15 Years of Radio Data Reveals Evidence of Space-Time Murmur (press release) NASA. “The motion of black holes and other massive objects through space can create ripples in the fabric of the universe, called gravitational waves. On June 28 scientists announced the first evidence of a background of long-wavelength gravitational waves that fills the cosmos.”
The Secret in the Spots on Monarch Butterflies’ Wings NYT
Central banks signal higher interest rates for longer: S&P Anadolu Agency
EU to take next step towards launching digital version of euro France24
King County stores must accept cash, County Council says Seattle Times (PI).
Climate
Canada wildfires spark air quality alerts in Chicago and Milwaukee BBC
Europe experiences significant transport of smoke from Canada wildfires Copernicus
How Plastics Are Poisoning Us The New Yorker
Water
Not acting like themselves: Antidepressants in environment alter crayfish behavior, study finds (press release) University of Florida
Dark Skies, Deep Dark Waters The Brockovich Report
#COVID19
I have Covid – can I still go on holiday? The Telegraph
The New Abnormal The Tablet
Long COVID: answers emerge on how many people get better Nature
Who cares where COVID came from? Jonathan Katz, The Racket
How Worried Should You Be About the U.S.–Based Malaria Cases? Slate
China?
Yellen hopes to travel to China to ‘reestablish contact’ Channel News Asia
China censors financial blogger as economic recovery falters FT
Myanmar
Myanmar’s Junta Is Losing the Civil War Council on Foreign Relations
A Criminal Cancer Spreads in Southeast Asia United States Institute for Peace
Cambodian Microfinance’s High Repayment Rates Are Built on Misery, Research Finds The Diplomat. Hardly a surprise.
European Disunion
France braces for protests after ‘unforgivable’ police shooting Agence France Presse
Dear Old Blighty
Matt Hancock says UK’s pandemic strategy was completely wrong BBC. The “stupid or evil?” question is a hardy perennial. These days, I’m leaning toward “Both!”.
Covid is still a mass killer – but the government is pretending otherwise Funding the Future
Book, cancel or change a COVID-19 vaccination appointment NHS. Mission accomplished:
Meanwhile:
ZOE Health Study 29/06/23
40,399 new symptomatic Covid cases estimated for the UK on 27/06/23.
Down 10.7% on yesterday’s published figure.
ZOE have not released a complete, up to date, data file so far this morning. The chart is based on yesterday’s data file. pic.twitter.com/WmOwHLX7FJ
— Gwladwr (@gwladwr) June 29, 2023
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine says ‘main event’ in counteroffensive still to come FT
Ukraine SitRep: Prigozhin Affair – Kramatorsk Missile Attack Moon of Alabama
21 Miles of Obstacles NYT. Reality dawns?
* * * Ukraine ‘peace summit’ talks make progress but long way to go, officials say Reuters but Russian calls on ‘responsible’ countries to refrain from participating in planned Ukraine peace summit Anadolu Agency
* * * Ukraine expects two results from NATO summits and accepts no compromise – President’s Office Ukrainska Pravda
* * * Prigozhin’s March on Moscow London Review of Books
Further thoughts on the lessons of the Prigozhin armed rebellion Gilbert Doctorow, Armageddon Newslettter
Vladimir Putin freezes out hardliners after Wagner mutiny FT
U.S. Levies New Sanctions on Wagner Group Foreign Policy
* * * The real casualties of Russia’s ‘civil war’: the Beltway expert class Max Blumenthal, The Grayzone
FSB spooked the CIA on Prigozhin coup Indian Punchline
* * * The Searcher Jeremy Scahill, The Intercept. Nord Stream.
Biden Administration
Will the Biggest Tech Merger of All Time Go Through? Matt Stoller, BIG
Biden admin drops Louisiana investigation that alleged black people lived amid higher cancer risks NBC
Spook Country
Meet The Secretive Surveillance Wizards Helping The FBI And ICE Wiretap Facebook And Google Users Forbes
Comey As You Are The Baffler Comey’s novel.
Digital Watch
Today’s AI is unreasonable Anil Dash:
Today’s highly-hyped generative AI systems (most famously OpenAI) are designed to generate bullshit by design. To be clear, bullshit can sometimes be useful, and even accidentally correct, but that doesn’t keep it from being bullshit. Worse, these systems are not meant to generate consistent bullshit — you can get different bullshit answers from the same prompts. You can put garbage in and get… bullshit out, but the same quality bullshit that you get from non-garbage inputs! And enthusiasts are current mistaking the fact that the bullshit is consistently wrapped in the same envelope as meaning that the bullshit inside is consistent, laundering the unreasonable-ness into appearing reasonable.
Now we have billions of dollars being invested into technologies where it is impossible to make falsifiable assertions. A system that you cannot debug through a logical, socratic process is a vulnerability that exploitative tech tycoons will use to do what they always do, undermine the vulnerable.
Supply Chain
Mining the Moon to lift off within ten years — NASA Mining.com
Sports Desk
Simone Biles Is Coming Back to Gymnastics Teen Vogue
Libertarian Squillionaire Titanic Submersible Darwin Award Winner
Presumed human remains found in Titan sub debris BBC
post from @hystericempress cohost. “OceanGate’s underengineered, undercooked, doomed submarine isn’t merely a metaphor for the hubris of the wealthy, it is a scale model of the way the wealthy dictate our reality.”
OceanGate and How the Wealthy Kill Margaret Kimberley, Black Agenda Report
Submersion Journalism Harpers
Navigating the Boundary Between Transparency and Discretion Grassroots Economic Organizing
Class Warfare
Europe’s Inflation Outlook Depends on How Corporate Profits Absorb Wage Gains International Monetary Fund. Handy chart:
UPS Teamsters say nationwide strike is ‘imminent’ if Friday deadline not met The Hill. Just give the workers what they want. Why is this hard?
The Localist Boston Review. The deck: “Why did Chicago become the headquarters of free market fundamentalism? Adam Smith offers a clue.”
Familiar tale of private equity and debt lands Instant Pot, Pyrex maker in bankruptcy Chicago Business Review
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote:
Monarch Butterly caterpillar forming its chrysalis pic.twitter.com/8oCMNQqkwQ
— LINK App ⚖️ (@MobileHelix) November 22, 2022
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
