How monogamous are humans? Scientists compile ‘league table’ of pairing up BBC
Earliest evidence of making fire Nature. 400,000 years ago, up from 50,000 years ago.
Why are famous chefs fighting PFAS bans? HEATED
Stagnant Construction Productivity Is a Worldwide Problem Construction Physics
Slow love in a cut-throat world The Continent
San Francisco woman gives birth in a Waymo self-driving taxi AP
Climate/Environment
Thousands under evacuation orders, as floodwaters crest in Washington rivers Washington State Standard
The fact that parts of Washington are seeing record-breaking flooding this week is not surprising given that 1) many locations saw record 24hr precipitation (well above 100yr ARI) & 2) near-record temperatures *simultaneously* (no snow in mtns, so all precip became runoff). #WAwx pic.twitter.com/p6wXo65tPY
— Dr. Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) December 12, 2025
Deadly heatwaves will intensify for 1,000 years after net zero Climate and Capitalism
Pandemics
🔺▪️🔻”SARS2 infection modulates innate and adaptive immunity and likely impacts outcomes of infections such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis”.@fitterhappierAJ @1goodtern
“We identify an altered immune response to both SARS2 and MTB in participants with a history of COVID19.
We… pic.twitter.com/tdLDKTgVkx— Evelio González Prieto (@evelio_prieto) December 8, 2025
South Carolina measles outbreak is ‘accelerating,’ driving hundreds into quarantine NBC News
NHS ‘facing worst-case scenario’ as hospital flu cases jump 55% in a week The Guardian
Deadly ‘super flu’ forces more schools to close and triggers hospital restrictions as experts warn of lethal symptoms Daily Mail. In the US.
Time to act to improve the air we share indoors Australian Academy of Science
The Koreas
Hanwha and US Defense Startup Vatn Partner to Develop Underwater Drones Korea Tech Today
China?
China Is Quietly Breaking America’s Pacific Defense Chain National Security Journal. “Defense” chain is a bit of a misnomer, but nonetheless.
Central Economic Work Conference concludes; Five Musts and Eight Key Tasks; US-Japan-China; H200s Sinocism
Reverse Deng? For professionals only MERICS
Innovative drugs: The new battleground in US-China rivalry ThinkCHina
Rupture, Memory and the Liberal Time-Regime: Reassessing the Cultural Revolution through a Dialectical Lens Warwick Powell
India
A US private equity firm’s challenges in bringing Chinese manufacturing to India Nikkei Asia
Thailand- Cambodia Conflict
Border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia intensify with airstrikes and artillery attacks AP
Syraqistan
Israel preparing largest ever act of ‘archeological cleansing’ in West Bank +972 Magazine
The UN Security Council Declares War on Gaza by Norman G Finkelstein Norman Finkelstein
Surviving the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation Airwars. “Airwars reconstructed two aid sites, based on hours of footage and interviews with Palestinian aid seekers and former GHF contractors. The short film shows how the design of the militarised aid system – from design to execution – made deaths and injuries inevitable.”
Anduril Partners With UAE Bomb Maker Accused of Arming Sudan’s Genocide The intercept
Turkey secures dominant role in Syria’s reconstruction with $11 billion in energy, airport deals Turkish Minute
European Disunion
US wants to persuade four countries to leave EU, leaked files suggest Brussels Times
Bulgarian government resigns amid mass protests Intellinews
German government’s drug commissioner advocates restricting medical care for the elderly WSWS
EU triggers emergency clause to indefinitely immobilise Russian assets Euronews
PM De Wever not ruling out legal action if the EU seizes Russian assets held by Euroclear in Belgium VRT News
EU crosses RUBICON, permanent asset FREEZE. Falls into Russia’s trap The Duran
New Not-So-Cold War
US revised 27-point peace plan drops ban on Ukraine’s Nato membership Intellinews
BlackRock’s Larry Fink Joins Trump Team Talks to Rebuild Ukraine Bloomberg
Ukrainian navy cripples Russian shadow fleet tanker with sea drone strike The Independent
EU to reinterpret sea law to confront Russia’s shadow fleet Euractiv
Former Top Biden Admin Official Admits The U.S. Could Have Prevented War, ‘Destruction And Loss Of Life’ In Ukraine. The Dissident
Russian support for peace talks rises to wartime high as public sees war goals largely met Intellinews
Censorship in Western Academia and the War in Ukraine The New Paradigm
The problem with these insane hyperboles is that the adversary, Russia in this case, reads them as preparation for aggression and takes measures accordingly. This is how self-fulfilling prophecies work. https://t.co/uZzfcN8euD
— Leonid Ragozin (@leonidragozin) December 11, 2025
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South of the Border
US preparing to seize more tankers off Venezuela’s coast after first ship taken, sources say Reuters
Second Strike? All of the US Strikes in the Caribbean Are Illegal, Legal Experts Say Zeteo
China Confirms Comprehensive Cooperation Strategy with Latin America and the Caribbean TeleSur
“It’s a fraud”: Trump and MS-13 helped rig Honduran vote, top official says The Grayzone
Spook Country
U.S. Government seized “approximately 17 phones” from former DEA official charged with narcoterrorism and money laundering All-Source Intelligence
Charlie Kirk
Why Did the FBI Insert Itself in the Charlie Kirk Murder Investigation… Seth Rich Deja Vu? Larry Johnson
Trump 2.0
Trump signs executive order limiting states ability to regulate AI UPI
A sad day for America Gary Marcus
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Justice Department drafting a list of ‘domestic terrorists’ Los Angeles Times. A rare mainstream media sighting.
