Links 7/3/2025

Plains viscacha: A rodent that builds vast underground cities and ovulates more than any other mammal Live Science

Scientists Catch Two Wild Orcas “French Kissing” And It Might Mean More Than You Think ZME Science

Can cheese turn your dreams into nightmares? NBC News

Gut microbes could protect us from toxic ‘forever chemicals’ Cambridge University

Scientists discovered microplastics in human semen and follicular fluid CNN

Climate/Environment

Extreme weather event attribution predicts climate policy support across the world Nature

Record heat in parts of Europe and Asia Balanced Weather

‘Completely unexpected’: Antarctic sea ice may be in terminal decline due to rising Southern Ocean salinity The Conversation

Pandemics

Doctors Blame Long Covid, Stress & Hidden Heart Issues As Young Adults Report Sudden Blackouts CNN-News18 (Video)

Cambodia Reports 4th H5N1 Infection In Siem Reap Province In Last 7 Days Avian Flu Diary

From coop to cave: Inside the high-tech hunt for H5N1 and Disease X The Telegraph

China?

China’s top leaders vow crackdown on price wars as deflation risks mount Reuters

China’s Consumption Is Not Nearly as Low as It Appears: CF40 Policy Brief Pekingnology

Yang Tao: China should develop a yuan-backed stablecoin ASAP The East is Read

Africa

Aggressors Unnamed in Rwanda-DRC “Peace Agreement” Black Agenda Report

Donald Trump’s Congo Venture: A Scramble for Minerals Under the Guise of Peace Black Agenda Report

Syraqistan

State Department approves $510m weapons sale to Israel JNS

Israeli military used 500lb bomb in strike on Gaza cafe, fragments reveal The Guardian. Made in the USA.

US ‘stands with Israel’ after calls by Israeli ministers to annex occupied West Bank Anadolu Agency

***

Report: Israel-Syria Talks Propose US Troop Deployment To Territory Israel Captured in Southern Syria Antiwar

Iran made preparations to mine the Strait of Hormuz, US officials say Jerusalem Post

US says its strikes degraded Iran’s nuclear programme by one to two years Al Jazeera

New Bill Would Give Israel Access to B-2s, Massive Bombs to Strike Iran Libertarian Institute (Kevin W)

Douglas Macgregor: America’s New Long War Glenn Diesen (Video)

***

UN Expert Exposes Companies Aiding Israel’s Genocide, Occupation in Palestine Truthout

Police arrest Jewish Voice for Peace protestors at Philly arms manufacturer All-Source Intelligence

‘Like a kidnapping’: How UK police are hunting pro-Palestine activists Middle East Eye (Kevin W)

The Best-Selling Apps Made By Israeli Spies Do Not Panic!

“Death to the genocide machine.” The Floutist

Old Blighty

Heathrow considering legal action against National Grid over fire BBC

Rachel Reeves probably cried because she can’t cut benefits but still has a proxy war to fund Ian Proud

New Not-So-Cold War

Trump allies caught off guard by Pentagon’s Ukraine weapons freeze Politico

Returning Tank Production to Soviet Era Levels: Russia Will Soon Be Building Over 3000 T-80s and T-90s Per Year Military Watch

Attacks On Russia Related Ships Smell Of British / Ukrainian Cooperation Moon of Alabama

Germany and Sweden Launch Joint Initiative to Monitor Shadow Fleet in Baltic Sea gCaptain

Trump lifts sanctions on Russia’s Rosoboronexport and banks amid Syria decision RBC Ukraine

Russia’s War Economy Is Heading To Recession. It Probably Won’t Slow Down The War. RFE/RL

The Caucasus

Baku blocking consular access to jailed Russians – Moscow RT

B-a-a-a-a-d Banks

Welcome Back, Wells Fargo! Racket News

“Liberation Day”

Trump announces Vietnam trade deal with 20% import tariff Business Times

Trump 2.0

House GOP advances Trump megabill after dramatic overnight vote The Hill

Federal Mortgage Regulator Bill Pulte Calls on Congress To Investigate Fed Chair Powell Realtor.com

Trump tells Powell to leave The Hill

INSIDE DOGE’S DANGEROUSLY HASTY IRS MODERNIZATION PLAN Notes on the Crises

***

THE WHIFF OF CORRUPTION: TRUMP’S NEW PERFUME HAS STRONG NOTES OF GRAFT The Intercept

I Don’t Know How to Explain to You That You Shouldn’t Buy Concentration Camp Merch Discourse Blog

Democrats en déshabillé

Maybe Team Blue can promise the “good billionaires” they’ll deliver it?

