Stonehenge’s enigmatic centre stone was hauled 800 kilometres from Scotland Nature
40 Years Of Summer Solstice At Stonehenge: From Anarchy To State Repression To ‘Managed Open Access’ Eurasia Review
Rolling stones (excerpt) Times Literary Supplement. The deck: “Was Stonehenge a great communitarian project?”
The IRA and the challenge of remaking America’s economy FT
The world will lose $4.7 trillion of revenue in the next decade to tax havens. How did we get here? The Business Standard. Commentary:
A lot of folks, including a lot of folks in the financial sector, think the Trump corporate tax reform ended the incentive to “offshore” profits.
For pharma at least, the data is clear: it didn’t.
2/2https://t.co/z83DJTIzwh
— Brad Setser (@Brad_Setser) August 15, 2024
Climate
‘We should have better answers by now’: climate scientists baffled by unexpected pace of heating Guardian
Physicists Pinpoint the Quantum Origin of the Greenhouse Effect Quanta. The deck: “Carbon dioxide’s powerful heat-trapping effect has been traced to a quirk of its quantum structure. The finding may explain climate change better than any computer model.”
Scottish isles may solve mystery of ‘Snowball Earth’ BBC
Feasibility of peak temperature targets in light of institutional constraints Nature. From the Discussion: “A robust insight from this work, however, is that focusing on cost effectiveness without consideration of institutional feasibility and regional differentiation leads to important biases in benchmark scenarios.”
Revealed: Growing data centre demand cancelling out green energy progress Business Post
The world laughs at Britain’s heatwaves – they really shouldn’t Independent
Don’t underestimate the cost of the green transition Gillian Tett, FT
America Has a Hot-Steel Problem The Atlantic
Syndemics
Outbreak of mpox caused by Monkeypox virus clade I in the Democratic Republic of the Congo European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
2 Mpox Cases in Oneida County, 1 Case in Otsego County WKTV
Will bird flu be the next pandemic? Vaccines are prepped, just in case USA Today
Strokes, heart attacks, sudden deaths: Does America understand the long-term risks of catching COVID? Fortune
The association between prolonged SARS-CoV-2 symptoms and work outcomes PLOS One. From the Abstract: “Despite the end of the federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 and efforts to “return to normal”, policymakers must consider the clinical and economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on people’s employment status and work absenteeism, particularly as data characterizing the numerous health and well-being impacts of Long COVID continue to emerge.”
Water
All of Earth’s water in a single sphere! USGS. From 2019, still germane.
China?
Chinese commercial bank chairman killed, stabbed in office, ex-subordinate held: report South China Morning Post
China’s spending slump weighs as e-commerce giant Alibaba misses estimates Channel News Asia
China’s embrace of rail and EVs stalls holiday petrol demand The Business Times
China’s Huawei is reportedly set to release new AI chip to challenge Nvidia amid U.S. sanctions CNBC
Myanmar
China supports Myanmar junta plan for fresh elections: Foreign Minister Channel News Asia
Syraqistan
Land allocation approved for first new West Bank settlement to be built since 2017 Times of Israel. Commentary:
The Israelis are eliminating one of the last Christian Palestinians strongholds in the West Bank and the place I chose to stay when I was researching the Palestinian Christians in From the Holy Mountain. It is a place with an incredibly ancient history, a cradle of Christianity,… https://t.co/QSXVovzUzd pic.twitter.com/tS3XR9A64G
— William Dalrymple (@DalrympleWill) August 15, 2024
US says West Bank attacks by ‘violent settlers’ are ‘unacceptable and must stop’ after 1 killed Anadolu Agency
We Served on Israel’s Sde Teiman Base. Here’s What We Did to Gazans Detained There Haaretz
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra cancels pianist’s performance after dedication to journalists killed in Gaza Guardian
Dad Jokes 3 Quarks Daily
Dear Old Blighty
Into the Void New Left Review
New Not-So-Cold War
Symposium: What does Ukraine’s incursion into Russia really mean? Responsible Statecraft
Ukraine has called Putin’s nuclear bluff The Telegraph. The deck: “Timid Western leaders must seize the rare opportunity offered by Ukraine’s bold masterstroke.”
What’s the real aim of Ukraine’s Russian offensive? The Spectator
Ukraine gambled on an incursion deep into Russian territory. The bold move changed the battlefield AP
Putin Has Victory in His Grasp Anastasia Edel, NYT
Ukraine’s Kursk Offensive Is a Turning Point in the War Foreign Policy. The deck: “The biggest impact is the destruction of Vladimir Putin’s narrative for victory.”
Ukraine’s Incursion Into Russia Flips the Script on Putin NYT
The Bitter Lees of Overreach The New Kremlin Stooge
Russian car loans, food halls booming BNE Intellinews
South of the Border
CNN’s Fraudulent Analysis of Fraud in the Venezuelan Presidential Election Dissident Voice (pjay).
2024
Journalists Defend Kamala Harris’ Lack of Interviews (video) Glenn Greenwald, YouTube
Democrats Need to Stop Trashing Palestinian Voters if They Want to Win The Nation. Commentary:
Biden, Harris celebrate deal to lower drug prices in first joint public appearance France24
Antitrust
Monopoly Money Ed Zitron, Where’s Your Ed At?
The one weird monopoly trick that gave us Walmart and Amazon and killed Main Street Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic
Matt Yglesias Is Wrong About Lina Khan’s Record Revolving Door Project
Campaign Address in Portland, Oregon on Public Utilities and Development of Hydro-Electric Power Franklin Delano Roosevelt, The American Presidency Project:
[FDR:] When I became Governor, I found that the Public Service Commission of the State of New York had adopted the unwarranted and unsound view that its sole function was to act as an arbitrator or a court of some kind between the public on the one side and the utility corporations on the other. I thereupon laid down a principle which created horror and havoc among the Insulls and other magnates of that type.
I declared that the Public Service Commission is not a mere judicial body to act solely as umpire between complaining consumer or the complaining investor on the one hand, and the great public utility system on the other hand. I declared that, as the agent of the Legislature, the Public Service Commission had, and has, a definitely delegated authority and duty to act as the agent of the public themselves.
Spook Country
The National Endowment for Democracy:What It Is and What It Does Ministry of Public Affairs of the People’s Republic of China
Digital Watch
Google’s AI Search Gives Sites Dire Choice: Share Data or Die Bloomberg
Civil rights advocates oppose bill creating a foundation to aid NIST’s AI standards work Inside AI Policy
Supply Chain
Tanker markets shrug off escalating Middle East tensions S&P Global
The Olympics
Public health leader, who is also a former elite athlete, investigates COVID management at the Olympics Croakey
Imperial Collapse Watch
“We Need to Reclaim Our Republic and End Our Damn Empire” (video) Lawrence Wilkerson, Schiller Institute, YouTube
Class Warfare
Palmer Luckey, American Vulcan Tablet Magazine
The Wealthy Are Bringing Big Money and Luxurious Lodges to Maine’s Lakes WSJ
The Webb Telescope Further Deepens the Biggest Controversy in Cosmology Quanta
Antidote du jour (RicciSpeziari):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
