I have been telling my students for years that unless they have the aptitude to do doctoral-level work in CS then it’s a dead-end major. For 70 years it’s been both intellectually exciting and lucrative. No more. The field ate itself. www.anildash.com/2026/01/06/5...

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

The structure that included Chinese propaganda messages and a flag pole with a Chinese flag has been demolished, Tainan mayor Huang Wei-che says. The structure was erected on 1/1 and is illegally constructed.

How will the first American Pope address immigration? “John Paul II changed history by identifying the Church with the vast numbers of people subjugated by Soviet Communism. Leo could do that for migrants,” Paul Elie writes. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/LGmWuu

Protesters angry over Iran's ailing economy conducted a sit-in Tuesday at Tehran's Grand Bazaar, witnesses said, with security forces ultimately firing tear gas and dispersing demonstrators as the rest of the market shut down. https://to.pbs.org/4jwP3n9

Taiwan's opposition parties KMT and TPP, who hold a majority in the Legislature, not only blocked nominations at the Constitutional Court and the National Communications Commission, but also recently at the board of Taiwan's Public Television Service, rejecting all nominees (even not subtle).

Italy weighs fresh options to curb Chinese sway over Pirelli, sources say – Reuters: ‘to address a governance dispute that has pitted Sinochem against fellow investor Camfin, […]. Pirelli and Camfin have complained that having a Chinese company as its main shareholder hampered U.S. expansion’

And soon, a new grave to piss on...

Aldrich Ames, the CIA officer whose spying for Moscow was the most damaging breach in the agency's history, has died at the Federal Correctional Institution in Cumberland, Maryland. He was 84. www.washingtonpost.com/obitua...

KMT is sliding in the polls since ardent China supporter Cheng Li-wen became Chair. www.taipeitimes.com/News/editori...

haha. no. PRC has had this idea for years. Plans and military infrastructure aimed at taking Taiwan. In 2024 car driven by PRC official attempted to ram and possibly kill Taiwan veep on trip to Prague. They don't need Trump to be vicious assholes, and Trump has had almost zero effect on Taiwan.

My thanks to TaiwanPlus for having me as a guest for their show on Venezuela/Taiwan. Had a lot of technical trouble throughout this one, which really slowed me down. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbi_...

NEW: Orwell noted that authoritarian regimes need to control memory and rely upon mass forgetting. That's what's happened with January 6, as I write about in my OUR LAND newsletter. link.motherjones.com/public/43368... Sign up for a FREE trial subscription to OUR LAND at davidcorn.com.

Protests in Iran continue. Reportedly, this is the main market in Tehran.

India's largest refining complex, Reliance Industries, is not expecting any Russian crude oil deliveries in January, it said in a statement. "Reliance Industries's Jamnagar refinery has not received any cargo of Russian oil at its refinery in the past three weeks approx.

Gambling is the next opioid crisis.

What happens to the Maduro regime without Maduro? In an interview with Isaac Chotiner, an expert explains how the Venezuelan President ran the country, why he was so unpopular, and, after his seizure by the Trump Administration, who might take over. newyorkermag.visitlink.me/7q-Zjg

New Tech ≠ Military Transformation - or advantage. A powerful reminder from fmr UK CDS Nick Carter in his new @WarOnTheRocks article Learning from #Ukraine & military history, real change needs integration, vision & realistic experimentation at scale warontherocks.com/2026/01/a-ne...

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been dissolved, ending its 58 years as the primary funder for PBS, NPR and local TV and radio stations

Taiwanese Hakka folk singer Lin Shengxiang's music has suddenly disappeared in China along with his name and his band's name. His songs tend to be about themes such as life in rural communities, poor and marginalized people, and the environment. www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202...

"Chinese social media" is a construction of PRC policy. The things that are permitted to linger there do so only because the Party wants them there.

Just remember, for every white supremacist POS on Twitter, there's a campist asshole calling for the imperalist subjugation of Taiwan and the murder, imprisonment, and exile of its people.

A novel 2025 retrospective on what didn't happen over the past year. A great example of how conservative Taiwan is in practice. www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...

CFR against responding to the silly "Trump greenlit China!" takes www.cfr.org/blog/trumps-...

"The only thing that could keep China out of Taiwan is the risk that attacking it would lead to the total destruction of Xi’s regime." (and the PLA is not quite ready to risk it) www.taipeitimes.com/News/editori...

