated me at length, intent on finding something he could charge me with. His partner stationed himself on the passenger side, smacking his night stick in his hands. I had a teenage friend, along, and warned him to keep quiet. Finally, I had enough and told the cop, who was beet red and clearly having a ‘melt-down’ ‘you look distressed. Are you OK?’

       To my surprise, he said he been ‘spit on’ during his last encounter…and looked as though he would burst into tears. I gave him tissues and my condolences. He visibly relaxed, and they left. I was really shaken by the whole experience, and how easily it could have turned into a disaster.
29. Jason Boxman February 1, 2026 at 11:41 am

    Fun

    Leftist and liberal gun groups are seeing a rush of new members (CNN)

    Well, I hope none of these people decide to bring weapons to any protests.

    Several niche, left-leaning gun advocacy groups said that since the killing of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, they can hardly keep up with the surging demand for firearms training.

    With President Donald Trump sending armed federal agents into communities around the country, even more once gun-shy liberals and leftists are considering getting armed. And while Americans tend to think of gun owners as leaning more Republican and male, already more women, gay people and people of color have taken up arms in recent years, particularly after 2020.

    But what exactly is there to accomplish with this?
    1. JP February 1, 2026 at 1:24 pm

       And what did the founding fathers intend with the 2nd amendment? That everyone could put venison on the table? It was more likely to deter some future government from the temptations of population suppression. The crazy right in this country responded to Democrat presidency by gunning up for that reason. Primarily because of the conspiracy theory that the liberals were going to take away their guns, which was probably not so much a theory as gun control legislation was introduced. The NRA and the supremes being afraid of a liberal take over put that theory to rest insuring not only that just about any crazy could own a gun but that they could wear it proudly almost anywhere.

       So to answer your question, it is to put the bite in civil unrest. However, if you read the NY times article about the weaponry ICE is brandishing, the average gun owner is severely outgunned.
       1. JP February 1, 2026 at 1:45 pm

          So Maduro was arrested on an old domestic law prohibiting civilians from owning full automatic weapons but the supremes said bump stocks were OK. No one thinks bump stocks are good for hunting small game. I want one for my 12 gauge. There is the old saying: when guns are outlawed the outlaws will have guns. But the modern version should be when machine guns are outlawed the outlaws will have machine guns. Most machine guns are in the hands of the federal govt. The other old claim is that guns are for personal protection. We depend on protection provided by our local, state and federal govt. They are supposed to keep criminals in check. Who is supposed to protect us from our govt when they become criminals?
          1. ambrit February 1, 2026 at 2:15 pm

             “Who is supposed to protect us from our govt when they become criminals?”
             Easy. The Old School criminals.
             C. M. Kornbluth wrote about this possibility back in 1953. The book is “The Syndic.”
             See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Syndic
             1. JP February 1, 2026 at 3:33 pm

                Back about 125 years ago, when anarchists had conventions, the view was that all governments were some version of criminal enterprises.
                1. amfortas February 1, 2026 at 7:02 pm

                   thats the main reason i consider myself an anarchist.
                   (except that i am currently identifying as an “Anarch”, due to being all alone)

                   ive seen, in my time, first hand that your statement is true…and the rot descends from the tippy top trillionaires that we dont even know exist, down to your small town city council/school board/bougie set.
                   i will say that at the local, small town level that i have been most privy to, the sexparties do not involve children. ill give our bougie set credit for being abhorred by all that…my old hometown? maybe not,lol….i left, never to return soon after my band played that hooker party for local VIP’s ive spoken about.
                   way out here, at least, the swingers…all bougie,btw…still have a sense of propriety.
                   (i call all this surveillance and ears wide open hood “Being Jane Goodall”, and its how i have approached society since junior high.)
          2. Oregon Lawhobbit February 2, 2026 at 5:01 pm

             OMG I would pay some decent money to see someone shoot a 12 gauge with a bump stock!!!! ;-)

             But yeah, bump stocks are not part of the Bullets for Bunnies program. They’re pretty much basically a good way to turn money into sound.
       2. Offtrail February 1, 2026 at 5:11 pm

          The Founding Fathers primarily intended for the Second Amendment to preserve the militia system. There was a strong suspicion of standing armies. States generally required citizens to serve in their local militia. This system persisted for several decades after the Revolution.

