Links 11/23/2024 | naked capitalism

Dear patient readers,

I hope you can provide input on some iPhone anomalies.

1. I bought a Faraday bag for my phone since I have long known that switching it to Airplane Mode and then off is still less than perfect protection. However, I just got a text beep while the phone was in the Faraday bag (Airplane Mode off) and properly sealed. I was worried that a Faraday bag would not work as advertised and I managed to buy a Faraday fail.

How do I get a reliable Faraday bag? They are get good reviews so it’s not as if I can verify them that way.

2. I have also had the phone get texts when in Airplane Mode (this was Bolt with what they considered to be an urgent matter). I verified that it was in Airplane Mode yet a second text arrived very shortly thereafter. I read later that this could happen if you have WiFi calling turned on but I never can be bothered so it is always off. So this was a creepy anomaly, sort of like Bolt breaking into my phone.

* * *

Newly identified chemical in drinking water is likely in many homes and could be toxic, study finds NBC

* * *

The Apotheosis of Lord Nelson Big Serge

Jordan Peterson’s prophecies New Statesman (Anthony L)

#COVID-19/Pandemics

Fugaku demonstrates the effectiveness of mask wearing and good ventilation in buildings Bill Mitchell

Climate/Environment

Does Space Need Environmentalists? Nomea (Anthony L)

Five firms in plastic pollution alliance ‘made 1,000 times more plastic than they cleaned up’ Guardian (Paul R)

A call for EPA action on climate risks to hazardous waste facilities The New Lede

Great Lakes’ water temperatures are very warm for November, still 60 degrees on one lake MLive (Carla R)

Economist Makes the Case For Slow Level 1 EV Charging CleanTechnica

China?

This video is a must-watch. I rarely agree with @brhodes but he’s 100% correct here.

He says he’ll “always be haunted” by a comment that Xi Jinping made to Obama in 2016 when referring to Trump: “If an immature leader throws the world into chaos, the world will know who to… pic.twitter.com/DyKNQw1aPq

— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) November 22, 2024

Brazil Finds Chinese Ally in Its Feud with Elon Musk Bloomberg. Vikas S: “The Great Game in space.”

“China is a threat to Europe’s security” Tagesschau via machine translation (guurst)

Suspected China-linked hack on US telecoms worst in nation’s history, senator says Reuters

Baidu’s Supercheap Robotaxis Should Scare the Hell Out of the US The Verge

North Korea Closes the Door on New Negotiations Daniel Larison

South of the Border

Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro charged with plotting coup d’état Guardian

European Disunion

Europe Is Gaslighting Itself About Its Energy Woes Bloomberg

French PM Barnier faces no-confidence threat from far right Le Monde

Bosch plans to cut thousands of jobs in Germany Tagesschau via machine translation (guurst)

Volkswagen workers head towards strikes from December France24

Sweden’s Northvolt files for bankruptcy, in blow to Europe’s EV ambitions EurActiv

Serbian opposition leader arrested during blockade of historic Belgrade bridge Intellinews

Old Blighty

£500m defence cuts as ships, drones and helicopters scrapped BBC

Winter fuel payments cut makes sense, Starmer says BBC (Kevin W)

An investigation is under way into the France-based defence company Thales for suspected bribery and corruption, the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has announced Sky

Israel v. the Axis of Resistance

Unbearable 💔 https://t.co/RviC5NXCeR

— B.M. (@ireallyhateyou) November 21, 2024

Medical teams in Gaza are fighting an intense battle against bacteria that no longer respond to most antibiotics. It has become nearly impossible for any wound to escape infection, despite doctors’ relentless efforts. The conditions are dire—no proper sterilization, no sufficient… https://t.co/uo81SPvph3

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) November 21, 2024

International and local doctors operating in northern Gaza hospitals have found cube-like structures, which are made of tungsten and built into weapons designed to explode and cause maximum damage to the victims. pic.twitter.com/C4v7tVUk2X

— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) November 20, 2024

* * *

Stolen By a Map: The Haunting History of Lebanon’s Lost Villages Public Source (guurst)

* * *

Col. Larry Wilkerson: Israel’s Total Defeat, Netanyahu’s Arrest Warrant – Russia Goes Hypersonic Dialogue Works. Wilkerson is always worth a listen and he has a VERY key fact here. I had an argument over my earlier recollection that Wilkerson had estimates wounded in action in Lebanon (as in JUST Lebanon) at 4,000. A reader disputed that. Starting at 21:20, using a fresh Haaretz report that the IDF deaths in Lebanon have now reached 800 and using our killed in action v. wounded in action ratio from Afghanistan and Iraq (as in with access to good field hospitals; Israel is sure to have better access to actual hospitals) of 1:11 and 1:12, the wounded in action in Lebanon has to be at least 8,000, which is massive for Israel.

