France’s Last Circus Elephant Finds Freedom at Richter Safari Park Hungary Today
Climate/Environment
Towns may have to be abandoned due to floods with millions more homes in Great Britain at risk The Guardian (Kevin W)
One dead, dozens rescued and roughly 1,000 displaced in western Alaska communities hit by ex-typhoon Alaska Beacon
Surveying a lot of strange weather Balanced Weather
Pandemics
Discovery of molecular signature of long-term psychiatric sequelae in COVID-19 through proteome profiling of dried blood spots Nature
Return to work with long COVID: a rapid review of support and challenges BMJ Open
153 unvaccinated students quarantining after measles exposure at South Carolina schools CBS News
The Koreas
Seoul to build bunker designed for nuclear, chemical defense Korea Times
China?
As China and US impose rival port fees, global shipping industry braces for disruption Channel News Asia
Trump’s 130% China tariff looks like another TACO moment Asia Times (Kevin W)
China Reacts After U.S. Pushed Netherlands To Seize Chinese Owned Company Moon of Alabama
EU considers forced tech transfers for Chinese investments Business Times
Trump threatens to end cooking oil purchases from China AFP
***
US wades deeper into rising Philippine-China sea tussle Asia Times
US Senate pushes for Taiwan to attend Rimpac drill in latest defence bill South China Morning Post
Scott Bessent slams China: ‘They want to pull everybody else down with them’ Irish Times
India
US Seeks India’s Help To Counter China’s Rare Earth Grip — While Keeping 50 Per Cent Tariffs On Indian Goods Swarajya
Syraqistan
Israel kills nine Palestinians just hours after Gaza truce begins The New Arab
Israel to prevent ‘full amount’ of aid from entering through Rafah until dead captives released: Report The Cradle
‘Inhumane’: 154 freed Palestinian prisoners forced into exile by Israel Al Jazeera
NEW | Instagram has removed the verified account of Gaza slain journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi, who had 4.5 million followers.
Archived snapshots of his page on the Wayback Machine, the largest public internet archive, also appear to have been wiped or disabled, raising concerns… pic.twitter.com/X510RJUraG
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) October 13, 2025
Trump Keeps Admitting That He Is Bought And Owned By The World’s Richest Israeli Caitlin Johnstone
UK ready to join Hamas disarmament and Gaza ceasefire mission Al Mayadeen
More on the Delusional Thinking of Western Zionists Larry Johnson
🇮🇷| Iran defies reimposed UN sanctions by turning on proper identification without spoofing
After snapback mechanism caused UN sanctions to be reimposed on Iran, countries are supposedly forced to stop Iranian vessels and inspect them.
Last week, Iran’s FM has declared that… https://t.co/ynnds2R4rK pic.twitter.com/bupUuGHfMA
— Arya – آریا (@AryJeay) October 14, 2025
Secret Israeli military bunker located under Tel Aviv tower struck by Iran, analysis shows The Grayzone (Kevin W)
Kurds reach first deal on merging forces with Syrian army AFP
Old Blighty
Palestine Action ‘not close’ to terror group, Scottish board found The National
Israel is the excuse to snatch away freedoms we once took for granted Jonathan Cook
European Disunion
French prime minister will suspend a pension reform to avoid government collapse AP
63,000 SEK in rent – this is how migrant workers are exploited in the forest Dagens Arbete (Micael T – Machine Translation)
Poland demands Germany stop Nord Stream attack prosecutions FT
New Not-So-Cold War
Hubris and Theatrics Mark Atlanticist West’s Detachment from Reality Simplicius
Warning Delivered: Ukraine Will Cease to Exist Mark Sleboda (Video)
Russia’s Kamikaze Drones Demonstrate Major New Targeting Capabilities as Production Expands Military Watch
‘Surprising’ drop in military aid to Ukraine in recent months, report says Kyiv Independent
Europe cannot sustain the proxy war against Russia on its own. The United States is selling weapons it doesn’t have to Europe, which can’t afford them, in order to arm Ukraine, which lacks the manpower to use them. pic.twitter.com/eb1cjdN2eY
— Glenn Diesen (@Glenn_Diesen) October 14, 2025
Ukrainian Delegation Arrives in Washington To Push Agenda of Fewer Talks With Russia and More Weapons Antiwar
Africa
Madagascar military says it seizes power, suspends institutions Al Jazeera
South of the Border
Trump Announces New ‘Kinetic Strike’ Off Venezuela’s Coast, Extrajudicial Killings Reach 27, Venezuela Continues Defensive Drills Orinoco Tribune
President Maduro announced the opening of grandparents’ homes throughout Venezuela Telesur
Venezuelan bonds surge as Trump administration ‘plays hardball’ FT
Trump says Argentina assistance dependent on election results for ally Milei The Hill
Trump 2.0
Leak: Feds Think Protests Hide Terrorism Ken Klippenstein
Stephen Miller’s radically bogus idea of “plenary authority” Public Notice
‘I’ll have Eric call’: Trump’s hot-mic moment with Indonesian president raises questions about side business deals The Independent
Vance blames ‘misreporting’ for uproar after Hegseth Qatari air force facility announcement The Hill
Democrats en déshabillé
As Mills Enters Maine Senate Race, Platner Says Election Is Fight to ‘Retake Our Party’ for Working Class Common Dreams
Inside the Improbable, Audacious and (So Far) Unstoppable Rise of Zohran Mamdani New York Times. Zohran, we hardly knew ye.
