Dear patient readers,
This post started off a little lightly, so come back at 7:45am EDT for the full story.
New Zealand’s flightless birds take refuge in moa sanctuary Eureka Alert! (Chuck L)
#Sakurajima Volcano #KagoshimaJapan, July 29, 2024, 16:46 local time
Cam Streaming by ZAIHO
sauce: https://t.co/4jKC0AxMgJ pic.twitter.com/5oCDg0AQPF— Rita Bauer (@wischweg) July 29, 2024
A fossil named Tina could rewrite the story of human evolution Popular Mechanics (Chuck L)
GPS fault found to be the cause of near-stranding on Great Barrier Reef G Captain (guurst)
#COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus Disease)
California’s COVID-19 cases surge, approaching two-year summer high. “Almost everyone is infected.” Los Angeles Times (Paul R.)
Climate and Environment
When will the Atlantic Ocean burst? Two scientists find the answer and shock the world Wired (Dr. Kevin)
Is Japan Almost Cured of Its Nuclear Allergy? Asia Times (Kevin W)
China?
Justice Department alleges TikTok could allow China to influence elections luck
China’s EV and autonomous AI race Asia Times
South of the Border
Prior to April, Elon Musk’s nearly 50,000 tweets did not include a single one about Venezuela.
Now he tweets incessantly about “dictators.”
When I said that Twitter is returning to the days of the Arab Spring as a tool for government subversion, this is what I meant. https://t.co/uFaNnk10em
— Alex Rubinstein (@RealAlexRubi) July 30, 2024
Venezuela’s Guarimba: 11 Things the Media Didn’t Tell You Venezuela Analysis (Chuck L)
Olympic
Olympians call food in Paris a ‘disaster’; one team flies in private chef Business Insider (Kevin W)
Latest attack cuts internet in France during Olympics Bloomberg
European Separation
Sapo should be held accountable for censorship. It’s not very wise. Aftonbladet (machine translated) Mikael T: “SÄPO = Swedish Security Service”
Old Brittany
Millions of dollars in winter fuel payments eliminated BBC (Kevin W). Remember this is a grant for pensioners and the poor.
Gaza
Operation Al-Aqsa Flood: Day 297: Israel and Lebanon brace for renewed tensions after attack kills 12 Syrian residents in Golan Heights Mondoweiss (Grust)
* * * Patrick Lawrence: The silence is over ScheerPost (Robin K). Important. Main point: “…let’s ask together something we shouldn’t ask: Is what Israel is doing in Gaza worse than the Holocaust?” I brought this up with Lambert a few days ago, but not as a question.
Issue debated in Israeli parliament: Legality of prisoner rape pic.twitter.com/9KuqCW9ntK
— Hamza M. Syed (@HamzaMSyed) July 29, 2024
“To all our partners who have purchased our drones”
Israeli soldiers from the 5280th Battalion of the Alexandroni Brigade filmed the destruction of a Palestinian house in Wadi Salqa, east of Khan Yunis, as a tribute to supporters of the Israeli occupation forces. pic.twitter.com/O08M3ezd55
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) July 28, 2024
Erdogan says Turkey could ‘enter’ Israel to help Gaza residents Sputnik. Erdogan has maintained an irresponsible attitude so far, but he may choose a less risky approach to aid.
A new cold war
Putin warns US against deploying long-range missiles in Germany Guardian
Big Brother is Watching You
China considers creating national “cyberspace ID” Registry
Why the Left Should Care About Privacy Current Affairs (Paul R.)
2024
America’s new political war pits young men against young women Wall Street Journal. So all of these political divisions are impacting the gender gap among young people. At the margin, they’re less in favor of reproduction.
Biden
Biden denounces ‘extremism’ on Supreme Court, details plans for term limits, ethics rules Associated Press
Kamala
Kamala Harris, the cat-loving woman who won: Political families lose their luster Don’t form a group
Harris puts abortion, Trump’s weak spot, at the center of her campaign Wall Street Journal. This is infuriating. The women’s rights movement and its supposed ally, the Democratic Party, have done absolutely nothing to secure abortion rights. It would have been easier to secure abortion rights in the 1970s, when feminism was at its peak, before the religious right gained much influence. In most countries, abortion rights were achieved by law, not by court decisions. The Democrats are still just performative on this issue. There’s no way a Harris administration would pass any meaningful legislation. And yet this is why voters support Harris. Really? Is it because Harris is selling empty shells? I understand abortion being on the list because pro-abortion voters are upset about Republicans rolling back abortion rights, but why would the Democrats be at the top when they have nothing to offer?
Exclusive: Internet star Esti Parti humourously criticises Kamala Harris Cackle India Today Global, YouTube. Li: “Esty is going global!”
Trump
Donald Trump endorses “strategic Bitcoin stockpiling” in speech to crypto enthusiasts Wired (Dr. Kevin). Kill me now. The US continues its tilt towards Third Worldism.
The press is no longer free
Most chilling quote of the day: I’m from NewsGuard and I’m here to judge you. Jonathan Turley, The Hill. Clearly retaliatory. It’s a shame Turley isn’t willing to sue, but maybe they don’t want to suggest that litigation is an option until they’ve dug a hole with their “report.”
Copyright infringement silences critics of the Paris Olympics Taking Back the Net (Michael T)
German publisher stops printing J.D. Vance’s book ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ Jonathan Turley
Awakened Watch
Here’s evidence that woke capitalism is in retreat Crisis Investment (Michael T)
Mother jailed for forcing daughter into deadly marriage BBC :-(. But it’s a good reminder that being “woke” isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
artificial intelligence
Faisal Mahmood: Transforming Pathology with AI Eric Topol (Robin K.)
From SF to State Law: California’s AI Disaster Prevention Plan Ars Technica
McDonald’s suffers first global sales decline since 2020 Financial Times
Crowdstrike 404
Delta Air Lines seeks damages from CrowdStrike and Microsoft after service outage CNBC. I love the Godzilla vs. Mothra fight.
Basil
Senator Cynthia Lummis unveils bill for U.S. Treasury to buy 1 million Bitcoins worth $68 billion Blocks (user friendly)
Trump Media Stocks (DJT) – Q2 Earnings Report Needs Clarification Forbes (Ferzy)
Tesla’s dismal results bring short sellers, tipsters out of the shadowsFrancine McKenna. Previews are helpful.
The news site says it is using AI to churn out articles with fake racially diverse writer bylines in a very responsible way. Futurism (Paul R.)
Class struggle
We are living through another big change… Branko Milanovic (Michael T.)
Low-income families lose internet service after Congress eliminates discount program Arstenica
John Deere comes under fire after laying off hundreds of American workers as it moves manufacturing to Mexico The New York Times (Kevin W.)
CBDC is a threat to freedom Taking Back the Net (Michael T)
Today’s Antidote (Arena S):
See yesterday’s link and the Antidote du Jour here.
