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À Davos, Trump a exclu d’employer la force pour acquérir le territoire danois, et annoncé qu’il renonçait à imposer des droits de douane en raison d’un «futur accord» «très avantageux pour les États-Unis et l’Otan».

The Quiet Spread Of AI-Generated 'Brainrot' Across Social Media Authored by Jacob Burg via The Epoch Times, Elephants drop-kicking crocodiles while breaking the laws of physics, bewildering deepfakes of politicians and deceased public figures, and seemingly animated children’s videos of Jesus fighting the Grinch: generative artificial intelligence (AI) is sweeping across online video platforms and may now account for a sizable portion of YouTube’s short-form video feed, recent research shows. After being accused last year of causing users to end up in psychiatric wards and allegedly helping multiple depressed teenagers take their own lives, generative AI tools are also inspiring new genres of online content. AI-generated images and clips were found in 21 percent of the 500 short-form videos screened in a study released last November by the video editing software company Kapwing, with some of the channels analyzed amassing millions of subscribers and billions of views. Some, such as India-based channel Bandar Apna Dost, were estimated to generate millions of dollars in YouTube ad revenue annually. These channels are found worldwide, with those based in Spain and South Korea garnering the “most devoted viewerships,” according to the study. “Generative AI tools have dramatically lowered the barrier to entry for video production,” Rohini Lakshané, an interdisciplinary technology researcher, told The Epoch Times. “So, the channel can churn out massive amounts of content and maintain a high frequency of posting. Channels using these methods can flood recommendation feeds simply by volume, irrespective of intrinsic quality.” Here’s what we know about “brainrot” and “AI slop,” what’s at stake for viewers and content creators, and why you might want to pay closer attention when browsing social media. ‘Brainrot’ and ‘AI Slop’ Kapwing determined that 33 percent of the videos it screened after creating a new account on YouTube appeared to have the hallmarks of “brainrot” content, which Oxford defines as “trivial or unchallenging” and considered to deteriorate a “person’s mental or intellectual state.” Existing long before the advent of generative AI, “brainrot” includes memes, humor, nonsensical skits, videos of children or animals engaging in “silly” actions or behaviors, and other forms of content that minimally engage users intellectually or convey little or no meaning beyond randomness or absurdity. Combining generative AI with “brainrot” characteristics gives rise to the emerging genre many refer to as “AI slop,” which Kapwing defines as “careless, low-quality content” generated with AI tools that is intended to “farm views and subscriptions or sway political content.” By its definition, what content may be considered as “brainrot” or “low-quality” can vary from person to person. For example, one person might describe all short-form “comedy” videos as “brainrot,” while another might find them genuinely entertaining and choose a different label. The same may be said about “AI slop,” as some content creators, such as Montreat College language professor T. Michael Halcomb, use generative AI tools as an extension of their own academic work. Halcomb, who also parodies “AI slop” and “brainrot” with his student-led comedy club, told The Epoch Times that he uses AI tools to make short-form videos based on posts he writes on his blog, deploying the technology to create video clips, clone his voice for narration purposes, and generate text on the screen. There’s a lot of overlap between users that maintain a human element while taking advantage of AI tools and those merely using AI to create what others would refer to as “slop” or mass-produced content aimed at farming views, he said. “I do think the human element isn’t completely gone. It just allows humans to speed up things,” Halcomb said, adding that even some of the so-called “AI slop” channels such as Spain’s “Imperio de jesus,” which features AI-generated animations of Jesus fighting…

US Slaps Down French Calls For NATO Drills In Greenland, Mocks Macron Among the big and more notable quotes to come out of President Trump's Davos address is his statement that he "won't use force" to take over Greenland while calling for "immediate negotiations" to discuss the "acquisition" of the Arctic territory by the United States from Denmark. "This enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America," Trump said before the World Economic Forum. Still, he asserted "That's our territory." He added: "The fact is, no nation or group of nations is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States. We're a great power, much greater than people even understand. I think they found that out two weeks ago in Venezuela." via Reuters/India Today Denmark has greeted the part of Trump's remarks wherein he said he won't use military force as "positive". Leading European powers are still trying their best to flex their might, however. As French President Emmanuel Macron addressed the summit, donning his aviator shades, he called on NATO allies to conduct a military exercise in Greenland amid Trump's bellicose rhetoric related to potentially seizing the Danish territory.. "France calls for a NATO exercise in Greenland and is ready to contribute to it," Macron's office confirmed Wednesday just ahead of Trump's arrival and speech in Switzerland. It remains unclear whether Macron also has US military participation in mind, or whether this would be a purely European NATO thing. Since near the beginning of Trump's recently ramping up his rhetoric over Greenland, shortly on the heels of the Venezuela operation to overthrow Maduro, the Europeans have pursued an alternative strategy to divert Trump into assisting with joint Arctic monitoring. He's complained of inroads in the resource-rich region by Russian and China, and so Europe is seeking to satisfy Trump's call for Greenland to be a secure American outpost. EU leaders then hope he would eventually give up the idea of owning Greenland. But Washington is seeing through this, with top US officials quickly pushing back against the idea of NATO drills there. Speaking on the sidelines of the WEF, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent took a swipe at Macron: He described as “inflammatory” statements on Tuesday by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, who said Europe preferred “respect to bullies” and “the rule of law to brutality”, and Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, who promised an “unflinching” tariff response. “If this is all President Macron has to do when the French budget is in shambles, I would suggest he focuses on other things for the French people,” Bessent said. He urged leaders in Davos not to show “reflexive anger” and “bitterness”. Already France along with a handful of other EU nations has dispatched a small military contingent to Greenland and has plans to send more sea, air and land forces. Even Canada is said to be mulling some kind of troop deployment. The bus “Greenland Excursions” taking the handful of European troops we sent for Arctic Endurance NATO drill is somewhat emblematic of the whole situation. pic.twitter.com/rsOQ398ua8 — Zeitgeist Explorer⚡ (@ZeitgeistExplo1) January 15, 2026 As for the NATO secretary-general, the alliance's chief Mark Rutte kicked off the week by telling reporters that he does "not at all" see NATO as in crisis, brushing off much of the escalating Greenland back-and-forth. "I think we are really working in the right direction," Rutte said - but we can imagine Putin and Kremlin officials are currently kicking back to enjoy the popcorn and the show, also as the Ukraine war has momentarily taken a back seat among Western officials. Tyler Durden Wed, 01/21/2026 - 15:00

L’été dernier, Matthieu Louis-Jean a eu le nez fin en misant 7 millions d’euros sur Pavel Sulc. L’international tchèque de l’OL s’est imposé en l’espace de six mois comme l’un des meilleurs attaquants du championnat. Arrivé à l’Olympique Lyonnais dans l’ombre et sur la pointe des pieds, Pavel Sulc e...

Von Der Leyen Hand-Wrings About "Raw Power" Under Trump After Venezuela Silence EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned Wednesday before the European Parliament that the 27-member EU must accelerate efforts to strengthen both its economy and its defenses, as it confronts a shifting global order shaped by what she called "raw power." She took the opportunity to caution Washington and President Trump over his Greenland ambitions, saying that tensions between supposed "allies" over Greenland risk strengthening the West's geopolitical rivals. Indeed, over in Davos, the Greenland question and US rhetoric has completely overshadowed efforts at furthering the Ukraine peace deal. But sadly truce efforts have in reality been going nowhere anyway. "The shift in the international order is not only seismic, but it is permanent," she told lawmakers, presenting as a pressing example the "volatile situation" surrounding Greenland, Russia's ongoing attacks on Ukraine which is plunging it into darkness, as well as rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific. via China Focus "We will need a departure from Europe’s traditional caution," said the European Commission president. "We now live in a world defined by raw power - whether economic or military, technological or geopolitical. And while many of us may not like it, we must deal with the world as it is now." Von der Leyen also called out President Trump's recent threat to impose tariffs on European allies as "simply wrong". "If we are now plunging into a dangerous downward spiral between allies, this would only embolden the very adversaries we are both so committed to keeping out of the strategic landscape," she said. "We are at a crossroads" - but it remains that "Europe prefers dialogue and solutions - but we are fully prepared to act, if necessary, with unity, urgency and determination," she said. While she and other EU elites are prattling on about this dubious concept called the 'ruled-based order' it must be remembered she and most of Europe were completely silent - and even seemed to give tacit approval for - the US invasion of Venezuela and overthrow of Nicolás Maduro. According to one European-perspective report filed withing days after Maduro's ouster: The EU watches from the sidelines as the crisis in Venezuela unfolds, following the U.S. military operation that captured the self-proclaimed president, not recognised by most world governments, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores. A blitz that reportedly claimed at least 80 victims in Caracas, including civilians and military personnel. The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, called for “calm and restraint by all actors,” and reminded Washington that, as a member of the UN Security Council, it “has a particular responsibility” to uphold the principles of international law. The statement released by Kallas has the backing of 26 member states – Hungary opted out – and it is the first coordinated reaction of the EU bloc, almost 48 hours after the unprecedented attack ordered by Donald Trump against the Venezuelan leadership. Brussels has avoided an explicit condemnation of the US military incursion – only Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has openly accused Washington of violating international law – and has preferred to emphasise the illegitimacy of Maduro, who has been in power in Caracas for over a decade and is responsible for a ferocious repression against the democratic opposition in the country. A risky balancing act, which once again exposes the EU to accusations of double standards. This spectacle of von der Leyen now dramatically warning about how this menace of "raw power" is upending the international community and 'global order' is clearly absurd and hypocritical on its face, and is obviously empty of any real content other than the usual performative moral posturing for the consumption of her fellow EU elites. Independent journalist Ben Norton agrees that "There is no end to the imperial…