Link August 20, 2024 | Naked Capitalism

Looks and games: who and whyNational Institute of Economic Research

The end of menopause: Would women be healthier and happier if they kept menstruating forever? The Guardian (Dr Kevin). *sigh* This undersells HRT as an alternative. HRT has been demonised for increasing the risk of cancer, but if started before age 60 or within 2 years of menopause, it reduces all-cause mortality. Increased cancer rates more than offset by improvements in heart health.

Hopes for drug targeting monkeypox virus circulating in Africa dashed Nature (Michael T.)

Philippines reports new polio case with no history of international travel Al Jazeera

#COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus Disease)

The latest scientific research suggests that long COVID in Australia is a serious and growing problem. Bill Mitchell

Climate and Environment

The huge profits investors have made on catastrophe bonds are raising eyebrows. Bloomberg

> Australia’s Great Water War ABC Australia (Kevin W): I remember when I was in Australia between 2002 and 2004 there was a major investigation that found Australia was using a lot of scarce water for agricultural exports and not being adequately compensated for it. So this recognition is overdue.

Surprisingly, Article 6 carbon credits face exactly the same problems as voluntary carbon credits. REDD Monitor (Michael T)

China?

China to restrict exports of strategic metal antimony Asia Times (Kevin W)

China expands export controls on drones and parts with potential military uses South China Morning Post

China’s Ministry of State Security reveals espionage operation disguised as wind speed tower construction Global Times

Data shows China’s latest worsening economic problem: youth unemployment First Post

California Democrat worries more restrictions on China could create ‘death spiral’ for U.S. tech companies Reuters (guurst). From last week but still relevant.

European Separation

In a completely rational and dispassionate new report, Der Spiegel sets out to “identify evil” and asks which right-wing populist politicians could be “secret Hitlers”. Egyps (Michael T.)

School profits are thus used to buy influence. Aftonbladet (Michael T.)

Trilateral talks on Stockholm Jacob Nordengard (Michael T.)

Old Brittany

Final piece of Banksy’s Animal Series removed from London Zoo The Guardian (Kevin W.)

We can do what we can Ann Pettifor (Michael T.), another class warfare entry.

Extremes: Common ground we find ourselves on Rachel Donald (Michael T.)

Drug supply crisis as half a million people with ADHD and psychiatric disorders face shortages and rationing Independent

Gaza

Day 318 of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood: Netanyahu demands additional ceasefire conditions, new evacuation orders for Gaza residents Mondoweiss (Grust)

Shay Golden, Channel 14, October 17, 2023:
“We are coming. We are coming to Gaza. We are coming to Lebanon. We are coming to Iran… We will destroy our enemies… If we freed 1,000 terrorists for Gilad Shalit, think how many of you we will kill… The numbers you will kill… pic.twitter.com/hsc4iAjI7L

— BM (@ireallyhateyou) August 19, 2024

Hamas rejects Gaza ceasefire agreement, accuses Netanyahu of creating new ‘obstacles’ ABC Australia (Kevin W)

Endgame: What are Israel’s plans for the occupied West Bank? Al Jazeera (Kevin W.)

Exclusive: Egypt agrees to Israeli control of Gaza border in exchange for Rafah reopening Middle East Eye

Fighting between Israel and Hezbollah intensifies despite diplomatic efforts Guardian

Revisionist Zionists Prompt US to Abort Nakba Plan Alastair Crook (Chuck L). IMPORTANT. The instructions are a bit confusing but make sure you read to the end.

As war looms over Lebanon, refugees wonder how they’ll survive Al Jazeera

Scottish government cancels all talks with Israel Anadolu Agency

A new cold war

The operation to ensure US withdrawal from Ukraine has begun in Kursk: China’s cunning game First, the Russians (Michael T). I can’t judge this one, but it’s a completely different perspective than you’d normally see from opponents of Russia or friends of Russia. If you read or listen to Russian sources in Russian, please chime in.

America’s Shadow War in Ukraine Ken Klipperstein. Confirming what has long been suspected.

Germany freezes military aid to Ukraine amid domestic financial crisis Telegraph

News of Nord Stream attack infuriates the nation Machine translated by Nachdenkseiten (Micael T)

President Tusk warns Germany to ‘keep quiet’ over Nord Stream revelations Brussels Signal

Adviser says allegations that Poland helped sabotage Nord Stream are unfounded Reuters

What about sanctions? 85% of Russian oil finds buyers in China and India Forbes

Kiev attempted to invade the Kursk region, using armored vehicles supplied by NATO countries shortly before the attack.

RIA Novosti discovered this fact from documents seized by the Russian 810th Marine Brigade.

Armored vehicle Rochelle Senator (model Ford F-559… pic.twitter.com/Naw4enFwjQ

— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) August 18, 2024

Zelensky Buffer Zone: Ukr-Kursk Firebox, Niu-Yok Waterfall, Tretsk Raid, Pokrovsk Waterfall Alexander Mercouris, YouTube. The long shout-out at the beginning is, Washington Post article claims Russia and Ukraine were negotiating to stop energy warI wrote this article after seeing Maria Zarakhova deny that there were any discussions about civilian infrastructure. Mercouris read that as limited. From what I could see with a little research, the power system, including nuclear power plants, is in fact privately owned and therefore private. This statement is almost identical to Zarakhova’s bizarre attempt to deny that previous attacks attacked “civilian” assets. Aurélien also stated in the comments:

I think a lot of the confusion comes from the vague use of words. I don’t think there was a chance that a “partial ceasefire agreement” could have been “signed.” In particular, there would never have been a formal agreement. What may have happened are preliminary talks toward a tacit understanding of how the war will be conducted in the future. This happens surprisingly often in conflicts, and does not necessarily mean direct contact between the parties. Messages of a “do X, if you don’t, we won’t do Y” nature are sometimes conveyed through intermediaries, as in this case with Qatar. But I would have thought that Russia mitigating its energy aggression would just be part of any “deal,” in exchange for something Russia wants that we probably never heard about. In any case, such a “deal” was conditional, and Russia could resume its aggression at any time. So I don’t think we should necessarily see this as a sign of Russian weakness.

Putin makes it clear that negotiations with Kiev are impossible – Foreign Minister Lavrov TASS

Elon Musk denies giving Cybertruck to Chechen leader Anadolu Agency

Big Brother is Watching You

US unveils road safety plan that will allow cars to “talk” to each other End Gadget (Kevin W)

Ford’s shocking new idea could let your car spy on you and send data to police and insurance companies Taking Back the Net (Michael T)

The golden age of Las Vegas hackers is over 404Media (Michael T)

Empire Collapse Watch

Political Liberalism and Rawlsian Religion Edward Feather (Michael T.)

Trump

Shares of Trump’s social media company hit lowest price since listing Financial Times

Trump targets Biden’s EV tax breaks Oil prices

Supreme Court gives Fani Willis new deadline Newsweek (Furzy)

Democratic Convention

A large march towards Gaza broke through security barriers outside the DNC.

Activists say they are resisting attempts by Democrats and Chicago police to stifle protests against the massacre.

BT Kay Pritzker Reports pic.twitter.com/psCpc6iCyH

— Breakthrough News (@BTnewsroom) August 20, 2024

Lee points out, “SCt saved the pill. 60% of abortions are by pill. It’s hard to take these people seriously,” but everyone is in on the action.

“Fuck the courts, fuck the state, we have no right to procreate,” protesters in Chicago chanted as they marched against the Democratic National Committee.

People dressed in abortion pill costumes took part in the demonstration. pic.twitter.com/xwmRAAjW8w

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) August 19, 2024

Protests have already begun at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.pic.twitter.com/j1okM4dsuu

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePress) August 19, 2024

Anger spreads in Chicago’s ‘Little Palestine’ ahead of Democratic Convention Daily Mail (Kevin W.)

2024

Republican-controlled Georgia elections board passes rules that could further delay certification CNN

The anti-gerrymandering amendment will be Act No. 1 in 2024, but the fight isn’t over yet Signal Cleveland (Carla R.)

The press is no longer free

Meta permanently bans The Cradle in latest attack on free speech Cradle

Phil Donahue (1935-2024), who was fired by MSNBC for speaking out against the Iraq War, was courage incarnate. A Common Dream (Kevin W)

artificial intelligence

AI images of ‘Donald Trump and Kamala Harris’ show something is seriously wrong 9News (Kevin W)

GM cuts 1,000 software jobs in favor of AI TechCrunch

Real hourly wages, average earnings, and total employment: July update Angry Bear

Basil

Tesla tests whether shareholders have the power to overturn a judge’s decision Yahoo! Finance (Kevin W). The world is looking more and more like Snow Crush. See Lee’s Greater Hong Kong here.

Debt strategies deemed unsustainable are gaining popularity on Wall Street luck

Parents furious at Snoo after smart crib company charges to rock cribs for crying babies Independent (Kevin W)

Class struggle

BREAKING: In 17 major U.S. metropolitan areas, you now need to earn at least $200,000 a year to buy a typical home.

The most expensive area is San Jose, California, where a household needs to earn $587,000 a year to afford the average home.

The median home sales price is… pic.twitter.com/uVH1pDBwKI

— Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) August 16, 2024

Rising home buying costs are causing America’s renter population to grow three times faster than its homeowners Business Wire

Operation Haas: Making Computing More Local Libre Network (Michael T)

Today’s Antidote: Eric S:

As today’s antidote, I wanted to submit a photo of my cat, Skippy, deciding between eating and taking a nap, a handsome face that has earned him the nickname of the Chris Hemsworth of cats in our household (Skippy even has his own Instagram: skippy_sleeps).