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Fireworks from a dog’s point of view StarTribune. Kevin W: “Read through to the end.”
Quasar ‘Clocks’ Show the Universe Was Five Times Slower Soon After the Big Bang PhysOrg
Why Human Societies Still Use Arms, Feet, and Other Body Parts To Measure Things Science
One night of total sleep deprivation shown to have antidepressant effect for some people MedicalXpress (Dr. Kevin)
America’s Most Popular Drug Has a Puzzling Side Effect. We Finally Know Why Atlantic (Paul R)
#COVID-19
Everyone is hurting for people
It is bleeding into everyday life
Despite what Veld and Bertoletti say, there is T cell exhaustion in Long Covid
This now applies to a significant proportion of the population thanks to reinfectionshttps://t.co/DqcmKhbs9V pic.twitter.com/76d7JScytI
— AJ Leonardi, MBBS, PhD (@fitterhappierAJ) July 4, 2023
Climate/Environment
World Registers Hottest Day Ever Recorded on July 3 Reuters
Can The U.S. Power Grid Handle The EV Boom? YouTube, CNBC. Kevin W: “Related link: ‘Gas guzzlers cheaper to use in Britain than EVs – report ‘ RT”
Climate activists block golf course holes with seedlings and cement to protest water use CNN (ma)
A $30 Billion Disaster Is Just the Tip of a Deadly Climate Cycle Bloomberg. Paul R: ” About flooding and climate refugee crisis in Pakistan. It is horrible.”
‘It was an accident’: the scientists who have turned humid air into renewable power Guardian (Kevin W)
China?
China cancels planned trip by Europe’s top diplomat Reuters
China Restricts Exports of Two Metals Used in High-Performance Chips Wall Street Journal (Kevin W). I wonder at the timing given that the Blinken visit backfired thanks to Uncle Joe calling Xi bad names and Blinken fully backing it.
Goal of tech war is to win in tech, not mining
Rationale for Oct surprise was to trip up China’s progress in semi & AI. This is the response
People inside China estimates min of 3-5 yrs to build mines, factories that extract/process metal ores, find/train workers & engineers +… https://t.co/ttxn2kZBkS
— tphuang (@tphuang) July 4, 2023
US-China chip war crossfire hitting smaller powers Asia Times (Kevin W)
US Looks To Restrict China’s Access To Cloud Computing To Protect Advanced Technology Wall Street Journal
China uses laser for 10 times faster satellite-to-ground communication in major breakthrough South China Morning Post (guurst)
India
India Aims To Make Domestic Microchips By End of 2024 Financial Times
Old Blighty
Banks told to uphold free speech after blacklisting customers holding certain views Telegraph (Kevin W)
European Disunion
Incoming orders in mechanical engineering fall drastically Tagesschau (guurst, original here)
Polish PMI falls to 45.1 pts in June says S&P Global First News
La belle France
Important. Please read thread. High food and cooking fuel prices were the proximate cause of the Arab Spring uprisings.
1/ Yesterday I published an article in @unherd arguing that the situation leading up to the French riots is being driven by high food prices and low consumption. I presented INSEE data showing a 17% drawdown in food consumption, totally unprecedented in recent history. Chart 👇 pic.twitter.com/wm2zbyhtpF
— Philip Pilkington (@philippilk) July 4, 2023
New Not-So-Cold War
SITREP 7/4/23: Final Hour of Zelensky’s Terror Ploy Simplicius the Thinker
According to the adviser to the General Director of nuclear plant operations agency Rosenergoatom, Ukraine is planning to strike the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant overnight on 5 July, with a missile containing a nuclear dirty-bomb warhead.
RT’s Steve Sweeney has more details. pic.twitter.com/npvjuVPqfl
— RT (@RT_com) July 4, 2023
Ukraine Military Sitrep, Mine Warfare, US to Send Kiev More Cluster Bombs for Killing Donetsk Civilians? Mark Sleboda
* * *
Ukrainian Engineers Are Recovering The 25 Vehicles Ukraine Lost In A Russian Minefield, Starting With An American-Made M-2 Forbes. Kevin W: “But then there is this- Germany, Poland at odds over tank-repair center for Ukraine – Der Spiegel RT”
* * *
The Wagner Mutiny Jacques Baud, The Postil (guurst). From last week, still germane.
