Except for timely election info, the extensive list of voting resources will now be at the end.

“There’s a reason why you separate military and police. One fights the enemy of the State. The other serves and protects the People. When the military becomes both, then the enemies of the State tend to become the People.” ~ Commander Adama, “Battlestar Galactica” (“WATER”, Season 1 episode 2, at the 28 minute mark.)

“… In the future days, which we seek to make secure, we look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms.

The first is freedom of speech and expression …

The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way …

The third is freedom from want …

The fourth is freedom from fear …

VIDEO: FDR’s Four Freedoms Speech (1941) (FOUR FREEDOMS SPECIFIC EXCERPT WITH TAX FAIRNESS — 31:13 to 33:29  

FULL SPEECH TRANSCRIPT: Voices of Democracy: The U.S. Oratory Project

[1m 02s] Welcome to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig on KPFT Houston at 90.1-HD2, Galveston 89.5-HD2, and Huntsville 91.9-HD2. KPFT is Houston’s Community radio.

And welcome to our international visitors from Singapore, India, New Zealand, and elsewhere.

On this show, we discuss local, state, national, and international stories that may have slipped under your radar. At my website, THINKWINGRADIO-dot-COM, I link to all the articles I read and cite, as well as other relevant sources. Articles and commentaries often include lots of internet links for those of you who want to dig deeper.

It’s the 22nd week of Trump’s military occupation of Washington DC; 13 weeks since Trump deployed National Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee; and an ongoing federal law enforcement occupation in Chicago. As a result of a recent federal circuit court decision, Guard troops are being withdrawn from Chicago. There are other current and potential ramifications of this court decision which I’ll get to in the relevant story.

Due to time constraints, some stories may be longer in this show post than in the broadcast show itself. 

