Links 5/6/2025

Subscribe to Post Comments

53 comments

1. Antifa May 6, 2025 at 7:00 am

   My World
   (melody borrowed from My Girl written by Ronald White and William Robinson Jr. in 1965, and performed by The Temptations)

   (Donald Trump has suffered from narcissistic personality disorder since he was a boy in his parent’s house. In his mind, the whole world must come to him, obey him, worship him or be subject to his vengeance. He has told us plainly, “I rule this country, and I rule this world.”)

   There’s no red line  I won’t bend or break
   When you’re terrified  I’ll drive in the stake
   My deal’s opaque  you must give or I will take
   My World, My World, (My World)
   Lockin’ down My World
   (My World)

   Gimme folding money  and regularly
   I’m sayin’ right or wrong  I will collect my fees
   Well, tough shit, you pay  or you’ll have a real bad day
   My World, My World, (My World)
   Lockin’ down My World
   (My World)

   Ooh hoo
   Hey hey hey
   Hey hey hey
   ooh yeah

   I’ve got Elon’s money  and that Vegas dame
   I’ve got MAGA bitches, baby  and they’re insane
   Well, tough shit, you pay  or you’ll have a real bad day
   My World, My World, (My World)
   Lockin’ down My World
   (My World)

   (Lockin’ down My World)
   There’s no red line I won’t bend or break (My World)
   I’m here to grab what I can take (My World)
   Lockin’ down, lockin’ down, lockin’ down My World . . .

   Reply ↓
2. The Rev Kev May 6, 2025 at 7:09 am

   ‘Chuck L: “Let’s take bets on how long it will take the Zionist entity to blow it up!”’

   Hah! Had the same exact thought, Chuck L. It is their nature

   Reply ↓
3. SocalJimObjects May 6, 2025 at 7:22 am

   Surprised that the following did not make the cut, but US oil output has peaked according to shale giant Diamondback.

   “Today, geologic headwinds outweigh the tailwinds provided by improvements in technology and operational efficiency,” said Stice, who will step down as CEO at the company’s annual shareholder meeting later this month.

   Modernity will soon embark on a long slide down to something much simpler. Goodbye AI + Cryptocurrencies, we’ve never known you?

   Reply ↓
   1. PlutoniumKun May 6, 2025 at 8:48 am

      Conventional oil production in the US has been in steady decline since the 1970’s, but shale (tight) oil of course reversed things very rapidly.

      The big problem with assessing shale impacts is that due to commercial secrecy, its very hard to know when the peak will arrive. Going back a decade or more plenty of knowledgeable observers were convinced the peak was very soon, but the fracking industry has been highly efficient at increasing its ability to squeeze out every last drop from even quite unpromising shales, which has both increased output and significantly decreased the break even price point. But this process can’t go on forever – eventually the physical limits are reached. Add to this what looks like an unpromising future for oil prices (unless there is another war somewhere with lots of crude) and its unsurprising that the industry is getting increasingly pessimistic. If there is a widespread perception that the limits are reached, the drop off in production could potentially be very rapid as shale plays require a constant input of capital and energy to keep pumping. If physical limits hit a low oil price, the drop in production could be very rapid, far faster than with conventional oil plays.

      If this happens, then you will see US output effectively dropping in half in quite a short time period. There is probably sufficient slack in the world supply to make up the gap (around 5 million barrels a day), but given that along with food, oil products are the US’s biggest export, then that could have potentially profound impacts on world trade, even allowing for its impact on prices.

      Just another little economic headwind to consider, to add to all the others.

      Reply ↓
   2. Ian May 6, 2025 at 9:25 am

      Fracking and directional horizontal drilling were never going to be more than a stopgap. Oil production will inevitably start to decline in the USA and soon.

      Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni May 6, 2025 at 9:31 am

         The claim is there are oodles of oil left under LA-if new drilling technology was used, but there’s the pesky problem of million Dollar shacks sitting on top of it.

         Reply ↓
4. vao May 6, 2025 at 7:23 am

   Regarding the second bonus: it was a training session, as identified by the “K-9 training” indication in the twit, and by the fact that the attacker wore one of those special arms protection specifically for training with dogs.

