Links 2/12/2026

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1. ilsm February 12, 2026 at 7:10 am

   Another CVN going to SW Asia/Eastern Med, somewhere not to be a target.

   Last March two CVN: USS Truman and USS Vinson, tilted with the Houthi and withdrew!

   Lincoln is somewhere safe in the Arabian Sea appendage of the Indian Ocean! Send in USS Bush to hide, too.

   How much refueling is needed to get their strike aircraft to stand off range?
   1. Wizard February 12, 2026 at 12:24 pm

      Rubio should lead the beach party landing at Bay of Pigs 2.0
   2. Glen February 12, 2026 at 5:12 pm

      TACOs are on today’s menu, but apparently Bibi didn’t like them:

      Trump Boxed Himself Into a Corner w/Iran Lt Col Daniel Davis
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMrLA66CRIw

      So one month of “negotiations”. I’m sure that also means if SIGINT finds a target, Trump would pull an Obama drone strike and call it a victory. Striking during negotiations seems to be a signature move.

      But the window on even that might be closing:

      China and Russia Plan to Hold a Naval Exercise With Iran in February
      https://maritime-executive.com/article/china-and-russia-plan-to-hold-a-naval-exercise-with-iran-in-february

      Put Russian, Chinese, and American naval ships in the gulf, and then start shooting? I guess we’ll get to see who wants to start WW3.
2. The Rev Kev February 12, 2026 at 7:29 am

   ‘Dustin Burnham
   @ModernDad
   My wife calls me, panicked.
   The call is from her number, and her voice is unmistakable- that’s my wife.
   ‘Babe, our son is hurt. He got in a bike wreck. I’m at the emergency room but they won’t take our insurance and I need cash to get him help. Please send me 3000 dollars as soon as you can, he’s really not doing well.’

   I was going to suggest creating a safeword with your partner and to do so far, far away from any listening electronic device but when I fully opened that tweet, that is exactly what the guy and his wife had done so he was not caught up in this digital con. He has other valuable suggestions as well and one guy on that tweet suggested changing that word every time that word was used which the guy said that he was going to add to his list. This is the world that we now live in and the replies are interesting to read-

   https://xcancel.com/ModernDad/status/2021675945581486309
   1. Santo de la Sera February 12, 2026 at 10:10 am

      Safe words would work only on this AI variation of this scam. But relying on AI is far from the only way to do this. When I lived in Southeast Asia there was a variation where scammers (posing as Chinese police or officials) would trick a young person into believing they were under investigation for serious crimes like money laundering or identity theft.
      The scammers would pressure the victim into proving their innocence by cooperating, which escalated to instructing them to stage their own kidnapping. This included:
      Recording videos of themselves bound, with fake injuries.
      Sending those videos to their own parents (or guardians) with ransom demands.

      This can be quite successful and no safe word will help. And probably, for the scammers, much more fun than playing with AI.
      1. urdsama February 12, 2026 at 12:51 pm

         Disagree. You can still embed safe words in such videos, and it has been done successfully in the past.

         It does take more effort, but might be worth it when traveling to areas known for such issues. It’s also a good idea not to make yourself a target.
         1. Santo de la Sera February 12, 2026 at 10:17 pm

            The point here is that the victims are willing participants trying to supposedly prove their innocence by cooperating. So of course they’ll give out their safe words freely.
            The most effective form of hacking has always been social.
            1. Yves Smith February 13, 2026 at 12:56 am

               This is nonsense and sophistry. “Victims” who are captives or coerced are NOT willing participants. Your reply shows how invested you are in your position. Moreover, I am now in the hotbed of scamming and the operations of scam farms are extensively covered. I have never heard of an instance, ever, of the kidnapped person being asked to mine their own contacts. That might lead to them begin run down and official action taken, such as when a Chinese actor was kidnapped, the government of China swung into action. Not only was he released in two days, but in the end Myanmar was also pressured into bombing some major scam compound.

               In other words, you look to have entirely fabricated a scenario that would put the scammers themselves at risk. They make plenty good money by using the people they have kidnapped to engage in social engineering and cultivate relations with people in their home countries to get them to send money as part of investment scams. It’s so common that it has a name, “pig butchering”.

               If this is wrong, you need to provide a link to support your assertion.

               And them being given out in a pre-recorded video would suggest a security compromise, as in being recorded. The experts recommend that the parties agree on BOTH a challenge to elicit the safe phrase (“I am eating Boston Cream Pie”) to elicit the safe phrase (“gardenias in the garden”).
               1. Santo de la Sera February 13, 2026 at 6:15 am

                  Sorry, I didn’t explain the scam correctly. This is the kind of scam I was referring to.

                  In this case the parents receive recorded videos, and the victims believe they are cooperating with the authorities in making the videos. There is no two-way communication so no means to exchange phrases.
                  I never meant to imply that safe words are never useful.
                  But generally speaking the advice given in the link by the Singapore police is solid for a larger variety of occasions, including the AI scam.
                  Besides, I tend to forget things like passwords and phrases when I’m flustered.
                  1. Yves Smith February 13, 2026 at 8:17 am

                     OK sorry for having coming down so hard on you. At least in Thailand and Cambodia, “scammers” = the aforementioned pig butchers or lower-level abuses, ranging from taxi drivers with wildly high priced meters or tours where the group leader basically incarcerates the tourists in a store and demands they spend at least a minimum amount to be let out.
3. Victor Sciamarelli February 12, 2026 at 7:57 am

   On X – Dustin Burnham @ModernDad “My wife calls me, panicked.”
   The crucial part of this scam, imo, is that without insurance people need $3,000 cash before your child gets help in the hospital emergency room.
   1. amfortas February 12, 2026 at 11:38 am

      actually, since reagan times, federal law says treat first, bill later. ER cant turn you away.
      1. Mikel February 12, 2026 at 1:01 pm

         Makes me wonder if Modern Dad was contacted by an overseas scammer.
      2. jrkrideau February 12, 2026 at 3:50 pm

         In what country was the son?

