Christmas At The End Of The World: The Curious Allure Of Festive Apocalypse Films And TV The Conversation
How owl leftovers became the perfect home for ancient baby bees Phys.org
Andersen’s $176M Comeback: The Ghost of Enron Just Went Public Guru Focus
Climate/Environment
Why the weirdest sea level changes on Earth are happening off the coast of Japan CNN
Category ‘6’ tropical cyclone hot spots are growing Phys.org
Trump Administration announces plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research and close its famed Mesa Lab Balanced Weather
The country’s biggest magnesium producer went bankrupt. Who’s going to clean up the $100M mess? Grist
Pandemics
The Lancet: The Threat of Another Coronavirus Pandemic Avian Flu Diary
Blamed for the nation’s historic measles outbreak, West Texas Mennonites have hardened their views on vaccines Texas Tribune
Pam Bondi Dismissed Charges Against a Surgeon Who Falsified Vaccine Cards. It Emboldened Others With Similar Cases. ProPublica
How China’s Preparing for the Next Pandemic ChinaTalk
China?
Exclusive: How China built its ‘Manhattan Project’ to rival the West in AI chips Reuters
U.S. announces US$11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan Focus Taiwan
Syraqistan
800 days of genocide in Gaza Andy Worthington
Netanyahu approves a $35 billion natural gas export deal to Egypt, the biggest in Israeli history AP
Germany signs second $3.1 billion Arrow missile deal with Israel Calcalist
UAE revealed as secret buyer in $2.3 billion Israeli Elbit Systems arms deal The New Arab
The Trump-Netanyahu Schism: Israel’s solution to Trump’s pressure — ‘Let his Gaza plan fail’ Conflicts Forum
🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇷| NEW: The WP quoting Israeli & US officials confirm that US-Iran talks were a ruse to strike Iran
US & Israeli officials encouraged media reports to make it look like Israel & US were having a “rift” in order to trick public opinion that a war was not going to happen.… pic.twitter.com/6pfBWNprgT
— Arya – آریا (@AryJeay) December 18, 2025
Killing the ‘brain trust’: How Israel targeted Iran’s nuclear scientists WaPo
The Shortest Path to Zionism: A Network Analysis of the US Nonprofit Industrial Complex University of Michigan
Old Blighty
After the chaos of the Johnson years I’d hoped the election would put relations between the government and the Intelligence and Security Committee back on an even keel, but this is as damning a comment on the state of intelligence oversight as has ever appeared in an ISC report. pic.twitter.com/Zr95EHogM6
— Andrew Defty (@adefty) December 15, 2025
English Outsider On Dirty British Intel And Other Stuff Moon of Alabama
Arrests will be made over ‘globalise the intifada’ chants, police chiefs confirm in wake of Bondi Beach attack LBC
‘Clock is ticking’: Starmer tells Roman Abramovich to transfer money from Chelsea sale to Ukraine fund The Independent
European Disunion
EU muted as US threatens top European companies Politico
Palantir replied 👇to my post on their French intelligence agency contract with, as expected, a lot of lies and gaslighting.
Their main argument seems to be “there’s no issue and for proof the French are so satisfied they keep renewing.”
This is completely false. The fact is… https://t.co/FSq1WaSiEp
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) December 18, 2025
General strike brings Portugal to a standstill In Defense of Marxism
MERCOSUR protest: Thousands of tractors descend on Brussels to block Parliament and von der Leyen Euro Weekly News
***
Live. ‘We won’t leave without a solution’: EU leaders meet to decide Ukraine financing Euronews
The biggest bank robbery in history Ian Proud
Putin hits Europe with his most feared weapon… his lawyers: EU bid to use frozen Russian assets could be scuppered as leaders fear they could be forced to pay the money back after the war Daily Mail
A victory for the @PatriotsEU: the Brusselians backed down, Russian assets will not be on the table at tomorrow’s #EUCO. The Commission now pushes joint loans, but we will not let our families foot the bill for Ukraine’s war. Not on our watch. pic.twitter.com/NlMbOoXrjB
— Orbán Viktor (@PM_ViktorOrban) December 17, 2025
New Not-So-Cold War
Putin & Belousov Address Defense Ministry Board Karl Sanchez
As the conflict between Europe and Russia escalates, Putin announced the deployment of a new powerful deterrent – the Oreshnik missile system will enter combat duty within the next two weeks pic.twitter.com/aFw9T67778
— Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) December 17, 2025
Drone Attack Strikes Tanker at Russia’s Rostov-on-Don Port gCaptain
‼️🇷🇺 BIG NEWS – Russia’s shadow fleet is protected by military personnel, says Swedish Navy Operations Commander
▪️Uniformed military personnel and armed men – presumably employees of private military companies – have been spotted on Russian oil tankers operating in violation of… pic.twitter.com/KT63wxkhju
— Visioner (@visionergeo) December 17, 2025
Zoomer school stabber Events in Ukraine
South of the Border
Trump Announces Full Naval Blockade of Venezuela’s “Sanctioned” Oil Exports Simplicius
Note how the US government’s propaganda narrative has changed:
First the Trump admin claimed it was waging war on Venezuela because of drugs — a blatant lie (the US supports the worst drug traffickers in Latin America).