The Supremes
As SCOTUS Enters a New Term, These Cases May Grant Trump Unbridled Authority Truthout
Police State Watch
Feds ram SUV after chase down residential street in Chicago, then tear-gas crowd Chicago Sun-Times
Trump Admin Unveils $500 Million Plan to Counter Drone Threats From ‘Evildoers and Idiots’ During World Cup International Business Times
A Year Before Trump’s Crime Rhetoric, Dallas Voted to Increase Police. The City Is Wrestling With the Consequences. ProPublica
Something that scares me Alec Karakatsanis
Forever Wars
Gov. Bill Lee says the Trump-Lee military-police occupation of Memphis “may never end.”
“We have just begun. We do know this is going to last for months… In fact, I will tell you that it will last forever.” pic.twitter.com/y9k2Gi6peD
— The Tennessee Holler (@TheTNHoller) October 14, 2025
Imperial Collapse Watch
US Army launches Janus Program to develop mobile nuclear energy for battlefield use Anadolu Agency
Trump’s Takeover Of Canadian Rare Earths Miners Raises Major Concerns OilPrice (resilc)
Chartbook 413 The future of the world economy beyond globalization – or, thinking with soup. Adam Tooze
Data darkness in US spreads a global shadow Reuters
Healthcare?
Tensions rise over health AI oversight and regulation Becker’s Hospital Review
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
US targets of Israeli influence ops alarmed by phone tracking Responsible Statecraft
Satellites Are Leaking the World’s Secrets: Calls, Texts, Military and Corporate Data Wired
Mr. Market Becomes Self-Aware
‘Absolutely’ a market bubble: Wall Street sounds the alarm on AI-driven boom as investors go all in Yahoo! Finance
There’s Now a Casino in Everyone’s Pocket. For Some Young Men, It’s a Near-Fatal Gamble Rolling Stone (Micael T)
AI
Over 50 Percent of the Internet Is Now AI Slop, New Data Finds Futurism (Micael T)
There are too many waterfalls here Internal Exile
Sam Altman says ChatGPT will soon allow erotica for adult users TechCrunch. Commentary:
It’s been clear for some time now that the endgame was some kind of fusion of the AI chatbot and OnlyFans. The automation of thought and consciousness meets the automation of human sexuality. Total addiction to the mirror. https://t.co/QiZbt4kOrX
— Christopher Lasch’s Angry Ghost (@ghostofchristo1) October 14, 2025
Screening Room
How is the horror genre changing? Stephen Follows
The Friendly Skies
A look at how NWS supports our air traffic control system – and why it’s another staffing concern Balanced Weather
The Bezzle
OpenAI has five years to turn $13 billion into $1 trillion TechCrunch
Elon Musk Is Making Cybertruck Sales Look Better by Selling a Huge Number to Himself Futurism (Micael T)
Class Warfare
More than 31,000 California Kaiser Permanente healthcare workers begin 5-day strike KTLA
Limits Of Trade Unionism Class Consciousness Project
The Wisdom of Walking in Circles Earth Island Journal
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.