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Links 5/27/2026

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Dear patient readers,

Sorry if today’s Links seems a big heavy on tweets. I was on Twitter a bit more than usual looking for Iran updates and found a lot of good regular news tidbits.

The Man, the Ox, the Lion and the Eagle The Sacred Images Project (Micael T)

A Fundamental Principle of Aeronautical Engineering Has Been Overturned Wired

What anxiety is really trying to tell you Big Think

Carl Jung’s Penultimate Concerns Mark Vernon (Micael T). Important.

Ebola

U.S. Races to Set Up Quarantine Facility in Kenya for Americans Exposed to Ebola Wall Street Journal

In the shadow of Ebola: Scenes from the outbreak’s frontlines Reuters

Doctor evacuated from Congo is ‘helpless’ watching colleagues die of Ebola Washington Post

Climate/Environment

Don’t Trash Your Old Vapes. NYC’s Volunteer Recyclers Want Them THE CITY

Gentoo penguins cope with climate change heat waves by breeding earlier PhysOrg

Reef fish communities are collapsing under climate stress Earth

Climate change weakens the purification function of lakes EurekAlert

Deadly fungal storms are now sweeping the US – and spreading a disease few doctors recognise Science Focus

Climate change threatens global plant species as habitats shrink Reuters

America’s Water Crisis Can No Longer Be Ignored OilPrice

China?

China’s Rare Earth Grip Holds Despite Trump-Xi Talks OilPrice (Kevin W)

China took over another $5 trillion industry, and Europe is moving money and jobs Kevin Walmsley

China Now Controls 70% of Shipbuilding: Can the U.S. Make a Comeback? Sal Mercogliano, YouTube

India

Australia-India-Japan-US Quad to build a port, unveil pact on critical minerals Reuters

India’s bizarre $500bn ‘commitment’ in trade deal with US Financial Times

‘My head spins with the heat’: India’s gig workers battle exhaustion amid soaring temperatures Guardian

India’s ‘king of mangoes’ crop devastated as farmers report losses of 90% Independent

Africa

African nations seek security ties with Turkey through ‘Somalia model’ Middle East Eye

Landslide at Angola illegal gold mine kills 28 Reuters

Uganda launches $1.8 billion water rescue plan as climate shocks and disease threaten millions Africa Business

European Disunion

Eurozone issuers turn to non-euro debt in hunt for new investors Financial Times. More proof that the euro is not a reserve currency candidate. The reason the dollar is still dominant is that international investable assets are overwhelmingly in USD.

Europe wants its own Starlink. But it’s on course for five failures instead Euractiv

‘It was 30°C in the classrooms this afternoon’: France experiences its hottest day in May on record LeMonde. Lead story

Old Blighty

Tony Blair tells Starmer and rivals: abandon net zero and move closer to Trump Guardian (Kevin W). Why won’t he retreat to his crypt?

Blair: Starmer has no plan for Britain Telegraph

Israel v. The Resistance

Hebrew Language Israeli Media Is Boasting About Buying Congress Kevin Gosztola (Dr. Kevin)

ZOMG, click through and read the full tweet:

Still germane:

Israel says new head of Hamas’ military wing killed in Gaza City strikes BBC

New Not-So-Cold War

Mines on LPG Tanker Point to Dangerous New Front in Baltic War gCaptain

Turkiye’s Reportedly Proposed Military Pipeline To Romania Will Worsen Tensions With Russia Andrew Korybko

Czech ‘ammo coalition’ for Ukraine loses support RT (Kevin W)

Russia’s relations with its neighbors will ebb and flow Vzglayd (Micael T)

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

‘BusPatrol’ Put AI Cameras in Tens of Thousands of School Buses. Now They Want to Give Cops Access 404 Media

California Moves To Exempt Linux From Upcoming Age-Verification Law Tom’s Hardward

Imperial Collapse Watch

The Reserve Currency Trap: The Mechanics of US Industrial Erosion Craig Tindale. Important

The U.S.-Israel War on Iran: Geopolitical Rivalry in the Middle East and Its Global Impact ChinaAffairs+1

Trump 2.0

Donald Trump’s Board of Peace fund is empty Financial Times. Lead story. Archived link not working yet (often the case with the FT, they seem to allow archiving after a story is up for a bit), link to site here.

Trump administration proposes NDAs for all federal workers Washington Post. An American expat reacted:

Ah, now we are effectively to have a secret police. The people in a position of power are singularly ineffectual and feckless, or dickish, in a weird polarization. We’re in the age of extremes. I keep hoping that this will pass, like the McCarthy era, but nations get stuck in the machinery of awful regimes for decades, sometimes.

The Trump administration is working on a deal to give weapons-grade plutonium to energy companies CNN (Kevin W)

Exclusive renderings of Penn Station overhaul show Trump’s name with presidential seal Gothamist (Kevin W)

South Carolina Redistricting: Senate Passes on New Map, Defying Trump New York Times (Kevin W). For last 24 hours or so, no new New York Times stories can be found on archiving sites. Maybe the Gray Lady has implemented a block?

Immigration

The Trump administration’s big move to limit legal immigration Economist. The reporting on this change is generally terrible. 1. This move is clearly contrary to statute. 2. Trump additionally did not go through the required publication + 60 day comment period.

US planning to halt immigration at ‘sanctuary city’ airports DW

GOP Clown Car

Did Donald Trump Just Hand Texas to Democrats? Newsweek (Ann)

Paxton defeats Cornyn in Texas GOP Senate runoff The Hill

Supremes

Judges Get Removed From The Bench For Doing What John Roberts and His Wife Have Been Doing For 16 Years Christopher Armitage

Thomas, Alito say Supreme Court obligated to hear Florida’s commercial driving fight The Hill

Economy

A Searing Asian Summer Will Add to Risk of Surging Gas Prices Bloomberg

Consumer Credit Stress Is Comparable to the Great Recession Michael Shedlock

AI

If enough other companies report the same, the bubble pops. Gary Marcus

Revenge of The Business Idiot Ed Zitron

Google has seriously leaned into AI enshittification lately The Register

Pope Leo: The Wall and the Machine The One Percent Rule

Trump appoints former Attorney General Bondi to White House AI panel: Report Anadolu Agency

The Bezzle

How to Win a Nobel Prize Using Mickey Mouse Numbers Joseph Francis (Micael T)

SpaceX IPO Is Forcing Changes To Index And Underwriting Rules Forbes (Micael T)

Enhanced Games suffers disastrous stock price fall with investors fleeing following inaugural event News.com.au (Micael T)

These States Allow Semi Trucks To Pull Three Trailers Jalopnik (resilc)

Class Warfare

The Divorce Between Wall Street And Main Street Seeking Alpha. resilc: “See paycheck to paycheck by income chart.”

As US stock market hits new highs, 2 of 3 Americans are cutting back on spending, survey shows Associated Press (Kevin W)

Uber, Lyft drivers in Massachusetts form first US ride-share union Reuters (Kevin W)

Antidote du jour (via):

And a bonus:

A second bonus:

And a third:

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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55 comments

  1. The Rev Kev

    “U.S. Races to Set Up Quarantine Facility in Kenya for Americans Exposed to Ebola”

    ‘We have to quarantine them over there so that we don’t have to quarantine them over here.’ This is a case where the advanced nations could be funding permanent treatment facilities, research divisions and local training of medical staff. The financial resources needed would be pocket change for them. That way you have a good chance of nipping the spread of diseases like Ebola before they get away from you. As it stands, you could have an infected person fly to a nearby country away from the infected areas and then take another jet to New York or London or wherever. By the time they take sick, they could have come in contact with hundreds of people all of whom would have to be traced. We saw that with Covid and how quickly it spread from county to country back in 2020.

    Reply ↓
  2. ACF

    When I see this “The AI DEBT BUBBLE is extremely large:

    US investment-grade bond issuance has surged to a record $794 billion year-to-date, up +20% YoY, the strongest start to any year on record.”

    I remember how many mortgage-backed securities were nonsensically rated AAA by captured ratings agencies; is something similar happening? Why are all these bonds investment grade?

    Reply ↓
  3. Chris

    The first link in the “Immigration” section is currently linking to the Le Monde article about the 30C classrooms, as opposed to The Economist as indicated.

    Reply ↓
  4. ChrisFromGA

    Re: Chinas Rare Earth Grip Holds Despite Trump-Xi Talks

    Not surprising … that summit was a joke, it was probably Xi’s way of humoring Taco. Sort of like taking the mistress to a cheap restaurant, vs. the nice one you save for the wife.

    Eat rubbery chicken, Taco!

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      Would you believe that the food that Trump ate was flown in on Air Force One with him so that he never had any of the local cuisine? Maybe he was afraid that the Chinese would poison him or something but you would think that at age 79 that he would take a chance and so not miss out.

      Reply ↓
      1. ChrisFromGA

        Or he was afraid that the Chinese would put a micro tracking chip in his General Tso’s Chicken.

        I suspect the truth is that Xi wouldn’t waste his time on such cloak-and-dagger games. Mother nature looks like she will take care of things in due time, as this link suggests:

        https://thedailyadda.com/2026/05/27/look-at-him-trump-caught-on-camera-slurring-words-and-nodding-off-as-a-doctor-publicly-declares-he-has-a-severe-illness-and-the-clip-is-everywhere-now/

        Reply ↓
        1. The Rev Kev

          Nodding off in meetings? Just like Biden did. At least with Biden he could only work from ten till four and that was it. He was done. You did not catch him in bed at one in the morning doing tirades on social media.

          Reply ↓
        2. paul

          Will AOC refer to him as ‘sleepy don’ in her head to heads with whoever has replaced him after he gets whacked*?

          *by khameni, I think the story has to go.

          Reply ↓
    2. Glen

      Trump’s trip was indeed a complete joke. He certainly made it extremely clear who was in charge to Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea. Xi is in charge. This on top of how Trump dumped on all these key American allies with his tariff mugging. And now with Trump’s Iran war?

      Let’s see if Taiwan or Japan or South Korea are stupid enough to pull a Ukraine. It’s now clear that Senator Graham was foretelling the future – when you have an “ally” fighting a proxy war “to the last man” – that’s exactly what will happen.

      Xi was careful to say “No” to Trump’s request for support (and some sharp words about key topics which resulted in almost immediate policy changes by Trump), but also careful to make sure that Trump just keeps doing what Trump is doing. Yeah sure, bring along all those Epstein class oligarchs!*

      *Never stop an opponent when they are [family blogging] their country’s economy, military, and world standing into the ground.

      Reply ↓
  5. AG

    re: Russia vs. EU

    1) Anatol Lieven with a new headache-causing piece in RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT.
    Among his trusted sources he quotes: (the extreme rightwing) KIEV POST and ATLANTIC COUNCIL.

    This is the same dude who was saying publicly in podcasts that the Russians were using SAMs against ground targets because they were running out of missiles – because Ukrainians had told him so.

    The US suggests it might dump talks as Russia escalates war
    Rubio’s ominous comments about the future of negotiations, coupled with Moscow urging US and European diplomats to leave Kyiv, spell darkness ahead
    https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-leave-ukraine-war-talks/

    As I read it, he offers no real evidence for his claim in the headline “might dump talks”.
    That would be pure speculation from his part.

    2) BERLINER ZEITUNG

    machine-transl.

    Out of fear of a major war: Europe suddenly seeks a connection with Putin
    Europe’s Russia strategy is faltering. While Trump questions NATO, fears of a direct confrontation with Moscow are growing in Brussels. An analysis.

    by Nicolas Butylin
    https://archive.is/uGwY9

    Reply ↓
      1. AG

        re: Sachs
        Actually very true!
        One should ask Henwood about that (although he does have his very own agenda sometimes he tries to go against that which is refreshing.)

        Reply ↓
        1. paul

          All I know for sure is d henwood has terrible taste in NY no wave, he stiffed me on an lbo subscription and like most podcasters he can only be as good as his guests.

          Last time I was paying any attention, he was ferociously anti mmt and ct, very much the pious left in America

          Reply ↓
    1. t

      Nitter.poast.org still works, almost all the time.

      Bit of a slog to move the cursor back to replace x.com the with the nitter space, but you can do that and be horrified by the bot responses to the tweet.

      Thanks again, NC commenter who introduced me to nitter!

      Reply ↓
      2. Mark Gisleson

        No access. I could still see X posts but then the monopolists shifted gears again and now there are sites, X included and apparently also Poast that will not give me access claiming that my older browser is something something.

        Not updating my legacy OS is biting me in the butt pretty hard but everytime they bar me from a site, I seem to find I have more time for other things almost all of which are more productive than trying to track down the news in a world of censors and propagandists.

        UPDATE: xcancel.com does work : )

        Reply ↓
      1. vao

        Good X/twitter replacement sites for perusing messages are:

        xcancel.com
        nitter.net
        nitter.poast.org

        The two first ones work well, though I have sometimes found xcancel.com to be overloaded.

        The last one is somewhat less responsive, but has a definite advantage (at least in my browsing configuration): one can directly download and save on the local computer videos published in X/Twitter.

        The site status.d420.de gives a graphical representation of the availability of various X/Twitter replacement sites; there are many more than the three above, but I have found those three to be the most enduring of all.

        Reply ↓
  7. Tom Stone

    When the Economy hits the wall, so will AI, it will be amusing and astonishing to watch the Trump administration try to deal with that reality..

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      Trump will probably bail out the AI investors, especially as he is invested in it as well. It might cost a trillion or two but since the national debt is at about $40 trillion, who is counting? It will be like 2008 when it was imperative that the banks and other financial corporations be made whole. Everybody else, not so much.

      Reply ↓
  8. Carolinian

    Re SC redistricting debate–I haven’t been following it closely but apparently, besides the potential voting chaos, there was some concern that the new map might lead some incumbent Repubs to lose to a Dem and not merely KO Clyburn. Or in other words in an age of upcoming $5 gas the solid SC Repub seats might not be so secure underneath their fannies as they suppose.

    Elsewhere Wilkerson has suggested that even Graham may be in trouble. Certainly I personally plan to turn out this time and vote against the obnoxious war monger Israeli hand puppet.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      To steal somebody else’s line, Lindsey Graham will always put country first over any other interest. Unfortunately that country is Israel.

      Out of curiosity, has anybody heard anything from “Glitch” McConnell lately? He seems to have dropped out of the news.

      Reply ↓
      1. t

        What’s recently? His comments on the slush fund were all over the US news a a few days back.

        He’s against it.

        Reply ↓
  9. paul

    Tony Blair tells Starmer and rivals: abandon net zero and move closer to Trump Guardian (Kevin W). Why won’t he retreat to his crypt?

    Never under estimate a woman* scorned!

    Recall he was the sole voice in the chilcott inquiry who chose to talk about the ‘very’ real threat of Iran when it turned out there was no real threat from iraq.

    *his nickname in edinburgh legal circles was ‘miranda’, I don’t think it refered to the latin word, ‘worthy of admiration’

    Reply ↓
  10. Huey

    Re: US planning to halt immigration at ‘sanctuary city’ airports

    I’m trying to see the win here. Maybe someone told them that nobody’s buying tickets to the World Cup, plus air travel collapse is already baked in? This way, they can avoid embarassment (ICE and Trump’s Iran war totally destroyed the easy money that was guaranteed) from the looming disaster, and try spinning it as proof that shutting down intl travel to (of all places) LA, NY, San Fran and Seattle, dropped summer visits during a World Cup season. Surely only illegal immigrants wouldn’t have redirected their flights to land in TX, or wherever the fuck else is miles from the big city, holiday destinations half the world prefer to frequent.

    I know it’s a sign of hubris, my attempt to anthropmorphize nature, but it’s hard to not wonder whether these guys are really as dumb as rocks. It simply defies comprehension. You really have to be touched by something to consistently outdo the legacy of failures they’re infamous for.

    Reply ↓
    1. Darthbobber

      Very silly, since where there’s an international airport there’s a border and none of the sanctuary policies apply there in the first place.

      Reply ↓
  12. The Rev Kev

    “Australia-India-Japan-US Quad to build a port, unveil pact on critical minerals”

    ‘The foreign ministers of Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. agreed to jointly build a port in Fiji and signed pacts covering critical ‌minerals and energy security, as they sought to inject fresh energy into their grouping known as the Quad.’

    Has anybody thought to tell Fiji? The South Pacific has not been this militarized since WW2. Sigh! And it use to be such a quite neighbourhood.

    Reply ↓
  13. Steve H.

    > The Reserve Currency Trap: The Mechanics of US Industrial Erosion Craig Tindale. Important

    Tindale is not wrong. Within his frame of reference. But if a function of financialization is increasing the flow of wealth upwards, it is insufficient to restrict that frame to a national level. Given 87% of stocks are owned by the 10%, and following Hume, the benefits of financializing the reserve currency are global in nature. Multinational, as it were. If you have the cash, and you get sick, you can fly to wherever the best treatment is and pay for it out of pocket. Moreover, pallets of dollars bought influence, power.

    Or so it has been for at least a few decades. The assumption still holds true, but with Hormuz transit being denominated in crypto and yuan, that’s the change in influence that can happen lightning quick. If your billion dollars can’t get you what you want in an undeferred manner, that becomes a threat to one’s well-being, so classified.

    Ah, well. First black raspberry came in the other day.

    Reply ↓
  14. JMH

    “Exclusive renderings of Penn Station overhaul show Trump’s name with presidential seal” Of course … it would be incomplete otherwise.

    Reply ↓
  15. The Rev Kev

    ‘Shaiel Ben-Ephraim
    @academic_la
    Perhaps the worst pedophilia, rape and sexual abuse scandal in Israeli history is ricking the West Bank settlement movement.’

    Many people have compared the Israelis with the Nazis. But I don’t think that the Nazis at home were this bad. They might shoot you. They might throw you in a concentration camp. But I doubt that the Nazis ever did to their kids what these settlers are doing to their own.

    Reply ↓
  16. ciroc

    >If enough other companies report the same, the bubble pops.

    The AI bubble is a ‘too big to fail’ phenomenon. Since it is well documented that AI cannot perform the same tasks as humans more cheaply or reliably, it was clear from the outset that the bubble did not reflect AI’s true capabilities. It is likely that the bubble will persist in some form for the foreseeable future, even if it requires constant support.

    Reply ↓
  18. Jason Boxman

    And so it begins, at an employer I know, with 15-20k employees worldwide.

    As you may have seen in recent news, global jet fuel shortages are hitting international air travel hard. While international flights are still operating, schedules have become increasingly unpredictable and more costly, impacting both long-haul and shorter, multi-leg flights, leading to a rise in sudden cancellations and extended delays.

    Our top priority is always the safety and well-being of our associates. This industry disruption is causing massive challenges for passengers, including missed connections, extended delays, and the very real potential of being stranded abroad. For The Company, navigating this means we have to invest additional resources and time to ensure associates can get home safely.

    To help manage these risks and protect our teams, effective immediately, we are restricting international air travel to essential travel only. All other discretionary international air travel should be deferred or shifted to virtual engagement. International air travel is considered any air travel that takes you out of your country of residence and across the borders of another country. This does not include train travel. If you have already booked international air travel that is not essential as defined below, it should be canceled.

    (bold mine)

    Reply ↓
  19. DJG, Reality Czar

    Mark Vernon. Carl Jung, a graceful exit, and a way out of the vampire’s castle. I recommend this elegantly written essay to you.

    This quote is where Jung left things, and it is roughly where I am:

    The presenter, John Freeman, asked the elderly sage, radiating charm and charisma, whether he believed in God. Jung first paused and then smiled. “It’s difficult to answer,” he said. “I know. I don’t need to believe. I know.”

    I no longer believe in belief. Yet Italy Is like Japan, Land of Eight Million Gods.

    So something like genius loci remains. Epiphanies. The air crackles. Perception.

    And one leaves it at that.

    Reply ↓
    1. Tom Stone

      With 8 Billion Humans on the planet it was predictable that some examples of “Homo Superior” would show up…like Alex Karp.

      Reply ↓
    2. Alphonse

      I am not sure what to make of Vernon’s essay, but I find the recent inclusion of links about metaphysics intriguing.

      Previously, though I tried to keep an open mind, I wasn’t much interested. Since roughly the start of the pandemic my attitude has shifted. Scientism is now dominant both within and without the academy and its DEI priesthood. What remains to distinguish scholarship and science from religion?

      On one side we have gnostic transhumanist technocrats (I saw your note on gnosticism Mr Moon Pie) obsessed with power who see a world of lies and dead matter to be controlled. On the other we have humanistic traditions rooted in an understanding of the world as alive with spirit and meaning. One rejects the world as bad. The other agrees with Genesis: “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”

      Unlike you, I do not know. I am not even to the point of belief in anything particular. I wonder if the way is not knowledge. Between a good world and a bad I want to choose the good. That choice to be is in our power (not the choice to make the world good, just the choice of how to be in the world that is). The question is not will all of this pass. The fall is now. I don’t think anything can stop it. Then what is the way? Maybe to just be, and that is good.

      Reply ↓
  20. hk

    Odd, second bonus antidote comes up as :ad removed.” (Chrome browser. Sorry.) Clearly, Google products (again) see things that ain’t there. How do these things work (or anto-work?) anyways?

    Reply ↓
    1. flora

      Also file under Democrats suck: from Breaking Points. utube

      Dem Establishment WILLING TO LOSE Maine To BLOCK PLATNER

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rodFKBSzJ2I

      Who is Jake Auchincloss ? Per Wiki:

      ‘Born to a wealthy family in New England, Auchincloss graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 2010. Commissioned into the U.S. Marine Corps that same year, he was deployed to Afghanistan in 2012 and to Panama in 2014. He currently serves in the Marine Corps Reserve with the rank of major.’

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Auchincloss

      Reply ↓
  22. Tom Stone

    It appears that quite a few republicans, including racist assholes, are not happy with the Zionist State.
    A meme I have run across several times is a pic 0f a dirt road with razor wire on both sides.
    Two flags are shown across the road from each other, one Israeli and the other the flag of Kentucky.
    The caption reads ” IDF installs razor wire fence around newest Jewish Settlement, KY4″
    The sites I have seen this on were very pro Israel in the past.

    When you lose the Racist assholes…

    Reply ↓
    1. Ben Joseph

      What about the meme justifies your aspersions? KY4? KY flag? Offense taken from neighboring KY3.

      Lest you read some racist sources and the details are incidental…

      Reply ↓

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