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The covert project to (finally) measure hellish subway heat Sequencer
MTA Searches Underground for Ways to Cool Sweltering Stations The City
The end of design The Rectangle
Climate/Environment
Energy Dept. adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list Politico
Tropical Storm Imelda forms alongside Hurricane Humberto, both expected to turn away from US NOLA
Investing in coastal real estate? Might as well bet on crypto futures. Moving Day
‘I couldn’t look’: European farmers on losing crops as the industry collides with worsening drought The Guardian
Cybernetics in the Anthropocene E-Flux
Should we edit nature? Aeon
How Humanity Saved the Ginkgo The Marginalian
The Koreas
Datacenter fire takes 647 South Korean government services offline The Register
K-cure: South Korea’s booming market for traditional (and novel) hangover remedies The Guardian
India
Is India’s ‘Look West’ policy anchored by Iranian port under threat? South China Morning Post
Trump wants India to pick a side, either be a client state or face the bitter wrath of a fading hegemon Firstpost
China?
Xi to ask Trump to oppose Taiwan independence in return for trade deal The Telegraph
Classified US intelligence warns of China’s preparations for Taiwan invasion ABC
Profits, Policy and the Recomposition of China’s Industrial Structure Warwick Powell
Syraqistan
.@UNReliefChief: Kids dying of starvation, effectively their bodies consuming their own organs, what we give them to try and avoid that is this high protein peanut butter paste. We’ve been told we can’t bring it in because it’s a luxury@amanpour: Seriously?
Tom: Seriously… pic.twitter.com/9WAcGCAG5x
— Assal Rad (@AssalRad) September 28, 2025
Exclusive: Trump says Gaza peace deal in “final stages” Axios
Draft of Tony Blair’s Gaza Plan Outlines Remote Governance, Little Palestinian Representation Haaretz
Hamas slams US plan to appoint Tony Blair in Gaza, denies receiving ceasefire proposal Anadolu Agency
NEWS: Jeffrey Epstein Helped Broker Israeli Security Agreement Drop Site
***
In Genoa, thousands flood the streets for Gaza and the Flotilla. Dockworkers block containers with hazardous materials headed for Israel. Il Fatto Quotidiano (Machine translation)
Dockworkers in Italy threaten total block on Israel trade Politico
European dockworkers launch campaign to boycott ships carrying arms to “Israel” ABNA
I’ve investigated the Israeli arms industry for years and this is the first time that I can recall its future is at least a little challenged.
It’s why more states need to step up and not buy Israeli weapons or surveillance tech:https://t.co/M5iXeezJpx pic.twitter.com/fbSq5XVwuL— Antony Loewenstein (@antloewenstein) September 28, 2025
***
EU vows to re-impose UN sanctions on Iran ‘without delay’ as snapback takes effect Anadolu Agency
Netanyahu’s threats against Iraq target more than Resistance Mehr
The Bagram Factor: US Posturing and the Future of Iran’s Regional Integration Special Eurasia
China, Russia, Pakistan and Iran push back on Trump ambitions in or near Afghanistan Intellinews
Old Blighty
Is the tech giant who gave Blair £257m in line for huge ID card contract? Government embroiled in cronyism row after revelation former PM lobbied for his billionaire backer who could make millions Daily Mail
Let’s not forget about the Blairs themselves:
No wonder Tony Blair wants Digital IDs… when his son is the owner of the company that’ll be paid £100 billion to develop and monitor them.
And ol’ Tony has £375 million worth of shares in the company, too. pic.twitter.com/fp0dsuGAp6
— Samantha Smith (@SamanthaTaghoy) September 27, 2025
Record breaker Starmer is the ‘most unpopular PM since polling began’ The Canary
European Disunion
War propaganda and militarism on children’s TV in Germany WSWS
Private equity’s rush to raise money prompts fears of European sector shake-out FT
EU’s influence declines in its neighbourhood as China and Russia gain ground Intellinews
Moldova Meddling
Moldova’s ruling pro-EU party edges towards majority in pivotal vote TVP
Amazing! Apparently, if you ban opposition political parties and opposition media, if you arrest your political opponents, if you ban election observers you don’t like, if you flood the zone with scare stories about Russians, if you threaten voters with withdrawal of EU funds,… https://t.co/I9vCenn4iL
— George Szamuely (@GeorgeSzamuely) September 28, 2025
There were 75 polling stations in Italy. 12 in Ireland – actually, more Moldovan votes were counted in Ireland than in Russia, despite Russia being home to ca. 200 times as many Moldovan voters. There were as many polling stations in Russia as in Japan and Israel.
— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) September 28, 2025
🇲🇩 About a year ago, while I was stuck in Paris, the French intelligence services reached out to me through an intermediary, asking me to help the Moldovan government censor certain Telegram channels ahead of the presidential elections in Moldova.
After reviewing the channels…
— Pavel Durov (@durov) September 28, 2025
New Not-So-Cold War
Believe it or not, Russia is great The Spectator
US considers Tomahawk missiles for Ukraine with Trump set to make the final call: Vance The Straits Times
‘There are no such things as sanctuaries’ — Ukraine can conduct strikes deep within Russian territory, Kellogg says Kyiv Independent
Africa
Zelensky’s kamikaze drones now with terrorists? Mali prime minister attacks West & Ukraine at UNGA Hindustan Times
The World Bank’s arbitration body has ordered Niger to halt any trading of uranium from the Somaïr mine, which the government nationalized earlier this year after seizing it from French nuclear company Orano SA. pic.twitter.com/lW0dK9qSjq
— African News feed. (@africansinnews) September 28, 2025
South of the Border
Is Tren De Aragua a CIA Operation In Order to Justify an Attack on Venezuela? Larry Johnson
Spook Country
FBI had nearly 300 ‘plainclothes agents’ at Capitol riot – media RT (Kevin W). From a few days ago but not to be missed.
Our Famously Free Press
1 in 5 Americans now regularly get news on TikTok, up sharply from 2020 Pew Research Center (resilc)
Israel wins TikTok Responsible Statecraft
Trump 2.0
Trump Assumes Control of the Oregon National Guard; Oregon Sues Willamette Week
A Crypto Billionaire’s Path From Pariah to Trump Moneyman Bloomberg
Underreported Memo Is ‘Declaration of War’ Against Trump Opponents Common Dreams
Democrats en déshabillé
While the military descended on Portland, Hakeem Jeffries attended a black-tie dinner pic.twitter.com/3ibU3tQeHC
— Silicon Valley Fodder (@Playerinthgame) September 28, 2025
Kamala Harris Champions American Fashion at the Phoenix Awards Dinner Vogue
DSCC Chair Kirsten Gillibrand is hosting a “Tuscan-European style” Napa retreat with spa treatments, a wine cave tour and dinner featuring #MISen candidate Haley Stevens, likely scheduled right in the middle of a government shutdown that threatens jobs of thousands of workers. pic.twitter.com/hgN1VEmXZK
— umichvoter 🏳️🌈 (@umichvoter) September 27, 2025
In a proper functioning country the ostensibly Left political party, in the event there was a transparent rightwing power grab, would in part marshal Labor to shut down ports and occupy streets. In the US—where this is literally impossible to imagine—they sleepily ask them nicely https://t.co/TjEQpMpYIN
— Adam Johnson (@adamjohnsonCHI) September 28, 2025
The Idiot’s Version of Everything That Needed to Happen Un-Diplomatic
MAHA
MAHA: Make Agriculture Harder for All The EcoModernist
Weimar Republic
Fatal shooting and fire at Michigan Mormon church, police say Michigan Advance
Trump says Michigan church shooting appears to be ‘targeted attack on Christians’ The Hill
Charlie Kirk Murder Mysteries Multiply Kit Klarenberg
Missouri governor signs Trump-backed plan aimed at helping Republicans win another US House seat AP
Imperial Collapse Watch
U.S. Military Is Struggling to Deploy AI Weapons WSJ
Accelerationists
Sperm-racing investors blow $10 million on ‘seed round’ for sports venture San Francisco Standard
Healthcare?
The algorithm will see you now Works in Progress
Mamdani
Mayor Adams drops out of NYC mayoral race following scandal-plagued tenure at City Hall Gothamist
Groves of Academe
Northwestern University Blocks 300 Students From Class Who Refuse to Take Outrageous Zionist TrainingThe North Star
Antitrust
Monopoly Round-Up: U.S. Farmers Revolt Over Trump’s Argentina Bailout BIG by Matt Stoller
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
Swiss voters back electronic identity cards in close vote The Guardian
Record everything! Aeon
The Bezzle
WHY TODAY’S HUMANOIDS WON’T LEARN DEXTERITY Rodney Brooks
Tesla Is Urging Drowsy Drivers to Use ‘Full Self-Driving’. That Could Go Very Wrong Wired
Class Warfare
Americans Are Using PTO to Sleep, Not for Vacation—Report Newsweek (PR)
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
