Swiss ski resort bar fire which killed 40 people and injured 115 was caused by sparklers attached to champagne bottles held aloft in celebration. #LeConstellation #CransMontana

C'mon, The Economist, how about setting a better example by using a paper or canvass bag, or a wooden crate, to display the groceries — anything instead of a single-use plastic bag, please!

Interesting new paper by Bessie Noll, @tobiasschmidt.bsky.social, and Florian Egli. “As electric vehicle adoption accelerates globally, fuel tax revenues decline, exposing government budgets without a proposed replacement tax on electric vehicles.”

Not a fan of Bush but he was a step up from what we got now.

We just cancelled all federal funding for foreign language & area studies at America’s universities to “save”…$86,000,000: bsky.app/profile/mcop...

I assure you I didn’t engage in any funny business. I just took a random screenshot!

Valdai Residents Report No Signs of Claimed Ukrainian Drone Attack on #Putin Residence www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/12/30/v...

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon criticized President Trump over his reaction to Russia’s claim of a Ukrainian drone attack on Putin’s residence. “Trump and his team should establish the facts first before jumping in. Putin is a known, shameless liar,” Bacon said.

🤓 BUCKET LIST 🤓 'HOW TO WIN A TRADE WAR' (my forthcoming book with the amazing @soumayakeynes.ft.com) is part of a New Year's Day sale thingie! Barnes & Noble Premium & Rewards Members get 25% off pre-orders Dec 30-Jan 1 only #BNPreorder Instructions Here: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-win...

I’m a lieutenant in a 1960s Peruvian military academy.

If we’re proceeding into a markedly different era where (big picture, broad brush strokes etc) pluralism (globalisation, multilateralism, universality) is giving way to polarism (regionalisation, oligopoly, singularity)…

Since added flame retardants, e.g., in insulation materials, can account for more than 10% of CO2 equivalents, it is worth considering ways to avoid or replace them in construction. The current practice of using as many plastics as possible, both in homes and as homes, cannot be sustainable 1/3

🧵For those who missed it, another familiar name appears in the latest tranche of Epstein files. Nicholas Tartaglione--the former NY cop sentenced to life in prison for the brutal murder of 4 men. The same dirty ex-cop who was put in Epstein's cell with him at the Metropolitan Correctional Center

Tied the Wordle Bot today, which means that over the last fortnight it and I are tied. @scoremywordle.bsky.social Wordle 1,654 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜ ⬜⬜⬜🟩🟨 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

RIP Brigitte Bardot

BRAVO Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg for standing firm and protecting her father’s name and The Kennedy Center. #Pinks #ProudBlue #Voices4Victory

Interesting results of a survey asking U.S. citizens “What makes someone American?” I suspect holding a strong belief that the USA “is the best country in the world” is highly correlated with scant knowledge (especially of the kind gained firsthand) of the 🌎 beyond U.S. borders.

Hey, @indydevoeus.bsky.social, can you help us here? What was this MAGA hat THINKING?

According to Republican Senator Chris Garten, we are snowflakes for not wanting to beat up Santa.

Halfway now back to my previous maximum streak of 270 (interrupted because I forgot to play one day). @scoremywordle.bsky.social Wordle 1,651 3/6 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Is “polypsychopath” a word? That would seem to be a better fit.

[ Centuries from now, in an archaeology class ] "And notice how the inhabitants of this 21st century city emphasized the forehead in their sculptures..."

We don’t spend enough time discussing how the entire MAGA movement is kept afloat by the constant threats of stochastic terrorism orchestrated by the president of the United States. Congress, the courts, much of the media … all kept in line by the mob boss and his army of anonymous goons.

Why the Pituffik is Trump saber rattling over Kalaallit Nunaat again, and especially now? (Answer: to distract attention from the #Epstein files.)

Behold! The new fleet of Trump battle ships is here! First to launch is USS Bonespurs! #Venezuela #Trump

PERFECTION

Read this cover to cover over the summer (a luxury I rarely allow myself) and finally had time to take notes. Main take-aways: 1. There is no equality without freedom and vice versa. They are not mutually exclusive, as liberalism would have us believe. www.penguin.co.uk/books/314162...

Cheap (subsidized) virgin #plastics are undercutting the market for recycled plastics in the EU, leading to the shuttering of numerous (mechanical) recycling plants. In response, the EU has announced additional checks and stricter rules on claims of recycled content in #plastic imported from abroad.

The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 4/5

Bad day for Euro 🇪🇺 offshore wind 🌬️ projects in the US 🇺🇲 5 East Coast wind projects were paused citing national security ('radar interference') concerns: Vineyard Wind 1 (🇩🇰-🇪🇸) Revolution Wind (🇩🇰) CVOW (US, w 🇳🇱/🇸🇪/🇧🇪 subcontractors) Sunrise Wind (🇩🇰) Empire Wind 1 (🇳🇴) www.doi.gov/pressrelease...

Don’t forget. Biden’s DoJ was investigating uncharged third parties in the Epstein files up until the last minute. Trump shut down the investigation, sent the files to DC, & fired the prosecutors. They went through them, redacted Trump’s name, then elected not to release them and closed the matter.

Monterey Bay is home to Plastic-Filled Seabirds And Fish #SciComm🧪 by @grrlscientist.bsky.social #Plastic #Pollution #Birds🦉 #Seabirds🪶 #MarineWildlife🐠 #wildlife #MontereyBay medium.com/@grrlscienti...

Denmark’s annual intelligence outlook has for the first time named the United States a potential security risk, a shift that comes after a year of Greenland disputes and uncertainty about Washington’s role in Europe’s defense. theintellectualistofficial.substack.com/p/historic-b...

Your annual Christmas article from yours truly, published 19 years ago. Spoiler alert: It’s about liposuction and biodiesel. Ho ho ho! grist.org/article/biod...

The Donald J. Trump … Memorial Center. 👀 🙏

The White House has been caught. The administration inserted a photo of Bill Clinton, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross into the Epstein files and falsely implied it showed them with victims. In reality, it’s a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring Jackson and Ross’s own children.

A tricky but seasonable word today. I tied the Wordle Bot this time. Wordle 1,644 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Applications for the Quaker United Nations Office Summer School are now open! Young changemakers are invited to join this opportunity to engage with international diplomacy in Geneva. Apply by 25 Jan: https://quno.org/newsroom/applications-are-now-open-quaker-united-nations-summer-school-2026/

Same sh*tty service for paying premium subscribers.

From Morten Morland at The Times of London. He's captured the ramblings of every speech the man's ever given.

Lucky today. I was just looking for a word that contained certain letters, and it turned out to be the answer. So I beat the Wordle Bot again. Wordle 1,643 3/6 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ ⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Super encouraging news! Gut bacteria from a Japanese tree frog were infused into the circulatory system of mice with colorectal cancer tumors. The bacteria concentrated in the tumors and killed them all in all of the mice, accomplishing 100% efficacy of tumor elimination. 1 of 2

We are failing our kids

Introduce yourself with 5 animals you've seen in the wild: Ibex Needlefish Indri (lemur) Eurasian jay Water moccasin

What a metaphor for America under Trump! (This incident occurred in 2021, though.)

I like the pattern here. I beat the Wordle Bot again, mainly thanks to a lucky guess at line 3. That puts me ahead of the Bot over the past fortnight (beating it 3 times, tying it 9 times). Wordle 1,641 3/6 🟩⬜⬜⬜🟩 ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜ 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

So, don’t thank (or blame) latitude, luck, or climate change for a warm Christmas: thank (or blame) Jesus. (Sign hanging outside a coffee shop in Ha Noi, Viet Nam, 14 December 2025.)

"The virus can lead to brain swelling, which can cause lasting damage, including blindness, deafness and intellectual disabilities..." www.nytimes.com/2025/12/11/w...