A rare beaked whale delights scientist Targetschau with machine translation (Micael T), but it dies 🙁
Influenza explosion: Shocking one in four sick adults now have influenza – double the rate last year… as a terrifying ‘big four’ emerges, affecting thousands of people in the UK People hospitalized Daily Mail
Formaldehyde causes more cancers than any other toxic air pollutant. Little is being done to curb the risks. ProPublica (Robin K)
Incidence of dementia associated with inflammatory foods MedPage. Caffeine has anti-inflammatory properties and is effective for calorie restriction.
Climate/Environment
Increasing wood fuel consumption indicates limits to energy transition JKempEnergy
Climate Science Legal Defense Fund prepares for four busy years at Yale Climate Connections (Dr. Kevin)
Shipwrecks causing environmental pollution are ticking time bombs at the bottom of the ocean The Conversation (Kevin W)
Cambodia’s giant lake shrinks due to climate change, reducing fish supply due to Mekong dam Nikkei Shimbun
China?
China promises more debt, Trump tariffs threaten to cut interest rates Reuters
US limits scope of China science agreement amid technology race Associated Press
Wang Yongli revealed China’s issuance of US dollar-denominated sovereign bonds at Saudi Arabia Peking Studies. We debunked the hype around this early on in the comments.
South Korea
South Korean lawmakers vote to impeach president after mass protests against martial law BBC
South Korean economy is on alert due to rising debt and sluggish consumption Pulse
Africa
Arrests in Mali, seizure of Niger mines cause uproar among Western miners Reuters
Mining company defaults on US loan due to political instability in Mozambique EEnews
discord in europe
ECB leaves door open for another rate cut, further rate cuts Reuters
Macron appoints centrist ally François Bayrou as France’s fourth prime minister in 2024 Le Monde
Economic roots of French political collapse: Daily economy
Exposed: “vested interests” in the EU Agriculture Committee DesmogBlog
What Ireland’s Great Hunger Tells Us About the EU-Mercosur Free Trade Agreement Thomas Fudge
Swedish minister looks forward to new measures to tackle energy crisis, criticizes Germany’s move to phase out nuclear power
old blighty
UK economy shrinks again in further blow to Reeves, new figures show
British farmers brace for collective losses of £600m after bad weather results in second-worst harvest on record Telegraph
NFU chief says food shortages ‘cannot be ruled out’ if farmers go on strike Sky
Israel vs. Resistance
Enduring the Trauma of Genocide (w/Gabor Mate) Chris Hedges (Chuck L)
Crisis and chaos unfold at meeting in The Hague as state representatives wrestle with Israeli warrant Mondweiss
Iranian currency falls to record low against dollar Intellinews
A new war that’s not so cold war
Russia has launched a major attack on Ukraine using dozens of cruise missiles and Guardian drones. So now it’s official.
Russia Retaliates to ATACMS Attack – Improves Alabama Trolling Moon (Kevin W)
EU prepares first sanctions against Russia for disinformation – Bloomberg Ukraine Pravda
Ending the Ukraine War: Analysis and Recommendations Paul Robinson. Endorsement mentioned by Alexander Mercouris
syrakistan
Pieces slowly begin to fall into place in ‘New Syria’ Simplicius
Professor Mohammad Marandi | The truth about Syria: There are no winners, only losers – a dialogue piece that exposes the short-term and long-term turmoil. Opposing views on what the collapse of Syria would mean for Hezbollah and Iran. Time will tell whether his view proves correct.
“The Road to Damascus” by Tariq Ali, New Left Review (Robin K.)
Erdogan’s Syria? Cihan Tuğal, New Left Review (Robin K)
Türkiye: Turkish minority views fall of Assad dynasty through positive Middle Eastern eyes
Turkish-backed fighters accused of executing Kurdish soldier in hospital Telegraph
According to the Syrian Financial Times, Russia appears to be withdrawing its troops. as we predicted
big brother is watching over you
Thread: The official explanation of how Luigi Mangione was arrested doesn’t add up. Evidence suggests deeper surveillance operations using real-time facial recognition technology. Let’s dig into the contradiction and explore its implications. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/catXgNjG4v
— Marlo the Hutt (@YesYoureRacist) December 12, 2024
imperial collapse watch
NATO needs to move to wartime thinking, secretary-general warns Skye
Resource nationalism on the rise amid geopolitical tensions Financial Times
US, China, Russia prepare for upcoming space war Asia Times (Kevin W)
A Stinking Legacy – US Prisons and Concentration Camps Marat Kaillin (guurst)
1/6
January 6 Verdict: Even if President Trump pardons, the mob loses Politico (Kevin W)
Trump 2.0
Ontario threatens to cut off US powers over Trump tariffs Telegraph
Trump aides are considering abolishing the FDIC as part of a dramatic deregulation of banks, the New York Post reported. If that happens, the banking system will immediately crash.
Attacking Iran is insane Daniel Larison
biden
important. Click through or read the thread reader:
1/ Although the media is not reporting it, the Biden administration is going full Hitler-in-the-bunker mode, destroying global energy markets, destroying the EU economy, and unleashing more inflation to hurt President Trump. It seems like they are trying to lower the standard of living in America through this. 🧵 pic.twitter.com/qrVsDlC4Rr
— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) December 13, 2024
Biden commutes WVIA Judge Conahan’s sentence in Luzerne County Children’s Cash Scandal case. James C: “Helping to slaughter thousands of Palestinian children wasn’t enough for Joe. “Now he’s condoning the torture of American children.” Moi: The incident was so infamous that it inspired a segment of Law & Order: SVU. Check out the trailer here.
Victims ‘shocked’ as Biden pardons ‘kids for cash’ judge and $54 million embezzler CNN (Kevin W)
Have you ever thought about embezzling funds to buy a show horse? https://t.co/240QYfmdp4
— China Hand (@chinahand) December 13, 2024
New York Times: Pelosi fractures hip overseas in fall SFExexaminer. This was destined to happen unless she was diligent about her balance exercises. At 84 years old, she wore high heels (see here) and regularly walked on very hard floors (other shoes currently in fashion for women, low-slung shoes with small contact points) “Kitten” heels are also dangerous, even if they look different). The odds of dying in older adults increase dramatically within six months of a severe fall.
abortion
Texas sues New York doctor for providing abortion pills across state lines The Hill
wake watch
The truth about Wake Right Unhardened
A.I.
One big thing: Chatbots are learning to lie Axios (Dr. Kevin)
OpenAI whistleblower found dead in San Francisco apartment Mercury News (Kevin W)
Legal tech unicorn EvenUp relies heavily on humans despite AI claims Business Insider
basil
Texas House introduces bill to create Strategic Bitcoin Reserve CNBC
McKinsey reportedly pays Purdue $650 million settlement for opioid consulting, Axios (Dr. Kevin)
guillotine watch
Creepy signs and art are popping up across the country targeting health insurance executives and repeating language related to the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
See more: 🎥 https://t.co/m1eC8QdNYf pic.twitter.com/W6PRIX92F5
—Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 13, 2024
Piers Morgan asks the Antichrist, Peter Thiel, what he would say to people celebrating insurance CEO murderer Luigi Mangione (a fan of Peter Thiel and Elon Musk).
If anyone finds a worse answer to the question, I’d love to see it. This is intolerable. pic.twitter.com/Y7JTFQlUzv
— Jim Stewartson, anti-fascist 🇺🇸🇺🇦🏴☠️ (@jimstewartson) December 12, 2024
Florida mother arrested for refusing to leave hospital during phone call with health insurance company Blue Cross Blue Shield: “You’re next” New York Post
A manifesto against commercial health insurance companies Michael Moore
Bret Stevens: A real upper-class bastard – and too many journalistic scams and lies Washington Babylon (Michael T.)
UnitedHealth’s new “I Feel Your Pain” PR Blitz Ken Klipperstein
class war
Americans spend more years sick than the rest of the world: Bloomberg study (Robin K.)
Holiday strike at Amazon? Drop Sight (Michael T)
An immediate antidote. I found a very old one by Mark T in my inbox. “I’m a bit of a special rescue cat, but now I have a home :-)”
And a bonus (Chuck L). I didn’t know snowy owls were this big.
“Meet the Snowy Owl: The Fascinating Ruler of the North Pole”
In the linked video you can discover the fascinating snowy owl. These magnificent creatures are truly spirits of ice and snow, and reign supreme at the top of the Arctic Circle. Beautiful feathers and sharp eyes are impressive… pic.twitter.com/yTjGmfpZG5
—Zhang Heqing (@zhang_heqing) December 3, 2024
Click here for yesterday’s link and Antidote du Jour.
