Dear patient readers,
Today we offer supersized Links with Iran War and Borat Agreement sections in lieu of an Iran war post.
The Case for Aesthetic Education JSTOR (Micael T)
The upper limits of biology Works in Progress (Micael T)
‘Living donor’ horror case triggers crackdown in US RT (Kevin W)
Why Is Everyone In Tech So Sad? Nomea. I understand the desire not to be hostage to a high end bullshit job, but to me, hobbies are another form of torture. How about charity, like reading to the blind?
Climate/Environment
The AMOC stayed strong even as a major ocean “lifeline” nearly shut down Science Daily (Kevin W)
How Climate Change Is Priming More of the World to Burn Bloomberg
England starts to resemble outback in Europe’s devastating furnace Australian Financial Review
Breaking: El Niño strength forecasts have just taken another step higher.
The new ECMWF outlook shows the event peaking near +4.0˚C in December — obliterating the previous record.
This will have sweeping implications on global climate patterns from late this year into 2027. pic.twitter.com/YvbctXluCL
— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) August 5, 2026
China?
What China’s new PLA leaders reveal about Xi’s unfinished military rebuild Channel News Asia
Taiwan’s military drills suggest deeper alignment with the U.S. Independent
China’s 25-year tax reach will cost it more than it collects Asia Times (Kevin W)
Why US tariffs are pushing factories back to China Kevin Walmsley
Japan
Twilight over the Rising Sun NO1. A good recap.
A ‘weaponized’ yen: How the U.S.-Japan intervention may reshape global currency markets CNBC
Japan’s Wobbling Yen Could Trigger A Global Financial Crisis Forbes
Koreas
North Korea marks Hiroshima atomic bombing anniversary with missile test Japan Times
North Korea speaks: ‘Build a united anti-imperialist front’ The Communists (Robin K)
India
Clashes Erupt at Susta Along India-Nepal Border The Diplomat
Southeast Asia
US and ASEAN chair press for unconditional Suu Kyi release in Myanmar Nation Thailand
Africa
Sudan’s invisible children – born in war with no legal identity BBC
How to end Sudan’s brutal, forgotten conflict Economist
When atrocities return: The cost of failed accountability in Tigray Aljazeera
Mass prison escape as armed clashes rock western Libya Africa News
Collapsing Empire: US Creates New African Psyops Unit Kit Klarenberg
South of the Border
As the lights go out, Cuba’s true believers vow to resist US intervention Guardian
Mexico deploys troops to secure avocado region after US halts imports Aljazeera
Venezuela: Gov’t and Opposition Open US-Backed Talks to Overhaul Electoral, Judicial Authorities Venezuelanalysis (Robin K)
Venezuela: Leftist Groups Rally Against ‘Imperialist Plundering’ Venezuelanalysis (Robin K)
Thousands protest private property legislation in Argentina as clashes erupt with police Le Monde
European Disunion
A NATO bank Lapidarium of Life via machine translation (Micael T)
Germany’s long industrial decline GIS Reports
Europe’s Heatwave Is Hitting Refineries And Power Supplies OilPrice
Old Blighty
UK in longest jobs slump since financial crisis, PMI shows Staffing Industry
Mossad, Israeli Cash & Nigel Farage: The Scandal BREAKING Reform Double Down News, YouTube
Israel v. The Resistance
“Why do Palestinians teach their children to hate Israel?”
They don’t. Generations of Palestinian children have been taught to hate Israel by Israeli soldiers just like these ones. https://t.co/KNUyjY9EMJ
— Jonathan Cook (@Jonathan_K_Cook) August 6, 2026
Finkelstein: “Israel has become a nation of child killers. From Daniella Weiss to Benny Morris-from settlers urinating on children to soldiers filming a dying boy and blocking aid.”
This is not a few bad apples. This is a citizen army.
When the entire spectrum-from extreme to… pic.twitter.com/puBUSJXy83
— Ounka (@OunkaOnX) August 7, 2026
The director of one of the main hospitals in Gaza is being heavily tortured after he was taken hostage as part of Israel’s genocidal technique of complete obliteration of the health sector. https://t.co/vslZRtzNp3
— Nicola Perugini (@PeruginiNic) August 5, 2026
These are armed Israeli surveillance drones flying over Lebanon right now. Not only are they used for data collection, they’re also used as a form of psychological terrorism. The sound you hear in the video is from inside my apartment.
