The banana apocalypse is approaching – can we stop it this time? ZME Science
Can art save the ‘post-apocalyptic’ Salton Sea? Sapiens
Pandemic
Structure and inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 spike refolding in membranes Science. Sounds important.
COVID-19 surge forces sudden classroom closures in US as new school year begins WSWS
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Study finds important drug ineffective against deadly new MPOX virus POLITICO
Mpox feared to spread in Congo’s overcrowded mines, refugee camps Bloomberg
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Plant pandemics: the next big epidemic that poses a threat to global food security sensible
Climate and Environment
Discovery of “dark oxygen” could lead to failure of deep sea mining IEEE Spectrum
Hurricane Ernesto arrived rather quickly, an ominous sign. Grist
Africa
Geopolitics of the Sudanese War An Africanist Perspective
China?
Bond market struggles, China’s view on US elections, stock market, WeRide in the US, Sabina Scholl, foreign carmaker collapse Sinism (Michael)
China to restrict exports of strategic metal antimony Asia Times
China’s New Maritime Giant Prepares to Patrol Disputed Waters Asia Times (Kevin W)
Shiraksta
Israel reduces ‘humanitarian area’ to 11% of Gaza Strip, UN agency says Anadolu Agency
At least 10 killed in Israeli attack in southern Lebanon Al Jazeera
Israeli airstrikes kill at least two Palestinians in West Bank, health ministry says Reuters
She had documented and published evidence that Israel was systematically shooting children in the head. https://t.co/FO0qEVawek
— Jeanine (@lilearthquakess) August 16, 2024
First polio case in Gaza in 25 years, UN calls for mass vaccination Guardian
Israel massacres Gaza family after two days of ‘constructive’ ceasefire talks Cradle
Biden ‘optimistic’ about Gaza ceasefire deal Anadolu Agency
“‘Excuse me.'” Flutist
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Leaked Israeli documents reveal foreign agents’ attempts to evade lobbying laws Lee Fan
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Iraq postpones announcement of end of US military presence Cradle
CIA bestows highest award on Qatari intelligence chief Axios
European Separation
The strange death of Germany’s authoritarian liberal political class Defending Democratic Press (Michael) “This is premature.”
Polish leader urges Nord Stream customers to ‘remain silent’ as pipeline mystery returns to focus AP
A new cold war
America’s JASSM air-to-surface stealth missile and Russia’s tactical nuclear plans Gilbert Doctorow
Russia has informed the IAEA that Ukraine plans to target the Zaporizhia and Kursk nuclear power plants. Anadolu Agency
Ukrainian troops train in UK ahead of attack on Kursk WSWS. Explanation:
In my view, sentiment within Russia has changed dramatically, and friends who were relatively tolerant of the conflict are now much less tolerant.
Since the attack on Kursk, it has become more and more apparent to me that this must end on the battlefield. The idea of ”brotherhood”… https://t.co/rzTpuBqfuV
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) August 17, 2024
Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk Oblast halts secret talks with Russia to thwart attacks on power facilities – WP Ukrainska Pravda. Commentary:
“Your Excellency, the war is being lost! The front lines cannot hold out much longer!”
“Have you ever considered taking an obviously suicidal action that would destroy us completely, ending any hope of us negotiating our way out of this situation?”
— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) August 17, 2024
NATO’s Folly Prospect Magazine
Fitch Downgrades Ukraine to ‘RD’ – Default International Situation (Michael)
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FBI searches US home of Soviet-born Biden critic RT
Russian Messianism: A Roundtable Discussion Landmark: International Dialogue Journal
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Kadyrov said he received a Tesla Cybertruck from Elon Musk, who promised it would be sent to areas of “special military operations” and fitted it with a machine gun.
