Owner of escape artist cat reveals the hilarious spots she has found him slinking away to – including one destination 52 MILES away Daily Mail
How could Macy’s overlook millions in hidden expenses for years? ABC
How to Get Ahead in Washington: Lessons from the Renaissance and Baroque Eras War on the Rocks
Climate
Seven Reasons To Be Skeptical About SMRs (With Four Charts) Robert Bryce. SMR = Small Modular Reactor.
UN chief says plastic pollution talks ‘did not fail’ despite collapse France24
Car tyres shed a quarter of all microplastics in the environment – urgent action is needed The Conversation
Landlords Evicted Maui Residents and Housed Wildfire Survivors for More Money. FEMA Didn’t Take Basic Steps to Stop It. ProPublica
Syndemics
Bleeding eyes virus sparks global alert: Travelers urged to take precautions amid outbreaks Times of India. Marburg, but surely H5N1 as well.
Emerging H5N1 mutations raise risk of human infections The Hindu
A twice-yearly shot could help end AIDS. But will it get to everyone who needs it? AP
How HIV Research Reshaped Modern Medicine (press release) Harvard Medical School
“The Meese Revolution” by Calabresi & Lawson Legal Theory Blog
China?
Chinese cities fight lying flat mentality with ‘snail awards’ for poor workers South China Morning Post
Chart of the Day: Interconnected roads improve people’s lives in China CGTN
Deadly attacks shatter China’s aspiration to be a ‘harmonious society’ Channel News Asia
Nobel-winning economist James Robinson on China’s place in his theory of institutions South China Morning Post
Japanese supermarket launches drinkable mayonnaise which you can sip through a straw leaving foodies horrified Daily Mail
Syraqistan
U.S., Allies Reignite War On Syria Moon of Alabama
Mapping who controls what in Syria Al Jazeera
Israel conducts military operations in southern Lebanon despite cease-fire Anadolu Agency
Journey to Idlib: An Interview with Wassim Nasr, Journalist, France24 Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. From 2023.
Syria launches counterattacks in an attempt to halt insurgency, as Iran’s top diplomat meets Assad AP
Syrian National Army continues progress in Operation Dawn of Freedom against PKK/YPG Anadolu Agency
The US has backed 21 of the 28 ‘crazy’ militias leading Turkey’s brutal invasion of northern Syria The Gray Zone. From 2019.
All Eyes on Somaliland: The Tiny African State That’s Key to Israel’s War on Houthi Terror Haaretz
Pro-Palestinian journalist found dead on rooftop in Marseille Al Mayadeen
European Disunion
Is France heading for a Greek-style debt crisis? FT
French PM risks tumbling as far right set to block social security plan France24
European Central Bank to abandon crisis-era strategy as inflation falls Irish Times
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine’s Dmytro Kuleba: ‘If it continues like this, we will lose the war’ FT
Russia Forges Ahead in Eastern Ukraine, Capturing More Villages in Recent Days NYT
Five key takeaways from Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s interview with Sky News Sky News
Zelenskyy explains why he doesn’t request foreign troops: Half of partners would stop providing support Ukrainska Pravda
National security advisor Jake Sullivan says Biden told him to oversee a ‘massive surge’ of weapons deliveries to Ukraine before his term ends Business Insider
National Security Adviser Sullivan denies report that Biden admin is thinking about giving Ukraine its nukes back NY Post
Scholz arrives in Kyiv Ukrainska Pravda
Ukraine’s NATO membership must include entire territory: Zelenskyy Anadolu Agency
Is the ruble worth anything? Why is there no panic in Russia over its 7% depreciation against the dollar in the past week? Gilbert Doctorow
The Final Frontier
Earth or Mars? The future lies in choosing where, and who, we want to be Business Standard
South of the Border
Embracing uncertainty – monetary policy in Latin America Bank of International Settlements
Biden Administration
Joe Biden pardons Hunter Biden Axios. Commentary:
The start date of January 2014 for Hunter’s pardon is extremely notable because it coincides with Joe becoming the de facto viceroy of Ukraine. Hunter (who had and has never been in Ukraine) started raking in millions from a corrupt Ukrainian oligarch in April 2014. pic.twitter.com/wir4Q8LgoZ
— Hans Mahncke (@HansMahncke) December 2, 2024
Meanwhile:
We haven’t seen a pardon as sweeping as Hunter Biden’s in generations Politico
Trump Transition
Trump taps daughter Tiffany’s father-in-law Massad Boulos as senior adviser on Arab and Middle Eastern affairs FOX
Trump Labor pick surprises unions, rattles business The Hill
A Constitutional Crisis Greater Than Watergate David Frum, The Atlantic. The deck: “Trump’s nomination of Kash Patel threatens to turn the FBI into an instrument of personal presidential power.”
2024 Post Mortem
SBSQ #15: Democrats have a “fool me twice” problem Nate SIlver, Silver Bulletin
NYT op-ed argues ‘resentful’ men, ‘manosphere’ and overall anger and loneliness led to Trump’s victory FOXd
Antitrust
Monopoly Round-Up: Trump’s FDA Pick Knows How to Fix Medical Shortages BIG, Matt Stoller
Monopoly Capital and the Rise of the Synthetic Age Monthly Review
Digital Watch
Crazy cleaning fees have pushed once-loyal Airbnb travelers back to hotels Orlando Sentinel
Dear Old Blighty
Labour’s Choices Phenomenal World
Imperial Collapse Watch
The mother of all bubbles FT
Class Warfare
Karl Marx Explained the 19th Century. Wolfgang Streeck Is Explaining the 21st. NYT
A General Logic of Crisis Adam Tooze, London Review of Books. 2017 review of Wolfgang Streeck.
Cicadas 3 Quarks Daily
Xenophilia: Golden Rule of the Stranger JSTOR Daily
Losing your mind looking at memes? The dictionary has a word for that BBC
Antidote du jour (Basile Morin):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