         Do most people in the USA know about the “treat first, bill later” legislation.
   2. juno mas February 12, 2026 at 4:54 pm

      Umm, the ambulance ride in my town to the hospital ER was billed at $1800 in 2010. The ER bill was substantially higher.

      Amfortas is correct. Hospitals can’t turn you away. And neither can your insurance company refuse to pay the billed amount. (That’s part of why the ER is so expensive.)
4. flora February 12, 2026 at 8:05 am

   File under Police State:

   From Racket News, mostly paywalled.

   EXCLUSIVE: FBI Gathered Intel On 1,000 Journalists, Politicians, Religious Organizations On Flimsy Grounds
   ‘The FBI can gather a dossier on anyone they choose’

   – by Ryan Lovelace

   https://www.racket.news/p/exclusive-fbi-gathered-intel-on-1000
   1. Carolinian February 12, 2026 at 9:21 am

      Maybe Hoover’s file cabinets are still in the basement.

      Back in the day Hoover was running his own Epstein style operation with wire taps and kompromat on important people.
      1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 11:18 am

         I have it from very ‘special’ sources that Hoover kept his files in the closet.
5. Trees&Trunks February 12, 2026 at 8:06 am

   This Kallas-lady.
   Approaching her linguistically it is by now clear that the only saying verbs connected with Kallas should be fart w/synonyms and poop w/synonym depending on the gravity of the intellectual digestive biproducts let out.
   Everything she says stinks.
   Just try and it all makes sense again.
   K. farts thatbmore sanctions on Russia will do it.
   K. breaks Putin is the new Hitler-wind
   K. poops that noone except for her husband must do business with Russia.
   1. The Rev Kev February 12, 2026 at 8:33 am

      It should be noted that Kaja Kallas is the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy which means that she is the head diplomat for the EU. But Russia and the US are united on one thing. Not only does Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov refuse to meet her but so does US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. That’s a helluva accomplishment that.
      1. leaf February 12, 2026 at 9:04 am

         It feels like Rubio’s functions as secretary of state have mostly been taken over by Witkoff and maybe Kushner. One wonders if Rubio is doing any of his tasks as Secretary of State, National Security Advisor, National Archivist and USAID director well or even doing them at all.
         1. jefemt February 12, 2026 at 9:19 am

            He’s on Paid Leave shoring up his interests in Cuba.
            1. flora February 12, 2026 at 10:03 am

               Our very own baby Batista. / heh
               1. flora February 12, 2026 at 10:46 am

                  Adding for NC readers unfamiliar with the name, here’s a PBS docu on Cuba’s Batista:

                  Fulgencio Batista (1901-1973)

                  He was called El Hombre, “the Man,” and for three decades he was one of Cuba’s most controversial leaders. It would take Fidel Castro and the Cuban revolution to unseat him.

                  https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/castro-fulgencio-batista-1901-1973/
               2. John Wright February 12, 2026 at 10:58 am

                  I recall that Rubio’s parents left Cuba while Batista was in charge.

                  They did not flee from Fidel Castro.

                  Rubio may want to return Cuba to the age before Batista, pre 1930’s.

                  Three generations of USA sanctions on Cuba, and a hypothetical 19yr old Cuban revolutionary in 1959 is now around 86 years old, so the USA is running out of prime movers to punish.

                  Amazing.
         2. Kontrary Kansan February 12, 2026 at 1:05 pm

            Rubio is busy, busy, busy amping up colonizing ventures in South America. In Paraguay an US AI project is aiming to gobble up its energy surplus.
            https://open.substack.com/pub/robinkash/p/ai-goes-shopping-in-paraguay?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=b7tf6
   2. mrsyk February 12, 2026 at 9:23 am

      “Dutch-Oven Diplomacy”
      1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 11:21 am

         Keeping a lid on the percolating pot of political porridge.
6. mrsyk February 12, 2026 at 8:41 am

   Archived link for “Scientists thought they understood global warming. Then the past three years happened.”. Discusses accelerating rate of global warming, points finger at thinning low level cloud cover, even mentions the possibility of a cloud feedback loop.
   Let us hope that is not the case. In mrsyk’s realm of climate change, clouds are the one ring to rule them all.
   It’s going to be a challenging year for crops.
   1. Jason Boxman February 12, 2026 at 12:02 pm

      If most of the current record warmth is due to changing amounts of aerosol pollution, the acceleration would stop once aerosol pollutants reach zero — and the planet would return to its previous, slower rate of warming.

      But if it’s due to a cloud feedback loop, the acceleration is likely to continue — and bring with it worsening heat waves, storms and droughts. “If there is a strengthening cloud feedback — a positive cloud feedback associated with warming — that’s going to persist,” Hausfather said.

      LOLz, I’d say who cares? It was already warming at a catastrophic rate. I mean, whatever. We’re already well into “oh shit” territory at this point.
7. The Rev Kev February 12, 2026 at 9:00 am

   “RFK Jr’s Nutrition Chatbot Recommends Best Foods to Insert Into Your Rectum”

   He’s quite right you know. How else will you be able to poop out your mouth-

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf6GoHIcp5o (16 secs)
8. Wukchumni February 12, 2026 at 9:12 am

   Gonna have my say some tomorrow
   Gonna give away my secrets
   I’d take you along with me
   But you would not go so far

   Don’t disregard what Donald does not want you to see
   You’ll hear a dead man say
   Won’t be what I want to be
   I continue in my way

   Don’t you see, see, see where I’m goin’
   Don’t you see, see, see where I’m goin’
   Don’t you see, see, see where I’m goin’ to
   I don’t want to

   Every day I see the mornin’ in purgatory
   Come on in the same old way
   I tell myself tomorrow brings me
   Payback I would not dream today

   Gonna have my say some tomorrow
   Gonna give away my secrets
   I’d take you along with me
   But you would not go so far

   Don’t disregard what Donald does not want you to see
   You’ll hear a dead man say
   Won’t be what I want to be
   I continue in my way

   Don’t you see, see, see where I’m goin’
   Don’t you see, see, see where I’m goin’
   Don’t you see, see, see where I’m goin’ to
   I don’t want to

   A Song for Jeffrey, by Jethro Tull

   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=din0-BRBBpg&list=RDdin0-BRBBpg
9. Bugs February 12, 2026 at 9:16 am

   “Von der Leyen flips the blame for crippling EU economy back onto national leaders”

   Yes, it’s obviously excess bureaucratic bottlenecks and regulations that have ruined the EU economies. Nothing to do with suddenly cutting off supplies of cheap energy through sanctions that have crippled nearly every industrial manufacturer across the bloc…as well as any artisans or SMEs who close up shop because electricity is too dear.

