The Strange Story of the Algorithm Meant to Solve Life, the Universe and Everything Scientific American
Climate
Double Blue Ocean Event 2025? Arctic News
How satellite data has proven climate change is a climate crisis Space.com
Study documents extinction of 610 bird species, including those from Hawaii Star Advertiser
Nobody loves Biden’s Western Solar Plan. But it’s what we’ve got LA Times
The coevolution of fungus-ant agriculture Science. “Fungus-ant agriculture originated ~66 million years ago when the end-of-Cretaceous asteroid impact temporarily interrupted photosynthesis, causing global mass extinctions but favoring the proliferation of fungi.”
Hurricane Helene
‘The Death Toll Is Going to Be Tremendous’ The Atlantic
The shocking numbers behind Hurricane Helene’s path of destruction AP
$100 million in federal funds released for North Carolina to rebuild roads, bridges damaged by Helene CBS
I live in the County over from the BioLab fire that started because of the hurricane. Stephanie Ⓥoltolin, ThreadReader
Report from the field (KLG):
I drove cross country yesterday, a week after Hurricane Helene, on GA19 between Lumber City and Dublin. About 50 miles through utter devastation. No power; the traffic signals were dark and every intersection was a 4-way stop. Power and phone lines down. At least 20% of houses had major damage from wind or falling trees. In places all the trees were leaning at a 45-degree angle from the 60-90 mph wind. One pecan grove was completely flattened, which happened to many similar farms; pecans are a major cash crop for many in rural Georgia. Cotton crop will not be harvested. Soybeans looked just as damaged. In one place several large trucks were resting on their sides. Makeshift clotheslines on front porches. Some stores open on a cash basis only. Gas pumps powered by generators where they are available.
At least a half-dozen country church steeples on the ground. Two photographs attached. That is a downed utility pole in front of the brick Beulah Baptist Church. I stepped carefully around the wires on the ground Multiply by 1000 to get the full effect. It was impossible to stop in the worst places to take a picture because the shoulders of the road were covered in branches and logs that had been removed from the road. My favorite dogtrot house on this route was completely intact with, its cypress siding and new metal roof.
The Trump signs had been replaced. I have heard that FEMA is basically absent and that the state of Georgia is not much better. After previous storms the Georgia National Guard was out in force the next day. They must have been on another road. I counted utility maintenance trucks from at least 15 companies around the Southeastern United States. Those linemen are local heroes. Otherwise these very rural people have been mostly ignored, or so it seems.
Syndemics
DR Congo begins mpox vaccination campaign in bid to curb outbreak France24
Suspected German Marburg virus cases test negative Politico
China?
Chip war: China claims breakthrough in silicon photonics that could clear technical hurdle South China Morning Post
China set to fully control Portugal’s power grid amid Europe’s inertia Euractiv
Africa
Mercenary Politics: Algeria’s Response to Wagner in Mali RUSI
Quiboloy’s arrest – when self-proclaimed ‘Son of God’ plays politics Channel News Asia
Syraqistan
Israel pounds Lebanon in fierce wave of strikes FT
Israeli raids in Lebanon displace a quarter of the country’s population PBS
Moment huge explosion shakes Beirut BBC
France’s Macron calls for a halt to arms sales to Israel, then does a U-turn Middle East Eye
Israel Targets French Gas Stations in Lebanon Amid Tensions with Macron FES News. Big if true.
How Netanyahu is ‘running rings’ around Biden FT
Inside the State Department’s Weapons Pipeline to Israel ProPublica
US official says Israel has not guaranteed it would not strike Iran’s nuclear facilities Anadolu Agency
How Iran Built Up a Russian Air Defence Network: What Are Its Strengths and Limitations Today? Military Watch
Revealed: How Mossad boobytrapped 5,000 Hezbollah pagers with explosives in top secret plot hatched TWO years ago – and the feature hidden in plain sight that allowed it to cause maximum damage Daily Mail
As war and religion rages, Israel’s secular elite contemplate a ‘silent departure’ Guardian
Health sector has a vital role in advocating for peace in Gaza and the Middle East Croakey
European Disunion
Why Europe’s leadership wants war Al Jazeera
National Lockstep? New Left Review. Belgium.
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine, Nato membership and the West Germany model FT
J.D. Vance’s Point of Departure for Peace in Ukraine The American Conservative
Ukraine left in security limbo with Zelensky U.S. trip results unclear WaPo
SITREP 10/5/24: Post-Ugledar Landscape Unfurls into Dark Ukrainian Future Simplicius, Simplicius the Thinker
Russians attack warehouses and lorries in Odesa – photo Ukrainska Pravda
Oligarchs from Putin’s entourage acquire land in occupied Crimea for large-scale construction projects Ukrainska Pravda
Ukraine seizes US$6 million in cash, jewellery from official accused of helping draft dodgers South China Morning Post
Largest Cypriot bank has closed about 20,000 Russian accounts since 2022 Ukrainska Pravda
Notes on Ukraine in the Long Crisis Some Communist Study Group
Biden Administration
Joe Biden, Temporary King The American Conservative
After a day of legal whiplash, Biden’s student loan cancellation plan is put back on hold PBS
2024
Trump returns to failed assassination bid site, vows to fight ‘enemy within’ France24
The swing state battles that will win the US election FT
The Law of Presidential Retribution Bob Bauer, Lawfare
Clinton Legacy
Hillary Clinton Declares ‘We Lose Total Control’ If We Don’t ‘Moderate and Monitor’ Social Media Content More Mediaite
Digital Watch
Why WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg has gone ‘nuclear’ against tech investing giant Silver Lake CNBC
Matt Mullenweg: ‘WordPress.org just belongs to me’ The Verge
Assange
A Very Peculiar Triumph Craig Murray
The Final Frontier
Centaur, an icy body in space, is shooting multiple jets of hot gas. What’s going on? WION
The 420
An undulating thrill Aeon
Class Warfare
‘They’re just mad’: Boeing strikers prepare for long haul FT
A National Movement to Organize Amazon Takes Off Labor Notes
Here’s How Loper Bright is Stripping Away Workers’ Rights On Labor
How to win a Nobel prize (2024) and Majority of mathematicians hail from just 24 scientific ‘families’ Nature (2016)
Identities, Partly Relational Concepts 3 Quarks Daily
Antidote du jour (Tony Hisgett):
Bonus antidote:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