 

Hakeem Jeffries met privately with Silicon Valley donors in bid to ‘mend fences.’ Politico. From February, still germane.

***

On Zohran Mamdani and Taxi Drivers Zephyr Teachout

Former Obama Treasury secretary: Mamdani policies not ‘good for New York’ The Hill

RussiaGate

Obama’s Trump-Russia collusion report was corrupt from start: CIA review New York Post

MAHA

Insurers Aren’t Saying Whether They’ll Cover Vaccines for Kids if Government Stops Recommending Them Wired

Police State Watch

Welcome to the Age of Disappearance Hamilton Nolan

Kilmar Abrego Garcia describes ‘severe beatings’ and ‘psychological torture’ in Salvadoran prison Politico

AI

Freedom Cities

Tech Bro Wants to Use Federal Land at Alameda Point for ‘AI City,’ Drafts Sample Executive Order SFist

Starbase Texas Officials Silent Following Construction Equipment Accident at SpaceX Facility Technology.org

Inside Elon Musk’s Stellar Year at the Texas Capitol ProPublica

Brave New World

Elephant Trunk-Like Arm Turns Ordinary Drones Into Powerful, All-Purpose Flying Robots ZME Science

Swarms of tiny robots could go up your nose, melt the mucus and clean your sinuses ZME Science

Our Famously Free Press

‘Spineless Capitulation to Extortion’: Paramount Caves to Trump With $16 Million Settlement Common Dreams

The Bezzle

A Nebraska crypto company wants to get bigger. Landowners decry NPPD’s use of eminent domain that will help it grow. Flatwater Free Press

AI Training Load Fluctuations at Gigawatt-scale – Risk of Power Grid Blackout? Semi-Analysis

Van Gogh the Translator Liberties Journal

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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56 comments

    1. griffen

      Thinking myself more like a young Karate Kid, where young Daniel* learns at the very feet of his somewhat Quixotic trainer. Right circle, Left circle….Right circle, Left circle…

      Nevermind the labor involved since you will learn what teacher instructs. A recent AARP article featured Ralph who seems to be in his young 60s…he ain’t a kid no more.

      Reply
  1. The Rev Kev

    ‘Secretary Kennedy
    @SecKennedy
    Wearables put the power of health back in the hands of the American people.
    We’re launching one of the largest HHS campaigns in history to encourage their use—so every American can take control of their health, one data point at a time.
    It’s a key part of our mission to Make America Healthy Again.’

    Isn’t this how it started for the Borg?

    https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Borg

    Reply
  2. Mikerw0

    We live in Westchester County, NY, roughly 15 miles to Central Park in Manhattan as the bird flies. I cannot overstate the level of animosity, and perceived threat Mamdani is bringing out. Without knowing who he is, his positions, etc., I am getting unsolicited hatred and scorn on a regular basis.

    When I carefully probe, I think it’s simple. They see him as a threat to the neoliberal status quo and blame his supporters for their predicament. And, much of this from self labeled progressives.

    PS they feel the same about Sanders and AOC.

    PSS when asked how you solve cost of living issues for average citizens you get some palp about deregulation and the ability of private equity to come in and built housing, or some other nonsense. But, under no circumstances can millionaires taxes do anything but go down so they’ll stay here to help lead the City.

    Reply
    1. Kurtismayfield

      Ask them if they want deregulation.. i.e. no zoning restrictions… in their neighborhood. Then they will say the truth.

