Scientists develop a questionnaire to determine if your cat is a psychopath ScienceAlert (Chuck L)
Arthritis treatment for dogs is under fire after reports of serious, even fatal side effects Gizmodo (Kevin W)
The Supper of the Saints London Book Review (Anthony L)
How this novel became an enduring experimental physics laboratory (Dr. Kevin)
ARS technology that published a study of defective black plastic was removed from the scientific index (Dr. Kevin)
Mosh pit diapers designed to avoid queues at live music venues are sold out Sky News (Dr. Kevin)
Bird flu hits California dairy farms hard, dubbed ‘cow coronavirus’ New York Times
” rel=”nofollow”>How America lost control of bird flu and set the stage for another pandemic KFF Health News (Paul R)
Climate/Environment
Your gadgets are actually carbon sinks — for now Grist
Two years ago, researchers began an experiment that challenged decades of widespread scientific understanding of plant communities.
Modern agriculture treats diversity as inefficient, but Jena’s experiment proved the opposite: complexity is the key to resilience. pic.twitter.com/7DSVYJTOAb
— Sam Knowlton (@samdknowlton) December 18, 2024
China?
China’s overseas investments spur capital outflows, putting pressure on the yuan Bloomberg
China, Sweden board bulker ship for alleged ‘sabotage’ of Baltic cable Tradewinds News
NPR investigation into Chinese dissident celebrity prompts news organization to retract article NPR
This is something that most people outside of China have never heard of. China has this number, 12345, which you can dial from anywhere in the country if you have a question or complaint that can be answered or resolved by your local government.
They have a legal obligation… https://t.co/JVx7I29MKU
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) December 20, 2024
Honda and Nissan begin merger talks in EV race Nikkei Shimbun
South Korea
Hawkish Fed pushes South Korean won to 15-year low due to domestic politics Reuters
Africa
Recognizing Somaliland: West Asia’s geopolitical changer? Cradle (Chuck L)
South Sudan’s economic crisis threatens fragile peace The Economist
south of the border
Chavez, Spirituality and Revolution: Conversation with Joel Suarez (Part I) Venezuela Analysis (Robin K)
Or Canada
In the face of turmoil, defiant Prime Minister Trudeau hangs on – for now BBC
The perfect storm for the Canadian dollar Think.ing
discord in europe
Germany and France in crisis – is the next global financial crisis brewing? Guardian
Europe’s energy challenges are growing as Russia’s LNG imports increase and Norway considers export cuts. first post
Trump threatens tariffs if EU doesn’t buy more US oil, gas Bloomberg
Elon Musk’s support for Germany’s far-right Politico sparks backlash (Kevin W)
VW cuts 35,000 jobs – factories remain open Targetschau in machine translation (guurst)
The National Question: The Politics of Anti-Anti-Semitism in Germany Wolfgang Streeck, SAGE Journal (Kevin W)
France’s debt increases further due to challenge to new Prime Minister Barons
Bankruptcy of solar power company spills over into Denmark’s financial system Bloomberg
old blighty
UK’s November car production hits worst since 1980 Bloomberg
UK borrowing costs rise as ‘stagflation’ fears creep into gold market Financial Times
israel vs resistance
“There’s no fire brigade here. Families are just burned alive in tents. “They’re burned alive.” https://t.co/9sRab0G52p
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) December 20, 2024
Israel’s 440th day of genocide: new reports of mass killings in Gaza surface on Mondweiss
The New Truce Equation Seymour Hersh. Robin K: “The Saudis will rebuild Gaza. So does that mean Israel can always “mow the grass” after rebuilding? ”
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qasem assesses developments in resistance forces in Lebanon and Syria News
Major Iranian services shut down as rial plummets amid energy crisis and regional tensions Al Jazeera
A new war that’s not so cold war
This year’s achievements with Russian President Vladimir Putin
Yuzhmash and Oreshnik solve mysteries Americanets (Dr. Kevin) and later Mea Maxima Culpa. Hmm.
Medley Report: European Descent, Oleshnik and Other Simplicians
Russia shells Kiev in response to US/UK missile attack on Rostov Mike Hampton
Russia taps Soviet-era stockpiles as supply of armored vehicles dwindles The Wall Street Journal
One thing no one talks about is that it’s doubtful that radar can even track hypersonic objects covered in plasma. They track a hypersonic initial payload in atmosphereless space. But if it’s still going near Mach 10 in the atmosphere, the plasma sheath… https://t.co/SVipQ5vzZt
— SIMPLICIUS Ѱ (@simpatico771) December 20, 2024
syrakistan
Russia nearly suspends operations at Syria’s Hmeimim Air Base in Anadolu
US raises bounty for Syria’s interim leader in diplomatic push The Washington Post
Trump 2.0
Cutting government is easy… if you follow McKinsey’s Matt Stoller
Ten years after normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba, Trump hardliners are taking Cuba back to the past Ryan Grimm
President Trump appoints a vocal critic of the Pope as special envoy to the Vatican and Anadolu Agency. He really can’t help himself.
biden
Why Bidenism Failed Jacobin (Robin K)
8 reasons why Congress deserves to breed Babylon honeybees
Senate passes bill to increase Social Security benefits for some on The Hill
Our press is no longer free
/1🚨Win🚨
A federal court seeks to dismiss the AFL’s class action lawsuit against the Stanford Internet Observatory, the Atlantic Council, and the Aspen Institute for colluding with the U.S. government to conduct targeted surveillance and censor conservative political speech. rejected the attempt. pic.twitter.com/7g7Yj0T2YQ
— America First Legal (@America1stLegal) December 20, 2024
Scoop: Top editors get tough on Washington Post Axios
Mr. Market is in a bad mood.
As markets tremble, inflation fears reignite and creep up on central bankers Financial Times
antitrust law
Dear readers, isn’t this inhaler also used for COPD?
1. Today, the Federal Circuit rejected Teva’s bid to have its inhaler device patent listed in the Orange Book.
Effectively, this means that drug companies cannot list patents on things like inhaler caps to block generic competitors from the market and keep prices high.
It’s a big victory for Americans. https://t.co/sEYPwmVrfs
— Lina Khan (@linakhanFTC) December 20, 2024
Mark Cuban: The Master of Disrupting American Healthcare Eric Topol (Dr. Kevin)
A.I.
AI’s next big breakthrough is behind schedule and extraordinarily expensive The Wall Street Journal
guillotine watch
It’s a mistake to accuse Luigi Mangione of terrorism The New York Times
Did the NYPD’s unfair walk against Luigi Mangione backfire? Gothamist (Kevin w)
class war
Plumbing poverty: More people are living without running water in U.S. cities since the global financial crisis PhysOrg
An immediate antidote. A comment from Kije H, certainly quite a while ago: “These monk seals often come to the beach where we live. “They come ashore to rest.”
And bonus (Chuck L):
The other swans won’t believe this pic.twitter.com/vBlDYIzByz
— Nature is amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) December 16, 2024
Second bonus (Chuck L):
4. Meet Sydney, a male umbrella parrot who interacts with veterinary hospital staff 😂 pic.twitter.com/Dr4wAzhvY2
— Healthy side of 𝕏 (@itsme_urstruly) December 18, 2024
Click here for yesterday’s link and Antidote du Jour.
