A study finds that dogs can smell your stress — and make decisions accordingly NPR
Global markets remain downbeat Anadolu Agency
Amazon Shares Slide as Spending Surges and Revenue Outlook Disappoints WSJ
Intel to lay off 15,000 employees TechCrunch
Private Equity Giants Invest More Than $200M in Federal Races to Protect Their Lucrative Tax Loophole Exposed by CMD
Finance should pay much more attention to undersea cables risk FT
Climate
Born to Modulate: Researchers Reveal Origins of Climate-Controlling Particles (press release) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
How decline of Indian vultures led to 500,000 human deaths BBC
Plants and their pollinators are increasingly out of sync Grist
The Physics of Cold Water May Have Jump-Started Complex Life Quanta
Syndemics
Preprint: A One Health Investigation into H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus Epizootics on Two Dairy Farms Avian Flu Diary
Incidence of heart attacks and strokes was lower after COVID-19 vaccination (press release) University of Cambridge
China?
PBOC Adviser Issues Rare Criticism of China’s Economic Policies Bloomberg
At 30th round of talks on border dispute, China and India agree to speed up negotiations South China Morning Post
Commentary: China is still the world’s biggest emitter, but also an emerging force in climate diplomacy Channel News Asia
EU firms resist European Commission plan to screen private investment in China South China Morning Post
Rescuers in China race to find missing people, seal dykes after deadly floods caused by Typhoon Gaemi Channel News Asia
Bloody July New Left Review. Bangladesh
India
The Great Neoliberal Hindutva Show: Ambani-Modi and the Wedding Culture Industry MR Online
Indonesia’s decision to dish out mining permits to religious groups causes internal rifts, slammed by environmentalists Channel News Asia
Syraqistan
Readout of President Joe Biden’s Call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel Whitehouse.gov
US redeploying forces to protect Israel from Iran retaliation, Biden says FT
U.S. prepares to counter Iranian attack on Israel within days, U.S. officials say Axios. Commentary:
3. But now, Iranian leaders have come to understand that Netanyahu and other senior leaders in Israel are seeking a way out from the strategic defeat they face.
Their only path to victory is a wider war. @glcarlstrom makes an important observation here: https://t.co/6tWoQrEyFr
— Esfandyar Batmanghelidj (@yarbatman) July 31, 2024
Britain’s Secretary of State for Defense John Healey visits Israel to deescalate tensions Jerusalem Post
* * * Sanctifying Death: Why Israelis Celebrate Assassinations Haaretz
* * * A riot for impunity shows Israel’s proud embrace of its crimes 972 Magazine
Israel returns sexually abused Gaza detainee to detention centre where he was tortured Middle East Monitor. Commentary:
🚨The wife of the IDF rapist soldier declares full support for her husband violently sodomizing a Palestinian detainee until he was hospitalized with a ruptured intestine, a severe injury to the anus & lungs, & broken ribs". pic.twitter.com/5p8t0Im9FK
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) July 31, 2024
The Great Game
“The U.S. has no strong leverage over Baku, but It has a plan”: An opinion from Yerevan JAM News
European Disunion
Europe’s growth lags US again, as Germany remains the eurozone’s economic problem child AP. Commentary:
Europe‘s most valuable companies are a company selling obesity drugs to Americans and a company selling handbags to Asians. We should be so proud. pic.twitter.com/M7Nf1Z3Ipb
— Michael A. Arouet (@MichaelAArouet) August 1, 2024
Dear Old Blighty
The Far Right’s Southport Rampage All That Is Solid
‘Southport was just the spark’: UK hit by unrest as far-right exploits knife attack tragedy France24
Governments don’t borrow from financial markets Funding the Future
South of the Border
US insists that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won Venezuela’s presidential election Anadolu Agency
New Not-So-Cold War
Zelenskiy calls for a referendum on giving up territory to Russia BNE Intellinews
Kremlin comments on idea of Russia’s participation in second Peace Summit and possibility of negotiations Ukrainska Pravda
Zelenskyy: Ukraine to negotiate security agreement with another European country Ukrainska Pravda
Should Ukraine join Nato? Guardian. Commentary:
That's actually a very thought-provoking point made by Orban in a recent speech (https://t.co/3ePbiaGrf4), who argues that "Western Europeans, in every gesture [now express] grandiosity instead of greatness" and have become geopolitical "aggressive dwarfs".
He says this is…
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) July 31, 2024
* * * Russian Army Takes Out Another Ukrainian Abrams Tank with Guided Artillery Shot Miltary Watch
Back to the Future of Comms RAND
On The Road: Moldova Right Now Three Quarks Daily
* * * Americans freed by Russia in major prisoner swap arrive in US Al Jazeera
The Supremes
The Common Political Foundations of Originalism and Cost-benefit Analysis (PDF) Jonathan S. Masur and Eric A. Posner, SSRN
Digital Watch
Is AI going to pay its way? Wall Street wants tech world to show it the money The Register
US court blocks Biden administration net neutrality rules Reuters
After OnlyFans, AI ‘girlfriends’ are tech’s next pitch to lonely men Al Jazeera
The Olympics
Simone Biles reclaims gymnastics all-around crown for sixth Olympic gold France24
Are the super shoes used in Olympic races distorting results? FT
Innovative Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony a Testament to Doing Things the “French Way” Nippon.com
The 420
Mitigating the Opioid Epidemic: The Role of Cannabinoids in Chronic Pain Management – A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Clinical Evidence and Mechanisms (preprint) medRxiv
The Final Frontier
After ISS: The private space station era is dawning Space.com
Class Warfare
New ‘Battery Belt’ Opens Organizing Front in the South Labor Notes
Los Angeles gave families $1,000 a month in the biggest basic income pilot in the country. Now the results are in. Business Insider
People Hate on the D.M.V. But It’s Great. Tressie McMillan Cottom, NYT
Ridin’ Dirty: A Basic Reference for Freight Hopping Anarchist Library
Antidote du jour (Dave Pape):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
151 comments
Comments are closed.
HARRIS SUMMER
(melody borrowed from Paris Summer by Lee Hazelwood, as performed by him and Nancy Sinatra)
Kackle laugh but she’s upbeat
Zionists and Neocons surround her
She’s been raking cash in–none declined
She speaks but right away begins to flounder
How suddenly it’s happening!
She’s joined her own campaign
From larva into butterfly
By eminent domain
Ohhhh, Harris summer
Her primaries met cold defeat
This backroom choice affects the race profoundly
Now we are dreading things the Dems have planned
For sure they’ll push past every boundary
We’ve changed our horses in midstream
From Biden’s failing brain
We’re told to take it all in stride
No one gets to complain
Ohhhh, Harris summer
This whole charade feels bittersweet
We’re going with who’s left upon the counter
The Dems are betting things they can’t command
Won’t let those MAGA votes surmount her
Trump will have nicknames and zings
That make her look mundane
He’ll claim she isn’t qualified
That she’s a scatterbrain
Ohhhh, Harris summer
Woe, Harris summer
This is so good it’s KAMALA good. / ;)
Also, this from Joe Rogan on twtr-X.
