The Essay as Realm Georgia Review

Through the Looking Glass, and What Zheludev et al. (2024) Found There Asterisk

Why the World Bank and IMF matter more than ever FT

Climate

To prepare for the climate of tomorrow, foresters are branching out Grist

Research shows that plants ‘hold their breath’ in smoky environments NPR

Syndemics

CDC Bird Flu Response Update October 18, 2024 Avian Flu Diary.

Long COVID Is Harming Too Many Kids Scientific American. Meanwhile:

Study on sentinel hosts for surveillance of future COVID-19-like outbreaks Nature. From the Abstract: “The spread of SARS-CoV-2 to animals has the potential to evolve independently. In this study, we distinguished several sentinel animal species and genera for monitoring the re-emergence of COVID-19 or the new outbreak of COVID-19-like disease.” Dog, cat, mink, deer “should be monitored to prevent the re-emergence of COVID-19 caused by novel variants.”

China?

Why US elections are losing shine for educated Chinese once drawn to democratic process South China Morning Post

China fortifies resource security with strategic mineral, energy reserve gains South China Morning Post

Prabowo sworn in as Indonesia’s eighth president; urges nation to be brave in tackling challenges Channel News Asia

The US Risks Irrelevance in Asia The Diplomat

Syraqistan

Pro-Iranian account leaks alleged U.S. intel on Israel’s attack plans Axios

Israel Preps for Strike on Iran, Top Secret Leak Reveals Ken Klipperstein

The US is investigating an unauthorized release of classified documents on Israel’s attack plans AP

New Evidence Reveals Netanyahu’s Relentless Efforts to Block Hostage Deal, Report Shows Haaretz

Netanyahu accuses ‘Iranian proxies’ for assassination attempt after drone attack on his home Anadolu Agency

Dear Old Blighty

How go private for that vital operation and get the NHS to pay for it: Everything you need to know about a little-known scheme Daily Mail

Keir Starmer’s bonfire of red tape is very dangerous Funding the Future

Minister gives up Grenfell role after objections BBC

New Not-So-Cold War

Four scenarios for the end of the war in Ukraine Chatham House

Ukraine’s ‘victory plan’ receives mixed reactions from Western allies AP

With US elections looming, Biden’s Berlin swan song was all talk, no action on Ukraine Kyiv Independent

No Fury Like a Proxy Scorned Beyond the Wasteland

An Armageddon for NATO Expansion Gordon Hahn, Russian & Eurasian Politics

Imminent Ukraine invitation to NATO unlikely Reponsible Statecraft

Ukraine’s accession to NATO without occupied territories out of question – senior Ukrainian official Ukrainska Pravda

Ukraine – Threat Of North Korean Soldiers Is Based on U.S. Info Campaign Moon of Alabama

Mariupol Defenders Released in Major Prisoner Swap With Russia Newsweek

Ukraine’s General Staff says 20,000 conscripts are being trained simultaneously, down from 35,000 in past Ukrainska Pravda

Investing in Ukraine’s homegrown defence industry could help the west Gillian Tett, FT

Russia’s real estate market rocked by the end of generous mortgage subsidies BNE Intellinews

South of the Border

Much of Cuba remains without power – 24 hours after main power plant fails BBC

Global Elections

Tunisia constitutional vote gets at least 27.5% turnout: electoral board Le Monde

Moldovans elect president, vote on EU path as claims of Russian meddling spike France24

2024

Trump kicks off a Pennsylvania rally by talking about Arnold Palmer’s genitalia AP. Commentary:

Trump asks Pennsylvania crowd, ‘Are you better off now than you were four years ago?’ FOX

Microphone malfunction: Trump waits on stage for 18 minutes during ‘technical difficulties’ USA Today

Kamala Harris’s campaign flexes celebrity support in Detroit and Atlanta Al Jazeera

‘The West Wing; cast hits the trail for Harris in Wisconsin The Hill

Two Texas cities represent the divide between those who vote and those who could, but often don’t Associated Press

The free world teeters on the edge of a knife Noah Smith, Noahpinion

The Supremes

US Supreme Court declines to block EPA’s carbon capture rule for power plants S&P Global

‘Fat crazy lady’ wins a crucial victory for citizen journalists Jonathan Turley, The Hill

The Final Frontier

Starlink satellites create light pollution and disrupt radio frequencies. And it’s getting worse CBC

Supply Chain

LA Refinery Closure Adds Long-Haul Demand for Product Tankers in Pacific Maritime Executive

Our Famously Free Press

Republicans, young adults now nearly as likely to trust info from social media as from national news outlets Pew Research Center

Sports Desk

India vs New Zealand: Black Caps record first Test win in India since 1988 Al Jazeera

Realignment and Legitimacy

Pluralistic: Blue states should play “constitutional hardball” Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic

Imperial Collapse Watch

America’s gullibility crisis Axios

Class Warfare

Boeing reaches tentative deal with union to end month-long strike FT

Estate Enigma Sherwood News

How to Do a Conjunctural Analysis Tricontinental

Strolls with stops use more energy than continuous walking, scientists show Guardian

Antidote du jour (Charles J. Sharp):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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This entry was posted in Guest Post, Links on by Lambert Strether.

About Lambert Strether

Readers, I have had a correspondent characterize my views as realistic cynical. Let me briefly explain them. I believe in universal programs that provide concrete material benefits, especially to the working class. Medicare for All is the prime example, but tuition-free college and a Post Office Bank also fall under this heading. So do a Jobs Guarantee and a Debt Jubilee. Clearly, neither liberal Democrats nor conservative Republicans can deliver on such programs, because the two are different flavors of neoliberalism (“Because markets”). I don’t much care about the “ism” that delivers the benefits, although whichever one does have to put common humanity first, as opposed to markets. Could be a second FDR saving capitalism, democratic socialism leashing and collaring it, or communism razing it. I don’t much care, as long as the benefits are delivered. To me, the key issue — and this is why Medicare for All is always first with me — is the tens of thousands of excess “deaths from despair,” as described by the Case-Deaton study, and other recent studies. That enormous body count makes Medicare for All, at the very least, a moral and strategic imperative. And that level of suffering and organic damage makes the concerns of identity politics — even the worthy fight to help the refugees Bush, Obama, and Clinton’s wars created — bright shiny objects by comparison. Hence my frustration with the news flow — currently in my view the swirling intersection of two, separate Shock Doctrine campaigns, one by the Administration, and the other by out-of-power liberals and their allies in the State and in the press — a news flow that constantly forces me to focus on matters that I regard as of secondary importance to the excess deaths. What kind of political economy is it that halts or even reverses the increases in life expectancy that civilized societies have achieved? I am also very hopeful that the continuing destruction of both party establishments will open the space for voices supporting programs similar to those I have listed; let’s call such voices “the left.” Volatility creates opportunity, especially if the Democrat establishment, which puts markets first and opposes all such programs, isn’t allowed to get back into the saddle. Eyes on the prize! I love the tactical level, and secretly love even the horse race, since I’ve been blogging about it daily for fourteen years, but everything I write has this perspective at the back of it.