Readers, this is a touch long, but there were so many lovely pairings I found it hard to cut. Sorry! –lambert
Why private equity has been involved in every recent bank deal CNBC. Because bottom feeders feed at the bottom?
At the Money: Claudia Sahm on How To Defeat Inflation (interview) The Big Picture
A Hidden Crisis in US Housing Bloomberg. The deck: “In places most prone to wildfires and hurricanes, state ‘insurers of last resort’ are absorbing trillions of dollars in risk.”
Michelle W Bowman: Tailoring, fidelity to the rule of law, and unintended consequences Bank of International Settlements
Climate
Arctic sea ice set for steep decline Arctic News
‘Uncharted territory’: February was ninth straight month of record-breaking heat worldwide France24
Climate change pushes Malaysia’s coastal fishermen away from the sea Al Jazeera
VA Hospitals Vulnerable to Extreme Weather as Climate Changes, Report Finds The War Horse
* * * Title hangup complicates Frontier Town progress Adirondack Explorer (Bob). Bob comments: “NY State requires clean title for ‘donated’ land, to prevent what New York state just did: build on land without clear title. NGO’s in the middle of the green washing and real estate development explain why title insurance is a good thing…..”
Water
We Need New Heroes, Not The Same Old Politicians To Solve Our Mounting Water Woes The Brockovich Report
There’s Plastic in My Plaque! Eric Topol, Ground Truths
#COVID19
Frequency, kinetics and determinants of viable SARS-CoV-2 in bioaerosols from ambulatory COVID-19 patients infected with the Beta, Delta or Omicron variant Nature.
From the Introduction:
To our knowledge, there has been no systematic large scale study of culturability of virus in aerosols and whether this is consistent across variants or whether this is affected by proximity to symptom onset and with differing patterns of host immunity. Thus, critically, the final proof that human-generated aerosols <10 μm can harbour replicating virus remains largely unclarified.
From the Discussion:
The frequency of aerosol virus culturability was high at ~60%…. About a third of patients were probably non-infectious, 50% probably highly infectious, and ~20% moderately infectious by our definitions. These data may be in line with the ‘super-spreader’ hypothesis… Here we show for the first time that asymptomatic persons may also produce infectious aerosol <10 μm which is potentially suspensible for several hours and may be deeply inoculated by inhalation into the small airways and alveoli of the lung.
And from the Conclusion:
These data support the need for prevention of airborne transmission risk using better ventilation in public transports, and indoor environments, especially hospitals, workplaces and schools, and the use of other airborne infection controls in health care facilities caring for COVID-19 patients.
Droplet dogmatists, take a seat. And STFU.
China?
China’s ‘two sessions’ 2024: focus on work-life balance urged to stop workers being trapped by ‘invisible overtime’ South China Morning Post
China will launch giant, reusable rockets next year to prep for human missions to the moon Live Science
More women in China choosing singledom as economy stutters Channel New Asia
Jonathan Spencer, Sri Lanka, and Political Anthropology Journal of the Association for Political and Legal Anthropology
Organiser of ‘white party’ in Sri Lanka apologises after backlash BBC
India
Irula People: An Essential But Invisible Component Of The Global Healthcare System Madras Courier. Amazing.
Syraqistan
U.S. Pushing for Gaza Cease-fire Before Ramadan, but Sinwar Appears to Favor Escalation Haaretz. Sinwar = Hamas “leader in the Gaza Strip.”
Why Ramadan Matters in the Israel-Hamas War Foreign Policy
Total viewing hours by Arabs increase by 80% during Ramadan Middle East Economy. From 2022, still germane.
* * * Ship with Chinese steel hit by missiles in Houthis’ first fatal attack; two sailors killed S&P Global. Saudi-bound (!). Filipino crew.
Houthis: Threat to Telecommunications and Seabed Warfare Internationalist 360°
* * * Leaked Israel lobby presentation urges US officials to justify war on Gaza with ‘Hamas rape’ claims The Grayzone
UN finds ‘grounds to believe’ Hamas committed sexual violence on October 7 FT. No forensics, no victim interviews. And IDF minders?
