WA man charged after taking off his clothes and assaulting crew member on a flight bound for Melbourne The Australian (Robin K). Will we have to add “WA man” to “Florida man”?
Sex and Alcohol in Medieval Times: A Look into the Pleasures of the Middle Age Open Culture (Micael T)
Kansas biologists find ‘super rare’ threatened species in the mouth of a hungry toad KSNT (Robin K)
‘Cocaine sharks’ found in waters off Brazil Science (Robin K)
164 whales and dolphins euthanised by DOC in a year Waikato Times (Robin K)
Science reveals ‘world’s most beautiful woman’ Otango Times (Robin K). You’d never know it from the photo. Makeup harsh and overdone, and she looks like she has cheek implants.
🚨Update: Biscuit Basin in Yellowstone National Park just had a massive eruption! Is the Yellowstone Caldera about to erupt!?!
pic.twitter.com/SLuWZEVAPC— US Civil Defense News (@CaptCoronado) July 23, 2024
Researchers discover battery-free technology that harvests power from radio and Wi-Fi signals for low-powered devices Tom’s Hardware (Micael T). Health fetishists will depict the fact that this much energy is zapping around as bad to health. It may be bad for bees.
#COVID-19
Infection Control, Emergency Management, Safety, and General Thoughts ICEMSG. Paul R flags: “This is an open letter to hospital and clinic administrators, as well as any healthcare organization. Feel free to share widely, particularly to any administrators you may know.”
Covid-19 is an unwelcome attendee at the Paris Olympic Games CNN. Paul R: “Heck of a job.”
Climate/Environment
Snow Belt to Sun Belt Migration: End of an Era? Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Tasmania offers ‘Eco-Milk’ from seaweed-fed cows Taipei Times (Robin K)
Twisted carbon nanotubes could achieve significantly better energy storage than advanced lithium-ion batteries PhysOrg. Chuck L: “Assuming they’re thinking electricity, a motor/generator device will be required to charge/discharge the ‘battery.’”
Trees have an extra climate benefit thanks to methane-eating microbes New Scientist (Dr. Kevin)
China?
US, Japan replace China as graduates’ destinations Taipei Times (Robin K)
Why is China stockpiling resources? The Week
North Korea’s economy rebounds as Russia ties fuel arms trade South China Morning Post
Africa
US sanctions three, including two based in SA, for expanding Isis in Africa The Citizen (Robin K)
Sudan war: Weapons being exported to conflict-torn country despite UN arms embargo Sky
The dearth of leadership Kaieteur News (Robin K)
European Disunion
Europe’s Path to War and Self-Destruction Fabian Scheidler (Micael T)
LNG terminals built in Germany turned out to be of no use to anyone International Affairs (Micael T)
Annalena Baerbock is not only stupid, but also malicious and deceitful Anti-Spiegel (Micael T)
Old Blighty
Soaring UK mortgage rates have pushed 320,000 adults into poverty, thinktank says Guardian
Gaza
Making Gaza uninhabitable. The Israeli military detonating a water reservoir in Rafah. pic.twitter.com/1JjTjVqnjI
— Nicola Perugini (@PeruginiNic) July 27, 2024
Palestinian Deaths In the Gaza Conflict Are Probably Close To Half A Million Ian Welsh
Gaza’s Orphans London Review of Books (guurst)
The ICJ Just Demolished One of Israel’s Key Defenses of the Occupation Haaretz (Dr. Kevin)
A Legal Justification for Genocide Jewish Currents (guurst)
They Did the Math: Hebrew University’s Great Mathematicians Are Leaving Israel Haaretz (Dr. Kevin)
Tourism to Israel in dire straits as 10 percent of hotels face total financial collapse The Cradle
Syraqistan
Why Iran’s missile strikes pose a real problem for Pakistan European Leadership Network
New Not-So-Cold War
Russia’s Putin hosts Syria’s Assad in Kremlin as tensions rise in the Middle East South China Morning Post
Imperial Collapse Watch
The Bretton Woods Moment—and Its Necessary Replacement Carnegie Endowment
Chinese Warships Watched by NATO Arrive in Russia’s Strategic Baltic Hub Newsweek
World War Three is closer than anyone dare admit Telegraph
US military, seeking strategic advantages, builds up Australia’s northern bases amid China tensions Reuters
Trump
Beware of an Unconstrained Trump Foreign Policy Daniel Larison
Trump Assassination Attempt
Secret Service Opted Out of Drone Surveillance Before Trump Assassination Attempt US Senator Sputnik
FBI wrong about assassination attempt, Trump’s doctor says RT
Vance
JD Vance Has a Bunch of Weird Views on Gender Politico (Dr. Kevin)
Kamala
Amazon DISAPPEARS Book About Kamala Harris! w/ Caleb Maupin Jimmy Dore, YouTube
Government transparency site pulls page naming Kamala Harris ‘most liberal’ senator NBC (Paul R)
Who is behind Kamala Harris? UnHerd. UserFriendly: “One more reason not to vote for Kamala. She already has Holder tapped for vetting VP’s.”
Donald Trump and J.D. Vance Attack Kamala Harris’s Legitimacy Charles Pearce (furzy). So this is how the Dems try to pretend there isn’t a legitimacy problem, by pointing out that the evil Rs are making an issue of it?
FBI raids home of former aide to NY Gov. Hochul, report says NBC (BC). Hhhhm.
Our No Longer Free Press
Why Does Washington Post Keep Publishing Foreign Assets? Active Measures (Micael T)
AI
Energy-Efficient AI: New Hardware Could Slash Computing Power Needs by 1000x ScienceBlog (Dr. Kevin)
ChatGPT is bullshit Ethics and Information Technology. UserFriendly: “Obviously, they must have read NC.”
The Bezzle
CrowdSuck American Prospect. Another must read by Moe Tkacik (Userfriendly)
As Foghorn Leghorn warned “This is going to cause more confusion than a mouse in a burlesque show.” The Ohio Supreme Court ruled selling a boneless chicken dish is a “cooking style not a guarantee.” https://t.co/jjLFeCU7iD
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) July 27, 2024
Class Warfare
The New Threat to the Chip Industry: Worker Unrest Wall Street Journal
(1/3) RIP OFF: Big health insurers overcharge taxpayers a whopping $140 billion dollars *a year* to administer Medicare Advantage plans (more than the U.S. has spent on defense aid to Ukraine since 2022 and ~3x what the U.S. spent on foster care in 2023.)@joeyrettino @PNHP pic.twitter.com/8dBQLSSS4V
— Wendell Potter (@wendellpotter) July 26, 2024
Higher CEO pay in large health care systems linked to hospital consolidations, study suggests MedicalXpress (Chuck L). This is a big reason for consolidation everywhere. Odd that MedicalXpress tries to depict this as a surprise. The CEO of the selling company gets a big exit payoff. The CEO of the buyer gets a pay increase because running a bigger entity supposedly warrants a bigger comp package.
Antidote du jour. Daniel G’s goldfish:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.