Links 7/12/2026


20 things your phone knows about you that you never told it Quartz

Rare Diseases and the Platform Biotech Renaissance Contrary Research substack

Scientists Say We May Need to Nuke Asteroids—But Not How You Think ZME Science

World Cup propels surveillance to new heights The Conversation

COVID-19/Pandemics

‘The next pandemic is not a matter of if, but when,’ Oxford professor says Euronews

Brain Scans Reveal Dopamine Damage in Long COVID, Pointing to New Treatments Inside Precision Medicine

Climate/Environment

Climate Scientists Aghast at How Bad Things Are Getting, and So Fast Futurism

Scientists Discover an Alarming Trend Climate Models Are Missing SciTech Daily

South of the Border

Cuba suffers second island-wide blackout in a week amid Trump fuel blockade Al Jazeera

Death toll from Venezuela twin earthquakes surpasses 4,000 Andolu Agency

Colombia’s Petro accuses Israeli cyberfirm BlackCore of election interference Middle East Monitor

China?


China climate plan pushes renewables in factories, data centers Los Angeles Times

China’s Tianwen-2 Space Probe Has Rendezvoused With Earth’s Quasi-Moon Wired

China is becoming the auto industry’s innovation lab The Street

China’s visa-free policies fuel inbound travel surge China Daily

India

India is becoming a shaping power Al Jazeera

Is it the End for Communism in India? Scheerpost

The Great Nicobar Project: India’s Indian Ocean Power Play Geopolitical Monitor

Africa

South Africa was once hailed as a ‘Rainbow Nation’ – now it’s being torn apart by ‘Afrophobia’ as black South Africans turn against illegal migrants from other African countries who they fear will take their jobs Daily Mail

How World Bank and IMF loans are reshaping policymaking in Africa Al Jazeera

After the Great Wall of China, Africa is building an 8,000-km Wall of Trees to fight climate change, restore land and feed millions The Times of India

European Disunion

Why an EU ruling about a traffic app could have major implications for big tech companies The Conversation

EU agrees to open new phase of membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova Euronews

EU drafts ‘electrification’ plan to curb oil and gas use, after Iran war disruption Reuters

Old Blighty

How England’s class divide shaped Andy Burnham, the U.K.’s likely next prime minister NPR

UK at a crossroads: Between multiculturalism, extremism, and loss of governance – opinion Jerusalem Post

Israel v. Gaza, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iran

Israel launches fresh airstrikes in southern Lebanon despite US-brokered deal Andolu Agency

US Democrat Ro Khanna detained by Israeli settlers during West Bank visit Reuters

Israel’s Last Hope The Times of Israel

New Not-So-Cold War

‘You’re playing with fire,’ RT editor-in-chief warns Europe RT

Ukraine Won’t Be Able to Produce Patriot Missiles Domestically Despite a U.S. Licence Military Watch Magazine

Russia, Ukraine report multiple casualties following overnight strikes Andolu Agency

Russia Halts Shipping Through Kerch Strait After Ukrainian Drone Strikes on Vessels United 24 Media

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Meta added a privacy-safety feature to its AI glasses but is reportedly testing a ‘super-sensing’ prototype Fortune

LAPD ending deal with company operating license plate-reading cameras ABC 7 Eyewitness News

Imperial Collapse Watch

NYC refuses to tear down trash-filled encampments outside the Intrepid — earning Mamdani rave reviews from homeless NY Post

Inside ‘Narnia’: The homeless encampment on Wichita’s south side that wants formal recognition, management kake.com

Trump 2.0

Trump lost his war with Iran — now he’s trapped in it MS Now

Trump trades threats with Iran’s leader as mediators struggle to save talks Al Jazeera

Ex-White House lawyer: Trump ‘stacking every card in the deck’ ahead of midterms The Hill

Trump administration rolls back a key protection for imperiled wildlife NPR

Musk Matters

China is catching up to Elon Musk’s reusable rockets TechCrunch

Elon Musk Confirms Starlink Can Deliver Reliable 10 Gigabit-a-Second Upload and Download Speeds Anywhere On Earth Benzinga

