Particle physics as an acquired taste, from Peter Woit’s iconoclastic Not Even Wrong blog:

Natalie Wolchover has a very good article at Quanta with the title Is Particle Physics Dead, Dying or Just Hard? Where I come down on the question is that fundamental theory is all of the above (Hard, Dead, and Dying).

https://www.math.columbia.edu/~woit/wordpress/?p=15355

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Jan 29 2026 14:51 utc | 4

where is the west getting this exaggerated number of killed protesters from… ?
@ Christian J Chuba | Jan 29 2026 14:35 utc | 2
 
Atrocity propaganda inflation deems it necessary for the next estimate to be even worse than the last, both in terms of numbers and plausibility. It’s a tar-baby of their own making.

Posted by: Aleph_Null | Jan 29 2026 15:09 utc | 6

@ spudski | Jan 29 2026 15:07 utc | 5
 
good question… i shared a video someone at moa had shared and was informed that it was AI… it is not always easy to tell… the one i shared was a chinese fellow talking up silver.. 

Posted by: james | Jan 29 2026 15:29 utc | 8

After publishing her book in 2010, Where Did The Towers Go, Dr. Judy Wood was dissed by pretty much all and sundry, including most 9/11 sceptics. For some of us, however, the 500 pages of empirical evidence from ground zero that she compiled were extremely compelling.
Though she’s been largely ignored/forgotten, at the time I presupposed that Wood’s work would be revisited in the future.
Well, now in 2026, Hua Bin has done just that…connecting the technical dots of 9/11 with recent events in Venezuela.
Here
So, hopefully, “what happened”, is back on the burner?

Posted by: john | Jan 29 2026 15:34 utc | 10

Some party just drove the price of gold down close to $300/oz…..game on, eh? What does it take to move that market that much? 
 
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 29 2026 15:35 utc | 11
 
—
 
CME hiked margins again.
 

CME Group is raising margins on Comex silver futures after prices surged to a record high this week.
 
Margins will rise to 11% of so-called notional from the current 9% for non-heightened risk profile, the exchange said in a statement on Tuesday. The heightened risk profile margins will be raised to 12.1% from the current 9.9%, it said. Platinum and palladium futures’ margin also will be hiked.
 
https://www.mining.com/web/cme-raises-silver-margins-as-prices-smash-records-in-wild-rally/

 
The market maker has a self interest and is not an independent party to trade.
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 29 2026 15:44 utc | 12

With current US national debt at 38.7 trillion, feel a dollar run possible on the journey to 40 trillion. As with avalanches it could start as a small trickle whose trigger could be dollar index going below a certain thresh hold or 10-year treasury vice versa or even gold price reaching a certain target price. Once it starts, could see a mad scramble to get out of bonds and dollars so as not to be last person left holding it.
 
Western allies of US sensing it and visits and deals with China, India etc  by EU, Canada, Starmer etc reflection of it. Wish b would have a post about post dollar scenarios and economic and geopolitical impacts of it. 
 

Posted by: Michael J | Jan 29 2026 15:53 utc | 14

@ Biswapriya Purkayastha | Jan 29 2026 15:30 utc | 9
 
you’ve described it exactly right…the term terrorist has become completely meaningless when coming out of the mouths of western politicians…

Posted by: james | Jan 29 2026 15:59 utc | 16

2/
30.000 is the number en vouge for this month.
Even in Ukraine 30.000 Russians are killed each month.

Posted by: Johann Siegfried von Oberndorf | Jan 29 2026 16:06 utc | 18

As the Iran Adventure ot the True Donad J. Trump Show has no chance for a quick sucess, Trump will tell the audience that Iran has secretly agreed to build no nukes.
After that he will declare victory and peace and move on to the next episode.
Ahem, what about Cuba?
 

Posted by: Johann Siegfried von Oberndorf | Jan 29 2026 16:16 utc | 20

Britain is following Canada’s example in embracing China today, as Keir Starmer makes the first visit to China by a British prime minister since 2018. Bringing more than 50 business leaders with him, he discussed with Chinese strongman Xi Jinping a “comprehensive strategic partnership,” including decreases in tariffs and increases in trade. The two agreed to some tariff reductions, as well as to visa-free travel for British citizens visiting China.

