Patient readers, I need a bit more time to sort my campus protest material properly; please refresh your browsers at 7:30am or so. –lambert Finished!
Ban on non-compete agreements sends shockwave across Wall Street FT
Off with Their Petticoats Literary Review
Climate
Ford just reported a massive loss on every electric vehicle it sold CNN. Meanwhile, in China:
That’s why your hear about “overcapacity”: they aren’t afraid that China is producing too many cars for the demand, they’re afraid China is becoming too competitive.
This car, the Xiaomi SU7, when released in China, sold out for the whole of 2024 in less than 24 hours. So it’s… https://t.co/QY50emlpkO
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) April 26, 2024
Sometimes self-identified reactionaries get it right:
I’d have more respect for most climate change folks if they plainly stated that the only way to effect their goals is to reduce demand for energy.
Running A/C, SUV’s, etc. on “green energy” is a mind-numbingly stupid formulation. It’s “having your cake and eating it too” — an…
— 𝙷𝚒𝚌𝚔𝚖𝚊𝚗 (@shagbark_hick) April 25, 2024
China’s EV supply chain dominance risks ‘collapse’ of US subsidies, warns South Korea FT
* * *
Plant apocalypse: how new diseases are destroying EU trees and crops Guardian
Too hot, too dry, too wet: climate change hits Italy’s winemakers hard FT
Pandemics
Early tests of H5N1 prevalence in milk suggest U.S. bird flu outbreak in cows is widespread STAT. And the milk we sold abroad?
With American cow milk apparently swimming in avian flu H5N1 virus, I haven’t seen any focus on the health and economic implications of the fact the US exports huge quantities of it around the world pic.twitter.com/N6ihxxg5II
— Nate Bear (@NateB_Panic) April 26, 2024
Pasteurization doesn’t kill H5N1:
5) for those who really don’t like to read a full thread (cmon folks), just read this from FDA website. https://t.co/wnvYauS3FD
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) April 25, 2024
So when Mandy said that “[The] FDA has indicated that our milk supply is safe because of the pasteurization process. Unpasteurized and raw milk remains a risk, but the vast majority of our milk supply is safe because of pasteurization” she was lying. How unexpected.
Substantial transmission of SARS-CoV-2 through casual contact in retail stores: Evidence from matched administrative microdata on card payments and testing PNAS. From the Abtract: “[M]easuring transmissions occurring through casual contact in the public space is highly challenging as researchers generally do not observe when infected individuals intersect casually with noninfected individuals. We overcome this methodological challenge in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic by combining card payment data, indicating exactly where and when individuals visited stores, with test data indicating when they were infected. We document that exposure to an infected individual in a store is associated with a significantly higher infection rate in the following week. Our estimates imply that transmissions between retail shoppers made a substantial contribution to the Covid-19 pandemic.” That’s clarifying! (When I hear “contact” I think fomite transmission, but what is meant here is close proximity or, as even the goons at WHO accept, transmission “thrrough the air.”)
China?
China warns diplomatic ties with US could face ‘downward spiral’ as Blinken visits Beijing France24
US wants allies to cut chip-related China exports amid Huawei alarm FT
India
India as a Tool to Contain China — Geopolitics Explained World Affairs
How The Portuguese Crown Introduced Órfãs del Rei As A Colonisation Strategy In Goa Madras Courier
The Koreas
‘We must say no’: Seoul defense chief on Korean, USFK involvement in hypothetical Taiwan crisis Hankyoreh
The Caribbean
Haiti PM Ariel Henry resigns as transitional council is sworn in BBC
Syraqistan
Mass Graves in Gaza Show Victims’ Hands Were Tied, Says UN Rights Office The Wire. Commentary:
Gaza-based journalist Akram al-Satarri has just returned from Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, where Palestinians are still uncovering more bodies, many with evidence of torture or summary execution. “The three different mass graves are containing around 700 bodies,” he says. pic.twitter.com/WgCvB0SaA2
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow) April 25, 2024
Amateurs. The pros burn the bodies.
