Links 8/4/2024

Subscribe to Post Comments

215 comments

1. Antifa August 4, 2024 at 6:58 am

   THAT NEW BIRD FLU
   (melody borrowed from Blue Bayou  by Roy Orbison)

   This new virus is the vicious kind
   Fever like I’m losing my mind
   Doctors have me well quarantined
   With new Bird Flu

   I keep coughing all the time
   Lungs are full of avian slime
   My innards lost their rhythm and rhyme
   With new Bird Flu

   They say I’ll be okay some fine day
   From new Bird Flu
   Then they look away clasp their hands and pray
   It’s new Bird Flu . . .

   Got a bad sore throat, I won’t sugarcoat
   The horrid way I feel
   Will this be my demise? I’m colonized!
   Tomorrow won’t be . . .

   Through the glass there’s family and friends
   Ain’t no chance that they’ll let them in
   Worried faces frozen in grins—
   It’s new Bird Flu . . .

   Three more IV’s today
   To ease the pain of new Bird Flu
   Might be a good sign though I’m still supine
   With new Bird Flu

   My eyes won’t align—I’m cold inside!
   I’m bathed in sweat when the chills subside
   Five more flower bouquets—
   Is this the way it is when you die?

   This could happen to you—it’s slipping through . . .
   This new Bird Flu . . .
   1. jefemt August 4, 2024 at 9:33 am

      New garage band name: Japanese Blow Fly
      1. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 9:37 am

         Their latest hit? “Got those Japanese Blow Fly Blues.”
         1. Antifa August 4, 2024 at 12:17 pm

            Blowfly Blowfly have you any flu?
            ‘Yes! From dead bodies that we like to chew’
            ‘Found it in the corpses of hundreds of cranes’
            ‘Walked across your sushi and we left a few remains’
            Blowfly Blowfly whatcha gonna do?
            ‘Gonna spread this virus that we found in birdie poo’
2. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 7:21 am

   “Hungary says Croatia is unreliable for oil transit, sparks outrage in Zagreb”

   Slovakia and Hungary are really being done over by the European Commission who backed a non-EU country over their own members. The EC also suggested that those two countries secure their oil from Croatia but I would suggest that the EC has made a deal with Croatia to jack up the prices of transit fees to sky-high levels for oil going to those two countries to put them in a headlock. I would myself suggest that those two countries keep on delivering electricity to the Ukraine but every now and then to shut down the supply due to “anomalies” for a few seconds at a time. In any case, I would not be surprised if, when the Ukraine loses this war, that out of spite they will blow up all oil and gas pipelines to the west which would include supplies to Hungary and Slovakia.
   1. Anonymous August 4, 2024 at 8:31 am

      Now you know why seacoast was taken away from them.
      https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/ume5so/viktor_orban_if_they_hadnt_taken_the_sea_and/?rdt=64925
      1. fringe element August 4, 2024 at 4:40 pm

         Well maybe when the EU goads Russia into a wider war and gets trounced Russia will give that coastline back to the Hungarians.
3. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 7:55 am

   UK Government advisor calls for Covid-style controls against riots (UnHerd)

   “In Covid the [British public was] able to back measures that were needed in that situation,” he said. “They would take a similar approach to keep rioters off the streets to see the scale of damage being done to communities”.”

   Does he mean curfews? Lockdowns? Performative clapping for nurses?
   1. flora August 4, 2024 at 9:03 am

      Taibbi’s latest, public excerpt:

      Sir Keir Starmer’s Pre-Crime Clarion Call
      After nationalist riots in Southport, Britain’s new Prime Minister announces plans for a “coordinated effort” to arrest wrongdoers “before they can even board a train”

      https://www.racket.news/p/sir-keir-starmers-pre-crime-clarion

      Starmer spent a good deal of his speech talking about the dangers of social media and online commentary being the cause, or one important cause of the violence. ( Not the govt’s mishandling of the situation.) And so…
      From the full article:

      The episode brings to mind anti-disinformation laws implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic and the multiple January 6th cases (including the indictment of Donald Trump) that put “false claims” at the center of criminal charges. From China to Indonesia to Russia to the U.S, Germany, France, and now the U.K, authorities seem keener by the day to criminalize “disinformation,” which of course would put them in the position of determining truth and untruth. Britain has deployed numerous initiatives in this direction, including a “Rapid Response Unit” set up to combat misinformation that was shut down in 2022.

      —-
      No wonder Labour got rid of Corbyn; I can’t imagine him going full Orwell. / ;)
      1. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 9:52 am

         I agree very much Flora.

         On the other hand, I’m also fairly sure that there is a coordinated social media program to spread lies (“it was a migrant that killed the kids”) and drum up race hate and pogroms. My twix feed is full of AstroTurfed lies about migrants (as well as some genuinely concerned citizens).

         I posted here yesterday about Tommy Robinson being Israeli funded

         https://x.com/Tracking_Power/status/1819696060941627553

         With some receipts for that here:

         https://x.com/Tracking_Power/status/1819825453898793091

         So, I’m caught between two things 1. I dread the authoritarianism that Starmer seems likely to push and 2. I want a way to do something about those behind the return of actual far right who are going round attacking brown people and siege heiling.

         I don’t see an easy way to solve both (absent much broader changes). It could have been avoided a few years ago but decades of policy led us here.
         1. flora August 4, 2024 at 9:59 am

            In this case I think the govt could have nipped this one in the bud with better handling.
            adding: is there any reason to believe some of the so-called ‘hate’ social media posts are not also govt backed, a la the CIA in the US, as a way to foment discord and create a need (says the govt) to crack down on social media? You think the govt would never do such a thing? Not saying the govt did or has, but the immediate jump to ” oh, far-right danger bad” is something the govt can use for …um…other purposes, is it not? / ;)
            1. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 11:37 am

               Flora: “is there any reason to believe some of the so-called ‘hate’ social media posts are not also govt backed….as a way to foment discord and create a need (says the govt) to crack down on social media?”

               Depends on your definition of government. I think the British Deep State outsourced a lot of the propaganda/consent-manufacture stuff. See for example the Integrity Initiative (more) which was funded by British Government (mainly), NATO, Facebook and the US State dept among others.

               This was on the surface a plucky independent charity fighting Russian disinformation, but on closer inspection a dirty tricks and influence organisation.

               One of the names that came out as part of the program in 2015 was journalist Isabel Oakeshott who is now one of the loudest voices stirring up racial tensions in Britain.

               Going back to your question: I think it’s possible some but not all parts of the British Deep state would want to stir things up. If the intention was to create justification for social media control I think there’d be easier ways (eg some created panic about online paedophiles). I think the intention here is different, although I haven’t understood the endgame yet.

               My guess is that the funders of Tommy Robinson are more likely culprits. They have form.
               1. begob August 4, 2024 at 12:34 pm

                  Sidenote: The Daily Mail has blamed ‘Russia’ in part for spreading that fake identity of the child murderer. Not quite the government, but adjacent. And just another example of the root source of fake news.
                  1. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 12:54 pm

                     Ironic given how much hate-mongering the Mail has done over the years.

                     —-

                     There was an informative Irish Examiner piece looking into foreign influence on the recent right wing violence in Ireland. The second half of the article has the juicy stuff.
         2. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 10:02 am

            Thanks for those links about Tommy Robinson. I found it strange to read a few weeks ago how he and his thugs were all gung-ho on taking the side of Israel and wondered why. The guy can be quite articulate in an interview so the thought occurs to me that perhaps he is being groomed for some sort of leadership role down the road which explains all that funding from all those different sources. Why not? He is already bought and paid for.
            1. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 11:14 pm

               Rev here’s a little more on Tommy and Israel

               https://x.com/kennardmatt/status/1820156454457770410
         3. begob August 4, 2024 at 12:43 pm

            Link for change of company name to Jewish Defence League, about 14 months before dissolution.
            1. GramSci August 4, 2024 at 12:57 pm

               Access denied. Request has expired.
               1. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 1:05 pm

                  Try this

                  It’s the June 2012 entry
   2. Comrade Ogilvy August 4, 2024 at 11:24 am

      At the risk of triggering people of good faith and intentions: as far as I can determine, actually exisiting rightwing nationalists in the UK are being very circumspect about these protests, and are warning their followers to proceed with extreme caution. Which is how I would suggest people approach what is happening across England and in Belfast, unless you want to get played re: WMDs, Duke Lacrosse, and Russiagate.

      The best nationalists have always been former leftists/progressives/maxists. Dollars to donuts: most of the mostly peaceful “far right” protesters in England grew up in council houses where everyone voted labor until a decade ago.

      Leftists tend to realize something is deeply wrong with their societies much sooner than conservatives, but out of an abundance of good intentions they dull their ability to recognize patterns. This leads them to fall for red herrings like “corporations” and “far right” and “facism” — instead of actually following the money and the power and identifying patterns. Like patterns among the owners of “corporations” or of golems (there is no other word for it) like “Tommy Robinson”. In short, they are played for fools — just as Yaxley’s followers are being played at the moment — thinking they are somehow standing in opposition to the regime when they are simply displaying useful idiocy for the people who bankroll both sides of this theater.

      The age of ideology is ending and human nature is reasserting itself across the West and nothing is going to stop it. Thus the attempt by globalists (who realize their project is failing) to use hostile immigrants to bum rush the native peoples of the West who are slowly waking up from the lies of the post-WW2 truth regime. If you know anything about union organizing, you will recognize the pattern.

      In this new/old disorder, your skin will be your uniform, and your team will start with your own kin and move outwards from there. Nobody wanted this, but this is what we are getting, good and hard.

      Humans are not interchangeable widgets. They never have been, and they never will be. If you want Vermont to look like Norway, then Vermont will need to be full of Norwegians, not Nigerians — or carpetbagging globalist frauds like Sanders.

      So much depends on the good intentions of good peoples being misdirected by misanthropes for their own anti-human purposes. If you want to see more children butchered, then keep celebrating the “diversity” being forced on you by your owners, who never asked you if you wanted this.
      1. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 1:32 pm

         “The Bezzle” could be the name of the phenomenon you are calling out.
         NC has a long running section covering the issue.
      2. Jonathan Holland Becnel August 5, 2024 at 2:12 am

         Well Said, Comrade Olgilvy.

         Here’s to hoping we can avoid the worst of the bloodshed.

         As Men and with Honor & Wisdom.
      3. elviejito August 5, 2024 at 3:53 pm

         This strikes me as an odd comment. I have trouble following the reasoning. My take-away from it is that we should disregard the actions of corporations, pay attention to the patterns of the owners (unidentified other than one rabble rouser under their influence being identified as a “golem” – no way ethnically identifiable) and (then after inserting mollifying rhetoric) pay attention to skin color, since that is where the world is heading. Ending with a slam on diversity.
         WHAT??!”
   3. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 1:47 pm

      Starmer addresses the nation: video and transcript

      The line about “stirring up trouble online and then running away” is I think a reference to Tommy Robinson who is currently hiding in Spain.

      Starmer still sounds like a headmaster.
      1. Michaelmas August 4, 2024 at 4:36 pm

         Starmer still sounds like a headmaster.

         Yup.

         “I guarantee you will regret taking part in this disorder.”

         That’s a classic line there.
4. Joker August 4, 2024 at 8:07 am

   China needs to pick a side, and it just might pick the West Asia Times. Author is Assistant Professor of Business Economics at the University of Nottingham and seems to have a few blind spots.

   Unlike the article, comments beneath it are worth checking out.
   1. timbers August 4, 2024 at 8:48 am

      Yes the comments are good. And the first paragraph is cringe inducing:

      For the Kremlin, its “partner of no limits”, China, isn’t doing enough to aid Russia’s war against Ukraine. So, Russia has signed a peace treaty with North Korea, hoping to pressure China into backing Moscow’s war effort further.

      There is so much wrong packed into that, I stopped and went to the comments.

      At any rate, even if China picked The West, The West will never pick China. Put another way, to be America’s friend is fatal.

      Not gonna happen IMO.
      1. Procopius August 5, 2024 at 10:16 pm

         The Chinese have always had a clear understanding of The West. In the 16th and 17th Centuries the Qin dynasty succeeded in imposing strict limits. Unfortunately, the dynasty decayed (as they all do) but was not overthrown, and the British won the First Opium War, leading to the Century of Humiliation, when most of our stereotypes were created. In fact, throughout most of their 2,500 years of history (they say 5,000 years) China has been the most advanced and prosperous country in the world. It’s taken a long time for them to recover from the Qin conquest, but it looks like they’re on their way back.
   2. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 11:20 am

      China exports high and low tech and a variety of products. Whichever “side” they choose has to have the infrastructure and consumer base to absorb all they want to export.
   3. ISL August 4, 2024 at 2:32 pm

      If it had been a peer-reviewed article, the funding sources would need to be acknowledged. I am curious (and in lieu of transparency) and can guess.
   4. bertl August 4, 2024 at 5:13 pm

      Not so much “a few blind spots” but a deep pit of ignorance.
5. Steve H. August 4, 2024 at 8:11 am

   > We Owe It to Ourselves to Shun These People Mercilessly
   >> Cloud computing still must store its data in physical locations, vulnerable to physical threats in the same way oil pipelines are.

