When Love Fails, They Nap: What Male Koalas Teach Us About Rejection and Energy Efficiency Vocal
Curiosity Spots “Coral Reef” Rock On Mars. It’s A Sign Of Ancient Water IFL Science
Climate/Environment
Climate change drives sharpest Great Barrier Reef coral loss in nearly 40 years Down to Earth
France’s largest wildfire in decades brought under control France24
A wildfire is burning in California even larger than the mega fires that scorched LA in January The Journal
Following an astonishing 711 mm of rainfall over just three days, which triggered severe flooding in Huizhou, Guangdong, local military forces constructed emergency dams in an effort to contain the waters and prevent further devastation….pic.twitter.com/BOSMooDmXJ
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) August 7, 2025
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Flood Risk and Flood Insurance Liberty Street Economics
New study from NY Fed compares how lenders treat unmapped flood risk (due to FEMA’s outdated maps). Big banks are lending less and charging more in risky areas. Non-banks and local banks are still originating the loans but then securitizing or moving them off their balance sheet. pic.twitter.com/mxPqKJJXMT
— Lee Harris (@leee_harris) August 7, 2025
Risk Management Is a Burgeoning Billion-Dollar Business Opportunity Bloomberg
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Energy chief suggests Trump administration is altering previously published climate reports CNN
U.S. Government makes old lies new again Open Mind
Pandemics
Air, wastewater may play roles in H5N1 transmission on dairy farms CIDRAP
White House Empties Office for U.S. Pandemic Policy: The Gaps Left Behind ThinkGlobalHealth
Japan
Japan says U.S. to correct tariff deal “mistake” Kyodo News
Sanseito leader meets in Tokyo with co-head of Germany’s AfD Asahi Shimbun
China?
84 American Ballistic Missile Launchers Ready to Hit Key Chinese Infrastructure Targets: ATACMS Arsenal Growing on Taiwan Military Watch
Panic and production cuts at Pentagon suppliers as China tightens exports Kevin Walmsley
China’s weapons exports shifting global balance of power Asia Times
PH can’t avoid Taiwan conflict – Marcos The Manila Times
India
Putin To Visit India This Year As Trump Targets Nations Over Russian Oil NDTV
Old Blighty
Force of Opposition New Left Review
Syraqistan
Palestinians will be forced into a concentration camp and those who refuse will be called “militants” to excuse their slaughter.
The “final operational plan” is a plan for ethnic cleansing. pic.twitter.com/jlbRvAFXwR
— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) August 8, 2025
Netanyahu just declared plans to fully occupy all of Gaza, 2 days after his Finance Minister quietly allocated 3 billion shekels for a Gaza “security box”
This is the final phase of the genocide!
Israel will move to annihilate the 3 remaining areas that haven’t been wiped out… pic.twitter.com/q12l76tXRZ— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) August 7, 2025
TEAM LEADER AT GAZA AID DISTRIBUTION SITES BELONGS TO ANTI-“JIHAD” MOTORCYCLE CLUB, HAS CRUSADER TATTOOS The Intercept
International aircrafts have just dropped rotten bread in Gaza! pic.twitter.com/dM7o6CCIr7
— Motasem A Dalloul (@AbujomaaGaza) August 7, 2025
An Unexpected Path to Hold War Criminals Accountable The Intercept
Ultra-Orthodox media declares ‘war’ in Israel over mandatory conscription of Haredim The Cradle
Genoa, containers with weapons destined for Israel returned to sender. Dockworkers: “Unthinkable victory.” Il Fatto Quotidiano (machine translation)
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In rare move, Iranian security services publicly warn of new threat from Syria Amwaj
Is Iran running out of water? DW
Cheap Iranian drones, costly US defenses spur sanctions and technology push Stars and Stripes
US missile depletion from Houthi, Israel conflicts may shock you Responsible Statecraft
European Disunion
Rubio orders U.S. diplomats to launch lobbying blitz against Europe’s Digital Services Act Reuters
EU says $1.4 trillion spending pledge to US ‘in no way binding’ Euractiv
New Not-So-Cold War
Alastair Crooke: Did Trump Just Trigger NUCLEAR War? Putin is Preparing Danny Haiphong
Trump Is Not Serious About Peace in Ukraine Larry Johnson
“White House pushes back on Kremlin claims Trump and Putin agreed to meeting. An official said Putin must meet with Ukraine’s Zelenskyy for it to occur. The White House on Thursday pushed back on claims by the Kremlin that a meeting between President Donald Trump and Russia’s… pic.twitter.com/WAkh99Xzk0
— Ivan Katchanovski (@I_Katchanovski) August 7, 2025
Q: What about Zelenskyy? Will the meeting be with him?
