This is out-of-this-world beautiful, absolutely breathtaking.
Every year at the CCTV gala – the most watched show on earth – they have ONE dance which truly sets the bar. This year this is the one.
To me this is worth a million Taylor Swift or any other of the hypersexualized… https://t.co/uMVsY595PY
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) February 9, 2024
we’ve found it folks: mcmansion heaven McMansion Hell (guurst). This one is sort of wonderful in its bizarreness and flamboyant display. Maybe it’s the fact that it has so much glass, even if often of the unnecessary custom variety. But the outside is a horror.
Stunning!!!
📹 Hörður Kristleifsson on IGpic.twitter.com/Js8Vt4DH3a
— Volcaholic 🌋 (@volcaholic1) February 9, 2024
Harvard Students Grapple With Rising Rates of Respiratory Illness on Campus Harvard Crimson. ma: “Wait, so the best and the brightest are going to be more brain damaged for life than their lessors?”
Emergency rooms are not okay Your Local Epidemiologist
Erectile dysfunction drugs may reduce risk of Alzheimer’s ZMEScience (Dr. Kevin)
#COVID-19
Covid Diaries by HCW’s Twitter (ma)
Students, faculty, staff and alums at #UWaterloo are asking for a town hall with senior admin to discuss COVID safety measures on campus.
If so inclined, please share widely with UW-affiliated folks who may be interested in signing.
Full Letter: https://t.co/JKSyu8VGzP pic.twitter.com/bgGywRSnUP
— Ryan Tennant (@ryantennant_) February 8, 2024
Climate/Environment
Solar engineering: a techno-dystopian response to climate change Thomas Fazi
Pretty major Chinese climate/industrial policy news over the weekend: NDRC called for provincial governments to accelerate a policy mandate for high carbon emitting industries to consume renewable energy.
That’s steel, aluminum, cement, petrochemical, etc.
🧵on what this means:
— David Fishman (@pretentiouswhat) February 5, 2024
For a second time, US court bans dicamba weed killers, finds EPA violated law The New Lede
World’s First Year-Long Breach of Key 1.5C Warming Limit BBC
China?
Chinese telecoms giant Huawei raided in France by financial prosecutors South China Morning Post (furzy)
US Trade Deficit in 2023 Dropped 19%, as Goods Deficit with China Plunged 29%: Imports & Exports of Goods & Services Wolf Richter
Old Blighty
>Keir Starmer defends Labour U-turn on £28bn green spending BBC (Kevin W)
European Disunion
German foreign minister’s grandfather was ‘ardent Nazi’ – Bild RT
Gaza
‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 126: U.S. claims it won’t support ‘unplanned’ ground operation in Rafah, Israel escalates attacks anyway Mondoweiss
Gazans surviving off animal feed and rice as food dwindles BBC. Lead story.
Israel plans to evacuate Palestinians crammed into southern Gaza city ahead of expected invasion 9News (Kevin W)
🚨Heartbreaking: the young man “He kisses his mother’s hand while she is trapped under the rubble after being killed by an Israeli missile strike on their home.
The sound of his screams…!! #Gaza_Genocide pic.twitter.com/2sXfQJkObJ
— Nour Naim| نور نعيم (@NourNaim88) February 9, 2024
🚨A horrifying testimony about the situation of Dr. Mohamed Abu selmiya, who was kidnapped from Al-Shifa Hospital in #Gaza by the Israeli army, They broke both of his hands, hung a chain around his neck, made him walk on all fours like animals ! pic.twitter.com/AyiWivRfBZ
— Nour Naim| نور نعيم (@NourNaim88) February 9, 2024
Horrifying update.
Remember thr voice of little girls pleading with @PalestineRCS🚑 to rescue them from imminent execution by Israeli forces?
Today Hind was found with her family slaughtered in the car. Yousef and Ahmad, paramedics dispatched to save Hind were also slaughtered. pic.twitter.com/pwWRXAiyPZ
— Jalal #CeasefireNow (@JalalAK_jojo) February 10, 2024
Israel’s Self-Destruction Foreign Affairs. Important despite some sour notes in some of the details, such at the depiction of the October 7 Hamas raid, and the idea that the Saudi-Israel normalization talk was anything more than the Saudis accommodating a Biden need for a talking point after China brokered an Iran-Saudi deal (if you were paying attention, it was never going anywhere because the Saudi demands re recognizing a Palestinian state was part of the scheme from the outset). It usefully frames Netanyahu as having sold Israeli society on the idea that they could have it all: slowly eliminate the Palestinians as a presence while Israel would enjoy peace and prosperity. But notice the failure to mention the ICJ ruling. Even if editing deadlines meant it came too late, the alternatives should have at least been contemplated.
Türkiye to make statement at world court on legal results of Israeli acts in occupied Palestinian land Anadolu Agency. More ICJ hearings later this month!