1. There are run-off elections.
   1. Early Voting starts on Wednesday, JAN 21 and runs through Tuesday, JAN 27^th.
   2. Early voting poll hours are Wednesday January 21 through Saturday January 24, 2026 — 7AM – 7PM
   3. Sunday, January 25, 2026 — 12PM – 7PM
   4. Then Monday, January 26^th and Tuesday January 27^th — 7AM – 7PM
   5. Election Day Polling hours are Wednesday, January 31, 2026 — 7AM – 7PM
   6. It’s always important to remember that if you are on line to vote by 7pm, you cannot be turned away.
   7. Oddly, the Texas Secretary of State’s office doesn’t show any runoff ballots. If you are unsure whether you qualify for voting in a runoff election, check your ballot at HarrisVotes-dot-com, or at your local county clerk or election clerk website.
   8. In Harris County, election information and personalized sample ballots can be found at HarrisVotes-dot-com.
   9. You are permitted to bring your pre-marked sample ballot to the polling place with you as long as you take it with you when you leave.
   10. If you are outside Harris County, you can find your polling information at your local county election clerk or county clerk. Links for nearby counties can be found at the bottom of this show post. Please notify me of any bad links.
   11. I’ve already got my mail-in ballot for the CD-18 run-off and returned it. If you applied for a mail-in ballot, you should have yours as well. I suggest mailing it in at least a week before election day.
   12. If you fit the legal criteria, it’s not too late to apply for mail-in ballot. You can find your Harris County mail ballot application at the site I’m linking to in this show post at ThinkwingRadio-dot-Com.
   13. Remember: If you don’t vote, someone else is making the choices for you, and elections have consequences.
2. Because this next story is vitally relevant to Vote-by-mail and other time-sensitive documents, this story belongs right after my election reminder. From CNBC — USPS changes may delay postmark dates. What it means for your tax returns, ballots, bills and more; By Sarah Agostino (@sarahtgobrien) | CNBC.COM | Published Wed, Dec 31 202512:38 PM EST/Updated Wed, Dec 31 20251:13 PM EST. TAGS: U.S. Postal Service (USPS), Postmark Date, U.S. Postmaster General David P. Steiner, Former U.S. Postmaster General Louis Dejoy,
   1. The U.S. Postal Service said it is not changing how or what it postmarks, but rather is clarifying for the public what to expect in terms of when that postmark is applied.
   2. Limited pickups from some post offices, as well as mail traveling farther to reach regional distribution centers — where postmarks are done — have led to an increase in delays between when you mail something and when it gets postmarked.
   3. To make sure you get a postmark that reflects the day you mail something, you’ll have to go to a post office counter and ask for a manual postmark.
   4. Depending on where you live, relying on a postmark to prove you mailed your tax return, mail-in ballot, bill payment or any other time-sensitive document by a specific date may no longer work as you expect.
   5. As the U.S. Postal Service continues implementing operational changes in an effort to shore up its finances and modernize its infrastructure, the agency expects an increase in delays between when you mail something and when it is postmarked, according to a public notice in the Federal Register that took effect Dec. 24. A postmark shows the date your mail was processed, and historically has been applied the same day you mail an item. 
   6. However, due to limiting pickups at many postal locations and mail now often traveling farther to regional processing centers where the postmark is applied, [the notice reads,] “the postmark date does not inherently or necessarily align with the date on which the Postal Service first accepted possession of the mailpiece.”
   7. While households increasingly use digital options to file taxes, pay bills and handle other personal business, there are still people who use the Postal Service for time-sensitive mail.
   8. Of the 163.6 million tax returns received by the IRS this year, about 10 million were not filed electronically, according to the agency’s latest data. About 29% of voters mailed in their ballots last year, according to USAFacts. And 13% of households paid their bills by mail last year, according to the Postal Service’s 2024 Household Diary Study.
   9. [Said Edgar Dworsky, founder of advocacy site Consumer World and a former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts who focused on consumer protection,] “Consumers have always assumed that the post office will postmark their mail on the day they take it to the post office or drop it in a box. … Who would expect it could be several days before it has a postmark on it?”
   10. … While the Postal Service said in the notice that it is not changing how it postmarks mail — that has always been done at its processing facilities — the agency has added language to its Domestic Mail Manual to clarify for the public when postmarks are applied.
   11. In 2021, USPS unveiled an initiative called Delivering for America to improve its financial condition, which included increasing postage prices and redesigning its network and processing operations.
   12. [MIKE: I’ll note here that that was an initiative set up by former Postmaster General and Trump appointee Louis DeJoy. Continuing …]
   13. Changes to transportation schedules and the consolidation of processing facilities under that initiative mean many post offices that previously sent mail twice a day to a hub now do so only once in the morning, according to new research from the Brookings Institution. Under the new network, roughly 26% of post offices are within 50 miles of their assigned regional center, and another 26% are between 150 and 500 miles away, according to the research.
   14. The upshot is that some mail generally doesn’t begin moving through the system until at least the following day, resulting in the postmark not being applied the day you mailed that item. In some cases — i.e., ahead of weekends or holidays — it could take longer than a day for that crucial stamp to be applied.
   15. … The importance of ensuring your mail is postmarked in time applies to a range of documents or forms that have deadlines. For example, ballots that are mailed can require a postmark by a specific date to be counted, as can federal and state tax returns and certain legal documents.
   16. [According to a statement issued by the Postal Service,] If someone wants to ensure “that the postmark aligns with the date of mailing, the customer may take the mailpiece to a post office, station, or branch and request a [manual postmark] at the retail counter.”
   17. Asking a postal clerk to manually postmark something costs nothing. Or, you can pay $5.30 to send a time-sensitive document via certified mail, which includes a receipt for the sender as well as a return receipt showing when it was delivered and who signed for it. Alternatively, a certificate of mailing, which you keep for your records, costs $2.40 and shows the date you mailed something.
   18. [Said Josh Youngblood, an enrolled agent and founder of The Youngblood Group in Dallas,] “Waiting in line at the post office is never fun, but you get that proof of timely mailing. … The reality is, otherwise, you are at the mercy of whenever that postmark gets applied.”
   19. Given the possibility of a delay, you may want to explore electronic filing or payment options when available. Or, give yourself a deadline to mail something important well ahead of the official due date.
   20. … Ahead of tax filing season, it’s worth taking note of the possible delay. While April 15 is when federal taxes are due, the IRS considers any tax return postmarked on or before April 15 as being filed on time, even if it’s not received until days later.
   21. So if you are prone to waiting until the last minute to file taxes and do not do it electronically, you can’t [emphasis mine — Mike] assume dropping off your return at the post office or putting it in a mailbox means it will get postmarked that day.
   22. [Youngblood said,] “If I’m mailing something to the IRS, I’m going to go into the post office to the actual person, where they stamp it.”
