6 Extinct animals found again RTE (PlutoniumKun). A long time ago, I read a childhood, or at best young adult book (as in narrative-style) about the finding of the coelacanth, so I am weirdly fond of them.
Blueberry farmers warn of ‘disaster’ crop BBC. Oh, no! That is one of the great things about going to Maine, the tiny wild blueberries, sold by farmers on the side of major roads.
How cold was the ice age? Researchers now know PhysOrg (Kevin W)
Surprising pulses of ancient warming found in Antarctic ice samples Science Magazine (UserFriendly)
Russia Just Declassified Footage of the Largest Nuke Ever Tested Vice (resilc)
Hurricane Laura postponed due to Covid-19 concerns BeetPress (UserFriendly)
Hurricane Laura jumped from Category 1 to Category 4 in a day. Here’s why hurricanes are now stronger, wetter, and more frequent. Buiness Insider (Kevin W)
United States establishes a dozen AI and quantum information science research centers Science Magazine (David L)
Hortillonnages d’Amiens : le succès des circuits courts France TV. Colonel Smithers:
This feature on French news this evening is about the small scale planters in the marshes near Amiens and how they are increasingly selling directly and cutting out supermarket chains.
In the Wye valley, on the border with Wales, farmers are doing the same, if only because Ccovid prevented supermarkets from being able to pick up produce.
#COVID-19
US
In alarming move, CDC says people exposed to COVID-19 do not need testing [Updated] ars technica (Chuck L)
New York pushes back against changes to CDC test guidance Financial Times
Tracking Coronavirus Cases at U.S. Colleges and Universities New York Times
UNC-Chapel Hill Reports 31.3% of Students Tested Have COVID—And There Are Probably More INDY Week (resilc)
Europe
🔴 BREAKING – French PM Castex: Country needs ‘to envisage all scenarios’ on how to contain Covid-19, including more lockdowns https://t.co/rckmi3UCzi pic.twitter.com/tMs5bGTjGZ
— FRANCE 24 – Breaking (@BreakingF24) August 27, 2020
At least 11 of a group of 18 and 19-year-olds tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from Greece https://t.co/m4tBZXyFZE
— Metro (@MetroUK) August 27, 2020
China?
China calls for ‘soybean industry alliance’ with strategic partner Russia South China Morning Post (resilc)
Microsoft’s TikTok deal reportedly ballooned after Trump intervened CNBC (Kevin W)
La belle France
Topless sunbathing: French government defends right to bare torsos EuroNews (Colonel Smithers)
Brexit
Ireland
Phil Hogan resigning from role as EU Commissioner RTE (PlutoniumKun)
Hogan’s resignation averts Ireland-EU collision Terry Connelly, RTE (PlutoniumKun)
Phil Hogan’s Best Moments Waterford Whispers
Mauritius
Une dizaine de dauphins s’échouent sur les côtes de l’île Maurice France TV. Colonel Smithers:
Further to the update from my volunteer cousin, French TV reported the number of dolphins washing up dead on the beaches to the north of the wreck. By 5 pm, London time, 17 dolphins had been counted. The number of whales and seals have not been reported.
The area where the sea life washed up is a few miles to the north. That suggests the spill is no longer confined to the area around Mahebourg, formerly Port-Napoleon. Around the cape further north, Trou d’Eau Douce, are some big hotels. These are world class and drive much of the economy.
The Mauritian state broadcaster is under pressure to sugar coat the disaster and point fingers away from the government. Private media have been threatened with the loss of authorisation and government advertising, so are beginning to ease up. Social media is keeping the story alive.
The Mauritian equivalent of W is nowhere to be seen, but today released a statement, saying insurers would pay. That was later caveated by adding a team of top lawyers is being assembled to fight the claim.
Oddly yesterday, the government took the day off, citing the need to celebrate the feast of St Louis, a day that ceased to be a public holiday thirty odd years ago. Considering that the ruling family are Hindu and, when the need arises, anti-Catholic and anti-francophone, that was even weirder.
Demonstrations are planned this Saturday. The diaspora are being encouraged to march on Mauritian missions.
Syraqistan
US National Security Council Official Confirms Collision Between American, Russian Forces in Syria Sputnik (Kevin W)
Kushner’s Transactional Middle East Strategy is Already Showing Strain American Conservative (Kevin W)
UN Security Council rejects US demand to snap back Iran sanctions The Hill
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Clearview AI CEO Says ‘Over 2,400 Police Agencies’ Are Using Its Facial Recognition Software The Verge
Trump Transition
Trump Has Now Moved $2.3 Million Of Campaign-Donor Money Into His Private Business Forbes
2020
The USA: Global Leader in Election Interference Abroad and Now at Home CounterPunch. Resilc: “It’s what we do best next to pissing away money on a failure of a military.”
the polls have you worse off than hillary at this point. you guys wanted to win with republicans so you better go find them.
— Just Lana (@MapleSpecter) August 26, 2020
Biden Wants to Return to a ‘Normal’ Foreign Policy. That’s the Problem. New York Times
Mike Pence warns America will ‘not be safe’ under Joe Biden Financial Times
Last Night’s GOP Insanity Proves How Much the Two Parties Need Each Other Jacobin (resilc)
North Korean Propaganda Is More Subtle Than Kimberly Guilfoyle’s Dark, Dark Speech Mother Jones
UserFriendly: “Is there no one the liberals won’t rehab?”
Bolton says US coronavirus response has been ‘one mistake after another’https://t.co/SQmWAufaFg
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) August 26, 2020
Hundreds of Thousands of Nursing Home Residents May Not Be Able to Vote in November Because of the Pandemic ProPublica (Dr. Kevin)
Will the 2020 census numbers be good enough, and how soon will we know? Science Magazine
Black Injustice Tipping Point
17-Year-Old ‘Blue Lives Matter’ Fanatic Charged With Murder at Kenosha Protest Daily Beast
An artist’s canceled view of police brutality finds welcome at Mass MoCA Boston Globe (resilc)
U.S. consumer confidence at six-year low; underscores concerns about economic recovery Reuters
US Media Can’t Think How to Fight Fires Without $1-an-Hour Prison Labor FAIR (UserFriendly)
California Has a Shortage of Imprisoned Firefighters. That’s Good. New York Magazine (J-LS)
GM Sells 15,000 Low-Cost EVs For China In First 20 Days Jalopnik (resilc). Subhead: “General Motors seems to have no trouble producing desirable, affordable electric cars. We just don’t get them in America.” So cute! A little bigger than a Swatch.
The Mathematical Model of Modern Monetary Theory 2 ProfSteveKeen (UserFriendly). We had the training wheels version with our Richard Murphy video yesterday. This is Tour de France level.
O.C. Catholic donors at odds with with Bishop Kevin Vann Los Angeles Times
More evidence that housing has roared back Angry Bear
The Dead World of Blippi Current Affairs (UserFriendly)
The Bezzle
As Bezos’ Net Worth Tops $200B, Luxury Is Next Stop For Amazon Safe Haven. Misfire in the making. Amazon cheapened Whole Foods, and can’t even figure out how to buy decent fish.
Small-time scams are dissolving America from the inside The Week. Resilc: “Great link. I have a friend who is a foreign service financial officer, there is an uptick of petty financial irregularities with career people too in last few years “
Class Warfare
She Was Sued Over Rent She Didn’t Owe. It Took Seven Court Dates to Prove She Was Right. ProPublica (UserFriendly)
‘Coming here is a necessity’: demand for food aid soars in US amid job losses Guardian
Antidote du jour. From Elim Garak:
I really appreciate your love for cats, so I wanted to share my quarantine kitty with you in the hopes that it might make a good links antidote some day 🙂
So without further ado, I present Geordi LaFeline! We named her for Geordi LaForge, since my partner and I share a love of Star Trek and since both Geordi’s have very special eyes. We adopted her from a rescue shelter down in Long Beach this past April. I don’t know how long she lived on the streets before being found by the shelter, but she cleans up very nicely. She often curls her tail around as pictured, we call it “sittin’ pretty”
And a bonus (mgl). Otter understandably looks pretty scared. The Anchorage Daily News story explains that the otter debarked safely:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here
