The Globalist Podcast (December 22, 2023) – A pacy round-up of the day’s main news stories, anchored from London by Emma Nelson.
Also, Chris Cermak reports on ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Ford’s Theatre in Washington.
All posts by She Seeks Serene
The New York Times — Friday, December 22, 2023
U.S. Says It’s Ready to Back U.N. Resolution to Allow More Aid Into Gaza
The timing for a vote on the Security Council resolution was unclear. Diplomats were focused on who would oversee the inspection of aid entering the enclave.
Key Hamas Plotters of Oct. 7 Elude Israel’s Grip on Gaza
Israel has battered Gaza in its quest to destroy Hamas, without finding the commanders it has named as its most important targets.
Live from the Jungle: Migrants Become Influencers on Social Media
TikTok, Facebook and YouTube are transforming global migration, becoming tools of migrants and smugglers alike.
Democrats Keep Hoping It’s Curtains for Trump. He’s Still Center Stage.
As Donald Trump faces a new threat to his political future, this time over the question of ballot eligibility, Democrats again find themselves looking toward American institutions to stop him.
2023: Top Discoveries In Biology & Neuroscience
Video timeline: 00:05 The Investigation of Consciousness – Our minds are constantly taking in new external information while also creating their own internal imagery and narratives. How do we distinguish reality from fantasy? This year, researchers discovered that the brain has a “reality threshold” against which it constantly evaluates processed signals. Original paper: “Subjective signal strength distinguishes reality from imagination”
04:30 Microbiomes Evolve With Us – This year, scientists provided clear evidence that the organisms in our microbiome —the collection of bacteria and other cells that live in our guts and elsewhere on our body — spread between people, especially those with whom we spend the most time. This raises the intriguing possibility that some illnesses that aren’t usually considered communicable might be.
08:43 How Life Keeps Time – The rate at which an embryo develops and the timing of when its tissues mature vary dramatically between species. What controls the ticking of this developmental clock that determines an animal’s final form? This year, a series of careful experiments suggest that mitochondria may very well serve dual roles as both the timekeeper and power source for complex cells.
Research Preview: Science Magazine – Dec 22, 2023
The quantum phantom
A ghostly quasiparticle rooted in a century-old Italian mystery could unlock quantum computing’s potential—if only it could be pinned down
Are cryptocurrencies currencies? Bitcoin as legal tender in El Salvador
Preference for cash and privacy fears deterred bitcoin adoption in El Salvador.
Mimicking polar bear hairs in aerogel fibers
Encapsulated aerogel fibers offer thermal insulation, breathability, and strength
Opinion & Politics: Reason Magazine – February 2024
REASON MAGAZINE (December 21, 2023) – The latest issue features ‘The Conformity Gauntlet’ – How Universities use DEI Statements to Enforce Groupthink; The Post-Neoliberalism Moment; We Absolutely Do Not Need an FDA for AI, and more…
Universities Use DEI Statements To Enforce Groupthink
DEI statements are political litmus tests, write Greg Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott.
The Post-Neoliberalism Moment
Anyone advocating neoliberal policies is now persona non grata in Washington, D.C.
We Absolutely Do Not Need an FDA for AI
If our best and brightest technologists and theorists are struggling to see the way forward for AI, what makes anyone think politicians are going to get there first?
Health & Nutrition Letter January 2024 (Tufts)
Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter (JANUARY 2024): The new issue features ‘Healthy Lifestyle May Outweigh a Genetic Risk Factor for Heart Disease; How to Stick to Those Resolutions!; Check Your Nutrition Knowledge; Special Report – Expand Your Plant Palate; The Facts About Pea Protein; and more…
National Wildlife Magazine – Winter 2024
GRAND PRIZE
Anup Shah
Chippenham, England
“It is powerful and decisive, the pace compact yet energetic,” says Anup Shah of this year’s spectacular top photo, catching zebras at the edge of a river crossing in Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve. “I wanted the viewer to feel the energy in the path of a galloping herd.” We do, and it’s exhilarating.
BABY ANIMALS
FIRST PLACE
Torie Hilley
Ventura, California
Torie Hilley trudged through the mudflats of Alaska’s Lake Clark National Park and Preserve with a professional guide in July 2022, hoping to catch this coastal brown bear and her cubs in a line as they dug for clams. When Hilley spotted the family falling into formation on her last day, she dropped to one knee to preserve the moment. She later learned not all of the cubs survived the following weeks. “It reminded me to never take anything for granted,” she says.
BABY ANIMALS
SECOND PLACE
Carl D. Walsh
Dayton, Maine
Listed as endangered by Maine, the state’s piping plover population has seen some improvement in recent decades—a hopeful note suggested by the glow surrounding this days-old fledgling. To get this July 2022 photo, Carl D. Walsh “spent a lot of time lying in the sand, trying to capture the right vantage point and backlight” on a Cumberland County beach. “Many thousands of frames were shot,” he says.
BIRDS
FIRST PLACE
Suliman Alatiqi
Kuwait City, Kuwait
History Today Magazine – January 2024 Preview
The KGB After Stalin
In 1954 a new agency was founded: the KGB. While less violent and arbitrary than what it replaced, its insidious reach soon permeated Soviet society.
‘The End of Enlightenment’ by Richard Whatmore review
Richard Whatmore’s The End of Enlightenment: Empire, Commerce, Crisis takes the ideals of the 18th century on their terms.
News: France Political Crisis Over Immigration, Japan-U.S. Patriot Missiles
The Globalist Podcast (December 21, 2023) – French president Emmanuel Macron faces a political crisis over a hardline immigration bill and Japan looks to formalise a policy change that will enable it to export several dozen Patriot missiles to the US.
Plus: the day’s newspapers, the latest headlines in the UAE and a review of the Christmas films that you need to see this year.
The New York Times — Thursday, Dec 21, 2023
Gaza Truce Talks Bog Down Over Disputes on Aid Inspections
In Cairo and at the U.N., negotiators struggled to come up with plans for pausing the fighting, freeing hostages and speeding up help for Gazans.
Amid Gaza War and Red Sea Attacks, Yemen’s Houthis Refuse to Back Down
The militia, which has targeted ships it says are connected to Israel, has vowed not to stop until the siege in Gaza ends and claims that a new U.S.-led maritime task force cannot deter the attacks.
Trump Cases Crashing Into Supreme Court Could Reshape 2024 Election
The ruling that Donald Trump is not eligible for the ballot in Colorado is the latest election-related issue likely to land before the justices. The implications for 2024 could be profound.
Inside the Booming Business of Cutting Babies’ Tongues
Dentists and lactation consultants around the country are pushing “tongue-tie releases” on new mothers struggling to breastfeed.
Boomers Daily 