   Btw, I’m having trouble commenting (I made one on the very interesting Antonini post earlier). If you click “Post Comment” the page just reloads to the top. Wondering if it’s only me.
   1. .human February 12, 2026 at 11:52 am

      I’ve seen reports of very heavy bot traffic on the net over the past few days. DDOS strength as AI continues to scour the web.

      I couldn’t load NC at all for a period yesterday due to the (usually transparent) Cloudfare challenge.

      Sh!t happens :-)
      1. tegnost February 12, 2026 at 12:14 pm

         Same here, seems like something has been up behind the scenes for a while now.
         1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 12:58 pm

            Similar. I’m having a major uptick in spam e-mails. And all I can say to all of those ‘cuties’ who are just panting to show me their “spicy, thrilling, naughty photos,” is; Where were you when I was single?
            Stay safe and try to wean yourself off of heavy internet usage. It’s bad for your mental health.
         2. Old Jake February 12, 2026 at 1:55 pm

            Yes, several instances yesterday. I think we (tegnost and I) are on the same ISP, Astound/Wave, about the only provider here on the Oly Peninsula. I hadn’t seen the Cloudflare before on NC. But I long ago pinned the tab for NC so it might have cookies in place authenticating me.
10. Krautsalat February 12, 2026 at 9:21 am

    German Armed Forces find too few volunteers for Lithuania Brigade

    Link (machine translation) (Spiegel also has a pay-walled article about that).

    …
    Specifically, the issue concerns filling the positions for Panzer Battalion 203 and Panzergrenadier Battalion 122. According to the documents, the number of volunteers so far only reaches between 28 and 47 percent.
    …
    a nationwide survey of the Bundeswehr revealed that only “around 10 percent” of the necessary volunteers had come forward for 1,971 positions.
    …
    1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 11:37 am

       I’ll bet they have an excess of volunteers for Einsatzgruppe Rus.
    2. Ignacio February 12, 2026 at 2:25 pm

       A Baden-Baden brigade would almost certainly be more successful. Who wants to rot her/himself in Lithuania?
    3. Sam Culotte February 12, 2026 at 3:01 pm

       As we learned from yesterday’s links, young people today hope to be “content-creators” or “influencers”. Not much else. I suppose, given that many of them enjoy video games, openings for drone operators might have some appeal.

       Otherwise, I can’t see many of them climbing into tanks or foxholes. They’re not dumb and they’re not gonna get their asses shot off for a bunch of rich old farts (and biddies).
       1. jrkrideau February 12, 2026 at 4:02 pm

          I remember years ago, (1990’s?) seeing a cartoon where parents watched their child wielding a joystick to play computer games were seeing this skill as promising a great future for their child.

          It may have come true. Drone operators seem to be in great demand
11. The Rev Kev February 12, 2026 at 9:24 am

    “Nearly three quarters of US baby foods are ultra-processed, new study finds”

    Even decades ago when our kids were babies, we went out and bought a food blender so that we could make foods that they could eat. The fact of the matter is that a corporation will not care what they put in baby food and are perfectly capable of adding in ingredients to make them addictive to a baby. They really do not care so long as they make a profit.
    1. lyman alpha blob February 12, 2026 at 11:04 am

       We did the same thing and it is about the easiest thing you can do. Get some fresh veggies, put them in a blender for about 30 seconds, and then spoon the mush into ice cube trays and freeze them. Warm as needed to feed the baby. You can make enough baby food for weeks in about ten minutes.

       Cloth diapers are a bit more work, but also very doable, because we did that too.
       1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 1:05 pm

          Phyl used to mix the kiddies’ vitamins, all ground up into a powder, in a gooey mix of avocado and yoghurt, with some honey for taste. That and “organic” apple sauce made the midday feeding a messy fun time.
          Well do I remember cloth diapers. Washing those was a test of commitment to the family, no lie.
          1. The Rev Kev February 12, 2026 at 5:54 pm

             Especially when it was full of green smears.
             1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 7:21 pm

                “Green Smears” sounds like a ‘woke’ version of “skid marks.”
                I remember turning the faucet on a little before ‘handling’ the soiled nappies. Then I could rinse off my ‘damaged and contaminated’ fingers before touching anything!
                Stay safe. As we told the children once or twice over the years; your having children of your own is our revenge.
          2. mrsyk February 12, 2026 at 6:05 pm

             Dude, I washed (and pre-washed!) my fair share of those. Dad duty.
             1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 7:23 pm

                Testify brother! Did you also carry the wriggler around on shopping day in a cloth papoose carrier? That was always fun until the front of your shirt started to feel wet.
12. Randy Holcomb February 12, 2026 at 9:27 am

    According to the X Track AIPAC, their Instagram account is back up and operational.
13. Carolinian February 12, 2026 at 9:39 am

    Re slow Helene rebuilding in North Carolina–the story has its angle but one thing that isn’t much discussed is that many of the damaged homes were in places where there should be no homes going by realistic flood maps. Therefore the rules for government rebuilding may be stricter than for those doing their own repairs and rebuilding. And local reports suggest many are rebuilding on dubious lots.

