Links 7/19/2026 | naked capitalism

The center of mass of a uniform solid hemisphere of radius r is at 3/8r from the center.

Therefore it tends to always stay upright. It’s the principle used in Thanjavur dancing dolls. pic.twitter.com/iu63nUIuio

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 18, 2026

Loitering towards war: While Vienna’s coffeehouses bred modernism, in Belgrade’s kafanas grew conspiracy and rage. Their clash consumed Europe Aeon

Humanoid Robots in 2026: What Is Actually Deployed Technology.org

Archaeologists Identify the First Classic Maya Astronomer Credited by Name ZME Science

Scientists Detect First Atmosphere on Rocky Habitable-Zone Planet, Boosting Hopes for Alien Life Gizmodo

COVID-19/Pandemics

COVID Nimbus Variant Now Leads the U.S. as Cases Grow in 27 States and Emergency Visits Rise Medical Daily

CDC warns of global measles threat after 22 million babies missed their vaccines during the pandemic CTV News

Climate/Environment

What to know about the Canadian and US wildfires and their impact BBC

Over 100 wildfires prompt Algeria to urgently recall civil protection personnel Andolu Agency

Wildfires, drought and storms hound Europe even as heatwave recedes Reuters

Interactive map predicts climate-driven farm decline by end of century Euronews

South of the Border

Senior defense officials looking at Cuba military options CBS News

Venezuela quake death toll tops 5,000 as IMF releases recovery funds France 24

Colombia: A Fractured Society Under U.S. Influence Counterpunch

China?

Fun fact.

BYD new factory in Zhengzhou will cover 50 square miles, which is larger than San Francisco’s surface at 46.9 square miles. pic.twitter.com/dXWwJ3xxiT

— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 17, 2026

China’s AI models are shrinking US lead Yahoo Finance

China Planted Billions of Trees and Scientists Just Found an Unexpected Advantage of These New Forests ZME Science

Did China steal 2020 US election data, as Trump claims? Al Jazeera

China’s Beidou Satellite System is a Game Changer in Iran’s War with the US Larry Johnson substack

India

India successfully launches first private orbital rocket Phys.org

New Delhi Air Pollution Index Further Pushes for EV Adoption in India Clean Technica

India’s monsoon rain depends on where air gets cleaner Phys.org

Africa

The New Malaria Vaccine Helps in Africa but Faces a Test: Completing All 4 Doses Medpage Today

As migrants await repatriation, South Africa faces persistent anti-immigration tensions Xinhua

Women are dying in Africa as US ramps up its global battle against abortion AP

European Disunion

Why the EU’s so-called Chat Control law has privacy experts up in arms Euronews

EU proposes slowing down cuts to carbon emissions for businesses BBC

EU targets 46% electrification to save $296B a year by 2040 Turkiye Today

Old Blighty

Reverse Brexit? Political winds in Britain are blowing toward Europe. The Christian Science Monitor

Dark day for the UK as Andy Burnham doubles down on disaster NY Post

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

This is Houla, South Lebanon — before and after Israel’s genocide.

An ancient village that stood for more than 2,000 years.

Israel wiped it off the map.

A war crime. A crime against history. pic.twitter.com/3BCCvztIaO

— sarah (@sahouraxo) July 16, 2026

Israeli army destroys three schools in southern Lebanon, minister says Al Jazeera

Israeli army kills 8 Palestinians, expands occupied area in Gaza despite ceasefire Andolu Agency

U.S. Surges Aerial Refuelling Fleet in Israel to Prepare for Expanded Offensive Against Iran Military Watch Magazine

Israeli ministers announce plans for new illegal settlements in Gaza and West Bank The Guardian

New Not-So-Cold War

The European Right is turning on Ukraine UnHerd

Ukraine’s defense minister walked into Zelensky corruption buzzsaw Responsible Statecraft

Ten killed in Russia-Ukraine as protests continue over Kyiv defence revamp Al Jazeera

