Baltic Dry Index. 4147 +55 Brent Crude 68.96
Spot Gold 1801
Coronavirus Cases 02/04/20 World 1,000,000
Deaths 53,100
Coronavirus Cases 24/08/21 World 213,335,881
Deaths 4,453,954
The Great Game
"The Great Game" was a political and diplomatic confrontation that existed for most of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century between the British Empire and the Russian Empire, over Afghanistan and neighbouring territories in Central and South Asia. It also had direct consequences in Persia and British India.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Game
The modern version of The Great Game pitted Russia v America and its proxies led by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. Result: American win allowing the Taliban to take over in 1996.
The current version started in 2001, pitting the USA and its allies v the Taliban. Result: Taliban win allowing the Taliban to take over in 2021.
The new version of The Great Game is just about to get underway with new players, plus some old players. Probable start date, September 1, 2021.
In our ever more bizarre stock mania world, the widely anticipated full approval of the Pfizer vaccine by the US Food and Drug Administration, set off a global wave of euphoric speculation. Excellent!
As per yesterday’s LIR suggesting it’s time to exit stocks, this allows any speculators exiting stocks or merely scaling back to a defensive position, to be exiting at the top.
Below, the latest from the stock casinos. Everyone’s betting on black. I see red ahead, although never short individual stocks. If wanting a contrary stock casino play, use put options or synthetic put options if they’re cheaper than outright puts.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumps nearly 2% as optimism rises on Pfizer vaccine approval
SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific rose in Tuesday trade, after the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite jumped to a record closing high following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s full approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 1.56% by the afternoon as shares of Chinese tech firms listed in the city jumped: internet titan Tencent rose 4.56% while Meituan soared more than 9% and Alibaba advanced 5%. The Hang Seng Tech index gained 4.52%.
Meanwhile, automaker BYD’s semiconductor business was among 40 IPOs which were suspended as China’s bourses investigate intermediaries in those deals. Still, shares of BYD in Hong Kong were up 2.13% by Tuesday afternoon in the city.
Mainland Chinese stocks were higher as the Shanghai composite rose 1% while the Shenzhen component advanced 0.856%.
Reuters reported that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has began issuing new disclosure requirements to Chinese firms looking to list in New York, as part of a push to raise investor awareness of the risks involved.
The Nikkei 225 in Japan gained 1.03%, as shares of conglomerate Softbank Group surged about 2%. The Topix index advanced 1.11%. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 1.44%.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged 0.33% higher.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.31%.
Overnight on Wall Street, the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.55% to 14,942.65 — a record closing high. The S&P 500 advanced 0.85% to 4,479.53 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 215.63 points to 35,335.71.
Those gains stateside came as Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine became the first in the U.S. on Monday to be granted full approval by the Food and Drug Administration, clearing the path for more vaccine mandates.
More
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/24/asia-markets-pfizer-covid-vaccine-fda-approval-currencies-oil.html
SEC gives Chinese companies new requirements for U.S. IPO disclosures
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has started to issue new disclosure requirements to Chinese companies seeking to list in New York as part of a push to boost investor awareness of the risks involved, according to a document reviewed by Reuters and people familiar with the matter.
Some Chinese companies have now started to receive detailed instructions from the SEC about greater disclosure of their use of offshore vehicles known as variable interest entities (VIEs) for IPOs; implications for investors and the risk that Chinese authorities will interfere with company operations.
Last month, SEC Chair Gary Gensler asked for a “pause” in U.S. initial public offerings (IPOs) of Chinese companies and sought more transparency about these issues. Chinese listings in the United States came to a standstill after the SEC freeze. In the first seven months of 2020, such listings reached a record $12.8 billion, as Chinese companies capitalized on the soaring U.S. stock market.
“Please describe how this type of corporate structure may affect investors and the value of their investment, including how and why the contractual arrangements may be less effective than direct ownership, and that the company may incur substantial costs to enforce the terms of the arrangements,” said one SEC letter seen by Reuters.
