Readers, we have now entered one of our two yearly comments holidays, beginning today and continuing through and including Sunday September 9.
Typhoon Jebi leaves a trail of death and destruction in Japan SCMP
Wheat genome unravelled: can help in dealing with climate change Mongabay
A reliable credit-card skimmer detector: a card that detects multiple read heads Boing Boing (Dan K)
Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (UserFriendly)
Who Needs Dishes When You Can Serve Soup in a Stiletto WSJ (BC)
Scientists have invented a way to create ‘unlimited renewable energy’
Daily Mail (David L)
Interactive maps show where streetcars used to go in San Francisco, Oakland San Francisco Chronicle. The Bay Area’s Lost Streetcars CC: “The first link is a story from SFGate. The second is the interactive map. What fun! I lived in the city in the early 70’s and found a picture of an N line street car in my old neighborhood with my favorite pizza parlor in the background.”
87 elephants found dead in Botswana sanctuary, poaching to blame Nation of Change (furzy)
Get ready for atomic radio MIT Technology Review (David L)
Chemically Induced Frankenstein-Humans Counterpunch (EA)
Highest levels of viruses at airports found in plastic security trays, study reveals ITV (The Rev Kev)
Class Warfare
To Fund Trauma Centers, Texas Sinks Drivers Into Debt Governing.com. UserFriendly: “god, Texas is evil.”
Why so little has changed since the financial crash FT (David L)
Blood-Testing Firm Theranos to Dissolve WSJ
Soaring bankruptcy rates signal a ‘coming storm of broke elderly,’ study finds ABC (Dr. Kevin)
While Feds Loosen Payday Loan Regulations, Colorado Voters Could Clamp Down Governing.com. UserFriendly: “Keep it classy FL.’
Secular Stagnation Revisited Project Syndicate (David L)
Fully Autonomous Cargo Ships Face Enormous Challenges Wolf Street. EM: “Excellent detailed rundown on the various projects underway in a crucial transport segment which in contrast to cars does not have the added complications of road conditions/closures, bumper-to-bumper traffic, pedestrians and cyclists. If full autonomy faces ‘enormous challenges’ here, that says much about the prospects of same for automobiles.”
Automakers Take Note: Americans Are Changing How They Commute to Work Wolf Street (EM)
Google Heads Into Showdown With Congress After Witness Is Rejected Bloomberg (David L)
2018 Elections
Neo-Nazi Robocall Targets Black Candidate for Florida Governor Governing.com (UserFriendly)
Why North Carolina Democrats should fight gerrymandering using state law WaPo (UserFriendly)
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says he won’t run for re-election next year Chicago Tribune
Arizona Governor Appoints a Former Senator to McCain’s Job Governing.com (UserFriendly)
Disappointment Shadows Jerry Brown’s Climate Legacy in California Climate Liability News
China?
It’s Africa’s choice: AFRICOM or the New Silk Roads Asia Times. Pepe Escobar.
India
1 DEAD, MANY TRAPPED AS KOLKATA BRIDGE CAVES IN The Pioneer
Indo-US 2+2 Dialogue: Countless Thorny Issues on the Table The Wire
Villagers in Bhutan and India come together to share river The Third Pole
Syraqistan
Syria – UN, U.S. Try To Delay Idlib’s Liberation Moon of Alabama. UserFriendly: “If you read the mentioned NYT op-ed closely they admit that Al Nusra is Al Qaeda and they are the only fighters left for the rebels; while arguing that they have been good for the locals, lol.”
Trump Will Chair UN Security Council Meeting on Iran AntiWar.com (The Rev Kev). Can’t wait to see this.
Psychic Nikki Haley: If There Is A Future Chemical Weapons Attack, Assad Did It Caitlin Johnstone (UserFriendly)
Trump ‘wanted Assad assassinated’: key claims in Bob Woodward’s book Guardian (The Rev Kev)
Brexit
If the Troubles return after Brexit, it won’t just be because of the Irish border issue Independent. Patrick Cockburn.
Brexit: the delusions multiply EUReferendum.com
Government’s Brexit ‘incompetence’ condemned by former Bank of England governor Mervyn King Independent
Puerto Rico
The Biggest Trump Scandal So Far Jacobin
Trump Transition
A Note about “Our Backyard”: Advice that Thomas Shannon Might Give to Mike Pompeo The Real News Network From last month, still germane. User Friendly: “This is wonderful summary of our meddling in LA.”
IRS Moves to Block Blue States From Getting Around GOP Limits on Tax Deductions Governing.com (UserFriendly)
No Kavanaugh: SCOTUS Has Enough Executive Branch Creatures American Conservative
How Rudy Giuliani Turned Into Trump’s Clown New Yorker (furzy)
What Brett Kavanaugh Means for States Governing.com (UserFriendly)
The Chaos That Brett Kavanaugh Has Unleashed The Nation
Bob Woodward’s new book reveals a ‘nervous breakdown’ of Trump’s presidency WaPo (furzy)
Antidote du Jour:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here
