Lambert and I, and many readers, agree that Ukraine has prompted the worst informational environment ever. We hope readers will collaborate in mitigating the fog of war — both real fog and stage fog — in comments. None of us need more cheerleading and link-free repetition of memes; there are platforms for that. Low-value, link-free pom pom-wavers will be summarily whacked.
And for those who are new here, this is not a mere polite request. We have written site Policies and those who comment have accepted those terms. To prevent having to resort to the nuclear option of shutting comments down entirely until more sanity prevails, as we did during the 2015 Greek bailout negotiations and shortly after the 2020 election, we are going to be ruthless about moderating and blacklisting offenders.
–Yves
P.S. Also, before further stressing our already stressed moderators, read our site policies:
Please do not write us to ask why a comment has not appeared. We do not have the bandwidth to investigate and reply. Using the comments section to complain about moderation decisions/tripwires earns that commenter troll points. Please don’t do it. Those comments will also be removed if we encounter them.
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Florida passenger with ‘no idea how to fly airplane’ lands safely after pilot gets sick New York Post (J-LS)
Powerful ‘Machine Scientists’ Distill the Laws of Physics From Raw Data Quanta (David L)
When Eyes Meet, Neurons Start to Fire Neuroscience News (David L)
#COVID-19
Science/Medicine
Study investigates antibody-mediated response against different SARS-CoV-2 variants News-medical.net
Asia
Macbook Pro workers storm through coronavirus barriers in China Metro
US
‘Significant uptick’ in California coronavirus outbreaks brings new warnings Los Angeles Times (David L)
Airline kicks over 100 NYC Orthodox Jews off flight over masks New York Post (J-LS)
Covid-19 Live News and Updates New York Times. Resilc flags this section, noting: “Like a week of military aid to the Ukiezzzzzz.”
A group of former heads of state and Nobel laureates are calling on the United States to immediately commit $5 billion to combat the global coronavirus pandemic, and activists are pressing President Biden to take a more forceful leadership role in the response as he convenes world leaders for a Covid-19 summit on Thursday.
Emergent Hid Evidence of Covid Vaccine Problems at Plant, Report Says New York Times (Kevin W)
Prophylactic warning! These links comes form a reliable reader who is politically and legally sophisticated…but the sites are clearly on the right wing cray cray end of the spectrum. But that does not mean they are wrong on this issue. But the reason to be skeptical is that the US is not agreement capable, so we’ll pretend we must must subordinate ourselves to the WHO when the Administration wants to and will ignore it other times. Biden Handing Over U.S. Sovereignty to WHO Breggin.com and WAKE UP and Smell the Burning of Our Constitution James Roguski
Climate/Environment
The looming climate-security crisis in South Asia Responsible Statecraft
Do you segregate garbage meticulously? Most of that plastic still ends up in landfills The Scroll (J-LS). In NYC, my building had bins for recyclables and general garbage. I always made an effort, despite lack of clear instructions and knowledge that the building just dumped stuff together, to put things in the proper receptacle (maybe just trying not to be part of the problem, maybe hope the building would be made to shape up). It annoyed me no end when neighbors would put regular trash in the recycle bins.
Man Swims Through Ocean Garbage Patch for Months, Finds Amazing Life Vice (David L)
China?
Chinese smart satellite tracks US aircraft carrier in real time, researchers say South China Morning Post (BC)
India
IMD predicts fresh heatwave spell in Delhi from Friday; max temperature today to hover at 40°C FirstPost (J-LS)
‘Speculative Media Reports’: India Denies Sending Troops to Sri Lanka The Wire (J-LS)
Kerala warns of Nipah-like diseases amid bat breeding season; orders precautionary steps https://t.co/zBUGCcxrBd
— Republic (@republic) May 11, 2022
Sri Lanka
Today’s WorldView: How one powerful family wrecked a country Washington Post (furzy)
Marcos presidency complicates US efforts to counter China Associated Press. Ahem, so democracy exists only when we like the results? As if Philippine voters are unaware of the baggage of his parents? People are free to elect “bad” leaders the same way they can and do enter into bad marriages. The margin of victory was so large I have yet to see credible accusations that the election was rigged. The first sentence:
Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s apparent landslide victory in the Philippine presidential election is raising immediate concerns about a further erosion of democracy in Asia …
Marcos wins Philippine elections in landslide; analysts say close China ties to remain Global Times
Old Blighty
Liz Truss ‘preparing to scrap parts of Northern Ireland protocol’ Guardian (Kevin W)
Euro to hit parity against the dollar within six months, Amundi says Financial Times (J-LS)
New Not-So-Cold War
Biden Wanted $33B More For Ukraine. Congress Quickly Raised it to $40B. Who Benefits? Glenn Greenwald
House Approves Ukraine Aid Package but No Deal in Senate Wall Street Journal
Sen. Tuberville Says US Risks War With Russia by ‘Poking the Bear’ in Ukraine AntiWar (resilc). OMG when the likes of Tommy Tuberville sees the danger and has reservations….but then again, as Lambert said, a football coach would understand power relations.
Sending Weapons to Ukraine Could Have Unintended Consequences Cato. Lambert: “From March. I hate to quote Cato…..Obviously, as in the Middle East, we should find the “moderate” Mafiosi and work through them….
