The Stuttering Lede, Vol. VI
“To recommend thrift to the poor is both grotesque and insulting. It is like advising a man who is starving to eat less.” -Oscar Wilde
Today in History
On August 30th, 1967, Thurgood Marshall became the first African American to be confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice.
Gabriel, an African American bondsman, assembled an army of about 1,000 enslaved people outside Richmond, Virginia, in the first major slave rebellion in U.S. history; government thwarted the revolt, and Gabriel and others were executed.
2024 Elections
Utah Governor apologizes for campaigning with photo from Trump's cemetery visit. Perhaps there is one decent Republican left… nah, the dude was with Trump.
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Francis Scott Key estate sends cease-and-desist to Trump for playing ‘Star-Spangled Banner’ at rally. Okay, okay, this is from The Onion but tell me you didn't think it was true for a second!
Allegedly Trump pushes GOP to shut down government just weeks before 2024 election.
What's wrong with the fact checkers? “Nitpick Harris to death if you must, but stop treating convicted felon, adjudicated rapist, and indicted coup plotter Trump like a traditional candidate rather than an existential threat to democracy. (Fact check: no exaggeration).” Stephen Robinson
This ridiculous factcheck dings Harris for saying the CTC cut child poverty by ‘over 50%’ in Biden’s first year in office, when it was actually… wait for it… 46%. It then dings her for not extending the CTC - when that was blocked by the GOP in Congress.
He’s just a willing pawn of far right-wing sources. Just look at his lawyer, John Bursch. He was the one that filed the case to invalidate affirmative action in Michigan.
Chris Hayes is right: “It is a *little* weird that "age concerns" have disappeared as a constant focus of campaign reporting and discussion even though the GOP nominee would be the oldest man ever sworn in to the office and is very obviously sharply declining before our eyes.”
Trump got confused, thought he could vote in Florida to add a few more weeks to Florida's six week abortion ban. (not how it works). Then campaign put out statement that he still supports six week ban.
One of the smartest and most evil things Republicans ever did was convince a third of America that having a Democrat as president means we're in a depression. Makes these metrics right-wing propaganda at best.
Missouri voters this month approved a ballot measure that requires that Kansas City, and only Kansas City, spend a large chunk of its budget on policing. “Why should the state get to vote on what happens to our city tax dollars?”
Climate Crisis
A heat index of 180°F (82.2°C) and a dew point of 97°F (36.1°C) were recorded in southern Iran yesterday. If these readings are confirmed this would be the highest heat index and dew point ever recorded on Earth.
Climate scientists confirm global crop yields will start to drop dramatically by 2025-2034.
Best-case scenario for climate change is now 1.6°C of warming.
General Politics
The New Anti-Dreyfusards: Zionism and State Antisemitism in the West.
Working class is now a political caste. Who describes themselves as 'working class'? A 59% majority of upper income Republicans say that phrase describes them extremely or very well vs 33% of upper income Democrats.
The reality of Americans’ experiences with local crime news pet Pew Research.
The United States' longest war is over. But not for everyone. Since the U.S. left Kabul, hundreds of Americans have been trying to help Afghans left behind. Many are still haunted by the people they could not save.
You can see every white person as a “settler,” or you can believe in universalistic “hereness.” You can lean into culture war, or you can try to realign our politics around the class war. Bluntly: You can be a socialist, or you can be a liberal. But pick. Review of Naomi Klein’s Doppelganger.
The German government have started deportations to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, with the 28 deportees each given €1000.
Secret donors are forcing states to take cash from schools & other public programs & give it to those donors — who won’t reveal their identities Legislators are negotiating with right-wing operatives paid by anonymous oligarchs.
We know Covid is associated with a higher subsequent rate of autoimmune diseases. A new report from >1.7 million Singaporean adults concludes "Booster vaccination appeared to mitigate the risk of long-term autoimmune sequelae."
New report : Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) & Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have executed & tortured detainees & filmed themselves doing so. SAF also mutilated bodies. These war crimes should be investigated, those responsible face consequences.
The war in Sudan has received a fraction of the attention given to Gaza and Ukraine. Yet it threatens to be deadlier than either conflict. It is possible to save millions of lives, if the world acts now.
A cold examination of the numbers killed in the Gaza Strip reveals this is one of the bloodiest wars since the beginning of the century, especially if you examine the rate of mortality out of the total population.
Israel's brave war on unarmed aid convoys and UN humanitarian staff continues: five strikes so far this week...
An Israeli commander says his unit killed "6,000 terrorists" in Gaza. When asked "How do you identify who is a terrorist?" He answered: "whoever did not flee, even if he was unarmed, as far as we were concerned, was a terrorist."
Tech
Why is Pavel Durov dubbed in Moscow “the chief signals officer of the Russian armed forces?” Yaroslav Trofimov explains the critical role that Telegram has come to play for the Russian military and security services — and why Durov’e arrest in France has sparked such an outcry within the Russian establishment, despite all the acrimony over his departure from Russia in 2014.
Due to non-compliance with Brazil's laws, the Supreme Court has ordered the national telecommunications agency to block X here in it's 6th largest market. It is expected to be down within 24 hours.
Hope, fear and the internet: Unpacking Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s mysterious arrest.
Some of the most prominent figures in Silicon Valley are eagerly supporting Donald Trump’s campaign. This shift is “indicative of some segments of Silicon Valley returning to their roots.” Well yeah, what a shocker!
From accidents to deliberate attacks: oil spills can cause serious environmental damage. Identification and tracking them is needed for rapid response and accountability. @bellingcat on using satellite imagery in doing just that.
Russia
Ryan Evans, a reporter for Reuters was killed in Ukraine by a targeted Russian strike. Yet crickets from the free speech brigade.
Looking at the history of Russia's imperialism: the remorseless expansion of the Continental Empire, the overseas colony in Alaska, the interesting smaller episodes of dabbling in Africa - and the differences with Soviet imperialism.
Russia pulling another PMC from Africa to help stabilize Kursk defense.
On Kursk, fortifications and the crumbling lines around Pokrovsk.
The West underestimates Moscow, according to Keir Giles. In ‘Who Will Defend Europe’ he raises the question if Europe is able to resist the Russian threat. Russia will not win militarily, but can win politically.
After the threat of secondary sanctions, billions of yuan in Russia-China transactions got stuck. Regional banks have stepped in, but the paperwork is excessive. In addition, transaction costs have risen to as much as 6% of payments, up from near zero.
Very important piece by Jana Puglierin and Claud Major on how the West is sleepwalking into Ukraine defeat after election. They lay out strategy to reframe security debate to prevent Kyiv from being forced to settle on Russian terms.
Chechnya’s Kadyrov goes full Trump: ‘Doctors say I have the body of a young guy.’
The latest estimates suggest that roughly 2% of all Russian men aged between 20 and 50 may have been either killed or severely wounded in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war.
“It's a disease. Nobody thinks or feels or cares any more; nobody gets excited or believes in anything except their own comfortable little God damn mediocrity."
Richard Yates
