Remembrance Day.
Don't let me be lonely.
1. Dear Madam,--
I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle…
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln
2. President George W. Bush, Medal of Honor Ceremony, The White House (April 8, 2008):
On Saint Michael’s Day -- September 29, 2006 -- Michael Monsoor would make the ultimate sacrifice. Mike and two teammates had taken position on the outcropping of a rooftop when an insurgent grenade bounced off Mike’s chest and landed on the roof. Mike had a clear chance to escape, but he realized that the other two SEALs did not. In that terrible moment, he had two options -- to save himself, or to save his friends. For Mike, this was no choice at all. He threw himself onto the grenade, and absorbed the blast with his body.
Perhaps the greatest tribute to Mike’s life is the way different service members all across the world responded to his death. Army soldiers in Ramadi hosted a memorial service for the valiant man who had fought beside them. Iraqi Army scouts -- whom Mike helped train -- lowered their flag, and sent it to his parents. Nearly every SEAL on the West Coast turned out for Mike’s funeral in California. As the SEALs filed past the casket, they removed their golden tridents from their uniforms, pressed them onto the walls of the coffin. The procession went on nearly half an hour. And when it was all over, the simple wooden coffin had become a gold-plated memorial to a hero who will never be forgotten. (Source: georgewbush-whitehouse.archive.gov)
3. Europe is now caught somewhere between war and peace. In recent weeks, drones appearing mysteriously above airports and halting flights have made headlines. Those are just the tip of the iceberg. Germany alone has three drone incursions a day on average—over military installations, defense-industry facilities and critical infrastructure points—according to a previously unreleased tally by German authorities. Drones are part of an intensifying barrage that European leaders suspect Russia is directing at the continent over its support for Ukraine. It includes sabotage, cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. “We are not at war” with Russia, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said recently, “but we are no longer at peace either.” Read the rest. (Source: wsj.com)
4. Eurointelligence:
As reported by Handelsblatt, the market for fuel-driven cars has been in decline everywhere in the world, except the US. And the German market share is plummeting in both segments, fuel-driven and electric, in all markets. It is falling even in the US, where the joint registration for VW, BMW and Mercedes fell by 13% in the period from January to September, relative to the same period in 2024. The Germans lost 9.8% sales in China in that period and 8.8% in the EU.
As the world largest producers of cars, Europe’s car makers effectively set the global regulatory standards. We are now entering a competitive environment in which this will no longer be so. The cheapest electric car in China costs $5000 – a little more than a top-of-the-range iPad. There is no doubt that the EU will try to frustrate the sale of such cars. But there is only so much you can do to prop up an increasing uncompetitive and technologically failing industry. (Source: eurointelligence.com)
5. Eurointelligence:
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German president, has effectively called for a ban of the AfD. His old party, the SPD, is in terminal decline. Its decline is easy to see in electoral results, but in the centres of power in Berlin, it has been overshadowed by the party’s relative success….
The German establishment is not used to losing. What bad losers with a low IQ do everywhere is start to point fingers. The polls have the AfD at a firm level of 26%, up from 22% in the last elections. There are signs of a cyclical economic upswing, but none that will bring lasting joy.
The most likely consequence of Steinmeier’s comments is to drive more voters into the hands of the AfD. Once you go after your opponents through the legal system, this is when you start to lose. It happened in the US. It is happening in France. Vladimir Putin is a politician who bans opposition parties. But he controls the legal system. If you are trying to play this game in a country like Germany, you will fail. (Source: eurointelligence.com)
6. Chief Justice John Roberts faces a defining challenge as he enters his third decade leading the Supreme Court: how far to let Donald Trump’s presidency rewrite the bounds of executive power. Over Trump’s first year back in office, the court has given the president wide latitude to implement his policies, through some two dozen emergency orders that paused the effect of lower-court rulings against the administration. But it hadn’t fully reviewed any of Trump’s actions until last Wednesday’s hearing on Trump’s global tariffs, where the dynamics shifted: Most justices suggested the president acted beyond his legal authority. If those sentiments find their way into a ruling, it would be the court’s first real blow to Trump in more than five years. Now it is up to Roberts to cobble together a decision on a policy that Trump has portrayed as essential to the nation. (Source: wsj.com)
7. The Senate passed legislation on Monday night to end the nation’s longest government shutdown, after a critical splinter group of Democrats joined with Republicans and backed a spending package that omitted the chief concession their party had spent weeks demanding. The 60-to-40 vote, on Day 41 of the shutdown, signaled a break in the gridlock that has shuttered the government for weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, millions of Americans at risk of losing food assistance and millions more facing air-travel disruptions. The measure goes next to the House, which is expected to take it up no sooner than Wednesday and where the small Republican margin of control and intense Democratic opposition could make for a close vote. President Trump has indicated that he will sign it. (Source: nytimes.com)
8. Cybersecurity researchers have intercepted vast quantities of private voice calls and text messages, including potentially sensitive communications of government and military officials, transmitted over completely unprotected satellite communication links. When the researchers decided to put satellite communications under scrutiny, they thought they would find some flaws. What they discovered was much worse than their wildest dreams. Using a commercial off-the-shelf satellite dish mounted on the roof of a university campus in San Diego, they scanned internet traffic routed via 39 geostationary satellites visible from southern California. They soon realized that sensitive messages including those involving critical infrastructure and internal corporate and government communications were broadcast via those satellites completely unprotected. The experiment could be easily replicated by hackers using commercially available equipment, the researchers warn, saying the results were “as bad as one could hope.” (Source: space.com)
9. China plans to ease the flow of rare earths and other restricted materials to the U.S. by designing a system that will exclude companies with ties to the U.S. military while fast-tracking export approvals for other firms, according to people familiar with the plan. The “validated end-user” system, or VEU, would enable Chinese leader Xi Jinping to follow through on a pledge to President Trump to facilitate the export of such materials while ensuring that they don’t end up with U.S. military suppliers, a core concern for China, according to the people familiar with the plan. If strictly implemented, the system could make importing certain Chinese materials more difficult for automotive and aerospace companies that have both civilian and defense clients. (Source: wsj.com)
10. In South Korea, a $35 billion facility under development could be the world’s first large-scale data center designed, built and run by artificial intelligence. The investor group behind the project, Stock Farm Road, has partnered with Stanford University-backed AI developer Voltai to make AI the architect, manager and operator of the South Korea-based data center. That would mark the first time that AI is integrated into a data center’s entire system, the companies said. (Source: wsj.com)
