Alcohol consumption abundant in the natural world, study finds Guardian
Starbucks’ sales decline for 3rd consecutive quarter Anadolu Agency
Climate
Models downplay wrath of what they sow Arctic News
Climate Clarity: The Biggest Problems, The Best Solution Exposed by CMD
Water
Climate graphic of the week: Blackouts and water rationing as South American drought worsens FT
Syndemics
Bird flu found in a pig in U.S. for the first time, raising concerns about potential risks to humans STAT
Referral: SCI AM – A Bird Flu Vaccine Might Come Too Late to Save Us from H5N1 Avian Flu Diary
China?
China’s factory activity returns to expansion, ‘positive sign’ after stimulus South China Morning Post
Explainer: How will China’s new monetary policy tool support capital market development? Xinhua
Muted Public Response to State Council’s New Slate of Policies to Promote Parenthood China Digital Times
Why China Won’t Give Up on a Failing Economic Model Foreign Affairs
India
Walking Phnom Penh Chris Arnade
The Koreas
Seoul to Squeeze The New Inquiry
Africa
‘Ready to die’: Protesters face bullets for political change in Mozambique Al Jazeera
French court sentences ex-doctor to 27 years in Rwanda genocide trial France24
Syraqistan
U.S. gaining confidence ceasefire in Lebanon can be reached soon Axios
US draws up draft Israel-Lebanon ceasefire plan FT
New Hezbollah chief threatens Netanyahu, but opens door for ceasefire in first speech Times of Israel
* * * Hezbollah drone hits aviation factory in northern Israel Anadolu Agency
* * * Illegal Israeli settlers uproot hundreds of centuries-old olive trees in northern West Bank Anadolu Agency
UK urged to share Gaza spy planes footage with ICC war crimes probe Middle East Eye. Commentary:
NEW: ‘A Cartography of Genocide’. Since October 2023, we have collected and analysed data related to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Our findings indicate that Israel has systematically targeted all aspects of civilian life. https://t.co/UUxYqpTF72 pic.twitter.com/lpqv78S5c4
— Forensic Architecture (@ForensicArchi) October 29, 2024
* * * Members of Congress have taken hundreds of AIPAC-funded trips to Israel in the past decade Politico
European Disunion
Can the United Kingdom and France Team Up in the Third Nuclear Age? War on the Rocks
Volkswagen is in crisis again. Can it be reformed? FT
Corporate Europe Observatory – Uncovering Big Tech’s hidden network Brave New Europe
Dear Old Blighty
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine’s frontline is ‘crumbling’ against Russian advances, says general The Telegraph
Ukraine: Compromise or Collapse The Nation
Don’t Let Russia Win the Ukraine War The National Interest
* * * US Warns North Korean Troops May Widen Russia’s War on Ukraine Bloomberg
Russian units in Kaliningrad may be preparing sabotage in Baltic states and Poland Ukrainska Pravda
* * * Chinese sanctions hit US drone maker supplying Ukraine FT
How North Korean Artillery Supplies Saved Russia’s War Effort: 6 Million Rounds Left Ukraine Tremendously Outgunned Military Watch
* * * European Commission ready to open first negotiation clusters with Ukraine, but conditions possible Ukrainska Pravda
Global financial watchdog FATF once again refuses to include Russia on its black list – Reuters Ukrainska Pravda
* * * As Georgians Protest Election Results, What Next? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
An unfortunate rush to judgment in Georgia elections Responsible Statecraft
* * * 50/50: How referendum results will shape Moldova’s path to the EU JAM News
South of the Border
Bolivia president calls for end of blockades, says costs exceed $1.7 billion Reuters. Video (2020):
Local union members are coming together to lay stones to help block the highway connecting Cochabamba to Santa Cruz. Blockades demanding elections are being erected by communities across Bolivia and won't be easily lifted. #BloqueosBolivia pic.twitter.com/sTtLfsseAM
— Kawsachun News (@KawsachunNews) August 3, 2020
Mexico Supreme Court justice announces resignation, more expected Reuters
Biden Administration
Lawsuit claims ICE withheld $300M in bond payments from immigrants AP
2024
Biden bites three babies at White House Halloween party Daily Mail
Elon Musk ordered to attend Philadelphia hearing; DA asks for more security 6ABC
The Final Frontier
Largest Commercial Satellites Unfurl, Outshining Most of the Night Sky Gizmodo
