Links 6/21/2025 | naked capitalism

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— 𝗧𝗼𝗺 𝗢𝘀𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗻 PhD, FRSA call-me-tomasso.bsky (@call_me_tomasso) June 20, 2025

#COVID-19/Pandemics

Health tip: Soothe a ‘Razor Blade’ Sore Throat

The new #Nimbus variant of #COVID-19 is causing a sharp, ‘razor blade’ type of soreness in the throat (pharyngitis). The reason? The variant replicates in the throat lining, causing cellular damage. Try these soothing solutions. pic.twitter.com/EqgxIbpxmJ

— Yale Medicine (@YaleMedicine) June 20, 2025

I’ve just tested positive for Covid . The 2nd time in 2 months, symptoms very sore throat . I thought you couldn’t get Covid twice in 2 months 😵‍💫 !! Any health professionals out there who know what’s going on with this strain . Thank you 🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/cMPUE4M85u

— Tanita Tikaram💙 (@tanita_tikaram) June 20, 2025

I have no idea if this study is methodologically sound. But it seems likely to make the rounds:

BREAKING:⁰Analysis of over 220K pregnancies in Israel during 2016- 2022 found that mRNA COVID-19 vaccination during gestational weeks 8-13 was associated with a higher-than-expected number of eventual fetal losses (miscarriages, abortions & stillbirths)!

Pregnant women… pic.twitter.com/XO3Ym1dnm7

— Retsef Levi (@RetsefL) June 20, 2025

Climate/Environment

Climate change impact on food ‘like everyone giving up breakfast’ Telegraph

How Extreme Heat Will Eventually Make Much of the Earth Completely Unlivable Laughing Squid (resilc)

Mexico’s Food Supply at Risk from Extreme Weather CGTN America

Congestion pricing in Manhattan is a predictable success Economist

UK farm swaps milk for cow cuddles as floods and food prices take their toll Reuters

China?

How China got the US over a rare earth barrel Asia Times

China’s J-35A courting buyers barred from US F-35s Asia Times (Kevin W). BWAHAHA. Thailand managed to dodge buying the flying pork called F-35s by acting as if they could not spend ~10 years building the infrastructure the US insisted upon before getting the jets. That does not mean that they will be buyers of Chinese jets, but illustrates how extreme US demands are in connection with F-35s.

China’s payment system spreads across Africa and Asia amid US trade war South China Morning Post

Africa

African state strips French nuclear giant of uranium mine RT (Kevin W)

Jihadists on 200 motorbikes storm Niger army base BBC

South of the Border

Why is Latin America so violent? Vodou Economics. Moi: I am sure some readers will take offense with the title. What about, say, Uruguay? Costa Rica? resilc: “I used to hear Russian all the time while living in Guatemala early 2000s. Lots of small jets around too.”

European Disunion

Spain risks derailing NATO summit by resisting 5% defence spending goal Reuters

Macron Says Europe Must Become ‘Space Power’ Again PhyOrg

Are police officers committing a crime? Tagesschau via machine translation (guurst)

Employees at firm that supplied grape-pickers for champagne on trial for human trafficking Guardian (resilc)

Old Blighty

Pro-Palestine protesters deface two aircraft at RAF base Guardian (resilc)

Israel v. Iran

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— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 20, 2025

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Iran’s ‘MONSTERS’ Bombard Tel Aviv, Overwhelm Iron Dome | Missiles Turn Fireballs, Dance In Sky Times of India and Iran s 3 AM attack makes sleepless Israel panic 18th wave of Missiles set fire to the buildings Hindustan Times and Iran Launches Most Powerful Missile Attack on Israel – Tel Aviv Declares State of Emergency Jet Tempur Indonesia. Mind you, Israel has heavy censorship and is attempting to suppress videos of air strikes.

Iranian ballistic missiles hit “strategic points” in Israeli port city of Haifa War Zone

Israel Buckles as Iran War Shifts to New Drag-Out Phase Simplicius

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Forced to Wait for Trump, Israel Faces Strategic Dilemma in Iran New York Times (Kevin W). Note the continued misdirection, that the issue is attacking nuclear sites. Per the tweet below, Iran has said it’s removed pretty much everything important, in particular the enriched uranium. So will the resolution be for Iran to graciously let the US and Israel attack one site to demonstrate their impotence (to the world) but let Trump save face in the US?

NEW: Senior Iranian Official Says Iran Moved All Enriched Uranium, Including 60% Natanz Stockpile, to Safe Sites Ahead of Israeli Strikes

“Israel hit Natanz, Isfahan’s nuclear facility, Khondab, and Arak, but those sites were already evacuated. All the materials they were… https://t.co/U6owuTKxAb pic.twitter.com/18DFbzIgpm

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) June 19, 2025

Note I am skeptical of the idea that Trump’s delay is for any other reason than to get military assets in place. The latest from Larry Johnson:

From my contacts within the US military, all signs indicate that we’re on-the-luge (a fast snow sled) at this point and there’s no way to get off. We are hurtling downhill… too much is already in motion. Even if Trump decides tomorrow to call everything off, we’ve already set up and committed enough support assets so that the Israeli Defense Force has everything it needs. Reversing course seems very unlikely now because of bureaucratic momentum.

Douglas Macgregor provides independent confirmation from his sources in Col. Douglas Macgregor: America’s Attack on Iran Could Start WW3 Glenn Diesen, YouTube

U.S. Races to Defend Israel as It Burns Through Missile Interceptors Wall Street Journal

Israel is running out of interceptor missiles. China’s export bans mean they can’t be replaced Kevin Walmsley

Looks like this was a part of this cyberattack that did succeed, see: Iran thwarts Israel-orchestrated cyber attacks on banking network, state TV PressTV

what about the vaunted blockchain? no longer a thing? seems that spooks’ ability to wipe wallets shud be bigger news https://t.co/NDl9b4ISUb

— chinahand (@chinahand) June 18, 2025

Big if true:

🇮🇷🇮🇱 “The internet blackout across Iran has completely disabled Israel’s drone network.”

