Dear patient readers,
Since Lambert wasn’t on watercooler duty yesterday and Biden’s dynamics are changing rapidly, we’ll bring you some additional links today.
Citizen scientists are trying to renew America’s lawns The Washington Post (Dr. Kevin)
Classical and Christian in the 12th century Antigone (Anthony L.)
A revolution in archaeology is changing our image of human freedom Aeon (Anthony L)
Harvard study finds Ozempic linked to rare cases of vision loss Bloomberg (furzy). IM Doc has been talking about this for weeks and has had cases of it among his patients, suggesting this is more common than “rare.”
Discussion: Are avian influenza viruses in cattle adapted to easily infect humans? STAT (Dr. Kevin)
Controlling appetite before it starts: Scientists identify population of neurons linked to satiety Science Daily (Chuck L)
Staying up late may have negative effects on mental health, sleep study finds Stanford School of Medicine (Robin K.)
#COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus Disease)
Zero Corona Community Reddit (Paul R). Resources!
Immune response research explains why some people avoid COVID-19 ScienceDaily (Kevin W). I sent this to the Covid Brain Trust….
Outdated vaccines may be the cause of Los Angeles’ surge in coronavirus cases NBC Los Angeles (Paul R)
Climate and Environment
Prolonged US heat wave breaks new records, kills in West, hits East Associated Press (Kevin W.)
China’s solar sector unlikely to recover soon as oversupply persists Bloomberg
Battery maker SK On declares “emergency state” amid sluggish EV sales Financial Times
Around two million tonnes of wild fish are used to feed Norwegian farmed salmon each year, according to the report. Seafood Sauce (Paul R)
China?
Trump Cabinet candidate wants ‘Israel model’ for U.S. China policy Responsible national governance
China’s subsidies create, not destroy, value Asia Times (Kevin W)
Japan, Philippines sign defense pact in face of shared concerns about China The Washington Post
Satellite images reveal Chinese troop buildup near Pangong Tso on India’s western border First Post
Japan protests against China’s installation of continental shelf buoys Radio A
European Separation
The decline of Germany’s export industry Tagesschau (Glust)
Beautiful France
France’s far-right voters claim ‘dirty tactics’ won election BBC (Kevin W). RN actually received the most votes, and a higher percentage of the vote than in round one, so the bitterness is not unjustified.
Macron remains French prime minister to keep country stable after chaotic election Associated Press
Clashes break out in France after left’s surprise election victory South China Morning Post
Old Brittany
Labour’s £10 billion crisis bill is just the first financial challenge Bloomberg
The new Foreign Secretary wants to reshape Britain’s relationship with the EU BBC (Kevin W)
South of the Border
La Rioja issues Argentina’s first emergency ‘quasi-currency’ in 20 years Buenos Aires Herald
Gaza
The Lancet reports that Gaza’s death toll could exceed 186,000 Antiwar.com (Kevin W)
Six-year-old Palestinian boy Hikmat Badr died from malnutrition, starvation by Israel and the blocking of food and medicines to the Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/fJ3LGg6pvY
— Palestine Online 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) July 9, 2024
The Israeli government has been accused of trying to sabotage a Gaza ceasefire proposal. The Guardian (Kevin W.)
Red Sea tensions send container prices soaring 120% in past six months Middle East Monitor
A new cold war
Hungarian PM Orban makes surprise visit to China, supports Xi Jinping’s peace plan Reuters
Ukraine asks Poland to protect airspace near border Eura Active
Russian troops break through in surprise attack in Tretsk Historical Legends, YouTube
Ukraine’s F-16 saga continues (i) Black Mountain Analysis (Li). Weapon Porn!
The West acknowledges that Ukraine has lost its air defenses and is in a weak position from which it cannot recover. Brian Berletic, YouTube
Ukraine asks Western countries for submarines RT (Kevin W). This would be funny if it wasn’t so serious.
🔌 Ukraine has increased its electricity purchases from Western countries by 12 times to make up for a power shortage.Ukraine Watch pic.twitter.com/oEKWEN42fH
— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) July 8, 2024
Shiraksta
Made in America: ISIS’s Conquest of Mosul The Cradle (Paul R.)
Big Brother is Watching You
Why GPS is under attack The New York Times (Dr. Kevin)
10 billion passwords leaked, the biggest ever Cyber News
Empire Collapse Watch
The U.S. Air Force has a big problem it can’t solve: its fighter fleet is old. National Interest
Biden’s Agonist
Democratic leaders rally around Biden amid growing discontent within their ranks The Hill
Since Lambert was traveling and there was an open-thread water cooler, here is Biden’s extraordinary and yet self-discrediting call to Morning Joe. Biden’s insistence on hanging on is getting into mad-king territory…when it was Trump who was supposed to be the mad/evil king in the wake of the Supreme Court’s immunity decision. Oh, and as an added bonus, Ryan Grimm tweeted that at one point Biden could be heard stumbling while shuffling papers, so it appears most or all of the call was scripted.
President Joe Biden appeared by phone on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this morning. Here’s what happened (Part 1): pic.twitter.com/skpmZt9qlY
— Philip Lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 8, 2024
Biden’s rep gives flashcard instruction – Media RT (Robin K)
Will this NATO summit save or destroy Biden’s candidacy? BBC
Who is truly qualified to succeed Biden? We analyze the options. POLITICO
Biden’s age is irrelevant Asia Times (Kevin W)
Joe Biden is the biggest loser in American history, part 3 Richard Klein
Biden is a lot like Trump Ken Clipperstein
Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff tests positive for COVID-19 days after attending President Biden’s Fourth of July celebration Independent (Paul R.)
Supremes
“Death Squad Verdict”: Media and commentators make outlandish claims following court exoneration Jonathan Turley
abortion
Rate of women undergoing sterilization doubled after Roe was overturned KFF Health News (Robin K)
The press is no longer free
Fox News takes hit as billionaire joins lawsuit against network New Republic (Farzee)
artificial intelligence
GEN AI: Spending too much and getting too little return? Goldman Sachs
Basil
How thousands of Americans got lured in by fintech’s false promises and lost access to their bank accounts CNBC (Li). This is a must read because it’s crazy today. Also a warning to never use a company with a cute name to bank with. I have my own version of this lesson. I thought my merchant processor had a boring, appropriate name like First Data, but they branded it Clover. Beware!
Scammers steal billions of dollars every year Associated Press
Class struggle
Mike Bloomberg gives $1 billion to Johns Hopkins University to fund medical school The Washington Post (Farzis). Bloomberg has made large charitable donations over the years, most of them anonymously.
Laid-off tech workers encouraged to sell plasma and personal belongings SFGate. Paul R: “Since July 1st, but oh well.”
American workers who go into debt to buy groceries ‘have had to downgrade their lifestyle’ BBC (Robin K)
Today’s antidote. William B: “A mother mountain grebe hovers silently above her nest.”
See yesterday’s link and the Antidote du Jour here.
