Eight Adorable Minutes of Baby Animals in the Wild Laughing Squid (resilc)
Why monkeys—and humans—can’t look away from social conflict Science Daily
Why Science Hasn’t Solved Consciousness (Yet) Nomea (Anthony L)
‘An uphill battle’: why are midlife men struggling to make – and keep – friends? Guardian (Kevin W)
#COVID-19/Pandemics
COVID cases likely rising in half of states, CDC estimates CBS
Climate/Environment
Amplified warming accelerates deoxygenation in the Arctic Ocean Nature
‘I can’t drink the water’ – life next to a US data centre BBC
Western Europe keeps setting new heat records as fastest-warming continent Financial Times
Mediterranean Sea temperatures are now on their third straight week of breaking records.
As of July 8, the most anomalous conditions were south of Ibiza, Spain, where seas were 6.4˚C (11.5˚F) warmer than average. Actual sea temperatures were near 30˚C (86˚F). pic.twitter.com/ny7f6Ir7HY
— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) July 9, 2025
Extreme weather could cause 5% drop in euro zone GDP, bank watchdogs find Reuters
London bracing for water restrictions as drought grips UK Independent
Accelerated glacial melt and monsoon rains trigger deadly floods in Pakistan Guardian
JAPAN RECORD HEAT
Eternal record heat in Japan where nearly 1000 records have fallen every day since June 16th: a real insanity.Last records of July Highest Minimums:
27.9 Nakatsu,26.6 Mito,25.9 Mooka,25.4 Esashi,25.1 Higashi,24.8 Oosako,24.6 Wakayanagi.It will get hotter… pic.twitter.com/DzBqAwnkEY
— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) July 9, 2025
China?
Xi Jinping wages war on price wars Economist (Li)
China’s patience wears thin with EU over medical device row Asia Times (Kevin W)
Samsung’s New Phones Show How Far Ahead China Is on Innovation Wired (resilc)
The July 2024 paper, titled “Locomotion Control of Cyborg Insects by Charge-Balanced Biphasic Electrical Stimulation” (Cyborg Bionic Systems), solves the signal integrity problem that plagued early insect command systems. Using charge-balanced biphasic waveforms, the research…
— Thomas Keith (@iwasnevrhere_) July 12, 2025
Japan
The pace of realignment is dizzying. Japan’s PM urges his country to de-risk itself from the US in most sectors:
“Ishiba said on Thursday his country needed to wean itself from U.S. dependence in such key areas as security, food and energy”https://t.co/hfuSFdDsHQ
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) July 11, 2025
India
Sanction first, ally later: India learns the cost of trusting the US RT
Engine fuel switches cut off before Air India crash that killed 260, preliminary report finds Guardian (Kevin W)
Pakistan army chief accuses India of pushing ‘nefarious agenda’ after border conflict TRT
Africa
War crimes are likely being committed in Darfur, ICC finds BBC
Nigeria says troops kill dozens of gunmen in northwest and northeast Aljazeera
European Disunion
France’s Parliament Calls Europe to Break with America and Partner with China Arnaud Bertrand (Chuck L)
NATO Complicates China-EU Summit Preparations Glenn Diesen
Kaja Kallas is the real threat to Europe UnHerd (Chuck L)
Old Blighty
UK economy shrinks for second month in a row after unexpected slump in May Independent
In some UK woodlands, every young tree has died. What’s going wrong? Guardian
Israel v. The Resistance
Israel’s latest “mass rape” report is a warrant for genocide Asa Winstanley
Israel Urges the US To Start Bombing Yemen Again Antiwar.com (Kevin W)
‘We live on bread and tea. I’ve wished for death’: Yemen’s forgotten refugees Guardian
Iran’s Mass Expulsion Of Afghans Poses A Dilemma For Many Of Its Supporters Andrew Korybko
New Not-So-Cold War
Rubio Claims Russia Suffered 100k KIA in Six Months, Ukrainian Casualties Remain ‘Vague’ Simplicius
Extraordinarily hard-line article by Dmitry Trenin, perhaps the premier analyst of US/NATO-Russian relations & former head of Carnegie Center in Moscow.
Shooting war will not end in 2025.
The war with the West will be a long war.
That “long war” is not a war for Ukraine “as…— Branko Milanovic (@BrankoMilan) July 11, 2025
The Europeans And The U.S. Against Russia – Who Is Really The Patsy? Moon of Alabama
‘Walking Away’ from Ukraine Will Be a Logistical Challenge American Conservative (resilc)
WHAT IS THE “NEW IDEA, NEW CONCEPT” RUBIO SAYS LAVROV HAS JUST GIVEN HIM? John Helmer
If the Russians are Killing Ukrainian Civilians, Where are the Bodies? Larry Johnson
The South Caucasus is slipping from Russia’s grasp Aljazeera
Russia deports head of Azerbaijani diaspora in Moscow Oblast OC Media
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Exclusive: Evidence of cell phone surveillance detected at anti-ICE protest SAN
California residents who launched fireworks for the 4th of July have tickets coming in the mail, thanks to police drones that were taking note.