Chinese investment remains steady in Vietnam, defies Trump tariff concerns – Nikkei Asia: ‘The disbursement, however, is usually made based on commitments the year before. The next few months would offer other key figures to watch on how Trump's tariffs affected investment decisions’

Switzerland to vet Chinese investment, but some say law is too weak – Nikkei Asia: ‘The framework applies only to investors that are directly or indirectly controlled by a foreign state in deals tied to some critical sectors’

Venezuela and Taiwan: China has not refrained from attacking Taiwan because it was waiting for the US to set a precedent it could follow. Instead, China has not attacked Taiwan because it lacks confidence that it can succeed at an acceptable cost www.cfr.org/blog/trumps-...

Before 2027: what can Taiwan learn from countries that have faced sustained authoritarian pressure? Doublethink Lab is hosting a public discussion with speakers from Georgia, the Czech Republic, and Taiwan on defending democracy under pressure. 🧵

Taiwan F-16Vs to get anti-stealth boost with Legion pods www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing/t...

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...

3/ here is kristoff introducing a far-right screed on why China owns the Senkakus. It's an instance of the way liberals in the US adopt the POV and propaganda of rightists in other countries. michaelturton.blogspot.com/2012/09/senk...

National Museum of Taiwan History's "Taiwan Overseas" database gives instant access to documents on Taiwan provided by institutions from all over the world. taiwanoverseas.nmth.gov.tw/en

As an antidote to the stoopid now filling Bluesky on Taiwan #Taiwan and the PRC, see this piece by J Wilkes. Send it around whenever you see someone complaining that Trump greenlit an invasion, or similar. dominotheory.com/no-the-u-s-d...

1/ No it doesnt. See Domino theory below. And anyway @nickkristof.bsky.social has long fronted for Beijing's expansionism.... dominotheory.com/no-the-u-s-d...

Arnaud out here still thinking it's cool to post cringe-ass "Crisis = Danger +Opportunity" folk vibeslation...

😏

Come on, “could” means things can happen but the reality is the aggression has already stated. Global law and order have been declining for some time. China and Russia had been operating under different rules, expecting the US to follow traditional norms while they pursue their own strategies.

Déjà habitués à voir leurs contenus côtoyer des inconnus dénudés, le gouvernement français et les principaux responsables politiques français (y compris de l'opposition) se tatent pour faire de YouPorn leur principal canal de communication politique.

"China taking over Taiwan?" Two powerful militaries of Japan and US. Putin? be serious. He has already tried numerous times. Do you think int'l law stops Xi and Putin?

George H.W. Bush lent China a helping hand after the CCP regime committed the Tiananmen Square massacre by helping China reach more export markets, including the US. In hindsight that's one of the worst strategic mistakes any US president had made. Would have been better off to let China implode.

Speaker Johnson: "This is not a regime change. This is a demand for a change of behavior by a regime...We don't expect direct involvement in any other way beyond just coercing the new interim government to get that going."

I think the Greenland threat is a troll. I think. But it would sure be nice for some senators and GOP house members to speak up now and make it clear that an attack on a nato ally would lead to removal from office

"This is a regime that has been 27 years in power, not only committing crimes against humanity and human rights violations, but also they destroyed the economy," said David Smolansky. https://to.pbs.org/3Lv0Vt6

The people don't know that their Bluesky activity exists in their PDS. Adoption could be increased with some user education. Make a campaign and partner with the influential accounts to help distribute the information. @jay.bsky.team @pfrazee.com.

Oh look, Minister @jnbarrot.bsky.social, European countries foreign offices are using Bluesky both in their national language and in English, not forcing people to go to X for public statements.

Yes, you can be anti-Maduro AND critical of what Trump’s done—especially since he’s now leaving that regime in place without Maduro. And Trump’s threatening to take his vanity bully project to other countries. This will not end well. It’s not even going well now. www.thebulwark.com/p/bill-krist...

More than 140 police officers were injured during the fighting on Jan. 6, which turned increasingly brutal as the hours wore on. https://to.pbs.org/4aKG2V9

lol

Kelly Says He’ll Fight Hegseth Retribution As Show Of Force For Free Speech talkingpointsmemo.com/where-things...