Snow in the Black Forest, winter 2003. The Vosges mountains are visible in the background. These parallel ranges, in Germany and France, respectively, form the boundaries of the Rhine Rift Valley – part of the European Cenozoic Rift System – in this location. (Richardfabi / WC)

Republicans conducting a dignified gubernatorial primary in Florida, as always.

I will support Somaliland only if they give up Djibouti.

Europe, this is what happens in Europe every single day, don't look away... „So for God’s sake forget this word fatigue. Maybe it is not in your yard, but it is in your home.“

7 a.m. in Ukraine. The Russian drone attack that lasted all night has now turned into a morning missile strike.

Great conversation on the Silicon Curtain podcast with Richard Shirreff. Time for Europe, and particularly Western Europe, to get very real about Russia, Ukraine, the Trump administration, and NATO. And we are still far from where we need to be. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/9...

Two Creeks people looking at Two Rivers people like, those posh dicks

Civil war, but between the Mayflower Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution, taking place at a Junior League luncheon.

You guys, I'm beginning to fear the Democrats aren't laser-focused on winning.

One great irony of this administration, and of the America First movement generally, is that bad, absent, and/or abusive fathers probably contributed to much of the psychological weakness of these men.

The reach of conspiracism within the black and Hispanic communities, or parts of them, is seriously underdiscussed.

Everyone apparently memory-holed that Steve Witkoff was a de facto representative of the Kremlin's interests vis-a-vis not only Ukraine, but the president of the United States. Why is he still involved? Where is the pressure?

This stuff is just so tiresome.

Finally read Jacob Savage's 'Compact' piece that everyone is talking about on white millennial men and the job market. As often with an expansive and controversial subject, I found that I had a lot of thoughts, some of them conflicting. In any case, a good read: www.compactmag.com/article/the-...

Re: the border / migration, we've now tried both an open southern border and Stephen Miller's mass deportation program, so we should have concluded that neither of those is acceptable. What else have we learned? 1. The public prefers Trump's hard border to the Biden situation;

Will Sommer on today's Bulwark with Tim Miller. Long and short of it is that the future of the Republican Party is JD Vance, which means that party is absolutely cooked, and so are we to the extent it is not purged from American life. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

Shashank Joshi on The Secure Line podcast with an interesting end-of-year overview on defense and security issues, with an emphasis on Canada: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

Heard on yesterday's Bulwark, in honor of recent events, and in recollection of the state where I spent four years in college, 'Goin' Back to Indiana' by The Jacksons (1971). youtu.be/nXHmLSOeAxY?...

From a few days ago, a very important discussion on Silicon Curtain with Zarina Zabrisky re: Russia's 'human safari' in Kherson, a war crime and a crime against humanity 👇 Demonstrations are taking place this weekend: humansafari.org #SaveKherson #StopHumanSafari

Interesting conversation on Silicon Curtain with Ben Hodges, raising rumored Trump administration pressure on Belgium re: the frozen funds, and also discussing e.g. the need for total societal mobilization: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/8...

The Southern magnolia (M. grandiflora) is indigenous to the southeastern United States, from North Carolina to east Texas. It is also planted as an ornamental elsewhere where climate permits, such as the specimen below at the botanical garden in Nantes, France. (Pymouss44 / WC)

A small portion of the Goldfields-Esperance (Nullarbor Plain) region of Western Australia operates in its own unofficial time zone, UTC+8:45 (Eucla time). In southern winter, it is 45m ahead of Perth (WA) and 45m behind Adelaide (SA). In summer (current), 45m and 1h45m.

"Was mich einfach so sprachlos macht ist... die Leichtigkeit mit der in kurzen Sätzen über 'Gebietsabtretungen' gesprochen wird. 'Gebietsabtretung' ist ein Euphemismus für fortgesetzte Besatzungsherrschaft. Und die Realität in den besetzten Gebieten für die Menschen dort...

I want his name never to be spoken in public. Only the ruin of the ballroom should be left next to the White House as a solemn monument to the Catastrophe.

Tolles Gespräch mit Simon Strauss im FAZ Podcast für Deutschland über seinen ethnografischen Tauchgang in Prenzlau im Norden Brandenburgs. Stichwörter AfD und der Osten. In vielerlei Hinsicht erinnerten mich seine Aussagen an das, was uns heute über Trump-Wähler erzählt wird:

Perfect time of year in Florida

The long-term non-viability of a Queer / Islamist alliance is obvious to everyone other than the Queer faction (though probably not the Islamists).

