Fungal ‘Brains’ Can Think Like Human Minds, Scientists Say Popular Mechanics. Original; press release. The deck: “They’re not quite on our level, but they’re not as far off as you might think.”
Bear Wins Fat Bear Week By Defeating Bear That Killed Her Cub Defector
Humans Are Evolving Right Before Our Eyes on The Tibetan Plateau Science Alert
Commercial property’s moment of truth FT
Climate
Carbon Sequestration by Preparing Recycled Cement, Recycled Aggregates, and Recycled Concrete from Construction and Demolition (C&D) Wastes Materials. From the Abstract: “As the world’s largest producer of construction waste, China’s recycling and related policies are of the biggest concern to the world… In this paper, a concrete cycle model focusing on how to effectively recycle and utilize waste concrete is put forward to prepare high quality recycled concrete, especially through a series of technical means, such as effective separation, carbon sequestration, and reactivation…. A yearly CO2 sequestration of 1.4–3.08 gigatonnes could happen if the ordinary Portland cement could be replaced by the recycled cement around the world.”
French firm debuts sailing vessel capable of carrying 200 teu Splash 247. Ever Given: 20,124 teu.
Trump plan to overhaul federal workforce could mire energy permits in court S&P Globalf
Water
A Radical Approach to Flooding in England: Give Land Back to the Sea NYT
Water, water everywhere – why Southeast Asia’s overbuilt capitals need new ways to survive Channel News Asia
Syndemics
Long Covid health workers pushing for trial date Nursing Times
BRICS
BRICS Theater Plays Host to India-China Thaw Bloomberg
Chinese leader Xi Jinping urges Brics to lead ‘urgent’ international finance reform South China Morning Post
BRICS summit’s final day in Kazan begins with key global outreach meeting Anadolu Agency
China insists on ‘no escalation of fighting’ in Ukraine, Xi tells BRICS Channel News Asia
China?
Will the China Cycle Come for Airbus and Boeing? Construction Physics
Will stimulus package help China’s local governments pay bills? South China Morning Post. Commentary:
2/2
But, according to one entrepreneur who has been owed money for years, “”Most local governments have changed their leadership, and they have little incentive to actually repay their predecessors’ arrears to businesses, especially to SMEs.”— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) October 24, 2024
The U.S. Needs a More Accurate Estimate of China’s Commercial Espionage Cipher Brief
Myanmar
Explosion at Chinese Consulate in Myanmar Follows Beijing’s Growing Acceptance of Junta China Digital Times
Africa
Zimbabwe’s gold-backed currency loses half its value: Why and what’s next? Al Jazeera
Syraqistan
‘This is our land, we deserve it’: Dozens of Israelis planning to cross border and settle in Gaza Sky News. The deck: “‘This is our land, we deserve it’: Dozens of Israelis planning to cross border and settle in Gaza.”
Gallant in a conversation with pilots: “After we attack in Iran, they will know what you did” (Google translation) 13TV (Israel)
Iran and Saudi Arabia hold joint naval exercise in Sea of Oman Times of Israel
Israel Killed Nasrallah. Lebanon Will Burn Because of It New Lines Magazine
Israel’s silent genocide supporters in Europe: Threats to academic freedom Anadolu Agency
“We Have Lost All Credibility”: Hala Rharrit on Quitting State Dept. & Ending U.S. Complicity in Gaza Democracy Now
European Disunion
French Manufacturing Confidence Plunges to a Four-Year Low Bloomberg
Dear Old Blighty
Commonwealth leaders to defy UK on slavery reparations BBC
New Not-So-Cold War
‘Time is running out’ Events in Ukraine. The deck: “Kurakhove, Selidove. The missing 152nd brigade. Protests by MIA relatives. The Russian officer training system versus Ukrainian ‘extreme indifference’. Personnel and communication problems.”
Ukraine – Zelenski Begs Russia To Renew Deals He Had Botched Moon of Alabama
Poland reveals timeline for transferring MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine Ukrainska Pravda
At least 7 countries resisting Ukraine’s NATO membership invitation, Politico reports Kyiv Independent
Expert: Ukraine loses 25% of its population Responsible Statecraft
Ukraine Needs More Than Rival Elite Projects Jacobin
Ukraine, in an Unlikely Attack on an Iconic Cultural Mainstay, Is Sending Drones Into Russia To Blow Up Its Vodka Distilleries New York Sun
Vladimir Putin bets on North Korean troops to retake Kursk from Ukraine FT
This Country Turned Against the West, and It’s Not Coming Back NYT. Musical interlude. Commentary:
They say history rhymes, but this is a carbon copy.
10 years apart.
Same EU flags.
Same signs in English.
Same USAID money.
Visit from Vicky Nuland but actually Samantha Power.
Hopefully there aren’t any Georgian snipers this time. pic.twitter.com/wybn31imhB— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) October 20, 2024
South of the Border
Cuba extends workplace, school shutdowns after blackouts Anadolu Agency
2024
Harris to give her campaign’s closing argument at the Ellipse, where Trump helped spark Capitol riot AP
Selling the Apocalypse: The Press and Pundits Face Devastating Polls on the Threat to Democracy Jonathan Turley
Intelligence officials warn foreign adversaries determined to undermine election trust PBS
Want to know who will win the US election? Take a look at the stock market Al Jazeera
Justice Department warns Elon Musk that his $1 million giveaway to registered voters may be illegal CNN
What if honesty really is the best policy in politics? Oren Cass, FT
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Digital Watch
Linus Torvalds affirms expulsion of Russian maintainers The Register
Health Care
The Only Way to Fix US Health Care The New York Review
Groves Of Academe
Cash-Strapped Colleges Are Selling Their Prized Art and Mansions Bloomberg
The Velvet Ditch The Point. The deck: “Fear and loathing in Faulkner country”
Colleges Are Still Failing Their Employees Chronicle of Higher Education
A scientific fraud. An investigation. A lab in recovery. The Transmitter
Imperial Collapse Watch
The Water Is Rising Aurelien, Trying to Understand the World
All The World’s a Stage: Everything Is Fake Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds
Class Warfare
Boeing Machinists reject offer with no end in sight for strike Seattle Times
Amazon Says It Has a First Amendment Right to Union Bust 404 Media
Minnesota Labor Is Reviving a Progressive-Era Tool to Improve Working Conditions Workday Magazine
The Debanking of America The Free Press
Study Confirms a Simple Trick to Communicate With Your Cat Science Alert
Antidote du jour (SUBnormali):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
