Links 01.12.2022 | naked capitalism
Guy finds a $40,000 diamond ring buried on a Florida beach and tracks down the owner who burst into tears Good News Network
Is our universe a hologram? Physicists discuss the famous idea in connection with its 25th anniversary Scientific American
The Science of Your Cheese Smithsonian Institution
Inflation: How financial speculation is exacerbating the global food price crisis Talk
Climate
Boulder County’s Gold Hill finds a new model to help mountain communities prepare for wildfires. Boulder Reporting Lab
Do you want to effectively fight climate change? Here’s where to donate money. VOKS (GF). GF: “I know it’s Vox, but I’m impressed by the 8 proposed environmental organizations listed as designated charities.”
#COVID-19
It’s not over until it ends… but it will never end – more and more infectious diseases Anthony S. Fauci, MD, NEJM
Why long Covid could be ‘the next public health disaster’ CNBC Resilc: “Wow what a shockerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, who could ever thunk itttttttttttttt?”
Covid becomes a plague on the elderly, resurrecting the ‘acceptable loss’ debate Vapo
Monkeypox virus monitoring in saliva and air samples in Spain: a cross-sectional study Lancet. From the abstract: “The detection of high loads of viable monkeypox virus in the saliva of most monkeypox patients and the detection of monkeypox virus DNA in droplets and aerosols requires further epidemiological studies to assess the potential significance of the respiratory route of infection in the 2022 virus outbreak.”
China?
China-EU Relations: Xi Meets European Council President, Promises Supply Chain Cooperation South China Morning Post
* * * Anti-Covid protests in China start with a fire in an apartment in a remote area WSJ
Covid protests in China and why they are happening now (podcast) Odd lots. Comment:
An interesting point is that the budget for Covid Zero enforcement often falls on the shoulders of local/provincial governments. And these regional organizations have found their finances hurt by the real estate crash, as land sales are a huge source of local government revenue.
— Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) December 1, 2022
Jiang Zemin; change in Covid messaging; The consequences of the protests; Real estate; Saudi Arabia Synocism
China loosens virus controls, searches pedestrians AP
The Communist Party is losing the people of China New York Times
Covid and Chinese plumbing:
Revisiting why locking people in their apartments continues to contaminate entire buildings and neighborhoods, and why lockdowns cannot work without mitigating aerosols to prevent spread within the community. See quotes- https://t.co/xoQK0pFCUO
— Naomi Wu 添加妖姬 (@RealSexyCyborg) November 26, 2022
* * * How Beijing took Taiwan by force for the last time Chinese China. Hm.
Worthy and unworthy protest Black agenda report. For example:
— Defiant Al (@DefiantLs) November 30, 2022
Politics of the Commons: And Yet They Move Venezuelaanalysis
Myanmar
Myanmar Democracy Leader Claims 2,000 Killed Fighting Junta, Calls for Military Assistance Reuters
in Syracuse
World Cup 2022: Iranian killed celebrating defeat of football team BBC (remastered)
Pakistan is now bigger than even Bangladesh Asia Times (resilc)
European disconnect
From Politico European Morning Newsletter. Note the absence of a direct denial from Ukraine:
VDL ERRORS, DEATH IN UKRAINE FEEDBACK: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday said an estimated 120,000 Ukrainians were killed during the war with Russia, sparking outrage in Kyiv, where casualty figures are considered a defense secret and subject to censorship during the war.
The Commission did not specify where the scores were derived from, and later removed the video of von der Leyen’s performance as well as the written version, before reissuing both with disputed figures redacted. But it was too late. Twitter users general original containing the sentence: “It is estimated that 20,000 civilians and more than 100,000 Ukrainian military have been killed so far.”
View of Kyiv: “We cannot confirm this figure, we emphasize that the losses of the Ukrainian army are official information and are subject to restrictions on publication,” the representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
The opinion of the VDL team: Representative von der Leyen said the original video was edited because the 100,000 figure is related to estimates of the total number of casualties, that is, people both killed and injured.
If you think von der Leyen got the numbers wrong, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.
Germans spend less due to power growth, food spending gnaws finances Reuters
The French baguette is included in the UN World Cultural Heritage List France24 (repeated)
Old Blighty
HMRC says £4.5bn has been lost to fraud in three COVID schemes as Rishi Sunak’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme recorded a fraud rate of 9.5%. Sky News. SFB territory!
Little ironies of life:
One man fighting for money for the people who need it most to survive is called the Grinch. While rich people are having a banquet over him.
Not a hint of irony. pic.twitter.com/XSPjBiI1Yy
— Ryan Love (@RyanJL) November 22, 2022
Prince William’s godmother leaves palace after comments to black charity boss Guardian Transcript:
Mixed feelings about yesterday’s visit to Buckingham Palace. 10 minutes after arriving I was approached by an employee, lady SH, moved my hair to see a badge with my name on it. The conversation took place below. The rest of the event is blurred.
Thanks @ManduReid & @SuzanneEJacob for support🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/OUbQKlabyq— Sistah Space (@Sistah_Space) November 30, 2022
Minority opinion:
When people ask me where I’m from, I proudly say that I live in Luton and I’m mostly of Bangladeshi origin (some North Indian).
I never took it as a racially malicious question, but rather as a form of interest and curiosity.
Identitarian indignation is poison.
— Dr. Rakib Ehsan (@rakibehsan) December 1, 2022
How Scottish Independence Intertwined with Brexit Basically a macro
New not-so-cold war
On the Russian-controlled front line in Kherson, facing Ukrainian positions (video) Patrick Lancaster, YouTube. Everyone has deep circles under their eyes.
ROMAN ABRAMOVYCH SHOWS HE LOBBYING THE US GOVERNMENT FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF RUSSIA TO END THE WAR IN UKRAINE John Helmer. Please note that the title is correct. But Helmer strongly hints that lobbying, at least in Russia’s interests, has fizzled out since the Istanbul talks and that Abramovich’s main interest now remains unsanctioned by the US.
* * * ACTION ALERT: NYT Finds New Neo-Nazi Propaganda Squads in Ukraine FAIR
Understanding Ukrainian military memes: from watermelons to the holy spear Kyiv Independent
* * * NATO again brandishes membership to Ukraine Responsible public administration
NATO exists to solve the problems created by the existence of NATO Caitlin Newsletter
BlackRock Financial Markets Advisory will advise the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine (press release) BlackRock. Since November 16, still German.
Biden administration
New House Democratic leader’s strong ties to US-Israeli groups middle eastern eye
Bezl
FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried | DealBook summit interview (video) YouTube. Transcript. Wousers.
FTX collapse was a crime, not an accident Coindesk
Survival on FTX: fintechs and banks untangle each other American banker
* * * Elon Musk’s Twitter Policy Increases Pressure on Tesla’s Brand Image Wall Street Journal Key Diagram:
Elon Musk seems to have hit it off with Apple after Twitter tirade Financial Times
Republican clown car
The Republican Party should see Nancy Pelosi as a role model, not a villain. Brookings Institution. Right!
Trump
Treasury Department Sends Trump Tax Return to Democratic House of Representatives Axios (resilc)
class war
U.S. House of Representatives votes to block railroad strike and mandate sick leave pay Reuters. The contract account (290-137) is separate from the sick leave (221-207).
Some railroad workers seeking sick leave say Biden betrayed them The New York Times. Resilc: “Wow, where’s my $600???????”
Reading as resistance Company society
Antidote du Jourpath):
See yesterday’s links and Antidote du Jour here.
