Groundbreaking Study Reveals Tortoises Have Feelings, Similar to Ours SciTech Daily (Chuck L)
The Frailties of Reason Commonweal (Anthony L)
Climate/Environment
After Devastating Winter Losses, Another Threat Looms for U.S. Beekeepers New York Times
Study Reconstructs 540 Million Years of Sea Level Change in Unprecedented Detail SciTech Daily (Chuck L)
EXTRAORDINARY HEAT IN RUSSIAUp to 43C in the Rostov RegionSome all time records (there are hundreds)41.7 Kamensk41.3 Kostantinovsk41.2 Bokovskaja41.0 Prohladnaya40.8 Kazanskaja40.4 Tihoreck40.2 MillerovoHIGH TMINS:23.4 Borisoglebsk22.8 Micurinsk21.6 Cerepovec pic.twitter.com/2EC6cDLnVw
— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) July 13, 2025
DEADLY HEAT IN EAST ASIA
Today crazy MINIMUMS 28C at 1300m in MONGOLIATropical nights at 2500m
CHINA July records: 41.9C Xingping, 41.0C ZhouzhiJAPAN Records:36.4 Hirosaki,35.7 Ogata,36.7 Gojome
Next days THOUSANDS of records:Worst heat wave in history with THIs >50/55C https://t.co/IHxhvdufn1
— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) July 14, 2025
Flash flooding hits NYC and New Jersey declares state of emergency as storms soak Northeast Independent
Gujarat is reeling under an unprecedented monsoon onslaught, with June rainfall figures shattering a 44-year record and triggering widespread flooding across the state Free Press Journal
China?
China’s economy beats expectations in face of Trump’s trade war Guardian (Kevin W). Not dispositive yet. A lot of stockpiling and channel stuffing in Southeast Asia
US-China spy wars intensify under Trump 2.0 as tech competition heats up South China Morning Post
A Microsoft project could expose the Pentagon to Chinese hackers Asia Times (Kevin W)
Taiwan’s military takes preparation for Chinese invasion to civilians’ doorsteps Financial Times
India-Pakistan
China’s insertion into India-Pakistan waters dispute adds a further ripple in South Asia The Conversation
Africa
Ethiopian militias raid Sudan border villages: farmers, activists Agence France-Presse
Sudanese paramilitary RSF accused of killing almost 300 people in village raids Guardian
European Disunion
French PM suggests slashing two public holidays as part of budget cuts Le Monde
French PM proposes scrapping national holidays and freezing spending to cut deficit Guardian (Kevin W)
Poland is facing a financial crisis Warsaw Business Journal
“AIR FRYER RETAILER”: TWO NANTES RESIDENTS SENTENCED FOR POSTING A PLACARD HOSTILE TO THE MINISTER OF THE INTERIOR DURING A STAGE OF THE TOUR DE FRANCE BMFTV via machine translation (Micael T)
DEBATE: Six out of ten do not want to defend Sweden Expressen via machine translation (Micael T)
Old Blighty
To hoard or not to hoard? UK consumers on the pros and cons of cash Guardian (Kevin W)
How much trouble is Starmer in? Sam Freedman
Reeves pledges to extend purge of City red tape to rest of UK economy Financial Times (Kevin W). Neoliberal hopium
UK Dairy farmers are facing a crisis, spending thousands of pounds feeding their cattle grain that should be saved for the winter BBC
UK a ‘powder keg’ of social tensions a year on from summer riots, report warns Guardian
Left without care: Many Long COVID clinics are closing down in the U.K. Sick Times
Israel v. The Resistance
Key ultra-Orthodox Factions Announce They Will Leave Netanyahu’s Coalition Over Draft Bill Haaretz (resilc)
The tweet is blocked from embedding but you can click through to see the video:
Lawyer of Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya, currently imprisoned by Israel, wrote:
Dr. Hossam Abu Safiya is not okay.My last visit to him was on July 9, 2025.He has lost over 40 kilograms — more than one-third of his body weight.At the time of his arrest, he weighed 100 kg — today, he… pic.twitter.com/UElaH9ANi6
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) July 14, 2025
The suffocation of Sinjil +972 (guurst)
Israeli Minister: ‘Gaza must be in Ruins for Decades,’ as Airstrike Kills Children seeking Water Juan Cole (resilc)
Jordan targeting Gaza solidarity in largest arrest campaign in decades Middle East Eye (resilc)
* * *
Israeli air strikes kill 12 in eastern Lebanon despite ceasefire Aljazeera
* * *
Iran faces stiff sanctions if no deal by end of August, U.S. and allies agree Axios. Since the US has form, expect a new attack before the deadline.
Beyond the ceasefire, the Iran-Israel cyber war still rages on Al Majalla (Chuck L)
The Delusions and Lies of Regime Changers Daniel Larison
Syraqistan
Israel bombs Syrian forces entering Druze city after sectarian clashes BBC
Syrians Abroad Dismiss Talk of Normalization With Israel: ‘We Fear the Consequences, Especially for Palestinians’ Haaretz
New Not-So-Cold War
Trump asked Zelenskiy if Ukraine could hit Moscow, FT reports Straits Times (resilc)
Trump Delivers Next Nothingburger To Ukraine Moon of Alabama (Kevin W)
Markets call Trump’s bluff on Russian oil sanctions in increasingly risky game Reuters
The Redheaded Stepsister Goes to the Ball William Schryver (Chuck L). Ukraine and the US (or the UK) are still scheming over the Kerch Bridge????
Russia Goes on the Offensive Against US Investors in an Odessa Port Larry Johnson
Moldova denies claims its soldiers were killed in Ukraine conflict RT (Kevin W)
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Cybersecurity failures leave US Social Security data at risk Biometric Update
Imperial Collapse Watch
RECONFIGURING HEGEMONY New Left Review (Alan S)
Why new CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper is as wrong as the old one Responsible Statecraft (resilc)
The Pentagon wants to build drones without Chinese parts. It’s off to a bad start. Kevin Walmsley
The US Has More Copper Than China But No Way to Refine All of It Bloomberg
The Yellow BRICS Road American Conservative (resilc)
Trump 2.0
Dimon Defends Fed Independence After Trump Attacks Wall Street Journal
It’s Not Just Epstein. MAGA Is Angry About a Lot of Things Wired. resilc: “You been played bubba”
DOGE
The White House Has a Plan for All That Foreign Food Aid That DOGE Cut: Burn It Gizmodo (Dr. Kevin)
When Expert Advisors Are Sent Packing, Who Picks Up the Slack? SciLight (Dr. Kevin)
Tariffs
Another casualty of the trade wars: now we don’t have transformers Kevin Walmsley
Another Casualty in the Tariff Wars: The Always-in-Season Tomato New York Times. resilc: “Gee, won’t we miss the taste of pinkish drywall.”
Immigration
The IRS Is Building a Vast System to Share Millions of Taxpayers’ Data With ICE ProPublica (Randy K, Robin K). The good news is that will be likely that it will be very hard to make good matches across the different databases. The bad new is that ICE does not give a rat’s ass about integrity and so will run with bogus connections.
ICE Age No Mercy / No Malice (resilc)
What Were Federal Agents Doing at a Puerto Rican Museum in Chicago? Hypoallergic. resilc: “Itza USA USA possession you morons.”
Illegal border crossings hit decades low under Trump crackdown Axios
Democrat Death Wish
Mamdani Nets Record Fundraising Haul While Adams and Cuomo Strike Out on Matching Funds THE CITY.
BWAHAHA!
Police State Watch
The U.S. Military’s Robot Coyotes Core77 (resilc)
Is Trump’s ‘personal Gestapo’ turning America into a police state? US president’s heavily armed shock troops behind raids on illegal migrants will soon outnumber the FBI Daily Mail (resilc). When you’ve lost the Daily Mail….
Mr. Market is Moody
Bond Traders Boost Bearish Bets as US 30-Year Yields Eclipse 5%. Bloomberg
Health Care
Even Grave Errors at Rehab Hospitals Go Unpenalized and Undisclosed New York Times (resilc)
AI
AI Creeps Into the Risk Register For America’s Biggest Firms The Register
Class Warfare
The Ambition That Kills: A Call for Ethical Leadership Sonar 21 (Mark G)
Antidote du jour (via):
A bonus:
The reaction of a dog when it see a new friend.😄😄 pic.twitter.com/APY8IoWyWg
— Nina Deer (@longdepzai_n) July 14, 2025
A second bonus:
It’s tough being a mom. pic.twitter.com/aHqPNbQzyv
— Staff Sergeant Johnson (@Colonel_Myway) July 16, 2025
And a third:
When a bear family wants to cool down in your pool, you let them!😅🐻🥰 pic.twitter.com/buiAIzibl2
— James Pleickhardt (@JamesPleickhar2) July 15, 2025
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