Israel and Silkwood: Like the JFK and RFK Assassinations, Is the Israel Connection Again Being Avoided? Sam Husseini. Opening para:

Ramy Abdu of Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, reports: “After arrest warrants for war criminals Netanyahu & Gallant, Israeli forces escalated mass killings of civilians in Gaza. At least 9 massacres were documented.”

Washington’s Disgraceful Reaction to the ICC Warrants Daniel Larison

Did pro-Israel cash affect Senate votes on Israel arms sales? Sam Semler. This may seem like a “Is water wet?” issue but still useful to have data.

Syraqistan

Deadliest ever Israeli attacks in Syria kill scores of Iran-linked fighters – monitor Iran International

Clashes between Damascus forces and ISIS in eastern Homs countryside ANHA

New Not-So-Cold War

Putin warns West: You’re pushing us towards a world war The Times

US and European Officials Discussed Giving Ukraine Nuclear Weapons Antiwar.com (Kevin W)

Vladimir Putin met with the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense and representatives of the defense industry complex. Key points:

The tests of the “Oreshnik” system were reported as successful, and further testing will continue.

A stockpile of such systems is already…

— Russians With Attitude (@RWApodcast) November 22, 2024

Russia Puts US Base In Poland On Priority List For “Potential Elimination” NDTV

From Poland’s ‘iron dome’ to boots on the ground: How Europe is preparing for a Third World War Independent

Deputy army chief says UK troops ready to ‘fight tonight’ amid rising tension in Ukraine war Anadolu Agency. As Scott Ritter has pointed out, you could seat the entire UK army in a single football stadium and still have empty places.

* * *

South Korea says Russia sent North Korea missiles in exchange for troops Aljazeera. So let me get this straight….Russia was running out of missiles, so it had to get more from North Korea. But now Russia, with roughly a million men in its army and is still having more enlist, needs men instead and has a surplus of missiles?

Russian weapons are a hit seller Marat Khairullin. As we predicted.

Exclusive: Trump’s NATO pick Matt Whitaker’s surprising take on Russia seizing Crimea resurfaces as Putin threatens WWIII Daily Mail (Li)

Imperial Collapse Watch

World’s conflict zones increased by two-thirds in past three years, report reveals Guardian

What is “the West”? Stefan Heeb (Anthony )

Trump 2.0

Trump picks Scott Bessent as Treasury secretary Financial Times

Trump Once Disavowed Project 2025. Now He’s Hiring People Who Worked on It Bloomberg

Angry Young Men for Trump London Review of Books (Anthony L)

* * *

From IM Doc via e-mail:

It had to happen sooner or later – the level of freak out in these patients has just been something to behold. It appeared to be getting better.

Then today happened –

XX year old woman was found dead in her deceased mother’s home in New York City. GSW to the throat.

Suicide letter written – She could not live in a country controlled by Trump. And not only that – she did it in NYC because she did not want to exit the Earth in a Red State – and did not want to give a Red State the privilege of being her site of exit.

The coroner employee I talked to had a very heavy accent – but he said this was either #15 or #18 – I could not quite make it out.

Immigration

Thousands of migrants from Central America left southern Mexico on 20 November, aiming to reach the US before President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January BBC

When you have an open border and an influx of people coming over illegally by the millions, we can’t have companies incentivizing this criminal behavior by offering jobs for cheap labor. It’s not fair to those looking for employment or to our law enforcement, local hospitals and… pic.twitter.com/M4NwW7bPIk

— AG Todd Rokita (@AGToddRokita) November 20, 2024

Trump immigration crackdown: Denaturalization just a drop in the bucket The Hill

Our No Longer Free Press

G20’s Online Speech Clampdown Calls Set To Ignite Free Speech Fears Reclaim the Net (Micael T)

The most entertaining outcome, especially if ironic, is most likely 😂 https://t.co/YX2EznXfoF

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 22, 2024

Why X’s new terms of service are driving some users to leave Elon Musk’s platform CNBC

Mr. Market

Strong dollar set to hit emerging market bonds, warn investors Financial Times

Class Warfare

Enslaved on OnlyFans: Women describe lives of isolation, torment and sexual servitude Reuters (Paul R)

Sex workers need the police to do better, not more openDemocracy

Antidote du jour (via):

And a bonus. This looks like an annoyed beg: