Man charged with stealing massive amounts of LEGOs from multiple Bay Area Targets KRON 4
Hello, Brave New World The Baffler
Climate/Environment
‘Literally Eat Sh*t’: Supreme Court Strikes Down EPA Clean Water Rule Common Dreams
Los Angeles County sues Southern California Edison over Eaton Fire KTLA
Pandemics
What Climate Change Means for Bird Flu—And the Soaring Price of Eggs The Energy Mix
Bird flu spread is ‘slowing down,’ California officials say Politico
Avian flu cases continue to rise across the San Joaquin Valley, and it’s not just among birds KVPR
Air, surface, and wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2; a multimodal evaluation of COVID-19 detection in a built environment Nature. From the Abstract: “In this study we determined the applicability and limitations of wastewater, indoor high-touch surfaces, in-room air, and rooftop exhaust air sampling methods for detecting SARS-CoV-2 in a real world building occupied by residents recently diagnosed with COVID-19.” And: “Our research demonstrates that aerosol sampling can detect COVID-19 positive individuals in a real world lobby setting during very short occupancy periods. We demonstrate the effectiveness of rooftop exhaust aerosol, surface, and wastewater environmental surveillance in monitoring viral load in building occupants, both at the building scale and with ventilation zone-level resolution for aerosols. We provide actionable data for researchers, health officials and building managers who seek to determine which monitoring method is best for their building or study.”
The Koreas
Errant bombs fall on village, injure 7 during US-ROK drills against North Korea NK News
Japan
Japan brushes aside U.S. demand to boost defense budget to 3% of GDP Kyodo News
China?
China’s ‘Two Sessions’ places greater emphasis on Taiwan integration: Experts Focus Taiwan
Is Trump’s abrupt turn on Ukraine giving Taiwan jitters as China vows to seize the island? CBS News
China’s tech leapfrog: Time to lead? ThinkChina. Commentary:
The defense tech guys are way too eager to go to war with China pic.twitter.com/YRqoQbwgCV
— Jacob Silverman (@SilvermanJacob) March 4, 2025
China Is Secretly Worried Trump Will Win on Trade WSJ
What’s ‘involution’ and why is it worrying China’s policymakers? Channel News Asia
Old Blighty
David Cameron joins Jeb Bush’s private equity firm FT
India
Washington’s Damocles Sword Over Chabahar Port Brings Together Indian, Taliban Envoys In Tehran The Wire
US eyes zero tariff on cars in India trade deal as Tesla entry nears: Report Deccan Herald
A Network of Agents in India Is Driving Job Scams and Illegal Migration New Lines Magazine
The Foreign Hand In Dhaka Open the Magazine
Syraqistan
Exclusive: U.S. holding secret talks with Hamas Axios
Trump warns Gazans ‘you are dead’ if captives not freed The New Arab
Going back to prison – for the sixth time.
Half a year behind bars for refusing to take part in Israel’s crimes.No to genocide. No to oppression. No to occupation. No to apartheid.
We refuse to hold a weapon. Will you refuse to supply it? https://t.co/oBPhVjt6fC pic.twitter.com/9qBmdLUU9Y
— איתמר גרינברג Itamar Greenberg (@itamar_green) March 3, 2025
Jared Kushner builds a Middle East business empire Globes
Africa
Ending Aid Dependency: The Tax Edition Grieve Chelwa, Africa Watch
New Not-So-Cold War
Top Trump allies hold secret talks with Zelenskyy’s Ukrainian opponents Politico
After days of coaching, Zelenskyy seeks a path to Trump’s good graces New York Times
US Cuts Intel and Aid to Ukraine: Beginning of the End, or Just More Flimflam? Simplicius
A different kind of security guarantee for Ukraine Responsible Statecraft
Brief Summary from the Front on March 5, 2025 Marat Khairullin Substack
European Disunion
Europe’s Face-Saving Theater on Ukraine Consortium News
‘Shadow fleets’ and subaquatic sabotage: are Europe’s undersea internet cables under attack? The Guardian
EU Commission delays announcing plan to phase out Russian energy imports Kathimerini
Germany considering how to disrupt restoration of Nord Stream 2 – Bild RBC-Ukraine
Macron proposes French nuclear extension, Ukraine troop deployment Le Monde
Europe must trim its welfare state to build a warfare state FT
German stocks, borrowing costs surge after historic budget announcement Euractiv
Merz Plots To Bypass German Parliament In 1 Trillion Rearmament Scheme European Conservative
The BSW should have the election reviewed Thomas Fazi
Trump 2.0
83,000 VA workers targeted for layoffs by August Stars and Stripes
Education Dept looks to reassign work to other agencies ahead of Trump EO ‘eliminating’ it Federal News Network
Critics Ask If Trump and Musk Are ‘Intentionally Crashing the Economy’ Common Dreams
Musk to House Republicans: DOGE ‘can’t bat a thousand all the time’ Politico
They’re going to steal as much as they possibly can from us until we stop them. https://t.co/vP7fzSwfEt
— Read Starting Somewhere (@JPHilllllll) March 5, 2025
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Trump’s ‘little disturbance’ Michael Roberts’ blog
Michigan automakers get break on Trump tariffs — for now Bridge Michigan
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Judge issues preliminary injunction blocking Trump cuts to NIH research overhead payments STAT
Supreme Court rejects Trump administration’s push to rebuke judge over foreign aid freeze AP
Judges face rise in threats as Elon Musk blasts them over rulings Reuters
Crises Of Democracy 3 Quarks Daily
Hamilton Cancels Planned Kennedy Center Run Due to Trump Takeover Playbill
GOP Funhouse
Senate Republicans Effectively Legalized Debanking Drop Site
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
DOJ to appeal court decision ruling broad cell phone tower searches are unconstitutional The Record
Crapification
Capitalism ALSO doesn’t want to make spaces TOO pleasant or friendly anymore to prevent loitering and to up their turnover time. They want things to be pleasant enough for you to come in and buy something, but unpleasant enough so you want to leave relatively quickly
— Chris Alvino (@ChrisAlvino) March 3, 2025
AI
AI Chatbots Can Cushion the High School Counselor Shortage — But Are They Bad for Students? The Markup
Maybe cancel that ChatGPT therapy session – doesn’t respond well to tales of trauma The Register
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OpenAI reportedly plans to charge up to $20,000 a month for specialized AI ‘agents’ TechCrunch
New Palantir venture targets finance industry’s AI spending Semafor
Cellebrite Is Using AI to Summarize Chat Logs and Audio from Seized Mobile Phones 404 Media
World’s first “Synthetic Biological Intelligence” runs on living human cells New Atlas
Healthcare?
‘I just did surgery on myself.’ Michigan dentist shortage leaves some in lurch Bridge Michigan
Imperial Collapse Watch
Trump’s ‘Make Shipbuilding Great Again’ Order Calls for Wholesale Overhaul of U.S. Maritime Industry USNI News
U.S. Navy Rejects Lockheed Martin’s Sixth Generation Fighter Design: Which Firm Will Prevail? Military Watch
The Bezzle
Trump crypto reserve risks undermining Congress’ industry-friendly plans Semafor
SEC drops case against Coinbase — a win for crypto or payback for donations? Coin Telegraph
Buying a $250 Residency Card From a Tropical Island Let Me Bypass U.S. Crypto Laws 404 Media
Class Warfare
Why Class Matters ZZ’s Blog
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
