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.
Rebuilding collective intelligence Red Pepper
Mutual Aid Groups That Arose During COVID Gather to Build Power Regionally Truthout
Climate
Youth-Led Climate Change Lawsuits Are a Tactic to Hold Governments Responsible Teen Vogue. Held v. State of Montana. A similar case, Juliana v. United States, is hung up on standing. NOTE Climate Case Chart looks like a useful resource.
River Cruise Ship Evacuated After Possible Battery Explosion Maritime Executive
#COVID19
As I keep saying: “Democidal elites” is a parsimonious explanation.”
Biden’s infection and the horrific reality of “forever COVID” WSWS. Should be “horrific, constructed” reality.
COVID Is Evolving Fast. Why Isn’t Our Response to It? (interview) Eric Topol, New York Magazine
Anthony Fauci wants to put Covid’s politicization behind him Politico
* * * An immunoPET probe to SARS-CoV-2 reveals early infection of the male genital tract in rhesus macaques (preprint) bioRxuv. Press release. From the Abstract: “Remarkably, a robust signal was seen in the male genital tract (MGT) of all three animals studied. Infection of the MGT was validated by immunofluorescence imaging of infected cells in the and severe pathology was observed in the testes of one animal at 2-weeks post-infection…. We provide direct evidence for SARS-CoV-2 infection of the MGT in rhesus macaques revealing the possible pathologic outcomes of viral replication at these sites.” I’m sure the Biden Administration’s crack Anti-Covid marketing team will hop right on this.
* * * Austria mourns suicide of doctor targetted by anti-COVID vaccine campaigners Reuters
Monkeypox
Biden administration falls into blame game with local authorities over monkeypox response The Hill
Monkeypox Virus Infection in Humans across 16 Countries — April–June 2022 NEJM. From the Discussion: “Transmission of monkeypox virus occurs through large respiratory droplets, close or direct contact with skin lesions, and possibly through contaminated fomites.”
China?
No mention of Taiwan on US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Asia tour list South China Morning Post.
China Threatens To Retaliate For Pelosi’s Taiwan Trip By Letting Her Return Safely The Onion
China announces military drills in Taiwan Strait Deutsche Welle
Nancy Pelosi’s long history of opposing Beijing BBC
* * * South China Sea claims:
South #China Sea territorial claims https://t.co/Q1iEPSERvi #MapPorn pic.twitter.com/BmErkxstwf
— MapPorn (@MapPornTweet) July 30, 2022
China’s claim — modulo issues of raw power — is loony tunes. As is Vietnam’s. Interesting to see, however, how hemmed in China is by Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and to the north, the Korean Peninsula and, of course, Japan. Perhaps the Taiwan flap is more about China’s access to the great waters of the Pacific than anything else. (Yes, of course there are tiny islands in China’s way too, which we seem, not unsurprisingly, to be being stupid about.)
A Shrinking China Can’t Overtake America Foreign Policy
India
A Swelling Mountain of Bills Plagues India’s Power Industry Bloomberg
Syraqistan
Iran can export car parts, gas turbines to Russia Tass. Turbines like this?
⚙️ 🇮🇷🇩🇪🇷🇺 Ultramodern Iranian turbines are replacing German Siemens turbines in Russia.
Germany cedes its place to Iran as a supplier of power plant parts pic.twitter.com/EphPXbmlWQ
— AZ 🛰🌏🌍🌎 (@AZmilitary1) July 30, 2022
Iran Is Trying to Play the Saudis Against the US. It Won’t Work. Bloomberg
New Not-So-Cold War
Volodymyr Zelensky calls for evacuation of Donetsk region to escape “Russian terror” Le Monde. “Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Verechtchuk had previously announced the evacuation of the entire population of the Donetsk region.” Operation questions: How many people are left, how many will be willing to leave, how they will be evacuated, and where they will go. One thing we can be sure of: Ukraine will be quite happy to mix evacuating civilians with retreating soldiers (and perhaps that is the real point of the order).
* * * Regime Instability In Kiev? Gordon Hahn
Nord Stream gas row deepens as Gazprom airs new complaints on turbine Euronews
* * * Lloyds To Insure War Grain Ships In Ukraine Sea Corridor gCaptain
Ukraine Needs Solutions, Not Endless War The National Interest
Russian Offensive, Ukraine Inflation Crisis, Blinken Talks to Lavrov, Pelosi Flies to Taiwan (video) Alexander Mercouris, YouTube. Shout-out to NC at 5:00.
Biden Administration
Sinema indicates she may want to change Schumer-Manchin deal Axios
SEC Enriches Fraudsters, Lawyers as Secrecy Shrouds Tips Program Bloomberg Law
Capitol Seizure
Democrats hope DOJ holds Trump accountable after Mueller disappointment The Hill. Any stick to beat a dog.
2022
Midterm Misery for Biden as Key Economy Gauge Flags 30-Seat Loss Bloomberg
The Utah Independent Who Just Might Have the Formula to Beat Trumpism Politico
Boeing
Boeing Gets FAA Clearance to Restart 787 Dreamliner Delivery Bloomberg
Sports Desk
Ex-Gov. Phil Bryant Subpoenaed In Welfare Fraud Case Involving Brett Favre, USM Mississippi Free Press (DCBlogger).
Zeitgeist Watch
Ticket bought in Illinois wins $1.337B Mega Millions jackpot Star-Telegram
Think Your Street Needs a Redesign? Ask an AI Bloomberg. Don’t ask it anything. Kill it with fire. (I must note, however, that the DALL-E rollout has been very effective as marketing.)
Imperial Collapse Watch
What Presidents Say Does Not Matter. It Is The Execution Of Policies That Counts. Moon of Alabama. With shout-out to NC.
We blitzed it London Review of Books. Oil geopolitics. Well worth a read.
Most US F-35s temporarily grounded as ejection seat issue threatens jets worldwide Air Force Times (Re Silc). You’ll need an ejection seat when the F-35 catches on fire, so this is bad.
Guillotine Watch
Intel Cuts Fab Buildout by $4B To Pay Billions In Dividends Semianalysis (MP). “It’s a disgrace that Intel has decided to cut fab buildouts while begging the US government for subsidies through the chips act and committing to growing their dividend.”
Class Warfare
Bank Of America Memo, Revealed: “We Hope” Conditions For American Workers Will Get Worse The Intercept
Eddie Dempsey talking pure sense (video) PoliticsJOE, YouTube (MarkT).
Please tell me this is a parody:
this is so good pic.twitter.com/ZHg9U2oXjG
— ST (∞, ∞) (@seyitaylor) July 30, 2022
Unpicking the link between smell and memories Nature
Moral Panics Come and Go. Sex Bracelet Hysteria Is Forever. The Ringer
Artemis is with us London Review of Books
How a near-death experience could change the way you live NPR. News you can use!
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
