Zoo animals chow down on pumpkins for fall New York Post (furzy)
Wyoming Hero: College Wrestler Jumps On Grizzly To Save Friend Cowboy State Daily (guurst)
Comedy Wildlife Photo finalists – in pictures Guardian (furzy)
Winners of the 2022 Epson International Pano Awards Atlantic (David L)
Obsessed with this photography project showing civil servants aIn different countries.
First, Bolivia: pic.twitter.com/slDn693zHr— Nakano Azusa appreciator account (@NlGROTORO) October 20, 2022
A Coming-Out Party for Generative A.I., Silicon Valley’s New Craze New York Times (David L)
#COVID-19
Science/Medicine
Holy shit. Microglial cells are the immune cells in the brain. I guess there could be other ones but that’s something microglial cells do. As well as the normal glial cell process of feeding the neurons lactate.
— Eve Examines👩🏻🦼🇺🇦 Masked, boosted 🍁🪐🍂🐿 (@EveExamines) October 20, 2022
US
CDC recommends Novavax’s Covid shots as mix-and-match first booster to Pfizer or Moderna CNBC (Jason B)
After receiving billions in federal contracts, Pfizer wants to charge up to $130 for a COVID vaccine shot that costs as little as $1.18 to manufacture – 10,000% above cost. Enough is enough. The COVID vaccine should cost $0. Pfizer’s greed is killing people throughout the world.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 21, 2022
Remember, staffing is usually the bigger constraint than facilities. Plus a tent in New England in the late fall????
“Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford confirmed to ABC News it is in talks with the National Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Association as it explores the possibility of setting up a tent on the hospital’s lawn.” https://t.co/872b8q2jld
— Laura Miers (@LauraMiers) October 20, 2022
UK/Europe
Not Quite Enough: How the Pandemic Failed to Save Europe Wolfgang Streeck (Anthony L)
Climate/Environment
Video: The Dalai Lama Has a Stark Warning for Humanity About Global Warming Bloomberg (furzy)
France Becomes Latest Country To Leave Controversial Energy Charter Treaty Guardian
Hydrophone glacier recordings may better measure of how fast they’re melting NPR (David L)
‘Put up or shut up’: can Big Oil prove the case for carbon capture? Financial Times (David L)
In New Mexico, Unraveling the Plight of the Pinyon Jay Undark (guurst)
Think of the Children’s Children’s Children City Journal (Anthony L). Although this includes matters well beyond Covid, 50,000 foot exhortations like this piss me off. We can’t even do basic low cost, low behavior changes like masking and ventilation and free Covid tests. And many people can barely do the things they need to do for them and their families to get by. Being more generous in your behavior, and doing without usually requires surplus in time or other resources, requires surplus.
China?
US Eyes Expanding China Tech Ban To Quantum Computing and AI Bloomberg
No, Capitalism and the Internet Will Not Free China’s People New York Times
Old Blighty
Investors and MPs take fright at prospect of Boris Johnson’s return Financial Times (Kevin W)
The Party is Over Craig Murray (Judith)
While a clever jibe (hat tip Tom H), colonies can be expensive to maintain. One reason the former USSR cut loose what were then Warsaw Pact states was their budget drain:
Honestly, someone should take advantage of this chaos and colonize England.
— Josh Gondelman (@joshgondelman) October 20, 2022
New Not-So-Cold War
The press is giving less coverage than a week ago to daily attacks on the Ukraine grid and other infrastructure, but they continue:
Russia has just sent another barrage of missiles into Ukraine. It seems the West of Ukraine is particularly targeted: explosions reported in Volyn, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi regions. Missiles intercepted over Lviv and Chernivtsi regions. Electricity, water supply disrupted
— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) October 22, 2022
At least half of Ukraine’s thermal power capacity hit by Russian strikes -minister Reuters. Hard to know what this means in practical terms. John Helmer pointed out that Russia has been particularly targeting transmission line junctions, and this is old Soviet 330v and the West does not have equipment that is comparable. However, the system was also very much overbuilt and Russia allegedly has yet to damage much of the generating capacity.
The Russian electricity war on Ukraine is cascading west.
Moldova has lost supply from Ukraine (about 30% of its consumption) and the local utility is warning of rolling blackouts now. Moldova is trying to get extra electricity from Romania and elsewhere https://t.co/3leL80eRcv
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) October 21, 2022
* * * War and Regrets in Ukraine Douglas Macgregor, American Conservative
Ukraine war is ‘Biden’s war’ now India Punchline
Europe and the United States Go Thelma and Louise Larry Johnson
Scott Ritter – Ukraine Russia War Latest YouTube. The section starting at 11:25 is making the rounds on Twitter.
* * * What happens if more buyers refuse metals like aluminum from Russia? The LME doesn’t want to find out MarketWatch (Kevin W)
Top Republicans clash over future of Ukraine aid Financial Times
Wolfgang Streeck: Europe is Being Subjugated to US Power Conter (Anthony L)
WARSAW SPIES AT WAR WITH EACH OTHER — THESE THREE POLISH INTELLIGENCE AGENCY CHIEFS HAVE RESIGNED IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS. WERE THEY OUSTED FOR OBJECTING TO THE POLISH-AMERICAN STRATEGY FOR WAR WITH RUSSIA? https://t.co/c0fJZ0XDaq pic.twitter.com/zZ2KAJOZFJ
— Dances_with_Bears (@bears_with) October 22, 2022
Russian-Turkey trade turnover doubles to $47 bln in 9M, could reach $60 bln in year – Econ Ministry Interfax
EU wants to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine RT (Kevin W)
Syraqistan
Israel’s occupation of West Bank unlawful under international law, UN report finds Middle East Eye
Washington warns against reconciliation between Hamas and Damascus The Cradle (Kevin W)
Is Iran on the Brink? Center for Strategic & International Studies, YouTube. Robin K: “The CSIS panel seeks a plausible pretext from the present internal crisis for the US to, um, intervene.”
Imperial Collapse Watch
US ‘oil for security’ formula faces setback as Saudi Arabia shows interest in joining BRICS Global Times. Christi I points out that China seems particularly pleased at Saudi Arabia dissing the US by not extending an invite to its “Davos in the Desert”.
1/6
Jan. 6 committee issues subpoena to Donald Trump in probe of Capitol riot USA Today
Biden
Federal appeals court temporarily blocks Biden student loan forgiveness program The Hill
2022
GOP wave threatens blue-state strongholds The Hill
Will Gas Prices Doom Democracy? Paul Krugman, New York Times. BC:
Does Krugman understand what the word “democracy” means?
Or is this a veiled threat that democracy will be somehow be taken away if the majority votes for a position contrary than what he deems to be in the best interest of the same voters (cancel democracy for their own good).
Judge rules letting NYers vote by mail due to fear of COVID unconstitutional https://t.co/DiOkzbMevB pic.twitter.com/bUj2yOtuc3
— New York Post (@nypost) October 22, 2022
Our No Longer Free Press
It’s a sad state of affairs when Tucker is the one that steps into the vacuum once inhabited by the left (hat tip Chuck L)
Why is Amazon banning books from prominent authors they don’t like? We investigate. pic.twitter.com/hUOAxfwOMI
— Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) October 20, 2022
Twitter Tumbles as US Weighs Security Reviews for Musk Deals Bloomberg (furzy). As we pointed on early on, the US threatening to block Musk’s Twitter acquisition is a “Don’t throw me in the br’er patch” opportunity for Musk. But if there were a review, it would an admission that the US regards controlling speech on Twitter as a government prerogative.
Media Narratives Shield Landlords From a Crisis of Their Own Making FAIR
Black Injustice Tipping Point
Do you know how guilty a cop has to be for a pro-cop white man from Mississippi to stand up for a Black child murdered by police?
Eye witness of the #JaheimMcMillan police shooting goes off! pic.twitter.com/0ysMhJBERO
— Benjamin Dixon (@BenjaminPDixon) October 20, 2022
Inflation/Supply Chain
Inflation is not becoming ’embedded’ in economy, Yellen says Reuters (Kevin W)
Southern California’s Notorious Container Ship Backup Ends Wall Street Journal. Partly due to a fall in imports.
The single-family housing shortage is worst in these cities The Hill
Dollars to Megabits, You May Be Paying 400 Times As Much As Your Neighbor for Internet Service The Markup (Dr. Kevin)
Class Warfare
Company That Makes Rent-Setting Software For Apartments Accused of Collusion, Lawsuit Says ProPublica
Opposition of railroaders to Biden-brokered contract points to breakdown of bureaucratic control WSWS
I don’t understand how this happens but I assume some of this is the balance growing during the forbearance period (when the student is still taking courses):
I’ve paid almost $30,000 on a $20,000 student loan from 2006. My balance is $24,000. I never missed a payment, & only entered forbearance recently. I filed for student loan forgiveness. Regardless of whether it is approved, I am never making a payment again. I don’t care anymore.
— Laura Miers (@LauraMiers) October 19, 2022
The hidden homeownership welfare state: an international long-term perspective on the tax treatment of homeowners Cambridge University Press (Dr. Kevin)
Antidote du jour (furzy):
And a bonus (guurst):
🔥Transparent ‘Glass Frog’ from Costa Rica pic.twitter.com/VRRZbvNMfy
— Nature Is Lit (@NatureIs_Lit) October 9, 2022
Not a normal bonus but what the hell:
A ball rolling down a massive xylophone plays Bach’s “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” in a forest in Japan. pic.twitter.com/2EpUbD1bpS
— Fascinating (@fasc1nate) October 20, 2022
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
