Generous readers, we have met the goal of 400 donors for the 2024 Water Cooler fundraiser (403, yay). Not that I would turn down late-breaking entries! Thank you all so much. I appreciate your kindness much more than I can express. –lambert
Study reveals the crow’s best friend: Humans Phys.org
NASA enlists citizen scientists to help solve solar mysteries during the total solar eclipse 2024 Space.com. April 8.
Wait . . . what did Palantir’s CEO just say about short sellers? FT
Climate
Must have been quite a pitch deck:
By precisely reflecting sunlight that is endlessly available in space to specific targets on the ground, we can create a world where sunlight powers solar farms for longer than just daytime, and in doing this, commoditize sunlight. pic.twitter.com/gMTpTZ9GTH
— Ben Nowack (@bennbuilds) March 13, 2024
Who will lead the world in nuclear propulsion for shipping regulation? Seatrade Maritime
Carmakers Are Still Sorting Out Europe’s Charger Shortcomings Bloomberg
Earth Isn’t the Only Planet With Seasons JSTOR Daily
Water
Historic drought drains crucial Sau Reservoir to a trickle, Spain The Watchers
Brutal Heat for Southern Vietnam Vietnam Weekly. Plus saline intrusion in the Mekong Delta.
China?
Chinese state media reporters blocked from deadly blast site near Beijing, raising rare controversy over press controls South China Morning Post
Chinese Characters across Asia: Continuity and transformation in Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese Northwest Asian Weekly
Will Lucy Let Charlie Kick the Football in Japan? John Authors, Bloomberg. BOJ to end its policy of negative interest rates??
Myanmar
Surrounded by Fighting, a Myanmar Crime Hub Is Oddly Unscathed The Irrawaddy
India
Who Belongs, and How? Locating the CAA in Today’s India The Wire. CAA = Citizenship Amendment Act.
India’s Citizenship Amendment Act is a devious anti-Muslim dog whistle Al Jazeera
Africa
Intractable Crisis New Left Review
Visa and Mastercard are pouring money into Africa Rest of World
Syraqistan
If Israel Wants To Be An “Independent Nation”, Let It Be An Independent Nation Caitlin’s Newsletter
AIPAC Talking Points Revealed The American Prospect. And then there are the talking points in the vernacular:
“Until Gaza is erased”: Israeli hip-hop artists are using genocidal language to glorify their country’s continued offensive in Palestine’s Gaza — one that has killed more than 30,000 people since October last year pic.twitter.com/qdMuBjy7rq
— TRT World (@trtworld) March 14, 2024
Israeli army opens fire on people awaiting humanitarian aid in Gaza Strip Anadolu Agency
Gaza needs democracy without elections – opinion Jerusalem Post. Sortition.
Dear Old Blighty
The Panic Of the Ruling Class Craig Murray. On George Galloway.
Backlash at UK government’s new extremism definition Agence France Presse
Gove is following Goebbels’ advice Funding the Future
New Not-So-Cold War
Russians attack on 6 fronts where over 70 combat clashes occurred – General Staff Ukrainska Pravda
Ukraine, Stalled on the Battlefield, Targets Russia’s Oil Industry NYT
* * * Macron warns Europe’s security ‘at stake’ after uproar over Ukraine ground troops comment France24
French Senate votes in favor of Macron’s Ukraine strategy Anadolu Agency
Ukraine Must Reclaim Crimea to Achieve Real Peace: Macron Newsweek
Zelenskyy: French soldiers “will not be dying in Ukraine Ukrainska Pravda
* * * Russia says Poland ‘undisputed leader’ in number of mercenaries fighting for Ukraine Anadolu Agency
Operating Behind Enemy Lines: How Fashion Powerhouse LPP S.A. Masked A Fake Russia ‘Sell-Off’ Using Front Entities And Encrypted Barcodes Hindenberg Research. What fun!
The Russian Autocrat’s Answer to the Problem of Succession Foreign Affairs
Global Elections
Election disinformation takes a big leap with AI being used to deceive worldwide AP
Biden Administration
The TikTok Problem Is Not What You Think Matt Stoller, BIG. Well worth reading in full; Stoller is, as ever, lucid and compelling. However, I don’t think his institutional frame can give an account of two salient features of the present TikTok conjuncture, a classic moral panic: Why now, and why so fast? Electeds servicing the Israel Lobby supplies the first; electeds servicing the spooks, who want to bring the platforms, all the platforms, under their control well before the election supplies the second. On Israel:
A foreign government is influencing the 2024 election. I’m not talking about China, but Israel.
In a leaked recording, ADL head Jonathan Greenblatt admitted that Israel had a “TikTok problem.” Suddenly, a divided congress agrees on one thing: A social media ban.
More here:…
— Briahna Joy Gray (@briebriejoy) March 13, 2024
“Government tyranny” criticism of the TikTok bill is reactionary Carl Beijer
China says US TikTok vote follows ‘logic of a bandit’ Channel News Asia. Forcing a sale to Mnuchin, if that happens, is indeed pretty close to “Stand and deliver!”
* * * Amid Chinese activity, new NORTHCOM chief calls for more exercises near Arctic Breaking Defense
Spook Country
“Problematic information” from “alternative sites”:
Here is USAID deliberately targeting “gaming sites” for censorship to stop ordinary citizens from forming “interpretations of the world that differ from ‘mainstream’ sources.”
This is the US gov’t, using your tax dollars, plotting to stop people from disagreeing with the media. https://t.co/1sehpzuJ1d pic.twitter.com/8jJTjrtilF
— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) March 14, 2024
Assange
The Last Days of Julian Assange in the United States Declassified UK
The Bezzle
CEO of Data Privacy Company Onerep.com Founded Dozens of People-Search Firms Krebs on Security. One hand washes the other.
Diia code revealed: IT professionals can now get to know logic behind Ukraine’s e-government app Ukrainska Pravda
Digital Watch
OpenAI’s Lies and Half-Truths Marcus on AI. More ginormous theft of Hoovered-up training sets. The deck: “Not every thing the company says is completely candid.” My candidate for Understatement of the Year.
AI and wearables are scaring the wellbeing out of workers The Register. A self-licking ice cream cone,
A low-code way to learn AI Spreadsheets are All You Need. The deck: “Learn how AI works from a real LLM implemented entirely in Excel.”
Can a classical computer tell if a quantum computer is telling the truth? Physics World. Yes!
Healthcare
Update: Measles Cases Are Being Reported: Are We Losing Our Herd Immunity? Infection Control Today
Lawmakers Quibble Over Whether Telehealth Should Be Cheaper Than In-Person Visits MedPage. I dunno. Which makes upcoding easier?
Boeing
Boeing Proudly Announces It Has Fixed Malfunctioning Whistleblower Babylon Bee
Celebrities
Women Aren’t Conspiracy Theorist ‘Wine Moms’ for Wondering Where Kate Middleton Is Jezebel
Imperial Collapse Watch
Twilight of the Blobs James Kunstler, Clusterf*ck Nation
Every Ship a Carrier: How Artificial Intelligence Can Revolutionize the Air and Sea Domains US Naval Institute. If we could build ships.
Polka Dot Warriors – The Assembly Ships of the Mighty Eighth Vintage Wings of Canada
Guillotine Watch
Her son was doing well at a clinic serving kids with autism. Then private equity took over. NBC
Class Warfare
The delivery rider who took on his faceless boss FT
Is the rich world stuck in an ‘upper-income trap’? FT
Capitalism’s New Age of Plagues, Part 2 Climate and Capitalism
Librarians Lock Autauga-Prattville Public Library in Protest After Director Fired by Board Literary Activist. Somebody should compile all the racy bits in the Bible — and there are plenty! — get that on the shelves, and see what these officious nitwits do then. Ideally copiously illustrated.
The Burbs Have Eyes The Baffler
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
