If we go to hell, dogs will protect us. That’s why we worship them
Where does your pumpkin come from? Illinois retains crown, Midwest survey
Why does Halloween start earlier and earlier every year? A business professor explains The Conversation
Cocoa is expensive: How can consumers save money on Halloween candy?Yahoo! finance
How Vampire Bats Prevent Starvation Laughing Squid
State push to secure critical minerals creates opportunities for private equity espionage FT
Climate/Environment
Rare tornado topples construction crane near Paris, kills one AFP
Brazil approves oil drilling near Amazon river mouth DW
California’s ‘Zone Zero’ fire safety rules clash with Los Angeles awning needs LAist
Microplastics may be linked to cases of vascular dementia, review finds scientific warning
A new era has arrived in the treatment of microplastics. Here’s what you need to know: Wapo
pandemic
Post-pandemic COVID-19 is associated with high levels of employee absenteeism and dropout Yale School of Public Health
Africa
Madagascar erupts, power balance in Indian Ocean is in flux The Cradle
Japan
What to expect for Japan’s economy under Sanae Takaichi, the first female prime minister Associated Press
Japanese family businesses are facing a succession crisis. It’s fueling the private equity boom CNBC
China?
$140 billion bet on Chinese real estate gets worse Bloomberg
Will Xi Jinping be around forever? Probably not Chineseism
People’s Liberation Army purges China Talk. View from Langley.
Trump expects Taiwan to be on the agenda in Xi meeting, predicts trade deal Bloomberg
Despite US pressure, China’s oil imports from Russia rise in September South China Morning Post
China’s rare earth magnet exports to the US plunge 29% as tensions rise South China Morning Post
US and Australia sign critical minerals agreement as a way to counter China ABC News
Despite US pressure, China poised to dominate rare earths for years Al Jazeera
Did China trap America in the pre-World War II “Japan trap”? Ian Welsh
old blighty
A tale of two chants: Why Starmer turned even British police into anti-Semite Jonathan Cook
36 minute trial and no jury – Starmer’s fascist mass court tries Craig Murray. It’s only a few days old, but don’t miss it.
syrakistan
The Burden of Inaccuracy: On the Limits of Statistics Mondweiss
‘Animal protector’: North Gaza’s only veteran fears he will be killed by Israeli forces during ceasefire New Arab
Gaza government says 986 aid trucks have entered the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire, but far from the agreed total Anadolu Agency
Al Jazeera leaked report reveals names of 30,000 Israeli airmen involved in Gaza war crimes TeleSur
One target at a time: The logic that helped Israeli liberals commit genocide 972 Magazine
Official statistics show record number of Israelis emigrating abroad Anadolu Agency
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EU criticizes Trump for suspending sanctions against Israel over Gaza action The Guardian
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US envoy reiterates threat to Lebanon as Israeli warplanes attack south of The Cradle
US to station troops at Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq, withdrawing anti-war plans
Russia is ready to expand cooperation with Iran in ‘all fields’: Kremlin the Cradle
discord in europe
German bank recommends private equity funds to retail investors FT
EU plans next Russia sanctions, but current package blocked Euractiv
Massive explosion, fire and black smoke at refinery near Budapest – video and photos Daily News Hungary.
A new war that’s not so cold war
President Trump’s hopes for a quick second summit with Putin may be derailed as preliminary talks are currently on hold CNN
Media exposes President Trump’s private “investments” in Ukraine war beliefs Simplicius
UK and Poland plan deal to deter Russia and reduce immigration
Patrick Lawrence: Desperation Row Consortium News
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Russia and China sign Northern Passage shipping agreement, shortening global cargo transit times Intellinews
The Bering Strait Tunnel looks like it will remain a pipe dream Andrew Korybko
south of the border
Bolivia looks to restore ties with the US that were severed nearly 20 years ago, Paz Buenos Aires Times says
Colombia recalls ambassador to US amid new diplomatic rift over Petro-Trump dispute TeleSur
Trump 2.0
‘No Kings’ is about more than Trump Ken Klippenstein
“No Kings” Redux: A necessary but insufficient (and somewhat misguided) counterpunch
U.S. appeals court allows President Trump to send troops to Portland USA Today
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson emphasizes ‘ancestors’ driving general strike – Black businesses
***
Trump presidential candidate MLK Jr.’s holiday belongs to “hell” and says he has “Nazi tendencies,” according to text from Politico
What you need to know about Trump’s shadow president ProPublica, Russ Vought
AG Pam Bondi clears the way for Israel’s foreign influence operations
On her first day in office, newly appointed Secretary Pam Bondi disbanded the Special Committee on Foreign Influences, the Justice Department office responsible for enforcing FARA. The changes specifically limit the criminal prosecution of Justice Department prosecutors… pic.twitter.com/gm2XzkZeCZ
— GenXGirl (@GenXGirl1994) October 18, 2025
President Donald Trump demolishes part of White House to make way for new golden ballroom Daily Mail
Weimar Republic
ICE agents can now be arrested in Chicago Immigration Insider
Exclusive: FEMA officials improperly collect political data on disaster victims Matt Taibbi, Racket News
Why we need to protect both Turning Point and Mark Bray Jonathan Turley
police state surveillance
ICE increases weapons consumption by 700% Popular information. “…Chemical weapons and “guided missile warheads and explosive components” have also been purchased in large quantities. It seems rather important.
Denver secretly signs deal with Flock to fly AI drones for police calls KUSA-TV Denver
our famous free news agency
Private investment company buys Axios, leaving independent newspaper
accelerationist
Capitalism is undermining democracy Tribune
Now, this is a legitimate novelty. pic.twitter.com/a0uRsOkwo0
— Adrian (@blagojevism) October 19, 2025
imperial collapse watch
US military taps private equity group to help finance $150 billion rebuild of FT
How the military’s “safe” plan to launch munitions over Interstate 5 was derailed by a CHP cruiser crash, the Los Angeles Times reports
big brother is watching you
Hackers claim to have personal data of thousands of NSA and other government employees 404 Media
DHS asks OpenAI to unmask users behind ChatGPT prompts, perhaps the first such case Gizmodo
health care?
Secret campaign to silence critics of hospital real estate empire Mother Jones
Private equity acquisitions by hospitals led to increased deaths among Medicare emergency patients, Guardian study finds
Deshabille Democratic Party
Of course, the DNC is trying to destroy his campaign.
Fortunately, you don’t have to fight in some stupid foreign war, get injured, or watch your friends die in order to get medical care and assistance.@grahamformaine Please understand that. There’s no other way to say it. pic.twitter.com/ujLeQVekU6
— Main (@TheMaineWonk) October 20, 2025
antitrust law
AWS outage exposes Achilles heel: central control plane
A.I.
FTC Disappears Lina Khan’s Thoughts on AI Gizmodo
Legal battle over AI continues: AI artist files lawsuit seeking copyright protection Yahoo! News
Meta employees create AI app to deepfake dream vacations you couldn’t afford if you were futuristic
fashion
This man showed up at a fashion show wearing a garbage bag over his head, but no one thought it was strange until he was spotted by security.
— Science Girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) October 20, 2025
zeitgeist watch
Google’s New York offices are infested with bed bugs Wired
Antidote (via):
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