A Powerful New Drug Is Creating a ‘Withdrawal Crisis’ in Philadelphia New York Times (resilc)
For Me, Postpartum Testosterone Decline Has Been Very Real Freddie deBoer
New study shows some plant-based diets may raise heart disease risk ScienceDaily (Kevin W)
Free pass or failing grade for saturated fats? Review sets off scientific and political debate STAT. The plural of anecdote is not data. However, my mother thought butter was a food group and lived to be 94.
Huge Study Finds Very Worrying Results for Medical Marijuana Patients Futurism. Micael T: “Not surprising. Commercial interests, VC & PE, are behind the marijuana-boom.”
#COVID-19/Pandemics
The UKHSA have started publishing this goldmine again – but this year it’s even more valuable *because they’ve reset it to a period when testing was consistent*.
This is very important and it shows yet again:
Covid infection makes you vulnerable to other infection. pic.twitter.com/3uVls9MWbN
— tern (@1goodtern) December 15, 2025
Researchers from Griffith University have found that COVID-19 can cause long-term brain alterations in those who had been infected. #covid #brain #reasearch #griffithuniversity #queensland pic.twitter.com/GpAv3ipxbK
— 7NEWS Australia (@7NewsAustralia) December 15, 2025
⚠️Australia 🇦🇺 is experiencing the most prolonged flu season on record, stretching well into the summer.
It has broke all records:
✴️481502 cases so far.
✴️More than DOUBLE the highest previous monthly influenza cases in September, October, November, and December this year.… pic.twitter.com/2vU5jgQux6
— Dr Richard Hirschson (@richardhirschs1) December 15, 2025
Climate/Environment
Glaciers To Reach Peak Rate of Extinction In the Alps In Eight Years Guardian
China?
The Fusion Race: China Versus Outlaw US Empire Karl Sanchez
China’s Elite-Focused Schools Are Failing Most Students, Top Educators Say Caixin
Consumption in China: Is it really that bad? Asia Times (Norbert H). A reaction from PlutoniumKun by e-mail:
It’s hard to really get a grip on that article as it throws a lot of figures around in a somewhat haphazard way.
It is true that China traditionally undercounted services in its GDP figures (one reason why 1990’s growth was exaggerated – there was a huge GDP undercount for the previous decades), but that was more or less addressed in the 1990’s, and is irrelevant when looking at overall trends. It is also irrelevant to the overall question of ‘real’ Chinese GDP pp, which again, it has always been recognised as a probable undercount when compared to the US (although not necessarily to other countries).
What matters is how consumption relates to overall spending proportionately, and how it relates to overall nominal GDP growth – in all these cases it has been seriously lagging, indicating not just an imbalanced economy, but quite a severe domestic recession (ongoing for quite a few years now), covered over by repeated credit booms.
I keep coming across numerous stories of insane levels of over-building – from municipal incinerators that are fed from digging up old landfills, to vast data centres that are completely unused. When you look at the energy output figures, there are obviously huge areas of production that don’t seem to be hitting the overall figures – one suggestion I’ve seen is that there is a major expansion of the plastics industry which is accounting for much of the nomminal apparent increase in energy use.
In my opinion, the only real questions about the Chinese economy are whether Beijing’s balance sheet can successfully take on all the accumulated debt, and whether the lower level system becomes zombified or undergoes some sort of collapse. The total combined debts within the banking and shadow banking system are now significantly above those of Japan in the late 1980’s.
Japan
Ask China: Sanae Takaichi’s Remarks and the Renewed Tensions in China–Japan Relations China Affairs
The Antipodes
Here is everything the media is not telling you about the Bondi beach shooting Council Estate Media (resilc). Important.
Australian governments, media target anti-genocide protests over Bondi Beach shooting WSWS. Micael T: “My first thought what will happen after I heard about the shooting.”
‘It was a matter of conscience’: Ahmed al-Ahmed’s family reveal why he risked his life to disarm alleged Bondi shooter Guardian. He suffered pretty serious injury, which has weirdly not been well reported in the US.
