Wasps are disappearing this summer, and scientists are worried Science Daily (Kevin W)
Kyle Myers on the Direction of Science Macroscience (Micael T)
The Dire State of Non-Fiction Publishing Un-Diplomatic (Micael T)
#COVID-19/Pandemics
Widespread COVID death underreporting around the world raises broader questions about the reliability of official information EurekAlert
(Paul R)Ebola Spreads to Seventh Congo Province After Long-Distance Trip Bloomberg
Climate/Environment
One more totally fucking nuts graph for today, care of a request by @LeonSimons8.
Not only is the current standard deviation for the Nino 3.4 sea-surface temperature above 4SD over the 1982-2011 mean for the first time on record, but no previous year even reached 3SD. https://t.co/JP2b3LQnMn
— Prof. Eliot Jacobson (@EliotJacobson) September 8, 2026
Arctic warming fuels 2 distinct climate regimes in Siberia that could wake up a methane ‘sleeping giant’ LiveScience
Asian Ports Snarled as El Niño Fuels Busy Typhoon Season Bloomberg
Indonesian wildfire emissions surge to world’s highest, data shows Reuters
Carbon Capture Won’t Save Us Anytime Soon New Republic
Water
A Warming Himalaya is Changing Indus Basin. The ’60 Treaty Wasn’t Built for This The Quint
Japan’s Nagoya reels from record rain, stranding commuters and flooding city South China Morning Post
New Mexico’s Largest Reservoir [ Elephant Butte] Was Nearly Full. Now It’s at 1.4% SciTech Daily
China?
US-China borrowing costs diverge to widest level ever Financial Times
China-Philippines tensions simmer after Beijing rebukes Manila over Seoul clash CNBC
US calls for AI poisoning to sabotage China’s model distillation Asia Times (Kevin W)
How China Became the World’s First Electrostate OilPrice (resilc)
Africa
Fear of looming famine in Darfur due to poor rains Radio Tamazuj
Over 665,000 displaced people face shelter crisis in Sudan’s Tawila Aljazeera
JNIM jihadists step up incursions into northern Benin France24
South of the Border
Latin America’s Wary Multipolar Turn In New Delhi Think BRICS
Rubio signals shift to working with allies to fight drug trade as latest boat strike kills three Guardian
Secret US-Cuba energy deal reportedly collapsed over political demands TRT
Ex-Venezuelan first lady Cilia Flores seeks release from jail, citing heart ailment Independent
European Disunion
Europe faces “poly-crisis” as energy security risks mount Montel News
Charted: How Europe Generates Its Electricity Visual Capitalist (resilc)
Why are European banks moving their gold out of the US? DW
ECB prepares for ‘longer-lasting’ inflation as it lifts interest rates to 2.5% Guardian
Budget 2027: Full steam ahead into disaster Nachdenkseiten via machine translation (Micael T)
French PM demands criminal probe into press leaks on budget LeMonde
Old Blighty
UK bond yields soar to multi-decade highs on fresh Mideast conflict Reuters
Farmers warn British food security at risk after ‘hardest summer in a generation’ Independent
I’m a farmer – even three days without crops would be a national emergency for our food system LBC
Israel v. The Resistance
Arab states condemn Netanyahu’s incursion into Mount Hermon in Syria Middle East Monitor
Good insights on the Israeli destruction of Ali Al-Taher Hill in Lebanon. A tough loss for Hezbollah whose fighters fought hard.
Another Iranian red line crossed by Israel with no response from
Tehran.— wvanwagenen (@WVanwagenen) September 11, 2026
Israel destroys Hezbollah tunnel network in south Lebanon, triggering 4.1-magnitude tremor France24
Gaza hospitals ration power as fuel shortages deepen Aljazeera
Iran War
Ansarallah completes takeover of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, strikes Saudi pipeline; Oil tops $108 DropSite
Ansar Allah Forces Launch Lightning Campaign to Change Region Calculus Simplicius
The Houthis Reach the Sea — and Washington Tells Riyadh to Fight Alone Larry Johnson (Kevin W)
The oil pumping station on the Saudi East-West pipeline was completely destroyed during yesterday’s attack, according to satellite imagery released today.
This is incredibly important news, as the East-West pipeline can transport up to approximately 210 million barrels of crude… https://t.co/6GCaYnkkAs pic.twitter.com/YggT4Lwzwm
— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 11, 2026
Breaking: The Saudi East-West Pipeline has been HIT… but it was hit out of IRAQ!
This means that IRGC proxies are cross-coordinating their attacks against Saudi Arabia in a truly devastating manner.
Ansarallah has seized effective control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the… pic.twitter.com/UgY2BOSvDO
— Brett Erickson (@BrettErickson28) September 11, 2026
BREAKING ANALYSIS: The Red Sea Back Door Slams Shut Robert Pape
Trump Is Planning Round Three of the US-Israeli War Against Iran — But Will Tehran Strike First? Ian Proud
Iran hits US sea drone in Hormuz Strait, US redirects 96 vessels in blockade CGTN
The US has asked tankers travelling through the Strait of Hormuz to sail only at specific times to guarantee military protection after Iran stepped up attacks on ships travelling at night.
