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.
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?
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/
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.
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.
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.
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
> 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.
“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.
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.
>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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.