When Cities Overtake States Alice Evans (Michael T.)
Discovery from 110,000 years ago rewrites human history: Neanderthals and Homo sapiens worked together Science Daily (Kevin W)
Nouns, verbs and tokens: how linguistic hygiene enables new rights Stephen Newberry
Perspective: The conflict of facing the devil (Michael T.)
COVID-19 pandemic
The total number of food-borne infections in the U.S. exceeded 1,700 last week. ⬆️
The number of food-related infections in the United States has increased by 43, bringing the total number of infections to 1,714. The U.S. is on pace to surpass last year’s total intake by summer.
Read more: https://t.co/Q8LBmmYK6n
Map source: CDC pic.twitter.com/eQSD5VQUSR
— CIDRAP (@CIDRAP) April 10, 2026
Climate/Environment
The world is about two inches away from hitting a wall at full speed, but most people can’t see it hitting the wall. There is an impending energy shortage in some parts of the world, and prices in the rest are rising significantly. The battle for the physical barrel began. pic.twitter.com/vZM9sal1Cj
— Eric Nuttall (@ericnuttall) April 13, 2026
Are we headed for a ‘Super El Niño’? And what to expect? Guardian
How the wildlife trade is fueling disease outbreaks around the world The Washington Post
Red List Warning: Emperor penguins and Antarctic fur seals are ‘endangered species’ Marine magazine
A new study has uncovered a “canary in the coal mine.” #AMOC: Consistent decline in the western overturning circulation, from 20 to 15 Sv at 26°N between 2004 and 2023.
AMOC is “at or near a critical tipping point that could lead to collapse.” https://t.co/p0Et40Uwro
— Professor Stefan Rahmstorf 🌏 🦣 (@rahmstorf) April 9, 2026
Central Asia lacks enough water for spring planting, creating new crisis Jamestown
China?
🚨 BREAKING NEWS: China’s new law on AI anthropomorphism has been officially enacted. This is the strictest law in the world on this subject.
As I wrote earlier this year, to my knowledge there is no AI law anywhere in the world that regulates anthropomorphic AI systems in such detail. pic.twitter.com/M96EKBWDuq
— Dr. Luiza Jarovsky (@LuizaJarovsky) April 13, 2026
South Korea
North Korea’s new destroyer challenges the superiority of the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class ships Military Overview
India
India shares alarming plans for transboundary river dams with Bangladesh
India considers snakes and crocodiles for border duty along Sabah daily in Bangladesh
Africa
Ethiopia rations fuel, prioritizes major vehicles as war shortages hit Iran
Senegalese protesters rally over cost of living and debt crisis Africa News
discord in europe
France is on the eve of voting on one of the most shameful laws in history. It effectively outlaws criticism of Israel and criminalizes any speech deemed to be even remotely sympathetic to those whom the French government has chosen to label as a “terrorist group.”
In effect, this law…
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) April 13, 2026
Irish troops mobilize to break blockade of fuel depot Sky
We met fuel protesters and those supporting them on the streets of Dublin, but our leaders still don’t get it Guardian (resilc)
old blighty
Fewer than 10 large-scale protests planned over Iran war’s cost-of-living crisis Telegraph. We still have a close relationship from late last week.
Former NATO chief warns UK national security ‘at risk’ BBC
Under British media blackout, Britain aims to imprison Palestinians on charges of ‘terrorism’ Gray Zone (Garst)
Democracy country in Iran arrests 523 more people for peaceful protest Council Estate Media
israel vs resistance
And just like that… Hehe, there it is. of @ICJ_org Millions of us will finally take control of what we already knew: Israel committed genocide. Now let’s take a look at the bastard in the dock @Netanyahu to @TSmotrich & @BenGvirItamar https://t.co/KIRTE7H4AG
— Yvonne Ridley 4 Glasgow (@yvonneridley) April 13, 2026
‘Total collapse’ looms – Gaza’s bread system on the brink as flour disappears to protect democracy
Mossad’s 007 further disrupts matters between the US and Israel at the expense of others Olivier Boyd-Barrette
>Hezbollah continues its rapid attacks. 4 more in the last 30 minutes.
>Reports that an occupation evacuation helicopter was spotted leaving Lebanon.
>The UK Maritime Trade Operations Office (UKMTO) has been advised that this will come into effect from 14:00 UTC on 13 April 2026. pic.twitter.com/x7neR1MR5A
— Barry from NED (@bonzerbarry) April 13, 2026
Israeli forces attack UNIFIL again.
UNIFIL Press Statement (April 12, 2026)
Two incidents were recorded today where IDF soldiers rammed UNIFIL vehicles with Merkava tanks, one of which caused significant damage. Soldiers also blocked roads in Al Bayada… https://t.co/FwuB7GXshM
— courtneybonneauimages (@cbonneauimages) April 12, 2026
Cruel and Stupid Lockdown Daniel Larison
Kevin W. correctly called Stavridis a “professional idiot”:
Utter stupidity. China will respond by blocking rare earths.
And the idea that the situation for the allies will not get worse is ridiculous.
You obviously don’t understand how world markets work. Hint: Notice that WTIC is also rising. https://t.co/8N1UcagXXr
— Mike “Mish” Shedlock (@MishGEA) April 12, 2026
🇷🇺Russian political strategist Pavel Dubravsky shared a meaningful graphic:
🇺🇸 Photos of U.S. members of Congress highlight in red those who receive funding from the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC.
324 of the 435 members of parliament are controlled by Israel, which means… pic.twitter.com/eHKpL9Lho5
— Alexei the Great🇷🇺🎖 (@aleksthgrt) April 13, 2026
A new war that’s not so cold war
Russia is preparing a major spring offensive on Slovyansk History Legends, YouTube
Bank of Russia objects to EU TASS asset freeze
Russian Navy intercepts boarding of Estonia’s ‘shadow fleet’ Andrew Korivko
Inquiries and negotiations underway regarding supply of petroleum products from Indonesia and Russia Interfax
imperial collapse watch
Has multilateralism reached a dead end? Could international organizations become collateral damage to the Iran war? conversation
Disdain for Israel and the entire Western Empire Caitlin Johnston (resilc)
Trump 2.0
Trump faces backlash over AI image depicting Jesus, truth behind AI image showing Trump as Jesus the Hill Social post deleted
Fasting Supper: President Trump unusually defends ‘blasphemous’ statue of Jesus while carrying two McDonald’s bags outside Oval Office Daily Mail
Avid Trump supporters are now questioning whether he is the Antichrist. resilc: “At least do an internship with him.”
First Lady Granted Access to DHS Luxury Jet with Bedroom, Bar and Shower Originally Associated with Deportation Los Angeles Times (Dr. Kevin)
MAGA is winning the battle against American science Paul Krugman
economy
The mysterious variable that explains stubbornly low consumer sentiment G. Elliott Morris (Michael T.). important.
Fox26 rate of increase accelerates, average new car price nears $50,000 (Kevin W). Wolf Richter warned that used car prices are the canary for inflation in the coal mine.
Economic shock from Middle East war casts shadow over IMF/World Bank Reuters meeting (Kevin W)
Raw material procurement bottlenecks increase risk of drug shortages in the U.S.: Fierce Pharma report
Global supply chains thrown into turmoil by month-long Middle East conflict
This is not the oil shock foreign policy of the 1970s.
The United States is not as “energy independent” as people think.
Yes, we export energy.
Yes, a lot of oil is produced.
Still, when the Gulf region sneezes, U.S. gas prices still rise.
why?
That’s because U.S. refineries are built for heavy, sour crude oil, whereas shale produces light crude oil.
— Qassem Al Ali (@AlaliQasem) April 13, 2026
The Law of One Price Market – How Donald Bombed Energy Consumers Antiwar.com (Kevin W)
Price hikes are coming: Why you need to stock up on food and consumer goods this week. Preparedness and politics. I can’t predict the situation in the US, but I don’t think panic buying of groceries is coming as quickly as he thinks, especially in the US. It seems unlikely that the U.S. will face a naphtha, or even plastics, shortage anytime soon. Even with severe fuel price increases just weeks away, little of that is happening here. There are very selective signs of plastic shortages, such as large foreigner-friendly local grocery stores having to change some of the packaging they use for food prepared in-store. I think it will be May before it really gets here. If that happens, you’ll especially miss yogurt. It’s been a daily necessity since I was 17 years old. Milk is also delivered in plastic, so it’s not always easy to get enough milk to make it yourself.
I also suspect he is buying too much pudding in anticipation of pre-hurricane shelf clearance purchases. Most people would liken it to the coronavirus, where shortages were selective (toilet paper, beef, eggs, but not because of the coronavirus, but because of mass chicken culling). They may not have anticipated that there would be a shortage of a particular item (for example, baby diapers) that would be very inconvenient for consumers. Fresh fruits and vegetables may be in short supply in the United States and rationed based on price. I have no idea about other food categories.
His list oddly omits some items like vinegar and pickles (which are the bulk of my pantry staples, pickled red cabbage, kale, and beets). He doesn’t really like frozen food either. Now that I have a large quantity of frozen eel, I would like to have some wild-caught smoked salmon trims frozen for me. You can buy it by the kilo and it’s surprisingly cheap for that price. I also stocked up on frozen spinach and berries, lots of coffee (you can freeze it for a year), and nuts and seeds instead of nut butter. I agree with him about beans and oatmeal, Lotta’s canned beans, shelf-stable lime juice, salsa, canned tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes for fun. I also kept eating canned fish (low mercury tuna and salmon), whey protein, and powdered bone broth, which is good for protein as well as collagen. However, since I eat more nutritional supplements than food, I am actively purchasing supplements even more than usual. And don’t forget other household items like detergents, shampoos, and soaps that are shipped in plastic that can be difficult to obtain (I think they’re in Asia, but I’m not sure about the US at all).
A.I.
Claude Mythos rates Gary Marcus
Talking about Chinese mythology and state power
OpenAI staff was horrified when senior leadership hatched an “insane” plan to pit world governments against each other (Kevin W)
I think all futures are lies: Safety Aphyr (Paul R)
They cloned her voice and claimed her songs | AI music scams use copyright law as a weapon to attack recording culture of real artists (Micael T)
The AI Dwemer have developed a radical ideology. Now their supporters are acting on it. Jordan Schachtel (Michael T.)
basil
How President Trump blew $1 billion on Bitcoin Forbes
Bankers reject White House claim that stablecoin yields do not threaten deposits Coindesk
class war
Organic Intellectuals and the Undiplomatic Toilet Paper Fire (Michael T.). It’s a must read. I’m surprised this kind of thing has lasted this long.
Crime is not a moral failure – it is the output of a system William Murphy (Michael T.)
Democracy is not about the ballot box: it’s about controlling what we produce and who owns it William Murphy (Michael T.)
As U.S. automakers and unions pull out of Brazil, so do Chinese automakers and sometimes slave-like conditions Mike Elk
The Manosphere fills the void created by neoliberalism, which has been largely ignored by progressive Bill Mitchell (Alan S.). Since last month, I’m still speaking German.
The severity of the collapse was related to the relatively good distribution of wealth during the Soviet era. When the oligarchy took over everything, the people fell into poverty. The good news for the United States is that the top 10% of income earners are already highly unequal…
— Ryan Grimm (@ryangrim) April 13, 2026
An immediate antidote. John U: “Desert bighorn sheep gamble in a slot canyon on the upper Colorado River.”
And bonus:
How special this moment is! pic.twitter.com/Ls2NBWw9PE
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) April 12, 2026
Second bonus:
The older brother picks up a ball from the sea because the younger brother is afraid of waves. 🤗🤗 pic.twitter.com/zLrqDhcp2Y
— The Figen (@TheFigen_) April 12, 2026
And third:
Tigers are solitary animals and prefer large amounts of personal space. Lions are clingy and social animals. They love Tiger’s personal space. pic.twitter.com/KpdBwRlWN0
— Positive aspects of X 🌞 (@positivityofx) April 12, 2026
Click here for yesterday’s link and Antidote du Jour.