Kamala Harris in one lesson.
https://x.com/michaelmalice/status/1819122774725595646
If she loses the election, she’ll go from America’s Wine Mom to America’s Whine Mom.
‘Muhammad Shehada
@muhammadshehad2
🚨The wife of the IDF rapist soldier declares full support for her husband violently sodomizing a Palestinian detainee until he was hospitalized with a ruptured intestine, a severe injury to the anus & lungs, & broken ribs”.’
That wife had better be careful if when her husband is at home and while looking at her, he starts to glance at the broom in the corner.
Oh, that poor girl at Biden’s press conference. He couldn’t help himself, had to hug her. I kept on saying, don’t sniff the hair, don’t sniff the hair, and he didn’t. She must have been so creeped out.
Should Ukraine join Nato? Guardian
The article starts with the lie that Russia bombed the children’s hospital and then goes on to lie about Russian aggression, propaganda, genocidal policy, systematic war crimes, rape, torture, you name it, every anti Russia unproven smear the authors can come up with is bolted on.
The Guardian is one of the worst propaganda outfits, because, as with the Corbyn smears, it likes to pretend it is left of centre and one of the good guys, rather than a UK/US intelligence service propaganda mouthpiece, which it actually is.
Can be safely ignored.
If that article had appeared back in January of 2020, it would be understandable. Misguided – even naive – but understandable. But here is the spanner in the works. If the Ukraine was in NATO, then whether NATO and Russia go to an all out shooting war with each other would depend entirely on the Ukrainians. I could very easily see the Ukrainians staging a false-flag operation to blame the Russians with and then calling for Article 5 support from all the other NATO nations. Does Europe really want to risk WW3 by relying on the intelligence, honesty and integrity of Zelensky and his Azov cohort?
And that list of people at the end of that open letter just goes to show you that just because you teach in a university does not mean that you are not an idiot.
We don’t agree that Nato membership for Ukraine would provoke a conflict with Russia It already did. What non-reality do these people live in?
Good question. Perhaps they should read and discuss Glenn Diesen’s recent article: Destroying Ukraine with idealism. It’s kinda the complete opposite of that Guardian article and somehow makes actually sense, too.
Readout of President Joe Biden’s Call with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel Whitehouse.gov If you were thinking “grab a cup of coffee and dig in, well don’t bother. Here it is, a shining example of nothing:
President Biden spoke today with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel. The President reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. The President discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive U.S. military deployments. Together with this commitment to Israel’s defense, the President stressed the importance of ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region. Vice President Harris also joined the call.
re: Innovative Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony a Testament to Doing Things the “French Way”
Um, they also let a man box in the womens division. Very “innovative.” (I thought the IOC was going to stop this sh*t.)
Female boxer’s Olympic beatdown sparks transgender outcry
Italy’s Angela Carini lasted 45 seconds against Algeria’s Imani Khelif
https://swentr.site/news/602013-womens-boxing-olympics-scandal/
The real question is if those boxers get equal pay.
Pretty much. Both, zero.
Flora, please see the replies to a similar post further down the page.
You need to investigate before posting bogus information.
Khelif was born a woman.
https://apnews.com/article/olympics-2024-imane-khelif-boxing-paris-2eb07d442ffb29a61e09911884dcdaa9
She was once disqualified for high testosterone levels. That could be inept doping or naturally high testosterone. One of my trainers, who trained professional and Olympics athletes, has a female power lifter (of course freaky strong) who had always had high testosterone levels and had years of labwork to prove it.
High testosterone in a woman will produce some masculinization, such as the long lower face Khelif had. Women have a shorter distance from eye to jaw than men have.
I would add two things.
One – the Taiwanese boxer, Lin You-Ting, is also in the same born-female-with-high-testosterone boat. Unfortunately my search-fu is not working this morning, but a day or two ago a Taiwanese newspaper published, in English, a full bio of Lin in response to these claims. Turns out, she started competing as a female boxer in middle school (!), which, well, they didn’t really have trans-athletes back in those days.
Two – this has been a thing before. Caster Semenya, a runner from RSA, was literally made to undergo sex testing back in 2009, and I remember there was a huge discussion of it then, because she (born female) had enough testosterone in her body to power a small horsedrawn carriage. And, per the link below, she kept catching flak for it as recently as 2021.
https://www.npr.org/sections/tokyo-olympics-live-updates/2021/07/28/1021503989/women-runners-testosterone-olympics
Now, there is an interesting discussion point here, as referenced in the NPR story – should IOC events impose testosterone limits on biological women. Especially given that, well, if a girl has naturally high testosterone due to some genetic thing or another, she is probably a bit more likely to grow up to become an elite-level athlete in certain sports. In other words, do we try to filter out Caster Semenyas for the benefit of non-high-testosterone women, or do we take the chance that only Caster Semenyas will occupy the top slots in some events.
I am guessing reasonable people can voice differing opinions here. But in the specific case of the two boxers at these particular Olympics, yeah, J.K. Rowling and the like are really inserting foot in mouth with their screeching posts about how “men” are beating up women in the ring.
If we’re going to ban high-test women from competing, are we also going to say that runners with genetically longer legs or larger lungs past a certain limit must compete in a different bracket? Natural genetic variations between competitors are part of any sport. Big surprise, people with genetic advantages tend to be better athletes.
All sports contests are conducted under artificial conditions. Combat sports are different from running. It does make sense to manage the population of fighters with known factors that create dangerous conditions during a match.
J.K. Rowling and “the like” stand up for women and girls. If that’s “screeching”, the world needs more of it.
Emma Hilton (@FondOfBeetles) and Jon Pike (@runthinkwrite) are worth paying attention to on this subject.
From what I read, she apparently also has XY chromosomes, yet was born with female parts. So I guess that qualifies as intersex. She has lost fights to other women.
The way I learned it is that basically every human being starts out as a female in the womb. Having an Y chromosome is required for the particular individual to become a male, but it alone is not sufficient.
There are something like three hormone “burst” that are need for the individual to develop into a male, two of them in the womb (one by the fetus, one by the mother) and third in the puberty. Miss one of those, and the individual remains somewhere in between.
Of course, in the early 80’s, that’s what we were taught in the high school anyway about gender – everyone is on an axis between the male and female and nobody is at the ends.
