Criminal Enterprise Run by Monkeys Wall Street Journal (Li). No, not OpenAI.
We missed this on our first run. It seems like a product of the smartphone era. I was there in 1993 and 1994. They were aggressive but not like this.
Whales are ‘forced to shout’ to communicate by telegraphing sound
A supervolcano nearly wiped out humanity 74,000 years ago, but humans did something amazing Science Daily (Kevin W)
A Hungarian psychologist raised three daughters to prove that any child can become a chess grandmaster by using early technology. He succeeded. Two of them became grandmothers. One became the greatest female chess player who ever lived.
Then the sports scientist looked… pic.twitter.com/5fzvRHMnSC
– Ihtesham Ali (@ihtesham2005) May 9, 2026
Hantavirus
How are countries responding to hantavirus? BBC
French woman was told by doctors that hantavirus symptoms were nothing more than anxiety Guardian (Kevin W)
Climate/Environment
Canadian Muskoxen Hit by Double Punch of Novel Diseases and Climate Change Climate Good Men Project 🙁
A ‘whammy’ of chaos caused Antarctica’s decline, scientists find CNN
It’s Hot and Hot in INDIA
47.3C in Barmer today, the highest new temperature in the world this month so far.
Hottest nights and Minimums of 32/34C in the hottest parts of Rajasthan.Extreme heat will spread over many parts of India in the coming weeks.
– Extreme Temperatures Around the World (@extremetemps) May 11, 2026
From May 9th, northern China will be hit by the strongest wave of the year! It is currently forecast that the Tmax in Hebei province may exceed 40C on May 13, and hundreds of weather stations are expected to break their mid-May records. @extremetemps pic.twitter.com/JR0fXgvKWg
— Jim (@yangyubin1998) May 7, 2026
‘Worst time for wheat’: US farmers face severe heat and drought losses The Guardian
Plastic waste carries toxic chemicals into oceans: Study Daily Sabah
China?
The Stakes of Trump vs. Xi Foreign Affairs. I can’t even ….
Trump’s new sanctions on Chinese firms: strength in Xi or overreach? Asia Times (Kevin W)
Trump invites Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Larry Fink and other CEOs to join the China trip for the Xi CNBC conference (Kevin W). ZOMG, Trump betters Netanyahu’s cheekiness (of bringing a suitcase of laundry on an official visit and cleaning it at American taxpayers’ expense). Remember that China confirmed this conference at the last minute. Chas Freeman ensures that no sherpa work is done in advance. Is China expected to give these clowns a legitimate audience? I hope they put them all on the tour bus instead. There are no quotes from Chinese officials in this article.
China warns of rising Japanese neo-militarism, urges sincere repentance from Japan Bastille Post
India
Modi urges Indians to be WFH and reduce travel abroad as war with Iran continues BBC
Southeast Asia
Philippine debt service payments more than doubled to P737 billion in the first quarter Manila Standard
Indonesia’s debt wall is affecting an economy operating on borrowed time The Asia Times
Thailand may face two water hazards as the risk of El Niño increases from May to July The Nation. If Thailand is exposed to this pattern, you can imagine that the rest of Southeast Asia is too, at least to some extent.
Africa
Conflicts in the Middle East increase the risks to whales in South Africa by shifting marine traffic to their areas and increasing the risks of New Arab collisions.
Dozens killed in jihadist attack in central Mali Aljazeera
Nigeria says that a number of terrorists were killed when the army repelled an attack on the TRT Afrika area
Rebels have killed at least 69 people in northeastern DR Congo Aljazeera
‘It’s like we went bankrupt overnight’: Somalia’s poorest suffer as piles of useless shillings rise The Guardian
The earthquake in South Sudan is a warning of worse to come Arab News
Sudan: One Approach to the Severe Humanitarian Crisis That Became Apartheid in the Global System Stimson
South of the Border
Venezuela’s leader will defend his country’s claim over the mineral-rich Guyana region before the UN’s Independent Tribunal
Venezuela Warns of ‘Devastating’ Environmental Impact of Trinidad and Tobago Oil Spill Los Angeles Times
The Antipodes
New Zealand Reveals How Possible Fuel Rates Could Work Bloomberg
The breakup of Europe
US in closely watched talks to open new bases in Greenland BBC. Best story for the US/Canada version of the site.
How the Iran war is affecting food production lines across Europe Sky
The real description of the German gun Thomas Fazi
Germany wants to buy Tomahawks after Trump Financial Times row
Old Blighty
Global Bond Vigilantes Circle UK Economy After Labor Vote Crisis
Did Starmer’s speech do enough to stop the call for him to quit? STV. A short clip of speech is moving. I know I have to have more from Starmer to spin in the air. But he is such a sad, ugly man that I hate to think about him too much, especially since his political death is certain, even if the time is not right. But UK readers are most at risk where this goes, so please comment!
