Woodpeckers use tennis player’s ‘grunt’ trick to drill holes in trees, study finds
Social identification with team increases fans’ social well-being EurekAlert
Does visiting an art gallery lower your stress levels and improve your health? Smithsonian Magazine
Climate/Environment
Auroras dazzle as far as the Gulf Coast as massive solar storms disrupt Earth’s balanced weather
Carbon emissions could hit record in 2025, key temperature threshold reached within four years: Study Straits Times
Evil alchemy injects lead into the veins of Zambian children
pandemic
Student attendance and illness
The government and media appear to believe that the significant increase in student absenteeism compared to pre-pandemic levels is primarily due to truancy.
They don’t seem to believe that the disease is really on the rise.
So let’s take a closer look at the data… 🔎 pic.twitter.com/xvHkQZR05G
— Cat in the Hat 🐈⬛ 🎩 🇬🇧 (@_CatintheHat) November 12, 2025
Japan
A look at Japan’s growing coldness with China over Taiwan
Stagflation creates policy dilemma, conflict between Takaichi and the Bank of Japan Japan Economy Watch
Japan and Europe collaborate to support Taiwan Intellinews
China?
European carmakers face ‘catastrophic’ chip crisis as Nexperia supply shortage persists FT
What is the $13 billion Bitcoin hack that China blames the US for? first post
China buys more Brazilian soybeans as US purchases slow Farmers Advance
🇨🇳🇺🇸China formulates plan to prevent US military from acquiring rare earth magnets
China reportedly plans to ease the flow of rare earths and other restricted substances into the United States by introducing a “verified end user” (VEU) regime that excludes companies with ties to the United States. pic.twitter.com/Q5ozBfJIuT
—CN Wire (@Sino_Market) November 11, 2025
India
President Putin will visit India on December 5 to deepen ties, says Business Standard, organizer of the Russia-India Forum.
syrakistan
Rescue teams unearth more than 50 bodies buried in shallow graves in a courtyard at Gaza City clinic drop site
Israeli crowd applauds soldier accused of raping Palestinian prisoner Middle East Eye
US to build concentration camp for Palestinians in Israeli-controlled Gaza ‘cradle’
Navy considers 10,000-person base near Gaza without US troops Bloomberg
President Trump formally asks Israeli president to ‘fully pardon’ Netanyahu over Haaretz corruption scandal
Israel is building a ‘land-grabbing wall’ deep in southern Lebanon as airstrikes continue New Arab
“The Terrorist in the White House” Patrick Lawrence “The Serpent Master”
discord in europe
European Finances and the Vicious Geopolitical Cycle German Institute for International Security Affairs
IMF calls for fundamental reform of European welfare state WSWS
Far-right cheers as von der Leyen’s party leaves centrist coalition over green rules Politico
Far-right AfD leader suggests Poland is as big a threat to Germany as Russia Memo from Poland
A new war that’s not so cold war
The scandal that could bring down Volodymyr Zelensky The Spectator
As I said, NABU, which rebelled against Zelenskiy’s cronies, is the US agent in Ukraine: “NABU detectives met with new FBI agents in connection with the Mindić case, sources say. Yesterday, detectives from Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Service met with new FBI officials, who… pic.twitter.com/vKjqH1nu6d
— Ivan Katchanovski (@I_Katchanovski) November 12, 2025
How far will the Ukraine corruption scandal go?Andrew Korybko
Germany pumps more money into Ukraine’s corruption-plagued energy sector RT
Norway considers sovereign fund collateral for EU’s 140 billion euro loan to Ukraine, reports Intellinews
Germany inches closer to agreement on controversial military service, but doubts remain Euronews
Gas gangrene patient returns to Ukraine due to World War I trench warfare The Telegraph
Russia officially introduces a new branch of the national army, “Unmanned Systems Army Simplicius”
TED POSTOL: Burevestnik missiles and Poseidon torpedoes, what we know Daniel Davis / Deep Dive (Video)
Africa
Sudan relief mission on the verge of collapse, UN agency warns Associated Press
Caucasus
Speculation of sabotage and projectiles rises as Turkey investigates military plane crash Turkey Minutes
south of the border
Exclusive: Britain suspends some information sharing with US over boat strike concerns on breakout CNN. When we lost Britain (if the reports are true).