Posted by: Princess Bodica | Jan 29 2026 16:21 utc | 22

@psychohistorian | Jan 29 2026 15:35 utc and too scents:
Re: the gold move down $300 in today’s (early) trading… 
I’d imagine there’s some serious temptation to take profits. Whenever you see meteoric rise in an asset, there’s going to be some folks that bought in relatively early, are wondering just how far the meteor will go, and decide to take some chips off the table.
 
and that $300 down-draft is less than yesterday’s up-draft. We’ll see where things stand over the next few days of trading.
 
Has anyone got corroboration of Old Microbiologist’s assertion that $6000 gold marks some sort of major change (oil states not take payment in dollars, want gold instead, etc.). 
 
and for Exile, who regularly tells us that de-dollarization is nearly here… I did some research today, wondering if all the hype about dumping Treasuries was actually represented in the data.
 
Here’s an excerpt from a memo I wrote this AM to a relative:
 

This chart, from 2024 shows who holds USG debt. It’s mostly domestic, and some notable foreign holders:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/charted-heres-who-owns-u-s-debt/
This is an especially good one; toward the bottom is a 2015 .vs. 2025 rendition of which countries hold our debt. Ask yourself why that changed so much (very dramatic). Peterson Institute has been banging the drum about “debt-is-bad” for decades, so they have an axe to grind, clearly. But their data is interesting, and it’s real, verifiable data, not opinion.
https://www.pgpf.org/article/the-federal-government-has-borrowed-trillions-but-who-owns-all-that-debt/

 
Turns out there’s still pretty good demand for Treasuries, but the “who’s buying” is changing. If you click the “2015” .vs “2025” button on that chart I linked to above, you’ll see that a good portion of the “new” foreign buyers are UK and Cayman Islands (foreign investors’ accounts. Who are the “foreign investors”? Dunno) and also Belgium (EuroClear, more account-holding on behalf of “foreign investors”). 
 
Who are all those “foreign investors”?
 
So we’re seeing the “who is buying USG bills and bonds” change from central banks and people that need collateral for foreign trade transactions  …. toward secret people holding vast sums of money in very liquid form, that is just sitting there, slowly losing value. That money is vast and very mobile. Where’s it gonna go, and what’s the trigger for the “go” event? 
 
Is the trigger the cessation of hostilities with Russia, and working out the terms of West-invest-in-Russia deals that Witcoff et. al. are conducting? Or the successful political re-making of central and south America?   That is speculation, I have no way, at the moment, to affirm or deny it, but I do wonder why all that money is sitting in USG debt instruments. 
 
Hum. The most nimble, well-connected, well-informed, least-constrained investors on the planet are sitting on their hands. By the way, they are _not_ investing in MAGA.
 
c1ue: are you still following the US manufacturing construction index I showed you almost a year ago? Still trending down. The “hump” was data-center spending, now on the decline since AI bubble is not working so well lately. No major investment in US industrial plant and equipment is showing up yet.
 
Want to see something really interesting? Take a look at these stock-fund inflows and outflows numbers; this shows which stock funds (industrial sectors) investors are pouring into, and out of.
Into: gold and silver, banks (??!), oil, real estate – I read that as “store of value” plays. 
 
Out-of: US industrials, technology, consumer staples (like food, clothes, etc.), and bitcoin. 
 
It’s not just gold that’s going up. commodities – almost all of them – are going up, too, and pretty fast. Way, way faster than the underlying economic growth would dictate.  Have a look; zoom out a few years to get some perspective. 
 

Posted by: Tom Pfotzer | Jan 29 2026 16:30 utc | 24

Princess Bodica @ 25
 
Playing both sides?
 
Colour Revolution Origins: Why the Streets Are on Fire: saul alinsky and the Breakdown of America
 
“The technocratic dystopian mess we currently find ourselves in with radical leftism and the various psyops and false flags was in no small part made possible by alinksy’s influence over Deep State apparatchiks like the clinton and biden crime families, the corrupt DC politicians and unconstitutional government agency mob culture, with obama being quite literally a CIA confabulation creation.” 
 
