Foggy morning in the Netherlands 🇳🇱🌷

"Brigitte Bardot, often referred to in France simply as "B.B." and whose later years were marked by animal rights campaigns and far-right political sympathies, has died at the age of 91, her foundation said on Sunday. The cause was not immediately known."

https://www.reuters.com/world/brigitte-bardot-has-died-her-foundation-has-said-2025-12-28/

🔥Retraction of glyphosate paper after 25 yrs...
https://blog.maryannedemasi.com/p/journal-retracts-landmark-glyphosate?

Ho Ho Ho, Heretics!

English newspaper 'The Telegraph' has published an article stating that Charles III is a 'better Christian leader' than Pope Leo XIV because Leo mentioned Gaza in his Christmas Day Speech and Charles did not

@CatholicArena

A view of statues around a pool at the 1939 New York World Fair

A World War I Austrian hideout on Mount Scorluzzo, abandoned in 1918, was uncovered nearly 100 years later as the glacier melted. In 2017, researchers found artifacts like food, jackets, and newspapers, revealing the harsh life of 20 soldiers facing -40°C and avalanches.

The man was prescient. He wrote this in 1952.

"The United States, with systems of mechanized communication and organized force, has sponsored a new type of imperialism imposed on common law in which sovereignty is preserved de jure and used to expand imperialism de facto." Harold A. Innis, Empire and Communications, 1952, p. 195.

🇹🇼🇨🇳⚡️- BREAKING: The Chinese Coast Guard has announced organized vessel formations to carry out comprehensive patrols in the waters surrounding Taiwan and in areas near the Natsu and Wuqiu islands. AIS data shows multiple CCG vessels in the waters north of Taipei.

They have effectively announced a blockade.

Train punctuality per station in seven European countries in 2025
https://redd.it/1psb2rb
@r_mapporn

🚧 TRAFFIC ALERT (12/25/25 at 7:20pm) 🚧

Westbound I-80 traffic is currently being turned around at Truckee due to multiple spin-outs and jackknifed big rigs over Donner Summit.

At this time, there is no estimated time of reopening.

** for updates on road conditions visit the Caltrans QuickMap app

CHP Truckee

How fragmented is Somalia and why does Somaliland insist on independence

Somalia was formed by unifying territories formerly controlled by the British Empire with areas previously ruled by Italy, all inhabited by ethnic Somali populations. The society is deeply tribal. Each tribe maintains its own ideology and a distinctly different way of life. The Issa tribe, which dominates Somaliland, is considerably more pragmatic and rejects radical Islam, whereas other tribes actively embrace it.

Since the outbreak of Somalia’s civil war in 1991, the state has effectively disintegrated into competing tribes locked in continuous conflict.

The Issa tribe declared the independence of the State of Somaliland and proceeded to establish functioning state institutions and government ministries, a multi-party democratic system, and levels of corruption far lower than those typically seen in Africa - certainly far lower than those of the dysfunctional government in the capital, Mogadishu.

The people of Somaliland have succeeded in insulating themselves from the civil war, famine, and chronic instability that characterize the rest of Somalia. They have built an economy based on agriculture, fishing, light industry, and trade. Consequently, they have no incentive to reintegrate into a larger, bleeding, and non-functioning Somali state.

The different colors on the map reflect the fragmentation caused by the civil war:
   •   Peach-pink areas: Territories controlled by the federal government, including the capital, Mogadishu.
   •   Fuchsia-pink areas: The autonomous Puntland administration.
   •   Gray areas: Territories controlled by al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate.
   •   Black area in northern Puntland: Territory controlled by a local militia affiliated with ISIS.
   •   Mustard-yellow area: Territory controlled by the government of Somaliland.

Somaliland - formerly a British colony - is, in practice, larger than the territory currently under the effective control of its government. While the government claims sovereignty over eastern Somaliland as part of its lawful territory, it does not presently exercise control there. It is possible that one form of assistance the Somaliland government may seek from Israel is military support to reclaim the eastern part of the country and enforce its sovereignty over it.

The capital, Hargeisa, is located on the inland plateau at an elevation of 1,611 meters above sea level. The principal port city, of significant strategic value, is Berbera.

🇩🇪 Germany considers banning social media for children

Federal Minister for Digitalization Karsten Wildberger said he supports the idea of introducing age restrictions for children’s access to platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

An expert commission is already examining possible measures ranging from age limits on social media to banning smartphones in schools.

Wildberger pointed to Australia as an example. There, children and teenagers under 16 have been banned from holding accounts on major platforms since December 10.

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