Why Insect Memories May Not Survive Metamorphosis Quanta. The URL is much more vivid: “insect-brains-melt-and-rewire-during-metamorphosis”.
Florida sheriff’s office: Stop calling the cops on manatee sex Axios
KKR to acquire Simon & Schuster for $1.62 billion Axios. Let the strip mining begin!
Alternatives Have Been ‘Kryptonite’ to Alpha — At Least for Public Pensions Institutional Investor
Wall Street has purchased hundreds of thousands of single-family homes since the Great Recession. Here’s what that means for rental prices CNBC
Economists Reconsider Industrial Policy Dani Rodrik, Réka Juhász, and Nathan Lane Project Syndicate.
Climate
An Overheating Planet Requires Extreme Climate Solutions Bloomberg. From the deck: “Here’s how experts at eliminating carbon pollution think we can catch up — and cool down.” I feel like reading that in a Firesign Theatre voice. That said, at least the article outlines the data that shows there’s a problem. The final paragraph: “‘We know that 1.5C isn’t realistic in the short term,’ says John Christensen, director of the UN Environment Programme and one of the authors of the Emissions Gap Report. ‘But it can come back down. There’s no alternative.’” There isn’t?
Darning the Planet New Left Review. Well worth a read.
Capturing carbon where it is produced École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
People are starting a lot of fires in the Pacific Northwest High Country News
Water
The Curious Case of the Colorado River’s Missing Water Atlas Obscura
Air
Study links air pollution to rising antibiotic resistance levels Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy
An interrupted time series analysis of the cardiovascular health benefits of a coal coking operation closure IOP Science. A natural experiment following closure of a coal coking plant in Pittsburgh, PA. “Statistically significant cardiovascular health benefits were documented in the local population, including a 42% immediate drop (95% CI: 33%, 51%) in cardiovascular emergency department (ED) visits from the pre-closure mean…. Our study provides clear evidence that this intervention lowering fossil fuel-associated air pollution benefited public health in both the short and longer term, while also providing validation of the past use of observational air pollution epidemiology effect estimates in policy analyses.”
#COVID19
German Council Reprimands Vaccine Makers for Censorship Attempts Revealed in Twitter Files Lee Fang
China?
U.S. to Ban Some Investments in China WSJ
China has a 31-point plan for private sector to kick-start economy. But are bruised business owners buying it? South China Morning Post
Degrowing China—By Collapse, Redistribution, or Planning? Monthly Review
Fiscal Policy and the Government Balance Sheet in China International Monetary Fund
China floats two-hour daily limit of smartphone screen time for kids CNBC
US beats China in soft power and popularity in Southeast Asia, giving it regional edge: analysis South China Morning Post
Myanmar
The Age of Urban Insurgency in Myanmar? Myanmar Now
Investigators say Myanmar’s military is committing increasingly brazen war crimes Channel News Asia
India
Why ethnic violence in India’s Manipur has been going on for three months Al Jazeera
‘You Are Anti-National’: In Parliament, Rahul Gandhi Says PM ‘Murdered Bharat Mata in Manipur’ The Wire
The Lucky Country
Death of Sovereignty: everyday Australians will pay the cost of US kowtowing, AUKUS, inevitable war Michael West
Western Australia to scrap new law protecting Aboriginal heritage sites Al Jazeera
Africa
US still ‘hopeful’ but ‘realistic’ on trying to restore constitutional order in Niger Anadolu Agency. Maybe we should clean our side of the street first?
Syraqistan
Joe Biden makes his big Middle East push: a Saudi Arabia-Israel pact FT
Dear Old Blighty
Hackers had access to UK voter data for over a year before anyone noticed The Verge
New Not-So-Cold War
Why a stalled Ukrainian offensive could represent a huge political problem for Zelensky in the US CNN
Ukraine Situation Report: Claims Swirl Around River Landing By Kyiv’s Forces The Drive
“… Russia’s nearly unique Railway Troops…” Eric Zimerman, Threadreader. Good stuff!
“To those who guard our skies”: Children sing heartwarming lullaby to Ukraine’s air defence forces Ukrainska Pravda
What Happens behind the Scenes of Negotiations on ‘Peace Plan’ for Ukraine European Pravda. Scroll down to see the funders.
Traffic Slows at Ukraine’s Danube Ports After Russian Drone Strikes Maritime Executive
Erdogan: Revival of Russia-Ukraine grain deal hinges on West Al Monitor
Russia overtakes Germany to become fifth biggest economy in the world in GDP on a PPP basis BNE Intellinews
Russia to launch first lunar mission in nearly half a century Friday France24
South of the Border
Cuba bans company access to ATMs, limits cash transactions Reuters
2024
Trump seeks latitude in sharing evidence in Jan. 6 case with public, ‘volunteer attorneys’ The Hill
Spook Country
A judge called an FBI operative a ‘villain.’ Ruling comes too late for 2 convicted in terror sting AP
Digital Watch
Cops, Firefighters, and of Course Taxi Drivers Tee Off on Self-Driving Robotaxis Before Key Regulatory Vote SFist:
And it sure raises eyebrows, as the SF Standard reported last month, that CPUC commissioner John Reynolds used to be an attorney for Cruise, and now gets to vote on whether the company can expand service. But there’s also one hell of a tidbit in the above KGO report on Monday’s CPUC meeting that may also raise eyebrows, but it’s perhaps not surprising: former SF Mayor Willie Brown is now lobbying for Cruise, or rather, he’s a “”Cruise advisor.”” SFGate reports he’s been working for them since 2020.
Swapping a Twitter Habit for a Threads One Slate. Boggles the mind that anybody could take seriously the possibility that anything cloned by The Zuckerberg™ could be an improvement over the original.
Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fashion
US Apparel Retailers Break Up With China Amid Worries Bloomberg
Superconductors
4 crucial tests LK-99 must pass to be a true superconductor Big Think. Replication, sadly, remains elusive. Commentary:
I expected that interest in LK-99 would just die a slow death after no one could replicate it; rarely is a smoking gun found that explains the spurious observations.
But in this case it seems we have a full coroner’s report!https://t.co/rPLbzXdrgV
— Prof. Michael S Fuhrer (@MichaelSFuhrer) August 9, 2023
More commentary:
I was hoping for some good news on this one. My mistake!
Sports Desk
Messi is everything MLS hoped for: Two more goals, stunning free kick and a late comeback The Atlantic
Imperial Collapse Watch
The West’s Two Leading Production Fighters Both Face Worsening New Supply Chain Issues: F-35 and Rafale Manufacturers Struggling Military Watch
Class Warfare
Wage Gains at UPS Have Amazon Workers Demanding More Labor Notes
The Era of Ultracheap Stuff Is Under Threat WSJ. The deck: “Factories across Asia are struggling to attract young workers, which is bad news for Western consumers accustomed to inexpensive goods.”
Wisconsin’s Dairy Industry Relies on Undocumented Immigrants, but the State Won’t Let Them Legally Drive ProPublica
How to Tell If a Dog Is Dehydrated Field & Stream
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2023/08/links-8-7-2023.html“>here.
