The same could be said for all of the early civilisations, right up to the time of Newton, Copernicus and Galileo.That did not stop them from making meticulous and accurate observations and empirically building whatever calendar they ended up using.
Posted by: ChatNPC | Jan 5 2026 0:20 utc | 267
 
************
 
Yes – exactly my point: they knew what, but had no idea about why. I don’t think it is entirely coincidental that science and understanding made great leaps once people started asking why…

Posted by: General Factotum | Jan 5 2026 5:39 utc | 403

Posted by: General Factotum | Jan 5 2026 5:34 utc | 438
 
theory of relativity does not explain the force of gravity or magnetism, only quantum theory or string theory does, one of the main reasons the theories had to be explored in the first place.
 
In the end, the why of gravity comes down to, “be ause there is a force that attracts matter”, and the theory of magnetism is explained as “because positive attracts to negative and likes repel”.  Noatter how tiny you go, this in the end is the explanation for both.

Posted by: UWDude | Jan 5 2026 5:41 utc | 405

After Venezuela Attack…
 
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/01/o5/erzb-j05.html
 
“White House threatens to murder acting president, attack Cuba and annex Greenland.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 5 2026 5:52 utc | 407

” more b.s. from the painter.  Next he gonna post some article about a russian general in Venezuela and the prance around like it is proof that Russian mercs betrayed Maduro, some how. Like I said, he posts horseshit, and then cries about the horseshit he posts.
Posted by: UWDude | Jan 5 2026 5:35 utc | 441 “
 
https://x.com/geromanat/status/2007852175901262110?s=46
https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!-pgA!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Ff3724f31-7789-4457-91ce-33eecbb6bf65_1280x1280.jpeg

Posted by: The Painter | Jan 5 2026 5:54 utc | 409

For the Canuckle Head files, ..
 
Global News
A new ‘cold’ war? Canada looks to bolster Arctic security, sovereignty https://globalnews.ca/news/11584830/a-new-cold-war-canada-looks-to-bolster-arctic-security-sovereignty/
 

An increasingly ag

Nunatsiaq News
As 2026 dawns, Canada’s North is on the national radar like never before https://nunatsiaq.com/stories/article/as-2026-dawns-canadas-north-is-on-the-national-radar-like-never-before/
 

Putin’s unprovoked a

CBC
Navy ponders concept of Canadian-built amphibious landing ship for Arctic operations https://globalnews.ca/news/11584830/a-new-cold-war-canada-looks-to-bolster-arctic-security-sovereignty/
[😂 😂]
 

Posted by: Laurence | Jan 5 2026 5:59 utc | 411

In response to
FYI– Donald Trump made a series of important statements regarding Venezuela, but the most significant ones don’t even concern Venezuela itself—they’re about China and Russia.Trump literally said, *”The Chinese leader will shut his mouth and buy oil from us, and I’m not afraid of the Russian leader at all; I don’t think this is his business. Let him deal with Ukraine.” 
Posted by: karlof1 | Jan 5 2026 5:16 utc | 427

 
It’s a phase condition. And once you see it that way, the need to interpret each utterance as policy falls away. A few orienting points, to keep it grounded rather than overwhelming.
 
First, the Trump remarks. They’re not diplomacy in any recognisable sense; they’re performative dominance signalling. No expectation of compliance, no enforcement logic, no strategic coherence. Just declaration. That’s why leaders don’t know how to respond — the language has slipped out of the shared grammar of statecraft. You can’t negotiate with someone who treats geopolitics like a rally monologue.
 
Greenland fits the same pattern. It’s not about Greenland. It’s about testing whether reality constraints still exist. Each unchallenged absurdity becomes a proof-of-concept that norms no longer bind.
 
Hegseth’s fascist speech the other night — yes1 What unsettles there isn’t the ideology per se, but the aesthetic: moral certainty without proportionality, theatrical clarity without factual grounding. That’s why the Goebbels comparison flashes up. It’s not history repeating; it’s form reappearing once substance collapses.
 
Rubio, by contrast, is operating in what’s left of the old register.
 

