Fat cat survives after falling from 6th floor, breaking car window Thaiger (furzy). This cat is lucky. Cats are most likely to die in falls of less than 8 stories. At greater heights, they have time to flip themselves over, and the “legs down” splayed position creates more drag, slowing their fall and assuring that their study legs, as opposed to internal organs, take the brunt of the impact.
They Cuddled a Kiwi. New Zealand Said, ‘Stop That.’ New York Times (furzy)
Do you ever feel that older cities are just more interesting than new ones?
Well, it isn’t just because they’re old.
It’s because of something called “vernacular architecture”… pic.twitter.com/M33HnhRYXX
— The Cultural Tutor (@culturaltutor) May 28, 2023
When digital nomads come to town Rest of the World (resilc). They have allegedly ruined Bali, but you can also blame Eat, Pray, Love.
“No piece of art has ever emotionally affected me the way this robot arm piece has. It’s programmed to try to contain the hydraulic fluid that’s constantly leaking out and required to keep itself running…if too much escapes, it will die so it’s desperately trying to pull it… pic.twitter.com/83dqTlVpGp
— Thomas Reis (@peakaustria) May 29, 2023
Hidden Dogmatism New Left Review (Anthony L)
#COVID-19
The Brain and Long Covid Eric Topol (Paul R)
The Fast-Spreading New COVID-19 Subvariant XBB Is Part of a ‘New Class’ of Omicron MSN. ma: “Not a bad piece for msn…even has a “how to mask” video embedded. Maybe it’s becoming ok to talk publicly about?…..”
Case report: Post-COVID new-onset neurocognitive decline with bilateral mesial-temporal hypometabolism in two previously healthy sisters Frontiers in Pediatrics (Paul R)
Climate/Environment
Why the climate crisis is making our insects run for the hills Guardian (Kevin W). Almost no fireflies this year. I am sad for them and selfishly for me.
Thousands evacuate from Nova Scotia wildfires Associated Press (resilc)
Why Everest base camp won’t be moving anytime soon BBC (Kevin W)
China?
China turns down US invitation for defence chiefs’ meeting in Singapore Financial Times. The sneering by the sources is remarkable.
Old Blighty
Sad little boys: the backlash against Britain’s boarding schools Economist (furzy)
Labour plans to tackle housing crisis by forcing landowners to sell at lower prices Financial Times
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine in the New World Disorder: The Rest’s Rebellion Against the United States Fiona Hill (UserFriendly). Today’s must read.
Erdogan’s mediatory role on Ukraine cannot be wished away Indian Punchline (Kevin W). The US is never never never never never never gonna let China mediate. Erdogan is the cleanest shirt in that dirty laundry. But why is this bizarre idea that there will be a negotiation still being dignified?
Lindsey Graham: Russia issues arrest warrant for top Republican BBC
Norway: Russian spying prompts rethink of port access DW (furzy)
Moscow attacked by drones – mayor RT
Wagner founder scores bloody political victory in Bakhmut The Hill
READING TURGENEV IN TIME OF WAR AGAINST RUSSIA John Helmer (Chuck L)
Lyrics over my pay grade but that blue wig is inspired:
We have synthesized Evgeny Prigozhin’s voice and likeness. As of late, he became a very popular figure and yet he doesn’t have any bangers. So we decided to jumpstart his pop-punk career with this cute song that angers ukrainians for no reasonhttps://t.co/rJHxXjLMLc
— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) May 28, 2023
Syraqistan
Leaked Report: “CIA Does Not Know” if Israel Plans to Bomb Iran Intercept (Userfriendly). From last week, still germane.
Imperial Collapse Watch
U.S. Still Spends More on Military Than Next Nine Countries Combined Institute for Policy Studies (resilc)
USAF Opens Bidding to Build Its 1st New Fighter in Decades Defense One (resilc)
For Memorial Day, let’s get real about the recruitment crisis Responsible Statecraft (resilc)
CIA Officers Admitted the Agency Ran Drug Traffic During Indochina Wars CovertAction. Furzy adds:
I first visited Nepal in 1979, after going to New Delhi to have Rikhi Ram Musical Instruments make me a tamboura, as I’d met a fellow Indian music sitar player, also an American, in NYC. He invited me to visit his home in Katmandu while I was overseas. While visiting, I accidentally walked into him and another fellow filling up a large talcum powder container with heroin. We were flying out of Katmandu together that afternoon, to New Delhi; I managed to keep calm while going thru the boarding checkpoint, as the agent was examining the talcum container, then let it go.
I haven’t seen him since we landed in New Delhi. I eventually heard some sotto voce rumors about him being a CIA agent, and a killer at that. A couple of years later, I got an urgent call from him, back in Connecticut….Someone had spiked his chang (local beer) with a knockout drug in Katmandu, which left him partially paralyzed. They (CIA?) flew him to Bangkok for treatment, which apparently didn’t work very well. I demurred from offering to help. I also discovered that he was still dealing drugs!!
4. Americans in Mental Facilities v. Prisons
I have a feeling we didn’t get miraculously cured in the mid-70s.
(h/t @paulg for surfacing) pic.twitter.com/EQN7htQWcf
— Codie Sanchez (@Codie_Sanchez) May 17, 2023
Dems’ New Star—Manhattan Billionaire Heir Dan Goldman—Fiercely Defends Security State. Plus: Jeffrey Sachs’ Break w/ the Establishment on Ukraine, COVID, & More | SYSTEM UPDATE #88 Glenn Greenwald. Late to this. The extended segment with Jeffrey Sachs is a must listen.
2024
You Can’t Vote Your Way Out Of A Mess You Never Voted Yourself Into Caitlin Johnstone
GOP Clown Car
What Can Ron DeSantis Do Now? New Yorker (furzy)
Book Club: Josh Hawley’s manly book gets a new cover, and Florida restricts Amanda Gorman Washington Post
Right Wing Derangement Syndrome. This is what happens when TDS metastasizes.
America’s Becoming a Suicide Pact umair haque (resilc). Hating on the states that grow and process food and produce energy. Let me know how that works out.
The Far Right Is Splintering Atlantic (furzy). “Splintering” presupposes more cohesion that I suspect is there.
Native American sues school for barring sacred eagle feather at graduation BBC (resilc)
Our No Longer Free Press
The Grayzone debates National Endowment for Democracy VP on group’s CIA ties The Grayzone. Userfriendly: “This is hilarious.”
Another Brick in The Absurdity Wall Matt Taibbi
Egg In Their Face – Two Anti-China Claims The Wall Street Journal Made Last Weeks Were Fake Moon of Alabama (Kevin W)
AI
Nvidia Unveils More AI Products to Further Capitalize on Frenzy Bloomberg (furzy)
Nvidia’s New AI Supercomputer Is a Game Changer. Google, Meta, and Microsoft Will Be First Users. Barrons (furzy)
French Open uses AI to protect players from online abuse International Business Times (furzy)
Debt Ceiling
Biden, McCarthy’s Debt-Ceiling Deal Faces Crucial First Test in House Wall Street Journal. One contact, who is skeptical of Yellen’s June 5 “out of cash” date, points out that June 15 is a deadline for corporate income tax quarterly deposits, so if Treasury can limp along until then, it will get a big enough infusion to limp along a fair bit longer.
Debt Ceiling Deal Includes New Work Requirements for Food Stamps New York Times
The Bezzle
Quackonomics Maureen Tkacik, American Prospect (resilc). Tkacik is pretty much always a must read. She wrote the best account of the Boeing 737 Max debacle.
Inmates Await Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes: ‘I Want to Be Her Friend’ Wall Street Journal (resilc). Most read story at the Journal, which means more read than anything on the debt ceiling.
Huge Tesla leak reveals thousands of safety concerns, privacy problems ars technica (furzy)
Neuralink gets FDA approval for human trials, but others are way ahead New Atlas (furzy). Depressing that plot lines in dystopian novels are treated as business plans.
Lawyer uses ChatGPT in court and now ‘greatly regrets’ it CoinTelegraph (BC)
Class Warfare
Fake kindness, Caring and Symbolic Violence Authorea (martha r)
Death of Ownership: Companies Use Software, Subscriptions to Grab Money From Customers Business Insider (resilc). Readers have been commenting on the erosion of ownership rights.
What neo-Luddites get right — and wrong — about Big Tech Financial Times (Userfriendly)
New Productivity App Just Turns Your Phone Off https://t.co/nnR8ypQyUW pic.twitter.com/EAXtZNat5C
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) May 29, 2023
Regents spar for 1st time in public with striking University of Michigan grad workers MLive (ma)
Why Inflation Is the Excuse for Higher Grocery Prices New York Times (resilc)
“Glut of pigs squeezes hog farmers and meat companies, but consumers aren’t seeing lower prices”
Geez I wonder why. https://t.co/nPQiIJMGS9
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) May 27, 2023
It costs $18,865 on average to have a baby, $233,610 to raise it to 18, and another $102,828 for college — now.
The median 2 person household income is $75,143.
Americans are having fewer babies because we’ve made it impossible to afford to raise one. https://t.co/06lwuGtnNW pic.twitter.com/sUBTFcEVOh
— Melanie D’Arrigo (@DarrigoMelanie) May 27, 2023
Antidote du jour. mgl:
Nene & goslings. They were near extinction in the 1950’s; now maybe in the low thousands, considered vulnerable. State bird of Hawaii. The American Ornithologist union changed the name to (uncreative) Hawaiian Goose in 2014.
And a bonus (Chuck L):
A Chimp was born a couple days ago at the Sedgwick County Zoo. He had trouble getting oxygen so had to be kept at the vet. This video shows mom reuniting with him after almost 2 days apart. pic.twitter.com/3tc1dErrMv
— B&S (@_B___S) May 28, 2023
A second bonus (Amfortas, hoisted from comments):
The flock dynamics of sheep being guided through a gate with the assistance of sheep dogs.
📹 rural.riley via TikTok
pic.twitter.com/G3ZWN3mE1u— Science girl (@gunsnrosesgirl3) May 28, 2023
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