I have a female friend who has had high testosterone levels most of her life. She is crazy strong, can beat men in an arm wrestle, out lift lots guys at the gym and back in the day was a really good tennis player, beating most women and some men regularly. We are too old for the whole transgender care thing to have affected our youth, thank goodness. She says she did call herself Michael for about a year when she was 5-6 yrs old, nowadays the wokies would have been prepping her for a gender change. She gave it up after a year or so and has thought of herself as a straight female ever since.
I think this whole thing is crazy complicated and there is no easy answer. I would have thought boxing had some answers because you’re classified by weight but of course lots of testosterone means you could throw a much heavier punch than your components of a similar weight. And clearly, it isn’t as simple as xx or xy. I dunno about the human rights aspect, I don’t want anyone to be discriminated against in the law or workplace, etc. But athletics? Maybe just find something else to do with your life if you’re transgender? Coach? I am not a sports fans and I am so adverse to conflict, while I have some sympathy, I just can’t understand what these athletes are fighting for, seems like a waste of time when they could be doing something much more productive with their lives.
My take on this situation – as a physician.
I have scoured the internet looking for accurate information and have found all kinds of rat holes and contradictory information even on sites like ap and reuters.
However, I am able to piece together enough information that seems accurate that a reasonable determination can be made.
It is very important to realize that for human beings, Homo sapiens, the default gender status is ALWAYS female. It is the presence of the Y chromosome that starts things down the road in the earliest stages of development to change the default into a male. In this person’s case, it is clear they have XY chromosomes – they are genetically a male, however, there are many reasons possible, the cells in the genital area were unresponsive to the testosterone and other factors that lead to the male form. It is unclear to me exactly which abnormality this person has – but in some of these situations, a negative feedback loop can develop causing a much larger amount of testosterone to be present, making the secondary sexual characteristics – body hair, muscle mass, etc all the more prominent.
This is not a Caitlyn Jenner type situation. This is a situation that is extremely rare but often very emotional and sad for the family. The XY child is born with female genitalia, but they are male, and all the other characteristics will be male as well.
That includes muscle strength far surpassing female abilities. It is what it is. It is very likely this is what has happened to this individual. This is not going to be a fair fight. It is why her application was turned down by the world boxing authorities in their competitions.
Here is my concern – which is about our entire society. A personal story – as a kid, I had always wanted to be a jockey or a diver. But very soon into life – about 5th grade or so – as I began to rocket into my ectomorphic self of 6’2″ and 200 lbs it became clear my destiny was not what I had always wanted – but I was headed to be a wide receiever or a swimmer. Again, it is what it is. We are each born with things that are not changeable no matter how we wish it to be different. It is healthy to have parents and adults around who are able to help lead you into REALITY. Somehow, in our society, we have decided that anyone can be anything – and damn the consequences for anyone who gets in their way. It is a “journey”. It is truly the by product of the most narcisstic culture on earth. But that is not reality – just as it should not be reality that this individual with secondary male characteristics should never be placed in a ring with women. It is a safety and respect thing.
I think in general the concern is that steroidal doping is real among both sexes and has led WADA to ban it in and out of competition. There is a great deal of controversy in “masters” competition over the allowance of TUEs (therapeutic use exemptions) for males “suffering from low T” (as the constant ads suggest).
@IM Doc
My understanding is that the incidence of an intersex condition is about as prevalent as being red headed, ie as high as 1.7%. I was intrigued by the condition when a young person very clearly presenting as female testified before congress relating to a bill delving into sexual identity and revealed it as her situation. Her testimony informed the congress members of shortfalls in their prior positions (though I don’t know if it actually moved the needle, so to speak).
I came across the youtube episode below of a young Australian intersex person, again clearly presenting as female, who described her own situation in very informative detail. While having the xy chromosome, she is androgen insensitive which inhibited developing into a male. She is also very charming and entertaining.
I was born ‘Male’ but I’m not Trans | Interesting & SeXY : Episode 1
*Sigh*
Please go beyond the first thing Google provides in controversies like this. That claim was from an intersex advocacy group and has been debunked:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12476264/
Duly noted and much appreciated. Still, I found the talk by the young Aussie informative and engaging, I was moved. I didn’t know anything about the subject before, and now I know more. It is another stigma that needs lifting.
But Khelif has been beaten nine times by female boxers, including Irish boxer Amy Broadhurst who observes that Khelif is not a transgender woman, but has a naturally occurring genetic variation.
I fully support banning trans “women” from women’s sports, but Khelif presents an issue of another sort. Maybe we need more gender based divisions, league’s of their own as it were.
Tweet from Amy Broadhurst (who was one of the 9 women to have beaten Khelif previously):
“Have a lot of people texting me over Imane Khelif. Personally I don’t think she has done anything to ‘cheat’. I thinks it’s the way she was born & that’s out of her control. The fact that she has been beating by 9 females before says it all.”
So it’s OK if they get beaten? What about someone like Khalid who always wins? Castor Semenya the runner comes to mind … from the Olympics website “Put simply, when fit, in-form and free to run without distraction, Semenya is almost unbeatable over the 800m.” I think they need to figure out some kind of standard that is more than whether or not anyone can beat them. As I said above, I have sympathy for these people and it is an interesting dilemma but I sure wouldn’t want to be the one setting the new standards/guidelines whatever.
Adding I wish there was a magical way to combine threads when there are two convos about the same thing. I try to update and scan before I post but sometimes other things pop up when my does.
“so it’s ok if they get beaten” isn’t the main point here I think. It’s just a data point people have used to show Khelif isn’t some ridiculous terminator style destroyer.
XY is XY. It’s not XX and it’s not XYY. It’s a thing and it’s legit to divide competitors up by chromosomes just as by weight.
Many things here but one line is much brighter than the others: Boxing is about physically defeating your opponent. Rules exist because without them one competitor would die or be severely incapacitated. Boxing, wrestling, martial arts all rely on rules and handicapping (weight classes) because they are gladitorial sports and serious effort is put into avoiding mismatches and stopping them when they do occur.
This is an officiating failure. Maybe it’s a transgender thing but mostly it’s about the safety of the participants.
My 0.02$…
I’m really not sure what to think about this yet, but I believe your take isn’t correct. Especially because as far as I know, the prior tests for the boxing authority that disqualified her didn’t disclose what aspects resulted in the DQ, which is consistent with their policy for respecting an athlete’s privacy.
I’ve boxed for a while and participated in combat sports in addition to training in martial arts for many years. I’m impressed that Carini had the emotional fortitude to resign early in the match instead of suffering terrible damage from the bout. However, you are trained how to take a hit and present targets to your opponent. If you can’t do that because the other boxer is too fast, too accurate, or too good at reading your movements, then it almost doesn’t matter how strong they are or how hard you’re getting hit. You just got beat. We don’t even know if Carini had an injury from training that got lit up from a legal hit, in which case, she got beat and she should have been focused on protecting herself better.
