Christmas at the End of the World: The Strange Charm of Festive Apocalypse Film and TV The Conversation
How owl leftovers became the perfect home for ancient bees Phys.org
Andersen’s $176 Million Comeback: The Ghost of Enron Just Revealed Guru Focus
Climate/Environment
Why Earth’s strangest sea level changes are happening off the coast of Japan CNN
Category “6” tropical cyclone hotspots are increasing Phys.org
Trump administration announces plans to dismantle National Center for Atmospheric Research and close famed Mesa Institute Balance Weather
The country’s largest magnesium producer has gone bankrupt. Who will clean up the $100 million mess? grist
pandemic
The Lancet: The threat of a new coronavirus pandemic Bird flu diary
Blamed for historic U.S. food outbreak, West Texas Mennonites harden view on vaccines Texas Tribune
Pam Bondi dismisses charges against surgeon who forged vaccine cards. It has encouraged others to file similar lawsuits. propublica
How China is preparing for the next pandemic ChinaTalk
China?
Exclusive: How China built a ‘Manhattan Project’ to compete with the West with AI chips Reuters
US announces $11.1 billion arms sale to Taiwan Focus Taiwan
syrakistan
800 Days of Genocide in Gaza Andy Worthington
Prime Minister Netanyahu approves $35 billion natural gas export deal to Egypt, largest in Israeli history Associated Press
Germany signs second $3.1 billion Arrow missile contract with Israeli Calcalist
UAE revealed as secret buyer in $2.3 billion Israeli Elbit Systems arms deal New Arab
The Trump-Netanyahu split: Israel’s solution to Trump’s pressure – “Let’s fail his Gaza plan” Conflict Forum
🇮🇱🇺🇸🇮🇷|New: WP quotes Israeli and US officials confirming US-Iran talks are a ruse to attack Iran
U.S. and Israeli officials encouraged media coverage as if there was a “rift” between Israel and the United States in order to mislead public opinion that war would not occur. pic.twitter.com/6pfBWNprgT
— Aria – آریا (@AryJeay) December 18, 2025
Killing the “brain trust”: How Israel targeted Iranian nuclear scientists WaPo
The Shortest Path to Zionism: A Network Analysis of the U.S. Nonprofit Industrial Complex University of Michigan
old blighty
After the turmoil of the Johnson administration, I had hoped that the election would restore normalcy to relations between the government and the Intelligence and Security Committee, but this is a damning comment on the state of intelligence oversight that has never appeared in an ISC report before. pic.twitter.com/Zr95EHogM6
—Andrew Defty (@adefty) December 15, 2025
A British outsider talks about dirty British Inter and more Alabama Moon
Police chief admits arrests will be made for chanting “Make the Intifada global” after the Bondi Beach attack LBC
‘The clock is ticking’: Starmer tells Roman Abramovich to transfer Chelsea sale proceeds to Ukrainian fund The Independent
discord in europe
US threatens top European companies, EU remains silent Politico
Palantir responded 👇 to my post about their contract with French intelligence, as expected, with lots of lies and gaslighting.
Their main argument seems to be that “there is nothing wrong with it. The French are very happy with the evidence and keep updating it.”
This is completely false. The facts are… https://t.co/FSq1WaSiEp
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) December 18, 2025
Portugal stagnates due to general strike, defends Marxism
Mercosur protests: Thousands of tractors descend on Brussels to block parliament and von der Leyen Euro Weekly News
***
Live. ‘We will not leave without a solution’: EU leaders decide on funding for Ukraine Euronews
Ian Proud, the greatest bank robber in history
Putin attacks Europe with most feared weapon…his lawyer: EU proposal to use Russia’s frozen assets could be defeated as leaders fear they could be forced to repay post-war funds Daily Mail
victory for @PatriotsEU: Brussels side withdraws, Russian assets will not be on the agenda at tomorrow’s meeting #EUCO. The European Commission is currently promoting co-financing, but it does not intend to burden families with the cost of the Ukraine war. It is not subject to our monitoring. pic.twitter.com/NlMbOoXrjB
— Viktor Orban (@PM_ViktorOrban) December 17, 2025
A new war that’s not so cold war
President Putin and Belousov address the Ministry of Defense Council Karl Sanchez
As the conflict between Europe and Russia intensifies, President Putin announces the deployment of a powerful new deterrent, with the Oleshnik missile system expected to enter combat within the next two weeks. pic.twitter.com/aFw9T67778
—Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) December 17, 2025
Drone attack on tanker in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don port
‼ ️🇷🇺 Big news – Russia’s shadow fleet is protected by military personnel, says Swedish naval operations commander
▪️Uniformed soldiers and armed men, believed to be employees of a private military company, were found on a Russian oil tanker operating in violation of regulations. pic.twitter.com/KT63wxkhju
— Visioner (@visionergeo) December 17, 2025
Zoomer school stabbing incident in Ukraine
south of the border
President Trump announces complete naval blockade of Venezuela’s ‘sanctioned’ Simplicius oil exports
Notice how the U.S. government’s propaganda discourse has changed.
First, the Trump administration claimed that it was waging war on Venezuela because of drugs, which is an outright lie (the US is supporting some of the worst drug traffickers in Latin America).
Now they admit this is actually Venezuela’s fault… https://t.co/pSoGQi3Ivk
— Ben Norton (@BenjaminNorton) December 18, 2025
***
Analyzing President Trump’s Venezuela claims: The oil case behind Forbes’ rhetoric
Trump administration asks U.S. oil industry to return to Venezuela, but no one will accept Politico
U.S. seizure of tanker paralyzes Venezuelan oil shipments – excluding Chevron WSJ
Venezuelan Navy escorts oil tanker through blockade zone – Report
U.S. officials are aware and are “considering various courses of action.”
Source: Mario Nawfal, video depicting the US naval blockade pic.twitter.com/ZSLgYzt3tP
— Victor vicktop55 commentary (@vick55top) December 18, 2025
***
Four people killed in recent US attack on suspected drug-trafficking vessel in Anadolu, eastern Pacific Ocean
Venezuela condemns US aggression before UN, calls for emergency meeting of Security Council TeleSUR
Trump ally seeks White House visit from Venezuelan opposition leader Semafor
Why is Israel pushing for regime change in Venezuela through Washington? Palestine Chronicle
Lafaire Epstein
Epstein’s colleague Ghislaine Maxwell asked the court to vacate ABC News’ conviction. “Maxwell’s last-ditch effort to seek relief from the courts comes as the Justice Department faces a Friday deadline to release investigative files on Epstein and Maxwell under the Epstein File Transparency Act…[which] It includes an exception that would allow Attorney General Pam Bondi to withhold certain records if their release could jeopardize an active criminal investigation or prosecution. ”
Senators pressure FBI over failed investigation of Epstein’s lawyer and accountant WSJ
Harvard University launches undercover investigation into student who filmed Larry Summers expressing ‘shame’ over his relationship with Epstein: New York Post reports
Trump 2.0
FCC’s “independent” description removed from agency website after commissioner says “not a common dream”
CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham joins MoonPay to lead U.S. cryptocurrency regulatory strategy
Mr. WH, you installed a series of plaques under President Trump’s new “Presidential Walk of Fame.”
On Biden: “Sleepy Joe Biden was the worst president so far.”
About Obama: “One of the most divisive politicians in American history…the creator of the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.” pic.twitter.com/BjT19R4waL
— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) December 17, 2025
republican funhouse
Senate Republicans grow anxious as Pentagon investigation into Kelly escalates
Deshabille Democratic Party
About two hours before I tweeted this, Chuck Schumer voted to approve $901 billion in military spending, $8 billion more than President Trump requested. https://t.co/H8LShLb6vw
— Stephen Semler (@stephensemler) December 17, 2025
How I almost became an undiplomatic Palantir Democrat
immigration
US sends Cubans to Guantanamo Bay naval base New York Times
Border Patrol, ICE, and Christian Nationalism: Borderlands talks with Jen Budd
imperial collapse watch
How the American empire creates chaos to disrupt multipolarization Geopolitical Economic Report
All dominant models are collapsing Charles Hugh Smith
My Navy SEAL Congressman Can Beat Your Navy SEAL Podcaster Post-mortem Report
“Maha”
American Academy of Pediatrics loses funding to HHS over RFK Jr. WaPo criticism
CDC adopts controversial hepatitis B vaccine recommendation MedPage Today
health care?
How healthcare became a financialized, hellish commonplace
antitrust law
Big Tech’s eagerness to weaponize trade deals to fight competition policies exposed in absurd House hearing on South Korea’s digital antitrust law, says economic populist Lori Wallach
Craftsmanship in the cultural industry Archederia
A.I.
Future path for AI bullshit detectors
AI promised a revolution. Businesses are still waiting. Reuters
First we hear that Micron is exiting Crucial’s consumer memory business, then we hear that Samsung may stop selling SSDs, and now we have news that Nvidia could cut RTX 50 production by up to 40% next year. pic.twitter.com/rpyyLz9mw6
— Markets and Mayhem (@Mayhem4Markets) December 17, 2025
“This study is based on the relatively limited amount of data currently available to the public, so it probably paints a fairly conservative picture of how AI will impact the environment.” https://t.co/4h54ELCMuu
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) December 17, 2025
our famous free news agency
Eleven’s world. Aurelian
guillotine watch
Twist in CEO murder case: Prosecutors withdraw key interrogation recordings from Mangione trial Dallas Express
class war
Team Officials Say Border Patrol Agents ‘Interrogated’ Striking Chicago Workers HuffPost
Barista Employee Arrested at Starbucks Roasting Plant in Harrisburg, York County The Patriot News Barista Worker Impressive.
Harper’s Power Brokers. “What is the real cause of rising utility charges?”
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