Lambert and I, and many readers, agree that Ukraine has prompted the worst informational environment ever. We hope readers will collaborate in mitigating the fog of war — both real fog and stage fog — in comments. None of us need more cheerleading and link-free repetition of memes; there are platforms for that. Low-value, link-free pom pom-wavers will be summarily whacked.
And for those who are new here, this is not a mere polite request. We have written site Policies and those who comment have accepted those terms. To prevent having to resort to the nuclear option of shutting comments down entirely until more sanity prevails, as we did during the 2015 Greek bailout negotiations and shortly after the 2020 election, we are going to be ruthless about moderating and blacklisting offenders.
–Yves
P.S. Also, before further stressing our already stressed moderators, read our site policies:
Please do not write us to ask why a comment has not appeared. We do not have the bandwidth to investigate and reply. Using the comments section to complain about moderation decisions/tripwires earns that commenter troll points. Please don’t do it. Those comments will also be removed if we encounter them.
Greatest Migration on Earth Happens under Darkness Every Day Scientific American
Was Tricia the elephant happy? Experts on the ethics of keeping such big, roaming creatures in captivity The Conversation
An Economy of Overfed Middlemen Matt Stoller, BIG
Amazon to Buy One Medical Network of Health Clinics in Healthcare Expansion WSJ
Don’t let the airlines fool you. Regulate their cancellations and high fares. USA Today
Climate
The search for the source of plastic pollution Grist
What’s behind Europe’s spate of deadly wildfiress? AP. Commentary (MarkT):
A clip from Don’t Look Up, and then a real TV interview that just happened pic.twitter.com/CokQ5eb3sO
— Ben Phillips (@benphillips76) July 20, 2022
Planting trees is not a panacea — we need to save existing forests FT. See NC here.
#COVID19
Operation Nasal Vaccine—Lightning speed to counter COVID-19 Eric Topol, Science. “The likelihood that at least one of these nasal vaccine programs will be successful is high, but the lack of an OWS-like push means there will be substantial delays in manufacturing at scale, regulatory approval, and distribution.”
Long COVID and symptom trajectory in a representative sample of Americans in the first year of the pandemic Nature. From the Abstract: “We use a sample representing the U.S. community population from the Understanding America Study COVID-19 Survey, which surveyed around 8000 respondents bi-weekly from March 2020 to March 2021. Our final sample includes 308 infected individuals who were interviewed one month before, around the time of, and 12 weeks after infection. About 23% of the sample experienced new-onset symptoms during infection which lasted for more than 12 weeks, and thus can be considered as having long COVID.”
Why the U.S. failed to control COVID-19: incompetence, class violence, deception, and lies MR Online
Alberta government memos on school masking ‘damning,’ union leader says CBC. The deck: “Documents show schools without mandates 3 times more likely to have outbreaks.”
Monkeypox
Monkeypox Virus Infection in Humans across 16 Countries — April–June 2022 NEJM
Clinical features and management of human monkeypox: a retrospective observational study in the UK The Lancet. n = 7. From the Interpretation: “Prolonged upper respiratory tract viral DNA shedding after skin lesion resolution challenged current infection prevention and control guidance.” Nothing cultured, sadly.
Monkeypox virus could become entrenched as new STD in the US AP
House Oversight chair calls on HHS to address ‘barriers’ to monkeypox treatments The Hill
China?
China’s Strategy Needs Study, Not Assumptions Foreign Policy
Myanmar
Myanmar leader shops for support, weapons in Moscow Al Jazeera. Meanwhile:
The 133-km Dali-Baoshan section of the Dali-Ruili Railway started operation Friday in SW China’s Yunnan, marking a new progress in the construction of the China-Myanmar international railway corridor. pic.twitter.com/SeaGF0mgx3
— People’s Daily, China (@PDChina) July 22, 2022
Australian embassy spends $750,000 at luxury hotel linked to Myanmar’s military junta ABC Austrailia
Sri Lanka: Forces raid anti-government protest camp BBC
Japan’s daily COVID cases top 150,000, new record high Kyodo News. July 16: 107,000.
How Japan Achieved One of The World’s Lowest Covid Death Rates Bloomberg
UK/EU
Clarifying:
Today we changed the law to allow businesses impacted by strike action to hire skilled, temporary workers to mitigate disruption.
This was a criminal offence. Now it’s an option for business.
We will not let trade unions grind our economy to a halt.
👉🏾 https://t.co/cxsa02kLdg pic.twitter.com/W5xooxevt6
— Kwasi Kwarteng (@KwasiKwarteng) July 21, 2022
11 times the UK Tory leadership race went completely nuts Politico. Not just the Tories:
hearing that put so absolutely unequivocally from a BBC journalist after all the years of bullshit actually makes me feel like I’ve gone insane https://t.co/6KzvpLTLWf
— Archie Woodrow (@Archimbaldo) July 21, 2022
How big a deal is the hole in the Bank of England’s balance sheet? Financial Times
Your Man in Saughton Jail Part 2 Craig Murray
Lagarde’s ‘Whatever It Takes’ Sequel Isn’t a Hit Yet Bloomberg
New Not-So-Cold War
Why Nord Stream II Must Be Opened Immediately Moon of Alabama
EU solidarity frays as some member states question plan to slash gas use FT
U.S. hopes for global price cap on Russian oil by December Hellenic Shipping News. December?
* * * What If the War in Ukraine Spins Out of Control? Foreign Affairs
Ukraine war must end to prevent nuclear ‘abyss’, Lukashenko tells AFP Agence France Presse
* * * Russia ‘about to run out of steam’, head of UK intelligence says – as it happened Guardian. As what happened?
Captured nuclear plant doubles as launch pad for relentless Russian rocket attacks FT
* * * Corruption concerns involving Ukraine are revived as the war with Russia drags on NPR
Republicans wince as their Ukrainian-born colleague thrashes Zelenskyy Politico
Colombia’s New President and the Challenges to the Bilateral Relationship War on the Rocks
Biden Administration
Biden’s Plan for a Digital Dollar is a Massive Threat to Freedom Newsweek (Furzy Mouse). Yikes.
Capitol Seizure
Live Blog: January 6th Hearings, Thursday, July 21 Matt Taibbi, TK News. So we don’t have to….
Heatlhcare
As health care faces nursing shortages, burned-out nurses are flocking to remote jobs STAT
Pharma Companies Sue for the Right to Buy Blood From Mexicans Along Border ProPublica
Class Warfare
Crap Economics The American Conservative
Amazon Workers in North Carolina Are Building a Union Jacobin
The Bizarre Bird That’s Breaking the Tree of Life The New Yorker
The Other Side of the Canvas John Ganz. Fascist art in Italy.
The Plague of Resilience Meanjin
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote (DCBlogger):
The rebellion started today.. pic.twitter.com/rGhjHoxUcq
— Buitengebieden (@buitengebieden) July 4, 2022
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
