I Went to a Silent Retreat for Five Days. It Nearly Broke My Brain Wall Street Journal (resilc)
[Essay] A Guide to Staying Human (Part 3): The Default Mode Network and the Metacrisis Nate Hagens
Would You Run? Classical Wisdom. BWAHAHA. Does not allow for highly vigilant types acting at the early sign of danger. If you read this site, you skew to that tendency!
New recommendation: Allowed to be buried with pet’s ashes Nyherterna via machine translation. Micael T: “Hmmm, missing info from this ”concern” are the fees for adding animals. Should be considered as a PE-driven idea until proven otherwise.”
The tea in your kombucha changes more than just the taste Science Daily (Kevin W)
A philosopher’s 5 tips on how to become the most likeable person in the room Big Think
Climate/Environment
World bee experts gather in Washington after largest die-off in history The Chronicle
Three everyday oils are driving a global biodiversity crisis Earth
Super El Niño poses critical threat to 500 million of the world’s farmers, researchers warn Independent
Arctic shipping alters cloud formation, study finds PhysOrg
Warning: Arctic Permafrost Could Become a Major Carbon Source Earlier Than Expected High North News
As a historic heatwave bakes Europe on land, a strong marine heatwave is emerging in the Mediterranean Sea.
Water temperatures have reached up to 5.5°C above normal off the coast of Italy with peak water temperatures exceeding 28°C (82°F).
This will further enhance heatwaves… pic.twitter.com/YRolwh5seW
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) June 22, 2026
Europe’s Heatwave Set to Hit Alpine Glaciers Hard Planet Ski
Firefighters Warn They’re Ill-Prepared for a Bad Wildfire Season Insurance Journal
While world media will talk about the scorching heat in Europe,extraordinary heat waves will sweep several parts of the world
CENTRAL ASIA will see deadly heat up to 47/48C in the former USSR with NIGHTS at 35C.
ARCTICS will experience up to 35C and tropical nights near 70 lat! https://t.co/EIq7XP36Db
— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) June 22, 2026
Monsoon moving, but damage is done: Rain deficit at 46%, driest June in over a century India Today
China?
China plans postwar aid for Iran, with eye on energy supply Nikkei
The Paradigm’s Changing: China’s Suggestion Karl Sanchez
Southeast Asia
Compound shock effect’: why the Middle East crisis and El Niño could spell disaster in south-east Asia Guardian
“Heading to Bankrupt Indonesia”: A Protest Under Economic Pressure Think BRICS
Africa
How Sahelian (and African) militaries can get better at fighting and winning wars Ken Opalo
O Canada
Canada Plans ‘Nuclear Renaissance’ With Up To 10 Reactors Built By 2040 CBC
European Disunion
Germany set to scrap plans to build its biggest warship since second world war Financial Times
Zelensky Lied Through His Teeth About What Happened During Budanov’s Trip To Poland Andrew Korybko
Old Blighty
Burnham and Starmer hold ‘frosty’ meeting to thrash out transition of power Guardian (Kevin W)
Britain can’t be left to decide its own future Simon Nixon, Euractiv
Inside the surreal UK parliament debate on pro-Israel influence dominated by lobby group members Middle East Eye (Kevin W)
Israel v. The Resistance
Gaza’s surfers seek solace from war in the Mediterranean Sea Aljazeera (resilc)
Exclusive: Internal Documents Show Trump’s “Board of Peace“ Moving to Crush Palestinian Self-Determination DropSite. Quelle surprise!
Itamar Ben Gvir: How the man keeping Netanyahu in office rose to power Middle East Eye (resilc)
BREAKING: Retired U.S. generals, admirals, intelligence officials, diplomats, and former government officials who advise policymakers on the Middle East met with Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. pic.twitter.com/G3qHsebDBn
— The General (@GeneralMCNews) June 23, 2026
UN maritime body says to begin evacuating sailors in Gulf Alarabiye (Kevin W)
Tucker Carlson and Alex Jones discuss the potential use of nuclear weapons by Israel.
“The United States is clearly going to begin the process of distancing itself from Israel.” pic.twitter.com/LEmNwNqDJJ
— Charging… (@RedPillSayian) June 23, 2026
War Isn’t Won on ‘Points’ Daniel Larison
The Polite Kind Of Racism Tim Foley (Micael T)
New Not-So-Cold War
“Time Is Not on Moscow’s Side”: US Urges Russia to “Make a Deal” and Secure Immediate Ceasefire United24 (Ann). Pathetic. This comes on the heels of the Kremlin saying they are not longer willing to negotiate, Trump having never delivered on the undisclosed promised he made in Alaska (Russia believes in doing diplomacy in secret until something has hit the point it can be talked about), so they will get on with it and win the war.
