Saving the Iberian lynx: How humans rescued this rare feline from extinction Earth.com
Despite Biotech Efforts to Revive Species, Extinction Is Still Forever Yale Environment 360
Running From Zombies in The Snow: A Guide to The Arctic Apocalypse The Sentinel Intelligence
Walgreens replaced its refrigerator doors with digitized ad-laden glass. It might become a $200 million debacle Fortune
California Burning
Massive fire at US’ Northern California lithium battery facility continues to burn Anadolu Agency
Moss Landing battery fire: A ‘Three Mile Island’ for key renewable energy industry? The Mercury News
***
Private firefighters are increasingly popular with insurers. But do they pose a risk? Cal Matters
California’s FAIR Plan, the home insurer of last resort, may need a bailout after the L.A. fires Los Angeles Times. It’s not even fire season.
New wildfire concerns in Los Angeles: Strong winds could return next week. USA Today
Hydroclimate volatility on a warming Earth Weather West
‘Literally off the charts’: LA’s critically dry conditions stun scientists as fires rage Cal Matters
Climate/Environment
We All Live in the Firestorm: Infinite Crisis and the LA Wildfires The Tech Bubble
Pandemics
Wait a Minute. Do They Actually Want a Bird Flu Pandemic? A Look at the Preparations. The Sentinel Intelligence
The Koreas
Protesters storm South Korea court after it extends Yoon’s detention Channel News Asia
China?
Henry Huiyao Wang: With deal-maker Trump, business cooperation could reset US-China ties Pekingnology
European Disunion
Revolving Wall Street door threatens EU sovereignty Thomas Fazi, Unherd
O Canada
Chrystia Freeland’s campaign to lead Canada starts with humblebrag: ‘Trump doesn’t like me’ The Guardian
IMF raises US economic forecast as Canada and Europe fall behind Semafor
Syraqistan
Netanyahu says cease-fire ‘temporary,’ reserves right to resume war Ynet
If all this is not done as preparation for an attack against Iran, or a major provocation (two Supreme Court judges were assassinated in Teheran today, but that’s just a minor distraction) – I’m going to be left genuinely surprised.
Israel cannot continue with the perception…
— Alon Mizrahi (@alon_mizrahi) January 18, 2025
Netanyahu Is Counting on Hamas to Help Him Derail the Second Phase of Cease-fire Talks Haaretz
Forget Trump — agreeing to a ceasefire was Netanyahu’s own calculation +972 Magazine
Houthis vow to respect Gaza ceasefire, but pledge to resume attacks if Israel breaks the deal Drop Site
Israeli army drops leaflets on Gaza mocking suffering of Palestinians ahead of ceasefire The New Arab
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Trump comeback restarts Israeli public debate on West Bank annexation Al Monitor
Kushner’s Saudi-backed fund doubles stake in firm financing illegal West Bank settlements The Cradle
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Two judges shot dead at Iran’s supreme court Channel News Asia
Attack on Iran’s nuclear program more likely with Trump presidency Al Arabiya
Trump’s Return and the Second Version of the Gulf De-escalation Approach Emirates Policy Center
Iraq seeks Iran-backed militia disarmament in new push Intellinews
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The USA is building a new megastructure HQ in Lebanon over 43 acres as an “Embassy”.
Lebanon is a country with the area and population of Yorkshire or Connecticut, but a tenth of the economy.
So what is it? pic.twitter.com/iVK6Mjeq9l— Craig Murray (@CraigMurrayOrg) January 18, 2025
New Not-So-Cold War
North Korean Troops “Blowing Themselves Up” To Avoid Capture In Ukraine NDTV. No wonder they’re so hard to find.
Iskander Missile Strike Kills Danish F-16 Pilot in Ukraine – Reports Military Watch
How the CIA and Ukrainian intelligence secretly forged a deep partnership ABC News
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Sanctions continue to be ineffective. East’s Substack
EU To Bypass National Vetoes To Adopt Next Sanctions Package European Conservative
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Ukraine’s lithium wealth diminishes as key deposits fall to Russia Al Mayadeen
The Imminent NATO-Ukrainian Defeat’s Implications for the Fate of the Ukrainian State Gordon Hahn, Russian & Eurasian Politics
AfD sparks outrage with call to deport Ukrainian refugees from Germany The New Voice of Ukraine. Commentary:
the Ukraine war, so gleefully welcomed by Acela Corridor hacks & weapons industry-funded think-tankers, ending up so predictably awful and we’ve barely begun the consequences phase of this warhttps://t.co/PCfrip2HrR
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) January 18, 2025
***
Love in the Baltics in a time of war bne Intellinews
Baerbock left the government meeting, refusing to be photographed, after Scholz’s decision to block a new €3 billion aid package for Ukraine.
memes didn’t wait long
via @DD_Geopolitics pic.twitter.com/NQdWu84JKV— — GEROMAN — time will tell – 👀 — (@GeromanAT) January 18, 2025
South of the Border
Trump’s team wants Maduro to leave Venezuela Axios
Subsoil Bonanza: Venezuela’s Natural Resources Venezuelanalysis
B-a-a-a-a-d Banks
Regional Banks Face Headache From Rising Treasury Yields Bloomberg
The Problem of Good Conduct among Financial Advisers Journal of Economic Perspectives “…approximately one in fifteen advisers has a history of serious misconduct, with this rate rising to one in six in certain regions and firms.”
Biden Administration
Goodbye to Joe Biden, and Whoever Was President the Last Four Years Matt Taibbi, Racket News
Trump 2.0
The tech bros have front-row seats at Trump’s inauguration, but what they want goes way beyond that Quinn Slobodian, The Guardian
The tech oligarchy has been here for years Blood in the Machine
It’s ‘Drill, Baby, Drill,’ Yet Time to ‘Chill, Baby, Chill’ on Lower Prices Real Clear Investigations
Democrats en déshabillé
An American tragedy: how Biden paved the way for Trump’s White House return The Guardian. Commentary:
No one worked harder to get Trump elected more than the Democrats. They refused to back down from their genocide, they refused to remove Biden until it became a public embarrassment; they refused a democratic process for picking the replacement, instead choosing a candidate who… https://t.co/Ah4UwdFRWw
— Sana Saeed (@SanaSaeed) January 18, 2025
Police State Watch
The Enduring Power of Copaganda Alec’s Copaganda Newsletter
Government Monitoring Those With “Negative” Views of Health Insurance Companies Ken Klippenstein
Background checks may be the future of 3D printers News 10
Immigration
Outsourcing Lobbyists Astroturfed Support for H-1B Visas During the Obama Era Lee Fang
Imperial Collapse Watch
The Pentagon Keeps Losing Equipment and Buying Stuff It Doesn’t Need Reason
General Atomics tapped to close low-cost missile gap with China Asia Times
Groves of Academe
AHA vetoes resolution on scholasticide in Gaza. Rather than putting the resolution to a vote of the entire organization, they chose to disillusion a generation of their most active members. Drawbridges raised once again to protect the shrinking kingdom. https://t.co/AEyQ9YUTQ8
— Nikhil Pal Singh (@nikhil_palsingh) January 17, 2025
TikTok TikTok
US TikTok users lose access to app; Trump likely to give 90-day reprieve Business Standard
Perplexity AI makes a bid to merge with TikTok U.S. CNBC
Here’s Why RedNote Will Probably Be Banned Like TikTok Forbes
AI
Fearing AI Will Take Their Jobs, Workers Plan a Long Battle Against Tech The Markup
Guillotine Watch
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Says This Will Be the No.1 Most Valuable Skill in the Age of AI Inc.
The Bezzle
Donald Trump launches his own $TRUMP meme coin — and it’s already worth billions Bankrate
Solana Spikes to All-Time High Price as TRUMP Doubles Dogecoin Trading Volume Decrypt. Commentary:
Thinking about this again as Solana is now host to a Trump memecoin and is being talked about as one of several “US-made tokens” the new admin might support. A policy assist from crypto czar David Sacks. https://t.co/yo1r2RmZVP
— Jacob Silverman (@SilvermanJacob) January 18, 2025
SF’s biggest Trumper sells dinner with the Donald to crypto elites for $1 million The San Francisco Standard
Class Warfare
Workers at Some of DC’s Best-Known Restaurants Move to Unionize Washingtonian
Change the story, change the future Common Weal
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
