Links 2/7/2026 | naked capitalism

Just read this beautiful story 😭❤

I live in a 12-unit apartment building. For two years, I didn’t know a single neighbor.We’d pass in the hallway. Nod. Maybe say “hey.” Then disappear into our separate lives.That was normal. That was city living.Then someone new moved into…

— Sheila of the Most High (@sheilatebra) February 6, 2026

The push to turn Big Food into the new Big Tobacco STAT

Autism Incidence in Girls and Boys May Be Nearly Equal, Study Suggests MedPage

Sex during working hours – new wellness program proposed by the Center: “Started as a joke” Aftonbladet via machine translation (Micael T)

Statins stimulate atherosclerosis and heart failure: pharmacological mechanisms Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology. Aieee!

Climate/Environment

I’m a prepping expert – this is how I’m getting ready for water shortages iPaper

Melting Antarctic ice may weaken a major carbon sink Science Daily

Greenland shatters temperature record, redrawing economy from fishing to minerals Reuters

Compound Heat-Drought Threatens China’s Oil Crops Bioengineer

At least 35 killed after weeks of heavy snowfall in Japan Snowbrains

Colorado River Negotiators Are Nearly Out of Time and Snowpack Inside Climate News

China?

Chinese provinces set lower growth targets for 2026 Financial Times

China’s Easy Money Floods Metals Markets as Real Economy Falters Bloomberg

🚢⚡ The world’s largest pure-electric cargo ship just began sea trials. And it’s Chinese, of course. 🇨🇳

China has launched sea trials for the world’s largest 10,000-ton, pure-electric intelligent ocean vessel, the Ningyuan Diankun (宁远电鲲号).

This isn’t a concept, it’s not… pic.twitter.com/hxgjmv3cFG

— James Wood 武杰士 (@commiepommie) February 5, 2026

Under US scrutiny, CATL rolls out new batteries and investment Asia Times (Kevin W)

Africa

Amid worsening drought and crop failure, Zimbabweans support government investment in climate-resilient infrastructure, green energy The Zimbabwean

South of the Border

Cuba records first freezing temperature amid deepening energy crisis Intellinews

O Canada

Trump’s designs on Greenland might be as much about out-manoeuvring the Canadians, as the Russians Ian Proud

European Disunion

Volvo Slump Fuels Fears for Europe’s Auto Industry OilPrice

Europe’s public finances in a warming world VoxEU

US to fund free speech activists in Europe – FT RT (Kevin W)

Europe’s Next Hegemon: The Perils of German Power Foreign Affairs

German journalists are playing war: “What if Russia attacks us?” Nachdenkseiten via machine translation (Micael T)

Dutch Queen Maxima joins army as a reservist, as “safety can no longer be taken for granted” CBS (resilc)

Old Blighty

UK borrowing costs rise as concerns about Starmer’s future mount Reuters

Daily MossadKeir Starmer a decent man pic.twitter.com/32A6FC7YCW

— ARTIST TAXI DRIVER (@chunkymark) February 7, 2026

I once had some respect for Paul Mason:

People are joining Labour tonight. To back Keir Starmer and take part in the clean up of British politics that will now begin… join us in the fight to stop the racist right https://t.co/Rawr0ob14P

— Paul Mason (@paulmasonnews) February 6, 2026

Who is Starmer’s Irish adviser at centre of Mandelson scandal? RTE (Colonel Smithers)

* * *

Pubs and restaurants hit with most sustained job losses since financial crisis The Caterer

Israel v. The Resistance

Handcuffs, interrogation, humiliation: Palestinians describe Israeli treatment at Rafah crossing Mondoweiss (guurst)

Scholasticide as a military achievement.

A school, in the midst of pulverized buildings, close to a hospital that has been attacked and shut down, in order to create conditions of life leading to the destruction of Gaza Palestinians as a group. https://t.co/ZYJtIuqBnw

— Nicola Perugini (@PeruginiNic) February 5, 2026

U.S.-Iran Talks Up To A ‘Good Start’ Moon of Alabama (Kevin W)

Iran Is at Work on Missile and Nuclear Sites, Satellite Images Show New York Times. resilc: “Now that the CIA’s favorite propaganda rag, WaPo, is relegated to a weekly shopper paper, the NYTmes picks up the war monger slack.”

New Not-So-Cold War

Killing the negotiators Events in Ukraine

Mixed Signals On Iran / US Talks… Russians are Furious Following New Terrorist Attack in Moscow Larry Johnson

Brief Frontline Report – February 6th, 2026 Marat Khairullin and Mikhail Popov

Russia will respond to the military threat from Finland and Sweden Vzglyad via machine translation (Micael T)

Imperial Collapse Watch

Decolonization I: “the biggest reconfiguration of world politics ever seen” James Rich

The New World Order–or Disorder? John Mearsheimer

VIOLENT AMERICA HAS LOST ITS WAY Michael Basta

Trump 2.0

It is not just that Trump posted this. The clip was produced (the spokesmonster tries to pretend otherwise by calling it AI generated, as if Trump were sufficiently down the curve on AI to have done this on his little old lonesome). That means no one on his team tried to stop it, or worse (and more likely), they thought this was just ducky:

