Gaza
As a former IDF soldier and historian of genocide, I was deeply disturbed by my recent visit to Israel Omer Bartov, Guardian
Weekend carnage in Gaza shows Nagasaki mayor was right South China Morning Post (furzy)
Israel has a problem with targeting population centers you guys. pic.twitter.com/L5yM5Wz62Q
— Caitlin Johnstone (@caitoz) August 12, 2024
‘Operation al-Aqsa Flood’ Day 311: International condemnations of Israel’s massacre at Gaza school as pressure grows on Netanyahu to reach ceasefire deal Mondoweiss (guurst)
The Fajr massacre: Every 70 kg bag of human remains is considered a martyr Mondoweiss
Israeli forces disguised as UNRWA workers to carry out military attack in Gaza, report states Quds News (guurst)
@PeruginiNic and I have studied the history of human shields and this is UNIQUE. The fact that the Israeli military dresses the Palestinians in IDF garb, means that the Palestinians, some of whom are youth, are used not as human shields, but simply as shields. 1/2 https://t.co/8phpUhniYg
— Neve Gordon (@nevegordon) August 13, 2024
BREAKING: Protesters with IfNotNow have blocked off the 405 freeway in West LA.
They are calling for all elected democracts ahead of the DNC to call got a lasting ceasefire in Gaze, reject AIPAC money, and call for an arms embargo to Israel: pic.twitter.com/fiFFzkkv3o
— Jon peltz (@JonnyPeltz) August 13, 2024
Germany says Israel’s massacre at Gaza school justified in ‘self defense’ The Cradle (Kevin W)
The U.S. Is Accelerating Towards Disaster Daniel Larison
Iran finesses its deterrence strategy Indian Punchline
Could Iran and Israel Drift Into a Full-Scale War? International Affairs (Micael T)
War With Iran Imminent? Ken Klipperstein
New Not-So-Cold War
More Of The Visuals… Andrei Martyanov
Versus Another Russian region declares emergency as Ukraine offensive enters second week BBC.
First arrest warrant for Nord Stream attacks Tagesschau via machine translation. PJH:
A German court has issued an arrest warrant for an Ukrainian diving instructor, who is suspected of participating in the Nord Stream sabotage.
The problem: he was last seen in Poland, Poland doesn’t want to extradite him to Germany (and allegedly tried to block investigations). Now the guy has vanished, but his spokesperson says he’s innocent.
Nice solution, right? An arrest warrant for a person who has vanished and who unlikely will appear in German court. Maybe he’s been selected as a credible scapegoat.
Russian Iskander Missile Strike Destroys Rare Ukrainian Su-27 Fighter at Mirgorod Airbase Military Watch
Debt-Riddled Ukraine Blames ‘Slow’ US Aid, Scrambles to Pay Its Army Sputnik
Caucasus
The South Caucasus in Washington’s playbook International Affairs (Micael T)
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Texas Sues General Motors, Alleging Illegal Selling of Driver Data CNN
US Senate takes up bill banning government purchase of Americans’ data Biometric Update
Advice from DEFCON: Turn off Bluetooth and WiFi NDTV (furzy)
Imperial Collapse Watch
Better Believe Israel When it Says it is a Reflection of Western “Civilization” BettBeat (Dr. Kevin)
Craig Murray: We Are the Bad Guys Consortium News (Chuck L)
Trump
Combined views of the conversation with @realDonaldTrump and subsequent discussion by other accounts now ~1 billion https://t.co/s8x8QmdmnY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 13, 2024
Donald Trump showcases new lisp during Elon Musk interview Independent. Paul R suggest this could be an effect of Covid. How about a new, improved Churchill imitation?
But no, see below, something much simpler. Lambert had this in Water Cooler yesterday:
Trump isn’t slurring his words, I’ve also had that weird thing happen on Spaces where it sounds like I have a comically outrageous lisp
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) August 13, 2024
Kamala
Kamala Harris running ads with fake news headlines – Axios RT. Fake news for me, but not for thee.
🐝 ‘I Will Fix Things If You Vote Me Into Office,’ Says Woman Currently In Office Babylon Bee
Crash the DNC’s Party Covert Action (Chuck L)
2024
Republicans split on tackling deficit, including Medicare, Social Security reforms The Hill
The Nation’s Best Hackers Found Vulnerabilities in Voting Machines – But No Time To Fix Them Politico
Omar gives progressives a needed boost: 5 takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries The Hill
Our No Longer Free Press
To be honest, I really wanted to respond with this Tropic Thunder meme, but I would NEVER do something so rude & irresponsible! https://t.co/jL0GDW5QUx pic.twitter.com/XhUxCSGFNP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 12, 2024
From Politico’s EU morning newsletter:
TRUMP ALLIES ACCUSE EU OF FREE SPEECH CRACKDOWN: Allies of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump seized on EU Commissioner Thierry Breton’s stern open letter on X to its owner Elon Musk, accusing Brussels of a China-style attempt to restrict freedom of speech online. The comments will certainly poke the hornet’s nest of transatlantic relations between the EU establishment and the possible next president of the U.S.
Brussels slaps down Thierry Breton over ‘harmful content’ letter to Elon Musk Financial Times. Oopsie! Politico wrong-footed this one.
Memes Pose a Threat to the US Financial System: RAND Report Hacker Noon (Paul R)
A Harris-Walz Administration Would Be A Nightmare for Free Speech Jonathan Turley (Li)
Woke Watch
The Case That Abraham Lincoln Was a ‘Lover of Men’ Vanity Fair (Dr. Kevin)
Antitrust
US Considers a Rare Antitrust Move: Breaking Up Google Bloomberg. Since the Trump Administration DoJ filed this suit, expect it to continue to be prosecuted seriously regardless of who wins in November.
Monopoly Money Ed Zitron
The Bezzle
Why VCs love obnoxious founders Business Insider
Study Finds 94% of Business Spreadsheets Have Critical Errors PhysOrg
Class Warfare
Part 1: Neither Horseshoes nor Fishhooks (book review: Three-Way Fight) Daphne Lawless (Micael T)
Antidote du jour. Stephen T: “This sheep at the Tillamook county fair looks like it’s wearing on of those clingy outfits the sprinters at the Olympics were wearing—though this one showed no signs of dashing off.”
And a bonus. Man, can these guys vocalize:
Best of Cheez bawlz meows 😭 pic.twitter.com/4ogZj08gmL
— Why you should have a cat (@ShouldHaveCat) August 13, 2024
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.