Links 5/15/2026 | naked capitalism

Why are some people mosquito magnets? Clues are emerging Phys.org

Buddhist sect welcomes humanoid robot Gabi with precept ceremony Yonhap

‘Think twice before posing with hand signs’: Experts warn of fingerprint theft Straits Times

The abandonment of values Massimo Mazzucco (translation via GeoPolitiQ)

Why do people still take cruises? Convenience, value outweigh health risks, experts say CBC

Hantavirus

Thursday May 14th. Here are the main developments in the last 24 hours regarding the MV Hondius Andes hantavirus situation:

Current case count

European public health authorities now report:

11 total cases8 confirmed2 probable1 inconclusive3 deaths totalImportantly, no new…

— Roger Seheult, MD (@RogerSeheult) May 14, 2026

Argentina Races to Find Origin of Hantavirus Contagion New York Times

Another Californian was exposed to hantavirus in deadly cruise ship outbreak, officials announce Los Angeles Times. “The newly identified passenger disembarked the MV Hondius cruise ship before the outbreak was known, returned briefly to California and then once again traveled abroad. The individual is currently in the Pitcairn Islands.”

How the CDC’s Hantavirus Response Became a PR Crisis NOTUS. Or maybe the hope-for-the-best-plan-for-the-best CDC is a public health crisis, not a PR one. Even if Hantavirus doesn’t go pandemic.

Hantavirus Doesn’t Spread Easily, but Officials May Be Downplaying Risks New York Times

Omg even at the National Quarantine Unit where the hantavirus contacts are, they’re still only using surgical masks when people in quarantine interact with the medical staff. If one of them gets infected, you’ll know why. pic.twitter.com/8et7yl6btO

— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) May 14, 2026

Climate/Environment

Hantavirus is a climate story HEATED

Back to the future: trace lead in ambient air from wood fuel combustion Nature

Lessons in Living in the Anthropocene (From the World’s Most Pessimistic Climate Writer) Lit Hub

Pandemics

Where’s COVID? Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts

Ensitrelvir for Covid-19 Postexposure Prophylaxis in Household Contacts New England Journal of Medicine

Water

More concentrated precipitation decreases terrestrial water storage Nature

Explosive device found, detonated at Mobile water reservoir WALA

China?

Reading Between the Lines of the Xi-Trump Summit Readout Inside China

Beijing Came Prepared to Name the U.S.-China Relationship First New China Literacy

Xi ruled out arming Iran during Beijing talks: Trump TRT World. Just like his claim that 200 Boeing planes are being ordered, no confirmation from Chinese side.

Chinese FM responds to whether China, US leaders talk about Iran during exchanges on views on major international and regional issues, including Middle East situation China Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Global Times

Xi to Trump: No on Taiwan, Yes to Business, Beware the Thucydides Trap George Chen

U.S. Taiwan policy unchanged after Trump-Xi summit in Beijing: Rubio Focus Taiwan

How the Hormuz Crisis Is Threatening Taiwan’s Power Grid OilPrice

Tensions flare at Trump-Xi summit as clashes erupt over media access, Secret Service standoff Firstpost

India

DOJ May Drop Gautam Adani Fraud Charges Amid $10 Billion U.S. Investment Plan EconoTimes

How Modi Is Ditching Indian Protectionism in Favor of Free Trade Bloomberg

Market Access Challenges for India in its FTA with EU The India Forum

The Unresolved Challenges in U.S.–India Semiconductor Cooperation Carnegie India

Syraqistan

Israel Killing at Least One Palestinian Child a Week in West Bank: UNICEF Countercurrents

Leaked Documents Show Cisco Systems’ Deep Relationship with Israeli Security State Drop Site

Israel’s Netanyahu says suing New York Times over Palestinian rape article Al Jazeera

Old Blighty

Weasel Streeting quits for Starmer leadership challenge — lets take a look at his resignation letter The Canary

European Disunion

Warsaw denies reports of cancelled US troop deployment to Poland Notes From Poland

U.S. is Set to Become Europe’s Largest Gas Supplier, Overtaking Norway Maritime Executive

It Doesn’t Matter What Europe’s GDP Is Ian Welsh

Fighting Monks London Review of Books

Africa

The price of survival Africa Is A Country

Ivory Coast Rushes to Calm Cocoa Farmer Protests as Unpaid Beans Rot and Crisis Spirals West Africa Weekly

O Canada

Vancouver mayor decries ‘misinformation’ after saying he uses 11 AI agents to do work CBC

New Not-So-Cold War

Rutte seeks to triple aid to Ukraine Nordic Times

Bail for ex-Zelensky aide set at $3.2 million as corruption case opens RT

How stray Ukrainian drones pushed Latvia’s prime minister to resign France24

Russia Keeps Attacking U.S. Firms in Ukraine. The White House Is Silent. New York Times

Human rights groups urge Poland to stop facilitating US deportations to Ukraine Notes From Poland

South of the Border

CIA Chief Visits Havana Amid Heightened U.S. Tensions TeleSur

Cuba announces it has exhausted all its fuel reserves: ‘We have absolutely nothing’ El Pais

Day 3 of Bolivia’s general strike demanding the resignation of neoliberal President Rodrigo Paz.

All major highways blocked by protesters. An indigenous long march is heading to the capital, as it passes through each town and village more people join. pic.twitter.com/FQxNDTQtP6

— Ollie Vargas (@Ollie_Vargas_) May 14, 2026

Spook Country

How Tulsi Gabbard’s Secret Task Force Imploded The After-Action Report

GOP Funhouse

Hush Money Accusation Attempts To Derail Thomas Massie One Week Ahead Of Primary Blue Apples

Democrats Suck

The Similar Praxis of Jim Crow and Lord Voldemort (Or, Why the Democrat Party Ain’t Harry Potter) Black Agenda Report

VA Dem Gov Vetoes Collective Bargaining Rights Expansion –Chicago Dems Rollback Tipped Wage Phase Out — LA Dems Vote to Delay Increase in Min Wages Payday Report

Green New Deal champion AOC absent as New York weakens climate law Politico

Imperial Collapse Watch

Pentagon launches new framework agreements to acquire 10,000 low-cost cruise missiles Breaking Defense

BRICS

Iran and UAE clash at BRICS foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi TRT World

Police State Watch

Contracts Show ICE Planned Detainee Labor at Warehouse Sites Slated as Short-Term Facilities Project Salt Box

FBI insiders: Kash Patel is ‘padding the stats’ to boost his record of arrests MS Now

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch