Links 8/24/2026

We killed off California’s grizzly bears over a century ago. Can we resurrect them? Los Angeles Times California Woman Lost $300,000 To A Fake Kenny Chesney – Then Decided To Sue The Real Country Star Whiskey Riff Do you really want a “slow life?” Rayon If you’re afraid of heights, look away now. Skydiver Sergei Boytsov has set a world record by jumping from a hot-air balloon at an altitude of 11,551 metres over Russia’s Altai region, per Izvestia. Boytsov surpassed the previous record of approximately 10,060 metres, set by… pic.twitter.com/WIL09CDMn9 — Brian McDonald (@BrianMcDonaldIE) August 22, 2026 Climate/Environment Thousands of people have been evacuated in Reno, Nevada, as a fast-moving wildfire closed in on the city on Sunday. The so-called Hawk Fire has grown to 13,000 acres and threatened hundreds of homes. At least 200 new fires also erupted nationwide this weekend. CBS News’… pic.twitter.com/pIF2ZuvKic — CBS Evening News with Tony Dokoupil (@CBSEveningNews) August 24, 2026 Bigger, Hotter Fires Are Slowly Erasing America’s Great Forests New York Times Bomb Fishing Is Reducing Coral Reefs to ‘Rubble’ Inside Climate News And we have a new all-time record warm *absolute* temperature for the oceans, according to ERA5 (which goes back to 1940): August 21st likely marked the warmest Sea Surface Temperatures have been for the entire Holocene period, and possibly even as far back as the last… pic.twitter.com/QGZKIlcp86— Prof. Ryan Katz-Rosene (@ryankatzrosene) August 23, 2026 Cement’s Stubborn Emissions Phenomenal World Laugh in the Face of Doom and Gloom The Revelator Japan Japanese lawmakers travel to Beijing, seeking to mend ties after fallout AP Takaichi explains why she spends long hours in seclusion Asahi Shimbun China? China’s ‘policy addiction’ warning signals Beijing’s preference for targeted stimulus South China Morning Post When “Flexibility” Sounds Like an Insult Pekingnology Southeast Asia Arson and bomb attacks hit more than 70 locations in Thailand’s deep south, authorities say The Straits Times Asia’s acquiescence in ‘reciprocal trade agreements’ fortifies Trump’s tariff wall East Asia Forum India The Persistence of Caste, and the Campaign That Ignores It The Wire The AK-203 rifle is now completely ‘made in India’: Why is this significant? Firstpost Syraqistan Gaza Strip: Only 3 percent of Gaza’s cropland remains accessible and undamaged, new assessment finds Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations MAKING SOUTHERN LEBANON UNLIVABLE Lighthouse Reports *** Saudi shelling hits residential villages in northern Yemen Al Mayadeen *** Iran ‘reviewing invitation’ to join Mecca Joint Defense Agreement: Report The Cradle. Not an Islamic NATO: The Mecca Agreement Is Building the Post-American Security Architecture — and Iran Is About to Walk In Larry Johnson. That’s the pitch, apparently. Or are the Mecca Agreement countries trying to play good cop to US-Israel bad cop. Their ideas for post-American security architecture sound awfully familiar, exemplified by comments earlier this year from Turkish Foreign Minister (and head of Turkish intelligence for 13 years) Hakan Fidan: “A new leadership structure may reshape Iran’s decision-making and create an opportunity to stop the war,” [Fidan] told a live broadcast on TRT Haber news channel. “The new leadership in Iran may show greater flexibility at this stage…This could be a window of opportunity, if used wisely.” Iran’s president wants to revive MoU to end stalled US war New Arab The Zionist expansion in Latin America and Russia’s influence contraction in West Asia Vanessa Beeley and Fiorella Isabel SHAMEFUL anti-IR Iran letter co-signed by a shocking list including Mumia Abu-Jamal, Robin DG Kelley, Angela Davis, Rashid Khalidi, Judith Butler, and Alberto Toscano to name a few. https://t.co/LVJSSfIFAj — Christopher Helali (@ChrisHelali) August 21, 2026 Iran Unleashed Robert Kagan, The Atlantic. “The dominant power in the Middle East from now on will not be the U.S. or Israel but Iran.” A lot of congratulating from unlikely sources going on. European Disunion Helps explain a lot, if true: 🚨 EX-INSIDER BOMBSHELL: WE CREATED THIS EUROPE ON PURPOSE – CIA BOUGHT STOLTENBERG, RUTTE AND ENTIRE GOVERNMENTS I have never heard the truth stated so directly. Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, retired U.S. Army officer and former Chief of Staff to the Secretary of State, just… pic.twitter.com/3yif2levDv — Mark (@Mark4XX) August 23, 2026 Link to full interview. Eastern Populisms Tribune Germany must ditch doubts over private capital, says investment tsar FT O Canada As Carney Stands Tall Against Trump, the Timing Is Ideal The Tyee Poilievre Wants Canada To Fuel U.S. Wars In Exchange For Tariff Relief The Maple Old Blighty The UK is not as sheltered as we assume New Climate Reality New Not-So-Cold War Ukraine widens its targets — and its tolerance for causing civilian casualties Politico ‘We are stepping up’: EU approves €6.1 billion for Ukraine’s defences Euronews Ukraine launches drone strikes on Russian e-commerce giant Ozon Euronews Ukraine’s fight against Putin shows what women are really capable of The Telegraph. I.e., start conscripting the women, Big Z. Turkish cook killed after drone strikes rescue ship that had saved him from earlier attack in Black Sea Turkiye Today Turkish F-16 jets based in Estonia join missions to down Russian drones Intellinews South of the Border Venezuelan Parliament Approves Law to ‘Protect’ Real Estate Developers Venezuelanalysis Trump 2.0 How One Billionaire’s Crusade against Homelessness Became Trump’s Playbook WaPo Democrats Suck 2028 Dems dodge on Bernie’s push to pause AI Axios Reformers Blast ‘Audacious Power Grab’ by Brooklyn Democratic Party