20-year-old blind cat rescued from frozen Massachusetts pond after quick thinking Associated Press (Robin K.)
Flat Earthers went to Antarctica to see the sun. What happened ScienceAlert (Chuck L)
A universe where a Sun-like star explodes with intense superflares every 100 years (Chuck L)
How the FDA is allowing secret ingredients into the food supply Los Angeles Times (Robin K)
The world’s oldest drinkable champagne BBC (Robin K)
Early Cocaine Use in Europe Past (Chuck L)
Flu surges in Louisiana, health department bans flu vaccination promotion (Paul R)
Climate/Environment
Some countries need to reduce their populations Ian Welsh
Flood: An impending partisan disaster Lever
China?
US aims to produce essential chips in China, New York Times (Kevin W)
Many Americans have become dependent on Chinese-made drones. Now, lawmakers want to ban them Associated Press
How will the Trump administration respond as China expands its cyber espionage and sabotage activities? The Conversation (Kevin W)
Japan
Japan’s bond market is on track to absorb the most supply in a decade. bloomberg
south of the border
Mexico’s Dirty War, Counterpunch 50 Years Later (Robin K.)
What’s behind the new US military base in the Galapagos teleSUR (Robin K)
discord in europe
High electricity taxes hit oil prices hard for European industry (Kevin W)
Germany: Magdeburg attack could influence future elections DW
As France enters its fourth administration in a year, Prime Minister Bayrou is in the spotlight France24
Poland introduces compulsory firearms training for schoolchildren following Russian threat EuroNews (Kevin W)
old blighty
UK economy stagnates, GDP statistics revised downwards The Guardian
Ministers have been accused of acting like ‘usurers’ after a record £16m in fees was collected from people paying child support.
Why bill increases alone aren’t enough to defuse the UK water sector’s debt bomb The Telegraph
israel vs resistance
I feel completely sick. There are no words. https://t.co/0dBRbHG2so pic.twitter.com/1J2LN12Dcb
—Barry Malone (@malonebarry) December 23, 2024
🚩Breaking News: Hospital Director Kamal Adwan reports unprecedented attack by Israeli forces, sniper fire and destruction of medical equipment. Gaza Ministry of Health: Concentrated bombing targets neonatal care. pic.twitter.com/29GjcSH9uI
— Rami Abdul | और देखें December 21, 2024
Dr. Hassam Abu Safiyah shared footage showing Israeli military automated mechanisms (“robots”) planting explosives at the gates of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.
The hospital has been under complete siege for three days, facing direct gunfire, injured patients, the… pic.twitter.com/gVgWtSr17X
— Gaza Notice (@gazanotice) December 23, 2024
Vast evidence database documenting Israeli war crimes in Gaza Haaretz compiled by historians (Dr. Kevin)
Yemen’s illegal war is not over Daniel Larison
“We just do what the Israelis want us to do” Counterpunch (Robin K.)
A new war that’s not so cold war
‼ ️🇷🇺🇺🇦Moscow and Kiev fail to reach gas export agreement mediated by Azerbaijan – Reuters
▪️Earlier, the European Union and Ukraine called on Azerbaijan (SOCAR) to facilitate negotiations with Russia on the extension of the gas transport agreement, which is finally expiring… pic.twitter.com/i4lkIn10bw
— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) December 21, 2024
“Who would be stupid enough to give me free gas?”
Slovakia’s Prime Minister Fico spoke out about Zelenskiy’s unusual and foolish request. He said Ukrainian leaders offered to ship Russian gas in exchange for Slovakia not paying Russia until the conflict ended. … pic.twitter.com/0YCtSO8sZm
— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) December 21, 2024
Russia threatens Europe with wave of migrants, Meloni warns Telegraph
Washington Insider: US Congressional hearing on Ukraine corruption to be held at Kyiv Post
syrakistan
Growing Israeli aggression aims to undermine the Syrian revolution and suppress the hopes of the people: Turkish President Erdoğan Anadolu Communications. So President Erdoğan took up the challenge. Erdogan, on the other hand, typically wears all the hats without the bull. But on the other hand, the Kurds are a big, big problem for him….
big happening big surge
big brother is watching over you
Walmart uses body cameras to force employees to report shoplifters. help me. Yes, the excuse is to monitor shoppers, but it has an effect. However, the real purpose is to prevent employees from shoplifting.
imperial collapse watch
A lawsuit seeking to dismantle the rules-based international order Glenn Diesen (Michael T.)
