Flaws of Nature: The Limits And Liabilities Of Natural Selection (book review) The Inquistive Biologist
Conflicts push global military expenditure in 2023 to ‘all-time high’ France24
$300,000 robotic micro-factories pump out custom-designed homes The New Atlas
Climate
What is Earth Day, when is it and what has it achieved? BBC
Commentary: For Earth Day, invite more greenery into your life Orlando Sentinel
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Climate crisis cooks up costly meals: Why your ‘thaali’ could be on fire Business Standard
‘Once in a century’ flood warning issued for Guangdong as Bei River surges to record levels, China The Watchers
Unleashing Beaver to Restore Ecosystems and Combat the Climate Crisis Kottke.org
Pandemics
Get ready:
One big lesson from humanity’s history is that pandemics happen all the time.
Our ancestors couldn’t do much about them, but our situation today is different — and so I think we should learn this history lesson and reduce the risk of pandemics.
This chart is from @salonium’s… pic.twitter.com/bA9zMeOoQK
— Max Roser (@MaxCRoser) April 21, 2024
Why are we so ill? The working-age health crisis BBC. ‘Tis a mystery! Also, working-ageclass.
China?
China Orders Apple to Remove Popular Messaging Apps WSJ
‘Reform and opening up are not dead’, but today’s China ‘looks risky’: veteran observer David Lampton South China Morning Post
Philippines rejects China’s claim of ‘new model’ in West Philippine Sea Anadolu Agency
Myanmar
‘My hell in Myanmar cyber slavery camp’ BBC
Syraqistan
The Israel Lobby with John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt (video) Outside the Box Podcast
Col. Douglas Macgregor : Will Israel Go Nuclear? (video) Judge Napolitano, Judging Freedom
Biden marks Passover with statement of ‘ironclad’ support for Israel The Hill
Israel’s head of military intelligence resigns over October 7 attack FT
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Israeli army unit accused of abuses ‘kills Palestinians for no real reason,’ says party leader Anadolu Agency. Labor Party.
US-Israel: Netanyahu vows to reject any US sanctions on army units BBC
Blinken, Gallant speak by phone amid report US preparing sanctions against Israeli battalion Anadolu Agency
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“Glorifying martydom”:
Shame on you @torontolibrary! Dr. Alareer was a renowned 🇵🇸university Professor who was slaughtered by Israel with his family for the sole crime of being a Palestinian. His peom is the epitome of non-violence & humanity. SHAME ON YOU for assassinating his memory too! Despicable! https://t.co/whFRHDL4RY pic.twitter.com/nYckyYjrOH
— 🇵🇸 Rafeef Garbi #FreePalestine (@RafeefGarbi) April 20, 2024
As if entire museum wings weren’t devoted to Christian representations of the same topic. From the Art Gallery of Ontario (for some reason, I can’t get the paintings of martyrs to display):
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‘Netanyahu, Tear down that wall’: German official under fire for tweet i24
Palestinians tear down parts of West Bank ‘apartheid wall’ as Iran strikes Israel The New Arab
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In Gaza’s Hospitals New York Review of Books. Not paywalled, rare for the NYRB.
New Not-So-Cold War
Russian forces launch attacks on 6 fronts over past 24 hours, most actively on Novopavlivka – Ukraine’s General Staff Ulkrainska Pravda
What will it take for Ukraine to win? WaPo
Russia says US support for Ukraine will end as ‘humiliating fiasco’ like ‘Vietnam and Afghanistan’ The Hill
Greece and Spain under pressure to provide Ukraine with air defence systems FT
Christine Lagarde says US plan to raise debt against Russian assets carries legal risk FT
“Historic event for Azerbaijan”: Analysts on the withdrawal of Russian peacekeepers from Karabakh JAM News
Global Elections
First-time voters rejoice in India’s Maoist rebel heartland Channel News Asia
Pro-China party on course for landslide victory in Maldives election Al Jazeera
Biden Administration
TikTok Vows Legal Battle as the US Presses for App’s Sale or Ban Bloomberg
Hakeem Jeffries emerges as Congress’ shadow speaker Axios
2024
Liberals’ Heated Fascism Rhetoric Sidesteps Self-Reflection Jacobin
As Meta flees politics, campaigns rely on new tricks to reach voters WaPo
The Supremes
Supreme Court to hear case on criminal penalties for homelessness SCOTUSblog
Digital Watch
AI and the Complexity of Code Koen van Gilst. Very good.
Understanding Book-Classification ISBN Numbers & the Current Limits of MAMLMs Brad DeLong, Grasping Reality. Also very good.
Why Bloat Is Still Software’s Biggest Vulnerability: A 2024 plea for lean software IEEE Spectrum
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Google squashes AI teams together in push for fresh models The Register. The deck: “You can leave your personal vendettas at home – we have work to do, Pichai warns.” Wut.
Microsoft is a national security threat, says ex-White House cyber policy director The Register
Big Tech can’t hoard brainwave data for ad targeting, Colorado law says Ars Technica. You know they would.
Groves of Academe
Biden condemns ‘blatant’ anti-Semitism at Columbia pro-Palestine protests Al Jazeera. Commentary:
The media refuses to acknowledge that Jewish students are heavily represented in the pro-Palestine protests because it just wouldn’t fit with the safety narrative https://t.co/WKYHi8Tq4s
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) April 22, 2024
Columbia University faces full-blown crisis as rabbi calls for Jewish students to ‘return home’ CNN
Ivy League anti-Israel agitators’ protests spiral into ‘actual terror organization,’ professor warns FOX
SJP petition calls for termination of Business School professor Shai Davidai Columbia Spectator
Columbia:
New 1:15 AM statement from Columbia President Minouche Shafik, announces all 4/22 class will be virtual:”I am deeply saddened by what is happening on our campus…We need a reset…Let’s sit down and talk and argue and find ways to compromise on solutions.” pic.twitter.com/sh3sYXJsJG
— Prem Thakker (@prem_thakker) April 22, 2024
Yale:
BREAKING: Ahead of the Yale divestment encampment entering its 3rd night, Yale President Peter Salovey just sent out a warning email to all students, addressing the encampment for the first time.
“Yale will pursue disciplinary actions according to its policies.”
Full statement: pic.twitter.com/nvdrv00gfz
— Thomas Birmingham (@thomasbirm) April 21, 2024
NYU, in the last hour:
BREAKING: NYU students with @nyupscoalition have launched a Gaza Solidarity Encampment.
Per media release, the encampment is *also* calling on their school to divest from Israel & to end its Tel Aviv satellite campus.
Security scrambled to stop the students, but failed. pic.twitter.com/UcjVC1N1b9
— Talia Jane ❤️🔥 (@taliaotg) April 22, 2024
Hebrew University:
This is crazy. Israel arrested a renowned feminist scholar teaching at Hebrew University in Jerusalem – who is a dual American and Israeli citizen (!) – because she accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and questioned reports of mass rape on Oct 7th.
Her family and colleagues are… https://t.co/pGuztcXPIo
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) April 22, 2024
Guillotine Watch
No prison time for developer who bribed city officials for 18 years San Francisco Standard
Class Warfare
The Chicken-and-Egg of Law and Organizing On Labor
The southern gap Aeon
The Long American Counter-Revolution Boston Review. On Gerald Horne.
Taking Slavery West in the 1850s JSTOR Daily
May Cause Side Effects Lapham’s Quarterly. From 2021, still germane.
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