6% APY, Unlimited 3% Cash Back and Free ATM Withdrawals: Everything You Need to Know About Elon Musk’s ‘Bank Killer’ X Money App barchart

Democrat Death Watch

Editorial: Centrist Democrats must not let ‘democratic socialists’ take over their party without a fight Chicago Tribune

Democrats fear chances of winning Senate may be slipping away The Hill

Immigration

Houston shooting marks at least the 8th fatality in US immigration sweeps AP

House report details how DHS used FEMA to bolster immigration crackdown Federal News Network

Our No Longer Free Press

Trump administration subpoenas NY Times journalists in grand jury leak probe tied to Air Force One report Fox News

NJ court doubles down on one of the worst censorship orders we’ve seen Freedom of the Press Foundation

Mr. Market Is Moody

America’s Debt Just Hit a WWII-Era Record While the Economy Booms: The Trap Nobody’s Talking About 24/7 Wall Street

US Bucks The Trend Despite Price Spike, But Oil Demand Set To Slump: When Is A Recovery Expected International Business Times

The U.S. stock market is becoming ‘too big to fail’ MarketWatch

AI

AI Is Pushing Older Employees Straight Out of the Workforce, New Report Finds Futurism

AI Detects Hidden Warning Signs Before Major Earthquakes SciTech Daily

Robinhood expands autonomous trading with AI crypto agents Cryptopolitan

Apple sues Open AI, accusing it of stealing trade secrets Semafor

America’s AI revolution could end in disaster The Hill

The Bezzle

Block reaches $45M settlement with 46 states over Cash App fraud probe TechCrunch

INTERPOL seizes $293 million, arrests 5,811 in global scam crackdown Cryptopolitan

Guillotine Watch

Antidote du jour (via)

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here

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62 comments

  1. .Tom

    “Senator Graham’s ⁠family appreciates prayers ⁠at this ⁠time and asks for privacy during this incredibly ‌difficult period.”

    I offered a prayer that Allah make arrangements that Graham spend his eternity in Jahannam in a perpetual cycle of witnessing the atrocities he supported in Gaza.

    Reply
      1. Quintian and Lucius

        I will speak ill of the dead and I hope with all my heart the late senator is cozily ensconced in the boiling blood of the seventh circle, first ring, for eternity and then some – that is if his apparent affinity for the little settler colony in the holy land hasn’t earned him a spot in the frozen lake. Maybe 7 and 9 can work out a joint custody arrangement.

        Reply
        1. John Wright

          Do those who argue that one does not speak ill of the dead extrapolate that to human historical writings?

          It seems there is a lot of “speaking ill of the dead” in recorded history.

          Reply
      2. Rockin Ronny Danger

        That old bastard deserved to die and I hope he burns in hell.

        🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀🦀

        Reply
  2. lyman alpha blob

    RE: Democrats fear chances of winning Senate may be slipping away

    Maybe try not knifing your own candidates in the back when they’re winning. How hard would that have been? Maybe Chuck will follow Lindsay’s lead – that might improve his party’s chances immensely.

    Reply
    1. Ignacio

      A recent post on the Plattner affair had a commentary about this Chuck as someone who chooses control of the party over winning elections.

      Reply
      1. JMH

        Exactly. If you win you have to at least pretend to govern. Much harder than finger wagging for contributions.

        Reply
    2. TomDority

      It amazes me.
      The democratic party… with so many resources available to them…. can’t come up with policies to take on the republican party. They can’t even ask the question of themselves: How, with all the lousy, awful, policy and economic realities, the economic impoverishment of it’s citizens, warmongering, warmaking, deterioration of fundamental rights, fraud, violations of oath, attacks on the 14th amend, human rights abuses around the world and on United states soil……….they can’t ask themselves – why can’t we slam dunk this thing, why can we only come up just… maybe we can just get over the line without having to come up with real policy.
      Instead – theater
      and without Trump signature
      They passed a bipartisan housing affordability plan that does nothing but give direction on how to engineer your business structures in order to optimize and maximize your financial predation…and tax efficiency while lowering zoning and code compliance issues (enable more enshitification, exposing more people to critical safety and environmental hazards)

      Reply
        1. ambrit

          “…closeted Republicans.”
          Oh my. A very backhanded compliment to the late Senator from South Carolina.
          Stay safe.

          Reply
      1. IM Doc

        I just finished a book published in 1988 – “Liberty Under Siege – American Politics from 1976-1988” by Walter Karp.

        I have never read Karp before. I was attracted to his name by some old articles in Harper’s I read recently by Lewis Latham.

        The events detailed in this book occurred right about the time I was becoming literate with politics. In other words, I knew all these names like Robert Byrd, Edward Kennedy, Scoop Jackson, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Tip O’Neill, James R Jones, among many others. Back then, I heard these names on the news all the time. I was not aware enough to really understand what was happening.

        Karp is an excellent writer. Everything is researched and sourced and written in a clear and even-handed manner. He lays out how the Dems did everything possible to destroy their own President Jimmy Carter’s presidency. Literally far more than any GOP ever could even dream of doing as they were completely powerless. To be honest, reading these details made me realize what scum they are and gave me a whole new perspective on the Carter years. I was simply not old enough to understand the treachery back then in real time.

        As bad as that was, they then actually turned right around and assisted the Reagan wrecking crew in every conceivable way.

        I will just say the patterns are all still there. What we are seeing now is absolutely nothing new. They have just refined it to levels unimaginable in previous generations. I long ago realized how badly Dems and American workers have been betrayed by their own party. The events of the past few years have just made the realization more intense. I will not vote or financially support a single one of them in their current form.

        Reply
        1. LawnDart

          I may be wrong– and correct me if I am– but it seems to me that the Prrsidential race of ’92, Clinton vs. Harkin, was when the dems burnt the last major bridge behind them, that which tied them to the New Deal.

          The DLC (Democratic Leadership Counsel) was founded in ’85 with the express purpose of “stopping the leftward drift” of the democratic party (sic), and with the election of Clinton, victory was theirs… the democrat party, the one that benefited average citizens, was dead.

          It makes me sickwhen the treasonous scum who call themselves democrats today dare claim credit for their New Dealer forefather’s achievements or that they themselves champion the same values– almost as bad are the cultists or tribalists who repeat these lies (“blue no matter who,” etc.). No, goddamn the “new democrats” AND their enablers.

          I imagine Karp’s book makes for excellent reading on the history leading to that moment– thank you.

          Reply
        2. Carolinian

          I very well remember the Carter contempt you describe. For part of that time I lived in NYC and would see caricatures of a Mr. Peanut president in store windows with a toothy Planter’s smile. At the time I thought it was because he was from the South and I still think that even though an older me knows a lot more about the dark underbelly of Carter’s time in office.

          But here’s suggesting that a national media who worshiped the Kennedys were in many ways just as superficial as the current, and it was hardly surprising that the “liberal” media would turn on a dime for movie star Ronnie.

          And in fact the wishy washy Ted Kennedy played his own role in getting Reagan elected with his attempt to pull glamor rank on peanut guy Carter.

          History moves along but the class war seems to carry on forever–the jet setters versus the “deplorables” they think so unimportant.

          Reply
      2. John k

        Not rocket science. Dems just do what their owners… er, donors, tell them to. None of said donors want a socialist to win, so regardless of who controls the senate, they do whatever it takes to keep anybody that wants to help Mr and Mrs average from power. This hasn’t been fdr’s party since 1945. Imo it will take another depression to bring a socialist to power.

        Reply
    3. simplejohn

      I see a new branch of mathematical study – Democratic folding.
      A thought for future shamees that I have emailed to a few friends:

      The Democrat folds again.
      Gore
      Sanders
      Franken
      AOC before Pelosi
      Platner

      Platner’s exit statement was pretty much on his message. That was good.
      It would have been better if he said:

      “When you have someone as ready to stand up to the monied interests as I am, let me know. Meanwhile, send me to Washington and I’ll make you proud.
      Yeah, I got to this point in my life with some of the misery and inflicting some of the misery many people do. And then, like most people, I matured when I saw what I needed to do.
      I’m carrying on. My past is not our future.
      Maine, let’s lead the country in being real. Let’s kick some ass.

      To those I’ve hurt, I will sit with you and hear you and make amends as best I can. I’ll do this with just me representing me. You bring who you want. We can make it as private or as public as you want.”

      Reply
  3. vao

    About those “5 most expensive honeys”:

    “Elvish honey: this rare honey is harvested in deep caves in Turkey, about 1800 meters underground.”

    Honey produced 1800 meters underground? My first reaction is that this does not look credible at all.

    Reply
    1. Bugs

      There’s wild honey from West Bengal that’s collected by tribal people who risk their lives to harvest it from beehives in the tiger and crocodile-inhabited mangroves. It’s not that expensive if you buy it around Kolkata (not in a tourist shop, get a recommendation from someone you trust). It’s used in Ayurvedic medicine and has a very strong but not unpleasant taste. Expect to pay around $15/250ml.

      Reply
    2. PlutoniumKun

      Bees frequently make hives at cave entrances and within caves, but rarely any distance inside so far as I’m aware (I’ve read up quite a few studies on cave flora and fauna and I’ve never come across mention of bees) – although there are some species of bees that are nocturnal, so its possible some could go a long way in. Honey affectionados will say that honey from limestone last caves has a distinct purity and flavour from both the hive itself and from limestone botany. Some karst areas have cave systems with multiple entries – it’s more of a swiss cheese effect than a single passage, so it’s a moot point sometimes in describing the ‘depth’ of a cave. Most likely the Turkish guy who sells this just found some good honey and has a very good marketing instinct.

      Reply
    3. Ignacio

      What if this is 1800 m from cave entrance following the human route but the bee route has shortcuts to light and flowers.

      Reply
    4. Polar Socialist

      I believe it’s a mistranslation. Elvish honey is collected from Caucasian Mountain Grey Bees, which thrive at higher altitudes. Locals at the Kaçkar mountains in Turekiyet tend to build wooden hives for these bees under natural rock shelters and small caves.

      So, it’s likely harvested from caves at (up to) 1800 meters on the mountain side.

      Reply
  4. jhallc

    America’s 4th of July demolition derby in Alaska. I particularly liked the Stars and Stripes painted one going into ground. No metaphor there:)

    Reply
  5. rob

    Feel the joy.
    Little lindsey graham is dead!!!! YIPPEE!!!
    that vile twerp is finally dead.
    Here’s to hoping mitch mcconnel has also shuffled off his mortal coil…. It is like a ray of light in a dark world.

    Reply
    1. playon

      According to a nurse at the hospital, McConnell is dead. He was also seen being wheeled into an ambulance at a leisurely pace, which is not how people do things in a life-threatening emergency.

      Reply
  6. The Rev Kev

    ” Russia Halts Shipping Through Kerch Strait After Ukrainian Drone Strikes on Vessels ”

    I have seen several videos on the TV news of Ukrainian strikes on those ships and in every case they go for the bridge in order to terrorize and kill the civilian crews. And I still believe that it is Washington behind these latest series of attacks by providing satellite coverage and targeting information as part of a campaign to call a ceasefire and freeze in place. The bad news is that grain deliveries may stop coming from this sea and with crop production down due to a lack of fertilizers, this will be bad news for a lot of countries.

    Reply
    1. farmboy

      an estimated 25% of Russia’s wheat crop exits via the Kerch Strait affecting Volga and Don shipping. Fuel and fertilzer trade through also. BFD!

      Reply
    2. AG

      It´s US reconnaissance for sure, according to Martyanov also British.
      They seek out the easiest to hit. Then RU corrects the sit. and the targetting shifts.
      NOTHING of this is known in Europe. I mean literally nothing. Including altern. media.
      Everybody around here knows shit, sorry.

      I have lost patience with the peace movement by now and their incompetence.
      Some do learn but slowly. Instead most are sitting around repeating the same BS about negotiations. However without any substance re: military & battlefield realities.
      This provincialism is staggering.

      p.s. These two dudes are not the kind of peace movement people I am talking about. But since it´s a new BIG interview by “left” national daily TAZ based in Berlin. One is a warmonger, Carlo Masala, in fact and a complete idiot.

      He studied romance lingustics and culture. So zero serious military background.
      But: He is professor at the Bundeswehr University. Tells you something…

      machine-transl.

      “Europe should become stronger than Russia.” – “I disagree.”

      Is the warning of an attack on NATO territory alarmist? Do we need to rearm so massively?

      A debate between Carlo Masala and Max Mutschler.
      7/7/26
      https://archive.is/jq0AQ

      Reply
      1. Ignacio

        “This provincialism is staggering”

        Staggering is quite an educated way of saying it. I read today the latest provincial op-ed on the matter that Russia is losing the war on n Ukraine at El Pais. This in Spanish so I am not linking. It was stupid provincialism to the extreme and you can see there is no way out of this stupidity for these people. It is irreversible. The article was interesting because it included some naive acceptation that the war is not one of Russia against Ukraine but against Europe. This forgetting that the US has always been and still is at the rudder in this conflict.

        Reply
        1. AG

          “It was stupid provincialism to the extreme and you can see there is no way out of this stupidity for these people. It is irreversible”
          Yep.
          That´s the PROBLEM.
          Neither do I see any way out.
          Cul-de-sac.

          (Perhaps you could provide the link? Even if it´s only good for a laugh.)

          Reply
  7. Carla

    What a magnificent antidote! My late husband and I were snorkeling in Hawaii once when a giant sea turtle suddenly appeared in between us. We had been schooled about NOAA regulations forbidding chasing, touching or in any way harassing sea turtles and other sea creatures and did our best to keep our distance. However, the sea turtle had its own ideas and chose to swim with us for several minutes. It was a glorious experience. Incredible serendipity.

    Reply
  8. The Rev Kev

    “20 things your phone knows about you that you never told it”

    Had to bookmark this page as there is so much material to cover. Personally I only use my mobile as an alarm clock and only take it with me going out if I know that I will need it. Invitations from my bank to do my banking on a mobile make me say aw hell no. A mobile is a secure with your information as putting it on a billboard and I wonder if it records conversations just laying there.

    Reply
    1. playon

      I also do not do any banking on my phone, no credit card apps etc. Pretty much use it for phone & texting, but occasionally use the maps or surf the web at the doctor’s office.

      I bought a google pixel phone with the Graphene OS installed on it which is pretty secure. You can turn on and off network & microphone permissions for individual apps and so on.

      Reply
  9. Earl

    With sympathy to those who mourn Lindsey Graham’s passing. His passing along with the accelerating loss of his aging cohort recalls the general principle inferred from the comment of Nobel winning physicist Max Planck. “Science advances one funeral at a time.” In politics and government like science, new truths triumph not by convincing their opponents, but rather those opponents who control the conversation eventually die and allow a new generation that is open to and convinced of new truths to replace them. We are on the cusp of a new era in American policy and politics. It will take about three electoral cycles.

    Reply
    1. flora

      Yes. However, there seem to be plenty of warmongers in the younger generations. (Is that why the Dems are so determined to keep certain non-warmongers from winning elections? Only warmongers need apply? / ;)

      Reply
  10. The Rev Kev

    “Israel’s Last Hope”

    And if you want to know Israel’s future, the material in these two paragraphs will tell you all that you need to know-

    ‘Were that not enough, the fast-growing Haredi community is projected to represent no less than 25% of Israel’s population by 2050. Most of them do not undertake military service. Indeed, some 80,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged between 18 and 24 are currently believed to be eligible, but have not enlisted.

    Many of them are uneducated. They refuse to institute a core curriculum in their schools. They are dependent upon the public purse for their very survival. No wonder that their political parties are now trying to legislate a basic law on Torah Study to shield draft evaders from sanctions and prosecution while continuing to grant them benefits under the guise of Torah study.’

    No country so instituted has a future.

    Reply
    1. flora

      I dunno. It’s kind of ironic or poetic justice or something.

      He’s complaining that a group he describes as essentially leaching off the Isr state is getting to big, taking too many resources, and contributing nothing back.

      I sorta feel that way about Isr. It’s leaching off the US taxpayer, expects the US to fight its wars, and contributes nothing back, as far as I can tell. (Well, except for massive campaign bribes contributions to right-minded US politicians. So there’s that.)

      The Haredi are acting just like the rest of Isr, only more so. / ;)

      Reply
    2. John k

      I noticed while he mentioned West Bank in passing, not one word about the Gaza genocide or the ethnic cleansing in south Lebanon. He’s worrying about Israeli survival, apparently not expansionist dreams. He notes Palestinians dreaming of ‘from the river (Jordan) to the sea, ie what they had in 1946, not the Zionist dream in which the river is the Euphrates.

      Reply
  11. pjay

    – ‘Editorial: Centrist Democrats must not let ‘democratic socialists’ take over their party without a fight’ – Chicago Tribune

    LOL! The Tribune Editorial Board need not worry. Because there is one cause – and one cause only – for which Centrist Democrats will absolutely go to war!

    Reply
    1. Darthbobber

      How are they centrist democrats when they are the right wing of their party? Anybody to their right is in a different party, and on some issues they even outflank the Republicans to the righ

      Reply
  12. Martin Oline

    I read this story today and thought I would post a link to it. It is Sunday after all and a thing of beauty should be noted. It is historic fiction but it is a powerful account of the crippling influence of western finance. This story by Patrizia Pasino on the influence of the Rothschild bankers and the Bank of the Two Sicilies called Credit and Blood should be read and enjoyed.

    Reply
  13. Tom Stone

    I wonder how much the deaths of McConnell and Graham will affect relations with Israel?
    The Izzies are pushing mighty hard these days, much more overtly than they have in the past.
    Platner and Massie were defeated by Zionist Money and it wasn’t subtle…the attempted takeover of the US Military is very bold, and very unpopular with both the US Populace and the US Military.
    There will be pushback.
    Add the Arrest of the Grand Mufti at the Al Aqsa Mosque and it looks like the Izzies have bet the farm. on black.
    Back to Massie and McConnell, their staffs were powerful (They do the work) and their rice bowls went from overflowing to gone, overnight.
    Staffs wield a LOT of power in DC and this is a significant shift in the power dynamics of Congress.
    Finally, the Homophobia regarding Graham is tiresome and does nothing to improve the discussion beyond noting it as a possible source of Kompromat.
    Give it a break, please.
    I would be fine with a President that buggered three legged goats on the White House lawn if they put the good of the Nation and the American People first.

    Reply
  14. Jeff W

    Climate Scientists Aghast at How Bad Things Are Getting, and So Fast Futurism

    We all recall how Guy McPherson, professor emeritus of natural resources and ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona and well-known “climate doomer,” predicted back in 2018 (and I think even earlier) that “there will be no humans on Earth by 2026.” Now, midway through 2026, it seems like there are still humans on Earth so McPherson got the specific consequence wrong

    But I have the impression (just a hunch because I’m no climate scientist) that the feedback loops that McPherson referred to—he listed 69 of them a decade ago—are converging, creating these non-linear effects that climate scientists are “aghast” at, just around the time McPherson pointed to. In other words, his prediction was wrong but maybe the general dynamic and timing were right? (Obviously, it could just be coincidence.)

    Reply
  15. John k

    I read today in la times comics (rag’s best bit) Trudeau poking fun at trump’s narcissism.
    I’m so old I remember a time when the pundit was complaining about an earlier endless war. Odd to me that he’s found nothing to say about the multiple wars going on in the Middle East these days, particularly considering he’s got genocides/ethnic cleansing and invasions that are nearly continuous to pick from.

    Reply

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