   Vulnerable, not so much. John Robb:

   … my guess is that Elon is probably going to end up putting his dojo supercomputer for training AIs in space because you can get solar power cheaper than you can get on earth, and scalable volumes far beyond what you can get on Earth in the current environment, particularly since those supercomputers now (and most of the cloud stuff that goes around with AI) is so power intensive it chews up the power of a medium-sized city and then it’s growing even more. So if Elon wants orders of magnitude more compute than he has now, you think his plans are to do that in space? Well, running these big clusters to train AIs and to host AIs is almost all power-related costs. 80% of the costs of actually running those systems is energy costs. And energy costs are going up seems like everywhere here, terrestrially. And here you have this window in space that he alone really can access.
   1. rudi from butte August 4, 2024 at 10:44 am

      Wow! Just Wow!
      1. Revenant August 4, 2024 at 11:08 am

         Solar power in space is not the magic bullet you think of is. It is very hard to generate a lot of power. The panels are fragile and are damaged by all sorts of microscopic collisions with dust etc. There is no atmosphere for convective cooling so only radiative and conductive cooling is available. Conductive doesn’t help, it just transfers the problem around the craft. With radiative cooling as the limitation, the panel surfaces get hot and efficiency is low. The panels have to be angled to the sun at all times, requiring secondary fuel or using primary solar energy and propellant (ion drive).

         There is a reason why power hungry applications like spy satellites use nuclear thermal generators.

         This concept of a data centre in space is a nonsense.
         1. urdsama August 4, 2024 at 12:48 pm

            Revenant, to add to your point about power issues for datacenters located in Earth orbit, there are also the problems of data transfer and maintenance/troubleshooting.

            Wireless data transfer from low Earth orbit to ground stations will be slow and expensive. While one could argue data could be “front loaded” onto systems before launch (which has its own issues), you still need to transfer data from time to time. And don’t even thing about doing complex analysis…

            Maintenance and troubleshooting will be daunting tasks as well. Even if you could manage to deploy a large datacenter into orbit, you either need to build in a large amount of spare systems/components to handle multiple failures over time, or you will need to figure out how to have people reside on the datacenter station. And if you don’t have a human nearby, you will need to have a high tolerance for long system outages until someone can be dispatched to fix the underlying issue.

            I can’t see anyone signing up for that type of datacenter, unless they were getting paid to use it.
         2. Steve H. August 4, 2024 at 1:15 pm

            Had you argued from points in the linked video, I might have thought you were acting in good faith. There are many – the thermodynamic issues, competition amongst peers, ‘solar arrays that could equivalent be equal to several diameters of the earth, asteroids… Instead you toss up solved problems (case: the External Active Thermal Control System on the space station), and seem to be calling non-nuclear solutions nonsense.

            If you searched, you might find several active projects, with millions expended and launch dates scheduled.

            Better trolls, please.
            1. ChrisPacific August 4, 2024 at 6:14 pm

               There are no points in the linked video. I looked at the transcript. Only ten minutes of it was about orbital data centers and it was all superficial stuff.

               The ASCEND report looks interesting and has supposedly concluded that the idea is feasible, but I couldn’t find the full report published anywhere despite much searching – only the conclusions. That’s a red flag for me as I’d want to examine the assumptions used. A consortium of eleven for-profit companies with commercial interests in aerospace arguably has a vested interest in answering that question a certain way, and due diligence on tech boosterism is at historic lows these days (see also: Musk’s hyperloop, Uber’s flying cars, and many others). I’d like to see evidence that this was more than just a joint sales pitch for funding.
               1. Steve H. August 4, 2024 at 7:13 pm

                  I’d say the rubber hits the road with an actual launch. 2025 isn’t so far away, and the $100M invested wants its return. That’s worth a weather eye.

                  Given the potential for security, national and otherwise, it’s insufficient to consider only market forces. Support such as what Amazon gets for server farms can provide a subsidy.

                  I say naively, Starlink seems like a massive project that is not a disaster. It looks like an in-place lattice framework for information flow, that could be rapidly adapted. To whose ends, is a constant question. That’s a red flag for me.
                  1. urdsama August 5, 2024 at 2:21 am

                     I’ve yet to see any data that explains how these Earth orbit datacenters will deal with data transfer and maintenance/repair issues.

                     So until they do so, I put this in the same class and Musk and his manned trips to Mars.
                     1. ChrisPacific August 5, 2024 at 4:37 am

                        Looking at the minimal details provided, they say space data centers will require a tenfold improvement in launcher efficiency in order to be more efficient than terrestrial data centers (and terrestrial data center efficiency presumably not to have advanced at all in the time it takes to accomplish that).

                        This apparently translates to ‘feasible’ but I’m not so sure. Launcher technology is not the kind of field that’s subject to Moore’s Law style advances. It’s governed by some pretty simple (and unavoidable) rules of physics and chemistry.
   2. Kouros August 4, 2024 at 4:18 pm

      And those stations are so much closer to shoot down with missiles, only 200-300 miles away…
      1. Steve H. August 4, 2024 at 7:23 pm

         There are low earth orbit platforms operating now. But the earth’s orbit is a half-billion miles long. The arrays can be located anywhere, if a little lag time is okay.
   3. SocalJimObjects August 4, 2024 at 11:47 pm

      You can forgive me for being a skeptic when it comes to Elon Musk’s grandiose plans. Remember the Robo Taxi? It’s been coming forever, https://mishtalk.com/economics/tesla-slammed-8-percent-after-hours-musk-postpones-robotaxi-announcement/. How’s the hyperloop going?

      More importantly, how is this supercomputer going to help anyone make money? Wall St is now asking VERY SERIOUSLY if AI is going to increase corporate profits anytime soon, and if not, you can expect the funding pipeline to dry up.
6. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 8:14 am

   “Waiting for the Missiles”

   Waiting for the missiles is right. Hezbollah just sent forty to fifty Katyusha rockets against Israel which must have caused a mini-panic in Israel. But then Hezbollah announced that this was not their revenge attack but a response to attacks that Israel had made against Lebanese villages & civilians. The big one has jet to come. So not only was Hezbollah rattling Israel’s cage but they forced Israel to use up scores of their Iron Dome missiles like they were going out of style – missiles that they will sorely need in the coming days-

   https://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5046988-hezbollah-launches-dozens-rockets-northern-israel

   Larry Johnson also talks about Paul Whelan who was recently swapped and turns out to be real piece of work. Recently he was demanding from his prison that the US kidnap Russian diplomats, tourists or anybody else Russian to make the Russians swap them for his release. No wonder that the Marines gave him the boot.
   1. ambrit August 4, 2024 at 8:46 am

      Rattle their cage is precisely correct. Katyusha rockets are WW-2 era unguided missiles, of medium size and generally used in barrages for area suppression. This is just a demonstration of intent. The main event will probably consist of waves of expendable drones followed by precision devices.
      The real question is what the ultimate targets will be. Israeli government infrastructure? “Military bases? Domestic infrastructure, such as electricity grids?
      If the planners behind this iteration of “The Axis” are up to the task, they will leave the civilian airports intact so as to facilitate the exodus of the Israeli dual passport civilians. Most of those dual passport Israelis are the backbone of the Israeli economy, both the workers and consumers. A slow but steady bleeding of the Israeli economy will bankrupt the Israeli State if the war continues.
      1. Phenix August 4, 2024 at 9:07 am

         I don’t want anymore of them in the US. I already deal with more than my fair share of Ukrainian neo-NAZIs and rabid zonists. I do not need more genocidal cowards. At least fight for what you believe in. Don’t escape and hide in the State’s when you face a real fight
         1. Michael Fiorillo August 4, 2024 at 10:00 am

            Thank you.

            As a New Yorker, I’m not looking forward to the inevitable flood of Zionist thugs/cowards exiting the settlements and returning to the metro NYC area, nor Azov Nazis frying pierogies at Veselka, while beating up peaceniks as a hobby…

            Don’t the Democrats look at places like Florida – once a swing state and now reliably Republican – and give any heft to how the welcoming of Rightists fleeing US-supported debacles in their home countries is structurally undermining them? Then again, to do so would mean looking at US foreign policy with the same “moral clarity” that they give to “saving our democracy” – via things like Russiagate and Stormy Daniels inspired Lawfare – and that is more cognitive dissonance than they can bear.

            Want to see a #McResistance liberal’s head explode? Tell them they were useful idiots in normalizing anti-Russian sentiment, via Russiagate and Impeachment 1.0, as a prelude to a losing proxy war with a nuclear power.
            1. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 11:55 am

               The USA: home of the fascist diaspora.
               From all parts of the world the fascists come.
               Govt only checks for “commies.”
         2. flora August 4, 2024 at 10:12 am

            So you are not a fan of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro then? I read he’s on Kamala’s short list for the VP slot. / ;)

            Josh Shapiro seeks to downplay his time as IDF volunteer after college op-ed resurfaces

            https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/josh-shapiro-seeks-to-downplay-his-time-as-idf-volunteer-after-college-op-ed-resurfaces/
            1. Phenix August 4, 2024 at 11:51 am

               I worked with Shapiro a long time ago. He is an intelligent politician. We always thought that he would get to be Governor then a Senator. His family is very rich and well connected in PA and by extension nationally. I never imagined him on the national stage. He is a small man. I don’t remember his height but I was much taller than him.

               Shapiro will go with whatever is mainstream Democrat. He is a neo-liberal but one who owes labor a lot of favors. He is terrible on family rights…trans/vaccines. He is pro-genocide but I think if he gets the nod, we can officially bury the me too movement.

               Volunteering for the IDF is normal around here. I’ve gone to more mitzvahs than confirmations. The amount of rabid Zionists in my area is disturbing. This genocidal moment was not a surprise….the only surprise was the timing.

               Madeline Dean, is taking more courageous stances against Israel than any of the squad members. Her positions are tepid but for her/my district they are radical. She is now targeted by AIPAC.

               There was another local politician that I also worked with who we thought would take the national route. Similar familes but he was nearly as tall as me. I am 6’4″.
            2. Kouros August 4, 2024 at 4:23 pm

               Is that picture of Kamala sitting in fact on adung beetle ball?
         3. Katniss Everdeen August 4, 2024 at 10:37 am

            I think we should prioritize resettling the israelis who are rioting violently to protect their right to sodomize and gang rape illegally imprisoned Palestinian men with electric rods.

            Innovative barbarity is still “innovation,” and we need more investment in the electric rod industry, which I’m sure our newest citizen neighbors will be willing and able to provide.
            1. Lefty Godot August 4, 2024 at 9:46 pm

               They’ll probably be fast-tracked into police jobs. That kind of experience beats all the textbook police training you can buy.

               I bet there are young adults now that can’t remember a time when police didn’t have armored personnel carriers to ride around in.
      2. Joker August 4, 2024 at 9:21 am

         Just to be clear, they are not firing actual WWII vintage stuff. In that part of the world “Katyusha” is used as a generic term for a weapon type.
         1. Polar Socialist August 4, 2024 at 9:36 am

            Something like that. Grad (BM-21) is more accurate at 30 kilometers than Katyusha (BM-13) was at 3 kilometers. You can probably put the whole salvo inside an area of four football* fields if you know what you’re doing.

            I assume when used as a nuisance/retalion strike, the aim is to force Israelis into shelters in a wide area and activate as many Iron Dome sites as possible, so they probably prefer more dispersion than less.

            * the one played with feet
      3. The Infamous Oregon Lawhobbit August 4, 2024 at 8:52 pm

         ambrit,

         In the alternative, though, what if the airports are rendered unusable, trapping all those unhappy would-be evacuees in the country?
         1. ambrit August 5, 2024 at 1:28 am

            Then we will know that both sides can play at Genocide.
            When the deadly pathogens previously thought under control spring fully alive again in the rubble of Gaza, such as the reports of polio cases coming out of there, the Hamas politburo can send infected individuals into Israel proper to spread the pathogens. It is a long used strategy in warfare. For all I know, the Zionists and the Palestinians are both charter members in the Jackpot Enabling Society.
            See: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crgrxjn9rkpo
   2. Anti-Fake-Semite August 4, 2024 at 8:48 am

      God/Allah/The Universe willing, the Iranian response will be the one that brings “Israel” to it’s knees. When a mad dog attacks children it must be destroyed. The Jewish terror organisation known as Israel cannot be integrated into the civilised world. Driven by their neurosis, they have voted for their own abolition. History will remember these people as a curse. A curse to themselves, a curse to their neighbours, their friends and their enemies but most of all as a self-inflicted curse. They anointed themselves as the chosen ones. They are hell bent on seeing their holocaust through to completion. What a weird, weird people. Goodbye and thanks for the bagels.
   3. Polar Socialist August 4, 2024 at 8:50 am

      Since Elijah Magnier just said it’s unlikely the (Hezbollah) retaliation will come before Tuesday afternoon, while we wait for the inevitable, there is a new Youtube channel Deep Dive Defense which rather objectively and dispassionately goes trough both Iranian and Israeli capabilities. And a two-part analysis on the previous strike, too.
      1. NotTimothyGeithner August 4, 2024 at 9:51 am

         The managed Iranian escalation would be to prolong the alert status for military personnel involved, especially with Israel’s economy and a now normative tit for tat with Hezbollah.
   4. Louis Fyne August 4, 2024 at 9:59 am

      No need to rush for Iran. if they wait 2 months and do it, they still win.

      frog boiling is the optimal strategy if one is dispassionate about this.

      Israel has 50% of US deaths in the Vietnam War in 10 months (on a per capia basis, 8 mil Israelis today v. 2xx mil Americans in 1970).

      gazan losses,of course, are horrific even using the lowest end of estimates
      1. playon August 4, 2024 at 12:20 pm

         I don’t think this is accurate. I’m under the impression that the death toll of US soldiers was around 60,000. The two million figure was the estimated number of Vietnamese deaths.
         1. Kouros August 4, 2024 at 4:31 pm

            Louis was describing the casualty rates per capita. In Israel is 600-1000/how many Jews are in Israel vs 60000/200,000,000 for US vietnam war. But this way, Israeli casualtis must be over 3000 to match US casualty rates in Vietnam.
         2. Art_DogCT August 4, 2024 at 4:56 pm

            On the comparison of per capita deaths, it’s clearer if you understand that Mr. Fyne used “2xx mil” to represent “200+ million” in US population (200.71 million in 1968 to 215.97 in 1975 – the period reflected in the ~60,000 KIA).

            Data from this site.
   5. Useless Eater August 4, 2024 at 11:16 am

      The more the media touts the ‘triump of diplomacy’ the more convinced I am that the GAE didn’t make a good deal. Reminiscent of trading a basketball player for an arms dealer.
7. ciroc August 4, 2024 at 8:37 am

   Ms Halford-Hall is also urging the legal watchdog, which oversees the professional conduct of lawyers, to ensure that solicitors firms are not allowed to facilitate cover-ups of national security issues.

   “It is time that the SRA stopped pussyfooting around with this and brought forward meaningful regulations and serious consequences for lawyers,” Ms Halford-Hall said. “Every lawyer should be compelled to report national security or other safeguarding issues to the relevant regulators and/or the police.”

   https://www.yahoo.com/news/britain-nuclear-submarine-software-contract-202401942.html

   If you’re a British lawyer: Your loyalty is to your country, not to your client.
   1. ambrit August 4, 2024 at 8:57 am

      Thus the heartfelt advice of Polonius to his departing son:

      Neither a barrister nor a soliciter be;
      For writ oft loses both itself and friend,
      And the Law dulls the edge of integrity.
      This above all; to thine ownself be true,
      And it must follow, as the night the day,
      Thou cans’t not then be true to any man.
8. Balan ARoxdale August 4, 2024 at 8:44 am

   Blinken speaks with UK, French counterparts to ‘deescalate’ rising Mideast tensions Anadolu Agency

   Probably coordinating joint military counter-strikes and domestic censorship/propaganda campaigns. And of course the next UN veto.
   1. Kouros August 4, 2024 at 4:33 pm

      He should speak with Israel, seriously, if he wants de-escalation.
9. Trees&Trunks August 4, 2024 at 8:47 am

   So in just a few daya, media employees wants us to believe that Kamala Harris ”gets” things. So far, AI and space.

   Do they really believe that we will think that she is not as stupid as she has appeared to be all these years? Are they trying to unburdem her by what has been or will come or what kind gaslighting/psyop is this?

   Ali G got space too.

   https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YRX9_PPcalE&pp=ygUKQWxpIGcgbmFzYQ%3D%3D
   1. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 9:06 am

      Captain Janeway she is not. Come to think of it, it was Kamala that announced new changes to space policies about two years ago so probably has a few friendly contacts there-

      https://www.vandenberg.spaceforce.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3004297/vice-president-kamala-harris-visits-vandenberg-makes-historic-announcement-furt/

      At least with space, she does not get any flak over illegal aliens.
      1. Screwball August 4, 2024 at 9:50 am

         I hope she knows space better than cloud computing and how she will tame inflation. Maybe space is more suited for this space cadet.
         1. flora August 4, 2024 at 10:20 am

            “Bidenomics is working! It’s working!” – Kamala on any number of occasions. /heh
      2. Terry Flynn August 4, 2024 at 9:59 am

         Actually maybe Captain Janeway is EXACTLY what she is. I’m pretty sure someone like you is aware of the “reputation” Captain Janeway has on YouTube for being a serial violator of the Prime Directive, amongst a whole load of other monstrous stuff (killing Tuvix without a “proper” Star Trek exploration of the morality etc).

         Kate Mulgrew has been quoted by multiple sources about the terrible inconsistency in the writing of her character. Then the showrunner brought in a female character who absolutely did not need a skin tight spandex silver suit. She was eye candy but I’m sure that’s coincidence. She is a very fine actress. But plenty of people on YT have pointed out what went on on Voyager.
         1. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 10:08 am

            “The Prime Directive is an objective that’s very important… [Looks into distance briefly and realises she’s out of her depth]… It’s an instruction that directs us to follow it… [waves hands around]…and so it’s very important that we keep its primeness…[pulls expression to show depth and gravitas of her words]…in the way in which we are directed ……[triumphant hand waving and smiling]….

            [Sotto voice]….replicator: Xanax, fast acting.”
            1. Terry Flynn August 4, 2024 at 10:25 am

               Hehe. I remember one of the many writers who was unhappy with Voyager quoting Mulgrew appearing on set one day asking “so, which version of Captain Janeway am I to be today?”

               Ouch. I’m glad she got to really show her acting chops in OITNB etc. Voyager was doomed from day one and led to departure of Ronald D Moore when they realised “we have been told to make this completely serialized for syndication yet its basic premise is that they have a finite number of torpedoes/shuttles/people etc but must reset at start of every episode. Does not compute”.

               Which explains why RDM went to such lengths to show deterioration of Galactica across 4 or so years. BSG is lauded. Voyager is made fun of by prominent YouTubers.
         2. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 10:12 am

            ‘killing Tuvix without a “proper” Star Trek exploration of the morality etc’

            I would have guessed that it was based on proper Vulcan logic as in-

            ‘Logic clearly dictates that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few – or the one.’

            The existence of a temporary Tuvix cannot outweigh the continued existence of two other people – Tuvok and Neelix. It’s a numbers decision-

            https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Tuvix
         3. ebolapoxclassic August 4, 2024 at 11:25 am

            You force me to make another Youtube tip (I should probably restrain myself from those for a while): sfdebris: psycho janeway – equinox (extended cut)
            

            (There’s a whole series of these by the way.)
         4. griffen August 4, 2024 at 12:16 pm

            I do not follow all the Star Trek discussion and really can’t speak much at all to any of the television series. But I’ll thank all for making me think about an attractive female actress from the Voyager series, Jeri Ryan. Quite a few interesting facts about her life, in retrospect. I’d also forgotten she a had a brief appearance in the 1st season of Helix, which was kinda wild in the scenario of a virus breaking out in an isolated lab or research station based in the Arctic.
         5. Mo's Bike Shop August 4, 2024 at 12:41 pm

            I think the last episode I watched ended with no resolution of the lizard children she had with Tom Paris that one time.
         6. Anonted August 7, 2024 at 10:24 am

            Perhaps it was due to my youth, my empathy with her circumstances, or my steeping in neoliberalism, that led me to embrace Janeway as more of a pirate than a Starfleet officer. 7 didn’t hurt. I enjoyed the series; but then I am indifferent to canon, and quite enjoyed, eg. the Halo adaptation.
   2. griffen August 4, 2024 at 9:15 am

      She really is capable and prepared, to begin day one of a new Presidential administration and manage the domestic and foreign policies with diplomacy and aplomb. Unlike that belligerent bully, and very unworthy of the office, Donald Trump! \ SARC

      I’m getting a lot of mileage lately from satire and sarcasm. Blazing Saddles and anything else Mel Brooks has put on offer once was a worthy and useful reference, but I’ve lost the ability to keep up with the hasty developments since only late June. Fubar.

      Heaven help us if anyone brings up inflation in a serious tone and expects a refreshing answer that isn’t just word-salad ingredients. “Prices are higher, so that’s stressful…” Per a video clip I’ve seen a few occasions. Probably the same clip.
      1. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 9:40 am

         The inflation word salad (twix link)
         1. Trees&Trunks August 4, 2024 at 11:28 am

            Oh, so Kamala Harris gets inflation too. She’s a walking, rambling encyclopedia. The Obamas got a book deal as a thank you for their sell-out. Maybe Kamala Harris should too, even a full series: ”Kamala Harris gets things”?

            Kamala Harris gets traffic lights.
            Kamala Harris gets crocodiles.
            Kamala Harris gets mixer taps.
            1. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 11:53 am

               I think she’d be genuinely excellent at voicing audiobooks of children’s stories
               1. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 1:50 pm

                  If she discovered that was her true calling, I’d be genuinely excited.
               2. ambrit August 4, 2024 at 4:58 pm

                  So, if I catch your drift, President Kamala will be reading a children’s book to a pre-school class when the news of the nuking of Lebanon comes in. She will look up for a moment and wave the flunky away with the quip; “Back off. Can’t you see I’m performing my duties of office?”
                  Later on, in the White House bunker it will be: “Heckuva a job Blinkey!”
         2. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 3:23 pm

            In my dreams, the next reporter follows up with:

            Q: Thank you, Captain Obvious. Now what else are you going to do to fix this problem with inflation?

            But imagine the unlimited possibilities of a Harris-Buttigieg word salad? It would be like a word salad bar.
      2. Nikkikat August 4, 2024 at 10:22 am

         After 4 or 5 years of the disjointed mumbled blather put out by the Biden crew, I guess
         This dummy is bordering on genius. At least Trumps statements are funny. I laughed for a couple of days about “people coming into the country speaking languages no one has ever heard of”. At least he is inventive.
      3. Socal Rhino August 4, 2024 at 11:37 am

         The pro education feminist Dems put forward their second female presidential candidate who, coincidentally, also failed her first try at the bar exam. The bar exam is not the CPA exam, most people pass the bar. Not that intelligence necessarily predicts leadership, after all the one whose face must be punched (a current Texas senator) had a distinguished law career by all accounts.
         1. Big River Bandido August 4, 2024 at 5:56 pm

            Actually no, quite a few ultimately competent lawyers fail the bar exam, some more than once. Those who attend “national” law schools (Ivy League and the like) actually do worse because their schools don’t teach to state exams whereas state schools generally teach how to pass the exams.
   3. Alice X August 4, 2024 at 9:37 am

      Know thine enemy

      Sun Tzu
   4. jefemt August 4, 2024 at 9:39 am

      I’m looking for the photo of her looking at the sun…..
      1. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 9:46 am

         She might have been listening to AI Google then which, when asked how long can you stare at the sun for your health, suggested about 30 seconds or so. Yes, this actually happened.
   5. Neutrino August 4, 2024 at 10:00 am

      Space czar, has a spacey sound, dunnit?

      Many observers would say that she should take command of the space between her ears first.
      1. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 10:10 am

         Spaced Czar?
   6. britzklieg August 4, 2024 at 2:12 pm

      Spare me the Ali G. Despite immense talent and formidable intellect, Sacha Baron Cohen is a racist, Zionist pig. Always has been.
      1. Jonathan Holland Becnel August 5, 2024 at 2:23 am

         Yeah but Borat fucking ruled.

         Gimme your tears, Gypsy….

         CLASSIC!
   7. Kouros August 4, 2024 at 4:43 pm

      I love a Kamala bashing session as any other here, but she is running against Trump. Trump is a known entity: tarrif wars with everyone (that won’y really bring back US productive capacity, given high living costs in the uS), started massiv arming of Ukraine, Recognized Jerusalem as Israeli capital and Golan Heights as belonging to Israel, withdrew US from JPCOA (now he is saying that he can get a better deal). He is a known entity…

      So, all these bashers here, voting for Jill or staying at home?
      1. hk August 4, 2024 at 6:06 pm

         If she actually took over as the president and dared to show that she’s doing things differently from Biden, then there’d be reason to think differently, at least as far as I’m concerned. But the Dem choreographers are not doing that: they are keeping Biden in so that, whatever goes wrong, by whichever definition, he’ll take all the blame, while Kamala is being lifted on nothing but symbolic gestures without being responsible for anything. To me, at least, this is a cynical con, one that holds the American people in utter and complete contempt. The entire Democratic Party is collectively responsible for staging this, and for that reason, they deserve to be punished for it. If the price is four more years of Trump, so be it. At least that’s my thinking.
         1. Kouros August 4, 2024 at 7:39 pm

            Yeah, maybe.

            the problem with the US elections is that usually the rest of the world is punished as well…
            1. hk August 5, 2024 at 1:24 pm

               If the contrast between Trump and whatever regime that’s in charge in DC now were clear, that would be a more convincing argument. I don’t think it is. If anything, the two differences we have seen are 1) The “Democratic” Regime engages in a big con/gaslighting with everyone involved. We’ve seen it with Nordstream. We’ve seen it with the Middle East and Ukraine. We’ve seen it with China. We’ve seen it with the current Iran situation. They are doing one thing and baldly lie claiming the oopposite. It’s not just Biden, but the entire regime. In fact, I occasionally entertain tin foil hat notion that friends of Israel regime-changed Biden precisely because he was unable to keep up the act too convincingly (not because he was becoming more “honest,” but because he had trouble keeping up the poker face). I don’t think Trump would be fundamentally worse and, if anything, would be more “open” about his actions. 2) What makes the “Democratic” regime more dangerous is that it can get other Western countries to go along with its schemes. The visceral reaction that Trump gets from other Western powers means that, if he tries something reckless, he’s sure to get non-cooperation or even interference from other Western powers. That will limit his ability to do harm. If the current regime continues in power, other Western powers will not only enable it to do crazy and dangerous things around the world, it will actually assist in both the actions themselves and the associated lying. To me, that makes for a much more dangerous and unstable world than 4 years of Trump.
      2. Lefty Godot August 4, 2024 at 9:54 pm

         So, all these bashers here, voting for Jill or staying at home?

         Jill here.
10. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 8:54 am

    “Russian Il-76TD specializing in arms transport landed in Iran”

    Simplicious mentions a report that ‘Iran, apparently, has received Russian ultra-long-range electronic warfare systems Murmansk-BN.’ Interesting if it is true but something occurs to me. If the US calls out Russia for delivering such a system to Iran, Russia could reply that they are not shipping offensive weapons to Iran but only defensive weapons. You know, the same sort that the US was shipping to the Ukraine before the war broke out by the plane load. Nothing wrong with that, is there?

    https://armyrecognition.com/military-products/army/electronic-warfare/murmansk-bn-electronic-warfare-communications-jamming-system-data
    1. .Tom August 4, 2024 at 10:18 am

       That article in Bulgarian Military reported on an unconfirmed message on Telegram.
    2. ebolapoxclassic August 4, 2024 at 11:03 am

       To be frank, what does it matter? Who says Russia isn’t allowed to ship offensive weapons to Iran, only ones it can pass off as “defensive”?
    3. rudi from butte August 4, 2024 at 11:04 am

       They could care less what the USA says or thinks. Simplicius is a joke. Main stream joke. Just filler.

       CENTCOM commander probably sent to ME to make sure we don’t respond. Remember the pics of tough guy Tommy Franks in his Camp outfit running the world from Florida?
       1. ISL August 4, 2024 at 2:42 pm

          I find Simplicius quite useful. He aggregates a wide data sources I do not have time time to search out. I then listen to the Duran boys and Judge Naps analysts, and form my own opinion. If you have a better news aggregator for key geopolitical/military flareup points, please share!
    4. urdsama August 4, 2024 at 1:58 pm

       I thought Putin had already put the US and NATO on notice that Russia now has the right to actively undermine the US and NATO by supporting their opponents/enemies?

       If so, I don’t know if Russia would care to cloak their intentions. At the very least, they would feel no need to do so unless it gave them an additional advantage.
       1. ebolapoxclassic August 4, 2024 at 7:29 pm

          I’ve heard Russia make that statement probably between 10 and 20 times during this conflict or before. Just like they repeated dozens of times that if Russian sovereign territory was ever hit, Russia would strike back at “decision making centers”. It was debated among alt-media people (at MoA for example) if that meant striking Ukrainian political or military command structures in Kiev or even NATO ones in Brussels, London, Paris etc., but that was a completely unecessary discussion.

          Russian sovereign territory, both civilian and military targets, has been attacked between a weekly or a daily basis and Russia hasn’t struck back at anything that could be considered a “decision making center”. At some point everyone tunes this stuff out. The West learns to not take Russia’s “red lines” or threats seriously and Russia’s “partners” learn not to trust its commitments. This is the unfortunate truth.

          Remember the Su-35s that were going to be delivered to Iran? It was announced over and over that a deal had been made, or that delivery was imminent, and nothing ever came out of it. Iran hasn’t received any of them.
11. JohnA August 4, 2024 at 9:02 am

    Re Lloyd Austin Cynically Revokes 9/11 Plea Deals

    Yet another classic example of the US not being agreement capable.

    Why would any country enter into negotiations with Washington? The ink wasn’t even dry on this deal.
    1. Joker August 4, 2024 at 9:28 am

       Why would any country enter into negotiations with Washington? Because it is forced to.
    2. Zephyrum August 4, 2024 at 3:01 pm

       I am altering the deal. Pray I do not alter it any further.
12. timbers August 4, 2024 at 9:05 am

    Iran Keeps World on Pins and Needles Simplicius the Thinker

    “US redeploying forces” and “US to send more Combat Aircraft and Warships” to Middle East”.

    Overextended, anyone? If global military events were a bin ball game or a board game like Stratego, now would be a good time for a distraction that – based on past US behavior – would require a large commitment of US military assets, say in the Taiwan area. I am skeptical of MSM reports that Russia is/was planning to militarily help the Houthis, only because it’s Western MSM.
    1. ilsm August 4, 2024 at 11:28 am

       USS Theo Roosevelt carrier is near Oman having no career with the Houthi. It is close to needing a home port cycle.

       USS Lincoln CVN is #2 CVN in west Pacific it looks like candidate for aiding Israel.

       Long trip for either to get to near Israel.

       Land fighter squadron can do more attack sorties than carriers and also protect the USN dinosaurs.

       US is thin with no depth. Alfred Thayer Mahan and the navy lobby would be shocked

       Desert Storm was two whole evolutions ago
    2. Joker August 4, 2024 at 4:45 pm

       Overextended, anyone? Yea, RAND is a fan of overextending (and unbalancing).
    3. bertl August 4, 2024 at 6:21 pm

       My guess is that Iran is thinking 4 or 5 moves ahead, planning for all foreseeable contingencies and preparing it’s response plans for those eventualities which have not been foreseen, liasing with all friendly parties, mainly Hezbollah, the Houthis, Syria and Iraq, and Russia, China and North Korea amongst the nuclear powers, before it makes it’s initial retaliatory response.

       The escalatory ladder all too readily leads to the US fighting wars of choice on three or more fronts when it does not have the conventional military ability to win a decisive victory on any one of those fronts, instead falling back on a nuclear response or series of responses, due to the profound diplomatic and intellectual weaknesses of the current administration. It is essentially a matter of time or a clear demonstration of US willingness to step back from giving both the Ukraine and Israel anything other than moral support from that point forward, which is, to say the least, unlikely.

       However, the planning/consultation timelag does provide the US people with an opportunity to elect a new administration which has the willingness and the ability to conduct personal diplomacy at the highest level, sets up a framework to create functioning and purposeful diplomatic channels at every level, and to avoid an outcome which destroys humanity.
13. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 9:34 am

    “A company wanted to store carbon under US forests; it may get its wish”

    They only want to put all that carbon under US Forest Service lands because the Feds own them meaning that Senators can be offered the right incentives to make this happen. Thing is, the Feds also own vast tracts of land out west. So why not store it under deserts and wastelands instead so if it escapes, the damage will be minimal? Come to think of it, you could make it a twofer by storing carbon underground and having vast arrays of solar panels above ground. Anyway, why should CapturePoint be part of any deal? Aren’t they just a middleman getting their cut for any deals arranged? Put CapturePoint execs on the hook personally & financially for any damage done that would not be extinguishable in bankruptcy. You know, just like student debt.
    1. jefemt August 4, 2024 at 9:50 am

       Breathtaking logic! Trademark the thinking, sell it as part of a platform to the Heritage Foundation- project 2030?

       Funny not so funny thing- with the Uniparty, it likely will happen regardless of which party is ‘in control’, and
       Capturepoint will be bought by Citi, Blackstone, or JP Morgan Chase- maybe all three in a JV.
    2. flora August 4, 2024 at 10:58 am

       Carbon capture, aka carbon sequestraton, has been worked on for decades with govt grant funding.

       from MIT Review:

       The US just invested more than $1 billion in carbon removal

       https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/08/11/1077756/the-us-just-invested-more-than-1-billion-into-carbon-removal/

       Lots of ‘hope’, and ‘could’, and ‘might’ in these ventures.

       adding: “It “sets up the future where the United States government could be one of the largest purchasers of carbon dioxide in the world,” Andreasen says.”

       Can a carbon footprint tax be far behind? / ;)
    3. c_heale August 5, 2024 at 5:12 am

       Are they trying to make coal?

       I wouldn’t be surprised given the idiocy that passes for politics these days.

       I expect them to kill the forest and release all the injected carbon into the atmosphere.
14. Carolinian August 4, 2024 at 9:44 am

    Re the debate question–this NYT account has considerably more detail than the USA Today version while, of course, wearing it’s anti-Trump heart on its sleeve. Trump is in litigation against ABC since their Stephanopolis called him a “rapist.” The court just allowed the suit to go forward.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/03/us/politics/trump-harris-debate-fox-news.html

    The Harris contention is that the Dems are allowed to change not only strategy but even candidates but the Trump people are not and if they do they are “cowards.” It’s all world wrestling trash talk of course and perhaps fair enough given Trump’s fondness for it. But it’s unclear whether Harris will prevail against unserious person Trump by showing herself to be even more unserious. She’s trying to Trump Trump but he had years on television to build up an audience while so far Harris is an insta-candidate being built from nothing by the media. Does she have any substance at all?

    As for the public, they may be relieved to have no debates.
    1. Katniss Everdeen August 4, 2024 at 10:56 am

       As for the public, they may be relieved to have no debates.

       Given the candidate the dems have anointed, without a single vote being cast for her by their “constituencies,” I think the dems will be relieved to have no debates as well.
       1. flora August 4, 2024 at 11:01 am

          I was looking forward to the Fox debate. High entertainment value. / ;)
       2. Jabura Basaidai August 4, 2024 at 12:03 pm

          the dems would certainly be relieved – remembering her debate performance during primaries she had one good zinger but otherwise was resolutely unimpressive – she can’t think on her feet like $hillary – agree with flora that it should be high entertainment – looking forward to it – and why not have Jill Stein and RFK Jr on that stage too? –
          1. Pat August 4, 2024 at 12:26 pm

             Considering how much time, effort and money the Democratic Party spends on making sure that they cannot be on the ballot, both legislatively and in court, acknowledging that they deserve status as candidates would be a bridge too far.

             Not to mention that with everyone on the stage running rings around her, Kamala would look like the kindergartner who wandered into the high school by mistake.
          2. hk August 4, 2024 at 1:53 pm

             I miss Tulsie. :|
    2. Bazarov August 4, 2024 at 1:38 pm

       The first debate was an absolute disaster for Trump–it forced Biden out of the race and replaced him with someone who’s not melting before our eyes. It made the race much more competitive. Perhaps the most cut-and-dry Pyrrhic victory in modern politics.

       The Trump camp, realizing their mistake, perhaps has come to believe that debates are very risky ventures. It’s best not to engage. Kamala looks better than I’ve ever seen her. She’s glowing, obviously energized by the all the attention. Trump will appear quite old next to her as they both otherwise cancel each other out with their word-salad prattle.

       Frankly, I see this effort to kill the debate as a sign of competence in the Trump team. They’re able enough to learn from a mistake and not do it again.
       1. Jason Boxman August 4, 2024 at 2:35 pm

          I’m not surprised by this, and excellent point about the Pyrrhic victory. I don’t think it is in the best interests of Trump to provide Harris with a platform to introduce herself nationally, any more than she already has. And this counters the major factor about Trump that, like Biden, he is quite old relatively speaking, and in absolute terms to Harris. Quite a contrast! A debate for Trump now is likely a losing proposition, even if Harris sounds incoherent in the debate. She’s still the much younger candidate, and not Biden. Plenty of people just didn’t want another Biden/Trump election, I think, and now we have that, and people can vote for someone new, even if she’s just more of the same.

          A lot can still happen, but Harris has a solid chance at winning I think, and perhaps picks up people that think this is more than a not-Trump vote now. Even though it is a things-stay-the same vote, as always.
       2. Not Qualified to Comment August 4, 2024 at 7:16 pm

          While I don’t have a direct say in the matter I do harbour faint hopes that Harris might be a different, and better, President than many expect. Of course being a better President than any of the recent ones, or the alternative on offer, is a pretty low bar but women who break through the glass ceiling and find themselves free of the restraints and limits to which they were previously subject and with the reins in their hands, can surprise. And she will – or should – be aware that America’s women of every stripe and pursuasion will still expect her to ‘succeed’ rather than ‘prove’ women ain’t up to it – ie to break the mould as Margaret Thatcher did in the UK.
       3. Roland August 4, 2024 at 9:51 pm

          Bazarov, you’re overthinking it.

          Trump couldn’t exactly refuse to debate Biden, nor could he do anything to prevent Biden from making a fool of himself.

          Harris is a weak candidate, who has never won anything. An inside creature if there ever was one, she represents most of what is wrong with her party.

          Trump should be happy enough to debate her. Harris is a frivolous lightweight, who makes Trump look mature and statesmanlike by comparison.
          1. Bazarov August 4, 2024 at 10:06 pm

             Trump could’ve refused to debate Biden until Biden was the official nominee, after which removing him would’ve been much more complicated and difficult.

             The debates were unusually early, something the Trump team should not have agreed to.

             Trump often sounds frivolous to me. It’s a matter of opinion to say Harris sounds more frivolous. Certainly, she’s young and frivolous, while Trump is elderly and, in my view, at least equally frivolous. In terms of optics, it’s a real risk that Harris would come out on top. Therefore, it’s probably a good move not to debate her.
       4. Jamie August 5, 2024 at 12:02 am

          Bazarov
          Interesting analysis!

          Trump does look, and sound a little burnt-out.

          What If the debate questions are crafted to shield Kamala’s reputation. ..to memory hole her (alleged) abhorrent past (ie. home wrecker, unethical Prosecutor etc. .).

          Kamala is “the newest thing”. The Media’s Darling. Drew Barrymore gushing, “Mamala” . .

          Trump hurling insults, won’t hit the same way it did with Hillary. He can’t resist.

          I have no idea what the majority of voters are looking at for news.

          You could be right.

          NPR:
          Trump posts about a new debate plan, and Harris pushes back

          PS. If there is a debate, I hope Lambert hosts another. Fun Comment Party.
15. i just don't like the gravy August 4, 2024 at 9:45 am

    I want to thank the blowflies for doing God’s work
16. pjay August 4, 2024 at 10:14 am

    – ‘The end of progressive neoliberalism in Canada’ – Canadian Dimension

    This is a pretty good general discussion of something most NC readers already know: that like Democrats and Republicans in the US, “Liberals and Tories share a deep-seated commitment to market-based approaches. Both parties tackle socioeconomic challenges by giving corporations ever more incentives and subsidies and staying clear of regulating them…”

    But the article’s title reminded me of this:

    “Political philosopher Nancy Fraser famously coined the term “progressive neoliberalism” to describe governments that openly embrace equity and diversity ideals from social movements while actively defending corporate and financial sector interests. Bill Clinton paved the way for Barack Obama in the United States. Tony Blair was the face of it in the United Kingdom.”

    The author cites Fraser’s article, written in January 2017 just as Trump was about to take office. It is worth re-reading today:

    https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/progressive-neoliberalism-reactionary-populism-nancy-fraser/

    As with ‘professional-managerial class’, in my view ‘progressive neoliberalism’ is a very useful shorthand term to describe an important reality. As Fraser explains,

    “In its U.S. form, progressive neoliberalism is an alliance of mainstream currents of new social movements (feminism, anti-racism, multiculturalism, and LGBTQ rights), on the one side, and high-end “symbolic” and service-based business sectors (Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood), on the other. In this alliance, progressive forces are effectively joined with the forces of cognitive capitalism, especially financialization. However unwittingly, the former lend their charisma to the latter. Ideals like diversity and empowerment, which could in principle serve different ends, now gloss policies that have devastated manufacturing and what were once middle-class lives.”

    Reading Fraser’s article again, along with her subsequent exchange with Johanna Brenner, is worthwhile but also pretty depressing. Instead of heeding her advice for overcoming hegemonic effects of progressive neoliberalism that gave us Trump in the first place, liberal Democrats simply doubled-down on it. And here we are today.
    1. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 12:53 pm

       feminism, anti-racism, multiculturalism, and LGBTQ rights

       I’ll just add:
       Nothing about any identity is inherently “progressive.” Plenty of racists among the alphabet soup, misogyny amid multiculturalism, feminists not enthralled with the trans sector, gays not having feminism, etc…
       And fascists among the identity groups too.
    2. spud August 4, 2024 at 1:16 pm

       thanks for the link. almost a perfect article.
17. hamstak August 4, 2024 at 10:29 am

    Regarding the Haniyeh assassination, in yesterday’s (8/3) Links commenter Grebo suggested that a Hellfire missile may have been employed as the the payload (8-9kg) is close to that which the IRGC said was involved (7kg) and also qualifies as short-range (.5-11km). These can be launched via drone.

    This sounds like a fairly compelling theory; however the two drone platforms mentioned in the Wiki article are the MQ-1 Predator and RQ-9 Reaper. While not enormous, neither are they particularly small — it would seem difficult to conceal them for transport into the country given their size and that the wings do not appear to be retractable or detachable; furthermore, I suspect they require a runway (though perhaps nothing too lengthy or pristine is required. Could they have flown in and returned undetected from, say, Iraqi Kurdistan (~250 miles)?

    Another possibility is that the Hellfire has been adapted for some other, smaller profile drone which could have taken off from inside of Iran (after having been smuggled in) — but that is completely unsubstantiated speculation.
    1. Polar Socialist August 4, 2024 at 1:19 pm

       Houthis shot down today their sixth Reaper, I believe. And they’re not supposed to have any sophisticated air defenses available. At least not yet.

       I’ve seen several commentators suggesting a hit team with a Spike missile, or it’s Iranian copy, Almas (captured from Hezbollah or from delivery to Houthi). Also saw minor news that Iranian security forces have arrested hundreds in a sweep, possibly to find the culprits.
       1. ISL August 4, 2024 at 2:53 pm

          The US fleet is 230, if they have readiness similar to the F-35, then about 75 are flight ready, which means the Houthi’s have knocked out 10% of the flight ready US fleet. A total of 300 have been produced since it came into service in 2007, implying production of probably 10-15 per year (until this year, replacements would have been very rare, so production would match orders with decade-long lead times).

          So half the global production in half a year (Iran has taken a few out, as has Russia, recently). I expect to see Reaper husbanding (as with Patriots) if US’s multi-wars continue or expand as seems likely.

          https://armedforces.eu/air_forces/drone/General_Atomics_MQ-9_Reaper
       2. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 7:01 pm

          Here is a video they posted of the wreckage-

          https://www.bitchute.com/video/hPCBV80r2DJo (1:30 mins)
    2. hk August 4, 2024 at 2:46 pm

       That’s what I suspect. (Not that I have any real expertise) it just seems plausible to me that Israeli agents or whoever would have penetrated into Iran, using variousbassets they accumulated over the years, and used a small drone controlled from a nearby locale, rather than send something big and detectable from far away.
    3. Grebo August 4, 2024 at 8:45 pm

       I should have mentioned that Hellfires can also be launched from the ground, even from a tripod. Israel also has its own drones, though I don’t know what they are like. I would not be surprised if they have some capable of at least a one-way trip, they could just crash it in some inaccessible spot on the way out.

       The Iranians seem to suspect some local involvement, so perhaps it was a ground based attack.
18. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 10:47 am

    “We Owe It to Ourselves to Shun These People Mercilessly” Discourse Blog

    “…This product is basically an AI chatbot that you take around with you. Its most likely practical application is as a more sophisticated version of the Lifealert pendants elderly people have had for decades, but a company can’t simply say that. They have to pretend it is the cure for social isolation like it is an advancement in consumer technology that changes the interior and emotional lives of the people who use it…”

    Indeed. I’ve always said much of this app tech is great for the handicapped and infirm. And there are a good number of physical and mental functions people have that are “use it or lose it.”

    SillyCon Valley claims they are about the future, but they are the Sultans of Short-Term Thinking – usually thinking of privilage and profit for themselves first and foremost.
19. more news August 4, 2024 at 10:53 am

    https://t.me/DDGeopolitics/118281
    🇪🇪 This poor Estonian athlete failed because Kaja Kallas was “opressed” by the Soviets.
    1. ebolapoxclassic August 4, 2024 at 11:05 am

       Just in case there’s someone who hasn’t seen this gem already: Average Estonian VS Indonesian Twitter Argument
       
    2. britzklieg August 4, 2024 at 2:16 pm

       LOL!
20. Oldtimer August 4, 2024 at 11:11 am

    https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/everything-is-collapsing-israeli-reservists-confront-toll-of-protracted-war-430811e4?mod=hp_lead_pos6
    1. The Rev Kev August 4, 2024 at 6:41 pm

       They should have realized that genocides don’t come cheap. And you can’t do ethnic cleansing on the cheap either.
21. Katniss Everdeen August 4, 2024 at 11:19 am

    Here are 56 fun seconds of don lemon, in his heyday, arguing that kamala may be a person of color but is not the lately more favored, hyphenated version “African-American.” (Courtesy of The Automatic Earth.)

    https://x.com/TimRunsHisMouth/status/1819355567070077022
    1. Ben Panga August 4, 2024 at 12:03 pm

       CNN barbershop segment in which some black guys say “no” when asked “is Kamala black?”.

       Greenwald’s comment :

       “Among the many hilarious parts of this CNN video is that, after the Black men explain their views on Kamala and race, the White Man of Authority calls them stupid, and says that’s not how the majority of black people think, which he knows because his black friends told him so.”
    2. Alice X August 4, 2024 at 1:01 pm

       Q: Is Kamala Black?

       A: Wrong question

       Better question…

       Q: Will Kamala treat the Black community as fairly as any other group?

       A: Who knows, except, of course, for the donor class which will have first call (as with Obama, well, who actually disfavored the Black community).

       But that question will never be put.
       1. ambrit August 4, 2024 at 1:56 pm

          Riffing off of your avatar; would Malcom X vote for Harris?
          Speaking of whom; what has happened to Louis Farrakhan? I don’t see him in the news cycle anymore.
          1. Alice X August 4, 2024 at 3:28 pm

             Malcolm X would say that it is still the age of Politricks, except maybe even more so.

             As for Farrakhan, he’s getting up there, 91 or so, but I really have no idea (or interest).
             1. ambrit August 4, 2024 at 5:03 pm

                “Politricks.” Oh yes. A blast from the past, which is as true now as it was then.
                It used to be said that “The Revolution will not be televised.” Maybe not, but it might be blogged.
                Stay safe, in all senses.
          2. playon August 4, 2024 at 4:14 pm

             Trivia – Farrakhan in his younger days was a middling Calypso singer, mostly covering traditional calypsos rather than writing original music.

             https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f2fi-rna-s
             1. Jamie August 5, 2024 at 1:28 am

                Farrakhan also plays the violin:
                
                Violin Concerto in D major, Op.61 – 2. Larghetto 2 min clip

                Supposedly 88yo (he might be younger). He’s not awful. Actually, pretty good.
       2. ChrisPacific August 4, 2024 at 5:09 pm

          She doesn’t need to be black. Trump got to Warren with this tactic because (a) she had a psychological need (based in received family history) to describe herself as Native American, so she rose to the bait; and (b) the way in which she did that didn’t sit well with either voters or actual Native Americans. Harris can, and should, ignore the whole thing.
22. griffen August 4, 2024 at 11:19 am

    Huey Lewis and the news… original tune The Power of Love. Power of Dem Love. Others here are much better at the lyrical side. But I’m gonna try.

    The power of Dem love is a curious thing
    Make an old codger weep, make a younger Harris dreams,
    Change of heart in just a few months time,
    More than a feeling it’s the power of Dem love

    Chorus:
    I need your money, I want the fame
    We accept credit cards too, so hop on this campaign
    Hey political life is cruel sometimes,
    But we just might save Our Democracy
    That’s the power of Dem love
    That’s just the power of Dem love

    First time you feel it, might make you glad
    Next time you feel, you even more glad than mad
    Bet we’ll all be glad, once the media has found
    It’s the power of Dem love makes America go ’round
23. spud August 4, 2024 at 11:50 am

    Pettis just does not get it. china is exporting their unemployment, deflation, and poverty onto the rest of the world.

    this is a very old problem that many countries resort to, to avoid internal reforms.

    Smith,

    “Humanity may in this case require that the freedom of trade should be restored only by slow gradations, and with a good deal of reserve and circumspection. Were those high duties and prohibitions taken away all at once, cheaper foreign goods of the same kind might be poured so fast into the home market, as to deprive all at once many thousands of our people of their ordinary employment and means of subsistence. The disorder which this would occasion might no doubt be very considerable.”

    Pettis seems to think that markets are self policing, they are not. its up to countries that china is feeding off of, to restore sovereignty.

    to restore sovereignty is to get rid of neo-liberalism. if they do not, its certain, collapse will follow, strife poverty and war will ensue, and many many nations will be forced into some sort of going it alone.

    1993 was the year that full blown fascism engulfed the world.
    1. Roger Boyd August 4, 2024 at 1:10 pm

       At the turn of the century the US oligarchy decided that it could make oodles more money by doing free trade with China; through shipping manufacturing to China at the expense of American workers, by providing low price competition to drive down all US wages, and selling tons of their products to China. They assumed that they would control China the way they control all of their vassals, by dominating the financial sector and co-opting the elites. A much bigger version of low cost Haiti or Honduras.

       The Chinese Party-state had other ideas and were happy to be helped to rapidly industrialize while keeping control of their own country for the benefit of the Chinese. After decades of efficient and effective planning, combined with highly competitive domestic markets, the Chinese have climbed the technology ladder far enough to be challenging the US.

       This is not about China exporting unemployment, deflation and poverty nor about losing sovereignty under neoliberalism. It is about the US oligarchy throwing away the life chances of the US majority to feed their greed. Until that is dealt with, the US will never put in place the policies needed to compete with China and will instead just subsidize the oligarchs oligopolistic corporations and blame China. The oligarchs have always had sovereignty over the US and their vassals, they never lost it.
       1. spud August 4, 2024 at 1:33 pm

          actually its how china climbed the ladder. its a very old story. Marx, Engels, Smith, Lincoln and others predicted this.

          i am not saying its all chinas fault. if i was handed a 200 years old wealth of another nation on a silver platter, i to would take it and run.

          however, markets are not self policing as Pettis seems to be in a panic over. china like all nations will abuse relationships. and they are.
       2. Jason Boxman August 4, 2024 at 2:30 pm

          Basically this. American capitalists basically offered up our industrial capacity to China; no surprise the Chinese capitalists said, yes please. It would be comical if not so debased. They must have thought it quite hilarious. And American capitalists seem to be feasting well enough, so it worked for both sets of capitalists, and the Chinese Communist Party as well. The only serious losers here are American workers, particularly those previously employed in industrials now mostly or entirely extant in China. This is one of the many ills of American neoliberal financial capitalism.

          Instead of neutering China by bringing it into the Western fold, China neutered us, in effect. All the saber rattling by Obama or Trump or now Biden can’t change that. Token re-industrialization can’t change it either. We need a multi-generational shift in priorities, from education and skills to investment to culture. Our elite are too busy gratifying themselves to notice, or care.
       3. fringe element August 4, 2024 at 8:49 pm

          “the Chinese have climbed the technology ladder far enough to be challenging the US”

          far enough to have surpassed the US actually
    2. chuck roast August 4, 2024 at 5:42 pm

       “Pettis seems to think that markets are self policing…”. You must be reading the guy’s mind and not his writing. Here he writes about transfers having subsidized investment in manufacturing…”strictly managed credit system”…”investment in sectors targeted by Beijing”…”repressed interest rates”…”China’s hukou system” (and it’s limitations)…”massive investment in transportation and logistical infrastructure”…hardly laissez-faire in my estimation. The nice thing about Macro-economics is that it is not Liberal, Neo-liberal, Trotskyite, Jacobin, yadda-yadda-yadda. It’s one of the few ideas of the brilliant Keynes that none of the subsequent baggage-laden ideologes can demolish, because it’s simply a good measure of national accounting that tells an accurate story.
24. chuck roast August 4, 2024 at 11:54 am

    Re Pettis: Why Is It So Hard for China to Boost Domestic Demand?

    Nice to see Pettis weigh in again on China’s macro issues. He doesn’t entirely forget that “savings” is a function in calculating GNP. Here he is from a FT piece of a couple of months ago opining on excess savings being China’s problem and not overcapacity. This issue is not intractable.

    The CCP appears to care little for the lack of a social safety net or wage and labor suppression as drivers in this problem. If the government can’t provide for a minimally decent retirement plan then why not save for the future by investing in crap high-rise apartments? Health care is lousy? Better start saving now. Low wages? There is always the Maine solution…get a third job so you can save some money.

    I don’t see this changing any time soon. All the CCP cadre grew up in local government. Happy to trample on the rights of the locals if it led to the “greater good.” The Chinese may well have their own version of the PMC. Top down we know what’s good for you will never end well.
    1. Roger Boyd August 4, 2024 at 1:20 pm

       Chinese wages are rapidly increasing in real terms and have been for decades, from 1992 they took off in a massive parabolic rise that is still continuing. As GDP grows at 5% a year and the population is stable, that is 5% growth in GDP per capita which is heavily reflected within wages. The facts point most definitely to no wage suppression. The average Chinese person’s standard of living has doubled multiple times in the past few decades. That’s why the Party-state gets 70%+ approval ratings in surveys taken by Western organizations.

       “All the CCP (its actually CPC) cadre grew up in local government”, you mean like managing areas that have bigger populations than large countries? The current CPC drive is to manage down house prices to an affordable level (3-4 times earnings) over time, reduce goods costs through maintaining real competition (e.g. the crazy cheap EVs), and reduce other basic living costs. In addition, to drive technological upgrading to support the productivity required to keep driving wages up at fast rates.

       China is no longer a low wage low value added country, its exporting such tasks to South East Asia while it upgrades its own industries and wages. Your view of the country seems to be stuck in the 1990s, you should do some reading on the current reality of China.
       1. chuck roast August 4, 2024 at 2:03 pm

          In my reading, Pettis and occasionally Roubini provide the best macro view of China that I have seen. Here is what Pettis says in cited piece:

          “China’s hukou system for household registration, which limited the ability of workers to obtain social benefits and limited their legal rights in disputes with employers. More generally, the limited right of workers to organize kept wages and household income from growing as fast as they might have otherwise. This benefited local governments, state-owned enterprises, and businesses employers at the expense of workers.”

          I’ll continue my reading.

          My “CCP cadre grew up in local government” has its roots in the local tax system. From what I understand there are no local land taxes in China. Local government is funded through eminent-domain and its subsequent sale to developers. Not exactly what I would call “serving the people.” Anyway, the bankruptcy of Evergrande and Country Gardens and probably others has put the kibosh on this funding mechanism. All in all, the CCP has some difficult and painful economic reorganization to do.
          1. playon August 4, 2024 at 4:02 pm

             Since the Chinese government is more authoritarian, I think they are able to change policy faster compared to democracies. A friend in China told me that in Beijing, once a decision is taken (say to renovate a neighborhood) the bulldozers show up the next day.

             Although I’m not sure it’s the same in other Chinese cities as Beijing is the federal capitol.
          2. CA August 4, 2024 at 6:41 pm

             I have carefully considered the Pettis article and your comments,and appreciate both and assume there will be continuations. However, for the Chinese leadership there is a serious problem. The problem is that the United States was always disinclined to have China develop economically and when the extent of development began to be understood the US became increasingly antagonistic. Chinese development has been increasingly opposed by the US and US allies and China had to respond or be undermined.

             Chinese growth has been increasingly a response to an antagonistic US policy, and in this sense China has been brilliantly successful. Simply look at the numbers.
       2. spud August 4, 2024 at 3:14 pm

          the problem is that china’s over production is a natural thing if unchecked. Marx and Engles were quite correct about it.

          Marx: “If free traders cannot understand how one nation can grow rich at the expense of another, we need not wonder. These same gentlemen also refuse to understand how one class can enrich itself at the expense of another.”

          Marx was also very aware that in order to develop, states must play a major role. They must implement tariffs to protect their infant industries from competition against which they are not yet able to stand up.

          Marx and Engles were dead set against free trade. and predicted free trade would collaspe capitalism. they predicted over production. Pettis seems to insinuate, that china should be self regulating for their own good, complete nonsense. markets are not self regulating.

          https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-communist-manifesto/i-bourgeois-and-proletarians#summary-129692

          Marx and Engels argue that the bourgeoisie has reduced all relations between “man and man” to “naked self-interest” and money. Free trade has come to dominate society and has made exploitation more open and “shameless,” whereas before it might have been veiled by religion and political “illusions.”

          Marx and Engels are generally dismissive of religion, deeming it nothing more than a “veil” that hides the exploitation between oppressor and oppressed. Now that the bourgeoisie is the dominant class in society, this “veil” has been lifted, and nothing is important except for money. This applies both to the bourgeoisie, who seek to accumulate ever-increasing wealth, and the proletariat, whose oppressed position means they have sell their labor in order to make enough money to survive.

          Active Themes
          Capitalism and Progress Theme Icon
          Class and Hierarchy Theme Icon
          Inequality and Distribution of Wealth Theme Icon
          Work Theme Icon
          Quotes

          The bourgeoisie, Marx and Engels claim, has removed the dignity from work. Even physicians, lawyers, priests and poets are just “paid wage-labourers” now. Family, too, has lost its sentimental value and become another money-based relationship.
          Work is no longer meaningful except in terms of its profitability. Even science, for example, is only useful insofar as its innovations can further the bourgeoisie’s profiteering. By reducing all relations to “self-interest and money,” the bourgeoisie has removed the meaning from work—and, by extension, people’s lives.

          Quotes

          The bourgeoisie has to constantly revolutionize the “instruments of production” in order to maintain its dominance. But in doing so, it changes everything about society too. Marx and Engels suggest that this keeps society in a constant state of “uncertainty and agitation.” And the need for a constantly expanding market means the bourgeoisie spreads over the whole surface of the globe.
          In order to keep making profit, the bourgeoisie has to look for ways to do things bigger, better and faster. The instruments of production—things like tools, factories and infrastructure—are in a constant process of renewal. The bourgeoisie capitalist system is based on competition, and even the slightest improvement can give one business the edge over another. Competition also drives the bourgeoisie to conquer markets far and wide, both to maximize profit and to prevent any competitive advantage for someone else.

          Quotes

          This global expansion destroys “national industries,” and has meant that nations no longer use their own materials but instead draw them from the “remotest zones.” The bourgeoisie’s products have spread all over the world and created “new wants” that can no longer be satisfied by what is contained within a given nation. Instead, there is a move towards “universal inter-dependence of nation,” both with materials and intellectual creations.

          Instead of individual nations with individual cultures and systems, the bourgeoisie makes this individuality increasingly meaningless and impossible. This creates a precarious connection between nations, with one depending on another for a given material.

          Here, capitalism is also explicitly linked with desire—it’s changed the way people see themselves, and made them long for bourgeois products.

          Furthermore, this expansion means all nations get drawn into “civilization”—on the bourgeoisie’s terms. The cheapness of bourgeois goods makes them irresistible; Marx and Engels liken these “commodities” to “heavy artillery,” forcing nations to comply or face extinction—become bourgeois, or cease to exist.

          Marx and Engels use the word “civilization” lightly. They don’t necessarily think capitalism is more civilized, but that it presents itself in that way in order to make its dominance seem logical and inevitable. Because the bourgeoisie is so good at bringing down the costs of its desirable goods, nations face the choice of joining the system or being excluded. Part of the bourgeoisie’s skill is to make exclusion seem like a terrible

          Quotes

          Marx and Engels argue that the bourgeoisie has brought about greater urbanization and an increase in population. This has meant a shift in society towards cities rather than the countryside. Just as it has made the country dependent on the towns, it’s almost made less “civilized” nations dependent on the bourgeois nations.

          The industrialization brought about by the bourgeoisie concentrates jobs in urban environments, where the factories are built. This leads to a move away from agricultural society to an industrial one dependent on larger and larger cities. The inequality doesn’t just play out on a city/country level—it plays out across different countries too. The more “successfully” bourgeois nations dominate those that are yet to catch up, entrenching inequality around the world.

          Marx and Engels point towards the bourgeoisie’s revolutionary “productive forces.” These range from the “application of chemistry to industry and agriculture” to technological advancements in transport and communications.

          The bourgeoisie doesn’t do away with agriculture—in fact, it doesn’t do with anything that can help turn a profit. Instead, it takes something like agriculture, which used to be a way of life, and makes profit its sole purpose. Agriculture will continue to grow as long as there is more profit to generate—whether or not that’s at the expense of land, animal, or human welfare. Capitalism is undoubtedly productive, but Marx and Engels fundamentally disagree with its motives.

          Bourgeois society had its foundations in feudal society, in terms of the means of production and exchange. At some stage, say Marx and Engels, the feudal way of doing things—especially in relation to property—became restrictive. The feudal system’s fetters had to be “burst asunder.”

          This passage restates that Marx and Engels see history as a series of class struggles. The bourgeoisie grew out of feudal society—or outgrew feudal society, to be more accurate.

          In place of the restrictions of the feudal system came free market competition, bringing its own social political changes to match. Marx and Engels believe that a similar process of change is starting to bear down on the bourgeoisie itself—its gigantic means of production and of money-based exchange have grown beyond its control, like a “sorcerer no longer able to control the powers of the nether world whom he has called up by his spells.”

          The bourgeoisie has become too successful for its own good, and it has laid the foundations for its own destruction. Capitalist bourgeois society is likened to a magician because, seemingly out of nowhere, it has completely changed the world in a way that has never been seen before.

          ——————–

          Marx knew free trade would doom capitalism, its why publically he embraced it, but his writing tell us why he embraced the foolishness publicaly.

          marx knew free trade was the quickest way to collapse, and he was spot on.

          https://www.sott.net/article/297254-Karl-Marx-was-right-capitalism-seeds-its-own-destruction

          “Marx warned that in the later stages of capitalism huge corporations would exercise a monopoly on global markets. “The need of a constantly expanding market for its products chases the bourgeoisie over the entire surface of the globe,” he wrote. “It must nestle everywhere, settle everywhere, establish connections everywhere.” These corporations, whether in the banking sector, the agricultural and food industries, the arms industries or the communications industries, would use their power, usually by seizing the mechanisms of state, to prevent anyone from challenging their monopoly.”

          They would fix prices to maximize profit. They would, as they [have been doing], push through trade deals such as the TPP and CAFTA to further weaken the nation-state’s ability to impede exploitation by imposing environmental regulations or monitoring working conditions. And in the end these corporate monopolies would obliterate free market competition.”

          HE WAS SPOT ON!!!!!
          ——
          one might ask then, why don’t the countries being abused do something about it? well, just look at the E.U., once you lose sovereignty, its very hard to get back. and if oligarchs are profiting off of it. then sovereignty is out the window.

          only protectionism can curb the disaster of chinas over production.
25. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 12:08 pm

    US rejects Vietnam’s bid for ‘market economy’ status in blow to trade ties – Financial Times

    “…Vietnam has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of escalating trade tensions between the US and China, with companies shifting production facilities to the south-east Asian country in an effort to avoid geopolitical disruption…”

    “…In July, Republican senator Tom Cotton urged commerce secretary Gina Raimondo not to grant Vietnam’s request, citing its “controlled currency, lack of labour rights, and extensive state intervention”. Six other Republican senators co-signed the letter…”

    As if those companies are going to Vietnam because of the strong protections and rights for workers!!

    “…Thuy Anh Nguyen, of Vietnam-focused asset manager Dragon Capital, said the failure would disappoint Hanoi, and was surprising given Washington’s “intense courtship of Vietnam in recent years, the high-level visits and the accompanying rhetoric”.
    An upgrade would have boosted Vietnamese exports to the US, which would have benefited from lower prices of those goods, she said.
    “The US has made no secret of its desire to cultivate Vietnam as a strategic counterbalance to China’s influence in the region, and we do not believe that Vietnam not being upgraded to ‘market economy’ status will affect this.”

    Like I said…
    1. Roger Boyd August 4, 2024 at 1:23 pm

       How to lose friends and negatively influence others … US foreign policy today.
    2. CA August 4, 2024 at 3:05 pm

       “US rejects Vietnam’s bid for ‘market economy’ status in blow to trade ties”

       This shows just how maniacal, how self-defeating US foreign policy has become again, all these years later. Sort of a soft way to continue the intent of the Vietnam War. No matter though, Vietnam will be just fine and assist in development through Asia and Africa and Latin America.
       1. playon August 4, 2024 at 3:55 pm

          It is really something to witness the endless foreign policy screw-ups although some people are making a lot of money, which is apparently the only thing that matters.The Dulles brothers cast a long shadow…
          1. JBird4049 August 4, 2024 at 4:29 pm

             I do not think that the policy screw-ups are accidental if the goal of the people making them is to make a lot of money.
    3. Kouros August 4, 2024 at 5:24 pm

       What, US thought they will get something from Vietnam, and instead Vietnam deepens cooperation with Russia?!
    4. spud August 4, 2024 at 5:47 pm

       and why would we trade one over producer, for another potential over producer. will upgrading them give them special market rights to the U.S.A.’s market, if so, Cotton is right about labor rights.

       its amazing that this is coming from a republican. and its not surprising that the feverish embracing of cheap labor by nafta democrats will further undercut america.

       beware of the crank theory that cheap prices benefits america. if cheap prices, which has never been the case anyways, it almost all goes into the pockets of wall street parasites, if you have to give up your standard of living and your technology, what good are cheap prices then.

       bill clintons dollar store economy was never sustainable in the first place.
26. ciroc August 4, 2024 at 12:42 pm

    The report also argued that organisers of large-scale protests, such pro-Palestine demonstrations, should be required to contribute to the cost of policing. “The government should consider the viability of requiring protest organisers to contribute to policing costs when groups are holding a significant number of large demonstrations which cause serious disruption or significant levels of law-breaking,” it read.

    https://unherd.com/newsroom/government-advisor-calls-for-covid-style-controls-of-mass-protests/

    If shot by a police officer, would the shot protester be charged for the bullets?
27. Rob Urie August 4, 2024 at 1:22 pm

    With ‘Why Is It So Hard for China to Boost Domestic Demand?,’ Michael Pettis gets to a fundamental question about capitalism.

    Following from former Enron advisor Paul Krugman, Pettis questions whether the Chinese have enough disposable income to boost consumption.

    But what makes him think that the Chinese want more stuff?

    The problem in the early 20th century US was that past a relatively low level, ‘consumers’ didn’t want the stuff that capitalism produced.

    The American ‘solution’ was to use psychological coercion via advertising to create demand for the crap that, left unmolested, Americans just didn’t want.

    With the environmental consequences of ‘demand creation’ now in evidence, why on earth would the Chinese want to manufacture consumption?

    (And why would economists’ macroeconomic fantasies decide the matter?)

    It would be tremendously useful for the Chinese to meet the low levels of demand for consumer goods while boosting food security, health care, and education instead of unsustainable trinkets.

    The benefit for the West would lie in clear evidence that the desire for stuff is contingent, and not fundamental to the human condition as capitalists argue.
    1. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 1:45 pm

       And China has experienced hardships within the last 100 years that would make them think differently about the allocation of resources.
    2. ebolapoxclassic August 4, 2024 at 3:04 pm

       Also, I fail to see how China could ever really have a problem of “too little demand”. There’s a tendency among Western economists to confuse production with consumption (just as there is often a confusion of costs in the economy with value added to the economy, not least when it comes to financial “services” like late payment fees). It’s enough to look at the equation

       GDP = private consumption + (non-financial) investment + government spending + exports – imports (i.e. net exports)

       to see that consumer spending (reflected in household demand) is a use of, not a source of, goods and services produced (or imported, hence the minus sign before imports) in the economy. The available goods and services each year, GDP, are on the left side of the equation, and are determined by the productive factors of the economy: (Skilled) labor, energy, raw materials, factories, buildings, machinery etc.. Demand is of course not one of these productive factors.

       Lacking consumer demand can never itself be a problem. With that said, it could absolutely be an indicator of economic distress, such as wide-spread chronic poverty. An increase in consumer spending (and hence consumer demand), for example from people buying better (and more expensive) food or buying washing machines or whatever, could then increase living standards, and production would have to keep with that (provide enough food and washing machines, basically). If people eat better, their productivity could incidentally also increase. But rising demand for such goods doesn’t at all help to produce more of them, and it shouldn’t be hard for someone who wasn’t brain damaged by mainstream economics to realize how absurd that notion is.

       And the supposed problem behind “stubbornly low demand” in China isn’t even that Chinese consumers are too poor to spend more, but that they stubbornly, decade after decade, “save too much”. They could go out and buy a new smartphone or a new toaster or whatever every week but they choose not to. OK then. As you and others have pointed out, China can make other uses of what it produces, and has no reason to force people to buy goods or services they don’t want or need.

       Put a different way: There are other terms besides “private consumption” on the right side of the equation quoted above. “Investment” (which here means only investment into new real assets like factory equipment or buildings, not stocks, bonds, existing real estate and so on) is a nice one, often forgotten by Westerners (Pettis seems to be one of them, or at least someone who desperately wants Chinese infected by the same disease). Also, in my view, government-directed investment (as in state-owned companies buying new machinery, for example) should be separated from “government spending” (which more appropriately describes recurring expenses), but that’s a different discussion.

       To make a concrete (though somewhat contrived) example, if China produces a certain amount of microprocessors, and the Chinese households don’t want to buy all the computers or smartphones that these could go into, these (more or less interchangable) microprocessors can instead go into servers in data centers, into 6G base stations or MRI machines, or whatever.

       China can also choose to export more of these chips (moving microprocessors from the “private consumption” column to “net exports”), thereby increasing its ownership of foreign assets and/or increasing imports of things it can’t produce but which either the private or government sector either needs or wants. If it doesn’t want more foreign financial assets (which can always be stolen from them), and they really can’t find any goods and services it makes sense to import, it can always stockpile gold, silver, wheat, iron ore, copper, spare parts etc. for a rainy day (which is an open secret that they are doing). What a tragedy for China.

       I think much of this boils down to a cynical, and rather pathetic in the end, psyop from the West (in particular the US): “If we weren’t here to provide the “service” of consuming what you produce, what would you do then?” And there are two aspects to that: First of all, there is no reason for China to export anything if they don’t get anything back, that is if for example the US restricts exports to China of goods and services it would like to import, bans them from accumulating American financial assets (like shares in companies or real estate), or either bans or subtly threatens to seize the financial assets they do get to buy (US treasuries, for example) like they did with Russia’s. All of this the US is now doing, by the way. Consuming what others produce is in the end not a service you provide for them, out in the real world.

       And second, China can just redirect exports to countries that don’t threaten to go to war with them and constantly demonize them and incidentally can sell to China what it needs today (mostly energy and raw materials) as opposed to what it needed yesterday (capital goods, for example German machinery). This is also exactly what recent trade statistics reflect: China’s exports to Western countries have declined or stagnated, while its exports to non-Western countries have soared.
       1. Yves Smith August 5, 2024 at 5:25 am

          You start with a COMPLETE straw man of what Pettis said, which is lack of enough consumer demand. The fact that China steals demand from other countries via a mercantilist export strategy is proof Pettis is correct. The rest of your blather fails by being built on a bogus foundation.
       2. Rob Urie August 5, 2024 at 9:29 am

          Here is the money shot ‘Lacking consumer demand can never itself be a problem.’

          Western battles over theory have long posed Say’s Law (production creates its own demand) against Keynes (a fall in aggregate demand can, depending on its scale, create a downward spiral as production is cut in response).

          With Keynes’ work having been absorbed into what Krugman calls ‘saltwater’ economics, his basic insights are now mangled beyond recognition.

          But to the point: this back-and-forth takes place within looming environmental catastrophe. We, meaning humanity, either figure this out in the next year or two or we are toast.

          China is in a unique position to help global capitalism rethink the mess it has created.

          Further, ‘too little’ demand is most certainly a problem for producers, hence the American effort to create demand using psychological coercion.

          In class terms, one group profits from creating externalities by offloading its costs. while another group, say humanity less a few rich people, pays in terms of degraded living standards.

          This class dynamic is nowhere reflected in Western macro. The conceptual difference is between the carefully ordered universe of mainstream macro and the suicide system of political control by the group that profits from threatening our existence

          By facilitating an internal concentration of wealth, the Chinese government risks the development of a ruling class that eventually controls the state.

          But at present, some level of ideological commitment to preventing this from happening appears to be in place.

          Those who wish to stay within the purview of Western macro should include the costs of externalities, which are, within the frame, inputs rather than part of the logical structure. Some formulation along the lines of : ‘humanity ends in twenty years if we don’t resolve the environment’ should inform the cost estimate.

          The IPCC has it that non-linearities are about to appear. If the Gulf Stream stops or reverses, London and Paris suddenly turn into Moscow.

          This is an emergency.
    3. Katniss Everdeen August 4, 2024 at 4:05 pm

       Why Is It So Hard for China to Boost Domestic Demand?

       Maybe a better question is, “Why is it so stupidly easy in america?”

       OK, I’ll start. america has to be the only place where people can be convinced to take a 2nd mortgage on the roof over their heads for a new $150,000 kitchen, and then eat out 7 days a week cuz that’s what the cool kids do.
       1. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 4:48 pm

          “america has to be the only place where people can be convinced to take a 2nd mortgage on the roof over their heads for a new $150,000 kitchen”

          They have to be convinced they need a new $150,000 kitchen (for whatever reason).
          Taking out the 2nd mortgage is done because it’s not like most are going to get a raise in salary to cover the cost.
    4. spud August 4, 2024 at 6:00 pm

       when i was very young. the hangover from the depression was quite evident. i remember advertising campaigns on early t.v., why are you still making your own cloths and canning food. homemade stuff was shoddy, manufactured stuff was in style, elegant and cheap.

       but that example still does not answer or prove why there is a over production problem, which was quite evident to Marx and Engels, let alone Smith.
28. flora August 4, 2024 at 1:27 pm

    Glenn Greenwald. utube, 20+ minutes

    The Sad Eternal Impotence of the Pro-DNC Left

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ivG1h1Y8Ps
29. CA August 4, 2024 at 1:29 pm

    “Why Is It So Hard for China to Boost Domestic Demand?”

    A China which has been growing so dramatically since 1977, and which has so wonderfully ended poverty for the 1.4 billion, can boost domestic demand just as necessary:

    https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1qT1Z

    August 4, 2014

    Real per capita Gross Domestic Product for China, Germany, India, Japan and United States, 1977-2023

    (Indexed to 1977)

    https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/?g=1pNpu

    August 4, 2014

    Real per capita Gross Domestic Product for China, European Union, India, Japan and United States, 1977-2023

    (Indexed to 1977)
30. CA August 4, 2024 at 2:04 pm

    “China is exporting their unemployment, deflation, and poverty onto the rest of the world.”

    China’s employment has been high and growing for decades and by policy will continue high and growing. China has stable prices rather than deflation or significant inflation. China has ended poverty for the 1.4 billion, which is a stunning, wonderful accomplishment.

    China is easily the largest world economy * and has been steadily growing for 46 years. More than 140 countries are part of the Belt and Road Initiative or more than 75% of the world population.

    * China in 2023 was 32.0% larger in real GDP than the EU
    China in 2023 was 22.6% larger in real GDP than the US
    1. spud August 4, 2024 at 6:17 pm

       yet that does not prove that my statement is wrong. china got rich by doing what my statement said, and china is still over producing.

       i could care less about chinas stellar numbers. what i care about is what Smith, Marx, and Engles pointed out that capitalism and markets cannot self police, regulate nor correct.

       china is not going to self regulate. and i can easily tell you why. MONEY!

       its up to each and every country to regain sovereignty, and regulate their own economy.

       now i know many will gasp in horror, but i do not mean build a wall around us(that black and white thinking is economic suicide and why we are in the mess we are), but enter into trade that’s beneficial to each others people.

       just because china is left in nature, does not mean they have my best interests at heart.
       1. LifelongLib August 4, 2024 at 8:51 pm

          Yes, as a person living in the U.S. I don’t expect any entity other than my own government to look out for my economic interests. I’m sure that (say) Xi and Putin are patriots who are doing what they think is best for their respective countries, but that’s where their duty ends. My well-being is not something that enters into their consideration.

          Now, if only my own government would do its duty…
31. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 2:19 pm

    Everybody has ideas about space except for how to clean up all the junk being shot into orbit.
    What goes up…
    1. CA August 4, 2024 at 3:46 pm

       https://english.news.cn/20221120/58d4a8932e904a45be3c19964d9dd4e6/c.html

       November 20, 2022

       China develops de-orbiting sail to manage space debris

       BEIJING — As the number of rocket launches, planetary missions and satellite activities continues to grow, so does the junkyard in space. Many have been pondering the question of how to reduce the amount of debris orbiting Earth. Now, China may have found a solution with its newly deployed “sail” technology.

       Hundreds of millions of items of human-made debris are continually circling Earth, including broken rocket bodies, defunct satellites and fragments from orbital collisions. Keen to tackle the space-junk problem, Chinese aerospace scientists have managed to use a large “sail” to de-orbit spacecraft at the end of their life.

       The de-orbiter is a sail-like device made of a thin film, the thickness of which is less than one tenth of the diameter of a hair. Folded, it is approximately the size of an adult’s palm, but it can cover an area of 25 square meters when unfolded. When a spacecraft is decommissioned, the sail onboard can be automatically opened. Once deployed, it will increase the effects of air friction, slowing the spacecraft in orbit and speeding up its descent into the Earth’s atmosphere, where it will burn up.

       Scientists have already tested the technology on space missions. The latest example is the launch of a Long March-2D carrier rocket in southwest China on June 23, which sent three satellites into orbit. A deorbiting sail attached to the rocket unfolded three days later.

       This event marked the first time that a large deorbiting device has been deployed in such a way, according to the Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology, which made the device.

       “The use of the sail device will help release precious orbital resources,” said Li Yide, head of the academy…
       1. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 4:34 pm

          Well, that potentially deals with FUTURE space debris.
32. John k August 4, 2024 at 2:22 pm

    According to news reports, delta has joined united in ‘pausing’ flights to/from Tel Aviv, along with most or all eu airlines. Pretty much el Al is only way out for the moment.
    1. Useless Eater August 4, 2024 at 3:43 pm

       I was thinking the other day that if ever one wanted to take a trip to Tel Aviv on the cheap, without the crowds, but I guess not
33. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 3:35 pm

    NFL – facial recognition

    The facial authentication platform, which counts the Cleveland Browns’ owners as investors, will be used to “streamline and secure” entry for thousands of credentialed media, officials, staff and guests so they can easily access restricted areas such as press boxes and locker rooms, Jeff Boehm, the chief operating officer of Wicket, said in a LinkedIn post Monday…”

    Bet they have a line for people going to box seats and VIP sections that skips this.
34. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 3:59 pm

    The Nakedness of EU ‘Geo-political’ Ambitions Will Be Revealed – As the Ukraine War Melts Away- Alastair Crooke, Al Mayadeen

    Just a word about the opening:
    “Many across the globe have noted how hundreds of millions of Europeans voted in the June EU parliamentary elections. The elections resulted in a shift in support for the Right (and the Left in France). Yet the clear signal from the ballot box has had absolutely no impact on how Brussels is governed. The same leadership simply was re-instated…”

    Now all across the globe people need to understand that supranational institutions/organizations that are creations and/or extensions of the neoliberal economic order can’t be reformed or put people over profits.
    1. ambrit August 4, 2024 at 5:07 pm

       Yes. This is really a call for a Fifth International. The Trots can contribute if they want, but they are not indispensable.
35. ChrisFromGA August 4, 2024 at 4:00 pm

    These rotten “muckets” have the feel of a termite-infested staircase. One bad step, and your foot will go through the floor.

    I’ve been away on holiday but looking at the bond market, these moves are crazy volatile. The ten-year is now 3.79%? What sort of foolish panic is that? And the Yen suddenly is taking off like a race horse.

    Something wicked this way comes … fly, you fools!
36. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 4:09 pm

    https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-market-investors-went-from-cheering-a-goldilocks-economy-to-fearing-recession-heres-whats-next-cb754e50?mod=home-page/
    Stock-market investors went from cheering a ‘Goldilocks’ economy to fearing recession. Here’s what’s next.

    Just bringing this up because it demonstrates that the USA is so detached from reality with hyper-financialization that it talks about economics in fairy tale terms.

    “Goldilocks economy”
    “Confidence fairy”
    “Santa Klaus rallies”
    Just a few remembered off-the-cuff…
    1. Useless Eater August 4, 2024 at 5:40 pm

       it probably takes a goldilocks economy to produce angel investors
       1. Mikel August 4, 2024 at 5:58 pm

          Ha! That’s a good one that I didn’t list: angel investors.
    2. SocalJimObjects August 4, 2024 at 10:04 pm

       No worries, I happen to know this super friendly central banker named Powell, a couple of interest cuts, and it’s not too late for a Santa Claus rally.
37. Pearl Rangefinder August 4, 2024 at 8:46 pm

    Maria Zakharova and the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the riots in the UK:

    “we call on London to refrain from unjustified and disproportionate use of violence against protesters and to ensure that the right of the British to freedom of assembly is respected.”

    They are twenty years ahead of us in trolling technology.
38. willow August 4, 2024 at 9:32 pm

    Timbeeeerrr! Looks like Israel has popped global markets by escalating things..
    1. ChrisFromGA August 5, 2024 at 1:01 am

       The JCB raising rates, 180 degrees out of phase with reality & going against the tide of all the other Central banks starting to ease… what could possibly go wrong?
       1. SocalJimObjects August 5, 2024 at 2:06 am

          It’s not like they hiked rates by A LOT, it’s only 0.25%, which is pretty inconsequential when it comes to the real economy, but since hedge funds, etc have been leveraging their positions using the Japanese Yen, they must be hurting now.

          At this point, I feel this is nothing more than a temper tantrum from market participants, not unlike the one Bernanke had faced way back when. Unless there’s a banking crisis, give this a couple of weeks and it’s back to the races again.
    2. PlutoiumKun August 5, 2024 at 4:14 am

       I just woke up to that news. I’m just absorbing it with my coffee, but as market collapses go, this seems so far like the real deal. Reports so far blaming a conglomeration of issues, although the rise in the yen seems to have been a trigger along with some grim news from the US economy..

       A US contraction changes everything. The economic model of Japan, China, EU, etc is based on the good old US consumer bailing out their underperforming domestic economies. Plus a lot of developing countries have bet everything on hopping on board that boat that has just sprung a leak.
39. SocalJimObjects August 4, 2024 at 9:58 pm

    Covid and the Olympics. Buried in the following article https://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/2024/08/04/olympics-swimming-live-gb-medal-men-4×100-medley-relay/ is the following gem:

    “It was unclear whether Peaty would take part in the relay after what he had described as a “tough” week recovering from Covid following his silver medal in the 100m breaststroke. But the three-time Olympic champion was preferred over fellow breaststroke specialist James Wilby. ”

    So Adam Peaty basically tested positive for Covid, and instead of recovering while isolating himself, he participated in another race. For King and Country indeed.
40. Ben Panga August 5, 2024 at 12:50 am

    He tested positive Sunday 28th and his next appearance was Saturday 3rd so he would have been able to isolate/recover for 5 days.

    (Edit: This was meant to be a reply to SJO above about Adam Peaty)
    1. SocalJimObjects August 5, 2024 at 3:01 am

       There was no mention anywhere that he’s tested negative afterwards. From yesterday’s DailyMail, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/olympics/article-13707901/Adam-Peaty-break-swimming-Team-GB-medley-relay.html, “Peaty tested positive for Covid the next day and has since been on antibiotics.”.
       1. Ben Panga August 5, 2024 at 4:51 am

          I dug a bit more (result unclear). In a sane world, there’s no doubt he’d be isolating until he’d had a negative test.

          In ours, “The 29-year-old does not have to isolate from other athletes and does not have to test negative before competing again, but he will avoid making contact with others for the next few days.”

          https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/40672610/olympics-2024-adam-peaty-covid-paris-silver-medal
41. Jamie August 5, 2024 at 3:01 am

    Another problem in Japan:

    Nikkei closes with largest point drop in history

    TOKYO – The Nikkei stock index closed with its largest single-day drop in history, on Monday.
    Tumbling over 4,400 points. Down 12%.

    Hit by concerns over a U.S. recession. .

Comments are closed.