Also, how hard you can hit is based on a lot of different factors besides muscle mass. Bone density. The alignment of your arm when striking. The balance of muscles permitting speed. Where you’re striking. The position of your opponent when you hit them. You can have a smaller, weaker person ring your bell just as easily as a larger opponent if they know how to hit. Is it easier to do that if you’re very strong? It can be. But go on YouTube and see all the clips of body builders losing fights against boxers who are much smaller than them.
All that being said, combat sports are different from other contests. If we’re going to put artificial rules in place to govern those contests it does make sense to identify the issues that result in dangerously unequal contests. If you’ve never met an old, spent, boxer, you’ve never seen what the sport does to people. It’s probably a sign of how archaic I am but I really just don’t like the idea of women suffering like that.
Great piece by Brad Pearce all about the coup.
https://open.substack.com/pub/thewaywardrabbler/p/the-peculiar-partisans-of-ostentatious?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=3ib01
Thanks for the link. It does hit the target if perhaps going on at excessive link about the thing we already know. One does need to go further and analyze why the Dems are the way they are and why they would celebrate a “brat” candidate who slept her way partially toward the top and has no particular qualifications to be president. Surely it is only because they think she has a chance to win and keep their class of the comfortable in power. And when you are George Clooney with 500 million or Rachel Maddow with 8 million per year that is not a trivial obsession. The rest of that hard core 20 percent Dem slice are often PMC managers and professors and bureaucrats who also have it comfortable if not quite in the Daddy Warbucks league. Historically the middle merchant/priestly class sides with the kings over the peasants for the same reason. They are sheeple for sure but herds offer some protection.
We are in a class war, not a civil war and at the moment there may be no way out with the Republicans representing a different branch of the plutocrats and Trump a bs-er most of the time. But surely the party that is “about nothing” needs to be defeated if only for its hypocrisy. Brats are not good people.
it is and always has been a class war
And thus we have one of the most dismal supreme courts of all time because deplorables and brats.
I doubt bernie would have made the same appointments, so exactly whose fault is that?
Prescient quote from Aldous Huxley in something called Brave New World Revisited that I saw this morning:
Yikes.
Kat you may find this interview of Huxley by Mike Wallace in 1958 quite interesting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TQZ-2iMUR0
and Huxley’s speech at Berkeley 1962 which is notable in the more directly addressing at how the USG and the oligarchs are working on us to be supple to their will –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TQZ-2iMUR0
Thanks for the link. This is my first acquaintance with this writer.
Maybe the great hope of those who wish not to be held accountable for anything. / ;)
All due respect to the remarkable Simone Biles, and there’s another US athlete who deserves major props as well. 13 Medals, the most ever by a US woman swimmer. I wrote a little ditty for her:
Katie Ledecky
she don’t win by a neck, she
wins by a mile
…by a mile
…by a mile
…by a mile
One can only imagine how well she’d do if she was allowed to use the amphetamine Adderall.
She got much better stuff than amphetamine Adderall. One can only imagine what juice she was on.
Or just make shit up?
If you had any contact with (semi)proffesional sports, you would know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, then keep on believing in whatever fairy tale you want.
I have a lot of experience actually. My base position is that most athletes dope. However, not all do, and I would never accuse an athlete of doping without strong evidence (failed tests mostly).
I used to be very into MMA, which for a long time had doping as a major part of its discourse. Photos would be zoomed in for signs of downward pointing nipples, ached backs or anomalous vaginas. It’s tiresome.
Similarly I was a cycling fan throughout the 90s and have read the confessions of cheaters. I am not naïve. I still believe modern cycling is rife with doping.
Have you any evidence whatsoever for “She got much better stuff than amphetamine Adderall”?
“Acned backs” not “ached backs”; edit button disappeared
So, you agree with me in general, but just not in this one specific case?
P.S. Seems like you have mistaken Internet comment section for a court of law.
I think you are oversimplifying. BP’s point is that even if doping is widespread (which BP acknowledges), it is not acceptable to state as a fact that a specific athlete is doping, without offering proof. There is a lot of space between “most athletes dope” (which BTW, I think is, at least in a legal sense, an overstatement) and “every athlete dopes”.
Ha. I just realized this works as a haiku:
Katie Ledecky
She won’t win by a neck, She
will win by a mile
Re: that Orban speech Betrand cites
The latest edition of Philip Pilkington’s multipolarity podcast is about the speech and the philosophy behind it. Interesting stuff.
https://www.multi-polarity.com/episodes/episode/5e41dd42/special-edition-gladden-pappin-on-orbans-big-speech
I don’t know what to make of Pilkington. A lot of his analysis seems excellent. Other times he seems to have totally different understanding of reality to me.
Interested in others thoughts on him
Orban’s speech itself is very long. A decent summary is here https://www.thomasfazi.com/p/the-most-important-speech-of-the
aye…i had that Fazi link qued up to post, if nobody else did.
similarly to Putin’s statements for 20 years, there are echoes of my own stance, re: autarky and strategic independence in my relations with the off-farm world(Think Like a State).
my handful of Liberal acquaintances all get upset when i express admiration for such arguments…usually because of various Idpol things(putins a dictator! and hates queers!)…but also sometimes because it goes against the world belonging to the USA,lol…of course, stated in amorphous gobbltygook.
when i counter that the world does not, in fact, belong to us…and that other nations should, by right, have agency…it is apparently shocking…and tends to place me, somehow, into the trump/putin camp.
i dont have time for the entire Orban thing, but Fazi’s treatment is a really good read.
as for the idpol violations by putin, orban, dreher, et alia…i am no prude, as ive said…
weird sex…with consenting adults…is a Human Right.
but i have no right to parade such things on mainstreet…unless, and like i said the other day, its some well known event/place set aside for such things…and with plenty of warning for the prudes.
(folsom street fair, a bathhouse, frankfurt sexclub, certain beaches in Majorca, etc)
by agreeing with these folks’ ideas of sovereignty and independence and autarky and actually taking care of your people…i am in no way advocating the Republic of Gilead.
this latter idea, stuck firmly in the brains of both rep and dem parties, is because of the agreements, tacit, between them…to keep us all fighting each other, so we do not notice what they and their paymasters are up to.
in all these long years of culturewar…both parties have essentially stopped talking seriously about, first, economics, and second, foreign policy.
both are off the table in primaries and in the general…save in the most anodyne and stupid parrot noises(“spreading democracy” and “trickle down” and an hundred other things)…i first noticed this utter lack abornin during clintontimes.
then the bush2 years, dems found a supposed spine, at least on paper….but under obama, suddenly, Policy was removed to expertland, and all us little people were suddenly supposed to defer to our betters and not worry our pretty little heads about war and poverty and healthcare(bc Obama solved healthcare, after all,lol(ive actually heard this said, many times)).
this right here…the prohibition of talking and arguing seriously , about serious things, is why i finally gave up on politics…save for the extremely local kind.
know how you feel – when you write about.”…the prohibition of talking and arguing seriously , about serious things, is why i finally gave up on politics…save for the extremely local kind” – it reverberated because friends i’ve known a lifetime refuse to debate these points, i’m 75 btw – there used to be but no longer any historical perspective or curiosity anymore – if i want to keep these friends better to discuss the weather and silly things – the most difficult thing is to not let it depress – the lyrics of Ballad of a Thin Man, All Along the Watchtower and It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) roll in my mind –
>>>there used to be but no longer any historical perspective or curiosity anymore
Making them ignorant makes them stupid, that makes them biddable; those who are ignorant of the past are doomed to repeat the past or at least not in control their own future.
they’ve floundered in desperation to the shallow end of the gene pool and think they are on solid ground now – can just shrug shoulders and mutter whaddyagunnado….
what an oasis NC has been for me –
i’m only bleeding –
While some on principles baptized
To strict party platform ties
Social clubs in drag disguise
Outsiders they can freely criticize
Tell nothing except who to idolize
And say “God bless him”
But I mean no harm, nor put fault
On anyone that lives in a vault
But it’s alright, Ma, if I can’t please (them)
I’m your age and have similar feelings. It has been clear that we live in a anti-(18th century) Enlightenment age, or to put it another way, an militantly anti-intellectual age where everything is about emotions and fantasy. There are people on the margins who are talking about economic and foreign policy but it has no effect within the mainstream media which has gone full propaganda mode. We are entering an age of authoritarianis, i.e., government by force and mind-control. Us old-timers are just dinosaurs–young people seem to offer little hope that any of this will change.
There is a kind of hope that this rejection of science and reason will evolve into some kind of positive spirituality (love, compassion)–I think there is some movement in that direction.
guess ya gotta have some hope or else ya might brush your teeth with a 12ga –
my enjoyment is in the beauty of nature, what’s left and quickly vanishing – the oligarchs are playing a dangerous game of Jenga with politics and the environment – Exxon knew in the 70’s what emissions were doing to the environment, as an example – or DuPont always knew the dangers of PFOS/PFOA – and Smedley certainly understood viscerally the true point of war – always was baffled about the environment because the consequences fall on us all regardless of how loud the jingle in your pocket or where you have your million dollar hidey-hole – but there is no logic to psychopathy and their behavior is lock step with the DSM-5 definition – someone with more optimism than i suggested the lyrics to a Sinatra song “High Hopes” but unfortunately that ram would have no effect on psychopaths and give the ram a whopping headache – just my 2¢
I think the reason why there is little concern for the environment in particular and public policy issues is because we have too much information and our intellectual frameworks can’t handle the load so people just throw up their hands unless they get into some tribalist nonsense as current “politics” shows.
too much information…..hmmmm…..here at the commentariat it doesn’t seem to intimidate – but for others it’s so safe in the shallow end of the gene pool, firm ground to stand on at an unfortunate cost – listen to the speech Huxley gave in Berkeley in 1962, link above in response to Katniss – and George Carlin certainly had a correct observation as to why with ” …too much information and our intellectual frameworks can’t handle the load…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNXHSMmaq_s
I’m a diligent Multipolarity listener. It’s been the only thing that is scratching the itch after the untimely departure of Matt Christman from the public stage (in terms of deep analysis that is, not left wing sympathies). The Multipolarity boys analysis is usually dead on, but their arch reactionary politics is a joke. They were heaping praise on JD Vance as a history bestriding figure who would lead the world into the “post-liberal” order, only days before the Diet Mountain Dew episode.
I say take their politics with a grain of salt and sift through their analysis to find the occasional diamond.
I agree with everything you said. Thanks for articulating what I couldn’t
I’m going to wager the West will be just fine in the future as long as there is a neoliberal hegemony of the multipolar world.
The Arnaud tweet and Orban speech are important and pretty spot on. But Orban misses one huge point (IMHO). As a 56 year old, my individuality or lone actor status has been pushed more in an economic sense than a cultural sense. Reagan and Thatchers views, (there is no such thing as society)(pull yourSELF up by the bootstraps) have been an every day impact on making me not be a part of a community. Their destruction of Labor communities, promotion of individual retirement concepts over group retirements, and many other policies make my generation what we are much more than the sexual revolution ever did. In fact, one might argue that the sexual revolution created vibrant new communities and connections.Cultural revolutions lead to communes, Thatcherism leads to disconnectedness.
Well said. With the larger community of “society” now in tatters, perhaps that leads to more people looking to smaller communities expressed through the whole idpol exercise. Maybe that’s why it’s more successful than it should be.
No maybe about it. I think that’s definitely the case.
This, and “left-liberal”, is what betrays his right-wingness in an otherwise insightful speech. He conflates/confuses heirarchy and community.
The social revolution of the 1960s was against heirarchy and for community. It was the Neoliberal counter-revolution of the 1980s that reasserted heirarchy by attacking community, convincing us all we were individual entrepreneurs who had to compete with each other to get ahead.
Despite his nostalgia for heirarchy, it is Neoliberalism he is really complaining about.
Victor Orban, who liberals love to hate on, explains why identity politics, which liberals have embraced in lieu of class-based ones, suck.
“Here we must talk about the secret of greatness. What is the secret of greatness? The secret of greatness is to be able to serve something greater than yourself. To do this, you first have to acknowledge that in the world there is something or some things that are greater than you, and then you must dedicate yourself to serving those greater things. There are not many of these. You have your God, your country and your family. But if you do not do that, but instead you focus on your own greatness, thinking that you are smarter, more beautiful, more talented than most people, if you expend your energy on that, on communicating all that to others, then what you get is not greatness, but grandiosity. And this is why today, whenever we are in talks with Western Europeans, in every gesture we feel grandiosity instead of greatness. I have to say that a situation has developed that we can call emptiness, and the feeling of superfluity that goes with it gives rise to aggression. Hence the emergence of the “aggressive dwarf” as a new type of person.”
Extremely apt. Thanks for adding the rest of the quote. If human sociality is the secret of our success as species, selfish Liberal individialism seems to be the formula for our failure and, possibly, extinction.
I agree that it is psychologically healthier to align yourself with a greater whole–unfortunately that can also be a big problems as Israelis align themselves with the dream of “Greater Israel” and Jewish supremacy and so on. For me that greater-whole must be some version of divinity–and not the nationalist “Chosen people” sort.
