Chinese Microwave Weapon Could Attack Satellites
July 10th, 2026Via: Interesting Engineering:
China has released information about a new generation of high-power microwave (HPM) weapons capable of delivering up to 100 gigawatts of power. This disclosure gives a rare and detailed look at technology that could change electronic warfare and anti-satellite operations.
The details were published this month in the journal High Power Laser and Particle Beams by researchers from the National University of Defense Technology (NUDT), who described several advanced pulsed-power systems developed for China’s military.
This publication marks a rare instance of the Chinese military revealing technical information about its high-power microwave capabilities. According to the researchers, the country’s work has now moved from laboratory prototype to real military use.
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The study says microwave pulses reaching 1 GW can cause severe interference or even damage electronic hardware aboard low Earth orbit satellites. A weapon capable of producing far greater output could pose a significant threat to satellite constellations, including networks such as Starlink, if they are used for military purposes.
According to the researchers, Chinese institutions have already developed several gigawatt-class microwave weapons, with some systems reportedly delivered to users.
China Recovers Rocket in Net-Like Structure
July 10th, 2026Via: Space:
China just notched a huge spaceflight milestone.
The nation has recovered a rocket during an orbital launch for the first time ever, pulling off the feat during the Long March 10B’s maiden liftoff on Friday (July 10). And that recovery was unique: The rocket’s first stage nestled softly into a net-like structure carried by a ship at sea.
Merck Settles Gardasil Vaccine Injury Lawsuit for $50 Million
July 9th, 2026Via: The Vaccine Reaction:
Merck & Co has agreed to pay $50 million to settle more than 200 lawsuits brought against the drug giant by patients suffering from autoimmune disorders after receiving the Gardasil vaccine. According Merck, this settlement resolves all but one of the pending lawsuits filed against its HPV vaccine.
Spider Venom Kills Varroa Mites Without Harming Honeybees
July 9th, 2026Via: connectsci:
Peptides isolated from the venom of the Tasmanian cave spider and giant Japanese funnel-web spider are promising candidates for potential new treatments to protect honeybee hives from a deadly parasite.
Researchers tested spider and scorpion venoms for their ability to kill the Varroa destructor mite and published their findings in the journal npj Drug Discovery.
Study lead author Volker Herzig from the University of the Sunshine Coast’s Centre for Bioinnovation says the discovery is the first step in finding a new, environmentally friendly way to combat varroa mites which are destroying honeybee colonies across the globe.
The European honeybee (Apis mellifera) pollinates every continent except Antarctica. It is crucial for global food security, ecosystem stability and biodiversity.
V. destructor is found throughout Asia, much of Africa, Europe, the Americas, New Zealand and Australia. It feeds on honeybee larvae and pupae and carries viruses which affect the bees.
A varroa infestation will kill a honeybee colony if left untreated.
Dennis Kucinich on the End of American Sovereignty
July 8th, 2026This month, unless Donald Trump stops it, our treasonous Congress is likely to merge the US military with Israel’s genocidal armed forces. Dennis Kucinich on the end of American sovereignty.
0:00 The Attempt to Merge the US Military With the IDF
6:08 The Subversion of Congress… pic.twitter.com/KIoITT3YhG— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) July 6, 2026
All Cars Sold in the EU Now Require a Camera Aimed at Your Face
July 8th, 2026A friend of mine just bought a new car in New Zealand and it has this.
Via: All About Cookies:
Starting July 7, 2026, every new car sold in the European Union must include a driver monitoring camera aimed at your face. Glance at your phone, your kids in the back seat, or the radio for too long, and the car will flash a warning light and sound an alert.
Automakers have known this was coming for years. What they, and EU regulators, have never spelled out is what happens to that footage after the alert goes off.
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Early real-world testing suggests the distraction warnings can be overly sensitive and potentially distracting.
U.S. Strikes Iran In Retaliation For Multiple Attacks On Shipping In Strait Of Hormuz Over Last 24 Hours
July 7th, 2026Via: The War Zone:
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces have launched “a series of powerful strikes against Iran to impose heavy costs for targeting and attacking commercial shipping crewed by innocent civilians in an international waterway.” The U.S. strikes “are in response to Iranian attacks on three commercial vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM stated on X. “Iran’s demonstrated aggression was unwarranted, dangerous, and a clear violation of the ceasefire.”
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The CENTCOM attacks follow the U.S. Treasury Department revoking a general license authorizing the sale of Iranian oil.
Canadians Are Leaving At The Fastest Pace In 74 Years
July 6th, 2026Via: Better Dwelling:
Canadians continue to flee in record volumes, in a trend that’s picking up, not plateauing. Statistics Canada (StatCan) data shows emigration—when citizens or permanent residents move abroad—climbed again in Q1. Canadians are now leaving at the fastest pace in 74 years of records.
Overvaluation of U.S. Stocks Has Surpassed Level Before 1929 Crash
July 6th, 2026
Via: Telegraph:
The overvaluation of US stocks has now surpassed the level that brought the stock market crashing down in 1929. At a rating more than double that of their British and European counterparts, and the highest since the peak of the dotcom bubble, US equities are in for a hairy decade.
That is the finding of a major investment bank, and, ever the diligent companion to you, Questor will unpick what this means.
This column has written extensively on how to find subtle indications that markets are becoming bubbly, the methods best deployed to try to sort out the wheat from the chaff when it comes to initial public offerings (IPOs) and the importance of valuation when it comes to long-term investment returns.
This new analysis notes that the US S&P 500 stock index trades on 41 times earnings, based on Robert Shiller’s cyclically adjusted price-earnings (Cape) calculation. This is the highest valuation for US equities, using this tool, since the peak of the technology, media and telecoms (TMT) bubble of 2000 and exceeds the valuations reached at the highs of 1929 and 1901, both of which preceded seismic crashes.
The 41-times rating is also more than double the UK and European equivalent multiple, the widest gap ever seen.
8 Percent of College Students Are Reading at Level of Ten-Year-Olds
July 5th, 2026Via: Futurism:
Gone are the days of university freshmen reading classical philosophers like Plato or contemporary pedagogues like Ta-Nehisi Coates. These days, incoming college students are lucky if they can get through Judy Blume’s “Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.”
According to a new “Survey of Adult Skills” conducted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development — a forum for 38 high-income, predominantly Western countries — a not insignificant number of adult students enrolled in higher education are now reading and doing math at a level which, in a more functional society, would be alarming for a middle schooler.
The survey, first spotted by the Economist, tested around 160,000 people of all ages, across all 38 member states. It found that across all OECD member countries, a full 8 percent of college students are reading at the level of a ten-year-old, if not worse. While countries like Germany and France rang in at under 5 percent, countries like Poland, Israel, and the United States blew the curve at 21, 20, and 14 percent, respectively.
The numbers aren’t much better when it comes to math. Across OECD countries, 9 percent of college students do math at or below a ten-year-old level. In Italy, the US, and Slovakia, that figure jumps to over 15 percent — only outdone by Israel, where roughly 21 percent of college students were underachieving at the same low benchmark.
