Before Fat Bear Week, Don’t Forget the Corpulent Cubs Competing in Fat Bear Junior Smithsonian
If earthworms were a country, they’d be the world’s fourth largest producer of grain Nature
Under a Hellish Ocean Habitat, Bizarre Animals Are Lurking NYT
Dealmaking languishes at decade low on private equity drought FT. That’s a damn shame.
Even a Booming Economy Can’t Save Atlanta’s Office Market WSJ
Climate
Portuguese youth bring ‘unprecedented’ climate case to European rights court France24
Rosebank oil field given go-ahead by regulators BBC
There’s been a surge of abandoned oil and gas wells in Colorado over the past 90 days Colorado Sun
US Shale Giant Agrees With JPMorgan; Oil Headed For $150 Gulf Insider
Water
Brazil sets up task force for unprecedented drought in Amazon, minister says Reuters
#COVID19
Not a bad adoption rate for NPIs, given an enormous propaganda campaign against them, plus socially sanctioned bullying by [glass bowls]:
Long Covid Is Real. Now the Evidence Is Piling Up. Bloomberg
What next for COVID evolution? Understanding the Unseen
China?
Evergrande shares halted as concerns mount about developer’s prospect Channel News Asia
Politburo meeting, no announcement of Third Plenum; Li Shangfu missing from study session; Evergrande chairman under “control”; TikTok Sinocism
US can’t win China tech war without a strategy. Huawei is proof South China Morning Post
How China can avoid the Japan trap Martin Wolf, FT
India
The Singer Who Conquered the World Without Autotune: Remembering Lata Mangeshkar on her Birthday One India
Africa
Smallholder Agriculture and the Challenge of Feeding Ourselves The Elephant
European Disunion
Who Blew up Nord Stream? Zeit Online. ‘Tis a mystery!
Nordstream trauma leads Berlin to draw up fresh Huawei bans Politico
New Not-So-Cold War
Cope springs eternal:
What Ukraine Needs to Win the War Against Russia Max Boot, Council on Foreign Relations
Ukraine’s counteroffensive is making real progress on the Crimean front The Atlantic Council
Ukraine’s forces possibly make breakthrough on Robotyne-Verbove line – ISW Ukrainska Pravda
I have seen Ukraine’s future–a phoenix nation destined to prosper Fortune
Nazigate: Canada’s top general won’t apologize for applauding Ukrainian Waffen-SS vet The Grayzone
Ship insurance facility set up for Ukraine grain exports, says broker Miller Hellenic Shipping News
Dubai remains Russian shadow tanker hotbed Splash 247
Apex Predator: The American Army in Normandy (excerpt) Big Serge Thought
Biden Administration
Foreign ownership of U.S. farmland probed at U.S. Senate hearing Kansas Reflector
Can the government unambiguously waive sovereign immunity by accident? Adam’s Legal Newsletter
2024
Judge rules Donald Trump defrauded banks and insurers while building real estate empire AP. A summary judgement from Judge Arthur Engoron, who ran for his seat as a Democrat in 2015, unopposed.
Dreizin’s late night thoughts on New York’s Trump takedown The Dreizen Report. Hmm.
Judge leaves Trump asset sales up in the air after fraud ruling Reuters
Donald Trump’s lawyers ask judge to clarify fraud ruling’s impact on ex-president’s business AP
Antitrust
Microsoft Says Apple Used Bing as Google ‘Bargaining Chip’ Bloomberg
A tale of two software companies Big Tech on Trial
Vision insurer VSP accused of market power ‘abuse’ in optometrists’ lawsuit Reuters
A power grab against private equity threatens the US economy FT. “A power grab against tapeworms threatens digestion.”
Digital Watch
OpenAI reinstates ChatGPT’s internet browsing privileges The Register. The deck: “If the chatbot doesn’t know what you need, it’ll ‘Bing It!’ for paying customers.” And if the Bing results have been completely polluted by AI-generated bullshit… It’s the Circle of Life!
Why Silicon Valley’s biggest AI developers are hiring poets Rest of World
Pontifications: “We’re sick and tired of new technologies:” Avolon CEO Leeham News and Analysis
Supply Chain
European companies dumping toxic ships on Bangladesh beaches, HRW says Al Jazeera. An old, old story. See NC on the Gadani disaster in 2016.
B-a-a-a-d Banks
Billions of Dollars in Loans to Board Members Draw Spotlight to Gulf Banks WSJ
Healthcare
Biden administration doles out $100M to research drug-resistant infections Endpoints News
Study suggests poor environmental controls may aid spread of resistant pathogens Center for Disease Research and Policy. Antibiotic “stewardship” alone is not enough.
PEP in Your Step The Baffler
Zeitgeist Watch
Leaf-peeping social media users are clogging a Vermont back road. The town is closing it AP
Artistic Leaf Raking Kottke.org
The Final Frontier
Space Force chief says commercial satellites may need defending Ars Technica
Realignment and Legitimacy
Assemblies of God Pastors Call for Leaders to Resign Over ‘Shameful’ Response to Chi Alpha Sex Scandal The Roys Report. This keeps happening, doesn’t it?
Class Warfare
New WGA Contract Explained: AI Is Not a Writer, Solo Scribe Shows Don’t Need Minimum Staff and More Variety. The WGA’s summary. Most coverage ignores the fact that there’s no “deal” until the membership votes. Here, from a not especially reliable authority, is an extremely negative view.
Scabs Deployed at GM Parts Distribution Centers Labor Notes
Every Second Counts: Obsessive Achievement in The Bear, Sports, and Academia Nursing Clio
Where’s Everyone Going? The Big Picture
Is the Physics of Time Actually Changing? Wired
All objects and some questions American Journal of Physics. “The history of objects in the Universe can be seen as a history of condensations of composite objects from an undifferentiated background.” Fun stuff!
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here
