2026-01-21

etc

• The secret medieval tunnels that we still don't understand

Horseshit

• Inside the secret world of Japanese snack bars

• America Is Slow-Walking into a Polymarket Disaster

• A Global Explosion of Spicy Foods

• Martin Luther King was talking about a universal basic income before it was cool

• Do World Cup teams need a 50% prize money hike after tickets furore?

• Lindsey Vonn's new titanium knee helped her become Olympic-bound once again

• Suicides Were Frequent at the Golden Gate Bridge. Not Anymore

Epstein

• Nearly all Epstein files still unreleased a month after Congress deadline

• Why did Jeffrey Epstein cultivate famous scientists?

celebrity gossip

• US chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky had cocktail of drugs in system at death

Rank Propaganda / Thought Policing / World Disordering

• A renewed commitment to strengthening the United Nations

  Microsoft is committing a multi-million-dollar investment to establish an innovation fund that will support priority UN80 initiatives, particularly where AI and digital technologies can accelerate outcomes.

• Early Davos impressions

  There’s kind of a distributed consciousness at play here. Almost nobody I talked to knows what the AI stuff is about, in concrete details. They just have vibes. And yet they dropped almost all of the infamous climate justice and most of the DEI sloganeering for AI.

Musk

• We have open-sourced our new algorithm

  • X For You Feed Algorithm

  • Apache license is "not open source enough": HN comments

  • How X's 'For You' feed actually works (from the source code)

• Elon Musk floats idea of buying Ryanair after calling CEO 'an idiot'

• Elon Musk's xAI brings 1GW Colossus 2 AI training cluster online

Electric / Self Driving cars

• Honda Has a New Retro Logo for Its EVs

Religion / Tribal / Culture War and Re-Segregation

• When religion and sexism collide, women's health suffers

• Does women’s discomfort matter?

  Like nurse Sandie Peggie, who is appealing a similar case against NHS Fife, the nurses were made uncomfortable by being expected to strip in front of a man who claimed to be a woman. In both of these cases, the employer, not to mention the men involved, were perfectly aware of this discomfort. The question was, did it really matter? As far as the hospital HR departments were concerned, no, it didn’t. Female discomfort was trivial in the face of male desire.

  • To insist that biology exists is to perpetuate the "Trans genocide" tho...

Info Rental / ShowBiz / Advertising

• (from yesterday) Sourced quote

  The reason why RAM has become four times more expensive is that a huge amount of RAM that has not yet been produced was purchased with non-existent money to be installed in GPUs that also have not yet been produced, in order to place them in data centers that have not yet been built, powered by infrastructure that may never appear, to satisfy demand that does not actually exist and to obtain profit that is mathematically impossible.

• Data centers will consume 70 percent of memory chips made in 2026

• RAM shortage chaos expands to GPUs, high-capacity SSDs, and even hard drives

• Micron finds a way to make more DRAM with $1.8B chip plant purchase

• Google confirms 'high-friction' sideloading flow is coming to Android

• Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod disappears after mod maker pulls the plug

  The maker of the popular R.E.A.L. VR mod for Cyberpunk 2077 has accused CD Projekt of "iron-clad corpo logic" after the studio issued a DMCA demanding the mod's removal.

• London PR firm rewrites Wikipedia for governments and billionaires

• Well, There Goes the Metaverse

  Unlike the news of Meta’s rebrand, the deprioritization of the company’s metaverse efforts should come as no surprise — the division lost money at an excessive rate, worrying investors, and had never turned a profit. In total, the company had funneled some $73 billion into Reality Labs. To put that into context, you’d have to spend $1 million per day for 200 years to match that kind of spending.

  With other companies, including OpenAI, Amazon, and various startups, looking to hardware AI devices as the next potential computing platform, VR seems even more of a dated relic of a vision for the web that never came to pass.

