Scott Malis was lucky to witness episode 11 of Kīlauea’s ongoing eruption – and even luckier to capture a “lavanado,” a tiny tornado swirling over the lava! 🌋🌪️
For more incredible videos, link below… pic.twitter.com/gb7SkZ5tTJ
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) February 27, 2025
Neanderthal Extinction Linked to Genetic Crisis 100,000 Years Ago ScienceAlert (Chuck L)
How many languages can babies learn? Study shows how Ghanaian babies grow up speaking two to six languages PhysOrg (Chuck L)
Female physicians’ suicide risk is 53% higher than general population, analysis find MedicalXpress (Chuck L)
Breakthrough Blood Test Accurately Identifies ALS and Tracks Progression SciTech Daily (Chuck L)
Bacteria Causing Gum Disease May Also Cause Alzheimer’s, Israeli Research Shows Haaretz (Robin K)
Chocolate, Coffee, and Wine Could Slash Your Risk of Metabolic Syndrome SciTech Daily (Chuck L)
#COVID-19/Pandemics
Air-borne: a book about COVID Eric Topol (Robin K)
1 in 22 covid survivors develop ME/CFS Live Science (Paul R)
Formerly anti-vax parents on how they changed their minds: ‘I really made a mistake’ Guardian (Kevin W)
Climate/Environment
Apple Accused of Misleading Consumers With Apple Watch ‘Carbon Neutral’ Claims The Verge
China?
China’s thorium survey finds ‘endless energy source right under our feet’ South China Morning Post (Chuck L)
Chinese Scientists Developing Mars Drone That Can Roll and Fly Space
G20 finance chiefs fail to agree joint communique after trade and climate clashes Financial Times
Koreas
North Korea says it launched cruise missiles in message to ‘enemies’ Aljazeera
Myanmar
Myanmar: A Nation Drowning In Drugs Crisis Eurasia Review
Africa
Former African presidents demand action as debt crisis reaches historic levels BizCommunity
Explosions during a rally held by a rebel group in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo have killed at least 11 people and injured around 60 others BBC
European Disunion
ECB’s $1.9 trillion-a-day trade system suffers outage Reuters
The Militarization of German Politics Hintergrund via machine translation (Micael T)
Far-Right blocked from government in Austria despite winning election Telegraph
SWEDISH COMPANIES DISTRIBUTE 415 BILLION – EQUIVALENT TO A THIRD OF THE STATE BUDGET Proletaren via machine translation (Micael T)
Old Blighty
How the UK’s rollback of banking regulations could risk another financial crisis The Conversation
Almost half of England’s councils ‘could face bankruptcy over £4.6bn deficit’ Guardian
Israel v. The Resistance
Uncertainty looms as first phase of Gaza truce due to expire Agence France-Presse
Israel is stepping up its military aggression across the region. But is it out of strength, or weakness? Mondoweiss
Syria must put an end to Israel’s incursions – and fast Middle East Eye
This has been rumoured for weeks, and it’s good to see actual documented reporting around it; Tel Aviv is lobbying against Syrian sanctions relief in DC. Let’s be very clear about this – if sanctions are not removed, then Syria cannot stabilise. That’s the point https://t.co/sYUjHyZwqs
— ᴅʀ ʜ.ᴀ. ʜᴇʟʟʏᴇʀ 🖖🏾 ⚜️ (@hahellyer) February 28, 2025
Iran’s foreign ministry on Thursday slammed Israeli threats as “outrageous” after Israel’s foreign minister warned a “military option” might be needed to halt Iran’s nuclear capabilities AlArabyiya
New Not-So-Cold War. I have a post in the works on the epic Trump-Zelensky blowup, hence I am a bit underweight on links on it below so as to not neglect other news. I should have that piece up by 9:00 AM, so please do return!
BLOODBATH IN THE OVAL OFFICE Simplicius
Mr. Zelensky Comes to Washington: Transcript Matt Taibbi
Investors unnerved by heated Trump-Zelensky Oval Office showdown Reuters (Kevin W)
Zelensky, after White House fallout, says it’s ‘difficult’ for Ukraine to hold off Russia without US Le Monde. Lead story. Hopefully readers can provide other takes from the Continent in comments.
If you were paying attention, the news below is not a surprise. Rubio Says US Won’t Lift Russia Sanctions Before Ukraine Deal Bloomberg. February 18.
Trump just extended Biden’s sanctions against Russia for another year pic.twitter.com/reKctgMKNN
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) February 27, 2025
After encountering the issue of people who leave Ukraine via the Ministry of Culture simply not coming back to a dictatorship at war…
…the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture has decided not to issue any permits for anyone to leave the country anymore!
Creative problem-solving 👍 pic.twitter.com/biCIAfGvif
— RT (@RT_com) February 27, 2025
The Guessing Game Over Trump’s Real Aims In Ukraine Moon of Alabama (Kevin W). We get a shout out.
US ends key USAID initiative supporting Ukraine’s energy grid Anadolu Agency. En route before the big blowup.
The US is now the enemy of the west Financial Times. From a few days ago. The charts demonstrate that the claim that the US provided more support to Ukraine is false.
Washington has picked a surprisingly decent ambassador for Russia Vlyzgrad via machine translation (Micael T)
What Russia and the US agreed on in Istanbul. The main thing Kommerstant via machine translation. Micael T: “6.5 hours and this is what they agreed on. In this tempo It will be years before they get to peace in Ukraine and divide the territory between themselves. Maybe the Euro War Pigs should calm down a bit?”
Putin Extends Maternity Capital Program Until 2030 Vlyzgrad via machine translation. Micael T: “No wonder they hate Putin. Helping people? WTF?!?!”
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Goodbye Surveillance Capitalism, Hello Surveillance Fascism Max Murphy (Paul R)
Imperial Collapse Watch
Here are the top 10+ reasons why US Navy ships are covered in rust stains:
•They aren’t allowed to use old, toxic-but-effective paint.•They aren’t allowed to use new, eco-friendly-but-effective paint.•They aren’t allowed to send people over the side on ropes.•They aren’t… https://t.co/A2NbFUtqce
— John Ʌ Konrad V (@johnkonrad) February 28, 2025
Trump 2.0
Trump tariffs could be bargaining chip or economic bomb Asia Times (Kevin W)
Trump’s threatened 25% tariffs on EU imports could trigger ‘economic turmoil’ Guardian
Trump cancels oil deal in major blow to Venezuela BBC
Trump eases rules on military raids and airstrikes, expanding range of who can be targeted CBS
Mass terminations have cut USDA ‘off at the knees,’ ex-employees say Investigate Midwest
Trump makes US copper mining a focus of his domestic minerals policy Associated Press (Kevin W)
DOGE
DOGE wants to lay off the ‘vast majority’ of CFPB workers, employees say The Verge (Kevin W)
Immigration
Bukele, un carcelero por sobrevivencia El Faro. Robin K: “Part of Trump’s deportation program: put deportees in Salvadoran jails.”
Police State Watch
How Cambridge Analytica Used Intimate Data to Exploit Gun Owners’ Private Lives ProPublica (Robin K)
Missouri GOP Seeks Control Over St. Louis Police Department ProPublica (Robin K)
Our No Longer Free Press
BBC AND GUARDIAN EDITORS HELD PRIVATE MEETINGS WITH ISRAELI GENERAL Declassified UK (guurst)
Mr. Market is Moody
Worries Mount That Trump Agenda Is Testing Economy’s Resilience Wall Street Journal
The Federal Reserve’s favorite recession indicator is flashing a danger sign again CNBC
The Bezzle
Bitcoin Down 25% From All-Time High as Crypto Rout Worsens Bloomberg
Pope Francis has created a Vatican task force to urge believers to give more money as the Catholic Church tackles a cashflow crisis The Times
Class Warfare
Google’s Sergey Brin Urges Workers To the Office at Least Every Weekday New York Times
Benioff Says Salesforce Won’t Hire Engineers This Year Due To AI SF Standard. So much for “Learn to code.”
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
