but the bravest by far in the ranks of the shah (13. 411)

Observed the day after today’s V-E day celebrations, the Victory Day parade commemorating the Soviet Union’s defeat of Nazi Germany will be a very much scaled back affair, featuring no marshalling of rockets and heavy equipment in Moscow for the first time in almost twenty years and no coverage by the foreign press (as well as an internet blackout, the increasing frequency finally grating on the Russian public seemingly more than any of the other hardships or sacrifices of the special military operation) as the war in Ukraine has dragged on longer than the Red Army’s action in WWII. The expected quieter streets of Red Square are owing to heightened security concerns due to the ongoing conflict, framed by the Russian leader as a continuation as the fight against fascism; exacerbated by the fact that neither Moscow nor Kiev would commit to a ceasefire for the public holiday, Putin alone with his ranks, to avoid a large gathering that may be vulnerable to attack. Russia has vowed to bomb the Ukrainian capital should they attempt any disruption.

day fifty-five (13. 376)

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two cargo ships attempting to bypass their control of the Strait of Hormuz, releasing cinematic footage of their capture—marking the first such detainments since the start of the war at the end of February. The White House did not consider the action to be a violation of the ceasefire, indefinitely extended due to the stalemate in arranging peace talks—the major sticking point being the US blockade of the Persian Gulf—as they were not American or Israeli flagged vessels. The administration expressed satisfaction with the maritime embargo as the US secretary of the navy abruptly resigned, effective immediately, without explanation. The acting under-secretary is Hung Cao, a MAGA loyalist who ran two unsuccessful campaigns for a seat in Virginia on an extreme Christian nationalist platform. Türkiye says that the prolonged war is significantly weakening the EU, as with Hungarian opposition removed with the defeat of Orban the ninety billion euro aid package for Ukraine is approved by the bloc. Lebanese officials are requesting an extension of their ceasefire with Israel.

synchronoptica

one year ago: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (with synchronopticæ), assorted links to revisit plus more on The Peculiar Manicule

thirteen years ago: the fight for digital liberties 

fourteen years ago: Saint George 

fifteen years ago: German Beer Day 

sixteen years ago: voluntary electronic surveillance 

centre to centre-right (13. 346)

Fears that there would be no peaceful transition of power dissipating when the incumbent conceded defeat rather soon after polls closed and results came in and congratulated his challenger in the incoming prime minister Péter Magyar, Viktor Orbán and his Russian-aligned Fidesz party lost control of Hungary after a reign of sixteen years by a landslide with the voters turn-out the highest it had been since the fall of Communism in the early 1990s. The victory of Magyar’s Tisza movement, possibly securing a supermajority in parliament, whilst still socially conservative, is seen as a rebuke to far-right parties in Europe and aims for greater integration into the EU and signals cooperation with EU priorities, including aid for Ukraine and mutual defence, economically, militarily and environmentally and away from the regressive policies of illiberal democracy. JD Vance’s Thursday night political stumping for Orbán did not translate to a positive outcome and may be a preview of what’s to come for MAGA in the States.

9x9 (13. 340)

sen̓áḵw: the return of a Squamish Nation village exempt from zoning laws and an elegant solution to Vancouver’s housing shortage—first heard on NPR  

patience: a meditation on Solitaire—see previously  

tanker war: veterans of the 1981-1988 Persian Gulf crisis share flash-back inducing parallels  

granny shelf: an appreciation of the overlooked products in one’s grocery aisle—via Web Curios  

rückenfigur: a retrospective exhibition of Expressionist artist Gabriele Münter  

season ticket: brilliant vintage bus passes of the Milwaukee metro  

easter armistice: attacks continue as thirty-six hour truce for the Orthodox holiday between Ukraine and Russia approaches  

phreak box: an emulation of tones that hacked payphones—via Kottke—see previously  

diego garcia: US opposition forces UK to abandon plans to return the Chagos islands to Mauritius

day twelve (13. 254)

As global oil supplies are disrupted with the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (contrary to earlier claims, the US navy had not escorted an oil tanker for safe passage, though Iran’s capability to deploy mines in the sea route seems to be hampered), many importers, particularly in the Far East and contemplating easing Russian sanctions to fill the gap and keep their economies running, replenishing the Kremlin’s war chest for its continued assault on Ukraine. US secretary of war announced that the next wave of strikes against Tehran will be even more intense as Trump again mulls over the idea of sending in special forces to secure Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, sticking to his demands of complete surrender. The American administration reportedly requested that Israel stop attacking energy infrastructure, signalling the first disagreement between the allied aggressors since the beginning of the assault after toxic smoke and acid rain from burning refineries blanketed the capital, precipitating an environmental disaster and making the populace ill. Differences also emerge between the US president and vice president on embarking on this military adventure. Iran’s chief of police announces that protesters will be treated as enemies, reigniting the crackdown on anti-government demonstrations and imposing curfews.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ), tariff tantrums plus renewed overtures for Greenland

twelve years ago: EU and US reactions to the annexation of the Crimean peninsula plus the hierarchy of security clearances

thirteen years ago: upcoming Pi Day 

fifteen years ago: funerary arts in Germany 

sixteen years ago: the Holy Sea’s chief exorcist 

day seven (13. 237)

Israeli defence forces issuing evacuation orders for neighbourhoods south of the Lebanese capital of Beirut, urging hundreds of thousands to leave the suburbs purportedly under control of Hezbollah, and in turn Hezbollah tells Israeli civilians living near the border to leave. Ukraine’s offer for technical assistance in thwarting Iranian Shahed drone attacks is accepted as Gulf states express discontent and frustration with the continued assault for hosting American assets, given no time to prepare little cover. The US grants Indian refineries a waiver to temporarily purchase Russian oil, just after pressured by the administration to extend sanctions to help end the war in Ukraine. A Democratic-backed measure to halt hostilities in the US congress without the consent of legislature was blocked by Republicans, allowing Trump to continue the expanding—Azerbaijan has been drawn in after an aerial assault on its Nakhchivan exclave, though Iran denies involvement—and chaotic fighting unimpeded by convention or formal declaration. Trump also insists to be part of the decision-making process for the appointment of Iran’s new Supreme Leader. 

7x7 (13. 205)

merrie melodies: Turner Movie Classics (TMC) has acquired Looney Tunes and will begin pairing the animated shorts with the main features from Warner Brothers studios as they were originally shown in theatres  

el mencho: Mexico deploys thousands of troops to quell violence after death of cartel boss 

taco tuesdays: Trump global tariffs come in at a lower ten percent rate 

there’s no grace period so that’s a way in which i see us losing the interstitial: arguments for deplatforming oneself 

slava ukraini: Zelenskyy’s address to the nation on the fourth anniversary since the Russia invasion, extending an invitation to Trump to see who the real aggressors are  

i’m sorry but you can’t just name a weather event bombogenesis: tracking the winter storm slamming the North American eastern seaboard and other news 

all ages: the concert archive of Lynn Fisher—via Waxy

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Ukraine war enters its fourth year (with synchronopticæ), assorted links worth the revisit plus Marbury v Madison

twelve years ago: revolutionary plaza plus positive psychology

thirteen years ago: Freistaat Flaschenhals plus the waning potency of pesticides

fifteen years ago: arch villains  

sixteen years ago: spending priorities 

transneft (13. 204)

Whilst the EU has an embargo on the importation of Russia oil and gas since its invasion of Ukraine, landlocked Slovakia and Hungary have been granted a special carve-out to continue to receive fuel transiting through the besieged country from Tarastan via the Druzhba (Дружба, “friendship”) pipeline operating since 1964 in the spirit of mutual assistance for Eastern European satellites. Subject to frequent sabotage since the invasion, the latest supply disruption happening at the end of January, resulting from what Kiev maintains to be the result of a Russian drone attack on a pumping substation straining already tense relations among the neighbouring countries, the members Slovakia and Hungary accusing Ukraine of delaying repairs and the latter suspending electricity delivery and both vetoing materiel and financial aid and the prospect of future EU membership. Whilst putting pressure on Ukraine for resolution and restart the flow of oil from this principal artery, there was no justification for long-term exceptions to the sanctions and stalling Ukraine’s assistance or accession to the Bloc, logistic alternatives through Czechia possible. Now on the eve of the war entering its fifth year, facilities have been struck again—Moscow citing debris from a UAV attack, making the situation and unanimous support an even more fraught prospect.

the power of the people is stronger than the people in power (13. 192)

As we are informed by MetaFilter, for Ash Wednesday, Irish band U2 released a surprise extended play collection of six tracks called Days of Ash—their first recording since 2017 originally planned for later this year but decided that they couldn’t wait as the songs were growing more and more impatient and urgent by the day. The below lead is dedicated to Renée Good and the resistance of Minneapolis and others deal with the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, also paying tribute to Iranian teenager Sarina Esmailzadeh killed during protests and Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen. Postcards from the present moment, the album reaffirms the group’s political boldness and combines biblical allegory with partisan messaging. “The Tears of Things” and “Yours Eternally” was especially powerful.