Australia announces strict new gun laws. Here’s how it can act so swiftly NPR (Kevin W)
South of the Border
Venezuela Halts Gas Supply Deals With Trinidad and Tobago TeleSUR
US carries out strikes on 3 vessels in eastern Pacific Anadolu Agency
European Disunion
It is now official. The EU IS sanctioning the retired Swiss Army Col. and previous NATO advisor Jacques Baud who was on Neutrality Studies before. One of the most cool-headed and well-informed analysts out there. Reason: Baud is spreading Russian propaganda, the EU says. It is… pic.twitter.com/admrd8HYmP
— Pascal Lottaz (@PLottaz) December 15, 2025
EU Sanctions Swiss Intelligence Expert Jacques Baud Moon of Alabama
EU state offers to cover costs incurred by Hungary for cutting energy ties with Russia RT (Kevin W)
The Political Theatre of Fredrich Mertz China Economic Indicator
Foreign takeovers across Germany German Foreign Policy. Micael T: “A good reminder that corporations and their shareholders are the first and greatest of traitors. None of the German industry associations have said or done anything to stop the German or EU political-economical suicide.”
Old Blighty
Britain caught in ‘space between peace and war’, says new head of MI6 Guardian (Kevin W)
UK unemployment rate rises to 5.1% The Times
Israel v. The Resistance
Just look at the tents, Gaza! pic.twitter.com/sethAa9a87
— Muhammad Smiry 🇵🇸 (@MuhammadSmiry) December 15, 2025
Israeli troops shoot settler suspected of attempted knife attack on soldiers Middle East Eye (resilc)
ICC rejects Israeli bid to block Gaza war crimes investigation Aljazeera
UN General Assembly adopts resolution backing Palestinians’ right to self-determination Anadolu Agency
New Not-So-Cold War
Sitrep Ukraine and Russia Julian Macfarlane
Ukraine’s Energy Grid Reaching Final Tipping Point as Fears Rise Kiev May Face Total Blackout Simplicius
Brief Frontline Report – December 15th, 2025 Marat Khairullin
Incoming https://t.co/iHUxt4dpZ6
— — GEROMAN — time will tell – 👀 — (@GeromanAT) December 16, 2025
* * *
Round and Round and Round Oliver Boyd-Barrett
Ukraine’s Anti-Corruption Investigation Appears To Be On The Brink Of Implicating Zelensky Andrew Korybko
Mafiosi commanders, expendable troops Events in Ukraine
The Bank of Russia demanded 18.1 trillion rubles from Euroclear Vzglyad via machine translation (Micael T)
Nord Stream: “The Russians are conducting the process through the ‘hands’ of the Germans” Overton via machine translation (Micael T)
Russia’s Logic of Long Rule: Continuity, Statecraft and the Illusion of Regime Change Kautilya the Contemplator (Anthony L)
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
How a US Citizen Was Scanned With ICE’s Facial Recognition Tech 404Media
New identity checks reshaping US federal student aid BioMetric Update
Imperial Collapse Watch
The delegitimization of elites CocotteMinute
North Adams Worked the Weekend Fixing Water Line Breaks iBerkshires. resilc: “No infrastructure in small town ‘merika, but troops in Syria…”
Trump 2.0
Fewer dolls and pencils: Donald Trump struggles to read the US’s cost of living crisis Financial Times
Energy bills in US have increased 13% since Trump took office, new report finds ABC (Kevin W)
“Trump and ‘the end of history.’” Patrick Lawrence
How absolute loyalty to Trump evaporated Telegraph (resilc)
Trump’s Failed Lackey ‘Diplomacy’ Daniel Larison
White House Refuses to Rule Out Summary Executions of People on Its Secret Domestic Terrorist List Intercept (Robin K)
Trump says Rob Reiner, victims of possible homicide, died of ‘Trump derangement syndrome’ The Hill. The underlying tweet. Trump has now undeniably lost his mind. Vile and over the top narcissistic. From IM Doc by e-mail:
As I have been saying over and over for a long time, and I will say again, he has white matter disease.