FBI official calls antifa biggest US threat but provides few details Reuters
SCOOP: Trump Admin Is Preparing to Revoke Visas of Critics of Elon Musk’s Twitter Zeteo
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Indiana Senate defeats redistricting in overwhelming vote WTHR
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WHAT IS A FARMER AND HOW DOES THE GOVERNMENT COUNT THEM? THE HIGH POLITICS OF A SEEMINGLY MUNDANE STATISTICAL TASK Notes on the Crises
BESSENT: “I run a soybean farm.”
BRENNAN: “You don’t own one. You invest in it.”
BESSENT: “People in my family go out and work on it.”
This is the billionaire playbook in real time, claim the struggle, outsource the labor, and pretend proximity equals experience.
He’s not a… pic.twitter.com/BzDiLSmExT
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) December 7, 2025
GOP Funhouse
The Senate Goes Back to Square One on Health Care Subsidies After Dueling Proposals Fail NOTUS
So MAGA imposing a massive 100-300% tax hike on tens of millions of Americans via spike in health insurance premiums, because $8.3 billion/year is too much to spend on Americans’ health. Just a day after approving a trillion dollar budget for their global empire + Israel/Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/DG2Hz02uC7
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) December 11, 2025
Democrats en déshabillé
How Democrats Lost the White House Christopher D. Cook, Roots Action
Even In a Populist Moment, Democrats Are Split on the Problem of Corporate Power BIG by Matt Stoller
Chuck Schumer won’t say if he opposes regime change in Venezuela.
JAKE TAPPER: Do you disagree with President Trump’s ultimate goal of regime change in Venezuela?
CHUCK SCHUMER: Look, the bottom line is President Trump throws out so many different things in so many different… pic.twitter.com/kwjWMsBgM8
— Ken Klippenstein (NSPM-7 Compliant) (@kenklippenstein) December 10, 2025
Mamdani
Mamdani and top New York rabbis will meet privately, but their core divide remains unresolved CNN
People ask what effect Israel has on people who live in the US and then you get a whole article like this with Israel supporters bragging that they are trying to block the mayor from lowering the cost of housing because he’s not pro-Israel enough https://t.co/YP9UF8wTvz pic.twitter.com/iqybmvsrrp
— Hamid Bendaas 🇩🇿🇵🇸🇮🇷 (@HBendaas) December 11, 2025
Should the Left Criticize Zohran? Labor Politics
Immigration
$2B in Pentagon funds diverted to immigration operations, congressional Democrats say ABC News
Immigration enforcement kills local economies. Borderland Talk with Jenn Budd
Economy
New Unemployment Claims Jump to Highest Level in Months as Trump Economy Teeters Common Dreams
Trump: Instead of a 4% GDP or 3% GDP, it should be able to be 20 or 25%. I don’t know why it can’t be. pic.twitter.com/mcqKmvYhP5
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 10, 2025
AI
Antitrust
Jared Kushner – and three Arab monarchies – are at the heart of the Paramount-WBD bid The Guardian
Police State Watch
Casino Nation
Everyone is Gambling and No One is Happy Kyla Scanlon
the Kalshi bets for Time Person of the Year being “AI” resolved to No because the actual winner was a bunch of AI executives they called “Architects of AI” pic.twitter.com/TwOipqmjt1
— Matthew Zeitlin (@MattZeitlin) December 11, 2025
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
