Taiwan has become a "super-aged society" for the first time, with 20 percent of its shrinking population aged 65 or older in 2025, government data showed on Friday. In full: buff.ly/pc4opJO

the cost of clean air in Beijing: people in rural Hebei suffer from not being able to afford heating for the 8th winter. gas is too expensive, coal is banned. rural Hebei's plight has recently drawn widespread attention and gone viral on social media aquariuseras.substack.com/p/hebei-meig...

Most people do not understand #fascism, fascist ideology is all about control, power and superiority/heirarchy of culture/blood. For the #CCP claiming to be left wing is merely used as a vehicle to impose their visions of control, power and heirarchy on the population. #China

Because the #CCP isn't really about labor rights, it is left wing authoritarian #fascism. It is all about control and power for the party elites. Fascists can be left wing too (although a traditional "right wing ideology"). They promote Han Chinese ethnonationalism.

The federal government Friday agreed to pay $125,000 after a judge found a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent liable for civil assault for pointing a gun at a hotel maintenance man who came to the agent’s room to unclog a toilet.

Got too much muscles not enough brains.

US quits global organisation dedicated to preventing violent extremism reut.rs/45MVYTg

Trump's DoJ shutting out Minneapolis police from investigation of the incident is incredibly disturbing. #ReneeGood #ICE #Minnesota www.wmur.com/article/abso...

The numbers are down 35% and includes only US/EU. Higher prices/anti-consumer policies all contribute to it. #Switch2 still selling well in Japan but the expected holiday boom did not materialize. US units are $100 USD more expensive than JPN units. #Nintendo nintendoeverything.com/data-points-...

U.S. President Donald Trump has declared that his power is constrained only by his "own morality,” brushing aside international law and other checks on his ability to use military might around the world. | via @nytimes.com

#Micron shutting down its consumer DRAM department #Crucial to focus entirely on #AI is simply short sighted. I think AI is a potential bubble that could deflate and these companies that bet their entire farm are gonna get screwed if the AI boom goes bust. www.theverge.com/news/837594/...

A Democratic proposal to renew expired healthcare subsidies gathered enough votes for passage in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday as voting continued.

Iran plunged into internet blackout as protests over economy spread nationwide

We've removed the paywall from this guide so everyone can access it. 👇 Stay safe.

BREAKING: ICE shooter identified as Jonathan Ross. www.startribune.com/ice-agent-wh...

Today I learned about the word #Enshittification. This will be the word for this generation, and this century perhaps. #corporate #society #greed www.newyorker.com/culture/infi...

Translation: "CCP: Better move fast to protect our assets." #China

⚡️ Zelenskyy says Washington has the power to seriously pressure Putin if it chooses to act. Pointing to the US capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro, he suggested a similar move against Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

If Trump is serious about Venezuelan #oil they would probably do it in #Maracaibo, anywhere else would require the US plow about $100-200 billion dollars into building infrastructure in #Venezuela (not gonna happen especially not with a hostile Congress). This is a 5-10 year project on a good day.

It's a pipe dream. #Taipei is protected by over 100 miles of ocean, ringed by mountain and has been preparing for over 70 years. Any intrusion into #Taiwan airspace would be immediately detected. Taipei surrounded by air defenses. Caracas is near the ocean, Taipei is not. www.cnn.com/2026/01/06/w...

It's barely a law story, but the coverage was bugging me, so I wrote up the "Condom Tax." Bottom Line: Commercial birth control is no longer tax exempt, but a government program continues providing free contraceptives, including condoms, pills, and IUDs. www.chinalawtranslate.com/reality-chec...

Ironically the more #China weaponized it's rare earth the faster the west and Japan weans itself off China's rare earths.

Caixin: "China’s revenue from residential land sales fell about 65% in 2025 from its 2020 peak. The slump highlights the deepening fiscal strain on regional authorities, who have traditionally relied on selling land to fund infrastructure and service debt." www.caixinglobal.com/2026-01-06/c...

I generally think it quite important to remind what the Chinese death toll from an invasion would be when we usually talk only about Taiwanese deaths--perhaps if the Chinese public was aware, this would be a restraining force on the CCP leadership focustaiwan.tw/cross-strait...

UK and France sign declaration of intent to send forces to Ukraine in event of peace deal

Translation: "Uh-oh, this might get real ugly soon, better pull out and keep our noses clean." Classic European move. 🤣🤣🤣

I would not be surprised if #Trump suddenly announced US sanctions on #Venezuelan oil being lifted and oil now being rerouted and supplied to #Europe. Monroe doctrine is a win-win for US/EU. www.usatoday.com/story/graphi...

After 9/11, the US invoked Article 5 of the NATO treaty and every NATO member helped to combat terrorism. Some of our closest allies, like Denmark, went even further, voluntarily sending troops to Afghanistan and Iraq in support of US-led wars there. Today, Trump is threatening to attack Denmark.

That seems to be the same story with a lot of #Chinese tech startups, use the US/EU markets to grow big, think they can rely only on the Chinese market, got screwed in the end. There are exceptions though like #DJI and #Anker who build premium brand name/quality than just race to the bottom barrel.

The story of #OnePlus and how they screwed themselves. I remember I used to be a huge fan until they basically screwed their own fan base due to arrogance. The biggest irony was OnePlus relied on US/EU market then basically told US/EU users are irrelevant after they got big. youtu.be/HZpn1vGc8jY

The #US #HIMARS are fantastic asymmetric weapons platform because they can shoot/scoot, allowing Taiwan defense forces to sink PLA/PLN boats while minimizing return fire. #Taiwan needs a ton of them. They can also be easily hidden in Taiwan's numerous mountains/forest. focustaiwan.tw/cross-strait...

Latvia PM says Baltic Sea optical cable has been damaged reut.rs/4aDINaF

Machado (nobel price/activist) completely sidelined by Trump by announcing he will work with Delcy Rodriguez (Maduro's successor) instead of Edmundo Gonzales Urrutia the legitimate winner of the 2024 presidential election in #Venezuela. www.barrons.com/news/macron-... www.barrons.com/news/macron-...

Morality aside #Venezuela has very little oil infrastructure left, the US will need to rebuild those infrastructure to extract/process "heavy crude" oil. That's at least $200 billion dollars and decades of commitment of US resources tied up and that's just for the oil industry.

More important issues in the US: #EpsteinFiles, #Inflation and #Healthcare issues but we have Trump's #Venezuela invasion as trending topic and wall to wall media coverage. Focus on the priorities folks!!! #ACA www.cbsnews.com/news/aca-hea...

Whatever Trump's intentions are regarding #Venezuela this is terrible terrible optics. www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...

Venezuelan migrants around the world erupted in celebration following the US-led deposition of President Maduro, whose government prompted one of the largest migration crises in recent history reut.rs/3Ljzt1d

The European Union urged the adherence to international law after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier today.

It sets a very dangerous precedent. Imagine if #China tries to capture #Taiwan president then give him a sham trial in China or #Russia to #Ukraine. What #Trump did could set the tone for geopolitics for the next century. We're at an inflection point of what global norms are post Pax Americana.

General Tso's chicken was invented by Taiwanese chef Peng Chang-kuei/彭長貴 but popularized in #NewYork. It was supposedly named after Qing general Zuo Zongtang/左宗棠 from #Hunan who became governor of #Zhejiang. The original dish was spicy/sour but became spicy/sweet. Dish is largely unknown in #China.

Further wholesale destruction of #HongKong civil liberties and discourse institutions by the #CCP quislings. #香港 #共匪 hongkongfp.com/2025/12/29/t...

A meeting recording from Kashgar authorities shows dozens of Uyghur-language songs labeled "problematic"—people risk prison for simply listening to, storing, or sharing them. Another alarming sign of intensifying repression against #Uyghur culture and identity. Via apnews.com/article/chin...

A small number of parents in China are rethinking the country's rigorous education system, in which school days can last 10 hours, with students often working late into the evening on extra tutoring and homework. In full: buff.ly/6RphJOr

It's already wrecking the #gaming console industry with high prices. #semiconductor

NEW: Russian forces increased their average rate of advance in 2025 due to a new operational template supported by technological adaptations and a shift in assault tactics. (1/8) Read more in the December 31, 2025, Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment: isw.pub/UkrWar123125 Other KTs: ⬇️

So what is Iran's #inflation rate today? With the collapse of the Iranian rial, the current inflation rate of #Iran is as high as 40% per year (Yikes! 😱😱😱). People are definitely suffering. #hyperinflation

#TiananmenSquare protest are often mischaracterized as Chinese people wanting freedom/democracy by western media but the real reason is inflation (18-19% in 1989) and laborers can no longer afford their daily necessities but it has dual reasoning, people want #democracy / #freedom to be able to eat.

Some are saying this is Iran's #Tiananmen protest. It is about massive #inflation and people can no longer afford their daily necessities. #Iran www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

Round out the end of 2025 with our list of the best Taiwanese movies, compiled with @CinemaEscapist!

The question is whether the supply chain manufacturing infrastructure from raw materials to final product can be built cheaply enough. #US #lithium www.earth.com/news/lithium...