Dear patient readers,
We are light at launch. Please return at 7:45 a.m. EDT for a full ration.
6-week-old boy died after family dog attacked him in crib, Tennessee family says 7ABC. Paul R: “Holy shit. I wonder if dogs also get covid and become aggressive.
ANALYZING CENTAURS, NYMPHS AND GODS: CARL JUNG AND FRIEDRICH CREUZER Antigone
As “bird flu” in cattle raises concerns about the safety of milk in the United States, scientists confirm that pasteurization effectively inactivates flu viruses. University of Glasgow (Paul R)
#COVID19
San Francisco, California, is on track to hit the highest level of wastewater of the entire pandemic at its largest wastewater treatment site. This is a major red flag and something we need to monitor. If I were the CDC, I would do additional variant sequencing there as soon as possible. pic.twitter.com/VrIHXu899d
– Data Report (@CovidDataReport) June 3, 2024
Excess mortality in Western countries since the COVID-19 pandemic BMJ (Paul R)
Covid vaccines may have helped fuel rise in excess deaths Telegraph
China?
US risks ‘forever’ trade war with China Bloomberg
China will retaliate if Europe raises electric vehicle prices Asia Times (Kevin W)
China ready to prevent Taiwan’s independence ‘by force’: defense minister Al Jazeera
Goodbye inhalers? Chinese trial offers potential asthma treatment in one shot Interesting engineering. Chuck L: “First insulin and now asthma. China is derailing the gravy trains of big pharmaceutical companies.”
India
Modi on route to election victory in India with weakened mandate Financial Times
South of the border
Peso falls as Claudia Sheinbaum wins Mexican presidency in landslide Financial Times
The next Mexican president will have to increase taxes to finance social programs Reuters (Robin K)
European disunity
ECB rate cut will be rare bright spot in struggling Eurozone Bloomberg
The French far right has a large lead over the Macronists in the European elections, according to pollsw The local section
On corpses for profit German foreign policy (Micael T)
Old Blighty
Keir Starmer to declare Labor Party ‘party of national security’ Goalkeeper (Kevin W)
“Politics, like business, can select for psychopathic traits”: https://t.co/J7qSuCpAzG https://t.co/LljcE6ifwE
– Chris Dillow (@CJFDillow) June 4, 2024
Energy bills will remain high due to delays at nuclear power plants The temperature
Gaza
To buy time, Biden will deposit the next $320 million directly into the ocean Babylon Bee (Chuck L)
* * * Tzipi Navon, ex-assistant to Netanyahu’s wife, dreamed of avenging nonexistent decapitated babies by skinning Palestinian activists alive, tearing out their nails, cutting off their genitals, cooking them and feeding them to captives.
“Save their tongues for last, so we can enjoy them… https://t.co/QgE7LsDUEj pic.twitter.com/gdXaIrZlqH
–Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) June 1, 2024
‘The new McCarthyism’: New York hospital fires nurse for sympathizing with Gaza mothers Antiwar.com
* * * Day 241 of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood: Israel contradicts Biden on ceasefire proposal Mondoweiss. I guess the Israeli government is trying to derail the deal while blaming Hamas. It won’t be easy. Mind you, the far right has no such scruples, but I’m not sure they have the numbers.
Arab foreign ministers say it is important to treat the US proposal on Gaza seriously and positively Arab News
Gaza ceasefire plan turns into deadly survival game BBC (Kevin W)
Alastair Crooke: How the West must change Judge Napolitano, YouTube. This is an important debate on the fact that the Saudi policy on Palestine, set by the king, cannot be changed until there is a new king, and that the current policy does not allow the type of deal with Israel that the United States keeps talking about.
Attacks, arrests, threats, censorship: the high risks linked to reporting on the Israel-Gaza war CPJ (BC)
Lebanese Hezbollah says it has struck Israeli bases as clashes intensify New Arabic
Protests in Gaza
What I saw – and learned – at a New York student protest for Palestine Corey Robin (friendly)
Queens College President Asked Police to Wait at Entrance Gates Lucy Komisar
October 7 survivors sue pro-Palestinian groups. But what is the goal? Al Jazeera (Kevin W)
A new not-so-cold war
Scholz must explain his change of course on the use of weapons against Russia (lawmaker) TASS (bottle)
US close to ‘fatal’ miscalculation, Moscow says RT
The new theory of Ukrainian victory is the same as the old one American Conservative (Kevin W)
Capable of first strike: why Russia is indifferent to damage to one or another ground radar installation Gilbert Doctorow
PJH sends:
Today I read a BlueSky tweet from Atte Harjanne, who is the leader of the Green Party parliamentary faction in the Finnish parliament. He published a blog on support for Ukraine, in which he stated (https://atteharjanne.fi/2024/06/03/tukea-ukrainalle-on-ryhdistettava/the Finnish original follows):
Third, we must prepare for Western troops to be sent to help Ukraine on the ground. Supporting Ukraine in this way is also fully consistent with the United Nations Charter. Western forces could act in Ukraine as trainers, as I already wrote in January, as technical and maintenance support, as aid in the air defense of civilian targets to combat Russian missiles and drones, or to protect the borders against Belarus or Transnistria. This would strengthen Ukraine’s ability to defend itself and free up Ukrainian troops on the front without Western and Russian forces meeting on the battlefield.
Such a deployment of troops should take place within the framework of the broadest possible cooperation between Western countries. If Finland were to participate, forces would be assembled in the same way as for crisis management operations.
EU DECEPTION, FRENCH BENEFIT FROM NEW GRAIN SANCTIONS AGAINST RUSSIA John Helmer
Note that the last story about a Zelensky purchase turned out to be false. So if it’s any other story, it suggests a concerted effort to smear him;
‼️♨️‼️Zelenskyj bought one of the largest casinos in Europe
Turkish media reports that Film Heritage Inc. has acquired the Vuni Palace hotel and casino located in Kyrenia, a town on the northern coast of Cyprus. Cinematographic heritage incl. registered in Belize and owned by Vladimir Zelenskiy… pic.twitter.com/nXxafU2RCI
– Peacemaker (@peacemaket71) June 3, 2024
Syria
Several people killed after Israeli airstrike on Aleppo in Syria TRT World
Imperial Collapse Watch
US withdrawal from the Middle East is long overdue Daniel Larison
The war in Ukraine tears away the veil on American military superiority Responsible State (Bill Bill)
F-35 will now top $2 trillion as military plans to fly it less GAO Blog (Bill Bill)
Deaf and blind: the illnesses of American diplomats ScheerPost (Micael T)
Asset
Buzz Kill: Trump’s Conviction Presents a Target-Rich Environment for Appeal Jonathan Turley
Rand Paul warns of ‘war in the streets’ following Trump verdict Modernity
What film will it be? James Howard Kunstler (Chuck L)
Why Trump continues to defy electoral gravity Fred Luntz, Financial Times
Biden
Biden avoids conflict at Democratic National Convention with Zoom nomination Washington Times
Will Biden’s new border restrictions influence voters? The hill
Jury is selected in Hunter Biden’s federal gun case, opening statements set for Tuesday Associated Press (Kevin W)
FirstEnergy, at the center of a corruption plot, could officially break the record this summer Cleveland (Carla R)
Our press is no longer free
How school shootings are changing the design of American classrooms Wall Street Journal (Dr. Kevin)
OPEC+ oil alliance extends collective crude production cuts until 2025 CNBC (Kevin W)
Extreme weather and Red Sea crisis drive up commodity prices Oil Price
Antitrust
Microsoft May Be About to Write a Big Check to Avoid Cloud Antitrust Complaint The register
Beak
Toyota apologizes for cheating in vehicle testing, halts production of three models Associated Press (Kevin W)
A commercial real estate crisis is hiding before our eyes The hill
Google may keep your phone if you send it in for repair with non-OEM parts Android Authority
Class struggle
CEOs earned nearly 200 times what their employees received last year Associated Press (Kevin W). Note that these measures underestimate CEO profits, so the ratio is even worse. Bill Lazonick and others have described the duration of the form.
French authorities continue to evict homeless people from Paris as Olympics approach Anadolu Agency
Antidote of the day. carycat: “An occasional visitor to my garden”:
See yesterday’s links and Antidote du Jour here.
