The World Meteorological Organisation says that a lightning bolt in the southern United States that spread 768km across the sky has broken the record for the longest single flash, equivalent to the distance between London and Hamburg. ⚡️⚡️⚡️
And he’s know for being a sex-crazed homosexual one at that. Who can’t adore such a reptile?
In an article published by Nature Communications, an international team of astronomers confirms the existence of a second asteroid with an orbit similar to that of our planet.
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo is celebrating its first chick to hatch from an egg cared for by a pair of male penguins who are now raising the chick together.
This morning, the Swedish government announced plans to remove most restrictions against Covid-19 on 9 February. 🥳🎉
Facebook is taking a big hit from Apple’s privacy changes and showed the first quarterly decline in daily active users on record.
“Haredi [ultra-Orthodox] community refuses to donate blood because the forms of the donation changed the categories to ‘parent 1’ and ‘parent 2’, instead of ‘mother’ and ‘father’,” Ynetnews reports.
The University of Granada in Spain has launched a new computer called Albaícin, which has a massive 822 teraflops of processing power. One teraflop is the equivalent of one trillion calculations per second.
Soon we know the question to 42.
The Guardian report that scientists in South Africa are keeping their eyes on a Covid Omicron variant, which is appearing in greater numbers in the country.
The findings of the study were published today in Science. Good news is that current drugs seem to work against this new version.
It’s called Neuralink and Fortune runs a story about it. I’m fascinated. But why stop at an implant, why not a full brain transplant?
Been travelling all day. Back in Malmö now. It’s cold. Brrr…
The American death toll from Covid-19 hit 900,000 last week, Medical Xpress reports.
Fascinating new study published by Science.
In a new study published by Nature, the researchers write:
We provide evidence that the Norse were active on the North American continent in the year AD 1021. This date offers a secure juncture for late Viking chronology. More importantly, it acts as a new point-of-reference for European cognisance of the Americas, and the earliest known year by which human migration had encircled the planet. In addition, our research demonstrates the potential of the AD 993 anomaly in atmospheric 14C concentrations for pinpointing the ages of past migrations and cultural interactions. Together with other cosmic-ray events, this distinctive feature will allow for the exact dating of many other archaeological and environmental contexts.
A new pull by the European Council on Foreign Relations suggests most Europeans would want Nato and the EU to stand with Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion of the country.
The Los Angeles Times reports that retired Pope Benedict XVI has asked forgiveness for his handling of clergy sex-abuse cases but denied any wrongdoing.
Arrogant prick!
The Jerusalem Post reports that China’s communist regime has asked Chinese students in Israel to collect information on local media.
It might seem innocent enough, but using students as spies is part of a trend. I get the feeling we’re rapidly heading back to the Cold War. Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran are all flexing their muscles and making clear that they are no fans of Western democracy. It’s frightening to say the least.
Sarah Hoyt is fed up with Europeans bashing America. I don’t blame her. Many has a very bizarre persecution of the United States.
In an open letter, some Russians still dare to object to Putin.
Diane Francis writes:
The mere threat has interrupted Ukraine’s trajectory of economic growth, foreign direct investment, judicial and political reform measures, and growing confidence, perhaps for years.
People leave, businesses close, transactions are frozen or abandoned, commercial flights are canceled, and the future is unknown. Uncertainty has also rattled the European Union and NATO itself, along with all those neighboring nations who remain outside of one or both organizations.
The Left often speaks fondly of inflation, as opposed to austerity. They say it benefits the poor. They’re wrong. Dead wrong.
From the Washington Post:
Lower-income workers like Rodriguez have seen some of the fastest wage growth of the pandemic era. But those gains are being eroded by the highest inflation in 40 years, and Rodriguez’s paycheck doesn’t go as far as it used to. A mother of three, Rodriguez has to budget $200 a week for child care and $200 a month for the water bill. The pack of paper towels she buys went from $14 to $18.
David Martin writes:
U.S. officials say Russia now has 80% of the forces it will need to launch a full-scale invasion, and the rest are en route. More than 100,000 Russian troops are amassed along Ukraine’s borders—to the east, in Russia, and the north, in Belarus.
“Pretend for a moment that the Vatican has in its possession some sacred and precious relics that were originally in the Herodian Jewish Temple located in Jerusalem 1,950 years ago,” Jerusalem Post writes.
If true, I would be truly historic—in every sense of the word.
Vegetius would know what to do about Russia.
Britain’s most randy royal, Prince Andrew, has reached a settlement in the civil sex claim filed by Virginia Giuffre in the US, the Guardian reports.
I’m watching a new documentary on conspiracy theorists and the Extreme Right. In the post-truth era, these’s people are no marginal phenomenon any more. They win elections. Scary stuff.
A great American political satirist has left us.
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary general, says Russia is building up its military forces on Ukraine’s border with more troops on their way, contradicting Moscow’s claims of a drawdown.
Kremlin is lying. Big surprise! Not.
Jean-Michel Basquiat is one of my favourite artists, and I would have loved to see these new paintings in Orlando—even if they turn out to be fake.
Good news! Today, the European Court of Justice gave the green light to the EU to suspend funds to member states that break rule-of-law principles.
According to NATO, there are now several reports of multiple shelling incidents.
Ah, how the stupid can entertain! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Adding to the already fierce tensions, Ukraine and Moscow-backed separatists traded accusations of intensifying shell fire across their frontline, with Western officials saying Moscow was looking to create a pretext for an invasion,” AFP writes. “The threat of an invasion is ‘very high, because they have not moved any of their troops out. They’ve moved more troops in,’ US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House.”
“We cannot allow Russia’s neo-imperial appetites to shape politics and determine the sovereignty of states," Mateusz Morawiecki said in Brussels earlier today.
The percentage of American adults who self-identify as gay, trans, or something other than heterosexual has increased to a new high of 7.1%, Gallup reports.
In a new study published the journal Nature Human Behaviour, scientist make findings that go against the assumption that mental processing speed declines from a peak at age 20. Good news for us with a few years left to complete dumbness.
In a study published in the journal Nature, researchers from the European Southern Observatory have detected a supermassive black hole that was hiding in a ring of cosmic dust. It’s in a galaxy located about 47 million light-years from Earth.
In a paper published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe, a team of researchers affiliated has found evidence of the presence of certain bacteriophages in the gut promoting better executive function and memory in humans.
The same politician from the Sweden Democrats has raged online about criminal immigrants posing a threat. Now he’s in custody on suspicion of a brutal murder. Why do I get the feeling that many racists project their own shortcomings onto foreigners?
In a translation by James Easby-Smith:
I feel the coming of the flowery Spring,
Wakening tree and vine;
A bowl capacious quickly bring
And mix the honeyed wine.Weave for my throat a garland of fresh dill,
And crown my head with flowers,
And o’er my breast sweet perfumes spill
In aromatic showers.
“The omens of impending war we were warned about now seem to be lining up like the horsemen of the apocalypse,” Julian Borger of the Guardian writes.
| Gold | Sweden |
| Silver | Britain |
| Bronze | Canada |
I’m not big on sports, but I actually watched the game earlier today.
The Cuban regime says it will deepen ties with Russian and explore collaboration in transportation, energy, industry, and banking.
Of course they will! One totalitarian regime wooing another. 🤮
The two separate teams of analysers say they have found linguistic fingerprints. They point to a man named Paul Furber.
Good news!
“Amid the Russian threat and security challenges facing Europe as a result of Russia’s military build-up along Ukraine’s borders, the European Union intends to further deepen economic and political rapprochement with Ukraine, including by holding a donors conference to support its economy,” the Kyiv Post reports.
This is what a sexologist tells Swedish tabloid Expressen, and who am I to question science?
It’s cold. It’s raining. There’s a storm ongoing. And it’s another month or so until spring. I just want to crawl into bed and stay there until April.
Sky News reports that the British government warns Russia’s playbook for launching military action against Ukraine has begun to play out in real time.
The president of the International Rescue Committee writes that very soon, 97% of Afghans could be living below the international poverty line of $1.90 a day, and one million children are at risk of dying from starvation. “At this rate, not only will precious development gains be lost, but the current humanitarian crisis could kill far more Afghans than the past 20 years of war.”
BBC reports that Putin now has recognised Lukansk and Donetsk as independent states. It’s a breach of international law and an infringement of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Le Monde reports that the far-right candidate has suspended her campaign to focus on obtaining the support of 500 mayors necessary to run. So far, she has only 393.
It doesn’t take more than a panel discussion on queer theology for these people to lose it.
A new study published in the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience finds that the parts of the brain that were activated suggests we could enter a peaceful dreamlike state that feels similar to meditation.
A new study published in the journal Cell Reports gives hope.
The war is on.
Putin’s war on Ukraine has arrived in Kyiv. After listening to his televised speech from an hour ago, I think he’s mad. It’s a mental health issue.
It’s a day the will be in future history books. Early this morning, Russia attacked Ukraine and sparked what might become the biggest war in Europe since 1945.
I’ve been glued to news channels on television, radio, and the Internet all day. It’s truly a sad day for Europe. Russia has shattered peace in our continent for reasons that seem purely fictional. I don’t think this is matter that will be solved with anything less than the toppling of the Putin regime. The problem is, of course, that Russia, even though it’s a poor country, has a strong army that seem loyal to its leader. So what can we do? Well, stop buying anything Russian for a start. No more gas from Russia. No more Aeroflot planes on European tarmac. No visas for Russians, and no international money transfers of Russian bank accounts.
As punishment for being gay and transgender, Magamadov, 21, was sentenced to eight years and Isayev, 19, was sentenced to six years.
The Ukrainian government is handing out machine guns to anyone willing to defend the capital. The next hours and days could prove very bloody. And for what? Putin’s mental breakdown.
The Telegraph reports that the Ukrainian military has destroyed a number of aircrafts at the Russian air base in Millerovo. 👍🇺🇦
This article in Hot Air suggests that things are not going well for the Russians.
The lunatic in the Kremlin is now hiding in the Ural Mountains from where he seems more desperate by the minute. The talk of nuclear attack is absurd. He must know that Russia can’t win such a war.
The European Union to it spend €450 million on weapons and equipment for Ukraine. Good! Makes one proud to be a European.
The EU has published a document explaining what the sanctions against Russia will look like. Read it here.
This makes me proud! ♥️ The decision to send arms—135,000 field rations, 5,000 helmets, and 5,000 pieces of body armour—is the first time Sweden has sent weapons to a country in armed conflict since the Soviet Union attacked Finland in 1939.
Have you seen this man? If so, call Interpol.
This article in Daily Mail makes me wonder if Putin is about to lose Russia, too?