Dogs trained to illegally dump garbage, Italian authorities say BBC (Paul R)
I always get nervous when driving near tank trucks.
A vivid and horrifying scene just before the explosion of a liquefied gas tanker in Lenca, Chile.
Please don’t run away. When I’m driving, I hear a loud thud.pic.twitter.com/eF89063lQ5
— Volcaholic🌋 (@volcaholic1) February 20, 2026
A cult deprogrammer who needed deprogramming Minority Report (resilc)
A new era in biology: A historic shift from life research to engineering Big Think
Plastic surgeon adds more drama to Olympic ‘penisgate’ with injection claims New York Post (Michael T.)
The latest skincare trend is to apply salmon sperm to your face. The Verge This seems ridiculous. Although sperm contains large amounts of growth factors, they do not penetrate the skin. It may brighten your skin a bit, but it’s unlikely to have a significant effect unless it’s combined with another procedure, such as microneedling, to reach deeper into the dermis. Michael T. said, “Pig vagrants are ranked number 10 in the Crap Jobs Idler Book. I wonder what the life of a salmon vagrant is like.”
New coronavirus infection/pandemic
Covid Coloring Book (Paul R)
Although the coronavirus pandemic has been going on for a long time, the myth that it is “over” still persists. people are still getting #LongCovid After reinfection. A woman: After contracting COVID-19 for the third time in 2025, she became housebound with severe fatigue and heart problems. Vaccination, air and mask disinfection.pic.twitter.com/R4BWC7fKWk
— Eric Feigl Ding (@DrEricDing) February 20, 2026
Earth’s climate Energy imbalance Runaway state
Earth Energy Imbalance Until December 2025 by Leon Simmons
Much worse than doubling in the last 20 years.
Increased by 3.8 times in the past 20 years
Increase in acceleration rate coincides with the last two El Niños
El Nino phenomenon is predicted… pic.twitter.com/JwqfwPuikX
— Peter D. Carter (@PCarterClimate) February 21, 2026
More than 70 tigers killed by virus in northern Thailand park The Strait Times (Michael T)
Climate/Environment
Number of Americans reporting experiencing extreme cold increases, AP-NORC poll shows Associated Press (Kevin W)
MIT Earth Model (2008) High emissions scenario 7.6°C
IPCC AR5 WG3 (2014) High emissions range including all “uncertainties” up to 7.8 °C in 2100. Currently, the IPCC says 4.4 °C. Science denies risks to our future and planet
#climatechange #global warming pic.twitter.com/VJUXTUQ11j
— Peter D. Carter (@PCarterClimate) February 21, 2026
Amidst this unusual winter wave, we had another record-warm night.
Min 13.6C Pyanj Tajikistan
hottest winter night ever
In Kyrgyzstan, almost all broadcasters, including domestic ones, broke such records.
Monthly extreme temperatures reach up to +8°C above normal. https://t.co/zEntCQCHtv
— Abnormal temperatures around the world (@extremetemps) February 21, 2026
EPA eases mercury regulations from coal-fired power plants The New York Times
China?
IMF lashes out at the Chinese model, with its own credibility in tatters Asia Times (Kevin W) I hate to put on my critical thinking hat here, but first of all, the purpose of this article is inhumane and therefore logically invalid. Second, the IMF’s research department is independent from the neoliberal program side and regularly publishes findings that run counter to mainstream economic thinking, such as that imposing austerity when economies are weak has negative fiscal multipliers (e.g., worsening the fetishized debt-to-GDP ratio) and that financialization beyond very modest levels has negative effects on growth.
China’s Agriculture and Rural Development Priorities in 2026 USDA (Robin K)
China Peptide China Talk
Africa
Decolonization III: Africa is back. Part 1 Jeff Rich
discord in europe
Why the EU won’t let anti-Trump trade pad Euractiv take hold
Adults of Room Valdai Club (Michael T.). More on the aftermath of the Munich Security Conference.
