The banana apocalypse is coming. Can we stop it this time? ZME Science
Can Art Save the “Post-Apocalyptic” Salton Sea? Sapiens
Pandemics
Structure and inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 spike refolding in membranes Science. Seems important.
As new school year opens, COVID-19 surge forces abrupt classroom closures in the US WSWS
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Key drug doesn’t work against deadly new mpox virus, study finds Politico
Mpox risks spreading in Congo’s crowded mines, refugee camps Bloomberg
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Plant pandemics: They are the next big contagion and pose threats to global food security Down to Earth
Climate/Environment
“Dark Oxygen” Findings Could Sink Deep Sea Mining IEEE Spectrum
Hurricane Ernesto arrived way early. It’s an ominous sign. Grist
Africa
The geopolitics of the war in Sudan An Africanist Perspective
China?
Bond market struggle; PRC views of US election; Stock market; WeRide in the US; Sabina Shoal; Foreign carmakers crash Sinocism (Micael)
China to restrict exports of strategic metal antimony Asia Times
China’s new maritime goliath poised to patrol disputed seas Asia Times (Kevin W)
Syraqistan
Israel reduced ‘humanitarian zone’ to 11% of Gaza, says UN agency Anadolu Agency
At least 10 killed in Israeli attack on southern Lebanon Al Jazeera
Israeli airstrike kills at least two Palestinians in West Bank, health ministry says Reuters
She was documenting and publishing evidence of Israel methodically sniping children in the head https://t.co/FO0qEVawek
— Jennine (@lilearthquakess) August 16, 2024
Gaza sees first polio case in 25 years as UN calls for mass vaccinations The Guardian
Israel massacres Gaza family following two days of ‘constructive’ ceasefire talks The Cradle
Biden ‘optimistic’ about Gaza cease-fire deal Anadolu Agency
“‘All due respect.'” The Floutist
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Leaked Israeli Docs Reveal Effort to Evade Foreign Agent Lobbying Law Lee Fang
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Iraq postpones announcing end date of US troop presence The Cradle
European Disunion
The strange death of the German authoritarian liberal political class Defend Democracy Press. (Micael): “This is premature.”
Polish leader urges Nord Stream patrons to ‘keep quiet’ as pipeline mystery returns to spotlight AP
New Not-So-Cold War
America’s JASSM air to ground stealth missiles and Russian plans to use tactical nukes Gilbert Doctorow
Russia informs IAEA about Ukraine’s alleged plans to target Zaporizhzhia, Kursk nuclear power plants Anadolu Agency
Ukrainian troops trained in UK before attacking Kursk WSWS. Commentary:
Sentiment here in Russia has in my view changed dramatically, friends that were relatively liberal about the Conflict are now far less so,
Since the Kursk attack, its increasingly being related to me that this will have to be ended on the battlefield. the idea of the “fraternal… https://t.co/rzTpuBqfuV
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) August 17, 2024
Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk Oblast disrupts secret talks with Russia on stopping attacks on power facilities – WP Ukrainska Pravda. Commentary:
“Sir, we’re losing the war! The frontline can’t hold up for much longer!”
“Have you considered undertaking an obviously suicidal action that will shut down any hope of negotiating our way out of this and doom us entirely?”
— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) August 17, 2024
Nato’s folly Prospect Magazine
Fitch downgrades Ukraine to ‘RD’ – Default The International Affairs (Micael)
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FBI searches US home of Soviet-born Biden critic RT
Russian Messianism: A Roundtable Discussion Landmarks: A Journal of International Dialogue
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Kadyrov said he received a Tesla Cybertrack from Elon Musk. He promised to send it to the “special military operation” zone and attached a machine gun to it.
“Elon, thank you! Come to Grozny, I will receive you as the most dear guest! I do not think that our Russian MFA will be… pic.twitter.com/m72fg2G2PU
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 17, 2024
South of the Border
Elon Musk’s X to shut operations in Brazil amid bitter legal fight Al Jazeera
Spook Country
Google: Iranian hackers targeting affiliates of both US presidential campaigns The Record
OpenAI Says It Caught a ChatGPT-Powered ‘Iranian Influence Operation’ Gizmodo
Kamala
Kamala Harris outlines pro-corporate economic agenda at North Carolina campaign stop WSWS.
