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Links 7/22/2024

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The drugs of the future are in the animals of the past Sequencer Mag

Black Holes: Not Destroyers but Protectors SciTech Daily

New tech that converts urine to water could finally ditch astronaut diapers ZME Science

Climate/Environment

Droughts, desertification, heatwaves: the climate crisis hits Sicily hard Euronews

‘The sea has taken everything’: How Italy’s coast was reclaimed Al Jazeera

HUNGER WAS ALREADY BAD ENOUGH. THEN BERYL HIT. Texas Observer

Unexpected severe drought plagues parts of NC, withering crops Carolina Public Press

What Project 2025 Would Mean for Climate Change Atmos

Pandemics

Bird flu hasn’t affected overall milk production or prices — but that could change Harvest Public Media

***

International study highlights large and unequal life expectancy declines in India during COVID-19 Phys.org

Biden Resigns While Sick With Covid, Says We Overcame Covid ¡Do Not Panic!

‘Are you serious?’: Hawaii Island mayor in disbelief after 3rd vehicle drives into harbor Hawaii News Now.

Africa

Turkey, Niger agree to enhance energy, defence cooperation Reuters

Turkey eyes Niger’s uranium for nuclear power expansion Business Insider Africa

Japan

Five Trump 2.0 nightmares for Japan Asia Times

China?

Full Text: Xi Jinping’s Explanation of the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Further Deepening Reform Comprehensively to Advance Chinese Modernization The East Is Read

China surprises with cuts to key rates to support fragile economy Reuters. Commentary:

***

Philippines says reached deal with China to avoid disputed shoal clashes Al Jazeera

Syraqistan

Netanyahu Thinks Joe Biden Is Already a Lame Duck Politico. “It seems likely Netanyahu and his inner circle figure they can basically run out the clock until Trump gets back to the Oval Office in January”

Cease-fire. The Only Way to Prevent a Polio Epidemic Among Gazan and Israeli Babies Haaretz

IDF to Vaccinate Israeli Soldiers Against Polio After High Concentration of Virus Found in Gaza Sewage Haaretz

Israeli construction signals ‘long-term’ occupation of Gaza-Egypt border The Cradle

Israel Is Reviewing a Proposal to Install a “Moderate Muslim” Puppet Regime in Gaza Drop Site

***

Ben Gvir urges PM to threaten the US with collapsing PA if far-right ministers are sanctioned Times of Israel

2 American activists injured in attack by illegal Israeli settlers in West Bank Anadolu Agency

Israeli army demolishes Palestinian commercial establishments in Jerusalem Anadolu Agency

***

Yemen gears up for ‘long war’ against Israel The Cradle

Security forces thwart Hamas terror plot directed from Turkey Jewish News Syndicate

Turkey rejects Israeli accusations of arming Hamas as ‘lies’ Al Arabiya

European Disunion

The eurozone’s recovery is losing momentum, according to poll bne Intellinews

O Canada

Companies Ask Court To Keep Their Israel Export Details Secret The Maple

Old Blighty

Fears grow over rise of ‘under the radar’ all-night slot machine halls in UK The Guardian

New Not-So-Cold War

Kremlin reacts to Biden dropping out of US presidential race RT

Chairman of the State Duma: Biden has created problems in the world and in his country The State Duma. “Realizing that he will not be re-elected, he runs away not waiting for the elections. He should be held responsible for the war unleashed in Ukraine, the destruction of the economies of European states, and the sanctions policy against Russia and other countries. He has blood on his hands.”

Speaking of that mess:

Europe doubles down on protracted war in Ukraine Responsible Statecraft

Causality, Moral Responsibility, and the NATO-Russia Ukrainian War Gordon Hahn, Russian & Eurasian Politics

What a Ukraine peace treaty brokered by Trump might look like Gilbert Doctorow

Poland calls on EU to stress ties with US to counter Russian ‘disinformation’ Euractiv

***

Russia says its jets prevented US bombers violating border over Barents Sea Euractiv

Biden

The result:

GOP Response:

Lest we forget:

2024

Obama endorses open nominating process while Clintons endorse Harris Politico. Full Obama statement. Commentary:

***

What happens next now that Biden has dropped out? Politico

Delegate tracker: Harris gets quick start on road to 1,986 The Hill

Vice President, Kamala Harris, releases statement on Biden’s withdrawal WSPA

Trump says Kamala Harris will be easier to defeat than Biden Reuters

Biden’s Campaign Funds: What happens if he steps down CNBC. From July 11, still germane.

Kamala Harris gets fundraising boost after Biden drops out of race Axios

***

No endorsements from Pritzker, Durbin, Duckworth after Biden drops reelection bid Capitol News Illinois

Michigan Gov. Whitmer issues statement after Biden drops out of 2024 race. Click on Detroit. Does not endorse Harris.

Gretchen Whitmer joins campaign call with Harris for President staff Politico. Privately endorsed Harris on the call according to “a person familiar with the conversation.”

Josh Shapiro throws support behind Harris after Biden drops out The Hill

California pollster makes case for Gavin Newsom Semafor. Shortly after: California Gov. Gavin Newsom endorses “fearless” Kamala Harris Axios

US Senator Manchin eyes presidential bid as Democrat Anadolu Agency

Harris

Tougher tone on Israel, steady on NATO: how a Harris foreign policy could look The New Arab

Trump

Chartbook 300 Vance, Trump and the shifting coalitions behind Republican economic policy Adam Tooze, Chartbook

The Violent Promise of Vance-Politik Un-Diplomatic

The Supremes

Facing Dem Scrutiny, Alito Benefactor Paul Singer Donates $10 Million to GOP Sludge

AI

Meta is training its AI with public Instagram posts. Artists in Latin America can’t opt out Rest of World

Commentary: Whether you like it or not, AI chatbots are coming for your phone Channel News Asia

LAPD warns residents after spike in burglaries using Wi-Fi jammers that disable security cameras, smart doorbells Tom’s Hardware

California officials say largest trial court in US victim of ransomware attack AP

Crowdstrike

Crowd strikes out Michael Roberts blog

More than 1,500 US flights canceled for the third day straight as airlines slowly recover from global tech outage CNN

Boeing

Despite fraud charges, Boeing secures deal with USAF to supply E-7 aircraft Interesting Engineering

Imperial Collapse Watch

The meaning of freedom and security Alex Krainer’s TrendCompass

Police State Watch

TEXAS’ PLANTATION PRISONS: INSIDE A 200-YEAR HISTORY OF FORCED LABOR SHROUDED IN SECRECY Texas Observer

Court Upholds Mississippi’s Jim Crow-Era Lifetime Voting Ban Bolts

Our Famously Free Press

Times reporter was leaked list of problem deputies. The Sheriff’s Department investigated her Los Angeles Times

The Bezzle

THE AUTHOR OF “THE METAVERSE: AND HOW IT WILL REVOLUTIONIZE EVERYTHING” IS CHANGING THE TITLE AFTER IT WAS PUBLISHED Futurism

Class Warfare

The Techies Who Lunch The Baffler

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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138 comments

  1. Antifa

    KAMALA MAY WANNA
    (melody borrowed from Lady Madonna  by The Beatles)

    Kamala’s on a
    Primed ejection seat
    Thinking that she’s finally in a ringside seat

    She served on one knee
    As Vice President
    Never saw a penny of his Ten Percent

    Voters never carried her to first base
    Back room intrigues barely have begun
    Now that Biden’s pulled off an about-face
    She has to run

    A prima donna
    Yet to pass the test
    So far major donors lookin’ unimpressed

    (musical interlude)

    Cue hit-and-run . . .

    Kamala may wanna
    Rouse and raise the dead
    All she has to sell is circuses and bread

    Donors are so cold and unrelenting
    They know that the game is zero-sum
    Kamala’s in need of reinventing
    Can this be spun?

    Kamala’s on a
    Primed ejection seat
    Thinking that she’s finally in the ringside seat

    2. none

      Pelosi chomps a mean cigar,
      So Biden plays the sad guitar.
      Kamala was a rising star,
      But will they let her drive the car?

      1. Antifa

        To drive the ship of state sounds sweet
        The drivers stay in the back seat
        Democracy’s now obsolete
        We’re orphans out here on Main Street

  2. Louis Fyne

    Ok, I’ll say the obvious…. literal history-making moment and Joe/Jill announces it on Twitter using a letter that looks like it was written by an AP English student—no letterhead, no “1600 Pennsylvania Av,” no nothing.

    Geesh. Even Tricky Dick had the honor to tell something directly to the country’s face via the cameras.

    (the behind-the-scenes footage of LBJ’s announcement was fascinating too—but alas I can’t find it again due to youtube’s awful search function with the results polluted by yesterday’s Biden news.)

    https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nixon+resignation+speech

    https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lyndon+johnson+won%27t+run+1968+behind+the+scenes+

    1. DJG, Reality Czar

      Thanks, Louis Fyne. I made a comment earlier on Conor Gallagher’s post about conventions (great post!) as to how amateurish this bye-bye note is.

      Yes, it is worthy of the College Board’s marketing department.

      With nukes, unfortunately. And an evident contempt for meaning.

      1. curlydan

        He flunks AP English. There were multiple fragments. He knows people are going to be reading this for decades, yet he puts in “sentences” like “Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years.”.

      1. doug

        Thanks for that. I was watching as a kid with a neighbor who was a player in the state D apparatus. It came as quite a surprise. I heard language!
        On another topic, I will be donating more to this site, beyond usual. The next four months are going to be wild, and this is one fine place to learn about what is going on. I suspect the work levels will be even more intense than ‘usual’. Thanks .

          1. Louis Fyne

            No, Biden did not write that letter or had the physical capacity to give a public speech this weekend. this is a straight-up coup delivered by Nancy Pelosi et al.

            Of course, this hypothesis is wrapped in tin-foil until it isn’t.

            Tammany Hall would be proud, lol

      3. lyman alpha blob

        “…not his idea.”

        I get the impression he was given the choice to either quit or wait for Obama to sneak into his bedroom with an extra pillow.

        1. barefoot charley

          Reports are that Nancy told him he’d gotten 3 weeks of softball, and the hardball starts today. So he quit as if it’s his idea. And he’s the greatest president since Moses, or somebody.

      4. ebolapoxclassic

        I wonder if there was a scene similar to this at Biden’s Delaware getaway? Is that how his signature ended up on the paper?

        (Warning: The clip contains violence, though nothing extremely graphic.)

    4. Dr. John Carpenter

      Could Biden deliver an address like this on camera? Or any address at all? Even at his recent best, he hasn’t been good, but now he has another case of COVID on top of that. Performance aside, there would have to be fear of a scene stealing “gaffe” or angry Biden going off script (“they won’t have Joe Biden to kick around anymore!”) Heck, the letter was probably written for him and Dr. Jill just held the pen in his hand long enough to sign it.

      1. Acacia

        You’re not alone, wondering about this.

        On the interwebs, ppl are questioning the signature, comparing this letter to others, wondering if it was cobbled together by somebody else whilst Biden is comatose.

        We may never know what happened, but it sure looks shambolic.

        2. Dr. John Carpenter

          Given how wild this silly season has been…the thought has crossed my mind that what if Biden has already vacated the office and his Earthly vessel! That would be a plot twist for sure. I don’t seriously think this, though I don’t find the idea of him being extremely ill with COVID beyond the realm of possibility. The letter seems odd, but what seems more odd to me is how quickly he turned from a defiant “I’m running again” and the behind the scenes rumors of rage and anger to him stepping down. No way I believe he’s doing this “for the good of the country.”

            1. Jokerstein

              I’m wondering whether he’d be allowed in public at the convention, even if alive. Someone as malicious and unhinged as him could easily tear the whole thing to pieces with a Samson-in-Gaza (oh, the irony!) type speech…

          3. XXYY

            I think when you are in any leadership role, you have to maintain an appearance that you are going to be there forever unless and until the moment arrives that you have definitely decided to leave. There’s no way to be half in and half out on this kind of thing and still be able to carry out your role as a leader. Once you announce your departure, everyone knows you’re going to be gone soon and no one takes you seriously. Also, the work of everyone around you suddenly shifts to positioning themselves for the period after you leave instead of doing what they normally do.

            Dementia aside, I think Biden’s recent behavior conforms to this principle, and there wasn’t much else he could do even if he were capable of it.

    6. Turtle

      Yes, interesting points. One thing really stuck out about the statement for me on my first reading: that he listed the interests of his party ahead of the interests of the country. A veiled way to demonstrate his bitterness at the party that pushed him out?

  3. Mikerw0

    Over 30 years ago Bill Greider published “Who Will Tell the People”. Among other things it chronicled the corrosive impact of money on the process and the results we obtained from elected officials.

    One chapter dealt with the prohibitions of felons dealing with federal contracts. At that time it was GE, who repeatedly defrauded the DoD. Now it’s Boeing. The more things change the more they stay the same.

  4. Samuel Conner

    A couple of sour notes in the Doctorow discussion of the shape of a DJT-brokered resolution of the Ukr/RF conflict:

    > “To be sure, the Russians will give up their territorial claims to the entirety of the 4 provinces they have already incorporated into the Russian Federation but never fully conquered.”

    I have no independent knowledge of the underlying facts, but it has been repeatedly asserted by Alexander Mercouris that the RF constitution contains provisions that forbid surrender of RF territory. Kherson and Zaporozhia oblasts have been incorporated into the territory over which RF is sovereign and cannot be dealt away in a peace negotiation. I have the impression that from a constitutional perspective, regions of these two oblasts that are still under Ukrainian control are legally considered by RF to be Ukrainian-occupied RF territory and will be liberated before any peace can be agreed. VVP said as much in a recent statement, that a condition for cessation of hostilities was UAF withdrawal from the parts of the 4 oblasts that they still occupy.

    More likely, perhaps, is that RFAF will advance further into territory beyond the 4 oblasts to occupy portions of what remains to Ukraine and that this will be returned as a face-saving concession in peace negotiations.

    > “Throughout the interview, Grenell takes as his point of reference the unsupportable 37 trillion dollar national debt, which must be cut back, not added to in the years of a future Trump administration. This can only be realized by ending the wars that Washington is fueling NOW.”

    The annual US Federal deficit is structural due to US trade deficit and the inability or unwillingness of the private sector to significantly net dis-save (the Sectoral Balances Identity). Ending pointless wars is desirable from the standpoint of wiser utilization of real resources, but likely will not itself dramatically reduce the annual deficit (and certainly will not reduce the cumulative deficit, which would require an annual surplus). Changes in trade policy that significantly reduce US trade deficit could significantly reduce the annual Federal deficit, though I suspect that attempts to make very rapid changes (for example through imposition of punitive tariffs on imported products) would have significant negative consequences (inflation, for example, given that US imports a lot of consumer products).

    1. ilsm

      I took Doctorow points as arguing to end NATO. Even though he uses the term just twice in the entire essay.

      I agree industrial policy, and reduced importation are key to increasing federal income and reducing relative outlays, the imports paid with debt sustain the federal deficit. If the citizens are buying stuff made in USA…..

      The modern monetarist [with only] theories [that are imposed] say borrowing don’t matter. In the small print is “until it does” that is when the foreign entities stop taking debt for things. Like what happened during the great depression.

      Ending NATO is good business and a sound bite that sells! Outside the DC beltway anyway.

      A country with no factories cannot supply shells to the world using debt.

    2. spud

      “The annual US Federal deficit is structural due to US trade deficit and the inability or unwillingness of the private sector to significantly net dis-save (the Sectoral Balances Identity).

      Ending pointless wars is desirable from the standpoint of wiser utilization of real resources, but likely will not itself dramatically reduce the annual deficit (and certainly will not reduce the cumulative deficit, which would require an annual surplus).

      Changes in trade policy that significantly reduce US trade deficit could significantly reduce the annual Federal deficit, though I suspect that attempts to make very rapid changes (for example through imposition of punitive tariffs on imported products) would have significant negative consequences (inflation, for example, given that US imports a lot of consumer products).”

      its to late to try to reverse what bill clinton did. i warned many that a U.B.I. would only add massively to americas trade deficit, making it almost impossible to service.

      so the nafta democrats did it anyways, a massive U.B.I. for wars. those wars are to enforce free trade.

      we now rely on imports to keep almost anything and everything running in america, if running is what you want to call our bizzaro world.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarro_World

      only one way out, bite the bullet and accept a far far lower standard of living till we rebuild, or collapse.

      1. .human

        To over-egg the pudding, what we have is global Ponzi schemes where the players are entire corporations suckered in. This got a brief mention recently in an article here describing private equity as the top players. Without growth it all falls apart. Welfare State indeed.

    3. Kouros

      I like Doctorow and I think he is a nice gentleman, but I wouldn’t take his prognostications very seriously. I find his Crystal Balling beset by catarcts and glaucomas.

    4. magpie

      Russia will not abandon the four annexed provinces. That door closed in April 2022. Allow Azov types back in? No.

    5. gk

      Can’t they change the constitution? India did this a few years ago, to finally sort out the Cooch-Behar mess.

      1. sarmaT

        Yes they can, and they did not so long ago. Many would say that, in order to finally sort out this mess, Russian Federation would have to change the constitution again, and include some more regions.

      2. Daniil Adamov

        Yes, it is not a real problem. The real problem is that Western leaders probably can’t give our leaders anything that would make such a retreat with its internal political costs (not catastrophic – the post-Soviet regime survived far worse humiliations and greater domestic hatred in the 90s – but still significant) worth their while.

    6. Procopius

      The persistent U.S. trade deficit is from the condition of the U.S. dollar as the equivalent of gold — the international reserve currency. As long as that is the case, every other country must have dollars, both to support their own currencies and to trade with the U.S. They get U.S. dollars by manipulating their currencies, so the goods they offer to the U.S. are cheaper than goods produced in the U.S. There will be no end to the U.S. trade deficit until the U.S. dollar is no longer the world’s reserve currency.

  5. .Tom

    Election machinations are an amazing high-steaks sport to watch but Biden’s lame duck officially began yesterday and for the next 4 months and until inauguration the 51st state massacres Gazans and takes the West Bank and soldiers are dying for Biden’s proxy war.

  6. timbers

    What a Ukraine peace treaty brokered by Trump might look like Gilbert Doctorow

    German reporter: “What do you think Europe will think of a America under a Trump Administration?” Grenell: “I don’t care what Europe thinks of America. This is about what is good for America.”

    And…Uh oh…Doctorow: “Letting go Kherson and Zaporozhie would return to Ukraine valuable Black Earth land which is essential to ensure the economic viability of the rump state.”

    Someone pushes back on this with fact based reasons drowning in very current experience not to mention centuries of Western hostilities directed at Russia, and Doctorow responds “The logic of your argument is that we will have a forever war and forever will last till the nuclear exchanges 4 months or so from now.”

    Maybe, but how is that different from the last century if not more, and not because of Russia. Because The West and her centuries long aggression and recent unending escalation.

    I hope I am mis-understanding Doctorow.

    Doctorow is responding with similar discredited logic (think Minsk and Minsk II) sometimes found here, that Russia defending herself = Russia starting nuclear war. This of course is 100% false, and this was recently proven to false logic when Russia told the US that Russia will shoot down surveillance drones used to kill Russians, and the US stopped. Because Russia told the US it must stop, or else. More of this, please.

    1. Polar Socialist

      Well, he seems to be thinking in terms of what Trump can sell to the US public as a “good deal”. Unfortunately he doesn’t seem to ponder at all what the Ukrainian or Russian public would accept at the moment.

      I assume he’s genuinely horrified with the possibility of a nuclear war between USA and Russia as a result of Ukraine conflict, so he’s willing to entertain any solution that could end the war in more congenial terms.

      Me, being both more optimistic and cynical, thinks that Trump can only affect the flow of money and weapons to Ukraine, the rest is to be dictated by Russia when Ukrainians figure they’ve had enough.

      2. Ignacio

        Then read the link above by the title “Europe doubles down on protracted war in Ukraine”, Responsible Statecraft, to rule out any possibility of negotiation/deal/whatever by the part of most of Europe. Your last paragraph, which has a lot of truth in it, cannot be assimilated, stomached or comprehended by the European leadership. Given the level of attrition the Russians have managed to implement in Ukraine by now, the end of war (not the end of the conflict) will more likely be achieved by capitulation. Too late for negotiations even if there was true interest on it.

    2. Aurelien

      I don’t understand the logic behind this talk of a “deal” brokered by the United States in the first place. The analogy appears to be with the succession of “deals” in the Middle East from Camp David onward, where the US was simultaneously able to present itself as neutral broker and unconditional supporter of one side. And even then, there were all sorts of unacknowledged side agreements and undertakings to persuade the parties to sign.
      That isn’t even remotely possible this time. The US has no leverage over Russia and precious little over Ukraine. It’s unlikely that either trust Washington anyway. Moreover, Putin has gone out on such a limb criticising western bad faith that any involvement of the US in a final settlement would be political poison in Moscow.

      1. Yves Smith

        I agree with your last point about Putin and bad faith but think the driver is somewhat different. There has been a cohort of hardliners (the Communists but also others in his party) who have long criticized Putin for being a romantic about Europeans. There is some truth here since there were many Russians who had the same inclinations. Then Putin found out that they snookered him and were even privately contemptuous.

        One thing Putin hates is making the same mistake twice. Another is betrayal. So he’s not just playing to an audience. He is admitting to Russian citizens he was had and is not going to let that happen again.

        1. Kontrary Kansan

          Putin’s mistrust of the West is well-founded. Following the collapse of Ukraine Russia and some Europeans will make nice. Western Russian elites have a longstanding affection for parts of Europe, e.g., Paris. Then there’s the money for Russia and relief for Germany and others whom the US hooked on its LNG at four times the price.
          Moreover, “the West” has prompted Russia to remilitarize, a matter about which Europeans cannot but be mindful.

    3. spud

      any giving back of the black sea coast, would be viewed by the free traders as weakness, and only encourage more war.

      just look at whats happening in Geogia and Armenia. why not just give up the Crimea, the results will be the same.

      the west has two choice’s, wars of conquest for free trade, or implosion.

      no amount of trying to get your opponents to reason will work. the west has been trying since the 1800’s to rule the world through free trade. Hitler understood this.

      anyone who does not understand this, does not understand the year 1993.

    1. show_me

      Thanks for the link.

      If everything he says is true then crowdstrike is toast. It shouldn’t be allowed to survive. It should be sued and shamed out of existence.

      2. scott s.

        Can’t see that it’s “toast”, as you need a replacement. He didn’t have any insight into their testing methodology so we don’t (and guessing we might never) know what went wrong, or if it was a deployment issue rather than testing.

        My brother is a corporate IT guy; his biggest problem was all their laptops use bitlocker encryption so it wasn’t just a matter of booting into safe mode.

        1. Joker

          He didn’t have any insight into their testing methodology, sounds like something Boeing CEO would say after a plane crash.

        2. Dr. John Carpenter

          One of our younger guys was telling everyone in the office Friday “Crowdstrike won’t exist in four months!” I meant to ask him if he’d ever heard of “too big to fail”? I’m sure they’ll get their wrists slapped, a few politicians will get to grandstand and some poor low level schmuck will take the fall. But the scope of what all was impacted should be proof enough at how embedded this company is and how hard it would be to take your business elsewhere, if there was anywhere else to take it. (Not to mention Crowdstrike is spook adjacent. That’s gotta count for something.)

          1. pjay

            “Not to mention Crowdstrike is spook adjacent..”

            I’ve been retired for 8 years from a position where I regularly used large institutional computer systems and interacted with knowledgeable IT folks. The main thing I knew about CrowdStrike before the recent crash was its dubious background related to Ukraine, Comey’s FBI and other intelligence connections, and Russiagate. Am I the only one to be taken by surprise by its *overwhelming* presence in some of the most important computer systems in the world? I really had no idea this “spook adjacent” company had its tendrils into so much of our “cybersecurity” environment.

            I admit to being pretty open to, uh, “conspiratorial” explanations these days. But beyond the pure incompetence demonstrated by this failure, is anyone else bothered by the fact that it is *this* company whose “security” software is so pervasive? I’m probably not very cyber-literate anymore, but this was sure news to me.

    2. Yves Smith

      I’m most of the way in and he does a good job of setting forth the implications of the geek speak, so IMHO fine for laypeople who have some patience. Very good explanation of the original sin of letting Crowdstrike Falcon into the kernel. WTF?!? He says it was necessary but really? This sounds like an overly liberal threat scope definition that no one thought about hard enough and then a failure of a procedure for Microsoft to check updates and insufficiently strong review procedures at Crowdstrike, particularly in light of that.

      And in light of this, it seems nuts that Crowdstrike was made a boot start driver. Wasn’t there a better way? Or is there no way to do something like partition the kernel?

      1. shpedoikal

        > the original sin of letting Crowdstrike Falcon into the kernel. WTF?!?

        All it takes for that decision to go through is the requirement to access a piece of data that the kernel doesn’t provide through any of its interfaces. Adding new interfaces is way more expensive in time and effort (therefore money) – you’d have to request them from Microsoft. Could take years.

        > Wasn’t there a better way? Or is there no way to do something like partition the kernel?

        Requesting new interfaces so you don’t have to be a kernel driver would solve the risk of crashing the system problem, but again, cost. As Dave mentioned in the video, the “being a kernel driver” was itself a workaround for the time required to get a new spin of the driver WHQL certified.

      2. Polar Socialist

        Products like OSSEC manage to do Host Intrusion Detection while remaining completely in the user space, and with so small memory footprint that the protected system is not hindered at all.

        What I’ve been mostly wondering, though, is why all those info screens are running Windows when a minimal OS with a simple kiosk-mode browser would do just fine. No risk of intrusion, no need for security. No need for updates in most cases, really.

      3. show_me

        I believe what he’s saying is that if it’s code that is added to the kernel then it would be necessary to put it through MicroSoft’s testing cycle. However it appears (& I think that this is conjecture) that CrowdStrike added new code as data. This is done for good reasons(to add functionality and flexibility) and bad(to sneak in viruses etc). This ‘data’ can then be loaded and run as code. This isn’t uncommon practice ( the data/code is referred to as a ‘blob’!).
        He also seems to say that these data files (id’d as’.sys’ files – itself a weirdness) may be already corrupted.

        Added to the difficulty is that if that code must run at start up then it will never run successfully unless started up in the most basic stripped down mode – somewhat daunting for most individuals I would think – and Dave does a good job of explaining that.

        Boeing is a good comparison. There is a chain of command in every company. There would have been multiple levels of management involved in saying this was ok given the danger was so great from the virus/hacker. And then, surprise, someone did something stupid. And that’s the responsibility of the top brass.

        CrowdStrike and all its top brass should be eviscerated for this.

        WRT there not being sufficient modularity within Windows: This has always been a problem but it was designed in. In the early days of Explorer when MS was sued for making it difficult to replace they whined that it was an integral part of the system. There was absolutely no excuse for that. But even 100% modularity could not have protected the system from this. That’s how big a clusterf*ck it was.

      4. Grebo

        There really are things you can only do in kernel mode, your security checking code has to be able to get round the security barriers.

        What surprises me is that Microsoft certified a driver that could load and run external code like that. It seems to me that anyone could write a piece of malware, drop it in the right folder and have Crowdstrike own the machine for them. A rather large security hole for security software.

        And it apparently doesn’t even check it before it runs it!

        One of the commenters claimed that Crowdstrike recently fired half its QA team to be replaced by AI. They’d be better off replacing their CEO with AI.

    1. .Tom

      Liberalism isn’t really a political theory because it’s irrelevant to you if you don’t have the basics covered and feel physically and financially secure. This shows us how Western societies will fall apart. You can’t for long hoodwink people with stories of your superior freedom, democracy and human rights when they can’t pay for housing, education, health care or food for their family while those extracting the rents, interest and fees that impoverish them flaunt their privilege.

      I suspect that the USA’s decline and that of its vassals will persuade residents in less “democratic” countries that the Western model isn’t necessarily so hot.

  10. Bugs

    That grizzly looks like he’s found the perfect spot to nurse that hangover. Too many fermented berries will always get you.

  11. Joker

    New tech that converts urine to water could finally ditch astronaut diapers ZME Science

    If successful, the device could be a game-changer for astronauts, …

    A game-changer? Send the prototype to Zelensky pronto, so he can test it on his next piss summit.

      1. Joker

        A stillsuit that doesn’t recycle sweat, and has a rebreather, and temperature regulation, and all the other stuff needed to work in the vacuum of space. So, not really.

  12. sarmaT

    There is a whole AZOV-Batalion in Europe now, to recruit soldiers here in Western Europe. They are now in Belgium, and coming to the Netherlands, Rotterdam this week it’s outreageous !Cannot understand why, why, why ? https://t.co/SdjuKxivU1

    — 🇷🇺 RainDance™ 🇷🇺 🇸🇾 (@RealRainDance) July 19, 2024

    Why not? I would wholeheartedly recommend all their supporters to join, and get a free holiday on the Krinky shore.

    1. Polar Socialist

      I like this idea. A visit on the glorious shores of Krynky should be mandatory for the members of EU Commission and Parliament who insist on “standing with Ukraine”.

      1. Colonel Smithers

        Thank you, both.

        Mum was doing some UK government figures recently and came across this:

        Officially, there are a bit more than 200k Ukrainian refugees in the UK, defined as arrivals since February 2022.

        However, there are another 100k or so who arrived from 2017. They are not refugees, but get similar good treatment, and are the families of Ukrainian military trained in the UK in advance of an offensive planned against Russian areas from the spring of 2022.

        1. Kouros

          Are you saying that the February 2022 Russian offensive was a pre-emptive strike, as the Russians stated from the begining, given the intensified UKR shelling of Donbas- as reported by OECD, and UKR military concentration there?

          1. Polar Socialist

            Reportedly Ukrainians were so afraid of a Russian invasion they were even removing minefields from the line of contact.

            Also: OECD should be OCSE in this case, right? And “intensified” as in from 50 to 5000 shells/day, forcing the Donbass republics to evacuate schoolchildren to Russia.

        2. vao

          If those 100’000 are the wives and children of those soldiers, and if we assume 1 wife + 2 children, this means that at least 33’000 Ukrainians had been trained in the UK from 2017 till the conflict with Russia began.

          What is truly odd is that their families would be granted right of abode in the UK before the war officially started in 2022. I did not know this is was a practice in cooperation agreements regarding military training.

          1. Grebo

            The British actually started training Ukrainians in 2015. Most of them probably Azov types as the official Ukie army was down to a few thousand men after the battle of Deboltsovo.

  13. griffen

    The office of the Vice President is like a warm bucket of spit…just heard that phrasing from a Democrat Senator, Lamont from Connecticut. Hooray for Harris, our Madame VP is now ready for the glare and stare of Americans across the country. Wonder what the scrutiny reveals? Wonder what gets concealed also…

    I look forward to even the unhelpful stories getting proper coverage….from our not compromised at all major outlets. Only the best and glowing terms to support our next leader. I see reports she is already raking in donations and grassroots fund raising has started well.

    1. Katniss Everdeen

      What would seem to be “not worth a bucket of warm spit” is biden’s endorsement of harris.

      All over the “news” this a.m. is that harris collected almost $50 million in “contributions” in less than 24 hours but I’m not buying it without the receipts. I find it impossible to believe that so many are throwing money at her now when they wouldn’t even toss her a vote a few years ago.

      What she hasn’t collected is an “endorsement” from either obama or pelosi. Since they engineered biden’s exit, there’s no mission accomplished until that happens as far as I’m concerned.

      In someone’s immortal words, it ain’t over til it’s over…and this ain’t over.

      1. Acacia

        “Contributions” is a euphemism for bribes that can be withdrawn later if the Inner Party throws Harris under the bus.

      2. JP

        You seem to miss the part where they are going to jam her down our throat. As the deals are made and the cries for an open convention recede. They would rather gamble the power they have then risk shuffling the cards.

    2. Benny Profane

      The original comment was Warm Bucket of Piss, but changed in more gentile times.

      Speaking of which, who in the hell is going to accept to be HER VP pick. Good lord. Warm bucket of a more solid material.

    3. .human

      Lamont is the governor of Connecticut. He would have been Senator if TPTB hadn’t run Lieberman as an independent in order to keep this from happening.

      1. griffen

        Well yep, that’s an own goal. Appreciate the correction, and thank you for the clarification as to his current position. I had seen him interviewed before.

  14. griffen

    Climate article on drought conditions across multiple counties in North Carolina. A couple of photos of withered corn stalks says all anyone should know. Maybe those family farms can gain some advantage from anything that’s available at a state or federal level, that would be in addition to their crop insurance. Looks to be some level of agency assistance from a county office, in the worst situations.

    Kinda surprised to read that tobacco, yes that ignoble plant for cigars and cigarettes, is ranked 3rd behind pork, and broiler in the state’s agricultural exports. Still recall the smell of the large warehouses storing tobacco, late July into early August. Hog farms have a decidedly much different aroma!

    1. GramSci

      Here in Outer Pentagonia the County sent out word that we must conserve water for the server farms. I immediately turned the sprinklers on. Civil disobedience!!

    2. doug

      Nursery products are important in NC as well, being the 3rd or 4th largest national producer of shrubbery, etc. NC is situated well to condition plants to be shipped North and South.

    3. foghorn longhorn

      You’re welcome to some of the wet stuff NE Texas has received this year, please
      54.7″ vs a normal 24 for this time of year
      Over 5″ The last 5 days.

  16. Pat

    A wild thought, but why not a Democratic nominee outside of the usual suspects?

    Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Andrew Cuomo. He has weathered sexual harassment charges, has a record of Covid kills, and is rested and ready. Sure he has been exploring a return to politics via the NYC mayoral primary, but why not a return to the original plan. He has been running for President longer than Newsom.

    Might as well.

    1. Colonel Smithers

      Thank you, Pat. Mmm. I like it.

      Just one quibble: “Cuomo is rested and ready.” Is he like that other Italian, Berlusconi, “tanned, rested and ready”?

        1. ambrit

          Perhaps they both can hang out with Francisco Franco in the Club Mineshaft Med in the cordilleras?

      2. Pat

        I would so love it if it was like Belusconi, unfortunately he has just been unemployed since he had to resign his office and except waiting for James to throw out all the the harassment complaints and gaming out possible political comeback runs he has been largely ‘retired’. Mind you there were the last minute civil complaints that were filed as a result of what I call the Caroll/Trump one time elimination of the statute of limitations on sexual harassment civil suits, so there has been that to spend time on.

    2. Socal Rhino

      I saw one suggestion of Mitt Romney, and apparently Joe Manchin is considering rejoining the Dems to run, but I haven’t heard who Bill Kristol and Liz Cheney are supporting.

      1. Lefty Godot

        Manchin-Sinema 2024! The ultimate “centrist” ticket to out-centrist them all!

        Although this ignores the reality that “the centre cannot hold” in today’s political environment.

      1. Wukchumni

        Would it be possible for the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein or Ichabod Crane to be in consideration for 2nd fiddle?

      2. Benny Profane

        At this point, Trump can just sit back and enjoy the chaos and self destruction in the Democratic party. Always remember he destroyed the whole Republican establishment like a warm knife through butter in ’16. She will be like a mouse the cat caught.

        1. Mikel

          And, currently, the Trump campaign isn’t being deterred from courting voters that aren’t traditional Republican voters.

      2. Colonel Smithers

        Thank you, both, from the Mother Country.

        I should have added that in Germany and the UK progression in civil service requires such support.

        Every central government department has a Jewish staff section, really zionist, affiliated with and reporting to the Israeli embassy.

        In addition, the Jewish Chronicle tracks leadership appointments, but no longer reports, as that gave their game away.

        One anti-zionist academic, terminated after a campaign, which included former Green leader Caroline Lucas, has called for a dezionification of the UK government.

    2. Socal Rhino

      Perhaps speaker Johnson should be reacquainted with George Washington’s farewell address warning against foreign entanglements.

    4. pjay

      Johnson has been pushing the argument that Biden’s mental state makes him unfit for office and he should resign immediately.

      In my opinion, Johnson’s stated religious beliefs, including those regarding the Third Temple and the Second Coming, exhibit a mental state that makes him unfit for office and he should be removed immediately. And this is not sarcasm. Given his high position his beliefs represent a serious danger to US interests, the Middle East, and the world.

      I bet most of the Founders would agree with me.

  18. Mikel

    Commentary: Whether you like it or not, AI chatbots are coming for your phone – Channel News Asia

    “At the time of writing, two of the top five Google Singapore searches relating to Meta AI, an AI assistant that was embedded into WhatsApp a few months ago, are about how to disable it.”

    Nobody likes nosy people or thieves.

    1. Cas

      One doesn’t follow the other. Saying he won’t run for re-election is like someone saying they are going to retire. When someone says they are ready to retire, they don’t walk out that day or are considered incapable of doing their job. There’s no obligation for every president to run for re-election. (I wish many hadn’t.) We know Biden is too infirm to weather the rigors of campaigning (recall Bernie Sander’s heart attack from pushing himself so hard) and/or probably isn’t strong enough to serve another four years. That doesn’t mean he can’t fulfill his presidential duties for the rest of his term.

      1. ambrit

        What was implied in “ism”‘s comment was the question of whether or not “Creepy” Joe is ‘handling’ his duties now, much less going forward.

    2. redleg

      I’m still hoping he does so “voluntarily” with the condition that Harris drops out of the race. The empty suit can have the empty seat but nothing more.
      That would solve the Dems’ candidate dilemma- get her out of the way by kicking her upstairs. As events have shown, Harris couldn’t lead her way out of a wet paper bag if she were given a machete. Trump and the Rs are going to humiliate her and she isn’t going to know what to do. If the Dems are serious about winning this election (I don’t think they are) they need to have someone other than Harris at the top of the ticket.

  21. Jokerstein

    I see from the ZME urine-into-water article that the still-suit is becoming a reality!

  22. Wukchumni

    Joe, Joe was a man who thought he was a 2-termer
    But he knew it couldn’t last
    Joe, Joe left the race to Kamala
    Put the White House up for grabs

    Get back, get back
    Get back to where you once belonged
    Get back, get back
    Get back to where you once belonged
    Get back Joe, Joe

    Go home

    Get back, get back
    Back to where you once belonged
    Get back, get back
    Back to where you once belonged, yeah
    Oh, get back, Joe

    Sweet Kamala Harris thought she was a woman
    But she was Willie Brown’s man
    All the pols around her say she’s got it coming
    But she has to wait until she can

    Oh, get back, get back
    Get back to where you once belonged
    Get back, get back
    Get back to where you once belonged
    Get back Kamala, woo, woo

    Go roam

    Oh, get back, yeah, get back
    Get back to where you once belonged
    Yeah, get back, get back
    Get back to where you once belonged

    Ooh
    Ooh, ooh
    Get back to that action-figure pose
    Your wardrobe’s waitin’ for you
    Wearin’ those high-heel shoes
    And a low risk mixed green word salad
    Get back on cue, Kamala

    Get back, get back
    Get back to where you once belonged
    Oh, get back, get back
    Get back, oh yeah

    Get Back, by the Beatles

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEESfv-11ng

  23. Amfortas the Hippie

    #proofoflife trending on X.
    https://x.com/hashtag/proofoflife?src=hashtag_click

    i’ll also note that after the trump shooting…and for the 3 days my youngest and i were on the road to and from lubbock…apparently a white hole opened up around here, and spewed forth about a million trump signs and banners and flags.
    whole town is covered with them.

    i didnt linger on my townrun a bit ago…its rainin pretty hard…but i did drive through town.

    1. curlydan

      I grew up in Lubbock in the 70s and 80s. It was a conservative mecca even back then and puzzling to me when I was a 4th grader why 90% of the elementary school would vote for Reagan versus Cater in the mock election. And its main “industry” is the university, so you’d think it might be just a touch more lefty, but no. I guess some things don’t change.

      1. Amfortas the Hippie

        i was unclear…it was when we got home, to Mason, Texas.
        3 days gone, and somebody papered the town.

  24. Pat

    I did have interesting conversations with a couple of people yesterday. First was with someone decidedly unpolitical. Trump’s acceptance speech annoyed them – 95 minutes saying nothing and going nowhere. As they haven’t voted in years and have no intention of voting this time it was just jawing. He is fascinated with all the drama though. He was the one who told me that Biden’s team had pulled the plug. (Yeah, I don’t for a minute think Joe wrote that letter…)
    The other surprised me because they truly think that Donald Trump is in as bad physical shape as Biden (I am really really bewildered how anyone can even get there. I’m not even seeing the same signs with him that were obvious with Joe in 2020.) They were also sure that the reason that Biden got kneecapped was because he was going to tax the rich. They don’t really follow politics directly so I know this is largely a result of what they are hearing in passing and from friends. That they despise Trump also colors things. I think I could give them Kamala’s entire history as AG and SF DA and they will still vote for her.

    I still think NY is going to be as close as it has been in decades this fall. IMO, Biden resigning has eliminated even the slim chance of the Democrats losing it entirely. On the map it will be mostly red, but the population density of the blue areas will mean its electoral votes go to the Democratic candidate. (IOW I figure upstate NY has pulled out the Trump signage..)

    1. Amfortas the Hippie

      the source is…ummm.questionable,lol…but still:
      https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/1815380536577384457
      “At 10 am ET today, White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients is holding a MANDATORY call from all White House staff, followed by a call for all political appointees in the Biden administration at 11 am. ”

      just when i think it cant get any nuttier,lol.
      rain in me bones…so at least i get to keep one eye on the newsfeeds.

  25. Es s Ce Tera

    Here’s my take. Harris is pro-genocide, if she supports Israel in any way shape or form, she’s Zionist and supporting genocide, there cannot be a nuanced take to this. Meanwhile, Trump is anti-environment but anti-war.

    Now, one could take the logic that no amount of politically contrived climate initiatives will save the planet anyway, only mass-deindustrialization and mass de-growth, only reversing or replacing capitalism can, so therefore voting Harris or Trump will make no difference to the planet. There is nothing to gain on that front. Voters will know this.

    And if they thought Harris could possibly get some environmental initiatives in, look how difficult it was for Biden to get any legislation in at all, and look how the Supremes have eviscerated the EPA, rendering it powerless. You can’t get environmental legislation in when half the country is conspiring to reverse any and all climate gains, it’s hopeless. Harris is not the person to convince anyone of anything at all, she’s neither charismatic nor persuasive, she won’t convert the one half and can only lose people from the other half.

    However, voting Trump might stop a war and prevent another and *big and unlikely maybe* a genocide, so that’s a concrete net gain, a little something rather than nothing. Voters will also know this.

    Every student on every campus protesting the genocide cannot in good conscience vote Harris, she’s a clear no, but will be wondering if Trump might get them anywhere with the Israel situation, and that’s an unknown.

    That’s going to be the calculus facing Americans. Nothing at all versus at least one war stopped. Harris will continue to raise world beligerancy and world tension, Trump will lower it.

    Whether Trump and Vance will implement a theocracy is not relevant, America already is a theocracy it’s just that half don’t know it (yet) (even while making a big deal of their church-atttending religiosity and going on about god save America in every other sentence, thus helping bring about said theocracy they fear) and the other half have no problem with America being a theocracy, so that’s also hopeless, not a decisive factor.

    And even anti-Trump folks have an appetite to reset politics to anything other than the current sh*tshow on display, so Trump is the ticket for that. Harris is who you’ll want if you want more of the same.

    And as for Trump’s criminal convictions and general failings and moral reprehensibleness, well, he’s America reflecting itself in the mirror, America will vote for itself, so will vote slovenly incoherent hovel on a supersize me diet.

    So I predict a Trump presidency.

  26. bertl

    I have a, usually well-concealed, perverse passion for the insights of the Guardian’s House Derango, Simon Tisdall, whose “thoughts” we might consider if any of us feels the need to celebrate the achievements of the Biden Presiduncey. I suggest that it might well be advisable to thoroughly empty your bladder before engaging with the inimitably Tisdallian final two paragraphs: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/22/post-joe-biden-era-democrats-donald-trump

    1. Kouros

      Trump and IRan & Gaza, I am betting for more 2000 lb bombs going to Israel, “to finish the job”, as Trump has recently stated…

      1. Polar Socialist

        You think Trump is OK with 2000 lb, when Russians are now lobbing 6000 lb bombs on the victorious Ukrainians?

        1. Kouros

          US doesn’t have bigger precision bombs than the 2000 lb, from what I know. And Russians only recently have improved their targetting accuracy with the 3000 kg ones.

          But indeed, there will be big penis envy out there…

  27. Ben Panga

    Trying to list possible reasons for Biden’s disappearance…

    1) he’s sick, perhaps seriously so, related to age and covid
    2) losing on Sunday pushed him over the edge into full nasty demented mode and he’s sedated or hidden
    3) he’s being hidden because he’s an electoral liability.
    4) he’s in bed with exhaustion

    Regardless, I expect him to be memory-holed whether they have to kill or not. We do not need to be reminded of this farce. Kamala has always been the candidate!

    It’s a long time later and the only sign he’s alive is an easily faked phone call into a Kamala speech.

  28. ArvidMartensen

    AIPAC runs both parties, so whoever gets to be President, Israeli Zionists win.
    If Harris looks like wavering, I imagine an AIPAC funded spook will drop by and put a dead animal on her desk.

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