Courage Before Greatness: The Albert Camus Story Classical Literature (Micael T)
World’s Longest Living Mammal Rewrites the Limits of Life SciTech Daily (guurst)
#COVID-19/Pandemics
Why Pandemics Are Anger in Health Care Workers New York Times (Dr. Kevin)
Climate/Environment
Deep oceans are changing the climate much faster than we’ve been aware of in Oceanographic Magazine
British boffins are fighting to outshine the Telegraph
The world’s water is quietly running out of oxygen, scientists warn Science Daily (Kevin W)
In the Canadian Arctic, research aims to stabilize small sea ice such as Mongabay
Canada issues air quality warnings over US wildfire smoke after Trump’s tax threat Guardian (Kevin W)
Latest Rain Models Still Seem to Underestimate Risk as ‘1,000-Year’ Rain Events Pummel Texas Inside Climate News
Puerto Rico declares emergency water supply as drought spreads in Independent
China?
China – The Hidden Truth Michael Nicoletos. PlutoniumKun:
One measure here is a bank’s ‘real’ loss in China property risk. It’s in the middle of the ballpark that I’ve seen a few people rate. It’s officially $520 billion in bad real estate loans, but I don’t think anyone believes that for the reasons summarized in this blog post:
Including real estate, local government debt, the main loan book, regional banks, wealth and trust products, insurance, Belt and Road loans, and unrealized losses buried in bond books, the estimated total economic losses reach about $3.86 tn in the best case, $7.68 tn in the base case, and $12.20 in the worst case.
‘Payback’: why China’s world-beating auto industry faces faltering domestic sales South China Morning Post
Calm is an Anomaly: Why the Taiwan Strait is More Dangerous than the Topics of Modern Diplomacy
China soaks duck with molten salt to produce solar power at night Kevin Walmsley
The Koreans
US, ROK and Japanese military officials reaffirm North Korea’s denuclearization goal NKNews
India
Indian police and youth-led protesters ‘run out’ of gas Asia Times) (Kevin W)
Climate Change: Dengue and Influenza Are No Longer Seasonal Threats in India NDTV
India’s Weak Monsoon Revives Push for This Ancient Staple Bloomberg
Africa
‘You can’t hide from a drone strike’: Fears falling from the sky in Sudan CNN
At least 16 soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack in western Niger News.AZ
O Canada
Trump hits Canada with 50% tariffs and Carney vows to ‘reinforce’ trade talks BBC (Kevin W)
Canada Unveils New Way to Break Dependence on US Oil Routes OilPrice
South of the Border
Report: Pentagon developing options for Cuba strike Miami Herald (Robin K)
Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans need help after the earthquake: ‘We have no income’ Le Monde
‘It’s total devastation’: inside the Amazonian war against the Guardian for illegal gold mining
The breakup of Europe
Diesel Squeeze in Europe Set to Deepen, Morgan Stanley told Bloomberg
Food prices will rise again and this summer’s extreme heat is a big part of the reason why Murica Today
Drones, AI and white paint: Europe races to protect infrastructure from Reuters heat
The European Union has unveiled proposals that would slow the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for businesses, as part of a major climate policy overhaul by the BBC.
What’s Driving Germany’s Planned €800 Billion Military Repatriation? Andrew Korybko
Beyond LNG: Berlin’s red carpet diplomacy shows big bet on Algeria Aljazeera
Cyprus: No more bases, no more wars DiEM25 in Cyprus (Robin K)
Old Blighty
Starmer was a fraud and a fraud. Good riddance Middle East Eye (resilc)
Did UK intelligence start the Salisbury Novichok attack? Tim Norman
Water shortages to disrupt plans for a million new homes The Telegraph
Israel v. The Resistance
Israel threatens to take over ancient water reservoirs near Bethlehem Guardian
Israeli ministers join march towards Gaza demanding return of settlements Aljazeera
‘We have no future here’: Lebanese families tell story of nation collapsing World News
****** In the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, chaos quickly developed
The Houthis announced this week the closure of the Saudi shipping border, increasing the naval blockade due to the air and land blockade imposed by Saudi Arabia on Yemen.
Until last week, Saudi Arabia had been… pic.twitter.com/gnpoH2n4UE
— Patricia Marins (@pati_marins64) July 21, 2026
Government officials can’t be bothered to learn about the people they declare to be their enemies. They do not know their history; they cannot speak their language; they do not care about their legitimate interests. So they ALWAYS look down on them.
