Links 2/3/2026

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1. Es s Ce Tera February 3, 2026 at 7:44 am

   re: Trump TACOs on Iran Through Negotiations Moon of Alabama (Kevin W).

   We should consider the possibility the build up toward Iran was deflection, intended to distract attention from the ICE executions.

   Just as the threat toward Greenland immediately followed the too-super-easy capture of Maduro.

   Complete media domination. At any given moment, whatever the mainstream media is hyperfocused on is to take the attention off of something else.
   1. jefemt February 3, 2026 at 10:00 am

      Trump’s ample suit cut allows many shiny orbs up each sleeve. He’s adroit… makes Doug Henning look like an amateur…. 17 minutes… he was something! https://youtu.be/JcivOpCxDSY
      1. Wukchumni February 3, 2026 at 10:28 am

         Presstidigitation
   2. Glen February 3, 2026 at 8:16 pm

      So despite Yves calling almost exactly what’s happening (very impressive, by the way!), there are going to be frictions which can very quickly escalate out of everyone’s control:

      US carrier shoots down Iranian drone as tensions escalate and diplomatic talks hit a snag
      https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/03/politics/iran-drone-uss-lincoln-tensions

      To some degree, this has always been happening when USN warships get sent into the Gulf, but this time seems different. The National Review spins this as:

      The Iranians Aren’t Acting as Though They Want to Negotiate
      https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-iranians-arent-acting-like-they-want-to-negotiate/

      My take is a little different, the game is shifting around a bit, and I’m not sure where it will end up, but we just saw a TACO and TACOs are no longer free. What’s this going to cost?
      1. Yves Smith Post authorFebruary 4, 2026 at 1:27 am

         I am putting up a link to a clip by Janta Ka reporter in Links.

         That Shaheed was a $1000 drone. Not capable of doing anything but having a look. So this was the most itty bitty provocation possible.

         The US sent an F-35 after it to take it down (at much greater expense than the cost of the drone).

         Awfully insecure-looking.
2. The Rev Kev February 3, 2026 at 7:46 am

   “The Death of Arms Control”

   This will go down as one of the worse developments in international affairs in the 21st century. Nuclear weapons are the only ones that dare not be used as they have the potential to end life on Earth as we know it. And yet the last treaty putting any restriction of them – the New Start treaty – will end in the next coupla days even though the Russians offered to extend it another year to give time to replace it. The reason why this is happening, and which has been happening since George Bush, is simple to understand. The US is convinced that getting rid of any restrictions of this class of weapons will give the US the ability to have the nuclear drop on Russia. That’s it. The US wanted to put nuclear missiles in the Ukraine but that is not going to happen now. If they had, Russian reaction time to a possible US nuclear attack would have been reduced from about 15 minutes down to about 6 or 7 minutes. Too bad if it was a glitch in the system. And now Russia has developed the tech to totally nullify any US nuclear threats but will the US deep state listen? Since they all have a season pass to a fall out shelter, probably not.
   1. AG February 3, 2026 at 8:36 am

      On Dmitry Stefanovich´s TWITTER there are several posts + links on the subject
      https://nitter.poast.org/KomissarWhipla

      e.g.:

      Some points by Sergey Ryabkov on #NewSTART and other strategic affairs. From Beijing, by the way:

      1) Moscow will not make any demarches before the expiration of the New START treaty, and Washington’s lack of response is also a response. Russia is ready for the new reality of no restrictions on armaments after the expiration of New START, and there is no reason for dramatisation.

      2) Russia and China both agree that the main reason for the collapse of the previous strategic security system lies in the unilateral actions of the United States. The P.R.C. has a clear position on arms control, and the Russian Federation respects it, just as Beijing respects Moscow’s position.

      3) Before resuming dialogue on strategic stability, there needs to be a change for the better in the U.S. approach to relations with Russia.

      4) For arms control negotiations to become multilateral, France and Britain must join them.

      5) The deployment of the U.S. medium-range missiles in Japan will inevitably lead to military-technical countermeasures by Moscow.

      As there are by Pavel Podvig
      https://nitter.poast.org/russianforces
      also
      Life after New START
      https://russianforces.org/blog/2026/01/life_after_new_start.shtml

      I don’t think we can avoid the scenario in which the United States goes for upload. But as for the announcement of the decision, we will probably have to wait. One can announce the decision to go for an increase later, when the wave of anxiety about the end of a major arms control agreement has passed. On the other hand, the opponents of the limits extension rightly worry that if they let the 5 February 2026 moment pass, it will be more difficult to justify the buildup later on. This is probably the main reason the opposition to the Russian offer is so strong – the opponents don’t want to let people get used to the idea that one may not need a treaty to keep the number of nuclear weapons under control.
      1. AG February 3, 2026 at 12:00 pm

         Stefanovich again
         STRATDELA Newsletter
         
         STRATDELA Special #17
         New START and its finish
         https://1dkv.substack.com/p/stratdela-special-17
   2. ilsm February 3, 2026 at 10:06 am

      Repentant cold warrior here!

      Demise of START is irrelevant to US.

      One, US is agreement incompetent.

      Two, US is in the hole several trillions to renovate its older weapons, given the ineptitude of the DoW acquisition process US is heading toward unilateral disarmament in terms of strategic system.

      Vaunted B-21 is no more than the upgrade and scaled down version of B-2. Imagine flying a long range bomber with just two engines knocked off the F-135 engine giving F-35 trouble!

      New ICBM, just years late and will be as long lived as now disposed of Peacekeeper (MX).

      US will get new SLBM subs because shipyards!
   3. GC54 February 3, 2026 at 10:07 am

      I’ve just finished Richard Rhodes’ excellent Arsenals of Folly, which culminates in a detailed blow-by-blow account of the potentially pivotal Rekyjavik meetings between the Gorbachev and Reagan teams and its unwinding. The teams did strive with competence to ultimately rid Europe of intermediate range missiles (ignoring French, UK, and Israeli ones), although Reagan’s obsession with the SDI boondoggle blocked the path to abolition of ICBMs. The Soviets knew that Reagan’s offer to share SDI was delusional and that the tech was crap and easily overwhelmed, but rightly worried that US military manics would convince themselves that its space component could blunt retaliation sufficiently to proceed with a US first strike. And here we are a third of century later, hostage to the same mindset held by our lazy incompetents and aspiring Golden Dome grifters.
3. pjay February 3, 2026 at 7:58 am

   – ‘Mandelson reported to police by SNP and Reform after files suggest he sent government information to Epstein’ – BBC

   Boy, I guess Mandelson will really be in trouble now, since the British press is now revealing that Epstein was actually a spy for … RUSSIA!

   https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2026/02/03/the-western-press-are-trying-to-spin-epstein-as-a-russian-agent/

   This s**t is really getting real. The spinmeisters are going nuts. And its not just the British tabloid press either. My youtube algos are being inundated with posts from Meidas Touch News. This site has been posting everything they can get their hands on from the file releases linking Trump to Epstein. A lot of it is valid. But this is a Democrat oppo site that was created specifically to oppose Trump back in 2020. And guess what. They also highlighted the Russia connection in at least one of their numerous posts.

   The BBC article on Mandelson mentions that the Clintons have agreed to testify to Congress. Let’s see what questions are asked. I’ll join Whitney Webb in being surprised if they ask Clinton about Epstein’s 17 visits to the White House when he was President, most arranged by Mark Middleton. I’ll be surprised if they ask about Mark Middleton. Or “Chinagate.” I’ll also be surprised if Meidas Touch Media brings this up as they are discussing Trump’s involvement in sex trafficking and Melania’s shady past.

   As long as I’m discussing depressing subjects linked to Epstein, I see Aaron Mate has once again jumped in to defend Chomsky in the name of his lifetime service to the left. It is already a small number of journalists that I consider authentic leftists. I’d hate to see this tiny group fall prey to “divide and conquer” over whether to defend Chomsky. He and Max Blumenthal seem to be at odds on this issue. Greg Grandin more or less defended Chomsky in The Nation as well, then had to add a rather sheepish addendum after the latest file drop revealed his closeness with Epstein.
   1. ThirtyOne February 3, 2026 at 10:01 am

      Ian Masters‘ show this morning was all PUTIN all the time. The guy is obsessed with PUTIN.

      The Latest Release of the Epstein Files Contains 9,629 References to Moscow

      We begin with the latest release of the Epstein files containing 1,056 documents naming Putin and 9,629 references to Moscow, we will look into how much the Epstein “Kompromat” factory supplied Putin and speak with Craig Unger, the author of several books, including the New York Times bestsellers House of Bush, House of Saud, and House of Trump, House of Putin. He has written about the Trump-Russia scandal for The New Republic, Vanity Fair, and The Washington Post, and his latest books are American Kompromat: How the KGB Cultivated Donald Trump, and Related Tales of Sex, Greed, Power, and Treachery and Den of Spies: The Untold Story of Reagan, Carter and the Treason That Stole the White House.
      1. pjay February 3, 2026 at 12:01 pm

         Craig Unger! LOL! Unger is one of those liberal authors who was good criticizing the Bushes way back when, but developed absolute Trump/Putin derangement later. The first paragraph of his Wikipedia page notes how he is “absolutely certain” that Trump is a Russian asset.

         https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Unger

         If Masters is “all PUTIN all the time,” then Unger is the perfect guest for him!