Marco Rubio who openly stated that the situation in Venezuela has not changed at all. Maduro’s capture was just that: the removal of the sitting president, and the new Venezuelan leadership and military are in control of the country with the US merely “hoping” that they will do Trump’s bidding:

 
His statement about Venezuela — “nothing has changed” — is actually accurate, but notice the sleight of hand: acknowledging reality while laundering illegitimacy as fait accompli. That’s how transitions get normalised now. Not with persuasion, but with exhaustion.
 

Arnaud Bertrand: It’s common sense: don’t applaud the wolf eating your neighbor’s sheep and expect it to spare yours.

 
Arnaud Bertrand’s line is spot on, and ancient in its wisdom. The wolf doesn’t need your applause; it only needs your mistaken belief that you’re not next.
 
Now — this is where the AI fakes, the EU sanctions on Baud, and the rest connect.
 
They all point to the same thing: constraint removal.

• Constraint on speech
• Constraint on attribution
• Constraint on legitimacy
• Constraint on force
• Constraint on truth itself

 
Once constraints weaken, chaos doesn’t arrive as explosion — it arrives as ambient condition. People feel it before they can name it.By then, it is far too late. 

Posted by: Funny | Jan 5 2026 6:03 utc | 413

NemesisCalling  is a closet Nazi and ideological peer of Adolf Hitler. If you think he’ll be good for your children, drink on.
 

Posted by: Laurence | Jan 5 2026 6:12 utc | 415

“Each unchallenged absurdity becomes a proof-of-concept that norms no longer bind.”
 
What I am describing is not policy failure, it’s norm erosion by demonstration. Once an action that would previously have triggered universal pushback passes with little cost, it quietly redefines the boundary of the possible. The next step doesn’t need justification — it just needs momentum.
 
Each time the state or elites failed to respond decisively, it wasn’t seen as tolerance — it was read as permission. Trump’s resemblance to 1920-30s fascist movements isn’t ideological so much as procedural. The copy isn’t in doctrine, it’s in the method: ignore norms publicly, dare opponents to enforce them, treat non-response as validation, and escalate again.
 
That’s why excuses made for him matter more than the man himself. MAGA rhetoric, European appeasement, media normalisation — all of it functions as retrospective legitimation. “He didn’t really mean it,” “It’s just bluster,” “This is how he negotiates.” Those narratives don’t restrain power; they lubricate it!
 
And in this new global geopolitical environment, actors like the US-Israel nexus don’t need universal support. They only need to know that: objections will be rhetorical, enforcement will be symbolic, consequences will be delayed or diffused. Once that’s established, the next move becomes rational from their perspective. And obvious. 
 
Why this still isn’t 1920s Italy (and why that matters). Here’s the stabilising counterpoint. Mussolini relied heavily on physical violence and territorial control.
 
Today’s version relies more on: media saturation, legal grey zones, financial coercion, narrative pre-emption, and exhaustion. That makes it feel surreal rather than brutal — until suddenly it isn’t.

Posted by: Funny | Jan 5 2026 6:22 utc | 417

Funny@453:
 
“Don’t applaud the wolf eating your neighbor’s sheep and expect it to spare yours…”
 
Caribbean Politicians Named in Maduro US Criminal Charges
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY1ggXHa_bU
 
“The US says Caribbean politicians worked with Maduro to facilitate a drug network. This is madness. The US can now use this as justification to arrest any Caribbean politician…”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 5 2026 6:30 utc | 419

From Xinhuanet…..the latest
 

WASHINGTON, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) — U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday night urged Venezuelan acting president Delcy Rodriguez to grant the United States “total access,” especially to Venezuela’s oil resources.
“We need total access. We need access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump said that he had not spoken directly with Rodriguez, but would do so “at the right time.” Rodriguez, vice president under Nicolas Maduro, assumed the role of acting president after Maduro was flown out of Venezuela following U.S. military attacks.
Meanwhile, Trump claimed that the United States was “in charge” of Venezuela and “dealing with the people that just got sworn in.”
“Don’t ask me who’s in charge, because I’ll give you an answer, and it’ll be very controversial,” Trump said. “It means we’re in charge. We’re in charge.”
Trump reiterated comments made earlier Sunday in a phone interview with The Atlantic, warning that Rodriguez would face a fate worse than that of Maduro if she failed to “do the right thing.”
“She will face a situation probably worse than Maduro, because, you know, Maduro gave up immediately,” Trump said.
Maduro is expected to appear in court in New York on Monday.
Hours after Maduro’s capture on Saturday morning, Trump said that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had a phone call with Rodriguez and that the White House was working with her.
“She (Rodriguez) is essentially willing to do what we believe is necessary to make Venezuela great again,” Trump told reporters, noting that she had been “picked by Maduro.”
As Trump made these remarks, Rodriguez demanded the immediate release of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a session of the National Defense Council broadcast on state television channel VTV, calling Maduro “the only president of Venezuela.”
Rodriguez said Venezuela’s territorial integrity had been “savagely attacked” during U.S. strikes on Caracas and other parts of the country carried out to capture Maduro.

 
Trump = Dicktator
Trump is an excuse for human extinction, eh?

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 5 2026 6:33 utc | 421

Iceland                    780,000United States         670,000
Posted by: General Factotum | Jan 5 2026 6:38 utc | 463
 
************
 
FFS! Iceland produces 16.4% more aluminium than the US.

Posted by: General Factotum | Jan 5 2026 6:42 utc | 423

Brandolini’s Law, or The Law of Bullshit Asymmetry. Loosely stated ” The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it.”
 
In the previous example, it probably took UWDude 10 seconds to throw out a bit of bullshit. It took me about 10 minutes to find facts and peck away at my keyboard – most of that time was because I’m so inept – but you get the drift…
 
https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2019/01/28/bullshit-asymmetry-principle/
 
https://modelthinkers.com/mental-model/bullshit-asymmetry-principle

Posted by: General Factotum | Jan 5 2026 6:51 utc | 425

Re: Solar PV  (prepping) 
 
both ornot and hot carl are correct in their Assessment: a little household  plug n’ plsy PV system bought and installed for a thousand or so –
 
1) is capable of only supporting minimal household demand in an emergency – for example the Fridge, some lights, phone charging, and the internet router.   Thats it.
 
2) these PV systems can also reduce Electric Bill during normal times. ( somewhat)  payback is typically 5-8 years 
 
 
 
 

Posted by: Exile | Jan 5 2026 7:16 utc | 427

The more Trump repeats himself, the harder he struggles to lie.
 
I did some research on Venezuela’s militia capabilities. A lot of the hardcore ones are basically quasi-terrorists.
 
If Trump wants to dance, every American setting foot in Venezuela, military or not, will be a target for assassinations and bombings.
 
These paramilitary folks aren’t under state control. Closer to Hezbollah, they set their own objectives and agenda.
 
I continue to believe the Neocons and Pentagon are incompetent, which means Trump, dreaming of legacy and glory is likely to waltz America into a catastrophic situation, that due to the Zionist occupation government, will not be able to gracefully lose.
 
Sometimes Empires collapse. Other times, they are shattered by defeat.
 
There is something karmic about vicious terrorist tactics being used against American businesses and non-combatants.
 
FAFO, indeed.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 5 2026 7:28 utc | 429

Garland Nixon & Patrick Henningsen: ‘Rogue State’
 
https://www.youtube.com/live/C-eZ6trOmcg
 
“The illusion of international law died in Caracas Friday night.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Jan 5 2026 7:52 utc | 431

But if you don’t know why, how is it possible to reliably connect effect with cause?
 
Posted by: General Factotum | Jan 5 2026 6:02 utc | 414
 
#####
 
Why must I care about the “why” of all phenomena? Why must I value it in a particular way?
 
Generally, in spring, rain falls. In the winter months, there is snow.
 
I don’t need to know the “why”. Not knowing why it rains or snows doesn’t stop it from happening.
 
I’m not even getting into my eschatological perspective on reality here.
 
There is a non-trivial cohort of incurious and dull humans who are quite unconcerned by “why”.
 
I will repeat, what is always more important than “why”.

Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 5 2026 8:02 utc | 433

BlackRock reportedly owned a lot of Venezuelan oil backed bonds, in which they lost billions. BlackRock is now seeking to take over Venezuela’s bitcoin portfolio as compensation.
 
https://x.com/UnityNewsNet/status/2007927202734604611

Posted by: unimperator | Jan 5 2026 8:32 utc | 435

Somebody here is tattle tale.

