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.
Artemis Accords: Why the international moon exploration framework matters Space.com
Amazon Care is shutting down at the end of 2022. Here’s why Fierce Pharma. Amazon’s acquistion of One Medical has not closed, lest you think they’re leaving the business entirely.
Amazon is pressing pause on dozens more self-checkout grocery stores amid disappointing sales, report says Business Insider
World’s biggest Amazon warehouse raises fears over toxic air Reuters
What Will Come of the Nightmare Travel Summer of 2022? Matt Stoller, BIG
The casualties of California legalizing pot: Growers who went legal WaPo
Climate
California Approves Ban on Gas-Powered Car Sales by 2035 Bloomberg
Pace of Climate Change Sends Economists Back to Drawing Board NYT. Origin of the cliché:
A cautionary note about messages of hope: Focusing on progress in reducing carbon emissions weakens mitigation motivation Global Environmental Change. From 2016, still germane.
#COVID19
Long COVID, Cognitive Impairment, and the Stalled Decline in Disability Rates FEDS Notes
Nirmatrelvir Use and Severe Covid-19 Outcomes during the Omicron Surge NEJM. Paxlovid. n = 109,254. From the Abstract: “Among patients 65 years of age or older, the rates of hospitalization and death due to Covid-19 were significantly lower among those who received nirmatrelvir than among those who did not. No evidence of benefit was found in younger adults.”
NIH to terminate EcoHealth Alliance grant after its Wuhan partners refuse to deliver information on coronavirus studies Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
New monkeypox cases begin to slow in L.A. County, echoing trends elsewhere LA Times. Paragraph 16: “‘Many people have quit reporting their illness because it’s mild,’ [Troy Masters — publisher of the Los Angeles Blade, an LGBTQ newspaper] said. ‘I’m aware of this from numerous friends. They keep an eye on it. If it gets out of control, they then contact their doctor.’” Oh.
China?
China Hasn’t Reached the Peak of Its Power Foreign Affairs
US has ‘no good options’ on Taiwan as China resets status quo FT
US tariffs on China goods are yesterday’s problem for exporters – it made some even stronger – but now they face a bigger threat South China Morning Post
Myanmar
UK will support Rohingya ‘genocide’ court case as refugees mark five years since fleeing Myanmar The Telegraph
Britain’s former Myanmar envoy detained in Yangon Reuters. What they’re up against:
THREAD: In unusual move, #Myanmar #military publishes transcript of private official meeting with #UN special envoy who visited Aug 17 for 1st time since appointment. Army chief practically lectured her during meeting that UN described a “good discussion” #WhatsHappeninglnMyanmar pic.twitter.com/xE6FMryfHZ
— May Wong (@MayWongCNA) August 20, 2022
Syraqistan
Saudi Arabia sends message to Biden on oil FT
Iran ‘carefully reviewing’ US response to nuclear deal proposal Al Jazeera
Mossad Chief Barnea: New nuclear deal will not block us from acting against Iran Jerusalem Post
Najib Razak’s Political Career: The End of the Beginning or the End of the End? Fulcrum
UK/EU
After the Virus Mainly Macro
Routine Covid tests in English hospitals to be scrapped next week Guardian
Italy’s Centrists Are Failing to Take the Fight to the Far Right Jacobin
New Not-So-Cold War
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant temporarily disconnected from grid Al Jazeera. I’m still not clear why the Russians would be shelling a power plant they plan to connect to their own grid. But then who on earth could be doing the shelling?
France seeks clarity on potential TotalEnergies fuel links to Russian army France24
Russia Advances in Donbass, UK Johnson Tells Zelensky Continue War, $3 Billion in Weapons from MIC Alexander Mercouris, YouTube. 3:30: Debunking of “stalemate” begins. 5:03: “Now I just want to deal with this question of the fighting being at a standstill because what we see is that this has now become the new Western media meme….It’s the Russians that are advancing in southwest Ukraine and the Russians who continue to advance in Donbass.”
Biden pumps billions into the long war in Ukraine Politico
Putin issues decree to increase army’s standard strength by 137,000 as of 2023 TASS
Russian allegations of rampant Nazism in Europe Gilbert Doctorow
Venezuela: ConocoPhillips Closer to Enforcing $9.7B Award After Guaidó Opposition Misses Payments VenezuelAnalysis. Commentary:
Secondly, there’s quite a foul-smelling conflict of interests here. One of ConocoPhillips’ chief attorneys is Alberto Ravell, son of Alberto Federico Ravell, none other than Guaidó’s director of communications (make-believe comms minister) pic.twitter.com/Wn93xAgKPa
— venezuelanalysis.com (@venanalysis) August 24, 2022
Biden Administration
US government to make all research it funds open access on publication Ars Technica. Press release from White House Office of Science and Technology on guidance. Big win for OST. Now do ventilation. And see Aaron Swartz here.
In Washington, agricultural policymakers circulate among Farm Bureau, USDA and industry Investigate Midwest
2024
Judge orders unsealing of redacted affidavit in Trump search Associated Press
Election 2020 Post Mortem
Taibbi asks a good question:
How is this not a huge story? https://t.co/UwQdt5YNZo
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) August 25, 2022
Nate Silver: ‘Liberal elites’ pressured Pfizer to delay vaccine until after 2020 election NY Post
Our Famously Free Press
How One Spook-Run London College Department Is Training the World’s Social Media Managers Mint Press
A crude replacement for local news Heated. The deck: “As local newsrooms rapidly shut down across the country, Chevron steps in to fill the gap with propaganda.”
Healthcare
‘A Place To Die’: Inside A Nightmare For-Profit Hospital In Rural America Moe Tkacik, More Perfect Union. August 18.
When Private Equity Takes Over a Nursing Home The New Yorker (Furzy Mouse). August 25. No cite to Tkacik.
Shortages
How Deadly Bacteria Spread in a Similac Factory—and Caused the US Formula Shortage Bloomberg
Sports Desk
Accurate:
Greece’s PM Meets Qatar’s World Cup Mascot, The Ghost Of A Dead Migrant Worker pic.twitter.com/O7v2ZgY9Gk
— Le Chou News (@LeChouNews) August 22, 2022
Imperial Collapse Watch
The spinning door: From US government service to lobbying for dictators Responsible Statecraft
‘We Need to Own the Heat The Way We Now Own Night,’ Pentagon Climate Expert Says Defense One (Re Silc). “Tactical cooling vests.”
Class Warfare
How US life expectancy fell off a cliff FT
‘I’ve Seen a Lease Calling for Daily Lap Dances’ New York Magazine
Newfound Brain Switch Labels Experiences as Good or Bad Scientific American. “…but thinking makes it so.”
Antidote du jour (Suzi Eszterhas ):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
