Links 10/19/2025 | naked capitalism

NASA Scientist Proposes Theory of Alien Civilizations Throughout Milky Way Futurism

Markov Chains: The Strange Math That Predicts (Almost) Anything 3 Quarks Daily

How the Brain Moves From Waking Life to Sleep (and Back Again) Quanta Magazine

Rise in youth mortality fuelled by mental illness, drugs, violence and other preventable causes The Conversation

COVID-19/Pandemics

Pozniak: Are we really ready for next pandemic? Boston Herald

Pandemic fears grow amid alarming rise of variant in China Daily Mail

Climate/Environment

Sea Levels Rising Faster than at Any Time in 4,000 Years, Study Warns SciTech Daily

World’s landscapes may soon be ‘devoid of wild animals’, says nature photographer The Guardian

South of the Border

Is the US about to attack Venezuela? Vox

Mexican and U.S. Officials Don’t Think Trump Admin Will Conduct a Military Intervention in Mexico: Report The Latin Times

Treasury’s $20 Billion Swap with Argentina and the Complementary ESF Credit Facility VeriDelis substack

China?

Heavy trucks in China given a personalitypic.twitter.com/RdbKoH0i3Z

— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) October 7, 2025

China Seizes The Master’s Weapon As It Makes Itself The New Hegemon Ian Welsh blog

Nexperia China unit asserts its independence as tensions with the Netherlands run high Reuters

China Wins Its Largest Ever Fighter Export Deal: Pushing U.S., Russian and Korean Competition Out of Indonesia Military Watch magazine

The First 48 Hours of a War With China ‘Could Be Ugly’ National Security Journal

India

India cutting Russian oil imports by 50%? After Donald Trump, White House makes big claim; refiners await clarity The Times of India

“India Working On 2 nm Chip”: Ashwini Vaishnaw Shows ‘Wafer’ At NDTV Summit NDTV World

Africa

American Private Military Companies Are Poised to Become Major Players in Africa’s Security Landscape SOFREP

Gen Z protesters toppled Madagascar’s president. Should other African leaders worry? CNN

European Disunion

Europe and the US Are Drifting Apart and It Isn’t Just Because of Trump Jacobin

Is mandatory military service returning in Europe? Turkiye Today

Twenty countries pressure EU for more deportations to Afghanistan DPA International

Old Blighty

The new favourite bolthole for Britain’s wealth creators: They are being driven out by Labour’s ‘attack on hard work’… and finding happier and ‘more sophisticated’ alternative Daily Mail

Brexit impact on UK economy will be negative for foreseeable future, Bailey warns The Independent

Israel v. Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iran

Israel tortured and sexually humiliated Greta Thunberg.

Some excerpts from her interview with the Swedish paper Aftonblatet:

“They grab me, pull me to the ground, and throw an Israeli flag over me.”

“They dragged me to the opposite side from where the others were sitting, and… pic.twitter.com/vr4P0PuBgY

— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) October 15, 2025

Rebuilding Gaza will take ‘decades,’ cost $70B, experts say ABC News

Egypt expected to lead global stabilisation force in Gaza, say diplomats The Guardian

Israeli forces stage new incursion near Syria’s Quneitra Shafaq News

UN rapporteur says deadly Israel strikes on vehicles in Lebanon could be war crimes The New Arab

New Not-So-Cold War

Hungary for a Change (No Kings Update) Oliver Boyd Barrett substack

The Wizard of the Kremlin News Forensics substack

Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant repairs begin in Ukraine as ceasefire zones set Al Jazeera

Ukraine’s Zelensky leaves D.C. without Tomahawk missiles he sought UPI

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Google’s Ambitious Privacy Sandbox Project Signals Its End Gizmodo

Quantum threat looming large to privacy Bizz Buzz

Imperial Collapse Watch

Ohio community frustrated over homeless encampment in cemetery News 5 Cleveland

Maryland Lawmaker Seeks Tougher Sentences for Fentanyl Dealers Amidst Climbing Overdose Deaths in Baltimore and Rural Counties Hoodline

Trump 2.0

Prosecutor Who Rejected Trump’s Pressure to Charge James Is Fired NY Times

When could the shutdown end? Five key dates to watch The Hill

US to repatriate survivors of strike on ‘drug-carrying submarine’, Trump says BBC

Protesters gather nationwide for ‘No Kings’ rallies opposing Trump administration Andolu Agency

Musk Matters

Key facts: Analyst questions Tesla’s valuation; ISS advises against Musk’s pay TradingView

Elon Musk is looking for 100,000 people to send to Mars zamin

SpaceX has big, destructive plans for its big rocket in Florida The Bradenton Times

Democrat Death Watch

Newt Gingrich sees nationwide shift to GOP as voters flee ‘crazy’ Democratic Party Fox News

Democrats Have Let Republicans Become the ‘Peace’ Party Common Dreams

Immigration

Trump’s immigration crackdown weighs heavy on the US labor market AP

Internal documents suggest Salesforce offered AI services to expand Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown Times of India

Judge orders federal immigration agents to use body cameras in Chicago The Spokesman-Review

Our No Longer Free Press

Former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Johnson Decries Trump Administration Curbs on Pentagon Press Insider NJ

Pentagon Press Exodus Erupts Over New Access Rules Grand Pinnacle Tribune

Mr. Market Is Moody

Fragility of the dollar system: balance sheets to blockchains Kraken blog

Smart Investor: AI Boom or Bubble, Stocks on a Tightrope, and Why the Market Could Get More Concentrated Morningstar

AI

Game over. AGI is not imminent, and LLMs are not the royal road to getting there. Marcus on AI substack

How sexy should AI be? OpenAI is one of many companies hoping to cash in Euronews

Inside San Francisco’s new AI school: is this the future of US education? The Guardian

People are using AI to talk to God BBC

People Who Lost Their Jobs To AI Are Opening Up About Their Experiences, And It’s Genuinely Scary BuzzFeed

The Bezzle

South Koreans freed from Cambodian scam centres return home under arrest Al Jazeera

Myanmar scam cities booming despite crackdown – using Elon Musk’s Starlink AFP

Guillotine Watch

TOP 8 MOST EXPENSIVE WHISKIES IN THE WORLD 🌎 2024

A THREAD ❗️❗️❗️

1. Isabella’s Islay – $6.2 million pic.twitter.com/OuvpXP3dzg

— BLAZE OF LAGOS🔥 (@campusblaze) February 12, 2024

The most expensive bottled water in the world is the Acqua di Cristallo Tributo a Modigliani, which is priced at $60,000 per 750 ml, and is sourced from either France or Fiji, and contained within a 24-karat solid gold bottle. 💦 #FactManiac pic.twitter.com/d8EXOWnl6K

— Fact Maniac (@factmaniac) January 27, 2019

Antidote du jour (via)

Lioness and cub

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here