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CURIOUSMINDS
A weekly serving of great articles we curate, and original content we produce. So, all you have to do is pick, read, watch and listen. |
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Issue #206 - December 2025
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Stories from Around the World that Affect Us |
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Flooding across Asia leaves 600 dead and hundreds missing
Torrential rains have triggered floods and landslides across parts of southern Asia, killing around 600 people. Intense rainfall began on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. "During the flood, everything was gone," a resident of Bireuen in Sumatra's Aceh province told Reuters news agency. "I wanted to save my clothes, but my house came down." With hundreds still missing, the death toll is likely to rise. Thousands remain stranded, some awaiting rescue on rooftops.
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 US Threats to Venezuela - Illegal
BBC(War/Politics)
Venezuela has accused US President Donald Trump of making a "colonialist threat" after he said the airspace around the country should be considered closed. The country's foreign ministry called Trump's comments "another extravagant, illegal and unjustified aggression against the Venezuelan people". The US does not legally have the authority to close another country's airspace, but Trump's online post could lead to travel uncertainty and deter airlines from operating there.
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 Ukraine hits Russian Tankers
BBC (War/Politics)
Footage verified by the BBC shows waterborne drones speeding through the waves into the vessels, before detonating into a ball of flame, sending black smoke into the air. The targeted tankers were named by Turkish authorities as the Kairos and Virat, both flagged to Gambia. Both were hit off the Turkish coast on Friday, with the Virat reportedly struck again on Saturday. No casualties were reported. The attacks appear to be an escalation by Kyiv as it tries to hit Russia's oil revenues, which are critical for funding its war in Ukraine. |
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China's people are on a treadmill
Social Environment
They're working hard for someone else's benefit. Leftist online personality Hasan Piker recently took a trip to China, and — like many other influencers who have been there — declared it to be a paradise, praising “abundance style consumption paired up with a centrally controlled economy” and “1950s Soviet era building blocks next to the Gucci store”. Meanwhile, pro-China pundits continue to crow about the country’s technological achievements and export performance. But when you talk to ordinary Chinese people about what their lives or their families’ lives are like these days, a less rosy picture emerges.
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Death of MarxismYascha Mounk Philosophy/Politics |
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In this week’s conversation, Yascha Mounk and Joseph Heath discuss the death of Western Marxism, approaches to equality, and how to create an equal society. Image by Leonardo |
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Quote of The Week
What amazes me about growing old is that I got here much quicker than I expected.
- James King -
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Top Stories from our favourite publications to stimulate your curious mind, |
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272 Words That Changed America
On November 19, 1863—exactly 162 years ago today—Abraham Lincoln delivered the most famous speech in American oratory.
The Gettysburg Address was given at the commemoration of a new national cemetery to mark the battle of Gettysburg that had occurred some four months before. The main speaker of the day was the Reverend Edward Everett; Lincoln was invited at the last minute and asked to perform “the last solemn act of dedication.” Everett’s speech lasted over two hours; Lincoln’s under three minutes. For most of the 15,000 people who had assembled that day, Lincoln’s speech was over before it began, yet in 272 words he accomplished nothing less than the creation of American democracy.
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How to Be Twice as Alive
THE MARGINALIAN (Literature/Philosophy)
Because we know that this is possible — from the lives of others, from our own past experience, from the history of the heart recorded in our literature — we are always living with the awareness, conscious or unconscious, that life can sunder us at any given point without warning. This is the price of consciousness, which makes living both difficult and urgent. Worms dwell in the popular imagination as a living metaphor for regeneration, for turning trauma into redoubled life.
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Gustav Klimt’s Female Figures
At least six bidders vied for the Klimt, with one telephone bidder only jumping in once the competition reached $171 million. Another telephone bidder eventually won the work, but only after a 20-minute bidding war that saw bids escalate in multimillion-dollar increments. When auctioneer Oliver Barker slammed down the gavel, collectors and dealers in the saleroom erupted in applause. |
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The Only Witness
A quiet Sunday - A vicious assault - One man’s resurrection is another’s good luck. A prequel to the enthralling psychological thriller series Alfie Goes to Thailand, Book 1 is based on a violent true-life assault. Typical of many strange and unpalatable happenings in Thailand, THE ONLY WITNESS introduces Alfie Mynn andis a revealing insight into the central character of an absorbing series.A story of human challenge, manipulation, rejection, abuse, and a search for peace.When Alfie sets out on his morning cycle ride, the last thing he expects is to be the only witness to attempted murder. The perpetrator of the crime is the only person who knows Alfie has seen him at the scene. And Alfie is easy to find. Scared out of his wits, he keeps his head down and waits, as a weird sequence of events unfolds.
