Tiny hippos and elephants roamed the island of Cyprus before humans arrived. Science Alert (Chuck L)
Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ is astonishingly scientifically accurate, reflecting complex atmospheric physics. ZMEScience (Dr. Kevin)
This month, Earth will have another moon, but it won’t last long. Space (Michael T)
Groundbreaking study predicts devastating river changes that threaten millions of people worldwide Science Daily (Kevin W)
What happened to Easter Island? New study refutes bestselling population collapse theory SciTech Daily (Chuck L). This story has been covered elsewhere, so some of you may have missed it.
Anti-Rock Star The Atlantic. Anthony L.: “Leonard Cohen”
#COVID-19 (Novel Coronavirus Disease)
Arrested: NYC coronavirus chief admits to forced vaccinations and hosting drug-fueled sex parties YouTube (IM Document)
Researchers compile list of animals that may have caused COVID-19 pandemic 9News (Kevin W)
Climate and Environment
EPA scientists say they were pressured to downplay chemical harms; watchdog group finds they faced retaliation. ProPublica (Kevin W)
Avoiding microplastics has become a luxury. The Atlantic (Dr. Kevin)
‘End of an era’: UK says goodbye to last coal-fired power station Daily SabaGermany needs new natural gas capacity to meet coal phase-out target Oil prices
Drought and wildfires threaten energy supplies in Amazon’s largest city Brazilian
China?
Taiwan warns that expanding Chinese military activity makes it harder to detect a escalation into war Financial Times
US to keep missile systems in Philippines amid rising tensions with China Reuters
* * * China Car Blitz Michael Dunn (Guest)
ASPI’s 20 Year Key Technology Tracker ASPI. Further discussion: China now leads the world in 57 of 64 key technologies, up from three just two decades ago. Hacker News (Paul R)
Fukushima water flows under the bridge connecting China and Japan Beijing Studies
‘Showing of force’: Is North Korea’s missile test a sign of giving up on diplomacy with the US? South China Morning Post
Other side
New Zealand economy shrinks in second quarter Business Times
European Separation
German economy may shrink again in third quarter, Bundesbank warns Reuters
France’s record budget deficit could lead to breaking the tax taboo Le Monde
Old Brittany
UK budget deficit hits 100% of GDP, shocking Chancellor Reeves Bloomberg
Farage says reformers can win election as conference leans towards far-right tropes The Guardian (Kevin W.)
Gaza
It is odd that Chinese media seem to have no problem understanding what seems incomprehensible to their UK, US and EU client media. @SCMP News pic.twitter.com/rufoBDg8wC
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) September 19, 2024
Israel kills top Hezbollah commander in Beirut attack Mondoweiss
Israel vs. Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, and Israel itself The New York Times (Dr. Kevin)
* * * First the Israeli exploding pagers injured and killed people. Now comes the paranoia. and Your cell phone won’t become an exploding pager Wired (Dr. Kevin). I doubt this will be conclusive, but most buyers will act on impulse and think the chances of them being a target are slim. And the reality is that the most dangerous thing people do on a daily basis – using a car (or a motorcycle, in this case) – is far more dangerous than the possibility of an electronic device exploding.
A new cold war
SITREP 9/20/24: Ukraine’s allies in dire straits due to arms shortages Simplicius
Ukraine – Recent Frontline Report Points to Systematic Deficiencies Alabama Moon (Alabama Moon)
Ukraine faces winter energy crisis, EU help inadequate EU Observer
MEPs urge EU countries to let Ukraine strike in Russia’s heartlandPolitico
Putin’s ally warns West of nuclear war over Ukraine Reuters
Russia-Ukraine war: US imposes new sanctions on Russia and North Korea – for real Guardian
Russia-EU trade to rise for first time since November 2023 Sputnik. The growth period was fast after the war started. (Robin K)
Ukrainian special forces bomb Russian base in Syria: report The Cradle (Kevin W.)
Swedish secret network produces materials for Ukraine’s defense Machine translated by Aftonbladet (Micael T)
Immigration
Sudanese refugees in Egypt caught in conflict and repression Middle East Monitor
Big Brother is Watching You
On the emerging digital panopticon NeoFeudal Review (Micael T)
Empire Collapse Watch
The decline of the American empire: what happens next? ZMEScience (Dr. Kevin)
The Rise and Fall of Higher Education and the Crisis of the Medieval University Ian Welsh (Michael T)
“Genocide Gentry” Consortium News (Robin K)
Biden
Biden touts economic growth but acknowledges there’s still a long way to go Politico (Kevin W). A “Biden” header for the first time in a while.
Trump.
This doesn’t happen. There was a little-publicized mini-crisis related to the GFC. Banks sold portfolios of credit card receivables. These were supposed to be given away even though the banks were still servicing the cards. When defaults rose in the crisis, buyers said, “We’ll never buy this again unless we take a loss.” Banks just couldn’t afford to hold new credit card receivables on their balance sheets, especially during a crisis.
But if Trump were to find a way to implement a variation of this idea (raising limits on new credit card loans), it would force the industry back to something like the 1980s model: being much more strict about extending credit and charging annual fees (when all banks charged annual fees, but the goal was to make consumer profits from customers who paid them off in full every month).
BREAKING: President Trump announces that he will immediately impose a 10% cap on credit card interest rates upon taking office
“We can’t let it be 25 percent or 30 percent.”
Credit card interest rates are at an all-time high under Kamala Biden, and her simple plan would ease that… pic.twitter.com/yENoVsqv1S
— George (@BehizyTweets) September 19, 2024
2024
Green Party vice presidential candidate Butch Ware warns Democrats have ‘no hope’ of winning election Glenn Greenwald: Muslim voters will be a big obstacle. The majority will not vote for either party.
In an unprecedented move, Ohio is funding the construction of private religious schools. ProPublica (Kevin W.)
The press is no longer free
Taibbi & Kaminsky: Why are we being targeted by the State Department? Unherd, YouTube. A helpful summary for those not yet familiar with this particular story.
The market is at its mercy
The Federal Reserve has said the long-awaited rate cut is not political, despite the closeness of the presidential election. Iowa Capital Dispatch (Robin K.)
Antitrust
High insulin prices lead to federal lawsuit against three pharmacy benefit managers Associated Press (Kevin W.)
Qualcomm wants to buy Intel The Verge (Paul R). Don’t try to grab a falling safe.
Class struggle
New York/New Jersey, the largest port on the US East Coast, has begun preparing for the first union strike since 1977. CNBC (Kevin W)
Today’s Antidote (mrsyk):
This boils down to the version of The Dude (she/her, long story but she is tricking Lola). Her stage name is Lady Stardust and she is described as a “feather duster with teeth”. She is the sibling of Jean-Claude, who we featured previously, so bear with us.
From the Green Party of Southern Vermont:
Bonus (Chuck L):
When a baby sperm whale decides he’s best friends with you and wants to play. pic.twitter.com/v6VMqXba1t
— Nature is amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) September 18, 2024
Second bonus (guurst):
love story pic.twitter.com/4h0dJAn8Nh
— Etna (@Etnaetoya) September 19, 2024
3rd Bonus (Chuck L):
Horses helping people in hospitals pic.twitter.com/sDCnS6hNwp
— Nature is amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) September 20, 2024
See yesterday’s link and the Antidote du Jour here.
