Friday, April 25, 2025

Coffee Break: The Current State of Science During Trump v.2.0 Plus One Signal Advance

As someone who has spent most of his working life as a scientific worker and later as an academic scientist, graduate supervisor, teacher, grant reviewer, and administrator, the current devastation being visited upon my colleagues and their institutions is sickening.  I have never thought my work was more useful or more important than anyone else’s.  […]

As History Erasure Intensifies, Independent Internet Archives Are Helping Fortify the ‘Digital Preservation Infrastructure’

How internet archives are thwarting the reactionary campaign to rewrite history and censor inconvenient information and ideas.

Links 4/25/2025

One of UK’s Largest (and Oldest) High Street Retailers Suffers Week of Chaos After “Cyber Incident”

“Back to Normal”… Erm, Not Quite.

As Trump Administration Considers Retreat on Tariffs, Will It Resort to Usual US Fallback Option? 

Washington’s focus on global chokepoints could see extra attention in wake of tariffs debacle.

How the American Economy Is Rigged to Serve the Rich, and Why Tariffs Won’t Change That

The money to support well-paid American jobs exists—it’s just being hoarded by the rich.

Trump Wants World to Subsidise US Empire

A Trump advisor argues, in all seriousness, that other countries should help bear the cost of US empire because it confers so many benefits on them.

Links 4/24/2025

Climate Change: Where are We and Where are We Going, in Five Recent Books?

A few weeks ago, I repeated the drive of seventy miles along the north-south path of Hurricane Helene that I made two weeks after the storm .  In the few wealthier sectors along this highway, downed trees have been removed and sawn for lumber (at a large loss) or chipped.  I have heard hardwood and […]

China Sends Strong Message to “Global South” (and US) Via Its Embassy in Argentina

“[W]e urge the US side to detoxify its mind. Instead of devoting its time and energy to… attacking China, it would be much more productive to make real contributions to the development of the countries of the region.”

Company Accused of Organizing National Rental Housing Cartel Goes on Offense as Trump DOJ Mothballs Price-Fixing Case 

In a lawsuit against Berkeley, RealPage contends that using pricing algorithms to coordinate residential rents among mega landlords is “free speech.”

The Dangerous Illusion of Climate Resilience

The latest floods, wildfires, and other disasters reveal the flaws of adaptation as the main response to climate change.

What Science Says About Food Additives

RFK Jr. has said the U.S. should end the use of synthetic food additives. How would that affect public health?

Links 4/23/2025

Prevagen®: A Most Curious Dietary Supplement for Your Brain

Dietary supplements are a large part of the alternative medicine universe, with annual sales of more than $70B in the United states and much more than that in the rest of the world.  I have followed the supplement business since tryptophan, a canonical amino acid marketed as a sleep aid, caused an outbreak of eosinophilia-myalgia […]