Dear patient readers,
If any of you are or are a close contact of someone in the professional sports industry, a sports writer, or someone who manages major venues, please ping me at yves-at-nakedcapitalism-dot-com with “Sports” in the subject line. I am seeking someone with direct knowledge. Thanks!
Bear in a tree holds Michigan city in suspense for hours on Mother’s Day Associated Press (resilc)
Six lions killed in Kenya in blow to conservation efforts Reuters (resilc)
Forced from Grand Canyon National Park, the Havasupai Tribe embraces spiritual homecoming Associated Press (furzy)
Kenyan Preacher Told Followers Starvation Was Their Salvation New York Times (resilc)
Pancreatic cancer mRNA vaccine shows good early results Skeptical Raptor (furzy)
New Water Treatment Zaps “Forever Chemicals” for Good SciTech Daily (Chuck L). I want one.
Patient M: The Man Who Was Shot in The Head And Woke Up Seeing The World Backwards ScienceAlert. Chuck L: “A 20th century Phineas Gage.”
WHO advises not to use non-sugar sweeteners for weight control in newly released guideline WHO. Not consistent with my experience as a formerly fat kid.
William Davies · A Dog in the Fight: Am I a fan? London Review of Books (Anthony L)
It Is Long Past Time to Retire the Oldest, Dumbest Debate in Literary History Slate (Anthony L)
#COVID-19
Went from ‘95% effective’ to ‘only works if you get it at lunch time’https://t.co/hNQnrG4GBZ pic.twitter.com/XI6kUlVfVH
— Rebekah Barnett (@dystopian_DU) May 15, 2023
Climate/Environment
In pictures: Spain faces devastating drought France24 (resilc)
UK airlines’ new ‘sustainable’ fuels may be causing deforestation in Asia openDemocracy
China?
China Opens New Channel Giving Access to $3 Trillion Swap Market Bloomberg
Thailand election 2023: opposition delivers crushing blow to military rule Guardian (furzy)
The Second US–Pacific Island Country Summit Pacific Island Times (Kevin W). TASS, so far apparently only its Russia version, reports that a deal to be announced May 22 includes full US access to Papua New Guinea ports.
Old Blighty
Rishi Sunak was within hours of sending paratroopers into Sudan Telegraph. Kevin W: “A bridgehead too far?”
Where Did the Revenues Go in the British Energy Crisis? An Assessment Institute for New Economic Thinking
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine war: Kyiv hit by ‘exceptionally dense’ missile and drone attack BBC. Lead story.
Note the second ammo storage site hit, not quite as spectacular as the first, has not gotten much mention:
💥☢️🇺🇦‼️ Dosimetric patrols are operating in Khmelnytskyi and Ternopil,
Russian aviation and Navy are successfully hitting the storage sites of military equipment in Western Ukraine, destroying the secret warehouses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 👇 pic.twitter.com/QqIHcnJYmJ— Djole 🇷🇸 (@onlydjole) May 15, 2023
Ukraine SitRep: Explosion in Khmelnytsky – Bakhmut Evacuation – Longer Range Missiles Moon of Alabama. Debunks one of my pet peeves, the gamma radiation spike meme, which too many people who should know better have flogged. One, depleted uranium by all accounts emits only very low levels of gamma. Two, even though it travels through open air a fair distance by radiation standards, it still does not go very far in open air, on the order of feet according to some sources, dozens of feet per others. Moon confirms our skepticism by showing the charts that supposedly prove the famed gamma spike show it occurred the day BEFORE the blast. Ooopsie!
Hungary blocks €500 million payment to Ukraine – media RT
File on 4, Oiling Putin’s War? BBC Radio 4 (resilc)
The Head of The Supreme Court of Ukraine Has Been Arrested on a $3 Million Dollar Graft Charge. Which Part of That Did You Not Understand? #Ukraine #Russia #taxes #USA #UK #Europe
— George Galloway (@georgegalloway) May 16, 2023
Safeguarding Your Mental Health from the Harmful Effects of Western War Propaganda – Ten Top Tips Geoffrey Roberts. We are chuffed by #8.
Erdogan accuses Biden of attempt to topple him The Cradle
Syraqistan
Iran Seizes Third Oil Tanker As U.S. Boosts Military Presence OilPrice
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
In 1977, media prophet Marshall McLuhan discussed CIA and FBI surveillance, and then spun it into one of the most mind-bending comments on identity in the digital age I’ve ever heard. pic.twitter.com/gDWVJa4Anh
— Benjamin Carlson (@bfcarlson) May 10, 2023
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman raises nearly $100M for creepy crypto project that uses ‘Orb’ to scan eyeballs New York Post (Kevin W). Aieee.