[sic] semper tyrranis (13. 185)

Called “the slit-nosed”—ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhīnótmētos—though likely not to his face, Justinian II, last Byzantine emperor of the Heraclian dynasty, a period of transition that saw the cultural shift from Roman antiquity to medieval and Turkic and who first reigned from 785 to 695, exiled because of unpopular tax policies, deposed, his nose cut off and exiled to Cherson in Crimea and returned to the throne in 705 with the help of his supporters and Khazar authorities eager to be rid of this liability to the theme (θέμα, an administrative district of the Empire) who helped him to get back to Constantinople on a fishing boat, with the backing of Bulgarian dissidents and enthroned, fronting a nasal prothesis made of solid gold, on this day in 706, having tracked down his predecessors (the one before his first term and the one from his interregum) and political rivals, had them brought in chains to the hippodrome on this day in 706, trod on their necks and ordered them to be execution by beheading, along with multitudes of their partisans as well as blinding banishing the patriarch. His second reign marked by unsuccessful military adventures against the Khanate of Bulgaria and the Caliphate—with the former playing a pivotal role in his return to power and now Byzantium turning against his allies, whom had also provided Justinian with a bride, renamed Theodora after the wife of his namesake, and cruel suppression of his opposition, imposing the pope in Rome’s authority over the rump state of Ravenna and indirectly causing the Great Schism with puppet papacy. An uprising in Cherson itself saw Justinian taken capture and executed on the fourth of November of the year 711) five insufferable years later), his disembodied head being put on public display in Ravenna as well as in Rome. Upon hearing of his death, heir apparent Tiberius and regnant mother sought sanctuary in a church but were dragged from the altar and killed, thus ensuring the end of the family line.

utilising the us military is always an option at the commander-in-chief’s disposal (13. 064)

Yesterday’s summit hosted in Paris attended by a dozen EU nations—“the coalition of the willing”—during which Macron, Starmer and Merz pledged to station troops as peacekeepers in a post-armistice Ukraine, with such security protocols endorsed by the Trump administration was a significant accomplishment even though the meeting itself was rather a split-screen of trust and distrust. Russian opposition to a permanent NATO defence force makes the deployment seem unlikely to materialise and pointedly leaders, after having issued a rather vague and tepid strongly worded statement in support of Denmark and Greenland’s right to self-determination and freedom from outside interference, were questioned by the press what value the commitments carried when Washington, a threat from within, is scheming to forcibly annex the sovereign territory of another NATO partner. The overtures have turned into unveiled threats (particularly unnerving after the abduction of Venezuelan president Maduro—Afghanistan has vast untapped mineral wealth which the US was occupying but abandoned under a deal set up under Trump and few would mourn the kidnapping of the Taliban now) despite the fact the US already has a space base on the world’s largest island and has access to Greenlandic resources already with Trump arguing untruly that the Arctic sea lanes are congested with Russian and Chinese ships and that America needs a firmer foothold and greater, exclusive dominance for hemispheric security.

synchronoptica

one year ago: moderating social media (with synchronopticæ), president-elect tries to rename Gulf of Mexico plus England’s Home of Mystery

twelve years ago: skeuomorphism plus phrenological projections

thirteen years ago: an Art Nouveau candelabra 

fourteen years ago: plant updates, a typeface identifier plus a trip to the spa

fifteen years ago: global economic woes 

sixteen years ago: a look back at the Millennial Bug 

 

mmxxv (13. 042)

As this year draws to a close and we look forward to 2026, we take the time agin to reflect on a selection of some of the things and events that took place during the past twelve months. Thanks as always for visiting. We’ve made it through another wild year together.

 january: a vehicle ramming attack kills ten and injures dozens in central New Orleans.  After a five year deal expires without renewal, Russian gas can no longer be piped through Ukraine to the EU as the continent braces for a cold winter.  After a decade as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau announces he will step aside.  An earthquake strikes the holy city of Shigatse in Tibet.  Wind-swept wildfires devastate southern California.  Joe Biden and others eulogise Jimmy Carter for his state funeral.  After the US supreme court rejects a petition to delay sentencing over his hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, Trump becomes a convicted felon, although given an unqualified discharge by the presiding judge and will serve no time.  Sunset Boulevard is unrecognisable after being engulfed by wildfires.  Israel and Hamas appear close to reaching a truce to bring about a permanent ceasefire.  Former Fox News host Pete Hegseth faces a gruelling nomination hearing in congress for role of secretary of defence.  Donald Trump is inaugurated for a second time and unleashes a flurry of executive orders, including a hiring freeze, immediate rescinding of Biden era policies, removal of DEI initiatives within the federal government and contracting partners, declaring that there are two genders only, issuing a blanket pardon to the January Sixth rioters in an attempt to reframe and rewrite history, freezing virtually all foreign aid, closing the borders and vowing to unleash agents to facilitate mass-deportations.  Cabinet nominees are approved by the US senate, including, narrowly—Trump’s pick to head the Department of Defence.  Trump proposes that Gaza be depopulated of Palestinians and urges neighbouring Egypt and Jordan to take in all displaced individuals.  A scrappy open-source AI developed in China on a shoe-string budget knock a trillion dollar hole in the grift-cum-technofedualism markets in the US.  Prolific blog commentator and good soul XOXOXOBruce (see more here and here) has passed away.  A passenger plane collides with a Blackhawk helicopter over Washington, DC, killing all, including members from American and Russian figure skating teams.  Iconic entertainer Marianne Faithfull passes away, aged 78. Mexico, Canada and China hit back against US tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.  The government of El Salvador agrees to allow the US to offshore its most dangerous incarcerated population.  A deadly shooting occurs at a continuing education centre in Örebro.  Trump meets with Netayahu and offers to own the Gaza Strip and redevelop it, expelling the Palestinian population.

february: Novelist Tom Robbins dead, aged 92.  Relenting on implementing tariffs for Mexico and Canada after security promises already underway, Trump shocks the markets by imposing a twenty-five percent duty on all aluminium and steel globally.  Trump orders federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against disgraced New York City mayor Eric Adams after repeated attempts to curry favour with the president.  The Aga Khan passes away, aged 88. Boycotts to protest inflation and A ramming attacked is perpetrated in München, ploughing into a crowd of union protesters, a day ahead of the Munich Security Conference.  Pope Francis is hospitalised with double pneumonia, his prognosis for recovery guarded.   Veteran actor Gene Hackman found dead, aged 95, at home along with his wife and dog.

march: By executive order, Trump makes English the official language of the United States.  Israel blocks humanitarian aid from entering Gaza, demanding that Hamas abide by changed conditions dictated by the US, leading by mid-month to a resumption in airstrikes on the territory.  Rosenstolz singer AnNa R passes away, aged 55.  A French politician calls for the return of the Statue of Liberty.  After rejecting a previously brokered US peace deal, during a telephone call with Trump, Putin signals he will agree to a thirty-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure.  Boxer and entrepreneur George Foreman passes away, aged 76.  Germany’s marked fiscal pivot to embrace debt and invest in defence stunned fellow EU members.  Trump’s commerce secretary proposes cutting the social security safety net for seniors and the disabled.  Arrest and detention of Erdoğan rival and Istanbul mayor ignites protests in Türkiye.  Wildfires ravage South Korea.  A coalition of the willing convene in Paris in solidarity with Ukraine, fearful of the outcome of a US-brokered deal with Russia.  Thousands dead and many more displaced after an earthquake ravages Myanmar.  Globally, thousands participate in Tesla Takedown protests against Musk.  Far-right French politician Marine Le Pen banned from public office after being found guilty for misappropriating EU funds.

april: Despite millions in campaign donations, Musk and conservatives were unable to flip the state supreme court in Washington.  New Jersey Democrat Corey Booker spoke in the Senate, rebuking the Trump administration for a record twenty-five hours and five minutes, beating Strom Thurmond’s filibuster against integration and equal rights.   Actor Val Kilmer dead at age 65.  Israeli defence forces annex huge swaths of the Gaza Strip.  Foregoing over two billion dollars in federdal funding, Harvard refuses to give in to Trump demands.  Katy Perry and an all-female crew travel briefly to the edge of space.  The world mourns Pope Francis.  The US threatens to walk away from the Ukraine-Russia peace deal it brokered.  As a rebuke to Trumpism, Canada elects another liberal government with Mark Carney as Prime Minister.

may: The US Department of Homeland Security is planning to remove illegal migrants to Libya.  The College of Cardinals elect the first American pope, Leo XIV.  India and Pakistan exchange violent skirmishes over the disputed territories of Kashmir and Jammu.  Austria wins the Eurovision song contest.  A tall ship from the Mexican navy collides with the Brooklyn bridge during manoeuvrers.  Romanian elects a centrist, pro-EU mathematician for president in a surprise turn-out.  Former US president Joe Biden diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.  UK, France and Canada sharply criticise Israel for its continued assault on Gaza and blockade of humanitarian aid, suspending trade talks and recalling diplomatic staff.  Veteran actor George Wendt passed away, aged 76. King Charles delivers a speech of solidarity from the throne in Canada to open parliament.  Trump blasts Putin for escalation of fighting in Ukraine.

june: In planning for eighteen-months, Ukraine carries out surprise drone attack on Russian bombers in five regions.  Trump rescinds nomination of private astronaut to head NASA after apparent falling out with Elon Musk, who recommended the nominee for the job.  Trump federalises the California national guard against the will of the state’s governor to suppress protests against ICE raids.  The Israeli defence forces seise a Gaza-bound cargo ship of humanitarian aid with activist Greta Thunberg onboard.  A London-bound plane crashes shortly after departure from Ahmedabad with a sole survivor. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys passes away, aged 82.  Israel launches air strikes against Iran’s nuclear processing facilities, killing the commander of the Revolutionary Guard. The US bombs three Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities.  In the last week before recess, the US supreme court delivers Trump several judicial victories. Veteran journalist and moderator Bill Moyers has died.  Israeli attacks on Gaza humanitarian assistance sites markedly intensify.  

july: The US congress narrowly passes Trump’s domestic policy agenda.  Flash flooding in Texas Hill Country claims dozens, including many from a summer camp for girls.  Russian transport minister found dead hours after his dismissal ostensibly for his failure to secure Moscow from Ukrainian drone attacks.  Trump announces twenty-fiver percent tariffs on Japan and South Korea, as the administration pushes for ninety trade deals in ninety days.  Trump disavows MAGA supporters who demand the release of the Epstein files. Israel launches airstrikes on Damascus to defend Druze communities living on the border of the Golan Heights.  UK government resolves to lower voting age to sixteen.  The US senate approves rescission bill to defund public broadcasting in America and eliminate billions in foreign aid.  Iconic rocker Ozzy Osboure has died, aged 76.  The famine in Gaza worsens as hundreds have been killed just queuing for aid.  France resolves to acknowledge Palestinian statehood.  Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan passed away, aged 71.  The EU negotiates a last minute trade and tariff deal with Trump, giving Europe worse than nothing but perhaps preserving global security and stability in Ukraine.  Contrary to assurances that the Qatari gift of Air Force one would not be for the Trump’s personal use post-presidency, the secretary of defence accepted the gift, explicitly calling it not a bribe.  Trump admits his friendship with Epstein came to an end because Epstein was stealing employees from his pleasure spa.  

august: Trump’s redacted name appears in the Epstein files.  Microsoft joins Invidia as the first firms to reach a four trillion dollar market valuation.  Global stocks are shocked by tariff deadline with few deals.  Trump fires government statistician after poor jobs-growth report, revising downward previous months’ estimates.   Sabre-rattling, two nuclear submarines move within striking distance of Russian.  Netanyahu announces plans to take over Gaza City whilst Trump again threatens to federalise Washington, DC. Astronaut and Apollo XIII commander Jim Lovell dies, aged 97.  Putin has a summit with Trump in Alaska, followed by a meeting in Washington, DC between Trump and Zelenskyy with several European leaders also inviting themselves.  Texas and California commence with their redistricting war to gerrymander the mid-terms.  The Florida department of transportation removes the rainbow crosswalk memorial of the Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre.  Rumours of the death of Trump are trending.  The White House announces intent to end mail-ballots and allow only in-person voting.  Israeli attacks aided by the US kill Houthi prime minister in Yemen.  Modi and Xi meet with Putin as counterbalance to western hegemony.

september: A devastating earthquake hits Afghanistan.  Google emerges more or less unscathed from a landmark anti-trust case.  Chaos at the US Centres for Disease control prompts many states to do their own research.  Celebrated fashion designed Giorgio Armani dead, aged 91.  Over a dozen killed in a tragic funicular accident in Lisbon.  The US targets an alleged Venezuelan drug-boat and deploys warships to the Caribbean.  Israeli Defence Forces order the complete evacuation of Gaza City. Right wing influencer and conservative activist Charles Kirk is assassinated during a speaking event at a college campus in Utah.  Actor, activist and director Robert Redford passed away, aged 89. Donald Trump arrives in London for his second state visit.  The GOP are exploiting the death of Charlie Kirk to silence dissent. Portugal, the UK, Canada and Australia recognise Palestinian statehood, ahead of the UN General Assembly—with host nation refusing to issue visas to the country’s delegation to attend (the first time the US has barred entry since 1998 and banning PLO head Yasser Arafat, which prompted the UN to change the venue to Geneva).  Trump gives a rambling and dangerous speech falsely linking acetaminophen, childhood vaccinations with autism.  Erik Adams drops his re-election bid to be mayor of New York City.

