Dear valued readers,
Today’s selection features an abundance of tweets, as I spent some extra time on Twitter searching for updates regarding Iran and stumbled upon numerous intriguing news snippets.
Noteworthy Reads
The Man, the Ox, the Lion and the Eagle – The Sacred Images Project (Micael T)
A Fundamental Principle of Aeronautical Engineering Has Been Overturned – Wired
What Anxiety Is Really Trying to Tell You – Big Think
Carl Jung’s Penultimate Concerns – Mark Vernon (Micael T). This is essential reading.
Ebola
U.S. Races to Set Up Quarantine Facility in Kenya for Americans Exposed to Ebola – Wall Street Journal
In the Shadow of Ebola: Scenes from the Outbreak’s Frontlines – Reuters
Doctor Evacuated from Congo Is ‘Helpless’ Watching Colleagues Die of Ebola – Washington Post
🚨🌍 BREAKING: The WHO has just acknowledged that the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa is outpacing their response efforts.
When containment falls behind transmission, the situation deteriorates quickly.
This is a critical situation that warrants close attention. pic.twitter.com/CfAp3AM04X
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 26, 2026
@JeremyKonyndyk is likely the foremost authority on the repercussions of USAID cuts on Ebola responses. https://t.co/PCZGBmzZmT
— Dr. Angela Rasmussen (@angie_rasmussen) May 26, 2026
Climate and Environment
Don’t Discard Your Old Vapes: NYC’s Volunteer Recyclers Want Them – THE CITY
Gentoo Penguins Adapt to Climate Change Heat Waves by Breeding Earlier – PhysOrg
Reef Fish Communities Are Collapsing Under Climate Stress – Earth
Climate Change Weakens the Purification Function of Lakes – EurekAlert
Deadly Fungal Storms Now Sweeping the U.S. Spread a Little-Known Disease – Science Focus
Climate Change Threatens Global Plant Species as Habitats Diminish – Reuters
America’s Water Crisis Can No Longer Be Ignored – OilPrice
Exceptional heat continues across Morocco, Spain, and Portugal.
Minimum temperature 29.3C Taza. First-ever record for hottest May night in Morocco.
Spain also records high minimums, breaking previous records: 23.2C Rota, 15.7C Lugo. https://t.co/XOyYtDhzyi
— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) May 25, 2026
China
China’s Grip on Rare Earths Continues Despite Trump-Xi Talks – OilPrice (Kevin W)
China Has Taken Over Another $5 Trillion Industry, and Europe Is Losing Jobs and Investment – Kevin Walmsley
China Now Controls 70% of Shipbuilding: Can the U.S. Make a Comeback? – Sal Mercogliano
India
Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S. Quad to Build a Port and Unveil Pact on Critical Minerals – Reuters
India’s Unusual $500bn Commitment in Trade Deal with the U.S. – Financial Times
‘My Head Spins with the Heat’: India’s Gig Workers Face Exhaustion Amid Soaring Temperatures – Guardian
India’s ‘King of Mangoes’ Crop Devastated, with Farmers Reporting Losses of 90% – Independent
Africa
African Nations Pursue Security Ties with Turkey Using the ‘Somalia Model’ – Middle East Eye
Landslide at Angola Illegal Gold Mine Results in 28 Fatalities – Reuters
Uganda Launches $1.8 Billion Water Rescue Plan to Combat Climate Challenges and Disease – Africa Business
European Disunion
Eurozone Issuers Turn to Non-Euro Debt in Search of New Investors – Financial Times. This reinforces the notion that the euro isn’t a viable reserve currency.
Europe Aims for Its Own Starlink but Faces Five Predicted Failures – Euractiv
France Records Hottest Day in May Ever: ‘It Was 30°C in the Classrooms This Afternoon’ – LeMonde. This is the lead story today.
Old Blighty
Tony Blair Urges Starmer and Rivals to Abandon Net Zero and Align Closer with Trump – Guardian (Kevin W). Is it time for him to step back from public life?
Blair Critiques Starmer’s Lack of a Clear Vision for Britain – Telegraph
Israel vs. The Resistance
Hebrew-Language Israeli Media Boasts About Buying Congress – Kevin Gosztola (Dr. Kevin)
Important news to consider:
What may be one of the worst pedophilia, rape, and sexual abuse scandals in Israeli history is shaking the West Bank settlement movement.
1) A Kan 11 investigation revealed a disturbing network of organized, pedophilic, and sadistic child abuse within the Gush Etzion settler bloc. Five women…
— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) May 26, 2026
Still relevant:
‼️ SHOCKING: Basque activists from the Freedom Flotilla to Palestine have been assaulted and detained by police at Bilbao Airport after arriving from Israel, where they had already been kidnapped, humiliated, and abused by Israeli forces.
In contrast, far-right provocateur Dani Esteve… pic.twitter.com/w0GmBvgVOH
— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) May 23, 2026
Israel Reports New Head of Hamas’ Military Wing Killed in Gaza City Strikes – BBC
New Not-So-Cold War
🕯 Starobelsk, LPR. May 22.
A Ukrainian terrorist attack claimed 21 young lives (most were girls born in 2006-2007) and left over 60 injured.
Unlike cowardly @BBC & @CNN, 51 dedicated journalists visited the site to witness the aftermath firsthand and interview witnesses.