OSCE Parliamentary Assembly recognizes PMC Wagner as terrorist organization TASS
* * *
Russia rejects bank compromise as Black Sea grain expiry looms Reuters
Why Are Russian Oil Products Sill Being Sold in America? Project Syndicate
* * *
Ukraine destroyed the Kakhovka dam: a forensic assessment Thomas Palley. Interesting because doubts about the official narrative getting out of the war-watcher ghetto.
via @jdforward “On June 29, Stanford University hosted a delegation from the Azov Brigade, a neo-Nazi formation in the Ukrainian National Guard. The panel, during which Azov’s neo-Nazi insignia was projected onto the wall, was attended by Francis Fukuyama”https://t.co/J5iNPNoJNZ
— Mark Ames (@MarkAmesExiled) July 4, 2023
* * *
Franco-Russian Great Power Rivalry in the Sahara-Sahel Region Global Affairs (Micael T)
Syraqistan
Jenin: Israeli forces start withdrawal after two-day operation BBC
Why Netanyahu Removed The Final Mask On Palestinian Aspirations Eurasia Review (furzy)
Even if this incursion does not lead to a wider escalation throughout the West Bank, the battle for Jenin is not over yet https://t.co/lMlLSKcavl
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) July 5, 2023
Israel to Expand F-35 Fleet By 50 Percent: Why It Urgently Needs 25 New Stealth Fighters to Face Iran Military Watch
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Cops using self-driving cars as surveillance cameras on wheels Jalopnik (Paul R)
Imperial Collapse Watch
The Dead End of Pursuing Dominance Daniel Larison
Genuine Multilateralism and Diplomacy vs the “Rules-Based Order” Global Affairs (Micael T)
Last year, Congress continued to trade without any fear of conflicts.
For example in 2022, there were many unusually timed trades.
When someone asks you about unusual political trading or conflicts of interests last year, show them this thread: pic.twitter.com/hN10dhRoJN
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) July 4, 2023
America’s Founding Was a Marriage of Inconvenience Time (furzy)
Biden
Cocaine discovery sparks White House evacuation DW
Not enough fireworks for one holiday? Joe invites recovering drug addict Hunter and family onto Truman balcony to watch July 4th celebrations – two days after cocaine was found in the West Wing Daily Mail
Supremes
Apple To Ask US Supreme Court To Undo App Store Order In Epic Games Case Reuters
After gutting affirmative action, Republicans target minority scholarships MSNBC (Paul R). Here in Wisconsin.
Abortion
Pro-choice Catholics fight to seize the narrative from the religious right Guardian (Dr. Kevin)
Our No Longer Free Press
Federal judge limits Biden officials’ contacts with social media sites New York Times (Chuck L). Wellie!
This July 4th, Remember: Freedom is Good Matt Taibbi. Sadly the reservation is not for the right reason, of freedumb being the justification for cutting government spending, which leads to degradation of service and then justifies more cuts.
🚨🚨The police show up at this Canadian citizen/patriot’s house for speaking bad about, Justin Trudeau online:
Watch him go OFF on them!!🤣🤣
“I’m concerned for my fellow citizens, something is very wrong with this country, because of this government!!”
“We have a TERRORIST… pic.twitter.com/YatzdlT5VV
— Kevin – WE THE PEOPLE❤️ – DAD🦁 🐉 🔥 – (@bambkb) July 3, 2023
Gunz
Fourth of July is a US celebration. Why is it the riskiest day for mass shootings? Guardian (Dr. Kevin)
Why schoolchildren are regularly being targeted by terrorist groups in many countries SciToday (Dr. Kevin)
AI
How actors are losing their voices to AI Financial Times (Kevin W)
Google Says It’ll Scrape Everything You Post Online for AI Gizmodo. Paul R:
No it’s not LLM training. It’s a about building personality profiles, social credits, and dirt dossiers on everyone, including de-anonymizing through web beacons and stylometrics and whatnot. Bah.
The Bezzle
A flying car prototype just got an airworthiness certificate from the FAA CNN
Computer Speed Gains Erased By Modern Software Hackaday (Kevin W)
Class Warfare
Post-pandemic surge in evictions spotlights unequal housing crisis The Hill
On the Scalability of Cooperative Structures: Remarks on G. A. Cohen, Why Not Socialism? Google Scholar. UserFriendly:
I can’t say I agree with all, or even most of this, but it does make the occasional good point and it is quite interesting. Especially where he is describing some particular failure mode and I’m just like ye4ah sure sounds like what we actually have now. But I suspect that the most damning critique of this is that I’d probably only have to change a dozen words to make it a defense of feudalism.
Antidote du jour. C:
Many thanks for the years of great reading. I’ve never been in much of a position to donate, but thought I would at least contribute some cuteness for an antidote. Topsy is sleeping and Sweet Sue is peeping, they are both polydactyl!
And a bonus (Colin K):
And a second bonus (guurst):
Have you seen an octopus do this before? pic.twitter.com/IZUKM3IQeL
— Scary Underwater (@WaterlsScary) July 2, 2023
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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