Chair The City Reporter The Uniparty Jeffries and Kushner Meet Privately as Midterm Attacks Fly New York Times Sullivan endorses Sullivan against Sullivan in Alaska The Hill Mr. Market Hedge Funds Ramp Up Dollar Shorts Ahead of Bessent’s Fiscal Plan Bloomberg Economy Yes, temporarily. As of early Monday morning, August 24, 2026 (around 12:13 AM EDT / ~04:13 UTC), Buffalo Niagara International Airport (BUF/KBUF) has no jet fuel available for refueling aircraft. This is confirmed by official NOTAM BUF 08/188: “BUF AD AP FUEL NOT AVBL”…— Don Paul (@donpaulbitsosun) August 24, 2026 Agriculture Cattle Industry Clashes with Trump Beef Price Plan Morning Ag Clips USDA wants to revive the cotton industry. Experts aren’t sure that’s possible. Investigate Midwest Imperial Collapse Watch Servicemember aboard USS Lincoln decries father’s ICE detention The Hill AI Zeldin warns against banning data centers in US, citing China The Hill Meta glasses are a workplace menace The Verge Can parents trust OpenAI’s new ChatGPT for Teens to keep their child safe? CTV News The death of folk graphic design in favor of AI slop across our country’s delis is leading to some incredibly Lovecraftian food horrors pic.twitter.com/snDyC675Ei — Sam Biddle (@samfbiddle) August 23, 2026 Class Warfare Monopoly Round-Up: Living in an Age of Cheating Means Having Your Time Stolen Constantly Matt Stoller Never Apologize For Being a Class Traitor Hamilton Nolan The ‘Do or Die’ Days Hickman’s Hinterlands Antidote du jour (via): See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here. Pursuant to the ‘Meta glasses are a workplace menace’ article in The Verge, this in the FT — The Big Read. Can AI glasses replace the smartphone? AI is coming for your glasses https://archive.ph/7L7H2 https://www.ft.com/content/3f25f892-2de2-40e6-9592-a7ac18682c6c?syn-25a6b1a6=1 ‘For all the privacy furore, smart glasses sales are growing rapidly. Analysts at Counterpoint Research estimate consumers will spend more than $1tn between 2026 and 2032 on wearable devices, as tech companies pack cameras, microphones and AI features into everything from earbuds to pendants…. ‘“Every time you reach into your pocket or your bag to pull [a phone] out, you’re taking yourself out of the moment that you’re in,” Himel says. “The reason we like wearables is because it’s always with you, it’s easy to use.” We are (will be) the Borg I heard that some work places ban mobiles because they can breach confidentiality – both for the people at work there as well as that company’s data. So what happens when some idiot wear one of these glasses to work filming everything in sight? Employees owe a fiduciary duty to their employer. Consequences could range from “you’re fired!” to “see you in court, pal!” How many of those consumers are female, I wonder? In theory, meta glasses could be useful in recoding evidence against creepers. The aggressive selling via Kylie Jenner and other influencers suggest that they are struggling with women. Good day Colonel, in keeping with Starmer respray job making his first foreign visit to Kiev, The Guardian and its Luke “I’m a storyteller not a journalist” Harding are desperately trying to breathe life into the dying embers of the Russiagate Trump is a Russian asset scam. The pathetic Harding concludes his latest fantasy book by asking ‘Why does Putin persist with a futile and costly war he can’t win?”. The Guardian is, as ever, the pretend left of centre house magazine of British intelligence. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/24/betrayal-by-luke-harding-review-is-donald-trump-a-russian-asset This was intended to be posted under the Spooks Run the Show piece. Not sure how it landed under links. Can it be moved there please? Thank you, John. On the BBC lunchtime news, I was surprised to hear James Landale, Eton and Oxford friend of Cameron, cast doubt on whether support for Ukraine “can survive the tough spending measures planned for next year”. “Bomb Fishing Is Reducing Coral Reefs to ‘Rubble’ – Inside Climate News” Always a short term solution that has bad long term consequences. I recall a story of Aussie troops training in the country that set up camp by a river. For a coupla days everybody ate well as there were lots of good fishing. But then another unit moved in upstream and they resorted to dropping hand grenades into the river to get a lot of fish fast as they floated to the surface. This worked for a coupla days and then after that, nobody had any fish to eat. T’s imported beef plan. Is it from Argentina? From Due Dissidence. The report is the first part of the whole show. Just watch the opening segment about T’s imported beef. (I’ll think twice now before getting a burger from a fast food place.) https://youtu.be/tu57N0KjAx8?t=600 Thanks for that flora. I haven’t listened to the video yet but I bet that it is all about Trump helping his good buddy Milie in Argentina and I would not be surprised to learn that there was not some sort of kickback involved to Trump’s family. oh, it gets worse. Way worse. Re attempts to revive the US cotton industry–my upstate SC region is covered up with former cotton mills, their crumbling shells or their tony conversions to lofts and offices. When they were in operation it was hardly paradise with “brown lung” from the fiber dust a common ailment. For a time you’d see some elderly in stores trundling around their oxygen bottles due to their years in the factories. But the mills have been gone long enough for even that to no longer be true. Even if they could rebuild the factories the fields of cotton have been turned into fields of mansionettes. And water sucking, soil depleting cotton is not exactly enviro friendly. As with all Trump plans this seems square peg, round hole.