How an ‘antisemitism hoax’ drowned out the discovery of mass graves in Gaza Jonathan Cook
‘No doubt’ Netanyahu preventing hostage deal, charges ex-spokesman of Families Forum The Times of Israel
The Coming Arab Backlash Foreign Affairs
We need an exodus from Zionism Naomi Klein, Guardian
Worse Than You Can Imagine Craig Murray
European Disunion
Germany is becoming a police state when it comes to Palestine activism Mondoweiss
New Not-So-Cold War
Russians do not reduce intensity of their attacks, with total of 114 combat clashes during one day − General Staff Ukrainska Pravda
Ukraine pulls US-provided Abrams tanks from the front lines over Russian drone threats AP
Ukraine is putting pressure on fighting-age men outside the country as it tries to replenish forces AP
US Department of State has not decided how to help bring Ukrainian men back to Ukraine Ukrainska Pravda
Military briefing: Russia’s narrowing advantage in Ukraine FT
German army prepares plan to ready US troops to fight on Nato’s eastern front The Telegraph
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Ukraine: US doubles down, Russia is cool Indian Punchline. I love the “Peace through strength” framing. Sadly, I can’t find a source for Hermann Göring’s “Guns will make us powerful”; I’m sure it sounds better in the original German.
An intellectual battle rages: Is the U.S. in a proxy war with Russia? WaPo [lambert pounds head on desk].
Greece refuses to give Ukraine its Patriot air defence systems Ukrainska Pravda
South of the Border
US health advocacy groups support Mexico in GMO trade dispute The New Lede
Biden Administration
Sullivan: Defense industry ‘still underestimating’ global need for munitions Breaking Defense. “Global need,” you say.
FCC votes to restore net neutrality rules The HIll. Good news!
Key Bridge Collapse
Trapped ships finally able to leave Baltimore Splash247
Groves of Academe
The Streisand Effect:
Biden has sparked a wildfire. pic.twitter.com/YXbHCKONcm
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) April 25, 2024
Amazingly, college administrators across the country simultaneously flipped open their three-ring binders to “P” for “Protest,” and found written therein “If against Zionism, imitate the IDF.” More proof, if more proof were needed, that debriding the administrative layers at the university woud be a great service to the public.
Sister of Murdered Kent State Protester Allison Krause Speaks out Against use of Militarized Police Responses on College Campuses Amidst Nationwide Pro-Palestine Protests The Sparrow Project
Here’s What Student ‘Boycott, Divest, and Sanction’ Activists Are Demanding Chronicle of Higher Education
Norm Finkelstein at Columbia:
Norm Finkelstein addresses Columbia students. Doesn’t give a barn-burning speech. Instead, soberly lectures on the need for messages to resonate, now is the time to persuade 80% of Americans, and criticizes activists for extremist ambiguous slogans. https://t.co/psvJvsspwr
— Lee Fang (@lhfang) April 25, 2024
I hope what Black Girl in Maine recommends is happening. It would be a shame to make the same mistakes twice:
The youngsters are on fire, the powers to be are fighting back, but the change has to be greater than this moment and, more importantly, keeping folks engaged long term.
This moment is also dissimilar due to the media silos we live in. As well as lack of media access.
— Shay Stewart Bouley (@blackgirlinmain) April 25, 2024
I was a little too young to experience 1968 on campus; I hope any veterans of that time will consider sharing in comments.
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Bad Cops
Boston police forcibly remove pro-Palestinian tent encampment at Emerson College; more than 100 arrested Boston Globe
Emerson has no outdoor space. It’s a small, vertical, urban campus. They set up the encampment in a dead-end alleyway less than one block long – “on” campus but public property. The city used a 2023 anti-homeless ordinance to make arrests tonight.
— Emma Friend (@EmmaYourFriend) April 25, 2024
Boston Mayor Wu is, of course, a liberal Democrat in a Blue state.
