Dear patient readers,
Thank you for bearing with us during the Cloudflare outage yesterday. Sadly that also threw me off my rhythm, hence a lack of original posts by me today.
UC Berkeley Scientists Hail Breakthrough In Decoding Whale Communication SFGate
No free fucking play – then the children’s party ends in chaos Aftonbladet via machine translation (Micael T)
Asymmetry: Some notes on vulnerability Samuel Kimbriel
Super-recognizers sample visual information of superior computational value for facial recognition Proceedings of the Royal Society of Biological Science. I am a super bad recognizer!
Everyday microplastics could be fueling heart disease Science Direct (Anthony L)
#COVID-19/Pandemics
Sometimes I see one of these charts that just stops me in my tracks.
Alzheimer’s.
Late onset.Don’t lie to yourself about this one. pic.twitter.com/lXAJ8jbswf
— tern (@1goodtern) November 17, 2025
Climate/Environment
U.S. rejection of climate science is a call to action for the rest of the world Eugene Linden, Los Angeles Times
Methane pollution still rises, but UN reports hope for near future reductions Independent
‘We Are Forgotten Here’: As NYC Builds Seawalls, This Queens Community Feels Left Behind NYSFocus
‘I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe’ This is climate breakdown Guardian
The Arctic as we knew it is disappearing right in front our eyes… crazy warm anomalies up to ~20°C! 😱
Do you see the cold anomalies that (according to climate denials) counterbalance the warm ones?
No, because they hardly occur…
Via @WeatherProf pic.twitter.com/GIEGhwTjYa
— Melaine Le Roy (@subfossilguy) November 16, 2025
Landslides kill dozens as heavy rains lash Southeast Asia Aljazera. Our rainy season normally ends in October. It’s overcast, really cool and raining ~ every other day, which should be over…particularly since high season has supposedly started. Not beach weather!
Wheat could require dramatically more water during future heat waves, scientists warn Qazinform
The achievement of a degrowth future requires system change not green new deals Bill Mitchell. As we have been saying, but good to have company.
Japan-China Row
China bans Japanese seafood as diplomatic dispute deepens Reuters
China-Japan Feud Escalates Foreign Policy
Twitter embeds currently not working. This did include a video:
China and Japan are in a vicious game of chicken over Taiwan Economist
Japan’s no longer ambiguous stance on Taiwan Asia Times (Kevin W)
Africa
Nestlé accused of ’risking health of babies for profit’ over added sugar in cereals sold in African countries Guardian (resilc)
South of the Border
Trump authorizes CIA to prepare plans for covert operations in Venezuela: Report Anadolu Agency
Sheriff David Hathaway : Breaks Silence on Government-Sanctioned Killings Judge Napolitano, YouTube. Way more informative than I expected.
European Disunion
Mearsheimer: Europe’s Bleak Future American Conservative (Michael Hudson)
French winegrowers protest as crisis deepens The Drinks Business
Islamists flee Sweden – leaving behind millions in unpaid tax debts Expressen via machine translation. Micael T: “Side-effect of privatized schools being funded by taxpayer money and zero legislative control or enforcement. Neoliberalism! Yuhuu!!!”
Old Blighty
UK Labour to Let Authorities Take Jewelry From Asylum-Seekers as Part of Sweeping New Immigration Crackdown Common Dreams
NHS faces ‘doom loop’ without AI, says Euan Blair Telegraph. Colonel Smithers: “Where there’s a trough, there’s a Blair.” From Ignacio of our Covid Brain Trust:
Holy Sh#t!
We are surrounded by snake oil salesmen!
“Productivity doom loop” sounds horrible! Though i believe that would be exactly the outcome if AI tools get in charge of HC operations at NHS.
I find all this nearly unbelievable.‘Deeply shocking’: Nigel Farage faces fresh claims of racism and antisemitism at school Guardian (Colonel Smithers)
Israel v. The Resistance
Ok, officially confirmed. X limited Hebrew translation, so we dont see all the open calls for genocide. I’m surprised they let Grok admit this. https://t.co/O9oPjbq2xA pic.twitter.com/XyKCN9CFIh
— Ali Ahmadi (@AliR_Ahmadi) November 17, 2025
⭕️ Israel’s “Iron coffin” Torture
Palestine Prisoners Media has documented the testimony of a Palestinian man released from inside the Israeli prison system where he describes being forced to sleep 10-12 nights inside what’s known as the “coffin”, a narrow iron cage, where he… pic.twitter.com/KorTwDUgqX
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) November 18, 2025
Poland Repurposed a Nazi Factory Site to Make TNT to Drop on Gaza DropSite (Robin K)
Iranian nuclear experts held second covert meeting with Russian weapons institute Financial Times. Lead story. No archived version yet.
