Silence of the Wolves: How Human Landscapes Alter Howling Behaviour The Wire
Scientists Create Beef-Infused Rice With Cow Cells Gizmodo
Japan to launch world’s first wooden satellite to combat space pollution The Guardian
NASA’s Fire-in-Space Experiment Ends in Flames Gizmodo
Climate/Environment
‘FAO acknowledges that it neglected costs of food systems in its accounting’ Down to Earth
Social valuation of biodiversity relative to other types of assets at risk in wildfire Society for Conservation Biology. From the abstract: “Survey respondents overwhelmingly prioritized a single human life… even if that choice resulted in extinction of other species.”
#COVID-19
Somewhere between 30% and 40% of the US population just got covid. Remember how rare breakthrough infections were going to be? Incredible public health failure https://t.co/1FJUC9NVCP
— Nate Bear (@NateB_Panic) February 18, 2024
Do We Simply Not Care About Old People? MedPage Today
Japan
Japan’s ‘naked men’ festival succumbs to population ageing AFP
India
India sends ‘killer’ drones to Israel ahead of Rafah assault The Cradle
India port workers refuse to load Israeli arms shipments, call for Gaza ceasefire The New Arab
China?
Year of the Dragon opens on high note for China’s economy FT
The Tale of 2 Economies: Navigating the Growth Paradox in China The Diplomat
BYD announces new stock buyback and plans more luxury models Bloomberg
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China Asserts No Restricted Zones Around Taiwanese Islands After Two Killed Reuters
Indonesia’s nickel supremacy: China’s backing and Australia’s decline Pearls and Irritations
Syraqistan
US signals it will block proposed Gaza ceasefire resolution at UN Al Jazeera
Prospects for ceasefire dim as Israel rejects calls to spare Rafah AFP
Netanyahu: Those who want us to desist from Rafah op are telling us to lose i24
Egyptian President Sisi affirms ‘categorical rejection’ of displacement of Palestinians to Egypt in any way Anadolu Agency
Egypt declassifies war secrets from 1973 October War for 50th anniversary Ahram
Egypt to Present Two Memorandums Against Israel in the ICJ Egyptian Streets
Brazil’s Lula compares Israel’s war on Gaza with the Holocaust Al Jazeera
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Houthi Militants Deploy a Drone Sub for the First Time Maritime Executive
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Will Israel Invade Southern Lebanon? Larry Johnson
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Examples of Shared Israeli-Palestinian Actions Foreign Policy in Focus
Old Blighty
Next week will see three UK court cases test the rights of all protesters The Canary
The Tory Appointee Holding Julian Assange’s Life in Her Hands UK Declassified
European Disunion
Job creation in southern Europe doesn’t tell the whole story: ‘Unemployment is dropping, because we accept miserable wages’ Le Monde
Gang of alleged armed robbers in their 60s and 70s arrested in Italy Guardian
New Not-So-Cold War
SITREP 2/18/24: Avdeevka Liberated Simplicius the Thinker
My message at #MSC2024 Ukrainian lunch:
Courage and belief in #Ukraine’s victory is what helps us act.
To defeat Russia, we need to think outside the box. That’s what Russia is really afraid of. pic.twitter.com/mrHC5hO99k
— Kaja Kallas (@kajakallas) February 17, 2024
PM says Denmark to donate all its artillery to Ukraine Kyiv Independent
French Defense Minister: France to supply Ukraine with newest kamikaze drones in coming weeks Euromaidan Press
UK and allies seek to arm Ukraine with AI-enabled swarm drones – Bloomberg Ukrayinska Pravda
Czech Republic ready to send 800,000 artillery shells to Ukraine if ‘funding is found’ Euromaidan Press
Failure to back Ukraine aid could hurt US economy and defense contractors, says Germany: ‘We shouldn’t take freedom for granted’ Fortune
Putin – on the conflict in Ukraine: “Everything that happens in the Ukrainian direction is for them to improve their tactical situation, but for us it is fate, it is a matter of life and death. I wanted the people who would be listening to this [Carlson interview] to understand… pic.twitter.com/XMljaIzekp
— Victor vicktop55 (@vicktop55) February 18, 2024
Timofey Bordachev: Western Europe could become the new Ukraine RT
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After TRT World failed to post my interview on the death of Navalny…. Gilbert Doctorow
#U2 frontman Bono chanted Alexei #Navalny‘s name with the audience during his concert in Las Vegas
“Putin would never ever say his name. So I thought tonight people who believe in freedom must say his name. Not just remember it, but say it.” pic.twitter.com/lWwTwOs8Tw
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) February 18, 2024
Imperial Collapse Watch
Russia’s 7:1 advantage in arms production over combined NATO is a big accomplishment. In part it is due to a reshaping of global trade and finance flows in response to US sanctions. China’s exports to Russia tripled, while Turkey and the former Soviet republics are reexporting…
— David P. Goldman (@davidpgoldman) February 18, 2024
This is the Freudian slip of the decade by Pelosi:
“We must keep the sanctions. Because the sanctions give [Russia] the money to pay for this war and build their military even further.”pic.twitter.com/nRahGKwKnw
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) February 18, 2024
Biden
Biden’s brother used his name to promote a hospital chain. Then it collapsed. Politico
Indictment of FBI informant could spell trouble for key GOP impeachment claim The Hill
Trump
Trump will likely run out of legal defense funds by summer, report says Business Insider
Trumpworld takes aim at Republicans who supported Ukraine aid push The Hill
2024
No Labels ‘talking with several exceptional leaders’ about possible runs, says Chavis The Hill
Democrats en déshabillé
Rep. Rashida Tlaib urges Michigan Democrats to vote against Biden in the primary NBC News
A Union Leader in Nebraska Tries to Leap to the Senate on Labor’s Strength New York Times. “With no Democrat in the race, the Nebraska Democratic Party is likely to endorse Mr. Osborn at a meeting on March 2, the party chairwoman, Jane Kleeb, said, though Mr. Osborn said he was not sure he wants that.”
GOP Clown Car
Lindsey Graham: Time to designate Russia a state sponsor of terrorism Politico
Immigration
Barbed Wire New Left Review
Our Famously Free Press
Chris Hedges: The Collapse of US Media is Accelerating Our Political Crisis Scheerpost
Media That Benefit From Inequality Prefer to Talk About Other Things FAIR
This journalist has been in a London prison for almost five years for exposing state criminality.
If the UK sends to the country he exposed he will die in a US prison cell.
This week the UK will decide. It’s now or never. Defend Assange. His life and the future of journalism… pic.twitter.com/DRcTyElvK3
— Stella Assange #FreeAssangeNOW (@Stella_Assange) February 18, 2024
AI
AI falsely accuses, fines artificial intelligence expert of using phone while driving – report Jerusalem Post
Air Canada responsible for errors by website chatbot after B.C. customer denied retroactive discount Vancouver Sun. The airline “claim[ed] it wasn’t responsible for promising the refund because it was made in error by the airline’s online chatbot.”
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Don’t Fall for the Latest Changes to the Dangerous Kids Online Safety Act Electronic Frontier Foundation
Police State Watch
L.A.’s Incarceration of Youth Again Falls Short of Humane Standards, State Regulator Calls Two More Juvenile Facilities ‘Unsuitable’ The Imprint
The Bezzle
The Economics Teacher of the New Generation: Cryptocurrency Ideology MR Online
Class Warfare
Amid high rents, eviction filings in major Texas cities soar above pre-pandemic levels Texas Tribune
Proposal could give NH landlords more pathways to eviction after a lease ends NHPR
Bill to Crack Down on Eviction Moratoriums Gets Missouri House Approval Missouri Net
Commentary: If the economy is so great, why are evictions soaring? Los Angeles Times
Who’s to blame for the fall of so many American cities? @JoeBiden https://t.co/ka8hqZsirn
— Rudy Havenstein, Senior Markets Commentator. (@RudyHavenstein) February 18, 2024
The Groundhog Watchers Nautilus
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