Now they admit that this is actually because Venezuela… https://t.co/pSoGQi3Ivk
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) December 18, 2025
***
Parsing Trump’s Venezuela Claims: The Oil Case Behind The Rhetoric Forbes
Trump administration asking US oil industry to return to Venezuela — but getting no takers Politico
U.S. Tanker Seizure Has Paralyzed Venezuelan Oil Shipping—Except Chevron’s WSJ
Venezuelan Navy escorting oil tankers through blockade zone — reports
US officials are aware & ‘considering various courses of action’
Source: Mario Nawfal, video depicts US naval blockade pic.twitter.com/ZSLgYzt3tP
— Victor vicktop55 commentary (@vick55top) December 18, 2025
***
4 killed in latest US strike on alleged ‘narco-trafficking’ boat in eastern Pacific Anadolu Agency
Venezuela Denounces US Aggression Before the UN and Requests Urgent Security Council Meeting TeleSUR
Trump allies seek White House visit for Venezuelan opposition leader Semafor
Why Israel is Pushing for Regime Change in Venezuela through Washington Palestine Chronicle
L’affaire Epstein
Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell asks court to set aside her conviction ABC News. “Maxwell’s last-ditch effort for relief from the courts comes as the Justice Department faces a Friday deadline to publicly disclose its investigative files on Epstein and Maxwell in compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act…[which] contains exemptions permitting Attorney General Pam Bondi to withhold certain records if their publication could jeopardize active criminal investigations or prosecutions.”
Senators Press FBI Over Failure to Investigate Epstein’s Lawyer and Accountant WSJ
Harvard launches secret probe into students who filmed Larry Summers expressing ‘shame’ for Epstein ties: report New York Post
Trump 2.0
Description of FCC as ‘Independent’ Scrubbed From Agency Website After Chair Says It Isn’t Common Dreams
CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham Will Join MoonPay to Lead Legal and Regulatory Strategy Crypto in America
WH has installed a series of plaques under Trump’s new “Presidential Walk of Fame.”
On Biden: “Sleepy Joe Biden was, by far, the worst President”
On Obama: “One of the most divisive political figures in American History…creation of the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax” pic.twitter.com/BjT19R4waL
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) December 17, 2025
GOP Funhouse
Senate GOP grows uneasy as Pentagon’s Kelly investigation escalates The Hill
Democrats en déshabillé
About two hours before he tweeted this, Chuck Schumer voted to authorize $901 billion in military spending, $8 billion more than Trump requested. https://t.co/H8LShLb6vw
— Stephen Semler (@stephensemler) December 17, 2025
How I Almost Became a Palantir Democrat Un-Diplomatic
Immigration
U.S. Sends Cubans to Naval Station at Guantánamo Bay New York Times
Border Patrol, ICE and Christian Nationalism Borderland Talk with Jenn Budd
Imperial Collapse Watch
How the US empire creates chaos to disrupt multipolarity Geopolitical Economy Report
All the Dominant Models Are Collapsing Charles Hugh Smith
My Navy SEAL Congressman Can Beat Up Your Navy SEAL Podcaster The After-Action Report
“MAHA”
American Academy of Pediatrics loses HHS funding after criticizing RFK Jr. WaPo
CDC Adopts Contentious Hepatitis B Vaccine Recommendation MedPage Today
Healthcare?
How Health Care Became a Financialized Hellhole Commonplace
Antitrust
Big Tech Zeal to Weaponize Trade Pacts to Fight Competition Policy Exposed in Absurd House Hearing Targeting South Korean Digital Anti-Monopoly Laws Lori Wallach, The Economic Populist
Craftsmanship in the culture industry Archedelia
AI
An AI Bullshit Detector Future Pathways
AI promised a revolution. Companies are still waiting. Reuters
First Micron exited their Crucial consumer-facing memory business, then we heard Samsung may stop selling SSDs and now there’s news that Nvidia may reduce their RTX 50 production by up to 40% next year. pic.twitter.com/rpyyLz9mw6
— Markets & Mayhem (@Mayhem4Markets) December 17, 2025
“The study paints what’s likely a pretty conservative picture of AI’s environmental impact since it’s based on the relatively limited amount of data that’s currently available to the public.”https://t.co/4h54ELCMuu
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) December 17, 2025
Our Famously Free Press
The World At Eleven. Aurelien
Guillotine Watch
Twist In CEO Murder Case: Prosecutors Withdraw Key Interrogation Recordings In Mangione Trial Dallas Express
Class Warfare
Border Agents ‘Interrogated’ Striking Workers In Chicago, Teamsters Say Huff Post
Barista workers arrested at Starbucks roasting plant in York County Harrisburg Patriot News. Striking barista workers.
Power Brokers Harper’s. “What’s really behind your soaring utility bills”
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