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Susan Shelley: From license-plate readers to phone taps, privacy rights are vanishing OC Register

‘The company failed to implement basic defenses’: 23andMe data breach victims are finally getting paid, but bankruptcy could shrink their payouts moneywise

Imperial Collapse Watch

BEEFED UP SECURITY: Walmart shopper fumes over ‘anti-theft beef’ as supermarket CHAINS UP steaks The U.S. Sun

SEE IT: Massive NYC homeless encampment fuels backlash against Mamdani NY Post

Trump 2.0

Can We Lose the Same War Twice? With Trump, Anything’s Possible The New Republic

Trump, not Iran, is the world’s greatest danger. He’s a one-man weapon of mass destruction The Guardian

Trump administration lifts ban on killing, trapping threatened species Andolu Agency

Trump’s rhetoric is more dangerous than voting machine flaws, experts say Politico

Musk Matters

Elon Musk’s AI Startup Is a Complete Disaster Behind the Scenes Futurism

SpaceX has lost $1T in market value since mid-June — the stock is slumping after Musk cancelled its first rocket launch after its IPO moneywise

Elon Musk says your Tesla will start to learn your individual preferences Teslarati

Democrat Death Watch

Rahm Emmanuel’s Israel-Endorsed ‘Opposition’ to Israel The American Conservative

‘It’s scary’: Scandal sends Wisconsin Dems into freakout mode over governor’s race Politico

Immigration

Stephen Miller says Trump administration is pursuing policy to debank illegal immigrants Fox News

‘Treating them like animals’: Migrant detainees face grim conditions in Miami federal jail Miami Herald

Fox News

Our No Longer Free Press

Trump administration drastically cuts length of foreign journalist visas The Guardian

6abc is warning viewers about the FCC taking away its TV license. Here’s what’s going on. Philadelphia Inquirer

Mr. Market Is Moody

Citi Raises Brent Forecast for 2026; Sees $150 Oil if Hormuz Disruption Persists EnergyNow

The Unanswered Questions Driving the Stock Market Drop Barron’s

Climate’s Compounding Financial Toll Is Becoming Harder to Ignore Time

AI

AI is changing what we can do. Who we become is still our choice Humanist Review

MARC ANDREESSEN WENT ON ROGAN FOR OVER 3 HOURS. HERE ARE THE 17 THINGS WORTH YOUR ATTENTION.

1. AGI is already here, in his view. He says the line got crossed about 3 months ago with GPT-5.5, Claude 4.6, Gemini 3, and Grok 4.3, and nobody noticed because the field moves too fast… https://t.co/kNcZEYmH0t pic.twitter.com/yddmZnJ6Wr

— CyrilXBT (@cyrilXBT) July 18, 2026

Google just dropped a 1-hour course on agentic engineering from scratch:

00:00 – How to build your first AI agent08:24 – Build agent memory (short, persistent, long)28:34 – Agentic loops, long-running AI agents40:04 – How to build MCP (MCP vs API)1:00:22 – Multi-agentic… https://t.co/P5jrVeQvaO pic.twitter.com/uVbN2z1EHs

— Rahul (@sairahul1) July 11, 2026

I let an AI take over my Google TV for a week — and it solved streaming’s biggest problem Android Authority

AI accelerates pace of scientific discovery: Nobel laureate Bastille Post Global

The Bezzle

Fraud expert warns AI is helping criminals outpace the government: ‘Don’t have the right tools’ Fox News

The data to find Medicaid fraud already exists, but no one is using it  The Hill

Guillotine Watch

Most expensive sneakersWhich of these brands have you used? pic.twitter.com/g8mTtjQZzU

— Darcie (@Darcie1387) April 10, 2026

Abstract socks is on its way to flip the world’s most expensive socks.

Already flipping most luxury brands.

Second only to Burberry. pic.twitter.com/8GplUaOoxJ

— Nezuron (@nezuron_) February 1, 2025

Antidote du jour (via)

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here