Ukrainian Sources Claim Latest Surge in Attacks on Russia Was “Encouraged” by Trump Simpliciua
Putin Warns the West: Russia is Ready Larry Johnson
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Madison Square Garden Made Dossier on Activists Who Opposed Facial Recognition 404 Media
Imperial Collapse Watch
The Hidden Cost of the U.S. Military: The Real Budget is Far Larger Than Reported CounterPunch (resilc)
US carmakers could produce missiles – Trump RT (Kevin W). And if they had wings, pigs could fly.
Half of America’s Cities Are Depopulating. We Could Be Headed for a Ghost Town Era Popular Mechanics (resilc)
The U.S. Is Ramping Up Economic Warfare. Its Enemies Aren’t Blinking Wall Street Journal (resilc)
The Permission Layer Shanaka Anslem Perera. On Treasuries
Trump 2.0
Senate GOP headed for showdown with Trump over SAVE America Act, Iran deal The Hill
Senate for first time approves a war powers resolution in a rebuke to Trump over Iran conflict Associated Press
US judge blocks Trump administration SNAP restrictions on soda, candy Reuters
Big if true:
Holy crap, STAT News is reporting that Eli Lilly & the FDA let 1 person access a powerful new weight loss drug through FDA’s “compassionate use” program, which is reserved for people w/ serious and immediately life-threatening conditions.
That one person is believed to be Trump. pic.twitter.com/qZ0N8c9H9D
— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) June 23, 2026
Troubled Reflecting Pool faces fresh scrutiny over vandalism claims and duck deaths Associated Press (Kevin W)
Democrats Suck
New York primary election results: Mamdani’s anti-Israel Democrats sweep primaries Telegraph (resilc)
GOP Clown Car
Tucker Carlson and Marjorie Taylor Greene Say They Are Done Supporting the Republican Party Time Magazine
Our No Longer Free Press
UK Considers Forcing Social Media Firms To Prioritize Trusted News Reuters
Economy
Global business leaders back faster electrification shift Reuters
Food bills hit by soil and climate crises The Ecologist
Mr. Market Needs a Therapist
Stock futures mixed ahead of Micron earnings as traders debate how far tech sell-off will go, Kospi jumps over 3%: Live updates CNBC
The Stratospheric Rally Has Left Tech Stocks Vulnerable to Sharp Reversals Wall Street Journal
Surging dollar battering Asia’s most fragile currencies Asia Times (Kevin W)
AI
Cargo Culture Ed Zitron. Particularly good.
Click through to read in full:
Google lost two star researchers and fell 6%, its worst day in over a year. The headlines blamed the exits. They missed that Amazon fell 4% the same day, and Meta and Microsoft dropped too. Two people leaving Google does not move Amazon. Something bigger did.
Here is what… pic.twitter.com/VsLPRXxKj2
— Shanaka Anslem Perera ⚡ (@shanaka86) June 23, 2026
v
How Many Barrels of Oil Do AI Data Centers Consume on a Daily Basis? OilPrice.com (resilc)
Blaming Ordinary People For The Ecocidal Consequences Of AI, And Other Notes Caitlin Johnstone
Data center that vowed to avoid Colorado River water is now suing for 260 million gallons per year The Cool Down
Oracle Cuts 21,000 Jobs As It Embraces AI BBC
Nobody Here Wants the Data Center: An Oral History New Republic (resilc)
How the AI Data Center Boom Is Draining the Residential Labor Pool Realtor (Paul R)
Some Electricians Think Building Data Centers Is for Sellouts Wired (resilc)
The Bezzle
Morgan Stanley caps withdrawals at private credit fund after rising pullout requests Reuters
US announces $17.5 billion in loans for nuclear power supply chain Reuters (Kevin W)
Elite Malfeasance
Exec Sentenced for Embezzling Millions From CFA Institute Chief Investment Officer
Guillotine Watch
Elon Musk Confirms Ancient Concerns About the Superrich New York Times Elon Musk
Class Warfare
Liberal Elites Promote ‘Abundance,’ But Democratic Voters Want Socialism American Conservative (resilc)
GM Installs Robots At Flagship EV Factory After Laying Off 1,300 Workers ars technica
Antidote du jour. Tracie H: “This is Willow, deep in thought.”
And a bonus:
🤣I am not a plant Stay Awayyyyy 🥹pic.twitter.com/w9U8AukmZp
— Amazing Nature (@AmazingNature00) June 24, 2026
A second bonus (Robin K):
Insanely amazing pic.twitter.com/aGNiqrTGdy
— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) June 22, 2026
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
