*The Unbearable Heat | How to Age | Countries Behaving Like Kids at School

“There will come a time when it isn’t ‘They’re spying on me through my phone’ anymore. Eventually, it will be ‘My phone is spying on me’.” – Philip K. Dick

“Don’t try to solve serious matters in the middle of the night.” – Ibid.

The Unbearable Heatness of Being: Texans are used to frying eggs on sidewalks in July, but Scandinavians? Their normal July temperature is in the 60s and 70s. This week Scandinavia is scorching. Temps have soared to more than 20 degrees above normal. Even thermometers at the Arctic Circle nearly hit 90 degrees. Quite different from a century earlier when Admiral Peary, covered in heavy furs, made it there.

This summer every continent has set new all-time heat records. In May, extreme heat killed dozens in Pakistan, and it’s devastating the health and livelihoods of tens of millions more. Scientists and economists warn that if global greenhouse gas emissions continue as they are now, the heat and humidity level could become unbearable. Especially hard hit are the poor In India’s capital of Delhi, outdoor workers can become so weak or so sick that they routinely miss days of work, and their daily wages. One official said: “Heat goes unreported and underreported. (The people) take it for granted. It’s a silent killer.” Another said: “These cities are going to become unlivable unless urban governments put in systems of dealing with this phenomenon and make people aware. It’s a major public health challenge.”

The world has changed–it’s much hotter. And as a recent analysis of climate trendsin several of South Asia’s biggest cities found, if current warming trends continue, by the end of this century, people directly exposed to that level of heat and humidity for six hours or more won’t survive.

– Japan has been dealing with record flooding and landslides that killed 210 people last week. Now a heat wave has hit in southern Japan that has killed at least eight people. Nineteen people remain missing or unaccounted for from the floods, and 64,000 personnel are still conducting search and rescue operations in sweltering heat. (CNN)

– How’s this going to work? Several candidates in Pakistan’s July 25 elections are on the country’s terror watch list of violent extremists. The list prevents “listees” from interacting with crowds in public, traveling outside certain areas and using their bank accounts. But it doesn’t prevent them from running for office, so…they are. Good luck with that. (NYT)

– India is still dealing with “fake rumors” on social media that have sparked a violent string of mob attacks resulting in the deaths of dozens of people. The Supreme Court has urged the government to pass a new anti-lynching law and to stop the rumors, spread mainly on the messaging platform WhatsApp, which has more than 200 million users in India. Astonishingly, or maybe not, police arrested several attackers who had chased and killed a software engineer on holiday, after WhatsApp messages warned of kidnappers in a car matching the description of the deceased’s. Among those arrested was the administrator of the WhatsApp group that had spread false warnings. (WaPo)

–  It’s not so easy to be a candidate in Hong Kong. Authorities said Tuesday they were considering banning a political party that advocates the city’s independence from China. The Hong Kong National Party is small, with only a few dozen members, but when its leader wanted to run for office two years ago, he was barred. Now Hong Kong’s security secretary is considering whether to impose a ban again. (NYT)

– Dozens of Syrian civilians attempted to cross the border into Israel but were denied passage to the Golan Heights by border guards. Despite the pleas of civilians and humanitarian agencies alike, Israel has stated that they will deny access across their border despite the bombardments and violence transpiring in Syria. Syrian refugees had looked toward Israel as an escape from leader Bashar al-Assad’s campaign to reclaim southern Syria. (Guardian)

– Like kids in a schoolyard, the United States and European Union are parting ways in search of “better” friends. In the heat of Trump’s trade war and NATO undermining, the European Union has signed the largest trade deal ever with Japan.The agreement looks to cover a quarter of the global economy and is Europe’s first step in becoming a more politically and economically assertive force in the global power schema. (NYT)

– A day after President Trump had a meeting with the Kremlin, former president Barack Obama made a speech in South Africa warning of the dangers that come from “strongman politics.” Calling the current day “strange and uncertain,” he said that leaders of today are embracing the “politics of fear, resentment, and retrenchment.” (NYT)

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Russia’s Deep Cover Exploitation: The fallout over Monday’s press conference with President Trump and Russian President Putin continued Tuesday, with some congressional members threatening legislative action to punish Moscow and show support for US intelligence agencies. Representative Mike Turner, a Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said: “The president needs to understand he has damaged US foreign policy. He’s given (the Russians) a pass and is certainly not holding them accountable for what they’re doing.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for the immediate passage of legislation to enhance election security, and reiterated calls for the Senate to hold immediate hearings to get testimony from Trump’s national security team about what transpired during the private Trump-Putin meeting “so we can find out what the heck happened there.” (Reuters)

In an affidavit filed Saturday in a DC federal court, FBI Special Agent Kevin Helson laid out stunning charges against a Russian national living in the US with alleged ties to a senior Russian official. On Sunday Maria Butina was arrested; Monday she was charged with conspiracy to act as an agent of the Russian Federation, including by building ties to the leadership of the National Rifle Association and other conservative political organizations. The bombshell accusations show an operation dating back as early as 2014, to advance Russia’s agenda by cultivating relationships with American politicians, to establish “back channel” lines of communication, and to infiltrate US political groups, including an unnamed “gun rights organization.” Descriptions in court papers match published reports about Butina’s interactions with the NRA. Butina was allegedly assisted in her efforts by an unnamed US political operative who helped introduce her to influential political figures. (WaPo)

– Having a midlife crisis doesn’t require a new car, new clothes, or a new lifestyle. In this day and age, the new trend for when you find yourself screaming at your monitor is creativity classes. Whether it’s from classes or books, creativity is seen as the solution to a midlife crisis by many, and can even help with things like anxiety and depression! (NYT)

– If creativity just isn’t cutting it, worry not, it’s completely normal to feel a little misery in your forties and fifties. The studies behind a “happiness curve” is detailed in journalist Jonathan Rauch’s new book, “The Happiness Curve,” and it shows that through your forties and fifties, there’ll be a little slump, but after that, it’s generally smooth sailing filled with sunshine and rainbows! Time is on your side, so don’t fret, in the words of Frank Sinatra, “The best is yet to come!” (Marketwatch)

– It’s time to get washed! Figuratively, of course. (Unless you haven’t showered in a few days… not to tell you how to live your life, but getting washed is good literally too!) Sometimes, you’ll hit a bump in the road or chase a dream until you’re stuck in a deep rut. What do you do? Your gut says to keep going, but sometimes, it’s better to let it go and get “washed.” Try new things, experience the world for all it has to offer. (GQ)

– The deep words of philosopher Bertrand Russell show that we should not fear death, but rather embrace is as the years flow by. (Brain Pickings)

– Researchers estimate that fewer than half of the United States’ rural communities have hospitals which provide obstetric care. Specialists continue to cluster in larger cities, causing many rural city hospitals to close down. Some women must go through hundred mile drives to the nearest hospital which provides abortion or birthing procedures, which is quite an ordeal for the mother and presents many health risks. And some wonder as to why birth rates in the United States have dropped. (NYT)

– A new study shows that frequent use of digital devices may increase the odds of developing symptoms of ADHD. (Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) Previous research had shown that greater social media usage was linked to depression in teens and that playing more videos games lead to ADHD, but little research had been done about the effects of tablets and mobile devices until now. (NPR)

LAST MORSELS

“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” – Ursula K. Le Guin

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