The persistent buzzing of military drones… pic.twitter.com/q4d7Ahjujy
— courtneybonneauimages (@cbonneauimages) August 7, 2026
‘If I Leave, Who Is Going to Rescue People?’ New York Magazine (guurst)
The Borat Agreements. Hoisting this label for the moment….will revert to official name going forward.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan pledge mutual defence as Middle East turmoil escalates Reuters
This sudden alliance is likely aimed at defending the Saudi regime after it:
– Supported the *failed* US/Israeli war on Iran.
– Wants to maintain the US-backed siege in Yemen, despite Yemeni resistance.
– Bombed Iraqi resistance movements in a joint U.S/Saudi attack.In short,… https://t.co/KmwLXPndG1
— MenchOsint (@MenchOsint) August 7, 2026
The Odd Defense Agreement Between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan And Turkey Moon of Alabama. Money sentence: “I find it hard to understand how this new agreement could possibly have more than symbolic value.’
Ansar Allah made the US flee, and leave Israel with its ships blocked, and missiles hitting Eliat. What’s Turkey going to do?
— Anemher (@Anemher) August 7, 2026
Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan Join Forces… But Against Whom? The Cradle, YouTube (Robin K)
The Borat Agreements Alon Mizrahi:
The old whoring guard of West Asia goes to work for its Judeo-Christian overlords with a supposed trilateral Pakistani, Turkish, and Saudi-Arabian ‘defence pact’, resulting in cheap, risqué comedy
Iran War
Alastair Crooke – Iran ‘s ONLY Choice: Humiliate the US Daniel Davis, YouTube. Important
There is a vast gulf between what official Washington is saying and what official Tehran is saying.
Iran clearly feels no urgency to end this war, except on its own maximalist terms. https://t.co/TbtQfRdvzb
— Will Schryver (@imetatronink) August 7, 2026
Iran Sees an Opening to Kick the U.S. Out of the Gulf Wall Street Journal
* * * When a “source” claims the US and Iran are close to agree on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Iran now doesn’t even bother to answer and deny anymore – they just blow up one more oil tanker that tries to cross the Strait without their approval
— JustDario (@DarioCpx) August 8, 2026
there’s no Hormuz deal, latest proposal untenable
Hormuz exiting oil flow is drifting higher (now trending >5 MMbpd) as pre-MOU dark trade patterns reemerge
Iran doing enough to keep ships wary but not enough to entirely clamp down (if that’s even what they want?)
it’s a mess
— Rory Johnston (@Rory_Johnston) August 7, 2026
Iran not to allow opening of second corridor in Hormuz Mehr News. On the Oman-Iran pact specifically, Trita Parsi points out that the details about fees and the corridor are still in flux. Also underscores a point I have made, that Reuters, which ran the claim of 5% to 7% fees, has often been unreliable. I can see how planting that rumor would be intended to piss off already unhappy GCC countries even more.
BREAKING: Iran has released an image of a fully intact Israeli Hermes 900 drone taken down by Iran’s electronic warfare, with the IRGC now reverse-engineering various parts of the drone, per Tasnim.
Iran has also started the process of reverse-engineering the previously captured… pic.twitter.com/j9hYWQ8cj6
— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) August 7, 2026
🇮🇷🇺🇸 NEW:
Iranian Air Force general said today that an Iranian aircraft bombed US bases using just paper maps.
He says pilots flew without GPS and without radio communication in order to not get detected, catching US air defenses off guard.
pic.twitter.com/QLjYtqJ1iy— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinkle) August 7, 2026
BREAKING: Saudi Arabia fired approximately 2,400 Patriot PAC-3 interceptors during the first 44 days of the Iran war, depleting an estimated 86% of its pre-war stockpile and leaving roughly 400 missiles by April. At the same rate of fire, those would be exhausted in just 8 days,…
— The Hormuz Report (@HormuzReport) August 7, 2026
More on the Ansar Allah attacks on Saudi-backed forces:
Massive plumes of smoke are rising from the impact site in Marib, Yemen, following the Ansarallah ballistic missile attack.