Harris’ plan to stop price gouging could create more problems than it solves CNN (Kevin). So Harris comes out with a non-plan to tackle price gouging. Her campaign can’t even explain what would constitute excessive profit, what a ban on price gouging would target, or how it would be enforced. Maybe the obfuscation is the point. Harris also mentioned her supposed opposition to concentration and price fixing, yet failed to voice support for Jonathan Kanter and the DOJ antitrust division and Lina Khan and the Federal Trade Commission who for the first time in decades are aggressively going after these practices? It seems that’s something Harris would note in her big economic policy rollout if she were serious.
Another perspective:
1. Ok why is Kamala Harris talking about price-fixing, gouging, mergers, and general pricing bullshit? Obviously it polls well. But why? Let’s go over the *evidence* for why Americans are mad at big business over pricing. Let’s start with rent. https://t.co/bvMr7JaqbJ pic.twitter.com/z9Wed8C9bb
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) August 16, 2024
So why can’t Harris just say she supports Khan and results like this:
where can i get a Lina Khan yard sign? https://t.co/bnW9eeCdzB
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) August 17, 2024
Antitrust
Judge temporarily blocks sports streaming service Venu, siding with Fubo on antitrust concerns CNBC
Kroger now claims it will cut prices by $1 billion post-merger, 2x the previous claim. Either (1) they magically discovered half a billion dollars’ worth of extra efficiencies, or (2) they *already* wield pricing power… which the merger would increase.https://t.co/bmLRzLjBQW
— John Mark Newman (@johnmarknewman) August 16, 2024
Democrats en déshabillé
Look who’s funding the local Democratic Party 48 Hills. San Francisco.
Budget Cuts Threaten SF Food Programs for Seniors and Adults With Disabilities San Francisco Public Press
The toxic conversation about people out of work needs to stop. It’s harming disabled people The Big Issue
Police State Watch
Oakland’s Summer of Discontent Bleeding Edge
Imperial Collapse Watch
America’s Out-of-Control Client States Nonzero Newsletter
The US needs more pop-up air bases worldwide to keep enemies guessing Foundation for Defense of Democracies
The Navy Runs Out of Pants for Its Working Uniform – Won’t Get More Until October Military.com
Groves of Academe
‘A police state’: US universities impose rules to avoid repeat of Gaza protests The Guardian
Our Famously Free Press
A year after Marion County Record raid, authorities keep ignoring press rights Freedom of the Press Foundation
Healthcare?
California moves to cut medicine prices with novel deal on opioid overdose drugs FT. (Phil)
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
U.S. Transportation Department announces ambitious, high-tech roadway safety plan The Detroit News (Kevin W)
AI
Popular AI “nudify” sites sued amid shocking rise in victims globally Ars Technica
What comes after the AI crash? Disconnect
The Bezzle
Dubai court recognizes crypto as a valid salary payment Coin Telegraph
Google threatened tech influencers unless they ‘preferred’ the Pixel The Verge
Class Warfare
A Kaleckian approach to financialization and functional income distribution: Austria and Finland in comparative perspective Institute for International Political Economy Berlin. From the abstract: “…we expect financialization to influence the aggregate wage share through three channels: (1) sectoral recomposition, (2) financial overhead costs and rentiers’ profits claims, and (3) bargaining power of trade unions and workers. We empirically analyze the long-term trends for each of the channels before and after the Great Financial Crisis and the Great Recession for Austria and Finland. Overall, we find evidence for all three re-distributional channels contributing to the changes in functional income distribution. The explanatory power of the individual channels, however, differs strongly due to the heterogeneity of the countries.”
“Disenshittify or Die” Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
Public Ownership of Public Goods How Things Work
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
‘Anton Gerashchenko
@Gerashchenko_en
Kadyrov said he received a Tesla Cybertrack from Elon Musk. He promised to send it to the “special military operation” zone and attached a machine gun to it.’
Kadyrov was wise to get this thing out of his country. You would never know if there was an inbuilt tracker in that hunk of junk so that a “Ukrainian” missile might home in on it to kill him.
You don’t need a tracker for “Ukrainian” missile to home in on the Grozny parking lot where that hunk of junk will be exclusively driven on as a circus attraction.
P.S. One should notice that, as a matter of precausion, the Kord heavy machine gun on top is kept emty at all times, because an accidental firing could cause an empty shell casing to scratch the roof painjob.