         Did they mention Israel at all? Just curious.
         1. ThirtyOne February 3, 2026 at 12:27 pm

            I didn’t listen past Masters bringing up the Russian shoot down of MH17, but the show is archived for 2 weeks I believe at KPFA.
   2. mrsyk February 3, 2026 at 10:05 am

      It’s worth mentioning that Epstein must have been an extraordinary “source”. I can envision a scenario where Chomsky sacrificed his personal moral compass bit by bit in order to stay close. I can also imagine Chomsky adding his personal safety into the calculus. I’ll mention these two gents again.
      Paul Wellstone
      John F Kennedy jr
      If one subscribes to the “assassination” theories here, these people, the “organization” for which the honeypot trap operated, would be the obvious chief suspect.
      From the bottom of my coffee cup, Maxwell was Epstein’s boss.
      1. Wukchumni February 3, 2026 at 10:09 am

         Good til the last info drop?
         1. ambrit February 3, 2026 at 12:52 pm

            Good old Maxwell House. Purveyors of information by Appointment to the Royal Family.
            1. mrsyk February 3, 2026 at 1:12 pm

               At the bottom of every mug is a good day
         2. mrsyk February 3, 2026 at 1:10 pm

            The last drop is your starting line
4. Adam1 February 3, 2026 at 8:12 am

   “Trump says Republicans should ‘nationalize’ elections”

   People keep talking about 2028, but I’m not sure real elections will occur this fall.
   1. Dr. John Carpenter February 3, 2026 at 10:56 am

      Will anyone notice?
   2. flora February 3, 2026 at 10:58 am

      T really really hates the Constitution. imo. / ;)
5. eg February 3, 2026 at 8:13 am

   “Is inherited wealth bad?”

   This is a grotesque apologia for a capital allocation regimen which increasingly would not appear out of place in a Jane Austen novel.
   Whose payroll are is he on?
   1. ciroc February 3, 2026 at 10:47 am

      Inheritance tax is unpopular, not because it is ineffective, but because it is highly effective at taking away the wealth and power of billionaires.
      1. Lefty Godot February 3, 2026 at 12:23 pm

         Inheritance tax is unpopular with some because they have been bombarded with ad campaigns that misrepresent who actually pays the most inheritance taxes. Instead of freaks like Musk and Thiel and their old money equivalents being shown, the images they get are of a wholesome girl in dusty overalls sobbing that “we had to sell the family farm to pay our inheritance taxes” or some other such tearjerker tale. Plus they’re called Death Taxes by the right-wing media outlets, another clever tactic.
         1. Yves Smith Post authorFebruary 3, 2026 at 12:44 pm

            Inheritance tax is the way to tax wealth.
            1. eg February 3, 2026 at 10:50 pm

               Hence the feverish resistance to it at all costs by the usual suspects on the billionaires’ payroll.
6. vao February 3, 2026 at 8:23 am

   Regarding “L’affaire Epstein — One big dirty club”: all of this looks like a reboot of the kind of depraved debauchery that was widespread amongst aristocrats in the decades preceding the French revolution. The marquis de Sade and his cruel orgies is the most famous representative of that degenerate First Estate, but he was only one (admittedly extreme) example out of many. For instance Philippe d’Orléans, the regent when Louis XV was too young to rule, became infamous for his orgies and was rumoured to indulge in an incestuous relation with his daughter — who herself was notorious for her lechery.

   Do those excellencies mentioned in the Epstein files realize that eventually their excesses will orient the mood of the populace towards resorting to tumbrils and guillotines as the only way to clean up the filth?
   1. Trees&Trunks February 3, 2026 at 8:43 am

      As soon as you see a newly appointed misleader in the West you should ask yourself: has this person raped, tortured and eaten children?
      1. The Rev Kev February 3, 2026 at 9:40 am

         I miss the old days when if you saw a new politician, you could assume that they were on the take and had a mistress on the side. Seems all quaint now compared to the present lot.
      2. Wukchumni February 3, 2026 at 10:02 am

         The hour is a bit late for a modest proposal, but i’ll wake the chef.
   2. ocypode February 3, 2026 at 9:32 am

      Maybe Sade was the most accurate chronicler of that time. It’s good to remember that Robespierre’s famous shtick is that he was “incorruptible”. Today’s sans-culottes might end up in a similar mood quite fast. After all, what are you supposed to do once you find out that all the most outlandish conspiracies (and more!) have been completely and irrefutably confirmed? And adding that up with the thugs currently out for blood, future prospects for the USA don’t look too bright. I wonder if we’ll see a bizarre situation in which the dollar and the institutions created by the US live on whilst the US collapses.
   3. Historicality February 3, 2026 at 10:38 am

      Epstein and Gates appear in the files years ago discussing pandemics as profit centers. The entries help explain much of the Covid issue and reference players in the political and financial worlds.
7. AG February 3, 2026 at 8:24 am

   re: Germany vs. free speech

   I posted info on the intensified sanctions regime last week.

   NACHDENKSEITEN now with a follow-up piece which contains several links on the subject.

   One link leads to the actual new regulations (German language):

   The regulations of particular interest are pages 13-14:
   https://dserver.bundestag.de/btd/21/025/2102508.pdf

   machine-translation

   Prison for aiding and abetting: German parliament tightens its handling of EU sanctions

   
   The German Bundestag recently passed a law, based on an EU directive, that drastically tightens penalties for violations of EU sanctions: Donations to sanctioned individuals like Jacques Baud or Hüseyin Droğru could even lead to prison sentences for supporters. The entire sanctions system is a scandal.

   A commentary by Tobias Riegel .
   https://archive.is/5rOK9

   German:
   https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=145695
8. .Tom February 3, 2026 at 8:37 am

   > The fight against Russians is depriving Latvia of healthcare and education Vzglyad

   Has a lot if interesting detail. Includes the history of Latvia’s percarious non-citizen class, the usual brain drain in peripheral EU countries, and now they have new national law: ‘citizens of Russia and Belarus do not have the right to work in state and municipal enterprises belonging to “critical infrastructure”.’

   There is news that in the autumn of last year, many people were fired from the railway, from the enterprises of water utilities and sewage treatment plants. However, in all previous cases, such events did not attract much attention – the dismissed went quietly, without raising scandals. Citizens of Russia understand that at the slightest hint of discontent they will be considered a “subversive element”, expelled from their homes and thrown on the eastern border.

   Yikes.

   I’m not sure how I should understand Vzglyad. The propaganda organ Wikipedia implies that Vzglyad is a Russian propaganda organ.
   1. The Rev Kev February 3, 2026 at 9:51 am

      The EU is cool with all these laws of discrimination and have been for a very long time. Hell, they even tolerated Nazi marches in the Baltic States. Might be a different matter if it was not Russian-Latvians being discriminated against but Jewish-Latvians.
   2. Polar Socialist February 3, 2026 at 9:59 am

      What is not really coming trough in the quote you posted, is that these “citizens of Russia” were deprived of the Latvian citizenship in 1991 or thereafter, and had no choice but to take Russian passports to have a nationality. Absolute majority are born in Latvia and have all their lives (and family histories) there.

      That said, it’s quite well know around the Baltic sea that Estonia and Latvia have serious human-rights issues regarding their treatment of the Russian minority. Something that the rules based order with it’s declarations has turned a blind eye on for decades.

      Russian media, naturally, has been taking all this quite seriously and especially now is taking all propaganda value out of it. Doesn’t make it less true.
      1. .Tom February 3, 2026 at 10:19 am

         Indeed. The article includes a decent primer on the post-soviet history you mention, which, thanks to prior reading on NC, I was familiar. The handling of subversive elements was news to me.
9. The Rev Kev February 3, 2026 at 8:52 am

   “Lives at stake as man-elephant conflict continues unabated in Coimbatore forest division”

   There is an elephant on the rampage in another part of India that has killed 22 people. A guy was sent out to deal with this elephant and the elephant killed him as well-

   https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/rogue-elephant-kills-22-in-terrifying-10day-rampage/news-story/357d592c2a6dc3d440b4dadfd5a3b3f7
   1. Wukchumni February 3, 2026 at 9:56 am

      Please allow me to lower the Pachyderm vs Pedestrian tension in the room…

      Baby Elephant Walk, by Henry Mancini

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RPQKV6ijBY&list=RD9RPQKV6ijBY
   2. Bugs February 3, 2026 at 12:38 pm

      I don’t mean to sound like Indian Elephant ICE but a lot of these interactions that lead to elephants hurting or killing humans in South India are because the humans simply won’t get out of the paths that elephant troops have used for thousands of years to move between forest areas. I’m sure that the truck driver in the photo regrets not turning around as soon as he saw the tusker on the road. I was talking to some Keralites today about it and they blame the government for allowing these farmers and then merchants and various other groups to move onto the forest land in the foothills of the Western Ghats and plant it – and that’s due to huge population increase across western Tamil Nadu. So there’s a problem alright. A human made problem.
10. Bad Coffee February 3, 2026 at 9:09 am

    Why do they hate Europe?

    5. They don’t hate her for what she is today, but for what she could be.

    Whether it is a baboon troop or geopolitics, the greatest pressure is on the second best.
    1. .Tom February 3, 2026 at 9:58 am

       That article started off interesting and got weird fast. I wonder where the author got the idea that the EU’s “initial values, principles and purposes” were progressive. Hasn’t its purpose always been the harmonization of business friendly policies, laws and regulations across the member states?
       1. Michaelmas February 3, 2026 at 10:26 am

          .Tom: Hasn’t its purpose always been the harmonization of business friendly policies, laws and regulations across the member states?

          Oh, it’s worse than that. Members of the Mont Pelerin Society literally founded the forerunner of the EU, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) back in the 1950s.

          Wilhelm Röpke, personal advisor to Konrad Adenauer, West German Chancellor, and his Minister of Economics in the late 1950s, supervised the creation of the ECSC/EC on the German end, before leaving to become president of the Mont Pelerin Society in 1961-62.

          Ludwig Erhard, the second Chancellor from 1963-66, was a member of the Mont Pelerin Society since 1950.There were many others.
          1. flora February 3, 2026 at 11:09 am

             The founding father, so to speak, of the Mont Pelerin Society was Friedrich Hayek.

             “In 1947, he [Hayek] invited a group of distinguished economists, philosophers and historians to a meeting at Mont Pelerin in Switzerland, where they agreed to form The Mont Pelerin Society, of which Hayek was the President until 1961. The founding members included his teacher, Ludwig von Mises, his close friend and colleague at the LSE, the philosopher Karl Popper, and some famous economists of what came to be known as the Chicago School, including Frank H. Knight, and the Nobel Laureates Milton Friedman and George Stigler.”

             https://montpelerin.org/friedrich-hayek/

             It seems like the Mont Pelerin Society was the birthplace of what is now called neoliberal economics.
             1. .Tom February 3, 2026 at 11:56 am

                Theoretically that may be fair. On the practical side David Harvey’s handy monograph A Brief History of Neoliberalism emphasizes the importance of the Business Roundtable in setting the policy agenda and seeing it through.
             2. jsn February 3, 2026 at 6:08 pm

                It was a fusion of the British divide and conquer geopolitics with the neoliberal administration Von Mises deployed for the last AustroHungarian Emperor, a century ahead of his time monetizing an empire into collapse.