Nine countries will become BRICS partners in 2025 – Kremlin RT (Kevin W)
The far right is moving closer to its old dream of El Pais, a “nationalist internationalist”
Democracy fails again Julian MacFarlane
Trump 2.0
President Trump returns to two-gender gender limit in US RT (Kevin W)
Joy Gone: A Liberal Hatefest for the Holidays Jonathan Turley
Read the full Matt Gaetz Ethics Committee report The Hill
biden
Biden’s commutation of death row inmate’s sentence draws mixed reactions The Hill
Donald Trump’s rise to power could open the door to a detailed audit of millions of dollars in U.S. spending on Ukraine, which involved U.S. Democratic Party officials, including President Biden. Potential evidence of illegal transactions or misappropriation of funds would also be included. 👇 pic.twitter.com/JhnlQdQP2H
— Jole 🇷🇸 (@onlydjole) December 22, 2024
As time passes, Biden abandons praised student loan relief plan USA Today
Former President Bill Clinton is hospitalized with a fever, press secretary says CNN (Kevin W)
Man charged with murder in arson of woman on Brooklyn Gothamist F train
sports desk
Come 2025, it will be the end of amateur athletes in college sports (Associated Press) (Robin K.) My maternal grandfather went to college on a football scholarship…he lost his scholarship when he boxed professionally in the summer.
Mr. Market looks unhappy.
Amid the toughest easing in decades, bond traders look to 2025 Bloomberg
A.I.
Million GPU clusters, gigawatts of power – AI scale defies logic.
This May Be the Last Christmas I Buy My Own Gifts Conversation (Chuck L)
US Federal Reserve hints at major changes to bank stress tests in light of legal ruling Reuters (Kevin W)
basil
U.S. government sues Walmart and Branch Messenger over ‘junk fees’ for delivery drivers Reuters (Kevin W)
guillotine watch
6 Questions with Brooke Harrington about Elon Musk and Peter Thiel’s utopian dream of creating a broligarchy where billionaires rule like pharaohs Ken Silverstein (Michael T.)
UnitedHealthcare’s Decades of Fight to Stop Reform Jacobin (Robin K.)
class war
How the Elite Betrayed the Workers Batya Ungar Sargon, YouTube (Li)
Who was Frances Perkins? Meet the pioneering labor rights advocate whose homestead became a national monument Smithsonian Magazine (Chuck L)
An immediate antidote. Tracy H:
A recent photo of one of our new gray kittens. This is a button. Named after his large round eyes. (Unfortunately, there were thick clouds on the other side of the window so the lighting was poor and I had to use a flash to brighten the bag more than Button’s face.)
Take care – have a great holiday!!!
And bonus:
It’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas..🦌❄️ pic.twitter.com/arv5KClYB3
— Why you should own animals (@ shouldhaveanima) December 22, 2024
Second bonus. Chuck L. adds:
One summer morning when I was about eight years old, I noticed an owl perched on the curtain rail above the window overlooking the lake. My mother was so frightened that my father chased her around the room trying to catch him with his fishing net. When my sister opened the front door, an owl jumped out. It seems that my brother entered the house just before dawn when he returned from his summer night shift at the cannery. I heard a pattering sound and remembered her opening the door.
Earlier this week, a great owl fell down the chimney of a home in Arlington, Virginia. The owl decided to settle on the homeowner’s Christmas tree as a resting place.
It was then safely released back into the wild. @AWLA Arlington.🦉 pic.twitter.com/6ibY9lk3Yi
— DMV News Live (@DCNewsLive) December 20, 2024
Click here for yesterday’s link and Antidote du Jour.
