What Michelangelo’s Late Works Reveal About His Genius and Humanity Aeon (Chuck L)
The odd couple Criticism magazine. Anthony L.: “War and Green”
Yesterday’s Men: The End of the Mythical Method Harpers (Anthony L)
A black hole 100,000 times heavier than the sun awakens and lights up the galaxy Interesting Engineering (Chuck L)
The eternal mystery of how water freezes Quantum Magazine (Kevin W)
A Brief History of Stephen Hawking’s Great Equation Aeon (Chuck L)
#COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus Disease)
New insights into acute and long COVID Eric Topol (Robin K)
Climate and Environment
Researchers find microplastics on penises for first time, raising questions about their impact on sexual health Sky News (Kevin W)
Eastern Australia faces gas shortages amid cold snap and power outages Reuters
UK Supreme Court wins landmark victory for environmentalists in oil drilling case Oil prices
Ecuador loses power, leaving 18 million people in darkness Guardian
China?
Second Thomas Schorr puts America’s reputation at risk Asia Times (Kevin W)
Using high-resolution satellite cameras and AI, China can track the surface wakes of U.S. attack submarines as they travel underwater at speeds of more than 20 knots (37 kph).
US nuclear submarines are very large, displacing approximately 7,000 tons when submerged… pic.twitter.com/M0o2DBx6X7
— Ignis Rex (@Ignis_Rex) June 22, 2024
Bill to ban DJI drones passed by U.S. House of Representatives — If the “Countering the Chinese Communist Party’s Drones Act” passes the Senate, it will result in a complete ban on DJI sales in the U.S. Tom’s Hardware. Chuck L also tweeted the following:
The US is about to pass a bill called the “Counter-Chinese Communist Party Drone Act” that would ban DJI drones within the US.https://t.co/2cj0wldKoA
I researched it and DJI has 90% of the US hobbyist market, 70% of the industrial market, and over 80% of the emergency response market…
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) June 20, 2024
US urges Netherlands and Japan to further restrict semiconductor manufacturing facilities from entering China Reuters (Kevin W). Still relevant from Thursday.
Chinese Submarine Captain Reports Major Leap in Firepower: Has New YJ-21 Hypersonic Missile Significantly Improved Performance? Military Watches
Africa
Sudan: Darfur’s graveyards triple as 25.6 million people face food shortages Almonitor
Niger revokes operating license for major French uranium mine France 24
European Separation
France’s far-right rally ends in clashes ahead of general elections France 24
Is Berlin preparing for the end? Politicians discuss bunker plans Berliner
Gaza
🚨Witness: Dr. Munir Al-Bash, #GazaHealth Ministry director reveals shocking torture methods in Israeli military prisons after murder of Dr. Iyad Al-Rantisi: electric shocks, hanging, stretching, nail pulling during interrogation!! pic.twitter.com/PSRcGB6UiF
— Nour Naim | نُور (@NourNaim88) June 19, 2024
Hezbollah Ready to Defeat Israel Moon Over Alabama (Kevin W)
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warns Israel about costs of Lebanon war NPR
The sinking of another ship in the Red Sea has caused a warning in the shipping industry. CNN
Hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews block highway in protest against IDF enlistment The Times of Israel (Kevin W)
A new cold war
The cost of war is never paid by those responsible…
A Ukrainian soldier wakes up in a hospital with both eyes and arms missing, and the rest of his life already decided: the woman he had is gone, and if he had a future, it’s gone.
I pray this will end. #UkraineRussiaWar #Ukraine… pic.twitter.com/u54fdUGLpv— Noctis Draven (@DravenNoctis) June 19, 2024
EU approves 14th sanctions package against Russia, first includes LNG sector measures Eura Active
Putin warns South Korea against arms sales to Ukraine BBC (Kevin W)
Putin reconsiders nuclear weapons doctrine after state visit to Vietnam Euronews
Ukrainian neo-Nazi group Centuria terrorizes European citizens and aims to create a “Fourth Reich” in Europe Foundation for Fighting Injustice (Michael T)
Yellen says Vietnam doesn’t need to cut ties with Russia and China US News (Kevin W)
US gives Ukraine front-line privileges for air defense missiles Politico (Kevin W.)
What could be better for Russia? Mark Wach
Helium balloons rise – Russia’s helium industry at war with NATO John Helmer
Assange
Key evidence missing in Assange wiretapping case – Media RT (Robin K)
Empire Collapse Watch
As Chuck L said, “If we lose Niall Ferguson…”
British historian Niall Ferguson warns that when applying the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union to a modern-day context, it is the US, not China, that must play the Soviet role.
In the late Soviet era, the country saw an expansion… pic.twitter.com/r82WLSvs3E
— DaiWW (@BeijingDai) June 19, 2024
The ruling class has finally woken up to the reality of America’s decline. Simplicius
Americans don’t realize how devastating it would be if that were to happen, and Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, has extensive contacts in Washington, so we should probably believe him.
Wars are essentially won through three things:
1) Industrial Capacity
2)… https://t.co/wdG5EfvvV4— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) June 20, 2024
Analysts warn that US borrowing glut risks weighing on markets Financial Times. It raises the question of why the Treasury didn’t issue more long-term bonds when interest rates were so low.
Trump
Trump has raised a lot of money in the last month, erasing Biden’s financial advantage. POLITICO
Nevada judge dismisses Trump’s electoral fraud lawsuit The New York Times (Kevin W.)
Trump tosses coin to end CNN debate CNN (Kevin W.)
Guns
Supreme Court upholds gun ban for domestic abusers CBS (Kevin W
Awakened Watch
Pilots union proposes changing ‘cockpit’ to ‘flight deck’ for inclusivity Breitbart (Dr. Kevin). Yes, I know Breitbart, but that’s ad hominem thinking. This is a sourced article. In my opinion, female pilots are more worried about being attacked for pay/promotion/schedule discrimination and all that nonsense. But it’s tough for unions to fight over things that involve money and power dynamics.
The Specter of “Indoctrination” Chronicle (Anthony L)
Boeing that will collapse and Boeing that won’t
Multiple issues with Boeing’s Starliner have left astronauts stranded in space, closing off chances of a return flight Live Science (Kevin W)
Can I still buy a car? What you need to know about the shutdowns of major auto dealerships CNN
artificial intelligence
LLMs create more persuasive misinformation than humans The Register (Dr. Kevin)
AI is draining the power grid. Tech companies are looking for miracle solutions. The Washington Post (Kevin W.)
Tim Cook Edward Zitron (Michael T.)
Class struggle
Today’s antidote (via):
See yesterday’s link and Antidote du Jour here.
