Will The U.S. Economy Pull Off a ‘Soft Landing’? Paul Krugman, NYT
Recession Calls Keep Getting Pushed Back, Giving Soft Landing Believers Hope Bloomberg
Climate
Experts see climate change fingerprint in worsening heat waves and fires WaPo. The deck: “A new study found nearly 40 percent of burned area in the West can be attributed to carbon emissions.” Study.
Climate finance needs new ideas: could this model take off worldwide? World Economic Forum
Water
Satellites reveal widespread decline in global lake water storage Science
Shale-Oil Drillers Are Running Out of Places to Dump Toxic Wastewater Bloomberg
#COVID19
WHO recommends new COVID shots should target only XBB variants Reuters
Zombie COVID: Corpses can still spread the virus for weeks after death, study finds Fortune. A preprint, but there are others.
China?
Amid G7, China hosts summit of its own with Central Asia Times of India
China banks on stability with Afghanistan belt and road agreement: experts South China Morning Post
Add China’s Recovery to the Global Economy’s List of Worries Bloomberg
The China vs US Culture Map China Charts
Global chipmakers to expand in Japan as tech decoupling accelerates FT
Myanmar
Myanmar’s military imported $1bn in arms since coup, UN expert says Independent
India
The Untold Story Of India’s First Filmmakers Madras Courier
Africa
The Global Economy’s Future Depends on Africa Foreign Policy
These ASX graphite players are helping make Africa the world’s largest graphite producer Stockhead
New Not-So-Cold War
Pressure campaign on Biden to send F-16s to Ukraine goes into overdrive Politico. Hilariously, Ukrainska Pravda repackages the Politico story thus: Pentagon reiterates that it does not object to other countries providing F-16s to Ukraine.
Russian hypersonic missile scientists are arrested on treason charges NBC
The Russian nuclear company the West can’t live without Bloomberg
* * * Why Ukraine’s spring offensive still hasn’t begun — with summer just weeks away AP
Ukraine could join ranks of ‘frozen’ conflicts, U.S. officials say Politico
* * * Volodymyr Zelenskyy to attend G7 in person as leaders back new sanctions against Russia FT
Ukraine Can’t Join NATO The American Conservative
* * * St Petersburg Travel Notes – Part III Gilbert Doctorow. Goods in the stores.
Biden Administration
Fed Officials Face ‘Loathsome’ Playbook for Debt-Ceiling Standoff WSJ
Republicans Want to Impeach Mayorkas. How About Giving Him a Medal? The Washingtonian
The Supremes
Supreme Court rules Twitter not liable for ISIS content SCOTUSblog. Section 230 still in place.
Spook Country
The United States Needs a Moonshot to Prevent Extremism from Metastasizing The Hill. Sounds like a job for The Censorship-Industrial Complex!
Elon Musk is right: Bellingcat is a Western ‘psy-op’ Aaron Maté
Digital Watch
A secretive annual meeting attended by the world’s elite has A.I. top of the agenda CNBC. Bilderberg. AI and robots are good proxies for depopulation.
G7 leaders call for ‘guardrails’ on development of artificial intelligence FT. There’s that “guardrails” trope again.
Here’s Why AI Girlfriends Are Going to Make Everything So Much Worse Jessica Wildfire, OK Doomer
* * * Popular Android TV boxes sold on Amazon are laced with malware TechCrunch
Feral Hog Watch
Wild ‘super pigs’ are rooting toward Minnesota. The state wants to keep them out. Investigate Midwest
Healthcare
Marburg Virus Disease: Global Threat or Isolated Events? Journal of Infectious Diseases. “Thus, Marburg virus disease is not an immediate global threat to us living in non-endemic areas, but local and international public health officials need to be on high alert to protect vulnerable populations and ultimately populations across the globe. Aside from preventing Marburg virus disease introductions into our countries, we should bring countermeasures in the field to control Marburg virus disease in Africa. Those opportunities exist now, we should not miss them because of real or perceived social or economic barriers.”
Imperial Collapse Watch
Why the U.S. Should Close Its Overseas Military Bases Foreign Policy
Realignment and Legitimacy
Durham Report Reveals the Real Threat to “Democracy” – The FBI Weaponized by Democrat Party Affiliated Elites Black Agenda Report
* * * Christian School in Michigan Sued for Alleged Failure to Prevent Student’s Abuse The Roys Report
‘Too much’: Parents ask court not to release writings of Nashville school shooter ABC
* * * ‘Succession’ season 4, episode 8: ‘America Decides’ NPR. It’s a documentary.
Guillotine Watch
The Newest College Admissions Ploy: Paying to Make Your Teen a “Peer-Reviewed” Author Pro Publica
Justice for all? Times Literary Supplement. John Rawls.
Class Warfare
Striking WGA Late-Night Comedy Writers Launch YouTube Show Lampooning The Studio Deadline. Here. On the strike issues:
AI has to be addresses now or never. I believe this is the last time any labor action will be effective in our business. If we don’t make strong rules now, they simply won’t notice if we strike in three years, because at that point they won’t need us. 10/end
— Justine Bateman (@JustineBateman) May 13, 2023
The Disappearing White-Collar Job WSJ
Could 300,000 Job Openings Be Fake? Here’s Why Goldman Thinks They Might Be Forbes
Here’s How Much Wealth You Need to Join the Richest 1% Globally Bloomberg
The war on Japanese knotweed Guardian
No Mow May: A Gateway To Better Landscape Management For Bees Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