According to the 2021 Global Organized Crime Index, Ukraine has one of the largest illegally trafficked arms markets in Europe, especially when it comes to small arms and ammunition. About 300,000 small arms and light weapons were reported lost or stolen between 2013 and 2015. Of these, only slightly more than 13% are recovered, while the vast amount remains in circulation in the black market. This says nothing of major weapons, such as radar systems and Javelin missiles also sent to the country.
Gazprom Doesn’t Understand. Andrei Martyanova. So Ukraine is sanctioning the EU but trying to make it look like Russia. Based on later posts on Russian sites, it appears Ukraine later submitted the force majeure notice, but I’m having trouble finding English language commentary/confirmation. This is as close as I have gotten as of this hour: Ukraine partially halts gas transit to Europe Global Happenings
U.S. retail gasoline prices hit new record, as refiners struggle to meet demand Reuters. Notice pressure created by need to refine more jet and diesel fuels.
Exclusive: Germany prepares crisis plan for abrupt end to Russian gas Reuters
Millions of UK homes face no heat this winter, power chief warns RT (Kevin W)
Kevin W re this tweet: “Check the flag on the left and whose portrait is over it.”
If you ever wondered who tf is @JoeyS552789904 🇺🇦🌻 with an account made in March 2022 who commented “Stop spreading propaganda” on your videos of Ukrainian Nazis pic.twitter.com/tPzPITt5t7
— Pushin 🅉 (@5__Aces) May 8, 2022
Pentagon: Russian military continues to struggle with poor morale, refusal to obey orders The Hill. As Louis Fyne noted:
CIA assessment of UA RU war.
IMO, this is an unhinged interpretation of events, right from the Vietnam and Afghan playbooks of “victory is just around the corner.” YMMV.
bookmark the analysis, have it in the back of your head over the course of the year.
And Karma Fubar:
The Russians measure their military (as per Scott Ritter) by its combat effectiveness. The US measures the Ukraine military by its market cap. If the arena was Wall Street, Ukraine might have the upper hand. But if the arena is combat…
The Greatest Generation Raúl Ilargi Meijer. By Scott Ritter, hoisted from RT. Even linking to Scott Ritter now leads to newbie trolls trying to engage in thought policing.
Greek Shipowners Kill EU’s Russian Oil Tanker Ban Bloomberg
Ursula von der Leyen says unanimous vote on key areas of EU policy no longer makes sense News.am
Syraqistan
Al Jazeera Reporter Killed in Israeli Army Raid in Jenin Haaretz
Just in the past two hours, the IDF killed an American-Palestinian journalist from Al-Jazeera and murdered two other Palestinian youth aged 18 and 21.
IDF reign of terror continues in the West Bank.pic.twitter.com/FeNRdHSBUd
— Lebanese News and Updates (@LebUpdate) May 11, 2022
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Follow the saga as my neighbor chooses to install 3 security cameras to monitor my property and I install countermeasures to defeat his cameras YouTube (dcblogger)
Imperial Collapse Watch
US Army Deploys Infantry Squad Vehicles Amid Controversy Defense Post (Kevin W)
Trump
Elon Musk would reverse Donald Trump’s Twitter ban BBC
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey says he now AGREES with Elon Musk that Trump’s account should be reinstated and calls previous stance a mistaken ‘business decision’ Daily Mail. Coward
Pillen wins Nebraska governor primary, dealing blow to Trump The Hill
Biden
Biden Says Inflation Is His ‘Top Priority’ New York Times
McConnell tamps down chance abortion bill could pass GOP Senate The Hill
DeSantis signs bill mandating communism lessons in class, as GOP leans on education MSN
The Supremes
Your OB-GYN might miss out on critical training in a post-Roe world Grid (Dr. Kevin)
Period-tracking apps store users’ most private data. What will that mean in a post-Roe world? Protocol (J-LS)
Our No Longer Free Press
Why Biden is in Danger of Replicating Woodrow Wilson’s Propaganda Machine Politico (Kevin W). “In danger”? This is exactly what they hope to achieve. The Creel Committee succeeded in convincing many Americans that Germans were bayonetting babies.
Prices Are Going Up So Fast at This Restaurant They’re Using Stickers on the Menu MSN (resilc)
How Federal Student Loans Create College Rankings Scandals RealClearEducation (BC)
Wuling Hongguang Mini EV Review: Cheap Electric City Car Wired
Tech’s $7 Trillion Icarus Moment Spares No One Heisenberg Report (resilc)
Why car makers are trimming the variety and number of options AutoCar
US faces baby formula ‘crisis’ as shortage worsens BBC (resilc)
Watch: FT speaks to Elon Musk Financial Times (furzy). 38 comments and most moderately to very critical.
Class Warfare
Overworked and Underpaid Capital and Main (J-LS)
NYC Mayor Defends Controversial Arrest of Fruit Vendor Captured in Viral Video Eater NY (J-LS)
Antidote du jour (guurst):
🔥 A melanistic fox, one of the rarest animals on the planet. 🧡 pic.twitter.com/oTPf5eDmj3
— Nature Is Lit (@NatureIs_Lit) May 7, 2022
And a bonus (furzy). A lot of work on skates! Hope the deers’ hips weren’t hurt by being stuck in that splayed out position:
This guy saving multiple deer that were stuck on a frozen lake pic.twitter.com/Q0q2D54p6D
— ⭐️Amazing Posts (@AmazingPosts_) May 6, 2022
See yesterday’s Antidote du Jour and Links here.
