Reading archive 2025-05-29

A gene could be key to growing rice, and feeding billions, in a hotter world: Researchers say they can improve rice harvests and grain quality by essentially turning off a temperature-sensitive gene found in some common rice varieties.

The way to end the Gaza war has been clear for nearly a year: Every day he delays, Benjamin Netanyahu harms both Palestinian civilians and his people. - "What triggered the UAE diplomatic rebuff was an incident on Monday in which extreme Israeli nationalists chanted slogans and attacked Palestinians in the courtyard of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem."

DOGE Days - "Then came a reality check about RIF rules, which turned out to be brutally deterministic:

"Tenure matters most—new hires were cut first 

"Veterans' preference comes next; vets are protected over non-vets 

"Length of service trumps performance—seniority beats skill 

"Performance ratings break any remaining ties 

"These reduction-in-force rules–which stem from the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944–surprised me and many others. Unlike private industry layoffs that target middle management bloat and low performers, the government cuts its newest people first, regardless of performance. Anyone promoted within the last two years was also considered probationary—first in line to go."

Trump Melts Down at ‘Why Do You Always Chicken Out’ Question: The president also lashed out at the reporter who asked about Wall Street’s new nickname for his trade war.

The Pedestrians Who Abetted a Hawk’s Deadly Attack: A zoologist observed a Cooper’s hawk using a crosswalk signal as a cue to ambush its prey.

The Debt Is About to Matter Again: When interest rates outpace growth, very bad things can happen.

What Are People Still Doing on X:? Imagine if your favorite neighborhood bar turned into a Nazi hangout. - "(To be clear, white farmers have been murdered in South Africa, which has one of the world's highest murder rates, according to Reuters. But there is no indication of a genocide. In 2024, eight of the 26,232 murders nationwide were committed against farmers. Most murder victims there are Black.)"

RFK Jr.’s Worst Nightmare: The candy convention was a celebration of everything that the health secretary believes is wrong with our food. - "There's a question, too, of whether there are even enough fruits and vegetables in the world to supply the food industry with enough natural dye to serve the massive U.S. market."

How to Disappear: Inside the world of extreme-privacy consultants, who, for the right fee, will make you and your personal information very hard to find

The Coming Democratic Civil War: A seemingly wonky debate about the “abundance agenda” is really about power. - "Most perversely, NEPA and similar laws have become a way to stop efforts to address climate change. The environmental movement was created during an era when activists saw their highest priority as preserving nature by stopping construction. In the era of global warming, however, preserving nature requires building new infrastructure: green-energy sources, pipelines to transmit the energy, and new housing and transportation in cities where density allows for a less carbon-intensive lifestyle. But environmental groups have not, for the most part, altered their desire to stop building, nor have they reconsidered their support for laws that freeze the built environment in place."

American Realignment: The country is sliding from an era of politics forged by social connections at the neighborhood level to one where cultural and ideological polarization dominates.

A New Concept for Fighting Climate Change: A growing number of climate activists are taking up a fresh idea as a rallying cry and a legal strategy: Nature, in all its manifestations, is alive.

The ‘Man-Eater’ Screwworm Is Coming: After a decades-long campaign to beat the parasites down to Panama, they’re speeding back up north.

The Era of DEI for Conservatives Has Begun: In an effort to attract more right-leaning faculty, some elite universities are borrowing tactics long used to promote racial diversity.

The New Dark Age: The Trump administration has launched an attack on knowledge itself. - "Commercial flight, radar, microchips, spaceflight, advanced prosthetics, lactose-free milk, MRI machines - the list of government-supported research triumphs is practically endless. To the extent that private-sector research can even begin to fill the gap, such research is beholden to corporations' bottom line. Exxon Mobil knew climate change was real decades ago, and nevertheless used its influence to raise doubt about findings it knew were accurate.

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"In his view, this stems from the administration's ideological discomfort with the facts of this world, and the conclusions scholars draw from them. 'It turns out that when you pay close attention to these issues, you don't end up where they end up,' he added. 'So they've had to manufacture their own facts, and they're attacking the places that have the facts on the ground and the reality of history.'"