— Will Schryver (@imetatronink) July 19, 2026
Clashes resume between Yemeni forces and the Houthis in Al Hudaydah Yeni Safak
Israel’s Dolphin-Class Submarine Is Changing the Iran War Brandon Weichert
US Air Force Takes Heavy Losses As Iran Strikes Key Military Bases Across Middle East
The New Cold War
Russia Launches Its Largest Missile Attack Ever: Ukrainian Capital Military Watch Increases
Instability in Kiev, Russian Development Olivier Boyd-Barrett
‘Everyone is scared to death’: Ukraine’s military recruitment struggle turns violent BBC
Ukrainian drones target Russian warehouses and oil fields DW
Kazakhstan condemns reported drone attacks on oil tankers using Black Sea export route Anadolu Agency
Big Brother Watching Watching
This fake Apple app can unlock Malwarebytes password for your Mac
Imperial Collapse Watch
Does Trump’s Lack of Credibility Affect the Deep State? Karen Kwaitkowski. Great article.
Challenges to Western Political Governance Through the Lens of Western Bureaucratic Systems and Chinese Mindset Karl Sanchez
Trump 2.0
Spain Humiliates Trump After Refusing to Exit New Republic Victory Photos (Dr. Kevin)
Ralph Nader: Civilian Prosecution Project, Conference July 22, 2026 on YouTube
Trump Officials Remove Evidence That Women Won Freedom and Vote WA Lawrence
Report: Vance gets ‘royal treatment’ Bay Area News Group. Robin K: Pro-Rubio machine at work. “
Congress’s Chances of Passing Another Reconciliation Bill Are Sinking Quickly Michael Shedlock
Ours is No Longer Free
“The implication is clear: Secretary of State Marco Rubio thinks there should be a list of today’s political left in America. In fact, the report clearly mentions the ‘blacklist, McCarthy-era investigations and prosecutions’ of the 1950s and their success…
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) July 20, 2026
This Famous Indian Journalist Has A Warning For The American Media Under Trump Zeteo
Police State Watch
To understand how dangerous this is, under the “Alien Terrorist Removal Procedures” of the INA, a non-US citizen with constitutional rights can be charged with “endorsing or supporting” terrorist views and deported/imprisoned based on secret evidence he never saw.
— Eric Lee (@EricLeeAtty) July 18, 2026
Alien Terrorism Court Steve Vladeck
New Orleans Police Publish Policy Document Allowing Weaponized Drones 404 Media
Questionable Statistics
Political “science” in motion: the breakdown of the peer review process The SOS of democracy
It’s All About Super Pacs: How the New York Times Misreported Campaign Contributions in the Maine Senate Race, Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science.
The economy
Oh Dear, Condo Prices Have Dropped 15% to 33% in 30 Major Cities Already. Some Dropped Back to 2006 Wolf Richter Levels
The AI
Big Tech Needs to Justify AI Dumps Like Investors Dumping Bloomberg Shares
Made-in-China Anxiety Gripping America’s AI Industry Bloomberg
OpenAI Exec Complains That China Is Offering So Good Models That For-Profit Companies Can’t Compete In The Future
The Rise of “Dominant AI” in the Global World and China’s Cooperative Responses to China Issues. Marketing makes me suspicious.
Bezzle
US day traders flock to ‘riskiest product in crypto’ Financial Times
Trump made crypto mainstream. Is it the road to the next financial collapse? Caretaker
UK pension insurers increase exposure to murky private debt Financial Times
ASIC raises alarm over Australians’ exposure to rising risks in private credit ABC Australia
Class War
And Reagan, Scores of Oligarchs approved the Blueprint, (#PowellMemos) to End Democracy began its SUCCESSFUL Implementation under Reagan & Thatcher & ALL Administrations since, until, the USA was under Total CORPORATE CAPTURE!
— Theresa Sanders (@arealmermaid2) July 19, 2026
The Mummification of AFL-CIO Marxism-Leninism Review
Louisiana communities left in the dark from toxic air – and industry helps keep it that way Floodlight (Rosie G)
Antidote du jour. Tracie H: “Marine Blue butterfly. Fullerton, CA.”
And a bonus:
Coyote vs. Road Runner desert chase straight out of a cartoon, IRL pic.twitter.com/xrNpXNUEYO
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 18, 2026
Second bonus:
The best cat reaction ever to a magic trick pic.twitter.com/GMPgCQpJrm
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 18, 2026
And thirdly:
You can feel the love and respect they have for each other. pic.twitter.com/zpr5szXOd2
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) July 15, 2026
See yesterday’s links and the Antidote du Jour here.
