Links 5/7/2023 | naked capitalism

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway dumps billions of dollars of US stocks FT

Nobody Knows Anything, FedWatch Edition The Big Picture

Climate

High concentrations of floating neustonic life in the plastic-rich North Pacific Garbage Patch PLOS. “We collected samples through the eastern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre in the area of the North Pacific “Garbage Patch” (NPGP) known to accumulate floating anthropogenic debris. We found that densities of floating life were higher inside the central NPGP than on its periphery….” A terrific thread on this article, with many photos:

OMG it literally took someone SWIMMING FROM HAWAII TO CALIFORNIA to discover this, but wow did we find something shocking in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch… [a thread 🧵]…
New study: https://t.co/kcbKyYJbXv pic.twitter.com/1hVL0YFbDp

— Rebecca R Helm (@RebeccaRHelm) May 5, 2023

Estimating the impact of new high seas activities on the environment: the effects of ocean-surface macroplastic removal on sea surface ecosystems Aquatic Biology. “[The Ocean Cleanup (TOC)’s] aim is to remove plastic from the ocean surface by collecting it with large nets. However, this approach also results in the collection of surface marine life (neuston) as by-catch.”

Scientists Discover Fungi That Can Eat Plastic in Just 140 Days My Modern Met

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Macroalgae exhibit diverse responses to human disturbances on coral reefs Global Change Biology. From the Abstract: “Instead, we found relationships between the division or genera of algae and specific human disturbances that were not detectable when pooling taxa into a single functional category, which is common to many analyses.” “Functional” = “ecosystem service” = “priceable.” Like soil, coral reefs are not priceable.

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Alberta is on fire: The wildfire situation today and where to find evacuation orders and alerts Global News

New pipeline agency rule aimed at cutting methane leaks AP

Water

Opinion: Water is the great test of Coloradans’ ability to understand one another Colorado Sun

#COVID19

Selective Neuronal Mitochondrial Targeting in SARS-CoV-2 Infection Affects Cognitive Processes to Induce ‘Brain Fog’ and Results in Behavioral Changes that Favor Viral Survival (preprint) Medical Science Monitor. From the Abstract:

“Hypoxia in the microenvironment of select brain areas may benefit the reproductive capacity of the virus. It is possible that in areas of cerebral hypoxia, neuronal cell energy metabolism may become compromised after integration of the viral genome, resulting in mitochondrial dysfunction. Because of their need for constant high metabolism, cerebral tissues require an immediate and constant supply of oxygen. In hypoxic conditions, neurons with the highest oxygen demand become dysfunctional. The resulting cognitive impairment benefits viral spread, as infected individuals exhibit behaviors that reduce protection against infection. The effects of compromised mitochondrial function may also be an evolutionary advantage for SARS-CoV-2 in terms of host interaction. A high viral load in patients with COVID-19 that involves the CNS results in the compromise of neurons with high-level energy metabolism. Therefore, . Cognitive changes associated with COVID-19 will have increasing significance for patient diagnosis, prognosis, and long-term care.” From 2021, still germane. Since MSH is archived in the National Library of Medicine, I assume this is not a predatory journal…

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Covid is still a leading cause of death as the virus recedes WaPo. Great deck: “But many Americans dispute the data and the risks — much as they have throughout the pandemic.” “… you leave ’em laughing when you go….”

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The plasma metabolome of long COVID-19 patients two years after infection (preprint) medRxiv N = 108. From the Abstract: “Mitochondrial dysfunction, redox state imbalance, impaired energy metabolism, and are likely to be the main hallmarks of long COVID even two years after acute COVID-19 infection.”

Why viral reservoirs are a prime suspect for long COVID sleuths NPR

U.S. Pilot, Air Traffic Controller Shortage Leading To Fewer Flights Forbes. ‘Tis a mystery!

China?

Chinese tourists filmed crawling on cliff edge without safety gear prompts official probe as mainland social media questions tourism value of dangerous thrill-seeking South China Morning Post. China’s capitalist ruling class normalizing precarity?

After ‘hottest April’ ever, Asia braces for new extreme weather normal as El Nino looms to supercharge heat South China Morning Post

Fear of Covid-19 patients straining Southeast Asia hospitals returns as cases soar South China Morning Post

Africa

Africa Is Russia’s New Resource Outlet The National Interest

Why African soft power matters Semafor

Zimbabwe to launch gold-backed digital token as currency concerns mount FT

Dear Old Blighty

King Charles Declines Offer to Wear Burger King Crown Food & Wine (Re Silc). From March, still germane. Commentary:

Lmao. pic.twitter.com/Dk0ANrR0FF

— Dr Ruth Marshall is Kicking Against the Pricks (@wtfis2bdone) May 6, 2023

Dozens arrested in anti-monarchy protests during Charles III coronation: ‘NOT MY KING’ FOX

New Not-So-Cold War

Ukrainian officials fear counteroffensive may not meet expectations of partners Ukrainska Pravda

Wagner chief asks Moscow to hand Bakhmut positions to Chechen forces France24

In Ukraine’s forests, its soldiers race to prepare for the next push against Russian forces ABC Australia

Can Zelenskiy’s Ukraine End the War? Gordon Hahn, Russian and Eurasian Politics

Update 156 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine IAEA. “The IAEA experts at the site are continuing to hear shelling on a regular basis, including late on Friday.” If the shelling were coming from Russia, they’d say. Therefore, the shelling is coming from Ukraine.

2024

“No Ties to You”: MSNBC Host Spins Possible Hunter Biden Charges In Rare Interview With President Jonathan Turley. Biden was going to hold a presser so he goes on MSDNC instead, lol.

B-a-a-a-a-d Banks

JPMorgan: the bank that never lets a crisis go to waste FT

UBS ‘Clean Team’ Descends On Credit Suisse As Deal Nears Closing Bloomberg

Digital Watch

The Global Race to Regulate AI Foreign Policy

WEIRD AI: Understanding what nations include in their artificial intelligence plans Brookings Institution

These ChatGPT Rivals Are Designed to Play With Your Emotions Wired

Our Famously Free Press

Judgment Day Has Arrived for the Journalism Business The Honest Broker. Well worth a read. Lots and lots of stupid money in media.

Supply Chain

On frontier of new ‘gold rush,’ quest for coveted EV metals yields misery WaPo. Behaves oddly in Opera, OK in Safari.

Barry FitzGerald: The lithium junior catching some billionaire eyes right now Stockhead

Gunz

Texas mall shooting updates: 9 dead, including alleged gunman, 7 hospitalized ABC. Ah well, nevertheless:

another day, another shooting. #AllenTX pic.twitter.com/YNe9TKY5m9

— oli like ah-lee (@kindofphony) May 7, 2023

There are a lot of very explicit videos and photographs of this particular shooting circulating; please don’t post them. This is a family blog; we don’t do pr0n.

Assange

A Kingly Proposal: Letter from Julian Assange to King Charles III Julian Assange, Declassified UK

Zeitgeist Watch

‘Celebrity Nation’: New Book Tracks How Celebrity Worship Took Over in the United States Teen Vogue

Realignment and Legitimacy

Reparations panel, in historic vote, proposes payments, reforms and apology for Black Californians LA Times

Texas is a state of mind — but should its history be too? Mexico News Daily

The Jackpot

Population Decline Will Change the World for the Better Scientific American

Tom Koutsoumpas Wants to Ease the Ordeal of Dying WSJ. Short life.

Opinion: Excess deaths in the U.S. are rising at a shocking rate Mercury News. From April, still germane. Musical interlude.

Where 3 HAIs have risen most since 2019: Leapfrog Becker’s Hospital Review. HAI = Hospital-Acquired Infactions (a.k.a. nosocomial). Reactions to Leapfrog study linked to here. “‘We had some early evidence that infection rates were going up during the pandemic,’ Ms. [Leapfrog’s CEO Leah Binder said. ‘But we were surprised at the extent of the increase, at how dramatically these rates went up. We’ve never seen increases like these.’” ‘Tis a puzzlement!

When thinking or talking promotes tumor growth Eric Topol, Ground Truths. Above all, let’s not think or talk about immune dysregulation….

Guillotine Watch

Bill Gates, Leon Black, Thomas Pritzker: ​One​ Day in the Life of Jeffrey Epstein WSJ. “Mr. Pritzker, part of a wealthy and politically connected Chicago family, was a frequent guest at Epstein’s townhouse, according to the documents.” Well, well.

Polo and Ponies: ‘My Money Pit of Choice’ NYT (Re Silc).

Everybody Wants to Go to Maine Bloomberg. Maine needs A Wall.

Class Warfare

Should we automate the CEO? The Hustle. Yes, along as we wire an electromagnetic shotgun to every CEO’s forehead.

ChatGPT is powered by these contractors making $15 an hour NBC. An enormous theft original accumulate of intellectual property, followed by brutal exploiation of precarious workers. Silicon Valley at work!

Why the super rich are inevitable The Pudding

In the Factories There Is Wealth, but There Is No Life: The Eighteenth Newsletter (2023) Tricontinental

Swearing Like A Sailor May Not Be Such A Bad Thing Discover

Make Hope Covid Underground

The Double Flame: Octavio Paz on Love The Marginalian

Antidote du jour (via):

Bonus antidote:

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.