https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/us/politics/republicans-trump-greenland.html A small but growing group of Republicans in Congress is expressing openness to President Trump’s increasingly explicit push to acquire Greenland, along with his desire to punish European allies who resist the idea. ... with the president stepping up his threats and showing no sign of backing down, Republicans across the ideological spectrum are increasingly finding ways to defend or justify his threats — or embrace them altogether.

ew. More deadly imports from Mexico.

If the body can adapt to gravity on Mars, it should be able to adapt back to gravity on Earth on return.

Another vote for Chiangmai if you are open to mountain view. I didn't say anything before because you seemed set on beach/ocean view. Phuket's ocean view was very beautiful in my recollection, but it has been over three decades since I last been there so my information is outdated.

@Horace said in The Epstein File: Are we all supposed to pretend that a novelty letter from Trump to his one-time friend Jeffrey Epstein is something that will require wagon circling? Trump can plausibly claim to not know about it, maybe an assistant wrote it, maybe Epstein had someone write it to make it look like Trump wrote it. There will be no hard evidence and nothing will come of it. This is pretty stupid. I've reached out to Hanania - and he has apologized, and vowed to stop posting stupid shit. I appreciated it, and forgave him. He's a good kid, if way too racist for my tastes. [image: 29868d0883d9383ee0dd34bc743e801a] Replica of the "allege" birthday card from President Trump to Mr. Epstein on the National Mall today.

LOL

@Jolly said in Most regretted and least regretted college majors: Classic liberal arts education here. Over 80 hours science courses, 16 hours math & physics, but ...Fortunate enough to have 12 hours English & Literature, 12 hours theology and basic philosophy, along with a smattering of other odds and ends. A good bit of those non-STEM courses are what makes adaptable adults. And many of them were core curriculum classes. I think core curriculum classes should be mandatory at any university. https://capitalpost.uk/education/universities/us-humanities-face-existential-crisis-amid-university-cuts.html In a powerful act of protest, students at Montclair State University in New Jersey recently gathered for a sombre mock funeral outside their college of humanities and social sciences. Carrying flowers, they stood before a tombstone inscribed with the names of 15 departments, including English, history, and sociology, symbolising what they see as the death of these disciplines at the hands of university administrators. and At its core, the conflict reveals a fundamental disagreement about the purpose of a university education. On one side, increasingly corporatised administrations favour market-driven metrics, enrolment figures, and job-placement rates. On the other, defenders of the humanities argue their value to critical thought, ethical reasoning, and democratic society cannot be quantified. "The humanities simply don't fit a corporate model because they are just not monetizable in the same way," explained Adam Rzepka, an English professor at Montclair State.

said in Nobel Peace Prize Laureate is….: Thailand/Cambodia - I think that President Trump had something to do with the ceasefire, but the overall situation is really unchanged, other than the PM of Thailand has been removed and replaced. Update from mid December: There have been artillery exchanges all along the 800km (500-mile) border, and intense close-quarter battles between Thai and Cambodian soldiers for control of a few forested hilltops. The Thai air force has had a free hand bombing targets inside Cambodia, which has limited air defences and no air force of its own to speak of. Cambodia's feared BM21 rockets, an inherently inaccurate weapon, have rained down on the Thai side of the border, killing a civilian and injuring others, despite an early evacuation by the authorities. The above was taken from a pretty good article on what is happening. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0mpje3e2xmo

@jon-nyc said in Mildly interesting: It is. By odd coincidence, this is the opening sentence of his column today. The Democratic Party’s future — if it wants one; the evidence is mixed — should be based on candidates who understand that U.S. politics, when healthy, takes place between the 40-yard lines, contesting the center of the field. Exactly. The middle decides things, but too oftentimes, the party's seem to lean towards the outsides.

https://x.com/michaelbd/status/2013785979719446716?s=46

How did she get into the store. (I suppose she walked in like she walked out). I feel bad for her. I would not think that anybody would want to live life like that. Probably part genes and part bad habits, etc.

Do you have a choice of which color "team" (black, white or silver) you guys will be part of? But +1 on what others have said. Appears that it will be a lot of fun.

Good to see every body again also!!

[image: 1768959734076-img_0025.jpeg]

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/off-duty-twin-cities-officers-profiled-ice/ Police chief says 'Off-duty Twin Cities officers among those "targeted" by ICE agents looking for proof of U.S. citizenship' ... "I wish I could tell you that this was an isolated incident. In fact, many of the chiefs standing behind me have similar incidents with their off-duty officers," [police chief] Bruley said.

He is clever. That’s as close an ambiguous compliment as I would make of “it”.

Brilliant. The crazy hot scale in geekspeak.

@Mik said in The Bluebirds of Happiness: That's where you went, isn't it? JMU? Haha yes, undergrade JMU. Masters at Syracuse. We're only partially bitter about JMU because with the portal system, players use JMU to get exposure then they leave. We're basically a stepping stone for players so it's extremely hard to build the program, especially since we just joined the FBS a few years ago. Yet we did somehow make the playoffs this year and put up more against Oregon than any other team.

@kluurs said in Hi Fi on the cheap...: @Doctor-Phibes said in Hi Fi on the cheap...: @kluurs could I ask what headphones you use? I have strange compulsion to spend a lot of money, and I'm looking at options.... That sounds totally unreasonable to me. I have a few headphones - but pertinent to this discussion are the Sennheiser 800 - now somewhat superseded by the 800s and a pair of HiFiMan HE1000SE. Both are considered some of the best for natural music - classical music. I also have a pair of Stax electrostatic headphones - that really sparkle - but that's a rabbit hole you don't want to consider unless bank fraud, lottery wins or spouse inheritances are considered. If I were to choose a single pair - I might try the Sennheiser 800S or the HD600. They're well made - decent quality and great sound. The HiFiMan HE1000SE is a great one for classical music. Check out your local Facebook Marketplace for a deal if you're not in a rush. Sometimes, one can find a great deal on a new or nearly new set. There are crazier people out there. Thank you! I'm in no rush. My Sennheiser HD 580 are supposedly quite similar to the HD600, but they're about 20 years old, and I've replaced quite few bits over the years, but they still sound reasonable to me at least. However, there's always a bigger fish, or something.