Surprise: Fog in March. Louis enjoys his morning kayaking YouTube (resilc). A soothing oldie.
This Creamy Pasta Trick Just Earned Scientists an Ig Nobel Prize SciTech Daily (Chuck L)
7 Awkward Things Intense Exercise Might Do to Your Body ScienceAlert (Chuck L)
#COVID-19/Pandemics
President Trump got a Covid booster vaccine pic.twitter.com/WtpLbshSDY
— Neil Stone (@DrNeilStone) October 11, 2025
Climate/Environment
How extreme temperatures strain minds and bodies: a Karachi case study PreventionWeb
Photos capture devastation after hydropower dam bursts in northern Vietnam VNExpress
China?
China’s property slump this year is looking much worse than expected, S&P says CNBC
China’s Had Enough… Xi Calls Trump’s Bluff Larry Johnson. Conor featured the underlying tweet on the Chinese policy change. Johnson’s commentary suggests word is getting out.
China Is Going To Leave The US What America Left Britain: Nothing Ian Welsh
Trump puts extra 100% tariff on China imports, adds export controls on ‘critical software’ CNBC (Kevin W)
24 Hours in The Worlds LARGEST City | Chongqing, China YouTube. resilc: “Our dumbass presidente should watch this and then unconditionally surrender to China.”
* * * Taiwan’s president pledges to accelerate the building of air defense system in face of China threat Independent
The Recent Sino-US Dispute Over Taiwan’s Post-WWII Status Is A Sign Of The Times Andrew Korybko
Southeast Asia
Villagers bolster bunkers as Thai-Cambodian tensions rise The Nation Thailand
Africa
A Spiralling Security Crisis in the Sahel Will Force Algeria’s Hand World Politics Review
Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of preparing for war as Red Sea tensions rise BBC
South of the Border
Venezuela asks UN Security Council for emergency session over US military actions in the Caribbean Independent
Why we need to take Trump’s Drug War very seriously Responsible Statecraft (resilc)
The Nobel Committee has decided to make the case for Trump’s war on Venezuela, giving its “Peace Prize” to Maria Corina Machado, a US govt-funded regime change activist who’s helped lead failed military coups, violent street riots, and has likely promised her country’s oil and… https://t.co/LejwdYYysX
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) October 10, 2025
Ecuador’s Noboa faces escalating protests over rise in diesel costs Aljazeera
European Disunion
Macron reappoints Lecornu as French PM after days of turmoil BBC. I thought Macron was trying to get a center-left stooge to get on his bridge to nowhere. Will Lecornu decide to fail faster this time? Or will Macron actually relent on his budget demands? Regardless, if Macron can’t form a government and can’t get anyone credible in the French political elite to take the job, what next? I would assume that would force elections.
From Politico’s European newsletter:
President Emmanuel Macron spent much of the week walking up and down the Seine River making calls and proving that French politics is so much moodier than anyone else’s. He ends the week, of course, right back where he started, when on Friday evening he reappointed Sébastien Lecornu as prime minister still with no government around him.
Reality of Trump’s Tariffs Starts to Show in German Trade Data Bloomberg
Sahra Wagenknecht demands “to full review of the results” of the recent German Bundestag election International Affairs (Micael T)
Why Germany is being humiliated by Poland Vzgylad (Micael T)
Could France’s political turmoil spark eurozone debt crisis? DW
‘A fatal blow’: Italian producers fear effects of Trump’s ‘war against pasta Guardian
Low Hydro Stocks in Norway Risk Tighter European Power Market Bloomberg
Old Blighty
Inside the UK’s Energy Price Crisis OilPrice
National security threatened by climate crisis, UK intelligence chiefs due to warn Guardian
Cider ‘too potent for pubs’ after apple harvests hit by heatwave Telegraph
Israel v. The Resistance
Important:
Every single word of this
pic.twitter.com/aeSPHSDoyF— Mel (@Villgecrazylady) October 10, 2025
How two years of war have shattered the Gaza Strip Sky
Israel agrees to another one of those ceasefires where Israel does not cease firing Council Media (resilc)
How to End the War in Gaza for Good Dennis Ross, Foreign Affairs. Robin K: “AIPAC backing down? Nah! Head-fake.”
US imposes new sanctions on Iranian petroleum exports Financial Times
New Not-So-Cold War
SITREP 10/10/25: Lights Out in Kiev as Putin “Hardens His Heart” Simplicius
Russia launched a “massive” attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Friday morning Telegraph
On Russian Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Gas Infrastructure Amerikanets. Good detail on Ukraine’s supply options.
EU could fail to strike deal on frozen Russian assets – media RT (Kevin W)
Melania Trump says she has established communication channel with Putin over abducted Ukrainian children Ukrainska Pravda
Russian Stocks Suffer Sharpest Single-Day Drop in 3 Years Moscow Times
Scott Ritter vs. John Helmer: NATO and Russia on the Brink of Disaster Dialogue Works, YouTube. Important tidbit about Putin-Netanyahu call at 1:05:25.