China wants to make its Tiangong space station bigger and better Space.com
Halloween
Cop ‘attacked’ by giant inflatable runaway Halloween pumpkin in middle of the street ABC
Forget witches and zombies, Chinese youths are dressing up as celebs and memes this Halloween Channel News Asia
The Past as Prologue: Caliban & the Witch – a Review MR Online
Why Horror Needs Humor Literary Hub
Sports Desk
Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (4 HRs, 12 RBIs) named World Series MVP ESPN
Snooker star Ronnie O’Sullivan gets Hong Kong residency as part of quality migrant scheme South China Morning Post. Video:
Imperial Collapse Watch
The U.S. Air Force Could Buy Over 200 B-21s: Major Expansion of Long Range Stealth Bomber Fleet Considered Military Watch
Math Might Be the B-21 Raider’s Biggest Enemy The National Interest
Does foreign interventionism make America safer? Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun
Class Warfare
Consolidation Threatens to Rip ‘Service’ Out of Postal Service Labor Notes
Fandom has toxified the world Anarchist Library
Antidote du jour (Ken Thomas):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
BRIGHTER MAKES THE SALE
(melody borrowed from Tiger By The Tail by Buck Owens)
We want a brighter future than the one we see
What trickles down smells very much like pee
All fifty states are a lookin’ down the trail
And it looks like we’re gonna have a fire sale
Well, you say if we elect you to run our Uncle Sam
You’re not gonna sit on your two hands
And there’ll be no more pissing down our backs and coattails
Are we five by five or didja devil the details?
We want a brighter future than the one we see
Every billionaire has his own monopoly
This choo choo train will be runnin’ out of rail
It’s hammer time and you ain’t got a nail
(musical interlude)
Well, stories that are shaggy they confuse and confound
Promise is the politician sound
All the lies you told us about checks in the mail
Did you even try or was it just your plan to fail?
We want a brighter future than the one we see
You’re out of touch, and the money’s all you see
We warn you straight—this job is pass or fail
Human lives hafta be your Holy Grail
“Mattel releases first Diwali Barbie doll”
Since Indian ultra-nationalists are trying to be apologists for a past Indian custom, will Mattel eventually release the first Suttee Barbie Doll? (matches included)
https://theprint.in/ground-reports/sati-economy-still-roars-in-rajasthan-youtube-as-jaipur-court-closes-roop-kanwar-case/2331357/
“Alcohol consumption abundant in the natural world, study finds”
Ethanol is the most vilified, but most useful medication you can have in your anarchist medical bag. It is literally the best calcium, potassium and sodium channel blocker and the only one that reaches the brain. [1] [2]
I have labile hypertension, one of the most difficult forms to treat. Ethanol (in the form of 1.5 ounces of vodka) is short lasting and lowers my blood pressure in minutes. It also eases my mood in a way no pharmacological product could. It is only because people abuse alcohol that it has such a bad rap. Two of my brothers who quit drinking had heart attacks, one fatal.
I have always wondered if my family has a genetic need for some level of alcohol after the legacy of drinking in my family. Both my grandparents were very poor and they all certainly drank. My one grandfather drank vodka everyday and lived till he was 98 (he also ran moonshine out of his barbershop in Manhattan. So my family may be closer to the oriental hornets they mentioned in the article!
Can there be any doubt that Genocide Joe mistook a child dressed as a chicken for an extra crispy bucket of KFC?
Creepy uncle Joe must be losing his sense of smell then.
So, your saying it was the original recipe then?
Only if it was finger licking good. Tara Reade might have some words about that.
oof!
I had no idea what you were talking about – then I went on Twitter… Oh boy! I read a Tweet that said;
The entire garbage thing was hilarious, and reading the reactions might be even better. One guy wanted Trump arrested because he doesn’t have a CDL. Too funny. And Joe sniffing, biting, rubbing little kids? Isn’t that the Joe we’ve always known? This might be another incident that will convince his handlers to keep him away from any camera or microphone for the next week.
Not to change the subject but no hosannas for your boys in Dodger blue?
I confess no love for the Yankees after they gave my Braves such a hard time.
I’m now 3 and 2 lifetime in Dodgers/Yankees world series and tickled pink by the outcome…
My dad was in the stock biz in LA in the 60’s and worked with a young Peter O’Malley there, and my mom told me that he would get dugout seats and as a toddler watched Koufax pitch, Wills steal and more, but a baseball game is wasted on a 3 year old, as I don’t remember a thing.
> Climate Clarity: The Biggest Problems, The Best Solution Exposed by CMD
Intriguing, but linked sources were chewing their own tails. Following is from 2012:
The Haida Salmon Restoration Project: The Story So Far
aoml.noaa.gov/ftp/pub/phod/pub/lumpkin/haida_foia_request/HSRC_SeptStory%20Final.pdf
Main source kinda fergits to mention this, from wiki:
> The experiment, which was carried out without the knowledge of national authorities, was later described by a leading scientist at the Natural History Museum in London as “hav(ing) had a chilling effect on public trust and on research”.[3] In May, 2013, HSRC fired George, removing him as a director of the company, and appointed John Disney as interim CEO.
Ronnie O’Sullivan is a great man.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_O'Sullivan
An artist who has given me many many hours of happiness.
It’s also pleasing to seeing him now: a fairly boring man of about my age. His sexy rebel vibe ended as he healed from his past. Now he just seems happy. Still goes his own way, but without the torment.
Here’s him and somewhat less at peace middle-aged man Stephen Hendry chatting and playing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJTnRNZtwcw
“US draws up draft Israel-Lebanon ceasefire plan”
This is so stupid to read this. Israel is breaking their teeth trying to get a foothold in Lebanon but Hezbollah have fought them to a standstill. So with this “plan” they want Lebanon to hand Israel a victory that they are incapable of getting for themselves. It does not help that the US Ambassador in Lebanon was trying to encourage a second civil war in Israel by having everybody in Lebanon launch an internal uprising against Hezbollah on Israel’s behalf-
https://thecradle.co/articles-id/27478
The woman is a lunatic if this is her plan and I am pretty sure that this is not what Ambassadors are supposed to be saying. If I was there I would be suggesting a new strategy to Israel – ‘Let the Wookie Win!’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rN0T5tyJlo8 (49 secs)
This is the kind of thing I would expect out of the mind of John Bolton. In the case of State, it’s been subordinate to White House staff (ex. Kissinger before he was Secretary of State), the Pentagon, and institutions such as Treasury which wields power via the IMF. As a structure, it’s simply rotten. Then with Shrub, the final nail was put into place. Democrats embraced the “SMRT war” necessitating people in suits and pantsuits instead of uniforms and let that doofus Hillary run the department leading to a complete nightmare.
Now, it’s just bloodthirsty PMCs of the lowest talent level imaginable who can barely control their glee. If you thought Samantha Power was bad, wait until you see the people underneath.
After October 7th, there was that Obama appointee who accosted a street vendor. It’s a completely rotten culture.
I’ve seen speculation that Israel will retreat from Lebanon and Hezbollah will follow them into northern Israel.
Waiting to see if Iran retaliates and if they do, how badly Israel’s military infrastructure may be degtaded.
Hezbollah’s best chance is to keep luring IDF raids to Lebanon and then ambush them. When IDF retreats, target them relentlessly with missiles and rockets until they do another raid. Rinse and repeat. Scott Ritter even claims that Iran/Hezbollah has actually broken into IDF communications network, even if it’s encrypted and frequency jumping, and has enough Hebrew speaking people to create confusion or even chaos among advancing IDF units.
In Lebanon Hezbollah can literally run circles around IDF, in Israel (or occupied Palestine) they would lose that huge advantage, and IDF’s superior tactical firepower would start to have weight. Also the IDF communications inside Israel are more along the fiber optics than on the radio waves.
I’m not sure what it means, but just observing that our friend Blinken is not involved with this little operation. It’s some Hochstein dude who I’ve never heard of before. Blinken is nowhere to be seen. Perhaps this is not a State Dept. initiative. (Skunkworks? CIA?)
Perhaps it’s too odious of a ploy even for Antony. He has some scruples, after all! (We can always be hopeful.)