* * * Gaza: What are the Village Leagues Israel plans to replace Hamas? The New Arab
‘Carry the burden’: Anger grows in Israel over military exemption for ultra-Orthodox France24
Against Solutionism New Left Review. In the short run, intractability. In the long run….
Ras al-Hekma: How Egypt is exchanging land to unlock Gulf funds The New Arab
European Disunion
Is Greece Ripe for Sortition? Equality by Lot
Nadya Tolokonnikova on Pussy Riot, Life as Performance Art, and How Anonymity is Her Strength (interview) Colossal
New Not-So-Cold War
Sending troops to Ukraine: A necessary but badly presented debate Le Monde
How Western Troops Could Be Sent To Ukraine And Not Start World War III 1945. Mercs! Yeah, that’s the ticket!
America’s New Twilight Struggle With Russia Foreign Affairs. The deck: “To Prevail, Washington Must Revive Containment.”
* * * Putin promises support to leader of pro-Russian Moldovan autonomous region of Gagauzia Ukrainska Pravda
Russia hits Ukraine’s port of Odesa during Zelenskiy and Greek PM visit Reuters
* * * Surprisingly Weak Ukrainian Defenses Help Russian Advance NYT (March 2) and Ukraine war: Eastern residents brace for Russian advance BBC
Zelensky in bind over how to draft more troops as Russian forces advance WaPo. If Big Z won’t throw the last tranche of warm bodies into the meatgrinder, you’ve really gotta question his commitment.
* * * Turkish oil terminal halts Russian oil business amid pressure from US: report Turkish Minute
Russia oil fleet shifts away from Liberia, Marshall Island flags amid US sanctions crackdown Hellenic Shipping News
* * * US pilot warns Kiev regime about F-16’s deficiencies, calls it ‘prima donna’ InfoBrics
South of the Border
Peru’s Prime Minister Otarola resigns over allegations of influence-peddling France24
The Caribbean
Haitian gang leader warns of civil war if premier doesn’t resign Anadolu Agency
Biden Administration
Joe Biden to propose big tax rises for billionaires and corporate America FT
Rep. Massie bringing Julian Assange’s brother as guest to State of the Union FOX. A Republican. Naturally.
Secret Service Finds Biden Attempting To Dig Own Grave On White House Lawn The Onion
Digital Watch
Copilot can’t stop emitting violent, sexual images, says Microsoft whistleblower The Register
Google Says It’s Purging All the AI Trash Littering Its Search Results Gizmodo
AI pervades everyday life with almost no oversight. Colorado and other states are scrambling to catch up Associated Press. Wherever you encounter a PMC gatekeeper operating off a checklist (and maybe interviews), that gatekeeper’s position is a candidate for replacement by an AI. Bad as the current systems are, imagine trying to reach a human and never being able to.
How Apple Sank About $1 Billion a Year Into a Car It Never Built Bloomberg. More genius capital allocation decisions made by oligopolies that can’t deliver on product: Boeing, Google, now Apple.
Our Famously Free Press
“The Locusts Of The Newspaper World”: How Fortress Investment Group Decimated Newspapers Before Gutting Vice Defector. Well worth a read on private equity.
Healthcare
HHS response to cash flow concerns from Change cyberattack inadequate, providers say Healthcare Finance
New Unique CMS Code Assigned to React Health V+C Integrated Cough Therapy Respiratory Therapy. So, plenty of upcoding with CMS’s “flu-ification” policy, where all respiratory viruses are thrown in the same bucket? Or am I too cynical? Readers?
Zeitgeist Watch
The Case Against Children Harper’s
Imperial Collapse Watch
Plutonium pit ‘panic’ threatens America’s nuclear ambitions The Hill
Guillotine Watch
Colorado family charged $4,000 in fees after loved one dies unexpectedly, landlord says death meant she broke her lease CBS
Class Warfare
Labor unions end Starbucks boardroom fight after progress on bargaining Reuters
Large Pork Producer Faces Shocking Worker Retaliation Allegations Manufacturing.net
America’s most powerful union leaders have a message for capital FT
World War II ‘Rumor Clinics’ Helped America Battle Wild Gossip Smithsonian
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
