A hearing test for the world’s rarest sea turtle EurekaAlert!
Climate/Environment
Fitch warns sovereign credit risk will rise with worsening climate events Intellinews
Home values are rising fastest in the most resilient places. Cause/effect or coincidence? Climate Change and Your Home
Water
One of the most pressing issue facing agriculture in the US is the rapid and continued depletion of ground water in our most important food producing regions.
But even more concerning is the degradation of farmland’s ability to capture, store and cycle rainwater.
The… pic.twitter.com/ZrXIqi1RT4
— Sam Knowlton (@samdknowlton) February 3, 2026
Inside Cleveland’s pay-as-you-can plumbing co-op that sees clean water as a human right Signal Cleveland (Carla)
Pandemics
Measles cases grow in SoCal; one infected person flew into LAX, spent hours at Disney park Los Angeles Times
DHS locks down detention center hit by measles outbreak The Hill
China?
Readouts of Xi-Trump, Xi-Putin calls Pekingnology
Trump-Xi Call: One Call, Two Statements, Many Signals George Chen
China warns Panama as Hong Kong firm contests ruling on canal ports Al Jazeera
Year of the sad horse: A defective toy goes viral in China — and sums up a nation’s mood NBC News. What defective toy would sum up US mood?
Lai says Taiwan should seek trade ties with democracies Taiwan News
India
India will diversify energy supplies after deal with U.S. on Russia oil imports Reuters. Diversify, not halt Russian imports as US claimed.
Is Trump Deluded About India No Longer Buying Russian Oil? Consortium News
Syraqistan
Wave of Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 21 Palestinians, amid new round of West Bank raids The New Arab
Israel cancels coordination for patient evacuations from Gaza, says Palestinian Red Crescent Anadolu Agency
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WHAT COMES NEXT IN IRAN? Seymour Hersh
Iran Adamantly Rejects US Attempt to Control Upcoming Negotiations Over Iran’s Nuclear Program Larry Johnson
‼️ US Heavy Airlift to Middle East
The most recent update of heavy transport deliveries to the Middle East is now up to 108 — a substantial acceleration over the past several days.
I figure there is now enough air defense and strike ordnance in the region to sustain a… https://t.co/5uw1MZUQXH
— Will Schryver (@imetatronink) February 4, 2026
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Where do the Kurds and the recent ISIS prison-breaks fit in the bigger picture in West Asia?Vanessa Beeley
The Sistani Hedge: Trump’s Irrational Pact in Baghdad Mohamed Karaki
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Africa
Gunmen have killed 162 people in west Nigeria attack, says Red Cross official The Guardian
US deploys specialist military team to Nigeria as jihadist conflict escalates The Africa Report
UN backs Trump plan for Sudan, after receiving $2bn lifeline from US The Africa Report
Old Blighty
The Mandelson affair: inside the scandal of a century The New Statesman (IH)
That visit led to a £240m ‘strategic partnership between Palantir & MOD. Intel committee needs to examine Mandelson’s potential conflict of interests but also the national security consequences as revealed here in@thenerve_news.
2/https://t.co/Yfx2XZAQF3— Carole Cadwalladr (@carolecadwalla) February 4, 2026
Labour MPs say Starmer’s days as PM are numbered amid fury over Mandelson The Guardian
Inside Reform’s plans for a fascist takeover Hauntologies by Elia Ayoub
Victory for Palestine Action as “Filton 6” acquitted Electronic Intifada
European Disunion
From arms to orbit: Rheinmetall’s expansion unsettles rivals FT
Germany continues to sink Intellinews
New Not-So-Cold War
Witkoff & Kushner repeat their dress-down insult to the Russian delegation in the new round of Abu Dhabi talks. US officers Alexus Grynkewich (2nd right) & Timothy Brown (extreme left) show more caution, respect. pic.twitter.com/vzWkkIJ4aq pic.twitter.com/TJapiYJwNb
— Dances_with_Bears (@bears_with) February 4, 2026
What Are The Odds Of Russia Agreeing To A Three-Tiered Ceasefire Enforcement Plan In Ukraine? Andrew Korybko
Estonia Detains Ship Heading for Russia Suspected of Smuggling Reuters
EU Buys 93 Percent of Yamal LNG As Imports Surge Ahead of 2027 Russian Ban gCaptain
Russian spy satellites have intercepted EU communications satellites Ars Technica
The experts comment: New START expires, bringing both risks and opportunities Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Russian businessman’s remains found on British base in Cyprus RT
South of the Border
Russia will continue oil shipments to Cuba despite US pressure Al Mayadeen
US Refiners Struggle to Absorb Venezuelan Oil Surge After Trump-Maduro Deal Reuters
L’affaire Epstein
Epstein Geopolitics And the Age of Primitive Accumulation Un-Diplomatic
Putin envoy dismisses Polish PM’s claim Epstein scandal was Russian operation Polskie Radio
lol they dragged the “piss Trump dossier” guy out of Russiagate retirement for One Last Job https://t.co/aLzwzuV55Y
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) February 4, 2026
Newly released Epstein files reveal further ties to Israel Mondoweiss
Trump 2.0
GOP Funhouse
Sen. Mitch McConnell hospitalized after experiencing ‘flu-like symptoms’ NBC News
Democrats Suck
Police State Watch
The Real Story Behind the Midnight Immigration Raid on a Chicago Apartment Building ProPublica. Commentary:
This raid was one of the first in which military hardware (a Black Hawk helicopter) and personnel were used. The orders came from the top after Trump said the Marines should “practice” on American cities. They found a willing training ground with the help of a slum lord.
— HollyGolightly (@hollygolytlee) February 4, 2026
As ICE Terror Forces People Inside, Calls Grow for Eviction Moratorium in Minnesota Truthout
Homeland Security is targeting Americans with this secretive legal weapon WaPo
700 federal agents set to leave Minnesota; districts sue feds to keep ICE away from schools MPR
Bringing The Genocide Home: SAPD Asks Council For Drone Used In Gaza Inadvertent
AI
Sam Altman and the day Nvidia’s meteoric rise came to an end Gary Marcus
Alphabet resets the bar for AI infrastructure spending CNBC
Requiem for a film-maker: Darren Aronofsky’s AI revolutionary war series is a horror The Guardian
Imperial Collapse Watch
US seeking to form critical mineral ‘preferential trade zone’ to counter China Anadolu Agency
America’s lost weapons are stopping it mining minerals in Pakistan The Canary
Is Coal Mining Pollution America’s Next Big Critical Minerals Source? Governing
Beyond The Appearances. Aurelien
“MAHA”
Senior FDA Official Under OIG Investigation Over Divorce, Assets Bloomberg. Accused of orchestrating a fake divorce to avoid conflict-of-interest rules.
Healthcare?
Senate talks to revive ACA tax credits appear to be fizzling out The Hill
The 2008 Housing Crash Was a Warning. Health Insurance May Be Next. HEALTH CARE un-covered
Our Famously Free Press
‘It’s an absolute bloodbath’: Washington Post lays off hundreds of workers The Guardian
Class Warfare
Labor Leaders Warm to General Strike Nationwide on May 1st Payday Report
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
File under Trump 2.0. (He really hates the Constitution, imo.)
From Due Dissidence, utube, ~13+ minutes.
Trump To Bongino: GOP Should NATIONALIZE Midterm Elections
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fh5zrMmvJEM
The cope in the comments to the Knowlton water post is staggering. Yaweh got nothing on the techno-priesthood.
“‘It’s an absolute bloodbath’: Washington Post lays off hundreds of workers”
This article does not mention it but it looks like every desk reporter specializing in the Middle East was also fired because as we all know, nothing ever happens there anyway.
WaPost Middle East desk replaced with an AI Chatbot that parrots whatever the State Dept. says.
It wouldn’t be very different than the past decade or so, would it? Recall Antony Blinken’s never-ending ceasefire lies … were those ever challenged?
> Year of the sad horse: A defective toy goes viral in China — and sums up a nation’s mood NBC News. What defective toy would sum up US mood?
A plush toy cat that looks a bit like this one?
https://www.yegvet.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Scared-Cats-What-to-Know-and-What-to-Do.webp
What defective toy…
ICE Barbie?
I’m not sure it would even need to be defective but when I think about the USA as it is today, the first toy to spring to mind would be a windup gorilla shuffling in circles while banging cymbals together. At first I thought of backgammon then realized games are not toys even though it seems like a doubling cube is involved somehow.