Amos Hochstein? You must mean the guy born in Jerusalem that when younger fought in the IDF before going to the US and becoming a US security official. That Hochstein-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amos_Hochstein
His current title is White House special envoy for the ME. Looks like a WH operation to shape the narrative, “see, we’re still working for a ceasefire – pay no attention to Bibi!” or something more nefarious.
Clearly he is not a neutral party who could be trusted to negotiate in good faith. Something rotten here. He’s up to no good, and Hezbollah would have to be insane to even talk with him.
pigs in oregon infected by wildlife, birds landing on the farm
“Cop ‘attacked’ by giant inflatable runaway Halloween pumpkin in middle of the street”
That cop was lucky there. It was not a runaway Halloween pumpkin but Rover in a Halloween costume-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rover_(The_Prisoner)
Why China Won’t Give Up on a Failing Economic Model Foreign Affairs
“By 2024, average disposable income had increased by only 50 percent since 2017”
Failing – how about the growth in the USA since 2017.
DeJoy still at the Post Office — gee, why is he still their? Oh yea, both political parties are want to get the big bucks from the privatizers/privateers while they grift the American Public.
Article I, Section 8, Clause 7 of the United States Constitution – “To establish Post Offices and post Roads.”
“Third state” of existence between life and death confirmed by scientists (earth.com)
“…In this third state, certain cells — when given nutrients, oxygen, bioelectricity, or biochemical signals — have the capacity to transform into new multicellular organisms, exhibiting new functions even after death.
The researchers reviewed recent studies showing the incredible capability of cells to reorganize and take on new forms after the death of the organism”. …
Intriguing stuff
“How North Korean Artillery Supplies Saved Russia’s War Effort: 6 Million Rounds Left Ukraine Tremendously Outgunned”
Maybe I missed it but I think that this article failed to mention the huge amount of artillery that the South Koreans sent to the Ukraine via NATO. But I do not think that future history books will say that Russia was just about to lose the war against the Ukrainians and it was only the support of the mighty North Korean military that turned the situation around for them.
This is another page in the big book of excuses that western politicians need to cook up to explain how they could lose so thoroughly. This chapter is wryly titled “Nobody expects the North Koreans!”
Re obnoxiously bright giant satellites in low orbit–on the plus side maybe if there are enough of them it will solve global warming?
Do we really need to wreck everything so people can watch TikTok videos? Here in SC wrecking nature is a sore point at the moment. Many of my favorite nature spots are gravely injured.
~‘A Cartography of Genocide’
I try to put myself in the conditions in Gaza and I melt. I consider myself seasoned to a dearth of material conditions and pretty tough, but what is humanly possible? The great crime against the Palestinians is that it is being tested in such an inhumane fashion. That it is being tested at all.
Alistair Crooke makes a few points here in this brief clip with Judge Nap:
Alastair Crooke : de-radicalizing Palestinians
de-radicalizing Palestinians should be in quotes because they are defending their country, their land, their people and finally their own humanity. The clip is brief and the point could be greatly expanded.
A pall comes over me every day as I find I cannot escape being Palestinian in spirit.
This short documentary from Middle East Eye gives some further insight:
The untold history of the Israel Defense Forces | The Big Picture
The title should be The Zionist Occupation Forces.
Yesterday the effects of the Storm in Valencia with a human toll of more than 90 and rising were linked.
Here you can see satellite pictures of the South Valencia region before and after the storm.
I saw a Guardian page full of images of what that flood did in Spain and it looks like they got hammered badly-
https://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2024/oct/30/torrential-rain-brings-deadly-flooding-to-spain-in-pictures
“Yesterday the effects of the Storm in Valencia…”
I do love Spain, and I am saddened.
“Why China Won’t Give Up on a Failing Economic Model”
China in 2023 was 26.8% larger in GDP than the US, and 29.8% larger than the European Union.
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1pNpr
August 4, 2014
Real per capita Gross Domestic Product for China, European Union, India, Japan and United States, 1977-2023
(Percent change)
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1pNpu
August 4, 2014
Real per capita Gross Domestic Product for China, European Union, India, Japan and United States, 1977-2023
(Indexed to 1977)
Subsides for production are a hell of a drug.