Happy Bastille Day, citoyens!
***
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.
Edits to a cholesterol gene could stop the biggest killer on earth MIT Technology Review
Why Write? The Paris Review
The World as a Game Liberties
How to Read English in India Los Angeles Review of Books
The Rise of Bad Art and the Decline of Political Candor The Nation
How Do Mathematicians Know Their Proofs Are Correct? Quanta Magazine (David L)
WHEN KURT VONNEGUT MET NORMAN MAILER IN CAPE COD’S LEGENDARY “HELLTOWN” Crime Reads
Webb’s First Images GALLERY (guurst) I know we’ve featured Webb images more than once over the last few days, not to mention Lambert’s cool post of yesterday, but I cannot get enough of them – and I suspect at least some readers feel the same way I do. With the world in such a parlous state, I take my pleasures where I find them.They make my jaw drop in awe and amazement. At the wonder of the universe. As well as the tremendous technical achievement getting the images represents. Imagine if we financed more similar projects, instead of shoveling money into the maw of the MIC.
ADVENTURES IN WRITING TIME TRAVEL Crime Reads. Forgive the doubling up of links from Crime Reads. I just finished reading an excellent time travel mystery: Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair, the first novel in his Tuesday Next series. Find yourself a copy, particularly if you’re an aficionado of classic English literature. A fun and unique read.
Princess Mononoke: The masterpiece that flummoxed the US BBC
#COVID-19
FDA authorizes Novavax Covid vaccine, in hopes the traditional shot will convince holdouts Stat
Monkeypox
Monkeypox vaccine appointment website crashes in New York City The Hill
Ready to watch gov health agencies and the nobility of child wellbeing to declare 3-4 weeks of isolation are not really necessary because unsafe subsidized childcare (a.k.a. schools) are still the economy’s salvation, and see this blow-up in 3, 2, 1…. https://t.co/zvtemd8TXM
— Diego Bassani, PhD (@DGBassani) July 13, 2022
New Not-So-Cold-War
Ukraine, Russia near deal on grain exports, says UN Deutsche Welle. Good news if true.
Russia-Ukraine live news: Explosions rock Mykolaiv Al Jazeera
Germany Criminalises Journalist for Reporting Ukrainian War Crimes Grayzone
PATRICK LAWRENCE: The Imaginary War Consortium News
The Energy Crisis Will Deepen Project Syndicate. Daniel Yergin.
Whether one agrees or not with this position, it is clearly well within the realm of reasoned discourse and analysis. Yet after every last Dem – from AOC to Bernie – voted for Biden’s $40b war package, you have to go to the GOP caucus to hear this in Congress. Why? Read it:👇 pic.twitter.com/eETluzIaLk
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) July 13, 2022
Most of those US billions “for Ukraine” are pocketed by North Virginia mansion-dwellers.https://t.co/JfKxOYsnVY
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) July 13, 2022
Here is an English translation of Rybar’s report vis-a-vis the purchased HIMARS system + ammo.
Price: $800k for the system; $330k for an unspecified number of rockets.https://t.co/9LveMusKqN
— Will Schryver (@imetatronink) July 12, 2022
The words of George Kennan, William Cohen, William Burns and Jack Matlock are suppressed, but @McFaul — to whom the English language is a major challenge and the Cyrillic alphabet is the moon — is quoted everywhere as an authority. https://t.co/BkejN0lD9z
— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) July 12, 2022
Big Brother IS Watching You Watch
Gmail users “hard pass” on plan to let political emails bypass spam filters Ars Technica
Police State Watch
The Latest Uvalde Revelations Show Exactly What’s Wrong With US Policing Jacobin
Old Blighty
Two male candidates eliminated, the next British PM will be in their 40s Sydney Morning Herald (The Rev Kev)
Rishi Sunak wins first round of Tory leadership vote BBC
Amazing scenes of pandemonium in the Commons yesterday:
Very proud of my friends Kenny Macaskill MP and Neale Hanvey MP for disrupting PMQ’s and getting thrown out of the House of Commons.
Scottish MPs should be sabotaging the union, not helping to run it. https://t.co/5DiPzR9OE3
— Craig Murray – (@CraigMurrayOrg) July 13, 2022
All boxed in, with no where to go. Kenneth Clarke famously told us at Tribune that he couldn’t believe it when Gordon Brown made a similar commitment & actually stuck to it. https://t.co/AIXjqPCpQ2
— Mark Seddon (@MarkSeddon1962) July 13, 2022
Climate Change
Sporadic Monitoring of Emissions in California Oil Country Adds to Air Pollution Concerns Capital & Main
How Climate Change is Making Flooding Worse Counterpunch
Matt Damon and Gwyneth Paltrow Drink Piss In The Latest ‘South Park’ Special Decider
Imperial Collapse Watch
US struggles to curb Turkey’s TB2 killer drone exports Asia Times
Harpers Declares It’s Over – The ‘American Century’ Is Gone Moon of Alabama
The Empire Is Showing More And More Of Its True Face Caitlin Johnstone
Supply Chain/Shortages
Can Permaculture Alleviate Poverty & Ensure Food Security? Madras Courier
The Bezzle
Pentagon diverted small business fund to defense industry giants Responsible Statecraft
Incredible quote on why the court may not order Elon to go through with the deal: “it’s unclear whether the order of the court will be obeyed, and courts in Delaware are very concerned about issuing a decision that that then is ignored, flouted. It reflects poorly on the court” https://t.co/PNSU2pZpL9
— Tom Gara (@tomgara) July 13, 2022
Class Warfare
“Eat the Rich” ice cream truck sells $10 popsicles shaped like Bezos, Musk, others CBS News
Dodger Stadium Workers Threaten Strike – Another Chipotle Union Drive Launched – Starbucks Workers Vote Down Union Payday Report
Gunz
New York Passed a Law Defining No-Guns Zones. Where Exactly? That’s Complicated. The City
Abortion
Doctors Fearing Legal Blowback Are Denying Life-Saving Abortions Bloomberg
The Supremes
How Justice Amy Coney Barrett is wielding enormous influence on the Supreme Court USA Today
Trump Transition
Trump discussing 2024 plans at secret donor dinners Politico
Donald Trump slams Elon Musk’s Twitter ‘mess’ The National
Biden Administration
The Biden administration’s weasel words on press freedom Columbia Journalism Review
Ioe Biden is deeply unpopular. But can Democrats find an alternative for 2024?Guardian. re Šilc: “dnc has been totally uninterested in state and local elections, which is the minor league to develop their future bench playerzzzzzz………”
Bad Will Hunting American Conservative
The road to Iran’s ‘Resistance Economy’ passes through a revived JCPOA Responsible Statecraft
Syraqistan
TARIQ ALI ON NATO LIES AND COVER-UPS IN AFGHANISTAN: UNLAWFUL KILLINGS AND RAPES WERE NEVER REPORTED Stop the War coalition
How the U.S. Keeps Getting Played By Its Bad Clients Eunomia. Daniel Larison. re Šilc: “blinken continues the secstate stinkin trend”
THE ANGRY ARAB: Biden in Arabia Consortium News
House to vote on constraining US arms sales to Saudis on eve of Biden trip The Hill
Israeli court rules in favor of sweeping impunity The Electronic Intifada (guurst)
1/6 Shocking: UN chief @antonioguterres has sent a message to Israeli forces that as long as they kill and injure fewer than 1,000 children a year, they can escape his rebuke. A thread to explain: pic.twitter.com/NINvUZdD4R
— Jo Becker (@jobeckerhrw) July 12, 2022
Sri Lanka
‘Rajapaksas Lacked Vision, Worked for Themselves’: Erik Solheim, Peace Mediator in Sri Lanka War The Wire
Explained: Why Sri Lanka’s Gotabaya Rajapaksa picked Maldives as a getaway Firstpost
Maldives gov’t faces backlash for accepting Sri Lankan president Al Jazeera
Sports Desk
VINGEGAARD TURNS THE RACE UPSIDE DOWN Tour de France official site. Watch the video, distilling the stage down to a video of under 9 minutes. An amazing performance, and they haven’t even reached the Alps d’Huez stage yet – which is next. My husband is a serious cyclist and keenly watches hours of TV coverage of each day’s stage. (I usually show up for the last couple of minutes and the race’s highlights.) Stephen’s not alone in thinking the stage they just finished is the more difficult.
Dan Martin’s Tour de France analysis: So was this the knockout blow? Velo News
Woke Watch
Study Shows U.S. 4th Graders Now Gay At A 12th-Grade Level The Babylon Bee
India
How traffic engineering could make India’s roads safer – for pedestrians and vehicles Scroll
NEP Position Paper to Schools: Meat and Eggs Are Bad for Health and Nation The Wire
Vegetable trade on the Dal: in troubled waters People’s Archive of Rural India. From April, still germane.
Centre may widen roles of cooperatives to boost jobs Hindustan Times
US Consulate Tells Mumbai Port To Block Russian Ships; India Gives Scathing Response Republic World. They are desperate, aren’t they?
China?
China’s Henan bank scandal not just a financial crisis, it may be a lasting political calamity: analysts South China Morning Post
Antidote du Jour (via):
And a bonus video:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
