Linkee-poo Tuesday

Alligators overboard.

NPR's 2019 Book Concierge list.

Trigger warning for descriptions of sex and sexual harassment. "This week on Hidden Brain, we explore how certain situations cause us to become strangers to ourselves. We hear from people who can't reconcile the person they believe themselves to be with their actions while in the grip of an intense feeling. And we look at the deep psychological mystery that occurs during these moments: no matter how many times we discover the strangers living inside us, the next time always catches us by surprise." On the Hot-Cold Empathy Gap.

"Two stories can be told about Tanzin v. Tanvir, a major religious liberty case that the Supreme Court agreed to hear last Friday." Damned if you win, damned if you don't win.

How go the Trade Wars? "President Donald Trump said Tuesday it might be better to wait until after the 2020 election to strike a trade deal with China." Here we go again.

"The U.S. government on Monday said it may slap punitive duties of up to 100% on $2.4 billion in imports from France of Champagne, handbags, cheese and other products, after concluding that France’s new digital services tax would harm U.S. tech companies."

"France and the European Union said on Tuesday they are ready to retaliate if U.S. President Donald Trump acts on a threat to impose duties of up to 100% on imports of champagne, handbags and other French products worth $2.4 billion." Remember when Trade Wars were "easy to win"? So how come we haven't won any?

"The NATO 'Leaders Meeting' in London this week features a cast of presidents and prime ministers who have left the alliance without the leadership it needs to tackle today's security challenges, which are unlike any since the end of the Cold War."

"North Korea on Tuesday said that the 'year end limit' is nearing for the U.S. and that 'it is entirely up to the U.S. what Christmas gift it will select to get,' the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, citing Ri Thae Song, North Korean vice minister of foreign affairs in charge of U.S. affairs." So much winning.

It's not just the people coming to America, it's about the people already here. "A New Yorker who gained US citizenship as a child is suddenly facing deportation, along with several green card-holding members of his family, after apparent targeting by the Trump administration in what the family believes is a clear case of anti-Muslim bias."

"Democrats are expected to continue their march toward impeachment on Tuesday with the release of a report summarizing their case — one day after Republicans opened the bidding with a salvo of their own." It's the battle of reports.

"This is the second release of interview notes from Mueller's special counsel investigation sparked by lawsuits from CNN and BuzzFeed… Here are highlights from the documents…"

"The Justice Department says releasing secret grand jury documents from then-special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe to House lawmakers engaged in the impeachment inquiry could discourage future witnesses to presidential abuse from cooperating with grand juries." Bullshit.

"With the Justice Department’s inspector general report on the origins of the Russia investigation expected to be released in a matter of days, reports of Attorney General Bill Barr’s disagreement with the independent probe’s findings have begun to trickle out. In particular, Barr has reportedly told colleagues at the DOJ that he is not convinced by Inspector General Michael Horo­witz’s conclusion that the FBI had sufficient evidence during the 2016 presidential campaign to properly and lawfully open an investigation into Russian interference on July 31, 2016." Because he was never going to accept the truth.

Because the who raison d'être of the Trump administration is conspiracy theory. "A product of tabloid culture, Trump has long trafficked in conspiracy theories. But as chief executive, he’s used the machinery of government to give the ones especially useful to him the stamp of official validation. (That’s the main reason he now faces impeachment in the House.) These baseless theories are a way for Trump to explain away his problems and undercut opponents."