Does Morality Do Us Any Good?<\/a> The New Yorker (Anthony L). Yes, it often makes decisions easier. And you also typically create fewer enemies. <\/p>\n Spaces between the Stars<\/a> London Review of Books (Anthony L). On Kubrick.<\/p>\n The torture of an unphilosophical life<\/a> Unherd<\/p>\n FDA Rethinks Phenylephrine Cold Remedies Effectiveness<\/a> Naveen Sankar<\/p>\n Milan, from January 1st absolute ban on smoking outdoors<\/a> L\u2019Unione Sarda<\/p>\n #COVID\/Pandemics<\/p>\n Covid Pregnancies May Have Boosted Autism Risk, Study Shows<\/a> Bloomberg (ma)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Climate\/Environment<\/p>\n Hochul Signs Law That Penalizes Companies for Greenhouse Gas Emissions<\/a> New York Times. Lambert ran a similar story yesterday. Over my pay grade, but I don\u2019t see how this survives a legal challenge. Trying to say this is like the Superfund law, of discrete actions that caused damage that could be traced to a particular perp, does not make it so.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n China?<\/p>\n China pushes ahead with huge \u2014 and controversial \u2014 dam in Tibet<\/a> Washington Post<\/p>\n Will China let the yuan go in 2025? <\/a> Asia Times (Kevin W)<\/p>\n Trump asks Supreme Court to pause TikTok ban, while Biden admin says app poses \u2018grave\u2019 threat <\/a> CNN (Kevin W)<\/p>\n Temu\u2019s Takeover Is Now Complete<\/a> Wired (Kevin W)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n India<\/p>\n India: It\u2019s Worse Than You Think<\/a> American Renaissance (Li). Hoo boy. I am certain a lot of readers will take issue. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Israel v. The Resistance<\/p>\n We told ya\u2026 The real goal is more land grab. <\/p>\n \u201cWe won’t let them rebuild [Gaza]\u2026 Nothing moves, and what moves \u2013 dies. That’s all. And is attacked and annihilated\u201d<\/p>\n Israel’s Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich pic.twitter.com\/cMKpXKuT6C<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Abier (@abierkhatib) December 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Children are freezing to death in Gaza<\/a> Mondoweiss (guurst)<\/p>\n Soldiers and tanks surrounding the last barely functioning medical facility in northern Gaza, readying to empty it after targeting it for more than two months. https:\/\/t.co\/xqq4wEOfFl<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nicola Perugini (@PeruginiNic) December 27, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n WHO chief says he was at Yemen airport which Israeli strikes targeted<\/a> CNN (Kevin W)<\/p>\n Houthis claim to have targeted Ben Gurion airport after Israel hits Sana\u2019a<\/a> Guardian (Kevin W). FWIW, Ben Gurion regularly takes military flights, so it is a legitimate target. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n New Not-So-Cold War<\/p>\n NO NATO, NEVER NATO\ud83d\udc47<\/p>\n For us, it doesn’t matter whether it’s one year or ten years.<\/p>\n \u2757\ufe0fBiden once proposed to simply postpone Ukraine\u2019s NATO membership, if that is also Trump\u2019s plan, it will also not be acceptable \u2014 Putin pic.twitter.com\/1IUdIgrzrJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil (@ivan_8848) December 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Taras Chmut: We have chaos in the military command<\/a> Ukrainska Pravda<\/p>\n EU state threatens Ukraine with power cuts<\/a> RT (Kevin W)<\/p>\n Plane crash in Kazakhstan was due to \u2018physical, technical external interference\u2019: Azerbaijan Airlines early findings<\/a> Anadolu Agency<\/p>\n Leaderless Uprising in Georgia? <\/a>Sopo Japardze<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Syraqistan<\/p>\n Syria will never be unified<\/a> Edward Luttwak, Unherd<\/p>\n A Requiem For Ba\u2019athism (Part 1 of 2)<\/a> Niccolo Soldo<\/p>\n Turkish analyst taken off air after calling for killing Syrian Kurdish militants on BBC<\/a> Turkish Minute<\/p>\n Behind Afghanistan\u2019s Fall, U.S.-Backed Militias Worse Than the Taliban <\/a> New York Times (Kevin W)<\/p>\n Chuck L:\u201dHaven\u2019t seen any confirmation as yet but it\u2019s something to watch.\u201d Moi: Big if true.<\/p>\n Nuclear attack in Tartus (Syria): \u2014 Hans-Benjamin Braun (@Ben68638515) December 23, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n Big Brother is Watching You Watch<\/p>\n Former NSA cyberspy\u2019s not-so-secret hobby: Hacking Christmas lights<\/a> The Register<\/p>\n The Paper Passport Is Dying<\/a> Wired<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Imperial Collapse Watch<\/p>\n The West Dismantles Itself: Liberalism in Theory and Practice<\/a> Gy\u00f6rgy Varga, Nachdenkseiten via machine translation (Micael T)<\/p>\n Why world\u2019s economic powers could find 2025 a year of great struggle South China Morning Post<\/a><\/p>\n 1\/6<\/p>\n Inside how the Capitol Police has changed since Jan. 6, 2021 <\/a> Politico (Kevin W)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Trump 2.0<\/p>\n TRUMP REDUX<\/a> New Left Review<\/p>\n From Panama Canal to Greenland, Trump defines a \u2018new geography\u2019 for American security<\/a> Just the News. Yes, Trump wants his pony, just the way Biden wanted his pony of regime-changing Russia. <\/p>\n Trump\u2019s Tariff Threats Are Setting Off a Global Supply Chain \u2018Freakout\u2019<\/a> Bloomberg<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s Plans to Scrap Climate Policies Has Unnerved Green Energy Investors <\/a> New York Times (Kevin W)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Democrats en d\u00e9shabill\u00e9<\/em><\/p>\n DNC powerhouse fundraiser announces exit from Democratic Party following attacks: \u2018It\u2019s like leaving a cult\u2019<\/a> Fox (ma)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Immigration<\/p>\n Shortsighted tech bros seek to leave American STEM talent even further behind.