One resident, for example, racked up $100,000 in fines last summer due to the illegal use of fireworks.
“If you think you got away… pic.twitter.com/3md6xP3qSz
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 10, 2025
Imperial Collapse Watch
NEW:
🇬🇧 UK’s F-35 fleet can perform only one third of required missions, largely due to a shortage of engineers, spare parts, and unexpected corrosion issues
– The National Audit Office (NAO) revealed pic.twitter.com/rwrjIJRFIk
— Megatron (@Megatron_ron) July 11, 2025
Pentagon to become rare-earth mining company’s largest stockholder DefenseOne (Kevin W). Communism watch! State ownership of productive assets.
US containerized missiles: steathy firepower, high strategic cost Asia Times (Kevin W)
Trump 2.0
The Christian Backlash Taking Hold New York Times (resilc)
The F.B.I. Is Using Polygraphs to Test Officials’ Loyalty New York Times (Kevin W)
LIBERIAN PRESIDENT JOSEPH BOAKAI LAUNCHED A DIRECT “ATTACK” ON TRUMP’S INSULTS! pic.twitter.com/SljL8PcgHw
— SilencedSirs◼️ (@SilentlySirs) July 10, 2025
Judge blocks Trump’s birthright citizenship order after Supreme Court ruling Reuters (Kevin W)
DOGE
This Is DOGE 2.0 Wired (resilc)
Social Security pulls field office staff to answer overwhelmed phone line. The agency has struggled to improve customer service amid cutbacks, long wait times and a crashing website, by @MerylKornfield @hannah_natanson https://t.co/EP8olTtXvE
— Sarah Ellison (@sarahellison) July 10, 2025
Tariffs
Someone Is Closely Front-Running Trump’s Trade Announcements Thomas Neuburger
Vietnam thought it had a deal on its US tariff rate. Then Trump stepped in. Politico (Kevin W)
US will impose 35% tariffs on Canadian imports, Trump says in letter Guardian
Immigration
US federal judge temporarily blocks alleged indiscriminate stops, arrests in LA Anadolu Agency
Democrat Death Wish
Democrats Should Prepare for the Return of Debt Politics Washington Monthly (resilc)
John Fetterman Throws His Family Under the Bus to Suck Up to Trump New Republic (resilc)
L’affaire Jeffrey Epstein
DOJ’s Epstein Memo Is Tearing the Trump Administration Apart Rolling Stone Rolling Stone (Chuck L)
Why MAGA is Right about Jeffrey Epstein Tina Brown
BREAKING: The footage from Jeffery Epstein’s cell that was released by the DOJ was edited with Adobe Premiere Pro, stitched from 2 clips, and was saved 4 times, per WIRED
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) July 11, 2025
Our No Longer Free Press
BBC staff: we’re forced to do pro-Israel PR Owen Jones (resilc)
Australian envoy’s antisemitism plan criticised as ‘Trumpian’ over concerns changes could be used to silence dissent Guardian (Kevin W)
Mr. Market is Moody
The frightening world without the dollar Financial Times
Trump banking cop threatens global financial security, warns top US Democrat Politico
Central Banks Are Ducking the Chance to Tame Hedge Funds Bloomberg
The markets are picking a dangerous fight with Donald Trump Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Telegraph
Antitrust
The Water Cooler Giant Primo Brands: When Customer Service Signs Off as ‘Joseph Stalin’ Matt Stoller
AI
At last, a promising use for AI agents: crypto theft The Register (Chuck L)
The Bezzle
Restaurants have figured it out: pic.twitter.com/n85Q7p4m1Z
— AlphaFo𝕏 (@Alphafox78) July 10, 2025
Prime Day is a scam Popular Information (resilc)
Class Warfare
When the American empire finally collapses, historians won’t be stunned by the greed of the elite; they’ll be stunned by the loyalty of the poor. The working class didn’t just vote against their own interests. They worshipped the billionaires robbing them. They slashed their own…
— Shawn Ryan (@ShawnRyan762) July 11, 2025
Roaming Charges: Heckuva Job, Puppy Slayer! CounterPunch (resilc)
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus:
Leopard standing on hind legs to get better view of Impala – Kruger National Park pic.twitter.com/fsurlvaLN7
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) July 11, 2025
A second bonus:
Best spot in the house..🐕🐾🐥🐥😍 pic.twitter.com/ltshV0siW3
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) July 11, 2025
And a third:
So chill like a boss. pic.twitter.com/KCOFNKxUou
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) July 11, 2025
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
