The future of money: a possible role for central bank digital currencies and their implications Bank of International Settlement. Presumably the smallest unit will be sufficient to purchase one insect, good eatin’. I mean, I woudn’t want to be forced to purchase more insects than I really need.
Jamie Dimon is selling his stock. These Wall Street bankers are doing the same FT
Water
The Historic Claims That Put a Few California Farming Families First in Line for Colorado River Water ProPublica
Microplastic-eating plankton may be worsening crisis in oceans, say scientists Guardian
#COVID19
Semen proteomics reveals alterations in fertility-related proteins post-recovery from COVID-19 Frontiers in Physiology. N = 20 + 21. From the Abstract: “Our study suggests that the effect of COVID-19 on the male reproductive system persists even after recovery from COVID-19. In addition, these post-COVID-19 complications persist irrespective of the prevalent variants or vaccination status.”
Association of COVID-19 with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in children aged 0–5 years in the USA in 2022: a multicentre retrospective cohort study Family Medicine and Community Health (MV), From the Abstract: “COVID-19 was associated with a significantly increased risk for RSV infections among children aged 0–5 years in 2022. Similar findings were replicated for a study population of children aged 0–5 years in 2021. Our findings suggest that COVID-19 contributed to the 2022 surge of RSV cases in young children through the large buildup of COVID-19-infected children and the potential long-term adverse effects of COVID-19 on the immune and respiratory system.” I’m so old I remember when Covid wasn’t supposed to inf3ct chlidren at all….
We Interrupt This Mood of Denial to Update COVID’s Threat The Tyee
How lawmakers in Texas and Florida undermine Covid vaccination efforts NBC
China?
Top US military official doubts China wants to invade Taiwan FT
How scary is China? The Economist
Report: Plateau China: Reform in the ten years after the Third Plenum of 2013 Sinocism
VW and Stellantis Show the Script Has Flipped With China’s Carmakers Bloomberg. The deck: “Western automakers are paying up for minority stakes in Chinese EV companies to gain access to their technology.” Pathetic.
Myanmar
Armed rebellion risks break-up of Myanmar: junta-backed president Agence France Presse
Myanmar’s Junta Is Losing Control of Its Border with China United States Insitute for Peace
China Signs Solar Power Deal with Myanmar Junta The Irrawaddy
Junta-led Myanmar holds joint naval exercise with top arms supplier Russia France24
India
The Anatomy of an Electronic Voting Machine: What We Know and What We Don’t The Wire
Syraqistan
Analysis: How would Israel find, map, take and keep Gaza’s tunnels? Al Jazeera. By Betteridge’s Law, it won’t. And I agree. From my armchair at 30,000 feet: I don’t see wunderwaffen or technical solutions doing the job, the IDF is casulties-averse, and we’re not dealing with Marines in Falujah, or with Russia and the Donetsk People’s Republic in Mariupol, or even Wagner in Bakhmut. We’re dealing with Israeli reservists, demoralized by colonial occupation, who haven’t been trained for urban warfare. Today’s must read.
Israeli Forces Have Limited Time in Gaza, U.S. Officials Say NYT. Commentary:
Day after day, Biden, Blinken, Kirby and other White House warmongers claim they’re trying to minimize the civilian toll in Gaza.
Yet according to NYT, US officials were aware that Israel’s war plans — which the US advised — “”all but guaranteed a high civilian death toll.”” pic.twitter.com/epK8cZI7Zv
— Aaron Maté (@aaronjmate) November 10, 2023
Netanyahu says not seeking to ‘occupy’ Gaza but ‘demilitarise’ it Al Jazeera. Oh, right [nods vigorously].
Dark Brandon, even more dark:
Biden was just asked “what are the prospects of a Gaza ceasefire?”
His reply: “None. No possibility.”
The United States is actively instigating Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and working to inflame a wider war in the Middle East. pic.twitter.com/8GjfqOStoM
— Andre Damon (@Andre__Damon) November 9, 2023
Israel agrees to 4-hour daily pauses in Gaza fighting to allow civilians to flee, White House says Chicago Tribune
Israeli forces approach key Gaza hospital; what will they do? Reuters. It seems we have our answer:
Gaza War Crimes Make a Mockery of Western “Democracy” Black Agenda Report. Indeed:
Not clear to me where the “rules” in the “rules-based international order” come from, or even what they are.
