Lambert and I, and many readers, agree that Ukraine has prompted the worst informational environment ever. We hope readers will collaborate in mitigating the fog of war — both real fog and stage fog — in comments. None of us need more cheerleading and link-free repetition of memes; there are platforms for that. Low-value, link-free pom pom-wavers will be summarily whacked.
And for those who are new here, this is not a mere polite request. We have written site Policies and those who comment have accepted those terms. To prevent having to resort to the nuclear option of shutting comments down entirely until more sanity prevails, as we did during the 2015 Greek bailout negotiations and shortly after the 2020 election, we are going to be ruthless about moderating and blacklisting offenders.
–Yves
P.S. Also, before further stressing our already stressed moderators, read our site policies:
Please do not write us to ask why a comment has not appeared. We do not have the bandwidth to investigate and reply. Using the comments section to complain about moderation decisions/tripwires earns that commenter troll points. Please don’t do it. Those comments will also be removed if we encounter them.
In honor of National Dog Day, please enjoy these adorable pups NPR (Dr. Kevin)
This video of two cats ‘paw-xing’ has left netizens laughing. Watch Hindustan Times (David L)
100-Year-Old 360-Degree Film Camera That Uses 98-Feet Long Film PetaPixel (David L)
The Latest Webb Observations Don’t Disprove The Big Bang, But They Are Interesting Universe Today. Furzy: “Check out the images too….”
Genius idea! A turkish startup invented a technology which generates electricity from oncoming traffic ⚡🙌
— Tansu YEĞEN (@TansuYegen) August 25, 2022
Chinese scientists create first mammal with fully reprogrammed genes South China Morning Post
Researcher studying life’s complexities to improve chronic disease care STAT (Dr. Kevin)
Everyone’s a Critic John Merrick The Baffler (Anthony L)
#COVID-19
Science/Medicine
BioNTech Founder Uğur Şahin: “The Virus Continues To Mutate at a High Speed” Der Speigel (resilc)
Post-Covid brain fog in Chess rating.reddit (Paul R)
16/👇Frere showed glial cells are activated by COVID & sustain inflammation, which in turn, sadly sets into motion a pathway toward overall brain atrophy (shrinking), long-term cognitive disability & mental health disorders seen in your friends w LC.
https://t.co/6OdTRORO2A pic.twitter.com/ivTvwH3Wpm— WesElyMD (@WesElyMD) August 25, 2022
Asia
Chinese outcry after volleyballers wear N95 masks during match BBC (resilc). But note this shows wide acceptance of an urban legend. Do N95 Masks Deprive Us of Oxygen? Smart Filter. Even when exercising, blood ox leaves were the same. I weight train (hard) in an N95. Only issue is it can get pretty moist inside the mask.
Finance/Economy
Climate/Environment
‘I Do Not Know If My People Will Survive’: A Fifth Year of Drought Is Coming to East Africa Byline Times (guurst)
Its largest lake is so dry, China digs deep to water crops Associated Press (resilc)
Climate change: Russia burns off gas as Europe’s energy bills rocket BBC (resilc)
Drought and Doubt on the Rio Grande: A Q&A with Watershed Scientist Martin Castro The Border Chronicle (resilc)
Climate change threatens the survival of iconic saguaro cactus in the Southwest PBS (David L)
After spending hundreds of billions of dollars on wind and solar, 82.3% of global consumption of primary energy is still fossil fuel.. and it is going up in 2022!! #Oil #Coal #Natgas #energy #FossilFuels pic.twitter.com/P5grZdeztC
— Anas Alhajji (@anasalhajji) August 26, 2022
Herschel Walker on climate bill: ‘Don’t we have enough trees around here?’ Washington Post (resilc)
China?
After Pelosi’s Visit, Most of the Indo-Pacific Sides With Beijing Foreign Policy. Oops.
