Courage Before Greatness: The Albert Camus Story Classical Literature (Micael T)
The World’s Highest-Living Mammal Is Rewriting the Limits of Life SciTech Daily (guurst)
#COVID-19/Pandemics
Why Epidemics Breed Rage at Health Workers New York Times (Dr. Kevin)
Climate/Environment
The deep ocean is changing our climate far faster than we realised Oceanographic Magazine
The British boffins battling to dim the sun Telegraph
Earth’s waters are quietly running out of oxygen, scientists warn Science Daily (Kevin W)
In the Canadian Arctic, an experiment aims to stabilize thinning sea ice Mongabay
Canada issues air quality warnings over US wildfire smoke after Trump tariff threat Guardian (Kevin W)
Latest Precipitation Models Still Seem to Underestimate Risk as ‘1,000-Year’ Rain Events Pummel Texas Inside Climate News
Puerto Rico announces emergency water rationing as drought worsens Independent
China?
China – A Hidden Reality Michael Nicoletos. PlutoniumKun:
One estimate here of ‘real’ banking losses in the Chinese property crash. Its within the ballpark I’ve seen a few people estimate. Officially its $520 billion in bad property loans, but I don’t think anyone believes that for the reasons summarised in this blogpost:
Adding up the property complex, local government debt, the core loan book, the regional banks, wealth and trust products, insurance, Belt and Road lending, and the unrealized losses buried in bond books, the total estimated economic loss lands at roughly $3.86 tn in the best case, $7.68 tn in the base case, and $12.20 tn in the worst case.
The Calm Is the Anomaly: Why the Taiwan Strait Is More Dangerous Than the Headlines Suggest Modern Diplomacy
China flattens the duck with molten salt to generate solar power at night Kevin Walmsley
Koreas
US, ROK and Japan military chiefs reaffirm North Korea denuclearization goal NKNews
India
Indian police bash and gas youth-led ‘cockroach’ protesters Asia Times) (Kevin W)
Climate Change: Dengue And Flu Are No Longer Just Seasonal Threats In India NDTV
India’s Weak Monsoon Revives Push for This Ancient Food Staple Bloomberg
Africa
‘You cannot hide from a drone strike’: The terror falling from the sky in Sudan CNN
At least 16 soldiers killed in terror attack in west Niger News.AZ
O Canada
Trump slaps 50% tariffs on Canada and Carney vows to ‘intensify’ trade talks BBC (Kevin W)
Canada Unveils New Pipeline to Cut Reliance on U.S. Oil Routes OilPrice
South of the Border
Report: Pentagon develops options for striking Cuba Miami Herald (Robin K)
Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans need aid after earthquakes: ‘We have no income left’ LeMonde
‘It’s total devastation’: inside the Amazonian war against illegal gold mining Guardian
European Disunion
Diesel Squeeze in Europe Is Set to Deepen, Morgan Stanley Says Bloomberg
Food prices are set to 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 heat Reuters
What’s Driving Germany’s Planned €800 Billion Remilitarization? Andrew Korybko
Beyond LNG: Berlin’s red-carpet diplomacy signals a bigger bet on Algeria Aljazeera
Cyprus: No more bases, no more wars DiEM25 in Cyprus (Robin K)
Old Blighty
Starmer was a fabricator and a fraud. Good riddance Middle East Eye (resilc)
Did UK intelligence stage the Salisbury Novichok attack? Tim Norman
Water shortages to derail plans for one million new homes Telegraph
Israel v. The Resistance
Israel threatens to seize ancient water reservoirs near Bethlehem Guardian
Israeli ministers join march to Gaza to demand return of settlements Aljazeera
‘We have no future here’: Lebanese families tell story of nation in collapse National News
* * * In the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, chaos is unfolding rapidly
The Houthis announced this week the closure of the strait to Saudi vessels, escalating a naval blockade in response to the air and land blockade that Saudi Arabia imposes on Yemen.