   23. If your tax return is postmarked late and you owe taxes, you may face penalties and interest. [Youngblood said,] “There is a penalty for filing late, and even a day late is still late.”
   24. For individual tax returns — i.e., your Form 1040 — the penalty for filing a late return is 5% of the tax due for each month or partial month the return is late, capping out at 25%. On top of that, the penalty for paying late is 0.5% of your unpaid balance per month, also capped at 25%. Interest is also charged on unpaid balances, accruing daily at the federal short-term rate plus 3%.
   25. However, if you have filed and paid taxes owed on time over the previous three years, you can request that the penalties be waived, Youngblood said.
   26. MIKE: There are a lot of important changes that people may have to make to their habits because of these changes. But I feel that while this story touched upon mail-in voting, it didn’t put enough emphasis on it.
   27. MIKE: As I mentioned in the aftermath of the November elections, I mailed my ballot from Houston, it arrived at the Harris County Clerk in three days and before election day, but I don’t know what the postmark date was. My wife mailed hers from College Station. It took a full week and it arrived on election day, but again, I don’t know what the postmark date was.
   28. MIKE: So I can’t emphasize enough, if you are voting by mail, either leave a minimum of a week for your ballot to arrive with a postmark, or if necessary, bring it to a post office and get it hand-stamped at the counter.
   29. MIKE: As Ripley said in a different context in the movie ALIENS, “It’s the only way to be sure.”
3. From KHOU-dot-COM, a program that may be of help to many struggling consumers — Kroger launches program to provide discount on fruits and vegetables to customers receiving government assistance; Customers on SNAP, WIC, Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit and others are eligible for the program. Author: Karmann Ludwig | KHOU.COM | Published: 2:42 PM CST December 30, 2025/Updated: 5:15 PM CST December 30, 2025. TAGS: Kroger, Fresh fruits and vegetables, SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, National School Lunch Program, Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit. Kroger Verified Savings Program,
   1. [On Monday,] Kroger … launched a new program to provide a discount on fruits and vegetables, as well as half-off of its membership, to customers receiving various forms of government assistance. 
   2. According to a press release from Kroger, customers who receive SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, National School Lunch Program and Veterans and Survivors Pension Benefit assistance will be eligible for its Verified Savings Program. Through this, customers will receive 20% off fruits and vegetables. 
   3. To participate in the program, customers will need tosign up online using SheerID. Verification [which] is good for five months, and customers will need to reconfirm eligibility to remain enrolled, Kroger said. Once signed up, the discounts on fruits and vegetables will be available through a Kroger digital account. 
   4. The company confirmed the program is valid across the Kroger family of stores [with the full list included in the article.]
   5. A Kroger spokesperson said the purpose of this program is to expand access to healthy foods. 
   6. [Said Mark Bruce, Head of Communications and Public Affairs for Kroger’s Columbus Division, in a press release,] “Making fresh food more affordable and equipping more customers with free grocery delivery is an incredible step in expanding food access. … With the launch of the Verified Savings program, we are thrilled to make fruits and vegetables more affordable and eliminate one more barrier to food security in our mission to end hunger.” 
   7. Participants in this program will also receive half-off the Boost by Kroger Plus membership. Boo7st by Kroger Plus offers certain benefits, including unlimited free delivery on orders of $35 or more, additional fuel points, streaming service, and other member-exclusive options. The cost of the essential level membership at the reduced rate is $34.50 per year or $4.50 per month. 
   8. MIKE: Kroger has a site linking to both savings opportunities. You can apply for Kroger’s program by signing in to Kroger online or setting up an account, and then clicking on the supplied link. SheerID is a private company acting as a verifier for companies offering programs with certain eligibility requirements. I can’t get further without actually applying, so I can’t offer more commentary on the value of these programs than I already have. You’ll have if the costs make sense for you andjudge for yourself.
4. In authoritarian surrender news, from the Guardian — Trump backs away from deploying national guard in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland; By Robert Tait in Washington | THEGUARDIAN.COM | Wed 31 Dec 2025 17.27 EST. TAGS: US military, Donald Trump, Chicago, Los Angeles, Portland, California, Illinois, news, National Guard, Posse Comitatus Act,
   1. Donald Trump has staged a sudden climbdown from his attempts to impose federal troops in law enforcement roles on Democratic-run cities, announcing on Wednesday that he was ending attempted deployments from Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland.
   2. The unexpected shift came after justice department lawyers said they were no longer contesting a California court’s ruling that returned the national guard troops to the authority of Gavin Newsom, the state’s governor. It also followed a rare rebuke from the US supreme court, which blocked the White House’s efforts to deploy national guards in Illinois.
   3. Trump attempted to paint the decision as temporary in a post on his Truth Social platform, vowing to redeploy at a later date and insisting the initiative had been a success.
   4. [Trump wrote,] “We are removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles, and Portland, despite the fact that CRIME has been greatly reduced by having these great Patriots in those cities, and ONLY by that fact.”
   5. [He continued, saying,] “Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago were GONE if it weren’t for the Federal Government stepping in. We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again – Only a question of time!”
   6. Yet there seemed little doubt that the latest move amounted to a retreat. Earlier on Wednesday, Newsom had hailed the justice department’s decision, announced in a filing with the ninth circuit court of appeals, [with the DoJ] backing away from its argument that Trump had a right to put state national guard troops under his authority indefinitely.
   7. [Wrote Newsom, who vocally and vigorously opposed the deployments on the streets of Los Angeles,] “This admission by Trump and his occult cabinet members means this illegal intimidation tactic will finally come to an end.”
   8. [MIKE: I’ll note here that Newsom’s use of the word “occult” in this context fascinated me so much that I had to look up the dictionary definition. I’ve linked to it in this blog post at ThinkwingRadio-dot-com. You can decide for yourself if his usage is appropriate. Continuing …]
   9. In a statement on Wednesday evening, Newsom said he had directed California national guard leaders to “return state service members home to be with their families as soon as possible.”
   10. Trump initially ordered national guard members into the city last June in response to protests against raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The deployment has been subject to a succession of legal challenges, with Newsom arguing that the situation did not justify the presence of federal forces, and that Trump was exceeding his powers.
   11. A lower court ruled earlier this month that Trump had seized control of the national guard members illegally and ordered them returned to state authority. The administration had originally contested that ruling.
   12. Its change of tack amounted to the second setback in a week to Trump’s quest to federalize national guard units to quell displays of dissent against his highly contentious immigration policies, which he and other administration figures have depicted as violent riots.