Live: Macron calls for ‘calm’ as France gears up for memorial for far-right activist France 24
Poland’s conservative opposition has good reason to reject huge arms loan from EU Andrew Korkubuko
France surprised by European Commission peace committee appearance Reuters (resil)
old blighty
How did Starmer survive, and perhaps will survive Global Affairs again? Michael T.: “It looks like a cockroach.”
Here’s how the monarchy survived the influence of Andrew Telegraph
British police seek information from former protection staff for King’s brother Andrew Reuters (Kevin W)
israel vs resistance
US special envoy Mike Huckabee says it’s ‘no problem’ for Israel to occupy all the land in the Middle East Guardian (Kevin W)
This is very evil! Israel plans to transform Gaza into a “cashless society” in which the IDF has complete control over who can access electronic money, how much can be transacted with whom, and who will starve to death.
This will be the ultimate tool for intimidation and appeasement of journalists… pic.twitter.com/LZa1pQXiBF
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) February 20, 2026
How the U.S. government sabotaged Genocide Convention mandates against Israel — and how to get back on track Sam Husseini
US withdraws hundreds of troops from Qatar and Bahrain amid tensions with Iran: Anadolu Agency report
This is called lynching. Yesterday, a Palestinian-American teenager was lynched by a mob of Israeli settlers, yet American politicians remained completely silent. pic.twitter.com/cQrUCdLkK9
— Linda Mamoun (@mamoun_linda) February 19, 2026
* * *
White House drama pending decision to attack Iran Larry Johnson
Air Power, Coercion, and Fantasy: What Past Operations Tell Us About America’s Air War Against Iran Kautilya the Contemplator
War against Iran Scott Ritter (Michael T.). Ritter is much better when forcing himself to put pen to paper than when he’s doing it aloud on YouTube.
White House overconfident on Iran and oil prices Bloomberg
A new war that’s not so cold war
Notice❗️
As long as Ukraine blocks the Friendship oil pipeline, Hungary will block the 90 billion euro war loan to Ukraine.
Don’t be intimidated! https://t.co/84SUrMU4Em
— Viktor Orban (@PM_ViktorOrban) February 20, 2026
Iskander missile factory comes under attack deep inside Russia’s Udmurt Kiev base
Four years later, Russia continues to pay the price for its deadly miscalculation in Ukraine CNN
big brother is watching over you
France abolishes Zoom and Team YouTube (resilc)
Approximately 700,000 user details may have been exposed in Substack breach Online Tech Republic (resilc)
imperial collapse watch
Multipolar delusional diplomacy
Supremes vs. Trump Tariffs
Read: Supreme Court ruling on Trump tariffs The Hill
US Supreme Court rejects President Trump’s international tariffs Bloomberg
President Trump’s tariffs: U.S. Supreme Court rules President Trump’s large tariffs illegal Financial Times
Supreme Court invalidates tariffs ScotusBlog
Don’t be fooled by corrupt courts’ tariff decisions Josh Marshall
Understanding Tariffs by Steve Vladeck. Note that Vladeck, who is on the SCOTUS beat, does not agree with Marshall.
The winners and losers of the SCOTUS decision to eliminate tariffs Barry Ritholtz. While helpful, I don’t think this loss will help the dollar that much. Emancipation Day was a great demonstration of President Trump’s all-out commitment. The sale of dollar assets, especially stocks, caused the dollar to collapse. His continued recklessness and unpredictability means foreign investors should still assign a risk premium to the US, which means lower prices.
President Trump introduces new 10% tariffs as Supreme Court rejects his global import tax BBC (Kevin W) We have repeatedly pointed out that while President Trump has powers to authorize tariffs beyond IEEPA, none are as broad and flexible as this one.
What will happen to President Trump’s tariffs after the Supreme Court’s ruling? Council on Foreign Relations. It was published after President Trump imposed 10% tariffs, which can only be maintained for five months.
Trump: “I’m allowed to cut off all trade… I can destroy trade, I can destroy countries. I’m even allowed to impose embargoes that destroy foreign countries… I can do whatever I want to them… I’m allowed to destroy countries, but I can’t charge them any fees.” pic.twitter.com/LZQLJQueuI
— Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) February 20, 2026
Most Americans support the Supreme Court striking down President Trump’s tariffs YouGov
Trump 2.0
11 million visitors short: Inside America’s continuing tourism recession New York Times (resilc)
How Trump Violated the Bourgeoisie’s Unherd
There is only one way to eradicate Trumpism for a good new republic. resilc echoed Rob Urey’s just-published post, which said: “Obomba started this destructive loop without any Iraq war crimes or financial fraud in 2007/08.”
Mapping Christian Nationalism Across All 50 States: Insights from PRRI’s 2025 American Values Atlas YouTube (Robin K)
ICE Rampage
Hundreds of students suspended, schools under scrutiny for anti-ICE strike The Hill
Shutdown helps Democrats by changing what ‘immigrant’ means to voters G. Elliott Morris
Lafaire Epstein
🧵1/5 Embedded within the Epstein files is something far more sinister than the blackmail network, and just as sinister. What documents reveal is a worldview. A coherent, funded, institutionally embedded worldview of what humans are, what they are worth, and who benefits. pic.twitter.com/x6QCZJglop
— Dr. Roger McFillin (@DrMcFillin) February 19, 2026
Our press is no longer free
As readers know, I have negative favoritism towards Israel. But what Tucker complains about is the standard treatment of foreigners leaving Ben-Gurion. In 1997 (I was there for a day and a half on a business meeting with an Israeli bank), I was warned to arrive at least 2 hours before departure because I would get a lot of attention (this was back in the day when there were a lot less stupid procedures and you could get away with an hour if the only international flights were airlines, and that was my status). The young female soldier kept asking me the same questions, like why I was there and who I had met. She showed me a copy of my itinerary and even called one of the names listed there to confirm my claim.
BREAKING: Footage of Tucker Carlson at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport has been released (see below).
He was not detained and merely carried out routine processing. Here he is seen smiling and hugging airport staff in a VIP lounge, which contradicts his account.
Why does this happen… pic.twitter.com/NQH4Zk6wiu
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) February 19, 2026
If you listen closely, Tucker below says that it was the two producers who went to Tel Aviv who were given full degrees upon departure. Tucker and the others were probably free to separate, but they all wanted to leave together.
🇺🇸🇮🇱Tucker Carlson on interrogation in Israel: “That was the strangest experience of my life.”pic.twitter.com/aFJb53auBE https://t.co/fSR2aYGFAS
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) February 20, 2026
police state surveillance
People arrested for drunk driving across the country WSMV 4 Nashville, YouTube
make children suffer
West Virginia sues Apple over child sexual abuse material stored and shared on iCloud Guardian (resilc)
Mr. Zuckerberg takes a stand Caleb Ecarna
A.I.
Semantic Ablation: Why AI Writing Is Boring and Dangerous The Register. resilc: “If AI were to examine everything and undo it, wouldn’t we all have learned from GIGO?????”
OpenAI hardware device leaks, scaring futurists
Digital blackface flourishes under Trump and AI: ‘States are bending reality’ Guardian (Kevin W)
class war
70% of Argentina union members go on strike — 96% of Chattanooga VW workers approve contract — Pitt students protest hiring of Border Patrol agent Mike Elk
Is it possible to develop tests that don’t rely on tutors?Daisy Christodoulou
Antidote (via):
Click here for yesterday’s link and Antidote du Jour.
And bonus (Gust):
🤔Вывел на пенсию とзавёл скотину… pic.twitter.com/kU9nbrRbG7
— МаИ (@ivanjvsivan) February 11, 2026