Emory
Caroline Fohlin, the Emory professor of economics seen on video being thrown to the ground and handcuffed by an Emory police officer for expressing concern at the violent arrest of a protester on campus, was jailed for 11 hours and charged with… Battery Against Police Officer https://t.co/ND5GibfHoW pic.twitter.com/4VmEJGn2Xb
— Robert Mackey (@RobertMackey) April 26, 2024
University of Texas (1):
Guy with camera gets rko’d by police at Palestine protest. #ut #palestine #protest pic.twitter.com/5HI2SU8VKs
— Christopher Kuhlman (@Chris_Kuhlman00) April 24, 2024
University of Texas (2):
The University of Texas, which mass arrested protesters, has a video promoting free speech saying that anybody from the public can come to campus and engage in protest.
They delisted the video from YouTube and turned off the comments but I’m posting the whole thing here. pic.twitter.com/hc1z2CqaVD
— Zaid Jilani (@ZaidJilani) April 25, 2024
Snipers
Ohio University:
snipers on the roof of Ohio Union at Ohio State pic.twitter.com/In4GbxNbRu
— Liz Andromeda 🏳️⚧️🇵🇸🏴♿ (@Liz_Andromeda) April 25, 2024
Oh, “spotters.”
Indiana University:
Sniper on the roof of the IMU.Absolutely unhinged response to a nonviolent encampment by a murderous and paranoid police state. pic.twitter.com/Che17f0VSh
— IU on Strike (@IUonStrike) April 25, 2024
Tactics
Cal Poly: Barricades:
Yes American school shooting drills to construct barricades This time to prevent the police from entering instead of a classmate with dad’s AR-15
— NevadaHighroller69 (@NevadaHiRollr69) April 24, 2024
When life hands you lemons….
Emerson: Umbrellas, reminiscent of Hong Kong:
Insane visuals from Emerson. These students have clearly tactically advanced and were using umbrellas + barricades as protection from the riot police. #escalate4gaza pic.twitter.com/jETfRiLjbA
— Calla (@CallaWalsh) April 25, 2024
Note: “Encampments” seems to be the word, not “occupations.” If I have the sequence right — and It was a long time, I might not, so readers please correct — 2011’s protests began in the United States with state capitol occuputions by labor (Wisconsin), then European protests East-to-West framed as “camping,” and then to Occupy proper. So 1968 is not the only precedent to consider here.
Thanks a bunch, the cops and the Brownose institute would just love to outlaw masks altogether, contributing to our ongoing population cull. so can we please not be stupid?
I normally stay away from infosec these days but people in our community are putting themselves and others at risk with incredibly bad OPSEC advice.
Shooting a self-video with your smartphone about wearing a mask to protect your identity is one of the finest examples of fractal…
— Nukit (@NukitToBeSure) April 26, 2024
Digital Watch
Google parent announces first-ever dividend; beats on sales, profit; shares soar Reuters. Stealing content pays off big!
Google Wants to Destroy the Mountain Weekly News & Kill Small Publishers Across the Globe In Favor of Large Media Corporations Mountain Weekly
Police State Watch
Cops testing AI body camera that ‘writes its own police reports’ in five minutes and boast it’s ‘exceeded expectations’ The Sun. I’ll bet!
Imperial Collapse Watch
Ukraine War Funding & Failed Russian Sanctions Jack Rasmus. Highly recommended by Mercouris, deservedly so.
Washington has lost touch with reality. If it doesn’t adapt, the world will pay Marco Carnelos, Middle East Eye
The Bad Faith Olympics James Howard Kunstler, Clusterf*ck Nation. Refreshingly concise and on point.
Everybody Hates a Tourist
Japan town to put up 2.5m barrier to block view of Mount Fuji Channel News Asia
That sinking feeling: why long-suffering Venice is quite right to make tourists pay Guardian
In The Air Three Quarks Daily
Class Warfare
World’s billionaires should pay minimum 2% wealth tax, say G20 ministers Guardian
Little boy mistakes multimillionaire for homeless man and they end becoming good friends Upworthy. The deck: “The boy got to keep his dollar and gain a friend.”
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.