   13. Last week, the US supreme court delivered a rare rebuke by refusing to allow the administration to deploy national guards in Chicago – a move opposed by the city’s mayor, Brandon Johnson, and the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, who are both Democrats.
   14. Trump’s announcement casts doubts on the future of national guard deployments in other Democratic-run cities, including Washington DC and New Orleans, where 350 troops were expected to arrive by New Year’s Eve.
   15. Troops have been deployed in Washington DC since last August, purportedly to counteract a supposed “crime wave”. One national guard was killed and another seriously wounded after being shot by a gunman outside a metro station in the city on 26 November.
   16. The incident led to an increase in the number guard members deployed in Washington, as well as an intensification of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric after it emerged that the suspected assailant was an Afghan national who had been granted political asylum in the US. More than 2,000 troops have been deployed in Washington DC since August, with many being drafted in from at least 11 Republican-led states.
   17. A federal appeals court ruled this month that the troops can remain while a panel of judges establish whether their deployment is legal. A lower court had earlier ordered that they be removed.
   18. MIKE: Assuming Trump actually does remove these Guard troops from the designated cities and return them to their respective governors’ authority, this is a victory for democracy and local home rule, but it’s important to remember that Washington DC and New Orleans remain under the hobnailed heel of Trump and the Republican Party.
   19. MIKE: Memphis TN also still has a contingent of hundreds of National Guard Troops, but that may be a cloudier issue since Trump did not technically federalize those Guard troops. In fact, Governor Bill Lee of Tennessee send the Guard to Memphis at the “suggestion” of Trump. Nonetheless, Lee’s deployment of Guard troops to Memphis is experiencing its own legal challenges from local leaders.
   20. MIKE: Mind you, none of these legal successes or ongoing challenges affect Trump’s ICE-related terrorism of local communities, nor do they curtail the ongoing efforts of Trump and rightwing Republicans to intimidate and control Democrat-run cities to the greatest degree possible.
5. Next from NBCNEWS — S. removal of panels honoring Black soldiers at WWII cemetery in the Netherlands draws backlash; By The Associated Press | NBCNEWS.COM | Dec. 30, 2025, 4:00 AM CST / Source: The Associated Press. TAGS: U.S. Military Cemetery, Netherlands, American Battle Monuments Commission, President Donald Trump, Diversity, Equity And Inclusion Programs,
   1. Ever since a U.S. military cemetery in the southern Netherlands removed two displays recognizing Black troops who helped to liberate Europe from the Nazis, visitors have filled the guestbook with objections.
   2. Some time in the spring, the American Battle Monuments Commission, the U.S. government agency responsible for maintaining memorial sites outside the United States, removed the panels from the visitors center at the American Cemetery in Margraten, the final resting place for roughly 8,300 U.S. soldiers, set in rolling hills near the border with Belgium and Germany.
   3. The move came after President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs. “Our country will be woke no longer,” Trump said in an address to Congress in March.
   4. The removal, carried out without public explanation, has angered Dutch officials, the families of U.S. soldiers and the local residents who honor the American sacrifice by caring for the graves.
   5. S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Joe Popolo seemed to support the removal of the displays. [Popolo wrote on social media following a visit to the cemetery after the controversy had erupted,] “The signs at Margraten are not intended to promote an agenda that criticizes America.” Popolo declined a request for comment.
   6. One display told the story of 23-year-old George H. Pruitt, a Black soldier buried at the cemetery, who died attempting to rescue a comrade from drowning in 1945. The other described the U.S. policy of racial segregation in place during World War II.
   7. Some 1 million Black soldiers enlisted in the U.S. military during the war, serving in separate units, mostly doing menial tasks but also fighting in some combat missions. An all-Black unit dug the thousands of graves in Margraten during the brutal 1944-45 season of famine in the German-occupied Netherlands known as the Hunger Winter.
   8. Cor Linssen, the 79-year-old son of a Black American soldier and a Dutch mother, is one of those who opposes the removal of the panels.
   9. Linssen grew up some 30 miles from the cemetery and although he didn’t learn who his father was until later in life, he knew he was the son of a Black soldier.
   10. [Linssen told The Associated Press,] “When I was born, the nurse thought something was wrong with me because I was the wrong color. …I was the only dark child at school.”
   11. Together with a group of other children of Black soldiers, now all in their 70s and 80s, Linssen visited the cemetery in February 2025 to see the panels.
   12. [Linssen said,] “It’s an important part of history. … They should put the panels back.”
   13. After months of mystery around the disappearance of the panels, two media organizations — the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and online media Dutch News — this month published emails obtained through a U.S. Freedom of Information Act request showing that Trump’s DEI policies directly prompted the commission to take down the panels.
   14. [MIKE: In other words, Trump didn’t directly order it. Instead, some underlings inferred that it was Trump would want. This is how a mob boss gets things done without actually ordering it. Continuing …]
   15. The White House did not respond to queries from AP about the removed panels.
   16. The American Battle Monuments Commission did not respond to queries from AP about the revelations. Earlier, the ABMC told the AP that the panel that discussed segregation “did not fall within (the) commemorative mission.’’
   17. It also said that the panel about Pruitt was “rotated” out. The replacement panel features Leslie Loveland, a white soldier killed in Germany in 1945, who is buried at Margraten.
   18. Theo Bovens, a Dutch senator and chair of the Black Liberators foundation, said his organization, which pushed for the inclusion of the panels at the visitors center, was not informed that they had been removed. He told AP it was “strange” that the U.S. commission feels the panels are not in its mission, since it placed them in 2024.
   19. “Something has changed in the United States,” [Bovens] said.
   20. Bovens, who is from the region around Margraten, is one of thousands of locals who tend to the graves at the cemetery. People who adopt a grave visit it regularly and leave flowers on the fallen soldier’s birthday and other holidays. The responsibility is often passed down through Dutch families, and there is a waiting list to adopt graves of the U.S. soldiers.
   21. Both the city and the province where the cemetery is located have demanded that the panels be returned. In November a Dutch television program recreated the panels and installed them outside the cemetery, where they were quickly removed by police. The show is now seeking a permanent location for them.
   22. The Black Liberators group is also seeking a permanent location for a memorial for the Black soldiers who gave their lives to free the Dutch.
   23. On America Square, in front of the Eijsden-Margraten city hall, there is a small park named for Jefferson Wiggins, a Black soldier who, at age 19, dug many of the graves at Margraten when he was stationed in the Netherlands.
   24. In his memoir, published posthumously in 2014, he describes burying the bodies of his white comrades whom he was barred from fraternizing with while they were alive.