Washington has been offering air-based defence since May to ships wanting to sail via a… https://t.co/uZV27yHyO6
— Giovanni Staunovo🛢 (@staunovo) September 12, 2026
Türkiye urges backing for Qatar-Europe gas pipeline to bypass Hormuz Turkiye
Iranian families grieve at a school where a US strike killed dozens Associated Press (resilc)
New Not-So-Cold War
Russia’s new shelling tactics deepen suffering in Ukraine Aljazeera
Ukraine’s financial crisis resurrects Europe’s bitter dilemma on Russian frozen assets EU Observer
Orthodox church sends medieval prince’s remains to Russian troops in Ukraine Guardian
9/11
Yours truly has mixed views about 9/11 retrospectives, since too often they serve as Rorschach tests. Nevertheless….
The Wrong Lessons of 9/11 Leon Hadar
Bin Laden’s Dream for the Middle East Is Coming True Brandon Weichert
A 9/11 Accounting Joe Costello (Randy K)
‘Everything changed’: The human cost of 25 years of US wars Aljazeera (resilc)
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Microsoft Brings “Age Verification” System To Windows Reclaim the Net (resilc)
Everyone is wrong about low-turnout voters Ellott Morris. Important.
Imperial Collapse Watch
Texas curriculum change will portray Islam as ‘radical’ and ‘brutal’ Middle East Eye
Trump 2.0
Trump’s proposed $5,000 election dividend checks could fuel inflation, economists say CNBC
Hegseth has been a disaster. It’s time for Trump to fire him. Responsible Statecraft. resilc; “Name someone good on team trump? I can’t “
GOP Clown Car
RNC finale ‘all about Vance’ as GOP base looks to 2028 The Hill
Our No Longer Free Press
‘A Damn Bloodbath’: Unions Decry Layoffs at McClatchy Papers as Local Journalism Takes Another Hit Common Dreams
Economy
US diesel prices soar past $6 a gallon, deepening strain for hauling everyday goods Associated Press (Kevin W)
Saudi oil output plunges to lowest since 1990 Bloomberg RT
Surging Tanker Rates Signal Deepening Global Energy Crisis gCaptain
Global coal demand to hit record high OilPrice
Global food inflation is rapidly rising.
The Bloomberg Agriculture Spot Index, which tracks 10 key agricultural commodities, soared over +13.0% in August, its largest monthly gain since July 2012.
Meanwhile, the World Food Price Index rose +1.9% in August, to its highest since December 2022.
This index tracks internationally traded staples including grains, sugar, dairy, meat, and vegetable oils.
Food prices have risen +7.4% since January.
Every component tracked in the index rose last month, led by a +11.9% increase in sugar prices and a +2.6% gain in wheat prices.
Wheat prices have now increased +15.0% over the last 12 months.
Global food inflation is heating up.
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) September 10, 2026
Mr. Market is Worried
Bond market rebuffs US treasury’s plan to buy back $6bn in government debt Guardian
Yen Rally Puts Global Stocks on Watch for Carry Trade Unwind Bloomberg
Bessent’s big talk runs into bigger market realities Asia Times (Kevin W)
This is the same bullshit they floated throughout August.
But this time, they are going to add SPR release in there to wash out oil longs.
The same playbook in May.
Every dirty trick will be used: Axios, Pakistani, Russian, US officials, or whatever they come up with.
Batten down the hatches. War is coming.
— HFI Research (@HFI_Research) September 11, 2026
AI
The latest ‘crack in the thesis’ for the trillion-dollar AI boom: Tokens are getting cheaper Fortune
Banks are warning about an AI bubble and investing anyway The Banker
Destroying Books to Build a Mind New Yorker (Micael T)
California hikers who used AI to plan trip had to be rescued from Mt. Shasta: sheriff KTVU (Micael T). Add this to the ways AI can kill you: bad directions.
A concrete example of how AI advances in solving key open problems could inihibit the future development of a mathematical field Mastodon (Micael T)
The Bezzle
How much does it cost to move an election prediction market? Not much CNBC (resilc)
Guillotine Watch
Tech’s Nouveau Riche Suffer ‘Sudden Wealth Syndrome’ as AI Pay Explodes Bloomberg (resilc)
Class Warfare
College Athletes Used to Live in Dorms. Now They’re Buying Million-Dollar Homes Wall Street Journal (resilc). No archived version yet.
My Kids Don’t Want the Family Silver. Should I Melt It Down? Wall Street Journal (Micael T)
Exclusive: Texas deputy and wife beaten by Waffle House employees in parking space dispute, suit says Independent (resilc)
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus:
Cutest video of the day 🥰 pic.twitter.com/ViEga4j2UF
— Brian4new (@GustBrian) September 10, 2026
A second bonus:
The cat who keeps asking for the trampoline pic.twitter.com/BoobMK5AFM
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 11, 2026
And a third:
I didn’t realise baby water buffalo are this cute! pic.twitter.com/9P8Ko2sTap
— Science girl (@sciencegirl) September 11, 2026
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
