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Links 11/4/2025

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This family’s cat turned chef added a dead mouse to their soup Not the Bee (Li)

I know it is in terrible taste to cheer, but:

Alarming surge in memory problems among young adults ScienceDaily (Kevin W). Predates Covid.

#COVID-19/Pandemics

The Effect of US COVID-19 Excess Mortality on Social Security Outlays NBER. Paul R: “Covid deaths help SS trust fund.”

Outbreak of polio reported in Laos Bangkok Post

Climate/Environment

Earth showing alarming symptoms of climate distress as 22 of 34 key indicators hit record highs: Report Down to Earth

Increasing central and northern European summer heatwave intensity due to forced changes in internal variability Nature

The nature extinction crisis is mirrored by one in our own bodies. Both have huge implications for health Guardian

Water

Iran’s Water Crisis Puts Millions in Danger Newsweek

India’s Indus Treaty Suspension Sparks Water Crisis In Pakistan Grand Pinnacle Tribune

China?

China Urges US to Avoid ‘Red Lines’ After Reaching Trade Truce Bloomberg

China Backs Domestic AI Chips with Massive Energy Subsidies to Counter US Sanctions WinBuzzer

Japan

The Japanese Thatcher Julian Macfarlane

Africa

Nigeria rejects claims of Christian genocide as Trump mulls military action Aljazeera (resilc)

Stay Out of Nigeria Daniel Larison

Mali’s Potential Fall To Terrorists Could Result In Another French-Led Intervention Andrew Korybko

South of the Border

Report: US Preparing Mexico Mission Against Cartels That Would Include Troops and Drone Strikes Antiwar (Kevin W)

Venezuela Exposes CIA ‘Casus Belli’ Plot, Arrests Suspected Operatives Orinoco Tribun (Robin K)

Paraguay Declares War on “Narcoterrorists” Paraguay Post

Mexican mayor killed during Day of the Dead celebrations Guardian (resilc)

European Disunion

Germany’s Deindustrialisation Is a Capital Coup China Economic Indicator (Robin K)

What Secrets Does the Nord Stream II Blast Still Hold? Poland’s Opaque Game NEO (Michael T)

Old Blighty

Millions Lending Money to Friends and Family to Cover Essentials BBC

Even ex-banking MDs can’t get their children finance jobs now eFinancialCareers25 (Micael T)

Israel v. the Resistance

Israel to appoint new army lawyer after Palestinian prisoner rape scandal  Middle East Eye (resilc)

Israeli Settlers Filmed Torturing Lambs in a Palestinian-owned Pen in the West Bank Haaretz (resilc)

The Olive Harvest Deportations Jewish Currents (Susan C)

The myth of US peacemaking: Why Washington’s mediation in West Asia keeps crumbling The Cradle

The Arab World’s Last Militant Leader Is Elusive and Defiant Wall Street Journal

New Not-So-Cold War

The Root Causes of the War in Ukraine, Or Why Russia Insists on the Donbas Antiwar

Imperial Collapse Watch

Western Political Lies Signal The End of an Era Finn Andreen (Micael T)

The US and EU had a bold plan to counter China’s BRI in Africa’s copper belt. It fell apart in under a year. Kevin Walmsley

America’s Magical Thinking on Ukraine and North Korea American Conservative (resilc)

The World’s Highest Incarceration Rates (Including U.S. States) Visual Capitalist (resilc)

Trump 2.0

A Trace Analysis of 150 U.S. Cities Shows One of the Greatest Drops in Gun Violence — Ever The Trace (resilc)

FDA’s top drug regulator resigns amid investigation STAT

Shutdown

Trump administration will tap emergency fund to pay partial food stamp benefits BBC. Per court order.

Senate GOP blocks Dem effort to fund SNAP The Hill

Tariffs/Trade

Trump says China, other countries can’t have Nvidia’s top AI chips Reuters

Supremes

“Regular Forces” and the Insurrection Act Steve Vladeck

Monday: Tariffs Incoming At SCOTUS; Thinking About Rare Earths Mark Wauck

Republican Clown Car

FULL Republican Civil War EXPLODES Over Tucker, Fuentes, Israel Breaking Points

Democrat Death Wish

Inside the Democratic identity crisis Unherd. Some great phrasemaking.

Working-class voters think Dems are ‘woke’ and ‘weak,’ new research finds Politico. Paul R: “It took a big research study to find that out, lol.”

A year after Trump won, why won’t Democrats change their playbook? Norman Solomon, Guardian (resilc)

How the Democrats Can Play Offense Washington Monthly. Um, they are pretty good at being offensive.

Mamdani

When Zohran Mamdani campaigned in Arabic, He was Speaking an old American Language Juan Cole (Randy K)

Four Early Voting Takeaways in NYC, By The Numbers THE CITY

Trump threatens to restrict federal funding if Mamdani wins New York City mayoral race Anadolu Agency

Obama calls Mamdani and offers to be ‘sounding board’ if he wins mayoral race Guardian. resilc: “Obomba is a bigger con than Ttrump……..at least Trump is an open book asshole.”

Zohran Mamdani’s child care gamble Vox

Our No Longer Free Press

Teen Vogue Ridiculed for Dissolving Politics Team Just One Day Before ‘Major Election’: ‘A Knife in the Back’ The Wrap (Harvey L). Teen Vogue had a labor column. We often linked to its stories.

Mr. Market is Moody

We’ve never been so sure of an imminent financial crash: Industry leaders across ALL sectors come together to say these signs of US economic meltdown are undeniable Daily Mail

Economy

Bessent Says Some ‘Sectors’ Of Economy Are In Recession Forbes

AI

Why AI scientists fail to impress human experts at one-of-a-kind online conference South China Morning Post

The Bezzle

Catalog of Dark Patterns Hall of Shame (resilc)

Private capital zombie firms will pile up in next decade, says EQT chief Financial Times

Guillotine Watch

Top Trump officials Miller, Noem and Rubio adopt bunker mentality with housing reserved for military officers: report Independent

Class Warfare

The Ghost in the Machine Ryan Perkins (Robin K). Today’s must read.

She’s 93 and still job searching. Why older Americans work, even if they’re sick. Business Insider (resic)

Is This Rock Bottom? Corbin Trent and America’s Undoing. resilc cites:

I keep waiting for someone in power or seeking it to say the quiet part out loud: the amount of work required to fix this country is far bigger than “beating Trump” or “restoring norms” or whatever line gets handed to Democratic donors and MSNBC panels. I keep waiting for someone to look the public in the eye and say: we’re not going to vote our way back to the America we think we used to have, because the America we think we used to have never actually existed for most people.

Why Is Healthcare Expensive? Dean Baker

Inmates will pay up to 83% more for phone calls, thanks to new FCC rule Popular Information

‘Soul-Crushing’: Students Slam Harvard’s Grade Inflation Report Harvard Crimson. ZOMG, the entitlement, it burns.

BCC Sees Dramatic Increase in Enrollment, Thanks to Free Tuition Programs iBershires (resilc)

Antidote du jour (via):

A bonus:

A second bonus:

And a third:

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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40 comments

  2. The Rev Kev

    “Dick Cheney Dead”

    Hell under total lockdown. His infernal majesty Satan says no way is that sob going to get in as even they have to draw the line somewhere. ‘Hell’ he said, even ‘Adolf doesn’t want him there.’ A rumour states that he tried to slip in as a Dark Prince until a Demon remembered that that was just his normal appearance.

    Reply ↓
    1. JohnnyGL

      Satan is going to have a real problem on his hands once those Israeli prison guards start making their way to the afterlife.

      Same with the rest of their whole cabinet and knesset.

      Reply ↓
    4. Louis Fyne

      84 is not that old.

      An American male with de facto unlimited access to theoretically “the best” health care in the world lived barely longer than the median Australian or Japanese male. While Mugabe and Castro, pushed 90+. The current Iranian Ayatollah is 89.

      reminds me of Roald Dahl’s idea that people with ugly thoughts rot on the outside too.

      Reply ↓
      1. The Rev Kev

        I’m going to make a prediction here. In the old days when somebody famous died it was not long before a bunch of tell-all books came out saying what they were really like. But when John McCain fell off his perch several years ago nothing like that happened. It was like America publishers were told ‘Don’t you dare!’ and he was buried in a State funeral. So I predict the same for Cheney. No tell-all books will come out and he too will get a State funeral as a great American patriot.

        Reply ↓
  3. ProNewerDeal

    Any update on imperative/how-to advice on Covid prevention/mitigation?

    I assume that the risk of long-term organ damage & Long Covid, as expressed by experts like Dr Al-Aly who testified before Sen Bernie Sanders Long Covid hearing are still extant with the current predominant Covid variant(s). Any take on this?

    For prevention/mitigation ala “swiss cheese” layered model, what do you recommend?
    1 wearing N95 or at least KN95 masks as much as possible in indoor public spaces?

    2 Novavax 2025-26 vaccine?

    3 take prophylactic OTC vitamins including Vitamin D/C/Quercitin as listed on the FLCCC “I-Prevent” protocol?

    4 take prophylactic “I vitamin” twice per week?

    Reply ↓
    1. Louis Fyne

      this will come across as sarcasm, but ain’t…..don’t be around other people is the only real fool-proof prophylactic.

      Good luck with that.

      Reply ↓
    2. JM

      From what I know.
      1&2: yes, mask diligence is ol’ reliable
      3: I guess, check your diet to see if you need supplements
      4: ??? – I don’t know, probably won’t hurt

      There is also evidence that CPC (found in some mouthwashes) and Azelastine (found in some allergy sprays) can be protective. I don’t have the studies on hand but you can probably find them.

      And what LF says, avoid known ill ppl when possible.

      Reply ↓
  4. Tony Wikrent

    Should also be noted that Cheney’s last act of national vandalism was to sink the Harris campaign, after Kamala stupidly decided to stop campaigning on economic issues and begin highlighting Cheney and his daughter’s support.

    Reply ↓
  6. Christopher Fay

    The next week of hagiography will be horrid. The bright spot is with our goldfish memories by November 11 it will all be forgotten

    Reply ↓
  7. The Rev Kev

    “Top Trump officials Miller, Noem and Rubio adopt bunker mentality with housing reserved for military officers: report”

    Hegseth too. A case of these people putting the ‘chicken’ into ‘chickenhawks’. These people are authoritarian bullies and revel in beating on people that cannot defend themselves. And yet they hide out on a military base when push comes to shove. The late unlamented Dick Cheney was the same over twenty years ago. He lived in the Vice-Presidential home of Number One Observatory Circle but made sure that satellite images of his home there were heavily blurred out in case somebody wanted to use that info for an attack. As soon as he left office that blurring was removed.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_One_Observatory_Circle

    Reply ↓
    1. erstwhile

      ‘These people are authoritarian bullies and revel in beating on people that cannot defend themselves.’ Not so surprising that american politicians are increasingly identical to the zionist politicians in the mideast. I read that the jewish zionists are attempting to become an apex predator by destroying the most defenseless people on earth. Gaza, brother. The americans, though, are fed by zionist billionaires, and the manic notion that it’s god’s will that the Palestinians be eliminated. Since the trajectory of u.s. and israeli history seems to bend to destruction and genocide, it gives a new meaning to the oft repeated phrase, the u.s. is based on judeo-christian principals.

      Reply ↓
  8. Christopher Fay

    Hillary chimes in, “as a leader in international affairs and security during my first term in the senate Dick had a firm hand in guiding the triumvirate of mossad, the CIA, and the gulf hereditary dictators. I worked closely with him in this essential work. Not since the days of F troop have our resources been corralled in the wrong direction. Up until today we still have not recovered.”

    Reply ↓
    1. DJG, Reality Czar

      Christopher Fay: Like you, my first thoughts and prayers went to the grieving Hillary Clinton.

      I can’t find the essay, but someone wrote that Dick Cheney’s distinct talent was being on the wrong side of every issue his whole career. Talk about failing upward.

      The difference is that Hillary Clinton is a media creation, whose hardly controlled venom has great allure for U.S. media workers. Dick just didn’t have that much charm. Yet Clinton has never been right about anything — she’s the Handmaiden’s Tale, indeed, handmaiden of predatory capitalism. As was he.

      It is going to be wonderful to see who shows up for the funeral. Will W invite Obama? Will Trump bury the hatchet? Are Bill & Hill packing their bags? — Any chance to be in front of a camera is good enough for them.

      Meanwhile, I am not believing any of these reports. Someone send me a photo of Cheney in a coffin with a stake through his gnarled heart.

      But there is hope: Liz Cheney still lives!

      Reply ↓
  9. DJG, Reality Czar

    Corbin Trent. Rock Bottom?

    Trent should read a bit more about just how bad (deliberately so) the U.S. Supreme Court has been at protecting the citizenry:

    Ohhh:
    Dred Scott.
    Plessy v. Ferguson to make segregation de jure.
    Lochner, overturning regulation of workers’ hours.
    Adkins, overturning the minimum wage.
    Case after case in an attempt to turn over the first New Deal.

    So the delusion among liberals is that the Court can be somehow turned around and return to those few blip years of Douglas, Jackson, Brandeis, or Warren.

    Not so. And that is why the focus by liberals on Court appointments is just the usual obsession with legal niceties at the expense of politics (Richard Kline’s wonderful essay often mentioned here at Naked Capitalism explains). The Court is not going to ensure justice. It is debatable whether it was ever meant to do so — in fact, the early Court decided to create itself and judicial review because the Constitution is ambiguous.

    All of which to say that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a cultural hero only if your definition of cultural hero is rather loosey-goosey.

    Reply ↓
    1. ex-PFC Chuck

      There’s also Jacobson vs. Massachusetts (1905), which nullified the Preamble. From the majority opinion:

      “We pass without extended discussion the suggestion that the particular section of the statute of Massachusetts now in question (137, chap. 75) is in derogation of rights secured by the preamble of the Constitution of the United States. Although that preamble indicates the general purposes for which the people ordained and established the Constitution, it has never been regarded as the source of any substantive power conferred on the government of the United States, or on any of its departments. Such powers embrace only those expressly granted in the body of the Constitution, and such as may be implied from those so granted. Although, therefore, one of the declared objects of the Constitution was to secure the blessings of liberty to all under the sovereign jurisdiction and authority of the United States, no power can be exerted to that end by the United States, unless, apart from the preamble, it be found in some express delegation of power, or in some power to be properly implied therefrom.”

      “Promote the General Welfare?” Ha!

      Reply ↓
    1. DJG, Reality Czar

      I skim-listened to this video this morning: What fascinated me is that Tucker Carlson went to make nice (I’m not sure about apologize) by talking with famously anti-Zionist Dave Smith.

      What do you make of the juxtaposition?

      Reply ↓
      1. flora

        Dave Smith is a well-known US comedian, podcaster and a Jew who is, yes, anti-zionist and anti-neocon.
        I think Dave invited Tucker on his POB podcast show to give Tucker an opportunity to answer his neocon critics. / that’s my guess

        Reply ↓
  11. Wukchumni

    Goooooooood Moooooorning Fiatnam!

    The uproaring 20’s were upon us, Lootbaggers counted coup as 1’s & 0’s on a screen symbolized that they were indeed all that when it came down to what mattered-the bottom line.

    Reply ↓
    1. ChrisFromGA

      I’m triggered by the phrase “roaring 20’s” as applies to our current circumstances.

      So far we have had a pandemic that killed millions, wars in Europe and the ME that also have killed millions, a genocide, plus the dismantling of democracy here in the US.

      That the stock market or some digital nonsense manages to rally over the mountain of dead bodies is a sideshow.

      We’re living in a decade that only Pol Pot could love.

      Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni

        Great art, writing and more came out of the 1920’s, all we have now is larceny on a grand scale that’s hardly artful, more of a brutal grab with everybody watching.

        Reply ↓
  12. The Rev Kev

    “Mali’s Potential Fall To Terrorists Could Result In Another French-Led Intervention”

    There’s something awfully screwy going on around here. You had all these main stream media saying Mali was about to fall and this was picked up by smaller publications. They talked about how the terrorists had cut fuel to the capital and it was all going pear shaped. And yet Alex Christoforou in his latest video was saying that people that actually lived there were saying that this was all made up. That they were still receiving fuel under escort from the Russians so there was no emergency. Alex even showed an image of this Russian-escorted convoy. But if the French are thinking about going back into Mali – which may have been the point of all those media stories – I think that the French will have to fight their way back in. Does Macron really want to risk it?

    Reply ↓
  15. Steve H.

    > The Ghost in the Machine Ryan Perkins (Robin K). Today’s must read.

    >> the Agency bankrolled a vast ecosystem of anti-communist left-wing intellectuals through the Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF).

    University of Chicago    : the preferred citation is: International Association for Cultural Freedom.

    Reply ↓
  16. The Rev Kev

    ‘Massimo
    @Rainmaker1973
    «Never forget the power of a small, sincere gesture»
    Penguins have a courtship ritual in which the male finds a carefully selected stone and presents it to the female. This male penguin did it with his zookeeper.’

    Man, that’s adorable that. She knew exactly what that gesture was and acknowledged it while trying to hide her mirth.

    Reply ↓
  17. The Rev Kev

    “Germany’s Deindustrialisation Is a Capital Coup”

    ‘The systematic dismantling of the nation’ industrial base is not an accident—it is the triumph of financial capital over industrial capital.’

    It sounds like they want to replicate the old Morgenthau Plan but this time Germany will keep it’s arms manufacturers so as to fight the Russian bear. Of course most Germans will live in poverty and I expect there to be an exodus of young, skilled Germans to other countries so that they can work. Probably not the UK or other EU countries though. Financial capital over industrial capital? At least those industrialists know how to build things and have an understanding of how things are manufactured. Those financiers only know how to push numbers on a screen and make bank. Hard times for Germany ahead-

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgenthau_Plan

    Reply ↓
  18. Wukchumni

    Alarming surge in memory problems among young adults ScienceDaily (Kevin W). Predates Covid.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Funny article, they never deign to mention hand held rectangulars that resemble the monolith in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

    A few years ago at a wedding reception, we were seated at a table with a 3rd grade teacher, and I asked him what they teach now that rote memorization is no longer needed after 70,000 years of usage?

    He laughed somewhat nervously, and mentioned that memory skills are strictly on demand from a device these days~

    Reply ↓

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