Posted by: Cenozoic | Jan 5 2026 8:43 utc | 437

Yes – exactly my point: they knew what, but had no idea about why. I don’t think it is entirely coincidental that science and understanding made great leaps once people started asking why…
Posted by: General Factotum | Jan 5 2026 5:39 utc | 405
 

AI OverviewThe phrase is “strain at a gnat and swallow a camel,” a biblical expression from Matthew 23:24 that means to focus obsessively on minor details while ignoring much more significant issues, highlighting hypocrisy by showing someone meticulously filtering tiny insects from their drink (like a gnat) but then easily gulping down a large, unclean animal (a camel). 

Or a rogue military. 
Posted by: Laurence | Jan 5 2026 8:00 utc | 433
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
To GF above, people have always asked  and provided answers to the Whys of all things.  The ‘great leaps’ of which you speak depend on observations getting more and more refined, so they depend on the Whats.  For instance, a What I notice here on this thread is that b has been doing some housecleaning. 
 
Thank you, b.
 
**************
 
To L:
 
AI is something to be avoided.  Here is the paragraph of Biblical exhortation about camels and gnats:
 

Matt. 23.23-24.  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  for you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done without neglecting the others.  You blind guides,  straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
 

And even this is naught but a small part of the entirety of chapter 23 , which is being spoken by Christ both to his disciples and to the crowd in the temple, after his entry into Jerusalem,  according to Saint Matthew.
 
What,  and  Why.
 
 

Posted by: juliania | Jan 5 2026 8:54 utc | 439

who is S.. and who was the 2ICPosted by: snake | Jan 5 2026 5:41 utc | 405
I don’t see an answer to you yet, and as you’re a bar stalwart, I’ll indulge you.
”S” is Simplicius with his substack. Maduro’s 2IC was the woman who has now been sworn in as president, while Madero is detained (illegally) in NYC. 

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2026 9:19 utc | 441

a proof-of-concept that norms no longer bind. 
Posted by: Funny | Jan 5 2026 6:03 utc | 414
 
Alas, Westphalia is dead…

Posted by: Newbie | Jan 5 2026 9:32 utc | 443

Posted by: psychohistorian | Jan 5 2026 7:22 utc | 429
 
Susan has made excellent posts, particularly so in these tumultuous Venezuela threads.
I’d interpret this xwitter as evidence in support that Venezuela was about to sign something or further progress towards something with China that the U$ believed it had to stop, like stop, full stop  … requiring something as egregious as kidnapping Maduro:
Jan3: BRICS News
JUST IN: 🇨🇳🇻🇪 Chinese officials arrive in Venezuela for talks with President Nicolás Maduro.
https://nitter.net/BRICSinfo/status/2007293252089815070
 
A comment from someone ( a Someone? Or a No One?) 
KOJO GYIMA* on Jan 3:

China sending a delegation to hug Maduro right after Trump sanctioned their shadow fleet is a declaration of economic war. They aren’t there for talks; they are there to help a dictator launder oil money while U.S. drones are literally taking out docks in his backyard. If the Treasury Department doesn’t freeze every Chinese asset linked to these teapot refiners by Monday, the sanctions are just suggestions. Cut the cord now.
Jan 3, 2026 · 4:12 AM UTC

# Kojo Gyima . His profile states: African boy with global opinions. Forex trader & mentor. Multi-assets trader.
 
A Luke de Pulford xweets: Jan 3:

Reports are that the Chinese delegation is *still there*.
Not a minor detail. A humiliation that Beijing will not forget or forgive easily.

 
Someone asks Grok “who were these guys”

A: The Chinese delegation in Venezuela was led by Qiu Xiaoqi, a senior diplomat serving as Special Representative for Latin American Affairs—not a top CCP leader like Politburo members.
Accompanying were Ambassador Lan Hu and Director-General Liu Bo, both mid-level in the foreign ministry.

They rank below high-level officials such as the Foreign Minister.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2026 9:42 utc | 445

The Venezuelan militias are what First Amendment Americans think they are. Ready to fight and kill invaders
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY2bObJP5JA
 
Posted by: LoveDonbass | Jan 5 2026 7:36 utc | 431
 
Meanwhile….
“Venezuela live updates: interim president offers to ‘collaborate’ with US after Trump warns of further strikes
Delcy Rodríguez adopts conciliatory tone as she stands in for Nicolás Maduro after Venezuelan leader captured by American forces and brought to US”
Living under a corrupt regime, I sympathize with Venezuelan wage slaves.  May they take up arms against the Imperialists and then their phony socialist government.  

Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 5 2026 9:54 utc | 447

Posted by: UWDude | Jan 5 2026 5:58 utc | 412
 
“I studied it 20 years ago, it never claimed to explain what causes gravitational force back then, and it still doesn’t. “
 
Have a look at:
 
https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/research/science-field/einsteins-theory-gravitation
 
The Center for Astrophysics at Harvard University, where Harvard and Smithsonian astrophysicists research general relativity in great depth, states:
 
“Our modern understanding of gravity comes from Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, which stands as one of the best-tested theories in science. General Relativity predicted many phenomena years before they were observed, including black holes, gravitational waves, gravitational lensing, the expansion of the universe, and the different rates clocks run in a gravitational field. Today, researchers continue to test the theory’s predictions for a better understanding of how gravity works.” 
 
“Not only that, it is well known very few people truly understand the theory of relativity…”
 
Correct. Very few people truly understand General Relativity – but that does not mean that nobody does. 
 
“I don’t gave the time to truly try, though I am sure I have the IQ if I apllied myself.”
 
IQ is necessary, but not sufficient. And while self-reflection is beneficial, self-assessment can be fraught; don’t forget to make allowance for the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
 
“And I am really not interested in gaving a Google-oof and AI-a-thon with you”
 
That’s a relief! Last time after “gaving a Google-oof” I needed to see the doctor. It was quite embarrassing…
 
“tryingbto prove how much we actually know about relativity tryingbto bluster about how smart we are in fields we are amateur in, at best.”
 
I’m not trying to prove anything, and don’t recall blustering- but I apologise if it appears so. What I am interested in is trying to help anyone that may be trying to understand a little bit more about some of the very few areas in which I actually know what I am talking about. My ego is non-existent (I think!). And last time I checked, having a ‘like’ on MoA carries zero credit on academic publication lists and CV’s; and it also seems that publication on MoA carries a zero Citescore on Scopus – so why do I bother? It probably may be best if you keep your assessments to people that you actually know?
 “Are you a theoretical physicist who taught theory of relativity at a University?  No, no you are not.”
 
You are half right – I am not a theoretical physicist, (but you should know that already from previous discussions here on MoA on plasma and rockets) – but I did present a series of lectures on Relativity at university. I can’t be sure how much my students actually learnt, but I know I knew a lot more after than before teaching – but in the greater scheme of things, this was still pretty close to nothing at all…

Posted by: General Factotum | Jan 5 2026 10:00 utc | 449

Re: Relativity ?
 
Did Mileva Marić really discover Relativity and Einstein took the  credit ?

Posted by: Exile | Jan 5 2026 10:05 utc | 451

President Nicolas Maduro’s trial will be presided over by Jewish Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who was also assigned to oversee almost all 9/11 related civil lawsuits.
This included one in which he encouraged the families of 96 victims who questioned the failures in airline and airport security to take settlement money instead of taking the case to a public trial.
According to the New York Times, Judge Hellerstein acknowledged that this resulted in a ‘loss of information’ to the public.
A trial would have exposed a large body of internal documents and depositions to public light before a jury.
One of the victims’ families stated that Hellerstein ‘gutted the case so that the truth about what led to the events of 9/11 would never be told at trial.
 
https://nitter.net/Megatron_ron/status/2007896664825307250

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2026 10:14 utc | 453

Posted by: Tel | Jan 5 2026 10:05 utc | 453
 
Good question.
 
I think he could have even ordered his government not to give anything to have him back.
 
That’s why b analysis is accurate : what can be the next step to reach Trump’s stated goal ?
 
One can see none, so the show must be just to hide this till he find something else.
 
There is no regime change, and no resource grab so far, despite whatever Trump says.

Posted by: Sebgo | Jan 5 2026 10:20 utc | 455

Posted by: Tel | Jan 5 2026 10:16 utc | 455
 
How do you see in “give him the oil” or in “deny it to the Chinese” ?
 
What is the vice president supposed to do ?
 
Break existing contracts with russians and make new ones with American majors ? Maduro already proposed that and Trump refused.
And be Venezuela will have to pay China and Russia for the loss.
 
Give the majors all the rights on the oil forever ? The constitution need to be changed for that, and the people will never consent to.
 
And the only way to deny China the oil it had already paid for it to maintain the blockade forever, including having to clash with armed Chinese tankers off Venezuela.
 
Trump have no exit plan apart what he is doing : show and lies.

Posted by: Sebgo | Jan 5 2026 10:31 utc | 457

To resume the week : 
Bibi started the elimination of mossad affiliates in Iran (The IRGC is glad those idiots give them a crapton of legitimate reasons to shoot at them).
Trump jailed a dancer with force for no valid reason (inconsequential Donald stroke again …)
404 hailed (Heil-ed ?) Bandera’s anniversary (01/01) by the regular means : bombing ethnic Russians and a torch rallying in Lvov (Lemberg)… also it seems they are less numerous the years passing by ; I wonder why ? 
UAE is realizing nobody like them (Yemen, Sudan …). Money for nothing and the shit for free ^^. 

Posted by: Savonarole | Jan 5 2026 10:47 utc | 459

Ex-Chevron executive seeks $2bn for Venezuelan oil projects
 
Donald Trump’s toppling of President Nicolás Maduro opens door to US investors eyeing world’s largest crude reserve
 
A former top Chevron executive is raising $2bn for Venezuelan oil projects as investors race to answer Donald Trump’s call to pour “billions of dollars” into the country after the US toppled its president Nicolás Maduro.
 
Ali Moshiri, Chevron’s former head of Latin American operations, told the Financial Times his Amos Global Energy Management fund had identified multiple Venezuelan assets and was talking to institutional investors about a private placement to kick-start investment.
 
continues ==> https://www.ft.com/content/67c43f17-dbe4-42b3-be8d-6351ab842b06
 

…
 
In Iran, Alireza Moshiri wanted to be a professional tennis player.
 

Mr. Moshiri is the President of Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Company, a newly formed organization based in Houston, Texas. He is responsible for upstream operations in Africa and Latin America. Moshiri was the chairman of the Venezuelan Association of Hydrocarbons. He is a board member of the Council of the Americas, the Institute of the Americas, the Pan-American Development Foundation and the Trust of the Americas and Organization of American States.
 
https://www.us-iran.org/ali-moshiri
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 5 2026 10:48 utc | 461

https://nitter.net/clashreport/status/2008066446497292304
Reporter: What do you need from Delcy Rodríguez?
Trump: We need total access.
We need access to the oil and to other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2026 11:00 utc | 463

The Far Side | Jan 5 2026 8:51 utc | 439
it is true, solar panels do not work when covered with snow, nor when it is dark.  You are on to something there.

Posted by: dan of steele | Jan 5 2026 11:05 utc | 465

The Monroe Doctrine is basically two declarations
 We control the Americas
 You control the rest if we let you.
 

Posted by: UWDude | Jan 5 2026 4:52 utc | 385

 
FIFY.

Posted by: malenkov | Jan 5 2026 11:10 utc | 467

Glenn Diesen:
After 30 years of participating in the undermining of international law under the liberal hegemonic order, the Danish prime minister appeals to the rule of law to prevent the United States from annexing Greenland.
https://nitter.net/Glenn_Diesen/status/2008087230305169769
 
Chay Bowes
https://nitter.net/BowesChay/status/2007777786417631721
Denmark has a dark past in Greenland, a past it would rather you didn’t talk about, child abduction, forced sterilisation, forced Labour and exploitation.
 
Denmark’s possession of Greenland,  whose actual name is Kalaallit Nunaat, began as a mission to reclaim land from “lost” Norsemen but evolved into centuries of systemic cultural erasure and economic exploitation of the Indigenous Inuit.
 
In 1721,  Danish missionary Hans Egede arrived to “save” Norse descendants from paganism. Finding only Inuit, he instead forcibly converted them to Lutheranism, denouncing traditional shamans and rituals.
Denmark then established a state trade monopoly in 1776, treating the island as a profitable hub for whale blubber and minerals while keeping the indigenous Inuit isolated and dependent.
 
In 1953, Denmark formally annexed Greenland as a “county” to avoid UN decolonization requirements, this led to a period of brutal social engineering.
 
This era also saw the sinister “Little Danes” experiment, where the state abducted Inuit children and relocated them to Denmark to be molded into a Danish-speaking elite, causing lifelong trauma.
Simultaneously, thousands of Inuit were forcibly moved from ancestral hunting grounds into concrete apartment blocks to centralize labor for Danish controlled factories, devastating traditional kinship networks.
 
Between 1966 and 1970, Danish authorities further violated Indigenous rights by secretly fitting over 4,500 Inuit women and girls, some as young as 12 with IUDs without consent to curb the population.
 
While Greenland gained Home Rule in 1979 and Self-Government in 2009, the legacy of Danish control persists.
 
As of today, Greenland remains a territory under the “Danish Crown” with some International bodies continimg to pressure Denmark to address its colonial legacy of racial discrimination and provide justice for the victims of the “Spiral Case” and forced child removals.
 
So as the Danes shout about “US Imperialism” bear in mind how they came to control this region far from Danish shores, and how brutally they exploited it’s people for the “Crown”

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2026 11:14 utc | 469

Marco Rubio
Donald Trump would use an ‘oil quarantine’ to assure that Venezuela complies with US orders after leader Nicolas Maduro was deposed.
The secretary of state told CBS News that the US quarantine would essentially refuse entry and exit by oil tankers that were already being sanctioned in order to hold Caracas accountable. 
Rubio insisted that the US was not going to ‘run’ Venezuela like an Iraq-style occupation, as Trump in a press conference following Maduro’s capture.
‘And so that’s the sort of control the president is pointing to when he says that,’ the secretary of state explained after Trump’s stated Rubio and Pete Hegseth were in charge of Venezuela. 
 
Apparently DT did not like the cheeky dancing by Maduro and that was the final trigger…provoked President Trump’s team into action after his dance moves and nonchalance were taken as mockery in recent weeks, sources have claimed.

Posted by: Jo | Jan 5 2026 11:23 utc | 471

Nike sells out the tracksuit worn by Maduro at the moment he was captured by the U.S.
January 5, 2026
 
https://insiderpaper.com/nike-sells-out-the-tracksuit-worn-by-maduro-at-the-moment-he-was-captured-by-the-u-s/
 
Several online retailers saw a sharp rise in demand for Nike Tech tracksuits after images began circulating of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro wearing the outfit following his detention by US forces, with multiple listings selling out within hours.
US President Donald Trump shared a photo showing Maduro blindfolded and restrained aboard a ship, dressed in a grey Nike Tech sweatsuit….
 
[Madero’s] clothing quickly became the center of attention, inspiring memes and videos across TikTok and Instagram.
 
Google Trends data showed a spike in searches for “Nike Tech” shortly after the images were released, as screenshots and purchase links to the grey tracksuit spread rapidly on social media.
 
The grey Nike Tech fleece tracksuit worn by Maduro typically sells for around $240 to $270 for the full set, including a zip-up hoodie and matching joggers, depending on the market and specific model.

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2026 11:34 utc | 473

@472 too scents 
 
The sun doesn‘t send me kerosene. 😉

Posted by: M | Jan 5 2026 11:43 utc | 475

The sun doesn‘t send me kerosene.
 
Posted by: M | Jan 5 2026 11:43 utc | 475
 
—
 
Any source of heat differential will do.  
 
http://www.qrp.gr/technology/thermocouple.htm
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 5 2026 11:56 utc | 477

Posted by: Sebgo | Jan 5 2026 10:20 utc | 456
There is no regime change, and no resource grab so far, despite whatever Trump says.

 
Marco Rubio explained their thinking very clearly. The USA will wait to see how the new Venezuelan leadership conducts its business, most importantly, whether they stop their connection to China. Rubio said “we cannot accept our adversaries controlling the largest oil reserves in the world … “. He didn’t add the following but no need to say it: ” … while these reserves are in our backyard”.
 
So the resource grab will happen, either by compliance or by more military force.
 
I predicted here that Greenland will be big news in 2026. Europe will just have to accept it. America is in a process of recovery and rebuilding. All low-hanging fruit will be taken as new assets.

Posted by: Johan Kaspar | Jan 5 2026 12:01 utc | 479

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2026 11:14 utc | 469
Deplorable as that is, what makes one think the USA will be any better if it comes to that?

Posted by: joey_n | Jan 5 2026 12:11 utc | 481

some of them were just forced to follow criminal USA empire. Although some accepted US/NATO agresive (dollar) expansion so eagerly, like Germany.

