Links 6/27/2026 | naked capitalism

Paradise Revisited Atlantic (Micael T)

Scientists stunned by signs of ancient life in a place no one expected Science Daily (Kevin W)

How the Himalayan Blackberry Took Over the Pacific Northwest JSTOR (Micael T)

Global trade in cocaine, methamphetamine is booming, UN drug report shows Reuters

Left-Wing Ideology, Mental Health and Body Modification Journal of Open Inquiry in the Behavioral Science. Micael T:

“This study focuses specifically on the dimension of social leftism—defined by specific attitudes on issues such as gender, race, immigration, sexual orientation, and personal expression. This conceptualization is distinct from economic leftism, which concerns views on redistribution, market regulation, and social welfare“

So they are actually studying neoliberal identity-mongers, which has nothing to do with the left.A “study“ for the commentariat to shred into tiny, tiny pieces.

https://joibs.org/index.php/joibs/article/view/78/47

Climate/Environment

Climate risks ‘no longer peripheral’ to inflation and monetary policy FTAdviserhttps://www.ftadviser.com/content/7b51a2b4-10ea-40b6-86d5-0653ebbcbaf4

June has featured record-breaking westerly wind bursts in the Pacific.

This is causing new Kelvin wave activity that will shift more warm water toward the eastern Pacific, probably culminating in the strongest El Niño on record this year — possibly by a wide margin. pic.twitter.com/dBI8mba6QP

— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) June 23, 2026

Ça fond a une allure apocalyptique

Iso de 0 à 4500 mètres d’altitude… Plus de 30 degrés à 1000m d’altitude, 40 Annecy

Le mont-blanc et ses glaciers dégoulinent. Nous perdons notre eau potable. Une 3e vague de chaleur est pressentie et ils ne parlent que de climatisation pic.twitter.com/qqoISHS2WD

— Valerie Paumier présidente de RESILIENCE MONTAGNE (@Valerie_Paumier) June 24, 2026

Think it’s hot? The Antarctic Peninsula is unusually warm too. British Antarctic Survey

Utah officials warn of ‘totally unprecedented’ water shortages as towns run dry Salt Lake Tribune

How much deforestation is your country importing through trade? Hannah Ritchie (Micael T)

Hedge Fund Targets $500 Million for El Niño Crop Risk Trade Bloomberg

China?

China vows to seek tariff cuts with US while decrying its ‘malicious’ trade acts South China Morning Post

Strategic minerals corridor, against China German Foreign Policy

China Leverages Its Critical Minerals Advantage Against Japan Bloomberg

NZ internal report warns of Chinese military forays in Pacific France24

‘China Initiative 2.0’: US crackdown on Chinese scholars intensifies South China Morning Post (guurst)

China Prepares Second LNG Terminal to Receive Arctic LNG 2 Cargoes High North News

Japan

U.S. missile moves in Japan send China clear message: A new era has arrived Japan Times

Koreas

North Korea’s Kim watches weapons tests and calls for ‘deadly and destructive’ military posture Independent

Southeast Asia

China built Indonesia’s nickel boom. Will it stay for the bust? Asia Times (Kevin W)

Africa

Weaponizing the Womb: Reproductive Genocide in Tigray Genocide Watch

Sudan: New UN Human Rights Report – ‘Brutal Use of Sexual Violence in Sudan’ All Africa

What a surge of anti-migrant protests says about South Africa Economist

Johannesburg Collapse Risk Spurs Call for State to Run City Bloomberg

South of the Border

Economic losses mount as Venezuela earthquake death toll grows Aljazeera

Venezuelans take search for the missing into their own hands as earthquake death toll climbs Associated Press (Kevin W)

Venezuela: Earthquake Death Toll Rises, US SOUTHCOM Deploys Military Assets VenezuelAnalysis (Robin K)

Massacred for Supporting Che Guevara Huseyin Dorgu (Robin K)

Colombia’s Cocaine Trade Now Outearns Its Oil Exports OilPrice

European Disunion

France records hottest day ever as Europe suffers brutal heat wave NBC

Old Blighty

‘It’s dangerous’: how schools, care homes and other UK workplaces are coping in searing heat Guardian

UK June heat record broken for third day in a row as ministers urged to act Guardian (Kevin W)

UK housebuilders warn of ‘shockwaves’ as tariffs on steel imports double Financial Times

US tariffs bite as UK food and drink exports sink to 10-year low The Grocer

Farmers criticise government plan to counter threats to UK food security Guardian

Israel v. The Resistance

Mild by Trump standards. Trump uses “The Islamic Republic of Iran” when he want to show a modicum of respect:

Lloyd’s List Intelligence data shows at least 26 vessels over 10,000 dwt transiting the Strait of Hormuz with AIS on using the southern route from 1410 hrs on June 25, when Ever Lovely was hit, to 1200 hrs on June 26. Eight used the Iran-approved northern route pic.twitter.com/eCznPh6eVD

— Lloyd’s List (@LloydsList) June 26, 2026

New Report Reveals True Extent of Devastation of US Fifth Fleet HQ in Bahrain Simplicius

The underlying report: How Iran Devastated an American Naval Base—and Caused a U.S. Recalculation Wall Street Journal

Here are the details of the framework deal between Israel and Lebanon signed today. Here is why it is a non-starter:

1) The deal is not a peace deal but just a framework for future talks. No recognition is involved.

