Do Africa’s Mass Animal Migrations Extend Into Deep Time? Sapiens
The World’s Largest Urban Railway System in the Making JRUrbaneNetwork
What if the Italians Built a Subway under Providence? The Transit Guy
It’s not the Baumol Effect Pedestrian Observations
NASA loses contact with MAVEN Mars orbiter Space News
Climate/Environment
WA floods: Evacuations underway near Skagit, Snohomish, other rivers Seattle Times. Potential for 100,000 evacuations.
Potentially catastrophic river flooding anticipated in western Washington state next couple of days Balanced Weather. Meteorologist describes it as “almost incomprehensible.”
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2 Leaves a Lasting Mark on the Immune System John Snow Project. A layperson overview of important study, ‘Persistent Attenuation of Lymphocyte Subsets After Mass SARS-CoV-2 Infection.’
So more infections = reduced immunity + more infections with other pathogens which increases the amount of pathogens circulating to infect others which futher increases the incidence of other infections. Which increases vulnerability to infection which increases incidence of in https://t.co/AUTrfGBhkR
— Dr Evonne T Curran NursD 💙🇺🇦 (@EvonneTCurran) December 9, 2025
A recent scientific paper explored the impact of mass SARS-CoV-2 infections on Lymphocytes (crucial to the body’s immune system).
I noticed the authors had shared the data behind their charts in the Appendix Supplementary materials, so I built a quick dataviz project.
🧵 pic.twitter.com/jLJiBZL2y1— Mike Honey (@Mike_Honey_) December 8, 2025
Things like mortality rising higher than births in some parts of the country, antibiotic resistance creeping up, disability claims rising, sickness absence climbing…
— tern (@1goodtern) December 9, 2025
***
H5N1’s tipping point: Scientists identify when containment fails Nature
Japan
US nuclear-capable bombers fly with Japanese jets after China-Russia drills, Tokyo says Asia One
China?
New York Times Editorial Board Urges US To Prepare for Future War With China Antiwar
China will destroy US military in fight over Taiwan, top secret document warns The Telegraph
India
Indian arms makers held rare meetings in Russia on potential joint ventures Reuters
Nepal
US regime change front funded Nepalese youth revolutionaries, leaks reveal The Grayzone
Thailand- Cambodia Conflict
Fighting rages at Cambodia-Thailand border ahead of expected Trump call Channel News Asia
Syraqistan
Winter rains flood Gaza tents as Israel bombs, demolishes Palestinian homes New Arab
Gaza’s babies ‘scarred by war before first breath’ by malnutrition UN News
Israel’s biggest con trick: Hiding the true numbers it has killed in Gaza Jonathan Cook
Remember what it took the get politicians to start calling for banning social media for kids; awareness of Israel’s genocide. https://t.co/QKugsK9rk3
— Yousef Munayyer (@YousefMunayyer) December 9, 2025
In new peace, US firms will help Israel spy on and target Gazans Responsible Statecraft
How Israel Organizes and Arms Settler Militias to Terrorize Palestinians in the West Bank Drop Site
Israel will withhold 50 million cubic meters of water from Jordan: Report Türkiye Today
ARE WE STILL FIGHTING IRAN? Seymour Hersh
European Disunion
Europe quietly abandons dream of indigenous 6th-gen fighter Al Mayadeen
NATO IS A FAIRY TALE BOOK AND A BUSINESS SYNDICATE Comidad
Thomas Massie Introduces Bill to Withdraw U.S. from NATO American Conservative
Belgium is Caught Between the Euro Dog and the Russian Fireplug Larry Johnson
New Not-So-Cold War
More war! Events in Ukraine
After “peace”, will Ukrainian ultra-nationalists and NATO continue waging a hybrid war? Andrea Zhok
The Hidden Script Venik
The Russian NSS Julian Macfarlane
Russia’s hybrid warfare puts Europe to the test FT. Unsurprisingly, unnamed intelligence press for continuation war.
Just Shut Up & Fight, Already! US, Europe Waste Time with Delusional Talks While Russia Advances Mark Sleboda (Video)
Making Sense of The Après-Ukraine. Aurelien
Africa
US sanctions Colombians involved in Sudan war but fails to mention UAE link Middle East Eye. Now why might that be?
The Great Game
Kazakhstan to Supply Kashagan Crude to China Directly After CPC Terminal Damage Astana Times. Damaged by Ukraine/NATO attack.
South of the Border
US seizes Venezuelan oil tanker in act of international piracy, as Trump escalates war preparations WSWS
War With Venezuela Is Heating Up: Here Are The Motives Behind It. The Dissident
Inside the Pentagon’s Scramble to Deal With Boat Strike Survivor New York Times
Narcotics as a Hostile Threat? Seven Questions for Retired Major General Steven Lepper The After-Action Report
today is the anniversary of Gary Webb’s murder pic.twitter.com/kamgbGYs2N
— ☀️👀 (@zei_squirrel) December 11, 2025
Hemispheric Fault Lines: Venezuela’s Resistance and Latin America’s Crossroads Between Sovereignty and Neocolonialism Vanessa Beeley and Fiorella Isabel
Congress approves new tariffs on goods from China and non-FTA countries Mexico News Daily
Trump 2.0
US threatens new ICC sanctions unless court pledges not to prosecute Donald Trump Reuters
Trump’s Own Mortgages Match His Description of Mortgage Fraud, Records Reveal ProPublica
How Donald Trump Jr’s Fortune Jumped Six-Fold In A Year Forbes
Eric Trump Has Gotten 10 Times Richer Since Dad’s Election Forbes
Is the White House’s AI Policy Coherent? Gary Marcus
Marching Morons: Dystopian Sci-Fi Classic That Inspired “Idiocracy” Puts the Trump Administration In A Grim New Genocidal Light Dougald Lamont
Accelerationists
Book Notes: The Technological Republic (2025) The Scholar’s Stage. Book co-authored by Palantir CEO Alex Karp and his legal counsel Nicholas Zamiska. From the review: “In form and tone it resembles a business class airport book—and this comparison is insulting to the airport paperbacks.”
“Liberation Day”
US-Indonesia trade deal at risk of collapse FT
How Trump’s tariffs forced China to pivot – and export more CNN
Desperate farmers say the ‘system is broken’ as bailout arrives USA Today
The Uniparty
Congress should reject the $901 billion military policy bill Stephen Semler. They didn’t.
Mamdani
Daily Dirt: Real Estate Funds Mamdani’s Transition RealEstate.news
At closed-door meeting, Mamdani reassures developers, investors his door “will remain open” The Real Deal
Immigration
Trump launches gold card programme for expedited visas with a nearly $1.3m price tag Straits Times
Have Top Chinese AI Researchers Stayed in the United States? Carnegie Endowment for International peace
Imperial Collapse Watch
Turning Gabbro into Rare Earths Akin to Spinning Straw into Gold Karl Sanchez
The Decline of Understanding: How America Lost the Ability to Study the World Kautilya the Contemplator
***
Mounting debt crisis means global South governments are spending on average 15% of their revenue servicing external debt. This figure has doubled since 2010.
More than 3.4 billion people now live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health or education. pic.twitter.com/odf7bFPZrp
— Jason Hickel (@jasonhickel) December 10, 2025
GEOPOLITICAL TENSIONS AND INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL FRAGMENTATION EVIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS CEPR (via Adam Tooze who highlights the following:)
[The US and countries geopolitically close to it] account for roughly 65% of global external assets and liabilities. The share of China and countries geopolitically close to China in total gross assets and liabilities has increased in recent years, from about 2% to 3%, hence remaining comparatively low. This stands in contrast with China’s much larger footprint in global GDP (15%) and global trade (13%).
AI
DOW Leak: Inside The AI Platform & Internal Memo Ka’s Counterprogramming
Healthcare?
Trump is (Kind of) Right HEALTH CARE un-covered
Abortion
Obstetric-Related Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act Violations and No Health Exception Bans JAMA Health Forum
Economy
Fed cuts interest rates by a quarter point amid apparent split over US economy The Guardian
Fed Chair Jerome Powell Says U.S. May Be Drastically Overstating Jobs Numbers WSJ
Guillotine Watch
Extreme inequality – and what to do about it Michael Roberts
The Deregulated Casino
Think tanker altered Ukraine war map before big Polymarket payout Responsible Statecraft
Inside the Dark and Predatory World of Crypto Casinos New York Times
Class Warfare
Online/Offline Working Class Storytelling
Tightrope of Hope London Review of Books
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
