Operation Beluga — or, How a Soviet Icebreaker Played Music to Save Thousands of Ice-Trapped Whales from Starvation ZMEScience (Dr. Kevin)
SolidKnit: A new approach to 3D printing that can create furniture from yarn ZMEScience (Dr. Kevin)
Wars in Ukraine and Gaza increase antibiotic resistance Forbes (Paul R.)
#COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus Disease)
The indomitable coronavirus Eric Topol (Paul R.)
Climate and Environment
NASA study predicts global climate change will impact crops within 10 years NASA. Paul R: “By 2030, corn could decline by 24% and wheat could increase by 17%. Ouch.”
Greenland fossil discovery increases risk of sea level rise Science Daily (Kevin W)
‘The Adriatic is tropicalising’: Italian fishermen struggle to adapt to warmer waters The Guardian (Kevin W.)
China?
US to propose banning Chinese software from self-driving cars Reuters
A good summary of the situation surrounding US control of GPUs, although there remains a lot of confusion on the subject. Short thread. 🧵 https://t.co/839lBnk7qf
— Paul Triolo (@pstAsiatech) August 5, 2024
South Korea
North Korea’s Kim Jong Un deploys 250 new tactical ballistic missile launchers to border The Japan Times
Fake Ships and Front Companies: How North Korea Evaded Sanctions and Grew a Global Arms Industry Conversation (Kevin W)
Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s “Iron Lady” Sheikh Hasina was the world’s longest serving female prime minister. Then she fled by helicopter. ABC Australia (Kevin W)
Bangladesh PM flees country, army to form new government Bloomberg
Africa
Sudan famine: Experts say famine in Zamzam refugee camp is ‘man-made and 100% preventable’ Sky
Highly deadly MPOX strain spreads to several African countries Science
Old Brittany
Starmer promises to create ‘standing army’ of specialist officers to tackle violent unrest BBC
Rioters throw petrol bombs at police in Belfast on violent night Anadolu Agency
Is Britain heading for civil war? Don’t join the crowd
UK pensioners pushed to ‘economic cliff edge’ by winter fuel cuts Guardian
UK universities are in financial crisis New European
Gaza
Gaza Live: Israel bombs Jenin, Gaza, Lebanon in new airstrikes Middle East Eye
Alastair Crook: The West’s Willful Blindness to Israel Judge Napolitano, YouTube. 17:15: “The West wants war”. At the beginning of the interview, Cloak reports from a friend who was with Hamieh at the Iranian guesthouse and survived (!!!), and confirms that the attack was a projectile, not a bomb. He also says that a Russian electronic suppression system with a range of up to 5000km (not a typo) has been delivered to Iran and is apparently operational. Other sites have also reported on the transfer of the system. Cloak says that the GPS “is not working properly in Israel”.
‘Something came from outside’: Eyewitness testimony after Ismail Haniyeh’s assassination Jeremy Scahill (Robin K.)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clashes with security forces over Hamas deal Financial Times. So strange. This article was published 10 days late? Now there is no hope for a ceasefire. There is a misleading reference to the fact that Israel supposedly assassinated Hamas’ chief negotiator (his assassination is mentioned much later in the article and his role is downplayed). So what disinformation purpose does this have? To amplify Blinken’s absurd story about the need for a ceasefire so soon after Hamieh was killed?
Axis of Resistance: Planned simultaneous attacks against Israel Cradle
10,000 Israeli soldiers killed or wounded – report exposes Israeli military crisis in Gaza Palestine Chronicle (Kevin W.)
UN reports malnutrition in Gaza children rises by more than 300% Anadolu Agency
Welcome to Hell: The Israeli Prison System as a Network of Torture Camps B’Tselem
Israeli Information Centre for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (GUURST)Notice the last part, “But the world will not forgive.” Don’t let anyone tell you that your efforts against Israeli atrocities will make a difference. If Westerners had not pressured Western governments on this issue, Israel would behave even worse than it is now. https://t.co/KULgcMpkJs
— Caitlin Johnston (@caitoz) August 5, 2024
#breaking news: #Turkish FM: #Turkey Submit your application #South AfricaGenocide lawsuits #Israel Wednesday at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. https://t.co/IflBrUjlhs pic.twitter.com/7rOTL4yTd7
— Arab News (@arabnews) August 5, 2024
Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim second attack on container ship in two weeks Al Jazeera
Shiraksta
Rocket attack on Iraqi base injures ‘several’ US soldiers CNN (Kevin W.)