There are reports that Yemeni Government Saudi-backed officials were holding a meeting in the targeted building. https://t.co/d14qmq4iAn pic.twitter.com/5pn2R3pxeC
— MoloMonitor 🇮🇹 (@MoloWarMonitor) August 7, 2026
THE MIDDLE EAST MILITARY CRISIS: A GREAT PARADOX MILITARY ANALYSIS AND HISTORY (guurst)
Iraq and Kuwait face tougher oil restart than Gulf neighbours AGBI
Today, the United States sanctioned one of the most significant Iranian sanctions evasion schemes ever uncovered.
Under Executive Order 13902, OFAC sanctioned Shelbit, an illegal gambling network that is part of $4 BILLION sanctions-evasion network.
At a time when the United…
— Brett Erickson (@BrettErickson28) August 7, 2026
Syraqiatan
Clashes on anniversary of Imran Khan imprisonment Aljazeera
Protest group in Pakistan-administered Kashmir rejects claims of Indian meddling Independent
New Not-So-Cold War
Russia, Ukraine exchange overnight strikes, killing 4, injuring 11 Anadolu Agency
How Russian ballistic missiles are exploiting holes in Ukraine’s air defenses CNN
Kazakhstan Squirms as Russia-Ukraine War Fallout Widens Energy Intel
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
This man was secretly snapped by someone with smartglasses. He’s not alone in calling that a violation of privacy Guardian. Sadly, not the case in the US. If you are in public view, even in your yard if it is visible from the street, you have no expectation of privacy.
Trump 2.0
Trump says he could be last Republican president in US TASS
Trump signs orders to limit US birthright citizenship, despite Supreme Court ruling Reuters (Kevin W). This development was in Links yesterday, but important not to miss
Appeals court rules Trump can’t build White House ballroom without congressional approval Associated Press
Senate confirms Todd Blanche as attorney general after bruising fight The Hill
Trump FCC kills TV ownership cap, claiming authority over limit set by Congress ars technica (Kevin W)
Tariffs
Trump’s new tariff plan is more preposterous and anti-democratic than the last Steven Hill
Economy
Another Weak Jobs Report, Payrolls Down 23,000 and Employment Down 87,000 Micael Shedlock
U.S. Diesel Exports Hit Record High as Global Supply Crunch Deepens OilPrice
Mr. Market Should Be More Worried
How the Climate Crisis Is Becoming a Financial Stability Risk Vision of Humanity
Asian Tech Stocks Are Most Volatile Since Global Financial Crisis Bloomberg
AI
The West’s breathless AI spending spree can only end one way Telegraph
The AI boom isn’t real: 70% of AI revenue comes from OpenAI and Anthropic | Ed Zitron The Tech Report. YouTube
AI has become the backbone of US economic growth.
Private business investment in AI-related categories jumped +$300 billion YoY in Q2 2026, or +25%, to a record $1.5 trillion annualized rate.
The surge was driven primarily by investment in computers and peripheral equipment,… pic.twitter.com/g14BTgaN9d
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) August 6, 2026
Guillotine Watch
Antichrist Rolls Eyes Throughout Peter Thiel Lecture The Onion
Zuckerberg apologizes for child sexual abuse ads on Instagram Caleb Ecarna
Part II: Technocrats Call For Dictatorship And Technocracy In 2026 Patrick Wood (Micael T). We ran Mencius Moldbug off the site very shortly after he started commenting due to his persistent bad faith argumentation + conversation-hogging.
Class Warfare
What Can Progressives Win Without the Working Class? Not Much! Les Leopold
Crenshaw weighs in on ‘dumb’ $20 burrito sparking debate over affordability The Hill. It used to be a chicken in every pot.
7 Hacks To Obtain A Burrito For Less Than $20 Babylon Bee
The Yo-yo strike is back – but to win it requires a rematch Proletaren via machine translation. Micael T: “The Swedish unions are inspired by the US automotive unions: working against the members.”
Antidote du jour (via):
A bonus:
The best way to teach kids
[📹 wf_christian_] pic.twitter.com/KYSNry6diy
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) August 6, 2026
A second bonus:
This is the level of unbothered I’m striving for pic.twitter.com/4Sxu733moi
— We Assess and Draw Cats 🐾 (@WeAssessCats) August 6, 2026
And a third:
He was there every step of the way😭 pic.twitter.com/flwH9sYA7f
— Wolf (@WolfprwX) August 7, 2026
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
