Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, 94, Is Dead; Struggled to Transform France New York Times. From Covid.

Mort de Valéry Giscard d’Estaing : le destin facétieux du « président moderne » Le Monde

The Social Life of Forests New York Times (Robert M)

Shorts that imitate Kim Kardashian’s bum are “a perfect ubuesque finale for 2020” says commenter de zeen (resilc)

New mystery metal monolith appears on a California mountaintop Guardian (David L)

Photography campaign shows the grim aftermath of logging in Canada’s fragile forests Guardian (resilc)

Price of electricity new renewables vs new power plants Barry Ritholtz

The Dark Side Of Solar Power Hackaday (Kevin W)

Disney Is Teaching Robots How to Sculpt With Clay Gizmodo

#COVID-19

The Sadness of the Trips Not Taken New York Times. Resilc: “Sadness is not having enough food or heat.”

Science/Medicine

Olfactory transmucosal SARS-CoV-2 invasion as a port of central nervous systementry in individuals with COVID-19 Nature (Bob H)

COVID patient with sepsis makes ‘remarkable’ recovery following megadose of vitamin C abc.net.au (Kevin W)

We’re just beginning to understand how our genes and COVID-19 mix Popular Science (resilc)

Taking Two Different Vaccines? Science (UserFriendly)

CDC says recommended quarantine time after COVID-19 exposure may be shortened to 7 or 10 days, down from 14 USA (Kevin W)

The Covid-19 vaccines are a marvel of science. Here’s how we can make the best use of them STAT (Kevin C)

Researchers determine how the SARS-CoV-2 virus hijacks and rapidly causes damage to human lung cells PhysOrg (David L)

US

Possible HHS Pick Shielded Nursing Homes From Liability During COVID Outbreak The Daily Poster (UserFriendly)

Inside the cutthroat bidding war for Covid-19 nurses Quartz (resilc)

How Many Died From Coronavirus at the Bronxwood Assisted Living Facility? No One Knows. New Republic (UserFriendly)

At tiny rural hospitals, weary doctors treat friends, family Associated Press

UK

Middle class, professional… and forced to feed our families from food banks: They’ve lost their income, used up years of savings, put their homes on the market and even sold off furniture to make ends meet in the pandemic Daily Mail

Finance/Economy

Democrats just moved toward Republicans on the stimulus. What’s their plan? Washington Post (Kevin W)

COVID-19 damage to Social Security to extend beyond pandemic The Hill

Janet Yellen calls for action to prevent US economic ‘devastation’ Financial Times (furzy)

The details might be off, but the sentiment ain’t wrong. Wall Street got bailed out, and Main Street is getting fucked. https://t.co/dYJo3dxyxJ

— austerity is theft (@wideofthepost) December 3, 2020

Release of PPP loan recipients’ data reveals troubling patterns NBC

China?

China grapples with the price of modern power Asia Times

Congress Sets Stage for Exiling Chinese Stocks From U.S. Over Audit Dispute Wall Street Journal

Canada asks court to throw out expert affidavit in Huawei CFO’s U.S. extradition case Reuters

Unreasonable Force Jeremy Harding, London Review of Books (Anthony L). On police violence in France.

UK seeks site for first nuclear fusion power station Financial Times (furzy)

New Cold War

Moldova’s new president calls for Russian troops to withdraw from territory BBC (furzy)

Syraqistan

‘Harsh revenge’: How will Iran respond to scientist’s killing? Al Jazeera (furzy)

Gantz breaks with Netanyahu, votes with opposition to dissolve parliament Haaretz (resilc)

After the Coronavirus took down Trump in Election, could Israeli PM Netanyahu be Next? Juan Cole

THE ANGRY ARAB: Robert Fisk & the Decline of Western Reporting on the Middle East Consortiumnews (UserFriendly)

Imperial Collapse Watch

It’s Official: The USS Bonhomme Richard Can’t Be Saved Popular Mechanics. Resilc: “Santa will bring a new war toy.”

