The banana apocalypse is coming. Can we stop it this time? ZME Science
Can Art Save the “Post-Apocalyptic” Salton Sea? Sapiens
Pandemics
Structure and inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 spike refolding in membranes Science. Seems important.
As new school year opens, COVID-19 surge forces abrupt classroom closures in the US WSWS
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Key drug doesn’t work against deadly new mpox virus, study finds Politico
Mpox risks spreading in Congo’s crowded mines, refugee camps Bloomberg
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Plant pandemics: They are the next big contagion and pose threats to global food security Down to Earth
Climate/Environment
“Dark Oxygen” Findings Could Sink Deep Sea Mining IEEE Spectrum
Hurricane Ernesto arrived way early. It’s an ominous sign. Grist
Africa
The geopolitics of the war in Sudan An Africanist Perspective
China?
Bond market struggle; PRC views of US election; Stock market; WeRide in the US; Sabina Shoal; Foreign carmakers crash Sinocism (Micael)
China to restrict exports of strategic metal antimony Asia Times
China’s new maritime goliath poised to patrol disputed seas Asia Times (Kevin W)
Syraqistan
Israel reduced ‘humanitarian zone’ to 11% of Gaza, says UN agency Anadolu Agency
At least 10 killed in Israeli attack on southern Lebanon Al Jazeera
Israeli airstrike kills at least two Palestinians in West Bank, health ministry says Reuters
She was documenting and publishing evidence of Israel methodically sniping children in the head https://t.co/FO0qEVawek
— Jennine (@lilearthquakess) August 16, 2024
Gaza sees first polio case in 25 years as UN calls for mass vaccinations The Guardian
Israel massacres Gaza family following two days of ‘constructive’ ceasefire talks The Cradle
Biden ‘optimistic’ about Gaza cease-fire deal Anadolu Agency
“‘All due respect.’” The Floutist
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Leaked Israeli Docs Reveal Effort to Evade Foreign Agent Lobbying Law Lee Fang
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Iraq postpones announcing end date of US troop presence The Cradle
European Disunion
The strange death of the German authoritarian liberal political class Defend Democracy Press. (Micael): “This is premature.”
Polish leader urges Nord Stream patrons to ‘keep quiet’ as pipeline mystery returns to spotlight AP
New Not-So-Cold War
America’s JASSM air to ground stealth missiles and Russian plans to use tactical nukes Gilbert Doctorow
Russia informs IAEA about Ukraine’s alleged plans to target Zaporizhzhia, Kursk nuclear power plants Anadolu Agency
Ukrainian troops trained in UK before attacking Kursk WSWS. Commentary:
Sentiment here in Russia has in my view changed dramatically, friends that were relatively liberal about the Conflict are now far less so,
Since the Kursk attack, its increasingly being related to me that this will have to be ended on the battlefield. the idea of the “fraternal… https://t.co/rzTpuBqfuV
— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) August 17, 2024
Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk Oblast disrupts secret talks with Russia on stopping attacks on power facilities – WP Ukrainska Pravda. Commentary:
“Sir, we’re losing the war! The frontline can’t hold up for much longer!”
“Have you considered undertaking an obviously suicidal action that will shut down any hope of negotiating our way out of this and doom us entirely?”
— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) August 17, 2024
Nato’s folly Prospect Magazine
Fitch downgrades Ukraine to ‘RD’ – Default The International Affairs (Micael)
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FBI searches US home of Soviet-born Biden critic RT
Russian Messianism: A Roundtable Discussion Landmarks: A Journal of International Dialogue
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Kadyrov said he received a Tesla Cybertrack from Elon Musk. He promised to send it to the “special military operation” zone and attached a machine gun to it.
“Elon, thank you! Come to Grozny, I will receive you as the most dear guest! I do not think that our Russian MFA will be… pic.twitter.com/m72fg2G2PU
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) August 17, 2024
South of the Border
Elon Musk’s X to shut operations in Brazil amid bitter legal fight Al Jazeera
Spook Country
Google: Iranian hackers targeting affiliates of both US presidential campaigns The Record
OpenAI Says It Caught a ChatGPT-Powered ‘Iranian Influence Operation’ Gizmodo
Kamala
Kamala Harris outlines pro-corporate economic agenda at North Carolina campaign stop WSWS.
Harris’ plan to stop price gouging could create more problems than it solves CNN (Kevin). So Harris comes out with a non-plan to tackle price gouging. Her campaign can’t even explain what would constitute excessive profit, what a ban on price gouging would target, or how it would be enforced. Maybe the obfuscation is the point. Harris also mentioned her supposed opposition to concentration and price fixing, yet failed to voice support for Jonathan Kanter and the DOJ antitrust division and Lina Khan and the Federal Trade Commission who for the first time in decades are aggressively going after these practices? It seems that’s something Harris would note in her big economic policy rollout if she were serious.
Another perspective:
1. Ok why is Kamala Harris talking about price-fixing, gouging, mergers, and general pricing bullshit? Obviously it polls well. But why? Let’s go over the *evidence* for why Americans are mad at big business over pricing. Let’s start with rent. https://t.co/bvMr7JaqbJ pic.twitter.com/z9Wed8C9bb
— Matt Stoller (@matthewstoller) August 16, 2024
So why can’t Harris just say she supports Khan and results like this:
where can i get a Lina Khan yard sign? https://t.co/bnW9eeCdzB
— Molly White (@molly0xFFF) August 17, 2024
Antitrust
Judge temporarily blocks sports streaming service Venu, siding with Fubo on antitrust concerns CNBC
Kroger now claims it will cut prices by $1 billion post-merger, 2x the previous claim. Either (1) they magically discovered half a billion dollars’ worth of extra efficiencies, or (2) they *already* wield pricing power… which the merger would increase.https://t.co/bmLRzLjBQW
— John Mark Newman (@johnmarknewman) August 16, 2024
Democrats en déshabillé
Look who’s funding the local Democratic Party 48 Hills. San Francisco.
Budget Cuts Threaten SF Food Programs for Seniors and Adults With Disabilities San Francisco Public Press
The toxic conversation about people out of work needs to stop. It’s harming disabled people The Big Issue
Police State Watch
Oakland’s Summer of Discontent Bleeding Edge
Imperial Collapse Watch
America’s Out-of-Control Client States Nonzero Newsletter
The US needs more pop-up air bases worldwide to keep enemies guessing Foundation for Defense of Democracies
The Navy Runs Out of Pants for Its Working Uniform – Won’t Get More Until October Military.com
Groves of Academe
‘A police state’: US universities impose rules to avoid repeat of Gaza protests The Guardian
Our Famously Free Press
A year after Marion County Record raid, authorities keep ignoring press rights Freedom of the Press Foundation
Healthcare?
California moves to cut medicine prices with novel deal on opioid overdose drugs FT. (Phil)
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
U.S. Transportation Department announces ambitious, high-tech roadway safety plan The Detroit News (Kevin W)
AI
Popular AI “nudify” sites sued amid shocking rise in victims globally Ars Technica
What comes after the AI crash? Disconnect
The Bezzle
Dubai court recognizes crypto as a valid salary payment Coin Telegraph
Google threatened tech influencers unless they ‘preferred’ the Pixel The Verge
Class Warfare
A Kaleckian approach to financialization and functional income distribution: Austria and Finland in comparative perspective Institute for International Political Economy Berlin. From the abstract: “…we expect financialization to influence the aggregate wage share through three channels: (1) sectoral recomposition, (2) financial overhead costs and rentiers’ profits claims, and (3) bargaining power of trade unions and workers. We empirically analyze the long-term trends for each of the channels before and after the Great Financial Crisis and the Great Recession for Austria and Finland. Overall, we find evidence for all three re-distributional channels contributing to the changes in functional income distribution. The explanatory power of the individual channels, however, differs strongly due to the heterogeneity of the countries.”
“Disenshittify or Die” Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
Public Ownership of Public Goods How Things Work
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
