"In the same week the Bella 1 adopted a Russian flag & a new name, a second tanker operating in Venezuela, the Hyperion, made a similar change. At least three additional oil tankers that operated in Venezuelan waters...have similarly switched to Russian flags" www.nytimes.com/2026/01/06/w...

Elon Musk’s Deepfake Factory prospect.org/2026/01/07/e...

I wrote on the latest rash of disruption to undersea cables in the Baltic sea. Still no clear evidence this is the work of Russia. Some of this storm-related. But fact that Finland & Latvia are boarding ships shows that they are concerned about deliberate sabotage. www.economist.com/europe/2026/...

incase you missed it

Republicans must win the 2026 congressional midterm elections, U.S. President Donald Trump said, or else Democrats will impeach him.

Canadian military waving to the next desk at the NORAD command center "so if you're going to invade, give us a heads up, eh?"

L'État, c'est moi!!! Pitty. www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/l...

CIA turncoat Aldrich Ames, who sold US secrets to the Soviets, dies in prison at 84

Johnson: U.S. military action in Greenland ‘would not be appropriate’

Bayer sues COVID vaccine makers over mRNA technology reut.rs/4jvWIlp

Intelligence Online has revealed the identities of two previously unknown spyware makers. The market is probably bigger than we realize.

Now for other news... 🤣 "‘Stop sending butt plugs to Bahrain’: Toronto sex store receives letters from U.S. Department of War" www.cp24.com/local/toront...

The Netherlands has pulled out of U.S.-led counter-drug missions in the Caribbean, a reaction to the rising death toll from American military attacks on vessels suspected of being used to smuggle narcotics.

The Netherlands have stopped their cooperative anti-drugs operations with the US in the Caribean (following US bombing attacks on boats). nos.nl/l/2597163

We are the dumbest

Didn’t have this on our bingo card. Russia has announced sanctions against 28 Canadians it claims promote “neo-Nazism,” targeting people it links to anti-Russian activism, including our lab’s researchers @gruzd.ca and @philipmai.com. You can see the complete list here news.zerkalo.io/world/117383...

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

Trump administration cannot slash NIH research funding, court rules - www.reuters.com/world/trump-...

Neat little tool, please use responsibly.

First day back 🫠

Guardrails matter. Canada will not pursue deep co-operation with China in artificial intelligence, defence, sensitive technologies, or critical infrastructure. The risks to security, intellectual property and alliance cohesion are too high. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

"American dominance" is our new foreign policy. And it will create a counter-reaction, everywhere. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...

Seems totally relevant...

Designing #STEM classrooms where students pause to reflect on their progress and share their learning stories takes intention – but the impact is huge: more engaged, capable and confident learners: https://ow.ly/OH5350XRW4s#STEM#HigherEd #AcademicSky #EduSky

The first two hours this morning

Ten more UK universities post deficits: De Montfort (£22.6m), Sheffield (£11.5m), Ulster (£20.2m), Bedfordshire (£17.2m), Hull (£12.9m), Heriot-Watt (£7.9m), Bournemouth (£7.9m), Birkbeck (£7m), UWS (£5.5m), Edge Hill (£2.8m) www.timeshighereducation.com/news/foreign... via @patrickjack.bsky.social

In 1976, CFNY launched from a small suburban house just north of Toronto and went on to become one of the most influential punk, new wave, and alternative radio stations in the world. "CFNY: The Spirit of Radio" premieres tomorrow at 9pm on TVO. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFu0...

Trump's Razor: The pettiest explanation is usually the correct one.

New role, same mission. I'm now leading SCSP's Technology Leadership Directorate as Vice President—working with an amazing team to ensure America stays ahead in the technologies that will define this century. More to come on what we're building at the Special Competitive Studies Project!

As Rutger Hauer might have said "Wake up! Time for Rye". Sunday night capping with The London Distillery Company Whisky Yesteryear 6 yo London Single Rye Whisky. Cheers All.

I have the Sunday scaries at a deep and profound level

Factory belonging to russia's largest lithium-ion battery manufacturer Energia struck by 🇺🇦Ukrainian drones in Yelets, Lipetsk region.

Amid the AI investment boom, cities and counties across the US are pulling the emergency brake on data centers, writes Jenna Ruddock. From Maryland to Missouri, at least fourteen states are home to towns or counties that have implemented moratoriums: a complete pause on data center development.

"Rystad Energy, a consultancy, estimates that $110bn in capital expenditure on exploration and production alone would be required to bring the country’s output back to where it was 15 years ago—twice the amount America’s oil majors combined invested worldwide in 2024."

👀👀 So the guys in the insecure SKIF at Mar A Lago were communicating with a Russian propaganda source on X during the attack?

An intense year comes to an end for Canadians & Germans, full of challenges at home and globally. A big thank you from team 🇩🇪 to our 🇨🇦 friends across the country for being such reliable Allies & trading partners, exciting innovators, creators & wonderful G7 hosts! Happy 2026!

Germany’s foreign intelligence agency (BND) intercepted phone conversations of former President Barack Obama while he was aboard Air Force One over several years. The interceptions exploited vulnerabilities in the aircraft’s encryption and known frequencies. www.zeit.de/politik/ausl...

British forces have bombed a suspected weapons stockpile ⁠previously used by Islamic State in Syria. news.sky.com/story/raf-carrie...

The US military conducted an operation on Jan 3 to capture President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela. Bellingcat geolocated videos of helicopters involved in the raid, piecing together potential movements of the assault force

My thoughts about how #Bluejays signing of Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto moves around the chess pieces and doesn’t close the door on Bo Bichette:

President Trump plans to send U.S. energy giants to Venezuela to rekindle stalled oil production, stabilize the country and cement American energy dominance. But there are obstacles, industry analysts warn.

We underestimate the tectonic shift in geopolitics in our hemisphere today at our peril.

The NSS and Monroe 2.0 www.axios.com/2026/01/03/t...

CIA Team in Venezuela Since August Tracked Maduro’s Whereabouts Before Capture www.wsj.com/livecoverage...

Mock house, CIA source and Special Forces: The US operation to capture Maduro - www.reuters.com/business/aer...

Trump says US will 'run' Venezuela until 'safe transition can take place' www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c5...