The Rise of Mesoeconomics Project Syndicate
REAL ID Act: 20 Years Of Delays – Why 2025 Won’t Be Any Different View from the Wing
Climate
More critical minerals investment required to meet energy transition demand: IEA S&P Global
US moves to make nation’s largest coal region unavailable to new mining S&P Global
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Vulnerable population: Rising heat on public health infrastructure Business Standard
Drops in the Ocean: The Hidden Power of Rights-Based Climate Change Litigation (PDF) Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law
This Plastic Is Embedded With Bacterial Spores That Break It Down After It’s Thrown Out Singularity Hub
Syndemics
Original COVID-19 priming regimen impacts the immunogenicity of bivalent BA.1 and BA.5 boosters Nature. From the Conclusion: “Combined, our data emphasize important lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and associated vaccination strategies: (1) the original priming vaccination has an imprinting effect on the immune system that can still be observed after at least two mRNA-based booster vaccines, and (2) not all mRNA-based booster vaccines are equally immunogenic; in the SWITCH-ON trial only bivalent Omicron BA.5 vaccination broadened the neutralizing antibody response, whereas the bivalent BA.1 vaccine did not.” I’m so old I remember when we were going to rapidly develop point versions of mRNA vaccines, like software. Oh well.
The pandemic era is now, and mask bans are unethical and Anti-mask Woke-washing (2023) Chloe Humbert, Teams Human
Excess mortality in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic 2020–2022 European Journal of Public Health
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A mad world: capitalism and the rise of mental illness Red Pepper
China?
The battlegrounds that could decide a US-China war over Taiwan FT
Dozens of China’s state regulators, bankers, finance bosses in corruption net as crackdown stepped up in new year South China Morning Post
Syraqistan
Ireland ‘absolutely’ intends to recognize Palestinian statehood this month: Premier Anadolu Agency
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi confirmed dead in helicopter crash BNE Intellinews
US security adviser urges Netanyahu to connect war to ‘political strategy’ BBC [slaps forehead]. Jake Sullivan.
Houthis strike tanker carrying Russian oil to China Splash247. I thought they only targeted ships servicing Israel? Did I not get the memo?
Another reason our elites identify with Israel:
John Mearsheimer with an important truism confirmed again recently with the killing of the Western aid workers and American doctors and nurses trapped in hospitals by Israel: “If I visited Israel and I was killed, would there be any accountability? There wouldn’t be. The Israelis… pic.twitter.com/4vdXz2IzRb
— ☀️👀 (@zei_squirrel) May 19, 2024
European Disunion
Slovakia PM attacker ‘may not have been lone wolf’ BBC
Dear Old Blighty
Starmer, the cuckoo Funding the Future
New Not-So-Cold War
Volodymyr Zelensky’s presidential term expires on May 20th The Economist. That’s today!
War and popularity keep Zelensky in power despite term expiring BBC
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SITREP 5/19/24: Ukrainian Streets Deserted as New Mobilization Hits Simplicius the Thinker(s)
Bulgarian president calls Ukraine’s victory over Russia impossible Ukrainska Pravda
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Russia opens new front in Ukraine war. Is Ukraine losing the war with Russia? USA Today
Russia’s glide bombs devastating Ukraine’s cities on the cheap BBC
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Russia & China — Two Against One Ray McGovern, Consortium News. Hat tip to the brain geniuses in The Blob for working so hard to bring this about.
Singing the Blues: the Baltics and Ukraine CEPA
Trillion dollar war: How Europe struggles to fund the Ukraine War Indian Express
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US Congress may sanction authors of Georgia’s ‘foreign agents’ law – WSJ, The Hill JAM News
Bullshit Blowback Tarik Cyril Amar. The deck: “The latest crisis in Georgia is an example of Western ‘elites’ building echo chambers feeding them their own delusions.” But there are many such.
Global Elections
India begins voting in phase 5 of general elections Anadolu Agency
India votes 2024: ‘The rich get richer, the poor get poorer’ France24
‘Why should we vote?’ India’s jute workers blame politicians for woes Al Jazeera
Modi’s Anti-Muslim Rhetoric Taps Into Conspiracy Theories Of Hindu Replacement Madras Courier
The popular decimation of India’s democracy Bangkok Post
Antitrust
Monopoly Round-Up: Google Tries to Pay Off the Antitrust Division (excerpt) Matt Stoller, BIG
Digital Watch
The Rise of Large-Language-Model Optimization Bruce Schneier, Schneier on Security. “The advent of AI threatens to destroy the complex online ecosystem that allows writers, artists, and other creators to reach human audiences.”
When Online Content Disappears Pew Research Center. The deck: “38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible a decade later. Why don’t we nationalize the cloud?
Traffic lights could change in the era of smart vehicles Fast Company
VCs and the military are fueling self-driving startups that don’t need roads TechCrunch
Emoji history: the missing years Get Info
Librarians Are Waging a Quiet War Against International “Data Cartels” The Markup
Assange
Julian Assange faces judgment day in years-long fight to stay out of US court The Hill. Consortium News will cover it live.
The Final Frontier
Solar Storm Knocks Out Farmers’ Tractor GPS Systems During Peak Planting Season 404 Media
Giant alien power plants are sucking energy from seven stars in outer space, claims study WION. Dyson spheres?
Healthcare
The Tick That Took Me Out Oakland Magazine
Gunz
Churches turn to armed volunteers as gunmen threaten pastors, worshippers FOX. Gal 6:7.
Infrastructure Collapse
Human error, Dali switchboard in focus at US Congress Baltimore bridge hearing Seatrade Maritime
Class Warfare
The End of Lean Production… and What’s Ahead Kim Moody, Labor Notes. Important. Moody is always worth a read.
Maybe We’re Closer to “You’ll Own Nothing” Than We Realize Charles Hugh Smith, Of Two Minds
A workers’ co-op rises from the remains of a Colorado mushroom farm Colorado Sun
10 Reasons Even a Bald Guy Should Own a Hairdryer The Art of Doing Stuff. First world problems, but could #8 be true?
Feeling good about feeling bad, or how guilt can make you better WaPo
Antidote du jour (via ejatgc):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.