Dear patient readers:

You have a Links overdose today. Too many things of import happening that are going more under the media radar than they should due to the Iran war. So that this Links could cover these many other fronts, nearly all Middle East news is in our daily Iran war post.

* * *

Words Lost and Stolen Peter Gelderloos (Micael T)

Ebola

At least 100 deaths reported in Ebola outbreak in DR Congo as six Americans exposed BBC

Hantavirus

Climate/Environment

Gas prices are rising. So is public transit ridership. Grist

Wood burning is reintroducing lead pollution into the air, US scientists find Guardian

Gooey blue blobs are washing up on U.S. beaches—here’s why National Geographic

Declare climate crisis a global public health emergency, experts tell WHO Guardian

Scientists find climate change is reducing oxygen in rivers worldwide Independent

Israeli tech company aiming to cool the Earth with masses of tiny particles Times of Israel

Melting of Greenland ice sheet could release methane ‘fire ice’ New Scientist

Hundreds of extra French communes recognised as ‘natural disaster’ zones ConnexionFrance

Landslides are New Zealand’s most expensive natural hazard, and the costs are rising quickly eos.org

China?

China’s April slowdown highlights dilemma between growth and inflation Think.ing

Could China limit Japanese airlines’ access to its airspace as ties sour? South China Morning Post

Lai says Taiwan won’t be sacrificed as Trump weighs arms deal Japan Times. Oh really?

Japan

Exclusive: Japan’s extra budget to include funding from fresh debt, source says Reuters

Koreas

North Korea enshrines automatic nuclear strike if Kim is killed MSN

Kim Jong Un Sends Troops to the Border with South Korea Nasha Niva

Africa

Protesters block major Sudan-Egypt highway over power cuts Sudan Tribune

US lifts Ethiopia’s ban on arms dealing as Red Sea tensions reshape regional alliances Business Insider

South Africa’s biggest city descends into chaos Daily Investor

South of the Border

‘Feels like an illusion’: inside post-Maduro Venezuela’s bewildering new era Guardian

Bolivia deploys thousands of troops to break La Paz siege as economic crisis bites Intellinews
https://www.intellinews.com/bolivia-deploys-thousands-of-troops-to-break-la-paz-siege-as-economic-crisis-bites-443234/

Cuba accuses US of fabrication after Axios report alleging drone threat Reuters

European Disunion

Ranked: Where Inflation is Highest in Europe in 2026 Visual Capitalist. Micael T: “I can tell that for Germany this is pure bollocks. My weekly food expenses go up even though I buy less meat & fish and more beans and pasta.”

EU races to find deal compromise as Trump tariff deadline looms Financial Times

NATO’s biggest special forces exercise in Europe takes place as US reduces support for allies Sky

In closed-door talks, U.S. demands a major role in Greenland New York Times

US and EU officials converge on Greenland as Denmark stays away Euractiv

Biotech lobby groups are set to trap farmers and breeders in patent minefield Corporate Observatory Europe (Micael T)

President Connolly ‘very proud’ of her sister who was detained by Israel on Gaza-bound flotilla The Journal. Go Ireland!

Comments from PlutoniumKun by e-mail:

Yes – its widely reported here, but very neutrally, I don’t think the media quite knows how to report it.

https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2026/0518/1573901-gaza-flotilla/

She is a doctor, married to a well known independent leftist politician.

The President was meeting King Charles at the time.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0518/1573827-connolly-visit-uk/

Privately, I think the Irish government will be furious – they don’t like Connolly, they don’t see her as a ‘safe pair of hands’, but constitutionally they have to keep quiet about it.  They will be fully aware Israel will do whatever they want to her, and don’t care too much about how it looks.  They already have a history of interfering in Irish presidential elections.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jul/31/david-norris-ireland-mercy-letter.

In the latter case, its widely believed that Israel deliberately released the story to stop Norris getting elected.

The Irish government is caught in a very awkward position between being pushed internally and externally to take a strong pro-Palestine stance and the enormous external pressure from Trump, Brussels and London.  They are very aware of various forms of US and Israeli pressure (something like 75% of all Twitter posts on Irish politics are from outside Ireland).

Old Blighty

‘Unprecedented’ police operation to control rival London protests Sky

THOUSANDS march at HUGE London ‘Unite The Kingdom’ rally with FURY aimed at ‘abhorrent’ Starmer Daily Express. A compilation of footage, including drone shots which show the crowd was very large.

MEP and far-right influencers barred from UK rally: Who are they and what was the reason? Euronews

Starmer sabotages Burnham on Brexit Telegraph

Is the bond market making Britain ungovernable? Guardian

Drones spreading seaweed to keep Britain growing BBC

Israel v. The Resistance

Israel launches strikes on southern Lebanon despite extending ‘ceasefire’ Aljazeers

Israel advances plan to seize Palestinian property near Al-Aqsa Mosque Middle East Eye

Syraqistan

Pakistani forces kill 35 terrorists in Balochistan operation, capture 3 high-profile commanders Indian Express

Can new Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions lead to another border clash? Aljazeera

New Not-So-Cold War

Nuclear weapons ‘cornerstone’ of Russia’s national security: Kremlin Turkiye Today

Why’s The Russian Foreign Ministry Downplaying The Likelihood Of TRIPP’s Implementation? Andrew Korybko

Please click through to read the entire tweet. One of its important points: “Starlink is no longer a commercial venture; it is the enemy’s orbital backbone, a de facto NATO asset branded with Musk’s name.”

Why we do not allow links to ZH (plus they other sites’ copyrighted work, including ours):

Big Brother is Watching You (and Maybe Blowing You Up) Watch

Imperial Collapse Watch

Should India Mediate The Iran-US War? Retd. Maj. Gen. GD Bakshi Explains Republic World. The headline does this fine talk a disservice. Maj. Gen. Bakshi takes a broad view of the role of America, BRICS, and India.

Please click through to read entire tweet:

THE SEVEN THUCYDIDES LINES WHICH PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN AND PRESIDENT XI JINPING SHOULD DISCUSS THIS WEEK BUT CAN’T BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO SUPREMACIST, TOO SUSPECTING John Helmer

Trump 2.0

Trump’s approval rating slides to lowest since 2023, CBS News poll shows CBS

Billionaire Trump’s Secret Trading Spree Alarms Wall Street Daily Beast

Pentagon says Hegseth campaigning against Massie in ‘personal capacity’ The Hill. Trump allies could not hire someone more credible as part of the first team?!?! This is the best gift Trump could have given to Massie.

Our No Longer Free Press

X Agrees to Review Illegal “Hate” Within 48 Hours Under UK Online Safety Act Reclaim the Net

Economy

Our fragile world is being hammered by one crisis after another. It’s about to get worse. The Age

The Chip Shortage Is A Gulf Energy Crisis Wearing A Different Costume Forbes. This was not a hard call, but comparatively few (including yours truly) made it early

China quietly turns off sulphuric acid supply amid disruption from Iran war ABC Australia

Shipping industry faces bunker fuel shortages amid Iran conflict Associated Press. We discussed this issue at least a week ago

Food Inflation in America by Product: It Boils down to a Sharp Acceleration on Top of Already Very High Prices Wolf Richter

Mr. Market Needs a Therapist

Global bond rout deepens as inflation fears trigger rate-hike bets Reuters

G7 finance chiefs seek to look through bond volatility Reuters. Shades of “subprime is containted.”

Oil Breaks Above $111 as US-Iran Conflict Enters Dangerous New Phase Action Forex

Mortgage costs rise sharply on Middle East conflict Financial Times

AI

From Andrew Ross Sorkin’s e-mailed Dealbook newsletter, subject line Booing A.I.:

Cue the boo birds: In a commencement address at the University of Central Florida this month, Gloria Caulfield, a real estate executive, called A.I. the “next industrial revolution” and was met with a loud chorus of boos. Stunned, she asked, “What happened?”

Yesterday, Eric Schmidt, the former C.E.O. of Google, was booed repeatedlywhen he began talking about A.I. during his commencement speech at the University of Arizona. “I know what many of you are feeling about that,” Schmidt said. “I can hear you.”

Schmidt told the grads that he understood there was “a fear” that the machines were coming and jobs were disappearing.

Scary numbers: According to new research from the employment site ZipRecruiter, some 47 percent of recent graduates say that A.I. has already affected hiring in their field, and nearly 51 percent of soon-to-be grads believe that A.I. will reduce the number of entry-level jobs.

American Jobs with AI Exposure Really Are Starting to Disappear, Data Show Gizmodo (Ann)

A 45,000-person labor strike at Samsung’s memory chip plants could throw a wrench into the AI boom Fortune (Ann). BWAHAHA.

The Bezzle

BlackRock Private Credit Fund’s Valuations Are Probed by DOJ Bloomberg. From over the weekend. Important. The SEC oversees private fund managers. See for instance this ACA report from March Private Credit Under SEC Scrutiny as Liquidity Pressures Rise. This means the SEC found enough that it did not like that it not only made a DoJ referral but the DoJ took it up. The SEC has plenty of power to impose fines but only the DoJ can pursue a criminal case. Mind you this is just an investigation but is looks mighty serious. But again remember this action is only against one fund so in theory the implications for BlackRock, which is ginormous, look limited. But this is a big deal in that it suggests that investor worries about valuations are bona fide.

Lawmakers zero in on sports gambling regulation as scandals boom The Hill

Guillotine Watch

The AI trial of the century ends with a whimper Gary Marcus

Class Warfare

The Affordability Case for Public Factories Washington Monthly

LIRR Strike Brings Five-Hour Commutes, Bleary Travelers THE CITY

Antidote du jour (Retaj):

And a bonus. My last cat, Gabriel, was loved by the vets because he acted like a dog and would accept all sorts of handling. They also seemed to have PTSD related to his breed, Abyssinians, because they were typically hostile. For instance, after my first cat, Winston, had a catheter put in him to clear some urinary blockage, the vets had to wear full-arm welding gloves to deal with him.

A second antidote. Cats heart science experiments!

And a different sort for the third:

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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