How to Hold the Darkness: Notes on Living Through Uncertainty The Marginalian
The Waffle: From Greek Ritual to Holy Sacrament to the Breakfast Table Pax Culinaria
Amazon is making a Fallout Shelter competition reality TV show Engadget
Climate/Environment
Scary Findings on Microplastics in Our Bodies May Be Flawed. That’s Good—and Bad. Mother Jones
it’s so over
a new meta-analysis on microplastics in food looked at ~200 studies, the first comprehensive look at ALL major food categories and found that fruits, vegetables, and grains are responsible for ~99.5% of your daily microplastic intake. not seafood
everyone assumed… pic.twitter.com/BG8Bd2lBBi
— vittorio (@IterIntellectus) January 13, 2026
Pandemics
The Price of Denial Anthony J Leonardi
Bird flu warnings are being ignored. I’ve seen this pattern before The Conversation
The Koreas
South Korea’s ex-president Yoon given 5-year jail term in first ruling over martial law Straits Times
South Korea’s Delicate Balancing Act Amid China-Japan Discord The Diplomat
Japan
Japan Caught In the Crossfire Of Trump’s Trade War Against China Japan Economy Watch
Dialogue between Kaho Miyake and Emmanuel Todd Emmanuel Todd
China?
Trump imposes 180-day deadline to counter China’s control of critical minerals Anadolu Agency
“Blockbuster” US-China soybean deal update: some good news for American farmers. But mostly bad. Kevin Walmsley
Why China’s young people are choosing to leave ThinkChina
The Rise of “Donroe Doctrine” and Its Impact on China by SUN Chenghao and CHEN Xiyan ChinAffairs
India
U.S.-India Insight: Beyond Optics: India’s New Strategic-Commercial Linkages Center for Strategic & International Studies
Equality is not the enemy of growth – oligarchy is Indian Express
Syraqistan
Israel is Expanding Its Death Zone in Gaza by Shifting the Yellow Line that was Supposed to Protect the Survivors of the Genocide Truth & Balance
Winter Cold and Collapsing Buildings Kill Palestinians in Gaza as Israel Blocks Shelter Supplies Drop Site
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Trump Balks at Bombing Iran… For Now Larry Johnson
Intention to attack confirmed.
— Skender Kajoshaj (@sHuRuLuNi) January 15, 2026
Encouraging News: Lindsey Graham Looks HEARTBROKEN About Iran Caitlin Johnstone
Iran protests appear to slow under weight of brutal crackdown The Guardian
US sanctions Khamenei aide, other Iranian officials over protest crackdown Al Jazeera
Starlink fears grip Iran regime: Has satellite internet become new battlefield? Firstpost
The Guardian is also reporting that Iran will now create a “national internet” that is more restricted than China’s. It looks like this will be the new playbook for countries that face regime change: employ advanced EW systems, then create a national internet. pic.twitter.com/ltwRrXEvnI
— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) January 13, 2026
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Pakistan-Saudi-Turkiye defence deal in pipeline, defence production minister says Express Tribune
Africa
Critical minerals put East Africa back on Washington’s map Geeska
Blue Nile State: A tinderbox that could erupt across the region Ayin Network
Trump bombed Nigeria. Next door, he cancelled a USAID project keeping violence in check. Together But Apart
O Canada
Canada, China enter new strategic partnership, Carney says in meeting with Xi Jinping CTV News
European Disunion
EU ‘membership-lite’ plan for Ukraine spooks European capitals FT
Europe’s cannon fodder: Introduction and expansion of conscription in numerous EU countries WSWS
Italy’s privacy watchdog, scourge of US big tech, hit by corruption probe Reuters
New Not-So-Cold War
CIA/MI6 Lawfare Op Aids Ukrainian Atrocities Kit Klarenberg
SITREP 1/15/26: “Winter Break” Over? Russian Campaign Stirs Back to Life Simplicius
When will we tally the costs of Russia’s “snail offensive” in Ukraine? Edward Slavsquat
Putin: International Cooperation & Honest Partnerships Keys to World Peace Karl Sanchez
THE LAST HONEST AMERICAN GO-BETWEEN THE WHITE HOUSE AND THE KREMLIN DIED EIGHTY YEARS AGO John Helmer
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Unionism Revisited: Moldova and the Reengineering of the Post-1945 Order Roman Khimich
Chechnya’s Kadyrov Is Reportedly Gravely Ill (Again). Here’s What We Know. Moscow Times
South of the Border
Donald Trump’s first Venezuela oil sale deal goes to megadonor’s company FT. Paywalled. Here’s a summary.
