How Did the English Build Such Beautiful Villages? Architectural Tradition (Micael T)
Is Eating Meat Moral? Classical Wisdom (Micael T)
The smorgasbord in the age of Ozempic Cabinet (Micael T)
Extreme heat more dangerous for people 60 and over than previously thought Guardian
Memories Mysteriously Survive After Brain Shutdown, And Scientists Don’t Know Why 404 Media (Chuck L)
Climate/Environment
Scientists discover a natural Arctic cloud factory missing from climate models Science Daily (Kevin W)
In the subsurface equatorial Pacific, ocean temperatures recently reached 9.96°C (17.9°F) above average, the largest anomaly of this El Niño event so far and larger than anything observed in 1997.
The current record-breaking westerly wind burst could cause an even higher spike. pic.twitter.com/wb2ZdoPyNZ
— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) August 15, 2026
The World’s Oceans Are Getting Hotter. Surfers Are Feeling It Surfer.com
Why Siberia’s warming landscape could shatter Trump’s Arctic ambitions South China Morning Post
Mapped: The wildfires scorching the UK as four major incidents still ongoing Independent
French PM heckled over wildfire response as blazes continue across Europe BBC
Alarm bells as western Himalaya warms faster Deccan Herald
Water
Beyond GERD, Ethiopia’s dam ambitions shift battle over Nile flows Arab Weekly
War over the Nile? The exact weapons Egypt is considering to strike Ethiopia Atalayar
China?
For China, Trump’s new drone tariffs threaten to deepen trade rift with US South China Morning Post
China July bank loans post record contraction as credit demand falters Reuters. From last week, still germane
Japan
China and Russia Are Pressuring Japan on Two Fronts. Is a Pacific Pincer Taking Shape? Modern Diplomacy
Japan is no longer Asia’s defensive power Asia Times (Kevin W)
Japanese minister visits shrine to war dead, angering China, South Korea Aljazeera
Koreas
South Korea president calls for military independence in wake of Trump call to cut joint drills Guardian
Southeast Asia
Myanmar’s banks buckle under junta rule as the kyat loses three-quarters of its value BNE
Malaysia Raises Concerns Over US-Backed Philippine Military Base Bloomberg
Africa
Lithium in the Sahel: how armed groups are exploiting the global scramble for the critical mineral The Conversation
War in the North: A point of no return Capital Ethopia
Is Sudan’s Bloody War Reaching a Tipping Point? Fair Observer
South of the Border
Cuba Is Out of Time New York Times
Venezuela’s Bank of England gold to be routed through US Treasury accounts BNE
I am not sure whether to celebrate or regret the Bank of England’s complicity in this gold heist from its custody vault.
‘Just following orders’ from US war criminals is a bad look.
Clearly the Bank is breaching its contract to conserve and protect the gold reserves it signed… https://t.co/XhBd2zSabi
— Kathleen Tyson (@Kathleen_Tyson_) August 18, 2026
Venezuela Is Not Iran Venezuelanalysis (Robin K)
Between cartel threats and US airstrikes, Ecuador fishermen have nowhere to hide Internazionale
European Disunion
35,000 farmers protest in the Netherlands International Affairs (Micael T)
You can’t whip Swedishness into people Aftonbladet via machine translation (Micael T)
Old Blighty
US bond market jitters spark UK economy recession warning City AM
New UK cost of living crisis looms with soaring energy bills forecast to lift inflation Guardian
Israel v. The Resistance
منصة تدعى نيوز الإخبارية تنشر كشوفات لمئات الغزيين الذين تم حجز أموالهم من بين آلاف أخرين، بناءً على تعليمات أمنية إسرائيلية وفلسطينية أو فحص أمني يجريه البنك أو جمع معلومات أمنية، لا يوجد بين الكشوفات مبادز واحد أو حزامي واحد أو تاجر حرب واحد.
كشوفات أخرى تضم الآلاف من عوائل… pic.twitter.com/69iJ5Xz3bL— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) August 18, 2026
‘We will not allow Gaza to be rebuilt’ until Hamas disarms, Kushner says Aljazeera (Kevin W)
How would disarmament start if Israel is still banning the government (NCAG) that would collect the weapons from even entering Gaza?