> Incidence of heart attacks and strokes was lower after COVID-19 vaccination
My family is still yet to get covid. We test when we get sick but we’re still covid free, or at-least asymptomatic if we’ve ever had it. My spouse is a front line healthcare worker, my kids are in public school and are prolific booger eaters. We were diligent with NPI’s in 2020-2022 but we’ve been unmasked ever since. The only thing we’ve done is stay up to date on covid vaccines. Unless both my wife and I are lucky enough to both be randomly covid immune then the only thing I can put it down to is the vaccines.
I don’t want to sound mean but what I believe (and what I think NC has always tried to say) is that vaccines are PART of the solution. Do NOT rely on them alone. Masking is ESSENTIAL.
It has been known for decades that there is no vaccine against a coronavirus: in the last century we had plenty of time to study the 4 endemic ones. At best, you can develop something that reduces chances of getting it and/or severity if you do get it. We literally have decades of knowledge about coronaviruses.
Please don’t perpetuate the “just get the jab” meme. That is not enough and we knew it decades ago.
The COVID mRNA vaccine should have resulted in three Nobel prizes for major scientific breakthroughs:
1 – Solving the immune system collapse and cancer increase that has been seen in every animal study of the mRNA technology for the last 20 years and that kept it from moving to human trials until the COVID vaccines arrived. This breakthrough should be one of the most talked about discoveries of the 2st century. We should be able to read about the clever solution that they came up with to solve this difficult problem that eluded researchers for so long.
2 – Creating a vaccine that is actually stronger than natural immunity. This is another incredible breakthrough, theorized, but never achieved prior to the COVID vaccines. Worthy of exploration and discussion in major research journals for years.
3- Creation of an effective vaccine for a coronavirus. Never before achieved and a huge breakthrough that stands to revolutionize medicine with a cure for the common cold. Nobel prize-worthy.
Curious that there is so little discuss about these incredible achievements and how they happened. The brilliant researchers that solved these problems have given an immense gift to humanity and deserve to be celebrated.
Hmmm… I see several major assertions without supporting evidence.
If the Coronavirus mRNA “vaccines” are so good, then why is the virus replicating, evolving, and still killing so many people?
From my admittedly layman’s level reading, the first assertion is flat out wrong. However, if reliable research was to prove me wrong, I would retract my claim. Secondly, the mRNA “vaccines” never underwent full trial protocols. The roll out into the general population of the mRNA Coronavirus “vaccines” was the final ‘test.’ That is a clear breach of medical ethics.
FWIW I am somewhere between the layman and the expert and I agree. There is NO vaccine (as commonly understood) for COVID. We have “semi-vaccines” that reduce severity etc.
But let’s stop saying the Emperor has brilliant see-through clothes.
I just did yet another “average person google search” and yet again was given NO information on to what extent any of the vaccines provided permanent immunity or not, TL;DR they don’t.
You are much better than this lowly layman in your skill set and data base and you come to a similar conclusion.
I would accuse the poster of making an Appeal to Authority, but what constitutes an Authority now? It reminds me of the old Sixties bumper sticker: “Question Authority.” Literally words to live by now.
Be safe over there.
I got to the end of veritea’s post and wondered why he/she/they had left off the /sarc tag.
Ding ding! We have a winner!
Blast!
From my admittedly layman’s level reading, the first assertion is flat out wrong.
I believe that is the tipoff of some high-octane snark…
True, even though implied snark. “You see, the snark is boojumistic too.” {I have read that it is asserted that Deplorables are Boojums.} So, hunt for snark and you encounter that most ineffably infernal of creatures, a Deplorable!
The sentence, “… Solving the immune system collapse and cancer increase that has been seen in every animal study of the mRNA technology for the last 20 years and that kept it from moving to human trials until the COVID vaccines arrived.” is a smoking gun of sorts. The “solution” to the problems elucidated seems to be that those who suffer the adverse reactions mentioned simply adopt Neo-liberal Rule #2. They go and die. Problem solved! Almost no one is complaining anymore!
Stay safe.
/veritae
Veritably blue fowl are worse than long vax. Where are our censorious thought-policing English majors? They’d love this swill.
LOL
https://prepareforchange.net/2024/07/21/after-decades-of-gaslighting-the-public-a-new-study-admits-that-vaccine-safety-studies-are-not-conducted-before-or-after-use-on-the-public/
https://tuzarapost.substack.com/p/worlds-top-vaccinologist-comes-clean
https://www.lifesitenews.com/opinion/top-vaccinologist-admits-vaccine-safety-has-never-been-adequately-studied/
I would like to have some of what you are having.
Sure, I can see as an advancement in technology / bio-engineering mRNA is pretty cool stuff and no doubt there has also been basic research behind it. Whether the actual therapeutic results create a positive impact on society, beyond the bio-engineering field, remains to be seen.
It does appear that some fortunate portion of the population has what might be genetically based immunity or significant resistance to the acute and long term effects of Covid.
Scientists closing in on why some people never get COVID. That could help with future vaccines
A new study identified a specific gene in people who didn’t get infected CBC News
I have precisely no “dog in the race” (or whatever is your preferred expression).
All I have is 20 years of exploration of human distributions. There is most probably a “fortunate fraction” who are in fact either immune or endure very small cumulative impairment due to SARS-COV2, For some this is indeed “immunity”.
We owe it to humanity to find out what the flying eff is going on there.
What about the genetic lines that have “natural immunity” to plague? Is there a connection? I understand that this genetic quality also conferred semi-immunity to the HIV/AIDS infection. Some brighter souls than me have already wondered about some connection between HIV/AIDS and the Coronavirus. Then we have the prions….
Be safe squared.
Yeah I got (for a while) really interested in why some people have two copies of a gene that confers immunity to HIV….but also, apparently plague.
The issue has been muddied with certain researchers saying it has more to do with other diseases, but it certainly should make people take notice.
If it’s of any interest, the only other possible cause of my good luck is that I’ve been a life long asthma sufferer and have been treated for it for my entire life. I know that asthmatics seem to have suffered less from severe covid, but I don’t know whether it’s the biophysical structure of my respiratory system or my regimen of inhalers that has kept me covid free. It wouldn’t explain my wife’s lack of covid, nor my kids as they do not have asthma.
Having Asthma Increases Your Protection Against Severe COVID-19, Study Finds Yale School of Medicine
I have an acquaintance who has had some (not all) of the vax series; she is not careful at all about avoiding infection. She is exposed all of the time but has not caught covid, as far as she can tell. She and I think it might be because of the heavy duty allergy meds she is on all of the time (and has been on for years). I take claritin as one of several covid preventatives (not medical advice).
I see. that must explain why everyone else fully vaccinated has not gotten covid yet too.