The Middle East Crisis and Russia’s Eurasian Agenda Valdai Discussion Club
As Palestinians Confront a Second Nakba, the Relationship Between Israel and Hamas is ‘Complicated’ The Wire
Would you sell them out? Timothy Snyder, Thinking About….
Under the volcano Times Literary Supplement
The Colonizer-Indigenous Rhetoric Only Divides Lee Fang
House Votes To Censure 66% Of Americans For Antisemitic Support Of Ceasefire The Onion
European Disunion
Hungary’s Orban says EU must not start membership talks with Ukraine Reuters
New Not-So-Cold War
West will choke on Putin’s terms for Ukraine (video) The Duran, YouTube
Is an End Game in Sight for Ukraine? Consortium News
‘If Not Me, Who?’: As Ukraine Seeks Troops, Women Prepare for the Call NYT
Russia’s New Elite Emerges to Fill Void After Multinationals Flee Bloomberg. That was fast.
Biden Administration
How many in the U.S. are disabled? Proposed census changes would greatly decrease count Science. Jiggering the numbers.
Spook Country
Big Brother is Flagging You and The Tragic Victimhood of “Disinformation Experts” Matt Taibbi, Racket News
Healthcare
I Set Out to Create a Simple Map for How to Appeal Your Insurance Denial. Instead, I Found a Mind-Boggling Labyrinth. ProPublica. Movie interlude.
Patients don’t know how to navigate the US health system — and it’s costing them Vox. Same interlude.
Childhood Vaccine Exemptions Reach Highest Level Ever — Upping Risk For Outbreaks Of Polio, Measles And More Forbes. President Wakefield, good job.
The death of public health: Scientific advisors used for political preferences, Derelicts at the helm and More! The Covid-Is-Not-Over Newsletter
The Bezzle
Adam Neumann Is So Good at This Bloomberg
Digital Watch
‘ChatGPT detector’ catches AI-generated papers with unprecedented accuracy Nature. So the first cycle in an arms race….
Chatbots May ‘Hallucinate’ More Often Than Many Realize NYT
Book Nook
The Spy Novelist Who Loved Me Literary Review
The Gallery
Drip Painting Was Actually Invented by a Ukrainian Grandmother… Not Jackson Pollock Literary Hub
Our Famously Free Press
Big Tech Censors Crowder’s Release of Long-Awaited Nashville Shooter Manifesto Glenn Greenwald
Class Warfare
Rule #2:
The real success story is Japan.
Japan has one of the strongest economic recoveries, but over 5-fold fewer deaths per capita from COVID-19 than the US.
The US chose to sacrifice the vulnerable for the economy.
Japan shows protecting public health can strengthen the economy. https://t.co/gCjjMk8gyU pic.twitter.com/WuFlCtUuk5
— Dr. Lucky Tran (@luckytran) November 9, 2023
I wrote this in 2014. It never occurred to met that “the rules” would play out in a global pandemic, amidst the death of millions.
More protests in Bangladesh as garment workers reject pay increase Channel News Asia
California’s scientist union plans to stage the first-ever strike by state civil servants Sacramento Bee
Think You’re Messaging an OnlyFans Star? You’re Talking to These Guys Vice
The Best Inventions of 2023 Time. From the Robotics section: “Robot Coworker.” From the CEO: “The goal is that our general-purpose robots will be capable of doing any work that people can do.” Kill them with fire, and maybe life expectancy will stop dropping.
How to Become a Millionaire A Wealth of Common Sense
Stops Making Sense Small Things Considered. On the genetic code.
Determined: Life Without Free Will by Robert Sapolsky review – the hard science of decisions Guardian
For Martin Michael Smith, Crying in the Wilderness. This is a hymn, in “the old foursquare 8.6.8.6 Common Metre.” Perhaps some readers might like to try their hands at the form?
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