      Reply
      1. Camelotkidd

        Tech Bro Wants to Use Federal Land at Alameda Point for ‘AI City,’ Drafts Sample Executive Order
        We are hurtling towards a dystopian future that reminds me of Neil Stephenson’s Snow Crash

        Reply
    2. pjay

      You present a nice snapshot of the Democrat/suburban/(neo)liberal constituency for the “resistance.” On the Republican/(neo)conservative/MAGA side you’ve got Trump and his Homeland Saviors screeching about Mamdani as an Islamic terroristic communist to scare off any potential allies among the white working class (According to Zephyr these scare tactics aren’t working among immigrant cabbies – I wonder how they’re playing with cops and firefighters?). The Westchester folks read Jack Lew, the cops and firefighters listen to Trump. I’d like to think someone like Mamdani could break through the usual divide-and-rule tactics of the right-wingers and also appeal to any real progressives among the Dems, but past experience doesn’t make me hopeful.

      Reply
    1. The Rev Kev

      Yeah, that list is probably out of date now. Lloyds use to be the gold standard but I bet that a lot of their business headed east, never to return. Add in increased risks for like the waters for near Yemen and also the Black Sea – and maybe soon the Baltic – and they must get pretty busy at those insurance companies these days.

      Reply
      1. Colonel Smithers

        Thank you and well said, Rev.

        One of my best friends, a Lloyd’s broker and to whose children I’m godfather, says many brokers are for sale as business heads east and south. He, a former colleague from HSBC* days, and his wife are diversifying into emerging markets, especially Africa.

        *Samuel Plimsoll and we worked for the same firm.

        Reply
  3. Wukchumni

    So, i’m thinking the Donkey Show will attempt a ‘suicide squeeze’ play with the batter Hakeem laying down a perfect bunt, with the only problem being there are no base runners, as the 3rd baseman throws out Jeffries @ first.

    Reply
    1. KLG

      Thanks, Wukchumni! As a former baseball player, I needed that perfect image to help me get through the day, especially after reading yet another paean to Casey Means MD and her ridiculous continuous glucose monitoring scam. The scams, some more malignant than others, they keep on coming. Lily Tomlin, we need you now more than ever!

      Reply
      1. Wukchumni

        Thanks KLG…

        The other alternative is that Hakeem is the head of the Peoples Judas Goat Front, and he and his followers threaten to smash their own kneecaps with a Louisville Slugger, if demands aren’t met.

        Reply
        1. ChrisFromGA

          I wish Hakeem well in his filibuster attempt, but I suspect that he’s “catchin’ line drives without a mitt.”

          Reply
  4. The Rev Kev

    “US says its strikes degraded Iran’s nuclear programme by one to two years”

    Probably said so that the whole subject will go on the back burner for that long. Anybody think that the Israelis will let him? But the Iranians are not cooperating and have cut all ties with the IAEA meaning no inspections, no cameras, no reports, just zip. Grossi is panicking and running around saying the Iranians are going for nukes so as to save his job. But the White House and Trump were, I think, surprised by Iran doing this. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce kinda flipped out and said-

    ‘It is unacceptable that Iran chose to suspend cooperation with the IAEA at a time when it has a window of opportunity to reverse course and choose a path of peace and prosperity. Iran must cooperate fully, without further delay.’

    https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-iran-nuclear-weapons-israel-2093852

    Somebody should tell the Iranians that Israel and the Pentagon still need their targeting data and to update their scientist assassination lists so that had better get with the program. Iran’s Grand Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei, when asked for his thoughts, replied ‘Screw those guys if they can’t take a joke.’

    Reply
      1. The Rev Kev

        I wonder why there? Norway is hardly neutral territory these days and you think that Iran would demand a venue in a place in Asia for example. Unless it is just a dialogue meeting rather than an actual negotition. No doubt the US delegation will demand, loudly, that Iran re-join the IAEA or else, uhhh, more sanctions or something. But if I were the Iranian delegation, I would start that meeting by placing a salt container on the table. And I would put the Iranian military on high alert for another attack.

        Reply
  5. AG

    re: Sarah Leah Whitson

    Looking back:

    This was an interesting and revealing conversation on Oct. 17th 2023 with NONZERO Podcast about things we know today better (e.g. to show sympathy for Hamas in any form is “verboten”).

    She is director of DAWN
    https://dawnmena.org/experts/sarah-leah-whitson/


    Israel, Hamas, and the Laws of War (Robert Wright & Sarah Leah Whitson)

    Robert Wright

    Oct 17, 2023

    https://www.nonzero.org/p/israel-hamas-and-the-laws-of-war#details

    timestamps:

    1:37 Israel’s military plans for northern Gaza
    4:37 How does international law apply to Israel and Hamas?
    15:47 The first casualty of war is truth
    24:22 Do Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute ethnic cleansing?
    31:38 The evolving definition of genocide
    39:08 How the US and Israel helped Hamas seize power
    49:50 America’s ill-fated push for Arab-Israeli normalization
    52:49 The hazards of overreacting to Hamas’s attack
    1:00:58 How western media has covered the conflict so far

    Reply
  6. ChrisFromGA

    The story on Trump’s henchman at FHFA attacking Jerome Powell is really awful. This guy Pulte is a total hack, and a walking conflict of interest. Of course he wants lower interest rates – so he can sell more bubble-priced homes and walk away with more money for himself and his shareholders.

    Did this crook step down as CEO of Pulte Homes and put all his assets in a blind trust before taking the job?

    Jay Powell seems like one of the few decent public servants we have, albeit he works for the Fed which is a questionable entity at best.

    Reply
    1. The Rev Kev

      Having Jay Powell as Federal Reserve Chair must really stick in Trump’s craw. You could see that with his Cabinet – that he was recruiting people loyal to him personally and not their jobs. We saw what happened to Gabbard when she briefly did not follow the narrative. She got thumped hard. There is no doubt that Trump wants to replace Powell with some loyalist hack an maybe Pulte is the one. It’s not quite the Führerprinzip yet but it paves the way to it for others-

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F%C3%BChrerprinzip

      Reply
    2. griffen

      And fresh off the press the payrolls report this morning looking still quite solid overall. I’ve only listened to the headline announcements and then commentary is ongoing. Seems like to me at least, Powell wants to avoid being another Arthur Burns ala the Fed Chair from the mid 70s.

      Broadly speaking but yeah, many real estate people ought to shut their trap when it comes to making these demands to just lower interest rates on command. The bond market vigilante era would begin anew if it is, perhaps , a ” yes dear leader” replacement who follows Powell next year, and to add that presumes Powell is in that role until his term officially ends.

      Reply
      1. Wukchumni

        The only thing that would propel the housing bubble to highfalutin heights would be hyperinflation, everybody wanting to get rid of almighty bucks, but don’t see that coming anytime soon, so…

        A basic garage mahal in a halfway decent area of LA is a million bucks…

        It’s a market that has priced itself out and not just in the City of Angles… could you imagine being a 30 year old with wife and kid, signing an agreement to pay $8k a month* on a 30 years to life sentence on the not so big house?

        * $133 a month in 1962 for my first home, a 1,200 sq foot beauty that somehow held 6 of us.

        Reply
        1. ambrit

          My folks bought a “fixer upper” on Miami Beach in 1967 for $87 USD per month. Mom sold it after Dad died in the 1990s for an ungodly amount.
          It seems there is always lots of “dumb money” wanting to buy in Sodom By the Sea.

          Reply
          1. Wukchumni

            In the 1880’s-1890’s housing bubble in LA, sharpies pinned oranges to non-citrus trees on the property to better upsell it.

            Reply
  7. doug

    I recently visited with some friends who work in research for federal govt. Until then, I thought all those ‘probationary’ employees that were fired by DOGE were all new hires, which was bad enough.
    Wrong! Anyone promoted within the last year is on ‘probationary’ status. They lost a 23 year veteran who had been promoted to lead the group, and lost institutional knowledge. Perhaps this was explained and I missed it earlier, but I wanted to put it out there.

    Reply
    1. t

      Worth repeating. The is a lot of time and money being spent convincing the rubes the Trump cuts and private sector job losses are new (and therefore by definition useless or DEI) or deadwood who will magically be replaced, if needed, by competent white employees. Also we stopped money laundering and waste fraud and abuse.

      If anything, a structure with the 1st year being “probationary” I’d one designed for corrections when needed.

      Also worth repeating that where know of a DOGE salary, it’s above normal for whatever level their shoehorned into – and sometime higher than the dept allows. Anytime those goober walk into a room, they’re the highest paid. That’s gotta engender even more good feelings!

      Reply
  8. Wukchumni

    Heard Benedict Donald is thinking of an 80% tariff on those delicious Danish butter cookies that come in a metal tin that makes a great place to stick nicknacks on the verge of being called trash, after you’ve had that almost free lunch of 6 different varieties of sugar high, with a milk chaser.

    Some might claim such tactics of bullying them into handing over Greenland on account of not so big bickies is par for the course, but our Cartman in charge does what he wants.

    Will Teetotalitarian’s next move being a special tax on all danish sold in the USA, prompting sales of Bavarian creams to spike?

    Nuuk, nyuk nyuk nyuk

    Reply
  9. upstater

    re. INSIDE DOGE’S DANGEROUSLY HASTY IRS MODERNIZATION PLAN Notes on the Crises

    Here is an example of flicking the IT switch on a mission critical system. The former Kansas City Southern railroad was acquired by Canadian Pacific 2 years ago. The legacy KCS freight car management system was converted to CP’s in a switch, not run in parallel in the field. Chaos resulted; tens of thousands of cars went missing, customers lacked cars, cars mis-routed, customers having to use trucking to avoid plant shutdowns, etc, etc. CPKC says the chaos will end in late July, 3 months after the switch.

    This is for tens of thousands of rail cars, not hundreds of millions of taxpayers.

    CPKC says service is on the mend in former KCS territory

    No doubt the CIO will still get his bonus…

    Reply
    1. curlydan

      Just 2 days ago I was talking to a friend who was highly frustrated by recent train delays (30 minutes+) in Kansas City from trains stuck on the track while he was going to work.

      Reply
  10. AG

    re: China aviation industry

    Andrei Martyanov with a short text-only entry on one of his favourite subjects, China and commercial aviation difficulties

    To Create The New System Of Standards …
    … you have to have those standards be among if not the best. For those people who still continue to reside in this La La Land of Chinese commercial aerospace–just signing some agreements is not enough.

    July 2nd
    https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2025/07/to-create-new-system-of-standards.html

    Reply
  11. Nikkikat

    You are correct Doug, my understanding is that long time employees also got the axe, these 15 year old game console players that know nothing about government were allowed to simply show people the door. This Medicaid/obamacare changes dumped on states will also be a disaster. There is no way you can have state workers do twice the number of evaluations of eligibility p, which is what they are mandating without massive hiring. They will have a number of people leaving too. This is just sad.

    Reply
  12. The Rev Kev

    “I Don’t Know How to Explain to You That You Shouldn’t Buy Concentration Camp Merch”

    So maybe in a few years time, admitting ownership of an “Alligator Alcatraz” shirt will really become rank as the stories come out. But any stocks left over could have the words printed on the back to get them moving again saying “I Swear I Did Not now What They Did There”. That excuse did not work in 1946 and won’t work down the track. If you put your image on social media wearing one of those shirts, it is there forever.

    Reply
    1. BillS

      It will be pretty hard to get that Persilschein during the coming denazification when you are all over the internet in your nazi regalia! “I was never a member of the Party! I swear!”

      Reply
  13. ciroc

    >The Best-Selling Apps Made By Israeli Spies

    These investigations also reveal how Israel is foundationally reliant on being in a permanent state of dominance over the Palestinians, because the only thing of value the country produces are tech companies founded by ex-IDF. Without being able to train their citizens as spies and soldiers, and butcher Palestinians at will, Israel’s economy would collapse.

    This is why Israel must be destroyed. The two-state solution is a ridiculous pipe dream.

    Reply
  14. The Rev Kev

    “Starbase Texas Officials Silent Following Construction Equipment Accident at SpaceX Facility”

    It occurs to me that if you lived next to Starbase Texas, that it would be like living next door to the Home Owner’s Association From Hell. They are rude, obnoxious, secretive and leave bits of blown up rockets strew over the neighbourhood. The only difference is that a HOA cannot get the State to declare eminent domain over your property to be handed over to them for their expansion plans.