Israel v. The Resistance
Marathon marks turnaround for Palestinian runner released from Israeli jail ABC Australia (ma)
A deeply disturbing and carefully written report by historians Liat Kozma and Lee Mordechai of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem traces the famine in Gaza over the past three years through data, evidence, official statements, food prices, aid access, and the power… pic.twitter.com/c8x7RLrbQk
— TheMuslimLawyer (@faisalkutty) May 11, 2026
A Palestinian farmer speaks bitterly after Israeli soldiers destroyed a greenhouse on his property in the northern Jordan Valley, pointing to large areas destroyed by Israeli forces. pic.twitter.com/lVS2udmxFz
– Ramy Abdul| رامي عبدو (@RamAbdu) May 11, 2026
Israel needs more soldiers to join ‘immediately’ during the ‘collapse’ of the TRT World army
Israeli weapon fires small metal cubes at Lebanese civilians, as Gaza Aljazeera
The Gulf turns to Turkey for air defense plans amid Iran’s threat to the Middle East Eye
Yemen Faces Rapid Economic Decline Amid War, Regional Tensions Yemen Online
War on Iran: Royal king says Saudi Arabia avoided Israel’s plan to ‘destroy region’ Middle East Eye (Kevin W)
Trump’s ‘Invalid’ response to Daniel Larison
Iranian banks defy Trump’s financial sanctions to maintain business as usual Regional Observer
The New Cold War
WWIII drones by Julian Macfarlane. The opening section is about the Middle East but most of the post is about Russia.
Finland May Be One of Russia’s Most Intractable Enemies Andrew Korybko
Imperial Collapse Watch
Why Are Americans So Bloody Stupid? YouTube (Roy P). ZOMG, I got a few minutes into this and so far so good.
The RICO Circuit: How Legal Pattern Recognition Reveals the Structure of International Capital Crimes William Murphy
Yes, Death to American Sam Husseini
The History of OPEC: Why Its Crisis Is Bad News Consider the BRICS
Trump 2.0
Trump says he will move to end the federal gasoline tax. He can’t do it himself The Associated Press (Kevin W)
A lawsuit has been filed over the renovation of Trump’s Reflecting Pool, The Hill
The GOP Clown Car
Why is Susan Collins Shaking? Ken Klippenstein
Ours is No Longer Free
Nick Kristof conducted an extensive investigation into Israel’s practice of raping and sexually abusing Palestinians.
All Israelis on Twitter accuse him of making it up, propaganda, etc.
I’ve written for the NYT many times, they have a real eye for the truth.
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) May 11, 2026
The Meta Is Dying. It’s about time. The New York Times (Joker)
The economy
The conflict in the Middle East has caused “tremendous pressure” on global sulfur and sulfuric acid markets, pushing prices to record-breaking CRU levels.
Coal exports jump as countries look for alternatives to disrupted gas supplies The Financial Times
Asia is facing a second wave of energy shocks since the Iran Independent war
Hokkaido Faces Garbage Bag Shortage As Fear Buying Spreads News In Japan. This is not surprising except that it is probably seen early in Japan. We pointed out that naptha, which is used to make plastic, is about to expire in all of Asia.
Mr Market is Giddy
The financial system is the biggest polycrisis waiting to happen for the Globe and Mail
The AI
BREAKING NEWS: A senior scientist at Google DeepMind has published a paper arguing that AI will NEVER be conscious. Not in 10 years. Not out of 100. Never.
It’s called the “Abstraction Fallacy.”
Written by Alexander Lerchner. The disclaimer says it does not reflect the views of Google. You can see… pic.twitter.com/Z3HmAa5z0J
– Guri Singh (@heygurisingh) May 9, 2026
AI-powered hacking has exploded into an industry threat, says Google Guardian (Kevin W). BWAHAHA.
Your Use of AI Blows My Mind 404 Media
????:
Only adults buy AI magic beans. It’s sad, actually, to see older citizens believe that another industrial revolution is just around the corner. But in part they WANT to believe, perhaps to atone for their generational failure to make a better world.
– Seth Harp (@sethharpesq) May 11, 2026
Class War
NEW: Defaults on auto loans and credit cards in the US are hitting record highs while the stock market is also nearing record highs according to CNBC data.
– Dominic Michael Tripi (@DMichaelTripi) May 11, 2026
The Serpent in the Garden: AJA Woods’ History of the ‘Cultural Marxism Conspiracy’ Commonweal (Anthony L)
Tesla strike goes beyond Swedish borders – IF Metall bans foreign worker Dagens Arbete with machine translation (Micael T)
Municipalities will now be prevented from competing with companies Tidningen Näringslive for machine translation (Micael T)
Why should Swedes eat when half the country is going backwards? Aftonbladet with machine translation (Micael T)
Antidote du jour (Nat):
Bonus:
The cat caught the sunlight and didn’t understand why it felt so hot all of a sudden. 🤗🤗 pic.twitter.com/zknu8ALhZT
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) May 9, 2026
Second bonus:
This dog is a genius, look at the trick he uses to remove that wheel. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/UfGLsucvYD
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) May 10, 2026
And thirdly:
Impossible😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/8iOBbJ91Bb
– cats with powerful vision 🐾 (@catshealdeprsn) May 10, 2026
See yesterday’s links and the Antidote du Jour here.