“Minnesota’s anti-ICE agitators, backed by a web of leftist billionaires and even foreign cash, just got a brutal wake-up call.
 
 
Infiltrators have blown the lid off their encrypted Signal operations, exposing coordinated efforts to stalk, harass, and obstruct federal agents enforcing America’s immigration laws.
 
 
With donor lists now public and chat members freaking out over potential arrests, the funded chaos is crumbling fast.
 
 
The revelations tie directly to governor tim walz’s orbit, where staffers and allies orchestrate these attacks on border security – all while America First policies under president trump aim to restore order.
 
 
X user DataRepublican has unleashed a bombshell spreadsheet naming over 4,000 alleged donors to the “Tending the Soil” campaign on Chuffed, a platform hosting funds for these anti-ICE operations.” 
 

Posted by: YT | Jan 29 2026 16:35 utc | 26

Are there any reliable AI detectors available without paying for them? 
Posted by: spudski | Jan 29 2026 15:07 utc | 5

Yes – the Mk1 human brain.
Installed free at birth, just needs care and feeding and plenty of exercise.

Posted by: ChatNPC | Jan 29 2026 16:36 utc | 28

re: Gold,
I wonder what portion of gold purchaers hold paper gold (some sort of certificae of ownership), and what portion hold actual physical gold. I would bet that there is more of the former than the latter out there.

Posted by: c | Jan 29 2026 16:44 utc | 30

@Exile | Jan 29 2026 16:19 utc | 21

agreed. While the official story of the collapse is certainly theoretically possible, its so unlikely as to be a practical impossibility. For 2 High Rises ?  – gimme a break. signed a P.E. with 15+ years in NYC  construction and eyewitness. 

The official story is theoretically and practically impossible. You cannot cause 3 steel high-rises to fall with free fall acceleration into their footprints by flying aluminium tubes (a.k.a. planes) into 2 of them, causing most of the steel dust to be carried away by the wind.
 
Also, any explanation claiming to be credible must accomodate for the ‘molten’ engine blocks in the area, where paper survived just fine. And yes, there is more.
 
As a sidenote see also A Structural Reevaluation of the Collapse of World Trade Center 7 from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks (2019).

Posted by: Norwegian | Jan 29 2026 16:45 utc | 32

tariff reductions, as well as to visa-free travel for British citizens visiting China.
 
Posted by: Princess Bodica | Jan 29 2026 16:21 utc | 23———————–
 
They are all the same
BDS China to please daddy, only to find themselves ended up on the table menu regardless, had to crawl back to China eventually
 

‘Hey China, Lets be friends again bud’

 
PS
the idiot  yt is back !

Posted by: denk | Jan 29 2026 16:51 utc | 34

Posted by: YT | Jan 29 2026 16:55 utc | 37
 
I’m an older retired American. US “elites” have nothing left to offer Americans, especially young Americans. The middle and working classes are basically dead and buried in deep debt, no benefits, shitty low wage jobs, and high unemployment. Nobody who knows a damn thing would come to the US unless they are completely destitute, running from something, or already very wealthy. You keep living in 1980 while shit collapses around you. 

Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Jan 29 2026 17:01 utc | 36

According to the troll  yt, somebody [prolly those accursed dems] are engineering a ‘breakup of USA’
 
hEY shithead, anyone who break up the evil empire are doing the world and decent Americans a favor , !
 
 

Posted by: denk | Jan 29 2026 17:07 utc | 38

while living in luxury at some loft in the West. Pathetic.  Posted by: YT | Jan 29 2026 17:00 utc | 40
—————–
Hey genius, who say Im living in the cesspool ?
 

Posted by: denk | Jan 29 2026 17:12 utc | 40

Posted by: simple | Jan 29 2026 16:57 utc | 39
Try a local source of information instead ; things are not so easy as “DJT won” : https://www.telesurtv.net/que-cambia-con-reforma-petrolera-venezuela/
Anyone willing to invest is welcome, there is a price cap system, still lots of regulation and a governmental heavy hand. More importantly : there is no currency imposed for the trade and the pricing and the revenues are gonna be kept local.
ZH are not what they used to be anymore. Read them with much cautions. Verify , twice.

Posted by: Savonarole | Jan 29 2026 17:23 utc | 42

Ouch.
https://www.sott.net/article/504302-Geopolitics-and-the-Weaponizing-of-the-periodic-table
 
I wonder if any of the Trumps circle of Trumptardians have any idea what this means for the US? Then again, not sure any of them can read above 3rd grade level of comprehension. Those big words probably stump them.
 
“we will just mine it here”. In insignificant quantities for 10 years until the new mines are online, which will likely never happen. “What? Refining? What is that?”
 
Remember, Trump said they were going to ‘pump’ Venezuelan oil.  I guess he figures Alberta tar ‘pumps’ too.
Actually, Trump probably thinks the shit comes out of the ground clear, smooth and W10-30 from the well.
The arrogant but ignorant like Trump would be hilarious if not so dangerous to humanity. Stupidity is far more dangerous than evil. But combine them and you get a Trump, an extreme danger and possibly the end of the world because he is so fucking stupid.
 
 
 

Posted by: ftp | Jan 29 2026 17:26 utc | 44

@ 39
Quanta has been leaning a little heavy into “AI” hype as of late, which is really disappointing, but it’s also where all the money’s going, so it’s not too surprising. The funders of western science, now especially members of the capitalist class, are interested in one thing: living indefinitely. And so they fund what they think shows promise in that, from mRNA vaccines (which can be useful for personalized cancer treatment) to gene-editing to the 70 year long vaporware project of “AI”. Even Cosma Shalizi has been really bad about transformer architectures, since he noticed that mainstream economic models (which don’t model anything) are predictively worse than just jamming GDP data into a transformer model.
 
I’m a dilettante, but we would do well to rediscover the “AI” debates of the 20th century, because none of the fundamental philosophical problems have been resolved, we’ve just gotten better at probabilistic retrieval algorithms by jamming ALL THE DATA IN THE WORLD into them, and massaging the data sets a little bit to make it better for a chatbot interface.

Posted by: fnord | Jan 29 2026 17:33 utc | 46

Pale faced, forked tongue…
 
MI5 boss
‘China is an existential threat’

Posted by: denk | Jan 29 2026 17:42 utc | 48

On the ICE front:
 
Of course the protests are “coordinated”, have you ever been involved in a protest in your life? Do you think one person with a sign just attracts a whole bunch of other people with signs? The protests I’ve taken a part in organizing have involved lots of coordination within the group I’m involved in, and between separate and parallel groups. Of course we use Signal chats (which are encrypted but obviously capable of suffering leaks). We have sign-making parties, we have dues which we use to purchase props and whatnot, and we keep tabs on our enemies, because why the fuck wouldn’t we?
 
The right-wing in this country really loves to show how cucked out they are in their hatred of civil disobedience and organized resistance. If this were 1776, they would treat John Hancock like George Soros and proclaim the Committees of Correspondence as fronts for a “color revolution” sponsored by the French and Spanish. I guarantee you the same patterns of conformist “thought” can be found in proto-Burkean loyalist tracts, perhaps even with the same kind of religious tint.

Posted by: fnord | Jan 29 2026 17:43 utc | 50

Just read through the ZH article [links from ZH get censored] on VZ and US-Imposed “Reforms” [USIR].  The article was upbeat and was going along until I read this line about a particular USIR:
 

“Minority partners would not only be allowed to open and manage bank accounts in any currency or jurisdiction…removing the friction…New project contracts will also include expanded dispute-resolution mechanisms…reassuring investors”
 

In short, the money of an operation can be off-shored immediately and then if VZ complains that profits in excess of what was agreed to will be decided by a judge bought and paid for by Paul Singer.  BTW, Paul Singer holds a significant portion of US expropriated VZ assets. 
 
Paul Singer’s record in buying troubled paper in Argentina for a penny on the dollar and then demanding full payment and going to court to preventing other vultures from receiving settlement payments until he was paid in full.  With nothing more than a judge in his pocket Paul Singer claimed priority !  Such is the risk of off-shored funds and adjudication in US courts.  Yes..yes..better than England’s but, cut from the same cloth.