US Navy chief wants Indian Ocean ‘1st Fleet,’ possibly in Singapore Nikkei (furzy)

Trump Transition

Will Trump be Prosecuted? American Conservative (UserFriendly)

Report: Trump has raised more than $150 million since Election Day The Week (resilc)

List of Republicans breaking with Trump grows longer The Hill

Mnunchin’s over-the-top bullying efforts confirm what a textbook case of Dunning Krueger effect he is:

When I tried to read @stevenmnuchin1 the law that contradicts his bogus claim to get people less COVID relief, he questioned whether I’m a lawyer.

Just want to make sure he has the answer: one of us is a lawyer, and it’s not him. pic.twitter.com/iFYzAyflle

— Rep. Katie Porter (@RepKatiePorter) December 2, 2020

It Seems Bad That the Guy the President Just Pardoned Is Calling for Him to Execute a Military Coup Esquire

The Obamas are producing a Netflix comedy series about the Trump administration Boing Boing (resilc). Late to the party. New York Magazine was making fun of Trump in the 1980s.

Evaluating the scale, growth, and origins of right-wing echo chambers on YouTube ARxiv

Biden

Three Tactics of the Neoliberal Order and the Biden/Harris Transition Glenn Greenwald

Top Biden Adviser Lobbied on Behalf of Trump Corporate Tax Cut Intercept (UserFriendly)

Chinese influence ‘on steroids’ targets Biden team BBC

Black Lives Matter movement at a crossroads as Biden prepares to take office Washington Post (Kevin W)

The Consultant-Class Feminism of Joe Biden’s Cabinet New Republic

This would be a moving story if her “lived experience” didn’t include pushing to cut the very programs she relied on. Condemning others to the poverty you escaped is not, actually, noble. https://t.co/2hmnSc6i9l

— Katie Halper (@kthalps) December 3, 2020

More on the Claudia Sahm/Heather Boushey controversy. Please read the entire thread (hat tip UserFriendly):

Claudia writes that she was fired because she outed Larry Summers for his own ongoing abuse, recently, not just back when he said nasty things as President of Harvard. Heather & Larry have a sick symbiotic professional relationship, which I will elaborate on below.
/1 https://t.co/SdORhMuq2L

— Marshall Steinbaum 🔥 (@Econ_Marshall) December 1, 2020

Central America Is Really Hoping Biden Will Fix Their Corruption Problems VICE. Resilc: “Before or after USA USA’s?”

Officials Warn Defunding Police Could Lead To Spike In Crime From Ex-Officers With No Outlet For Violence The Onion

Aftermarket truck mods pollute as much as 9 million extra pickups ars technica

New Electric Cars Have Problems In Latest Consumer Reports Survey autoblog

VW’s Hitzinger says complexity of new cars to drive consolidation Reuters. Resilc: “Complexity up/ reliability down.”

Gary Cohn holds out against returning Goldman pay after 1MDB scandal Financial Times

Former California pension CIO scrutinized for China ties was highest paid state employee: watchdog Fox Business (Kevin W). So let me get this straight: it’s a scandal that the state’s top investment official was paid more that a football coach? For instance, Nick Saban’s salary at the University of Alabama is $8.6 million, versus total comp for Meng of $1.7 million.

Class Warfare

Couch Surfing the Waves of American Poverty Current Affairs (UserFriendly)

U.S. Labor Board accuses Google of spying on employees, discouraging worker organization, and retaliation CNBC

Real Estate: Big City Buyers Boost Rural Property Market Prices, Horrify Locals Bloomberg

Antidote du jour. CV: “A Red Spotted Purple resting on a native blueberry shrub.”

And a bonus (guurst):

Xavi Bou’s starlings leaving a pre-roost assembly tree in winter Catalonia. Truly one of the greatest bird photos I’ve ever seen – scientifically and artistically. Read a bit about in ⁦@GrantaMag⁩ pic.twitter.com/2sYWg2xJLG

— Tim Dee (@TimDee4) November 27, 2020

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here