— Tasnim news agency, citing an informed source pic.twitter.com/BNdBlEip8f

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 19, 2025

Fear and shock as Israelis question motives behind attack on Iran Middle East Eye

War With Iran: Animal Abandonment in Israel Soars Haaretz

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European powers to offer Iran ‘diplomatic solution’ to conflict: Macron France24 (Kevin W). Included for sake of completeness, but this was never going to go anywhere (Simplicius describes above how the Iranians are not budging)

How Iran Shot Down Israeli F-35s Using Chinese Tactics China Academy (Paul R). The problem is that these claims are inconsistence with evidence from Simplicius and others, that Israeli planes have not, save one itty bitty incursion, entered Iranian air space.

🇮🇷 IRAN TODAY: Just watch this short walk through Teheran!

-> Count the women that wear a head scarf and those who do not.

Now tell me, is this what you expected?

Iranian women can wear a headscarf if they choose to, but if they don’t … then they don’t.

It’s a modern Muslim… pic.twitter.com/nT2UKb4fyn

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) June 20, 2025

Israel’s Wars are Colonial, Contradicting Biblical Values Juan Cole. resilc: “Just as Arendt prophesied, there may be no end to “existential threats” if Israel stays her course of equating safety and security with repression and domination.”

Schumer, Democratic Leaders Failing to Stop Trump Iran War Intercept

THE PRESIDENTS OF RUSSIA AND CHINA ANNOUNCE THE CARDINAL POINTS OF THE OBVIOUS John Helmer. A careful reading of statements that comes to different conclusions than the ones of most YouTubers

New Not-So-Cold War

Meeting with heads of international news agencies President of Russia

Brief report from the front, June 20, 2025 Marat Khairullin

How NATO military doctrine failed Ukraine on the battlefield Alexander Vershinin, Responsible Statecraft (Alexander Mercouris)

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

DHS Warns of Sharp Rise in Chinese-Made Signal Jammers The Register

Kansas City Public Schools Is Hiring A School Spy to Investigate Students Kansas City Defender. Paur R:

Not sure if this is alarmist. Appears to be a surveillance gig aiming to check that kids aren’t attending the school from outside the district. Tie-ins to ICE etc presumed, not good for minority families according to the article.

Imperial Collapse Watch

Israel-Iran conflict ‘drives the final nail into the coffin’ of post-war world order France24

The Collapse of Restraint: Iran, Israel, and the Fragility of Global Order Modern Diplomacy

Trump 2.0

Senate parliamentarian knocks pieces out of Trump’s megabill The Hill

Trump Adviser: “Canada has been taken over by Mexican cartels…” @atrupar pic.twitter.com/eaObdHggzz

— The Intellectualist (@highbrow_nobrow) June 15, 2025

Northeastern Governors and Canadian Premiers Unite Against Trump American Prospect (Robin K). So will Yankeestan secede?

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Gabbard Falls in Line, Claims Iran Close to Nukes Antiwar.com

MAGA pic.twitter.com/N8txL9WAzM

— Zineb Riboua (@zriboua) June 21, 2025

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SCOOP: USAID Being ‘Forced’ to Award Millions to Disastrous Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Zeteo

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ProPublica Sued the FDA for Withholding Records About Drug Safety ProPublica (Robin K)

GOP Clown Car

Republicans, Not Democrats, Have the Messaging Problem Washington Monthly

GOP reps want same benefits for Americans serving in Israel army Responsible Statecraft. resilc: “Over 20,000 American citizens are currently defending Israel from Hamas terrorists, risking their lives for the betterment of our ally,” said Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), in a recent statement.“

Immigration

Mahmoud Khalil is released from ICE detention but faces new charges in immigration court WSWS

Deportations threaten South Omaha neighborhood built by meatpacking and immigrants Investigate Midwest (Robin K)

Regime Change Means More Migrants for the West – The American Conservative (resilc). The US is working this out only now?

Supremes

Supreme Court widens court options for vaping companies pushing back against FDA rules Associated Press (Kevin W)

Democrat Death Wish

Rahm Emanuel: 2025’s worst throwback He’s the Machiavelli of Democratic capitulation Unherd

Woke Watch

The Great Disappearing Trans Freakout Matt Taibbi. IM Doc does not agree. See his comment.

Mr. Market is Moody

CPI Data Quality Declining Apollo Academy (resilc)

Oil, war and tariffs tear up markets’ central bank roadmap Reuters

Higher risk, lower growth, less investment: UN trade arm issues downbeat global economic outlook CNBC

Europe’s central banks are all cutting rates, even as tariffs tie the Fed’s hands Politico

ChatGPT use linked to cognitive decline: MIT research The Hill (resilc)

CEOs Using AI to Terrorize Their Employees Futurism

AI Models From Major Companies Resort To Blackmail in Stress Tests Anthropic

Applebee’s and IHOP Plan to Introduce AI in Restaurants Wall Street Journal. resilc: “

The Bezzle

Musk’s empire showing signs of “rapid unscheduled disassembly” Boing Boing

The West crowned Jensen Huang and Sam Altman as visionaries. China sees two hucksters. One selling legacy chips wrapped in hype. The other pumping GPU scarcity like it’s the next oil crisis. Both backed by Wall Street. Here’s the full story. 🧵https://t.co/hezLeerpIZ

— William Huo (@wmhuo168) June 19, 2025

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. John U: “Dusty the Adventure Dog enjoying the sunset @ Tecopa hot springs”:

A bonus: