‘Brain rot’ named Oxford Word of the Year 2024 Oxford University Press
Debt-based speculation surges Counterfire
Climate/Environment
Can Artificial Rain, Drones, or Satellites Clean Toxic Air? Wired
Socialising Nature The Break Down
Midwest builders are using wood in a new way to construct high rises. And it’s climate-friendly Harvest Public Media
Louisiana’s ‘Cancer Alley’ advocates take fight abroad to plastic treaty talks Louisiana Illuminator
Winter forecast shows drought could persist in much of New England NHPR
IS THE DROUGHT COMING FOR CHRISTMAS TREES? The Allegheny Front
Pandemics
Scientists confront a mystery: Why have U.S. bird flu cases been so mild? STAT
H5N1 Bird Flu Concerns Grow. Are COVID-19 Mistakes Being Repeated? Forbes
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“Don’t give up hope”: Long COVID advocates and researchers say crucial work will continue under Trump The Sick Times
China?
Wow, this is big: China just announced a prohibition of “dual-use items” to “U.S. military users” and a complete ban in principle of export licenses of “dual-use items related to gallium, germanium, antimony, and superhard materials to the United States” (source:… pic.twitter.com/34Hyiuz5xP
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) December 3, 2024
U.S. Trade Vulnerabilities in Critical Minerals: Pressure Points Amid Rising Tensions. TD Economics. From October, still germane. Useful chart:
Germany’s Baerbock warns China over Russia support Deutsche Welle
Beijing and Moscow tune in for more Arctic shipping The Barents Observer
The US slaps anti-dumping tariffs on Southeast Asian solar panels Electrek. On Chinese manufacturers in Southeast Asia.
US unleashes another crackdown on China’s chip industry Al Jazeera
How America’s War on Chinese Tech Backfired Foreign Affairs
Taiwan leader stops in US after weapons sale, drawing China’s ire Semafor
TEXAS’ HOTBED OF TAIWANESE NATIONALISM Texas Observer
O Canada
Trump reportedly told Justin Trudeau that Canada should become the 51st state if they can’t deal with tariffs New York Post
Big Idea: To Protect against Trump Tariffs, Canada Should Put a Freeze on Defaults Through 2025 Dougald Lamont’s Substack
Old Blighty
Britain and Australia have a spy shortage and recruiting the next generation is proving difficult ABC
Sebastian Gorka: British intelligence asset? The Grayzone
Exclusive: UK media serving ads with anti-UN Israeli propaganda Skwawkbox
European Disunion
Gas prices rising as EU storage tanks empty faster than usual Bne Intellinews
Romania to hold presidential run-off after top court validates first round France24
The French crisis is Macron’s doing. Unherd. Commentary:
Looks like France is heading for a constitutional crisis. A financial crisis provoked by war combined with a constitutional crisis in France? Some echoes of history. No big deal though. I’m sure everything is fine. 🇫🇷👀 https://t.co/TWAdHuRo5D pic.twitter.com/k7SOkDfhEe
— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) December 2, 2024
Can France rely on the ECB if its bonds blow up? Politico
Going Back to Class Tribune
Syraqistan
The Long War to reaffirm Western and Israeli primacy undergoes a shape-shift Alastair Crooke
RAY McGOVERN: Neocons Try Again in Syria Consortium News
As Turkish-Backed Jihadists Advance Into Syria, Israel Maintains Second Front With New Air Strikes Military Watch
Syria as Putin’s Afghanistan: How a Radical Fundamentalist take-over of Damascus could Change the Middle East Informed Comment
Where do regional powers stand on Syria offensive? The New Arab
Erdogan issues warning to Syria’s government RT. Commentary:
Erdogan’s top ally nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli declares that Aleppo “is Turkish and Muslim to its very marrow. It is not just us who says so, history says so, geography says so. The Turkish flag that was hoisted over Aleppo citadel says so.” https://t.co/7jOt6A0bjA
— Amberin Zaman (@amberinzaman) December 3, 2024
Extremists clashing with Syrian army ‘ready for peace with Israel’: Ex-intel official The Cradle
Syria rebels pledge stability to Iraq as pro-Iran militias mobilise for Assad The New Arab
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U.S. Navy Destroyers Thwart Multiple Houthi Attacks on American Ships gCaptain
Yemen strikes US destroyer, three army ships, in top-tier military op. Al Mayadeen
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Israeli army razes 600 buildings in Gaza to build dozens of military bases, expand Netzarim Corridor The Cradle
REVEALED: Israeli Settler Company Specializing in West Bank Outposts Now at Work in Northern Gaza Drop Site
“Quadcopters were emitting baby sounds, playing sounds of screaming women.”
