Hundreds of invaders have taken over the Isle of Man. They’re wallabies Adventure.com
Investment companies running RV parks ‘into the ground’ RV Travel
Climate
Hazmat cleanup of fiery wreck with ion batteries closes the 15 to Las Vegas, jamming freeways LA Times
South Africa’s power utility Eskom advances plans for small modular nuclear reactors BNE Intellinews
Capitalism’s New Age of Plagues, Part 8: Deadly Heat Climate & Capitalism
US carbon capture tax credits to persist no matter who wins elections: experts S&P Global
The evidence is mounting: Humans were responsible for the extinction of large mammals Phys.org
Biology Lessons In Degrowth George Tsakraklides
How Pennsylvania’s oil industry quietly dumped waste across the state Grist
Syndemics
US State Restrictions and Excess COVID-19 Pandemic Deaths JAMA. From the Abstract: “If all states had imposed restrictions similar to those used in the 10 most restrictive states, excess deaths would have been an estimated 10% to 21% lower than the 1.18 million that actually occurred during the 2-year analysis period; conversely, the estimates suggest counterfactual increases of 13% to 17% if all states had restrictions similar to those in the 10 least-restrictive states. The estimated strong vs weak state restriction difference was 271 000 to 447 000 deaths, with behavior changes associated with 49% to 79% of the overall disparity.”
* * * San Francisco health officials advise indoor masking amid summer COVID wave San Francisco Chronicle
The latest wave of COVID-19 and Biden’s destruction of public health WSWS
* * * How to read the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative models (part 1) Closed Form
SARS-CoV-2 dynamics in New York City during March 2020–August 2023 (preprint) medRxiv. From the Abstract: “Here, we leverage extensive surveillance data available in New York City (NYC) and a comprehensive model-inference system to reconstruct SARS-CoV-2 dynamics therein from the pandemic onset in March 2020 to August 2023, and further validate the estimates using independent wastewater surveillance data.”
* * * Identification of SARS-CoV-2 Persistent Infectious Epithelial Syndrome (SPIES) as a Novel Disease Entity using Clinical, Histologic, and RNA Programmatic Data (preprint) medRxiv. From the Abstract: “Our findings establish a syndrome mediated by persistent viral infection (SARS-CoV2 Persistent Intestinal Epithelial Syndrome (SPIES)). We hypothesize that persistent sparse infection drives ongoing immune signaling altering movement and function, creating epithelial and movement effects overlapping with [Disorder of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI)] and [Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)].”
China?
China’s crippling debt levels seen worsening as government measures focus on ‘buying time’ South Cnina Morning Post. Commentary:
3/6
In fact there is no way Beijing can rein in the surge in debt as long as it insists on GDP growth targets that are higher than the real economy can sustainably deliver (perhaps 2-3% at best).— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) July 28, 2024
The Intensifying Impacts of Upstream Dams on the Mekong The Diplomat
US Secretary of State warns China about consequences of supporting Russian military industrial complex Ukrainska Pravda
China’s Malaise Spreads to Luxury Industry WSJ
Commentary: Chinese e-commerce platforms are poised to rival Amazon’s empire Channel News Asia
Bangladesh protest leaders taken from hospital by police Channel News Asia
Syraqistan
Israel army says readying ‘decisive offensive’ against Lebanon’s Hezbollah France24
Has Houthi-orchestrated chaos become the new normal in the Red Sea? The New Arab
Olympics
Bernard Arnault has been dubbed the Olympics’ godfather. Here’s how he built LVMH’s fortune AP
European Disunion
Barcelona wants to get rid of short-term rental units. Will other tourist destinations do the same? AP
New Not-So-Cold War
‘I know we will win – and how’: Ukraine’s top general on turning the tables against Russia Luke Harding, Guardian
SITREP 7/24/24: General Syrsky Shocks With News of Russian Armor and Troop Surges Simplicius the Thinker
Confused Ukrainian Troops Jam Their Own Drones—And Russian Forces Advance Toward Pokrovsk Forbes
Russia, adapting tactics, advances in Donetsk and takes more Ukrainian land WaPo
* * * Putin is convinced he can outlast the West and win in Ukraine The Atlantic Council
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister says there is clear sign that China is working to end war in Ukraine Ukrainska Pravda
Is Ukraine ready for negotiations with Russia? A view from Baku JAM News
How the full-scale war has changed Ukrainians and what Ukraine’s “new normal” is like Ukrainska Pravda
* * * Ill-Suited to Reality London Review of Books. NATO.
A Mysterious Plot Prompts a Rare Call From Russia to the Pentagon NYT
Pentagon Again Applies Budget Lies To Deliver More Weapons To Ukraine Moon of Alabama
2024
Harris signs forms to officially declare candidacy The Hill
Bill Gates on Kamala Harris’s US presidential bid: ‘It’s great to have somebody younger’ France24
Trump to hold rally in Butler where he was shot Anadolu Agency
RFK Jr. certified for Nebraska’s fall ballot, overcoming challenge from state Democratic Party Nebraska Examiner
Americans Deserve More Debates and Transparency in This Election Editorial Board, NYT
Healthcare
Structural Determinants of Health: Hospitals’ Unequal Capital Investments Drive Health Inequities Center for Economic and Policy Research
Digital Watch
Regulations Targeting Large Language Models Warrant Strict Scrutiny Under the First Amendment Lawfare
Zeitgeist Watch
Never never never never never:
These are “ad walkers”
That’s right, they move around with a screen above their head, with ads
Never cease to innovate pic.twitter.com/0k1LiqSYzg
— gaut (@0xgaut) July 27, 2024
Imperial Collapse Watch
The history of the West is not quite what you learned in school The Economist
Love Me or I Shoot You London Review of Books
Housing
COVID outbreak at Charlottesville’s only overnight homeless shelter Daily Progress
Can tech help solve the Los Angeles homeless crisis? Finding shelter may someday be a click away APs
End Single Family Zoning by Overturning Euclid V Ambler Maximum Progress
Class Warfare
Uber, Lyft and Others Win California Ruling to Treat Drivers as Contractors WSJ
Apple reaches its first contract agreement with a US retail union TechCrunch
Why we might never know the truth about ultra-processed foods BBC
Ohio Supreme Court says boneless chicken wings can have bones Columbus Dispatch
Antidote du jour (Marek Szczepanek):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