* * *
Israel’s Relentless Bombing Erases Gaza’s Heritage Sites Wide Walls (BC)
The war in Gaza is wiping out Palestine’s education and knowledge systems The Conversation (Dr. Kevin)
* * *
“Erasing the whole area north of our border line (with Lebanon), 10-11 kilometers, completely clean… Simply to flatten the area”Benny Ben Muvhar, head of Mevo’ot HaHermon Regional Council, says what, in his opinion, should be done on the Lebanese front. pic.twitter.com/LSLI4210qq
— B.M. (@ireallyhateyou) February 8, 2024
* * *
Biden and Starmer will pay a heavy price for supporting Israel’s war in Gaza Middle East Eye (BC) One can hope.
Bill Allowing Far-Right Gov’t to Deport Relatives of ‘Terrorists’ Passes Preliminary Reading Communist Party of Israel (BC)
* * *
Note the hunger strike is over because the Brown trustees refused to hear their demands, particularly divestment from arms suppliers to Israel. But kudos to them for trying.
Some applause for these protesters who are still at it 3 days later and HAVE BEEN MASKED THROUGHOUT 😷😭👏 https://t.co/3yEq3GXVzx
— Potatie (@__potatie__) February 9, 2024
New Not-So-Cold War
Zaluzhny Finally Dismissed as Chaos Reigns in AFU Simpicius the Thinker (Chuck L)
Ukraine SitRep: A Hated New Commander – Critical Lack Of Infantry Moon of Alabama (Kevin W)
* * *
Interview to Tucker Carlson President of Russia. It reads better than it listens. Also the Kremlin translation is no doubt better than Tucker’s; Mercouris always warns best to wait for the Kremlin translation because there are lots of subtleties in Russia that can be mangled or missed.
Tucker Carlson interview with Putin: what went wrong? Gilbert Doctorow. A marked contrast from the fawning over Tucker on some sites. Some very astute observations.
SOME MORE BIG TAKE AWAYS FROM TUCKER’S PUTIN INTERVIEW Larry Johnson
Westoids complaining about Putin’s interview being too pedantic have an inflated sense of self-worth: they assume the interview is primarily designed to appeal to them. Little do they know the West has become so irrelevant that it’s no longer even necessarily the chief intended…
— SIMPLICIUS Ѱ (@simpatico771) February 9, 2024
Syraqistan
Imran Khan’s allies accuse Pakistan officials of vote rigging Financial Times
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
London Underground Is Testing Real-Time AI Surveillance Tools To Spot Crime Wired
The Viral Smart Toothbrush Botnet Story Is Not Real 404Media. Aaw, it was so much fun!
Western Values
Then the visitation zones are introduced: “An effective tool” Aftonblatt (ma)
Sweden: Where it’s taboo for dads to skip parental leave BBC (Dr. Kevin)
Imperial Collapse Watch
The Newer World Order Aurelien (Chuck L). Years ago, in an Atlantic Economic Conference in DC, I remarked DC had a Versailles 1788 feel. That did get a laugh.
Biden
Joe Biden’s allies defend president as Democrats reel from DoJ report Financial Times. Lead story. archive.ph is your friend.
Biden’s ‘Angry’ Press Conference Made Hur’s Memory Report ‘Infinitely Worse’ Sputnik
Abortion
Two mifepristone studies retracted ahead of Supreme Court case STAT (Dr. Kevin)
Anti-abortion group’s studies retracted before Supreme Court mifepristone case ars technica (Paul R)
Gunz
In 2023, Gun Violence Trended Down Across the Country Center for American Progress
15-Year-Old Is Arrested in Shooting of a Tourist in Times Square New York Times
Our No Longer Free Press
Meta Considering Increased Censorship of the Word “Zionist” Intercept
Anyone notice how aggressive the British response has been to the Tucker interview? The Americans seem to have just brushed it off. But the ragepoasting in Britain has been intense – and, it must be said, slightly weird. 🇬🇧 https://t.co/37ar4wa9Lj
— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) February 10, 2024
This is THE reason there are many things we should debunk but don’t:
https://t.co/f6E7BWzWOa pic.twitter.com/YjZnEac15K
— Malcolm Reavell (@malcolm_reavell) February 8, 2024
AI
OpenAI Considers $7 Trillion Round, Thinks It Can Double Revenue by 2025: Reports Decrypt. Paul R: “Trillion with a t.”
Sam Altman seeking trillions for AI chip fabrication from UAE, others ars technica (Kevin W)
AI Cannot Be Used To Deny Health Care Coverage, Feds Clarify To Insurers ars technica
The Bezzle
Everyone’s a sellout now Vox
Waymo Driverless Car Crashes Into Human Cyclist in San Francisco Gizmodo (Kevin W)
Class Warfare
Republicans Are Planning to Totally Privatize Medicare if Trump Wins Rolling Stone (Paul R)
McKinsey’s ‘unsatisfactory’ performance warning for 3,000 workers is the latest bad news for big consulting companies DNyuz (Dr. Kevin)
NASA’s JPL Lays Off Hundreds of Workers Universe Today (furzy)
Antidote du jour:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here