Syraqistan
Regional powers signal objection to US reclaiming Afghanistan’s Bagram base Aljazeera
For war-weary Syria, potential benefits of security pact with Israel comes with big risks The Conversation
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
RondoDox botnet fires ‘exploit shotgun’ at nearly every router and internet-connected home device The Register
Trump 2.0
Interior cancels largest solar project in North America Politico (Kevin W)
This mysterious DOE ‘hit list’ has the clean-energy Canary Media (Chuck L)
Criminal charges against Bolton expected as early as next week MSNBC (resilc)
Tylenol use after circumcision ‘highly likely’ linked to autism, RFK Jr. says in wild new claim New York Post (resilc). When you’ve lost the Post…
Immigration
Immigrants Who Tried to Self-Deport with Trump’s CBP Home App Are Stuck in America ProPublica (Robin K)
Shutdown
HHS employees to be fired as White House enacts mass terminations it blames on shutdown STAT
Trump Admin Threatens to Fire “Problem Children” in Air Traffic Control Walkouts – WGAE to Fight Bari Weiss CBS News Takeover – LA Times Reporters Authorize Strike Mike Elk. The Hill has pointed out that air traffic control (as in the damage to air travel) was what forced Trump to relent in the last shutdown.
The FAA’s 40-year staffing hangover from Reagan’s mass firings just got worse Boing Boing (resilc)
Tariffs
Important:
What Trump announced today, a 100% tariff on Chinese imports and new export controls on critical U.S. software is one of those moments that shifts the trajectory of the global economy, whether or not it’s actually implemented. Even if these measures never fully take effect, the… https://t.co/8X2pw8hvVC pic.twitter.com/pV22HBx57f
— EndGame Macro (@onechancefreedm) October 10, 2025
Retail Prices Were Heading in the Right Direction—Then Tariffs Hit Working Knowledge (resilc)
Democrat Death Wish
Why Not Take Over the Hollowed-Out Democratic Party? Les Leopold
Our No Longer Free Press
The MOST IMORTANT MESSAGE "The TIME is NOW."
Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram and Candace Owens both said some words today that really hit home…
They explained a DARK, EVIL, and SADISTIC force that is encroaching upon us and our world that is slowly taking away and destroying… pic.twitter.com/XgDYoYs6zV
— The SCIF (@TheIntelSCIF) October 10, 2025
He Wrote a Book About Antifa. Death Threats Are Driving Him Out of the US Wired (Robin K)
Conservative distrust of journalism threatens to spread among liberals Kansas Reflector. Robin K: “Looks like this J-prof’s snooze is over. Center-right are “liberals” in Kansas–and likely throughout the midwest and plains state.”
Facing dismissal over Kirk comment, teacher cites pro-GOP posts by superintendent Iowa Capital Dispatch (Robin K)
Mr. Market is Moody
IMF chief warns ‘uncertainty is the new normal’ in global economy Guardian
Fears rise over $3tn shadow banking crisis Telegraph
Ray Dalio Warns of Soaring Debt and ‘Civil War’ Brewing in US Bloomberg
Economy
Roughly half of U.S. states are effectively in a recession and ‘hanging on by their fingertips,’ Moody’s chief economist says Fortune. Zandi has a bullish bias.
The Bezzle
🚨BREAKING: Crypto liquidations soar to $9.4 BILLION in 24 hours – the LARGEST single-day event ever.
Bigger than LUNA. Bigger than COVID. Bigger than FTX.
We just witnessed history. pic.twitter.com/ZgFPul0gDX
— Coin Bureau (@coinbureau) October 10, 2025
Elon Musk’s Satellites Now Constantly Falling Out of the Sky Futurism
Class Warfare
Marxism and the History of Philosophy Monthly Review (Robin K)
Why You Don’t Feel Rich A Wealth of Common Sense. resilc: “One gal of distilled water went from 1.23 to 1.37 at walmeurto in 2 week period.”
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus (Chuck L):
Octopus going stealth mode pic.twitter.com/7M68x67Sst
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) October 10, 2025
A second bonus (Chuck L):
The power of a rhino against a cape buffalo pic.twitter.com/boWiD8ogT2
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) October 8, 2025
And a third (Chuck L):
The homeowner saw on the security camera that a bear was playing on the outdoor swing every day, but couldn't get on.
So he had a bigger swing built, and this was the result. pic.twitter.com/v2HCLY6fd6— The Figen (@TheFigen_) October 9, 2025
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
“Sahra Wagenknecht demands “to full review of the results” of the recent German Bundestag election”
They’d show her but unfortunately those results have been classified and declared to be subject to national security interests. You have to hand it to the present German leadership. They took the subject of elections in Germany, which seemed to be pretty mundane, and have now undermined them and put election results under suspicion. That’s great work that. Way to go. /sarc
Inside tech billionaire Peter Thiel’s off-the-record lectures about the antichrist (Guardian)
Detailed analysis of the nonsense Thiel has been spouting.
Complements the Wired article posted previously (I think in one of Nat’s articles) which had more background but less granular analysis.
