Links 11/21/2025 | naked capitalism

Raccoons are self-domesticating and getting cuter Boing Boing

Scientists Say Kissing Is Over 20 Million Years Old and It’s Not Just a Human Thing ZME Science

More countries report rising levels of drug-resistant gonorrhoea, warns WHO World Health Organization

Climate/Environment

‘Potent Metaphor’: Fire Forces Evacuation of UN Climate Conference Common Dreams

James Hansen is trying to get a message across Moving Day

Thousands of US hazardous sites are at risk of flooding because of sea level rise, study finds AP

Media reports that FEMA council report being edited by DHS, raising concerns about FEMA future Balanced Weather

Pandemics

Important Long-COVID Lessons From AIDS Researchers Medscape

‘Too little, too late’: damning report condemns UK’s Covid response The Guardian

Measles outbreak in Arizona and Utah could spell the end for U.S. elimination status NBC News

Japan

Japan exports Patriot missiles to U.S., 1st under eased restrictions Kyodo News

China?

China imports no US soybeans for second month, Brazil arrivals up 29% Reuters

US lawmakers press for new tactics to challenge China’s grip on rare earths South China Morning Post

U.S. Senate passes bill seeking to remove limits on Taiwan engagement Focus Taiwan

Myanmar

Myanmar Junta Accuses US of ‘Hidden Agenda’ in Anti-Scam Crackdown The Irrawaddy

Syraqistan

Huckabee Held Meeting at U.S. Embassy With American Who Spied for Israel New York Times. Huckabee apparently cannot find the time to meet with this American:

🚨 A US Embassy official visited Mohammed last week and gave his father a terrifying update. Said he is “not doing good at all,” has black circles under his eyes, more weight loss, and that guards beat him when he tried to wave to his father on the courtroom security camera.… https://t.co/kkaDzWPKYw pic.twitter.com/fyAvby4T6Q

— jasper nathaniel (@infinite_jaz) November 19, 2025

Shin Bet Backs Death Penalty for Terrorists Who Kill Israelis, Chief Tells Israeli Government, After Years of Opposition Haaretz

When Israel’s courts become ‘instruments of revenge’ against Palestinian citizens +972 Magazine

Bill to block UNRWA access to water, electricity passes Israeli Knesset’s first reading TRT World

US and E3 prepare ground for war against Iran at IAEA and Israeli ceasefire violations in Gaza and Lebanon GeoPolitiQ

Old Blighty

Ministry of Justice set to take away the right to a trial by jury The Canary

Central Banks and Government Budgets – As If Democracy Matters Ann Pettifor

European Disunion

EU’s digital law cuts spark fears and doubts on competitiveness Euractiv

How ASML Got EUV Construction Physics

Poland to close last Russian consulate in response to train line sabotage Notes from Poland

Poles’ negative attitudes towards Germans rise to highest level in 25 years Notes from Poland

New Not-So-Cold War

The Alleged 28-Point Ukrainian and Russian Peace Plan Larry Johnson

Leaked ‘Peace Proposal’ Carries Hidden Intrigues, as ‘Camo-Putin’ Signals Defiance Simplicius

High Noon In Kiev Moon of Alabama

THE BULLIES ON THE BEACH ARE BEACHED — TRUMP COVERS RETREAT FROM UKRAINE FRONT John Helmer

Putin Visits West Group Command Post Karl Sanchez

Africa

Bamako is grinding towards a halt The Continent

Mali holds firm: West eyes new front to sabotage Sahel independence The Cradle

The Great Game

Chinese diplomatic tour strives to blunt US trade momentum in Central Asia Eurasianet

South of the Border

Russian Tanker Idles Near Venezuela After US Warship Enters Path Bloomberg

RUBIO SAYS MADURO IS TERRORIST-IN-CHIEF OF VENEZUELA’S “CÁRTEL DE LOS SOLES.” IS IT EVEN A REAL GROUP? The Interecept

U.S. Banks Shelve $20 Billion Bailout Plan for Argentina WSJ

L’affaire Epstein

Epstein Bill Has Foreign Policy Loophole Sam Husseini

“Modi on board”: Jeffrey Epstein Pressed Steve Bannon to Meet With Indian PM Shortly Before His Death Drop Site

Larry Summers is institutional rot: a close Jeffrey Epstein associate & apologist for Israeli apartheid & genocide. No surprise, he has a named professorship at Harvard. https://t.co/0guB8X8kIt pic.twitter.com/LwbsCvrMqy

— Zachary Foster (@_ZachFoster) November 19, 2025

Trump 2.0

Issue 97 – This is hardship Molly White

Trump buys millions in Boeing bonds while awarding it contracts Responsible Statecraft

Trump and big tech take two more stabs at ending AI democracy Blood in the Machine

Donald Trump Faces New MAGA Discontent Over AI Proposal Newsweek

Economy

Trust Is The Missing Factor in The AI Boom Edelman

The US is losing blue-collar jobs for the first time since the pandemic—year-on-year job losses have hit 59k as manufacturing industries lose jobs at a rapid pace while growth in construction & transportation has nearly zeroed out pic.twitter.com/fCOhbA7hqk

— Joey Politano 🏳️‍🌈 (@JosephPolitano) November 20, 2025

Fox News Poll: Voters say White House is doing more harm than good on economy Fox News

“Liberation Day”

Moody’s: U.S. Ports Face Decline as Tariffs and Policy Uncertainty Cloud 2026 Outlook gCaptain

Shutdown

How the shutdown broke America’s food chain — and what happens next Grist

Democrats en déshabillé

National Security Moms Are Here Ken Klippenstein

WOULD YOU EVER GO ON VACATION TO A PLACE LIKE THAT? Seymour Hersh. A conversation with Thomas Frank.

This Data Shows Why Dems Shouldn’t Run from Climate Aaron Regunberg

How California Spent Natural Disaster Funds to Quell Student Protests for Palestine The Intercept

“MAHA”

CDC Website No Longer Rejects Autism-Vaccine Link MedPage Today

The anti-vaccination disinformation on the CDC site is the predictable consequences of public health downplaying COVlD for years.

People were told vax & relax, wash your hands, C19 is seasonal, don’t isolate. They get infected, health declines, & blame the shot, not the virus. https://t.co/mjw431PSl1

— Mike Hoerger, PhD MSCR MBA (@michael_hoerger) November 21, 2025

TRANSLATED EXCERPTSAbout MAHA, “One Health”, “Function Health”, article by Alexandre Monnin,philosopher:“Not treating patients: a current trend”Very important article for those who want to understand the transformation of public health.Horrifying.1/12https://t.co/nuL5ZRJos2 pic.twitter.com/RVEnOdyXYz

— Redkiraz (@Redkiraz) November 19, 2025

Imperial Collapse Watch

Dialogue in Hiroshima Emmanuel Todd

Three Roads Beyond Liberal Democracy Deep Cosmopolis

U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols WaPo

Davos assured Trump ‘woke’ topics were off the agenda FT

Police State Watch

Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with ‘suspicious’ patterns AP

ICE Says Critical Evidence In Abuse Case Was Lost In ‘System Crash’ a Day After It Was Sued 404 Media

How the FBI Became the Face of Deprofessionalization Can We Still Govern?

Homeland Security says operation in Charlotte ‘not over’ despite earlier reports WBTV

AI

The only people who benefit here are the executives of the major labels and AI startups. We need the Living Wage for Musicians Act, which would pay a new streaming royalty ONLY to human musicians, not to corporations making AI slop. pic.twitter.com/jksVmx2Yeq

— United Musicians and Allied Workers (@UMAW_) November 20, 2025

In the A.I. Race, Chinese Talent Still Drives American Research New York Times

Musk says AI and humanoid robots will eliminate poverty, make work ‘optional’ Anadolu Agency

Kicking Robots Harper’s

Holes in the web Aeon

Groves of Academe

When grades stop meaning anything The Argument

Antitrust

Meta Wins Antitrust Case as Big Tech Moves from a Monopoly to a Macro-Economic Problem BIG by Matt Stoller

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Former Google chief accused of spying on employees through account ‘backdoor’ Los Angeles Times

Class Warfare

Child care expenses top the cost of rent in dozens of U.S. cities, analysis finds. See where. CBS News

California’s child farmworkers: Exhausted, underpaid and toiling in toxic fields Los Angeles Times

The Promise Of Automation and Abundance Ian Welsh

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.