A new cold war
Ukraine war update: Zelensky says Ukrainian Air Force operating F-16s Kyiv Independent
Ukrainian forces will have to break out of the remaining encirclement in the coming hours, if not days.
The bold new tunnel operation from the south to New York has forced Ukrainian forces to cede without a fight the front line that was last established in the region in 2014. pic.twitter.com/A3hJNMkdDp— — GEROMAN — Only time will tell – 👀 — (@GeromanAT) August 6, 2024
Who started the Ukraine war? John Mearsheimer
Canada’s submarine fleet poses new threat to Russia Vuzglyad (Michael T.)
Big Brother is Watching You
Illinois Governor Approves Business-Friendly Overhaul of Biometric Privacy Law Reuters
Empire Collapse Watch
The CIA and the 9/11 Plea Bargains Consortium News (Robin K)
Preparing New Zealand for a post-American world Newsroom (mgl)
Kamala
Bill and Hillary’s daughter Chelsea may be eyeing a position in Harris’ administration Independent. Paul R: “Can someone call an exorcist?”
Fears of war and recession test Harris’ campaign momentum Axios
Market sell-off puts Democrats on edge Politico
UAW President Fain supports Kamala Harris campaign in Face the Nation interview WSWS
2024
This little-known cryptocurrency super PAC has raised more money than any other PAC, including MAGA Inc., in the 2024 election cycle. Market Watch (MA)
The press is no longer free
Former Kansas police chief faces criminal charges after newspaper attack, prosecutors say Kansas City Star
Judge who authorized Kansas newspaper raid avoids discipline after giving conflicting secret accounts Kansas Reflector
Mr. Market is sad
Japanese stocks recover 9% after global crash Financial Times. I said privately last night that the drop looks like delayed volatility after too long of a boom. Like if you were unlucky enough to own the wrong tech stocks. Of course war would be hugely disruptive in itself and to commerce. But yesterday’s headlines oddly didn’t give that risk the prominence it deserved, so I’m not sure Mr Market has properly priced it in yet. That could change soon, though.
Greg Ip was the WSJ’s Fed whisperer for many years.
Although there are signs of a recession and the risks are rising, the US is not in recession yet, which means it’s not too late to prevent one, writes Greg Ip. https://t.co/xrhLd1bJ9Q
— Real-Time Economics (@WSJecon) August 6, 2024
American weddings are shrinking The Washington Post
Antitrust
BOOM: Judge rules Google a monopoly Matt Stoller: This is a big win. Maybe in a few years the search experience won’t be so terrible. But this story has been a bit overshadowed by the prospect of war in the Middle East and market turmoil.
artificial intelligence
Video game actors officially strike over AI The Verge
Nvidia allegedly collects YouTube and Netflix videos as AI training data 404 Media
Silicon Valley parents are sending their kindergartners to AI-focused summer camps SF Standard
The fight over who sets the rules for American corporations Financial Times (BC). Important
Basil
Thailand may have a lot to teach us about the future of money Financial Times. *sigh* The Thai government has been trying to reduce cash use for years. There was a noticeable drop in 2022, but cash still accounts for 50% of all point-of-sale transactions. On top of that, even though Thais are very connected and regularly use their phones to transfer funds, including to each other, performance is so spotty that users are too often forced to revert to cash. I attended a conference last week. There was a lot of lamentation from customers of several different major banks. They try to transfer money, but the bank requires the customer to send a new selfie to verify their identity, and the image is rejected. Barging into a branch doesn’t necessarily solve the problem. No one in the room had a solution other than to carry loads of cash. “Cash is king.” Especially when you can pay your utility bills at 7-Eleven (common here), but only cash.
Class struggle
‘I feel ignored’: People who experience colourism say health system has failed them KFF Health News
An immediate antidote. David E. “Dogs, Friday Market, Souillac, France”
See yesterday’s link and the Antidote du Jour here.