   25. [Said Linda Hervieux, whose book “Forgotten” chronicles Black soldiers who fought on D-Day and the segregation they faced back home, when] Black soldiers came to Europe in World War II, “what they found was people who accepted them, who welcomed them, who treated them as the heroes that they were. And that includes the Netherlands.”
   26. The removal of the panels, she said, “follows a historical pattern of writing out the stories of men and women of color in the United States.”
   27. MIKE: With Trump and the extremist, racists in power, it’s almost like the South has finally risen again.
6. Next from THEGUARDIAN — ‘Better off with Taiwan’: Honduras joins other Latin American countries rethinking ties with China; By Mat Youkee and Helen Davidson in Taipei | THEGUARDIAN.COM | Fri 19 Dec 2025 02.16 EST. TAGS: Honduras, Taiwan, Americas, Asia Pacific, China (PRC),
   1. After weeks of technology failures, accusations of fraud and complaints about US President Donald Trump’s interference, the outcome of Honduras’s 30 November election is yet to be called. But there is a clear winner beyond the Central American nation’s borders: Taiwan.
   2. Both leading candidates say they will cut diplomatic ties with Beijing and re-establish relations with Taipei, reversing the March 2023 decision by the then president, Xiomara (PRON: Zhyo-MA-ra) Castro, to sensationally end Honduras’ 82-year relationship with Taiwan.
   3. At the time, Honduras was the ninth of 10 countries to sever ties with Taipei in favour of Beijing in the last decade, amid an intensifying pressure campaign by the Chinese government to isolate Taiwan and delegitimise its sovereignty, and boost Beijing’s claim that it’s a part of China.
   4. But they seem to be having regrets.
   5. [Says Salvador Nasralla, the Liberal party’s candidate,] “For Honduras there has been absolutely no benefit from [the relationship with China].”
   6. [Agrees his opponent Nasry Asfura, the former mayor of Tegucigalpa who received Trump’s endorsement days before the vote,] “We were 100 times better off with Taiwan.” …
   7. Today, Taipei has just 12 diplomatic allies in the world, thanks to Beijing’s relentless campaign to force foreign governments to choose one or the other. Sometimes it sparks an unedifying bidding war of financial and other inducements, even alleged corruption. In the end, most countries choose the world’s second-biggest economy.
   8. Honduras was the fifth Central American and Caribbean nation (after Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Nicaragua) to cut ties with [Taiwan] in the past decade. Since the beginning of the century, 21 nations have turned from Taipei to Beijing. Nauru has done it twice.
   9. Those who resist face enormous pressure. During the pandemic, Guatemala, Taiwan’s most populous remaining ally, was urged to recognise China in return for vaccine aid.
   10. Taiwan-based diplomats from its remaining allies have told the Guardian they have faced a gamut of tactics, from promises of major infrastructure investment to intimidating visits by Chinese officials to their UN offices, and sudden bans on lucrative Chinese tourism to their countries.
   11. Now however, US pressure, broken Chinese promises, and corruption scandals appear to have halted Taiwan’s seemingly inexorable slide into diplomatic irrelevance in the region. In November, a delegation of 10 Panamanian lawmakers and advisers made a trip to Taipei in search of business deals and parliamentary ties. Meanwhile Godwin Friday, the recently elected president of St Vincent and the Grenadines, dropped his party’s longstanding promise to recognise China from his party’s manifesto.
   12. Officials in Taipei may be feeling vindicated. At the time Honduras cut ties, its foreign minister said Honduras was struggling financially and Taiwan hadn’t answered a request to renegotiate $600m in debt or increase financial aid. Taiwan in turn accused Honduras of asking for more than $2bn and urged it not to “quench your thirst with poison” by siding with China.
   13. The foreign ministries of Taiwan and China were contacted for comment.
   14. … The cost-benefit analysis of establishing relations with China have shifted, especially since Trump’s re-election, according to Evan Ellis, a professor in the US Army War College in Pennsylvania.
   15. In Honduras, shrimp exports collapsed when Chinese buyers didn’t replace the 40% of exports absorbed by Taiwan, as promised. In Panama, major Chinese infrastructure projects, including ports and bridges have been chronically delayed or cancelled. Panama also wants to play a role in the re-shoring of the microchip industry to the western hemisphere, for which economic relations with Taiwan are crucial.
   16. Public opinions of China have also been affected by revelations about some of the methods by which the switches were achieved. Messages from the phone of former Panamanian president Juan Carlos Varela suggested that his family-run business had benefited from multimillion-dollar orders from Chinese diplomats after recognition, allegations that Varela denies. In Paraguay, the head of the Chinese business association tasked with establishing political relations told undercover reporters for Al Jazeera “we’ll pay bribes”.
   17. But geopolitics are far from the thoughts of most Central American citizens. The issue of the net benefits of ties to China or Taiwan are of secondary importance compared with “virtue signalling” allegiance to US influence, according to [Professor Evan Ellis of the US Army War College. [He says,] “The US is pushing back against China in the region and countries choosing to stay with Taiwan is part of this. … The expectation is that they will be rewarded.”
   18. Honduras – where Trump endorsed one candidate and pardoned a former president for drug trafficking in the space of the week – is just the latest example of his often nakedly transactional foreign policy in the region.
   19. [MIKE: I’ll note that the Trump pardon of Hernández was not universally popular in Honduras, but continuing …]
   20. Following Trump’s threats to “take back” the Panama Canal from alleged Chinese control, Panama said it would not renew its membership [in] China’s Belt & Road infrastructure scheme and lodged a legal case against two Chinese-run ports at either end of the waterway. US firms seem well placed to win a number of new port and energy projects in the country. When the Panamanian delegation to Taiwan received WhatsApp messages from the Chinese ambassador demanding that they cancel their trip, the US ambassador stepped in to reassure them of his support.
   21. With the Trump administration’s focus shifting to the Caribbean, where several warships float off the coast of Venezuela, governments such as that of St Vincent’s are unlikely to make diplomatic moves that would antagonise the US.
   22. [Says Professor Ellis,] “It’s not the time for a small Caribbean island not too far from major US military operations to be flipping to the PRC [People’s Republic of China].” …
   23. MIKE: Diplomacy can be ugly, and what a country considers its national interest can be flexible. I don’t like Trump’s naked arm-twisting of other governments and believe that these results could have been accomplished by the US using less confrontational and hegemonic means, but I can’t disagree with the geopolitical result.
   24. MIKE: Once, when visiting China, a woman told me through a translator that the US is arrogant. I didn’t disagree, but was not able to continue a discussion, though I very much wanted to.
   25. MIKE: There was a book written in the 1950s called, “The Ugly American”, which was eventually turned into a movie with Marlon Brando.
   26. MIKE: It was, “a 1958 novel that critiques U.S. foreign policy and cultural insensitivity during the Cold War, particularly in Southeast Asia. Through linked stories set in the fictional country of Sarkhan, it contrasts arrogant, incompetent American officials with empathetic individuals who understand local cultures, highlighting how U.S. actions inadvertently fuel communism by alienating the local population.”
   27. MIKE: Perhaps we should hope that the Chinese don’t read that book and learn from our mistakes.
