Patient readers, sorry for the slight delay. VPN problems! –lambert
Where do deep-sea creatures live? Where they won’t dissolve Science
Endangered birds experience ‘virgin birth,’ a first for the species National Geographic
U.S. durable goods orders climb 4.7% led by Boeing contracts MarketWatch
GDP grew at a 2.4% pace in the second quarter, topping expectations despite recession calls CNBC. Commentary:
About 0.4pp of Q2’s 2.4% real GDP growth came from construction of manufacturing structures such as factories. The last time factory construction contributed so much to quarterly growth was 1981 Q1. https://t.co/m6EJAOIRSd
— Ernie Tedeschi (@ernietedeschi) July 27, 2023
Climate
UN chief says Earth in ‘era of global boiling’, calls for radical action. Al Jazeera. Commentary:
Climate change threatens to cause the next economic mega-shock Chatham House. Who knew?
Americans are moving toward climate danger in search of cheaper homes Bloomberg
Why we need more venture capital funding for impact-led start-ups now World Economic Forum
#COVID19
COVID-19 Metrics See First Increase Since January: CDC US News. As NC readers have known for some weeks.
The failures of our political and health care leaders are a feature, not a bug Halifax Examiner
As groups celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act anniversary, COVID still looms large The 19th
ICAN FOIA: Moderna Data Shows Alarming Lot Specific Data on mRNA Shots UncoverDC. The data’s not very clean, though. And the captcha for subscribing is “45th President of the United States? (last name)”. Still worth watching!
China?
Chinese anti-corruption investigators target top PLA Rocket Force generals, sources say South China Morning Post
LONG VIEW: China’s Meat Consumption Has Plateaued China Charts
First Invincible-Class Submarine Arrives In Singapore Naval News
The Star-Spangled Kangaroo Caitlin Johnstone
Africa
How the coup in Niger could expand the reach of Islamic extremism, and Wagner, in West Africa AP. “More than 1,000 U.S. service personnel are in Niger.” Oh.
Syraqistan
Biden Is Weighing a Big Middle East Deal Thomas Friedman, NYT
Israeli Spy Agencies at Crossroads in Political Crisis Spy Talk
Dear Old Blighty
Thames Water to datacenters: Cut water use or we will The Register
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine Brings the Pain Foreign Policy. The deck: “Kyiv’s forces are finally starting to breach the dragon’s teeth.” The “dragon’s teeth” are anti-tank fortifications on Russia’s second line of defense. Aerial photographs with dragon’s teeth or it didn’t happen.
A Winnable War RAND
The War That Defied Expectations Foreign Affairs
Opera Buffa in Ukraine Seymour Hersh
Former U.S. Official Shares Details of Secret ‘Track 1.5′ Diplomacy With Moscow Moscow Times
News not fit to print Gilbert Doctorow
Biden praises Italy’s Meloni on Ukraine, downplays ‘far-right’ concerns Al Jazeera
Biden Administration
Senate negotiators advance all 12 funding bills for first time in years The Hill
Spook Country
The US Press, Spooks & the Church Committee Consortium News
Mapping Public Reports of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Across America RAND
2024
Two Buyers of Hunter Biden’s Art Have Been Unmasked, Despite Attempts to Keep Their Names Secret ArtNet:
“Hunter Biden’s art career is back in the headlines. It turns out one of his collectors is a Democratic donor—a Los Angeles philanthropist and real estate investor named Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali who gave $13,414 to President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and was later named to his Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad…. The other known Hunter Biden collector is Kevin Morris, a Los Angeles lawyer who has also helped the artist financially, lending him some $2 million to pay off his taxes. (Biden pleaded guilty in June to two tax misdemeanors.)
Leave it to Hunter — dear Hunter! — to invent the most obvious payola scheme imaginable.
Donald Trump accused of asking staffer to delete camera footage in classified documents case Chicago Tribune. A superseding indictment.
Supply Chain
Corporate governance in shipping: Who’s been naughty or nice? Freight Waves
The Bezzle
Almost every big streaming service is getting more expensive Axios. Enshittification proceeds apace.
Tesla’s Shadowy ‘Diversion Team’ Buried Hundreds of Range Complaints Every Week, Report Says Gizmodo
Digital Watch
Automakers Try To Bullshit Their Way Past ‘Right To Repair’ Standoff In Massachusetts TechDirt
Inside Adobe, some staff worry their AI tech will kill graphic designer jobs and undermine the company’s business model: ‘Is this what we want?’ Insider. Management: “But what about quarterly results and our bonuses?”
Code Kept Secret for Years Reveals Its Flaw—a Backdoor Wired
Healthcare
These New Alzheimer’s Drugs Are a Travesty The Nation
Imperial Collapse Watch
Why America’s Largest Tool Company Couldn’t Make a Wrench in America WSJ (Glen).
Has the Pentagon Learned from the F-35 Debacle? POGO. From June, still germane. I’m so old I remember when “You start coding, I’ll go find out what the requirements are” was a joke, not standard operating procedure.
How to Roman Republic 101, Part I: SPQR A Collection of Unmigated Pedantry. Part II.
Class Warfare
Blood of Young Mice Extends Life in the Old NYT. So we don’t need to worry about youth unemployment….
Shorter life expectancy gives UK pensions an unexpected windfall FT. Silver lining!
How to Invest Like the 1% A Wealth of Common Sense
Hedge Funds Seek to Cut Off $1 Billion Meant for Opioid Victims WSJ
Activists denounce violence against essential workers after UPS driver shot in Humboldt Park Chicago Tribune. Framing we rarely see.
Censorship of the Black Left Black Agenda Report
Are You a Lucid Dreamer? Scientific American
Have We Gotten Dark Matter All Wrong? Nautilus
The big idea: Why the laws of physics will never explain the universe Guardian. The deck: “We should think of the cosmos as more like an animal than a machine.”
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
