Links 9/2/2023 | naked capitalism

#COVID-19

Q&A: What to Know About the New BA 2.86 COVID Variant WebMD (furzy)

“We wanted to make it like flu because that was easier, but it’s never going to be like flu,” Birx said, explaining that Covid-19 comes in more frequent waves, makes people sicker, kills more people and can have longer-term complications such as long Covid https://t.co/HGoW3GP4mb

— Dalia Hasan (@DaliaHasanMD) September 1, 2023

Climate/Environment

Treading Thin Air: Geoff Mann on Uncertainty and Climate Change London Review of Books (Anthony L)

The summer from hell was just a warning Politico

Burying Power Lines Prevents Wildfires. But There’s a Cost Wired (Kevin W)

China?

As The U.S. Wages War On It China Reacts With Defiance Moon of Alabama (Kevin W)

1/5
Amidst all the recent China-related doom and gloom, it might surprise many when I say that I think the PBoC might be right, and the rest of this year seem not nearly as bad as the first seven months. https://t.co/fVx9HgyMR4

— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) September 2, 2023

The bad takes around this “new map” are so ridiculous, it’s actually funny.

Fact is this “new” map isn’t new at all, there is 0 new claimed territory here, and there hasn’t been for decades.

Besides Taiwan – which everyone knows about – the 2 most contentious areas are:
– The… https://t.co/gW9hYyXwOp

— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) September 2, 2023

Japan, S Korea, US closer but not close enough Asia Times (Kevin W)

Old Blighty

Scottish schools with crumbling concrete won’t be shut, says SNP minister Telegraph (Kevin W)

Niger

International law at will: Kosovo, Crimea, Turkey — now Niger Eastern Angle (Micael T)

Gabon

Making sense of the coup in Gabon Ken Opalo (Userfriendly)

It’s Premature To Conclude That The Gabonese Coup Was Driven By Anti-Imperialist Sentiment Andrew Korybko (Micael T)

New Not-So-Cold War

EXCLUSIVE! Captured Ukrainian Soldiers Speak Out, Forced to Take Drugs To Fight Redacted News, YouTube. Impossible to verify but hardly implausible. I heard from friends with spooky contacts decades ago that our special forces carry meth as part of their kits so they can keep traveling or fighting for >48 hours if necessary.

Eliminating foreign mercenaries a top priority for Russia InfoBRICS

If Mediazona’s count of Russian casualties in Ukraine is accurate – and it probably is – Russian losses tapered off over the month of August to the point they’re now hardly worse than American ones at the height of the Iraq War.

This suggests the AFU is beginning to collapse. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ak5a6ZMq7T

— Armchair Warlord (@ArmchairW) September 2, 2023

Even if true, remember Ukraine has launched two more mobilizations, one for the next couple months, the second one starting over the later fall/winter. But how long can barely trained men stem the tide?

New Russia-baiting provocations from Latvia Gilbert Doctorow (Anthony L)

Poland closes biggest refugee centre for Ukrainians Financial Times

Sarmat on Combat Alert: Russia Activates World’s Heaviest Nuclear ICBM Unit Military Watch

The Heritage Foundation Suggested We Form A Ukraine Strategy. The Neocons Lost Their Minds The Federalist. Splits in the right…

Intel RoundTable: Sustainable Peace in Ukraine Possible? Larry Johnson/Ray McGovern Judge Napolitano, YouTube

Syraqistan

ISIS in Afghanistan exists, but the threat is overestimated Modern Diplomacy (Micael T)

US pro-Israel groups in bitter feud over Netanyahu’s far-right government Guardian (Dr. Kevin)

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

X, formerly known as Twitter, will collect user biometric data, job and education history The Hill (Kevin W). Is Musk out to destroy his business? He’s driven off liberals. This will enrage right wingers (and anyone sane). Another reason to tape over your camera, if you haven’t already.

NYPD To Deploy Drones To Monitor Backyard Parties This Holiday Weekend Techspot. I hope someone sues. If your backyard is enclosed, you have an expectation of privacy.

