Men with higher-quality sperm live longer, study finds The Guardian
Is Everyone the Same Person? Nautilus
Climate/Environment
Forgotten Climate Chronicles of 16th-Century Transylvania Hold a Dire Climate Warning ZME Science
Trump’s Executive Order on Forests ‘A Devastating Blow,’ Activists Say Inside Climate News
Eerie scenes in Dallas as dust from the West blankets the city. pic.twitter.com/yY7InNJH7z
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) March 4, 2025
Pandemics
West Texans, Mennonites at center of measles outbreak choose medical freedom over vaccine mandates Texas Tribune. “Freedom.”
Measles case in Pennsylvania leads to warning for JFK Airport travelers after unvaccinated child contracts virus New York Post
Federal workers with Long COVID face firings, loss of accommodations, and more challenges under Trump The Sick Times
Understanding Trump’s War on Research Funding & The Future Pandemic Accountability Project
Japan
Japan’s worst wildfire in half a century spreads Channel News Asia
China?
China hits back at US additional tariffs with countermeasures; pressuring, coercion or threat is not the right way to engage with China: FM Global Times
China targets ‘around 5%’ GDP growth in 2025 and lays out stimulus measures as trade worries mount CNBC
Commentary: When even China markets start to ignore Trump Channel News Asia
***
China’s White Paper on Controlling Fentanyl Pekingnology
The white paper renders the ‘fentanyl lie’ self-defeating: Global Times editorial Global Times. Commentary:
If war is what the U.S. wants, be it a tariff war, a trade war or any other type of war, we’re ready to fight till the end. https://t.co/crPhO02fFE
— Chinese Embassy in US (@ChineseEmbinUS) March 5, 2025
Old Blighty
Holocaust Survivor Summoned for Police Interview Over Gaza Solidarity Protest Byline Times
O Canada
‘She did it at least three times’: Kristi Noem slammed over ‘childish’ insult to Canada Alternet. Classy.
Syraqistan
Rejecting Arab plan, White House says Trump ‘stands by his vision to rebuild Gaza free from Hamas’ Times of Israel
Netanyahu’s funding for Hamas via Qatar enabled October 7 invasion, Shin Bet reveals Jerusalem Post
BREAKING: 14-year-old Muin Ghassan Fahed Salahat, arrested by Israeli forces last month, has become the youngest Palestinian ever placed under an Israeli administrative detention order. This practice allows authorities to hold Palestinians without charge or trial, using “secret… https://t.co/lYfoysfeFz pic.twitter.com/Dcnmuc4Ce1
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) March 4, 2025
Archiving Gaza: The Race to Save Evidence of War Crimes and Mass Destruction Drop Site
***
Putin Agrees to Help Trump Broker Nuclear Talks With Iran Bloomberg
US designates Yemen’s Houthis as ‘foreign terrorist’ organisation Al Jazeera
European Disunion
Germany’s future coalition partners to relax debt rules to boost defence budget The Guardian. Commentary:
Germany’s only back if they stop their de-industrialization. Everything else is secondary to that and all real power is based on having an industrial base. https://t.co/HymjDp6Coo
— Ian Welsh (@iwelsh) March 5, 2025
EU Proposes €150 Billion Defense Loan as Trump Pulls Back Bloomberg. Commentary from the Atlantic Council:
A defense-spending-driven-debt-binge buttressed the dollar’s dominance in the 1980s.
If Europe can seize the moment by issuing eurobonds to finance its collective defense, euro ascendance would follow. pic.twitter.com/iWqArWssmn
— Daniel McDowell (@daniel_mcdowell) March 1, 2025
Project Porcupine Doomberg. “Assessing the fantasy of an EU military surge.”
