SDF Chatter

Source: seattletimes.com.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/mark-carney-speech-davos-rules-based-order-9.7053350

We knew the story of the international rules-based order was partially false. That the strongest would exempt themselves when convenient. That trade rules were enforced asymmetrically. And we knew that international law applied with varying rigour depending on the identity of the accused or the victim.

Let me be direct: We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition.

Over the past two decades, a series of crises in finance, health, energy and geopolitics have laid bare the risks of extreme global integration.

But more recently, great powers have begun using economic integration as weapons. Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.

You cannot "live within the lie" of mutual benefit through integration when integration becomes the source of your subordination.

A country that cannot feed itself, fuel itself or defend itself has few options. When the rules no longer protect you, you must protect yourself.

But let's be clear-eyed about where this leads. A world of fortresses will be poorer, more fragile and less sustainable.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/41984694

Jan. 20, 2026
[from weekly newsletter about Cuba (with YouTube video links) from the Belly Of The Beast news/video collective.]

Donald Trump has boasted about the killing of 32 Cuban security personnel who died at the hands of U.S. Special Forces during the January 3 abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump called the Cubans “thugs and extortionists” who held Venezuela hostage for many years.

Yunio Estévez Samón, one of those killed in the U.S. attack, was neither a thug nor an extortionist. He was a 32-year-old cryptographer and a dedicated family man who has left behind a wife and three children. Belly of the Beast journalist Liz Oliva Fernández interviewed Claudia Rafaela, a close friend of Yunio’s, who talked about his death and the life he was building before it was cut short. See the interview.​

Meanwhile, last week in Havana, thousands of Cubans joined in mourning alongside the families of those killed in Venezuela. And many more took to the streets to denounce U.S. aggression in a massive pro-government march to the U.S. Embassy.

cross-posted from: https://piefed.zip/c/technology/p/962614/ai-boom-could-falter-without-wider-adoption-microsoft-chief-satya-nadella-warns

Big tech boss tells delegates at Davos that broader global use is essential if technology is to deliver lasting growth

No thank you.

Hey everyone! In case you haven't noticed, this is a new community focused on NonPolitical Comics (NPCs), which essentially means no gloom and doom of the day stuff.

If you like the idea, we need help! Check out the pinned post on the community.

Keir Starmer has vowed to implement his digital ID scheme to combat illegal working, despite widespread national backlash. The prime minister is failing to listen to government ministers, as well as the British public.

President Trump’s bellicose demands about Greenland and participation in his “board of peace” are deepening worries about the fate of the trans-Atlantic alliance.

President Trump on Tuesday escalated tensions with the United States’ longest allies, meeting diplomatic overtures with mocking online posts and threats of economic levies and territorial expansion, just hours before he was set to meet with European counterparts in the Swiss Alps.

Mr. Trump warned that he would impose a new round of tariffs against European nations unless they acquiesced to his demands that the United States take over Greenland. He invited President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who European leaders have sought to isolate to counter his invasion of Ukraine, to join his new “board of peace” to reconstruct Gaza. He shared a post on social media that claimed China and Russia were simply “boogeymen” and that the United Nations and NATO were “the real threat.”

The president even posted the private text messages of European leaders trying to strike conciliatory notes, and shared a computer-generated image of himself planting a flag on Greenland. “GREENLAND, US TERRITORY, EST. 2026,” read a wooden placard in the image.

And when asked how far he was willing to go to acquire Greenland, Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House: “You’ll find out.”

MBFC
Archive

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Ukraine received a shipment of air defense missiles on January 18, which significantly supported Ukraine’s capability to down a majority of the Russian drones and missiles in the January 19 to 20 strike.

...

Drone operators of the Russian Rubikon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies are increasingly conducting mid-range strikes against Ukraine’s high-value, Western-provided air defenses and rocket launchers.

...

Russian milbloggers claimed that Rubikon used a BM-35 strike drone but disagreed whether Russian forces hit a real Patriot system or a decoy.[31] One milblogger noted that the FPV strike on the Patriot demonstrates how some Russian frontline drones can now fly far beyond Kharkiv City (roughly 23 kilometers from the frontline), especially with the help of “mothership drones” (such as Molniya fixed-wing FPV drones) that carry one or more shorter-range drones to areas far from the front line.[32]

[a great reminder that credible decoys create survivability for crucial aspects of defense]

...

ISW assesses that Ukrainian forces could likely deny Russian advances and enable Ukrainian counterattacks across the theater if Ukrainian forces can replicate the reported effects achieved in Kupyansk across the entirety of the theater, and at greater operational depths, such that Ukrainian forces deny Russian infantry from maneuvering within even deeper sections of the front line.

...

Ukrainian forces continued their mid-range strike campaign against Russian military targets in occupied Luhansk Oblast between January 17 and 19. The Ukrainian General Staff reported on January 19 that Ukrainian forces destroyed a drone unit of the Russian 144th Motorized Rifle Division (20th CAA, MMD) in occupied Novokrasnyanka (roughly 25 kilometers from the front line).[62]

...

A deputy commander of a Ukrainian battalion operating in the Pokrovsk direction reported on January 20 that Russian forces continue constant infiltration missions in the brigade’s area of responsibility (AoR).[81] The Ukrainian deputy commander assessed that Russian forces may soon conduct mechanized assaults as the ground is frozen solid, which is more conducive to mechanized maneuver than the mud previously prevalent in the area.

...

Ukrainian forces continued their mid-range strike campaign against Russian military targets in occupied Crimea on the night of January 19 and 20. The Ukrainian Navy reported on January 20 that Ukrainian forces struck an unspecified military airfield in occupied Crimea.[98]

Attempt for u/ummthatguy

I need more practice

Source: seattletimes.com.

It was still too cold to hunt this morning when I spotted it. It did have an eye on a bird feeder in case a dove got too careless.