“Innovative Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony a Testament to Doing Things the “French Way””
I do wonder if this was not so much the French Way as the intellectual Paris Way. By that I mean what has been termed “modern values”. So right now there is controversy in the women’s boxing as two (?) biological men have been allowed to compete. One guy had been disqualified by the International Boxing Association in 2023 as a biological male but the Olympic committee has let him compete in Paris. The result? This guy faced of with an Italian woman boxer who had to call it quits after only 45 seconds and after taking two punches to the face. She said ‘I’m used to suffering. I’ve never taken a punch like that, it was impossible to continue.’ This is so wrong-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHCYCmF4wXs (2:05 mins)
Imane Khelif has been competing for years, defeated plenty of times. Born a woman, likely with hyperandrogenism. She has been confirmed eligible to compete by the IOC as a woman. The IBA (not recognized by the IOC), has not revealed why they disqualified her in 2023, saying it’s “confidential”.
The video speaks for itself.
I did watch the fight, and as a long time boxing and MMA fan, I respectfully disagree.
So being a woman plus syndrome makes it ok to defeat women without? The villain here may be the Olympic idea itself which often rewards superior physical conditioning over skill. That being the case any embrace of “trans” is clearly absurd but given the way our media treat the games with their “USA USA” and the country exclusions the whole thing has become political anyway.
If the above true then why not a woke opening ceremony? It merely reflects the reality of what the games are turning into under those willing to use any international stick to beat those rogue dogs in the East.
Link to a statement made by the International Boxing Assn. regarding its disqualification from competition for the two controversial olympic boxers in 2023.
It has been noted elsewhere that the IBA is based in, of course, Russia, and that may have led to the olympic committee’s decision to disregard the determination and let them “compete.”
This is big news in some circles, but I’m confused over the whole thing. There is controversy over rather this “guy” is really a guy. What I find is above my pay grade, but it seems like this “guy” is really a “girl” but a biological anomaly, for lack of a better way to put it.
Maybe someone can make it all make sense.
You have it correct.
https://slate.com/culture/2024/08/olympic-boxers-gender-test-controversy-explained.html
She failed a test for elevated testosterone levels.
Not mentioned there but mentioned in this article (which also contains some rubbish) is:
“Khelif is not trans. This is evident because, according to the IOC, her passport lists her as female, which is something that the extraordinarily repressive Algerian laws would not allow if she were trans. She was, however, disqualified from the 2023 women’s world championships because tests showed she had XY chromosomes, which is possible for cis women with certain conditions ” [see also Castor Semeyena]
Of course, why isn’t hormone therapy considered doping?
It is
You have it incorrect. The controversy is whether this female is a female. At birth a Dr determined she was a female. She was raised as a female. She trained as a female. She has competed before as a female. The International Olympic Committee confirms that she is a female. One different sanctioning body did not certify her as a female as she apparently has a biological anomaly that leaves her with some attributes that are more often considered male.
This controversy surrounding Imane should help those out who are obsessed with the notion that there are only two genders. Obviously she proves that by at least one standard she does not qualify to be considered female. But that does not make her a male. Having grown up on a farm and within a hunting culture I have always understood that there are more genders than just two. What is the gender of the bee that makes your honey? What is a freemartin, and why does a dairy farmer use the freemartin for eating rather than milk production? What is the difference between a Gomer, a steer and a bull? Why would you never use a stallion as a draft horse rather than a gelding? Why is it such a noteworthy experience for a whitetail deer hunter to shoot an antlered doe?
Do we really think that humans are less complex in our gender and sexuality expression than animals are?
Do we really think we are better to have less words to describe who we are (male/female) or more words? Professor Harrison, linguistics at Swarthmore, writes in his books about dying languages that complex language gives us ability to store complex thought. Reindeer herding communities will have upwards of 20 terms for their flock, recognizing different genders ages and ride ability. They say the Inuit have over 50 words for the different types of snow. Why wouldn’t we work to have a complex enough vocabulary to recognize the many variations of gender? Then as we have the vocabulary to recognize unique variations we can internalize the concept and in our heart know and accept these individuals.
And not be left in a situation where we are misgendering someone and putting quotes around their gender. Imane probably is as rightfully disgusted and offended being referred to as a male as a man is being referred to as a girl.
Oh please. It’s the Olympics, not a biology class. By your logic they should have unisex games so those with special characteristics won’t feel left out. Or alternately they could cancel the whole thing to produce the same result.
You are right, Olympics should be canceled.
Thank you.
I agree, in a world where gender is no longer considered a binary, we must remove binary gender-based partitioning in sports.
>US insists that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez won Venezuela’s presidential election Anadolu Agency
“We fully support the process of re-establishing democratic norms in Venezuela and stand ready to consider ways to bolster it jointly with our international partners,”
Can they first “re-establish democratic norms” here, in the U.S.? How did such clowns get gov’t jobs? A good chunk of the U.S. population thinks that 2020 was a rigged election, and I know for sure the DNC rigged the 2016 primaries, Donna Brazile admitted as much. Disgusting, as is all those Elon Musk Tweets on the subject.
I see the world through oil-smeared lenses. Venezuela has the largest global oil reserves, and they are located in the western hemisphere, far from the maddening crowd.
Empirical initiative itches gotta be scratched?
A lot of those reserves are also heavy crude, perfect for blending.
Last time around they insisted that Juan Guaidó was the real President of Venezuela. This time around it is a guy that most people there do not really know. If things do not work out for him, perhaps he could go to Florida and see if Juan has a spare room. In any case, this guy is only a front for Machado who would become the real leader of the country if he had won.
What if Vlad Vladimirovitch really does say that Trump did win the 2020 American election? Will that be now in the same category as America’s propaganda attack against Venezuela?
“We stand steadfast behind our American Comrades in their fight for Freedom, Justice, and the Multipolar Way! To this end, I am authorizing the establishment of facilities in the Federation for the American Government in Exile. We will welcome President Trump with open arms.”
I want to see Russian troops with “On to Baltimore” painted on the sides of their tanks in the Donetsk. Then watch the heads explode.
If they can do for Baltimore what they have done for Mariupol I say let them have it. It looks like those people could use a break.
They want to re-establish US democratic norms in Venezuela. Their elections should be rigged like the US ones. That’s the norm.
I have more important things to do than being our country’s Vice President, and thus i’m removing myself from consideration…
…i’m Wukchumni and I approve this message
How about President of Vice? Someone’s gonna have to fill Hunter’s shoes.
District of Colombia?
Wait now. Are you sure that you are Wukchumni? What with S—GPT and AIs and all, we can’t be certain any more.
Besides, we already have our Matrix Presidential candidate. Why do we need a Vice President? Just slot a clone in to replace the ex-President.
“And the Republic lived happily ever after.”
«District of Colombia»!
When AIs start making puns, then I’ll throw in the towel.
Lol! Dad GPT.
So, just who is going to reimburse me for all of those “Walk with Wuk to DC!” yard signs that I’ve been frantically sticking everywhere?