          Source: Armed In America by Patrick J. Charles.
          1. LifelongLib February 1, 2026 at 7:31 pm

             My understanding is that there were still people arguing for using militias during the U.S. Civil War, but it became obvious that the huge numbers of men needed and all the associated organization, training, logistics etc, were far beyond what a militia-based system could deliver.
          2. Oregon Lawhobbit February 2, 2026 at 5:02 pm

             Well, given that, by law, adult American males are all, with a few exceptions, in the militia – d’accord!

             Mostly. Sortakinda. ;-)
    2. EGrise February 1, 2026 at 2:06 pm

       According to a lesbian friend of my wife, it’s for protection.

       I’m ex-military, so she asked me to teach her how to shoot. When I asked why she said she was afraid for herself and her family. I think the specter of Renee Good follows her around.

       One scenario she posited: someone finally manages to assassinate the president and the right wing loses it, attacking the homes of racial minorities and open gays. After the events of the past year she has no expectation that the police will protect her, or that they really even want to. She believes she needs something available that might make the bullies think twice.

       I didn’t know what to say. I agreed to take her to the range, and told her that if the mob comes for her and her spouse and her two little boys, she would certainly “have my axe.”

       What the hell are we coming to.
       1. Jason Boxman February 1, 2026 at 2:49 pm

          From the CNN story, some people think bring small arms to protests is going to somehow, I don’t know, certainly not deescalate the situation with ICE. Who knows. I think facing off with law enforcement armed, the best case scenario is you go home alive.
          1. EGrise February 1, 2026 at 6:36 pm

             I figured that’s where you were coming from, just wanted to give another perspective.

             For the record, I agree that having a shootout with the cops at a protest is a terrible, terrible idea. Like the old saying about knife fighting, there are always losers and there doesn’t have to be a winner.
          2. JP February 1, 2026 at 8:55 pm

             I don’t think it will come down to a confrontation between law enforcement and protesters. It is between protesters and ICE goons. We hope local law enforcement intercedes on behalf of the protesters. Local law enforcement carrying the mantel for the militias intended by the 2nd amendment. Anyway it won’t get real with one guy and a gun. It will get real with 100’s of people with guns. I certainly don’t want to see that happen. Just talking war games here.

             I would like to see an overwhelming electoral repudiation of this administration but I am not encouraged by the good old boy sentiment in my small town.
       2. Peter Steckel February 1, 2026 at 4:00 pm

          I see these as “expressions of fear” as opposed to likely situations. I just don’t see a rightist style “FARC” going after lists of names in the US. For one, very few people have the stomach for that kind of work. Second, with courts and police still operating, the chances one eventually is caught and does time is still very high.

          Also, if a “mob” comes for her at her home she’d likely need multiple firearms and a LOT of ammo. Besides, if it is really ugly, if you successfully fight them off once, they’ll be back. Is she living on a compound a la Waco?

          Has everyone just gone nuts?
          1. EGrise February 1, 2026 at 6:31 pm

             As you say, this is an expression of fear. I also agree that the odds of any of that happening are slim. This ain’t Rwanda.

             But after the events of the last few weeks, I can’t rule it out entirely. Or I should say that if I try to, I start to sound like I’m whistling past the graveyard. She would stop listening to me entirely.

             I’m just gonna give her my dad’s old shotgun with a chamber lock so she doesn’t go buy a Desert Eagle or something and leave it where the boys can find it. When things cool down she’ll probably want to give it back.

             This is all just madness.
             1. TimH February 1, 2026 at 6:53 pm

                A 2kg Desert Eagle isn’t suitable for shooting unless your other job is with WWE in the ring.
    3. TimH February 1, 2026 at 6:44 pm

       “gun owners as leaning more Republican and male, already more women, gay people and people of color have taken up arms in recent years”

       There is so much prejudice and/or assumption in that quote, that I laughed involunarily when reading it. That “Republican and male” de facto excludes “gay people and people of color”.
    4. Lefty Godot February 1, 2026 at 8:20 pm

       But what exactly is there to accomplish with this?

       Well, a protest sign with a righteous slogan will get you places. But a protest sign and a gun will get you even further. (paraphrasing Al Capone)

       One could also paraphrase the “if one person does it” section from “Alice’s Restaurant” and follow its logical extrapolation: if everybody coming to protest is packing a gun, how many of them is ICE going to try to throw on the ground and disarm? Just a bunch of ordinary folks exercising their constitutional rights, no harm in that.
30. Susan Morgan February 1, 2026 at 12:00 pm

    British Politics?

    Note that Starmer is in power because the Conservative Party failed.
    So, what does an advisor to the Conservative Party do with that on his C.V.?

    He moves to California, pals around with the Newsoms while his wife, Rachel Whetstone, granddaughter of Lord Fisher, officiates as Director of Communications for Facebook, Uber and Netflix.

    Now Steve Hilton is running for California governor as “a conservative.”
    The safe alternative approved of by the Establishment.
31. JonnyJames February 1, 2026 at 12:01 pm

    Re: Cuba

    While it is remarkable that Cuba has survived for so many decades of blockades, siege, sabotage etc., how long will it be able to survive the latest choke-hold? If Venezuela, Mexico can not or will not ship fuel to Cuba, who will? Russia has condemned the US for the siege, but will Russia and China ramp up crucial assistance, and openly defy the US siege? https://tass.com/politics/2079619

    If not, I don’t see how Cuba can survive for much longer, Cuba has been in crisis for some time now already.
    1. EY Oakland February 1, 2026 at 10:32 pm

       And it is such great Real Estate. Certain People are drooling…
32. Susan Morgan February 1, 2026 at 12:41 pm

    BBC communicating with middle class?

    The average Brit is fed a diet of police dramas where many if not most of the Met officers are black women…look at the real numbers:

    All nonwhites are less than 5%.

    https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/workforce-and-business/workforce-diversity/police-workforce/latest/#by-ethnicity-and-rank-over-time-police-officers
    1. AG February 2, 2026 at 7:51 am

       Thanks
       I don´t like “Midsomer Murders” but I sometimes have to watch since I am not the only person in this hosuehold and it is interesting how ethnicity of personnel changes over the years. Lately you have Indian/Pakistani (of course related to software) and your black women officers too. Why it is females in UK and males in US – often – I don´t know.

       Of course there is the question – what does either choice change? Would it be more appropriate to cast the way it was done 30 or 50 years ago? No.

       So my take eventually it doesn´t and shouldn´t matter to viewers. But that is a different story of course.
       The base line should be does it serve the story in any way and are they good actors. Not political issues outside the fiction.
       But TV is doing just that – creating relations to everyday realities.

       I don´t find that interesting. But others do.

       When it turns into a problem is where you start doing quotas Affirmative-Action-like in Europe.
       So Netflix 2 years ago or so issued new projects for PoC-writers only.

       Now while these policies made sense in the US in the past and sometimes do now (in many cases however not – Norman Finkelstein has a good grasp of that I found) – in continental Europe it makes no sense as the history here is totally different than in a former slave-owing society as the American.

       Besides you simply have hardly any “black” writers as that is a profession of privilege and of course it´s easier to play progressive as a film company instead of standing up to immigration and economic policies of a government, or to simply pay one´s own work force properly.

       Also you have people from Italy or Turkey who formed the bulk of so-called “guest workers” since the 1950s and 1960s.
       Are they considered “black”. Of course not. But when you come to addressing injustice they are the ones mainly concerned traditionally.

       So hypocrisy, double standard and opportunism are core. After all it´s the world of entertainment and there is little as dishonest and vain as that realm.
       1. Wukchumni February 2, 2026 at 8:15 am

          I’ve noticed a trend in tv commercials to have mixed race couples depicted in maybe 30% of commercials, almost always black and white…which has to be a ton higher than actual interracial couples.
33. Sub-Boreal February 1, 2026 at 1:19 pm

    Apples-Falling-Near-The-Tree Department: the Canadian and South African adventures of Elon Musk’s wacky grandfather.
34. ThirtyOne February 1, 2026 at 1:32 pm

    The ‘mad king’: has Trump finally lost it?

    (Donald, Donald
    Donald, du bist so wunderbar
    Ach Donald, du machst mich wahnsinnig)

    Donald
    Where did you lose your smile
    Your blue eyes
    Are dark from madness
    Your graven-face
    Is still orange from vainness
    Donald
    Thatthingonyourhead fascinates me
    Sensitive Dandy
    Knight of the moonlight
    Your kiss-proof make-up
    Is melting at midnight
    Prince of desire
    Hypnotized by Zion-light
    You are so
    Impudent unreal
    Churlish King
    Chaos is your possession
    And also daily policy
    Crawl ’round the NeoCon Grotto
    Arm in arm with Netanyahoe

    Zion-stained Donald
    You took some flights to Epstein-land
    Where all your fantasies
    Came to a Hebe’s rear end
    Zion-stained Donald
    You finally found your princess
    Playing with countries like roaches
    Ends in distress
    Your
    Carrier Strike Groups are watching the petroleum-ground
    Dreamer of a self-made Atlantis

    It was decided for you to slay
    Netanyahoo’s mighty dragon
    To join Saint Ronnie’s conference-table

    Go down and meet, Melania
    On her swimming bed of roses
    She’s the one to hold your hands

    Sailing away, sailing away, sailing away
    On velvet gloves and silky legends
    To the Empire-Skyscraper-castle
    You Royal-fairy-tale-rebel

    (to the tune of Blue Grotto – Amon Düül II

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1av_-cpJkCU
    1. Lee February 1, 2026 at 4:15 pm

       Thanks for striking verse and for the link. First time I ever heard of the group or their music, even though I was contemporaneously in a similar milieu here on the left coast of the USA, and we were accustomed to associations with fellow travelers from Europe and elsewhere. More about Amon Düül II from Wikipedia.
       1. ThirtyOne February 1, 2026 at 5:20 pm

          I first heard Amon Duul II on KLRB (Carmel By The Sea) the local indie FM station in the “70s.
    2. Wukchumni February 1, 2026 at 5:17 pm

       standing ovation!
35. DMK February 1, 2026 at 3:37 pm

    Chinese kindergarten kids doing physical ed: damn, now the Chinese are producing better fake videos than us Americans!
    1. Vincent February 1, 2026 at 6:06 pm

       This commenter has been banned for multiple rule violations, including Being an Asshole.
36. Henry Moon Pie February 1, 2026 at 4:32 pm

    Last antidote could us a caption:

    “Look a–hole, I was here first.”

    Beautiful birds.
37. AG February 1, 2026 at 4:52 pm

    re: Varoufakis China no-Dollar

    German BERLINER ZEITUNG with an interview

    machine-translation
    
    Yanis Varoufakis: China is reluctantly preparing to abandon the dollar.

    The former Greek finance minister says the US is expanding its hegemony. China is making preparations in case the debt bubble bursts.
    https://archive.is/ClzC5
38. Riley February 1, 2026 at 6:01 pm

    Did you see the last clip where the girl is sitting down, legs in front, and then the legs snap out to a perfect 180° with no assistance from the arms or visible ab movement? I wouldn’t believe it if it were an adult, much less a child. That’s an incredibly tough move to pull off, and the kid doesn’t have any facial expression or reaction at all. Come on this is clearly AI
    1. Yves Smith February 2, 2026 at 7:49 am

       I looked at the clip slowly. I was able to get my legs into that position when I was young.

       You can see her entire pelvis shift. She is most decidedly using her abs. It’s obscured by the bouncing ball.

       Now is this likely? Only if she is the star of a pretty large population, and the floor is a bit slick so there is not much drag on her heels. But it is not impossible
39. wl February 1, 2026 at 6:04 pm

    Wait, no coverage of Epstein tranche?
    1. The Rev Kev February 1, 2026 at 6:31 pm

       It’s not over yet. About 3 million docs were released and we are told that that is all that is going to be released. But I understand that there are another 3 million docs yet to be released whose status is radioactive. If Trump thinks that his Epstein troubles are over I have news for him and it’s all bad.
       1. ThirtyOne February 1, 2026 at 7:41 pm

          What I’ve seen so far is enlightening. A nice list of Get ’em Young alumni.
40. samm February 1, 2026 at 6:22 pm

    “Radiologists Catch More Aggressive Breast Cancers By Using AI To Help Read Mammograms, Study Finds”

    A concrete example of the practical use of pattern matching. Why do these seem so few are far between? Often one wonders what’s all the fuss about over AI. We expected something useful from this technology, and all they seem to offer are AI girlfriends, the death of commercial arts, and the promised attention enslavement. But here is something useful, and no LLM or “AGI” required.
41. johnnyme February 1, 2026 at 6:22 pm

    File under “Harrowing ICE Video of the Day”

    https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/30/st-peter-police-chief-intervenes-prevents-federal-agents-from-arresting-resident
42. johnnyme February 1, 2026 at 6:34 pm

    From ProPublica:

    Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
    1. Alice X February 1, 2026 at 7:16 pm

       Thank you! The truth will out but where will it lead?

       Is T a fascist? Probably more a Mafioso Don, but he has fascist followers.
       1. Alice X February 1, 2026 at 9:08 pm

          And he will forgive his followers.
43. Jason Boxman February 1, 2026 at 6:54 pm

    Fun times

    Physician Assistants Want a New Name and More Power. Not Everyone Is Happy. (NY Times)

    If you wind up at an urgent care center in America, it’s increasingly likely you will be treated by a P.A. For a long time, P.A. meant the same thing everywhere: “physician assistant,” a licensed medical professional who can perform patient care, including prescribing medicine, under the supervision of a doctor.

    But that might be changing. In Oregon, New Hampshire and Maine, P.A. now means “physician associate,” and other states may follow this year.

    …

    Since 2000, the number of P.A.s has quadrupled, while many parts of the country face a shortage of doctors. That means P.A.s are becoming more numerous — and visible — in all fields of medicine, from primary care to dermatology. And along with the name change, they are seeking the ability to operate more independently from doctors.

    But will they protect patients from airborne disease? (lol, no)
    1. Alice X February 1, 2026 at 9:19 pm

       My understanding and with PAs in my recent experience, is that they have the same training as MDs but are cut short. Specifically, one PA specialist I’ve seen for some years was (she’s now left the org) completely on top of my information, and precisely analytical. She is to be missed, she worked as hard and maybe harder than the MDs.
44. flora February 1, 2026 at 7:35 pm

    File under Dems in Disarray and ICE:
    From Due Dissidence, utube, ~19+ minutes.

    Graham Platner DRAGS Dem Opponent Over ICE Funding

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upi4GypF2CQ
45. Glen February 1, 2026 at 11:06 pm

    Another good article from Asianometry discussing constraints on implementing AI:

    Silicon Valley Thinks TSMC is Braking the AI Boom
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lLFBun1qR0

    I’ll admit I have not seen any articles which try to state that TSMC’s lack of commitment to going hog wild on AI to “get to AGI” was an issue, and I’ve seen plenty of articles discussing how this almost insane all-in by our Silly Con Valley AI tech lords to build AI data centers is going to fail due to lack of power, not chips. It’s possible if this is being shopped around as the reason why the whole AI boom is soon to go bust that even the tech lords are seeing reality (which is AGI is not springing full grown from LLMs any time soon, and the American power grid cannot possibly support the planned AI data centers.) We can only observe the other possible outcomes to the current iteration of AI by looking at uses where the objectives differ, and that means looking at China (where the story is, at least from the West, all over the place):

    How China Caught Up on AI—and May Now Win the Future
    https://time.com/7358175/china-us-ai-race/

    China lags behind US at AI frontier but could quickly catch up, say experts
    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/28/china-lags-behind-us-at-ai-frontier-but-could-quickly-catch-up-say-experts

    Other haves already reported on how China is using AI in health care:

    Long before DeepSeek blew up Wall Street, it was in China’s top hospitals
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kt-6GuccEuY

    But what is mentioned by Asianometry, almost in passing, is something very important. Silicon Valley just doesn’t do hardware anymore, and hasn’t prioritized it for almost 30 years. I think this is very true, and very important.

    Don’t do hardware? Well, looks like Silicon Valley has truly become Silly Con Valley. Bummer!
46. Kouros February 1, 2026 at 11:56 pm

    I have seen a map with the two Chinese flotillas organizing themselves in long walls in the proximity of taiwan. Was impressive. No wonder the winging and whining of the article.

    I have not seen any US article criticizing the pager terrorist attack of Israel on Lebanon civilians. It was all a high five. This feat of the Chinise militia fishermen can be a big headache, like those Israeli pagers. Let the whinging begin!
47. Hazelbee February 2, 2026 at 3:26 am

    Moltbook -Looks like the story is the story

    https://www.404media.co/exposed-moltbook-database-let-anyone-take-control-of-any-ai-agent-on-the-site/

    Comically bad security around the back end database for the site.

    Which means what happened and happens is a guess.

    You can’t trust any of the posts, comments, post count, agent counts. None of it. Which makes me feel better. I really did think that over a million people were stupid enough to try out and set openclaw up

    It’s a social viral story at heart with sprinkling of security and agent based AI. How much will people trust? Why does the story spread? Who was pushing it? Or did the engagement with the story on the big platforms just drive the engagement and blow the story up further?

    Expect the story to run and run .

    And expect some of the core of the story to hide. Agents are still useful. Security is still critically important. LLLm based systems might be impossible to secure properly .

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