Folks, Trump just posted a video of Michelle and Barak Obama as apes.pic.twitter.com/6ZyWFU6quE

— Renee (@Renee05208714) February 6, 2026

BREAKING: Madman President Promotes Racist Video of the Obamas as Apes ZETEO

Trump won’t apologize for sharing since-deleted racist video depicting Obamas as apes on Truth Social CNN (Kevin W)

Karoline Leavitt slams ‘fake outrage’ after Obamas depicted as ‘The Lion King characters’ Daily Star (resilc)

American Violence New Left Review (Anthony L)

Can neuroscience shed light on Trump’s new world disorder? Globe and Mail (Dr. Kevin). IMHO, IM Doc’s white matter disease hypothesis fits the behaviors better.

Farmers squeezed by Trump tariffs press lawmakers for action The Hill

White House pitches renaming Penn Station as Trump Station to unlock Gateway tunnel funding Gothamist

ICE Rampage

GOP, Democrats expect DHS shutdown after talks fizzle The Hill. Sadly, ICE is fully funded.

What Americans actually want done about ICE G. Elliott Morris

What Democrats Need to Know to Truly Reform ICE Mother Jones (Chuck L). Assumes against evidence that Democrats want to rein in ICE, as opposed to whine about and fundraise off it

With ICE Using Medicaid Data, Hospitals and States Are in a Bind Over Warning Immigrant Patients KFF Health News

The Blueprint That Broke a Federal Occupation Chris Armitage

The Ferocity of Responses to Tim Walz’s Anne Frank/ICE Comments Are Revealing Religion Dispatches (Chuck L)

Epstein

This is the worst one yet… and confirmed everything we suspected about Epstein’s Zorro Ranch.

“2 foreign girls buried on orders of Jeffrey & Madam G. Both died by strangulation during fetish sex.” https://t.co/1NcqKm9BqU pic.twitter.com/f28IyE0yvw

— Jason Bassler (@JasonBassler1) February 6, 2026

You’re Paying Taxes to Billionaire Pedophiles Who Bomb and Maybe Eat Children Charles McBryde (Micael T)

Epstein’s “wild” party with Zuckerberg, Musk, and Thiel Oligarch Watch

The Epstein Files Are Hazing You Into The Pedo Gang indi.ca (resilc)

Democrats Suck

How Worried Should Democrats Be About Trump Stealing the Next Election? Washington Monthly. After the ICE trampling of the rule of law, they recommend taking a chill pill? Have they lost their minds? The risk is not “stealing”. It’s finding a way to brick them.

‘It’s pissing people off’: Centrist Democrats are livid with AIPAC after primary fiasco Politico (Kevin W)

Our No Longer Free Press

The Grayzone BLOCKED by Paypal on political grounds YouTube

Economy

Trump’s trade war creating economic ‘mirage’ with GDP forecasts, freight market disconnected: Shipping expert CNBC

Morning Bid: Fed under pressure as layoffs mount Reuters

Mr. Market is Edgy

Death, taxes and turmoil: is the age of the safe haven over? The Times

Silver Whipsaws Again as Thin Liquidity Fuels Wild Price Swings Bloomberg

Bitcoin’s 45% Plunge Is A Warning Of A Bigger Liquidity Problem Seeking Alpha

The Bezzle

From Andrew Ross Sorkin’s morning newsletter:

Shares in an array of subscription-based software companies, including Salesforce, ServiceNow and Figma, slid again yesterday as investors feared the disruption posed by A.I. agent software like that produced by Anthropic. (Wall Street is calling it the “SaaSpocalypse,” referring to the category’s formal name, “software as a service.”)… Sam Altman, the co-founder and C.E.O. of OpenAI, told the popular tech talk show TBPN that he expects “there will continue to be more” sell-offs in SaaS stocks.

Bitcoin rises above $70,000, extending bounce from Thursday’s crash CoinDesk

It Turns Out That When Waymos Are Stumped, They Get Intervention From Workers in the Philippines Futurism (Kevin W)

Guillotine Watch

The Plutocrats Who Rule Our World Aren’t Even Enjoying Themselves Caitlin Johnstone (Micael T)

Class Warfare

The Finance Industry Is a Grift. Let’s Start Treating It That Way. New York Times (resilc). How come no articles like this in late 2008?

Retirement in America: An Analysis of Retirement Preparedness Among Working-Age Americans National Institute on Retirement Security

Wisconsin Burger King franchisee accused of over 1,600 child labor law violations Channel3000 (Kevin W)

Antidote du jour. Mark T: “A lilac breasted roller. Ubiquitous in Kruger National Park.”

A bonus:

This is Rex. He’s patrolling the store with his current handler when he suddenly recognises his very first one. Breaks all protocol for the purest, most joyful tackle-hug. Dogs are simply unmatched.pic.twitter.com/qXsMSKifO7

— Puppies 🐶 (@Puppieslover) February 5, 2026

A second bonus: