Have a Great Day: David Lynch (1946-2025) Roger Ebert. Commentary:
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Farewell, Mr. Baseball JoeBlogs
RedNote/Xiaohongshu
Biden won’t enforce TikTok ban: Reports The Hill
US ‘TikTok refugees’ spark global rush of sign-ups to China’s RedNote platform South China Morning Post. Commentary:
Americans and Chinese share jokes on ‘alternative TikTok’ as US ban looms BBC Commentary:
“Strength of weak ties” but nonetheless moving.
The voice of a new generation:
California Burning
Conditions not ignitions:
Every wildfire starts with an ignition – downed powerlines, lightning, arson – and we can do a lot to reduce these.
But in California the number of fires has dropped while the area burned has doubled. What has changed is conditions, not ignitions: pic.twitter.com/aKnoywYBvz
— Zeke Hausfather (@hausfath) January 16, 2025
Indirect death toll from the L.A. fires may end up in the thousands Yale Climate Connections. The deck: “The toxic smoke from the fires, combined with disruption to the economy, health care system, and mental health may lead to thousands of deaths over the coming years.” I think breathing toxic smoke is very “direct” indeed.
Huge fire at Moss Landing battery plant spurs evacuations, road closures, sends out plumes of toxic smoke Mercury-News
Climate
Atlantic overturning inferred from air-sea heat fluxes indicates no decline since the 1960s Nature. AMOC jackpot event not imminent?
Has Trump Changed the Retirement Plans for the Country’s Largest Coal Plants? Inside Climate News
Big Wind & Big Solar Are Trying To Sue Rural America Into Submission Robert Bryce (PI).
Water
An even bigger threat is looming behind California’s fires Vox
Bloodletting recommended for Jersey residents after PFAS contamination Guardian
Chemicals in sewage sludge fertilizer pose cancer risk, EPA says AP
Syndemics
Hospitals Should Test All Influenza Patients for Bird Flu, CDC Says Barron’s. Uh oh. More–
CDC HAN: Accelerated Subtyping of Influenza A in Hospitalized Patients Avian Flu Diary. Commentary:
Just because seasonal flu is present doesn’t mean H5N1 is not ALSO present.
They can and do co-occur. And the presence of both is the perfect incubator for producing a lethal pandemic strain of H5 flu.
There is currently no readily available test for H5 subtypes.
2/2
Link below— Stan Willenbring (@StanWillenbring) January 16, 2025
Bird Flu Detected on Virginia’s Eastern Shore Charlottesville Now
Bird flu: Another capitalist crisis Liberation
American Airlines Flight Attendants Now Face Being Terminated If They Catch COVID-19 Under Harsh New Attendance Rules PYOK. “A positive COVID-19 test will not, however, be enough evidence to apply for a leave of absence, and flight attendants will need to seek out a professional certificate from a healthcare provider.”
Meet the Americans who still take COVID-19 precautions seriously AP
Don’t pretend COVID-19 didn’t happen Science
NIMH awards $1.5 million grant for long COVID neurological research News Medical Life Sciences. A million. Fancy that!
Scientists discover how viral infection triggers autoimmune disease News Medical Life Sciences. Hep-C, at least. Big if true.
China?
China says it’s sending top official to Trump’s inauguration Axios
China investigates whether CHIPS and Science Act harms its chip companies Tom’s Hardware
China Begins Probe Into US Chip Grants, Alleged Dumping Bloomberg
China’s local governments raise minimum wages to boost consumption South China Morning Post
China’s population falls for a third straight year, posing challenges for its government and economy AP
The Koreas
South Korean Court rejects petition against detention of impeached president Anadolu Agency
Bird feathers, blood found in two engines of Jeju Air jet that crashed in South Korea: Source Straits Times
Syraqistan
Netanyahu says hostage deal now agreed BBC. Commentary:
Trump’s national security advisor Mike Waltz lays out a plan Netanyahu has hinted at: Israel views this deal as only one phase to get the Israeli and U.S. hostages out. He says Hamas will be destroyed and Gaza totally demilitarized. pic.twitter.com/4aBsPgXY3q
— jeremy scahill (@jeremyscahill) January 16, 2025
Ron Johnson expresses concern Israel ‘coerced’ into ceasefire agreement The Hilll
Mysterious airstrip appears on a Yemeni island as Houthi rebel attacks threaten region AP
Gaza authorities to unveil plan for return of displaced Palestinians Anadalu Agency
A Year of Empty Threats and a “Smokescreen” Policy: How the State Department Let Israel Get Away With Horrors in Gaza ProPublica
Israeli lawyer files genocide case with ICC against Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir and 6 others The Skwawkbox
Our famously free press:
Max Blumenthal too:
And:
I’m grateful to have finally gotten a conversation going on how America’s outgoing top diplomat repeatedly proclaimed his ethnoreligious and familial loyalty to a foreign apartheid state, then assisted it as it conducted a Holocaust, and how this was not an issue in official DC https://t.co/afj9iqUALL
— Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) January 17, 2025
Beirut blast investigator resumes work after two years, charges 10 people The New Arab
The “Terrorists” in My Grandmother’s Neighborhood Boston Review
Africa
Chinese nationals sentenced to jail over illegal mining, money laundering in Democratic Republic of Congo Anadolu Agency
The New Great Game
Armenia makes a strategic turn from Russia towards the West BNE Intellinews
New Not-So-Cold War
Trump’s State Department pick delivers Ukraine reality check RT. Meanwhile:
Ukraine sold most of the weapons and US-made drones on the black market; the most recent sales were to rebels in Syria to topple Assad. This is widely known, yet it remains largely undiscussed… pic.twitter.com/H42O7iDM2K
— Anna (@provemewrong411) January 16, 2025
Needed: A Sober Assessment of Putin’s Russia to Help End the War The Nation
NATO takes over coordination of military aid to Ukraine Ukrainska Pravda
NATO and EU membership and weapons: Zelenskyy names key security guarantees ahead of Trump meeting Ukrainska Pravda
What British boots on the ground would look like in Ukraine The Telegraph
Warnings British Army is too small to help Ukraine – as Keir Starmer signs 100-year pledge that could put forces on Putin’s border Daily Mail
Who’s Afraid of America First? Foreign Affairs. The deck: “What Asia Can Teach the World About Adapting to Trump.”
Biden Administration
Executive Order on Strengthening and Promoting Innovation in the Nation’s Cybersecurity The White House
Trump Transition
The Dollar’s Smile Can Change the World for Trump John Authers, Bloomberg
Trump Plans to Designate Cryptocurrency as a National Priority Bloomberg
Will Trump Wage ‘No New Wars’? Foreign Policy
Trump fuels an informal House GOP land-grab caucus Axios
Greenland’s prime minister says Arctic island doesn’t want to be part of the US: ‘Always be a strong partner’ FOX
Groves of Academe
School cellphone bans keep bipartisan momentum Axios
Supply Chain
USGS releases map identifying potential geologic hydrogen deposits in the US S&P Global
The Final Frontier
Space Force procurement official removed amid investigation Space News
Class Warfare
Why We Have Prison Gangs Asterisk Magazine
Young Morality and Old Morality Hamilton Nolan, How Things Work
Antidote du jour (Derek Keats):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
