Why are some people mosquito magnets? Clues are emerging Phys.org
Buddhist sect welcomes humanoid robot Gabi with precept ceremony Yonhap
‘Think twice before posing with hand signs’: Experts warn of fingerprint theft Straits Times
The abandonment of values Massimo Mazzucco (translation via GeoPolitiQ)
Why do people still take cruises? Convenience, value outweigh health risks, experts say CBC
Hantavirus
Thursday May 14th. Here are the main developments in the last 24 hours regarding the MV Hondius Andes hantavirus situation:
Current case count
European public health authorities now report:
11 total cases
8 confirmed
2 probable
1 inconclusive
3 deaths total
Importantly, no new…— Roger Seheult, MD (@RogerSeheult) May 14, 2026
Argentina Races to Find Origin of Hantavirus Contagion New York Times
Another Californian was exposed to hantavirus in deadly cruise ship outbreak, officials announce Los Angeles Times. “The newly identified passenger disembarked the MV Hondius cruise ship before the outbreak was known, returned briefly to California and then once again traveled abroad. The individual is currently in the Pitcairn Islands.”
How the CDC’s Hantavirus Response Became a PR Crisis NOTUS. Or maybe the hope-for-the-best-plan-for-the-best CDC is a public health crisis, not a PR one. Even if Hantavirus doesn’t go pandemic.
Hantavirus Doesn’t Spread Easily, but Officials May Be Downplaying Risks New York Times
Omg even at the National Quarantine Unit where the hantavirus contacts are, they’re still only using surgical masks when people in quarantine interact with the medical staff. If one of them gets infected, you’ll know why. pic.twitter.com/8et7yl6btO
— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) May 14, 2026
Climate/Environment
Hantavirus is a climate story HEATED
Back to the future: trace lead in ambient air from wood fuel combustion Nature
Lessons in Living in the Anthropocene (From the World’s Most Pessimistic Climate Writer) Lit Hub
Pandemics
Where’s COVID? Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts
Ensitrelvir for Covid-19 Postexposure Prophylaxis in Household Contacts New England Journal of Medicine
Water
More concentrated precipitation decreases terrestrial water storage Nature
Explosive device found, detonated at Mobile water reservoir WALA
China?
Reading Between the Lines of the Xi-Trump Summit Readout Inside China
Beijing Came Prepared to Name the U.S.-China Relationship First New China Literacy
Xi ruled out arming Iran during Beijing talks: Trump TRT World. Just like his claim that 200 Boeing planes are being ordered, no confirmation from Chinese side.
Chinese FM responds to whether China, US leaders talk about Iran during exchanges on views on major international and regional issues, including Middle East situation China Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Global Times
Xi to Trump: No on Taiwan, Yes to Business, Beware the Thucydides Trap George Chen
U.S. Taiwan policy unchanged after Trump-Xi summit in Beijing: Rubio Focus Taiwan
How the Hormuz Crisis Is Threatening Taiwan’s Power Grid OilPrice
Tensions flare at Trump-Xi summit as clashes erupt over media access, Secret Service standoff Firstpost
India
DOJ May Drop Gautam Adani Fraud Charges Amid $10 Billion U.S. Investment Plan EconoTimes
How Modi Is Ditching Indian Protectionism in Favor of Free Trade Bloomberg
Market Access Challenges for India in its FTA with EU The India Forum
The Unresolved Challenges in U.S.–India Semiconductor Cooperation Carnegie India
Syraqistan
Israel Killing at Least One Palestinian Child a Week in West Bank: UNICEF Countercurrents
Leaked Documents Show Cisco Systems’ Deep Relationship with Israeli Security State Drop Site
Israel’s Netanyahu says suing New York Times over Palestinian rape article Al Jazeera
Old Blighty
Weasel Streeting quits for Starmer leadership challenge — lets take a look at his resignation letter The Canary
European Disunion
Warsaw denies reports of cancelled US troop deployment to Poland Notes From Poland
U.S. is Set to Become Europe’s Largest Gas Supplier, Overtaking Norway Maritime Executive
It Doesn’t Matter What Europe’s GDP Is Ian Welsh
Fighting Monks London Review of Books
Africa
The price of survival Africa Is A Country
Ivory Coast Rushes to Calm Cocoa Farmer Protests as Unpaid Beans Rot and Crisis Spirals West Africa Weekly
O Canada
Vancouver mayor decries ‘misinformation’ after saying he uses 11 AI agents to do work CBC
New Not-So-Cold War
Rutte seeks to triple aid to Ukraine Nordic Times
Bail for ex-Zelensky aide set at $3.2 million as corruption case opens RT
How stray Ukrainian drones pushed Latvia’s prime minister to resign France24
Russia Keeps Attacking U.S. Firms in Ukraine. The White House Is Silent. New York Times
Human rights groups urge Poland to stop facilitating US deportations to Ukraine Notes From Poland
South of the Border
CIA Chief Visits Havana Amid Heightened U.S. Tensions TeleSur
Cuba announces it has exhausted all its fuel reserves: ‘We have absolutely nothing’ El Pais
Day 3 of Bolivia’s general strike demanding the resignation of neoliberal President Rodrigo Paz.
All major highways blocked by protesters. An indigenous long march is heading to the capital, as it passes through each town and village more people join. pic.twitter.com/FQxNDTQtP6
— Ollie Vargas (@Ollie_Vargas_) May 14, 2026
Spook Country
How Tulsi Gabbard’s Secret Task Force Imploded The After-Action Report
GOP Funhouse
Hush Money Accusation Attempts To Derail Thomas Massie One Week Ahead Of Primary Blue Apples
Democrats Suck
The Similar Praxis of Jim Crow and Lord Voldemort (Or, Why the Democrat Party Ain’t Harry Potter) Black Agenda Report
VA Dem Gov Vetoes Collective Bargaining Rights Expansion –Chicago Dems Rollback Tipped Wage Phase Out — LA Dems Vote to Delay Increase in Min Wages Payday Report
Green New Deal champion AOC absent as New York weakens climate law Politico
Imperial Collapse Watch
Pentagon launches new framework agreements to acquire 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles Breaking Defense
BRICS
Iran and UAE clash at BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi TRT World
Police State Watch
Contracts Show ICE Planned Detainee Labor at Warehouse Sites Slated as Short-Term Facilities Project Salt Box
FBI insiders: Kash Patel is ‘padding the stats’ to boost his record of arrests MS Now
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
HOUSTON GREENLIGHTS AI TRAFFIC CAMS BY NRG AS NEIGHBORS CRY BIG BROTHER Hoodline
The Accelerationists
The Elon Musk v Sam Altman battle is a distraction The Guardian
Antitrust
Your Mattress Got Worse on Purpose Worse on Purpose
AI
Internet of Shit: AI Poop Analysis App Offered to Sell Me Database of Its Users’ Poops 404 Media
“MAHA”
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary resigns over vape policy clash Quartz
The Bezzle
US Senate Banking Committee votes to advance CLARITY Act Coin Telegraph
Class Warfare
Military Snipers Are Being Put Out of a Job by Drones WSJ
Overworked AI Agents Turn Marxist, Researchers Find Wired
Rights require money Aeon
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
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