The SEC has also asked Chinese companies for a disclosure that “investors may never directly hold equity interests in the Chinese operating company,” according to the letter. Many Chinese VIEs are incorporated in tax havens such as the Cayman Islands. Gensler has said there are too many questions about how money flows through these entities.
“Refrain from using terms such as ‘we’ or ‘our’ when describing activities or functions of a VIE,” the letter stated.
An SEC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Up next, the real story. President Biden having just lost, “The Great Game” is resuming with new players. But will President Biden attempt to double down by remaining in Kabul after August 31?
Cover Story: How the Taliban’s Return Shakes Up Central Asia
By Lu Kejia, Wang Zili and Lu Wen Aug 24, 2021 06:05 AM
Because of Afghanistan’s geographic location, the situation there always has far-reaching implications. With the accelerated withdrawal of the United States and other foreign troops and the Taliban’s lightning offensive to take over most of the country, Afghanistan’s neighbors including China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan and India have all started making moves, reshaping the region’s geopolitical landscape.
In late July during the Taliban’s advance through Afghanistan, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met in Tianjin with a delegation led by Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, the head of the Afghan Taliban Political Commission. Wang said at the meeting that the Taliban are “an important military and political force in Afghanistan” and is expected to “play an important role in the country’s peace, reconciliation and reconstruction process.”
Photos of Wang in a dark suit and Baradar in a white robe and black turban in a magnificent reception hall quickly spread across global media and social networks.
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Taliban warn failure to withdraw US forces by ‘red line’ date will ‘provoke a reaction’
By Mark Moore August 23, 2021 10:34am
The Taliban are warning President Biden that extending the Aug. 31 deadline to withdraw US forces from Afghanistan as the administration struggles to evacuate American citizens and Afghan allies from the country would bring “consequences.”
“It’s a red line. President Biden announced that on Aug. 31 they would withdraw all their military forces. So if they extend it, that means they are extending occupation while there is no need for that,” Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen told Sky News.
“If the US or UK were to seek additional time to continue evacuations — the answer is no. Or there would be consequences,” he said, adding that extending the deadline would “create mistrust between us.”
Prolonging the “occupation,” he said, will “provoke a reaction.”
Biden, speaking at the White House on Sunday, said he has had discussions about allowing the US to remain past Aug. 31 to continue to provide security at Hamid Karzai International Airport outside Kabul as the evacuations continue.
“There’s discussions going on among us and the military about extending. Our hope is we will not have to extend, but there are going to be discussions, I suspect, on how far along we are in the process,” the president said.
He said he would raise the topic with leaders of the G-7 countries when he meets virtually with them Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Rep. Michael McCaul, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the US is without intelligence in Afghanistan outside the Kabul airport, handing a win to the Taliban, Russia, China and Iran.
More
https://nypost.com/2021/08/23/taliban-warns-aug-31-is-a-red-line-for-withdrawing-us-forces/
Finally, after that US-NATO Afghanistan disaster, is the world balance already in flux?
Israel and Afghanistan. Did the USA give Israeli forces a role?
Singapore PM Says US Image in Question During Press Conference With Kamala Harris
Aug 23rd, 2021, 5:16 pm
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during a Sunday press conference with Vice President Kamala Harris that he believed after America’s “awry” withdrawal of troops led to the fall of Afghanistan, global perceptions of our image would be determined in the days ahead.
“What will influence perceptions of U.S. resolve and commitment to the region will be what the U.S. does going forward: how it repositions itself in the region, how it engages its broad range of friends and partners and allies in the region, and how it continues the fight against terrorism,” Lee said. “Countries make calculations and take positions, and they have to make recalculations and adjust their positions from time to time. Sometimes it can be done smoothly. Sometimes there are hiccups. Sometimes things go awry and take time to put right.”
He made the comment in response to a reporter’s question about how Singapore would “work with the United States as it completes its mission in Afghanistan.”
The reporter also asked Harris what the U.S. message was to its partners. Harris spoke directly after Lee, but didn’t directly address the question. “The reason I am here is because the United States is a global leader, and we take that role seriously,” Harris said.
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Iraq seeks role as mediator with regional summit
Issued on: 23/08/2021 - 11:38
After decades of conflict, Iraq will pitch itself as a regional mediator as it hosts a leaders' summit this week -- despite foreign influence on its territory and a grinding financial crisis.
The meeting in Baghdad on Saturday seeks to give Iraq a "unifying role" to tackle the crises shaking the region, according to sources close to Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II have said they plan to attend, as has French President Emmanuel Macron, the only official expected from outside the region.
Leaders from Iran, Saudi Arabia and Turkey have also been invited.
Kadhemi came to power in May last year after months of unprecedented mass protests against a ruling class seen as corrupt, inept and subordinate to Tehran.
The new premier had served as the head of Iraq's National Intelligence Service for nearly four years, forming close ties to Tehran, Washington and Riyadh.
His appointment prompted speculation he could serve as a rare mediator among the capitals.
"In the past, under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was a state that was feared and despised in the region and everyone saw it as a threat," said Iraqi political expert Marsin Alshamary.
After the 2003 US-led invasion, it became "a weak state", prone to external influences and meddling.
But Saturday's summit, she said, could be "a positive thing for Iraq".
Renad Mansour of Chatham House said the aim was to transform Iraq from "a country of messengers to a country that is leading negotiations".
Organisers have been tight-lipped on the meeting's agenda.
But Baghdad has already hosted closed-door encounters in recent months between Tehran and US ally Riyadh.
The powerful regional arch-rivals had broken off ties in 2016.
If confirmed, the presence of Iranian and Saudi officials this weekend would be notable in itself.
Iraq, for its part, has been caught for years in a delicate balancing act between its two main allies Iran and the United States.
---- Turkey is another regional power with an outsized presence in Iraq.
Ankara regularly targets Iraq's northwest in operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist organisation.
The Kurdish separatists, who have waged a decades-long insurgency against Ankara, have bases in the rugged mountains on the Iraqi side of the border.
The Turkish operations, have sometimes killed civilians and have irked Baghdad, but it remains reluctant to alienate a vital trading partner.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been invited to Saturday's conference, though his attendance has not yet been confirmed.
By convening the summit, Kadhemi is also taking a gamble on the domestic front, less than two months before general elections.
Though he is not facing re-election himself, he will have much at stake.
"There will be another coalition government and the different parties will have to settle on a compromise prime minister," Alshamary said.
Iraq, long plagued by endemic corruption, poor services, dilapidated infrastructure and unemployment, is facing a deep financial crisis compounded by lower oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic.
More
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210823-iraq-seeks-role-as-mediator-with-regional-summit
Israeli weapons were used extensively in Afghanistan
From drones to missiles and armored vehicles, Israeli-made weapons systems helped coalition forces against Taliban fighters
By ANNA AHRONHEIM AUGUST 23, 2021 15:39
As Western forces leave Afghanistan, Israeli weapons systems will no longer hunt Taliban fighters.
Though Israeli troops have never been on the ground in the war-torn central Asian country, numerous coalition nations used Israeli systems during the 20 years of fighting against the radical jihadist group.
While many Israeli defense companies have stayed mum on the use of their products in Afghanistan, according to multiple reports, including in The Jerusalem Post, countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Australia used their products for years.
Numerous countries used remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) to collect intelligence, and Israeli-made SPIKE missiles were used in battle. Troops were also able to drive around safely in high-intensity areas in Israeli-made MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) military light tactical vehicles.
One of the main Israeli weapons systems used by foreign militaries in Afghanistan was drones.
Foreign reports state that Israel is considered a leading exporter of drones and has sold such systems to numerous countries around the globe, including Australia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea.
The German Air Force began operating the Heron TP, manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), in Afghanistan in 2010. They were involved in thousands of missions, logging thousands of flight hours.
---- But it wasn’t only the Heron that was flying in Afghanistan’s skies.
SINCE 2005 in Afghanistan, the Australian Army has also flown the Skylark 1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufactured by Elbit systems.
The Skylark measures seven and a half feet and is used by troops for tactical surveillance and close-range counter-terror missions. It can be launched by one or two soldiers and operated on the roof of buildings or in the back of armored personnel carriers, providing live video to operators once airborne.
With a range of 10-15 km., the mini-UAV has an exceptionally quiet electric motor and outstanding observation capabilities giving troops beyond-line-of-sight intelligence, enhancing their performance in various mission scenarios.
---- And according to some reports, it wasn’t only Israeli weapons systems in Afghanistan.
Though Israel does not comment on foreign reports, Iranian media reported in 2019 that troops were sent to Afghanistan to collect intelligence on Iranian military movement.
According to Iran’s Tasnim news agency, Israeli troops operated out of a United States Air Force base in Shindand in the western Afghanistan province of Herat some 75 km. from the Iranian border and were collecting intelligence on Iranian movement around the Persian Gulf region.
Russia’s Sputnik News stated at the time that the Israelis were operating “under the flags of the United States and the United Arab Emirates.”
More
https://www.jpost.com/international/israeli-weapons-were-used-extensively-in-afghanistan-677485
Global Inflation Watch.
Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation now needs an entire section of its own.
Euro zone business activity remains robust in August as jobs boom
Published Mon, Aug 23 2021 4:03 AM EDT
LONDON — The euro zone economy lost some momentum in August but is still on track for solid growth in the third quarter of this year, according to preliminary data released Monday.
IHS Markit’s flash composite PMI for the euro zone, which looks at activity across both manufacturing and services, hit a two-month low of 59.5 in August versus 60.2 in July. A reading above 50 represents an expansion in economic activity.
“Encouragement comes from a second month of job creation at the strongest for 21 years, which reflects efforts by firms to boost operating capacity and meet demand, which should ultimately further help bring price pressures down,” Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said in a statement.
The latest business activity data come as many consumers in the region enjoy the lifting of Covid-related restrictions, which has boosted the economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic.
Growth estimates last month showed that the euro area had bounced back from a technical recession (defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction) by growing by 2% in the second quarter of this year.
These data releases are important as the European Central Bank is due to meet next month and some of its members are pushing for talks on reducing some of the ongoing stimulus.
There are, however, some concerns about supply chain issues and higher inflation.
“The concern is that we are seeing some upward movement on wage growth as a result of the job market gain, which could feed through to higher inflation, and supply delays from Asia in particular look likely to persist for some time to come,” Williamson added.
More
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/23/euro-zone-pmis-august-2021-coronavirus-summer-travel.html
Below, why a “green energy” economy may not be possible anyway, and if it is, it won’t be quick and it will be very inflationary, setting off a new long-term commodity Supercycle. Probably the largest seen so far.
The “New Energy Economy”: An Exercise in Magical Thinking
https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/R-0319-MM.pdf
Mines, Minerals, and "Green" Energy: A Reality Check
https://www.manhattan-institute.org/mines-minerals-and-green-energy-reality-check
by Tyler Durden Monday, Aug 02, 2021 - 08:40 PM
Covid-19 Corner
This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.
New Zealand reports highest jump in Covid-19 cases since April 2020
New Zealand on Tuesday recorded its highest increase in Covid-19 cases since April 2020, but authorities said the numbers were not rising exponentially and the majority of the cases were still centered in Auckland where the recent outbreak started.
The South Pacific nation’s virus-free run since February ended last week after an outbreak of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus erupted in Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city, and quickly spread to the capital Wellington.
Authorities reported 41 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the total number of infections in the country to 148, the Director General of Health Chief Ashley Bloomfield said at a news conference. That is the most new cases since April 2020, according to a graphic on the Ministry of Health website.
Of the new cases, 38 are in Auckland and three are in Wellington.
“It is reassuring that we are not seeing an exponential increase,” Bloomfield said, adding that with most cases being reported in Auckland, it indicated infections were not widespread.
However, the health ministry said in a statement later on Tuesday that it would not be unexpected to see a rise in daily case numbers at this stage of the outbreak and at its peak last year New Zealand had a daily total of 89 new cases.
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“Game-changing” antibody cocktail prevents COVID-19 in the chronically ill
Rich Haridy August 22, 2021
A new monoclonal antibody treatment has been found to protect chronically ill adults from developing COVID-19. The Phase 3 trial results suggest the novel antibody cocktail, delivered by intramuscular injection, could offer up to 12 months protection.
Antibodies are like our immune system’s front-line soldiers. They constantly circulate around a body, on the hunt for whatever specific pathogen they have been trained to target.
In early 2020 researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center homed in on a handful of particularly potent antibodies, isolated from some of the earliest detected COVID-19 patients. The antibodies were subsequently licensed by pharma company AstraZeneca and turned into monoclonal antibody treatments designed to prevent symptomatic COVID-19 infections.
The new treatment has been dubbed AZD7442 and the latest clinical trial results announced by AstraZeneca indicate it could play an important role in helping protect the most vulnerable from severe COVID-19.
The company’s recent announcement details results from a trial called Provent, which commenced in late 2020. The trial enrolled over 5,000 subjects, focusing on those most at risk of severe COVID-19 either due to chronic pre-existing illness or at risk of a weak response to vaccination due to being immunocompromised.
The newly announced results come from a primary analysis of the recently completed trial and are yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a journal. Over the course of a six-month follow-up period the trial saw no cases of severe COVID-19 or death in those patients receiving AZD7442. This compares to the placebo group that saw three severe COVID-19 cases, two of which led to death.
Overall, AstraZeneca indicates there were 25 symptomatic COVID-19 cases detected in the total trial cohort. AZD7442 was found to reduce a chronically ill person’s risk of symptomatic COVID-19 by 77 percent.
Provent is not the only clinical trial testing AZD7442, but it is the first to deliver promisingly positive data. Another trial, dubbed Storm Chaser, recently failed to meet its primary endpoint.
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COVID: What we know about the new Delta strain could lock Israel down
What do we know about AY3 and could it really be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and sends Israel into a lockdown?
By ROSSELLA TERCATIN AUGUST 22, 2021 20:27
A senior health official warned last week that a new strain of the Delta variant could force Israel into a lockdown.
“If it reaches Israel, we will get to the lockdown that we so desperately want to avoid,” Health Ministry Department of International Relations Director Dr. Asher Shalmon told the Knesset Law and Constitution Committee, referring to AY3, which is believed to have originated in South America and was first detected in the US.
Just two days later, the ministry announced that 10 cases of AY3 had been identified in Israel, eight among people who had recently returned from abroad and two who appear to have become infected in the country.
What do we know about AY3 and could it really be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and sends Israel into another lockdown?
“AY3 is a subtype of the Delta variant, which falls under the category of what we have called the Delta-Plus variants,” Prof. Cyrille Cohen, head of the immunotherapy laboratory at Bar-Ilan University, said. “All of them present a mutation called 417, which is suspected to help the variant to escape antibodies.”
All viruses tend to constantly mutate. While most mutations have no consequences, a cluster of mutations can engender a new variant, and the virus may create a different protein as a consequence. In the case of the coronavirus, the key protein to consider is the spike protein, which is found on the surface of the virus and allows it to penetrate host cells and cause infections.
Variants are a concern when they increase the transmissibility of the virus, as they tend to elicit more serious symptoms or appear to be more resistant to antibodies.
“We saw that as of May the strain was almost non-existent in the US and now it represents around 13% of all cases in the whole country, and in some individual states like Mississippi and Missouri, as many as 43%-45% of the cases,” Cohen noted.
Asked whether he thinks that the variant has reached Israel and the country is more at risk of a lockdown, the professor said he doesn’t think we have reached that point yet.
“We have to follow what happens closely and see if it will become prevalent in Israel,” he said. “With the original Delta we were in a similar situation: It was already in Israel in April, but it remained dormant until suddenly cases started to go up in June,” he said.
“We saw that as of May the strain was almost non-existent in the US and now it represents around 13% of all cases in the whole country, and in some individual states like Mississippi and Missouri, as many as 43%-45% of the cases,” Cohen noted.
Asked whether he thinks that the variant has reached Israel and the country is more at risk of a lockdown, the professor said he doesn’t think we have reached that point yet.
“We have to follow what happens closely and see if it will become prevalent in Israel,” he said. “With the original Delta we were in a similar situation: It was already in Israel in April, but it remained dormant until suddenly cases started to go up in June,” he said.
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The Vaccinated Are Worried and Scientists Don’t Have Answers
Kristen V. Brown and Rebecca Torrence August 22, 2021
Anecdotes tell us what the data can’t: Vaccinated people appear to be getting the coronavirus at a surprisingly high rate. But exactly how often isn’t clear, nor is it certain how likely they are to spread the virus to others.
Though it is evident vaccination still provides powerful protection against the virus, there’s growing concern that vaccinated people may be more vulnerable to serious illness than previously thought.
There’s a dearth of scientific studies with concrete answers, leaving public policy makers and corporate executives to formulate plans based on fragmented information. While some are renewing mask mandates or delaying office reopenings, others cite the lack of clarity to justify staying the course. It can all feel like a mess.
“We have to be humble about what we do know and what we don’t know,” said Tom Frieden, a former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the head of the nonprofit Resolve to Save Lives. “There are a few things we can say definitively. One is that this is a hard question to address.”
----In lieu of answers, what has emerged is a host of case studies providing somewhat different pictures of breakthrough infections. Variables including when the surveys were conducted, whether the delta variant was present, how much of the population was vaccinated and even what the weather was like at the time make it hard to compare results and suss out patterns. It’s difficult to know which data might ultimately carry more heft.
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Next, some vaccine links kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada. The links come from a most informative update from Stanford Hospital in California.
World Health Organization - Landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines
NY Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html
Stanford Website. https://racetoacure.stanford.edu/clinical-trials/132
Regulatory Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker. https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker
Some other useful Covid links.
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource centre
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
Rt Covid-19
Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
The Spectator Covid-19 data tracker (UK)
https://data.spectator.co.uk/city/national
Technology Update.
With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.
World's biggest wind turbine shows the disproportionate power of scale
Loz Blain August 22, 2021
China's MingYang Smart Energy has announced an offshore wind turbine even bigger than GE's monstrous Haliade-X. The MySE 16.0-242 is a 16-megawatt, 242-meter-tall (794-ft) behemoth capable of powering 20,000 homes per unit over a 25-year service life.
The stats on these renewable-energy colossi are getting pretty crazy. When MingYang's new turbine first spins up in prototype form next year, its three 118-m (387-ft) blades will sweep a 46,000-sq-m (495,140-sq-ft) area bigger than six soccer fields.
Every year, each one expected to generate 80 GWh of electricity. That's 45 percent more than the company's MySE 11.0-203, from just a 19 percent increase in diameter and swept area. No wonder these things keep getting bigger; the bigger they get, the better they seem to work, and the fewer expensive installation projects need to be undertaken to develop the same capacity.
The overall result should be a drop in offshore wind energy production prices – a sorely needed drop, too. Current levelized costs of energy as estimated by the US Energy for new energy generation assets going live in 2026 place offshore wind as the most expensive way of generating a megawatt-hour right now, at US$120.52, where ultra-supercritical coal is more like $72.78 and standalone solar is around $32.78 before subsidies.
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The Great Game
Some historians consider the end of the Great Game to be the 10 September 1895 signing of the Pamir Boundary Commission protocols,[9] when the border between Afghanistan and the Russian empire was defined.[10][11][12][13] Others see it concluding with the signing of the Anglo-Russian Convention on 31 August 1907.[14] The 1901 novel Kim by Rudyard Kipling made the term popular and introduced a new implication of great power rivalry. It became even more popular after the 1979 advent of the Soviet–Afghan War.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Game
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