Rainfall triggers flooding in western Iran after months of severe drought Iran International
Iran’s snow cover plummets 98.6% as water crisis deepens Intellinews
New Not-So-Cold War
Polish ‘Sabotage’ False Flag Churns More Threats Against Russia Amid AFU’s Shock Collapse in Seversk Simplicius
Scoop: U.S. secretly drafting new plan to end Ukraine war Axios. If this is correct, it’s yet another flip flop. Having effectively repudiated the Alaska position (accepting the Russian “no ceasefire”), this claims it’s back on and Ukraine is going along. I don’t see how Russia can do more than play along given how totally untrustworthy, even by US standards, that Trump has been. And the Ukraine front lines are now cracking at many points. Putin would face close to a domestic revolt were he to settle. And the Europeans are not ready to agree either even if Ukraine is finally sobering up as to how untenable its position is. But then again, by the time the US, Ukraine, and the rabid EU faction led by Ursula von der Leyen, Mark Rutte, Kaja Kallas, and Freidrich Merz could possibly agree on anything, the war will over.
Ukraine’s Days are Numbered Larry Johnson
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Google is collecting troves of data from downgraded Nest thermostats The Verge
Imperial Collapse Watch
Living Backwards Aurelien
WHAT A CRANKY NEW BOOK ABOUT PROGRESS GETS RIGHT Atlantic (Anthony L)
Trump 2.0
Trump has ‘blurred’ line between military and politics, ex-officers warn Guardian (resilc)
Trump designates Saudi Arabia as a major non-NATO US ally Anadolu Agency
Trump Says Saudi Leader Knew Nothing of Journalist Murder, Rejecting CIA Assessment Wall Street Journal
Appeals court panel mulls $1M penalty for Trump in lawsuit against Hillary Clinton Politico
The billionaire Trump chose to lead NASA has ties to Chinese government Oligarch Watch
Immigration
EXCLUSIVE: How the Trump administration sparked a health crisis for ICE detainees Popular Information
Contractor Paying Random People $300 to Physically Track Immigrants for ICE 404 Media
L’affaire Epstein. Apologies for the YouTube embeds that you can’t play locally, but Musk went to the White House and suddenly lots of tweets no longer embed, particularly ones with juicy videos. So trust me, the two YouTubes below are very much worth your attention.
Senate Agrees to Pass Bill to Force Epstein Files’ Release, Sending It to Trump Time
Epstein’s Brother: GOP Is SCRUBBING Files Of Names Kim Iversen, YouTube (fk)
From a tweet by Ryder (hat tip Chuck L) on the exchange below: “This is absolutely historic. Unbelievable. Listen to what this president say. I honestly think this press meeting is the end of him.”
A different incident: “Quiet Piggy”: Trump Snaps at Female Reporter Asking About Epstein New Republic
Epstein Bill Passes as Top Official Circulates Plan to Block Transparency Ken Klippenstein (fk)
Jeffrey Epstein Pursued Swiss Rothschild Bank to Finance Israeli Cyberweapons Empire DropSite
GOP Clown Car
Federal court blocks Texas Republicans’ redrawn congressional map NBC (Kevin W)
Mr. Market Is Having a Sad
Have the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Stock Markets Peaked? Michael Shedlock. A technical take.
How the shutdown broke America’s food chain — and what happens next Grist
AI
The Whole Financial World Is Terrified of Nvidia’s Earnings Call Futurism
Click through, this tweet is a must read:
🦔CoreWeave is spending $310 million on interest expense against just $51.9 million in operating income, borrowing money to pay interest on previous loans. The AI data center company went public in March at $40 per share, peaked at $187 in June, and now trades around $75 while… pic.twitter.com/jRRvhkmJrJ
— Hedgie (@HedgieMarkets) November 17, 2025
Rampant AI demand throws the memory chip market into turmoil Nikkei. Readers have said that the cost of RAM has skyrocketed.
America’s AI giants surging strong and swift into India Asia Times (Kevin W)
The Bezzle
Great Bitcoin Crash of 2025 Has It Lagging Bonds, Gold and More Bloomberg
How Soaring Energy Demand Helped Push Bitcoin Below $90,000 OilPrice (resilc)
Tech Billionaires Found a New Way To Extract Wealth | Ft. John Russell YouTube (resilc)
Class Warfare
Elon Musk is set to make more than every U.S. elementary teacher combined Washington Post (resilc)
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
I’m copy pasting the full text of the Drop Site tweet in case people skipped over the twitter embed:
Palestine Prisoners Media has documented the testimony of a Palestinian man released from inside the Israeli prison system where he describes being forced to sleep 10-12 nights inside what’s known as the “coffin”, a narrow iron cage, where he was “connected to a small tube through which he was fed a nutritional liquid not exceeding a quarter cup of plastic.” He couldn’t speak or move and his breathing was monitored.
Imad Nabhan was arrested December 2023 and transferred to Sde Timan prison, where he was held for 35 days and subsequently transferred between several Israeli prisons, naming the Negev, Ofer, Ramla, Megiddo, and several temporary detention centers until he was released in a recent prisoner swap. Amongst these prisons he described what’s called “Bird Rooms” where agents disguised as prisoners try to elicit information from inmates.
In the mornings Nabhan described being held in the “disco room” where music is blasted at excruciating volume. Then, during interrogation sessions, he was seated in a metal chair connected to electricity where he was repeatedly asked to collaborate in exchange for freedom and support. “During the interrogation, which lasts for several hours, if Imad asked for a sip of water, the interrogator would take the bottle and pour it slowly into the trash bin, telling him to cooperate with him to drink and quench his thirst.” Electric batons were also used on his feet.
Prisoners lost tens of kilos in weight and skin infections were rife: “If he requested an increase in his food ration, the response was that the prison administration feeds the prisoners so they are able to go to interrogation, satisfying the prisoners is not the goal. So, he and his companions would resort to collecting the breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals and eating them before sleep, hoping they might feel full and could sleep.” Scabies is allowed to spread in the prisons, “which led to prisoners developing boils and ulcers, causing some prisoners to die as martyrs, and others to suffer nerve damage or an inability to move.”
‘Hedgie
@HedgieMarkets
🦔CoreWeave is spending $310 million on interest expense against just $51.9 million in operating income, borrowing money to pay interest on previous loans. The AI data center company went public in March at $40 per share, peaked at $187 in June, and now trades around $75 while carrying $14 billion in debt.’
For those who cannot see the whole thread-
https://xcancel.com/HedgieMarkets/status/1990530634960478584
Yves is right. This tweet is a must read and shows how our business elite are just nuts.
A new asylum policy announced Monday by the UK Labour Party will allow authorities to confiscate the jewelry and other belongings of asylum-seekers in order to pay for their claims to be processed.
Wow. Sanctioned thievery, where does it end? How long before asylum seekers are sent directly to labor camps?
I guess empathy is running low amongst the “coalition of the willing”.
I seem to remember some Scandinavian country doing the same with refugees several years ago but I forgot which one. Update. Just did a search and found that it was Denmark back in 2016-
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/26/danish-parliament-approves-plan-to-seize-assets-from-refugees
Lol, the Guardian article on Farage dovetails nicely,
It is the hectoring tone, the “jeering quality”, in Nigel Farage’s voice today that brings it all back for Peter Ettedgui. “He would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right,’ or ‘Gas them,’ sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers,” Ettedgui says of his experience of being in a class with Farage at Dulwich college in south London.
Nice guy.
Financial Times: Iranian nuclear experts held second covert meeting with Russian weapons institute
https://archive.ph/hquC4
“No free fawking play – then the children’s party ends in chaos”
These people are overthinking it by a country mile. A kid’s party is not so hard. So long as there is no gushing blood or broken bones at the end of the party, then you can call that a win. Just stuff them full of yummy food and cold drinks and you are right. Pro tip. Just before the parents arrive to pick up their kids, you fill those kids up with red drink and have them run around the yard a coupla times.