    Reply
  15. The Rev Kev

    “Trump announces Vietnam trade deal with 20% import tariff”

    I wonder if the Vietnamese here are buying themselves some time. Their whole economy was orientated to a partnership with China for the manufacture of goods to go to the US. But if they are going to diversify and re-orientate their economy, then they will need time to do so. Trump my think himself smart by getting a deal where the US can import goods for free into Vietnam while they are hit up with 20% shipping goods to the US. One of his ‘I-win-and-you-lose’ deals. But does Vietnam have the money or the desire to import a lot of goods from the US, especially the former? Other parts of the US government want to use Vietnam as a battering ram against China as they share a border. Probably China is helping Vietnam out of self-interest and the Vietnamese see what the US is doing to them so I do not think that they want to go there. But then right at the end of this article it had the classic Trump grift-

    ‘Officials in the country also touted the Trump Organization’s plans to develop a US$1.5 billion luxury resort complex, a project that will feature five-star hotels, golf courses and residential estates spanning more than 990 hectares. The president’s son, Eric Trump, attended a groundbreaking event for the project in May, where he was joined by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.’

    Reply
    1. converger

      Vietnam does not trust China. There is zero reason for Vietnam to trust Trump. The existential task for Vietnam isn’t picking a side – it’s navigating a new era of global imperial ambition.

      Reply
  16. micaT

    israel and planes.
    To allow israel to fly US B2’s would take a few years of pilot training. I suspect if the article is correct, which I doubt it would allow israel to request the bombing of iran. Which is that any different than now?

    And as to the fighter jets, if they are going after Iranian drones, they would be using air to air missiles, and not be carrying air to ground bombs. If you could point that missile at the ground it carries a very small payload, would be very inaccurate, is very expensive and it’s something they are running out of. So no I dont think the story is accurate.

    Reply
    1. ilsm

      B-2 is a piloted drone.

      Sensors, GPS, autopilot, etc. Human is superfluous.

      The extraordinary accuracy claimed to put a 30000 pound iron on a 10 cm spot to take advantage of Iran’s straight line vent shaft is machine based control.

      There is no Maverick.

      IDF has qualified dial watchers, and the servicing is mostly contractor.

      They could fly lend lease tomorrow.

      Reply
  17. Wukchumni

    Record heat in parts of Europe and Asia Balanced Weather
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Bunker buster bombs have been all the rage-real or imagined, while the answer to relentless heat waves is to build underground public bunkers meant for stays of short duration up to say a fortnight. An artificial cave requires no cooling system for the most part, if ventilated properly.

    You could also build your own bunker, pretty much along the lines of a 1960 model that your parents built in case the Russians decided to push the button down, but more of an escape from the heat these daze.

    Use the bunkers for something else in the ‘off-season’.

    Reply
  18. castilleja

    Regarding the article on the AI Tech Bro. wanting to gobble up VA land and a Nature Reserve for a regulation-free company town, it sure sounds like what Mike Lee seems to have meant when he referred to “Freedom Zones” in a Tweet trying, and failing, to battle opposition to his defeated public land disposal proposal in the Big Bad Bill. https://x.com/SenMikeLee/status/1937340623213985907

    Reply
  19. Wukchumni

    Scientists discovered microplastics in human semen and follicular fluid CNN
    ~~~~~~~~~~~

    Her neon mouth with the blinkers-off smile
    Nothing but an electric sign
    You could say she has an individual style
    She’s part of a colorful time

    Secrecy of lady-fast fashion covered clothes
    You wear cause you have no other
    But I suppose no one knows
    You’re my microplastic fantastic lover

    Her rattlin’ cough never shuts off
    Is nothin’ but a used machine
    Her microplastic finish, slightly diminished
    Is the best I ever have seen

    Cosmetic baby plugged into me
    I’d never ever find another
    I realize no one’s wise
    To my microplastic fantastic lover

    The microplastic dust is starting to rust
    Her trapezoid thermometer taste
    All the red tape is mechanical rape
    Of the online doomscrolling waste

    Big Oil & Big HAL
    Science is mankind’s brother
    But all I see is drainin’ me
    On my microplastic fantastic lover

    Plastic Fantastic Lover, by Jefferson Airplane

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1Hvp1Z10TI&list=RDm1Hvp1Z10TI

    Reply

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