   Reply ↓
   1. Yves Smith Post authorMay 6, 2025 at 10:22 am

      Oh, duh, found it at the last minute before go live time and didn’t read carefully. I should have realized something was up given that the “attacker” had a wrap for his free hand and forearm, as in was expecting a dog tussle.

      Reply ↓
5. The Rev Kev May 6, 2025 at 7:29 am

   ‘Arnaud Bertrand
   @RnaudBertrand
   This is quite consequential.
   China, Japan, South Korea and the countries of ASEAN just issued a joint statement (asean.org/joint-statement-of…) in which they take a unified stance against “escalating trade protectionism”, a clear reference to Trump’s tariffs.’

   China, Japan & South Korea working together? Didn’t have that on my 2025 bingo card. Such a thing would have been unimaginable last year and certainly you had South Korea bumping heads with Japan not long ago for example. And now these three countries are working together against a common enemy – Trumpism. Who knew that MAGA now actually stands for Make Asia Great Again? Not me.

   Reply ↓
   1. Terry Flynn May 6, 2025 at 8:59 am

      The car tweet caught my eye. I’d commented to Yves yesterday in favour of her view that the Japanese don’t want to offload their US Treasuries. I mentioned that sources of mine (surprisingly to anyone knowing WW2 history) said Japan+China were launching an EV car which MIGHT be a game changer.

      I’m not a car person – although due to age I was first to get driving licence in my school year in my UK school I never felt need for a car til year 2 in Sydney when I was almost 40! – so I’m not the person to evaluate the tweet here. If and only if a car fanatic can easily judge the merits of this without homework then great. My sources claim it’s fantastic but could be wrong.

      As you say, there are lots of things like this not on our bingo card.

      Reply ↓
6. bassmule May 6, 2025 at 7:30 am

   I cannot read any more about Gaza. It is making me physically ill.
   Speaking of unspeakable violence, how can a list of great Westerns not include The Wild Bunch?

   Reply ↓
   1. .human May 6, 2025 at 8:24 am

      Solace

      I can’t get back to sleep
      having been awakened by a passing storm.

      I wonder what damage it caused
      in my leaking barn and the few hardys
      I have already planted in the herb garden.

      I feel my thankfulness of these minor worries
      in light of those who experience end-of-days daily
      in places known to me only as colored areas on maps.

      How gut-wrenching it is to not be able to offer solace and safety
      to those who deserve both and receive neither.

      Reply ↓
   2. Michael Fiorillo May 6, 2025 at 9:11 am

      It’s listed at #6.

      Reply ↓
   3. Carolinian May 6, 2025 at 9:36 am

      It does include The Wild Bunch. In fact it includes movies that aren’t really Westerns except that they take place in the West and movies, the Spaghetti Westerns, that were almost all filmed in Spain.

      Personally I’d say Western means a movie that includes America’s great Western scenery as one of the characters. In story terms lots of things could be called Westerns including Japanese Samurai films since Kurosawa was inspired by American films while inspiring in turn.

      In the spirit of the Link here’s the latest Sight and Sound best films of all time list. Scroll down to the bottom for the top ten.

      https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time

      Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni May 6, 2025 at 9:45 am

         Saw The Wild Bunch and Deliverance as a double feature at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood once upon a time, and you could make the argument that the latter is in the top 100 of Westerns, even though its set in the east.

         Reply ↓
         1. Carolinian May 6, 2025 at 10:23 am

            Deliverance was filmed not far from here and the gorge who’s wall Jon Voight climbs is in North Georgia. Charley Boorman, son of director John Boorman, was on set and recalled holding baby Angelina Jolie (Voight’s daughter) in his arms. Later she would become a director herself.

            The movie’s sinister seeming vegetative riot is very much in evidence here this spring. Must be all the CO2. But lacking the film’s perspective, I think all that greenery is beautiful. If you live in the South green becomes your favorite color.

            Reply ↓
7. Roland Chrisjohn May 6, 2025 at 7:31 am

   Where’s “The Magnificent Seven?” Yes, it’s a remake of “Seven Samurai,” but it has its own virtues.

   Reply ↓
8. Revenant May 6, 2025 at 7:32 am

   I was convinced the cat opening the door was going to be a Bengal but it had white socks (trader cat, not investment banking cat…). Is it a moggie or a specific breed.

   Reply ↓
   1. The Rev Kev May 6, 2025 at 7:57 am

      A cat like that could start many an argument in that household-

      ‘Honey. You left the door unlocked and open again.’

      Mandrake the Magician has got nothing on that cat.

      Reply ↓
   2. Terry Flynn May 6, 2025 at 9:08 am

      I’ve gained new appreciation for moggies. Our cat is long hair tuxedo moggie rescue cat. Vet recently confirmed she’s incredibly intelligent with a strong streak of ragdoll in her – why do a DNA test? But that’s another story. (Personally I think there’s some siamese too…… very clever cat and will watch TV with me as well as “talk”).

      Has a remarkable vocabulary……. of course being a cat that doesn’t mean she’ll actually LISTEN/DO what we want…!

      Reply ↓
   3. Quintian and Lucius May 6, 2025 at 10:29 am

      I had a tabby (meaning, probably, American muttcat who happened to be striped) as a child who on my life could do exactly this but without the support of the nearby counter. She’d just jump up repeatedly to perform each discrete action until the door was unlocked. We didn’t all have cameras in our pockets in those days. Every cat I’ve owned since has been about as bright as svalbard in midwinter.

      Reply ↓
9. Patrick Donnelly May 6, 2025 at 7:33 am

   3rd World Shitholes eventually end up with military dictatorships.

   That won’t happen to MAGA, as the military are grateful for the wise leadership of Mr Donald J Trump, Pope in waiting.

   He may be about to meet the real Deep State.

   Reply ↓
10. Unironic Pangloss May 6, 2025 at 7:34 am

    >>>The rise of colibactin seems to have been in the last twenty or so years

    A parallel hypothesis is that industrialized ‘soy protein isolate” is a, part or substantial, contributing factor.

    Industrialized “health food” is pretty much as bad as eating factory food 1.0

    Reply ↓
    1. vao May 6, 2025 at 8:21 am

       I had no clue what “soy protein isolates” are used for, so looked up in Wikipedia:

       “Soy protein is used in various foods, such as salad dressings, soups, meat analogues, beverage powders, cheeses, nondairy creamer, frozen desserts, whipped topping, infant formulas, breads, breakfast cereals, pastas, and pet foods.”

       Cheese? Bread? Pasta? I am lucky that where I live I never encountered such a heresy as using soy protein as an ingredient for those basic foodstuffs. True enough, I can still afford to avoid ultra low-quality, super-cheap products.

       Reply ↓
       1. Neutrino May 6, 2025 at 9:48 am

          When soy appears, I am reminded of phytoestrogens and related chemicals. My approach is to steer clear of all, even the edamame.

          Reply ↓
11. Colonel Smithers May 6, 2025 at 7:55 am

    Thank you, Yves.

    Further to the link about malnutrition in the UK, readers, especially those located in the benighted kingdom, will be relieved to hear that many, but not all, in / of the ruling red Tories* believe in say almost as much that they believe in the deserving poor and undeserving poor.

    The chancellor, who may soon be scapegoated if the FT is any guide, believes in that and has long said so. Rachel from customer complaints, not accounts as is widely joked, is a piece of work. When I asked, somewhat rhetorically, how anyone could be so lacking in empathy, on a par with George Osborne, a chaotic childhood resulting in misanthropy was suggested.

    As my parents and I watched some soldiers from the Azov brigade parade in London yesterday, mum explained that the budget for Ukrainian refugees, even the ones driving high end cars, is ring fenced, kept as a single pot and protected from cuts and inflation. She compared that with the budget for the royal family which is spread around Whitehall, so that the extent is hidden and muckrakers discouraged.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev May 6, 2025 at 8:26 am

       ’the budget for Ukrainian refugees’’…is ring fenced, kept as a single pot and protected from cuts and inflation.’

       A slush fund. You’re talking about a slush fund that is probably not scrutinized so there is no knowing if bits of it get directed to worthier causes and people. I would not be surprised to learn that Boris Johnson has his fat fingers in that pot for example.

       Surprised, not surprised that they had the Nazi brigade on parade. They are there probably looking for donations and volunteers as well but jeez, do they have to make it so obvious that the UK government supports Nazis? It was bad enough when the Canadian Parliament was giving standing ovations to a Nazi SS war criminal.

       Reply ↓
       1. Polar Socialist May 6, 2025 at 8:43 am

          Nah, the 11 Ukrainians were selected from a bunch that are training in UK at the moment. Maybe the rest of them refused to remove the wolfsangels and swastikas from their kit. Or Ukraine could find only 11 they could trust not to go AWOL on arrival…

          Reply ↓
          1. The Rev Kev May 6, 2025 at 8:48 am

             How do we know (looks suspiciously left and right) that they weren’t actually British soldiers in Ukrainian uniforms?

             Reply ↓
             1. Polar Socialist May 6, 2025 at 9:14 am

                British have this funny way of marching where they lift their hand straight forward and are in step. They could be civilians, though, with half an hour preparation from a US sarge…

                Reply ↓
          2. Colonel Smithers May 6, 2025 at 9:20 am

             Thank you.

             It was said that Ukrainian soldiers “are trained for some weeks”, not longer. I did not catch if these were trainees.

             A Ukrainian naval officer was also present. I could not see his rank from the lower arm.

             Reply ↓
       2. ambrit May 6, 2025 at 8:45 am

          More to the point, that Azov detachment was probably scouting bolt holes for when the ‘Evil Russkies'(TM) finish overrunning the Ukraine.
          Look at the bright side. In the Azovs, the Reactionary Cliques have ready-made Brown Shirts with which to impose “Law and Order” upon the unwashed masses of His Majestie’s Realm.
          Oswald Mosley must be spinning in his grave over this latest brainstorm by the Micro Britain crowd.
          “Why didn’t I think of this? Today I’d be remembered as the Protector who saved Britain from the threat of Socialism! Blast!”

          Reply ↓
12. DJG, Reality Czar May 6, 2025 at 8:25 am

    The multicolored dyed thing in the bike basket. And so it has come to this.

    I recall when a dog was a dog, with its own kind of existence, rather than a fashion accessory or emotional support animal or substitute for a child.

    One drawback of the Chocolate City is that French bulldogs and related stunted canids are currently fashionable. I keep thinking that people just want a veterinary case that dies off young.

    So the photo strikes me as a symptom of something: too much money, urban loneliness, inattention to animals and their own needs….

    Reply ↓
    1. JMH May 6, 2025 at 9:07 am

       It has come this and isn’t it revolting.

       Reply ↓
       1. wol May 6, 2025 at 9:58 am

          Seconded.

          Reply ↓
13. Daniil Adamov May 6, 2025 at 8:45 am

    I quite liked “Portrait of the Joker as a young man”. Not really familiar with that substack and the (admittedly light) editorialising seems largely unnecessary, but the basic biographic facts and quotes are very illuminating. I wouldn’t have thought that KVN, the late Soviet/post-Soviet comedy competition, was a viable path to power, but I guess it’s no worse than American reality TV.

    Reply ↓
14. Patrick Donnelly May 6, 2025 at 9:09 am

    The best thing for China is to show their weakness as the trade war slowly throttles them.

    DJT will increase the pressure ….

    Reply ↓
15. eg May 6, 2025 at 9:13 am

    “US Border Towns Are Being Ravaged by Canada’s Furious Boycott”

    This squares with anecdotal reports from my Toronto friends just down the road, all of whom are cancelling any non-essential (ie. work or family required) travel to the US and all of whom are ostentatiously eschewing the purchase of US products. My own 87 year old mother whom I take grocery shopping once a week has become extra vigilant that nothing from south of the border ends up in her basket.

    I haven’t been across the border myself since 2019, and it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon either …

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev May 6, 2025 at 9:22 am

       That article mentioned that a lot of people there had both Canadian and US citizenship. I wonder how it would effect those that lived on one side of the border but daily commuted to the other for their regular job. But even if Trump choked on a cheeseburger tomorrow, it might take decades to repair the damage done with US-Canadian relationships – if ever. That’s a lot of trust that needlessly got burned down to the ground in only a few short months.

       Reply ↓
16. Grateful Dude May 6, 2025 at 9:15 am

    “Donald Jr. and Eric Trump Pursue New Deals That Would Enrich President Trump”

    It seems plain to me that the DT administration is a vast criminal conspiracy: the looting, the naked and in-your-face emoluments, suborning of the DoJ, DoD, even the spooks + vengeance prosecutions, the threats – extortion of colleges e.g., DOGE!!!, contempt of court, etc.

    That’s the big picture here. The ghost of Roy Cohn …

    Reply ↓
17. Wukchumni May 6, 2025 at 9:16 am

    Start spreading the news, you’re not leaving today
    I want no part of it, Newark, Newark
    No TSA inspected shoes, they’ll stay on today
    And step away from it, Newark, Newark

    I wanted to wake up in a different city for a sleep
    And find an aisle seat, put my bag up steep
    Your small town airport blues, find another way
    I’m going to give up on it, in old Newark

    You always fake it there, you can’t make it anywhere
    Greyhound is an alternative for you, Newark, Newark

    In Newark, Newark

    I want to wake up in another city on the cheap
    And find I’m liking the thrill, on the no fly list
    A number one, King of Amtrak

    These airport blues, they have all melted away
    And I’m going to make a brand new start at it
    Nowhere near old Newark
    You better believe it folks
    You can’t make it there, you can’t make it anywhere
    Come on, you’re through, Newark, Newark

    Reply ↓
18. The Rev Kev May 6, 2025 at 9:16 am

    “NATO Struggles to Keep Up as Drone Warfare Gets Gamified”

    Reading this article, I wonder if some countries will opt to resurrect actual cavalry horses once more. Well maybe not so much cavalry as mounted infantry which even Hannibal used. Fast, mostly self-sustainable, trainable and maneuver they may be an option for some places. In the initial invasion of Afghanistan, US special forces used horses to advance to good effect. Back them up with the firepower of a ‘technical’ and you might have a viable solution to advance on an enemy force.

    Reply ↓
    1. Koldmilk May 6, 2025 at 9:28 am

       Dragoons:

       Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot.

       The section on “Modern dragoons” is particularly interesting.

       Reply ↓
       1. The Rev Kev May 6, 2025 at 10:05 am

          I don’t think that we will see the likes of this ever again-

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsWQRI6VuzQ (16:30 mins)

          Well, unless we end up in a post-industrial society that is.

          Reply ↓
       2. Polar Socialist May 6, 2025 at 10:07 am

          Basically motorized infantry, nowadays. Anyway, I’d vouch for electric off-road bicycles. Fully charged battery good for 5-10 km, so bike would be light to carry/peddle and “easy and fast” to recharge.

          I wonder when will we see the first exoskeleton powered storming of enemy positions?

          Reply ↓
    2. vao May 6, 2025 at 10:17 am

       Russians have been using motorbike-mounted infantry in Ukraine for something like 18 months. There is a fair number of videos showing them dashing in a scattered swarm towards the front line while eschewing shots, disembarking, and finally storming trenches.

       Horse-mounted troops have been actually kept in a very tenuous and intermittent existence ever since WWII.

       In Sudan, the janjaweed did rely for quite a long time on horses, and have been infamous for their role in the various civil wars, especially in Darfur.

       During the colonial war, the Portuguese did use horse-mounted troops (I believe in Mozambique) to patrol those regions where the terrain and lack of roads did not allow motorized transport. The advantages were first that those troops could remain longer than, say, airborne commandos (which required helicopters being refilled and undergo technical maintenance), and second that the independentists fighting the Portuguese moved on foot in those same regions.

       I do not see cavalry coming back in Western countries anyway. First, one would need quite a number of them and of the right breed — because those competing in derbies are probably unsuitable for the kind of service expected in the military. Second, you would need to staff the military with blacksmiths, grooms, and veterinarians — in addition to troops knowing how to ride horses. Third, you would have to set up the whole logistical train for those animals — stables, fodder, etc. It is a challenging endeavour, and see just how things are going with, say, the production of basic artillery ammunition…

       Up until the first half of the 1950s, this would have been fairly easy in Europe, which was still reyling massively on horses in civilian life. After that, with the Marshall Plan having enticed farmers to ditch their horses for tractors, this became impossible; nowadays horses are only kept in reduced numbers for ceremonial guards and the like.

       Reply ↓
19. The Rev Kev May 6, 2025 at 9:55 am

    “Israel calling up tens of thousands of reservists to expand war on Gaza”

    Lots of Israelis will refuse to be called up because of what they have had to do and the sacrifices that they have made with family and businesses. But the ones that do – since Bibi has said that Israel is going to militarily occupy Gaza, then that would mean a huge occupation force to be stationed there at all time living in what is mostly rubble. So those reservist that answer the call may be in Gaza for a very, very long time. I wonder if they have thought of that.

    Reply ↓
20. Skip Kaltenheuser May 6, 2025 at 9:55 am

    Re: Bill that would punish Americans boycotting Israel pulled from US Congress

    “Liberal Democratic” Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) got that accursed ball rolling. In 2017 he tried to pass fines up to a million dollars and prison sentences up to twenty years for advocating Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS). Attempting to crush Americans exercising their First Amendment, at the behest of a foreign power, is a stark betrayal. Censure? Expulsion? Senator Chuck Schumer made Cardin chair of Foreign Relations when Senator Bob Menendez, his Israeli lobby largess second only to Biden’s, flamed out.

    Since then, Cardin’s effort has been a template for spin-off penalties at state and local levels. Though this latest assault to our rights of free expression was pulled, it still percolates in Congress.

    This is the ultimate corruption, degradation. I’ve tried to avoid single issue litmus tests, but here’s one I’ll go for. America will never have a chance until we dump those clearly in the pocket of a malevolent foreign power, traitors who cover up and enable Israel’s breathtaking depravity, regardless of their party.

    If we don’t do it, we embrace our pariah status.

    Reply ↓
    1. ChrisFromGA May 6, 2025 at 10:14 am

       The accursed bill is prima facie unconstitutional.

       Should it pass, however, it would probably go into effect for a short period until someone gets arrested for boycotting Israel and has standing to assert their first amendment rights. Making some folks lives miserable.

       Our Congress is a failed institution.

       Reply ↓
21. antidlc May 6, 2025 at 10:01 am

    https://www.npr.org/2025/05/05/nx-s1-5267612/trump-gain-of-function-research-funding
    Trump restricts funding for ‘gain-of-function’ research — calling it dangerous

    President Trump issued an executive order Monday restricting federal funding for research that involves a controversial field of scientific study known as “gain-of-function” research.

    The research, which is also known as “dual-use” research, involves experimenting with viruses and other pathogens that have the potential to trigger a pandemic. Those studies could discover how infectious agents might become more transmissible or make people sicker.

    Reply ↓
22. Carolinian May 6, 2025 at 10:10 am

    Re the A Fool’s Errand article–this makes the point that has been made around here that to bring back manufacturing to America you would also have to bring back unions which is the last thing the Trumpies want. Of course his 1890s America did have lots of nonunion factories but also lots of immigrants and he doesn’t want them either.

    Whereas the heyday of the “arsenal of democracy” was heavily unionized because you need to keep workers happy if the job is the not exactly life fulfilling work of an assembly line.

    The truth is that Trump has always been selling a bill of goods and what he really wants is to make America’s ruling class great again. MARCA–doesn’t really have a ring.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev May 6, 2025 at 10:30 am

       You would also have to offer good wages to those workers as well but that would be intolerable to modern day employers. They would want the Amazon model where the workers are on an absolute minimal wage and have to rely on food stamps to make their job work. But the Republicans want to chop those food stamps and you can’t employ illegals as you would have ICE go right through those factories. And who would pay to train those workers? Or enable public transport to get those workers from where they live to where they work? Through their radical belief systems, conservatives have absolutely boxed themselves in here. Soooo, maybe dark factories with no workers?

       Reply ↓
23. Trees&Trunks May 6, 2025 at 10:34 am

    Merz – happiness never lasts.

    Now this fool is elected as chancellor.

    Sic transit gloria Germanorum.

    https://www-bild-de.translate.goog/politik/inland/friedrich-merz-erreicht-keine-mehrheit-liveticker-zur-kanzlerwahl-680e424c7ebb0418fb752600?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp

    Reply ↓