Lightning Bolt Deposits a Strange Mineral Never Seen on Earth Before Science Alert
Did unicorns exists? New research traces cultural traditions to find their origins Interesting Engineering
Climate/Environment
In East Palestine, a nightmare that never ends Grist
A DECADE AFTER N.J. TRAIN DERAILMENT, QUESTIONS LINGER OVER RAIL SAFETY AND PUBLIC HEALTH The Allegheny Front
This planet will not survive capitalism. pic.twitter.com/zhb7FouvOI
— Alan MacLeod (@AlanRMacLeod) April 16, 2023
Water
Iraq’s Marshes Parched as Government Focuses on Oil New Lines Magazine
Are thousands of Americans being poisoned by PFAS in their tap water? Minneapolis Star Tribune
Time Is Running Out for Uganda’s Vanishing Glaciers Wired
No asteroid impacts needed: Newborn Earth made its own water, study suggests Space.com
#COVID-19
High risk of autoimmune diseases after COVID-19 Nature (Mark N)
A global aircraft-based wastewater genomic surveillance network for early warning of future pandemics The Lancet. From the summary: “We propose the development of a global aircraft-based wastewater genomic surveillance network, with the busiest international airports as central nodes and continuing air travel journeys as vectors.”
India
India’s elites were enamored with neoliberalism and the services sector, and thus missed out on the industrial growth for 25 years. And the result is the chart below.
“US imports of goods from China versus India, 1992-2022”
While there is now focus on manufacturing to a certain… pic.twitter.com/fyISGMRTxI
— S.L. Kanthan (@Kanthan2030) April 16, 2023
The Koreas
South Korea fires warning shots at North Korean vessel west of peninsula: JCS NK News
China?
Will Germany settle for 28nm? TSMC’s presence highlights misalignment between Berlin’s semiconductor and defense policies Digitimes Asia
East Asian economies resist decoupling East Asia Forum
America, China and a Crisis of Trust Thomas Friedman, New York Times. Typical Friedman nonsense, but buried is this nugget: “A senior administration official told me that Xi told President Biden at their summit in Bali in November, in essence: I will not be the president of China who loses Taiwan. If you force my hand, there will be war. You don’t understand how important this is to the Chinese people. You’re playing with fire.”
European Disunion
The breakdown of French-German relations augurs ill for the EU FT
EU warns against unilateral steps after Poland, Hungary ban Ukrainian grain Reuters
New Not-So-Cold War
Putin hold working meeting with visiting Chinese defense minister – spokesman TASS
Russia Says Its New EW System Can ‘Kill’ Satellites At An Altitude Of 36,000 Km; Military Expert Decodes The Claims The EurAsian Times
Italy transfers some of M109 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine Ukrainska Pravda
***
Richard D. Wolff – The Emerging New World Economy Brave New Europe
Top 10 hedge funds made £1.5bn profit from Ukraine war food price spike The Guardian
L’affaire Leaker
The Pentagon leaks and the US media WSWS
Social-Media Account Overseen by Former Navy Noncommissioned Officer Helped Spread Secrets WSJ. And not sufficiently anti-Russian to boot!!
Congress sees a rare window of opportunity to regulate Big Tech NBC News. Beware the bipartisan TikTok Trojan horse.
Syraqistan
Sudan’s “Deep State” War Could Have Far-Reaching Geostrategic Consequences If It Continues Andrew Korybko’s Newsletter
Chinese company proposes $10bn investment in Afghan lithium reserves The Cradle
China has outclassed the US in Middle East relations The National. For example (Kevin W):
The only people who don’t want peace in the Middle East are the lizard people in DC https://t.co/pocw4sXqm7
— Defund Ukraine (@DoctorFishbones) April 6, 2023
South of the Border
Peru’s coup-plotting congress has 6% approval, 91% disapproval (but full US backing) Geopolitical Economy
O Canada
Canada’s New Budget Is a Typical Liberal Road Map for Failing the Working Class Jacobin
Biden Administration
US manufacturing commitments double after Biden subsidies launched FT
Press conferences now extinct as Biden lets TikTokers do the talking The Hill
2024
Nikki Haley’s campaign overstated initial fundraising haul CNN
RussiaGate
Patrick Lawrence: The Disinformation Complex: An Anatomy Scheerpost
Democrats en déshabillé
So, if you get elected, and then you get into a coma the day after you’re sworn in, do you literally just get to sit in a coma for six years because “the people elected you for six years”? This talking point is so absurd it’s hard to process https://t.co/GeSj1pgk6H
— 🕷Dante Atkins🕷 (@DanteAtkins) April 16, 2023
The Supremes
Clarence Thomas claimed income from defunct real estate firm: report The Hill
Healthcare
FDA staff leaned toward rejecting Sarepta gene therapy before top official intervened STAT News
‘Crisis’ looms as 800,000 more nurses plan to exit workforce by 2027: study Beckers Hospital Review
Police State Watch
THE HIGH COST OF CHEAP PRISONS The Law and Political Economy Project
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
Georgia National Guard Will Use Phone Location Tracking to Recruit High School Children The Intercept
Veterans Push Back Against Military Recruitment in Schools The National Network Opposing the Militarization of Youth
Imperial Collapse Watch
The puzzling geopolitics of America’s support for proposed World Bank reforms An Africanist Perspective
The IMF’s ‘Austerity Drive’ Consortium News
How China Is Breaking The Colonial Effects Of Western Lending Moon of Alabama (K Warner)
This is such a hilarious framing by Larry Summers.
If you think everyone else is on the wrong side of history, just like if you think everyone else is driving on the wrong side of the highway, guess what: you’re the one who is!
Src: https://t.co/fK3b2rhjWJ pic.twitter.com/K5WDUfwMf7
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) April 17, 2023
Supply Chain
FBI rounds-up former Polar execs charged with $52m fraud The Loadstar
Class Warfare
The immaculate banking event:
“Janet Yellen said US lenders may pull back on credit in the wake of recent bank failures — enough to do some of the Federal Reserve’s work for it, but not enough to significantly change her economic outlook.” https://t.co/Tse607Bkb4
— Sven Henrich (@NorthmanTrader) April 16, 2023
Rolling Back “Right-to-Work” in States Like Michigan Sends a Message to Anti-Union Bosses Jacobin
Kroger seeks consumer antitrust case dismissal over Albertsons’ merger Retail Insight Network
Workers nationwide protest proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger Grocery Dive
Sanitation workers strike after death at Memphis landfill WREG
The Bezzle
Trump Earned Up To $1M From NFT Sales: Filings CoinDesk
Inside the rise and fall of Kittyhawk Business Insider
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
