A 35,000-Year-Old Saber-Toothed Cub Was Unearthed in Siberia—and It Still Had Its Whiskers and Claws Smithsonian (Paul R)
How dogs were implicated during the Salem witch trials Religion News (Robin K)
Scientists discover unusual new bacteria in deep-sea coral Washington Post (Robin K)
Nearly 80 Million Americans Expected to Travel over Thanksgiving AAA (Kevin W)
The Painted Protest: How politics destroyed contemporary art Harpers. Anthony L: “Just for the first line: ‘My mother lost both of her legs on the way to the Barbican Art Gallery.’”
#COVID-19
There are a lot of hidden Covid consequences our corporate overlords did not consider because they keep insisting Covid is benign & we can successfully coexist with it.
Pour one out for the alcohol industry. https://t.co/RLfILfYWhl pic.twitter.com/T92RaSwtfm
— Laura Miers (@LauraMiers) November 18, 2024
There are more COVID infections in the US today than at any time in 2020 or 2021. This sort of confident ignorance is not a substitute for facts. https://t.co/PHrTPBJmHo pic.twitter.com/WXQ4UdqtOM
— L., MA (@leslieleeiii) November 15, 2024
Climate/Environment
Denmark to convert 15% of farmland to forest to cut fertiliser use Channel News Asia (Carla R)
Sad reason world’s second-largest city has shut all schools 9News (Kevin W)
Snow hits London as Arctic chill grips Britain: Temperatures drop to -11.2C as sleet blankets the capital and snow hits the Midlands with trains axed, schools closed and cars stuck Daily Mail
Chronicles of Collapse Los Angeles Review of Books. Anthony L hoists:
This is the contradiction at the heart of Amrith’s book. He writes a brilliant global history, one of the very best I have read in many years. He truly synthesizes large fields of research into a compelling narrative that places a great conundrum at the heart of modern human history—how the use of fossil fuels has opened up unprecedented levels of human freedom that threaten the very heart of that project in the near future. But, having diagnosed the problem and explained it in language any reasonably educated reader can easily understand, Amrith almost completely drops the ball on thinking through a concrete path toward solutions, which is what readers most desperately need.
China?
EU to demand technology transfers from Chinese companies Financial Times
President Xi: population decline could benefit China’s future development Pekinology
China’s lonely-heart crisis fuels a growing ‘companionship economy’ South China Morning Post
Sany’s SMHW40E 40t pure electric grabber rolled off production line.Uses 507kWh battery & can operate for 7 hrs using just 20% of cost of ICE vehicle.Uses eControl response & independent power rotation -> improves efficiency by 20%.tire chassis allowing 20km/h max speed & can… pic.twitter.com/twwHtSRXkk
— tphuang (@tphuang) November 17, 2024
Japan
Japan mulls tougher sanctions on Russia, North Korea News Az
Xi and Ishiba meet amid tensions as China urges Japan to ‘properly handle’ history Independent. Ouch.
European Disunion
Schwachkopf eugyppius (Micael T)
Baerbock threatens China with consequences Tagesschau via machine translation (guurst). How has the EU managed to find so many aggressively stupid women to put in positions of authority?
How German Imperialism Rebranded Itself as Feminist Jacobin (Stephen S)
German manufacturers warn of the sector’s ‘formidable crash’ BBC
Pacifism” and the Greed of Swedish Capital: Riga Unsuccessfully Attempts to Force Stockholm Shareholder to Work for Latvian Militarism International Affairs (Micael T)
Undersea cable between Germany and Finland severed BBC (Kevin W)
Old Blighty
Minister says food shortage plan in place as farmers threaten strike action over tax Independent. The tax is a disastrously foolish inheritance tax we included in Links and elicited a detailed takedown by Revenant earlier this month.
Israel v. The Resistance
This is all that remains of Al Najjar hospital in Rafah. The extent of the devastation only now coming to light because it is in the Israeli military controlled area.
There must be accountability for the inhuman, illegal destruction of this hospital. pic.twitter.com/jdrwU8fcz4
— Rohan Talbot (@rohantalbot) November 19, 2024
Israel, Hezbollah trade fire as UN slams worsening conditions in Gaza Aljazeera
Nearly 100 food aid trucks violently looted in Gaza, UN agencies say Reuters
Hezbollah says it hit military targets in Tel Aviv with swarm of combat drones Anadolu Agency
How Yemen is redefining regional power The Cradle
Ayman Odeh, a member of the Israeli Knesset, was removed from the podium after calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “a serial killer of peace.” pic.twitter.com/mK8RLlr4hL
— Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) November 19, 2024
Jewish organisations around the world condemn German parliamentary resolution on anti-Semitism DiEM25 (Robin K)
New Not-So-Cold War
US decision on long-range missiles will spark immediate response, Russian lawmakers say Guardian
Why Putin won’t go nuclear following ATACMS decision Ian Proud (Ignacio)
Putin approves Russia’s revised nuclear doctrine TASS (guurst). This was in the works but the timing of the approval turns out to have been useful.