“Thank you, Eron! Come to Grozny and I will welcome you as my dearest guest! Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia… pic.twitter.com/m72fg2G2PU
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 17, 2024
South of the Border
Elon Musk’s X to shut down Brazilian operations amid fierce legal battle Al Jazeera
Spook Country
Google: Iranian hackers target organizations affiliated with both US presidential campaigns record
OpenAI announces it has captured “Iranian influence operations” using ChatGPT Gizmodo
Kamala
Kamala Harris outlines pro-business economic policies at North Carolina campaign rally W.S.W.S.
Harris’ plan to stop price gouging could create more problems than it solves CNN (Kevin): Harris has done absolutely nothing to combat price gouging. Her campaign I can’t even explain it Perhaps the ambiguity in what constitutes excessive profits, what the price gouging ban covers, and how it will be enforced is the problem. Mentioned She is supposed to be against concentration and price fixing, yet she has not voiced support for Jonathan Cantor and the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, or Lina Khan and the Federal Trade Commission, who are aggressively pursuing these practices for the first time in decades. If Harris was serious, she would make that point in her big economic policy announcement.
Another perspective:
1. So why is Kamala Harris talking about price fixing, gouging, mergers, and general pricing nonsense? Apparently, she’s doing well in the polls. But why? Let’s look at the evidence for why Americans are angry at big corporations over pricing. Let’s start with rent. https://t.co/bvMr7JaqbJ pic.twitter.com/z9Wed8C9bb
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) August 16, 2024
So why doesn’t Harris say she supports Khan and get the following result?
Where can I get Lina Khan yard signs? https://t.co/bnW9eeCdzB
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) August 17, 2024
Antitrust
Judge temporarily halts sports streaming service Venu, sides with Fubo over antitrust concerns CNBC
Kroger now claims that it will cut prices by $1 billion after the merger, double its previous claim. Either (1) Kroger has magically discovered $500 million worth of additional efficiency gains, or (2) Kroger already has pricing power and the merger will give it even more.https://t.co/bmLRzLjBQW
— John Mark Newman (@johnmarknewman) August 16, 2024
The Democratic Party is broken
See who’s funding your local Democratic Party 48 Hills. San Francisco.
Budget cuts threaten San Francisco food programs for seniors and people with disabilities San Francisco Public Press
The harmful conversation about unemployment needs to stop. It’s harming disabled people. The big problem
Police State Surveillance
Oakland’s Summer of Discontent Cutting edge
Empire Collapse Watch
America’s Uncontrollable Vassal Nation Nonzero Newsletter
The US needs more temporary air bases around the world to confuse its enemies Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Navy workwear pants shortage, no more supplies until October Military.com
Academy Forest
‘Police state’: US universities impose rules to prevent Gaza protests from resurfacing Guardian
A well-known free press
A year after the Marion County Record raid, authorities continue to ignore the press’s rights Freedom of the Press Foundation
health care?
California to lower prices in new deal on opioid overdose drugs FT.
Big Brother is Watching You
US Department of Transportation unveils ambitious high-tech road safety plan Detroit News (Kevin W.)
artificial intelligence
Popular AI ‘nudification’ site faces lawsuit as victims surge worldwide Ars Technical
What happens after the AI crash? Disconnect
Basil
Dubai Courts Recognize Cryptocurrency as Valid Salary Payment Cointelegraph
Google threatened tech influencers if they didn’t “like” the Pixel The Verge
Class struggle
A Kaleckian approach to financialization and functional income distribution: Austria and Finland in comparative perspective Berlin Institute for International Political Economy. From the abstract: “…financialization is expected to affect aggregate wage shares through three channels: (1) sector restructuring, (2) financial overhead and profit demands of profit seekers, and (3) union and worker bargaining power. We empirically analyze the long-term trends of each channel before and after the financial crisis and the Great Recession in Austria and Finland. Overall, we find evidence that all three redistribution channels contribute to changes in functional income distribution. However, cross-country heterogeneity means that the explanatory power of the individual channels varies significantly.”
“Dissence or Die” Cory Doctorow, Pluralism
Public ownership of public goods structure
Today’s antidote (via):
See yesterday’s link and the Antidote du Jour here.
