Trump’s Expansion Plans, Zuckerberg’s Meta Plans, & Tech’s Futuristic Plans
January 8, 2025
Hello, readers – happy Wednesday! Today, we’ll be talking about Trump’s obsession with Greenland, genocide in Sudan, Tencent, doxxing Nazis, Meta’s latest updates, the Pacific Palisades fire, and CES 2025.
Here’s some good news: President Biden is set to establish two new monuments – the Chuckwalla National Monument in southern California and the Sáttítla Highlands National Monument in the northern part – which will establish the largest tract of protected land in the continental U.S. Also, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued new regulations yesterday barring medical debts from appearing on American credit reports.
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.” – Albert Schweitzer
The Art Of The Territorial Conquest

Trump wants to expand the U.S. Over the past couple of days the President-elect has floated multiple interesting ideas about the Panama Canal and Greenland, as well as using “economic force” to gain control over Canada. He’s also threatened to use the U.S. military to invade Mexico to destroy the country’s drug cartels.
During a Mar-a-Lago press conference yesterday, a reporter asked Trump about his visions of empire – specifically if he could assure the American public that he wouldn’t use military force to conquer the Panama Canal and Greenland. “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two, but I can say this, we need them for economic security,” he replied. Later, he promised that he would simply use “economic force” to annex Canada.
Trump is apparently sending his son to act as a diplomatic envoy in his campaign against Greenland. “I am hearing that the people of Greenland are ‘MAGA,’” he wrote on TruthSocial, adding that “the people will benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation.” Without comment, the king of Denmark quietly updated his country’s coat of arms to include a more prominent polar bear, which represents its territorial claim over Greenland. Archaic!
The White House Weighs In
According to the U.S. State Department, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are committing genocide in their civil war against Sudan’s official armed forces (the SAF). Up until now, the White House has considered both groups equally at fault for mass death in the Sudanese civil war – famine has spread across the country as a result of the power struggle, with the U.S. estimating that 150,000 have been killed in the civil war. The accusation of genocide means that RSF leader Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo will face sanctions from the U.S. government, which will severely harm his ability to keep the RSF financially healthy.
“The RSF and allied militias have systematically murdered men and boys — even infants — on an ethnic basis, and deliberately targeted women and girls from certain ethnic groups for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday. “Those same militias have targeted fleeing civilians, murdering innocent people escaping conflict, and prevented remaining civilians from accessing lifesaving supplies,” he said, adding, “members of the RSF and allied militias have committed genocide in Sudan.”
Drones, Nukes, and… Video Games?

- One of the biggest threats to American national security is a Chinese social media company, apparently. Yesterday, the Department of Defense updated its list of Chinese military companies to include Tencent, the Chinese tech giant that owns the WeChat messaging app and is also the largest video game company in the world. Spooky.
- While the company’s addition to the list doesn’t necessarily mean it will be immediately punished by the White House, it does make Tencent vulnerable to future rounds of sanctions on Chinese “military” firms. Tencent has called its military designation “clearly a mistake.”
- Other additions to the list this year include Chinese battery maker CATL, which has agreed to license its battery technology to Ford for use in the carmaker’s future EVs. Imagine China designating Facebook and Duracell as military companies – that’s basically what has been done here.
Where Was Grandma In 1945?
- Doxxing – publishing people’s private information online – is largely frowned upon. When it happens to Nazi collaborators, though? Eh, we’ll let it slide. Yesterday, the Central Archives of the Special Jurisdiction (CABR) – the largest World War II archive in the Netherlands – published the names of half a million people suspected of collaborating with the Nazis during their five-year occupation of the Netherlands.
- The records have been around for years, but the only way to access them was an in-person visit to the National Archives in The Hague. Now, Dutch people can simply find out if their grandparents were Nazi collaborators with a quick online search! The Huygens Institute, which aided in the push to publish the records online, noted that “Only large-scale and easy access will keep this important archive with all facets of the war relevant, and allow us to continue learning from the past.”
More Mixed Nuts
- Mexico drops migrants in troubled resort as it disperses them far from US border (ABC)
- Jean-Marie Le Pen, founder of France’s far-right National Front party, dead at 96 (CBS)
- At least 9 miners are trapped in a coal mine in India’s northeastern Assam state (ABC)
- Iran executed at least 901 people in 2024, U.N. reports (CBS)
- Ukraine is bringing war ‘back to Russia,’ Zelenskyy says after new Kursk offensive (ABC)
No More Facts On Facebook
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced yesterday that the social media company – which owns Instagram, Facebook, and Threads – will be making some changes in the wake of Trump’s reelection. In a video, Zuckerberg promised to prioritize free speech and said that, starting in the U.S., he would “get rid of factcheckers and replace them with community notes similar to X.”
- The company is also going to walk back some of its previous changes that hid political content from users. The content moderation teams will be moved from California to Texas – “where there is less concern about the bias of our teams” – and Zuck admitted that changes would mean “we’re going to catch less bad stuff.”
Did You Know There’s A Fire On The Pacific Coast Highway
- Tens of thousands of people were forced to flee yesterday after a brush fire in the Pacific Palisades quickly spread to nearly 3,000 acres (as of writing). Winds were blowing at 40 mph when the fire started and were expected to continue through last night.
- By noon, the Pacific Coast Highway was completely shut down, with all lanes closed, near Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Forecasters were warning that gusts could reach up to 100 miles per hour in some parts of the region.
More Nuts In America
- GOP confusion reigns as Trump waffles over reconciliation strategy (Politico)
- Louisiana mayor arrested in connection with drug trafficking investigation (Guardian)
- California braces for ‘life-threatening’ windstorm and critical fire risk (NBC)
- Minneapolis to decide on police reform deal with US government after Floyd murder (ABC)
- Rudy Giuliani is held in contempt of court in $148 million defamation case (NPR)
It’s Consuming Time!
- CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) kicked off yesterday, with all your favorite tech companies showing off their new goodies for you to consume. Some early highlights from the conference include a suction cup-mounted TV, a kind-of 3D stretchable screen, a robot vacuum with an arm, and a smart plant pot.
- The Displace TV is a wireless OLED screen that can apparently stick to any wall for easy wall-mounting, allowing renters to get a nice clean media station without ticking off their landlord. Prices range from $1,499 to $4,999. Samsung’s stretchable screen adds a 3D element to your boring old monitor, with its bulging display showing an interesting (and stretchy) future for screens on upcoming electronics.
- For use at home, robovacuum company Roborock has unveiled its new autonomous vacuum cleaner, which is armed with…well, an arm that allows it to pick up things like socks and other objects that might get in its way. What’ll it cost you? Probably over $1,500. Last up is the LeafyPod, a smart pot that uses AI to learn how to take care of your plant, alerting you when it needs water, more light, or a warmer environment. It’s currently on preorder for $140, which is definitely less eye-watering than all the other prototypes we’ve seen so far.
More Loose Nuts
- Peter Yarrow, folk legend and ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ co-writer, dead at 86 (ABC)
- Dell Announces All-New Branding with Dell, Dell Pro and Dell Pro Max Laptops (CNET)
- What America’s top economists are saying about AI and inequality (NPR)
- McDonald’s says it is revising some of its diversity practices (NPR)
- Apple says it will update AI feature after inaccurate news alerts (Guardian)
Team Thoughts
Kayli – No way I’m trusting my TV can be held up by suction cups.
Marcus – If you need a robotic pot to tell you how to take care of a plant, maybe you don’t need a plant…