The Islands Where Animals Always Come First Wall Street Journal (resilc). No archived version yet
Your Cat Is Being Nice? Think Again. New York Times (resilc)
Medicine is Moving From Calendars to Clocks Eric Topol (Robin K)
Ebola
The U.S. Embassy in DR Congo just put out an extremely confusing and unbelievable statement.
With potentially huge implications for the Ebola outbreak there.
It warms Americans to not travel to DR Congo “for any reason”. And that’s underlined and bolded.
This comes after… pic.twitter.com/wytjEM1gI2
— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) July 12, 2026
BREAKING: Staff at Congo Ebola centre strike as virus continues spreading
Read more: https://t.co/Bl9iVTj5Ut pic.twitter.com/LZ27GDeptP
— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) July 13, 2026
The U.S. Embassy in DR Congo just put out an extremely confusing and unbelievable statement.
With potentially huge implications for the Ebola outbreak there.
It warms Americans to not travel to DR Congo “for any reason”. And that’s underlined and bolded.
This comes after… pic.twitter.com/wytjEM1gI2
— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) July 12, 2026
COVID-19/Pandemics
Look at the rate Covid is now rising in Boston. They are now almost up to the point they were at this time last year. This is a quick change from the values that were near 0 pre 4th of July. pic.twitter.com/90EyL0h5ut
— Data Report (@CovidDataReport) July 13, 2026
Andhra Pradesh On Alert After 2 COVID-19 Deaths, 8 Active Cases NDTV
Climate/Environment
‘I froze my pyjamas’: What Europeans can do to cool down without air con – and what actually works Euronews
French rivers dry up amid prolonged heatwaves France24
River Pollution May Be Confusing Fish Into Mating With the Wrong Species ZMEScience
Microplastics Found in Deep-Sea Organisms Exceeding 2,000 Meters Chosun
El Niño is here, and it’s already scrambling fisheries throughout the Pacific Grist
Atlantic Ocean current slowdown could supercharge storms worldwide Earth
America may have to sacrifice Lake Powell to save the Colorado River, as scientists warn the current two-reservoir system is becoming unsustainable Times of India
China?
China’s Oil Imports May Be Set to Recover as Stockpiling Return Financial Post
China’s property developers face fresh liquidity crunch Nikkei
Sang Baichuan on Why Foreign Investment in China Is Falling Pekinology
How companies secure their supply chains by sourcing directly from China Kevin Walmsley
How China’s aerospace vision differs from Elon Musk’s SpaceX South China Morning Post
China’s Ethnic Unity Law extends legal reach to Taiwan, diaspora Asia Times (Kevin W)
China cries foul after 14 nations, including Japan, reject Beijing’s South China Sea claims Times of India
Southeast Asia
At least 28 killed, 25 critically injured after fire engulfs Bangkok bar BBC. Also a horrific video People flee Bangkok bar as huge flames shoot out from doorway.
Africa
Nigeria says army has killed 300 bandits in north-western state of Zamfara Guardian
Some 30 Malian soldiers killed during Anefis retaking, says army chief Aljazeera
South Africa says more than 53,000 foreigners deported in migration campaign BBC
South of the Border
An islandwide blackout strikes Cuba for the second time this week France24
Cuba offers Trump luxury island in desperate bid to stop invasion The Mirror
Trinidad and Tobago signs agreements with US companies paving way for data centers in the Caribbean Yahoo
European Disunion
Germany’s Ruhr Valley is on brink of financial collapse DW
Germany records most fatalities from Europe’s latest heatwave Le MondeRelentless heatwave, prolonged drought threaten rice farming in Italy Bastille Post
Old Blighty
Bank of England hit by internal divisions over shake-up Financial Times
Extreme heat may have claimed over 2,700 lives in England, Wales: Study Anadolu Agency
Israel v. The Resistance
ARMED ISRAELI SETTLERS DETAINED RO KHANNA. HE WANTS THEIR ILLEGAL OUTPOSTS DEMOLISHED.Intercept (Robin K)
Israeli defense minister says southern Lebanon “will become Gaza” AzerNews (resilc)
Death toll from Israeli attacks on Lebanon rises to 4,322 Middle East Eye
War On Iran: Escalation – Saudi’s Block Oil – Alleged Recruiting Of Ahmadinejad Moon of Alabama. So Israel tried to rehabilitate Ahmadinejad? It was Israel that mistranslated and widely circulated a remark that Ahmadinejad made when President, clearly in the conditional tense, “It would be better if Israel had never existed” as “Israel needs to be wiped from the map.”