    Meanwhile large Lake Lure north of me is only now starting to be refilled after it was completely drained so that the toxic debris could be removed. It will take until the end of the year before nature does the job of refilling.
14. Wukchumni February 12, 2026 at 9:46 am

    Picture Pam peccadilloes perhaps, precisely prickly.
    1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 11:44 am

       A predictably porcine pronunciamento pardner.
       1. JMH February 12, 2026 at 12:42 pm

          You speak of the Bondi of the Trump law firm former known as the US Department of Justice?
          1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 1:13 pm

             I think so. That is now, under new management, known as the US Department of Justice for the Connected.
             I view La Dama Bondi as the Justice Department Spokesmodel.
             “Just read what’s on the card sweetie. You can read, right?”
             Stay safe. Avoid ‘Imperial Entanglements.’
             1. chuck roast February 12, 2026 at 8:06 pm

                You mean the US Department of Just Us.
                1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 8:42 pm

                   It is and carries a Bigg Clubb, but alas I ain’t in it.
                   Somehow, Graham Greene’s book, later a film, “The Ministry of Fear” comes to mind.
                   See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ministry_of_Fear#Comparison_with_the_film
       2. Old Jake February 12, 2026 at 1:58 pm

          Do you refer to today’s (beautiful in it’s own way) antidote, or to our not so beautiful Attorney General?
          1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 7:28 pm

             Riffing on the old tyme slang “pig” for coppers, both.
             I also just twigged to the Beatles lyrics for ‘Polethene Pam.’
             “See her in jackboots and kilt.”
             See: https://genius.com/The-beatles-polythene-pam-esher-demo-lyrics
    2. ChrisFromGA February 12, 2026 at 1:08 pm

       Sung to the tune of, “Peggy Sue” by Buddy Holly

       [Verse 1]
       If you knew Pammy Sue
       Then you’d know why I feel blue
       Without Pammy, my Pammy Sue
       Oh well I love you gal, yes, I love you Pammy Sue

       [Verse 2]
       Pammy Sue, Pammy Sue
       Oh how my MAGA heart yearns for you
       Oh Pammy, my Pammy Sue
       Oh well I love you gal, and, the perps they love you too!

       [Verse 3]
       Pammy Sue, Pammy Sue
       Prickly, petty, punky, prosecutin’ Pammy Sue
       Oh Pammy, my Pammy Sue
       Oh well I love you gal, but I need some perp-walks, too

       [Verse 4]
       I love you, Pammy Sue, with a love so rare and true
       Oh Pammy, my Pammy Sue
       Well I love you gal, I want those perp-walks, too

       [Instrumental Break]

       [Verse 5]

       Pammy Sue, Pammy Sue
       Prickly, petty, punky, prosecutin’ Pammy Sue
       Oh Pammy, my Pammy Sue
       Oh well I love you gal, yes, I need you to do your job, too

       [Verse 6]
       I love you, Pammy Sue, with a love so rare and true
       Oh Pammy, my Pammy Sue
       Oh well I love you gal, and I want those perp-walks too
       Oh well I love you gal, and I want you Pammy Sue
       1. ambrit February 12, 2026 at 1:17 pm

          Is Pammy Sue a Mary Sue?
          Enquiring minds want to know.
          (Curiously enough, I would have expected such a development from a H Clinton Administration, not a D Trump Administration. Go figure.)
       2. Tom Stone February 12, 2026 at 1:54 pm

          “We love you Papa Doc” was the most popular song in Haiti for decades yet I can’t find the lyrics on the intertubes.
15. The Rev Kev February 12, 2026 at 9:48 am

    ‘Matt Stoller
    @matthewstoller
    Attorney General Pam Bondi says that the only reason people are interested in Epstein is to distract from the Dow Jones hitting 50,000 and the stock market “smashing” records, and how great the economy is.’

    I saw a minute or two of Pam Bondi’s performance and was surprised. She was hammering the point that it was only Trump that released the Epstein files and was wondering why nobody shut her up by saying that it was only when Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie took him to court that forced him to release those files. She thinks that she can get away with things using belligerence but that will take you only so far and then leaves you exposed.
    1. Archie Shemp February 12, 2026 at 11:03 am

       Her truculence and flailing struck me as desperate. I’m surprised her makeup held up with all the flop sweat.
       1. Yves Smith February 12, 2026 at 11:49 am

          Oh, what a great skewering! Hats off to you!
       2. elissa3 February 12, 2026 at 12:09 pm

          Yes, the exterior was amazingly intact. Whatever company’s products she uses should hire her for their ads.
          1. Wilfred Rondeau February 12, 2026 at 9:17 pm

             elissa
             mixed with crazy glue, self-produced.
       3. IM Doc February 12, 2026 at 7:18 pm

          Always remember that Botox makes skin sweat much less than normal.
    2. JP February 12, 2026 at 1:31 pm

       Yesterdays circus featured mainly the Epstein files but there are many other serious corruptions in progress that are fundamental to constitutional guarantees.

       Mark Kelly’s failed grand jury indictment for treasonous activity never came up. Then today, a federal judge put a stop to the Hegseth’s attempted punishment of Kelly, stating that it would endanger the free speech rights of every retired service member. The DOJ lawyer claimed that veterans speech must be restricted to not risk undermining the armed forces and it’s internal processes. That would mean anyone who served even if conscripted (showing my age) could be prosecuted for opposing any military doctrine. That is the same as being forced into the Mafia and saying you can never leave.
    3. Young February 12, 2026 at 4:08 pm

       Dow closed below 50K.

       Can we go back to discussing the files again?
16. t February 12, 2026 at 9:49 am

    Evil men like Epstein are, in the simplest form, obsessed with eugenics because they believe that their ill-gotten gains are the product of some innate superiority.

