The Psychology of People Who Love Cats Laughing Squid (resilc)
Think you make 200 food choices a day? Think again ScienceDaily (Kevin W). Huh? Yours truly is a remarkably habitual eater.
Norway: Children flocking to doctors with memory problems
“most disturbing is that a great many children between the ages of 5 and 14 have sought medical attention due to memory problems. .. a tripling in consultations has been observed since 2019”
NRKhttps://t.co/1basGi0MWG
— CoronaHeadsUp (@CoronaHeadsUp) January 5, 2026
South of the Border: US Kidnapping, Con’t.
VENI, VIDI, VENEZUELA: Pox Americana from War-a-Iago Dennis Kuchinich (resilc)
Attack On Venezuela Will Destroy The US Empire | Amb. Chas Freeman Neutrality Studies, YouTube
The U.S. Won’t Be Able to ‘Run’ Venezuela Daniel Larison
* * * Big Oil doesn’t share Trump’s dream of making Venezuelan oil great again CNN
Internal Coup? Was Maduro BETRAYED By His VP Breaking Points, YouTube
CIA Concluded Regime Loyalists Were Best Placed to Lead Venezuela After Maduro Wall Street Journal
Venezuela launches wave of repression after US seizure of Nicolás Maduro Financial Times. Lead story.
Note the cognitive bias towards black and white explanations. Per the below it is quite possible that the CIA paid off a lot of lower level people without suborning the leadership and Rodriguez is having to tap dance not being sure of how many termites there are. And the US also has a whip hand via the continuing damage done by the blockade.
WARNING: Don’t fall for the U.S. psyops. The narrative that Delcy Rodríguez betrayed Maduro and the Revolution is a manufactured lie. My full breakdown of the last 72 critical hours in Venezuela: https://t.co/nFfDcwe94Q pic.twitter.com/TLVgwwgdlV
— Manolo De Los Santos (@manolo_realengo) January 6, 2026
Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodríguez is a revolutionary Chavista stalwart, and the daughter of a slain revolutionary. She is loyal to the Bolivarian Revolution.
There are some claiming she is a ‘traitor’. I find that very hard to believe. I see no evidence for it, and… pic.twitter.com/YjK7Gvm0x3
— Ammar Kazmi 🇵🇸 (@AmmarKazmi) January 6, 2026
Why Trump Refused to Back Venezuela’s Machado: Fears of Chaos, and Fraying Ties New York Times
* * * Behind the DOJ’s politicized indictment of Maduro: a CIA-created ‘network’ and coerced star witness The Grayzone
Big Surprise: Legal Story Changes as Maduro Brought to Court Simplicius
I saw how Maduro was humbled in court Telegraph. I am told that the 92 year old judge is a Zionist, but I do not have independent confirmation. IMHO the important part of the story, which I have not seen reported elsewhere, is that Maduro’s wife Celia Flores is visibly beaten up and her lawyers say she has broken ribs.
* * * US foes and allies denounce Trump’s ‘crime of aggression’ in Venezuela at UN meeting Guardian (resilc)
Cuba defiant as it braces for post-Maduro era BBC
Going Going, Back Back, To Venezuela Venezuela (Part 1) Mike Benz, YouTube (Li). An archived stream and a bit gonzo, but fits the material. Reminiscent of The Men Who Stare at Goats, with more money and moving parts. But some intriguing points about the music industry and crypto. Best suited to listening at 1.25x while puttering about but has a transcript too.
#COVID-19/Pandemics
A new CDC study published in JAMA today, shows COVID is still killing a substantial number of Americans, with over 100K deaths annually between 2022-2024.
‘Although the Public Health Emergency ended, this study suggests it remains a major driver of mortality among older adults.’ pic.twitter.com/RhzioqS89z
— Jammer (@acrossthemersey) January 5, 2026
Flu surges in 45 states as doctor visits reach highest level in nearly 30 years. About 5,000 people have died of the flu so far this season, including 9 children, as the Trump administration pulls back on advice to get kids vaccinated.https://t.co/XaHqooe711
— Ian Weissman, DO (@DrIanWeissman) January 6, 2026
🚨🚨🚨🚨
New York state obliterates ALL TIME record for Flu Like Illness visits! pic.twitter.com/CDBJre38Oc— CyFi (@CyFi10) January 6, 2026
Climate/Environment
After a short dip, global Sea Surface Temperatures ended for 2025 well over 0.1°C higher than 2023 began.
If an El Niño does develop this year, 2026 could well be record warm. https://t.co/80B521v6kQ pic.twitter.com/OWTKtPw4p1
— Leon Simons 🌍 (@LeonSimons8) January 1, 2026
Category 6 hurricanes? Deep ocean heat is fueling stronger storms Earth
blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”>
AFRICA HEAT WAVE
Another day >40C in Cameroon and Nigeria with many more to come‼️Starting from tomorrow the record heat will spread from the Sahel to the Sahara (35C coming to Algeria and Libya) and than the Mediterranean,including Greece and South Balkans
Ready for history ? pic.twitter.com/xBy5rsob7g
— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) January 2, 2026
In Depth: China’s ‘Rain Belt’ Marches North, Unleashing Floods on Arid Lands Caixin
Research ties China’s smog clean-up to hotter and drier conditions in Australia ABC Australia
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2026/01/links-1-4-2026.html” rel=”nofollow”>Extreme heat and dengue: Bangladesh’s twin public health crises Dkakat Tribune
Why this Colorado coal town is digging geothermal Yale Climate Connections
In Denmark, Sick Cows and a Lot of Questions Undark
China?
China’s Services Gauge Slows Again With Growth at Six-Month Low Bloomberg
Property industry remains an enemy within for Beijing’s economic targets South China Morning Post
Why China is racing to develop its own commercial jet engine Straits Times (resilc)
Revolutionary generator transforms Chinese factories into power plants Kevin Walmsley
Japan
Japan’s Long-term Interest Rate Rises to 2.125%, Highest in Past 27 Japan News
China asks citizens in Japan to stay vigilant amid reports of violent incidents TRT World. IMHO, this is China taking measures to further discourage Chinese tourism in Japan. They ran the same playbook with Thailand. China has demonized Thailand over its supposed danger as part of Chinese efforts to pressure the Thai government over scammers (and perhaps other issues not apparent to your humble blogger) to the degree that PlutoniumKun, who keeps tabs on China, says that Chinese regard Thailand as unsafe. Tourism is down 7% year on year, largely due to a big drop in tourists from China, which even I see (way fewer Chinese tour busses this year). Taxi driving by women is a good proxy for personal safety. Here in the sex capital of Asia, over 30% of the taxis are driven by women, with no NYC type plastic barriers or gun carrying by them. (And there is a very long story here: Thailand’s clumsy responses, such as shutting large numbers of bank accounts and greatly tightening up on visas has scared off a lot collective West longer-term residents)
Koreas
North Korea’s Kim oversees hypersonic missile test, warns of ‘geopolitical crisis’ France24
India
Trump warns of higher tariffs on India over Russian oil purchases Reuters
Africa
The Forgotten Crisis: War, Starvation, and International Failure in Sudan Morocco World News
Renewed fighting near Uvira raises tensions in Eastern DR Congo Africa News
How the climate crisis is changing an ancient way of life in Ethiopia Independent
Africa faces a silent mental health crisis as extreme weather intensifies The Citizen
European Disunion
‘We need Greenland’: Trump repeats threat to annex Danish territory BBC. As we said, this is almost guaranteed for Trump to try to offset the monster prestige loss when Russia prevails in Ukraine.
Donald Trump Issues Greenland Deadline Newsweek (Kevin W)
US attack on Greenland would mean end of Nato, says Danish PM Guardian (Kevin W)
Stephen Miller Asserts U.S. Has Right to Take Greenland New York Times (resilc)
France expresses solidarity with Denmark after Trump’s Greenland comments TRT World. resilc: “IED baguettes are coming.”
French doctors begin 10-day strike over new budget rfi
Ten people found guilty of cyberbullying Brigitte Macron Irish Times. Micael T:
EU values. How about either prove them wrong or just ignore stupid shit people say? But no, thin-skinned incompetents destroying their countries and a continent unpunished have to punish people for saying mean things.
Greek Farmers to Escalate Protests With a 48-Hour Blockade Tovima
Old Blighty
Britain faces a ‘zombie apocalypse’ as high interest rates and energy prices and rises in the minimum wage combine to kill off struggling firms, according to a report Daily Mail
UK: Labour minister tells local councils they could be sued for boycotting Israel Middle East Eye (Kevin W)
‘Planting crops in 2026 may be pointless’ BBC
Winter blooming of hundreds of plants in UK ‘visible signal’ of climate breakdown Guardian
Israel v. The Resistance
Israel is moving the so called ‘yellow line’, seizing more land in the Gaza strip and squeezing Palestinians into a smaller and smaller area.
Hani Mahmood reporting. pic.twitter.com/htk3IIOAAP
— Saul Staniforth (@SaulStaniforth) January 5, 2026
Doctors fear ‘swamp fever’ spreading in flood-hit Gaza Aljazeera. From last week, still germane.
BREAKING: Iranian media reports
🇷🇺🇮🇷 Russia has transferred Iskander missile systems to Iran, according to Iranian outlets.
The Iskander is a short-range ballistic missile system capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads, significantly raising concerns about regional… pic.twitter.com/e9kTTcPc5u— War Radar (@War_Radar2) January 6, 2026
Syraqistan
Syrian government and Kurdish-led SDF fail to progress on military merger Aljazeera
Britain and France launch strikes on Isis facility in Syria Financial Times
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine’s power grid is struggling under Russia’s blitz Economist. Anecdotes of hardy Kiev residents coping and cursing Putin.
Brief Frontline Report – January 5th, 2026 Marat Khairullin and Mikhail Popov
Erdoğan says Russia-Ukraine war risks Black Sea trade ANewz TV
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
The State of Anti-Surveillance Design 404 Media
Imperial Collapse Watch
The New Conservatives and Industrial Policy in the Trump Administration’s Second Term China Affairs +
The New Neoconservatives American Conservative (resilc)
US-based multinational companies will be exempt from global tax deal Associated Press (Paul R). I had called this early based on some Trump remarks, but only in comments.
‘Grab what you can:’ The global rush for second passports CNN (Kevin W)
Trump 2.0
A New Trump Game Plan Takes Shape: Strike and Coerce Wall Street Journal. As we said, “Raid not invade”. But we know how well “Seize not freeze” worked out.
Pentagon to cut Sen. Mark Kelly’s military retirement pay over ‘seditious’ video: Hegseth CNBC (resilc)
CDC Removes 6 Diseases From Childhood Vaccine Schedule Forbes
Trump cuts off $10B in funding to five blue states for child care, social services over fraud fears New York Post (resilc)
Supremes
Who is the Chief Justice’s Audience? Steve Vladeck
Mamdani
The Jewish Establishment’s Attacks on Mamdani Aren’t Only Illogical Peter Beinart
Democrats en déshabillé
Tim Walz to drop out of Minnesota governor’s race Politico
AI
‘Just an unbelievable amount of pollution’: how big a threat is AI to the climate? Guardian
The (possibly) coming AI backlash and information warfare Gary Marcus
The Dangers of AI and Extreme Wealth Inequality Washington Monthly (resilc)
AI-driven inflation is 2026’s most overlooked risk, investors say Reuters
LLM Hallucinations Are Still Absolutely Nuts Freddie deBoer
Economy
A frightening recession indicator is flashing red — and Americans can see it all over Main Street Daily Mail
Mr. Market
Gold and silver prices rose as investors reacted to increased geopolitical risks following the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro FXLeaders
🚨 THIS IS NOT GOOD
I really hate what I’m seeing.
Gold up.
Silver up.
Copper up.I’ve been in this game for 20 years, and there’s one setup that makes me worried.
You’re looking at it.
This isn’t just a rally, this is our warning.
Here’s what’s happening & why I’m worried:… pic.twitter.com/3jw3feLikV
— NoLimit (@NoLimitGains) January 5, 2026
Class Warfare
Millions with debt brace for smaller paychecks as government crackdown begins from January 7 Economic Times
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus:
Scientists say octopuses sometimes slap fish for no reason. pic.twitter.com/xhbyvXyXVW
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) January 6, 2026
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