Posted by: Preki | Jan 5 2026 3:12 utc | 338
What role do you think the USA’s military bases on German soil plays in this? Is it even relevant to how much agency Germany has anymore?

Posted by: joey_n | Jan 5 2026 12:13 utc | 483

another female LatAm president
Posted by: Johan Kaspar | Jan 5 2026 11:51 utc | 476
Which one?

Posted by: xor | Jan 5 2026 12:17 utc | 485

My dad leans toward the pro-Israel pro-US crowd and honestly believes
 
Posted by: joey_n | Jan 5 2026 12:16 utc | 484
 
—
 
The penny dropped for a friend of mine when he learned he was a bastard.
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 5 2026 12:21 utc | 487

Posted by: Melaleuca | Jan 5 2026 9:19 utc | 442
 
<=thank you for the clarification.. I just wanted to be sure S was accusing Delcy Rodriquez as a party to the easy extraction by Trump of  Muduro..
 
I suspected as much, if true, this makes Delcy Rodriquez Trump’s man in Venezuela..which is already being played out if the post in 448 by Ahenobarbus is correct..
 
 
Posted by: Ahenobarbus | Jan 5 2026 9:54 utc | 448
 
Delcy Rodríguez adopts conciliatory tone as she stands in for Nicolás Maduro after Venezuelan leader captured by American forces and brought to US”
 
 
Posted by: unimperator | Jan 5 2026 10:00 utc | 449
 
But the question is whether the government itself is a US puppet, and whether they will renege existing contracts with China. That is the real deal breaker between vassalage and sovereignty.
 
 
Posted by: Tel | Jan 5 2026 10:16 utc | 455
 
If Trump can somehow intimidate the Venezuelan government into giving him the oil, that and additional bonus … but the USA is not in any way short of oil.
 
<=if Delcy Rodriguez is Trumps man in Venezuela as suggested by Melaeuca at 394, 463 and as claimed by Trump, then the Venezuelan people have been deprived of their sovereignty and are prisoners of the USA.
 
 
Posted by: too scents | Jan 5 2026 10:48 utc | 461
 
The post by too scents adds creditability to Melaleuca’s revelation that Delsy Rodriguez was one of the parties who invited the USA to extract Venezuela’s Maduro.. and that makes Delsy Rodriguez Trump’s man in Venezuela..

Posted by: snake | Jan 5 2026 12:25 utc | 489

Search on line for ‘ten best off grid  power packs’ hook it up to a petroil generator , and bank of how ever many batteres you need.
 
Gives you the option of 240 volts or 12 volts.
Charge up in the day for use in the eveing or night.  Paradise.

Posted by: Mark2 | Jan 5 2026 12:29 utc | 491

The post by too scents adds creditability to Melaleuca’s revelation that Delsy Rodriguez was one of the parties who invited the USA to extract Venezuela’s Maduro.
 
Posted by: snake | Jan 5 2026 12:25 utc | 489
 
—
 
Does it?  How?  Post 461 is about an Iranian-American’s intrigue.
 
Any offer the USA makes to Rodriguez, good or bad, can be exceeded by China and/or other parties.
 
The USA is no longer the biggest dog in its backyard.
 

Posted by: too scents | Jan 5 2026 12:32 utc | 493

Anyone in the US white with Trump supporting Hispanic friends: report them to ICE. Let the courts and lawyers sort it out  same for right wing Saudis and Turks like c1ue.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Jan 5 2026 12:34 utc | 495

Once constraints weaken, chaos doesn’t arrive as explosion — it arrives as ambient condition. People feel it before they can name it.By then, it is far too late. 
 
Posted by: Funny | Jan 5 2026 6:03 utc | 414

 
Very interesting post. I note the absence of ascribing agency to the process. Is this just happening, or is it a deliberate strategy?

Posted by: persiflo | Jan 5 2026 12:38 utc | 497

Any offer the USA makes to Rodriguez, good or bad, can be exceeded by China and/or other parties.
 
Posted by: too scents | Jan 5 2026 12:32 utc | 493

 
Yes, but those other parties would also have to provide sufficient military resources to break the blockade, as well as provide and man effective air defenses. QED.

Posted by: malenkov | Jan 5 2026 12:43 utc | 499