The Leonid meteor shower peaks this weekend. Here’s how to see it Space.com
Watch a Buck Nearly Enter a Hunter’s Home to Pick a Fight with a Deer Head on the Wall Field & Stream
RIP Goldman Sachs Business Insider
Citigroup set to announce first big round of lay-offs FT
Climate
‘It feels like I’m not crazy.’ Gardeners aren’t surprised as USDA updates key map NPR
Writer Kim Stanley Robinson: ‘If the world fails, business fails’ FT
Arctic Ocean Heatstroke Arctic News
Water
A small hydroelectric plant with big water rights is the center of a proposal to keep Colorado River water flowing west Colorado Sun
#COVID19
The flu is soaring in seven US states and rising in others, health officials say AP. The headline is deceptive: “Tracking during flu season relies in part on reports of people with flu-like symptoms who go to doctor’s offices or hospitals; many people with the flu are not tested, so their infections aren’t lab-confirmed. COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses can sometimes muddy the picture.” So — and I know this might surpirise you — the infections may not be the flu, but [euphemism] “the flu”? The data is bad. Why? ‘Tis a mystery!
Experts recommend isolating dogs amid respiratory ‘mystery illness’ FOX. Why is this happening? ‘Tis a mystery!
* * *
Nearly half of US veterans had long-COVID symptoms up to 6 months later Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (Jason Boxman).
Covid will be a leading cause of death in the U.S. indefinitely, whether or not the pandemic is ‘over’ NBC. Another tranche of Rule #2 lethality, laid down over Fentanyl/OxyContin, deaths of despair, High Fructose Corn Syrup….
China?
U.S.-China Summit: Did Joe Biden Get Anything from Xi? The National Interest
CNA Explains: How crucial was the Xi Jinping-Joe Biden meet, and what does it mean for US-China ties? Channel News Asia
* * *
The Collapse of China’s Real Estate Bubble: Causes and Consequences Nippon.com
Chinese Navy’s Suspected New Overseas Base In Cambodia Now Even Larger Naval News
* * *
Why businesses are pulling billions in profits from China BBC
Chinese anti-graft watchdog probes death of businessman questioned in bribery case South China Morning Post
Inefficient air-cons are being dumped in Southeast Asia. That’s costly for consumers and the climate Channel News Asia
The Koreas
South Koreans sit key exam as flights halted to limit distraction Channel News Asia
Syraqistan
Send America’s Floating Hospitals to Gaza Bloomberg. A very obvious thing to do, with no downside. Why aren’t we doing it?
* * *
‘You made me do it’ London Review of Books. Works well in conjunction with:
I spent much time repackaging this interview on TV in Germany into English for the world to watch.
I’ve been ruminating on @deborah_feldman‘s wise words, which offer light in this cruel and dark time.
She makes more sense than anyone else spewing hatred and trying to justify… pic.twitter.com/KiQwI4sWX8
— AHMED | أحمد (@ASE) November 17, 2023
my resignation Anne Boyer, Mirabilary
* * *
Israel and America’s Growing Zugzwang Simplicius the Thinker(s). Good aggregation, Zugzwang is a fine Word of the Day, but otherwise…. sometimes simpler than possible?
* * *
TikTok teens aren’t stanning Osama bin Laden Garbage Day. Another OBL letter, more amusing:
Osama bin Laden BANNED alQaeda in his 2010 letter from trying to assassinate Joe Biden because he believed he would be an incompetent president and ‘lead the US into a crisis’.
Image this terrorist got his wish. pic.twitter.com/OaooX8JTyI
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) April 19, 2023
Smearing Photojournalists as Hamas Collaborators Gets Them Added to a Hit List FAIR
New Not-So-Cold War
Russo-Ukrainian War: The Reckoning Big Serge. Magisterial, a must-read.
‘Fiery hell’: Ukraine secures multiple strategic areas along eastern bank of Dnipro River France24. Cope and stunts.
* * *
Redefining Success in Ukraine Richard Haass and Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs. Gently lowering Ukraine under the bus?
The Case for Supporting Ukraine Is Crystal Clear Michael McFaul, Foreign Policy
* * *
Zelenskyy dismisses deputy head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service Ukrainska Pravda. Hmm.
Ukraine says 151 ships have used Black Sea corridor Hellenic Shipping News
South of the Border
Key takeaways from the bilateral Biden-López Obrador meeting Mexico News Daily
Establishment insider or political provocateur? Argentina faces stark presidential choice France24
Biden Administration
Biden facing growing internal dissent over Israel’s Gaza campaign BBC. Too much even for the State Department.
2024
Judge rules Trump ‘incited’ Jan. 6 riots, but can remain on Colorado primary ballot The Hill. Interestingly, the Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment didn’t apply to Presidents, because they are not “officers of the United States” (previewed on September 7). However, getting a Court to rule that Trump “incited” an insurrection strikes me at Democrats getting a judge to do an end-run around their own Justice Department, which was not willing to charge Trump with insurrection. So this “win” for Trump may end up being a loss, if other courts cite to the Colorado decision.
Political questions and Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment Election Law Blog
* * *
K-pop star Rosé joins first lady Jill Biden to talk mental health AP. Rosé of Blackpink (“First Girl Group with 9 songs to surpass 500 Million streams on Spotify.” That’s a lot). Smart move!
Spook Country
Return of the messenger: How Jeremy Renner’s new film Kill The Messenger will vindicate Sacramento investigative journalist Gary Webb Sacramento News and Review
Antitrust
Is it Google “magic” or just user data? Big Tech on Trial. Theory of the case. Well worth a read. From the author’s live tweeting:
Good morning from the final day of #USvGoogle. The lone, final witness today is MIT economist Michael Whinston, who has previously testified twice in this hearing.
Let’s celebrate 10 weeks by live tweeting as much as we can! /🧵
— Big Tech on Trial (@BigTechOnTrial) November 16, 2023
Which concludes:
Proposed findings of fact, conclusions of law, and post-trial briefs due on February 9. Replies due on March 22.
Closing arguments will take place May 1-3, 2024. A ruling sometime thereafter…
We’re adjourned. #USvGoogle /fin
— Big Tech on Trial (@BigTechOnTrial) November 16, 2023
Seems like a long time. Stoller is not happy:
Judge Mehta delayed the closing arguments for six months because he doesn’t want to act. That’s six more months of harm just because he’s afraid. https://t.co/cSJgEDprnv
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) November 16, 2023
Is There an Establishment Plan to Repeal Antitrust Laws? Matt Stoller, BIG. I linked to this yesterday on the 2024 aspects; today, on “anti-monopoly thought.”
Tech
AI boss Sam Altman ousted after board loses confidence BBC. “The board said Mr Altman had not been ‘consistently candid with his communications’, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities.” As above, so below: A firm whose product generates bullshit had a CEO who generated bullshit. My dream is that AI’s enshittification cycle proceeds rapidly and with great force, and that venture capital loses a packet.
From Algorithmic Monoculture to Epistemic Monoculture? Understanding the Rise of AI Safety Crooked Timber
* * *
The Devices That Will Read Your Brain—and Enhance It WSJ. Helpful when Covid brain damage goes mainstream. Presumably the wearables would have a “Functioning Brain as a Service” business model? With monthly payments?
Our Famously Free Press
One-third of U.S. newspapers as of 2005 will be gone by 2024 Axios. Thanks, hedgies.
Science is Popping
Design principles of 3D epigenetic memory systems Science. From the Abstract: “Cells remember their identities, in part, by using epigenetic marks—chemical modifications placed along the genome. How can mark patterns remain stable over cell generations despite their constant erosion by replication and other processes? We developed a theoretical model that reveals that three-dimensional (3D) genome organization can stabilize epigenetic memory….” Worth struggling through to get the gist.
Imperial Collapse Watch
U.S. Air Force Secretary Warns Development of Urgently Needed ICBM ‘Struggling’: Program Collapse Possible Military Watch
Behind the Scenes at a U.S. Factory Building New Nuclear Bombs Scientific American
Guillotine Watch
Smart People New Left Review
What America’s shoplifting panic is really about CNN
Class Warfare
Big 3 autoworkers vote ‘yes’ to historic UAW contracts NPR
US labor board delays new employment rule after business groups sue AP
Are Real Wages Rising? Apricitas Economics. But what about hedonic adjustment? As for example–
New study reveals 1 in 4 remote workers are sneaking off to have sex while on the job FOX. Many health benefits!
Clark (2023) and the Persistence of Hereditarian Fallacies (preprint) bioRxiv. From the Abstract: “These conclusions are based on a misconstrual of model parameters, which conflates genetic and non-genetic transmission (e.g. of wealth) within families.”
Maps, Power, and Identity JSTOR Daily
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote:
Cats have a precise method of walking called ‘direct registering’.
Their hind paws fall inside the place of their forepaws, minimizing noise and visible tracks, while ensuring more stable footing.. pic.twitter.com/vLwCLx15od
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) November 15, 2023
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.