Plant Fungus Has Been Caught in an Evolutionary Leap Science Alert. Opposable thumbs?
The Eyepopping Factory Construction Boom in the US Wolf Street
Vibes vs. data Noah Smith, Noahpinion
Climate
Greenhouse gas emissions soar – with China, US and India most at fault Guardian
COP28: US touts climate leadership as oil and gas output hits record Reuters
COP28: 22 nations pledge to triple nuclear generation capacity by 2050 S&P Global
US joins in other nations in swearing off coal power to clean the climate AP. The US is joining the Powering Past Coal Alliance. Neither China nor India are members. Handy chart:
One does wonder if China needs the coal to manufacture and charge all those EVs….
The problem with EVs is they’re made in China Felix Salmon, Axios
US moves to choke China’s role in electric vehicle supply chain FT
Heavy snow brings chaos to southern Germany as Munich suspends flights Guardian. Video:
Five grassroots climate justice movements COP28 could learn from Al Jazeera
Russian billionaire touts woolly mammoths as climate fix Bloomberg (Furzy Mouse).
Ancient redwoods recover from fire by sprouting 1000-year-old buds Science
China?
China’s Economic Heft Sinks for First Time in Three Decades Bloomberg
Chinese borrowers default in record numbers as economic crisis deepens FT
China’s economy is suffering from long covid The Economy. But not the West’s, totally.
National security studies are going mainstream in China. Will it breed a new Chinese elite? SCMP. First, China follows the West’s lead in whacking a few million people with Covid. Now, they’re creating The Blob With Chinese Characteristics. None of this will end well.
Pentagon: US arms industry struggling to keep up with China Politico
The Most Dangerous Conflict No One Is Talking About The Atlantic
Indonesia’s ambitions to be a hub to store carbon emissions could be risky business Channel News Asia
Syraqistan
Civilians are ‘center of gravity’ in Gaza war: US defense secretary Reuters. Indeed!
Israeli offensive shifts to crowded southern Gaza, driving up death toll despite evacuation orders AP. “Despite” is doing a lot of work, there.
Basic Principles of Humanity New York Review of Books
Israel’s Netanyahu vows to continue war with Hamas ‘until all aims achieved’ France24
Zim container ships divert as threat to Israel-linked vessels mounts Freight Waves
Israel is turning into Lebanon Unherd
How Saudis overcame “reputational damage” Indian Punchline
Seems a propos:
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New Not-So-Cold War
Russia maintains hope to fully occupy Ukraine – General Staff report Ukrainska Pravda
Ukraine conducts new attack on Russian railway deep in Siberia Euractiv
Ukraine’s security service alleges Russian plot involving ex-president Reuters
Is Hersh story on secret Ukraine peace talks true? Asia Times
Rheinmetall plans to start producing its armoured vehicles in Ukraine in 2024 Ukrainska Pravda
South of the Border
Police charge director of Miss Nicaragua pageant with running ‘beauty queen coup’ plot CBS
Biden Administration
White House creates cabinet-level supply chain council Supply Chain Dive. “The council will be co-chaired by the National Security Advisor and National Economic Advisor.” And not Pete Buttigieg. How odd.
2024
Trump says 14th amendment cases, media made him ‘much more popular’ than ever before The Hill. And he’s not wrong, is he?
Trump calls out immigration crisis during Iowa caucus rally, says he will keep world peaceful, safe FOX
Speaker Mike Johnson says he thinks he has the votes to authorize Biden impeachment inquiry NBC
‘Escape liberal hell’: Republicans really are fleeing WA Seattle Times
Our Famously Free Press
Not a Nothingburger: My Statement to Congress on Censorship Matt Taibbi, Racket News
Digital Watch
The Inside Story of Microsoft’s Partnership with OpenAI The New Yorker
Why the Entire AI World Was Talking About ‘Q’ This Week Gizmodo
The end of business-class A.I. doomerism Read Max
Law secretly drafted by ChatGPT makes it onto the books The Register
Facebook Announces Human Trafficking Now Allowed On Marketplace The Onion
Supply Chain
Cash, Cars, Chemicals (and Corn) Phenomenal World
Sports Desk
Understanding the African sports economy Africa Is a Country
The rise of cricket podcasts: a perfect medium for a sprawling game Guardian
Class Warfare
Waffle House Has The Worst Employee Food Policy Mashed
Drunk and Asleep on the Job: Air Traffic Controllers Pushed to the Brink NYT. What’s wrong with the labor market? ‘Tis a mystery!
The national riders’ strike in France is bad news for Uber Eats and for Emmanuel Macron: Interview with CGT’s Ludo Rioux Brave New Europe
The US needs to improve the quality of infrastructure jobs, not just create more of them Brookings Institution
Yale Awards 80 Percent of Grades in the A Range Jonathan Turley. New York Spy magazine once had a movie critic (not, I think, Walter Monheit) who only awarded movies four and five stars. I guess they were a Yalie…
Himmelsbriefe: Heaven-Sent Chain Letters JSTOR Daily. Going viral in print.
Fossil Preparation: View From The Cheap Seats Fossils and Other Living Things.
Notes on Complexity: A Buddhist Scientist on the Murmuration of Being The Marginalian
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.