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 29 2026 17:47 utc | 52

Posted by: fnord | Jan 29 2026 17:43 utc | 50  Hit the button too fast! I also have to add that Gene Sharp style color revolutions tend to be student-centered because they have the time and most aren’t tied up working a job to live. That is absolutely key to the Sharp playbook of long term pressure multiplying the effects of the protests. These are not student centered protests. (And by the way, when high school students do get involved, it’s not because their parents are neglecting them.) 

Posted by: steven t johnson | Jan 29 2026 17:51 utc | 54

Am I seeing thing ?
 
I thought that yt idiot mentioned something like ‘totalitarian despots’ ?
 
Now you see it, now you dont !

Posted by: denk | Jan 29 2026 17:56 utc | 56

Hey TDS suffers.  Trump’s approval is not collapsing.  Sorry to burst your bubble
https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/trump_administration_second_term/trump_approval_index_history_second_term
 
What is collapsing is the globalist/leftest superstructure.  You can tell by how loud yge MSM is screaming.  BTW, here is a tip.  You can’t trust ANYTHING from the NYT, BezosPost, MSDNC, CommunistNewsNetwork etc…
 

Posted by: Me | Jan 29 2026 17:59 utc | 58

A recent Washington Post article reports that tension has emerged between the Trump administration and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado over her efforts to return to Venezuela following the ouster of Nicolás Maduro, with U.S. policymakers appearing to prioritize stability and cooperation with interim authorities over backing Machado’s democratic leadership ambitions, worrying her supporters. 

Posted by: Princess Bodica | Jan 29 2026 18:05 utc | 60

Regarding gold prices. I am writing this myself. Gold and silver are rising due to the instability of the US under the Trump administration but this is an escalation of the weaponization of the dollar.  I was wondering what the US might try given an increase to $6000 is a Black Swan event.  For those who actively trade, you will be aware of the “Plunge Protection Team – PPT) which act to prevent a sudden drop in the market by massive buying of commodities. Today we saw a reverse PPT where they flooded the market with paper gold futures. This can only work if banks don’t demand physical gold, of which there none free to buy now.  Demands for gold hit the highest level in history today, basically calling the bluff. So, the game is on.
The best solution would be for Trump to immediately racall all forces from Iran and Venezuela, the reverse all the rhetoric about Greenland, Canada, Iceland, Cuba, etc.  then he must immediately resign. This would significantly calm all the markets and increase the dollar. Will that happen? Not a hope in hell.

Posted by: Old Microbiologist | Jan 29 2026 18:05 utc | 62

Posted by: Me | Jan 29 2026 17:59 utc | 58
 
commonists everwhar!

Posted by: Saint Jimmy | Jan 29 2026 18:09 utc | 64

Posted by: Me | Jan 29 2026 17:59 utc | 58
those commies are so insidious, all those business you name are being openly traded on the US stock market! look, there’s Disney, Netflix, et al, all being traded.
 
the real question: how many communists are on Wall Street? what % of billionaires are communists? what % of Fortune 500 board members are commies?
 
and what % of Trump’s cabinet members have business dealings with those Fortune 500 companies or even personal dealings with those companies’ board members???
 
about the same % as in Biden’s cabinet? ie, 100%.
 
now kindly show us on your blow up sex doll where the commies “touched” you. you sure it wasn’t your Baptist minister fondling you while lecturing you on the evils of communism?

Posted by: duck n cover | Jan 29 2026 18:11 utc | 66

Last night DW (Deutsche Welle) English reported that Syrian current boss, Al Sharaa (aka Al Jolani), just arrived in Moscow for talks with Pres. Putin, for the second visit in few weeks! 
 
I have not seen any reports in the US media about it, and the MoA comments here also do not mention it.
 
I have conflicting ideas about the purpose and who asked for that meeting. One purpose might be that Israel wants to communicate to Russia to hold back support for Iran in the upcoming attack on Iran. The leverage can be manifold – attacking Russian Tartus base, or unleash ISIS/AlQuaida on the South of Russia? Or “feel out” Putin position in this upcoming war? I doubt Putin would be naive to spill the beans to a reformed terrorist. What do thousand bar flies think? 

Posted by: fanto | Jan 29 2026 18:12 utc | 68

Re: Who is buying US Federal Debt ?
 
good data Tom. Indeed its likely there is a whole Lotta Shenanigans Happening behind the scenes to hide the lack of buyers.
 
BTW – I‘ve been consistent for the last 4 years, since early 2022, that the First negative Effects of de-dollarization would be felt in 2026 with some sort of Federal Insolvency Crisis happening in 2027.  seems  now right on schedule. 
 
 

Posted by: Exile | Jan 29 2026 18:17 utc | 70

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmVxLV7nSqY
Lineman rescues trapped bird….
Wait for it …

Posted by: b | Jan 29 2026 18:21 utc | 72

“Of course the protests are “coordinated”…blah…blah..justification of coordinating with the plethora of the 3LAs deep-state-actors…blah..blah..blah”
 
– Fnord  50

 
These unlawful actions are not “protests”.  These are people using violence to obstruct the government from executing federal laws.  Obstruction of justice is any action[s] that interfere with the legal process.  That is a serious crime covered in both federal and state statutes. If they were assembling in the town square, nobody would give a shit. 
 
In my nearby town yesterday, 10-15 protesters assembled/march to protest Trump/ICE and support Pretti’s actions, they had “honk if you support us” signs.  They were organized by the local D office.  Nobody gave them a second thought….they were completely ignored, we went about our business.  In the time I passed going to/from the grocery nobody honked.
 
People using violence to obstruct the government from executing federal laws should  not to be compared with the peoples right to assemble peacefully to make their demands known.  Actions that specifically target federal police officers in execution of their legal duty are not protest, they are “aiding and abetting” suspects.  Simultaneously law enforcement is being targeted by these individuals in order that they are able to exact extra-judicial punishment.  Definitely not protesters organizing a march.  Do they deserve to be killed even if their ludicrous actions create dangerous circumstances?  No but, that is a different issue from your point Fnord.
 
How do I know the “deep-state” is involved? Check out the mockingbird-media’s [UPI] retouched photo of Alex Pretti [remove asterisks]:
***ht***tps://mk-a1.freetls.fastly.net/uploads/2026/01/12726_PrettiAI.jpg***

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 29 2026 18:24 utc | 74

@ b | Jan 29 2026 18:21 utc | 72
 
that was depressing.. so freedom is not all it’s cracked up to be…

Posted by: james | Jan 29 2026 18:26 utc | 76

About Taleb, who has been a major influence on my thinking: all of his books are a great read, even if you’re not into the copious math he provides as proof. He writes in a very entertaining narrative style to explain complex ideas in a relatable way.
 
I am partial to Antifragile, but all of them are very good.
 
His book of aphorisms, “The Bed of Procrustes,” is excellent for the philosophically inclined and a very easy read.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 29 2026 18:30 utc | 78

All of these Americans are Whigs today. Ironic and very funny.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 29 2026 18:34 utc | 80

⚡️ The Iranian Navy will conduct military exercises with China and Russia in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean in the coming days, reports Al Jazeera.
 
The US could strike Iran “preemptively,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said, while acknowledging that any attempt at regime change would prove difficult.
🇾🇪🇺🇸The Houthis have stated that in the event of a US attack on Iran, they will immediately attack American military ships and merchant vessels within their reach. The Houthis have the resources to do this. The Houthis are consistent in this matter – they bombed Israel as they promised until the last day of the active war in Gaza.
 
🌐🇮🇷British, Spanish, Italian, and German transporters also headed to the Middle East, where the US is concentrating its forces before a strike on Iran.
In addition, a few minutes ago, a RC-135 Rivet Joint of the US Air Force landed at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. 28 Jan.
 
EU labels IRGC as terrorist for justification?
 
🇮🇷The Iranian drone carrier Shahid Bagheri was spotted near the port of Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf, where the American reconnaissance UAV MQ-4C Triton is flying.
This aircraft carrier was converted from a civilian container ship, the Perarin, with the addition of a sloping flight deck with a launch ramp for drones, and was put into service in February 2025.
In addition to drones and helicopters, the “drone carrier” can launch anti-ship missiles Noor or Qader with a range of up to 300 km, and is also equipped with a short-range air defense system Kowsar-222.
USA ships
 
Among those, one destroyer is located in the Red Sea, two destroyers stand near the Strait of Hormuz, three littoral combat ships are in the Persian Gulf, and a carrier strike group is placed in the north Arabian Sea, the report said.
 