7. From November 26 from INTERESTINGENGINEERING-dot-COM — China to deploy battery-swapping humanoid robots for patrols along Vietnam border; By Kaif Shaikh | INTERESTINGENGINEERING.COM | Nov 26, 2025 08:32 AM EST. TAGS: UBTech Robotics, China, Vietnam. Humanoid Robots,
   1. China’s UBTech Robotics has secured a [contract worth the equivalent US$37 million] to deploy industrial-grade humanoid robots across border crossings in Guangxi, expanding the country’s push to apply robotics in public-facing and industrial environments. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in December. 
   2. The agreement was signed with a humanoid robot centre in Fangchenggang, a coastal city bordering Vietnam. The deployment will involve UBTech’s Walker S2, a model launched in July and described as the world’s first humanoid robot capable of autonomously replacing its own battery.
   3. The initiative marks one of China’s largest real-world rollouts of humanoid systems in government operations. The details were first reported by the South China Morning Post (SCMP). …
   4. … The pilot programme will deploy Walker S2 robots at border checkpoints to guide travellers, manage personnel flow, assist with patrol duties, handle logistics tasks, and support commercial services, the SCMP report In addition to immigration-related operations, the robots will also be used at manufacturing sites for steel, copper, and [aluminum] to conduct inspections.
   5. The deal reflects an acceleration in China’s broader effort to commercialise embodied AI. The robotics sector has received strong policy backing, and agencies across multiple provinces have begun incorporating robots into routine work. 
   6. Similar deployments have also appeared in airports, government offices, and at major events. A China Central Television segment referenced by the SCMP reported that a related robot had been deployed at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport to answer passenger questions.
   7. During this year’s Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Tianjin, immigration authorities used a multilingual robot developed by Beijing-based iBen Intelligence. Police patrol robots have also been seen in cities such as Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Chengdu.
   8. … While the deployment itself targets border and industrial applications, the Walker S2’s design is rooted in smart manufacturing and logistics. UBTech describes the robot as an industrial-grade humanoid built for high uptime and complex manipulation tasks.
   9. Standing at around 1.76 metres tall, the Walker S2 features a highly articulated body with 52 degrees of freedom, including fourth-generation dexterous hands with 11 degrees of freedom each. These enable sub-millimetre precision for tasks such as assembly and grasping.
   10. The robot can handle loads of up to 15 kilograms (33 pounds) per arm across a workspace stretching from ground level to 1.8 metres. High-torque joints in the waist enable deep squatting and stooping, supporting operations that require strength and flexibility.
   11. One of the robot’s most notable features is its autonomous hot-swappable dual-battery system. UBTech says the Walker S2 can replace its own depleted battery with a fully charged one in about three minutes, allowing nearly continuous 24-hour operation without manual intervention.
   12. For perception and decision-making, the system integrates UBTech’s BrainNet 2.0 and Co-Agent AI frameworks, which combine multimodal reasoning, task planning, and autonomous exception handling.
   13. The robot uses a pure RGB binocular stereo vision system that provides human-like depth perception, enabling it to adapt to dense and dynamic factory environments. Advanced dynamic balancing algorithms help maintain stability during bipedal movement, even when the robot carries heavy loads or moves at speeds of up to 7.2 km/h [~4.5 mph].
   14. [MIKE: That equates to a brisk walking speed or a slow jog. Continuing …]
   15. … UBTech said that cumulative orders for the Walker series have reached 1.1 billion yuan (US $115 million) since shipments began this month. The company aims to deliver 500 industrial humanoids by the end of the year and increase output tenfold next year, with a long-term target of producing 10,000 units annually by 2027. Chief branding officer Michael Tam said the company also intends to reduce manufacturing costs as production scales. …
   16. In China, robotics is also gaining ground in areas such as healthcare and elderly care, urban cleaning, traffic management, public safety patrols, and automated delivery through metro systems and drones. New sectors, such as border control, are also increasingly shaped by China’s push toward embodied AI.
   17. MIKE: What I find both fascinating and concerning is that this story discusses only the industrial and social applications of these robots while practically ignoring the signature function they are assigned in the story title: “deploying … humanoid robots for patrols along Vietnam border.”
   18. MIKE: The story almost dismissively discusses this function in one sentence: “The pilot programme will deploy Walker S2 robots at border checkpoints to guide travellers, manage personnel flow, [and] assist with patrol duties …]”
   19. MIKE: In the past, when reading stories about Chinese demonstrations of their robots navigating uneven ground, I’ve speculated on the military combat use of humanoid robots by China, and eventually other nations.
8. Then, just a couple of weeks after this last story, on December 6, INTERESTINGENGINEERING-dot-COM had this story — China unveils military robot that mimics soldiers’ combat moves in real time; ByPrabhat Ranjan Mishra | interestingengineering.com | Dec 03, 2025 08:41 AM EST. TAGS: China, Artificial Intelligence, Robot Soldiers, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA),
   1. China has showcased its new type of military robot during a recent event. The robot is reportedly capable of matching every move of soldiers using artificial intelligence. 
   2. The innovation resembles the robot design showcased in the 2011 American movie Real Steel.
   3. The new combat robot is claimed to be an effort of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to develop autonomous combat systems for modern warfare. The Asian giant previously showcased gun-toting robotic dogs.
   4. … China’s new robotwas showcased during the 12th International Army Cadets Week (IACW) in November 2025. Organized by China’s PLA Army Engineering University, the event witnessed participation from cadets from China and 13 foreign countries.
   5. A Moroccan cadet who tested the robot told Science and Technology Daily that, while he thought combat robots had not yet achieved long-range sensing, this could be improved by applying AI to battlefield assault and reconnaissance. The exhibition featured a mine-clearing robot using AI visual recognition in conjunction with metal detectors to detect buried explosives as it moved through simulated minefields, SCMP …
   6. The military cadets also tested how bomb-disposal robots can be controlled solely by voice commands.
   7. … The new motion-controlled combat robot was showcased to defense representatives from 13 foreign militaries. This also underscored China’s rapid progress in modern robotics.
   8. The report revealed that the new robotic system works by having a human operator wear a motion-sensing suit; whatever moves the person makes — punches, defensive maneuvers, or other actions — the robot replicates almost instantly.
   9. The machine has been compared to the “shadow-boxing” robots from the film Real Steel, underscoring how closely it mirrors human physical motion.
   10. The unveiling fits into a broader push by the PLA to integrate advanced robotics into its concept of “intelligent warfare.” Chinese military commentators have argued that robots could offer new kinds of flexibility and even influence deterrence strategies as battlefield environments become more complex. …