    Quote from the linked article about Epstien’s obsession with eugenics. I don’t entirely agree. One of the few cases where I, just myself, think there is some complicated internal gymnastics at work. These guys, even the ones who are smart, are constantly seeing unassailable evidence that other people are as smart or smarter and they react, not be consciously accepting this fact, but by pinning their hopes on a different proof of their superiorortity. A superiority they have felt their bones since toddlerhood and continue to believe in because of astounding immaturity, a personality disorder, or both.
    1. Carolinian February 12, 2026 at 10:36 am

       In other words “you’ve got to be taught” and if at an early age you are convinced you are superior then that notion won’t be going away later.

       I’d say the prob here though is that a universal tendency toward tribalism among humans and our fellow monkeys is being depicted as “evil” rather than behavioral. Yes we have to overcome our monkey-ness with our big brains but that doesn’t mean the tendency isn’t “baked in the cake.” The great irony of course is that those who take eugenics seriously are often–like Epstein or Trump–not all that smart or able to see the falsity of it.

       As for evil, Epstein’s ultimate fate was not all that different from that other master racer in his Berlin bunker.
       1. flora February 12, 2026 at 11:42 am

          You’ve got to be carefully taught. / ;) utube, ~1+ minute.

          South Pacific.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPf6ITsjsgk&list=RDVPf6ITsjsgk&start_radio=1
       2. t February 12, 2026 at 3:17 pm

          Teaching is a big part of it for most of us, learning as we grow. A few resist or never for the intimate bonds required. Or maybe they’re just to enthralled with the idea of their own superiority and won’t give it up.

          Don’t we all know some who is just no good despite having a loving family and siblings who ate just fine? Or someone who respects others despite – or maybe because of – the circumstances of their early life being evil?
       3. mrsyk February 12, 2026 at 6:12 pm

          Seems like Epstein’s fate is up for debate these days. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he was smuggled out of jail and is holed up in Dubai or god know’s where.
    2. Jeremy Grimm February 12, 2026 at 1:40 pm

       The obsession with eugenics by Epstein and members of the world’s Übermenschen impresses me as an eerie and disgusting echo of the Nazi Lebensborn program, not unlike the echo of Israeli efforts at a Final Solution of the Palestinian problem.
    3. ArvidMartensen February 12, 2026 at 2:50 pm

       Someone I know showed me there are two ways to be smart.

       There is the smart from being able to create new ideas and new knowledge or come up with more accurate explanations of what is going on in the world, with positive aims and outcomes.

       Then there is the ‘smart’ that comes from being able to read people and situations and exploit what you’ve learned to improve your wealth and power or to indulge your wants. At the expense of others.

       The “smartness” is in getting away with it, irrespective of whether its illegal or immoral.The “smart” people who operate this way think that anyone who doesn’t take down the people around them is stupid, naive, a sucker, a moron….

       A predilection to being “smart” has been found to be partly genetic. Twins studies. The “smart” people do indeed think they are far superior. So probably Epstein is right, that he can breed this “smartness” into future generations by spreading his genes around.

       A very sobering thought. Don’t the Israeli Zionists have a big project to outbreed the rest of the world thereby taking over? Wasn’t that what the kibbutz movement was all about – attracting young Jews to Israel back in the day to to convince them to stay and breed?
17. PlutoniumKun February 12, 2026 at 9:52 am

    U.S. Delivers New F-35 Fighters Without Radars Due to Upgrade Delays, Mounting Issues Defense Express. Commentary:

    The photo attached to this tweet is an old one, dating from a few years ago – it was a damaged test aircraft with the radar removed – the weights were popped onto the mounts to maintain balance while it was moved.

    Using ballast in aircraft put into service while non-essential electronics are being developed isn’t new – the RAF’s Panavia Tornado interceptor variant was known as the ‘Blue Circle’ because of the tonne of concrete required in the nose pending the delayed development of its Foxhunter radar. There are numerous examples of this going back to WWII at least. Its not certain from open information sources whether its a supply chain issue with the particular upgraded radar (other radars for export variants are unaffected) or if its an integration/mounting issue of some type.
    1. ilsm February 12, 2026 at 9:51 pm

       The newest USAF “lot” F-35A with ballast in its nose will fly with another F-35 whose old AN/APG 81 radar will “control” its weapons. Via data link!

       What should be “interesting” is why was the Northrop Grumman AN/APG 85 “fire control radar” (AESA and “mapping”) placed in the product baseline/bill of material for F-35’s on lot/order while the APG 85 is a problem and may be years to certify?

       The Air Force demanded a production lot with a radar that is not fully designed! Older production lots have AN/APG 81 which was designed for F-35 20 odds years of delay ago.

       It would be unfair to Lockheed coupon clippers/stockholders to hold the payment for the production/lot for the Northrop Grumman delay design!

       Financial audit certainly cannot accept the price of those F-35’s.
    2. Glen February 13, 2026 at 4:06 am

       Another possible China related materials “shortage”?

       Gallium Nitride (GaN) game changer for Aerospace and Military communications,
       radar, and electronic warfare (EW), applications
       https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/trecms/pdf/AD1191843.pdf

       AESA Radars

       Next-generation radar systems are critical to providing situational awareness of the entire networked battlefield. Active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar systems operating in bands from UHF to X-band can produce very high-pulsed powers for surveillance applications or multiple simultaneous beams for shorter distance targeting and acquisition applications.

       Gallium Reserves by Country 2026
       https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/gallium-reserves-by-country

       USGS Gallium Statistics and Information
       https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center/gallium-statistics-and-information

       Low-purity, unrefined gallium is not produced in the United States and demand is satisfied by imports, primarily low-purity and high-purity material from Canada, China, Germany, and Japan.

       Hmm, well with military going back to coal fired power plants, maybe they can investigate going back to tube electronics too?
18. PlutoniumKun February 12, 2026 at 10:07 am

    Letters from Việt Nam JRUrbaneNetwork

    Worth a read just to note how high cost railways isn’t just an anglosphere problem (although I suspect the quoted figures have been exaggerated, he doesn’t give a source). The main Vietnamese cities have a significant problem with putting rapid transit in place due to uncooperative geology – highly karstic limestone in the north, and very deep and unstable alluvials in the south. They would be well advised sticking to elevated railways if they can.

    Vietnam is in ultra high growth mode (the writer is wrong to compare it to 1980’s China, its far more advanced than that) but they are on a steep learning curve. And everyone should watch out for Vinfast – its one of the most dynamic companies anywhere in Asia, making everything from cars and scooters to renewables and infrastructure. Vietnam recently started to ban petrol scooters in its cities, giving Vinfast a big lead in scooter EV’s, which ironically enough are being boosted by slow progress in public transport.

    The main problem Vietnam faces is a familiar one in SE Asia – a corrupt administration system and (already) a housing price boom which is causing a lot of stress to younger people who are rapidly getting priced out of the market. Vietnam urgently needs rapid transit to open up more land for housing as well as industry. The country is in a sweet spot where they can play off the various regional powers, and in a position to learn the lessons from the successful and failed Tiger economies. Unfortunately, so far they seem to be pushing speed over quality when it comes to growth.
    1. Ignacio February 12, 2026 at 2:41 pm

       Thank you PK. IMO, a fascinating country I would like to visit even when I am “allergic” (really dislike) to long flights. They should make that famous city train which passes just by thousands of people doing their normal activities a fast one, haha!

       I take notice of Vinfast and I agree Vietnam should try with elevated railways. Not having knowledge on structural questions, how are the pillars kept correctly fixed in place in alluvial terrain? Is it easy?
       1. jrkrideau February 12, 2026 at 4:39 pm

          I am “allergic” (really dislike) to long flights

          I was trying to work that out for a friend with a really nasty nicotine addiction. If you are rich enough to splurge money on a lot of airline tickets but cannot quite afford a private plane with a smoking area just do little hops.

          Just off my head. Toronto to Vancouver. Rent hotel. Van to Tokyo. Three days touristing.
          Tokyo to Hanoi. Arrive rested and ready to go.

          We probably could cut down the air times in some cases especially if we could get from Alaska to the Russian Far East. Maybe Vladivostok.
       2. PlutoniumKun February 12, 2026 at 5:30 pm

          So far as I’m aware, there are no major structural issues with elevated structures on soft alluvial, it’s simply a case of driving the foundations deep enough. Bangkok (among other coastal cities) is built on swamp and estuarine silts and has no problem with high structures, including its own elevated metro. There can be issues with groundwater flows, but thats dealt with on a site by site basis.

          There tends to be a strong bias against elevated structures in Europe and the US for obvious aesthetic reasons, but in many situations then can be the least worst option. In Japanese cities they often built elevated highways right over river channels, which is pretty horrifying to European eyes, but it was quite a pragmatic approach to minimising land take and urban demolition while building infrastructure in the 1950’s and 60’s. When they are well noise insulated, they can work quite well. I once stayed in a hotel room in Osaka directly next to an elevated carriageway – I could literally touch the highway wall when leaning out of the window – but at night it was almost noise free.

          Its tunnelling thats a problem – loose wet geology is usually the ‘worst’ when it comes to railway tunnels, especially if it’s in an area prone to floods, as the Mekong Delta certainly is. In Dublin they are finally… finally! starting to build a Metro line soon – Dublin geology is pretty nasty for tunnellers (lots of mixed muds, alluvials and various fragmented hard rock layers, along with a high water table) so its adding a lot to the cost. It is probably going to be around 3-500 million euro a km, which is surprisingly close to those upper Vietnamese costs.
          1. Acacia February 12, 2026 at 9:09 pm

             FWIW, many people deplore the project to place the Tokyo metropolitan expressway [shuto-kô] directly over some of the canals, (e.g. around Ginza), especially the historic bridge at Nihonbashi, and there is a current project to destroy a section of this elevated structure and re-route traffic by 2040.

             Tokyo moves to restore open skies over historic Nihonbashi bridge
             https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/06/17/japan/nihonbashi-underground-highway/
             1. PlutoniumKun February 13, 2026 at 7:45 am

                There were definitely some horrors in Tokyo and Osaka – the South Koreans have been doing similar things to reverse them too, including the well known Cheonggye restoration which involved the removal of a large chunk of overhead highway.

                Its a good lesson that building fast and ambitiously is not always a great idea. Sometimes a little time is needed to get things right.
19. Tom Stone February 12, 2026 at 10:20 am

    Pam Bondi seems to be enjoying herself while testifying before Congress.
    I don’t think she’ll be as happy in a year, the purge of nearly 3,000 career prosecutors in the last year means that those who are left are either total careerists or those that can’t afford to leave because they need the health insurance or are the sole support of an aged parent.
    They aren’t happy and they can express that unhappiness by “Working to rule” or by accidentally adding or deleting a comma in the right place.
    The ones who left are among the most competent and respected, they are persons of influence and they know how things work at the DOJ.
    Many are the kind of people who have internalized the adage “Don’t get mad, get even” and they are likely to make things real interesting for what’s left of the DOJ.
20. AG February 12, 2026 at 10:37 am

    re: the upcoming UFO movie by Spielberg

    Okay it´s a while still but the latest spot (since there seem to be avid fans here of the topic)
    Big Game Spot
    Disclosure Day (“Epstein from space”…)
    1 min.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N32YL6wV2j0
    1. Norton February 12, 2026 at 12:38 pm

       For any Epstein-era movies, will there be a director, producer and agent rating now provided?
       Asking for a world.
    2. vao February 12, 2026 at 5:10 pm

       Upon seeing that trailer, I realized that those AI-fabricated clips that are generating so many reactions in the Internet look so much like actual movies because they (1) reuse all the camera movements and staging techniques of current cinematographic productions and (2) because movies are laden with CGI-effects and after-processing to such an extent that they themselves exhibit the same artificial appearance as AI-videos.
       1. AG February 13, 2026 at 8:44 am

          Yes, but in this example (Spielberg/Janusz Kaminski) I think that´s unfair if you look closely at each image and how carefully each is staged. I am not a fan of Kaminski but they put a lot of work and experience into a certain standard of Classical directing and camerawork. (It might feel routine after many years of their cooperation but still on a very high level which I doubt would look comparable if AI-generated.)
21. flora February 12, 2026 at 11:33 am

    Sy Hersh’s latest, public excerpt.

    WHEN AN HONORABLE JUDGE MEETS A CORRUPT GOVERNMENT
    The ICE raids in Minnesota have brought about a conflict not envisioned by the Constitution

    https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/when-an-honorable-judge-meets-a-corrupt
22. Jason Boxman February 12, 2026 at 11:46 am

    It may be that each of us should have a code word that we use when talking to others, for authentication, such that these deepfake AIs cannot so easily fool others into being defrauded. But I imagine someone calling as your wife and saying your kid is injured, can sound quite emphatic and convincing enough, to dispense with any such security discipline.

    We really are getting a techno-dystopian hellscape future, are we not?
23. jsmith February 12, 2026 at 12:03 pm

    New Study Shows People with Higher Cholesterol Live Longer than People with Lower Cholesterol

    They “studied” a population of 90+. If you make it to 90+, eat
    whatever you want. You probably have bigger things to worry about
    than cholesterol.
    1. Norton February 12, 2026 at 12:39 pm

       And here I was avoiding green bananas due to the ripening time. ;)
24. Jason Boxman February 12, 2026 at 12:05 pm

    Team Genocide, or Democrats suck

    Why Pennsylvania’s Two Most Powerful Democrats Don’t Speak (NY Times via archive.ph)

    There was nearly no question Josh Shapiro wouldn’t answer as he traveled the country on his recent book tour, promoting his record as governor of Pennsylvania and flirting with the possibility of an even bigger political future.

    Except one. Would he support the Democratic senator from his state, John Fetterman, for re-election in two years?

    “John will decide if he’s going to run for re-election,” Mr. Shapiro told reporters in Washington. “I appreciate his service.”

    His terse response offered a glimpse into the strained, and often strange, relationship between the two most powerful Democrats in the country’s biggest battleground state, as both enter pivotal new chapters of their careers.

    And both boosters of genocide; I can’t imagine why they won’t both have very bright futures in the Democrat Party.

    How arrogant; that they, either of them, have anything worth putting to pen, at such young ages

    In a memoir published late last year, Mr. Fetterman mentions the governor more than 40 times, devoting an entire chapter, titled “The Shapiro Affair,” to the souring of their relationship. By contrast, Mr. Shapiro name-checks the senator twice in his newly released book.
    1. Di Modica's Dumb Steer February 12, 2026 at 1:30 pm

       Also pretty sure Shapiro would clam up if you started asking too many questions about the incredibly sketchy suicide case.

       https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/josh-shapiro-ellen-greenberg-case-suicide-homicide-review-20240805.html
25. Jonhoops February 12, 2026 at 12:18 pm

    “As for evil, Epstein’s ultimate fate was not all that different from that other master racer in his Berlin bunker.”

    You mean he escaped and is living out his life with his ill gotten gains in some far away country. The public duped by a suicide cover story.
    1. jrkrideau February 12, 2026 at 4:47 pm

       Hitler died back in 1979. His health had been dodgy for years.
       Epstein and Osama bin Laden are sharing a 200 hectare, sea-side, compound on an unnamed Hawaiian island.
       1. vao February 12, 2026 at 5:17 pm

          I seem to remember having seen the headlines of some tabloid back then asserting that Hitler, established in Argentina after the defeat of the Third Reich, was behind the invasion of the Falklands.
26. Jason Boxman February 12, 2026 at 1:05 pm

    Trump’s Justice Department antitrust head Gail Slater stepping down (CNBC)

    I’m sure Stoller will have something about this.

    The Trump administration’s head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division said Thursday she is stepping down less than a year after being appointed by President Donald Trump.

    Gail Slater was confirmed in March to head the division, which enforces laws against illegal monopolies and anticompetitive business behavior. She said on X it was “with great sadness and abiding hope” that she was leaving on Thursday. “It was indeed the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role,” she added.

    The Justice Department confirmed Slater’s departure to CNBC.

    She ended up being mostly trash on antitrust, but I doubt her replacement will be better.
27. Jeremy Grimm February 12, 2026 at 2:22 pm

    RE: “A Market Crash and Recession Are Bullish, Not Bearish”
    I think I might skip any further links to Charles Hugh Smith. He seems to think we are living in some idealized version of 1951. I can picture him re-reading sections of his copy of Graham and Dodd, Security Analysis, while thumbing his copy of Schrumpeter’s, “Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy”. I suspect he missed the 2008 Financial Crash and did not notice how long it took for the u.s. to recover from the ‘bullish’ stock market crash that began the Great Depression.
    1. nyleta February 12, 2026 at 4:33 pm

       NY Fed’s SOMA desk bought $ 7 billion out of $ 25 billion of 30 year paper today and $ 11 billion of 10 year paper yesterday, YCC is already here, just not announced. I think he means bullish for the real economy not the symbol manipulation economy. It is another Red Queen situation, a financialised economy means that maturing gov. debt must be replaced instead of rolled off since it is collateral for already signed deals, nobody is trusting the companies borrowing at the moment without collateral. This leads to ever rising Fed balance sheet unless all these under-handed financial deals collapse which will never be allowed. See poor housing sales today for details.
       1. Jeremy Grimm February 12, 2026 at 7:48 pm

          “I think he means bullish for the real economy not the symbol manipulation economy.”
          I think the Great Depression and the 2008 Financial Crash were very real-economy events — not just market crashes. The gross mis-allocation of trillions of dollars in building AI will have some very real impacts beyond the material waste the AI crash will leave behind, and beyond the impacts on the “symbol manipulation” economy, impacts which could result in a very real recession or worse.
28. flora February 12, 2026 at 2:29 pm

    Matt Taibbi’s latest, public excerpt.

