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What Makes a Great Bookshop?<\/a> Culture Dump (Micael T)<\/p>\n Why Every Great Story Follows the Same Ancient Pattern<\/a> Classical Wisdom (Micael T)<\/p>\n Stunning fossil discovery challenges the origins of animal life<\/a> Science Daily (Kevin W)<\/p>\n First Real-Time Brain-Controlled Hearing Device<\/a> Neuroscience News<\/p>\n Arts and Cultural Engagement \u2018Linked To Slower Pace of Biological Aging\u2019<\/a> Guardian<\/p>\n Do Young People Suck?<\/a> Lyman Stone (Micael T). Trust me, this is a really good piece. <\/p>\n Shame them, shun them, ban them, beat them! <\/a>Experimental History (Micael T). Important. <\/p>\n Hantavirus<\/p>\n WHO officials warn of more possible hantavirus cases in coming weeks<\/a> CBS. Trying to close the barn door after the horse is in the next county.<\/p>\n Woman Diagnosed With Hantavirus After Being on Cruise Ship Now on an Artificial Lung in \u2018Final Stage of Supportive Care,\u2019 Doctor Says<\/a> People. This may seem to be scare-mongering and click-bait but as we said during Covid (we called the pandemic in January when it was not official until March) that the precautionary principle, particularly with diseases with high fatality rates, demands excessive vigilance until risk can be better assessed. Our putting commerce ahead of public health has produced instead intense messaging to keep people proceeding as normal. If the US had not so totally demonized masking, that would be a cheap and easy fallback in communities that might be at risk. <\/p>\n On masking, it is depressing that someone has to say something this obvious:<\/p>\n Physical measures that can protect against COVID-19, including masks, air purifiers, and ultraviolet sterilizers, can also protect against the hantavirus. This is different from biological protection measures, such as vaccines. Therefore, the most effective way to deal with a new\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Adam Wong (@Engineer_Wong) May 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n COVID-19\/Pandemics<\/p>\n It’s probably worth noting that there was a nearly 50% jump in covid detections in England last week on the NOIDS causative agents data, and that data isn’t complete.<\/p>\n \u2014 tern (@1goodtern) May 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u2018Very contagious\u2019 parvovirus swirling throughout Northern California<\/a> SFGate (Paul R). Symptoms mild but risky for pregnant women. I saw no word re the immunocompromised. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Climate\/Environment<\/p>\n Thousands of trout are released into Stockholm\u2019s stream here<\/a> Mitti via machine translation (Micael T)<\/p>\n New May spark plumes show El Ni\u00f1o rapidly intensifying, with 8 of 10 models pointing to a super event and four projecting the strongest on record.<\/p>\n Across all 693 ensemble members, the mean reaches +2.8\u02daC, consistent with the strongest El Ni\u00f1o on record. pic.twitter.com\/9pDxNxAkXz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) May 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Global fire outbreaks hit record high as \u2018unprecedented\u2019 heat extremes loom, scientists say<\/a> Reuters<\/p>\n Wildfires are climbing Europe\u2019s mountains as heat dries forests<\/a> Earth<\/p>\n EXTRAORDINARY HEAT WAVE There has never been anything like this:<\/p>\n \u203c\ufe0fToday 47C in Algeria,Burkina Faso,Mali,Niger,Senegal,Chad,Mauritania,Chad,Sudan<\/p>\n May Record again at Ouahigouya \ud83c\udde7\ud83c\uddebwith 44.9C. pic.twitter.com\/vHebe76meU<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) May 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n \u2018Not normal\u2019: On one April day, all of the planet\u2019s top 50 hottest cities were in a single country<\/a> CNN<\/p>\n Australia Rainfall Deficiencies Deepen Across Eastern States<\/a> E+E Leader<\/p>\n For global ocean temperatures only, @NOAANCEI<\/a> reports that April 2026 was the 2nd-warmest April on record, behind only 2024. Ocean temps checked in at 0.95\u00b0C above the 20th-century average, or about 1.13\u00b0C above the mean of 1880\u20131920.<\/p>\n The wild part is that this is happening at\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/OfSPPIxDVp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 The Global Warmer\ud83d\udd25\ud83c\udf0f \ud83d\udd25 (@TheGlobalWarmer) May 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Wild Blueberry Farms Across Maine Suffer as Climate Change Upends Growing Seasons<\/a> Inside Climate News \ud83d\ude41<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n China?<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s China visit watched in US for signs of stability \u2013 and tangible wins<\/a> South China Morning Post<\/p>\n Trump Flies to Beijing \u2014 But Who\u2019s Actually Desperate?<\/a> Think BRICS<\/p>\n Elon Musk and Tim Cook among CEOs joining Trump on China trip<\/a> BBC. Some readers had expressed doubt that Trump would be able to round up an entourage.