The UK’s Secretive Web Surveillance Program Is Ramping Up Wired (BC)
2024
The Religious Landscape is Undergoing Massive Change. It Could Decide the 2024 Election. Politico (furzy)
Trump
Special counsel John Durham concludes FBI never should have launched full Trump-Russia probe CNN (Li)
John Durham’s report on Trump-Russia probe released CNN (furzy). Link to full report.
Biden
BREAKING: A large group identified as the “Patriot Front” have been matching around the US Capitol building and National Mall this afternoon.
The Patriot Front is a hate group in the United States that espouses white nationalism and neo-fascist ideologies. It originated from… pic.twitter.com/eEPfxL05y3
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) May 13, 2023
WATCH: Patriot Front Guys Appear Again, Mockery Ensues RedState. Furzy highlighted:
It’s funny that they march anytime Biden needs cover for “white supremacy being the biggest threat.”
It’s so damn cynical and transparent.
“How come they’re all wearing the same clothes?” Rogan shouted. “Have you ever seen anything that looks more like feds?” he said, as Taibbi laughed.
Comer Says He ‘Can’t Track Down The Informant’ In Biden Family Investigation Daily Wire (BC)
Ex-CIA chief admitted that the ‘Dirty 51’ letter ‘WAS political’ as agency conspired with Biden campaign to produce it and falsely claim emails on Hunter Biden’s laptop were Russian disinformation Daily Mail. BC: “How is this not a Hatch Act violation?”
GOP Clown Car
The Corruption of Lindsey Graham Bulwark+ (resilc)
Noelle Dunphy’s Harassment Lawsuit Against Rudy Giuliani Full of Graphic Allegations Daily Beast (Dr. Kevin)
Community Financial Services of America v. CFPB Amicus Brief Adam Levitin, Credit Slips. Pending Supremes case.
Debt Ceiling
Kevin McCarthy’s Idea of Austerity: $115 Billion for Tax Cheats and Oil Companies New Republic (furzy)
Abortion
GOP faces critical test on abortion in North Carolina The Hill
The Biden administration is reportedly delaying plans to move the U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama due to the state’s restrictive abortion laws. https://t.co/rt47GdYfZO
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 16, 2023
Immigration
Note despite factoids like the one below, the surge so far looks like a damp squib, although all those news drones did show a lot of people that looked like they were waiting to enter.
Seven School Gyms Are Housing Migrants or Could Soon. Parents and Pols Are Pushing Back The City
Florida couple’s wedding in turmoil as New York hotel suddenly cancels bookings to house migrants Daily Mail (resilc)
Gunz
The Second Amendment Allows a Ban on the AR-15 Bloomberg (furzy)
AI
AI Can Detect Early Signs of Alzheimer’s in Speech Patterns – Before Symptoms Begin To Show SciTech Daily. Chuck L: “Quick! Send a prototype to the White House.”
ChatGPT is spawning religious chatbots in India Rest of World (resilc)
Farmers Set to Abandon US Wheat Crops at Highest Rate Since 1917 Bloomberg (resilc)
Apple investigated for ‘planned obsolescence’ RT (Kevin W)
Say goodbye to AM radio: Why carmakers are removing it from new models The Hill (Kevin W)
The Bezzle
Narrative over numbers: Andreessen Horowitz’s State of Crypto report Molly White (Skip Intro)
Class Warfare
Americans finally draw a line at tipping as it hits the self-checkout Independent (Kevin W)
Coastal Cities Priced Out Low-Wage Workers. Now College Graduates Are Leaving, Too. New York Times
Inflation drives US household debt to record $17 trillion WSWS. As this site ad many others have pointed out, household debt is economically unproductive and high levels have a nasty way of producing financial crises.
Antidote du jour (Tracie H):
A bonus (guurst):
A rare scene of an #Elephant giving birth! After the arrival of the newborn #BabyElephant, it was greeted with loud celebratory trumpeting from the whole herd, the adults broke formation to admire the baby & try to help the newborn stand on his own. #AfricanElephant #ElephantLove pic.twitter.com/aNaSjmbWHK
— Wildfriends Africa (@WildfriendsUG) November 10, 2022
And a second bonus (Chuck L):
TL cleanse. A crow gets brushed and then grabs the brush and asks to get brushed more ☺️ pic.twitter.com/YkO5xaO6J5
— Trap Queen Enthusiast (@marionumber4) May 13, 2023
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
