NASA’s Orion Moon capsule splashes down! Here’s what’s next Nature
China Focus: Chang’e-5 samples suggest exploitable water resources on the moon China Daily
Into the bankingverse with Nvidia FT. The deck: “What is dead may never die.”
Climate
Revealed: Inside Antarctica’s brutal, lingering noise war on marine life (Part One) Daily Maverick. Part Two.
Brazil, the World’s Biggest Beef Exporter, Is Turning Away From Meat Bloomberg
#COVID19
Longitudinal transcriptional analysis of peripheral blood leukocytes in COVID-19 convalescent donors Journal of Translational Medicine. From the Abstract: “Persistent alterations in inflammatory pathways and T-cell activation/exhaustion markers for months after active infection may help shed light on the pathophysiology of a prolonged post-viral syndrome observed following recovery from COVID-19 infection.” See here.
We Might Have Long Covid All Wrong TNR. The deck: “Some post-Covid symptoms may be produced by the brain. Does that make them any less real?” Of course not.
* * *
DIY for healthier holiday air Editorial Board, Star-Tribune (WB).
The now infamous but not very helpful N95 trial (Loeb 2022) First 10em (dougiedd). Been waiting for a takedown on this one.
COVID treatments and prevention are still improving – so the longer you can avoid it the better The Conversation
OSHA moves ahead with permanent COVID-19 standards for health workers Health Care Dive. The rule is not yet published.
You May Be Early, but You’re Not Wrong: A Covid Reading List OK Doomer. Familar framing…
China?
How (Un)Popular Is Covid-Zero? China Data Lab, UC San Diego (methodology). Handy chart:
Data before protests; publication after.
China’s Protests Electrify the Global Diaspora Foreign Policy
In China’s Diaspora, Visions of a Different Homeland China File
Myanmar
Sacked Myanmar Workers Appeal to Adidas after Junta Breaks Factory Strike Irrawaddy
Purchase of Tomahawk missiles mentioned in Japan’s draft security documents NHK World
India
The Promise and the Politics of Rewilding India The New Yorker
Wonder why youngsters are getting heart attacks after hitting the gym? Expert shares cautions to follow when working out Hindustan Times. Normalization and minimization are global(ist?).
European Disunion
Serbia ready to send troops to Kosovo if request to KOFR approved: MoD Al Mayadeen
EU Parliament ‘under attack’ as Qatar corruption scandal grows Politico
Ukraine war leaves Germany’s ruling coalition in ‘permanent crisis mode’ FT
Dear Old Blighty
UK ministers blamed for blocking possible rail strikes deal FT. The deck: “Government prevented higher pay offer and added tougher conditions on working practices.” Exactly because a win for the rail workers would be a win for all workers.
Rail strikes could go on ‘indefinitely’, warns union boss Mick Lynch Independent
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine SitRep – Catastrophic Losses, Failing Wonder Weapons, NATO Escalation Moon of Alabama
Military briefing: escalating air war depletes Ukraine’s weapons stockpile FT
US quietly announces new Ukraine command with 3-star general Responsible Statecraft
Ukraine armistice coming into view Asia Times.
Odessa falls and Ukraine becomes a landlocked country (video) Douglas Macgregor, YouTube. Interviewed by Dr. Michael Vlahos. So far as I can tell, the headline is clickbait. But the interview is certainly an interesting ramble through elite thinking about international relations, strategy, and war. Grab two cups of coffee.
Five Wars in One New Left Review
Peru’s new leader offers early election as seven die in protests Reuters. Ah, that useful word “leader.”
Supporters of Defeated Brazilian President Bolsonaro Clash With Police WSJ
Biden Administration
Congress Prepares One-Week CR as Lawmakers Announce Progress Toward Full-Year Funding Deal Government Executive
More than 1,500 migrants wade across the Rio Grande into El Paso in one day Texas Tribune
Newsom slams Republicans for blocking immigration reform on visit to Mexican border LA Times
Intelligence Community
Hundreds of Oath Keepers Have Worked for DHS, Leaked List Shows POGO
2020 Post Mortem
A Plot To Overturn An American Election Talking Points Memo. Documents leak from the January 6 Select Committee.
The Bezzle
Their silence is deafening: Stars including Gisele and Tom, Larry David and Shaquille O’Neal who took SBF’s cash to advertise his doomed FTX crypto exchange say nothing as he’s arrested and charged Daily Mail. Not to mention those in the press who took SBF’s money, too. Or the parties.
Tech
K-pop: The rise of the virtual girl bands BBC. Pretty soon the AIs will generate impossible dance moves that fans will try to imitate on Tik-Tok, injuring themselves.
Perhaps It Is A Bad Thing That The World’s Leading AI Companies Cannot Control Their AIs Astral Codex Ten
Our Famously Free Press
More trouble:
THREAD: THE TWITTER FILES PART FIVE.
THE REMOVAL OF TRUMP FROM TWITTER.
— Bari Weiss (@bariweiss) December 12, 2022
Musk’s Twitter disbands its Trust and Safety advisory group AP
Former top Twitter official forced to leave home due to threats amid ‘Twitter Files’ release CNN. Says “a person familiar with the matter.”
Healthcare
How Low-Paid Parents Navigate The Complex Financial Landscape Of Benefits Cliffs And Disincentive Deserts Health Affairs. How Well-Paid Professionals Create The Complex Financial Landscape Of Benefits Cliffs And Disincentive Deserts.
Imperial Collapse Watch
Why The Age of American Progress Ended The Atlantic. A lot going on in this one.
NYC public libraries say proposed budget cuts may ‘push us over the edge’ Gothamist
Class Warfare
As Investors Buy More Homes Around the Obama Presidential Center Gentrification Worries Soar Illinois Answers Project. Class > race. Unsurprisingly.
The Persistence of Race Science Undark. Home page for a collection.
Billionaire James Dyson says letting people work from home is ‘staggeringly self-defeating’ and will cause friction between employers and employees Business Insider
The paradox of light goes beyond wave-particle duality Big Think. We don’t really know very much.
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote:
Western Grebe (Aechmophorus occidentalis)🐦🦜🕊️🎵❤️ pic.twitter.com/ybPsm8G0Xq
— World birds (@worldbirds32) November 11, 2020
Another bonus:
🔥 The Basilisk Lizard pic.twitter.com/HZp3xHB1Bu
— Nature is Lit (@Nature_Is_Lit) November 10, 2019
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