Russia denies Venezuela’s request for military aid, rejects US justification for drug war Brazil de Fato
Venezuelan Immigration Anti-Empire Project
Argentina’s $870 million increase in IMF holdings hints at US aid Buenos Aires Times
Lafaire Epstein
Epstein email says Trump ‘knew girls’, but White House says release would smear Democrats Associated Press
More House Republicans consider defying Trump in upcoming Epstein file votes NOTUS
Epstein geopolitics is undiplomatic
Trump 2.0
ICE, National Guard deployment is just beginning Ken Klippenstein
According to CBS News, these Wall Street titans are expected to attend President Trump’s White House dinner tonight. last night.
5 Questions for IRS CEO Frank Bisignano Can we still govern?
BREAKING NEWS: Justice Department suggests CFPB funding could expire in early 2026 in legal opinion acknowledging Fed losses Blocking payments to Consumer Financial Services Act watchdogs
***
President Trump calls for hiring record number of foreign workers in 2025 The Hill Organization
Trump doubles plan for 600,000 Chinese student visas despite MAGA backlash FOX News
“Liberation Day”
US Treasury Secretary says there will be “significant” tariff relief on coffee and banana prices Anadolu Agency
Today’s Chart: Most of the talk about critical minerals in the U.S. is about rare earths, but there’s something much more important going on.
President Trump’s tariffs have pushed the total cost of aluminum in the U.S. to record levels as traders and smelters demand huge in-kind rewards on top of LME prices. pic.twitter.com/kxoE9BNVcs
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) November 12, 2025
shutdown trading
The lever that closure agreements destroy food safety regulations
Duffy brings FAA’s frozen flight reduction plan to 6% The Hill
Maha
I’m a doctor who went to the biggest rally of the anti-vaccination movement. More colleagues should also STAT
Vance and RFK Jr. interact with healthcare executives and influencers at DC MAHA Summit “The Hill.” Public and media access is prohibited.
Deshabille Democratic Party
Governor Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff has been arrested in the Sacramento Bee’s FBI public corruption investigation. Federal authorities reportedly contacted Newsom for her assistance in the investigation.
Progressive Wilson on the verge of victory in fierce Seattle mayoral race
police state surveillance
Fullerton police stop man who pointed gun at female driver, later found to be ICE agent Los Angeles Times
imperial collapse watch
The Dark Crusade of “Little” Wars The Realist Review
History of Violence PROTEAN Magazine
Should war heroes be deported? The complex dilemma surrounding convicted veterans. Christian Science Monitor
“Nuremberg”: Can you diagnose evil? Today’s Medpage
A.I.
Exclusive: Here’s how much OpenAI spends on inference and its revenue share with Microsoft Edward Zitron
The ecological costs of AI are much higher than you think Truthdig
According to the 2025 World Energy Outlook, natural gas will “dominate” the power supply for data centers in the United States. pic.twitter.com/mSTNFvHO6x
— Richard Meyer (@RichardMeyerDC) November 12, 2025
Data centers at Nvidia’s headquarters sit idle waiting for power Bloomberg
economy
Auto loan delinquencies are occurring one after another. Here’s what to do if you’re late. Yahoo! finance
Mr. Market Soaring Blind
White House says October employment and inflation data may not be released due to CNBC shutdown
Dow score ends above 48,000 for the first time, buoyed by expectations for end of government shutdown CNBC
class war
Stocks are not salvation Hamilton Nolan
Notice how they tell us to hate SNAP recipients, but they never hate the people who incorporate SNAP subsidies into their low-wage business models. That’s because business owners also pay professional propagandists to tell them who to hate. pic.twitter.com/1VRewxixDc
— Russell Dobular (@russelldobular) November 12, 2025
Rising premature deaths are preventing Americans from reaching Medicare eligibility age, study finds
Meditation in the hinterland of Cannoli Hickman
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