1,329 tiny snails released on remote island BBC
The 7 Coolest Mathematical Discoveries of 2024 Scientific American
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America’s Troubled Policies (Video) Ambassador Chas Freeman, Dialogue Works, YouTube
Russia’s decisive attack has begun! Escalating conflict (Video) Scott Ritter, Gilysarts Artesanatos, YouTube
US admits ATACMS failure, blames Ukraine, stockpiles are depleted. Russia raids Krakhovo factory (video) Alexander Mercouris, YouTube
climate
Did a humid climate give rise to China’s first empire more than 2,000 years ago? South China Morning Post
Japan’s ‘microforest’ method transforms cities EuroNews
syndrome
CDC: HPAI H5 Revised Interim Recommendations for Avian Influenza Prevention, Monitoring, and Public Health Surveillance Diary
Norovirus infection occurs in US Anadolu Agency
As David Tennant’s ‘Macbeth’ is canceled, more questions arise about coronavirus prevention measures
South Wales hospitals introduce mask-wearing rules amid fears of rising flu cases Sky News
Africa
In Africa’s Gulf of Guinea, China is proving itself master of the seas South China Morning Post
new amazing game
Kavelashvili, his predecessor as president of Georgia, vows to fight against France24
syrakistan
As the WHO condemns the attack on Al Jazeera, Israel has detained the director of a major hospital in northern Gaza. Explanation:
Last photo of Dr. Hassam Abu Safiyeh walking towards Israeli tanks. pic.twitter.com/n34y7ReAc9
— Ghassan Abu Sitt (@GhassanAbuSitt1) December 28, 2024
(Safieh was arrested, but at least he wasn’t killed yet.)
* * *
BBC Gaza Civil War Drop Site News
Enabling genocide? Al Jazeera
Arming yourself to survive: How the October 7th Hamas massacre changed Israel’s gun culture FOX
* * *
Afghan Taliban attack ‘several points’ in Pakistan in retaliation for attack Al Jazeera
A new war that’s not so cold war
Ukraine’s military faces manpower shortage as deserters increase France 24
* * *
As Trump prepares to take office, Ukraine delays missile launch to Russia NYT
Risk of escalation with Russia remains a very real national interest
Russia warns US of possible nuclear test under Trump administration Reuters
* * *
President Zelenskiy accuses Slovakia of opening a ‘second energy front’ against Ukraine’s Al Jazeera
Russia will limit gas supply to Moldova to ‘zero’ from Wednesday Anadolu Agency
* * *
Interview of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov with Russian and international news media, Moscow, December 26, 2024 (transcript) Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation
global elections
2024 was the year of angry electoral foreign policy.
south of the border
Former Bolivian leader Evo Morales seeks political comeback from tropical base Associated Press
Trump administration transition
Elon has a meltdown:
The reason I’m in America along with many of the critical people who founded SpaceX, Tesla, and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B.
Take a big step back and fuck me in the face. I’m going to fight a war you can’t fight on this issue…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 28, 2024
Explanation:
H1-B details:
I discussed this issue in my August 18th edition of “Black Swan: America’s Advantage Is Not in Education, but in Risk-taking.” Any idiot can be educated. You need to learn to fail.
The American system is built on trial and error. That’s why foreigners are more successful here than in their home countries. pic.twitter.com/d8ZVQQ7FEG
— Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) December 29, 2024
Tesla emerges as top employer for H-1B visa holders Forbes
* * *
Trump sides with Musk in fight against H-1B Axios
Trump supports Musk’s immigration visas: ‘I have a lot of H-1B visas on my property’ NY Post
President Trump’s green card proposal for college graduates stirs controversy Anadolu Agency
* * *
Technology and outsourcing companies continue to exploit the H-1B visa program during mass layoffs, Economic Policy Institute. It will remain Germany after 2023.
India steps up lobbying against H-1B regulations, contacts US government ‘at all levels’ India Today
* * *
Why President Trump is targeting Panama, Greenland and Canada
Post-mortem analysis in 2024
Joe Biden’s lonely fight to sell his vision of American democracy WaPo
The Fed finally releases photos of then-Vice President Biden meeting with Hunter’s Chinese business partner, just days before he leaves office, New York Post
boeing
‘Still in turmoil’: Can Boeing recover from the crisis? BBC
179 passengers estimated dead in South Korean plane crash Anadolu Agency
Plane catches fire after skidding off runway during rough landing in Canada’s Daily Mail
health care
Authorities investigate link between Ozempic and blinding eye rot Daily Mail
housing
U.S. homelessness rises 18%, affordable housing remains out of reach for many Associated Press
technology
Why not here?
A company in eastern China’s Jiangsu province has designed a wearable airbag jacket to protect elderly people from falls.
This protection system monitors changes in posture in real time and can react within 0.18 seconds with a chip that senses potential impacts. pic.twitter.com/99ceuWgeEx
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) June 3, 2024
class war
People are sharing stories of when they learned HR was not their friend, it was crap, and they were speechless.
Do you resist retirement? Why some people want to keep working EuroNews
The Intolerable Slowness of Existence: Why Are We Living at 10 Bits/Second? (PDF) (preprint) arXiv.org. “This article is about the neural challenges behind the slowness of human behavior. Human information throughput is about 10 bits/second. By comparison, our sensory systems process data at about 109 bits/second. The clear contrast between these numbers remains unexplained, but touches on a fundamental aspect of brain function: which neural substrates set this speed limit on the pace of our existence. Are you there?”
Day 1 3 quarks
Antidote du Jour (Arturo de Frias Marquez):
Click here for yesterday’s link and Antidote du Jour.
