The always perceptive and brilliant Ian Bremmer
Israel has every right to dismantle #Hamas.
Hamas are terrorists - but in fighting a monster, #Israel has to be careful not to become a monster.
The #Gaza siege of civilians is a mistake, evacuate civilians first
https://twitter.com/BDUTT/status/1712777953703284765

Excellent analyzed by political scientist Ian Bremmer at CBS Mornings show again.
Covering the current situation at the basics.
In general and simple put:
It is a major clusterphuk with the potential to grow in a beyond regional sh*t-show!

55 major actors and artists have written a letter to President Biden urging him to “call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel, before another life is lost.”
To read the letter, visit http://artists4ceasefire.org

A 31-year-old dog in Portugal that had been ranked as the world’s oldest dog ever has died, his owner said Monday.
The guard dog, called Bobi, died over the weekend in a veterinary hospital, Leonel Costa told The Associated Press.
Bobi lived on a farm in the village of Conqueiros in Portugal with Costa and four cats. He was born on May 11, 1992, when his owner was just 8 years old.
https://r.sa-seo.com/45NqPMK

Powerful, total clarity, unequivocal.
One of the best speeches I've ever heard from a German politician.
It's almost four weeks since the horrific terrorist attack on #Israel. A lot has happened, the public debate has become heated and confused.
Find thoughts from Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck in the video, putting the events in context.
With English, Hebrew and Arabic subtitles.

Best pictures on the theme of "tiny creatures"
https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-67495402

Top 25 Wikipedia’s most popular articles of 2023:

1. ChatGPT
2. Deaths in 2023
3. 2022 Cricket World Cup
4. Indian Premier League
5. Oppenheimer (film)
6. Cricket World Cup
7. J. Robert Oppenheimer
8. Jawan (film)
9. 2023 Indian Premier League
10. Pathaan (film)
11. The Last of US (TV series)
12. Taylor Swift
13. Barbie (film)
14. Cristiano Ronaldo
15. Lionel Messi
16. Premier League
17. Matthew Perry
18. United States
19. Elon Musk
20. Avatar: The Way of Water
21. India
22. Lisa Marie Presley
23. Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 3
24. Russian Invasion of Ukraine
25. Andrew Tate
https://twitter.com/stats_feed/status/1733163781881053658

"Dancing Santa" Ramiro Hinojas brings cheer to commuters and motorists at a busy intersection by showcasing his elaborate dance moves as he guides traffic flow in Manila, known for its notoriously gridlocked roads.
Hinojas says he struts in his Santa Claus costume to stay fit and "ease people's boredom" as they wait for traffic to move.
https://youtu.be/xkU-SSKf758?si=5TiiLr5HdrFNAEqr

A slow-moving Pacific storm could bring excessive rain and flooding to California on Wednesday, forecasters warned.
The storm’s major impacts were expected later from the central coast south through Los Angeles to San Diego.

Flood watches issued for the region warned of a high risk of roadway flooding, rockslides and mudslides, debris flows from wildfire burn scars, and travel delays. Rainfall totals for some foothills and coastal slopes ranged up to 10 inches (25 centimeters).

Snowfall, however, was predicted to be limited to high elevations in the southern Sierra Nevada and some Southern California ranges.
https://apnews.com/article/california-storms-rainy-season-flooding-c004cca321ecc7c3c4da55395a381079?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share

The Year in Pictures: 2023
https://abcnews.go.com/International/photos/year-pictures-2023-105555542

When Oli queues up on the starting line for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Tuesday, he'll be making history.
That's because Oli is a cat.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-67700411

NASA's humanoid robot Valkyrie, named after a female figure in Norse mythology and being tested at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, is designed to operate in 'degraded or damaged human-engineered environments,' like areas hit by natural disasters

Beachgoers swept away as huge wave crashes over wall in California
Storms in the Pacific have brought huge waves to the Californian coast.
Water crashed over the sea wall, sweeping people off their feet, and washing vehicles away in Ventura, Santa Cruz.
At the north end of Monterey Bay, in Aptos, CCTV showed seawater washing into a beach restaurant.
Several beaches in the state remain closed, with more windy weather forecast for the weekend.
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-67839430

Sydney and Auckland are the first major cities to ring in 2024 as war shadows celebrations elsewhere.
https://apnews.com/article/times-square-new-years-eve-ball-drop-17154156831f22b2354b82688d4272af

The most recent weekly data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed there were over 29,000 hospitalizations from COVID across the U.S. from Dec. 17-23, up more than 16% from the previous week. The CDC also reported over 14,700 flu hospitalizations in that same period.
In California, Los Angeles County on Saturday reinstated masking at all licensed health care facilities, according to a county statement provided to the City News Service.
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/mask-mandates-return-some-us-hospitals-covid-flu-jump-2024-01-04/

Nearly 17,000 people may have died after taking hydroxycholoroquine during the first wave of COVID, according to a study by French researchers.

The anti-malaria drug was prescribed to some patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic, "despite the absence of evidence documenting its clinical benefits," the researchers point out in their paper, published in the February issue of Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy.
https://www.politico.eu/article/hydroxychloroquine-could-have-caused-17000-deaths-during-covid-study-finds/

Germany: Increasingly Mimicking Italy‘s Economy?
Or Eventually Turkey’s?
Today’s Germany may be threatened with what doomed Italy in the 1980s – a profound failure to adapt to a vastly changed world.
https://www.theglobalist.com/germany-increasingly-mimicking-italys-economy-or-eventually-turkeys/

Fort Worth, Texas firefighters and police are responding to what officials are calling a "major incident."
The Fort Worth Police Department has asked the public to avoid the downtown area.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/major-incident-downtown-fort-worth-texas-police/story?id=106206817

A visual assistance to understand the impact when the Red Sea / Suez Canal is not possible to be used from trade.
For Americans, as this graphic is aimed to show impact on Europe.
Keep in mind, many ship pass the Mediterranean Sea and leave via the Strait of Gibraltar to cross the Atlantic for the USA

Surfing dog!
https://apnews.com/article/peru-summer-surfing-dog-3d4312422ac5d80bc5596ad5cfdb54fe