    EXCLUSIVE: Brits Spied on Racket, Other Journalists

    The Keir Starmer-aligned group Labour Together had former Racket editor Matt Taibbi and contributor Paul Holden investigated, then passed details to an office in the GCHQ, their NSA analog

    https://www.racket.news/p/exclusive-brits-spied-on-racket-other
29. Jason Boxman February 12, 2026 at 2:29 pm

    Trump Administration Erases the Government’s Power to Fight Climate Change

    And Obama made America a net oil exporter. So what. It’s not like anyone with power cares either way. We’re all gonna burn alive.
30. XXYY February 12, 2026 at 4:13 pm

    F-35 faces a significant REE supply chain vulnerability, largely stemming from its reliance on Chinese-produced, high-strength permanent magnets for its radar, electric motors, and electronic warfare systems.

    I have always been astonished at the aplomb with which the US military industrial complex uses foreign sourced materials for building weapons. It seems almost schizophrenic: sure, we may have a war against foreign countries, but we are still going to get our weapons from them anyway. Crazy, right?

    Even crazier if you’re using Russia, China, and other likely US targets as your sources.

    IMO the US-resident parts of the MIC must be focused 100% on profits and money, and not at all thinking about what their products are used for.
    1. ilpalazzo February 12, 2026 at 4:43 pm

       It’s Milo Minderbinder literally.
31. raspberry jam February 12, 2026 at 4:18 pm

    re: Why are the US and Israel Obsessed With Eliminating Iran’s Ballistic Missiles? Larry Johnson

    his answer:

    I have the answer… We need only look at the damage Iran’s ballistic missiles caused in Israel during the 12-day war in June 2025 — based on reporting and independent analyses of the conflict (much of the detailed damage was initially censored or not fully disclosed by Israeli authorities,

    During the 12 days I sat in on a meeting with the Israeli colleagues that included many Europeans and a handful of Americans and was treated to half an hour of hasbara about why the war was happening as we all observed the Israelis getting missile alerts and stepping away from calls while it was underway. At that meeting the CEO explicitly stated that Israel did not have strategic depth and Iran had “very sophisticated missile launchers”. Even if the excuse was the nuclear program, it was very clear to everyone at the ground level what the real threat was while it was ongoing.
32. johnnyme February 12, 2026 at 4:48 pm

    “Uptick in Abductions”: ICE Ramps Up Targeting of Minneapolis Legal Observers
33. XXYY February 12, 2026 at 5:34 pm

    Charles Schwab President and Chief Executive Officer Rick Wurster told Bloomberg Television Wednesday that was “disappointed and surprised” by the company’s stock slide. Rather than being threatened by AI, he said the company is already embracing the technology to make its financial advisers more efficient and expand its ability to serve customers.

    This is great. The guy is throwing his own “inefficient” employees under the AI bus even though AI hasn’t done anything yet in any business sector. No one wants to be the last to proclaim how great AI is.

    I think what’s really happening here is that the “AI really works” psyop stories are being pushed so hard and so universally that they are having this weird effect of convincing established business people that their company is about to go under. No one needs any proof that these stories are true, apparently, they just don’t want to be the last ones out the door.

    This really is the stupidest timeline.
    1. tegnost February 12, 2026 at 6:39 pm

       To err is human, but to really screw things up takes a computer
34. Tom Stone February 12, 2026 at 5:37 pm

    i’m not surprised by the uptick in abductions of legal observers, this is a full on assault of the Rule of Law that has already seen two American citizens murdered by federal officers who knew they were being filmed at the time.
    The Feds have no reverse gear, they know that either they establish a full on tyranny or they will land in prison.
    When, not if, the insurrection act is invoked and the bill of rights (Including the Second Amendment) suspended it is going to get messy.
35. Acacia February 12, 2026 at 8:44 pm

    Re: The first signs of burnout are coming from the people who embrace AI the most

    Relatedly:

    I, an engineer, tired of being force-fed AI tools by executives, will relent
    https://www.reddit.com/r/BetterOffline/comments/1r2fgd6/i_an_engineer_tired_of_being_forcefed_ai_tools_by/

    And no wonder these engineers are suffering from burnout. They are being pressured to abandon concern for actually doing the job right, to embrace some crazy plan of turtles all the way down, and by a bunch of f*ckwits all the way up to and including the CEO.
    1. Jeremy Grimm February 13, 2026 at 11:16 am

       This has been going on for a long time. About the time a software team gets good at using whatever development platform happens to be in place, the management goes on another junket to a big software trade-show. They come home having invested a large chunk of $$$$$ on a new programming support tool everyone is expected to master and port into or use to replace the existing platform. The new tool is supposed to be so wonderful the work schedules are compressed and additional requirements flood in. The AI madness trumps the previous development tool ‘upgrades’ so much[\s] that management starts cutting staff because the new tool’s efficiency[\s] made them redundant[\s]. This further increases the pressure and work loads on the surviving staff. So much for learning to code.
36. Acacia February 12, 2026 at 9:01 pm

    Re: AI

    Commentary on a current trend in Japan to use AI for creating short videos that turn politicians (e.g., Takaichi) into anime or sentai heroes, and getting 100k views a pop:

    https://x.com/oyamada_maki/status/2021788435158323582

    I feel so embarrassed just looking at the thumbnails that I can’t bring myself to hit play. […]

    I suspect the adults who think this stuff is “cool” and spread it around are deciding their vote using the exact same logic.

    It’s basically just straight-up “oshi-katsu” (stan/fan activity) at this point.

    No, actually… this feels so embarrassing that it might even be disrespectful to call it pure “oshi-katsu.”
37. Ben Panga February 12, 2026 at 10:35 pm

    Jeffrey Epstein’s ‘one single cause’: Israel (Al Jazeera, YT, 23 mins)

    Transcript
38. Ben Panga February 13, 2026 at 2:22 am

    Democrats at Munich security summit to urge Europe to stand up to Trump

    Add your own punchline…

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