Trump’s own roadmap obliges Israel to first fulfil phase 1 of the deal (e.g. humanitarian aid, early recovery…) before disarmament begins. Israel… https://t.co/vkIzzLsO2a
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) August 18, 2026
Israeli forces have escalated a wave of attacks across southern Lebanon, opening with airstrikes targeting Ali al-Taher, Kfar Rumman, and the corridor between Al-Qantara and Deir Siryan.
The military assault intensified in Haddatha, Baraachit, and Bayout al-Siyad, marked by… pic.twitter.com/ZdUklVy5Zq
— roqayah chamseddine (@roqchams) August 19, 2026
Syraqistan
Five years into Taliban rule, Afghanistan plunges into a state of collapse – visualised Guardian
Syria’s wells run dry, old grievances run deep Syria Direct
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine’s Economy Braces for Disaster as Zelensky Faces New Political Challenge Simplicius
Russian attacks are doing severe harm to Ukraine’s economy Economist
People problems Events in Ukraine
The US-Approved Turkish-Ukrainian Arms Deal Shouldn’t Have Come As A Surprise To Russia Andrew Korybko
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Sainsbury’s Store Pauses Facial Recognition After False Shoplifting Claim Guardian
Court records detail Clearview AI’s role in ICE protest surveillance Biometrics Update
Imperial Collapse Watch
They Don’t Care Aurelien. Important.
Trump 2.0
Disney and ABC sue Trump’s media regulator to stop early licence renewal BBC (Kevin W)
Trump’s Ballroom Is Rising at Breakneck Speed: 20 Hours a Day, 7 Days a Week New York Times
Immigration
Liberia agrees to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from US Straits Times
Democrats Suck
Is Abdul El-Sayed going to lose Michigan? G. Elliott Morris
A Stunning Win for the Left in Florida: 6 Takeaways from Tuesday’s Primaries New York Times
Mamdani
Mamdani promised tenant protections. NYC still refused most aid requests Gothamist
Our No Longer Free Press
Military officials unleash operation fury on ‘America-hating’ media Responsible Statecraft (resilc)
Economy
The wheat war has begun and it could trigger a revolution Telegraph
War and climate change drive surge in global shipping costs Financial Times
Diesel desperation is mounting globally Axios
US oil reserves are so low amid Trump’s Iran war the caverns holding them could be damaged Independent
Mr. Market is Getting Vertigo
This chart says the stock market is ready to crash Telegraph
The money investors borrow to trade in the U.S. stock market is at an all-time high NPR
AI
What Happens If OpenAI Dies? Ed Zitron
BREAKING: OpenAI’s unraveling has begun Gary Marcus
US advisory body says China’s data dominance gives it AI advantage Reuters (Kevin W)
Lie detection and language models Philosophy Bear (Micael T)
Hidden Airtag reveals Amazon is trashing rare books to train AI ars technica
The Bezzle
Private credit under strain as troubled loans swell Financial Times
Class Warfare
Why male Gen Zers are dropping out of the US job market in droves New York Post
‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Lenders Pitch Loans For Needs Like Electricity and Rent New York Times. No archived version yet.
Why does success run in families? Aproria Magazine. Micael T: “A text and thesis to strengthen your arguments against.”
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus (guurst):
POV: When your bodyguard blind dog and the resident goose become the most iconic duo on the farm! 🐶🪿✨ pic.twitter.com/jsaRef95ma
— Nature Chapter (@NatureChapter) August 16, 2026
Sea lions having a row:
found another angle😭😭 pic.twitter.com/VKVbEW8p1I https://t.co/SNJyzJbTWK
— Antidepressant Content (@depressionlesss) August 16, 2026
A third:
When India accidentally wiped out its vultures, half a million people died in five years.
The bird doing zoomies in this video runs the most extreme digestive system in the animal kingdom. Vulture stomach acid sits near pH 1, strong enough to destroy anthrax, rabies, and… https://t.co/ko3k9Um7TK
— Aakash Gupta (@aakashgupta) August 15, 2026
And a different sort of bonus:
A man spent years searching for the nanny who raised him. When he finally found her, he gave her $16,000 and arranged a monthly allowance to ensure she could enjoy the same comfort and care she had once provided him.
A French man captured the hearts of millions online after… pic.twitter.com/4U4Lz59RD0
— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) August 2, 2026
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
