Pook-Emu Bee: Links For 08-26-26

I have a rough three-day work-stretch ahead of me, but the weekday Pook-Emu Bee links streak must continue (I will however compromise on feature images today).

1. Brainless TikTok trend causes $2,000 in damage to SoCal home (Daniel Farr for the New York Post. August 26, 2026.)
States and localities should consider sentence enhancement provisions for crimes committed for social media consumption.

2. EXCLUSIVE: US Investigators Have Proof That UNRWA ‘Social Worker’ Caught on Tape Dragging an Israeli Body Into an SUV on Oct 7 Was an Active Hamas Operative (Adam Kredo for The Washington Free Beacon. August 25, 2026.)
It’s always who you least expect… except for those times when it’s the most obvious suspect.

3. $3 Specialty Coffee Is Back In Brooklyn (Ainsley Martinez for Patch Carroll Gardens-Cobble Hill, NY. August 25, 2026.)
I seldom buy coffee when I’m out (firmly in the DIY coffee camp) but $3 for a cup of any size is cheap around these parts. Maybe I’ll find a reason when out with a friend to give it a try.

4. I switched from Android’s default keyboard to an open source alternative to eliminate my constant typos (Oluwaniyi Raji for Android Police. August 25, 2026.)
I also use Heliboard. It’s good. I turn autocorrect off because autocorrect is a war crime. The predictive suggestions are solid but I tend to forget about them. I need to make myself remember because typing on touchscreens is not a strong area for me.

5. Roblox applies restrictions to games featuring “reward-driven media feeds” available in Roblox Kids and Select (Sophie McEvoy for Games Industry.biz. August 26, 2026.)
The fundamental problem with Roblox is that its ostensible target demographic should not be playing social online games, period.

6. NYC’s borough-based jail boondoggle is nearly $8B over budget and years behind schedule (Matthew Fischetti for the New York Post. August 24, 2026.)
It’s already casting a long shadow.

7. NYers say Citi Bike has gotten too expensive, can a new advocate-led campaign make it cheaper? (Ethan Stark-Miller for amNY. August 18, 2026.)
Hear me out. Instead of stealing my tax money to subsidize City Bike rides for my betters who will then violate traffic laws and threaten to run me over, what if we at least banned the electric City Bikes and made everything more expensive?

8. Smithsonian affiliate AANM gets federal funds, criticized 9/11 response (Robert Schmad for Fox News. August 25, 2026.)
Score another one for team taxation is theft.

9. Taliban facing constant challenge to authority in provinces bordering Central Asian states (Eurasianet. August 25, 2026.)
Economic ties aside, I’ll note that Uzbek and Tajik police don’t take kindly to men having beards, so the Taliban would probably be well-advised (granting I don’t think they’re much into taking advice) to keep their various militants from causing cross-border problems.

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