This is what they observed. pic.twitter.com/20sPf8vxdg
— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) May 26, 2026
Mines on LPG Tanker Indicate a Dangerous New Front in the Baltic War – gCaptain
Turkiye Has Reportedly Proposed a Military Pipeline to Romania, Heightening Tensions with Russia – Andrew Korybko
Czech ‘Ammo Coalition’ for Ukraine Loses Support – RT (Kevin W)
People are losing their minds over this post, and it’s remarkable. https://t.co/GU20iUvHBS
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) May 26, 2026
Russia’s Relations with Its Neighbors Will Continue to Ebb and Flow – Vzglayd (Micael T)
Big Brother Is Monitoring You
‘BusPatrol’ Installs AI Cameras in Thousands of School Buses, Now Seeking Law Enforcement Access – 404 Media
California Seeks to Exempt Linux from Upcoming Age-Verification Law After Backlash – Tom’s Hardware
Imperial Collapse Watch
The Reserve Currency Trap: Mechanics of U.S. Industrial Erosion – Craig Tindale. A significant read.
The U.S.-Israel War on Iran: Analyzing Geopolitical Rivalry and Its Global Consequences – ChinaAffairs+1
Trump 2.0
Donald Trump’s Board of Peace Fund is Depleted – Financial Times. The archived link is not yet functional (a common occurrence with the FT, as they seem to only permit archiving after a story has been published for some time).
Trump Administration Proposes NDAs for All Federal Employees – Washington Post. An American expat observed:
We are effectively establishing a secret police force. Those in power seem either incapable or untrustworthy, reflecting a unique polarization. We are indeed in an age of extremes. I hope this will pass, akin to the McCarthy era, but nations can become entrapped in dysfunctional regimes for decades.
The Trump Administration Is Negotiating to Supply Weapons-Grade Plutonium to Energy Companies – CNN (Kevin W)
Exclusive Renderings Show Trump’s Name Accompanied by Presidential Seal in Penn Station Overhaul – Gothamist (Kevin W)
South Carolina Redistricting: Senate Moves Forward with New Map, Despite Trump’s Opposition – New York Times (Kevin W). In the past 24 hours, no new stories from the New York Times are appearing on archiving sites. Perhaps the Gray Lady has implemented a block?
Immigration
The Trump Administration’s Move to Restrict Legal Immigration – Economist. Coverage of this is generally subpar. 1. This action clearly contravenes existing statutes. 2. Trump failed to follow the necessary publication and 60-day comment period.
The U.S. Plans to Halt Immigration at ‘Sanctuary City’ Airports – DW
GOP Clown Car
Did Donald Trump Just Hand Texas Over to the Democrats? – Newsweek (Ann)
Paxton Survives Cornyn in Texas GOP Senate Runoff – The Hill
Supreme Court Developments
Judges Are Removed from Office for Actions Similar to Those of John Roberts and His Wife Over 16 Years – Christopher Armitage
Thomas and Alito Assert the Supreme Court Must Hear Florida’s Commercial Driving Case – The Hill
Economic Concerns
Intense Heat in Asia Will Contribute to Rising Gas Prices – Bloomberg
Consumer Credit Strain Mirrors the Great Recession – Michael Shedlock
AI Developments
A Market Bubble Could Burst if Enough Companies Report Similar Trends – Gary Marcus
Revenge of the Business Idiot – Ed Zitron
Google Escalates AI Mismanagement Issues – The Register
Pope Leo: The Wall and the Machine – The One Percent Rule
BREAKING: The federal government is targeting anti-AI and data center activists, formulating a new threat category: anti-tech violent extremism. Full article in replies. pic.twitter.com/Qn1TvETXOh
— Daniel Boguslaw (@DRBoguslaw) May 26, 2026
Trump Appoints Former Attorney General Bondi to White House AI Panel – Anadolu Agency
The Bezzle
How to Win a Nobel Prize Using Inaccurate Data – Joseph Francis (Micael T)
I perused all 277 pages of SpaceX’s IPO filing so you don’t have to.
700% increase in losses. Revenue is slowing down. 107x price-to-sales ratio.
It’s a catastrophe. Full breakdown available below 👇 https://t.co/Ta4KNI0DLh
— Ed Elson (@edels0n) May 26, 2026
SpaceX IPO Forces Changes to Index and Underwriting Rules – Forbes (Micael T)
Enhanced Games Faces Drastic Stock Decline as Investors Withdraw After Launch Event – News.com.au (Micael T)
⚠️ The AI DEBT BUBBLE is significantly large:
Record $794 billion in U.S. investment-grade bond issuance year-to-date, a 20% increase compared to last year, marking the strongest start to any year. Total issuance could exceed $2 trillion for the entire year based on Goldman Sachs’ projections. pic.twitter.com/eUPpA91Fl0
— Global Markets Investor (@GlobalMktObserv) May 26, 2026
States Allowing Semi-Trucks to Pull Three Trailers – Jalopnik (resilc)
Class Warfare
The Disconnection Between Wall Street and Main Street – Seeking Alpha (resilc: “Refer to paycheck-to-paycheck income chart.”)
As U.S. Stock Market Reaches New Highs, 66% of Americans Are Reducing Their Spending – Associated Press (Kevin W)
Uber and Lyft Drivers in Massachusetts Form First U.S. Ride-Share Union – Reuters (Kevin W)
Antidote du Jour
And here’s a bonus:
Mama pig and her piglet going outside for the first time after being rescued from an abusive owner pic.twitter.com/mxezOmWLZv
— Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) May 26, 2026
A second bonus:
Elephants sheltering their caretaker from the rain 🐘❤️ pic.twitter.com/XOyFRxgGHC
— Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) May 26, 2026
And a third:
Kitty knows where to go to get groomed pic.twitter.com/dsJWqSN9DC
— Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) May 26, 2026
For more information, see yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
