6,000-year old West Texas rock art influenced Mesoamerican cosmology Texas State University (RK)
Messengers of perception: Inside the campaign to reshape the UFO narrative The Blind Spot
From ChatGPT to strength training: Here’s how 100-year-olds are thriving NPR
Climate/Environment
Zillow’s climate risk reversal looks like a setback. It’s really a wake‑up call. Moving Day
Who should pay? RealClimate
Pandemics
Tuberculosis rates are rising. Here’s who’s most at risk BBC
Can past COVID-19 weaken the body’s ability to fight tuberculosis?
➡️ A new study comparing immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 and Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) suggests COVID-19 may dampen both antiviral and anti-TB immunity — even months later. 1/ pic.twitter.com/DguNcPFOBz
— Vipin M. Vashishtha (@vipintukur) December 3, 2025
A guide to returning to masking M (Is) Living With Long Covid
Japan
Japan defense firms saw sales boom in ’24 as Tokyo eyes end of more export curbs Japan Times
China?
Nvidia lobbies White House and wins loosened AI GPU export control to China — U.S. lawmakers reportedly reject GAIN AI Act Tom’s Hardware
Chinese reusable booster explodes during first orbital test, in failed bid to catch SpaceX CNN
China: ‘World’s first’ 40,000-ton drone carrier moves closer to service after new trail Interesting Engineering
Taiwan airline seeks role in ‘whole of society’ defense with surveillance flights to counter China Kyodo News
India
Inside Story | Why India–US Trade Deal Has Been Pushed To The Back Burner Business World
From Arms to Agritech: How India and Israel Are Rewiring Their Partnership India Narrative
Syraqistan
During the push to free Mohammed, a handful of AIPAC-Democrats reached out to offer help, but it had to be in secret, because they couldn’t be seen publicly fighting to free a Palestinian American child from Israeli military detention. https://t.co/w37rzWamLb pic.twitter.com/f1FDjGjo0n
— jasper nathaniel (@infinite_jaz) December 3, 2025
Inside Israel’s shadow campaign to win over American media Responsible Statecraft
🇮🇱🇺🇸 At the DealBook Summit, Netanyahu confirmed what many suspected: Trump’s Gaza “peace” plan isn’t about peace, it’s about elimination and control.
He declared Phase 1 hostage retrieval complete. Phase 2 is disarming Hamas. Phase 3, he says is “de-radicalizing” Gaza’s… pic.twitter.com/u9Kjy7sCOH
— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) December 4, 2025
Egypt denies coordinating with Israel on Rafah border reopening The Cradle
U.S. Deploys Shahed-136 Clones To Middle East As A Warning To Iran The War Zone
Old Blighty
Whistleblower accuses Foreign Office of ‘censoring’ warning of Sudan genocide The Guardian
European Disunion
EU looks at legally forcing industries to reduce purchases from China The Guardian
The Czech mining town saying ‘no thanks’ to Europe’s critical raw materials push The Parliament
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine, Along with Some Europeans, Are Playing a Dangerous Game Larry Johnson
Von der Leyen pushes ahead with reparations loan for Ukraine as Belgium maintains its opposition Euronews. “If no deal is found on the reparations loan, the EU will resort to joint borrowing, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, von der Leyen said on Wednesday.”
Europe could be on the hook for $160 billion to keep Ukraine afloat Ian Proud
NATO chief urges allies to send message to Putin by buying more US arms for Ukraine Stars and Stripes
UP reports there was a clash involving firearms between HUR’s (Ukrainian military intelligence) elite crack unit soldiers and soldiers from a unit identifiable as National Guard’s Rubizh brigade in Koncha-Zaspa, Ukraine’s golden mile area near Kyiv. The conflict is over the…
— Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin) December 3, 2025
IN TEATRALNAYA PLOSHCHAD, WITKOFF, KUSHNER, AND DMITRIEV POINT TO THE RIGHT OF THE KARL MARX STATUE John Helmer
Your Questions Resolved Oliver Boyd-Barrett
The Great Game
PANNIER: Who’s killing Chinese workers on the Afghan-Tajik frontier? Intellinews
Tajikistan in talks with Russia for joint patrols as tensions rise on Tajik-Afghan border Firstpost
South of the Border
The United States imposes new sanctions related to Venezuela El Pais
L’affaire Epstein
Newly Released Photos Offer Glimpse Inside Epstein’s Private Island TIME
Trump 2.0
Trump admin will reconsider part of rule to protect miners from lung diseases The Hill
More chaos at FEMA as agency “re-suspends” employees it just reinstated last week Balanced Weather
Trump says Somali-American Congresswoman Ilhan Omar should be thrown out of US Anadolu Agency
Authority Crisis
Fascinating read from .@WSJ
Ousted SOUTHCOM Commander Admiral Holsey “had initial concerns about the legality of lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, according to former officials aware of the discussions.”
Shortly after taking over Southern Command, Hegseth… https://t.co/ntC7Fykd6F— Jennifer Griffin (@JenGriffinFNC) December 4, 2025
‘Kill Everybody’: Hegseth’s Reported Order Echoes WWII War Crime The After-Action ReportWhy Hegseth’s Alleged War Crime Will Never Be Revealed Ken Klippenstein
Pentagon Watchdog Finds Hegseth’s Use of Signal Posed Risk to US Personnel Military.com
GOP Funhouse
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell files paperwork to challenge Walz for Minnesota governor: ‘I want to save my state’ New York Post
Democrats en déshabillé
First step for Walz: Take responsibility Minnesota Reformer
Bipartisan Obamacare deal remains out-of-reach in Senate hearing The Hill
Spook Country
The Former Israeli Spies Overseeing US Government Cyber Security Nate Bear
DOGE
Forget Whether Or Not DOGE Exists: Will Anyone Be Held Accountable For 600,000 Deaths? TechDirt
Imperial Collapse Watch
Alone With Our Thoughts. Aurelien
IMPOVERISHMENT DOES NOT MAKE SOFT POWER GeoPolitiQ
Accelerationists
Palantir CEO Says Making War Crimes Constitutional Would Be Good for Business Gizmodo
Police State Watch
Drunk DHS Employee Crashes BMW Into Buildings in Vermont Migrant Insider
CBP and Border Patrol are not sending us their best. Borderland Talk with Jenn Budd
MAHA
FDA Expands Artificial Intelligence Capabilities with Agentic AI Deployment U.S. Food and Drug Administration (Press release)
Don’t License AI to Prescribe Medication MedPage Today
Healthcare?
Hospital labor expenses escalate as C-suites rethink long-term strategy Becker’s Hospital Review
The ‘AI arms race’ reshaping healthcare Becker’s Hospital Review
AI
MIT study finds AI can already replace 11.7% of U.S. workforce CNBC
Journalists win a key battle over AI in the newsroom Blood in the Machine
Supply Chain
AI frenzy is driving a new global supply chain crisis Reuters
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
DHS Expands Migrant Database to Screen U.S. Citizens Migrant Insider
Poop-peeping toilet attachment has a different definition of ‘end-to-end’ encryption The Register
Our Famously Free Press
CNN strikes prediction data partnership with Kalshi Axios
‘Unauthorized’ Edit to Ukraine’s Frontline Maps Point to Polymarket’s War Betting 404 Media
The co-founder of Kalshi says: “ The long-term vision is to financialize everything and create a tradable asset out of any difference in opinion.” pic.twitter.com/M1gf0leJFV
— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) December 3, 2025
Sports Desk
Exemptions for ADHD drugs in MLB drop to record-low 54, down from 119 in 2013 AP
Economy
There’s a small business crisis underway. Between the tariffs, spikes in health premiums (half of exchange users own or work at a small business), soaring monopoly tolls imposed by Visa, Amazon, DoorDash, etc; lack of action on supplier price discrimination, and more, it’s worse… pic.twitter.com/obhoM0IbMe
— Stacy Mitchell (@stacyfmitchell) December 3, 2025
Affordability of necessities in the US continues to deteriorate:
Since January 2021, food away from home prices have surged +28%, to an all-time high.
Shelter prices have risen +27% over the same period, also setting a record.
Food at home and services other than rent have… pic.twitter.com/8WF1iODRV0
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) December 4, 2025
Why “affordability” suddenly matters in Washington Stephen Semler
Class Warfare
How the dollar-store industry overcharges cash-strapped customers while promising low prices The Guardian
This Microbe ‘Plays Dead’ in NASA Clean Rooms, and We May Have Sent It to Mars Gizmodo
🚨 Earth may be trapped inside a giant void in space, scientists say
A bold new analysis of the universe’s large-scale structure suggests that Earth — and the entire Milky Way — may actually sit inside a massive cosmic void, a region far emptier than average. This idea… pic.twitter.com/Lrdm5Z6vrE
— Curiosity (@MAstronomers) December 3, 2025
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
“Japan defense firms saw sales boom in ’24 as Tokyo eyes end of more export curbs”
For the export of basic things like artillery, tanks and warship designs this may not be a problem. But for more sophisticated weapons there is the question of sourcing of refined rare earths and I believe that most of it comes from China. But right now there is a bun fight between China and Japan over the question of Taiwan. I would imagine that refined rare earths would be restricted right now but if it was totally stopped, then Japan may not be able to develop sophisticated weapons for export which would limit the range of their military exports.