An owl served as ring bearer at the couple’s wedding, but then flew away New York Post
What does botanical philosophy say about plant subjectivity and intelligence? Aon (Dr. Kevin)
Changing Times: The Battle of Lepanto Big Serge.Big Serge is always a great read.
John Lee Clark is a pioneer of emerging languages and cultures MPR (Large chuck)
Midlife blood biomarkers predict dementia in later life Medpage
New research shows bird flu cases are going undetected, and that’s a problem for all of us. CNN. Paul R.: “They’re getting the disease undiagnosed, so awareness is limited.”
U.S. prepares for bird flu pandemic with $176 million Moderna vaccine deal Ars Technica
#COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus Disease)
Severe COVID-19 patients experience cognitive decline years later New Scientist. Paul R.: “Analysis of people hospitalized with COVID-19 during the first wave of the pandemic reveals that the sustained decline in cognitive ability corresponds to a 10-point IQ loss.”
Climate and Environment
🚨In the 24 years since 2000, we as humans have excavated, drilled and blasted more minerals/metals/fuels out of the Earth’s surface than we mined in the entire 20th century. Much more.
🧨This is our story – whether we like it or not.
🪨We live in a material world🪨 pic.twitter.com/4p9G7SgevO— Ed Conway (@EdConwaySky) August 1, 2024
Group run by Hillary Clinton helps fund ‘Stop Oil’ and ‘Extinction Rebellion’ Telegraph
Maui wildfire plaintiffs reach $4 billion settlement as anniversary approaches The New York Times (Kevin W.)
China?
China maintains dominance in science, while Intel slumps in semiconductors Ian Welsh (Michael T)
China Bank Adviser Calls for More Stimulus, Inflation Targeting Reuters
U.S. tightens semiconductor restrictions on China under Cold War-era rules Asia Times (Kevin W)
supply chain
CO2 shortage: How did we get to this point? Gas World
Hospitals are running out of bottles for blood cultures, which is a major problem. Chief Healthcare Officer
Africa
Famine officially declared in Sudan Telegraph
European Separation
EU ignores Hungary, Slovakia over Ukraine oil sanctions POLITICO
Chancellor Scholz cuts funding for social housing Machine translated by Jacobin (Micael T)
Sweden and the US sign new nuclear agreement Government.se. Micael T: “The first step towards Sweden developing nuclear weapons and stationing them on its own territory? Sweden signed a surrender agreement for “defence cooperation”, but the agreement does not preclude Swedish nuclear weapons aimed at Russia.”
Old Brittany
Gaza
>US to send more fighter jets and warships to Middle East to show support for Israeli assassination of Hamas leader WSWS
Israel’s Gaza War Live: 5 killed in Israeli attack on Tulkarem, city stormed Al Jazeera
Exclusive: Haniyah killed by projectile, not planted bomb, witness says Middle East Eye. This is significant because the New York Times published a lengthy article stating that the explosion was the result of a bomb planted about two months prior.
Erdogan tells Biden: ‘Israel wants to expand Gaza conflict to the whole region’ Middle East Online
Houthis, Hamas, Hezbollah leader killing urges ‘dangerous’ response from Israel Sputnik
The extreme hunger of the Gazans could have lasting effects for generations to come Conversation (Dr. Kevin)
Craig Murray: The Nihilist State of Israel Consortium News (Judith)
A new cold war
Ukraine situation report: latest update Moon in Alabama. A good overview, especially for those who haven’t had the time to keep a close eye on it before.
Fascinating details of Russian-American prisoner exchange Anti-Spiegel (Michael T.)
Russia-Western Prisoner Swap – What the Mainstream Media Doesn’t Tell You: The Real Target of Israel’s Assassination of Iranian Hamas Political Leaders is the US, Others Mark Slevoda, Fault Lines
Prisoner swap signals Moscow and the West can negotiate, but Ukraine is wary The Washington Post (Kevin W.)