“The envy motif is deeply rooted in the economic policy discourse in Europe” Philipp Heimberger, Notes on macro policy debates
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine’s Zelenskyy appeals to Trump after US suspends military aid Al Jazeera. Commentary:
MAGAland thinks Zelensky is capitulating. He isn’t, aside from being hilariously deferential. Zelensky’s proposing the Euro plan for sea & air ceasefire, to shift the “who wants peace” narrative burden onto Putin without giving in to Russia’s war aims.https://t.co/V9k0fq5bSk
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) March 4, 2025
US, Ukraine sound optimistic notes on mineral deal The Hill
Ukrainian oligarch’s stake in Poltava mining plant seized by state agency Ukrainska Pravda
***
How Starmer raised the stakes to get Zelensky talking The Telegraph
JD Vance sparks British fury as he mocks Ukraine peacekeeping plan Politico
EU States Secretly ‘Happy’ for Hungary, Slovakia To Block Ukraine Aid European Conservative
Trump’s pivot toward Moscow met with joy in Russia Kyiv Independent
Trump 2.0
Trump passes Clinton, gives longest modern address to joint session of Congress The Hill
Trump’s big speech to Congress signaled more chaos ahead Vox
***
OPM walks back memo on firing probationary employees, leaving decision to agencies The Hill
CFPB drops lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo over Zelle fraud CNBC
After mass firings, the IRS is poised to close audits of wealthy taxpayers, agents say ICIJ
GSA prepares to sell over 400 federal properties Politico. ‘GSA may not sell all of the offices. The agency said in its statement that it “welcomes creative solutions, including sale-lease backs, ground leases and other forms of public/private partnerships to drive the full optimization of our space.”’ Useful chart:
As Trump threatens to offload federal buildings, NYC brokers are projecting sales prices The Real Deal. The deck: “Can old courthouses and agency offices be converted into luxury condos?”
DC-area housing market flashing yellow but not red yet over DOGE cuts, return-to-office mandate WTOP
DOGE
Some DOGE Staffers Are Drawing Six-Figure Government Salaries Wired
Pronouncing DOGE Language Log. See also NC here.
Democrats en Déshabillé
They look like bidders at a Sotheby’s auction https://t.co/LhW0s3KIcs
— Alice (@AliceFromQueens) March 5, 2025
Some Democratic members protesting Trump by wearing pink outfits pic.twitter.com/kgqKhIYniE
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) March 5, 2025
Democrat Al Green removed from House after interrupting, heckling Trump The Hill
What can Democrats learn from the Brits? Semafor
How the bond market could check Trump’s power wbur
AI
The Silicon Valley Consensus & AI Capex (Part 1) The Tech Bubble
Supply Chain
BlackRock strikes $23 billion deal to place Panama Canal ports under American control CBS News
Police State Watch
One Hopped Turnstile, 9 Police Bullets, 4 People Shot. Does It Add Up? New York Times. Commentary:
THREAD. The assumption that the reasons people in power do things are the same as why *they say* they do things is one of the most important forms of propaganda. The greatest lie of all is that billions flowing for more militarized police surveillance is “to prevent crime.” pic.twitter.com/o3wruEoV7Q
— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) March 3, 2025
Groves of Academe
the question is: what makes a protest illegal?answer: whatever rich zionists don’t like.
but,
what happens if an overwhelming number of students protest? do they all get expelled? deporting foreign students is harsh for the individuals, but could be a blessing for them in the… pic.twitter.com/B73a6aLfit
— susan abulhawa | سوزان ابو الهوى (@susanabulhawa) March 4, 2025
Trump’s Protest Threat Reflects Belief That Free Speech Belongs to Some FAIR
Columbia University’s Secret Disciplinary Process for Students Critical of Israel Drop Site
Our Famously Free Press
How Western Media Has Manufactured Consent For Atrocities, From Iraq To Gaza DAWN
Antitrust
Google Urges Trump DOJ to Reverse Course on Breaking Up Company Bloomberg
Digital Watch
Google’s March Pixel Drop is here with a ton of Android upgrades Ars Technica. “Google’s AI will also begin butting in if it suspects a caller or message is attempting to scam you.”
Google Starts ‘Silently’ Tracking Your Phone—How To Stop It Forbes
Screening Room
I don’t think people realize how incredible it is that a movie rendered in nearly real-time in free software on a single computer just won the Oscar for best animated film. If there was ever any proof you don’t need AI, this is it. https://t.co/G48N7G2d6c
— Reid Southen (@Rahll) March 4, 2025
The Friendly Skies
US aviation safety ‘no longer the gold standard,’ according to statements at House hearing CNN
FAA reportedly ordered staff to find ‘tens of millions of dollars’ to fund a deal with Elon Musk’s Starlink Fortune
FAA Eyes AI System to Watch America’s Airways PYMNTS. From Nov. 2024, still germane.
Guillotine Watch
CRYPTO ADVOCATE ADVISES THE COMMON MAN TO SELL A KIDNEY Futurism
Class Warfare
Worker-to-Worker Organizing Can Save the Labor Movement How Things Work
A Man’s A Man For That Class Consciousness Project
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
