Tag: saudi arabia

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Daily Pook-Emu Bee links ceased being daily for the last week and change, but perhaps it is back with two straight editions to start the new week.

1 | Calibre 9.15 E-Book Manager Introduces “Create Your Own Adventure” Writing Game (Marcus Nestor for 9 To 5 Linux. Sep. 28, 2026.)
While I disable (or don’t enable) AI functionality in Calibre, I opined last year that some of the integrations were relatively inoffensive and in line with Calibre’s purpose. I’d say I fear Calibre is losing the plot (get it!?) with this one. However, it is not enabled by default and the new release includes some interesting normal features, so as long as the plot is lost on the side…

2 | NYC refuses to remove massive hornets’ nest from Queens tree, tells terrified residents to foot the bill (Rich Calder for the New York Post. Sep. 19, 2026.)
If (heaven forbid) this situation goes sideways after the NYC Parks Department both refused to step in and warned that it would block any efforts by the residents to remedy, NYC (i.e., taxpayers) will most certainly foot the bill.

3 | Ancient bronze bracelets found in Uzbekistan (The History Blog. Sep. 16, 2026.)
You never know what you’ll dig up in your yard in Uzbekistan.

4 | Three Patrons, Three Clients: The Mecca Alliance No One Owns (Ahmed Saber Abbas for War on the Rocks. Sep. 15, 2026.)
If only Saudi Arabia had some alternative proposal in front of it.

5 | Nearly one third of college-age ‘BORG’ drinkers report blacking out: New study (W.B. Kagan for EurekAlert! Sep. 15, 2026.)
This ends with a suggestion for parents to discuss with their college-age students “whether to attend a BORG event, and if one does attend, whether to bring a BORG beverage and how much (if any alcohol to put in the beverage.” That’s great but let’s try cutting this off at “event” and making the answer “no.”

6 | Holdout Lindsay Clancy Juror Breaks Silence, Says “Activists” Wanted “Not Guilty” on Day 1 (Steven Ertelt for Life Site. Sep. 16, 2026.)
He shouldn’t have had to break silence, but now that he has been left with no choice, I tip my hat to Mr. Michael P. Desronvil for having the courage to do the right thing.

7 | Scientists Create a New Form of Ice at More Than 2,000 °C (Michelle Starr for Science Alert. Sep. 9, 2026.)
I don’t know. Our current ice works well enough. The scientists should focus on something more practical.

8 | The Rise, Fall, and Rise of Rawdawg (Lauren Peck for Austin Chronicle. Nov. 27, 2024.)
That this running club was obnoxious enough to be cracked down on in Austin sounds like an accomplishment (and well-deserved as someone who finds our less noisy running clubs here in New York City annoying enough as is).

9 | I saw the movie that Warner tried to delete: ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ (Bryan Preston for Fox Business. Sep. 12, 2026.)
While my 16+ year streak of not being in a movie theater continues, this does sound like a fun movie and one that was well-worth saving.

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I present for your reading enjoyment our daily selection of Pook-Emu Bee links for Monday, April 20, 2026.

1. AI Use Appears to Have a “Boiling Frog” Effect on Human Cognition, New Study Warns (Maggie Harrison Dupré for Futurtism. April 14, 2026.)

The top-line results are consistent with my priors. While I am not sure how useful the specific methodology of the study is, I appreciate that it used solving math problems as an example in light of my recent NLJ post, AI Today, Calculators Back in the Day, which used an AI take as a prompt to set up a heartwarming story from my high school days wherein I made a middle schooler solve a few problems without resorting to his calculator.

2. Denial or confession? (Theodore Dalrymple for The Critic. March 6, 2026.)

Do not doubt that this is a skill: just try yourself to talk or write for longer than a sentence or two without conveying a fixed meaning. Such meaning will keep breaking through, however hard you try to prevent it from doing so.

3. Tina Fey Claims ‘Saturday Night Live’ Has a ‘Responsibility to Be Fair’: Political Jokes Are ‘Based in Truth’ (Warner Todd Huston for Breitbart. April 19, 2026.)

I am not a comedy fan, but as someone who was alive in 2008, I must tip my hat to Tina Fey for this great joke. Wait. What is that? My producer is telling me that she’s not joking.

4. Is There a Vibrator Joke in Super Princess Peach? (Drew Mackie at Thrilling Tales of Old Video Games. April 19, 2026.)

No.

5. Saudi’s Sovereign Wealth Fund Calls It Quits on Golf … And Maybe More (Brian Boyle for The Daily Upside*. April 20, 2026.)

TBD whether the LIV tour will LIV to fight another day. Additional question: Pokémon Go big or go home? I will never apologize for my terrible puns! See my article on Saudi Arabia and Pokémon Go for context for the second terrible pun.

6. The RAM shortage could last years (Terrence O’Brien for The Verge. April 28, 2026.)

I’ve gathered.

7. This $249 cube is winning Christmas (Holly Van Leuven for Morning Brew. December 15, 2025.)

I had seen these things on Amazon but did not know what they were. Now that I know, I think finding a Wii and Wii Sports Resort on Ebay would probably provide better value.

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Quoted The Iran War Has Finally Exposed Japan's Achilles Heel by Alex Kimani (OilPrice.com)
Prior to the conflict, Japan imported over 90% of its crude oil and about 11% of its LNG from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and UAE its top suppliers ... The de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran and its allies has effectively blocked the route for ~95% of Japan’s Middle Eastern oil...

Access to natural resources has long been a challenge for Japan (see e.g., World War II). According to a report by Alex Kimani for OilPrice.com, prior to the commencement of Operation Epic Fury, Japan was importing 90% of its oil from the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and the UAE its top suppliers). Moreover, approximately 95% of Japan’s oil imports passed through the Strait of Hormuz. The report notes that Japan is looking to diversify its oil supplies:

Japan is reaching out to suppliers in Central Asia, South America and Canada while negotiations with Venezuela, a former supplier, are currently underway. Following high-level discussions with the U.S., Japan is exploring a joint effort to boost Alaskan oil production. Japan plans to invest in Alaskan oil infrastructure, including investing in loading facilities to facilitate the transport of Alaskan crude, as part of a broader $550 billion bilateral investment program between the two countries. Oil from Alaska takes about 12 days to reach Japan, compared to over 20 days from the Middle East.

Sounds promising.

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News stories about Saudi Arabian government policy almost always reference Mohammad bin Salman, who serves as Crown Prince and Prime Minister. However, while Mr. bin Salman may be the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, he is not the de jure ruler. That honor goes to his father, King Salman. King Salman has ruled since January 23, 2015, and is now 89 years old. He succeeded many brothers and half brothers, who have ruled Saudi Arabia continuously since their father died in 1953. It has occurred to me we do not hear much about King Salman these days, but a report in today’s Semafor Gulf newsletter offered a sign of life:

King Salman removed Talal bin Abdullah Bin Turki al Otaibi as assistant minister of defense and Mohammed bin Hamad Al Madhi as president of General Organisation of Military Industries, which was involved in localizing defense procurement. The Royal Court also announced that Ghassan bin Abdul Rahman Al Shibl was removed as advisor at the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers. No replacements were announced.

Of course, assuming arguendo that the Crown Prince is calling the shots in the King’s name, this update does little to alter the current perception that the Crown Prince is in fact the de jure ruler of Saudi Arabia.

Speaking of no-replacements, I read an interesting article a few months ago about how Saudi Arabia has no Deputy Crown Prince, who would be third-in-line to the throne.