Russia’s Defense Ministry purge reaches climax as Belousov cleans up corruption Simplicius
Shiraksta
As misery grows, Pakistanis rebel against the establishment The New York Times
Big Brother is Watching You
Empire Collapse Watch
US not ready for world war, committee warns. Axios
Germany helps defend South Korea’s border Machine translated Tageschau (guurst)
Georgia averts coup by US-backed war criminals Active Measures (Michael T)
Pentagon chief reneges on plea deals with three Sept. 11 terror attacks suspects, puts them back on death rowABC Australia (Kevin W)
Pursuing Lt. Carrie Seymour Hersh (Robin K.)
Kamala
Harris’ campaign wants to keep the momentum going The Hill
Kamala — First unscripted appearance:
“This is a great testament to the importance of having a president who understands the power of diplomacy and the strength that comes from understanding the importance of diplomacy.”
what? pic.twitter.com/lxlhhG1xhT
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 2, 2024
🚨 Harmeet Dhillon is all praises for the “chameleon” Kamala, whom he has worked professionally with for over two decades.
“The only time Kamala looks Indian is when she’s asking Indian-Americans for money. Her weird accent isn’t from the South. No one speaks like that in Jamaica. It’s embarrassing.” pic.twitter.com/dp7FGhsW9m
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) August 1, 2024
Trump
Biden is the victim of a ‘coup’ – Trump RT. Trump has launched a number of unexpected attacks lately. Maybe he’s on the mend.
I have crossed the Rubicon and am supporting the Republican Party and President Trump.
Many people, including myself in the past, are trapped in the mental framework that defines their identity and are unable to radically evolve their thinking with new facts and information. I…
— David Marcus (@davidmarcus) July 31, 2024
Postmortem investigation into President Trump’s assassination
Secret Service technical issues prevent shooter from being found at Trump rally Guardian
The Secret Service and FBI are still not telling the truth about who shot the criminal. Larry Johnson
GOP Clown Car
Paul Dans, the architect of Project 2025’s most radical plans ProPublica (Robin K.)
2024
Mr. Market is sad. Dear Reader: Here are three data points that show the U.S. economy is suddenly and sharply weakening. Are there any consistent or contradictory anecdotes or industry news?
Mass layoffs push Intel stock to 50-year low Business Insider
Central banks are pivoting, but the path is unclear Reuters
Wayfair CEO compares home goods slump to 2008 financial crisisCNBC
Hershey cuts full-year forecast sharply as sales plummet completion
Lifting from Lambert’s 8/1 Water Cooler:
“We have a family member who is 30 years old who works on the assembly line at Peterbilt Trucks in Denton, Texas (a subsidiary of PACCAR). He has seniority and works the first shift. He has been told not to come to work next week. They are shutting down the assembly line for a week due to a staffing shortage…
— Dave Collum (@DavidBCollum) July 31, 2024
The press is no longer free
The Censorship Industry: GARM Members Win Billions of Dollars in Federal Contracts Foundation for Freedom Online (Li)
TikTok to ban some content critical of Zionism after pressure from NGO backed by former Israeli intelligence official Lee Fang (Robin K), from earlier this week, still relevant.
A disintegrating Boeing plane, space edition
Boeing’s Starliner appears to be a total flop Byte (Paul R.). At least the astronauts can be rescued.
Class struggle
Public pensions’ hidden role in California’s rising rents Los Angeles TimesPaul R.: “Pirate stocks are buying apartment buildings and inflating rents. Tenants are stunned that CALSTRS is investing in such funds. Oops.”
Today’s antidote. Karma fubar sent this a long time ago so I apologize.
My mother-in-law photographed this young hawk at her parents’ home. There is a large woodland at her parents’ house and the hawk has its nest in one of the large beech trees. I used JPEG compression to reduce the file size but left it otherwise unchanged. I particularly like how the out-of-focus background gives the photo a painterly effect.
See yesterday’s link and the Antidote du Jour here.