Surprised to see Thiel criticizing Andreessen
During a question-and-answer session, Thiel was asked to respond to a quote from fellow investor Andreessen – a name he audibly bristled at. He said Andreessen was engaged in hyperbole and “gobbledygook propaganda” when it comes to the promises of AI.
“Where should I start? I’m tempted to be triggered in some nasty ad hominem argument, but I can’t resist so I’ll do that. I don’t know, this is just pure Silicon Valley gobbledygook propaganda. I wouldn’t give someone who said things like that too much money to invest.”
He’s not wrong on that bit.
It’s very tempting to armchair analyse Thiel as 1. Insane 2. On some level believing himself to be the Antichrist due to the cognitive dissonance between being gay and his extremely religious upbringing and continued beliefs.
I wouldn’t want to get Gawkered (or droned) though, so I’ll resist :)
A Worthy Nobel Peace Laureate (Brett “not a bedbug” Stephens / NYT)
Full throated call for regime change:
That leaves the option to which the Trump administration seems increasingly inclined: regime change….
…But that in turn requires a willingness by the Trump administration to continue to escalate, up to the point of a full-scale military confrontation.
That would entail unquestionable and deadly risks, to Venezuelans and Americans alike. It might also put Trump’s long-coveted Nobel Peace Prize permanently out of reach.
Then again, there are greater peace prizes than the Nobel — a prize never won by Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman or other world-historical figures who knew that the path to peace can’t always lie through peace alone. If the sacrifice Trump must make for putting an end to the horror of the Maduro regime is forgoing the prize for himself, he can take solace in the fact that Machado dedicated her prize to “the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support.”
Now is the time to act.
Re: Tylenol use after circumcision ‘highly likely’ linked to autism, RFK Jr. says in wild new claim
Slightly tangential but I’ve never understood why American boys are circumcised. We have soap and showers. The only thing I can come up with is that it’s Puritan desensitizing of the dangerous members.
I think that circumcision is done in a lot of countries on the grounds of preventive healthcare more than anything else-
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/circumcision/about/pac-20393550
Of course there is the story of the short-sighted circumcisor who got the sack.
Hehe that’s a good one. You made me laugh in the midst of depression, thank you!
But from that link:
Still, the risks of not being circumcised are rare. The risks also can be lowered with proper care of the penis.
Literally just wash it!
This isn’t the 1800s
It started with the goal of preventing masturbation, and then kept going because of inertia of the system. First one is dumb, second one is dumber, but the dumbest are excuses to keep it going. Gods work in mysterious ways, especially when genital mutilation of kids is concerned.
At least us Brits invented football, cricket, and rugby in an attempt to stop masturbation. Seems preferable (from this male’s perspective).
I guess that laying in bed thinking of Mother England wasn’t doing the trick then.
“7 Awkward Things Intense Exercise Might Do to Your Body”
Of course there is the converse of what lack of intense exercise might do to your body-
1. Obesity
2. Strokes
3. Heart diseases
4. High blood pressure
5. Type 2 diabetes
6. Osteoporosis
7. Depression
Bugger that for a joke. I’d call all of those pretty awkward-
https://medlineplus.gov/healthrisksofaninactivelifestyle.html
Saw that the French 15 and 20 year bonds are at around 3.80 and were over 4.00 in September. Maybe they should run a test and denominate them in francs, just for the lolz.
“Why You Don’t Feel Rich”
Because 90% of Americans AREN’T?
Constantly increasing inequality will do that, eh?
“On Russian Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Gas Infrastructure”
Lots of excellent details in this post plus a side serving of karma. A coupla months ago Zelensky was hitting the Druzhba oil pipeline in Bryansk and cutting flows of gas to both Hungary and Slovakia. When they protested, Zelensky got really nasty and was mocking them but hard because the EU was letting him getting away with it. Why yes, it was a case of a non-EU state attacking two 2 EU member States but the EU deciding to back the non-EU State. But because of the Russian attacks, Zelensky is going to have to import huge amounts of pipeline gas and about half of it is going to have to go through Hungary. What happens if Hungary pulls a Ukraine and diverts gas for their own needs first?
Thank you for early readers holding fire. A regular submitted an antidote bonus which turned out to be AI generated, I have removed it and replaced it with one that is hopefully bona fide.
What annoys me is the frequency with which readers send Twitter animal vids (which presumably did not have AI alerts at the time of e-mailing them) where I look at them hours to many many hours later and generate an embed code, only to see the alert ONLY AFTER THE POST WENT LIVE that it was fake.
Twitter looks to be:
1. Delaying notices on AI fakes so as to get them retweeted more
2. Prioritizing putting them up on embeds because at the margin they want to keep views at Twitter and discourage views outside Twitter.
File under Climate,
Researchers find methane leaking out of cracks in Antarctic seabed, ABC News.
That’s the Antarctic seabed, not the oft-discussed Arctic. The paper is published in Nature, Antarctic seep emergence and discovery in the shallow coastal environment. From the abstract,
We establish the recent emergence of many of these seep features, based on their discovery in areas routinely surveyed for decades with no previous seep presence.
Methane eruptions from the polar seabeds scaling up?