Palestinians in Gaza say Israel has been using small quadcopter drones, equipped with loudspeakers, to lure them out of their homes and then shoot them. #GazaCrimes pic.twitter.com/W4VytzyvdA
— Al Jazeera Investigations (@AJIunit) December 2, 2024
These Billionaires Subsidize the Israeli Military Through a US Nonprofit Truthout
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Trump lied about peace, but will deliver only misery in Palestine Red Flag
Trump: Release the hostages or die. pic.twitter.com/zHDaSqwdJO
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) December 2, 2024
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukrainian Army Desertion Rates Surge Amid Catastrophic Personnel Losses: Most Conscripts Just Trying to Escape Military Watch
US unveils $725mln Ukraine aid package; more landmines to pour in Al Mayadeen
Ukraine’s exhausted troops in Russia told to cling on and wait for Trump BBC
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Zelensky Says He’s Willing To Cede Territory in Exchange for NATO Protection Antiwar
SITREP 12/2/24: Europe’s Bigs Scramble Across Globe for Last Minute Jockeying Simplicius the Thinker
The Caucasus
Streets on fire: Is Georgia opposition forming up a coup? Responsible Statecraft. Commentary:
Some of the big business have come out against Georgian Dream’s government suspension of EU accession talks. Bank of Georgia & TBC bank, two of the biggest banks, banking monopolists. Magticom and Silknet – telecommunications monopolists. Orbi group – developers.
Georgian Dream…
— Sopo Japaridze (@sopjap) December 2, 2024
Will the West’s Gamble in Syria and Georgia Succeed? Larry Johnson, Sonar21
Biden Administration
Intel chief forced out after Biden’s billions fail to deliver turnaround The Telegraph
Trump Transition
Howard Lutnick and the Commandeering of the Department of Commerce Unlimited Hangout
What’s in store for Israeli DefenseTech in the U.S. under the Trump administration CTech
Silicon Valley’s national security pivot will only accelerate under the new Trump administration Chatham House
Thiel pal and venture capitalist eyed for 2nd highest post in Pentagon Responsible Statecraft
Immigration
THESE TECH FIRMS WON’T TELL US IF THEY WILL HELP TRUMP DEPORT IMMIGRANTS The Intercept
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Apple patents system for identifying people when facial scans aren’t enough The Record
AI
Why ‘open’ AI systems are actually closed, and why this matters Nature
Braverman, Monopoly Capital, and AI: The Collective Worker and the Reunification of Labor Monthly Review
GenAI comes for jobs once considered ‘safe’ from automation The Register
Our Famously Free Press
A Giant of Journalism Gets Half its Budget From the U.S. Government Drop Site
Supply Chain
The Red Sea crisis and its impact on containership deployment The Loadstar
Class Warfare
UAW Staff Union Strikes Over Union Busting – All German VW Plans Strike – USPS Suspends Canadian Service Amid Strikes Payday Report
Investors got big tax breaks to turn luxury Bay Area apartments into affordable housing. In many cases, rents are higher than before San Jose Mercury News
Zeitgeist Watch
Man Renovates Decommissioned Missile Silo Into Delightful Airbnb, Attracts “Swingers” Futurism
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