Putin: I have already said many times that I have nothing against him[Zelenskyy]. It is possible, but certain conditions must be created for this. But unfortunately, such conditions have not yet been created.
— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) August 7, 2025
White House now says Trump ‘open’ to meeting Putin without his meeting Zelenskyy ABC News
BREAKING: Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov tells reporters––
“There was an offer from the American side which the Russian side deems acceptable.” pic.twitter.com/wGwGY4K4ap
— Brian McDonald (@27khv) August 7, 2025
Trump: Putin may agree to stop war in exchange for territories – Bloomberg Ukrainska Pravda
Negotiations Fever Strikes Again as Trump’s “Deadline” Hits Midnight Simplicius
Post Putin-Witkoff Speculation Rife Karl Sanchez
The nighttime series of explosions in the Odessa region was not just another attack on Ukraine’s rear infrastructure. It was a clear message addressed to both Kyiv, Baku and Brussel. Russia struck a series of targets near the villages of Orlovka and Novoselskoye
🧵 pic.twitter.com/sWdI7dqd8g— Neznakomaya❤🇷🇺 (@TomatkaP) August 7, 2025
Caucasus
Reuters: Armenia to grant US exclusive rights to develop long-term transit corridor, officials say News.am
South of the Border
Trump doubles reward to $50 million for arrest of Venezuela’s president to face US drug charges AP
“Liberation Day”
US hits one-kilo gold bars with tariffs in blow to refining hub Switzerland FT
Einar Tangen: Economic Tsunami Is Now Unavoidable Glenn Diesen
Trump 2.0
‘Disaster in the Making’: Trump to Open 401(k)s to Crypto, Private Equity Vultures Common Dreams
Trump calls for Intel CEO’s head over alleged China links The Register
Trump Is Launching an AI Search Engine Powered by Perplexity 404 Media
US national parks staff in ‘survival mode’ to keep parks open amid Trump cuts The Guardian
MAHA
RFK Jr. Quietly Endorses Flu Vaccine for Kids and Adults MedPage Today
Weimar Republic
Cornyn says FBI will help locate absent Texas Democrats, but scope of feds’ role unclear Texas Tribune
Mysterious Crime Spree Targeted National Guard Equipment Stashes Wired
Democrats en déshabillé
An Abundance of Sleaze: How a Beltway Brain Trust Sells Oligarchy to Liberals Matt Stoller
On the same day that CAP announces it will no longer publish its list of corporate, foreign govt and oligarch donors, Bloody Blinken joins its board https://t.co/lp6bi2oTGm
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) August 8, 2025
Q&A: The former Mideast diplomat bringing Gulf cash to Silicon Valley San Francisco Standard
Police State Watch
U.S.-MEXICO BORDER MILITARIZATION FAILS TO STOP MODERN DRUG SMUGGLING INDUSTRY Texas Observer
Scandal-Plagued Prison Company Celebrates “Pivotal Opportunity” Under Trump Truthout
AI
GPT-5 hot take Gary Marcus
Who is Elara Voss? Read Max
Accelerationists
The Faux Intellectuals of Silicon Valley Notes from the Circus
Imperial Collapse Watch
How AI, Healthcare, and Labubu Became the American Economy Kyla Scanlon
China adds science funding for young global talents as Trump cuts U.S. research budget The East Is Read
Groves of Academe
From Project 2025 to the PayPal Presidency: School Choice Fin-Tech for a Blockchain Social Credit Economy Unlimited Hangout
I mean, shit, this is the one time academics could actually meaningfully change the world by pedagogy.
— David Austin Walsh (@DavidAstinWalsh) August 7, 2025
The Friendly Skies
How loyalty programmes are keeping America’s airlines aloft The Economist
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
Only used my “Friend” for a couple hours, but a few observations:
– clearly *feels* different (especially from chatgpt voice) to talk to a thing you’re wearing and must touch to get a response from
– voice in / text out is interesting and makes sense, although I don’t love… pic.twitter.com/7h8tIHgCHS
— Jackson Dahl (@jacksondahl) August 4, 2025
He said, she said, it said: I used ChatGPT as a couple’s counselor. How did we fare? NPR
More than 130,000 Claude, Grok, ChatGPT, and Other LLM Chats Readable on Archive.org 404 Media
Healthcare?
Meet the States Fighting Private Equity’s Health Care Destruction Boondoggle
Class Warfare
Working People Condemn Union-Busting at Veterans Affairs AFl-CIO
The housing market is a rigged game Steve Keen
Harvard scientist warns interstellar object blasting toward Earth ‘may come to save – or destroy us’ The Independent
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