                Mises pimped the brilliant but unworldly Hayek, who started to cotton on late in life.
          2. vao February 3, 2026 at 12:56 pm

             The objective of the EU was to return to a situation where the business world would be free from interference by politics.

             This was motivated by a double experience:

             1) Fascism: the power of labour was crushed in favour of capital cashing in massive profits, but it put businesses under the thumb of all-powerful State, protectionist, dirigist, autarkist, hostile to free-trade, contemptuous of the stock exchange, and that ran roughshod over property rights. Finally, war destroyed everything.

             2) The Popular Front: it introduced such reforms favourable to the working class as paid vacations, maximum working hours per day, unemployment insurance, pensions, progressive taxation — all of which were anathema to capitalists.

             The crux was that since the Popular Front(s) and Hitler had all supposedly come to power through elections, it was essential to set up institutions such that policies favourable to business could be decided outside politics, while politicians would be prevented from tampering with business-friendly policies. I.e. those who decide do not need to be elected, while those who are elected cannot decide. Hence the everlasting “democratic deficit” of the EU, made to avoid both the corporatism of fascists, and the economic democracy of social-democrats and other left-wing parties.

             Neo-liberalism came a bit later to usefully complement that strategy, putting the State at the complete service of the financialized capitalism.
             1. .Tom February 3, 2026 at 3:02 pm

                Thank you, vao. That’s very interesting.

                Back in the 80s, when I was in the UK, a student and starting my career, I found political discussion regarding the EEC and the UK’s interest in it very confusing. Businesses seemed mostly in favor, Ted Heath argued for monetary union, Thatcher was hostile and I think it was because she did that many lefties were in favor. It seemed that Thatcher haters (there were many, myself included) also liked the idea of ceding sovereignty to Europe because it would take power away from Thatcher. I still have one friend who passionately defends the EU with the the Club 18-30 rationale, i.e. that it allowed us to live, study, and work abroad.

                Your description helps me understand that old confusion. Apolitical administration of business-friendly policy. Makes as much sense as apolitical money. You can see the attraction but is it even possible?
             2. Alice X February 3, 2026 at 3:42 pm

                Indeed, Neo-Liberalism may just be a classic liberalism retread. In the US there was the New Deal but that is done and so many here are confused.
                1. .Tom February 3, 2026 at 6:14 pm

                   Yes. The easiest way to distinguish classic economic liberalism from neoliberalism is what vao said, the acquiescence of the state as servant of financial capitalism. Or, to put it another way, the end of economic politics, when the Deocratic, Labour and SPD parties adopted Thatcherism. Note how that coincided with idpol taking over as the main dimension in politics.
                2. jsn February 3, 2026 at 6:14 pm

                   Classical liberalism shorn of the Classical Economists who theorized it’s productive development in favor of the rent seeking the Classical Economists wanted to “free” markets from.
                3. Alice X February 3, 2026 at 8:19 pm

                   [The] personal liberty & [to acquire] property.
       2. eg February 3, 2026 at 10:55 pm

          The whole place is a gigantic neoliberal trap — see William Mitchell’s Eurozone Dystopia

          https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30343868-eurozone-dystopia
11. Wukchumni February 3, 2026 at 9:30 am

    It’s quite telling when the only entity seemingly offended by revelations released in the last document drop, is the NFL.

    Oh, the gridirony!
12. Wukchumni February 3, 2026 at 9:43 am

    Wash away your legal troubles, wash away your pain
    With the reign in Shambolic
    Wash away your sorrow, wash away your shame
    With the reign in Shambolic

    Ah, ooh, yeah
    Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
    Ah, ooh, yeah
    Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

    Everyone is helping themselves, everyone is of like mind
    On the road to Shambolic
    Everyone is lucky, everyone is of one kind
    On the road to Shambolic

    Ah, ooh, yeah
    Yea, yeah, yea, yeah, yeah
    Ah, ooh, yeah
    Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah, yeah

    How does your light shine
    In the halls of Shambolic
    How does your light shine
    In the halls of Shambolic

    I can tell my leader by the avarice in his eyes
    On the road to Shambolic
    I can tell my President by the contempt in his eyes
    On the road to Shambolic

    Ah, ooh, yeah
    Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
    Ah, ooh, yeah
    Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

    How does your light shine
    In the halls of Shambolic
    How does your light shine
    In the halls of Shambolic
    Tell me how does your light shine
    In the halls of Shambolic
    (Tell me how) How does your light shine
    In the halls of Shambolic

    Ah, ooh, yeah
    Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
    Ah, ooh, yeah
    On the road to Shambolic

    Ah, ooh, yeah
    Shambolic, la
    Ah, ooh, yeah
    On the road to Shambolic

    Shambala, by Three Dog Night (RIP Chuck Negron)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlWrMpV1vy0&list=RDSlWrMpV1vy0
    1. mrsyk February 3, 2026 at 10:21 am

       Lol, this is so gold it’s gonna rock the futures market.
13. The Rev Kev February 3, 2026 at 9:48 am

    “Why is the BBC defending Trump over the Epstein allegations?”

    Might have something to do with the multi-billion dollar lawsuit that Trump threatened against the BBC. They are trying to suck up to him now and hope that he will play nice with them.
    1. .Tom February 3, 2026 at 10:09 am

       The BBC needs radical restructuring. Under the current corporate charter I don’t think there’s any way out for its news, politics and current affairs, which can only lose more credibility from here on out. So I think that part should be separated, merged with the BBC World Service, scaled down and placed under the Home Office. That way the UK can have a proper state media operation instead of the half-pregnant thing as it is now. The rest of the BBC should continue its excellent work in broadcasting including first-rate costume dramas, quiz shows, natural history, children’s shows, etc.

       Not sure where HIGNFY should go.
       1. JohnA February 3, 2026 at 12:10 pm

          HIGNFY should be trotted off to the knacker’s yard. It past its sell by date years ago, and strictly sticks to establishment lines without ever rocking that boat.
    2. lyman alpha blob February 3, 2026 at 11:45 am

       Or maybe it’s a birds of a feather type thing…
    3. Ben Panga February 3, 2026 at 4:52 pm

       “Why is the BBC defending Trump over the Epstein allegations?”

       Because British intelligence is knee-deep in this too.
14. JMH February 3, 2026 at 10:51 am

    An attack on Iran! Well maybe not. Not now? Not ever? Look over here1 Much more Epstein sleaze! Let’s calculate. You release this, as George Galloway named it, sewerage. So what is too disgusting, too shocking, breaks too many rice bowls, shines light on those who cannot under any circumstances be exposed for what they are because there are no words for them? On the other hand maybe this sludge dump is to normalize what comes next after us proles have adjusted to the level of depravity, treachery, and double dealing. Final question. Is there one conspiracy theory currently circulating that has not been in some significant measure confirmed?
    1. Yalt February 3, 2026 at 12:42 pm

       No confirmation yet of this headline:

       Alien hybrids are living among us & Trump KNOWS it …
    2. .Tom February 3, 2026 at 4:16 pm

       Galloway’s segment following that monologue was this conversation with Seyed Marandi. It’s very good. Marandi is now using the term The Epstein Class to describe the ruling and political class of the USA, UK and Israel. I will adopt that myself. The Epstein Oligarchy is also good.

       INTERVIEW: Iran’s capability is directed at US and it’s wagging poodles in the Middle East
       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVeCMK14aw4
       1. Jonathan Holland Becnel February 4, 2026 at 1:47 am

          I like the idea of an Anti-Epstein Coalition bringing together Populists and Revolutionaries on the Left & Right.

          #AmericanRevolution2
15. flora February 3, 2026 at 11:01 am

    re: Trump’s ICE Problem—and Ours -Washington Monthly

    That’s a very good explainer of the issues. Thanks for the link.
    1. LifelongLib February 3, 2026 at 1:09 pm

       As my mom used to say, it’s all about whose ox is gored. People are for or against federal or state/local authority not because of grand principles but because one or the other gets them the results they want. The “left” (or at least liberals), who for years supported federal intervention in a variety of fields, suddenly find it’s bad when used by a president they don’t like in a cause they disagree with. Ditto (in the opposite direction) for the “right”.
       1. eg February 3, 2026 at 11:00 pm

          Always be asking two questions — for whom? To whom?
16. lyman alpha blob February 3, 2026 at 11:54 am

    RE: body cams on cops

    I agree with the commentary – we’ve tried this little experiment for quite some time now and it clearly hasn’t stopped law enforcement officers with itchy trigger fingers from murdering people. I don’t recall body cam footage alone leading to any discipline of cops who would have otherwise gotten away with a crime, or any cops being seriously disciplined for not having the cams on. I’m sure there are some incidents, but I don’t remember any major publicized altercations where body cams came into play.

    It may have been well intentioned once, but at this point it’s just something idiot politicians advocate for to make it look like they care and are doing something, however useless it might be. Much better is the public at large recording the cops, which is why so many authorities are against it and trying to criminalize it.
    1. vao February 3, 2026 at 1:04 pm

       “Much better is the public at large recording the cops, which is why so many authorities are against it and trying to criminalize it.”

       In that spirit, I wonder why people often try to get very close to the action to film it — incurring the wrath of the ICE/police/FBI/whatever — when mobile phones have had cameras with very good digital telephoto capabilities ever since the Nokia 808. At least high-end smartphones have them, and plenty of people sport an iPhone or a top Samsung Galaxy.
       1. johnnyme February 3, 2026 at 1:44 pm

          Capturing audio is very important.
       2. LifelongLib February 3, 2026 at 2:14 pm

          “why…try to get very close…”

          To hear what’s being said? Also it’s hard to handhold a camera steady with high zoom, so they’d probably have to tote a tripod or rest the phone against something to record from a distance. Just guessing; I’ve never photographed a police incident, only birds.
    2. Oregon Lawhobbit February 3, 2026 at 6:04 pm

       Based on experience I will say, however, that body cams can take a lot of the fun out of trials. That whole “he said/she said” thing kinda goes out the window when there’s an audio-visual recording of the event….
17. Es s Ce Tera February 3, 2026 at 12:01 pm

    re: Is inherited wealth bad? aeon.

    Inherited and unearned wealth is probably the most insiduous punishment and deformity you can inflict on your own progeny.

    So to the question of is inherited wealth bad, I would say yes, but not because it prevents everyone else from becoming wealthy.
18. Wukchumni February 3, 2026 at 12:40 pm

    I read the news today, oh boy
    About an unlucky man who made the grave
    And though the news was rather sad
    Well, I just had to gasp
    More masked brawn shirted psychopaths

    They blew his mind out in a fusillade
    He didn’t notice that his rights had changed
    A crowd of people stood and stared
    Nobody had seen his face before
    Everybody recorded it as if to keep score

    I saw the video today, oh boy
    The occupying army had started the war
    A crowd of people turned away
    But I just had to look
    Another life they took
    I’d love to have them turn on you

    Woke up, fell out of bed
    Dragged a comb across my head
    Found my way downstairs and drank a cup
    And looking up, I noticed the hour was late
    Found my voice and petted my cat
    Made up new lyrics in seconds flat
    Found my way upstairs and had a smoke
    And somebody spoke and I went into a dream

    I read the news today, oh boy
    A few holes in Alex Pretti
    And because the 10 entry holes were rather small
    They had to discount them all
    Now we know nobody is going to take the fall
    I’d love to have them turn on you

    A Day in the Life, by the Beatles

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYeV7jLBXvA&list=RDUYeV7jLBXvA
19. Jason Boxman February 3, 2026 at 1:01 pm

    I guess over time the ongoing stochastic eugenics program that is COVID is going to kill those susceptible that have avoided infection for so long. Perhaps I’ll follow my dad in this.

    Eugenicists can bask in the knowledge that they’ve kill those of us too weak to be eligible for life. MAHA.
20. Wukchumni February 3, 2026 at 1:20 pm

    You’re as cold as Iceland
    You’re willing to sacrifice iguanas
    You never take advice, Florida man
    Someday you’ll pay the price, I know

    I’ve seen it before
    It happens all the time
    You’re opening the arctic door
    You leave the tropics behind

    You’re digging for cold
    Yet throwing away
    Fortunate lizard-human feelings
    But someday you’ll pay

    You’re as cold as Iceland
    You’re willing to sacrifice iguanas
    You want invasives out of Paradise
    But someday you’ll pay the price
    I know

    I’ve seen it before
    It happens all the time
    You’re closing in on more
    You leave the tropics behind
    You’re digging for cold
    Yet throwing away
    Fortunate lizard-human feelings
    But someday you’ll pay

    Cold as Iceland, you know that you are
    Cold, (cold) as, (as) Iceland
    As cold as Iceland to me
    (Cold, cold cold) (as, as, as) (Iceland)

    (Ooh, ooh, ooh, cold as, cold as Iceland)
    (You’re as cold as icccce)
    You’re as cold as Iceland
    (Cold as icccce),
    Cold as Iceland I know
    (You’re as cold as icccce)
    You’re as cold as Iceland
    (Cold as iccce)
    Cold as Iceland I know
    (You’re as cold as icccce)
    Oh yes I know
    (Cold as icccce)
    (You’re as cold as icccce)
    You’re as cold as Iceland
    (Cold as icccce)
    Cold as Iceland I know
    (You’re as cold as icccce)
    Oh, yes I know
    (Cold as icccce)

    Cold as Ice, by Foreigner

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP8Rbct_50Y&list=RDaP8Rbct_50Y
21. Rabbit February 3, 2026 at 1:22 pm

    The US supported the Kurds because the Kurds want a Greater Kurdistan which would take all of the high ground that separates Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Cutting trade and communications between them on the ground.
    Some Kurd leader who’s name I have long forgotten said the Kurds goal was to emulate Israel. Israel supports the Kurdistan project.
    BTW as I recall the Kurds aren’t a majority population in any of the areas they inhabit.
    If they get busted, good because the last thing we need is another Israel or more ethnic cleansing by the Kurds which is their practice and disposition.
22. Gulag February 3, 2026 at 1:29 pm

    One of the reasons I respect the research of Max Blumenthal and The Gray Zone, despite quite different politics, is articles like the one mentioned in this morning’s Links:

    “Meet the former fashion blogger and shady doctor behind the ‘30,000 dead’ Iran psy-op.”

    The word psy-op says it all.

    Blumenthal understands that the structural players involved in American foreign policy go way beyond billionaire donors from the Dems and Repubs. He continually highlights the actions of key institutional structures such as U.S. foundations, NGOs, USAID, and the bipartisan intelligence cut-out called the National Endowment for Democracy.
23. Rabbit February 3, 2026 at 1:42 pm

    No surprise Latvia is cleansing Russians from society. In WW2 Latvian police and citizen groups rounded up Jews, handed them to the Nazis saving a lot of work for the invaders.
24. flora February 3, 2026 at 2:43 pm

    File under ICE Rampage:
    Judge Napolitano and Coleen Rowley. tube, ~29+ minutes.

    Coleen Rowley : An FBI Veteran Examines ICE Lawlessness.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnjDngHoaA8
25. johnnyme February 3, 2026 at 5:41 pm

    Another field report from Minneapolis:

    Continuing on from my previous one, it was warmer today (18F/-8C) so I rode over to the Good memorial and then went over to revisit the Pretti memorial.

    There are actually two memorials to Renee Good, a small one on the corner of 33rd and Portland and a much larger one at the crash site, spanning the distance between the two walkways on either side. This was my first visit there so I don’t have a good point of reference to compare how it has changed over the last month but the sense I got was that it was evolving from shock and grief towards community and warmth. There was a card table on the sidewalk with coffee, a portable fire pit to provide warmth and a private security guard keeping a watchful eye on the site.

    I was there midday and there were about a dozen or so other people there paying their respects. Portland is one of the main southbound thoroughfares out of downtown Minneapolis so traffic was not slowing down but there were a few honks in support.

    There were some very beautiful tributes left there and the most beautiful one was a simple slab of ice with embedded flowers propped up like a tombstone, sparkling in the midday sun.

    Things also seem to be evolving that way over at the Pretti memorial. There were about 30 or so people when I was there and a few women keeping a watchful eye on the site. There was also a table set up on the sidewalk with coffee and snacks for those who gathered. The sizeable media presence that was there last week has packed up and left and the police SUVs were gone.

    The most moving tributes were from members of the healthcare community. The stethoscopes left at the spot he was allowed to bleed out are still there. Someone left a laminated picture of Alex with the biggest grin on his face as he was helping two vets with their physical therapy. The staff at one of the ICU units at Hennepin County Medical Center left one of their t-shirts that had been signed by each of them.

    There are still signs at both memorials expressing anger and hate but as these memorials grow, they are slowly being buried by expressions of love.
    1. Ben Panga February 3, 2026 at 11:06 pm

       Thank you for this powerful report
26. Wukchumni February 3, 2026 at 6:04 pm

    I won’t ever believe
    Anything you say
    Nothing you could do
    That could turn me your way

    Hanging on anyway
    Never believing the things you say
    Mama told me to never suffer fools who come my way

    You’ve taken the room where once was a ball
    So take my country’s soul
    That’s what you said
    And some believed it all

    I don’t want to be associated with you
    Long as you want me to
    But there has to be a better way

    Ain’t that what you said?
    Ain’t that what you said?
    Ain’t that what you said?

    Liar
    Liar, liar

    We have seen a knight errant
    We have seen Donald Quixote
    If you ever leave
    What would you want me to say?

    You can believe in me
    I won’t be leaving
    I’ll let you go

    Ain’t that what you said?
    Ain’t that what you said?
    Ain’t that what you said?

    Liar
    Liar, liar
    Liar

    You’ve taken many lives
    So take the country’s soul
    That’s what you said
    But who are we to know?

    I want to be done with you
    Long as you don’t want to
    But please go away

    Ain’t that what you said?
    Ain’t that what you said?
    Ain’t that what you said?

    Liar
    Liar, liar

    Liar, by Three Dog Night

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMShyXl2eks&list=RDsMShyXl2eks
27. AG February 3, 2026 at 7:16 pm

    re: Gemany satire

    Photography of a huge poster hanging from a high-rise in Hannover, Germany, displaying von der Leyen “wanted” for financing HTS with 620M Euros
    https://x.com/KeremSchamberg/status/2017696629462011978
28. AG February 3, 2026 at 7:21 pm

    re. pedophile services

    Glenn Diesen asking yesterday via TWITTER:

    “It is fair to say that claims about Mossad and the CIA exerting political influence by running pedofile services for elites are no longer confined to fringe conspiracy theory circles. What have been the main revelations from the documents released?”
29. Glen February 3, 2026 at 8:21 pm

    China bans all retractable car door handles, starting next year
    https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/02/china-bans-all-retractable-car-door-handles-starting-next-year/

    All I can say is about [family blogging] time! Can we do it here too, or are we stupid?
30. Jason Boxman February 3, 2026 at 11:08 pm

    Tech workers learn they’re just workers

    Pinterest CEO rebukes, fires ‘obstructionist’ employees who created tool to track layoffs

    Pinterest announced on Jan. 27 that it would lay off less than 15% of its workforce and cut back on office space as part of a broader restructuring aimed at directing resources toward artificial intelligence projects. The company said it expects the layoffs will be complete by the end of September.

    Following the announcement, Pinterest’s technology chief addressed the layoffs in a meeting. Some employees asked which teams were impacted and whether more job cuts were coming, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the meeting was private.

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