Iraqi armed factions demand guarantees before giving up weapons New Arab
* * * Selling one’s soul and saving it Dublin Review of Books (Anthony L)
Syraqistan
No option but war if India deprives Pakistan of water, PPP rallies declare Dawn
What’s behind Pakistan’s mass deportation of Afghans? Aljazeera
Kashmiri diaspora rallies in Washington, seeks global action over PoK humanitarian crisis FirstPost
New Not-So-Cold War
Kiev Today Sonar 21 (Kevin W). A must read.
There is no functional way to end the war in Ukraine Ian Proud. Proud tends to be understated…
Kiev struck Russian territory up to 850 times per day over past week — envoy TASS
Foundation of Russia’s energy industry very reliable, certain problems with petroleum products to gradually improve – Putin Interfax
EU buys record amount of gas from Russia’s flagship plant Financial Times (resilc)
Polish PM pledges memorial to victims of WW2 ‘genocide by Ukrainian nationalists’ BBC
Nine dead as Russia and Ukraine trade drone and missile salvos Aljzaeera
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
The Backlash Is So Strong That People With “Pervert Glasses” Are Afraid to Use Them in Public Yahoo (Kevin W). Hooray!
The Chinese Voice Actor Forced to Prove He’s Human Sixth Tone (Paul R)
Imperial Collapse Watch
The world is running out of time to escape the “might makes right” trap The Insider
Rubio says US will dismantle ICC ‘brick by brick’ Middle East Eye (resilc)
China’s Path to Ending Global Hegemony, Part Two Karl Sanchez
250 Years of the United States: Has America Lost Its Way, or Was It Doomed from the Start? Marat Khairullinn
Trump 2.0
Judge halts Trump’s settlement with IRS The Hill
Boosie Badazz Sues After Paying $600K for Trump Pardon That Never Came TMZ (resilc). Talleyrand charged shockingly large bribes when he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs under Napoleon, but always returned the money if he could not deliver the desired result.
Trump Trolled With 10-Foot-Tall Iran War ‘Participation Trophy’ on the National Mall Mediate
Lindsey Graham
Mostly peaceful warmonger NO1 (Micael T)
Lindsey Graham’s Sister Appointed to Finish His Senate Term New York Times (Kevin W)
Our No Longer Free Press
Under Israeli pressure, US seizes Max Blumenthal’s devices on return from Tehran reporting trip Greyzone (france888)
Economy
Storm clouds gather over America’s financial supremacy Economist. Important.
Less than a month’s supply: Europe’s jet fuel stocks are wafer thin as Iran tensions flare Reuters. The shortages are showing up later than initially thought, in part to the US cranking up to produce a lot of jet fuel, but are finally arriving.
Oil and Treasury Yields Signal Rising Geopolitical Risk for Global Markets Yahoo
‘Super’ El Niño could cause global food price shock lasting into 2028, analysts say Guardian
Fuel Refining Margins Hit Record Highs as Markets Tighten OilPrice
Mr. Market Needs a Therapist
Are We Heading Straight Towards a New Financial Crisis? BBN Times
Awaiting the Crash? New Left Review (Anthony L)
Only 8% of investors believe AI stocks aren’t in a bubble, AAII survey finds Seeking Alpha
Profits, Payouts and Equity Prices JW Mason
AI
The Bear Case For AI: Ed Zitron Investor’s Business Daily, YouTube
Music Community Introduces System For Tagging AI-Generated Songs Blabbermouth (Micael T)
Alan Turing’s biggest AI assumption may have been wrong Science Daily (Anthony L)
The Bezzle
Gates Heir’s Shopping App Claimed Sales It Didn’t Drive Bloomberg (Micael T)
Wall Street Is Pumping SpaceX — So Why Is It Falling? YouTube (resilc). Important. See starting at 24:00. I had missed that the rules imposed under the global research settlement had been revoked just 7 months ago.
Class Warfare
Same Capacity. Less Throughput Laxmena. Paul R: “Abundance critique. I can’t tell if this is interesting. It’s not very deep. It claims to pick up a point that the Abundance book missed.”
Food stamp changes will cost states billions, raising fears about SNAP’s future Kansas Reflector (Robin K)
Sub-$500 New Car Payments Are Becoming Few And Far Between Jalopnik (resilc)
A Marketing Boon For Bail Bonds Business The Smoking Gun (resilc)
Grand Jury Impaneled into UAW Investigation Mike Elk
The New Ellis Island New York Review of Books
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus:
A guy in Moscow has found a novel way to walk his pet by riding a monowheel while remotely controlling a tiny car and trailer, with the animal sitting inside. pic.twitter.com/EYvvCkMMwQ
— Brian McDonald (@BrianMcDonaldIE) July 12, 2026
A second bonus:
Tigers with a frozen milk brick on a hot day pic.twitter.com/zhujg6D8fv
— Science girl (@sciencegirl) July 14, 2026
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
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