<\/p>\n Washington slaps new sanctions on China\u2013Iran oil network ahead of Trump\u2019s visit to Beijing<\/a> The Cradle (Kevin W). I do not see how China can give the US anything in light of these insults right before the summit. This is intended to humiliate and China is very sensitive to that. <\/p>\n Trump-Xi Summit: Trump to ask Xi to \u2018open up\u2019 China<\/a> DW. A stupid ask but will play well in the US. <\/p>\n Trump-Xi summit to show that everything now is leverage<\/a> Asia Times (Kevin W)<\/p>\n China reiterates opposition to U.S. arms sales to Taiwan<\/a> Xinhua<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Africa<\/p>\n How Nigerians are coping with heat waves amid crippling power outages<\/a> Global Voices. Coming to many more countries soon<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n South of the Border<\/p>\n Trump shares image depicting Venezuela as \u201951st State\u2019 after remarks on possible annexation<\/a> Anadolu Agency<\/p>\n CIA escalates secret war on cartels with deadly operations inside Mexico<\/a> CNN (Ann)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n European Disunion<\/p>\n Was this European figure bribed by Team Trump to kill Airbus sales?<\/p>\n A TOP EUROPEAN OFFICIAL today suggested the west could sabotage planes western companies sold to China.<\/p>\n \u201cEurope could ground more than half of all Chinese commercial planes by withholding software updates for China\u2019s Airbus fleet,\u201d said Mark Leonard, director of the European\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/RccGoKQyKj<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nury Vittachi (@NuryVittachi) May 11, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Europe\u2019s energy ministers shun crisis meeting <\/a>Euractiv<\/p>\n EU to ban Brazilian meat imports from September<\/a> Euronews<\/p>\n French Jobless Rate Jumps Above 8% for First Time Since 2021<\/a> Bloomberg<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Old Blighty<\/p>\n Jess Phillips resigns as minister telling Starmer \u2018deeds, not words, matter\u2019 after PM says he won\u2019t quit<\/a> BBC. It took a while, but it looks like a fuse has finally been lit. <\/p>\n Starmer faces endgame as Wes Streeting launches \u2018coup\u2019 to beat rivals to the top job<\/a> Middle East Eye<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Israel v. The Resistance<\/p>\n The Israeli military is planting explosives and detonating life-sustaining infrastructures in southern Lebanon to escalate mass expulsions. https:\/\/t.co\/L1novNrUR0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nicola Perugini (@PeruginiNic) May 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Discord over Israel splits Eurovision<\/a> Politico. I hate to reveal how parochial I am, but I do not understand why anyone cares about Eurovision. Having said that, de-legitimating Israel is a worthy enterprise. <\/p>\n Chinese Oil Tanker Tests Safe Passage Through Strait of Hormuz<\/a> OilPrice. Note: \u201c\u2026f it is allowed to pass, it would only be the third tanker carrying oil for China from the Persian Gulf that has traversed Hormuz since the start of the war.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S. Intelligence Shows Iran Retains Substantial Missile Capabilities<\/a> New York Times. More on this in our daily Iran post. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n New Not-So-Cold War<\/p>\n Russia Deploys Pacific Fleet to East China Sea to Protect Shipping Against U.S. Armed Takeovers<\/a> Military Watch<\/p>\n Lavrov accuses West of putting pressure on countries not to buy Russian oil<\/a> TASS<\/p>\n Reflections on a Day<\/a> Scott Ritter (Micael T)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Big Brother is Watching You Watch<\/p>\n They\u2019re Attacking Online Anonymity, And Other Notes<\/a> Caitlin Johnstone (Micael T)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Imperial Collapse Watch<\/p>\n What Happens When Americans Realize How Miserable We Are?<\/a> Paul Krugman. Good review, but would have been nice if Krugman had included inequality. Unequal societies are unhappy societies. <\/p>\n Federalism For Anti-Fascists<\/a> Chris Armitage<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Trump 2.0<\/p>\n Three Republicans Thrown Into Fiery Furnace For Not Bowing Down To Trump Statue <\/a>Babylon Bee<\/p>\n $1.5b Trump Tower deal on Gold Coast, Australia scrapped. Developer says the brand is \u201ctoxic\u201d<\/a> ABC Australia (Ann)<\/p>\n McConnell hammers Hegseth over Pentagon funding plan, alienating allies<\/a> The Hill<\/p>\n How Trump\u2019s $500 Million UAE Crypto Deal Trades U.S. National Security for Family Profit<\/a> Center for American Progress<\/p>\n John Helmer: Iran Just Did the Unthinkable \u2013 China\u2019s Response to Trump Changes EVERYTHING<\/a> Dialogue Works. Helmer goes on at length about Trump\u2019s cognitive limits, which are severe. <\/p>\n Trump had one of his worst mental health episodes yet last night, posting over 55 times in 3 hours. Here is the list: <\/p>\n 10:15 PM \u2013 Accuses Obama of attempting a coup in 2016 \u2014 Harry Sisson (@harryjsisson) May 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
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Weeks with deadly heat and thousands of records in every single African country.<\/p>\n\n
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10:15 PM \u2013 Says Obama worked with CIA to overthrow Trump
10:15 PM \u2013 Reposts tweet saying Obama is a\u2026<\/p>\n