Australian officials ask fans to respect the privacy of Neil, a 1-ton seal who respects nothing AP
Why do countries need industrial policy? Global Currents
Climate/Environment
‼️ Whopper of a heat dome coming, and that’s no exaggeration! In all aspects: size, longevity, and especially intensity this will be extreme. The heat dome should shatter all-time records for upper level pressure in the Northern Plain States. Actual Temperatures (not heat index)… pic.twitter.com/C3HF7N2nbL
— Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) July 8, 2026
Some Monsters are Real The Climate Casino
WTF is happening with Earth’s Energy Imbalance? The Tradeoff
Pandemics
Armed conflict tied to higher measles burden worldwide CIDRAP
Measles outbreak confirmed at Arizona immigration detention center Arizona Daily Star
Japan
Tokyo to Nagoya in 40 minutes? Japan’s 500 kmph Maglev project gets green light Indian Express
China?
What China really wants from global governance Think China
Beijing’s own goal in the Pacific Lowy Institute
Duckworth reaffirms U.S. commitment in wake of Trump-Xi summit Focus Taiwan
Syraqistan
Israel turns Gaza into death camp denser than Srebrenica, forces displacement under guise of voluntary emigration Euro-Med Monitor
Israeli settlers now control a fifth of the occupied West Bank New Arab
Aftermath of last night’s U.S. airstrikes on the Aq Qala Railway Bridge
The United States Targets a Key Rail Bridge Linking Iran, China, and Russia
This route was used by Russia to transport its goods since last November, and the volume of freight trains from China had tripled… pic.twitter.com/fh8RMh4703
— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) July 9, 2026
Ceasefire? The Iran War is Permanent Un-Diplomatic
The Empire’s Strategic Patience Sam Husseini
Old Blighty
Palantir Has a Hand in NIH’s Most Ambitious Health Initiative Mother Jones
European Disunion
From Tax Haven to War Banker: Luxembourg’s Role in Europe’s Military Buildup Laura Ruggeri
Volkswagen weighs closing several German plants, putting up to 40,000 jobs at risk Anadolu Agency
Unintended Consequences: Germany Sick Leave Edition Ian Welsh
NATO Summit
The Ankara Summit Declaration NATO
Nato quietly puts trust in Palantir to move troops and identify targets The Times
NATO urged to ‘stop treating more nukes in more places as answer to everything’ The Canary
The Ankara Summit: NATO’s Strategy is No Longer Victory But Attrition Kautilya the Contemplator
A number of countries in Europe admit that they are fully depleted and can’t help the criminal Zelensky regime anymore:
🇧🇬 Bulgarian Prime Minister Radev:
“We have exhausted our capabilities for military assistance. I mean weapons and supplies from our warehouses. We have… pic.twitter.com/EFKitoCIyn
— Olga Bazova (@OlgaBazova) July 8, 2026
WOW — Danish reporter *goes there* with Mark Rutte
“You sit next to Donald Trump at moments when he talks about conquering Greenland, talks about lashing out at allies like Spain — things it doesn’t seem like the old Mark Rutte would approve of. Does this have any affect on… pic.twitter.com/9XYisCYtF3
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 8, 2026
S. Korea, NATO to launch negotiations on basic procurement agreement: Seoul official Yonhap
F-35, S-400 details shared with Congress ‘appear promising’: US Rep Turkiye Today
Erdogan gifts every NATO leader an engraved revolver and a box of live ammunition Turkiye Today
New Not-So-Cold War
Do not assume Russia has lost the war Valerii Zaluzhnyi, The Telegraph
Trump and Rubio Hopeful Ukrainian Deep Strikes Bring Russia to Negotiating Table Simplicius
Trump Says US Will Let Ukraine Build Patriot Systems: ‘We’ll Show Them How to Make Them’ Kyiv Post
Trump’s Patriot licence will help Ukraine in its next war with Russia, not this one Intellinews
Russia Bans Diesel Exports Amid Heavy Ukraine Attacks On Refineries OilPrice
End of the ‘SMO’ Events in Ukraine
Imperial Collapse Watch
Almost $1 Billion Later, the US Still Can’t Make a Medical Glove Bloomberg
Chartbook 457: The metamorphoses of the dollar Adam Tooze
Because We Say So. Aurelien
L’affaire Epstein
Epstein moved millions through mysterious Virgin Islands bank right before arrest Miami Herald
US attacks Iran less than a week after blocking extra Epstein file release Skwawkbox
Trump 2.0
Trump returning to US on old Air Force One amid Iran threats The Hill
GOP Funhouse
Senate GOP leaders say they’ve spoken with Mitch McConnell as speculation about his health continues CBS News
I spoke to McConnell for about 20 minutes this morning.