october: At an impasse, the US government shuts down.  Renowned primatologist and wildlife advocate Jane Goodall passes away, aged 91. Veteran UK actor Patricia Routledge dies, aged 96.  Hamas and Israel reach a tentative ceasefire days after the second anniversary of the the beginning of the war.  Gazans begin returning home, joy amid sorrow and destruction as the Israeli army pulls back.  Actor Diana Keaton has died, aged 79.  Trump misappropriates funds to make military pay-day during the shutdown.  Hamas begins releasing the remaining Israeli hostages.  Elite universities in the US choose to forego federal funding rather than submit to conditions on research and hiring practises.  The US CIA begin covert operations to overthrow the government of Venezuela.  Every major US media outlet surrendered their Pentagon press credentials rather than sign a pledge to only report on approved releases. Former Trump national security advisor John Bolton indicted for mishandling of classified information.  NPR founding reporter and anchor Susan Stamberg passed away, age 87.  Partial demolition begins on the East Wing of the White House to construct Trump’s ballroom.  The Japanese parliament elects its first female prime minister, Sanae Takaichi.  Charles III and Pope Leo XIV pray together in the Sistine Chapel.  Against America’s peace agenda, the Knesset votes to annex the West Bank.  Leftwing candidate Catherine Connolly wins Ireland’s presidency.  Veteran television star June Lockhart passes away, aged 100.  Fawlty Towers actor Prunella Scales dies, aged 93. US government shutdown surpasses Trump’s old record for the longest in history.  Dick Cheney dies, aged 84.  Zohran Mamdani wins mayorship of New York City.

november: Redistricting efforts in Texas ahead of US mid-term elections are ruled to be unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. The US federal government reopens after an unprecedented shut-down as Democrats fold.  A violent civil war continues to rage in Nigeria.  COP 30 begins in Brazil.  Tech businesses and telecoms shed tens of thousands of employees.  In response to a cadre of congressional representatives urging service members not to obey illegal orders, Trump cries sedition and threatens them with execution.  US leaks a twenty-eight point peace plan for Ukraine and Russia. Marjorie Taylor Greene announces she will leave the US congress in January after a public falling out with Trump.  Flames engulf a residential apartment block in Hong Kong.  The pope makes his first trip abroad, visiting Türkiye and Lebanon.  With war in Venezuela imminent, closing the country’s airspace, Trump pardons notorious Honduran ex-president Juan Orlando Hernandez, commuting his sentence in a US federal prison after smuggling weapons and four hundred tonnes of cocaine into the country.  A deadly fire in a Hong Kong housing estate kills scores.

december: Playwright Tom Stoppard passes away, aged 88.  Influential architect Frank Gehry has died, aged 96.  Australia launches a world first social media ban for young people.  The US military seizes a Venezuelan oil tanker, escalating tensions.  Articles of impeachment are forwarded for both secretary of war and RFK, Jr.  Indiana state lawmakers reject Trump’s redistricting plans to gerrymander Democrats out of existence.  A gunman kills a dozen individuals gathering at Australia’s Bondi beach for Hanukkah celebrations.  Actor and director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer-Reiner are found murdered—with the couple’s son arrested as the the prime suspect.  The US justice department releases a heavily redacted version of the Epstein files.  Singer, songwriter Chris Rea, performer behind “Driving Home for Christmas” dies, aged 74.  Brigitte Bardo has died, aged 91.  Trump announces ground strikes in Venezuela.  Xi announces intent to reunite Taiwan in New Year’s Eve address.

11x11 (12. 895)

american psychosis: pathologising along with artist Jordan Sullivan  

kojève and cigarettes: uncovering the history of Hegelian tobacco and the American spirit  

usenet: a 1995 CBC segment featuring Cory Doctorow on how to internet—via Waxy   

karzer: revisiting privilege and imprisonment in German universities  

de facto recognition: leaked US draft to end Russian war in Ukraine  

dress code: ignoring all other disruptions and baseline unpleasantness, US transportation secretary encourages flyers to not dress down for their flights to improve the overall experience for all passengers  

tiled words: a daily crossword puzzle-Tetris hybrid—via MetaFilter  

algospeak: taboo, newly minted unwords of search and social media

victor insulations: the ubiquitous American diner mug—via Miss Cellania  

in like flynn: over-exposure to the stupidest ambitions of society at large has brought us all down—via Web Curios 

operation charlotte’s web: ICE ruins a classic of children’s literature—some pig 

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth revisiting (with synchronopticæ)

twelve years ago: hand-washing and optimism  

thirteen years ago: the holiday winterval plus Martin Luther and bowling

951 gaspra (12. 834)

Discovered in 1916 by astronomer Grigori Nikolaevich Neujmin, one in a catalogue to his credit of hundreds of minor planets and comets, and named for the Crimean spa town near Yalta that was favoured by Neujmin’s contemporaries like Tolstoy and Gorky, the asteroid was visited by the Galileo space probe on a close fly-by on this day in 1991 en route for its mission to explore the Jovian system (see also), the first time such an object was encountered at close range and studied, the rendezvous a technically challenging one since only its approximate location was known by projecting its orbital path. The irregular shaped silicate-rich asteroid is approximately the size of Guam and has the pictured astronomical symbol, a simplification of the resort town’s coat of arms.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a mascot for the Vatican (with synchronopticæ) plus IKEA acknowledges forced labour in East Germany

thirteen years ago: media ownership under threat

8x8 (12. 813)

vampira: the obscure made-for-television title by George Moorse with a atmospheric score by Tangerine Dream 

concrete progress: a demonstration project for turning the rubble of war torn Ukraine into cement 

overton window: a measured approach to AI—via Kottke—see also  

spoiler-alert: William Castle’s Homicidal, a hammy, gimmicky film capitalising on the success of Psycho, gets reviewed by Poseidon’s Underworld

 
atira asteroids: a constellation of interior-Earth objects in our orbit and hidden by solar glare are uncomfortably close—via Damn Interesting 

it’s awfully strange to make a decision where i’m paying myself—but i was damaged very great and any money i would get i would give to charity: Grifter-in-Chief demands two-hundred and thirty million dollars in restitution from the US department of justice for past convictions  

billionaires’ row: a supertall residential tower on Manhattan’s Park Avenue is riddled with stress-fractures that may lead to its condemnation

the vampyre: Lord Byron’s unremembered manservant who invented the modern form of the genre—via Miss Cellania

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links to revisit (with synchronopticæ) plus the Berlin Crisis of 1961

fourteen years ago: exploring the past with the Retronaut

calling-card (12. 719)

We enjoyed this introduction to prolific Romantic painter Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky (Иван Айвазовский) from Crimea of Armenian extraction, considered a master of the maritime scene and appointed official artist of the Imperial Navy and cemented in the popular culture of Russia in the mid-nineteenth century, and beyond (he is the namesake of an asteroid discovered in 1977, 3787 Aivazovskij RG₇) by the saying worthy of his brush by playwright Anton Chekhov, though this set of souvenir keepsakes presented to guests at his seventieth birthday soiree. Each was a unique miniature seascape inset framed by a studio photograph of the artist at work—continuing the gifting for years the original party. Some contemporaries criticised this flair for self-promotion as indicative of Aivazosky’s sheer volume and pace of output—over six-thousand paintings over a career spanning six decades—and cheapening through machine-like habits his monumental works, namely his 1850 The Ninth Wave (Девятый вал) from an old sailing adage that the biggest swell comes in succession of sea wreck survivors clinging to debris and hoping to be rescued—but these creative favours seem more than a demonstration of automation and rather prefigure collage and mixed-media as well as trading-cards and tokens.

mannerheim line (12. 717)

Speaking as chair of the Russian Security Council earlier this week, former president Dmitry Medvedev threatened the sovereignty of Finland using provocative language that directly parallels that false arguments circulated before the 2014 and 2022 invasions of Ukraine. Medvedev said that the former autonomous principality of the Russian Empire, full independence achieved following World War I had aligned itself with Nazi Germany (as a continuation of the Winter War that saw the eventual repelling and retreat of invading Soviet forces) with alleged ambitions to expand its borders to St Petersburg and the Kola peninsula, with a lingering russophobic hysteria that persists in its current government, determined to eliminate ethnic Slav culture, joining NATO not out of defence but as a way to bolster offensive capabilities and declare war on Russia. Patently false, this narrative of antagonising the western alliance and the EU is now new or unique and part of a continuum of rousing domestic aggression (renewing demands for reparations dating back to World War II, claiming Finnish posture nullifies settled treaties) through disinformation and sets the stage for justifying further incursions. Historical myths make for a convenient target for redirection, especially immediately after surprisingly steadfast response to threats to core members (something that was missing in the international handling of the above conflict that revealed coordination problems all around and how external borders were treated as buffer terrority)—and the rather askance request for more indirect sanctions against Russia by the US to the European Union to tariff remaining trade partners with a one hundred percent tariff.

i changed, you’re not (12. 656)

Following Trump’s rather hollow and anti-climatic summit with Putin in Alaska, European leaders upend their summer schedules—including holiday-making—to rush, realising the stakes and how there are moments when history pauses and looks at us dead in the eye and asks do we know what is happening, to Washington to lend moral and materiel support for Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hoping to avoid the previous melt-down in the Oval Office and stop the US administration from further undermining the continent’s security signalled by Trump’s vacillation over the peace process with a ceasefire no longer a prerequisite for negotiations and that a treaty can be struck simply by ceding Russia the Donbass, capitulating to a one-sided deal with Ukraine demilitarised and Russian subject to no further sanctions. This time, appearing in formal apparel, the same conservative reporter who questioned his usual attire of military fatigues complemented the Ukrainian president on his suit, to which Zelenskyy quipped that the journalist was wearing the same outfit as last time. Already, however, Trump is apparently rehashing tired stab-in-the-back conspiracies about a stolen election and mail-in ballot fraud, a sentiment echoed by Putin as well as citing the dissolution of the Soviet Union as the biggest geopolitical betrayal of all time, on display by foreign minister Lavrov’s CCCP sweatshirt at the prior meeting.

synchronoptica

one year ago: a philosophical cartoon (with synchronoptiæ) plus amplified contagion

twelve years ago: landscaping inspirations plus freelance hotels

thirteen years ago: WWII week: Nacht und Nebel plus international traffic signs

fifteen years ago: weather control machines 

sixteen years ago: blogging non-sequitirs  

you know i spoke to vladimir today—we had a wonderful conversation—and she said (12. 651)

Though ending without any tangible agreements as far as promoting peace for Ukraine after only a few hours, Russian president Vladimir Putin coming out the clear winner in terms of public relations insofar as being legitimised by another faded petrostate with nuclear arms and given a ride with Trump in his armoured limousine—America infamously not party to the International Criminal Court of the Hague and can host with impunity war criminals, like Benjamin Netanyahu, without fear of acting of their warrants at large and the first meeting on US soil since the George W Bush met with Putin in 2007 in Kennybunkport Maine and said he could see in the long-term Russia leader’s soul, the US president bucked the worst fears for now by conceding not to make further concessions to the admired aggressor which might have included a land-swap not of the Crimean peninsula of the former Russian colony of Alaska or mineral and fishing rights (all seemed to be on the table). The summit held on the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson outside of Anchorage, turned out to be little more than a press-conference, with reporters unable to ask questions and Trump intimating after the fact that the responsibility had shifted to the state under siege to cede territories in order to stop the war, both Ukraine and European allies being sidelined during the entire process. Rather than making good on threats for more sanctions on Russia or countries that do business there or sabre-rattling over repositioning US nuclear submarines with “dead hand” orders for counterattack in case America was struck first, Trump afforded Russia an extra chance, airing tired old grievances about how the 2020 election was stolen from him by the campaign interference hoax (Russia, Russia, Russia—I always wonder if they say it in their heads like “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha”) which was validated by Putin’s agreement that the Ukrainian invasion only occurred under the Biden administration—untrue considering that the Crimea was occupied in 2014 and who could say what license a second Trump term would have been and we know all of the kompromat and grooming to be real and has Trump, incompetent businessman, felon and notable child-rapist, over a barrel.

no—they got the metric system over there—they call it royale with breeze (12. 629)

Via Kottke and though sadly the crisps that appear in the spot are not an actual product, we applaud alternative energy giant Vattenfall for teaming up with Samuel L Jackson to offer this taste of fossil freedom. This minute-long refutation of Big Oil and its campaign of misinformation and world-destroying legacy not only is a masterpiece for Europe wanting to reduce its dependence on Russia fuel following its invasion of Ukraine, it is also a strong rebuke of Trump’s asymmetrical tariff deal for the EU, demanding the purchase of American energy (previously), which is best undone with renewables, like wind-farming, to shut down a bullying tyrant of a failing petrostate. I’m sorry—did I break your concentration?

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synchronoptica

one year ago: a return to the Frankonian Wine Islands (with synchronopticæ) 

twelve years ago: zebra stripes as dazzle camouflage plus mobile phones as point-of-sale devices

fourteen years ago: austerity in the US 

fifteen years ago: a rainy summer plus take-down notices for Wikipedia, possibly confusing it with Wikileaks

sixteen years ago: rejecting expertise plus political caricatures