Stonehenge’s mysterious central stone was transported 800km from Scotland Nature
40 years of Stonehenge’s summer solstice: from anarchy to state repression to ‘controlled open access’ Eurasia Review
The Rolling Stones (Excerpt) Times Literary Supplement. Deck: “Was Stonehenge a Great Community Project?”
The IRA and the Challenge of Restructuring the American Economy FT
Over the next decade, the world stands to lose $4.7 trillion in revenue to tax havens. How did we get to this point? Business Standard. Explanation:
Many people, including many in the financial industry, believe that President Trump’s corporate tax reforms have eliminated the incentive to “offshoring” profits.
At least when it comes to the pharmaceutical industry, the data is clear: It didn’t happen.
— Brad Setser (@Brad_Setser) August 15, 2024
climate
‘We should have better answers by now’: Climate scientists baffled by unexpected pace of warming Guardian
Physicists Uncover Quantum Origin of the Greenhouse Effect Quanta. The deck says: “Carbon dioxide’s powerful greenhouse effect turns out to be due to a strange property of its quantum structure. The discovery may explain climate change better than any computer model can.”
Scottish Islands May Solve ‘Snowball Earth’ Mystery BBC
* * * Feasibility of maximum temperature targets considering institutional constraints Nature. From the discussion: “But the clear insight from this study is that a focus on cost-effectiveness without considering institutional feasibility and regional differences leads to significant biases in benchmark scenarios.”
Revealed: Growing demand for data centers is erasing green energy gains Business Post
* * * The world is laughing at Britain’s heatwave, but we shouldn’t laugh Independent
Don’t underestimate the costs of the green transition Gillian Tett, FT
America has a high-temperature steel problem Atlantic Ocean
Syndemics
An outbreak of monkeypox caused by monkeypox virus lineage I in the Democratic Republic of the Congo European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
Two Mpox cases in Oneida County, one case in Otsego County movie
* * * Will bird flu become the next pandemic? Vaccines are ready just in case USA Today
* * * Associations between long-term SARS-CoV-2 symptoms and work outcomes PLOS One. From the abstract: “Even as the COVID-19 federal public health emergency ends and efforts to ‘return to normal’ take place, policymakers must consider the clinical and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s employment status and work absenteeism, especially as data continue to emerge showing the numerous health and well-being impacts of Long COVID.”
water
All the water on Earth in one sphere! USGS. From 2019, still relevant.
China?
China Commercial Bank chairman stabbed to death in office, former subordinate detained: Report South China Morning Post
E-commerce giant Alibaba misses expectations as China’s consumption slows Channel News Asia
China’s gasoline demand stagnates on holidays as trains and EVs are introduced Business Times
Myanmar
China supports Myanmar junta’s re-election plan: foreign minister Channel News Asia
Shiraksta
Land allocations approved for first new West Bank settlements since 2017 The Times of Israel. Commentary:
Israel is destroying one of the last Palestinian Christian strongholds in the West Bank, which is where I decided to stay while researching Palestinian Christians for From the Holy Mountain. It’s a place with an incredibly ancient history, the birthplace of Christianity, and… https://t.co/QSXVovzUzd pic.twitter.com/tS3XR9A64G
— William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill) August 15, 2024
The US said attacks in the West Bank by “violent settlers” were “unacceptable and must stop” after one person was killed. Anadolu Agency
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra cancels pianist’s tribute to journalist killed in Gaza Guardian
Dad Jokes 3 quarks daily
Dear Old England
Into the Void New Left Review
A new cold war
Symposium: What does Russian aggression in Ukraine really mean? Responsible national governance
Ukraine denies Putin’s nuclear bluff The Telegraph. It read: “Cowardly Western leaders must seize the rare opportunity presented by Ukraine’s bold masterpiece.”
What is the real purpose of Russia’s attack on Ukraine? audience
Ukraine gambled on invading Russian territory. This bold move changed the battlefield. AP
Putin is winning Anastasia Edel, The New York Times
* * * Ukraine’s Kursk Offensive is a turning point in the war Foreign Policy. Deck: “The biggest impact will be the destruction of Vladimir Putin’s triumphant narrative.”
Russian invasion of Ukraine turns Putin’s position on its head The New York Times
* * * The bitter experience of going too far The new Kremlin puppet
Russia’s car loan and restaurant business booms BNE Intellectual News
South of the Border
CNN’s fraud analysis of fraud in Venezuela’s presidential election Dissident voice (pjay).
2024
Journalists defend Kamala Harris’ lack of interviews (Video) Glenn Greenwald, YouTube
If Democrats want to win, they need to stop disparaging Palestinian voters. The Nation. Commentary:
Biden and Harris celebrate drug price deal in first joint public appearance France 24
Antitrust
Monopoly Money Ed Zitron, where is your Ed?
The strange monopoly trick that created Walmart and Amazon and killed Main Street Cory Doctorow, Pluralism
Matt Yglesias was wrong about Lena Khan’s record Revolving Door Project
Election speech on public works and hydroelectric development in Portland, Oregon Franklin Delano Roosevelt, The American President Project:
(FDR:) When I became Governor, I found that the New York State Public Utilities Commission had adopted the unjust and unsound view that its only function was to act as a sort of arbitrator or court between the public on the one hand and the public utility companies on the other. So I laid down principles that created fear and confusion among the Insulls and other such influential people.
I declared that the Public Utilities Commission was not merely a judicial body acting solely as an umpire between disgruntled consumers and investors, on the one hand, and the vast public utility system, on the other. I declared that, as an agent of the Legislature, the Commission had, and still has, clearly delegated authority and duty to act as agent for the people themselves.
Spook Country
National Endowment for Democracy: What it is and what it does Public Secretariat of the People’s Republic of China
Digital Watch
Google’s AI search forces sites to make a tough choice: Share your data or perish Bloomberg
Civil rights groups oppose bill to create foundation to support NIST’s AI standards work Inside AI policy
supply chain
Tanker market ignores rising Middle East tensions S&P Global
Olympic
Former elite athlete and public health leader examines COVID management at Olympics Cloaky
Empire Collapse Watch
“We need to take back the Republic and put an end to the damn Empire.” (Video) Lawrence Wilkerson, Schiller Institute, YouTube
Class struggle
Palmer Luckey, American Vulcan Tablet Magazine
The wealthy are bringing big bucks and luxury lodges to Maine lakes. The Wall Street Journal
Webb Telescope Deepens Cosmology’s Biggest Debate Quanta
Today’s antidote (Rich Speziali):
See yesterday’s link and the Antidote du Jour here.
