This marine biologist wants to use the world’s toughest corals to save dying reefs CNN


Scientists find world’s oldest sperm in Myanmar amber Channel News Asia


Private equity owners pile on leverage to pay themselves divis FT


Almost 60 percent of business closures are now permanent, new Yelp data shows NBC


Does the WTO Matter Anymore? Bloomberg


Wildfires


A Wall of Smoke on the U.S. West Coast NOAA Earth Observatory


#COVID19


Bridging the Gap at Warp Speed — Delivering Options for Preventing and Treating Covid-19 and Up Is Down — Pharmaceutical Industry Caution vs. Federal Acceleration of Covid-19 Vaccine Approval New England Journal of Medicine

Trump disputes CDC director on vaccine timing, says ‘he made a mistake’ The Hill. The irony here is that with seven vaccines in trial, three in Stage Three, four in Stages One and Two, Project Warp Speed appears to be working as well as a Big Pharma project can work; moreover, the parallel development architecture was a good idea. But Democrats can’t say that, and Trump won’t. (Personally, my hope is that a dark horse project in a place like South Korea or Thailand turns out to be the winner, but that’s a separate issue.)

The Economic Case for a People’s Vaccine Boston Review

Biden: ‘We can’t allow politics to interfere with the vaccine in any way’ CNN

CDC Director Redfield suggests masks may be more effective than a coronavirus vaccine Yahoo News

Is the company with a 20-second coronavirus test for real? FT


Steve Bannon Is Behind Bogus Study That China Created COVID The Daily Beast


China?


China urged to flex long-arm jurisdiction to protect its companies from foreign hostility South China Morning Post

China’s ‘hybrid war’: Beijing’s mass surveillance of Australia and the world for secrets and scandal ABC Australia

Nigerian opens China-built railway. Thread:

Whatever Happened to China’s Giant Piles of Abandoned Bicycles? Caixin


The Koreas


COVID-19 Has Crushed Everybody’s Economy—Except for South Korea’s Foreign Policy

“A real flood of bacteria and germs” — Communications Intelligence and Charges of U.S. Germ Warfare during the Korean War Medium


Indonesians caught without a mask forced to dig graves for Covid-19 victims CNN


Virus Cases at Dorms Add to Singapore Construction Woes Bloomberg


Myanmar races to build field hospital as coronavirus surge stretches health system Reuters


Syraqistan


THE ANGRY ARAB: The Franco-American Designs on Lebanon Consortium News (Olga).

Under lockdown, Israel faces bitter start of Jewish New Year AP


Brexit


Brexit: UK Tories agree deal on international law breach Deutsche Welle. “British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has reached a deal with rebels from his own party that would give them a say on whether the UK should break international law in overriding its EU withdrawal agreement.” Everybody hold hands so we can jump over the cliff together!

Keir Starmer poised to cash in on Boris Johnson’s ‘catastrophe’ as Tories face extinction Daily Express

Joe Biden latest Democrat to warn UK over breaking Brexit deal Politico


UK/EU


Germany Offered U.S. $1.2B To Save Nord Stream 2 OilPrice.com. Seems low.


Assange


Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 11 Craig Murray. That the major venues like WaPo and the Times aren’t reporting on the Assange trial doesn’t bode well for the future of investigative journalism.

As British judge made rulings against Julian Assange, her husband was involved with right-wing lobby group briefing against WikiLeaks founder Declassifed UK. One big happy!


Joe Rogan Experience #1536 – Edward Snowden (video) YouTube (lyman alpha blob).


RussiaGate


Move along people, move along. There’s no story here:

The Durham investigation:


Trump Transition


Trump flags concerns about Oracle-TikTok deal FT

DeJoy’s Postal Service policies delayed 7% of nation’s first-class mail, Senate report says Seattle Times

Top HHS spokesperson takes leave of absence after accusing scientists of “sedition” Axios

Barr blasts his own DOJ prosecutors, equates them to preschoolers and ‘headhunters’ NBC. Barr: “Name one successful organization where the lowest-level employees’ decisions are deemed sacrosanct. There aren’t any. Letting the most junior members set the agenda might be a good philosophy for a Montessori preschool, but it’s no way to run a federal agency.”


The Confederate Roots of the Administrative State National Review. From July, still germane; an interesting contribution to the “unitary executive” debate.


2020


Biden believes he would have authority to impose national mask mandate as president CBS

Freedom Rider: Democrats’ Climate Change Lies Black Agenda Report


Boeing, Boeing…


The Design, Development & Certification of the Boeing 737 Max (PDF) House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. From the Executive Summary, the paragraph everybody is quoting:

This report was produced by Democratic staff of the Committee and is the culmination of the Committee’s investigative efforts assessing the costs, consequences, and lessons from the design, development, and certification of Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft. The report reveals several unmistakable facts. The MAX crashes were not the result of a singular failure, technical mistake, or mismanaged event. They were the horrific culmination of a series of faulty technical assumptions by Boeing’s engineers, a lack of transparency on the part of Boeing’s management, and grossly insufficient oversight by the FAA—the pernicious result of regulatory capture on the part of the FAA with respect to its responsibilities to perform robust oversight of Boeing and to ensure the safety of the flying public. The facts laid out in this report document a disturbing pattern of technical miscalculations and troubling management misjudgments made by Boeing. It also illuminates numerous oversight lapses and accountability gaps by the FAA that played a significant role in the 737 MAX crashes.


Big Brother Is Watching You Watch


Apple gave the FBI access to the iCloud account of a protester accused of setting police cars on fire Business Insider

A “Persistent Eye in the Sky” Coming to a City Near You? Common Dreams


Protests and Riots


Pennsylvania judge will likely reevaluate ‘unconstitutional’ $1 million bail set for Ricardo Munoz protesters USA Today

Military Police Leaders Weighed Deploying ‘Heat Ray’ Against D.C. Protesters NPR


Police State Watch


House Democrats Demand Investigation Into Claims Of Excessive Hysterectomies On ICE Detainees HuffPo


Imperial Collapse Watch


How the west lost Prospect (DJG).

Treating American Empire The Baffler. “The United States, as it is currently constituted, requires huge amounts of violence domestically (on the part of police) and internationally (on the part of the military) in order to function. The role of the therapist under these conditions thus becomes helping law enforcement and military personnel metabolize violence that is accepted, prima facie, as justified.” Wasn’t there a TV series about this? The Tenors? The Coloraturas?

Are the Forever Wars Really Ending? Patrick Buchanan, RealClearPolitics

Study: As Many As 59 Million Displaced By America’s War On Terror The American Conservative

Moral injury and the gap between the soldier and the state’s moral identity (PDF) Australian Army Research Centre.


Sports Desk


Big Ten football is back: What you need to know ESPN (Re Silc). “What was the most important factor in the Big Ten voting to play?” I can’t imagine….


Class Warfare


Stop Doomscrolling and Play a Board Game About Class Warfare The New Yorker

The Top 1% of Americans Have Taken $50 Trillion From the Bottom 90%—And That’s Made the U.S. Less Secure Nick Hanauer and David M. Rolf, Time

You’re Right! You Are Working Longer and Attending More Meetings Harvard Business School

How Were 46 Million People Trapped by Student Debt? The History of an Unfulfilled Promise Counterpunch


The Future of Energy Adam Tooze, NYT


Where Will Everyone Go? Pro Publica. Climate migration.


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See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here


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