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AI’s water problem
Everyone knows data centers use a lot of water. What’s less known is how they can poison the drinking water that remains. It’s already happening in eastern Oregon, according to a new bombshell investigation from Rolling Stone and the Food and Environment Reporting Network. (FERN is an independent, nonprofit news organization that seeks to make the food system more sustainable and equitable). Here’s the gist: At its data centers in Morrow County, Amazon is using water that’s already contaminated with industrial agriculture fertilizer runoff to cool down its ultra-hot servers.
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Why Civilizations Collapse
THE SIDE VIEW (Philosophy)
Why do civilizations collapse? This question bears not only on safeguarding our society’s future but also makes sense of our present. The answer relies on some of the same technē that humanity needed to build civilization in the first place: we have to evaluate the perceptions that mint facts and theory, not merely peruse the body of theories handed down to us. Institutional failure comes as a surprise because organizations try to hide their shortcomings. They lean on other, more functional organizations in order to keep up appearances. During civilizational collapse, no organization can properly hide its own inadequacy...
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UPGRADE to PAID
CURIOUSMINDS content and opinions contain important information curated from reliable sources. We rely on reader support to keep it FREE. We want it to reach as many people as possible. If you value what we do and would like to help us sustain it, please consider a small monthly or annual contribution. Contributing subscribers get full access to all James King Publications including archives of CURIOUSMINDS, and a valuable BONUS: FREE ebook versions of all James King’s published books.Click - View them at Amazon · Donate via the - Choose a subscription plan - page. If you are not a subscriber already - Go to the Welcome page |
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James King Blog offers valuable resources for students of Arts and Humanities. Particularly those interested in Environments, Literature, Performing Arts, Visual Art, Philosophy, Travel, and Human Rights. The articles provide insights into complex interactions between humans and their environments, and the ethical and moral dimensions of environmental issues. The Blog is relevant to students of all ages and those who are just fascinated by the Arts and Humanities. |
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 How Earthquake Magnitudes Are Measured – The Best Facts
Moment Magnitude Scale (Mw) is how earthquake magnitudes are measured best by scientists. The Mw scale accounts better for the size, depth, and characteristics of the fault. From the total energy released during an earthquake, seismologists can estimate the rupture area and the average fault movement. |
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FREE BOOKS89 Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense FreebiesThis Promo Closes 31 December Thriller authors join forces in joint promotion campaigns to introduce themselves to readers. You can download as many books as you like.
I hope you find plenty to entertain you. CLICK THE BANNER BELOW TO VIEW THE PROMO - AND GRAB AS MANY BOOKS AS YOU WANT |
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ALFIE GOES TO THAILAND - SERIES
If you like thought-provoking drama, romantic tragedies, and damaged characters, then you’ll love the tropical sauna and wry humour of POST- IT NOTES and the other books in this Psychological Thriller series. The Series is a story of human challenge, manipulation, rejection, abuse, and a search for peace. |
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THE KENRIGHT CHRONICLES - SERIES
The Kenright Chronicles is a psychological thriller series. Jack Kenright, a young investment banker gets involved in an international art swindle. which cripples his business and threatens his life and his family. He ends up a recluse, working for the FBI undercover and exposes massive corruption in the gambling world. |
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The Ballad of Tom DooleyBy Sharyn McCrumb
The Ballad of Tom Dooley is a literary triumph—what began as a fictional re-telling of the historical account of one of the most famous mountain ballads of all time became an astonishing revelation of the real culprit responsible for the murder of Laura Foster
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From the Dust ReturnedBy Ray Bradbury
A landmark publishing event—a bestselling, award-winning master of American literature offers a long-anticipated new novel featuring one of his most beloved creations, the Elliott family A landmark publishing event—a bestselling, award-winning master of American literature offers a long-anticipated new novel featuring one of his most beloved creations, the Elliott family A lifelong labor of love 55 years in the making, From the Dust Returned is the long awaited full-length tale featuring Ray Bradbury’s popular Elliotts: a novel comprised of six previously published and other never-before-seen stories about an outlandish, greathearted, and loving-spirited Halloween creature clan and their “abnormal” (he can see his reflection in the mirror!) adopted son Timothy. Touching, wistful, and graced with his trademark wit, From the Dust Returned embodies the powerful vision and imagination of one of the world’s great literary icons, Ray Bradbury.
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Substack - Creative Xellence -
Join us at Creative Xellence where we are building a home for James King's Poetry, Short Stories and serialised Novels. Subscribe for Free and you will be notified of new content and recieve the Newsletter.
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Medium
At Medium we curate high value informative articles related to A&H from major publishers and authoratative sources. And we publish a smattering of selected articles from James King Blog and articles written by James King for Medium Publications.
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