Until last week, Saudi Arabia was… pic.twitter.com/gnpoH2n4UE
— Patricia Marins (@pati_marins64) July 21, 2026
The masters of empire cannot be bothered with learning about the people whom they declare their enemies. They are ignorant of their history; they cannot speak their language; they are indifferent to their legitimate interests. And therefore they ALWAYS underestimate them. https://t.co/WOe6Pq6IUC
— Will Schryver (@imetatronink) July 19, 2026
Clashes resume between Yemeni forces and Houthis in Al Hudaydah YeniSafak
Israel’s Dolphin-Class Submarine Changes the Iran War Brandon Weichert
U.S. Aircraft Take Heavy Losses as Iran Strikes Key Bases Across the Middle East Military Watch
New Not-So-Cold War
Russia Launches Its Largest Ever Ballistic Missile Attack: Ukraine’s Capital Increasingly Indefensible Military Watch
Instability in Kiev, Russian Advances Olivier Boyd-Barrett
‘Everyone’s afraid to die’: Struggle to recruit soldiers in Ukraine turns violent BBC
Ukraine drones target Russian warehouses and oil sites DW
Kazakhstan condemns reported drone attacks on oil tankers using Black Sea export route Anadolu Agency
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
This fake Apple app can unlock your Mac’s password vault Malwarebytes
Imperial Collapse Watch
Does Trump’s Lack of Credibility Impact the Deep State? Karen Kwaitkowski. A fine essay.
The Governance Challenges of Western Politics Through the Lens of Western Bureaucratic Systems and Chinese Minds Karl Sanchez
Trump 2.0
Spain Humiliates Trump After He Refuses to Get Out of Victory Photos New Republic (Dr. Kevin)
Ralph Nader: Citizens’ Impeachment Project, Symposium July 22, 2026 YouTube
Trump’s Officials Are Removing the Evidence Women Won Freedom and the Vote WA Lawrence
Report: Vance’s getting ‘royal treatment’ Bay Area News Group. Robin K: Pro-Rubio apparatus at work.”
The Odds of Congress Passing Another Reconciliation Bill Are Sinking Fast Michael Shedlock
Our No Longer Free Press
“The implication is clear: Secretary of State Marco Rubio thinks there should be a modern-day blacklist of the political left in America. In fact, the report explicitly mentions the ‘blacklists, McCarthy-era investigations and prosecutions’ of the 1950s and their effectiveness at… https://t.co/qSkl03MpAh
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) July 20, 2026
This Famous Indian Journalist Has a Warning for the U.S. Media Under Trump Zeteo
Police State Watch
To understand how dangerous this is, under INA’s “Alien Terrorist Removal Procedures,” a non-citizen on US soil with constitutional rights can be charged w/ “endorsing or espousing” terrorist views & deported/detained based on secret evidence that he/she never gets to see. https://t.co/iX0gOHVyx8
— Eric Lee (@EricLeeAtty) July 18, 2026
The Alien Terrorist Removal Court Steve Vladeck
New Orleans Cops Published Policy Document Allowing Weaponized Drones 404 Media
Dubious Statistics
Shaky political “science”: breakdown of the peer review process Democracy SOS
It’s all about the Super Pacs: How the New York Times completely misreported campaign contributions in the Maine Senate race Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
Economy
Oh Dear, Condo Prices Fell by 15% to 33% in 30 Bigger Cities Already. Some Dropped Back to 2006 Levels Wolf Richter
AI
Big Tech Needs to Justify AI Spending as Investors Dump Stocks Bloomberg
The Made-in-China Anxiety Gripping America’s AI Industry Bloomberg
The Rise of “Sovereign AI” in the Global South and China’s Cooperative Responses China Affairs. The branding makes me suspicious.
The Bezzle
US day traders flock to ‘the most dangerous product in crypto’ Financial Times
Trump has normalized crypto. Is it the path to the next financial collapse? Guardian
UK pension insurers raise exposure to opaque private credit Financial Times
ASIC sounds alarm on Australians’ exposure to growing risks in private credit ABC Australia
Class Warfare
And Reagan, the Points of the Oligarchs commissioned Blueprint, (#PowellMemos) to Destroy Democracy began its SUCCESSFUL Implementation under Reagan & Thatcher & ALL Admins since, until, at least the USA was under Total CORPORATE CAPTURE! https://t.co/7IDHFiokSE
— Theresa Sanders (@arealmermaid2) July 19, 2026
The Mummification of the AFL-CIO Marxism-Leninism Review
Louisiana communities are left in the dark on toxic air — and industry helped keep it that way Floodlight (Rosie G)
Antidote du jour. Tracie H: “Marine Blue butterfly. Fullerton, CA.”
And a bonus:
A walrus in Southern Norway?
Meet Magnus, one of several walruses that have been venturing further south in recent years, surprising locals along Norway’s coastline.
[🦭 Spectacular Norway]pic.twitter.com/CJr8NPbvNd
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 18, 2026
A second bonus:
Cat’s best reaction ever to a magic trick pic.twitter.com/GMPgCQpJrm
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) July 18, 2026
And a third:
You can feel the love and respect that they have for each other. pic.twitter.com/zpr5szXOd2
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) July 15, 2026
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
