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EconomyAugust 31, 2026

Links 8/31/2026 | naked capitalism

Our fish-eyed daily links, including Dems search for 'good' billionaires, Venezuela oil hopium, BRICS empty talk, and ICE robot dogs.

Links 8/31/2026 | naked capitalism

Could this cookie made from waste and plastic help food crisis? Talker News

‘Mad honey’ that can stop your heart is now being sold online worldwide The Conversation

Meat of the Matter Harper’s

The Great Bean Awakening Enlightened Omnivore

Gen Z men are skipping showers before dates: Here’s why Firstpost

Climate/Environment

Over 20 feared missing after massive flash flood in US’ Grand Canyon Anadolu Agency

*** Nepal-Tibet Disaster Update***
Our preliminary analysis of #Sentinel-1 satellite #radar observations from January 8 to August 19, 2026, reveals measurable #downslope motion, reaching ~10 mm/month, within the #glacier/ice-rock system near the apparent source of the #August 26… pic.twitter.com/RhDHTzYZFI

— Manoochehr Shirzaei (@shirzaei) August 30, 2026

#PlaskettFire is burning intensely on all flanks this evening, has now burned to Hwy 1 and possibly to Pacific Ocean, and is likely over 20k acres at this point. Between Plaskett and #TimberFire to north, much of Monterey County coast is now under evacuation warnings or orders. pic.twitter.com/IbjtKMZQmJ

— Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) August 31, 2026

Londoners Find ‘Horrendous’ Cracks in Their Homes After Successive Heat Waves Bloomberg

[Thread] [1/6] Je pense que l’on peut désormais affirmer que la France traverse la plus grandes catastrophe agricole nationale depuis 1945. Sans aide publique, 30 000 à 35 000 exploitations pourraient se retrouver en situation de faillite, soit près de 10 % des exploitations… pic.twitter.com/7LT7jDzlNd

— Dr. Serge Zaka (Dr. Zarge) (@SergeZaka) August 29, 2026

This has flown under the radar but the wildfires in Algeria are among the deadliest in history. According to local sources the death toll might be as high as >308, which would make it the deadliest wildfire event in 90 years. The fires also burned 359,731 acres. #wildfires pic.twitter.com/sod50um4GF

— MNStorm (@mn_storm) August 30, 2026

Elon will save us:

But we do need to act much faster than that if people still want to live where the beach is today. We have about 50 years or so to take action, which should be more than enough time for the space satellites to solve any heating problems. https://t.co/xhrVQALwQw

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 30, 2026

Pandemics

Ebola death toll exceeds 2,800 in DR Congo as cases mount Anadolu Agency

Japan

Bessent says a ‘disorderly yen’ would risk higher U.S. rates Japan Times

Japanese Destroyer Chokai Returns to Home Port After Gaining Tomahawk Missile Launch Capabilities in U.S. Yomiuri Shimbun

China?

Desperation and Delusions Warwick Powell

Changes Unseen, Strategies Uncharted Sinocism

Inside Evergrande’s unfinished fairytale ‘castle’ and the long shadow of China’s property boom gone bust Business Times

Syraqistan

Israel kills three-year-old child in latest Gaza airstrikes New Arab

***

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard retaliates after U.S. bombs targets in Strait of Hormuz AP

IRGC unleashes ‘Punishment of the Aggressor’ on US bases in Jordan after Larak Island attack Press TV

BREAKING: The US Army launched 96 to 160 PAC-3 MSE interceptors from its Patriot batteries in Jordan tonight against 32 to 40 Iranian ballistic missiles. Three to four rounds at each missile.

At ~$4 million a shot, that is $380-640 million burned in a single wave to keep two…

— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) August 31, 2026

Military leaders warn Hegseth against extending Iran war operations WaPo. Note this warning came before the latest relaunch of hostilities.

The Persian Gulf LNG Lockout: Qatar’s Prolonged Force Majeure Shockwave Energy Geopolitics & Statecraft

Africa

Israel provides covert intelligence, security assistance to Sudan’s RSF militia: Report The Cradle

The RSF’s defeat will not end Sudan’s war but merely fragment it Al Jazeera

Niger junta regains control after mutiny with help from Russian paramilitary forces France24

Old Blighty

The British state has lost the argument, even as it rigs the trials of genocide opponents Christopher Cook

The 700 freebies: how lobbyists and businesses courted Labour’s special advisers Democracy for Sale

Intimidation, illegality and Mr Whippy: We join London’s ice cream wars London Centric

European Disunion

How political fragility affects markets FT

France is becoming the ‘poster child’ of sovereign debt problems as government borrowing costs hit near 2008 highs CNBC

O Canada

Carney government asks court to strike down climate litigation CBC

New Not-So-Cold War

European officials find no sign Russia is preparing to attack Nato Intellinews

Who’d Expect To Gain More From A Serious Escalation: NATO Or Russia? Andrew Korybko

🇺🇦 Reports of food shortages spread to Lvov

Following reports of shortages in Kiev, similar scenes are now being reported in Lvov, with footage showing depleted shelves at a METRO supermarket.

And this is only the end of August. What will it be like in early January? https://t.co/wCcWOiVOUS pic.twitter.com/sODNcPjx7d

— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) August 30, 2026

Until the last Ukrainian means until the last Ukrainian. Bleak stuff:

Facebook post by Aleksey Chkhalo, Kiev-based military blogger and former AFU General Staff officer. Worth reading in full for the straightforward Ukrainian nationalist opinion, emphasis mine.

“The tragedy after the enemy strike on the village of Myla [the big warehouse near…

— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) August 30, 2026

Ukrainian nuclear power plant without external power for over a week Al Jazeera

NATO’s Arctic activity poses ‘direct threat’ to Russia, Lavrov warns France24

Russia’s Putin and China’s Xi to attend summit in Kyrgyzstan Euractiv

South of the Border

Trump says US will refill its petroleum reserves using Venezuelan oil Al Jazeera

Why Venezuelan Crude Cannot Fill the SPR’s 424-Million-Barrel Gap Discovery Alert

Flash protest this morning in central Caracas. The Popular Anti-imperialist Front has been rallying grassroots organizations against imperialism. Demands included “yankees and zionists out of Venezuela” and “the Homeland is not for sale and must be defended” pic.twitter.com/eLh6cH71ih

— Venezuelanalysis (@venanalysis) August 29, 2026

US Forces Board, Blow Up Alleged Drug-Linked Boat Off Coast of Ecuador Antiwar

Trump 2.0

Discount gas stations praised by Trump sold $4m of stolen fuel, lawsuit claims The Guardian

Drilling in NPR-A won’t get environmental review under new Interior proposal Anchorage Daily News

Pentagon secretly installs military influencers in civilian roles WaPo

Toyota, Honda face biggest hit from Trump’s proposed 50% tariff on Canadian cars Reuters

Trump hits out at NBC journalist Kristen Welker, calling for her to face ‘rebuke or punishment’ Euronews

GOP Funhouse

Republicans’ economic optimism is ‘starting to fade,’ economist says Semafor. Fortunately for them, they get to face these losers…

Democrats Suck

Clinton insider is running PR for tech behind Trump’s secret police, cyber attacks, and Israeli drone warfare All-Source Intelligence

Democrats Are Losing the Billionaire Primary Jacobin. “…confronts the Democrats with a choice they’ve spent years avoiding: chase big money or build mass politics.” Yeah that decision was made a while ago. And they’ve spent two years kissing “good” billionaire behind to no avail.

This is the conservative Dem position right now: that combatting Piker (a streamer that the vast majority of people haven’t even heard of) is more important than improving the economy or challenging Trump’s authoritarianism. Just on in pragmatic terms of trying to win elections,… https://t.co/CfGJPWf6QH

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) August 30, 2026

Economy

The official jobless rate is so low the Fed thinks the economy is at full employment. But a gauge of the ‘functionally unemployed’ keeps climbing Fortune

‘More than I expected to pay’: Rents are rising at the fastest rate in over a year Yahoo! Finance

Imperial Collapse Watch

World Mostly Shrugs Off Bessent’s ‘D-Day’ Iran Sanctions Threat Bloomberg

Talk Left, Walk Right: BRICS and the Anti-Imperialism That Costs Its Rulers Nothing BettBeat

Billionaire Diplomacy Savage Minds

AI

The $5.5 Billion Perk SoftBank’s Data-Center Venture Offered to Land OpenAI WSJ

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Police Are Spending Opioid Settlement Funds on Flock Cameras Mother Jones

Google’s hyper-personalized ‘Dreambeans’ feed is now free to test  9to5 Google

Police State Watch

Mobile detention sites, courtrooms inside the jails, and a clause saying state law does not apply. What ICE’s new detention solicitation reveals Project Salt Box. Judge, jury, and executioner by private contractors.

ICE Wants a Boston Dynamics K9 Unit Gizmodo

Tech

Monopoly Round-Up: Did America Just Set Up an FDA for Big Tech? BIG by Matt Stoller

Crapification

BMW Blames Young People for Loss of Real Buttons in New Cars Car and Driver

“MAHA”

USDA cyclospora research projects shelved amid funding cuts and relocations Politico

Class Warfare

Uber Drivers Say Waymo Robotaxis Are Driving Down Their Pay Futurism

You Probably Own This 7-Eleven (and That’s Why It Looks So Sad) New Atlantis

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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