US ship unable to get Solomon Islands’ permission to dock, says Washington Guardian (Kevin W)
Old Blighty
We knew it was coming but it doesn’t take the sting out of this worrying news. Londoners and people around the country desperately need to know what the Govt’s plan of action is. https://t.co/EWc13l2h7p
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) August 26, 2022
UK Students Seek Second Jobs and Food Banks After Inflation Jump Bloomberg
The narcissism, it burns:
I do ketamine but only when I’m off the clock. Also Ukraine! ❤️❤️❤️♥️❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/Q0uMiVKOdu
— chinahand (@chinahand) August 25, 2022
New Not-So-Cold War
And you know what’s going to happen… https://t.co/Hjbul3JSui
— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas) August 25, 2022
Wow, futures for French electricity prices look absolutely insane 😨 Especially the latest jump after EDF announced it was obliged to prolonge the shutdown of 4 nuclear reactors. pic.twitter.com/YI1A5FsGRy
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) August 26, 2022
⚡️German Power Up 70% This Week !
French year-ahead contract rose as much as 25% to 1,130 euros/Mwh today.
German also gained to a record, rising 33% to 995 euros/Mwh for a gain of about 70% this week.
Oil market equivalent of over $1,600 a barrel.https://t.co/x1UWa3Jl6H
— Trading Floor Audio (@TradeFloorAudio) August 26, 2022
US won’t be able to replace Russian uranium – official RT (Kevin W)
Belgian industry also groans under unprecedented energy crisis: factories are at a standstill, invoices are up to 15 times more expensive. Original:
Ook Belgische industrie kreunt onder ongeziene energiecrisis: fabrieken liggen stil, facturen zijn tot 15 keer duurder NWS (guurst)* * * International Military Tribunals to be Held in Mariupol, Ukraine! Clandestine’s Newsletter (GF)
COMBINED ARMS–A LOOK AT RUSSIAN AIR OPS IN THE DONBAS Larry Johnson (guurst)
It is in the best interests of Ukraine, and the west, to end this war as soon as possible Guardian (Kevin W)
Book review: Alexander Zhuchkovsky, “85 Days in Slavyansk” Gilbert Doctorow (guurst)
U.S. Rewards Darya Dugina Assassination with $3 Billion for Weapons Dan Cohen, YouTube (Dr. William Wedin). Important. Mark Sleboda knew the Dugins personally and points out the Darya was targeted. Both she and her father were on the Ukraine intelligence service’s “Peacemaker” hit list. This is the notorious list that includes John Mearsheimer, Jeffrey Sachs, Tulsi Gabbard, and Rand Paul. Per Newsweek: “The list was compiled by the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, part of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.”
* * * Zelensky Steamrolls Workers To Pave Way For Mass Privatization Jimmy Dore, YouTube
US embassy tweet sparks outrage in Lebanon The Cradle (guurst). You’ll see why it is in this category…
Pakistan
The flooding in Pakistan is being driven by glacier melt from climate change. Pakistan has the most glaciers in the world outside the Arctic. https://t.co/JuwFDWkaAM
— Murtaza Hussain (@MazMHussain) August 26, 2022
Alarming situation in Swat. In many places Swat river is blocked due to land sliding, and water level is increasing constantly.
This video is from my home town Peshmal. 🤲😭#Swat pic.twitter.com/0HCwUC2dNc— Ibrar ul Haq (@Ibrarulhaq101) August 26, 2022
Imperial Collapse Watch
World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers Department of State (guurst). “WMEAT Will No Longer be Published”
Trump Raid
Over 180 classified docs removed by National Archives from Mar-a-Lago, affidavit says NPR
Biden Mocks Trump’s Claim He Declassified Mar-a-Lago Documents v. Trump Says Redacted Affidavit Reinforces Need for Special Master Bloomberg
Five takeaways from the Mar-a-Lago search affidavit The Hill
This appears to be the best, erm, authority Fox is able to find who can speak to the Trump claim of his declassification authority (although the folks at Judicial Watch share that view) . Admittedly, he does cite two Supreme Court decisions:
Gorsuch ex-clerk Mike Davis on Fox News: “The president has the absolute constitutional authority to declassify anything he wants for any reason he wants… it is legally impossible for President Trump to have committed espionage or to have violated some Presidential Records Act” pic.twitter.com/mqXUkplNuo
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) August 26, 2022
Having read the redacted affidavit, it leaves most questions unanswered. It also raises further doubt over the Court’s acceptance that the DOJ found the Goldilocks point of getting this “just right.” The DOJ released what was largely already leaked or known.
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) August 26, 2022
GOP Clown Car
Resilc: “He will be far, far worse than Trump.”
Ron DeSantis was the lone legal oversight for US Special Ops in Fallujah during the brutal troop surge, tasked with ensuring “fair & humane treatment of detainees and military compliance with law”—he previously had that same job at Guantanamo Bay during the Bush torture program pic.twitter.com/SBka5tKzNx
— The Empire Files (@EmpireFiles) August 25, 2022
A Rare Peek Inside the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy New Republic
Abortion
Louisiana woman denied abortion despite fetus’s fatal abnormality to travel to North Carolina Guardian (Kevin W)
What the Kansas abortion vote could mean for Missouri: ‘People are paying attention’ KCUR (furzy)
Our No Longer Free Press
Only Lone Nuts Need Apply: The Media’s Antipathy to Deeper Digs and Notes From the Memory Hole: When the Establishment Buries You Russ Baker (Chuck L)
Americans Don’t Want Books Banned, But They’re Divided Over What Schools Teach FiveThirtyEight. Resilc: “Never enough worthless polls. Merikins want: Cheap gas, cheap food, healthcare and a school where their kids come home after they’re done with their third p/t job.”
Book banned at a school named after its author Boing Boing (furzy)
New York Fuel Supply Is So Low It Triggered White House Warning Bloomberg
CalPERS executives urge industry to follow their lead on DEI Pension & Investments (Kevin W)
Will El Salvador be the first country bankrupted by crypto? Rolling Stone (Paul R)
Powell comments fuel 1,000-point market rout Friday as stocks slide for a second week CNBC
US stocks tumble more than 3% after Powell stands firm on rate rises Financial Times
Class Warfare
Just so well done. Watch the whole thing. pic.twitter.com/WgDllz0uqQ
— Ben Phillips (@benphillips76) August 25, 2022
The Origin of Student Debt: The Danger of Educated Proles Intercept (resilc)
Starbucks Illegally Denied Raises to Union Members, Labor Board Says New York Times (Kevin W)
Bernie Sanders Is Rallying to Build Working-Class Power Jacobin (furzy)
How Nonprofits Use a Legal Loophole to Flip California Homes — for a Profit KQED (resilc)
Antidote du jour (Cliff V):
And a bonus:
Cows trying to scare Canada Goose pic.twitter.com/DLaj2ScQuh
— Nature is Fucking Lit (@Fucking__lit) August 24, 2022
News you can use, shark edition:
A safety diver in Hawaii posted a TikTok showing viewers how to react if they’re ever approached by sharks in the water — and it might just be the opposite of what you’d normally think 🦈 pic.twitter.com/x2rRV0nIsi
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) August 26, 2022
A second bonus (Chuck L). Some are critical of the man, arguing that he was the trapper. While probably true, my father was a trapper. He took it up to help a friend whose baby lambs were being eaten by coyotes. My father used humane traps, as it appears this man did. My father carried a pistol to shoot the coyotes. I assume this man was armed. If so, he could just as easily shot the wolf as freed it, at much less risk to him. Or he could have left the wolf to die.
My father once caught a Rottweiler by its hind leg, and was not so clever about pinning the dog to make sure he wouldn’t get mauled. But the dog quickly worked out that my father was there to help.
Brave Man Rescues Wolf from Trap with the Help of a Stick pic.twitter.com/bbwJ7u8YU0
— Gabriele Corno (@Gabriele_Corno) August 21, 2022
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