He’s sending it to the Ukraine. Does it ever rain there? Because the Tesla Cybertrack has a bad habit of rusting in the rain.
He promised to send it to the “special military operation” zone, for trolling/propaganda reasons. He’s isn’t sending this shopping-mall-parking-lot-queen anywhere outside of the range of the charging station.
Caught a sighting of on yesterday, nearby in Greenville, SC. I said Robocop and brother said Mad Max…either works I think. To my eyes it is a most ridiculous appearing vehicle.
And I’m still of an age when AMC was producing a few hideous looking vehicles!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Motors_Corporation
Notice any similarities?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_F-117_Nighthawk#/media/File:F-117_Nighthawk_Front.jpg
At least AMC’s vehicles performed as transportation and didn’t look like they were designed by a six year old.
Nope. In practical terms, JASSM can be shot down mid-flight just like any other missile of that type. It is not a wunderwaffe any more than Storm Shadow or SCALP are (or the almost mythical Taurus). What this means is that Russia does not need to end humanity because of another batch of cruise missiles.
P.S. I expect US to have sent a shipment of short range ones, as a “refill” for Storm Shadows and SCALPs that must have been running low by now, and also as an encouragement for ze Germans to send those Tauruses already.
And to add to your line of thought, I don’t see why a tactical nuke is necessary even if Russia did decide to strike bases. Hypersonic missiles are mighty destructive. And F-16s are so fussy they need golf green runways. Just keep taking the runways out. The West won’t be able to rebuild them to the needed level of perfection quickly. It’s not as if you can slap down tarmac and reboot.
Don’t even take the runways out. Just load a small drone with tiny shreds of metal (manganese, say) and scatter them over the runway like confetti. Splat.
I was going to comment as above but you’ve said it. The real vulnerability of the JASSM is the aircraft. I’m beginning to get worried, though, about the facility with which otherwise sensible people seem to be obsessed with the idea of nuclear weapons being used, even in such obviously ridiculous cases as this one. It’s almost as if they are willing the weapons to be used … It makes my skin crawl.
This is how it all started. With Zelensky going around the Munich Conference just before the war saying aloud that the Ukraine was going to be getting nuclear weapons with no western leader telling him to shut up. To Russia, Nazis with nukes was the ultimate red line so here we are two and a half years later. The recent bombing of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the threat to do the same to the Kursk nuclear power plant only confirms to the Russians that they were right to invade.
I have been seeing a lot of buzz on the internet for a couple of months on how clean of radioactive fallout the modern nuclear explosives are. Some think tank groups almost seem to have ditched the taboo on nuking people.
Since I started reading Gilbert Doctorow around the start of the SMO I notice how very often he writes and talks about scary scenarios involving Russia’s use of nuclear weapons. It’s like a thing he does and I don’t really understand. Maybe it helps him to get invited as the expert on TV news.
Both Doctorow and Baudi are for a reason concerned that simultaneous NATO expansion and US withdrawal from practically all nuclear weapons agreements has resulted in less than 5 minutes of reaction time from suspected launch of a nuclear attack to launch of a nuclear retaliation.
With no trust between the West and the rest of the world, Russia will have to treat every F-16 taking off as a potential nuclear threat, and basically the faith of the globe depends on the cool nerves of an unknown major in the Russian missile defense forces looking at the situation screen in some bunker.
Weird, no comments?
In Praise of the Weird ;-)
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/08/in-praise-of-the-weird.html
When are they going to start using other grade school expressions like “smelly”, “loser”, and “dork”?
Fixed that for ya! :)
It scared me so bad I ran off the check live news feeds to make sure that a bad bomb hadn’t arrived on planet USA. After all, living down here how exactly would I know?
“The Navy Runs Out of Pants for Its Working Uniform – Won’t Get More Until October”
Why don’t they give out contracts to private companies to fill out demand? Working pants are hardly high tech and it is not like Russian and Chinese spies are trying to steal their blueprints. Last I heard, a lot of US military uniforms are made in prisons so perhaps they need to send more people to jail to boost the workforce.
It a ruse, by a tactical genius admiral-in-skirt. If you wear no pants, you can not be caught with your pants down. Also, bonus diversity points.
We will need Kamala back in office to keep more free people in prison.
