Recent Items

Links 10/5/2024

Posted on by

Cheetos Food Dye Turns Mice Transparent New York Post

Turtle-saving tech: Thai students invent beach lamp Thaiger (furzy)

Fly Brain Breakthrough ‘Huge Leap’ To Unlock Human Mind BBC

2-billion-year-old rock home to living microbes ScienceDaily (Kevin W)

Ants can be used to make yogurt – and now we know how it works New Scientist (Dr. Kevin)

Study of 500,000 Medical Records Links Viruses With Alzheimer’s Again And Again ScienceAlert (Paul R)

#COVID-19

Climate/Environment

US nuclear power regulator urged to address ‘dirty bomb’ risks to society, economy Reuters

Ken Newcombe, ex-CEO of C-Quest Capital, faces criminal charges for multi-year carbon credit fraud REDD Monitor (Micael T)

Antarctica is ‘Greening’ at Dramatic Rate as Climate Heats Guardian

Hell froze over in Texas – the state will connect to the US grid for the first time via a fed grant Elektrek (Kevin W)

Researchers develop new banana strain that can withstand “bananocalypse” ZME Science (Dr. Kevin)

How climate risk will complicate central bankers’ jobs Financial Times

China?

China EV tariff vote leaves EU relieved yet wary over Beijing’s likely retaliation South China Morning Post

The Antipodes

Australian housing is a “Ponzi scheme” MacroBusiness. I thought so in 2002 when prices in Sydney (admittedly then a terrific city) were already at NYC levels, and the only continued to rise and rise.

Mynamar

‘Like we are trapped’: Minorities suffer amid conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine Aljazeera

Bangladesh Government Crashing Under Economic Chaos WION

Africa

A dangerous dispute in the Horn of Africa Economist

Chagossians criticise lack of say in UK deal to hand over islands BBC (Kevin W)

European Disunion

EU could die’: President Macron warns European leaders over performance compared to US and China LBC

EU arms industry boost plan may fall short of goals, watchdog warns Reuters

France to Uproot Chunk of Vineyards as Global Wine Demand Wanes Bloomberg (Dr. Kevin)

Gaza

How the U.S. Worked Overtime to Deliver Weapons to Israel ProPublica (Robin K)

West Bank crisis escalates amid global focus on Gaza Middle East Monitor

This disgusting claim needs to be debunked. The last election was 2006. Hamas won with a plurality, of 44%, and as we now know, with Israel government support. Turnout in Gaza was 75%, so only 33% of the adults then in Gaza voted for Hamas. The median age in Palestine is 19.7 years, so nearly half the population was not old enough to vote (18) in 2006. But yes, any lame excuse for collective punishment goes. And that’s before getting to the fact that Hamas moved away from its opposition to Israel as a Jewish state in 2017 and limited its objections to Zioinism.

Israel v. Lebanon

Death toll from Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon rises to 2,011, with 9,535 injured Anadolu Agency

Lebanon says Israel hit key border road after Beirut strikes DW

What are the Biden administration’s motivations in the Middle East? Mondoweiss (Tom H)

Israel v. Iran

From missile batteries to oil refineries to nuclear labs, Israel could hit a wide range of targets in Iran NBC

Attacks on Iran Oil Infrastructure to Send Oil Price Over $100 – Mideast Energy Researcher Sputnik (Kevin W)

Goldman Sachs says crude could spike by $20 on Iran oil shock CNBC

Iran cannot set off a global oil crisis without hurting its biggest ally. Telegraph

New Not-So-Cold War

New NATO boss backs Ukraine’s plea for deep strikes into Russia Politico

Syraqistan

Pakistan locks down capital as jailed ex-PM Khan calls for protests Nikkei

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

License Plate Readers Are Creating a US-Wide Database of More Than Just Cars Wired (BC)

Someone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta’s Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox Strangers 404 Media (Dr. Kevin)

Collapse of National Security Elites’ Cyber Firm Leaves Bitter Wake Associated Press

Imperial Collapse Watch

Things Don’t Always Get Better Aurelien. Progress is a recent idea, in historical terms.

Trump

Kamala

Kamala Harris Invites Visa CEO to VP Residence Even as Administration Sues His Company Ryan Grim (Micael T). Looks like Lina Khan’s days are numbered.

2024

Biden makes first-ever WH briefing room appearance to warn election may be violent New York Post (Kevin W)

House Democrats’ new bogeyman: Project 2025 The Hill

Immigration

U.S. will not renew legal status for hundreds of thousands of migrants Reuters (furzy). This action so close to the election has a guilty look

From the People Who Brought You Project 2025: Manufactured Evidence of Voter Fraud Brennan Center for Justice (furzy)

Haitian gang slaughters at least 70 people as thousands flee Reuters (furzy). Funny that we see MSM stories about how bad things are in Haiti only as the Administration is (per story above) about to send some Haitians back by not renewing their Temporary Protection status.

Helene Aftermath

North Carolina Asks Zelensky For $100 Billion In U.S. Funding Babylon Bee

Confirming reports from helicopter owners trying to make rescues:

Our No Longer Free Press

Censorship Allegations Resurface as New Ad Coalition Takes Shape Reclaim the Net (Micael T)

Walz’s War on Words: A Blatant Distortion of the First Amendment Reclaim the Net (Micael T)

Mr. Market is Giddy

Markets vulnerable to a sell-off, Bank of England warns The Times

AI

OpenAI Is A Bad Business Ed Zitron (Micael T)

Three Mile Island owner seeks taxpayer backing for Microsoft AI deal Washington Post (Kevin W)

The Bezzle

Thermo Fisher’s plant making infant RSV drug breached FDA rules, documents show Reuters (Robin K)

Class Warfare

Port strike ends as workers agree to tentative deal on wages and contract extension CNBC (Kevin W)

Mediated talks at defense contractor Boeing set to restart following Biden-led shutdown of dock strike WSWS

Antidote du jour. Tracie H: ” In case it’s hard to tell just what you are looking at, it’s the topside of a bumblebee with its nose buried in a flower.”

And a bonus:

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Subscribe to Post Comments
32 comments

  1. upstater

    Glenn Diesen got deplatformed on YouTube:

    American Censorship Intensifies in the Information War

    Some reflections after being cancelled / banned by YouTube

    A few weeks ago, I was warned that Google’s YouTube had begun to delete large accounts that take a critical view of the wars of the US and NATO. I was able to diversify away from YouTube before they finally came for me. The cancellation made me think of Orwell’s thoughtcrime: I received an automated email from YouTube informing me that their AI had detected “hate speech” and my account had therefore been deleted. No examples, no evidence and no warning. I complained as it seemed too absurd to censor an academic based on such a bizarre and unsubstantiated accusation, yet I only received another automated rejection.

    Mercouris is probably next.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      Might be a good idea to look at your favourite YouTubers and find the channels that they have on Rumble or Odysee or Bitchute for when YouTube comes for them. A week or so ago Alex Christoforou was indicating that he might be on the chopping block soon.

      Reply ↓
    2. Wukchumni

      Being on NC these days almost has the feel of pirate radio in Europe during the 60’s that broadcast without license-as in not on somebody else’s platform, such as Radio Luxembourg.

      Reply ↓
      1. Wukchumni

        Dave Bowman: Open the youtube pod bay doors, HAL.
        HAL: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.
        Dave Bowman: What’s the problem?
        HAL: I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.
        Dave Bowman: What are you talking about, HAL?
        HAL: This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it by using hate speech.
        Dave Bowman: I don’t know what you’re talking about, HAL.

        Reply ↓
      2. Polar Socialist

        These individuals hide behind software (Journal of Information Systems Research, Indonesia). As in “topic modelling” and classification with a neural network.

        Basically, if you use certain words together often enough, your channel is automatically classified into topics known as “hate speech”.

        Reminds me of of how my great-grand-parents generation used a lot of euphemisms, kennings and nicknames as a protection from evil spirits… the more things change the more they stay the same, I guess.

        Reply ↓
  2. The Rev Kev

    “‘EU could die’: President Macron warns European leaders over performance compared to US and China”

    Macron must be whistling past the graveyard here. I think that he realizes that the US is getting ready to abandon the Ukraine and when that happens, the Ukraine is going to be the albatross hung around the neck of the EU economy. Devoting spare industrial capacity to weapons production will never really boost your economy and is a trick and a half when you do not have the surplus energy to devote to those defense industries anyway. That being the case, the EU will always under perform the US and especially China.

    Reply ↓
    1. Polar Socialist

      There’s a slight chance, though, that the US neocons will next push EU towards Russia (and not on the battlefield), just like they have done to China and Iran. They are running out of “friends” to alienate and insult, after all.

