Michel Lind

US Navy tells shipping industry Hormuz escorts not possible for now The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since ​the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high f...

Whoa. This is big. "The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now." www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Thank you! At an event last night I said "If the word hope doesn't work for you try, 'Never fucking surrender.'" The word hope seems too sunny to a lot of people, but the heart of it as I'm interested in it is: we make the future in the present, if we show up, and that never surrender part.

This piece has been updated yet again with the figure Matt Meck saying he was involved with the proposed Trump "national emergency" executive order.

Meck is a board member of the election denial organization Fight Voter Fraud, & is apparently QAnon figure Juan O. Savin's "chief of staff."

ICO writes to Meta over 'concerning' AI smart glasses report Videos, including of glasses-wearers using the toilet or having sex, are sometimes reviewed by a Kenya-based subcontractor.

Last year when I was checking into a hotel, the desk person was wearing Meta glasses. I kindly asked them to take them off. They were annoyed. I said, “I do not consent to you looking at my credit card and ID with Meta glasses on.” My instincts were correct: www.bbc.com/news/article...

The Economics of Technological Change What history and models can (and can’t) tell us about AI

@pkrugman.bsky.social at his most trenchant. The Economics of Technological Change: What history and models can (and can’t) tell us about AI open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

Trump just held a press conference about war with Iran, and spent much of it talking about drapes and his ballroom. I guess those are the drapes of wrath???

This is both an act of war *and* a war crime, as it is similar to cutting off water or destroying power plants. It's designed to kill civilians.

‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone’

‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks

It’s a Wonderful Life bank run scene.

“You're thinking of the $175 billion in tariff money all wrong. As if I had the money back in a safe. The money's not here. Your money's in the White House ballroom, the renaming of the Department of Defense, the $10 billion transfer to the Board of Peace, and a hundred other unauthorized actions.”

"effective immediately all national security tariffs...remain in place, fully in place, and in full force and effect. Today I will sign an order for a 10% global tariff...over and above our normal tariffs"

New definition of sovereignty dropped

As everyone knows, the Country of Canada has treated the United States very unfairly for decades. Now, things are turning around for the U.S.A., and FAST! But imagine, Canada is building a massive bridge between Ontario and Michigan. They own both the Canada and the United States side and, of course, built it with virtually no U.S. content. President Barack Hussein Obama stupidly gave them a waiver so they could get around the BUY AMERICAN Act, and not use any American products, including our Steel. Now, the Canadian Government expects me, as President of the United States, to PERMIT them to just “take advantage of America!” What does the United States of America get — Absolutely NOTHING! Ontario won't even put U.S. spirits, beverages, and other alcoholic products, on their shelves, they are absolutely prohibited from doing so and now, on top of everything else, Prime Minister Carney wants to make a deal with China — which will eat Canada alive. We’ll just get the leftovers! I don't think so. The first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup. The Tariffs Canada charges us for our Dairy products have, for many years, been unacceptable, putting our Farmers at great financial risk. I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve. We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY. With all that we have given them, we should own, perhaps, at least one half of this asset. The revenues generated because of the U.S. Market will be astronomical. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Trump, in the middle of his latest unhinged Truth Social screed, claims that if Canada makes a trade deal with China, "the first thing China will do is terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada, and permanently eliminate The Stanley Cup."

ICE funding exceeds the military budgets of all but 15 countries. This table ranks the proposed $30 billion ICE budget for 2026 among the largest military budgets worldwide. It has 3 columns — ranking, military or agency, and funding — and 40 rows, 39 of which are country military budgets and 1 is the ICE budget. ICE is ranked 16th, larger than the military budgets of countries including Canada, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Sweden, Iran, and Switzerland. The ICE budget refers to the proposed 2026 discretionary spending in H.R.7147 plus average annual reconciliation funding in P.L.119-21. Military budgets are sourced from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Chart and analysis by Stephen Semler.

After a string of ICE murders, Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries proposed reforms — and $11 billion more for ICE.

Including reconciliation bill funding, the Schumer-Jeffries plan would give ICE a $30 billion budget, higher than all but 15 militaries worldwide:
www.stephensemler.com/p/democratic...

Emerging from his viewing of the UNRELEASED Epstein case files at Justice Dept, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) says:

"The Dept of Justice has been in a cover-up mode for months... trying to sweep the entire thing under the rug"

1/ ProPublica collected handwritten letters in mid-January from children held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, the same facility where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was taken.

Hundreds of kids are still detained.

We’ll let the children’s words speak for themselves. 🧵

Trumprx screen shot showing he cost for protonix brand name is 200.10 using trumprx

Goodrx showing the exact same price $200.10

Hey so trumprx actually went live and it's got the same cost savings as goodrx. Exactly the same. However it's worse because it doesn't include generics. Generic protonix is about $6.

This literally does nothing. What a joke.

"Twitter is cooking their brains" theory looking pretty strong

Virginia’s New Governor Ends ICE Program. Local Contracts Remain, For Now. - Bolts Abigail Spanberger left the 287(g) program, which empowered state law enforcement to detain immigrants. Will Democrats also bar local police and sheriffs from the program?

NEW: Abigail Spanberger this afternoon ordered that all state agencies leave ICE's 287(g) program.

This means that the state police (and some other agencies) will no longer be empowered to detain and arrest people for ICE.

Big, big move by the governor within weeks of coming into office.

It’s insane how regulated and certified for safety every little aspect of an aircraft must be, but cars are out there trapping people inside as they burn to death is somehow a big ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ to regulators

Pediatric Cancer Bill Torpedoed by Elon, Rand, and Bernie Finally Passes It had broad bipartisan support but passage still required years of heartbreaking lobbying by extraordinarily dedicated children.

"'Two of them specifically talked about that in the last days and weeks of their lives, that this is how they wanted to make a difference on earth, by getting this bill passed. This gave them a feeling of purpose.'"

It finally did:

Luigi Mangione surrounded by flames grinning with the text Repent or Perish

Westboro Baptist Church tried to make an Anti-Luigi Mangione poster but it just looks like Luigi is threatening billionaires and goes unironically hard af

Kindergarten teacher wants kindergartener deported YouTube video by Ben Palmer

Kindergarten teacher called a prank ICE hotline thinking it was real. She called to report her 6 year old student to ICE to try to get them and their family deported.

6 years old.

She does not enjoy hearing her own words and actions played back to her.

SHOCKING FEDERAL COURT MOMENT: DOJ attorney Julie Le, "The system sucks, this job sucks" to Judge Jerry Blackwell who pressed her on why so many court orders are being ignored by ICE/Trump admin. She asked to be held in contempt just so she could get 24 hours of sleep. @FOX9

This is unreal. An AUSA talking like that in open court is about as close as you can come to a total breakdown. Never heard of anything like it.

Amended Complaint – #12 in Pocock v. Software in the Public Interest, Inc. (S.D.N.Y., 1:25-cv-03883) – CourtListener.com Amended Complaint

There's a guy who used to be involved in Debian and got kicked out for being awful who has since then involved himself in a series of weird stuff like posting stuff under other people's names but anyway he's apparently filed a 386 page lawsuit in New York storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

This race was such a massive swing blowout that Democrat Taylor Rehmet literally won a city called White Settlement

I was curious about whether this was just named after somebody named “White” but no they literally called it this because it was a settlement of white people

Just got gassed pretty good at the labor union anti-ICE protest in Portland. Massive march, 5-10k strong. Vibes were very much liberal rather than radical. Lots of kids and older folks.

They gassed the whole crowd as soon as it marched on ICE, in broad daylight.

This is just insane. It’s only a matter of time before DHS kills another innocent person here.

(clip via MPR and @davidjbier.bsky.social on X)

I am introducing the Cut It Out And This Time I Really Mean It bill. It provides an additional $57 billion to the murder goons but they will agree to wear business casual Monday through Thursday and if they do any murders they have to put a dollar in this jar.

ICE Begins Buying ‘Mega’ Warehouse Detention Centers Across US Plans for such centers and jails in nearly two dozen communities have sparked protests over suitability, proximity to homes and schools.

BIG news from @bloomberg.com, which confirms that ICE has gone ahead and *purchased* multiple commercial warehouses with the aim of converting them into mass detention camps.

This is likely to be the big detention story of 2026 — literal warehousing of people.
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...