2) The core mechanism is two “pilot zones.” The Lebanese…

— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) June 26, 2026

The US-Iran war may have ended but the death toll continues to mount Telegraph

Safety Is When There’s No One Dying New York Review of Books (guurst)

Soldiers wounded during the Iran war accuse Pentagon of downplaying their injuries Independent

Gulf states press US not to ignore threat from Iranian missiles The Times

Israel says troops will not withdraw from Lebanon, Gaza, and Syria ‘security zones’ New Arab

Forever wars: Israel’s cycle of conflict shows no finish line Aljazeera

Yemen’s Houthi group vows to target any Israeli presence in breakaway Somaliland Anadolu Agency

Another Hormuz? The Red Sea’s Threat to the Global Economy Council for Foreign Relation

New Not-So-Cold War

France seizes fifth Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker linked to Ukraine war Aljazeera

Ukraine’s Belarus Gambit: When Strategic Pressure Produces Political Escalation Kautilya

Russia’s fuel crisis and Crimea’s logistics problems: is the Kremlin losing its grip on reality? TopWar (Micael T)

Russia preparing possible ‘provocation’ in Baltic states or Poland, sources say Guardian. At the risk of offending readers who are exceptions, isn’t “Latvian intelligence” an oxymoron?

Kazakhstan turning from Moscow to Beijing and Baku GIS

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Nearly a million passports just exposed on the public internet—and anyone could access them with a simple URL CA. From earlier this month, still germane

Imperial Collapse Watch

US army bases to host critical minerals plants in onshoring push Mining.com

Trump 2.0

John Bolton pleads guilty in classified documents prosecution The Hill

John Bolton pleaded guilty Friday to unlawfully retaining sensitive national security information. Under his plea agreement, he faces up to 5 years in prison, up to 3 years of supervised release, a $2.25 million fine, forfeiture of his government pension, and is due to be… https://t.co/ptTon5ucHJ

— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) June 27, 2026

Immigration

Over 425,000 Kids in U.S. Face Deportation Hearings Without Lawyers DropSite

Economy

Inflation in “Core Services” Surges, plus AI’s Impact on Electricity & Goods: Inflation beyond Gasoline Wolf Richter

Mr. Market Needs a Therapist

Asian stocks suffer fresh rout as rollercoaster week draws to close Channel News Asia

‘Hugely Troubling’: A Former Wall Street Regulator Is Getting Nervous Politico

SpaceX bond sale signals markets are in ‘bubble territory’, warns Allianz CIO Financial Times

AI

The Tokenpocalypse Is Here: Companies Are Scrambling To Stop Spending So Much on AI 404 Media

The month Generative AI lost its mojo Gary Marcus

The state of the AI economy Exponential View (Micael T)

Why Are People Using AI to Text Their Friends? Terry Nguyen (Micael T)

Elite Malfeasance

Medicare Advantage Company Pays $342M to Government in Midst of Billing Probe KFF Health News

The Bezzle

Stablecoin Crash? Barry Ritholtz

Ares Management flagship private credit fund slammed with withdrawal requests City AM

This Year’s Fed Stress Test Is A Hollow Exercise Awaiting Its Final Blow Better Markets

Meet the multi-millionaire power couple who’s think tank advocated ‘communism for landlords’ and a global welfare state while living in $30M mansion New York Post (Micael T)

Guillotine Watch

‘You can’t make billions without hurting people’: Cory Doctorow on Elon Musk, the AI bubble and bosses’ cruel fantasies Guardian

Class Warfare

The United States Can Afford to Modernize Itself. Capital Simply Refuses to Pay William Murphy (Micael T)

The Rating Racket CADTM (Micael T)

Techno-oligarchy and privatization of sovereignty: the new phase of capitalism Rebelion via machine translation (Micael T)

The violence specialists aeon

Antidote du jour. Tracie H:

Female house sparrow on our roof.She’s been chirping and peering over the edge of the roof. I think she’s a little envious of the hummingbird enjoying a little birdbath below that is really too small for the house sparrow.

And a bonus (Chuck L):

Failed Flight Leads To New Life For Eagle

A few months ago, park visitors started noticing something strange near a quiet pond beside the woods. A young eagle was following a swan family across the grass, staying close behind the cygnets as if it belonged with them. At first,… pic.twitter.com/KOAZbkxAax

— The Husky (@Mr_Husky1) June 25, 2026