Dear patient readers,
You got some extra links today because Lambert was not on Water Cooler duty yesterday and the Biden state of play is a rapidly moving target.
How a citizen scientist is trying to overhaul the American lawn Washington Post (Dr. Kevin)
Classics and Christians in the 12th Century Antigone (Anthony L)
An archeological revolution transforms our image of human freedoms aeon (Anthony L)
Ozempic Linked to Rare Cases of Vision Loss in Harvard Study Bloomberg (furzy). IM Doc has been talking about this for many weeks, and has had a case among his patients, which suggests it is more frequent than “rare”.
Debate: Is bird flu virus in cows adapted to better infect humans? STAT (Dr. Kevin)
Controlling Appetite Before It Starts: Scientists Identify Group of Neurons Linked to Feeling Full ScienceDaily (Chuck L)
Night owl behavior could hurt mental health, sleep study finds Stanford Medicine (Robin K)
#COVID-19
Zero Covid community Reddit (Paul R). A resource!
Immune response study explains why some people don’t get COVID-19 ScienceDaily (Kevin W). Have sent this to the Covid Brain Trust….
An outdated vaccine could be to blame for LA’s COVID surge NBC Los Angeles (Paul R)
Climate/Environment
Persistent heat wave in the US shatters new records, causes deaths in the West and grips the East Associated Press (Kevin W)
China’s Solar Sector Unlikely to Recover Soon as Glut Persists Bloomberg
Battery maker SK On declares ‘emergency’ as EV sales disappoint Financial Times
Nearly 2 million metric tons of wild fish used to feed Norwegian farmed salmon annually, report finds Seafood Source (Paul R)
China?
Trump cabinet hopeful wants the ‘Israel model’ for US China policy Responsible Statescraft
China’s subsidies create, not destroy, value Asia Times (Kevin W)
Japan and the Philippines sign a defense pact in the face of shared alarm over China Washington Post
Satellite images reveal China’s military build-up near Pangong Lake, India’s western border FirstPost
Japan protests China’s installation of buoy over its continental shelf RFA
European Disunion
Setback for the German export industry Tagesschau (guurst)
La belle France
French far right voters say ‘dirty tricks’ won election BBC (Kevin W). RN actually did get the most votes, and even a higher % of the total than in the first round. So the bitterness is not unwarranted.
Macron keeps France’s prime minister in place for ‘stability of the country’ after chaotic election Associated Press
Clashes break out in France following left’s surprise election win South China Morning Post
Old Blighty
Labour’s £10 Billion Crisis Bill Just the First Fiscal Challenge Bloomberg
New foreign secretary wants to reset UK-EU ties BBC (Kevin W)
South of the Border
La Rioja issues Argentina’s first emergency ‘quasi-currency’ in 20 years Buenos Aires Herald
Gaza
The Lancet Says Gaza Death Toll Could Exceed 186,000 Antiwar.com (Kevin W)
Six-year-old Palestinian child Hikmat Badr died of malnutrition, Israel-enforced starvation and the prevention of food and medical supplies from entering the Gaza. pic.twitter.com/fJ3LGg6pvY
— PALESTINE ONLINE 🇵🇸 (@OnlinePalEng) July 9, 2024
Israeli government accused of trying to sabotage Gaza ceasefire proposal Guardian (Kevin W)
Red Sea tension pushed up container prices 120% over last 6 months Middle East Monitor
New Not-So-Cold War
Hungary’s Orban unexpectedly visits China, backs Xi’s peace plan Reuters
Ukraine wants Poland to protect its skies near border Euractiv
Russian Breakthrough After Surprise Offensive in Toretsk HistoryLegends, YouTube
Ukrainian F-16 Saga Continues [i] Black Mountain Analysis (Li). Weapons porn!
West Admits Ukraine is Out of Air Defenses and Losing Ground, With No Way to Reverse it Brian Berletic, YouTube
Ukraine asks West for submarines RT (Kevin W). This would be funny if it was not serious.
🔌 In an attempt to cover the electricity deficit, Ukraine has increased purchases from its western neighbors twelvefold.@ukraine_watch pic.twitter.com/oEKWEN42fH
— Zlatti71 (@Zlatti_71) July 8, 2024
Syraqistan
Made in America: The ISIS conquest of Mosul The Cradle (Userfriendly)
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Why GPS Is Under Attack New York Times (Dr. Kevin)
10 Billion Passwords Leaked in the Largest Compilation of All Time Cybernews
Imperial Collapse Watch
The U.S. Air Force Has a Big Problem It Can’t Solve: Its Fleet of Warplanes Is Old National Interest
Biden Agonistes
Democratic leaders rally around Biden as discontent grows within ranks The Hill
Since Lambert was traveling and had an open thread Water Cooler, here is Biden’s extraordinary, further self-discrediting call in to Morning Joe. Biden insisting on hanging on is going into mad king territory….when it was Trump who was supposed to be(come) the mad/bad king as the result of the Supreme Court immunity ruling. Oh, and as icing on the cake, Ryan Grim tweeted that at one point you could hear Biden stumble as he was shuffling paper, so it seems most if not all of this call was scripted.
President Joe Biden called into MSNBC's "Morning Joe" this morning. Here's the segment (part 1): pic.twitter.com/skpmZt9qlY
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 8, 2024
Biden’s handlers guide him with flash cards – media RT (Robin K)
This Nato summit could save or sink Biden’s candidacy BBC
Who could actually replace Biden? We break down the options. Politico
The irrelevance of Biden’s senility Asia Times (Kevin W)
Joe Biden Is the Biggest Loser in American History, Part III Richard Kline
Biden Sounds A Lot Like Trump Ken Klipperstein
” rel=”nofollow”>Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff tests positive for Covid-19 days after joining Biden for July 4 celebrations Independent (Paul R)
Supremes
“A Death Squad Ruling”: The Press and Pundits Make Wild Claims in the Wake of the Court’s Immunity Decision Jonathan Turley
Abortion
Rate of women getting sterilized doubled after Roe was overturned KFF Health News (Robin K)
Our No Longer Free Press
Fox News Suffers Blow as Billionaire Joins Lawsuit Against Network New Republic (furzy)
AI
GEN AI: TOO MUCH SPEND, TOO LITTLE BENEFIT? Goldman Sachs
The Bezzle
How thousands of Americans got caught in fintech’s false promise and lost access to bank accounts CNBC (Li). Today’s must read because crazy. Also a warning NEVER to bank with a company with a cute name. We have our own version of this lesson. I thought my merchant processor had a boring suitable name like First Data but they branded themselves Clover. Beware!
Scammers swiping billions each year Associated Press
Class Warfare
Mike Bloomberg gives $1 billion to Johns Hopkins for free medical school Washington Post (furzy). Bloomberg has long been a HUGE charitable donor, and nearly always anonymous.
Laid-off tech workers advised to sell plasma, personal belongings SFGate. Paul R: “From July 1, but jeez.”
US workers in debt to buy groceries – ‘I had to downgrade my life’ BBC (Robin K)
Antidote du jour. William B: “Mama Pied-billed Grebe floats serenely on her nest.”
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
I RUN THE WORLD
(melody borrowed from We Are The World by Michael Jackson)
During his Stephanopoulos interview last week, Biden said, ‘I’m running the world!’ which led griffen yesterday to suggest ‘We Are The World’ from 1985 as a song parody. Great choice—here ya go!
Here in my mind
I’m the guy who does it all
Here’s a list of all the things I have done
There is no denying
That these days I always stand
Near my wife
She leads me from the hall
Ice cream for me
At 4 PM each day
Vanilla is French and I take it plain
What I learn by heart, love
I recite for the TV
And mention Beau
When I feel the need
I run the world
There’s lots of killing
I am the guy who gets the final say
On who stops living
There are steps we’re taking
Your nation can survive
Just do what we say every day
And you’ll live free
Jill agrees that I’m smart
I have trouble climbing stairs
And I fall, a lot, I have to agree
In public speaking
I tend to lose my thread
So I launch—and God knows where I’ll land
I run the world
There’s lots of killing
I am the guy who gets the final say
On who stops living
There are steps we’re taking
Your nation can survive
Just do what we say every day
And you’ll live free
When I stand real still
That’s just me standing tall
I’ve got quite a team
I call them my cabal
Well, well, Hell’s bells
We don’t compromise
Oh no to compromise is dumb
We double down until the day we’ve won!
(Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!)
I run the world
There’s lots of killing
I am the guy who gets the final say
On who stops living
There are steps we’re taking
Your nation can survive
Just do what we say every day
And you’ll live free
(chorus repeats, umm, forever . . .)
Well done! I had that on my mind but couldn’t really focus on stringing together enough ideas for the multiple verses. And yes…the video for the original goes on, and on, like for a full 7 minutes.
and good luck getting that earworm out of your head . . .
“Where’s Your Ed At?” does a great job of using the Goldman Report linked above to dismantle all the hype around AI. It’s a better read than the original.
https://www.wheresyoured.at/pop-culture/
Unfortunately he doesn’t understand the US policy of containing China so he gets a few points wrong.
You’ll get some competition as China develops their own semiconductor industry and starts exporting to 3rd countries, it just won’t matter.
How is that relevant to the argument?
Ukrainian F-16 Saga Continues [i] Black Mountain Analysis (Li). Weapons porn!-
Link exchanged with Berletic’s
Correct link:
https://bmanalysis.substack.com/p/ukrainian-f-16-saga-continues-i
“Night owl behavior could hurt mental health, sleep study finds”
Not really buying this study at all. I used to be able to stay up late till 2:30 and found that it gave me something that you could not get in any other part of the day – peace and quiet. There was even time to think. In the normal hours of the day it was constant interaction with other people and constant tasks that had to be done which made the day race by. Just the typical miscellanea of every day living. But those hours after midnight were mine to do with as I pleased and I used to be able to take advantage of them. But how many of those 75,000 people asked were not able to do this because they had jobs to go to in the morning or partners that went to bed earlier or kids to take care of in the morning? Can’t go to bed late when you have those sort of life demands on you.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive, a rock band from Manitoba, had many hit songs and here is one of them Blue Collar. Many can relate to different aspects of the lyrics.
Walk your street
And I’ll walk mine
And should we meet
Would you spare me some time
Cuz you should see my world
Meet my kind
Before you judge our minds
Blue Collar
Sleep your sleep
I’m awake and alive
I keep late hours
Your nine to five
So I would like you to know that
I need the quiet hours
To create in this world of mine
Blue Collar
I’d like you to know
At four in the morning
Things are coming to mind
All I’ve seen all I’ve done
And those I hope to find
I’d like to remind you at four in the morning
My world is very still
The air is fresh under diamond skies
Makes me glad to be alive
You keep that beat
And I keep time
Your restless face
Is no longer mine
I rest my feet while the worlds in heat
And I wish that you could do the same
Blue Collar
Clicked “more” on Politico’s Gavin Newsom segment and while it’s possible Poltiico has mentioned Newsom’s dyslexia, it’s sure not mentioned in current articles about him.
Am I some kind of weird ableist that I think dyslexia should disqualify you from high executive office? Or any management position? Reading is fundamental, requiring aides to read memos to you reminds me of the Ethiopian civil servant Ryszard Kapuściński wrote about in “Emperor” whose sole responsibility was to slip a pillow beneath Haile Selassie’s feet when he sat on his throne. Not too soon lest it appear the Emperor’s legs are too short, not too late making it obvious that pillows were needed.
Newsom needs to address this upfront. Pritzker needs to very loudly and specifically spell out his relationship to Israel and how he wishes the US-Israel relationship to proceed. Whitmer needs to explain exactly what happened with that FBI entrapment/kidnap plot.
The rest of them need to shut the family blog up and go far, far away.
Democrats and the echo chamber of support for Dear Leader. Oh most Fearless and Great president Biden, please continue our exceptional country’s glide path upward and higher as Our Democracy is poised to celebrate it’s 250th year of existence. It will be an excellent display for the world that glorious July evening in 2026! Nevermind the naysayers and doomers, who speak of the poor, indigent or the homeless. Our country is great once again, after the four years of Tribulations under the 45th President.
By the way, Mr. President as well we suggest you forego the purchasing of green bananas. Every Day is a gift…you just never know with these Boeing airplanes lately !! \SARC
Biden:Breshniev
US:USSR
The MIC and other related shadow dictators are fine with a disabled leader!
The gasighting is blind!
Joe’s options are pretty clear here. First take advantage of the new SCOTUS immunity doctrine and have Trump arrested and deported to N. Korea or Iran. Next arrange an accident for Kamala (another official act) and pick any bucket of warm pudding to be the new VP. Then have seal team 6 take out Jim Jordan, blame it on Hamas and declare a state of emergency. This will show competent problem solving and a clear grasp of command. For full affect send all US citizens $600 no $2000. This will be inflationary but shut up a lot of commenters on NC and insure a Biden victory in November.
PALESTINE ONLINE
@OnlinePalEng
Six-year-old Palestinian child Hikmat Badr died of malnutrition, Israel-enforced starvation and the prevention of food and medical supplies from entering the Gaza.
So how can anyone see this, and many other, photos coming out of Gaza and not be horrified. How twisted and F&^k’d up is this society? The leaders at the helm of the gov’t can never, every justify this by appealing to ends. The means are demonic. Slaughter, starvation, subjection, deprivation, collective punishment will be a stain on their souls for all of history. And those who are not moved and outraged by this have no sense of the sacred in human life.
I saw that image and had a flashback to the sort of images that were coming out of Biafra in the 60s. But this wasn’t being done because of an African country under western guidance. This is all on the Israelis but here the west is trying to cover for them by threatening people that criticize Israel with new antisemitism laws because antisemitism is out of control in the west, don’tcha know? Here in Oz we just had our Attorney General say that criticism of Israel ‘absolutely can be’ antisemitic-
https://www.theguardian.com/news/article/2024/jul/09/australia-antisemitism-jewish-communities-australia
The justification that he is using is that other countries are not being criticized the way that Israel is. But how many other countries are massacring people by the tens of thousand, trying to steal their land and showing a level of hatred against Palestinians that should be called out at the United Nations? But the person chosen for this new job will be objective as shown in that article-
‘Peak Jewish groups welcomed the appointment of Jillian Segal AO, who is a lawyer and the immediate past president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.’
100%. The humanitarian west loses its mind over an apparent attack on a hospital in Ukraine, whilst twiddling thumbs over far worse in Gaza. And by that I mean actively supporting said atrocities in Gaza. Moral imbeciles, I cannot wait for the brics to end this for ever.
I’ve shed so many tears I’m numb.
>Mike Bloomberg gives $1 billion to Johns Hopkins for free medical school – Washington Post
So WaPo, am I supposed to be impressed with MB’s generosity? How much does a citizen of Cuba have to spend to go to medical school? As a citizen here, in the U.S., are social goods bestowed on us from the largesse of billionaires? It is at the discretion of billionaires to allocate resources to social needs? Is that how this country was set up to “form a more perfect Union?”
As far as I understand how the tax deduction thing works in USA, Mr. Bloomberg donated $1 billion worth of government income to Johns Hopkins – a.k.a. other people’s money. I may be mistaken, though.
That said, I do agree that it’s not doing much to solve the actual problem – price of the education.
“Why GPS Is Under Attack”
At least the New York Times admitted that it was an Israeli Air Force base that was sending commercial airliner navigation into jeopardy in the Middle East, not that it made any difference at all with hindering that Iranian attack on that country-
https://x.com/SaadAbedine/status/1808481924374999297
But there was an odd omission in that article. They talked about GPS of course as well as the European Galileo system and China’s Beidou system but they never mentioned Russia’s GLONASS system at all. But then I remembered that this was a New York Times article and then it all made sense.
Fintech story and “banks” that weren’t actually banking institutions with the requisite deposit insurance. Well the fine print can be hard to find and understand but I’m sure it’s there. Banking adjacent just ain’t the same, it turns out.
Move fast and break stuff, isn’t that the start-up motto. Goodness this all looks bad.
By rights, you should be able to go online to a government website such as the US Treasury Department to find out if your bank is listed as being covered by an FDIC safety net. Should take just a minute to find out or not. As of March 31st, 2024, the FDIC listed 4,577 banks in total in the US so it is not a big ask. That way, if you find out that it is not but put your money into it anyway, then it is all on you.
As much as I am not a fan of the Big Banks (looking at you, Jamie D), I hold a checking and savings account at Chase. And it just works, as it has for nearly 40 years. Automatic and manual deposits, checks, automatic payments, even individual transfers to people (“Zelle”). It’s a boring interface, no cute bells and whistles, but utterly reliable, which is actually the first functional requirement in the specification list for a depository and money handler — something that too many are learning the hard way.
(and if you want a better interest rate for your spare cash, get a Treasury Direct account).
‘Banking as a Service’ banks
Considering all banks already were a service (“financial services”), that non-sense description always struck me as shady.
Shady yes, but also a clear recognition that banks stopped providing much service to the depositors most dependent on FDIC protection decades ago. That protection was about the only service you got. (Well until Signature and Silicon Valley failed when suddenly the limit on insurance protection was erased and the wealthy were promised to be made whole. They got service AND full protection.)
And now with reports of banks freezing accounts, they don’t even get that.
And it’s not just start-ups. Acquisitions and mergers can have a similar effect.
Even if a bank is covered by FDIC, in my experience that’s not a guarantee they’re not “banking adjacent”.
I learned this the hard way through an insane adventure with BMO, in which they randomly blocked my account, and then were incapable of unblocking it for over six weeks.
Through this, I learned that my “bank” actually doesn’t manage my money at all — that has all been outsourced to another company called FISERV.
It took more than a dozen phone calls — some over an hour —, and while I first became angry, I came to really feel bad for the people in the call center. NOBODY in the bank has any clue what’s really going on, none of them are on the same page, in the dark about who has the power to fix things, who to call, etc.
Incredible Kafka-esque sh*tshow.
Tech workers advised to sell plasma?? Oh my. In Argentina a government spokesman for Milei advised needy families to sell their children. An Argentinian Jonathan Swift no doubt. Now that’s family values.
from Saagar and Krystal. utube. ~5 minutes.
Ryan Grim LEAVING INTERCEPT, GOING INDEPENDENT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ_Wt4HIf-E
Angry Joe
Sung to the tune of, “Candy-O” by the Cars
Angry-Joe, I need you
Vacant stare, spittled grin
Angry-Joe, I need you so
Could you still win?
Hearing aids, colored flash cards
Razor wit you’ll bring!
And all to prove your electoral odds
Aren’t vanishing
Angry-Joe, I need you so
Angry-Joe, I need you so
Edge of night, inject yourself
Last week’s dose won’t work
Oxygenize, metabolize, then go berserk
Different ways to see this through
All the same in the end
Peculiar star, that’s who you are
Can you really win?
Angry-Joe, I need you so
Angry-Joe, it’s time to go
Angry-Joe, it’s time to go
Angry-Joe, it’s time to go
Melody
I can’t stay, yes I know
You know I hate to go
But goodbye, being President was sweet
That finish line i’ll never meet
So I’ll cry just a little ’cause I loved it so
And I’ll die just a little ’cause I have to go away
Can’t you see how I feel
When I say your diagnosis of me was unreal
So goodbye, it’s been sweet
Even though incomplete
So I’ll cry just a little ’cause I loved it so
And I’ll die just a little ’cause I have to go away
Every night I still hear
All your sighs very clear
Now #46 is gone, gone away
As I once heard you say
Now I’ve cried just a little ’cause I loved it so
And I’ve died just a little ’cause I had to go away
Ahh… Ahh… Ahh… Ahh…
Just a Little, by the Beau Brummels
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYneeXVOAyA
La Rioja issues Argentina’s first emergency ‘quasi-currency’ in 20 years Buenos Aires Herald
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’d prefer Argentinian money be Mendoza Malbec Theory, in 750 ml bottles.
Remember when California handed out “IOUs” in lieu of taxpayer refunds during the 2009 financial crisis?
The Internet never forgets:
Don’t cry for me, Sacramento
Promise Sorry Notes
A promised land, built on promissory notes.
Biden sounds like an old man I have lunch with……
He needs to be like us: retired!
C’mon, man. He can’t. He’s running the world! He told us so himself.
Considering the condition of the world, it is all the more reason to put him in restraints and transfer him to a retirement home with the ability to care for the mad kings.
I nominate Biden’s dog, Commander to be on the ballot.
“Ukraine wants Poland to protect its skies near border”
If this ever happened, this would be Poland officially being a party to this war. Zelensky would absolutely love for this to happen to get Poland tangled up in a fight with Russia but is Poland really willing to shoot off all it’s missiles to protect Ukrainian air space and maybe leaving them with none afterwards to defend their own airspace? Helluva risk that.
I do not know how it is going, Poland was being set up to do production of some parts of the Patriot systems they were “buying”. It was a place where US MIC executives could go and “see the world”.
I am sure what ever Patriot stuff expended by Poland for the Ukraine project will be fully paid by the US.
Yeah, but the war spilling over to Poland will be paid by the Poles, dearly.
Zelensky really sounds like the “buddy” who routinely gets drunk, starts fights with strangers, then blames the other party for starting things, and expects you to feel sympathy or even help him when some buff dude is beating the cr*p out of him.
Ozempic Linked to Rare Cases of Vision Loss in Harvard Study Bloomberg
~~~~~~~~~~~~
How cruel… you lost all those pounds, but can’t see what you weigh on the scale, because you’re blind.
In Europe, there is a definition for what is a “rare” or “frequent” side-effect of a medicine:
frequent: 1%-10% of patients;
infrequent: 0.1%-1%;
rare: 0.01%-0.1%;
very rare: 0.001%-0.01%.
I read that there are currently 15 million people in the USA under prescription for Ozempic — which would mean, in a first crude calculation, that up to 15’000 people are at risk of getting blind.
It’s remarkable. There’s a pill for everything. Even after they go through that list of risks at the end of these drug commercials (You can die from this pill!), people run to their doctors for more and avoid the obvious, natural cure, like exercise and eating and drinking less and better when obese.
I recently drove a friend to the doctor after she was complaining of dizziness for ten days. I suggested no caffeine, no sugar, “grazing” food consumption, more exercise, just, better living, because I’ve been through vertigo attacks, and that’s what worked for me. Nope, can’t be a prophet in your own house, the saying goes, so off to a doctor, who, of course, wrote a script for her and didn’t even mention diet. I think it was a placebo, but filled the pill need.
This is too funny. The MSM has jumped the shark with this O’Donnell proposal, imo. on X-twtr.
MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell calls for allowing Joe Biden to have aides with him on stage to speak for him and help him sound coherent during the next debate. This is where we are at now.
https://x.com/ModernityNews/status/1810247698542411873
Better remind those aides speaking for Biden that his Presidential immunity doesn’t extend to them.
Not sure O’Donnell is still capable of writing second rate scripts much less anything else.
“The irrelevance of Biden’s senility” Asia Times
These people have all lost their minds.
Butchers and farmers aren’t part of an apparatus that passes laws that govern people’s lives.
Persistent heat wave in the US shatters new records, causes deaths in the West and grips the East Associated Press
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Feels a bit like hell with space heaters, but you go with the atmosphere you have-not the atmosphere you want…
One more week of this and we’ll dip into the high 90’s, might need a parka!
I admit that I know Joe Biden’s long history of plagiarism, lies, war mongering, misogyny and racism along with his fealty to the banks that got him to the Senate. (His international influence peddling was new to, thanks Hunter!). I could never really understand anyone voting for him. But I allow for the results of fear mongering and ignorance.
But if he is the final nominee, I will actively savage any Democrat that bangs on about how bad Trump voters are, regardless of the reasons. There is no mistaking or ignoring that Joe Biden is unfit to be President today and certainly incapable of it for the future. There are other options on the ballot. Fear of Trump does not and will not excuse this lapse of voter responsibility.
But by voting for Biden they will be able to stop Hitler–or maybe two Hitlers if you include Putin. Hillary has already declared Putin to be Hitler and has she ever been wrong about anything?
So it’s merely the traditional Dem lesser evil pitch taken to its illogical extreme. Biden even describes himself as the lesser evil and quotes his dad saying “but look at the other guy.” So the Dems are not so much the dog ate my homework party as the Hitler ate my homework party. Nazi fighting is distracting but virtuous.
I think it’s all moot as Joe will be gone before any voting. He’s embarrassing the people who really “run the world.”
“This Nato summit could save or sink Biden’s candidacy’
There won’t be any reckoning at that NATO summit. At least not publicly. If there was, then it would undercut European support for project Ukraine so they will nod their heads when he speaks, check their mobiles to see what is on offer for lunch and then give him a round of applause when he finishes and glad that he did not glitch out. Privately they may be panicking as it might mean that the Orange Man may be back next year. But in America, more and more people are calling for him to stand down. Would you believe that Stephen King and Rob Reiner have called for him to stand down?
https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/joe-biden-out-president-hollywood-b2576143.html
RE: Vampire Squid starting to throw shade at AI
It’s beginning to look like we’re now in the mid-innings of the AI bubble. Cracks starting to form, pitchers arms wearing down, relief guys in the bullpen warming up.
It’s going to be epic when it finally blows.
My Doctor made an interesting comment the other day, thought I’d share.
So my routine blood work came back and it said my Vitamin D was bit low. I thought this was odd, as I take a multi everyday that’s supposed to be 125% of recommended, and also I’m getting maybe 15-20 hours of sunshine a week via driving and hiking. When I told my Doc this, he said, “I’ve never seen so many patients with low vitamin D levels, must be something in the water.” The water part wasn’t said in seriousness.
Anyone else out there have low D? Or heard something about this?
Laid-off tech workers advised to sell plasma, personal belongings SFGate
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Awhile back I was walking along the circa 1900 flume in Sequoia NP that provides electricity in one of the state’s earliest hydroelectric projects, and at one point I came across a sluice gate that shluffed off excess water from going into the flume, and on said gate it read:
Union Iron Works
SF, Ca.
They made all sorts of things, from locomotives to battleships, now most of the industry in SF is invisible, including the laid off tech workers~
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Iron_Works
Working link for “Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff tests positive for Covid-19 days after joining Biden for July 4 celebrations” article at-
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/doug-emhoff-covid-harris-biden-b2575669.html
So was this Kamala trying to get old Joe fatally infected by Covid by using her husband as a carrier?
The Cradle. Made in America, ISIS.
Well, the whole article is disturbing, so I recommend it to you.
Noting: “The possibility of “direct supply” of US weapons to ISIS raises the question of whether US forces delivered weapons to the terror group not only via so-called Syrian rebels, but directly by transport plane or helicopter.”
And the article gives eyewitness reports of U.S. deliveries to ISIS.
The question is: Who was directing this on the U.S. end?
These people simply cannot stop themselves:
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/08/hillary-clinton-failure-to-help-syrian-rebels-led-to-the-rise-of-isis/375832/