I’d suggest the jokes can just write themselves….make puns not war! Reminding me of the early scene from the first Hangover movie. They awake in a very drunk stupor…and find a tiger in the bathroom of their suite at Caesars Palace. The exceptional country, our modern America.
“Bro can you just put on some pants? I find it weird to need to ask you twice.”
“Onward Christian Soldier…we’ll make the uniforms.”
Bond market struggle; PRC views of US election; Stock market; WeRide in the US; Sabina Shoal; Foreign carmakers crash – Sinocism
“…The Silicon Valley Bank risk event in the U.S. also provides insights for us.”
The problem for the central bank is that confidence in other investment assets appears to be collapsing, so where else do policymakers expect the money to go until they do more to address the issues that have caused the damage to confidence? …”
So, China doesn’t think mimicking “AI” hype will have the same bubblicious result for assets there?
And in same article:
“PRC autonomous driving company WeRide filed for a US IPO last week. Today the Global Times reports that the company “has received approval from the US state of California to test its driverless vehicles with passengers”. I am surprised WeRide would want this California testing publicized right before its IPO…”
All that saber rattling at China and they are going to let a foreign country put surveillance vehicles on the street.
But then again, why wouldn’t “national security” be a joke or only a fund-raising term in this country.
The USA is the country always hollering “national security” and pissing money away to insiders in the name of faux “national security.”
My point is just stop throwing money down the national security rat hole (because they can’t be serious…look at this and the border) and spend it on other development in this country (and in the present too).
Like single payer payer healthcare.
Are you serious? You can’t “just stop throwing money down the national security rat hole” unless you plan to storm Washington with what? Congresspeople? The national security system is a scam and a good one for millions who profit from it. People are always thanking military veterans for their “service” which is to the one cause: complete domination of the country by the National Security State in service of complete domination of the world (full-spectrum dominance doesn’t need further definition). Any ideas on how this could change?
Hullo, NC editors and commentariat.
I have not noticed it mentioned in comments so apologies if this is old news or something peculiar to my set up (UK, android mobile) but for the past week or two, the archive.ph site has stopped working. It ceases to load with a message that it timed out.
Other archive instances still work (e.g. archive.is).
Has anybody else experienced this?
I tried it just now, came up quickly. I did have one time when there was some issue with archive.ph and I used archive.is
It’s some sites more than others that seem to not work like before.
Like Bloomberg.
The Doctorow article mentions that Andrew Napolitano isn’t able to post on his YouTube channel Judging Freedom. I was wondering why there are no recent videos.
Crazy times
He’s also on Rumble and Bitchute.
Rumble has old videos last I checked. He’s posted some new livestreams on X.
New ones are there also.
https://rumble.com/v5b7z55-judgingfreedom.html
Judge Napolitano give Scott Ritter a platform and since Ritter has been designated an enemy of the State along this give the State (through one of its departments, i.e., Google) the right to harass the judge. They’ll do more of that as time goes on. We are on a cruise to an Orwellian political structure, so enjoy the cruise–I hear there’s a great show in the main ballroom called “The Election.”
“Disenshittify or Die” Cory Doctorow – Pluralistic
“Stop The Steal” also works these days as an additional slogan for internet reform.
And they are going after Soviet-born Biden critic Dimitri Simes, Scott Ritter as well as Gabi Tullsard. Nothing to do with national security but only with personal payback by officials as well as trying to silence dissent leading into the November elections. Republicans may be weird but the Democrats are creepy.
Oops. Should have been in reply to Mo above.
I thought you may have meant it as a reply to my national security rant. Works as an addendum.
Long quote from Grist on hurricanes,
High ocean temperatures also feed the “rapid intensification” of hurricanes, defined as a jump in sustained wind speeds of at least 35 mph in 24 hours. Hurricane Beryl did that on its way to Texas, shattering records for how quickly it developed into a monster storm. Rapid intensification makes hurricanes extra dangerous because a coastal city might be preparing for a Category 2 to make landfall, only for a Category 5 to suddenly appear. And the problem is only getting worse, as research has found a dramatic increase in the number of rapid intensification events close to shore.
The neoliberal idea of trimming the sails to the very edge of usefulness is going to be a problem here.
and have you noticed how busy it has been in the Pacific too – more so than the Atlantic – each morning i check https://www.ventusky.com/ to see what’s developing
America’s Out-of-Control Client States – Nonzero Newsletter
Well,it has to be admitted, there are some well-connected people in those client states getting paid a lot to be out-of-control and it’s keeping some others out of jail.
‘A police state’: US universities impose rules to avoid repeat of Gaza protests – The Guardian
Now, not only can students leave college with outrageous debt, they can be silenced while the debt adds up.
What does any such institution really have to teach anybody but dystopian obedience?
California moves to cut medicine prices with novel deal on opioid overdose drugs – FT
Pros – it saves lives
Cons – it sells more drugs and keeps the addictive drug makers’ profit margins high.
>Public Ownership of Public Goods – How Things Work
A promising piece, I’ll read it in earnest again. The language is the key (the concept is easy).
*****
I saw my first MALA sign (in my working class neighborhood)
Make America Laugh Again with a revamp of the Obama type image.
Never underestimate the Bernays sauce.
“Russia informs IAEA about Ukraine’s alleged plans to target Zaporizhzhia, Kursk nuclear power plants”
‘Head of Rosatom invites UN watchdog chief to visit Kursk nuclear power plant’
I see that the Head of Rosatom – Alexey Likhachev – has a sense of humour as he knows that IAEA chief Rafael Grossi does not want to be within 1,000 miles of that plant because he knows the Ukrainians are targeting it. I guess that he does not want to be the first IAEA chief to be able to glow in the dark. Certainly if Grossi was at the Kursk nuclear plant, it would be hard for him to say he does not know who is attacking it if he sees the blue & yellow marks on those attacking drones.
re: the prospect thing:
is this part of the style guide?
“The huge western conventional military superiority over Russia would ensure that any attack on a Nato state would produce certain and swift defeat”
to what are they referring?
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/recession-obsession-why-some-people-root-for-an-economic-downturn-283a9360?mod=home-page/
Recession obsession: Why some people root for an economic downturn
The article didn’t mention that there are market participants who want the downturn as fuel for interest rate cuts. That leverage for piling up more derivatives and fuel for easy money loans for people that don’t want to or can’t sell their inflated assets. Their ideal would be inflated collateral and low interest rate loans.
“Popular AI “nudify” sites sued amid shocking rise in victims globally”
I think that you would find that courts would initially have been reluctant to interfere with corporate profits in a legal decision. That is, until AI-generated explicit images of court judges started to surface on the internet. Some things seen can never be unseen.
“Look who’s funding the local Democratic Party”
‘The right-wing tech barons and plutocrats are now the party’s biggest donor base.’
I’ve always maintained that they don’t need donations at all come election time and that the only reason to ask for them is to dry up donations that might be going to a third party. Look at how much money was being raised by Bernie before he folded his campaign into the Democrats. People were digging in deep for him which meant that they weren’t going to independents.
Oakland’s Summer of Discontent Bleeding Edge
This paragraph stood out as “why this matters to you”, or, “Have you read Snow Crash?”,
I’m a criminal justice reporter by trade, and generally steer far clear of politics. However, the current state of affairs in Oakland stands out for a larger reason: it is the third prong of a regional effort by a group of highly ideological, tech-aligned Silicon Valley types to solidify power bases in Northern California. Journalist Gil Duran has written extensively about the network state ideology and what he terms the ‘Nerd Reich’ – a future vision of society where the private sector has supplanted all government functions barring police, who have been ideologically yoked to the ruling tech oligopoly of ‘grays’ (I shit you not, this is real). SF has already partially undergone this process, while the failed ‘California’ Forever’ libertarian paradise in the Sacramento River Delta showed the limits of this movement in the face of organized community opposition. Unsurprisingly, Peter Thiel & the Trump campaign are very involved in this push as well: just think about that the next time you hear the phrase “Freedom Cities.”
One for Class Warfare, even if this morning the replay on CBS news weekly Sunday is running something from late 2023. Coal miners and black lung disease, adding a new twist unfortunately for the miners working underground.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-increasing-hazard-of-black-lung-disease-facing-coal-miners/
“Ukrainian troops trained in UK before attacking Kursk” WSWS
“The US media, citing unnamed American officials, have claimed that the US and NATO were not informed of the attack beforehand…”
Neither Russia or US/NATO drones or satellite surveillance saw any troop build-up. Amazing!