G7 confirms pledge to impose severe costs on Russia for Ukraine war Reuters. And I want a pony.
🇵🇱 Poland has established 20 military bases near the Belarusian border over the past five years.
Take a look at how this appears on the maps.
Yesterday, a new U.S. missile defense base was opened in Poland to supposedly “contain Russia’s military potential.”
Now, there are a… pic.twitter.com/cc4S73aokc
— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) November 14, 2024
Russian Military Traps Ukrainian Forces in Kursk Cauldron, Over 80 Enemy Fighters Killed Sputnik (Robin K)
Nobody wants to hear this: Ukraine’s Battle Fatigue London Review of Books (Anthony L)
🇺🇦🇷🇺 Russian decoy drones imitate big targets to waste Patriot missiles!
This decoy drone was found in the Kyiv reservoir. It does not have a warhead, but instead carries a Luneburg lens radar reflector, to imitate a larger target in the radar range.
Such drones flies towards… pic.twitter.com/ARVtuhNaC9
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) November 18, 2024
Nordic neighbours release new advice on surviving war BBC
TO BEAT THE DEVIL: IN HONOR OF KRIS KRISTOFFERSON Hal Freeman (Anthony L). I feel sad for Hal Freeman. He gives the impression of having a strong moral core, of being deeply upset by widespread propaganda and demonizing of various Others, wanting to do something about that. I wish he could get to the point of being satisfied with putting out the best information he can and not caring so much about persuading people. Sometime not being part of the problem is the best you can do. And having the nerve to put a stake in the ground is reaching more people than he realizes.
Imperial Collapse Watch
A Republic to Keep, an Empire to Lose Philip Pilkington
Nationwide IV Fluid Shortage Could Change How Hospitals Manage Patient Hydration KFF Health News
Trump 2.0
What happened to America First? Trump’s cabinet picks seem more neocon than isolationist Thomas Fazi, Unherd
The Foreign Policy Cabinet of the Supposedly ‘Anti-War’ President-Elect Begins to Take Shape Issue Chronicle. Kevin W: “Interesting visual chart at top of article.”
Musk, top Trump adviser clash over Cabinet picks Axios
Trump shock waves ripple through fragmented G20 Politico
The unconventional economic theory behind Trump’s sweeping tariff plans Washington Post (Robin K)
DOGE Will Wind Up Costing the Government More Money Ian Welsh (Micael T)
The 9 GOP senators who could derail Trump’s Cabinet picks The Hill
2024 Aftermath
On the Democratic Party’s Cult of Powerlessness Matt Stoller. Important.
Pennsylvania’s Top Court Tells Counties to Stop Defying Its Ballot Order New York Times (Kevin W)
Mace introduces bill to bar trans women from Capitol restrooms The Hill
Our No Longer Free Press
a href=”https://www.kenklippenstein.com/p/morning-joe-bends-knee-to-fascist” rel=”nofollow”>‘Morning Joe’ Bends Knee to ‘Fascist’ Trump Ken Klipperstein
AI
Letting chatbots run robots ends as badly as you’d expect The Register (Kevin W)
AI Copyright Claimed My Last Video YouTube. BC
I saw this conflict coming.
Of all the choices, I think having the AI software developers owning copyright for all AI generated content would create a untenable situation where AI companies, like OoenAI, would end up claiming ownership of content and innovations well beyond art and creative writing. It would extend into medicine, science, and all manner of software enabled industry. Beyond the financial claims, copyright ownership would grant enormous power to enforce cease and desist orders to shut down competition (commercial or political).
Caveat Emptor
Four Passengers Die in Burning Tesla After Electronic Doors Seemingly Won’t Open Futurism. Paul R: “Yikes. There’s a manual door release inside but it’s apparently confusing to use. Nightmare fuel.”
Tesla (TSLA) stock up on report Trump wants to ease self-driving rules CNBC. Paul R: “I heard Trump was going to send killer robots after us, but I didn’t think they meant THIS.”
Class Warfare
Weddings have long been expensive. Now, guests are paying, too CNN (Kevin W)
Who uses libraries? Even in the stacks, there’s a political divide Washington Post (Robin K)
NYC supers say new trash rules are ruining their lives Gothamist
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus (guurst). Please turn your sound on:
🐻☺️ как урчит кисонька 🤗😜 pic.twitter.com/AP3lme1HWt
— Алексей (@RQr109tsEF9lPBx) November 15, 2024
A second bonus (Chuck L):
The fish mistakenly bit on a snake this time and his fish friend warned and saved him. pic.twitter.com/ydZyGplO71
— Figen (@TheFigen_) November 18, 2024
And a third (Chuck L):
Heartfelt moment between her son and the horses ❤️
How would you react? pic.twitter.com/3xXtx2X2pj
— Restoring Your Faith in Humanity (@HumanityChad) November 18, 2024
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