11. Mark Knopfler: ‘Remembrance Day.”
Quick Links: Keep walking! Even a 15-minute walk may help boost your longevity. The revenge of malaria: Myanmar surge rings global alarm bells. Canada has formally lost its measles elimination status, meaning all of the Americas have lost that status as well. How the world’s biggest mining project is a win for China. Can the U.S. become a shipbuilding power again? Trump plan would open California to offshore oil drilling. Nine takeaways from Warren Buffett’s last letter as CEO. Low-income shoppers cut spending and businesses worry. La cattiva notizia: Italian pasta is poised to disappear from American grocery shelves.
Financialization Links: The federal government’s “contingent liabilities” now exceed $130 trillion—nearly five times American GDP. Investor angst over Big Tech’s AI spending spills into bond market. Private equity is finding new ways to cash out after IPOs. Rating the rating data of credit raters. A (very) well-reported story on the collapse of Tricolor Holdings. Reverse mortgages edge up as US economy squeezes older Americans. The dollar is regaining its appeal as one of the world’s most appealing assets, defying talk of a “Sell America” trade. Indonesia considers issuing ‘panda bonds’ as China promotes renminbi debt. Robin Brooks: The basis trade must die. Daily Dave! Goldman Sachs earns record $110 million fee in Electronic Arts deal.
Political Links: Supreme Court declines to reconsider same-sex marriage decision. Shutdown deal revives Democratic infighting. A restless Democratic base is seething at older leaders in Washington. Shutdown deal leaves Obamacare subsidies on shaky ground. The political left is dialing up scrutiny of data centers. Democrats have stopped talking about climate change. Justice Department struggles as thousands exit — and few are replaced. Trump pardons Giuliani, other allies who sought to overturn 2020 election. Trump threatens to sue the BBC….for $1 billion. The coming (17 November) presidential election in Chile pits a communist against a conservative Catholic. Will Chile’s centrist institutions prevail? Iraqis vote in election (today) they expect to bring little reform. Eric Schmidt and Andrew Sorota: AI is no way to rule a country.
Science/Technology Links: Brain drain: World-leading cancer drug scientist Lin Wenbin joins China’s Westlake University. China’s clean-energy revolution will reshape markets and politics. It is expected that the ocean will continue to warm well into the future – a change which is irreversible on centennial to millennial time scales. The Cop30 summit won’t save us but technology just might. If the US has to build data centers, here’s where they should go. A new project aims to predict how quickly AI will progress. Faster than you think, would be the answer. Anthropic is on track to turn a profit much faster than OpenAI. SoftBank sells its Nvidia stake for $5.8 billion. Advertising: Artificial intelligence can now provide the same commercial outcomes as carefully crafted human storytelling. Vitamin D3 breakthrough halves risk of second heart attack. Daily coffee may cut AFib risk by 39%. Inside a New Mexico lab, researchers estimate there is five bottle caps worth of plastic in human brains. Loneliness is now confirmed as an independent risk factor for dementia.
War: The AI Cold War that will redefine everything. Smart, knowledgable essay: Angela Stent on “THE CRINK” (the China, Russia, Iran and North Korea alliance). The United States and Venezuela teeter on the brink of war. The imminent arrival of the Gerald R. Ford Carrier strike group (CSG) may bring matters to a head. U.S. strikes two more alleged drug boats, pushing death toll past 75. Iran seeks ‘peaceful nuclear deal’ with US, official says. Many in the Gulf believe another Israeli attack on Iran is inevitable. Partition of Gaza a looming risk as Trump’s plan falters. India’s Modi says ‘conspirators’ behind New Delhi explosion will ‘not be spared’. Suicide bomber kills 12 outside court in Pakistan capital. Pakistani security forces killed 20 Pakistani Taliban insurgents in the northwest region bordering Afghanistan. Remarkable: Syria has joined the U.S.-led mission to defeat Islamic State. Ukraine faces a major draft-evasion problem. Ukraine’s shortage of manpower leaves frontline city on the brink. Belgium enlists foreign forces to combat drone incursions. The head of the UK’s aviation regulator has warned it is only a matter of time before “organized” drone attacks shut down British airports. The 20-somethings who raised $121 million to build military drones.