THE EARTH THROUGH THE HOURGLASS: THE SINGING PHYSICS OF SAND Atmos
Why People Are Too Obsessed With Numbers To Understand Gizmodo
Ending Elsewhere on the Runaway Edge
Climate/Environment
New forecasts for May show El Niño rapidly intensifying, with 8 of 10 models pointing to a major event and four showing the strongest on record.
Across all 693 ensemble members, the average is +2.8˚C, in line with the strongest El Niño on record. pic.twitter.com/9pDxNxAkXz
— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) May 10, 2026
Coal exports jump as countries look for alternatives to fracked gas FT
Exxon Climate is Unaudited
Seafloor video-acoustic monitoring in a Greenlandic glacial fjord records hyperbenthos, backswimming fish, and narwhals PLOS One
Hantavirus
WHO gets it right??
…and ALL contacts at high risk will now be required to SQUARE in a designated area or at home (depending on the capabilities of each country) for 42 days from the last known exposure…
…and for the passengers and crew of the MV Hondius, the last day of exposure is the day of disembarkation. pic.twitter.com/in6TNzCq5M
— Cat in the Hat 🐈⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧 (@_CatintheHat) May 10, 2026
The CDC, on the other hand…
No mandatory quarantine for US passengers: CDC official to ABC News
American passengers from a hantavirus-hit cruise ship stopped at the Nebraska facility before returning home. Here’s what CNN knows
Earlier today I spoke to the doctor on board and he confirmed something. CDC messages keep saying “long, close contact” but that contradicts: 1) what’s on the books, and 2) what’s happening on this ship.
-> the doctor told me a few infected/died DID…
— Joseph Allen (@j_g_allen) May 9, 2026
Dr. Gustavo Palacios led the study of the 2018 Andes HV outbreak in Argentina
He says that the infection mainly occurs 2 days before and 2 days after the onset of symptoms
He was interviewed by the CBC this week – see ~ 9 min mark
— Barry Hunt (@BarryHunt008) May 10, 2026
French emigrant from hantavirus-hit ship ‘has symptoms’: French PM AFP
An epidemic
Historically, the left has at least claimed to care about collective welfare, protecting workers and protecting the vulnerable.
After being confronted with a great crippling pathogen, the great classes abandoned even the basic moral principles when they began to disturb the society.
— James Throt MBBS, MD, PhD, FRCPath (@JamesThrot) May 10, 2026
Water
This summer, America’s water crisis is becoming a real Grist
US-Israel Joint Venture Unveils $1B Desalination Plant Plan South Texas Engineering News-Record
China?
China confirms Xi-Trump summit delayed by Iran war Business Times
ChatGPT as a security threat: The US-China security crisis in the productive AI race British Journal of Politics and International Relations
Bernie Sanders invited two Chinese AI researchers to talk about security cooperation. Here’s what they said. Pekingnology
How Silicon Valley sold Washington the AI Transformer race
Foreign Affairs Studies in Confucian Peace
Southeast Asia
Iran war squeezes Asian farmers, threatens global food supply WaPo
India
PM Modi pushes for work-from-home revival, slower foreign travel and smaller gold purchases as West Asian tensions raise concerns Economic Times
Syracistan
Doctors are among 51 killed in Israeli attack on Lebanon Al Jazeera
Inside Israel’s AI targeting system: How data from a phone becomes a death sentence Los Angeles Times
Destruction of agriculture: Israel’s war on food security in Lebanon Al Mayadeen
Israel Built and Protected Iran’s Secret War Base in Iraq WSJ
Big Tech Releases Gulf Data on Iraqi Oil Pipelines Worldwide
Old Blighty
Starmer faces a fight for survival as Streeting’s leadership and Rayner attack the Guardian
The breakup of Europe
“Have we become such idiots?”
Slovak PM Fico about the EU’s decision to cut off direct Russian energy from the EU in 2027, and then buy the same energy from Russia, in America, at the expense of America.
Full statement
10 May 2026
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico:… pic.twitter.com/ulamZnjdMY— the Lemniscat (@theLemniscat) May 10, 2026
Europe’s anti-rearmament plan is falling apart just when Ukraine needs it most Intellinews
Marrying power: Gender conventions in fias PLOS One
The New Cold War
Zelensky Gets Off the Ledge Again as Russian V-Day Parade Proceeds Predictably As Simplicius Planned
From Trump’s all-out war efforts against Russian oil to the Balts establishing airspace for Ukrainian drones to Starlink increasing military involvement in Azerbaijan providing its location for Ukrainian drone bases, the war has only escalated in the past year.
– Russians with Attitude (@RWApodcast) May 10, 2026
Ukraine’s 1st Azov Corps conducts AI-assisted drone strikes deep in Mariupol, up to 160 km behind the front lines. This marks what they call the symbolic “return” of Azov to the city from the air.
The strikes use Hornet fixed-wing loitering weapons developed by the US company… pic.twitter.com/HAbMn9qr6t
– DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) May 10, 2026
Latvia’s defense minister resigns after Ukrainian jets hit oil tankers TVP World
March and ‘Old Man’ Events in Ukraine
Ukraine and ‘White Supremacy 3.0’ Azov Lobby Blog
Nonsensical things in Berlin as a spokesman for the German government seemed unwilling to say clearly who liberated Germany from Nazism in 1945.
After Chancellor Friedrich Merz marked the anniversary of German independence without mentioning the Red Army or the Soviet Union,… pic.twitter.com/7mzMM8UQTa
-Brian McDonald (@BrianMcDonaldIE) May 9, 2026
South of the Border
US intelligence gathering planes leave Cuba CNN. It is the same as before the Maduro kidnapping operation.
Trump 2.0
Trump administration launches Moms.gov on Mother’s Day The Hill
Trump’s impeachment is having a disproportionate impact on women and people of color Fast Company
Democracies are simple
Democrats Shouldn’t Campaign on Climate Change Again New York Times
Buttigieg, Slotkin join Canada’s Carney in Semafor liberal strategy session
Nostalgic Summons New Left Review
Imperial Collapse Watch
China rises in democratic opinion as US, Israel plummets: Poll The Cradle
“Which country do you think is the most dangerous in the world?”
According to the new Democracy Perceptions Index report, the US has been named the top threat to people in 65 of the 84 countries surveyed. In fact, the US is the leading so-called threat even within the US itself. pic.twitter.com/wBXZfaBLKv
– Jason Hickel (@jasonhickel) May 9, 2026
Finally, the most interesting insight from the report is the overall deterioration of the US’s global outlook.
According to the report this time, the US is now in the top 5 worst viewed countries in the world along with Israel (worst), North… pic.twitter.com/B0VvjXhKTo
– Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) May 10, 2026
Police State Watch
White House 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy Makes Millions of Americans Project Free Thought
Big Brother is Watching You
The Phoenix area recently experienced a dust storm courtesy of an Amazon drone. Remember: Amazon’s drones don’t just deliver packages, they map your location and sync it to the same AWS cloud contracted by the NSA & CIA. pic.twitter.com/jsPXdbIVPc
– Jason Bassler (@JasonBassler1) May 10, 2026
Sports Desk
What we can learn from New Jersey’s World Cup Boondoggle fight
The AI
Unwarranted panic over AI progress Gary Marcus
Data center released 30M gallons of water without attention – until residents complained about low water pressure Politico
Maryland residents beat a $2 billion power grid upgrade bill for out-of-state AI data centers – the state is complaining to energy regulators, saying the extra cost violates the ‘taxpayer protection promise’ Tom’s Hardware promises.
Artists dealing with the crisis AI is facing, in 4 charts Blood in the Machine
Is the AI summoned by Cthulhu? Herd
The economy
Chartbook 447: The US economy in May 2026 – How much cognitive dissonance can you handle? Adam Tooze
Trump Can Tap Oil Under US Military Bases to Top Strategic Reserve OilPrice
JPMorgan just published the scariest oil chart I’ve ever seen.
The world’s inventories are at risk.
And if this line reaches 6.8 — the global energy system does not slow down.
It breaks. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/w4ha2t3URe– Qasem Al-Ali (@AlaliQasem) May 9, 2026
Bezzle
AI Myths: If We Could Destroy the World, Imagine What We Could Do to Your Hedge Fund FAIR
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s links and the Antidote du Jour here.