Acting President Rodríguez Announces Oil Reform as US Reports Venezuelan Crude Sales Venezuelanalysis
U.S. Seizes MT Veronica in Caribbean, Expanding Operation Southern Spear Against Venezuela’s Shadow Fleet gCaptain
Why access to Venezuela’s ‘heavy’ oil is ‘tremendous’ news for US refiners Al Jazeera
How Do You Surrender to a Civilian Plane? The After-Action Report
Trump accepts Nobel medal from Venezuelan opposition leader Machado Reuters
The Trump DOJ is currently arguing in court it had to remove Maduro because illegal mining was displacing indigenous communities https://t.co/ubiDX8Znnb
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) January 14, 2026
Trump 2.0
Republicans vow to block Trump from seizing Greenland by force The Hill
Iceland the ’52nd state’? U.S. ambassador nominee’s comment sparks alarm Global News
GOP breaks with Trump on credit card interest rate cap proposal The Hill
Yan Xuetong: Trump’s Imperial Turn and the End of the West Sinification
Further Back to the Future: Neo-Royalism, the Trump Administration, and the Emerging International System International Organization
Third World Authoritarianism as Consequence of Progressive Failure Sam Husseini
Police State Watch
3 Children Hospitalized in Minneapolis After Family Van Hit With ICE Flash-Bangs Common Dreams
Trump Threatens to Use Insurrection Act Against Demonstrators in Minnesota Truthout
Straight Out of Project 2025: Trump’s Immigration Plan Was Clear Capital & Main
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Richard Wolff: ICE Terror, Executive Policing, and Why a General Strike Could Flip the Script Scheerpost
How the Definition of ‘Doxxing’ Is Being Twisted Into a Weapon of Anonymity Gizmodo
***
Shadow Contractors Are Training ICE’s Attack Teams The Lever
ICE error meant some recruits were sent into field offices without proper training, sources say NBC News
Push for greater ICE training grows on some Republicans Politico
Former Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Named in Leaked ICE Documents La Voce di New York
DHS Used Neo-Nazi Anthem for Recruitment After Fatal Minneapolis ICE Shooting The Intercept
Accelerationists
Larry Ellison Had To Change The Name Of One Of His Yachts After Finding Out It Spelled ‘I’m A Nazi’ Backward Jalopnik
Imperial Collapse Watch
Profit Realisation, Productivity and the Siphoning of System Liquidity Warwick Powell
First Trump-Class Battleship May Become Costliest U.S. Warship Ever Bloomberg
Spook Country
The Silent Cog in Domestic Intelligence SpyTalk
Healthcare?
Oops! The House sent the wrong Obamacare bill text to the Senate Regular Order by Jamie Dupree
Marrying for health insurance? The ACA cost crisis forces some drastic choices NPR
Groves of Academe
The Unholy Matrimony of UnitedHealth with the University of Minnesota is Dangerous for the Future of Health Care HEALTH CARE un-covered
Students are increasingly choosing community college or certificates over four-year degrees CNBC
AI
Abolish the senses Blood in the Machine
After AI New Left Review
Against Generative AI: Is Art the Last Refuge of Our Humanity? Lit Hub
The Bezzle
The Cult of Data Centers Boondoggle
Class Warfare
Big Medicine vs. Nurses in New York City The Economic Populist
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