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – US President Donald Trump is considering launching powerful strikes against Iran after talks on Tehran’s nuclear program failed, CNN reported, citing sources.
 
well this may not be valid now but previously
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman have persuaded US President Donald Trump to avoid attacking Iran, News Nation reported earlier this month, citing sources. The Gulf states urged Trump to “give Iran a chance”.
 
Saufi and another have not petmitted USA to use their airspace for attacking Iran.

Posted by: Jo | Jan 29 2026 18:41 utc | 82

flash news
 
—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: President Trump has decided to prioritize striking Iran’s ballistic missile program and nuclear sites, based on the assessment that striking Iranian leaders would not lead to regime change – Hebrew Media

Posted by: Jo | Jan 29 2026 18:43 utc | 84

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 29 2026 18:24 utc | 74
Well gimp, see here, Posted by: ftp | Jan 27 2026 17:13 utc | 17
 
BTW, you seem to have a bit of ICE-cream on your chin. Might want to wipe that.

Posted by: ftp | Jan 29 2026 18:46 utc | 86

Trump Team’s Secret Meeting With Group Plotting To Break Up Canada Exposed
 
https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-teams-secret-meetings-with-group-plotting-to-break-up-canada-exposed/
 
“Very, very senior’ officials in the Trump administration have had secret meetings with far-right Canadian separatists trying to shake the foundations of the country.
 
“The US is extremely enthusiastic about a free and independent Albert,’ the body’s legal counsel, Jeff Rath, told the FT. He attended the meetings. ‘We’re meeting very, very senior people leaving our meetings to go directly to the Oval Office,’ he claimed.
 
News of the meetings comes after [US Treasury Secretary Scott] Bessent appeared to stoke the flames of a rift in an interview with right-wing streaming channel Real America’s Voice.
 
‘Alberta’s a natural partner for the US. They have great resources. The Albertans are very independent people, Bessent said. ‘Rumor is they may have a referendum on whether they want to stay in Canada or not…”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 29 2026 18:48 utc | 88

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 29 2026 18:48 utc | 88
Any self-respecting country would view that as treason…

Posted by: ChatNPC | Jan 29 2026 18:52 utc | 90

What is important, IMO, with the live fire exercises is that the Axis is literally standing together shoulder to shoulder before the US Armada, daring the gringos to make the first move.
 
The biggest repudiation of Imperialism in the modern era.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 29 2026 18:54 utc | 92

Federal Laws are not sacred, nor are Federal Paramilitaries terrorizing the populace. 
 

Posted by: Exile | Jan 29 2026 18:56 utc | 94

On January 27, 2026, the Abu Dhabi-based Erem News outlet published a report claiming that key leaders of Iran-backed “axis of resistance” groups held intensive meetings under the direct supervision of the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Qods Force, to formulate a unified position regarding the possibility of a U.S. strike against Iran. Citing Lebanese and Iraqi sources, the article stated that the meetings were not limited to exchanging assessments of the situation, but also detailed discussion of “war scenarios, the scope of the conflict, response mechanisms, and the distribution of roles” among the different fronts.

Posted by: Princess Bodica | Jan 29 2026 19:04 utc | 96

Test

Posted by: Sebgo | Jan 29 2026 19:11 utc | 98

Dumbass 79,  George Washington didn’t whine like a bitch when English troops shot back at his guys.  Listen to the “white-privilege” oozing from blue-no-matter-who crowd here, a minority want to engage in a “color-rev-op” and they expect rose petals and applause. Life’s not like that.
 
And yet the blue-no-matter-who crowd here cheer-on Iran’s response to the same effed-up 3LAs running a “color-rev-op” in their country…why the double standard? I am consistent on the matter, if a tiny minority wants to violently overthrow the state, then they need to be ready for the response and not run around like a bunch of wussies.  That said, while respecting that Iran has every right to do with traitors as it wishes, the US should not follow Iran’s lead on the matter, US law is clear, traitors require a fair trial…before we hang ’em!

Posted by: S Brennan | Jan 29 2026 19:15 utc | 100