I know your pain. I’ve got a couple of “If it walks like a Wuk and talks like a Wuk, it is a Veep.” signs in my bunker. (And yes, he did take ‘junk’ silver in payment.)
You could always write ‘No Trespassing’ on the other side…
That sign would be made for you and me. . . .
Do you remember
The 5th night of November?
Loss was changin’ the minds of pretenders
While chasin’ the clouds away
Our hearts were ringin’
In the key that our souls were singin’
As we grieved in the night, remember
How the Donald stole the night away, oh, yeah
Hey, hey, hey
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, losin’ in November
Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day
Ba-du-da, ba-du-da, ba-du-da, ba-du
Ba-du-da, ba-du, ba-du-da, ba-du
Ba-du-da, ba-du, ba-du-da
My thoughts are with you
Holdin’ hands with your posse to see you
Only blue talk and love, remember
How we knew Donald was here to stay
Now December
Found the loss that we shared in November
Only blue talk and love, remember
The true winner we share today
Hey, hey, hey
Ba-dee-ya, say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya, losin’ in November
Ba-dee-ya, never was a cloudy day
There was a
Ba-dee-ya (dee-ya, dee-ya), say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya (dee-ya, dee-ya), losin’ in November
Ba-dee-ya (dee-ya, dee-ya), golden Kamala dreams were shiny days
The klaxon was ringin’, oh, oh
Our souls were singin’
Do you remember never a cloudy day? Yow
There was a
Ba-dee-ya (dee-ya, dee-ya), say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya (dee-ya, dee-ya), losin’ in November
Ba-dee-ya (dee-ya, dee-ya), never was a cloudy day
And we’ll say
Ba-dee-ya (dee-ya, dee-ya), say, do you remember?
Ba-dee-ya (dee-ya, dee-ya), losin in November
Ba-dee-ya (dee ya, dee-ya), golden Kamala dreams were shiny days
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya!
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya
Ba-dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya, dee-ya!
September, by Earth, Wind and Fire
And here I was expecting a song about Kamala Fawkes Night!
The Great Neoliberal Hindutva Show: Ambani-Modi and the Wedding Culture Industry – MR Online
Another exhibit of why I think it is not assured that BRICS will be a break from neoliberalism.
I finally broke down for a look at the festivities and I think I can understand the motivation for that display. If my son looked like *that* and got engaged to any girl, nevermind an heiress who looks like a Bollywood starlet…
Re the Battery Belt–informative if a bit cheap shottish with
“South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, a descendant of slave owners”
Dixie defenders will retaliate in future articles on good New Englanders (and their Ivy League institutions) who are “descendants of slave traders.”
But they are building a new battery factory near my town and that giant BMW factory claims that it will be making mostly electric by the end of the decade.
Or will it? Electrics are looking a bit shaky lately and union wages certainly won’t make them more price competitive with BYD at a time when even Musk is admitting that electric cars cost too much and resell too low. It would be ironic if Biden putting the govt fat thumb into the car market ends up shafting all those battery belt states that didn’t vote for him. But at least by that time Biden will also be obsolete.
Biden was obsolete back in 2019. Now he’s moribund. Even the Reagan animatronic double looked better.
Kamala Harris, descendant of slave owners
A lot of black people are descendants of slave owners. Not really an insightful thing to highlight here unless you have some context/intent I’m missing.
Europe‘s most valuable companies are a company selling obesity drugs to Americans and a company selling handbags to Asians. We should be so proud. pic.twitter.com/M7Nf1Z3Ipb
No moat around any of those types of businesses, so enjoy while it lasts.
Mutually assured destruction is, or used to be, a deterrent to cutting undersea internet cables (at least by rational state actors). Since if say China cut some cables to throw the US financial system into chaos, a US financial system in chaos cannot be contained to the US, China would also suffer.
But now that Russia has been expelled from SWIFT and the GAE’s global financial system in general, well, you can see where I am going with this. I wonder if anybody thought about that back when they decided to try and sanction them into oblivion.
Is AI going to pay its way? Wall Street wants tech world to show it the money – The Register
Depends on how much stealing “AI” will be allowed to get away with.
So it all again comes down to what lawmakers are bought off.
Anal rape of prisoners is not a new thing, and I wonder if the culture of the NYPD ( Abner Louima) has affected the culture of the Israeli internal security forces as much as the Israeli’s have affected internal US security forces?
I keep thinking about the future burden on individuals who may someday have to re-enter what is left of “society”. The snipers drawing beads on toddlers, the prison guards favoring unwilling sodomy or other sexual assault, the pilots operating lethal drones against schools and hospitals… these people will go home to spouses and children?
Just a note on LA’s guaranteed income experiment. Generally, studies and experiments have been positive which guarantees that it will not be copied elsewhere. There are too many opportunities to make money on poverty as can be seen from the dramatic corruption in Cali and elsewhere in dealing with homelessness. If you throw money at bureaucracies you are also throwing money at “consulatants.” The reason why I’m a temporary libertarian is that I’ve seen the corruption inherent in social-democracy. Not that any of that matters at this point since the US only wants to spend money on corruption.
Pray tell where, in the last 80-odd years, have you seen ‘social democracy’? I must have missed it.
Any takes on the DOW and NASDAQ taking a beating today?
The Markets are probably pricing in the End of the World.
On July 11, 2024 we received a Consumer Price Index that indicated that the Fed needed to cut rates. The equity markets went wild. The safety trade in Big Tech was over. It was time to load up on the rest of the economy. The Russell 2000 erupted after three years of slumber. Happy days were here again. The talk was that we might even get a one-half percent cut to the Federal Funds Rate in September. All we needed were some rate cuts, and the boom times would be here again.
Oh, but wait. Are the boom times not here again?
Jeremy Grantham: The Crash That Will Change A Generation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZ3bQq9XJEo
“Are the boom times not here again?”
Doesn’t seem like it. The price of oil dropped by 3% today after a 2% drop yesterday. It looks like oil market players see demand softening and don’t think the mid-east will take the Armaggedon road.
Since fracking has caused shallow earthquakes in Oklahoma, does deep oil extraction in Southern California destabilize the San Andreas and does Texas drilling destabilize the New Madrid?
The San Andreas is not a stable or senescent fault that would be activated by fracking. It is hundreds of miles long because it is the suture of the Farallon plate. The subduction of the Farallon plate is responsible for raising the California sierra. But the plate is not sticking around. It is on its way to Alaska. It is a bumpy ride for having to move past the transverse range to the north of the LA basin. The people living on the coast of California will have to change their political affiliation several times as the plate moves past Oregon, Washington and Canada.
So the Arouet tweet says “Europe‘s most valuable companies are a company selling obesity drugs to Americans and a company selling handbags to Asians. ”
That’s great, but neglects No. 3 on the list AMSL which I would think is “just a bit” consequential.