Relevance of COVID vaccine cards: https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/15/health/covid-vaccine-card-replacement-wellness/index.html . Personally, I have a photo on mine on my phone, and keep the card in a safe place. That might be inadequate for certain international travel, so check before you go.
China’s COVID transition killed 2 million: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-08-24/nearly-2-million-excess-deaths-followed-chinas-sudden-end-of-covid-curbs-study . As readers know, excess deaths are an excellent proxy for COVID deaths during the pandemic. This study suggests China had a minimum of 2 million COVID deaths when it terminated its Zero COVID policy, a vastly higher number than the Chinese admit to. Also, back in January 2023 when the transition was in progress, this newsletter estimated China’s death toll for the transition at 2.5 million. It appears we were right on …
Wild Rhesus monkeys at Florida Popeye’s: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wild-monkey-sightings-florida-prompts-warnings-officials-rcna101401 . So who ever thought that group of words would appear in a sentence, let alone as a fact? Also, these monkeys have tested positive for Herpes B, a rare infection that can kill you.
WSJ: Remote worker productivity: https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/the-growing-disconnect-between-remote-workers-and-their-companies-f7519676 . Much of this article is just babbling. Note the seventh paragraph, where 38% of those who work full- or part-time remotely are engaged, compared to 34% of in-office workers. This indicates that companies who make remote work comfortable for employees see productivity gains. That is the future.
WSJ: Another voice against a 3% inflation goal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-feds-pro-inflation-critics-are-off-target-2-percent-productivity-804e6446 . While I don’t agree with all of the details in this piece, I do agree that a 3% inflation target is a really bad idea for a number of reasons.
Maui County sues Hawaiian Electric: https://apnews.com/article/maui-hawaii-wildfires-electric-utility-c3513c2f8e451df6dab2e59a6c2f670d . Good ol’ America – this is our system. Regardless of exactly how the fire started, Hawaiian Electric was grossly negligent in its operations. As mentioned here over a week ago, Hawaiian Electric quickly began consideration of restructuring after this disaster. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/maui-alleges-hawaiian-electric-caused-lahaina-wildfire-d520f85a .
WSJ: Ukrainian counteroffensive inches along: https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/u-s-ukraine-clash-over-counteroffensive-strategy-cb5e4324 . We seriously screwed up by not training Ukrainian pilots in advance, so they would be ready for the delivery of F-16’s. The airpower is desperately needed right now.
Ukraine claims special forces landed in Crimea: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/europe/ukraine-crimea-operation-russia-intl/index.html . The article suggests that the target was a Russian support operation with sophisticated surveillance technology.
Prigozhin plane intentionally downed: https://apnews.com/article/russia-wagner-prigozhin-jet-crash-382515214f691e47daa2e3635d64e612 . Surely the plane was intentionally downed. It provided the opportunity to eliminate all of Wagner’s top leadership, so Putin can now gain command of their lucrative African operations. However, the bathroom bomb explosion theory seems odd. Why would another pilot do this, except on orders from Putin?
Also, there was considerable reporting yesterday claiming the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, including a video purporting to show a missile trail before impact. The downed plane lost a wing, but the fuselage was otherwise intact on the way down. On small jets, the bathroom is normally located in the rear of the plane. And why is there a video of this event? Who films small planes overhead?
Lastly, why were all of Wagner’s top leaders travelling together? This security risk makes absolutely no sense unless Putin had given private guarantees that they believed.
UPDATE: US sees no sign of missile launch in Prigozhin crash: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/politics/us-priogzhin-crash-assessment/index.html . So either this comes from examination of satellite photos, or the US has received reliable evidence from its Russian sources. WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/wagner-prigozhin-russia-assassinated-intelligence-3e456fab . Still more, on Prigozhin’s last days: https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/prigozhin-wagner-plane-crash-last-days-2c44dd5c .
FURTHER UPDATE: A list of Putin’s dead critics: https://news.yahoo.com/yevgeny-prigozhin-is-just-the-latest-a-list-of-putins-dead-critics-191021151.html . We have the Dead Poets Society. Russia is a little different.
WSJ: Russia’s increasing instability: https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/prigozhin-is-gone-but-the-causes-of-russias-growing-instability-persist-b944c2c .
WSJ: What’s wrong with China’s economy?: https://www.wsj.com/world/china/chinas-crisis-of-confidence-in-six-charts-8fd36f9f . Nice charts here, but the bottom line remains as we’ve stated previously: The Chinese are savers, and they are reducing debt in the face of the uncertainty ahead.
BRICS expands, but to what end?: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/brics-group-announces-new-members-including-iran-and-saudi-arabia/ar-AA1fI2dX?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=e3b5fc279cec45bdbde47026eb27f5e7&ei=21 . China dominates this group, and the addition of 6 new members to the existing 5 does not make any obvious sense. Originally, BRIC was a union of 4 large developing economies. China no longer fits that description, and its economy faces very serious long-term problems. So the 6 new members seem to shift the focus to politics, which is not in India’s best interests. Also, the international pariah status of Russia and Iran would seem to diminish the status of this group. More: https://apnews.com/article/brics-russia-china-summit-b5900168d165cc78b36d5d5c068b7a50 .
WSJ: Orange Julius indictments in charts: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/tracking-the-charges-in-trumps-indictments-112864a3 .
Georgia trial skirmishes start: https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4169484-fulton-county-da-seeks-oct-23-start-date-in-trump-georgia-trial-after-speedy-trial-request/ . There is, of course, more than meets the eye here. Chesebro’s request would be quite difficult to meet unless his case is severed from the others. Willis’ response demonstrates her priority is to try everyone together, which the court will be inclined to agree with. This exchange puts pressure on OJ’s strategy of delay. It also makes Willis’ original trial date suggestion of March 4 look that much more reasonable, especially in light of speedy trial requirements. Chesebro and his attorneys presumably analyze this matter in the same way.
OJ replaces top Georgia lawyer on his legal defense team: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/24/politics/trump-georgia-lawyer/index.html . Mr. Sadow initially seems to be more qualified than most of the attorneys working on OJ’s defense. I suspect he is there to obtain trial delays.
OJ’s booking photo: https://apnews.com/article/trump-atlanta-indictment-republican-primary-7f4e9860859fbb71221b6a5163aaa42f . He’ll still be Orange Julius to this newsletter, but everywhere else he’ll be known as former president Grump. OJ is just too stupid to realize this is now his legacy photo, at least until we see him in an Orange Jumpsuit. Meanwhile, the Journal sees a “furrowed brow”: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/donald-trump-to-turn-himself-in-at-fulton-county-jail-in-georgia-aa43b825 .
So far, 12 of the 19 have surrendered: https://www.msnbc.com/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/georgia-election-case-trump-mug-shot-rudy-giuliani-jenna-ellis-powell-rcna101610 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/style/fashion/trump-allies-learn-the-art-of-the-mug-shot-one-flag-pin-and-lipstick-at-a-time-b5e45ad .
WSJ: Emperor penguin colonies have catastrophic breeding season: https://www.wsj.com/science/environment/emperor-penguin-colonies-collapse-d7e2c52f .