Yacht sinks after being rammed by orcas in Strait of Gibraltar BBC. “Scientists are unsure of the exact causes of this behavior, but believe these highly intelligent mammals may display ‘mimic’ or ‘playful’ behavior.” And God knows we need more play!
Debt – and delinquencies – are on the rise for Americans CNN
Climate
Smoke from fire in Canada evacuates thousands Forest fires today. Mask up!
* * * 4 takeaways from our home insurance survey New York Times. The deck: “Across the country, more intense heat, storms and fires are starting to weaken the home insurance market. »
90210 Beverly Hills Mansions Lose Fire Coverage as Insurers Flee Bloomberg
* * * Siberia’s ‘gateway to the underworld’ grows exponentially every year Live Science
USDA gardening zones have been changed. This map shows you what’s changed in vivid detail NPR. Easy to swipe, interactive but still useful.
* * * Testifying and professing climate professionals JSTOR daily
We don’t need a ‘plethora of tactics’, we need a climate strategy The anarchist library
* * * Secrets of the rainforest’s past discovered in Amazonian gardens Monga Bay
Water
Where does Earth’s water come from? This ancient family of asteroids could help us find out Espace.com
Ahi’s Kānāwai: Revitalizing Hawaii’s Water Code in the Wake of Maui Wildfires Harvard Law Review. Interesting!
Pandemics
My tryst with the raw milk black market: quick, easy and not controlled by the FDA STATUS
Oldest known human viruses discovered in 50,000-year-old Neanderthal bones Science IFL
China?
China’s biggest banks launch first special loss-absorbing debt sales FT
Putin and Xi sign declaration on strengthening strategic partnership France 24
China builds world’s first dedicated drone carrier Naval News
This is what we call “industrial policy”:
For years, the Chinese government has cheated by investing money in Chinese companies who then put cheap products on the market, hurting their competitors who play by the rules.
I’m announcing tariffs that will ensure American workers are not held back by unfair trade practices. pic.twitter.com/JHdJ6EcXWr
– President Biden (@POTUS) May 14, 2024
Try it someday!
France deploys troops to New Caledonia as riots kill four Al Mayadeen
Burma
Patrick Winn on the narco-economy of Wa State in Myanmar The diplomat
Myanmar workers are among the fastest growing group of foreign workers in Japan as society ages Asia News Channel
Syria
Biden advances $1.2 billion ground weapons transfer to Israel amid Rafah raid Truth
US military says Gaza pier project complete, aid will arrive soon as Israel-Hamas war rages AP. It’s going to be hard to do this on the pier, but they’ll find a way:
Israeli settlers have attacked and vandalized humanitarian aid convoys heading to the Gaza Strip, where people desperately need aid from Jordan via the occupied West Bank. pic.twitter.com/zfcVyObhZJ
– Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) May 14, 2024
* * * Israeli Defense Minister blasts Benjamin Netanyahu for lack of post-war plan FT
Taleb on the hasbara:
A system that requires continuous, pervasive, and incessant misrepresentation and propaganda (via AIPAC, Hasbara, and the manipulation of Western minds) to hide its attributes will eventually collapse. https://t.co/61xUskA0Jq
– Nassim Nicolas Taleb (@nntaleb) May 15, 2024
Taleb’s example can, I think, be generalized.
* * * Erdoğan says Israel will ‘target’ Turkey if Hamas is defeated Turkish minute
* * * House Democrats fume over unprecedented Israeli rebuke of lawmakers HuffPo
Shameless Craig Murray. I have often wondered why American elites—from college presidents, for example, to donors—identify so disproportionately with Israel. Our elites may consider themselves besieged and outnumbered, which is understandable. They may also be ideologically compatible, ranging from social Darwinism to outright genocidal, with stochastic eugenics as a moderate position (“live your life”).
European disunity
Slovak Prime Minister no longer in dangerous condition after surgery Anadolu Agency
Slovak PM shooting suspect identified as 71-year-old writer France Media Agency
Dutch far right to form coalition government FT. Geert Wilders.
Dear old Blighty
Brexit border system breakdown puts transport of perishable goods at risk The register
The woman who built Edinburgh’s army of street seamstresses BBC
A new not-so-cold war
US Secretary of State and Ukrainian Foreign Minister have working dinner in kyiv – photo Ukrainian Pravda. Photos that the press did not include:
what do these two mean that it seems they changed specifically for Blinken’s image? Also notice the out-of-frame Wolfsangel
(Veterano Pizza if you want to search for it, by the way, best result on Google Maps for kyiv Pizza, in this case) pic.twitter.com/NT673R9ogP
– Brad Pearce (@WaywardRabbler) May 15, 2024
Yes, the photo is good of the burning of the Odessa union; THE wolf angel (top right, partly hidden by the lamp in the first photo; top right, cropped in the second).
* * * Zelensky cancels foreign visits as Ukraine withdraws from parts of Kharkiv region France 24
Fortification works planned for 2023 in the Kharkiv region are 100% complete Ukrainian Pravda. Good to know!
Was there a failed coup against Zelensky? The American Conservative
* * * 50 countries and organizations agreed to participate in the Ukraine Peace Summit in Switzerland Ukrainian Pravda
* * * Georgian PM talks ‘foreign agents’ bill, sanctions and ‘global war party’ JAM News
World elections
Why are Kashmiris voting in Indian elections that they have been boycotting for a long time? Al Jazeera
Biden administration
Another Biden administration member resigns over US stance on Gaza war Al Jazeera. The resignation letter:
Today, I became the first Jewish American political appointee to resign from the Biden-Harris administration over its Gaza policies. Here is my resignation letter: pic.twitter.com/oqzit7leVD
– Lily Greenberg Call (@LGreenbergCall) May 15, 2024
Academy Groves
Unions:
Harvard crackdown on Gaza protests violated US labor laws, unions say Bloomberg
“Maximize chaos. » UC university workers authorize strike, alleging rights violated during protests Los Angeles Times. Statement:
UAW 4811 members voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike. pic.twitter.com/dmQGofq6ye
-UAW 4811 (@uaw_4811) May 16, 2024
MIT:
Four suspensions have already been found to be unfounded and have been dismissed; others are awaiting appeal. These suspensions cause disproportionate and long-term harm to our students, their families, and our institution, and they must be revoked immediately. For example…
– Nancy Kanwisher @NancyKanwisher@mas.to (@Nancy_Kanwisher) May 15, 2024
Digital watch
Generative AI is completely unapologetic. I want to be Wired. The Deck: “The best thing about brain-melting software like ChatGPT? There is no remorse. New employees:
When AI helps you code, who owns the finished product? The register
How Big Tech and Silicon Valley are transforming the military-industrial complex (PDF) Roberto J. González, Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs
Boeing
Boeing safety, labor disputes intensify as CEO to step down with $34M payout Leeham News & Analysis
Supply chain
Canada’s oil producers face potential headwinds from wildfires and rail workers’ strike Global S&P
Ruined infrastructure
Pelican Island Bridge in Galveston hit by barge, causing part to collapse: officials FOX. Comment:
BRIDGE CLOSURE | A barge struck the Pelican Island Causeway, closing it in both directions this morning. The bridge connects the north side of Galveston Island, just west of Galveston Harbor, to the south side of Pelican Island.
Full story : https://t.co/Y0rXOcGs1n pic.twitter.com/3FD6o3DGuh
– KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) May 15, 2024
Crew stuck on Baltimore ship, seven weeks after bridge collapse BBC. It’s systemic; see NC here.
Gunz
How a Maine Businessman Made the AR-15 America’s Best-Selling Rifle ProPublica
Class struggle
Harry Glasbeek explains how the law firmly controls workers’ aspirations Canadian dimension
A huge sunspot that triggers a solar flare has moved away from Earth. But will it come back? Espace.com
Antidote of the day (via Ken Billington):
See yesterday’s links and Antidote du Jour here.