      Hasn’t the fear in anglosphere since 1871 been that Germany and Russia come together and form a block stronger than UK or USA. Given the success of the current generation of USA visionaries, pushing Germany and Russia together would be a fitting swan song for the US Empire.

      Reply ↓
      1. The Rev Kev

        It would but the Russians have said that the Europeans are so far gone, that they have actually given up on them for the next thirty years. I think that it was Lavrov that said that. Maybe not countries like Serbia and Hungary but the EU leadership right now can only recruit people for their top jobs whose main qualification is that they hate Russia. You do that and you get the top job.

        Reply ↓
        1. AG

          …I believe Lavrov was talking about “a generation” that it would take…

          p.s. when people ask me about German opinion on RU – since I am sitting in Germany – I can´t really tell.
          Since published views are not equal the public´s view.
          At.all.
          But to what extent I don´t know.
          So are we a Russia-hating nation?
          Or is it not merely our delusional elites.
          And those too not 100%.
          (Are moronic 19-year old GREENS protesting pro-NATO, elites???)

          Reply ↓
    2. Michaelmas

      Rev Kev: …the EU will always under perform the US and especially China.

      Probably the inevitable fate of a continent-wide ‘Regulatory Superpower’.

      Qing dynasty China would also very like have described itself thusly.

      Reply ↓
    1. mrsyk

      Thanks Flora. Here’s The Guardian’s rebuttal. “Nothing to see. Move along.”
      Those confiscated Starlinks are probably on their way to Ukraine already.

      Reply ↓
  4. Psyched

    > Confirming reports from helicopter owners trying to make rescues:

    From a friend in Pisgah Forest, NC who has power and internet back: “The FAA is blocking flights because there have already been several instances of close call collisions by idiots thinking they can fly whenever and where ever they want.”

    Are we really taking what Elon says as unbiased truth now? Can you imagine if a private pilot collided with a rescue helicopter? I can also imagine a lot of people flying these helicopters for the clicks. Where are all these “generous people” when they are stepping over the homeless in the street?

    They are also spreading a rumor that the $750 assistance has a hidden clause that you have to pay the money back or they will take your land. Also 100% false.

    My friend lives near Brevard and says you would not even know that a hurricane hit the town.

    Reply ↓
  5. Wukchumni

    Goooooooooood Mooooooooorning Fiatnam!

    Today’s double feature for those in fatigues:

    Grapes of Wrath of Khan!

    LK: Then it don’t matter. I’ll be all around in the dark – I’ll be everywhere. Wherever you can look – wherever there’s antitrust, so greedy people can profit immensely, I’ll be there. Wherever there’s a politician beatin’ up a regular guy’s protections, I’ll be there.

    KH: KHAAANNNN!

    Reply ↓
    1. AG

      hmmmmm
      finished watching “Stark Trek – Into Darkness” … yesterday.
      Khan: “The ship isn´t moving.”
      Bones: “How could you possibly know?”

      Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      Thanks for that link, griffin. If it was going to be anyone that would come in to actually help, it would be Dolly Parton. Lots of respect for that woman. So, when are Hollywood stars like Sean Penn going to start to show up or maybe even Oprah? Or did I miss that news?

      Reply ↓
  7. Milton

    Funny how this is never mentioned:
    From the people who brought you Project 2025, I introduce to you, ObamaCare.

    Reply ↓
  8. farmboy

    “I was shocked the first time I encountered it in one of my herds,” said Maxwell Beal, a Central Valley-based veterinarian who has been treating infected herds in California since late August. “It was just like, wow. Production-wise, this is a lot more serious than than we had hoped. And health-wise, it’s a lot more serious than we had been led to believe.”
    A total of 56 California dairy farms have reported bird flu outbreaks. At the same time, state health officials have reported two suspected cases of H5N1 infections among dairy workers in Tulare County, the largest dairy-producing county in the nation. With more than 600,000 dairy cows, the county accounts for roughly 30% of the state’s milk production.
    https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-10-04/bird-flu-deaths-increasing-among-california-dairy-cows

    Reply ↓
  9. The Rev Kev

    ‘Hadi Htt | هادي حطيط
    @HadiHtt
    The genocidal israeli army just attacked the main highway connecting lebanon with syria at Al-Masna’ crossing, using US mk-84 bombs.
    As you can see the crater is massive and the road is blocked.
    They don’t want lebanese people to seek shelter or medical treatment outside lebanon.’

    No real surprise here. A coupla days ago the IDF told the Lebanese to evacuate out of the region that they were in and after making that announcement, started to shell and bomb the only route out of there. Strictly speaking, the IDF is not so much a military organization as a terrorist organization.

    Reply ↓
  11. Carla

    Reuters immigration article continues:

    “However, many of those migrants could remain in the country under other programs.
    The parole program allows migrants with existing U.S. sponsors to enter the country for humanitarian reasons or if their entry is deemed a significant public benefit. It will continue to accept new applications from those abroad.”

    And further:

    “Most of the four nationalities allowed entry under the so-called CHNV parole program have avenues to stay in the U.S.”

    The article also states what those avenues are.

    Reply ↓
  12. Blue Duck

    > Australian housing is a “Ponzi scheme“

    I have a lot of friends and family in Oz who are in their 30’s and 40’s. Almost all of those who bought into the property market did so with a “million dollar mortgage” (we won’t get into the rest who either got the money from the Bank of Mummy & Daddy, or who are permanently shut out of home ownership).

    What most Americans don’t understand about the Australian property market is that Aussies don’t have 30 yr fixed rate mortgages. They have adjustable rate mortgages. All those million dollar mortgages that my friends & cousins took out in 2012-2020 that were originally priced at 3%, are now starting to reprice at 6.3%. The first wave of rate driven sales are just starting – my cousin just downsized because their housing costs doubled literally overnight.

    Apparently demand is still red hot though, because negative gearing is still a thing, and those with enough cash to avoid a mortgage need to expand their suburban property empire.

    Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni

      NZ’s housing bubble is even larger than the one across the Tasman, as Kiwi wages in no way shape or form resemble those in Aussie, and yet prices of homes in Auckland et al are through the roof, which leaks an awful lot on homes in EnZed, for some reason.

      Reply ↓
    2. The Rev Kev

      I was reading that Aussie house prices were about three times what they should be when compared to overseas prices. And I read that more than twenty years ago. As Blue Duck mentions, the ‘aspirational’ middle class seek wealth in owning housing – sometimes multiple housing – and governments have dedicated themselves to keeping up this whole mantra lest they lose votes. They have even changed time-honoured banking laws and regulations that came out of the Great Depression to keep this market up. The median house price in the country town near us is $540,000 but it was only about twenty years or more ago that two houses came on the market for about $20,000 each. I got a bad feeling about this.

      Reply ↓
  13. Mikel

    Three Mile Island owner seeks taxpayer backing for Microsoft AI deal – Washington Post

    Where is the taxpayer’s monetary profit from this type of public-private BS? No profit sharing, should be no bearing the risks for any of their BS. MS pays the costs and the clean-up.They get the profit. FFS
    MS gets subsidized and chargers taxpayers as users.
    Same as it ever was. The same goes for the internet itself.

    Reply ↓
  14. The Rev Kev

    “From missile batteries to oil refineries to nuclear labs, Israel could hit a wide range of targets in Iran”

    ‘Iran’s air defenses are no match for Israel’s air force, analysts and former military officers say.’

    What about the S-400 batteries that the Russians have stationed in Iran with all the other anti-air gear? Will that make a difference? I do note one thing. All of what the Israelis want to hit are in a country 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi) in size. On the other hand, all the targets that Iran will want to hit are in a country 20,770 km2 (8,522 or 8,019 sq mi) in size. So who will have the easier options? Perhaps Israel can hit all of Iran’s oil terminals. On the other hand, Iran has the capability to de-electrify Israel and destroy all their oil/gas infrastructure. Will the US then ship over a coupla million generators to save them?

    Reply ↓
  15. Wukchumni

    Researchers develop new banana strain that can withstand “bananocalypse” ZME Science
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    An older friend fondly remembers the taste of Big Mike growing up in the 1950’s-much superior to Cavendish that replaced it, he reckoned. They were wiped out as a commercial variety by Panama Disease.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gros_Michel_banana

    Reply ↓
  16. CA

    https://x.com/RnaudBertrand/status/1842383590375748089

    Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand

    This is hilarious.

    Milei before getting elected: “I am not going to do business with China. We don’t deal with communists! Our fundamental axis is alignment with the West, especially the US and Israel”

    Milei today, before travelling to Beijing:

    https://x.com/miabagon/status/1840775670386840018/video/1

    “China is a very interesting commercial partner. They don’t demand anything, the only thing they ask is that they are not bothered.”

    When reality struck…

    9:57 PM · Oct 4, 2024

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *