Autumnal equinox 2024 brings fall to the Northern Hemisphere today Space.com
Climate
High temperatures despite La Niña? Arctic News
Planted mangroves fall short in carbon storage compared with natural mangrove forests: Study Straits Times
Seabed still being damaged in protection zones, campaigners warn BBC
What a Tunisian exodus says about the future of global migration Christian Science Monitor
Swiss voters reject biodiversity proposal in blow to conservation campaigners Guardian
Small populations of Palaeolithic humans in Cyprus hunted endemic megafauna to extinction Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Syndemics
Changes in memory and cognition during the SARS-CoV-2 human challenge study The Lancet. Challenge study. From the Abstract: “Memory and executive function tasks showed the largest between-group differences…. These results support larger cross sectional findings indicating that mild Wildtype SARS-CoV-2 infection can be followed by small changes in cognition and memory that persist for at least a year. The mechanistic basis and clinical implications of these small changes remain unclear.”
New COVID variant XEC now in half of states. Here’s what to know CBS. Commentary:
I’ve mostly pooh-poohed the rise of XEC for 2 reasons:
#1. Its spike is almost identical to the dominant KP.3.1.1
#2. I don’t think its advantage over KP.3.1.1 is large enough to make a significant real-world impact.But one aspect of XEC is noteworthy: The demise of N*.
1/20— Ryan Hisner (@LongDesertTrain) September 21, 2024
China?
It’s no longer glorious to get rich in China — it’s dangerous FT
China tightens military-civilian export controls ‘just in time’, experts say South China Morning Post
China’s gigantic hydroelectric dam has been changing spin of Earth. Here’s how WIOIN
Cathay bans couple who started row over reclining seat BBC
The Warnings of Famines Past Nippon.com
India
India rules out joining world’s largest trade deal, accuses China of ‘very opaque’ trade practices CNBC
Who is Sri Lanka’s new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake? Channel News Asia
Syraqistan
Israel steps up bombardment of Lebanon FT. Commentary:
The Israeli Minister for Diaspora Affairs released a plan for Lebanon. He says because it’s not a sovereign nation, Israel has the right to redraw the map and occupy areas to allow it to prevent shooting into the country. This will be a permanent occupation. What happens to the… https://t.co/Fqwhkv2zTL
— Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) September 22, 2024
Israel Putters into Crisis, + Zelensky Arrives at Final Curtain Call Simplicius, Simplicius the Thinker
Ukrainian Special Forces Attack Russian Outpost in Syria: War Continues on Idlib-Aleppo Front Military Watch
The New Great Game
“U.S. warns Georgian authorities not to go down this path,” – former White House officials on sanctions JAM News
European Disunion
Talks on S-400 seen nearing a compromise Ekathimerini
Dear Old Blighty
London’s Ultra-Rich Flee the Threat of Rising Taxes Bloomberg
Rachel Reeves admits Labour’s freebies bonanza ‘looks a bit odd’ as she tries to cool infighting over winter fuel axe and looming Budget pain with big Labour conference speech vowing there won’t be a return to ‘austerity’ Daily Mail. Commentary:
[embedded content]
Leads with “pantygate,” despite headline.
British PM Keir Starmer’s wife attended two Taylor Swift concerts without paying a penny WION
Clacton man slams Colchester Hospital care saying it is the ‘worst’ Gazette. The deck: “AN NHS trust has apologised after a patient said he would ‘rather die at home’ than return to Colchester Hospital.”
New Not-So-Cold War
Military briefing: Russia ‘overwhelms’ Ukrainian forces on eastern front FT
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing the country ahead of winter blackouts BNE Intellinews
Russian Strikes on Power Grid Push Ukraine’s Businesses to Breaking Point WSJ
Zelenskyy on possibility of Biden rejecting his Victory Plan: that’s a horrible thought Ukrainska Pravda
Poland assures of its support for Ukraine, but “has its own requirements” Ukrainska Pravda
Danish Premier Asks Allies to Give Ukraine More Weapons Leeway Bloomberg
With nuclear option unlikely, Putin struggles to defend his red lines WaPo
Why Putin’s nuclear saber-rattling on Ukraine sounds different this time Christian Science Monitor
Russia Should Worry: Ukraine’s Kursk Offensive May Not Be the Last Bold Move Kyiv Makes The National Interest
The Madness of Antony Blinken Joe Lauria, Consortium News
The losing strategy of underestimating Russia WaPo
How to Make a ‘War Reserve’ Nuclear Bomb Progressive
South of the Border
Green Brazil? New Left Review
Spook Country
Domestic Military Deployments and the Limitations of Appropriations Law Lawfare
The Supremes
Supreme Court Lawyers Will Say Anything to Keep the Justices Happy Balls and Strikes
Antitrust
FTC sues insulin middlemen, saying they pocket billions while patients face high costs NPR
Healthcare
‘I Don’t Want to Die.’ He needed mental health care. He found a ghost network NPR
The Final Frontier
SpaceX plans to send uncrewed Starships to Mars in 2 years Anadolu Agency
Terrifying link between UFOs and NUKES laid bare Daily Mail
Groves of Academe
USC: The university of lockdown Al Jazeera
Digital Watch
The Disappearing Videos of YouTube BattlePenguin
Imperial Collapse Watch
Extreme makeover, US Navy edition: See the new apartment-like digs on US aircraft carriers Business Insider. Commentary:
2024, A Year of No Significance Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds
Class Warfare
Negotiators have one week to save US east coast from chaos Splash 247
Ancient settlements show that commoning is ‘natural’ for humans, not selfishness and competition Low Impact
Cloves: The Spice that Enriched Empires JSTOR Daily
Editorial: Did SC mean to ban Bible from schools? Of course not, but it apparently did. Post and Courier
To Understand Mississippi, I Went to Spain The Atlantic
Antidote du jour (DickDaniels):
Bonus antidote:
Double bonus antidote:
For the next hour this is strictly a Moo Deng fan account.
Since we can’t think about anything else, join us as we do a deep dive on the wonder that are Pygmy Hippos. pic.twitter.com/4X7zjWXNuY
— Encyclopedia Britannica (@Britannica) September 13, 2024
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