<\/a> Jordan Schacthel (Micael T). Lambert says the Twitterverse fight of the MAGA types v. the Musk\/Vivek fans is impressive and the MAGA crowd is making very good arguments\u2026.including ones that come very close to the commodification of labor.<\/p>\n 1. I led the drafting of legislation in the Trump \u201845 White House to create a new legal immigration framework. I saw firsthand what happens when ANY visa reform is proposed: executives from the biggest multinationals and lobbyists from all kinds of industries are banging on the\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/5M4B1pyzn0<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Theo Wold (@RealTheoWold) December 26, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n Our No Longer Free Press<\/p>\n CNN Loses Chunks of Viewership as Ratings Dive Into Death Spiral<\/a> Sputnik<\/p>\n Kari Lake sparks concerns at Voice of America <\/a> The Hill. As if there isn\u2019t \u201cpartisan meddling\u201d now?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Sports Desk<\/p>\n Why college football is becoming harder to love<\/a> Seattle Times (Robin K)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Mr. Market is Moody<\/p>\n Credit markets\u2019 calm veneer will crack in 2025<\/a> Reuters<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Antitrust<\/p>\n Microsoft Bundling Practices Focus of Federal Antitrust Probe<\/a> ProPublica<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n AI<\/p>\n Microsoft Is Forcing Its AI Assistant on People \u2013 And Making Them Pay<\/a> Wall Street Journal. BWAHAHA. This is why I bought my Microsoft rather than subscribing over the objections of my tech woman.<\/p>\n Nothing Is Sacred: AI Generated Slop Has Come for Christmas Music <\/a> 404 Media (Micael T)<\/p>\n Chinese Firm Trains Massive AI Model for Just $5.5 Million<\/a> TechCrunch<\/p>\n How to fix computing\u2019s AI energy problem: run everything backwards<\/a> New Scientist (Dr. Kevin)\n<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Bezzle<\/p>\n Even Apple Wasn\u2019t Able To Make VR Headsets Mainstream in 2024<\/a> ProPublica<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Guillotine Watch<\/p>\n The Game Theory of Giving Up Private Justice or Ending The State Monopoly On Violence<\/a> Ian Welsh (Micael T)<\/p>\n What\u2019s life like in the Brooklyn jail where Mangione awaits trial? Really bad, experts say.<\/a> Gothamist. MDC is famously horrible.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Class Warfare<\/p>\n The irony of Vivek’s post is that his wrong analysis of how American culture is broken illustrates in itself how American culture is broken.<\/p>\n I mean, how out-of-touch must one be to think people will embrace a vision where childhood must be optimized for corporate success, with\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/faegwIztXi<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) December 27, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Global Fertility Trade: A Story of Extraction, Exploitation and Opportunity<\/a> Bloomberg (ma)<\/p>\n \u2018Living proof that you can spend money on the poor\u2019: Utopia comes to Mexico City<\/a> Guardian (Allen K)<\/p>\n US homelessness up 18% as affordable housing remains out of reach for many people <\/a> Associated Press<\/p>\n Flying Was Already the Worst. Then America Stopped Using Headphones.<\/a> Wall Street Journal <\/p>\n If you have time for leisure viewing: Sandel and Piketty Parts 1-3, YouTube. Robin K:<\/p>\n Part 1:<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/WTW1Eoec4Ew?si=U-sSwZ4Rx8J7rYKn<\/a><\/p>\n Part 2:<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/yclCoWrvp-M?si=IgF-bOs2fRviS-vD<\/a><\/p>\n Part 3:<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtu.be\/iv4379S4tVg?si=QKGTsGamL9h0YLOE<\/a><\/p>\n Piketty\u2019s ethereal vision of globalism\u2013a united states of the world with progressive taxation\u2013and Sandel\u2019s identitarianism make for an oddly interesting exchange. Sandel comes off better when he just asks questions. When he tries to expound, he blathers, repetitive and incoherent. Piketty stays on track with a clear defense of leftist political economy.<\/p>\n Major takeaway: big money is all about globalism with free movement of capital and, um, free trade, while relying on those who get left behind to fight one another at borders over free movement of labor, i.e., either by being emigrants or anti-immigration nationalists. Buffet nailed: there is class warfare and his class is winning.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n Antidote du jour (Tim H):<\/p>\n And a bonus (Chuck L):<\/p>\n A rare African black leopard under the stars \u2013 a photo that took the photographer 6 months to capture Credit: Will Burrard-Lucas pic.twitter.com\/LYDt7viwBo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Nature is Amazing \u2618\ufe0f (@AMAZlNGNATURE) December 25, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n See yesterday\u2019s Links and Antidote du Jour here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n
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Radioactive fingerprint of nuke (Tartus) measured in Cyprus within ~16 hours after the attack.
[Note that the dose rate peak cannot be ascribed to precipitation as higher precipitation occurred on Dec 5 with no discernible radiation increase] pic.twitter.com\/HPWDNn96gW<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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