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Parrots Are Taking Over the World Scientific American
How the Octopus Evolved To Taste by Touch The Wire
Elephants’ Giant Hot Testicles Might Be the Reason They Get Less Cancer Scientific American
Man-made materials in nests can bring both risks and benefit for birds (press release) Bangor University
Climate
What to Do with Climate Emotions The New Yorker
In ‘An Unflinching Look,’ Benjamin Dimmitt Bears Witness to the Ecological Disaster of Florida’s Wetlands Colossal
Water
Is Google a bad neighbor? A fight over water use at a huge data center is exposing deeper issues in an Oregon town Fortune
Biden Official Overseeing Water Resources Worked for Hedge Fund Privatizing Water Lee Fang
#COVID19
Masks matter for more than mandates Virology Down Under. “TL;DR The amount of virus we receive can determine the severity of the disease that results. This ‘infectious dose’ is affected by how much virus is in the particles we inhale as well as how long we inhale them.” Excellent review of the literature, well worth a read.
SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses wane profoundly in convalescent individuals 10 months after primary infection Virologica Sina. “Ten months after primary infection, the mean magnitude of SARS-CoV-2-specific CD4 and CD8 T cell responses decreased about 82% and 76%, respectively. SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell responses waned significantly in 75% of convalescent individuals during the follow-up.” Well, so much for herd immunity. Also, Leonardi was right. Again.
Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in free-ranging white-tailed deer in the United States Nature. From the Abstract: “Evolutionary analyses showed these white-tailed deer viruses originated from at least 109 independent spillovers from humans, which resulted in 39 cases of subsequent local deer-to-deer transmission and three cases of potential spillover from white-tailed deer back to humans. Viruses repeatedly adapted to white-tailed deer with recurring amino acid substitutions across spike and other proteins. Overall, our findings suggest that multiple SARS-CoV-2 lineages were introduced, became enzootic, and co-circulated in white-tailed deer.”
China?
China on brink of consumer deflation FT
China’s paltry support for private sector leaves its economic backbone in more dire straits than state firms South China Morning Post
Chinese women economists called ‘traitors’ online for meeting with Yellen Reuters
Myanmar violence and South China Sea disputes to dominate ASEAN talks Channel News Asia
The Koreas
As Asia embraces Thailand’s ‘T-wave’, is the tide turning against K-pop? South China Morning Post
India
Why are rural elections in West Bengal so violent? The India Fix
BJP May Rally Against Dynasty Politics but It Has Gained the Most From It The Wire
Is What We Have “Crony Capitalism”? People’s Democracy
Dear Old Blighty
‘We are on for a massive defeat’: can the Tories prevent the inevitable? FT
Covid-19 inquiry still waiting for Boris Johnson phone messages FT
O Canada
COVID-19: what did Quebec do with the $432 million from the federal government intended for schools? (Google Translate) Le Soliel. “The federal government calculated that the schools could, among other things, with this money, improve their ventilation system, increase hygiene measures or buy personal protective equipment and cleaning products.”
New Not-So-Cold War
Azov Commanders Return, 6th Column Goes Crazy Simplicius the Thinker(s)
The Western Media Is Whitewashing the Azov Battalion The Nation. Normalizing fascism:
Volodymyr Zelensky and 5 Azov commanders were greeted by a large crowd at Rynok Square in Lviv.#Azov #Lviv #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/whsUCFKV22
— Natalka (@NatalkaKyiv) July 9, 2023
Maybe we need to start writing “Big Ƶ” instead of “Big Z”? (Lviv is in Carpathia; we give that to the Poles, Azov problem solved.) Meanwhile, at the White House:
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan declined to speak about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s motivation to hand over the Azov leaders to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. pic.twitter.com/USM8frM7Nw
— Rahini (@rahini1207) July 11, 2023
Ukraine Could Be the Next West Germany Foreign Policy. I’m not sure that means what they think it means.
* * *
Zelenskiy says he understands Ukraine will be in NATO Reuters. He would, wouldn’t he?
Washington Seeks to Manage Zelensky’s Removal The New Kremlin Stooge
Turkey’s Erdogan demands EU membership talks in exchange for backing Swedish NATO bid France24.
US says it ‘intends to move forward’ with transfer of F-16 jets to Turkey FT
* * *
Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin’s commanders met Putin after short-lived mutiny, pledged loyalty AP
Prigozhin’s Failed Coup Was a Blessing in Disguise Foreign Policy
Analysts: Russia is on the Brink Kyiv Post
* * *
Ukraine Needs to Win Faster The Tablet
The West needs to prepare for ‘ugly’ Russian victory in Ukraine, which will reward China, leading US political scientist warns South China Morning Post. Mearshimer.
In Ukraine I saw a brave but ravaged land in limbo. It needs a future – it needs Nato Timothy Garton Ash, Guardian. Attributing bravery to “the land” is a category error. It’s also exactly the kind of error a blood-and-soil right wing nationalist would make.
Biden Administration
Student loans: Looming payments put spotlight on ‘real danger’ for borrowers The Hill
CDC to Reduce Funding for States’ Child Vaccination Programs Kaiser Health News
President Biden and King Charles’ marriage of convenience Politico
DOL recovers $88,000 in wages from Detroit-centered restaurant group HR Drive
Spook Country
FBI worked with Ukraine intelligence agency to remove social media accounts: House Judiciary report FOX
Digital Watch
Killing Twitter Eschaton
Meta’s New Threads App Is Terrible. It Just Might Bury Twitter. Slate
A warning to anyone jumping over to Threads Ben Cohen on Substack. The irony of liberal Democrats and pundits jumping onto a Meta platform — even though Meta gutted their newsrooms and wrecked the news business — because they can’t endure contact with The Othered* is a bit much, even for the stupidest timeline. NOTE * Or curate their timelines properly.
* * *
Sarah Silverman Sues OpenAI And Meta For Copyright Infringement; Lawsuits Challenge Use Of Works For Artificial Intelligence Datasets Deadline
Experts warn of rise in scammers using AI to mimic voices of loved ones in distress ABC
Gunz
Justices take up major Second Amendment dispute SCOTUSblog
Imperial Collapse Watch
We Get What We Pay For: The Cycle of Military Spending, Industry Power, and Economic Dependence (PDF) Watson Institute, Brown University
Class Warfare
Gallery Owner Seen Spraying Homeless Woman In Infamous Viral Video Gets 35 Hours Community Service SF ist
SAG-AFTRA president defends fashion show trip to Italy as contract deadline looms LA Times
The Modern World Reconceived Brad DeLong, Harvard Magazine. The deck: “Interpreting politics through the rise of technocracy, morality, and the ‘web of capital.’”
The Best Decision-Making Is Emotional Every
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote:
Tiger taking a stroll through farmland in Terai region of 🇮🇳. Humans and animals can coexist in peace only when we understand the true nature of animals is never to harm humans first! pic.twitter.com/UmpO050xJB
— Prem Mohanty 🏏⚽️ (@philipbkk) July 10, 2023
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
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