Pursuit of Mastery Think Big
Gray wolves hunt sea otters, but no one knows how Science Daily (Kevin W)
Social media is accelerating mental health disorders and suicidal thoughts among teens, especially girls
Genes influence human lifespan much more than thought, new study suggests STAT
New coronavirus infection/pandemic
📉25% reduction in all-cause mortality! One of the largest long-term safety studies ever conducted, Wowzers provides the clearest answer yet. “Among 28 million French adults aged 18-59, those who received an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine were less likely to die over the following four years… pic.twitter.com/taR4Dm2v0C
— Eric Feigl Ding (@DrEricDing) January 29, 2026
breaking news:
Scientists develop plant-based antiviral chewing gum that neutralizes more than 95% of influenza and herpes viruses in saliva
Building on previous ACE2-based gums that cut over 95% of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva and are currently in testing, the new gum targets a wider range of pathogens. pic.twitter.com/m9Y4SEzgwQ
— SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) (@COVID19_disease) January 29, 2026
Climate/Environment
What will happen to forests if the earth warms too quickly?
Deforestation is cutting off atmospheric rivers and drying out the Amazon, says new scientist
historic heat wave in africa
Every day of every month, hundreds of records fall across Africa.
Amazing “double-double” record again in CONGOS capital
36.2C Kinshasa
35.9℃ Brazzaville
Hottest January day on record in both countries
I did the same thing in December! pic.twitter.com/UxGwtQAcaz
— Abnormal temperatures around the world (@extremetemps) January 28, 2026
Drought in the East, Floods in the South: Africa Hit by Climate Change Al Jazeera
China expects record high temperatures in 2025 Reuters
Storm Chandra brings flooding to UK and Ireland, records fall Net Weather
National survey finds microplastic pollution around UK coastlines could be twice as high as previous records University of Portsmouth
China?
I test drove a Chinese EV. I don’t want to buy an American car anymore. Wall Street Journal. Paul R: “Surrender, Elon.”
China lifts regulations that caused real estate crisis, development stocks emerge Reuters
China’s AI landscape: A free-for-all plan, not a central plan ChinaTalk
India
India has never even experienced industrialization to begin with: Hajun Chan Frontline (Colonel Smithers). We still have a close relationship since last November.
Southeast Asia
Military-backed party secures landslide victory in Myanmar’s ‘fake’ election Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/30/junta-backed-party-victory-myanmar-sham-election
Ceasefire with Cambodia remains ‘fragile’: Thai Foreign Minister Nikkei
Or Canada
President Trump threatens Canada with 50% tariffs on aircraft sold in U.S., escalating trade war Independence
discord in europe
Germany plans satellite missile detection system to break dependence on US Financial Times
Sadly, the time has come for the Nordic nuclear euractic.
old blighty
Starmer hits back at Trump’s criticism of China Telegraph
Producers warn that food price hikes are ‘inevitable’ due to energy cost shock The Grocer
Who Secretly Owns Britain? Map of Britain’s Hidden Property Owners Tax Policy (Colonel Smithers)
Palestine Action hunger strike ends in partial victory Asa Winstanley
Israel vs. Resistance. In our recent Iran War Watch post, we were grossly careless in not pointing out the factor most likely to restrain Mr. Trump: Mr. Market. If investors continue to drive up oil prices, President Trump will blink, even if he doesn’t want to. However, the accumulation continues…
Israeli apologists have spent more than two years sowing distrust over the official death toll in Gaza.
Now, the Israeli military has quietly accepted that that is actually an underestimate.
Eternal shame for those who deny brutality. They must never be forgiven. https://t.co/JDZPqbJEoU pic.twitter.com/RhcjtWPY7H
— Owen Jones (@owenjonesjourno) January 29, 2026
Full text: President Trump’s Israel Peacetime Commission Charter (resilc)
* * *
The U.S. Navy faces major challenges in continuing combat operations off the coast of Iran Larry Johnson
Iran ready for both war and dialogue, ‘will not accept dictation’: FM Araghchi PressTV. See the article for more information. This appears to mean Turkiye will not use the large and important Incirlik Air Base, which has stronger rights than most countries to US facilities.
Turkish government opposes military intervention
Foreign Minister Fidan, speaking alongside Araghçi, reiterated Ankara’s opposition to military action against Iran. “We have conveyed to our interlocutors at every opportunity that we oppose military intervention in Iran,” he said.
How could Iranians do that to Iranians? Setareh Sadeki talks about the recent Mossad/CIA violence in Iran Vanessa Beeley
A new war that’s not so cold war
Mr. Sergei Lavrov: “Our negotiating team remains committed to continuing contacts in any form. They know what they are doing.” International Affairs Officer (Michael T.). Mr. Lavrov is in full “don’t suffer fools” mode.
Interview of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with Turkish media (state TV channel TRT and newspaper Turkiye), Moscow, January 29, 2026 Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
Note that another tweet highlighting this speech includes Nebenja’s statement, “Europe is ruled by political pygmies. I’ve been saying this for a long time and it’s true. Guiding principles are gone and now we see a race of cockroaches.”
Russia’s Nebenzha defeats EU leaders
“Peace is more dangerous than war in Ukraine,” explains the EU’s madness.
Disbanding NATO and Brussels, they failed NATO failed.
The “most dangerous fool” rules on the European continent https://t.co/iVaNtxCQ8b
— Politics Polly (@PoliticsPolly1) January 30, 2026
Sitreb 1/30/26: President Putin flatters President Trump at Kiev Energy Ceasefire Simplicius. Note that Alexander Mercouris does not agree with this view.
NATO creates bank to prepare for war with Russia – Media RT (Kevin W)
Amid threat of US-Iran war, Chinese satellite reveals US military location Janta Ka Reporter, YouTube
Why it would be a big mistake for the US to go to war with Iran The Conversation (Kevin W)
big brother is watching over you
important. And why do I mainly keep it in my Faraday bag, doing nothing with it except making phone calls and using carpool services?
🇬🇧 British police’s new tool can download all information from your smartphone, including deleted messages, deleted browsing history and private conversations – BBC
Your device can download:
– call records,
– chat,
– cookies,
– device notifications,
-… pic.twitter.com/WuCNvudXiJ
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) January 30, 2026
Read the Palantir-ICE app manual 404 Media
imperial collapse watch
New (Old) Paradigm Crosstalk, Rumble by John Mearsheimer and Alastair Crook
How the tariff war shock affected the ‘safe haven’ privilege of US Treasuries VoxEU
Trump 2.0
President Trump Attends Screening of Amazon’s New York Times Highly Promoted Film “Melania” (resilc)
Roaming Charge: Counter Punch Tired of Peace
shutdown
Senate passes major government funding bill, sends to House The Hill
Lafaire Epstein
Department of Justice releases 3.5 million responsive pages in compliance with Epstein File Transparency Act Department of Justice
Elon Musk frequently emails Jeffrey Epstein and requests visit to his infamous futurist island
Epstein’s surprising twist as Ghislaine Maxwell claims 29 friends struck ‘secret deals’ with Justice Department Daily Mail (resilc)
Maha
An unknown committee could disrupt the vaccine market Eric Feigldin (Dr. Kevin)
There is no U.S. backup plan if foreign generic drug makers withdraw, senators say today on MedPage
FRB
What does Kevin Warsh’s nomination mean for the Fed?Bloomberg
Paul Krugman’s Bad Successor Day at the Fed
ICE Rampage
Former CNN host Don Lemon arrested during anti-ICE protest at Minnesota church BBC
Judges across the country condemn ICE for defying court orders Politico (MJS)
Democrats say they see signs of increased fundraising amid anger over ICE on the Hill
Our press is no longer free
YouTube leads all media Barry Ritholtz (resilc)
st luigi
New York City federal judge exempts Luigi Mangione from death penalty, drops murder and firearms charges Gothamist
economy
Global oil discovery is significantly delayed Consumption crude oil prices
Mr. Market is dizzy.
Gold and silver prices fall, bull market reverses Financial Times
Chart: Friday’s mining stock carnage also sends copper prices plummeting Mining.com
Tungsten prices rise to record high as heat supply increases due to export curbs Reuters
A.I.
How the AI boom will drive up the price of the next PC New York Times
guillotine watch
Tim Cook and Trump host party hours after Preti’s murder
class war
The average American in their 50s is now worth $1.4 million USA Today (resilc)
Nike has announced that factory workers are being paid almost twice the minimum wage. In Indonesia, workers say, “That’s not true.” ProPublica (Robin K)
Means Testing Industrial Complex Luke Farrell
Antidote (via):
bonus:
The chicken who thought it was a duck is now facing the truth.
— Science Girl (@sciencegirl) January 31, 2026
Second bonus:
Orange cat behavior.. 😂 pic.twitter.com/4fV2U0IvjM
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) January 20, 2026
And third:
Fennec fox, small body, endless cuteness
— Science Girl (@sciencegirl) January 29, 2026
Click here for yesterday’s link and Antidote du Jour.