Until just now, if you had asked me what Biafra was, I might have described something suspiciously like Biarritz 🤔 TIL.

Great episode of the Bulwark podcast today with Michael Weiss on the "peace deal" and related developments re: Ukraine, Russia, and the Trump administration. Recorded before this afternoon's Witkoff developments, but still helpful. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

I don't like Bari Weiss, and I don't like Tucker Carlson or Nick Fuentes or Hasan Piker, and as far as the right goes, I don't care which of these two factions "wins", but I hope each does a large amount of damage to the other on the way down.

The 🇩🇪 word for Welsh (the language) is Walisisch, though I didn't know (or couldn't remember) the word for Wales, and it is just "Wales", directly from English. Underwhelming 😂 A Welsh person is a Waliser, not to be confused with a Walliser (someone from Canton Valais, 🇨🇭).

JD Vance tried to sell out our allies to an enemy in a dirty deal in the dark of night, behind the backs of his colleagues, Congress, and the American people, but he failed. Stop whining.

Interessantes Gespräch zwischen Ronzheimer und Stephan Grünewald über die Psychologie der AfD-Wähler und die Lehren, die die Regierung daraus ziehen kann. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

Interessantes re: Russlands Unterwasser-Spionage- und Militäraktivitäten z.B. im Baltikum / Arktis. Auch re: Resilienz der deutschen Gesellschaft; Notwendigkeit; dass der BND über zusätzliche Fähigkeiten verfügt; Leckage westlicher Technologie an Gegner. 👇

Interesting conversation with Prof. Mark Horton regarding the 1587 Roanoke colony, including re: new and interesting developments. As was long surmised, the survivors of that colony went to live with and apparently largely assimilated into the local Native American culture. 👇

For American supporters of 🇺🇦, this weekend is a good opportunity to email your US senators and your representative in Congress. Explain how troubling you find the administration's behavior, and tell them (politely) what you are asking from them.

Great conversation between Ezra Klein and Fareed Zakaria on e.g. the failures of the professional-class, non-populist left; the problem of asylum in the context of immigration; and the limitations of the meritocratic elite. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/f...

Just cleaned out my center console, and let's just say I am very well-hedged against the impending penny shortage.

Has anyone ever been to Turkmenistan.

Math education situation in California seems dire www.theargumentmag.com/p/when-grade...

From nearly two weeks ago now, but a helpful conversation with Francis Farrell regarding the state of the war with a focus on Pokrovsk. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

It's very easy to sit on an island in the Atlantic Ocean and pontificate about how other European states are too militaristic vis-à-vis Russia and other threats. He said, about no European island state in particular.

Most European languages use the plural "you" as the formal "you" (T/V distinction), but I find it funny that in Polish the formal (singular) you is mister and madam. "If mister would follow me to the table..." "As I already told madam, ..."

Marc Champion in Bloomberg: "The concern remains that none of [the plans for the frozen assets] emerge[] as part of a coherent, committed strategy to stop Putin in eastern Ukraine, but as something more of an ad hoc, and therefore frail... podcasts.apple.com/il/podcast/h...

Just finished the Polish limited series "Heweliusz" on Netflix. Historical drama about the sinking of the passenger ferry MS Jan Heweliusz in the Baltic Sea on 14 January 1993. Ensemble cast, fabulous re-creation of the Poland of that time period. Highly recommended.

Good conversation with Tim Wu on an important topic: the imperative of moving our economy out of an extractive model by means of the government, in particular (though not exclusively) re: the tech platforms. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

Grant of permission from the City of Leiden (Jan van Hout, secretary) dated 12 February 1609, authorizing approx. 100 English Separatists to settle there. Eventually about 300 Separatists would settle in Leiden. In 1620, a group of them would continue on to Massachusetts Bay...

Interessante Updates zum Fall Marsalek. Er befindet sich noch immer in Russland, und die deutschen (geschweige denn die österreichischen) Sicherheitsdienste haben diesem Problem nicht genügend Ressourcen gewidmet. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...

Was Jesus an Essene (e.g. like the members of the Qumran / Dead Sea Scrolls community)? According to Ehrman, probably not. Both Jesus and the Essenes were apocalypticists, but the Essenes, unlike Jesus, were focused on separation and ritual purity. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

Incredible interview with Carol Leonnig re: the Biden / Garland DOJ's scarcely believable missteps and hesitation regarding investigations of Trump's and his team's alleged corruption. There will now never be accountability. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/j...