Kidding, Not Kidding: The philosophy of wisecracks. The Chronicle of Higher Education (Anthony L)
The Real Reason Why Music Is Getting Worse YouTube (Micael T)
Woman ‘in pain’ before death at slapping workshop BBC. Death by cult.
Hurricane Beryl batters Europe’s insurance stocks MarketWatch
FDA bans food additive found in citrusy sports drinks and sodas NBC. One of my brothers switched from caramel-colored diet sodas to citrus ones because the caramel coloring was considered to be unhealthy. I suspect he was not alone in making that choice.
Scientists wary of bird flu pandemic ‘unfolding in slow motion’ Reuters
#COVID-19
Sorry to interrupt—but COVID is definitely surging again— especially in the Western US but also across regions. Several new variants hitting the ground. KP1, KP2, and KP3 variants especially. I know friends sick for over a week already. Not over folks.
https://t.co/FfSd1bhGbP pic.twitter.com/7GiUFajNN6— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) July 3, 2024
WOW! Irish hospitals drowning in COVID, no universal masking, but they issue a ‘hospital acquired COVID infections’ leaflet to patients telling them how to try and protect themselves. This is ‘You do you’ gone mad.https://t.co/gqWwwk3MRz pic.twitter.com/ltYB7nM0Ak
— Dr David Berger, aBsuRdiSTe cROnickLeR (@YouAreLobbyLud) July 3, 2024
“Mini-Strokes, Gut Problems: Scientists See Links to an Old Bout of Covid.
Feeling ill? The cause might be years old”AND THE CAUSE MIGHT BE THE COVID INFECTION YOU HAD THREE MONTHS AGO, TWELVE MONTHS AGO OR TWO YEARS AGO.
🔥Any🔥 covid infection can do all of this stuff.
Ffs. pic.twitter.com/FwDY1X0IuI— tern (@1goodtern) July 2, 2024
Climate/Environment
How to create a ‘world without waste’? Here are the plastic industry’s ideas. Grist
British Startup Nyobolt Demos 4-Minute Battery Charging For EVs CNN
Google’s emissions climb nearly 50% in five years due to AI energy demand Guardian (Kevin W)
Climate change is pushing up food prices — and worrying central banks Financial Times
HISTORIC MEDITERRANEAN HEAT 50c AGAIN
4 days >50C never happened anywhere in Africa beforeALGERIA 50.4 Hassi Messaoud
TUNISIA 49.2 Kairouan monthly record
46.9 Siliana all time record
MOROCCO 43.0 Errachidia (yesterday) monthly record https://t.co/maKBvOQiTJ— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) July 1, 2024
The National Weather Service is forecasting Death Valley to hit 130°F (54.4°C) next Monday, which would tie the highest the highest temperature ever reliably recorded on Earth. pic.twitter.com/GDsDKwX8eI
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) July 2, 2024
China’s Weather Extremes Threaten Crops Bloomberg
Category five Hurricane Beryl churns towards Jamaica, causes ‘immense destruction’, claims at least two lives ABC Australia (Kevin W)
A new trajectory: Climate change rapidly impacting Canadian agriculture PhysOrg
‘Surely we are smarter than mowing down 1,000-year-old trees to make T-shirts’ – the complex rise of viscose Guardian (Kevin W)
China?
🇨🇳 China Foreign Ministry Spox.: “The reality is, it is NATO that has been challenging China, interfering in China’s domestic affairs, misrepresenting and vilifying our domestic and foreign policies and seriously challenging China’s interests and security.” pic.twitter.com/JF8Ex20ZUr
— COMBATE |🇵🇷 (@upholdreality) July 2, 2024
EU takes aim at China’s Temu and Shein with proposed import duty Financial Times
South of the Border
Maduro vs. US Election Interference: A Battle for Venezuela’s Future Orinoco Tribune. Robin K: “Looks like Guaidó lost his favored place.”
Africa
The Congolese Fight for Their Own Wealth Vijay Prasad, Tricontinental (Akos G)
Kenya’s protesters repeatedly overpowered police forces today, defying massive tear gas shelling. Rallying under the slogan “Occupy Everything,” they demanded President William Ruto’s resignation as the initial anti-tax hike protests swelled into a full-scale anti-government… pic.twitter.com/qj7MpJuIxS
— red. (@redstreamnet) July 2, 2024
European Disunion
French election: Rivals unite against Le Pen’s far right Politico. Recall that normally, only two candidates qualify per race for the second round. However, French rules provide that any candidate that exceeds 12.5% of the number of voters (I assume registered, French citizens welcome to pipe up) also qualifies. The turnout was so high that in quite a few districts, third candidates qualified, hence the scramble to agree on dropouts.
Poland’s Tusk rails at fractured defense planning in jibe at Germany’s Scholz Politico (Kevin W)
Old Blighty
Gaza
‘Death Penalty a Solution’ – Ben-Gvir Adamant On Overcrowding in Israeli Prisons Palestine Chronicle (Kevin W)
From last week, still germane:
Amidst Gaza’s famine crisis, Israeli occupation forces have razed the last food basket for Gaza by destroying around 500 agricultural acres of greenhouses northwest of Rafah. pic.twitter.com/gFcOz9wG6j
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) June 29, 2024
In Gaza dying of starvation is much worse than dying from bombs Middle East Eye
🚨Israel’s +972 newspaper reports 6 new cases of IDF soldier RAPING kidnapped Palestinian civilians at the Sde Teiman prison camp & forcing the rest to watch.
The 6th report this year, making these incidents of rape systematic & widespread (i.e. crime against humanity) 🧵 pic.twitter.com/KQNnDUHxV6
— Muhammad Shehada (@muhammadshehad2) July 1, 2024
Gantz blasts settlers who attacked forces evacuating illegal West Bank outpost: ‘A red line’ Times of Israel
Rashid Khalidi The Neck and the Sword Interviewed by Tariq Ali New Left Review (Akos G)
New Not-So-Cold War
What happens next in Ukraine’s debt negotiations could change the course of the war The Conversation (Kevin W). The framing is bothersome in that it presupposes that Ukraine and the West, as opposed to Russia, are in charge of Ukraine’s destiny. But this deadline puts paid to the idea that monies to Ukraine can be constituted as loans. Kevin W adds:
I understand that crunch time for the bond holders comes August 1st and the IMF loans not long after. And that there are two options – either those bond holders take a severe haircut or else there is a default as mentioned in this article. The Ukraine is bust so can’t pay that money back so maybe Washington will organize a bailout. The Republicans will be thrilled with that one. Can the Ukraine print their way out of this one? Maybe. Either way, there will have to be a resolution by the end of the month. Zelensky may have to go on the road again to try to raise some money but that is a plus for him as he is safer outside the Ukraine than inside
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
It’s completely invasive’: New app lets you spy on SF bars to see if they’re poppin’ San Francisco Standard
Imperial Collapse Watch
U.S. faces aircraft carrier shortage as tensions rise everywhere Nikkei
Trump
Manhattan DA’s office says it will not oppose Trump request to delay hush-money sentencing – live Guardian
Judge delays Trump’s hush money sentencing until at least September after high court immunity ruling Associated Press (Kevin W)
Biden
Democrat Leaders Convince Biden He Already Stepped Down Yesterday Babylon Bee
Democratic Unity Cracks in Wake of Biden’s Debate Performance Wall Street Journal. Lead story.
Biden under new pressure to quit race as Democratic disquiet spreads Financial Times. Lead story.
Biden faces mutiny as TWENTY-FIVE Democrats prepare to call for ailing president, 81, to step aside after his disastrous debate against Trump – as one warn issues chilling warning Daily Mail. Lead story.
Is Joe Biden the Worst Option for Democrats to Beat Trump? Intercept
Most US voters prefer different Democratic candidate than Biden for 2024 presidency: Poll Anadolu Agency
Trump Raises $331 Million in a Quarter, Topping Biden Bloomberg. No wonder I’ve seen a barrage of YouTube ads begging for money for Biden before “a fundraising deadline” which was actually a reporting deadline.
Kamala Harris needs an open convention if she’s going to beat Trump Ryan Grim. A theory I have heard is the best chance for Team Dem to beat Trump is for Biden to resign, and Harris to be Prez for a few months before the election. She would (have to) convince voters she could do the job by doing the job. Given that most voters will recognize that a vote for Biden is a vote for Harris (as in the odds of him making it through a full second term do not look great), this is not a crazy idea…save for getting Jill Biden to go along.
Jake Tapper whips out George Orwell quote to warn Americans about the Democratic Party’s tactics: ‘Make no mistake’ The Blaze (Chuck L)
Note the fact of the leak = more efforts to get Biden to relent:
Chart is new Biden internal polling reported by Puck News.
Biden is now trailing in Pennsylvania by 7 pts.
Colorado, Maine, New Mexico and Virginia are in play for Trump. pic.twitter.com/pSiiN9mV1O
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) July 2, 2024
Biden blames jet lag and travel for poor debate performance BBC. Lordie. If you are explaining, you are losing. His trips were only to Europe and he had six days to rest, FFS.
Diseased, demented, depressed: serious illness in Heads of State QJM: An International Journal of Medicine. Paul R: “From 2003. Seems relevant right now because Biden.”
GOP Clown Car
My unsettling interview with Steve Bannon David Brooks, New York Times (Marv G). Important
Supremes
Age of Rage: Critics Unleash Threats and Abuse on the Court Following the Presidential Immunity Decision Jonathan Turley
Is the President Above the Law? Sam Husseini
Supreme Court orders rethink on Texas, Florida laws banning web moderation The Register. So many big decisions, this one hasn’t gotten as much notice as it might deserve
Antitrust
Governing in the Political Twilight Zone Matt Stoller
AI
Silicon Valley USA: are these ‘patriots’ mere harbingers of doom? Responsible Statecraft
Brazil Data Regulator Bans Meta From Mining Data To Train AI Models Associated Press
AI Trains On Kids’ Photos Even When Parents Use Strict Privacy Settings ars technica
US new-vehicle sales barely rose in the second quarter as buyers balked at still-high prices Associated Press (Kevin W)
Class Warfare
The Bleak Genius of Michel Foucault Compact Magazine (Anthony L)
Why Cheap Toilet Paper Sets Off Alarm Bells Among Some Investors Wall Street Journal (Dr. Kevin)
Novo Nordisk charges Americans with diabetes $969 a month for Ozempic while selling it for just $59 in Germany. Novo charges Americans with obesity $1,349 a month for Wegovy while selling it for just $92 in Britain. It costs just $5 to manufacture these drugs. Greed kills. pic.twitter.com/jcrdpcgIma
— Warren Gunnels (@GunnelsWarren) July 2, 2024
Antidote du jour. mgl quotes Alaska Daily News:
About 50 wood bison graze in a field at UAF’s Large Animal Research Station on June 19. The bison, transported to Fairbanks from Canada in April, will be barged to Minto Flats State Game Refuge in July as part of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s wood bison restoration project.
One hundred wood bison, most held for years at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center south of Anchorage, were flown to a pen near Shageluk in April 2015. Thirty more arrived by barge later that year.
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here
