How to build 300,000 planes in five years Construction physics
How the Folger Shakespeare Library, which will soon reopen, was born Smithsonian
Climate
A major tool to combat climate change is hiding in plain sight The New Republic. Civil forfeiture (!).
Carbon-free cement process could reduce construction-related emissions New scientist
* * * Climate change could worsen in-flight turbulence CNN
Something weird is happening with tornadoes Voice
* * * * * * Japanese study warns of deadly risk of air pollution linked to Siberian forest fires Nippon.com
The quasi-magic of fire-eating mushrooms JSTOR daily
* * * America’s hottest city sees wave of deaths Scientific American. Phoenix.
California’s giant redwoods face a new threat – and the world’s largest tree could be in danger Chronicle of SF
Water
Syndemics
NNU invited to join CDC’s HICPAC task force on infection prevention (Press release) National Nurses United. Good news, for once.
* * * Covid returns to Andalusia as cases triple Murcia today
DOH: Philippines maintains low COVID-19 risk despite rising cases PhilStar
Lying to ourselves at the end of the world Jessica Wildfire, OK DOOMER
* * * A global pandemic treaty is in sight: don’t sabotage it Nature. How unfortunate that the WHO completely ruined its credibility by declaring that Covid was not airborne and fighting the aerosol scientists tooth and nail.
Outbreak data reporting standards: a systematic review (preprint) medRxiv. Systematic literature review. From the abstract: “The current landscape of outbreak data reporting is ad hoc and inconsistent. Public health authorities have discretion to determine when, where, how and what outbreak data should be reported. This uneven flow of information hinders response efforts by diminishing the accountability and transparency needed to build public confidence in the public health response. As we are seeing very clearly with the ongoing H5N1 debacle.
* * * USDA Expands Support for H5N1 Response to More Dairy Farmers Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
H5N1 and H1N1 influenza viruses remain infectious in unpasteurized milk on milking machine surfaces (preprint) medRxiv. From the abstract: “Both Pandemic Bovine H5N1 and Human 2009 H1N1 Influenza viruses remain infectious on surfaces commonly found in milking equipment materials for a few hours. The data presented here provide a compelling argument for the risk of contaminated surfaces generated during milking to facilitate the transmission of H5N1 from cattle to cattle and to dairy farm workers.
* * * Long-time COVID research advocates hammer Biden over ‘minimal funding’ in budget request The hill
Moderna’s long covid plan Policy
China?
America must face reality and prioritize China over Europe FT
China says Taiwan drills were used to test its ability to ‘seize power’ on island France 24. Practical map:
The map shows that China is using hundreds of ships and planes to encircle Taiwan and its islands! #PrayForTaiwan #TaiwanUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/tna999rm6m
– Go Fund Taiwan (@gofundtaiwan) May 23, 2024
This seems to me to be a blockade, as Yves has been suggesting for a long time.
China pressures Afghan Taliban to stop attacking its interests in Pakistan, dangles economic carrot South China Morning Post
Brussels and Washington seek ways to depend less on Chinese naval production Splash 247
India
How to find a bride? The new struggle in crisis-hit rural India Al Jazeera
Africa
Pentagon orders all US combat troops to withdraw from Niger Policy
Syria
Israel and Hezbollah move closer to war Foreign politic
* * * This 94-year-old Holocaust survivor recommended arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders Before
ICC prosecutor threatened: tribunal “built for Africa and thugs like Putin” Anadolu Agency
* * * From crisis to prosperity: Netanyahu’s vision for Gaza 2035 revealed online Jerusalem Post. Since the beginning of May, still relevant. “AI-generated image of Gaza found in (PM’s office) plan for post-war Gaza”:
It almost restores my faith in human nature to consider the idea that for Bibi, the genocide may not be the end, but simply a means to the end: successful real estate speculation. The project is more ambitious than that, but let’s start there. Optimism!
This AIPAC donor pays millions to an IDF unit accused of human rights violations The interception
European disunity
Macron tells New Caledonians he will not impose electoral reform that sparked riots France 24
Fighting machine New left-wing magazine. Spain, Podemos.
Dear old Blighty
Sunak suffers series of setbacks on first day of British election campaign FT
A new not-so-cold war
Rosenberg: Putin’s military purge echoes Prigozhin’s call for action BBC
* * * “New ground is being broken”: EU seizes Russian benefits for Ukraine Al Jazeera
Putin authorizes seizure of US assets in Russia for retaliation Bloomberg
* * * Italy repeats that it will not send soldiers to the war in Ukraine Anadolu Agency
Biden administration
Lawmakers Officially Refer Investigation of Big Oil Companies to DOJ: ‘The Deception and Deception Must Stop’ Climate integrity
The Supremes
A judicial decision of extraordinary importance has just been rendered, and no one is talking about it Popular information
The presumption against novelty in the Roberts Court’s jurisprudence on the separation of powers (PDF) Harvard Law Review. From the abstract: “After comparing Burkean minimalism to the originalism that the Roberts Court has recently applied in several high-profile constitutional rights cases, this note traces and critiques the operation of the presumption against novelty in the Court’s recent decisions. Court on the separation of powers. He ultimately concludes that the presumption against novelty produces results that are themselves entirely novel and, in doing so, expands judicial discretion – and judicial power – at the expense of the democratic process.
Assange
A reprieve for Assange New left-wing review
Digital watch
AI Follies (1):
Google, FFS. pic.twitter.com/UHtLQ5SdpG
– Melanie Mitchell (@MelMitchell1) May 23, 2024
AI Follies (2):
how is google so shitty at their job pic.twitter.com/bdx97oznv6
– Ed Zitron (@edzitron) May 23, 2024
This is not a “knowledge update” FFS. What a huge category mistake (or blatant marketing hype, take your pick) MR SUBLIMINAL Or take both!)
Low-paid humans behind AI intelligence call on Biden to free them from ‘modern slavery’ Wired. The same goes for the “intelligent” ones.
* * * How does ChatGPT “think”? Psychology and neuroscience unlock big AI language models Nature. The deck: “Researchers are working to reverse engineer artificial intelligence and analyze the “brains” of LLMs to see what they do, how and why. Too funny. We don’t even know how to debug these stupid things.
International scientific report on the security of advanced AI (interim report; PDF) UK Department of Science, Innovation and Technology. This caught my attention: “Current techniques for explaining why general-purpose AI models produce a given result are very limited. »
Beak
State of Wisconsin Buys Nearly $100 Million in BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETF CoinDesk
Our famous free press
Selling Your Home for Firewood Hamilton Nolan, How Things Work
Lienrot Cory Doctorow, Pluralist. It should be noted that a paper library is much more resistant to Jackpot than a data center (sucking up energy and water).
Supply chain
These choke points pose the greatest risks to global shipping Bloomberg
Class struggle
Why the Mercedes union campaign in Alabama failed but Review: How Reformers Doubled Vermont AFL-CIO Membership Working notes
Part I: The case of sectoral co-regulation On the work. Part II, Part III.
Janet Yellen says many Americans are still struggling with inflation FT. No. They have difficulty finding real salaries.
Millionaires’ tax revenue hits $1.8 billion, on track to double estimates WGBH. Now let’s do inherited wealth….
Less of this, please:
Everest a few days ago. Why would anyone want to be a part of it? The worst form of adventure capitalism. pic.twitter.com/f0aW7GyD3K
– Iain Cameron (@theiaincameron) May 23, 2024
Antidote of the day (Bernard Gagnon):
See yesterday’s links and Antidote du Jour here.