He said we should end the war with Iran, quit giving aid to Israel, stop spying on Americans without a warrant, and he’s really sorry about how my primary turned out.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 7, 2026
Democrats Suck
‘Now the Ball Is in the Court of the Democratic Establishment,’ Platner Says as He Suspends Campaign Common Dreams
What Biden Changed About American Foreign Policy The Atlantic
Senators Introduce Bill to Cap Traditional Medicare Out-of-Pocket Costs at $5,000 HEALTH CARE un-covered
Healthcare?
How much and why ACA Marketplace premiums are going up in 2027 KFF
America’s small businesses are giving up on health insurance STAT
Private equity’s joint venture takeover of nonprofit healthcare Private Equity Stakeholder Project
Private Equity’s New AI Push Raises Old Questions for Healthcare MedPage Today
AI
Cheyenne Won’t Take Data Center Wastewater After Meta Contractor Contaminated System Cowboy State Daily
Without Subsidies, AI Is Unaffordable Charles Hugh Smith
The Accelerationists
The rise of the machines The After-Action Report
Like “combining alcohol and cocaine”: Meta plans to add gambling to its addictive platforms Oligarch Watch
Sports Desk
The Tour de France’s Infernal Present Portends Its Impossible Future Defector
Our Famously Free Press
How The Guardian Sells Imperialism To Progressives Nate Bear
“MAHA”
US Food and Drug Administration rejects petition to set Pfas limits in food The Guardian
Class Warfare
Wall Street Wants to Change the Rules for Your 401(k). It Could Put Your Retirement at Risk. ProPublica
The Fun Shortage Is Real, and It’s Making America Miserable Bloomberg
Nature and Creativity: The Science of “Soft Fascination” and How the Natural World Resets the Brain The Marginalian
Skill nostalgia Aeon
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
“Erdogan gifts every NATO leader an engraved revolver and a box of live ammunition”
Is this Erdogan trolling the NATO leaders? Suggesting to them that when Russia wins the war in the Ukraine, all the bills come due for all the loans to that financial black hole and all their citizens start bashing down their doors as they are responsible for getting their country in such a mess, that all they will be left with will be a quite room, that revolver and a box of ammo. That’s cold, man.
it would have been funnier if, instead of a box of ammo, he gave them a single bullet each.
With their names engraved on it? Better make it two bullets. NATO leaders are so incompetent that they will probably miss the first time.
It took both Suchir Balaji and Gary Webb two shots to the head to kill themselves…
Chekhov’s gun?
Should have been accompanied by a bottle of good Rakısı and a reservation for a nice hotel room on a high floor, away from the elevator.
Scott Ritter opinion piece in Swentr news.
Scott Ritter: NATO is spending itself into oblivion
If bloc members continue to ramp up their spending, they will eat themselves from the inside
https://swentr.site/news/642797-nato-military-spending-oblivion/
Watching bike racing, and Le Tour in particular, is one of the few sports I can actually watch. The heat hitting Europe may imperil the sport. Already the routes for the Vuelta (the Spanish equivalent of the Tour de France) which happens in late August/early September hav had to stop racing in the southern part of the country.
And, it not only imperils the racers, but the their support teams, and the fans. Ice down the back of a jersey when temps are 35C just doesn’t work.