Again, why did they not release the MRI results of the brain? It was assuredly done with the whole body MRI. It is an absolutely critical piece of evidence. The absence of the MRI brain in that report sticks out like a sore thumb. By not releasing it, they are literally screaming “We are hiding something”. We are going to certainly all see what I am talking about over the next little while. And again – I could care less what “experts” say. “Experts” were telling us there was nothing wrong with Biden either.
He does not have standard issue dementia. He almost assuredly has white matter disease. The foundational symptoms of this are behavioral. The underlying personality they have had for their lives becomes profoundly magnified. They completely lose their filter. There are memory issues but not like Alzheimers, etc. They are perfectly able to care for and feed themselves. But their family often has a tendency to stuff them in the attic. They say the most inappropriate things at the most inopportune times. They will often ruminate about the good old days. Their entire conversation is stuff they have done in the 1950s – and so much of the time focuses on perceived slights.
He is a textbook case. He most certainly does not have dementia in any way shape or form. This is not a Biden scenario. But that being said, it is beginning to look like we are all going to find out that these patients that have this problem are not at all suitable for POTUS.
At the very least, someone in his orbit, just like so many of my patients’ families have had to do, needs to disabuse him of phone privileges. And amazingly in my practice this has often been in the past for exactly the same thing he did today. Sending emails and texts that are completely inappropriate. I can write a book about all the nuclear bombs that have been thrown into family dynamics by these patients.
Trump says building DC triumphal arch is domestic policy chief’s ‘primary thing’ Guardian
Tariffs
A potential tariff refund fight is already chaotic Axios
Health Care
Will Congressional Inaction Force Farmers to Choose Between Health Insurance and Their Farm Budget? AgWeb
House GOP moderates signal they’ll fall in line with Johnson’s health plan Politico
Mamdani
More Muslim candidates seek office as ‘Mamdani effect’ takes hold The Hill
GOP Clown Car
Why Florida is ground zero for coming ObamaCare storm The Hill
We’ve heard lot of talk about young GOP neo-Nazis, but nobody has written about the most important thing in their lives. That changes now. Here’s the first-ever full-scale overview of Paradox games and their massive, accidential political influence. https://t.co/SAn6KlFLYe
— ettingermentum (@ettingermentum) December 15, 2025
Our No Longer Free Press
Donald Trump files $10bn lawsuit against the BBC Financial Times
Economy
Copper Prices Surge Toward $12,000 on AI Demand and Supply Chaos OilPrice
Wall Street frets about make-or-break jobs report… but a key measure is missing for the first time in 80 years Daily Mail. When even the Daily Mail clears its throat…
AI
On the Fundamental Impossibility of Hallucination Control in Large Language Models aRxiv (fk). This comes off as dispositive, but contacts argue that technologists are working on using symbols to augment LLMs as well as find ways to screen for hallucinations. ????
The AI Boom Is Pushing Data Centers Past the Thermal Wall OilPrice
The AI-fueled chip shortage could raise smartphone prices — new research spells out by how much CNBC
How Much Did AI Spending Contribute to First-Half GDP? What About Q3? Michael Shedlock
The Bezzle
General Motors Leading The Pack With New Innovative Ways To Screw The Consumer YouTube (resilc)
Guillotine Watch
Streamer Sued for Assaulting Gay Robot Futurism. Micael T: “Great! Now they make it illegal to counter-attack robots. Resistance must be futile
Class Warfare
Did the PA cops who arrested Luigi Mangione mess things up for NYC prosecutors? Gothamist. I have taken to watching civil rights videos. The default is “I do not consent to a search” when there is no search warrant. If there is a warrant, read it to see if it was really signed by a judge, and to see what it provides for. Sadly none of these protections operate at the border….
You are Klarna’s little bitch. Aftonbladet via machine translation (Micael T)
Then as farce, now as tragedy: The second coming of Microfinance and Credit Regulatory Authority CADTM (Micael T)
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus:
Apparently centipedes are considered universally unacceptable 🤣 pic.twitter.com/QURqXZXYsJ
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) December 15, 2025
A second bonus:
Baby elephants don’t just sleep near their mums, they hold onto them
pic.twitter.com/kqRbQU73FV
— Science girl (@sciencegirl) December 16, 2025
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
