Links 7/4/2020

July 4, 2020
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Dead fish are popping up all along the Hudson River New York Post (David L). Eeew.

Nagaland dog meat: Animal rights groups hail ban as ‘major turning point’ BBC (David L)

Take a Flight Over Korolev Crater on Mars Universe Today (Kevin W)

After Fighting Plastic in ‘Paradise Lost,’ Sisters Take On Climate Change New York Times (David L)

Microplastic in terrestrial ecosystems Science (David L)

#COVID-19

Mexico vastly underestimating virus death toll, studies say Financial Times

Science/Medicine

Risk Factors for Mortality in Patients with COVID-19 in New York City Journal of General Internal Medicine (RR)

WHO Sees First Results From COVID Drug Trials Within Two Weeks Reuters

Chloroquine and COVID-19: A western medical and scientific drift? European Journal of Internal Medicine (RR)

UK/Europe

Ireland’s official coronavirus death toll likely to have been overstated, report finds Irish Times. PlutoniumKun: “Shorter version – they think Covid deaths are over-counted, but long term impact likely from delayed elective treatments.”

US

‘We need to live with it’: White House readies new message for the nation on coronavirus NBC

The week America lost control of the pandemic Atlantic

It’s not just coronavirus: America repeatedly fails at public health Los Angeles Times (Craig S)

U.S. Cases Rise 2.1%; WHO Uncertain on Vaccine: Virus Update Bloomberg

Mexico closes border in Arizona as coronavirus cases in both countries surge The Hill (Kevin W)

31 MLB players positive for coronavirus after first round of tests ESPN (resilc)

Finance/Economics

Walmart is turning some of its parking lots into drive-in theaters Engadget. Resilc: “Walmart to drive another industry into bankruptcy?”

How the pandemic is reshaping American manufacturing PBS. Craig S:

This (from the PBS Newshour) is the first MSM piece I’ve seen that acknowledges the tragic impact on the US (counted in COVID deaths due to lack of PPE) of the loss of manufacturing capacity and expertise due to offshoring.

The big factor holding back the U.S. economic recovery: Child care Washington Post

As Coronavirus Cases Rise, American Airlines Is Booking to Capacity Again Popular Mechanics (resilc)

China?

U.S. Sends Two Aircraft Carriers to South China Sea for Exercises as China Holds Drills Nearby Wall Street Journal

US has been exposed for funding last year’s Hong Kong protests South China Morning Post (Anthony L). Sigh (in anticipation of overreactions). I have seen this sort of thing in business regularly from early on in my career, people claiming credit for deals they didn’t do (I knew it wasn’t theirs because I knew first hand who had done them, the brazenness always stunned me). I can’t recall who made this observation re Russiagate, but a skeptic pointed out that anyone connected to the GRU who’d been spending $ in the US would use the hysteria as proof that they’d been effective and try to get more funding. The US is not even remotely good enough to have made a difference in HK. Look at the failed Venezuela coup. Spending money is no proof of influence or impact. The support for the protests extended very deep into the population. Fleeing protestors be pulled into houses in working class homes en masse to keep them from being arrested. The US agencies don’t have enough people who speak Cantonese with the right accent to make a dent.

China, US in row over quarantining of diplomats Asia Times (Kevin W)

Brexit

Fresh Calls For Guarantees on Digital Taxation in Future UK-US Trade Deal CityAM

New Cold War

In ‘Russian Bounty’ Story, Evidence-Free Claims From Nameless Spies Became Fact Overnight FAIR (furzy)

The Rise of Strategic Corruption: How China, Russia, and Others Have Weaponized Corruption Foreign Affairs (Dr. Kevin). Hold your nose.

Syraqistan

Mysterious Explosion and Fire Damage Iranian Nuclear Enrichment Facility New York Times

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Inside the Invasive, Secretive “Bossware” Tracking Workers Electronic Frontier Foundation (Bob H)

Imperial Collapse Watch

The U.S. Is Lagging Behind Many Rich Countries. These Charts Show Why. New York Times

This U.S. Navy Ship Was Actually Built by the Soviet Union Popular Mechanics (resilc)

Trump Transition

Trump used looted Venezuelan public money to build border wall with Mexico Grayzone

House Democrats, Working With Liz Cheney, Restrict Trump’s Planned Withdrawal of Troops From Afghanistan and Germany Intercept

Trump Delivers Divisive Culture War Message at Mount Rushmore New York Times (furzy)

Sour grapes: California governor Gavin Newsom shuts down wineries in 19 counties hit hard by COVID-19 – but keeps his OWN tasting room in Napa open Daily Mail

2020

Biden seeks to supplant Trump in Georgia The Hill

Charles Booker, Jamaal Bowman And The 7 Competing Camps In Black Politics FiveThirtyEight (resilc)

Big Business Still Has Enormous Control of American Politics at Every Level Tom Ferguson, Jacobin.

L’affaire Jeffrey Epstein

The Ghislaine Maxwell I know Alan Dershowtiz, Spectator

‘G Max’: How Ghislaine Maxwell used numerous bank accounts and aliases to avoid detection Telegraph (Brian C)

Photo of Ghislaine Maxwell and Kevin Spacey in Buckingham Palace Stirs Social Media Sputnik (Kevin W). Clive points out:

Disappointingly perhaps, a fake or, to be more accurate, not the actual Throne Room at the Palace (having been there, the one in the picture is far too spic and span and made from modern materials — the real one has that mellow hued fading of age you get with real historic decor). It’s also using American gold tones and that cheap processed lumber or fibreboard you get there. It could be in Donald Trump’s NYC apartment though, it matches his “house style”.

Black Injustice Tipping Point

Rudy Giuliani calls Black Lives Matter ‘a Marxist organization’ MarketWatch

How advertiser boycott could yield ‘watershed moment’ for Facebook NPR (Craig S)

Fig & Olive, New York Restaurant Chain, Files for Bankruptcy Bloomberg. Another restaurant I patronized occasionally in trouble.

Slimy Deal Allows CalPERS President and Staff to Hold Secret Star Chamber Discipline of Dissident Board Member Margaret Brown Tony Butka, LA Citywatch

Guillotine Watch

Petition for Zuckerberg to stop “colonizing” Hawaii island doubles in a day Newsweek (David L)

Class Warfare

I used an algorithm to help me write a story. Here’s what I learned. MIT Technology Review (David L)

Antidote du jour (Cliff V):

And a bonus (guurst):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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