• Open source's new mission: Rebuild Europe's tech stack

• Sony just handed its TV business to Tcl

  Sony is spinning out its TV and home audio business and has announced that Chinese company TCL will take a 51% controlling interest. Sony will retain a 49% stake, and TCL will continue to use the "Sony" and "Bravia" branding as part of the deal.

  • Sony to spin off TV business, form joint venture with China's Tcl

• One of the first alternative app stores in the EU is shutting down

• Netflix is rolling out a live voting feature

• The end of OnePlus: Oppo rumored to retire smartphone brand due to less sales

• Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before it will unlock phones

TechSuck / Geek Bait

• What came first: the CNAME or the A record?

  While in our interpretation the RFCs do not require CNAMEs to appear in any particular order, it’s clear that at least some widely-deployed DNS clients rely on it. As some systems using these clients might be updated infrequently, or never updated at all, we believe it’s best to require CNAME records to appear in-order before any other records. Based on what we have learned during this incident, we have reverted the CNAME re-ordering and do not intend to change the order in the future.

• air traffic control: the IBM 9020

  technical demands of air traffic control are well known in computer history circles because of the prominence of SAGE, but what's less well known is that SAGE itself was not an air traffic control system at all. SAGE was an air defense system, designed for the military with a specific task of ground-controlled interception (GCI). There is natural overlap between air defense and air traffic control: for example, both applications require correlating aircraft identities with radar targets. This commonality lead the Federal Aviation Agency (precursor to today's FAA) to launch a joint project with the Air Force to adapt SAGE for civilian ATC.

AI Will (Save | Destroy) The World

• I used AI chatbots as a source of news and they were unreliable and erroneous

• The Dangerous Paradox of A.I. Abundance

• Giving university exams in the age of chatbots

• Apple Intelligence Siri is over a year late, but that might be a good thing

• An A.I. Startup Says It Wants to Empower Workers, Not Replace Them

• AI impacting labor market 'like a tsunami' as layoff fears mount

• AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns

• OpenAI is facing a legal risk that almost no one is talking about

• OpenAI aims to debut first device in 2026

Space / Boomy Zoomers / UFO

• NASA's mega Moon rocket arrives at launch pad for Artemis II mission

• NASA’s Artemis II reaches the launch pad and the countdown to the Moon begins.

Crypto con games

• NYSE to Launch 24/7 Trading Platform for Blockchain-Based Securities

  • The New York Stock Exchange Develops Tokenized Securities Platform

Economicon / Business / Finance

• U.S. 30-year Treasury yield jumps 9 basis points higher as trade war reignites

• Danish pension fund divesting US Treasuries

  • Danish Pension Fund AkademikerPension to Exit US Treasuries

  • Dalio warns that 'capital wars' could follow Trump's action

  • 'This is sell America' – US dollar tumbles as globe flees US assets

  • European T-Bill sales are not an effective threat

• Japan's 40-year bond yield hits 4% record on fiscal jitters

• Warner Bros. Discovery accepts Netflix’s amended all-cash $72B offer, agrees to sell its studios and streaming business for $27.75 a share.

  • Netflix Upgrades Warner Bros. Deal to All Cash

  • Netflix revises Warner Bros. bid to an all-cash offer

  • Netflix Amends Warner Bros. Deal to All Cash in Bidding War

• Google co-founder reveals that "many" of the new hires do not have a degree

Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making

• DOJ subpoenas Tim Walz and other Minnesota Democrats over ICE obstruction

  Federal prosecutors on Tuesday served subpoenas to at least five top Minnesota Democrats — including Gov. Tim Walz — as part of the Justice Department’s investigation into the obstruction of ICE and of the Trump administration’s illegal immigration crackdown in the state, U.S. officials confirmed to Just the News. Beyond the subpoena issued to Walz for allegedly obstructing law enforcement activities, the DOJ also subpoenaed Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her and Hennepin County attorney Mary Moriarty over their alleged anti-ICE actions and obstruction activities, the U.S. officials said.

• DOJ Rules Century-Old Statute Prohibiting Shipping Handguns Through the US Mail Unconstitutional

  Hopefully, the USPS will take swift action to comply with OLC’s findings.

• Drivers divided on 'American Autobahn' plan to pull speed limits of highways

Trump

• Trump threatens tariffs on French wines to get Macron to join Board of Peace

• Trump Shares Map of US Including Greenland, Canada, Venezuela

  • Trump shares altered map of U.S. flag covering Canada, Greenland and Venezuela

• Trump, sharing leaked texts and AI mock-ups, vows 'no going back' on Greenland

• Memory chip makers could face 100% tariffs unless increased US production

• Bessent tells banks deregulation makes up for 10% rate cap

• There's a New Baby Coming to the White House!

  Vice President JD Vance announced on Tuesday that his wife, Usha, is also pregnant. The second couple is expecting a baby boy who will make his way into the world in July.

Left Angst

• Tech workers say they were mistaken for ICE agents, accosted by anti-ICE mob

  • Minneapolis software engineers mistaken for ICE agents

• Corporate media is missing the moment. We need independent news

  • "Government funded, ideologically purified propaganda" is not anything like "independent news"

• Huge amounts of extra land needed for RFK Jr's meat-heavy diet guidelines

• The reality of trying to make US manufacturing great again

• Tech titans lined up for Trump's second inauguration. Now they're even richer

• It's Sundowning in America

• US citizen says ICE forced him from his home in subfreezing weather

  The US Department of Homeland Security described the ICE operation at Thao’s home as a “targeted operation” seeking two convicted sex offenders. “The US citizen lives with these two convicted sex offenders at the site of the operation,” DHS said. “The individual refused to be fingerprinted or facially ID’d. He matched the description of the targets.” Thao’s family said in a statement that it “categorically disputes” the DHS account and “strongly objects to DHS’s attempt to publicly justify this conduct with false and misleading claims”.

  The DHS did not respond to a request from the Associated Press seeking the identities of the “two convicted sex offenders” or why the agency believed they were present in Thao’s home. Thao’s son, Chris Thao, said ICE agents stopped him while he was driving to work before they went to detain his father. He said he was driving a car he borrowed from his cousin’s boyfriend. Court records show that the boyfriend shares the first name of another Asian man who has been convicted of a sex offense. Chris Thao said the two people are not the same.

  • Citizen says ICE took him at gunpoint in underwear despite cold and no warrant

• HHS Gave No-Bid $1.6M Grant to a Controversial Vaccine Study, Emails Show

• Trump administration concedes DOGE team may have misused Social Security data

  • DOGE employees may have improperly accessed social security data, DOJ says

• Tech workers ask their bosses to pressure Trump over ICE crackdowns

• Amazon CEO says Trump tariffs are driving prices up

• ‘This Is Trump’s Goon Squad, for Christ’s Sake’ - The New York Times

• Penn Calls Government's Demand for Lists of Jewish Staff 'Disconcerting'

• US science after a year of Trump

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• Canada's Military Has Modeled Hypothetical US Invasion

• Military models Canadian response to hypothetical American invasion

• NATO officials restrict intelligence to US over Trump threats

• Mexico Quells Strike Rumors As US Issues Written Assurance: No Military Flights | ZeroHedge

  Seeking to tamp down speculation that US bombs and drones could actually be flying south of the border to do cartel raids, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Washington has assured her there will be no American military flights over Mexico. Sheinbaum said Monday she received "written" guarantees from the US that American military aircraft would not operate over Mexican territory or in its sovereign airspace, adding that Washington also pledged to notify Mexico City and seek approval in advance of any such potential military operations.

• Pentagon moves to cut U.S. participation in some NATO groups

World

• Myanmar's election is derided as fake, but the suffering is all too real

• UK consulting on bringing in social media ban for under 16s

  • UK ministers launch consultation on whether to ban social media for under-16s

• UK gambling regulator accuses Meta of lying about struggle to spot illegal ads

• Special Address by President von Der Leyen at the World Economic Forum

  First principle: full solidarity with Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark. The sovereignty and integrity of their territory is non-negotiable. Second, we are working on a massive European investment surge in Greenland. We will work with Greenland and Denmark hand in hand to see how we can further support the local economy and infrastructure. Third, we will work with the US and all partners on wider Arctic security. This is clearly in our shared interest, and we will step up our investment. In particular, I believe we should use our defence spending surge on a European icebreaker capability and other equipment vital to the Arctic security.

  • In Davos, von der Leyen pitches 'European independence' versus Trump's worldview

• 'The old order is not coming back,' Carney says in provocative speech at Davos

  • Full Transcript of Carney's Speech to World Economic Forum

• Fear of larger wars in East Africa

  Israel has recognized Somaliland, with a variety of other countries, including the United States, likely to follow. For Somalia, that is akin to an act of war because it dismembers what they perceive as their country.

• Mexico's missing people crisis casts a shadow over World Cup venue

• Driver killed and several injured after second train derails near Barcelona

  • One Killed in train derailment near Barcelona days after deadly rail collision

Greenland

• Confronted over Greenland Europe is ditching its softly-softly approach to Trump

• The Military Is Being Forced to Plan for an Unthinkable Betrayal

  • If they don't have plans to invade our closest ally, they ain't doing they jobs...

• The Tech Billionaires Behind Trump's Greenland Push

• Why Trump's split with Europe over Greenland is a double-edged sword for Russia

• Europe could 'weaponize' $10T of US assets over Greenland

• The exchange of messages between Norway's prime minister and President Trump

• Greenland PM Tells People to Prepare for Possible Invasion

• EU Nations Mulling $108B ‘Nuclear Option’ Against Trump’s Tariff Threats.

• EU Parliament freezes US trade deal after Trump's tariff threats over Greenland

Iran / Houthi

• Hackers disrupt Iran state TV to support exiled crown prince

• Inside Iran’s Wikipedia War

  While Iranian security forces have killed up to 20,000 protestors since December 2025—with the real toll feared much higher—another battle is being fought in the digital realm. As internet blackouts prevent Iranians from documenting their own repression, pro-regime editors are working to control how these events, and Iranian history more broadly, are recorded on Wikipedia. The dual strategy is deliberate. Kinetic violence silences dissent at home. Digital propaganda shapes the narrative abroad. Together, they form what Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei calls “vindication jihad”—a soft war in the information space designed to rewrite reality itself.

• Iran crippled Starlink and why the rest of the world should worry

• Iranian soldier sentenced to death for refusing to shoot protesters, human rights group says

Russia Bad / Ukraine War

• Ukraine to share wartime combat data with allies to help train AI

China

• China's Birthrate Sinks to Record Low

• Don't they already? Chinese Batteries Will Run the World

• UK's China embassy gamble shows changing calculations in divided West

  • Britain approves ‘mega’ Chinese embassy in London despite national security fears.

• Apple Regains Top Spot in China's Smartphone Market

• Anthropic CEO says selling AI chips to China like selling nukes to North Korea

Health / Medicine

• Do marathons damage your heart? Decade-long study shows no long-term harm

• Shingles vaccine linked to slower biological aging in older adults

• Stiffer Colon Linked to Increased Risk of Early-Onset Cancer

Pox / COVID / BioTerror AgitProp

• South Carolina Measles Cases Push US Toward Losing Health Title

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• 11-year streak of record global warming continues

• Urban Greenery Is Making Some Cities Hotter, Study Finds

• As Greenland loses ice, global sea levels will rise–and its own will fall

• In a warming world, freshwater production is moving deep beneath the sea

• California is free of drought for the first time in 25 years