The Secret to Beetles’ Unfathomable Diversity Scientific American
Crocodiles Seen Guiding Dog to Safety in India And Scientists Don’t Know Why Science Alert
Istanbul’s famed cats now have their own museum Anadolu Agency
Climate
September hottest on record by ‘extraordinary’ margin, says EU monitor France24
Ozone hole above Antarctica one of the largest on record: Scientists Anadolu Agency
Climate Change Risk and Opportunity for the General Insurance Actuary Actuaries Digital
China?
Australia concludes China decoupling ‘impossible’ after carrying out series of classified studies South China Morning Post. The imperial hegemon that can’t manufacture its own ammo won’t be happy about that.
How to Break China’s Hold on Batteries and Critical Minerals Foreign Policy
Syraqistan
Israeli settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex on fifth day of Sukkot Al Jazeera
European Disunion
French government dissolves far-right Catholic party Civitas Anadolu Agency
New Not-So-Cold War
Biden suggests he has a path around Congress to get more aid to Ukraine and plans major speech AP. West Wing brain.
SITREP 10/4/23: The Beginning of a Long Fall for Ukraine Simplicius the Thinkers(s). “The way military support works is your logistics chains from many months ago are critical to the efforts of today. What would be essential to a hypothetical Ukrainian spring 2024 offensive would need to be heavy arms shipping now. The fact that there is nothing new of note being shipped means Ukraine’s near and medium term future look stark.”
Slovakia halts military aid to Ukraine after parliamentary elections Ukrainska Pravda. Tick, tick.
Will Ukraine’s effort go bankrupt gradually…then suddenly? Responsible Statecraft
Further to “”Divine Intervention””: Too good to be true? Gilbert Doctorow, Armageddon Newsletter
A Wartime Election in Ukraine? It’s a Political Hot Potato. NYT
Ukraine war: Russia plans naval base on Black Sea coast of breakaway Georgia region, report says South China Morning Post
UK warns of Russia laying ‘sea mines’ to deter Black Sea cargo ships Al Jazeera
Germany to provide Ukraine with extra air defence to protect grain cargo – Bloomberg Ukrainska Pravda
Russia’s Crimean Red Line Has Been Erased Foreign Policy
Ukrainian special operation forces land in Crimea, battle with losses occurs – Defence Intelligence Ukrainska Pravda. Another stunt. Photo op, using jet skis.
Russian Troops Cede Ground and Strike Back, Frustrating Ukraine’s Counteroffensive NYT. “Elastic defense.” Long-known, except to Times readers, of course.
Why Russia Exported Almost All the Tanks it Built Until 2022: Few New T-90s or T-14s Ordered Until Ukraine War Military Watch
South of the Border
U.S. Academic Steve Ellner: ‘Venezuela needs more checks and balances to fight corruption and abuse of power MR Online
Republican Funhouse
With Kevin McCarthy out, it is time for a bipartisan Speaker Brookings Institution. How about Oprah?
House GOP takes revenge on Democrats after McCarthy ousting The Hill
Shutdown fears loom over Wall Street after McCarthy ouster The Hill
After 50 Years, This Right-Wing Law Factory Is Crazier Than Ever Exposed by CMD. ALEC.
That’s The Truth? Aurelien, Trying to Understand the World
Antitrust
Amazon Used Secret ‘Project Nessie’ Algorithm to Raise Prices WSJ
The government’s case to break up Amazon, explained Vox
Spook Country
US Intelligence Surprised by African Coup Spy Talk
How US Intelligence Agencies Hid Their Most Shameful Experiments Literary Hub
Healthcare
How Many Microbes Does It Take to Make You Sick? Quanta. The deck: “Exposure to a virus isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition. The concept of “”infectious dose”” suggests ways to keep ourselves safer from harm.” Good concept to repeat, but not new. Paracelsus, c. 1500: “The dose makes the poison.” Although the relation is not linear! The conclusion:
Masking, increased ventilation and distancing reduces the number of microbes you’re exposed to. Vaccination increases the infectious dose. These are the pillars of protection against infection from pretty much every pathogen. Transmission dynamics are complex, but the interventions we can take to protect ourselves are comparatively simple.
So “public health” now has a pre-1500 understanding of infection. That’s an impressive regression!
Breaking Up Is Hard to Do — More Heartbreak from Corporate Decisions in Medicine NEJM. Adminstrators prefer fancy new buildings to patient care.
New study links ‘good’ cholesterol with dementia The Hill
The Bezzle
‘Tragic Contagion’ Spreads: Major Crypto Lender Vauld Suspends Trading After $198 Million In Customer Withdrawals Forbes
Digital Watch
We know how to regulate new drugs and medical devices–but we’re about to let health care AI run amok Fortune
SoftBank’s Son Says Artificial General Intelligence Will Soon Surpass Humans WSJ. We can look toward pre-Confederate “positive good” theorists for the social and moral effects of owning slaves.
Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fashion
Fossil Fuels in Fashion: How Petroleum Ended Up in Our Jeans and Leggings Teen Vogue
Supply Chain
$67 Billion of Rare Minerals Is Buried Under One of the World’s Biggest Carbon Sinks WSJ. On peat, see NC here, here, and here. Rare minerals for, naturally, climate-friendly EVs.
Relocate, relocate, relocate Hellenic Shipping News. On “container imbalaces” and the changes to the geopolitical order for which they are a proxy.
Imperial Collapse Watch
The U.S. Has a New Set of Tools for Bullying the World NYT. E.g., SWIFT. Once again, Times readers are only learning about this now?
Why Is Target Closing Stores? Jeff-alytics
Mint Plaza Sleeping Pod Complex Dinged With Violations After City Inspection SFist
Class Warfare
Health care workers picket outside US hospitals in multiple states, kicking off 3-day strike AP
Why Almost Every Family Office Employee Is Getting a Fat Raise in 2023 Institutional Investor. On family offices, see NC here and here.
Awe-inspiring science can have a positive effect on mental wellbeing, new research finds (press release) University of Warwick
Meet this year’s MacArthur ‘genius grant’ recipients, including a hula master and the poet laureate AP. And Linsey Marr, aerosol scientist!
Federal Officials Capture Rare Photos of a Jaguar Crossing the U.S.-Mexico Border Field and Stream
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote (via), as long as we’re doing sepia:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