   11. Much of this progress draws on China’s civilian robotics industry, which has made major advances in humanoid balance, mobility, and motion control. Although these robots remain in the demonstration phase, their increasing sophistication suggests they could eventually take on tasks in environments too dangerous or challenging for human soldiers, raising important questions about future combat roles, ethical oversight, and international competition in military robotics.
   12. MIKE: I’ve previously touched upon the potential for Chinese humanoid robots replacing human soldiers for some ground combat duties. In the previous story, the lede is practically buried under the guise of innocuous civil and industrial uses for humanoid robots.
   13. MIKE: Here, robots as replacements for human ground troops is the point of the story. China has shown videos of humanoid robots navigating rough terrain at a moderate run.
   14. MIKE: But if these robots can perform as the Chinese demonstrations and hype say they can, let’s look at the potential of these machines in combat.
   15. MIKE: Russia still uses human wave assaults, as it has in Ukraine, and as do many of the worlds less developed militaries. In the 1950s Korean War, that’s also how China fought. We don’t really have a more recent example than that of China’s current ground combat doctrine.
   16. MIKE: The initial waves of a ground assault are basically intended to absorb bullets from the enemy so that the subsequent waves of troops can make enough progress to successfully reach their objective. It’s the definition of cannon fodder. If the “fire pressure” from the objective is too great, the assault fails, and a retreat is ordered.
   17. MIKE: Now, imagine the first waves of a ground attack populated entirely by humanoid robots, shielding the human combatants advancing from behind them from much of the ammunition being fired by the enemy.
   18. MIKE: China has made the claim that these robots can be manufactured for as little as the equivalent $5,000 each, but even if these machines cost three or four times as much, compare that to the cost and value of a human soldier.
   19. MIKE: In cold economic terms, human soldiers are worth much more than $15-20,000 each. According to one article I found, a trained US soldier can be worth upwards of $300,000. A so-called “statistical life” in the US is valued at about $7.5 million.
   20. MIKE: Military personnel must be recruited, trained, housed, fed, and equipped. They must be transported with all the essential amenities that humans require, from feeding to medical care to waste management.
   21. MIKE: All this is very costly, and a severely wounded or dead war fighter represents a significant economic cost. In the case of combat pilots, that sunk cost can be in the millions of dollars.
   22. MIKE: Robots, on the other hand, only require batteries, maintenance, and spare parts. They can be densely packed and crated for shipment to a combat zone. Their combat duties can be downloaded to them, before they are switched on and await the “signal” to proceed.
   23. MIKE: The number of available robot combatants is limited only by a nation’s ability to produce them, usually by factory robots, and they are “trained” with software downloads. Birthrate, nurture, and education have very little to do with it.
   24. MIKE: When robot soldiers are “wounded” or “killed”, there are no letters to be sent to relatives. No civil strife precipitated by human friends and relatives of the many dead and injured. Robot “casualties” are simply repaired, or salvaged for interchangeable parts and scrapped.
   25. MIKE: In a country like China, civil tranquility is a top priority for the government, even more so than in many other countries. Robots — humanoid or otherwise — replacing humans in ground combat to the maximum degree possible help in that regard.
   26. MIKE: The US and EU countries have given up ‘human wave’ attacks to the greatest degree possible. In the US, that became military doctrine after the US Civil War. In Europe, World War 1 was the pivot point.
   27. MIKE: The US and other nations are certainly working on robot combatants, but to my knowledge, the West doesn’t have any humanoid combatants close to being operational.
   28. MIKE: Drones are robots, and have certainly become central to many forms of combat, even to the point of creating and requiring new military doctrines for both offensive and defensive use. In fact, any unmanned warfighting device is basically a robot, whether remotely controlled or Ai-controlled.
   29. MIKE: Humanoid robots may or may not be the best technological vanguard in a ground attack. Other types of robots may be superior, either in offense or defense. It’s part cost-benefit analysis, and part technological capabilities.
   30. MIKE: If and when the next major war is fought between peer nations such as the US and China, we’ll see who has anticipated the needs of modern combat in the land, sea, air, and space domains, and which nation has the superior technology, and the doctrines for best using those technologies.
   31. MIKE: But make no mistake. This is a major technological arms race, of which industrial capacity will be a major component, and any nation that doesn’t aggressively pursue it will be on the losing side.
9. With all of the aforementioned said, battlefield robots aren’t just about the dystopian vision of cold metal humanoid machines slaughtering humans. Robots can also help save and protect humans from the battlefield, as in this story from BUSINESSINSIDER — A Russian drone hit a rescue robot evacuating a wounded Ukrainian soldier — the bot shielded him from further injury, battalion says; By Sinéad Baker | BUSINESSINSIDER.COM | Dec 30, 2025, 6:34 AM CT. TAGS: Russia, Ukraine, Robots, Battlefield Robots,
   1. New video footage from Russia’s war against Ukraine shows a ground robot transporting an injured Ukrainian soldier being hit by a Russian drone.
   2. Using ground robots to rescue soldiers is just one way Ukraine is putting its growing fleet to work. The uncrewed vehicles also move supplies, lay and remove mines, and attack Russian targets. Employing bots for battlefield casualty evacuation helps keep medical crews out of harm’s way, but it can also leave an injured soldier exposed and vulnerable to attack.
   3. Ukraine’s 1st Separate Medical Battalion shared the footage on Monday, revealing that the soldier was safely evacuated. The rescue robot took the hit and protected him. The soldier didn’t sustain any additional injuries during the 3-hour and 25-minute mission.
   4. The soldier had been injured by a drone drop and was unable to walk by himself. Reaching him meant navigating territory with a significant Russian presence, and the planned return journey was 36 miles.
   5. They decided to send a robot controlled from afar by soldiers in safer positions, the battalion said. Ukraine uses robots to carry out missions too hazardous for humans.
   6. The robot detected a Russian drone soon after the injured soldier was loaded on, the battalion said. The team decided to continue moving at maximum speed, but the drone hit the robot on its second attempt, two and a half miles into the journey.
   7. The soldier did not suffer any new injuries from the attack, as he was contained in the robot’s armored capsule. The robot, however, was damaged, the battalion said.
   8. He was evacuated by another Ukrainian unit nearby and got the treatment he needed, it said. The robot was also recovered. Business Insider was unable to independently verify the details reported by the battalion.
   9. The video shows a ground robot moving through a rural area at night, stopping as soldiers load an injured comrade aboard and close a protective lid. The robot then drives on, before aerial footage appears to show an explosion above it.
   10. The video then shows the wounded soldier speaking after the mission, along with footage of the damaged robot. The battalion said his treatment is continuing.
   11. A host of companies are developing Ukraine’s robot fleet, and innovation is rapid, with soldiers even updating them on the battlefield.
   12. However, they are risky, particularly if they lack cages like the one in this attack. Robots are targets for Russia’s swarms of ever-present drones.
