Links 1/25/2023 | naked capitalism - North Dakota Digital News

Earth’s inner core may have ‘paused’ its rotation and reversed, new study suggests The Hill. See, there’s your problem.

Miami Man Injured by Falling Iguana During Outdoor Yoga Class Miami New Times

Climate

Novel adaptation for existing blast furnaces could reduce steelmaking emissions by 90% (press release) University of Birmingham (Ignacio).

Carbon capture nets 2 billion tonnes of CO2 each year — but it’s not enough Nature

Giant Wind Turbines Keep Mysteriously Falling Over. This Shouldn’t Be Happening. Popular Mechanics

‘Death by a thousand clearcuts’: Canada’s deep-snow caribou are vanishing The Narwhale

Feds deny emergency call to slow ships, ease whale strikes AP

Water

Oklahoma City sues oil company for stealing water intended for emergency drought relief KOSU

Milborne St Andrew’s rivers of sewage shouldn’t become water company ‘witch hunt’ Dorset Lives. Public health advocates keep making jokes about John Snow leaving the pump handle on, so people can make their own “personal risk assessments” about cholera, but maybe the joke will be on them? And us?

#COVID19

FDA emails show how vaccine leader questioned ‘hyper-accelerated’ 2021 review of Pfizer shot Endpoints News

“Died Suddenly” Is Anti-Vaxxers’ New Favorite Phrase Slate

China?

Frontline Wuhan: the first city struck by Covid-19 learns its lessons South China Morning Post. Then and now:

Spring Festival in 2022 and 2023, different hangzhou east railway station. pic.twitter.com/eOtMbVrShD

— Sharing travel (@TripInChina) January 24, 2023

China’s Economic Model Is in Crisis (and Xi Knows It) (interview) Michael Pettis, New York Magazine

“The Byzantine Republic” and the Chinese Empire: Some similarities? Branko Milanovic, Global Inequality and More

Biden administration has raised concerns with China about companies selling aid to Russia CBS

Cold Controls Phenomenal World

Japan’s factory activity extends declines for third straight month – PMI Reuters

India

Limit vaccinations to at-risk population, declare end of the pandemic, says expert task force The Economic Times

Amid China scare, Covid vaccination picks up in India: Here is what you need to know Indian Express

Biden sends top officials to try to win over African nations long-wooed by China and Russia CBS

Syraqistan

Media help launder US military PR on joint drills with Israel Responsible Statecraft

Top pro-Israel Democrat Warns Netanyahu Government ‘Mistakes’ Could Erode U.S. Support Haaretz

European Disunion

Brussels takes aim at crypto in sweeping new banking overhaul FT

Strong clan loyalty, locals, helped mafia boss Messina Denaro stay hidden Reuters

New Not-So-Cold War

Germany to send Leopard tanks to Kyiv, allow others to do so – sources Reuters

U.S. Poised to Provide Abrams Tanks to Ukraine WSJ. Commentary:

“They want a force of American troops. The troops will march in… and in four days everyone will have forgotten. Then we will be told we have to send in more troops. It’s like taking a drink. The effect wears off and you have to take another.”

~ JFK on Vietnam. pic.twitter.com/hAu6qA98eR

— Big Serge ☦️🇺🇸🇷🇺 (@witte_sergei) January 24, 2023

Many point out that Ukraine will need training to drive M1s and Leopards. But NATO members (US, Polish, German) drivers are already trained. So, move in the tanks, with boots on the ground to follow? Further:

Ukraine will almost certainly try to throw these into a concentrated offensive somewhere, simply because they will have problems with maintenance and sustainment – pencil in a short lifespan for the vehicles and act accordingly.

— Big Serge ☦️🇺🇸🇷🇺 (@witte_sergei) January 24, 2023

So, the battlefield requirement for these heavy tanks — assuming they arrive after the ground has thawed — would be good roads and/or good rail, plus any other terrain requirements for a big tank thrust. Does seem rather like telegraphing one’s punch, and Russia will have plenty of time to game this out.

The M1 Abrams Is the Right Tank for the Job in Ukraine Foreign Policy. “Ukraine’s path to reclaiming its territorial sovereignty lies in leveraging machines rather than sacrificing men. This requires help from abroad.” Now they tell us!

Will M1 Abrams And Leopard 2 Tanks Win The War For Ukraine? 1945

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Why Russia’s war in Ukraine today is so different from a year ago The Conversation

Baldfellas: How Belarus’s Failed Regime-Change Movement Shaped Putin’s War Plan Mark Ames, The Exiled. We could, as we used to say, “have discussion” about Putin’s initial thrust toward Kiev from Belarus, but that it’s the result of Color Revolution blowback… That’s interesting.

Invoking the Kosovo Precedent: Can we Dismiss the Russian Argument? Fletcher Forum of World Affairs

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“Several Ukrainian Officials Are Fired as Corruption Scandal Balloons” Gilbert Doctorow

What really happened during those NATO meetings last week? Responsible Statecraft

South of the Border

Peru protests will continue: Interior Minister Al Mayadeen

Brazil’s Lula fires army chief in wake of pro-Bolsonaro riots Al Jazeera

Omitting the Evidence: What the IMF Gets Wrong about Venezuela CEPR

U.S. raises ‘grave concerns’ over Mexico’s anti-GMO farm policies Reuters

Biden Administration

Justice Dept. sues Google over digital advertising dominance AP

Janet Yellen Dismisses Minting $1 Trillion Coin to Avoid Default WSJ

A Brief History of the Last Reigning Music Monopoly, from CCR to Travis Scott and Taylor Swift Moe Tkacik

Supply Chain

Shipping hurt by weak demand for Chinese goods FT

New study: 96% of companies move manufacturing closer to home amid supply chain disruptions Container News

The Economic Secret Hidden in a Tiny, Discontinued Pasta The Bulwark

Tech