* Also you can preorder Platform Decay, the next book in The Murderbot Diaries, at whichever retailer you prefer, and it will be out on May 5, 2026. Published by Tor Books, cover art by Jaime Jones, edited by Lee Harris.
This is correct. The document is very clear on that point. But here’s more from Anders:
The United States sees it as a strategic priority… that MAGA movements come to power in Europe, and they intend to use the means that they have to support such movements in the fight against the current centrist governments.
These are some very dramatic statements that have raised deep questions about whether there is any foundation for NATO to function going forward if the United States sees it as a strategic priority to undermine the governments of other NATO countries. …
It’s really hard to see how there can be an alliance any more. The reality is that the views expressed in this [policy document] are in many ways identical to the Russian viewpoints on Europe and the Russian goals of regime change in European countries.
He further discusses the document’s demands for ‘free speech,’ in the sense of ending social media moderation and opposing the exclusion of hate speech, the lifeblood of MAGA fascism. There are several demands in the document around these topics, which he sees – correctly – as focused on helping Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg push MAGA/fascist propaganda into Europe through their algorithmically-driven propaganda machines.
Elon Musk’s “X” is the bigger threat, of course. As Nielsen puts it: “If you’re European, then it is a national security priority to stop using X.” Elon Musk bought Twitter to turn it into a fascist propaganda fountain, as opposed to Zuckerberg’s primary intention of making as much money as possible, working with fascists if that’s what gets the job done.
I have, of course, been saying that it’s time to stop using X since a few months into Elon Musk’s takeover of the site because of this exact reason, but, well – who the fuck listens to me?
Anders’s final key takeaway here is that this document doesn’t show a MAGA-led US deciding not to care at all about Europe, but instead shows a US deciding to care very much about Europe – mostly western Europe – with the specific and stated intention of installing MAGA governments, telling Europe that they must be MAGA – fascist – to be allied with the US.
This move would be an extension of what MAGA see as “their” western hemisphere, which other than western Europe means North and South America, including Greenland.
Naturally, this process would include granting Russia and Trump’s second-best pal Putin their own sphere of influence in the east. This portends the US’s impending betrayal of Ukraine, and later, a betrayal of the Baltic states, Poland, probably a couple of others (Moldova? Romania? Bulgaria?) as well.
But why? Does Trump love Putin and Orban that much?
I believe It’s more than that, and more than Trump’s ego, believe it or not. It’s more than his desperate longing to be a dictator and it’s more than his sheer will to steal every dollar in sight. Trump and MAGA, well… they are definitively fools, morons, white nationalists, imperialists, longing for a white imperial past. But I still think that Putin has more choate strategic plans than Trump, and I still think Ukraine is a climate war, so…
…shall I post this line again? Sure, I’ll post this line again. Here’s what I think Putin really wants – not what he’ll get, what he wants. It’s a minimum goal, to “secure” the nation:
That’s oversimplified, of course, but this is a small map and a big thick line. The reality would be far different, and most likely more like existing national boundaries, but still: it gets the idea across.
Meanwhile, when Russian maximalists and propaganda shills talk about how “we should march all the way to Paris” – which they do, repeatedly – here’s what I think they want:
And what do these lines have in common?
Mountains.
Tall, easier to defend, mountainous, migration-blocking borders.
It’s simple-minded in a lot of ways, I suppose, but so is keeping the border at the Rhine and that kept French foreign policy busy for a few centuries, so border politics don’t have to be all that complex.
Putin et al – they know climate change is real. Trump’s a decaying fool and might not know now if he ever did, but Putin? He knows. But heading a petrostate dictatorship with lots of far-northern land? He doesn’t want to stop it, because it’s the outsourced expense of allllllll Russia’s money, and if billions die, well, that’s the cost of doing business.
I call map one Putin’s Wall. Map two? Let’s call it Solovyov’s Wall, since as far as I can tell he’s the most famous proponent of “marching all the way to Paris.” Soloyvov’s Wall isn’t attainable – it won’t happen, it’s (ugh) aspirational – but I do think Trump wants to give Putin his wall, and that Putin has enough trust in Russia’s ability to handle MAGA that he’s willing to let Trump and his replacements handle the west.
Personally, I think MAGA has enough interest in a semi-mythical White Europe that they’re willing to do it. As long as they’re lead by the right – white, fascist – governments.
Hence, this hideous betrayal of a document.
That said, let me be real clear about something: On their own, Russia cannot attain Putin’s Wall. It’d take a complete American betrayal and European capitulation for them to have any chance. They cannot do it alone.
But thanks to MAGA and Trump, they’re on the edge of getting that American betrayal. They want to push that betrayal to completion. If they get it, then they’ll help the US make MAGA happen in Europe, in order to get the second necessary condition of European collapse and capitulation.
Russia’s no match for the EU as a whole. But torn apart? Picking off one little country at a time is… it’s not easy, it’s absolutely not, but they’re willing to kill as many of their own as is necessary for as long as is necessary to do it. Particularly if they’re ethnic minorities. And since nobody wants to flee a climate disaster to a war zone anyway, so he wins either way. Whether deterred by mountains or by war, refugees would go elsewhere, or not at all.
And that’s why I think this is a climate war. Not a war triggered by climate changes in Russia, but by Russia wanting to keep oil and gas going forever and keep out the people that will starve and kill.
You noticed Iran saying that Tehran will have to be abandoned as a capital, didn’t you? It’s more corruption and incompetence than climate change – but it’s a bit of all three. Climate change has moved the timetable. Made things worse. And yet, we’re just getting started.
So, then. Where are we? Ah, yes. How this all plays out.
There’s a bit of a feeling out there that Trump is weakened and even some who think that this nightmare is… more or less over. That Trump is a “lame duck,” that there is no MAGA without him.
That’s partially true. Trump is weakened. MAGA is, too, and they’ve been dependant upon his stardom – and fandom – to reach critical mass. They will be badly wounded – but not out – once he goes.
But none of that means this is over. The more trouble MAGA and Trump think they’re in, the more Trump and MAGA will lash out, trying to push their fascist power fantasies into existence. We will all see more betrayals, more sabotage, more oppression – the ICE army of white supremacists they’re working to summon into existence, funded by the so-called “big beautiful bill,” will actively work to dwarf the violence and abuses we’ve seen this year.
It’s their vision of the future, and they’re going to fight for it. It’s what they want, it’s what they’re all in to get, and it’s what they will do anything to achieve.
And they will not go down quietly. Take heart in the recent massive election shifts. Take heart in Trump’s decay and weakness and failing… opinion polls. Take heart in the America First/MAGA civil war. Take heart in all of it.
But do not, for a moment, think this is actually over.
Big surprise. After Senator Elizabeth Warren started raising a stink about the military being unable to repair its own equipment, military contractors started "intensely lobbying" for a new system of "data as a service", which would probably have been even worse. Both systems were excluded from the final bill.
Good news includes all the things which make us happy or otherwise feel good. It can be personal or public. We never know when something wonderful will happen, and when it does, most people want to share it with someone. It's disappointing when nobody is there to appreciate it. Happily, blogging allows us to share our joys and pat each other on the back.
What good news have you had recently? Are you anticipating any more? Have you found a cute picture or a video that makes you smile? Is there anything your online friends could do to make your life a little happier?
The United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, most commonly shortened to US. Chemical Safety Board (USCSB), is the federal agency tasked with investigating industrial chemical accidents. That sounds rather dry, I admit... at least until you remember that "industrial chemical accidents" are the catastrophes that involve fireballs the size of city blocks, or gassing an entire town, or so on.
Leaving aside any intersection of current events & federal agencies for now...
"Low Pressure, Fatal Consequence: Explosion at Yenkin-Majestic" is an 18-minute video covering an April 8, 2021 plant explosion in Columbus, Ohio. It details the timeline + consequences and then goes into the USCSB's findings & recommendations to prevent future incidents. Notably to me, they do use a small amount of real footage, but most of the runtime's visualizations are done with (by today's standards) simple CGI. You will not mistake it for Hollywood's top-shelf magic. But... in spite of and because of that, I thought it was very well-made. They did a great job illustrating the scene during the incident, emphasizing the pertinent actor and actions in a way that flowed well and was easy to follow! For a video that was clearly made to be more informative than entertaining, it's superb.
The incident had one fatality and eight injured, some of them from the sounds of it very badly, so it's not exactly feel-good. But this is one of the nicest things I've found my tax dollars paying for in awhile: clear, easy to understand video walking me through industrial safety concerns that, even if it's not my job directly, I do kinda want to know on account of, y'know, living in the same country these industrial plants are located in.
After facing constant roadblocks in opening a neighborhood cafe, an artist in Savannah, Georgia, created a board game that mimics the frustration of small-scale development. It was a wake-up call for local officials.
Games aren't just entertainment. They can be powerful tools for education and change.
Many of my friends are now in the 30-something club and facing many of the same existential questions about life and our place in it.
Am I happy? What skills do I need in this changing world? Do I want kids? Should I even have kids, knowing about climate change? What does a meaningful life look like? Should I move closer to home to be with my parents while they’re still around? Should I quit my job and start a commune?
These are great questions, and in general, asking probing questions about your life is an excellent idea. If you're into that, goals_on_dw is into its busy season December-January when lots of people look at their past year's accomplishments, contemplate their level of satisfaction, identify areas they'd like to improve, and set new goals for the future.
Only one final paper left, and it's not due until early Friday afternoon. I think I'll probably try and get it written tomorrow, when I'm not working on laundry 😂
Today in one sentence: Trump called Europe "weak" and “decaying,” warning that some countries may no longer be “viable”; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out ceding any territory to Russia, rejecting a core part of Trump’s peace plan; Trump reversed his public pledge to release the full video of the Sept. 2 U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, instead saying “whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is OK with me"; a federal judge granted the Justice Department permission to release grand jury transcripts and investigative records from the sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell; a federal judge rejected Trump’s effort to block permits and leases for new wind energy projects on federal lands and waters; Trump authorized Nvidia to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China in return for 25% of the revenue; the Trump administration agreed to a proposed settlement with seven Republican-led states that would shut down the SAVE student loan repayment plan; and Texas announced a partnership with Turning Point USA to establish “Club America” chapters in every high school in the state and warned schools not to block the clubs.
1/ Trump called Europe “weak” and “decaying,” warning that some countries may no longer be “viable” while praising authoritarian leaders like Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In an interview with Politico, Trump argued that immigration and political correctness, not Russia, are Europe’s real threat, bragged that “NATO calls me ‘Daddy’,” questioned further NATO expansion, and said Ukraine is losing the war and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy must “start accepting things.” At the same time, Trump gave his economic performance an “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” grade, made support for immediate interest rate cuts a litmus test for his next Federal Reserve chair, floated more targeted tariff carveouts while promising higher duties elsewhere, and refused to say whether he will back extending expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies that would prevent premium hikes. Democrats, meanwhile, accused Trump of “dishonor[ing] the decades-long bipartisan commitment” to NATO and Ukraine and of misunderstanding that “Putin is driving this war.” (Politico / The Guardian / New York Times / Axios)
2/ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ruled out ceding any territory to Russia, rejecting a core part of Trump’s peace plan. Zelensky said Ukraine has “no right to give anything away, under Ukrainian law, our constitution and international law,” and added that there is “no moral right either,” even as Trump insists Ukraine is “losing” and should “play ball” because Russia has the “upper hand.” Ukrainian and European officials have treated the plan as favoring Russia, and have pushed to strip out what Zelensky called “explicitly anti-Ukrainian provisions.” Zelensky is now working with European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, on a counter-proposal that centers on firm security guarantees and rejects locking in territorial concessions to Russia. (Associated Press / CBS News / The Guardian / Politico / Washington Post / Axios / Wall Street Journal)
3/ Trump reversed his public pledge to release the full video of the Sept. 2 U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean, instead saying “whatever Pete Hegseth wants to do is OK with me.” Trump also denied that he ever promised to make the footage available, despite saying on Dec. 3, 2025, “I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have, we’d certainly release, no problem.” Following months of limited disclosure about at least 22 boat strikes that have killed around 87 people, Congress is using its must-pass defense bill to force the Pentagon to give the armed services committees the execute orders and unedited videos. The bill would also freeze 25% of Hegseth’s travel budget until it does so. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times / ABC News / Politico / Washington Post / New York Times / ABC News / CBS News / NBC News / Associated Press)
4/ A federal judge granted the Justice Department permission to release grand jury transcripts and investigative records from the sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell. Judge Paul Engelmayer said the new Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the department to disclose Epstein and Maxwell records by Dec. 19. He modified an earlier protective order so that “voluminous discovery” such as search materials, financial records, and victim interviews can be made public with redactions. He ordered Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to “personally certify” that all released material has been “rigorously reviewed” to ensure it doesn’t identify victims. (NBC News / New York Times / Washington Post / Bloomberg / CBS News / CNN / Associated Press / Politico / CNBC / Axios)
5/ A federal judge rejected Trump’s effort to block permits and leases for new wind energy projects on federal lands and waters, vacating what she described as the administration’s blanket “wind order.” Judge Patti Saris ruled that Trump’s Jan. 20 directive, and the follow-on actions by federal agencies, were “arbitrary and capricious” and “contrary to law” because officials provided no reasoned explanations beyond carrying out the president’s instructions, which she said violated the Administrative Procedure Act. The decision came in a case led by New York and joined by 16 other Democrat-led states, Washington, D.C., and outside groups, which argued that Trump’s ban threatened investments, grid reliability, and state climate goals. (New York Times / Axios / Associated Press / CNBC / The Hill)
6/ Trump authorized Nvidia to sell its H200 artificial intelligence chips to China in return for 25% of the revenue, in a deal that Trump said will also apply to AMD and Intel. The policy allows only Commerce Department–vetted commercial buyers to receive the H200 while Nvidia’s more powerful Blackwell and upcoming Rubin chips remain blocked. The Institute for Progress estimates the H200 is almost six times as powerful as the H20 model that China was previously allowed to buy, and researchers at Georgetown University say its performance is nearly 10 times the old export limit on chips for China. Greg Allen of the Wadhwani Center told the Senate that access to advanced chips is “almost certainly the largest single advantage” the U.S. has over China, warning that easing controls on H200s could weaken that edge as Chinese firms race to build large AI data centers. Democrats and national security experts, meanwhile, argued that the move risks strengthening China’s AI and military capabilities, noting that analysts at the Center for a New American Security estimate Chinese chips currently provide at most about 2% of the computing power of foreign rivals and saying the shift could be a “colossal economic and national security failure” if it helps Beijing close the gap in high-end computing. (Semafor / The Guardian / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / CNBC / Axios / Politico / Bloomberg)
7/ The Trump administration agreed to a proposed settlement with seven Republican-led states that would shut down the SAVE student loan repayment plan and require roughly 7 million borrowers to move into other, generally more expensive options if a federal court in Missouri approves the deal. The Education Department said it will stop all new SAVE enrollments, deny pending applications, and transition current participants into other repayment plans under the agreement. Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent claimed the move ends a “deceptive scheme,” while borrower advocates warned that it would “strip borrowers of the most affordable repayment plan.” The settlement also requires the department to give the Missouri attorney general at least 30 days’ notice before canceling more than $10 billion in federal student loans, a condition that will last for the next decade. (Washington Post / CNBC)
8/ Texas announced a partnership with Turning Point USA to establish “Club America” chapters in every high school in the state and warned schools not to block the clubs. Gov. Greg Abbott said he expects “meaningful disciplinary action” against “any stoppage of TPUSA in the great state of Texas” and told supporters that “any school that stands in the way of a Club America program in their school should be reported immediately to the Texas Education Agency.” Civil rights groups, student and parent organizers, and some educators have criticized Turning Point for what they describe as racist, homophobic, and sexist rhetoric, and have questioned whether state-backed promotion of the organization in public schools is constitutional given that Texas has banned LGBTQ+ student clubs and opened investigations into teachers over comments about founder Charlie Kirk’s killing. State leaders say more than 500 Texas high schools already host Club America chapters, and the group is pushing for 20,000 high school chapters nationwide. (Texas Tribune / The Guardian / The Hill)
⏭️ Notably Next: The 2026 midterms are in 329 days.
A suggestion to the people currently care-taking for the Star Trek franchise, one that Larry and David Ellison may well try to prevent the heeding of: the writing teams need people who have served in military or NGO contexts, or have survived as refugees and/or dissidents.
Plans for the Forgotten By Dialecticdreamer/Sarah Williams Part 1 of 2, complete Word count (story only): 1270 [early December of 2016]
:: Frank wants to throw a holiday bash for his new people. He gets help from a surprising source. Part of the City Engines story arc, written for the December of 2025 ongoing prompt call. Thank you to all of my fantastic readers! ::
On to part two
“Frank,” the city treasurer told him kindly, “you’re representing some of the poorest people in the city. Why are you checking out the rules for private gatherings? And the catering companies used for city council nights?”
Frank turned, tucking his hands behind his back, aware of the oil still trapped under his fingernails despite scrubbing his hands for half an hour this morning. “Have you ever been the one staring at the window of the candy shop with pockets so empty there’s not even any lint in them?” he asked softly. “Worse, have you ever been the foster kid sent to ‘respite’ care so the foster parents don’t have to buy you a present, even one, for the biggest holiday in the American calendar?”
Wanda Scudderling winced. “Ouch. No. So you want to what, put together a catered meal for your constituents? A neighborhood block party?” ( Read more... )
The paper was published in the journal Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology in 2000, and recently revealed emails from within Monsanto show that eight people within that corp wrote the paper and it was proposed that Monsanto people write another paper and have academics edit and apply their names to it.
The paper was cited by the Environmental Protection Agency in approving Roundup for common use, saying it "posed no health risks to humans – no cancer risks, no reproductive risks, no adverse effects on development of endocrine systems in people or animals."
I remember a news program, perhaps British, was interviewing a Monsanto exec who was praising the safety of Roundup, claiming that it was perfectly safe to drink. The interviewer pulled out a transparent glass of clear liquid, and said it was a glass of Roundup, and offered it to the exec to drink as a proof. The exec blanched and blustered and didn't drink it.
An EPA spokesperson said that they did not rely solely on this paper to clear Roundup for use.
You'd think we'd get snow, but no. Tomorrow's forecast thus far calls for a "wintery mix". The only wintery mix I want is cocoa and marshmallows, not whatever the hell happens to fall from the sky like soggy doom confetti.
19F, jesus. At least it'll be warmer tomorrow. Warm enough to get a fucking wintery mix instead of snow, which is what we really want.
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