Smelling Something Dangerous May Put The Immune System on High Alert Science Alert
Private Equity Investors Account for 40% of US Deals Bloomberg
Climate/Environment
Atmospheric rivers are shifting poleward, reshaping global weather patterns Down to Earth
Microsoft Azure CTO: US data centers will soon hit size limits Semafor
Extraction, Exploitation, and Religious Surplus in the Capitalocene Religions
How the Warmth Underground Could Heat and Cool Your Home CNET
Going off grid is a financial win for some, but it’s a threat for poorer families and the environment The Conversation
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FEMA makes “operational adjustments” in hurricane response as threats spike Axios
Top U.S. housing official visits Asheville as advocates call for a rent, eviction freeze Asheville Citizen Times. ‘Housing Authority CEO Monique Pierre said that residents who have “experienced a hardship” due to Tropical Storm Helene would “immediately” have rents taken “down to zero”…She clarified later, via email, that “hardship” referred to a loss of income and that residents can request a rent adjustment. What that meant for potential future rent abatement or forgiveness was unclear.’
As many as 100,000 people in Western North Carolina don’t have running water after Helene Asheville Citizen Times
Pandemics
Africa
Congo Launches Strategy to Diversify Mining Investments Beyond China The Deep Dive
Uganda, U.S. -Heading for Divorce? African Stream
India
In India, the World’s Deadliest Industrial Disaster Has Outlived Itself Inkstick
China?
China launches military drills around Taiwan Channel News Asia. Commentary:
China confirm what many of us have long suspected: there is no plan to invade Taiwan; rather the plan is to blockade the island. Not remotely clear how America would respond to this given that they lost against the Houthis. 🇨🇳🇹🇼 pic.twitter.com/sysq7fcXPy
— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) October 14, 2024
Congress’ tough stance on Beijing to continue: Ex-AIT director Focus Taiwan
GT Exclusive: Latest report shows US cyber weapon can ‘frame other countries’ for its own espionage operations Global Times
Marshall Plans Phenomenal World
Old Blighty
How to Support What Remains of Russian Civil Society The Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies
Alex Salmond. Always My Hero Craig Murray
Syraqistan
Israeli Defense Officials: Gov’t Pushing Aside Hostage Deal, Eyeing Gaza Annexation Haaretz
Israel ‘wiping out Jabalia’, killing hundreds of people in north Gaza The New Arab
The Israeli army bombed the tents sheltering displaced people inside the Al-Aqsa Hospital. pic.twitter.com/LLncNpv4rJ
— Gaza Notifications (@gazanotice) October 13, 2024
Rashid Khalidi: “Israel Is Acting With Full US Approval” Jacobin
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Four soldiers killed, seven seriously hurt in Hezbollah drone strike on military base The Times of Israel
15 UN peacekeepers injured after Israeli forces destroy main gate of UNIFIL compound in Lebanon Euronews
UN Troops in Lebanon Can Shoot Back at Israel Consortium News
US ‘training & equipping’ Lebanese Army is worst kind of déjà vu Responsible Statecraft
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Iran blasts latest planned EU sanctions DPA
Adaptation in the Sanctioned Economy Phenomenal World
Why a Liberated Palestine Threatens Global Capitalism Jason Hickel, Transnational Institute
The great emigration: Israel sees an unprecedented number leave the country Jerusalem Post
Big investors leaving Israel’s real estate market Globes
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Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder on the Deployment of a THAAD Battery to Israel US Department of Defense. With boots on the ground. Biden in 2024 SOTU: “No U.S. boots will be on the ground.” Commentary:
A single THAAD battery has 24 “hit-to-kill” interceptors. This means it can attempt to intercept a grand total of TWELVE incoming missiles.
So … if the Iranians launch a strike package of, say, 240 ballistic missiles … well, do the math. 🤦♂️ https://t.co/e1gAkDneTu
— Will Schryver (@imetatronink) October 13, 2024
US military strikes ‘multiple’ Islamic State group camps in Syria France24
New Not-So-Cold War
US tees up Ukrainian and Syrian extremist proxies in fight against Russia The Cradle
Germany halts heavy weapon deliveries to Ukraine, Bild reports — but that’s not the full story Euromaidan Press
Ukraine’s deficit grows while intergovernmental aid stagnates bne Intellinews
B-a-a-a-a-d Banks
Woke guns? Banks want weapons badged as a social good Politico
Spook Country
It’s FBI vs. CIA in Michigan’s US Senate race. And the gloves are coming off Bridge Michigan
UFO drones are surveilling America’s most sensitive military sites — and the Pentagon says it can’t stop them New York Post
Trump Assassination Attempts
Man with guns arrested near Trump rally in Coachella; Riverside sheriff says they stopped assassination attempt The Press-Enterprise
Trump
Can Schedule F Save America? The American Conservative. The deck: “Trump has a plan for the deep state. Is it enough?”
Kamala
Harris’s Chance on Trade Zephyr Teachout, The New York Review
Is Kamala 2024 Clinton 2016? Jacobin
I’m still baffled that Harris at Univision town hall kept touting her endorsement by Bush’s AG Alberto Gonzales (who resigned in disgrace) as though that would mean anything to the audience. Kinda sums up how well this catering to the center right is going
— Luke Goldstein (@lukewgoldstein) October 13, 2024
GOP Clown Car
Steve Bannon Has Called His “Army” to Do Battle—No Matter Who Wins in November Vanity Fair
Democrats en Déshabillé
Whitmer apologizes for how Dorito video was ‘construed’ The Detroit News. The video:
How else can this be interpreted other than mockery of Catholics and the sacrament of Holy Communion, not to mention the distasteful pornographic innuendo? Gretchen Whitmer is only the latest example of the gross anti-Catholic bigotry festering inside the Democratic Party. pic.twitter.com/KG1BmHYkJM
— CatholicVote (@CatholicVote) October 10, 2024
Imperial Collapse Watch
America’s Midas Touch Scott Ritter Extra
The Univocal, Non-plural West Denies Itself Pluralia
U.S. Shipbuilders Falling Far Behind Navy’s Demand For New Nuclear Attack Submarines Military Watch Magazine
AI
Generative AI, the American worker, and the future of work The Brookings Institution
As AI takes the helm of decision making, signs of perpetuating historic biases emerge Minnesota Reformer
The Bezzle
A crypto king is now the prime minister of a tiny country Quartz
FBI created a cryptocurrency so it could watch it being abused The Register
Class Warfare
When Populists Rise, Economies Usually Fall Harvard Business Review. Confuses stock markets with economies.
California pledged $500 million to help tenants preserve affordable housing. They didn’t get a dime. Cal Matters
To Tackle Housing Crisis, These Organizers Want to First Change How City Hall Works Bolts
Tracking Marx’s Capital The Next Recession
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.