   13. Oleksandr Yabchanka, the head of the robotic systems for Ukraine’s Da Vinci Wolves Battalion, previously told Business Insider that using robots can sometimes put the soldier at greater risk, as it takes them from where they may have been able to hide or be with comrades out into the open.
   14. They use humans for evacuations where possible, though that isn’t without risks, and [use] robots as a last resort.
   15. Ground robots conduct less than 1% of Ukraine’s drone missions; however, their use is growing. And the West is testing and prototyping uncrewed vehicle designs relying on what Ukraine is learning.
   16. MIKE: One might say that robots giveth, and robots taketh away. They contribute to war’s slaughter but can also help to protect and save humans from injuries and excessively dangerous combat tasks. Of course, one might also ask what combat task is not excessively dangerous?
   17. MIKE: The battlefield future isn’t coming. It’s here and it’s ever more terrifying.
   18. MIKE: The next battlefield innovation we’ll see in increasing use over the next few years is directed-energy weapons such as lasers, initially mainly for defensive purposes. Let us pray that at some point, they’ll include a “stun” setting.
10. Next from NPR — For Ukrainians, a nuclear missile museum is a bitter reminder of what the country gave up; By Eleanor Beardsley, Polina Lytvynova | NPR.ORG | December 28, 2025@5:02 AM ET. TAGS: Ukraine, Nuclear Weapons, Museums, Budapest Memorandum, Security Guarantees,
    1. In the middle of vast farm fields in southern Ukraine, you’ll find what was once a secret Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile launch site. Today it’s the Museum of Strategic Missile Forces.
    2. Aside from chronicling the Cold War arms race between the Soviet Union and United States, the museum tells the story of how Ukraine dismantled its nuclear weapons arsenal — with assurances from the U.S., Britain and Russia that its sovereignty would be respected — shortly after becoming an independent country in 1991.
    3. Today most Ukrainians believe that decision to give up nukes was a fateful mistake. For them, this museum is a bitter reminder of what they say was their “naivety” and “betrayal.”
    4. On this cold, blustery December day, there aren’t many visitors, but Ihor Volodin and Inna Kravchuk have come from the neighboring Cherkasy region.
    5. [Says Kravchuk,] “I think it’s a part of our history and it’s important to know about it.” … But she says it also makes her angry: “If we had kept these weapons, probably Russia would not have attacked. The nuclear weapons were our insurance.”
    6. Hennadiy Vladimirovitch Fil, a 65-year-old guide, once served as a lieutenant colonel in the elite rocket forces here. He attributes his youthful complexion to all the time he spent in an underground silo at the site.
    7. Fil says hardly anyone of a certain age leaves the museum without cursing. …
    8. When the USSR broke apart in 1991, Ukraine was left with the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal, after the U.S. and Russia. In January 1994, then-President Bill Clinton stopped over in Kyiv on his way to Moscow, for talks with Ukraine’s first democratically elected president, Leonid Kravchuk. Later that year, a deal was reached for Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons.
    9. That agreement, known as the Budapest Memorandum, was signed in Hungary by Ukraine, Russia, the U.S. and Britain. Ukraine’s three co-signers promised its territorial integrity would be respected. …
    10. Fil notes bitterly that Ukraine also ended up giving several jets to Russia in payment for natural gas debts a few years later.
    11. “Now,” he says, “Russia is bombing us with our own planes.”
    12. Denmark’s Ambassador to Kyiv Thomas Lund-Sorensen is also visiting the museum on this day. He says while reducing the number of countries holding nuclear weapons is always a positive thing, he agrees that what happened to Ukraine was “a disgrace.”
    13. [Says Lund-Sorensen,] “They gave them up with the promises of the three powers, and clearly the guarantees given from Russia at the time were not worth the paper they were written on.”
    14. Even Clinton has expressed his regret about the Budapest Memorandum. In an interview with Irish broadcaster RTE in the year following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Clinton said, “I feel terrible about it… and I feel a personal stake because I got them to agree to give up their nuclear weapons. And none of them believe that Russia would have pulled this stunt if Ukraine still had their weapons.”
    15. This museum is a painful reminder of what happened, and underlines why Ukraine insists that ironclad security guarantees be part of any peace deal with Russia today. …
    16. Despite Russia’s recent threats, Fil says he doesn’t believe Russian President Vladimir Putin would dare use a nuclear weapon.
    17. “They’re too unpredictable,” he says. He adds that Russia also knows it would face harsh consequences for such an act.
    18. We watch the missiles in [a] simulation travel through space. Soon they begin hitting their targets
    19. The view from space on our screen shows mushroom clouds blossoming across the planet and a narrator describes a chain reaction depleting all oxygen from the atmosphere and thus ending life on our planet.
    20. Fil says he’s thankful it never came to that. But he still regrets that Ukraine gave up its nuclear deterrence.
    21. MIKE: I touched on this same topic in last week’s show. Since Russia took and illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, the lingering question that began to be raised was whether Putin would have done the same thing if Ukraine still had their nukes.
    22. MIKE: It’s important to note that before the Budapest Memorandum was signed in 1994, Boris Yeltsin was the president of Russia and Putin had been an agent of what had been the KGB, but was reformed and renamed the Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK) in 1993, and finally became the Federal Security Service (FSB) in 1995. FSB is the name it still retains, but for practical purposes, it still operates much like the old KGB.
    23. MIKE: In 1994, Putin was First Deputy Head of the Saint Petersburg City Administration. Reportedly, he had no role in the negotiation of the memorandum.
    24. MIKE: We can’t read Putin’s mind and know whether he began considering the possibilities for Russia once Ukraine had surrendered its nuclear weapons.
    25. MIKE: Bill Clinton reported that in 2011, Vladimir Putin told Clinton that he didn’t agree with the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, where Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons for security assurances, with Putin stating, “I don’t agree with it. And I do not support it. And I am not bound by it,” leading Clinton to realize Russia’s eventual invasion of Ukraine was inevitable.”
    26. MIKE: Given all of the above, I couldn’t help but highlight the part of the story that talks about “ironclad security guarantees”. What does that even mean after the betrayal of the Budapest Memorandum?
    27. MIKE: The only ironclad security guarantee I could imagine would put a combined force of US and EU troops in Ukraine as a deterrent and a so-called “tripwire” defensive posture.
    28. MIKE: Of course, this would be entirely unacceptable to Russia. They would insist on representation in such a force, but that would be ludicrous. In terms of an actual defense posture for Ukraine, the Russian troops would be seen more as a possible 5^th column force than a tripwire against some other invading party.
    29. MIKE: I see this as another reason why nuclear non-proliferation is an idea that is inevitably eroding as time goes on. I think that eventually, any nation that can develop nuclear weapons will do so.

 There’s always more to discuss, but that’s all we have time for today.

You’ve been listening to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig from KPFT Houston 90.1-HD2, Galveston 89.5-HD2, and Huntsville 91.9-HD2. We are Houston’s Community radio. I hope you’ve enjoyed the show and found it interesting, and I look forward to sharing this time with you again next week. Y’all take care!