Ancient DNA shared with Neanderthals may explain human language Science Daily (Kevin W)
Smartphones arrived just before the US fertility rate plunged. One study says it’s a direct cause CNN (Paul R)
Climate/Environment
Gorillas can learn to trust humans even after years of poaching pressure, research shows PhysOrg
How a record-high ‘energy imbalance’ is driving global warming Carbon Brief
We Are in the Anthropocene—Now What? AGU
Im still in disbelief.
Each new model that comes out – somehow – raises the expectation of a record breaking El Niño incoming.
If for nothing other than my own clarity, I need to plot it – just to see how 2026 stacks up “IF” the models are right.
Using @webberweather’s… pic.twitter.com/9pazHBkINQ— Jeff Berardelli (@WeatherProf) June 9, 2026
Amplified Arctic iceberg traffic reshapes benthic biodiversity Nature
Record winter temperatures in Antarctic raise fears over speed of climate breakdown Guardian
Wild temperature swings are becoming the ‘new normal’, EU agency says Financial Times
Colorado and Nevada negotiators throw cold water on parts of federal plan to manage Colorado River Wyoming Public Media
Fishers live in fear as looming El Niño and fuel crisis pile on pressure Dialogue Earth
China?
China cancels high-level meetings with EU Financial Times
China says Japan has torn off its so-called ‘peaceful nation’ mask CGTN
Sen. Slotkin: NDAA, AI guardrails, and banning China’s cars China Talk
Japan
Japan’s looming typhoon crisis threatens disaster defences and tourism South China Morning Post
Koreas
India
Fixed this for you @CNN pic.twitter.com/Znv4VSKuWu
— Wyatt Reed (@wyattreed13) June 12, 2026
Modi orders Indian officials to prevent water from entering Pakistan Independent
Why India’s deadly dengue crisis is now no longer confined to the monsoons Aljazeera
Southeast Asia
China Supplies Battle Tanks To Cambodia Amid Thailand Border Row FirstPost
A Princess Who Never Rested On Her Laurels and The Lasting Legacy Of Thailand’s ‘Lawyer Princess’ Bangkok Post. Princess BajrakitiyabhaI died at 47 after having been in a coma for years. She was very well loved for her interest in and dedication to the interests of ordinary people. Please no comments about the monarchy or Thai politica but condolences are fine.
European Disunion
EU to protect industries from future carbon costs if they invest in the bloc Financial Times
ECB raises eurozone interest rates as Iran war stokes inflation Guardian
Germany news: Recession looms as Iran war chokes growth DW
Germany pulled the plug on flagship FCAS fighter jet – the implications for European defence are worrying The Conversation
Switzerland to vote on plan to cap population at 10 million BBC (Kevin W)
Norway challenges EU to call US gas ‘safer’ than Arctic reserves Financial Times
Poor parents forced to steal porridge for their children Aftonbladet via machine translation (Micael T)
Old Blighty
Millions of homes in London, Essex and Kent at risk of sinking as climate crisis worsens Guardian
Gilt Traders Brace for UK Vote With Burnham Eyeing Starmer’s Job Bloomberg
Britain’s defence secretary Healey quits over defence spending Aljazeera (Kevin W)
Record numbers turning to loan sharks as cost-of-living crisis bites Centre for Social Justice
Met police chief calls for law to make stolen phones ‘unusable bricks’ Guardian (Kevin W)
Same sit, different day!
Arrested under terrorism charges for holding a sign saying “Saving Lives Is Not Terrorism – I support Palestine Action” despite the Government’s ban being found unlawful by the High Court.
“How ridiculous!”
Support at: https://t.co/nOqO4QQdM5 pic.twitter.com/7Tni6bAZo5
— Defend Our Juries (@DefendOurJuries) June 12, 2026
Israel v. The Resistance
BREAKING: ‘Regarding the text of the understanding, we are in the final stages of finalizing it in Iran. The place and time of the conclusion of the understanding have not yet been determined.’
Spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.— IRIB (Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting) (@iribnews_irib) June 12, 2026
What Iran smashed and future of the deal Ryan Dawson:
So we know why Iran hasn’t been striking the UAE
And we know why the US air base in Saudi Arabia has also been left aloneThe UAE refuses to allow its airspace to be against Iran and the Saudis refuse to provide any further logistical support for an offensive against Iran.
The Americans have become over-dependent on their bases in Bahrain and Jordan. The bulk of US land-based air power being concentrated at just two bases is far too dangerous for the US to sustain in a renewed war. Trump is trapped under these circumstances and he cannot renew a general war.
guurst: “CENTCOM going blind”:
Bahrain 🇧🇭Jabal ad Dukhan Radar Facility hit by Iran 🇮🇷 ballistic missile spotted DESTROYED TODAY at
26.0380, 50.5421
BAE AR-327 RADAR capable of tracking ~470 km away.
Plays, I mean, played vital role in regional US 🇺🇸 missile defense & Persian Gulf shipping lanes monitoring. https://t.co/QQ2CWv5rzp pic.twitter.com/ZZnDF7EavR
— Tom Bike (@tom_bike) June 12, 2026
IRAN WAR BATTLING NARRATIVES //LT Col Daniel Davis YouTube
TRUMP: “WE’LL TAKE KHARG ISLAND” AS PEACE DEAL “NEARS” – w/ Geopolitics Expert Brandon Weichert Mario Nawfal. Important aside by Weichert, that Pakistanis are (apparently culturally) extremely optimistic.
Lt. Col. Anthony Aguilar: Iran Warns Israel – Leave Occupied Territories or Final Deal Is DEAD Dialogue Works, YouTube
Jeremy Scahill: Iran Fears Trump MENTALLY ILL Breaking Points, YouTube (flora)
Deal to end fighting would lead to Hormuz reopening, Iran says BBC. Which will pin the closure on Israel…
Iran demands $300bn to end war Telegraph. resilc: “How can the Israeli lobby allow this??????”
51st State, Imperial Proxy and Scapegoat Olivier Boyd-Barrett
Iran Attempts to Thwart Iraq’s Disarmament Efforts Alhurra
Israel launches overnight strikes across Gaza Aljazeera
New Not-So-Cold War
World Chess Federation suspends chess superpower Russia Sportschau via machine translation (Micael T)
US publishes docs on ‘dangerous’ Ukrainian biolabs RT (Kevin W)
Poland waits for crucial Patriot missiles, with no firm timeline for delivery TVP World
Imperial Collapse Watch
Remember When We Used to Take World War III Seriously? Washington Monthly
Reading the Times Tom Engelhardt. His first post on his new Substack
First look at the Global War on Terrorism Memorial design in Washington Military Times (Kevin W)
Trump 2.0
Judge indefinitely blocks Trump ‘anti-weaponization’ fund The Hill
Court denies emergency appeal to retain Trump’s name on Kennedy Center Guardian (Kevin W)
BREAKING- Very active rumor mill currently with specifics from senior USG (government) employees that RFKjr will be leaving as Secretary HHS in July, after the 4th. Meeting was apparently held last Monday. Oz to head transition team.
— Robert W Malone, MD (@RWMaloneMD) June 12, 2026
🚨 BOMBSHELL! Nicolle Wallace exposes a terrifying DOJ power grab.
She confirms the Trump administration is blatantly violating decades of policy to seize control over state elections.
The White House is desperately trying to rig the midterms to maintain their grip! https://t.co/FXL59vaoDz pic.twitter.com/YOKy5f9uGb
— Furkan Gözükara (@FurkanGozukara) June 12, 2026
Washington National Opera sues to force Kennedy Center to turn over $17M in gifts Washington Post
GOP Clown Car
Federal Judge Blocks Paxton’s ActBlue Lawsuit, Citing First Amendment Retaliation Law Commentary
Economy
Global growth is slowing to lowest level since pandemic, says World Bank Guardian
The tanks in Cushing, Oklahoma, are hitting bottom. The oil market is about to hit a tipping point CNN. Not news for those paying attention, but this is a solid overview and the fact that this is appearing on a MSM site is noteworthy.
El Niño Slams Into a Global Economy Unprepared for More Chaos Bloomberg
Why Do the Best Leaders Fail at the Most Important Job? Derek Thompson
Mr. Market Needs a Therapist
Financial Engineering Is Resembling Pre-Crisis Era, Pimco Warns Financial Post
The next financial crisis could start with advanced economies’ sovereign debt Business Times
AI
A must read. Click through:
This broke TODAY — June 10, 2026. From News5Cleveland and the Ohio Capital Journal. Confirmed by the Ohio Farm Bureau. Backed by documents obtained directly from the Ohio Statehouse.
And what is being proposed in Columbus right now — quietly, while every eye in America was on… pic.twitter.com/cQagI9SLov
— 0️⃣BlackBetty ⚓️ (@BabyD1111229) June 12, 2026
You can’t get more 2026 than that Gary Marcus
AI bubble: ‘It’s approaching vindication hour for me’ | Ed Zitron YouTube (resilc)
Breaking news: US Commerce Department effectively shuts down Anthropic’s latest models Gary Marcus
‘Tell Him He’s a Piece of Shit’: Meta’s New AI Unit Is a Total Mess Wired (resilc)
How data centers are blowing a hole in state budgets Popular Information
You generated it, you own it: a Munich court has cracked the search-engine shield for AI answers ResultSense
The Bezzle
SpaceX IPO takeaways: SPCX closes at $161, jumping 19% after record debut CNBC. When I was at Goldman, IPOs were priced so as to seek to achieve a 15% gain at the end of the first day. You need to engineer a first day rise so as to get investors to buy the IPO in teh first place.
Why Musk Raced to Take SpaceX Public in the World’s Biggest IPO Bloomberg
Guillotine Watch
One man. One trillion dollars. Oligarch Watch
Elon Musk, Human Ponzi Scheme Paul Krugman
Class Warfare
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus. I think he wants a bigger pool:
Jaguars are one of the few big cats that actively enjoy spending time in the water pic.twitter.com/6p1l7eqxFs
— Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) June 10, 2026
A second bonus:
A man noticed neighborhood cats were coming to his property to drink water, so he set up a camera to see who else was visiting… pic.twitter.com/e3Ws3BxfO0
— Nature Unedited (@NatureUnedited) June 7, 2026
And a third:
Kindness is Everything pic.twitter.com/7DMO4Tjtl2
— Amazing Nature (@AmazingNature00) June 7, 2026
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