FBI Hoovering Up DNA at a Pace That Rivals China, Holds 21 Million Samples and Counting Intercept (Kevin W)

Imperial Collapse Watch

The Supreme Stupidity of the “End of History” And Its Consequences Ian Welsh (Micael T)

The US Proxy Warriors Remove Their Masks Brad Pearce (Userfriendly)

What Do the BRICS Want? Co-Existence or Cooperation? Counterpunch

Falling Out of Love With America American Conservative

View from Turkey: In a New Order, China and Russia are the dominant poles International Affairs (Micael T)

Trump

Trump Is Top Choice for Nearly 60% of GOP Voters Wall Street Journal. Lead story

Biden

McCarthy says he won’t open impeachment inquiry without House vote The Hill. Wellie, the only counter-move I see here is the House GOP radicals who hate the war in Ukraine (among other things) and were already planning to force a shutdown to get their pet budget bête noires removed to add impeachment to their wish list.

GOP Clown Car

GOP senators weigh ‘special’ meeting on their leadership after McConnell’s freeze Politico

God Smashes Giant Tree Into FL Governor’s Mansion Joe. My. God. (Paul R

Democrats en déshabillé

Former LA city official gets 42 months in jail (and he’s just the latest Democrat to be busted) Law Enforcement Watch (Micael). Didn’t he get memo about waiting for the revolving door payoffs?

Like It or Not, the Left Can’t Get Away From the Democrats Jacobin

Maine lawmaker wants to strengthen laws to prosecute neo-Nazis YouTube (furzy). Good, but does he realize that will pick up some of our best buddy Ukrainians?

Police State Watch

Bodycam video shows Ohio police fatally shooting pregnant black woman BBC. Horrible as well as reflects terrible police training. They could have easily just shot out a tire.

L’affaire Jeffery Epstein

JPMorgan reported $1 BILLION of Jeffrey Epstein’s transactions as ‘suspicious’ to feds – but only AFTER the sex predator’s death, US Virgin Island claims in court Daily Mail (Kevin W)

Make the Wayback Machine the real internet Tom Scocca (Userfriendly). From July, still germane.

Mushroom pickers urged: Avoid Amazon foraging books, appear to be written by AI Guardian (Paul R). More Skynet plotting.

AI powered hate speech moderation for Call of Duty voice chat ars technica (Paul R)

MIT Economist Daron Acemoğlu Takes on Big Tech: “Our Future Will Be Very Dystopian” Der Speigal (furzy)

The Bezzle

Paris says au revoir to rental e-scooters BBC (Kevin W)

Robinhood Bought Back Sam Bankman-Fried’s Stake From US Government For $606 Million Cointelegraph

Private funds sue to stop ‘unlawful’ SEC disclosure rules Financial Times (Kevin W)

US jobs data raises hope of Goldilocks scenario as economy cools Financial Times. Do these writers realize what they are saying???? The last time I heard the Goldilocks landing meme was 2007.

Guillotine Watch

Surgeons Are Double and Triple Booking Procedures That Residents Must Perform Bloomberg (ma)

Tech billionaires behind $900M land grab launch website defending secrecy SFGate (Paul R)

Billionaires’ Secretive Plan to Build a New City Is Backfiring Bloomberg

Class Warfare

Law-Abiding Immigrants: The Incarceration Gap Between Immigrants and the U.S.-Born, 1850–2020 Ran Abramitzky, Stanford University. Userfriendly: “This paper is brilliant.”

Amazing: Senate Democrats are blocking disaster aid from the US Government for American citizens in dire need unless it also includes the billions more for the war in Ukraine that the Biden WH wants.

Such a perfect microcosm of this party. https://t.co/0yc83tOmh7

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) September 1, 2023

Antidote du jour. Tracie H: “This pretty Black Crowned Night Heron was hanging out at the Sunset Aquatic Marina where we used to walk our Lab mix, Merlyn.”