THE PURPOSE IS SO THEY CAN STILL NAVIGATE AFTER THEY KNOCK OUT GPS: China Launches Beidou, Its Own Version of GPS.

NEW FRONTS IN THE CULTURE WAR: If you’ve read The Socialist Temptation and enjoyed it (or are alarmed by it and want to know more about the threats), you might be interested in a new book by rising British star of the right, Marc Sidwell.

In The Long March: How the left won the culture war and what to do about it, Marc looks at the tangled history of the left’s long march through the institutions (see Chapter 38 of The Socialist Temptation,) in which active subversion runs alongside unintended consequences and missed opportunities, to uncover new possibilities for fighting back. Here’s Marc reading the first chapter on the New Culture Forum’s Youtube channel.

NOT REALLY SURPRISING, BUT GOOD: Lasting immunity seen after mild COVID-19 infection: report. “‘This calls for some optimism about herd immunity,’ an immunologist said.”

Related: Mild COVID-19 cases can produce strong T cell response. “Mild cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can trigger robust memory T cell responses, even in the absence of detectable virus-specific antibody responses, researchers report August 14 in the journal Cell. The authors say that memory T cell responses generated by natural exposure to or infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)—the virus that causes COVID-19—may be a significant immune component to prevent recurrent episodes of severe disease.”

SO WHICH IS IT? I’ve asked this question of media law friends, and nobody wants to give a straight answer: “Is being called ‘racist’ defamatory“?

CNN tried (and failed) to convince the court that calling the Covington kid racist was “mere opinion.” (They ended up settling). At the same time, “RACIST!” is yelled often enough and with such vitriol, it must be defamatory. (It’s like cancer: There’s no “good” form of it).

Now a Cincinnati police officer is suing in libel for people who claimed his making an “OK” gesture was proof he is a racist because “That hand symbol has been associated with white power movements because it resembles the letters “W” and “P.”

FUN FACT: Once upon a time being called a “communist sympathizer” was defamatory under the law. Now it’ll get you elected to a mayor’s position. Or higher.

NICE: Trump to Pardon Susan B. Anthony on Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage.

WELL, GOOD: Scientists turn seawater into drinkable freshwater using metal compounds, sunlight.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Most knee cracking is normal unless it hurts, expert says.

VODKAPUNDIT PRESENTS YOUR DAILY INSANITY WRAP: Killer Cuomo Gaslights Granma, Plus MSNBC Hates You More Than You’ll Ever Know.

Insanity Wrap needs to know: Just how skilled a liar is Andrew Cuomo?

Answer: Last night he made his dead father blush.

Before we get to the sordid details, a quick preview of today’s Wrap.

• Meet the world’s richest vampires.

• Dave Wiegel and Chris Hayes are more hateful and condescending human beings than you thought.

• Yes, that’s possible.

And so much more at the link, you’d have to be crazy to miss it.

E L’ERA DEL TERZO MONDO: Rolling blackouts warning issued for 3 million California homes.

BUT OF COURSE: Shot: Trump Pardons Susan B. Anthony.

Chaser:

THINK OF THE PRESS AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE OPERATION AIMED AT NORMAL AMERICANS AND YOU WON’T GO FAR WRONG: When media call Kamala Harris ‘centrist,’ it’s no wonder people hate the press.

This is important as much for what it says about the establishment media as for what it says about Harris. One major reason President Trump taps into the anger of so many “ordinary Americans,” including with his attacks on the media as the “enemy of the people,” is that the media have completely and rightly lost the public’s trust through their abandonment of objectivity in favor of leftist cheerleading. People resent it when they know they are being manipulated.

Much of the manipulation comes in the form of political labeling in supposedly “straight news” stories. The supposed “moderation” of Harris is a perfect case in point. . . .

The two best-established ranking systems for broad-based ideology — as opposed to single-subject rankings such as those for pro-abortion rights or anti-abortion groups, anti-government-spending groups, or whatever — are from the American Conservative Union on the right and Americans for Democratic Action on the left. The ACU gives Harris a puny lifetime rating of 3 (with 0 being far Left and 100 being far Right). The ADA reports that except when she has missed votes altogether, Harris has a perfect liberal rating.

To the press, “moderate” just means having the background and mannerisms of the educated professional class. As long as you count as One Of Us, you’re a moderate, regardless of views. The views of a majority of Americans, on the other hand, are routinely called “extreme.” And deplorable.

GREAT MOMENTS IN CHARACTER JUDGEMENT:

And the hits just keep on coming: ‘Even the AP ‘fact-checkers’ couldn’t let THIS whopper slide’! Yup, it’s official. Michelle Obama lied Bigly in her DNC speech.

I VOTED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO. IT WAS NO BIG DEAL, AND PERFECTLY SAFE: Honestly, Just Vote In Person—It’s Safer Than You Think.

WE SHOULD DO THIS WITH THE CDC: Public Health England ‘to be replaced.’ “Ministers have reportedly been unhappy with the way PHE has responded to the coronavirus crisis.”

HMM: As Belarus protests grow, Putin shows no sign of propping up embattled ruler.

Related: Lukashenko regime ‘clearly’ at an end in Belarus, says German parliamentary leader Schäuble.

Also: Estonia Does Not Recognize Election Results In Belarus.

CUE THE WORLD’S SMALLEST VIOLIN: Hong Kong leader admits U.S. sanctions impeding her credit card use.

Hong Kong’s leader says using her credit cards had been “hampered” by the United States slapping sanctions on her in response to a sweeping new security law in the financial hub. Chief Executive Carrie Lam was personally targeted, along with 10 other senior city officials, in the toughest U.S. action on Hong Kong since Beijing imposed the new law on the territory in late June.

The move by Washington freezes the American assets of the 11 officials and criminalises any financial transactions in the U.S.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Lam was sanctioned because she is “is directly responsible for implementing Beijing’s policies of suppression of freedom and democratic processes”.

Much like Lam herself, the “security” law was imposed on Hong Kong without the consent of the people.

MAKE CALIFORNIA GREAT AGAIN: Why Uber and Lyft Are about to Shut down All Operations in California.
This Friday, Uber and Lyft will have to entirely shut down operations in California. Sadly, this was preventable.

WHEN THEY GO LOW, WE GO HIGH OR WHATEVER: Al Gore: Trump Is ‘Putting His Knee on the Neck of American Democracy.’

VIRGINIA DEMS SET TO FREE MORE CRIMINALS FROM PRISON: Hans Bader, who lives in the state that gave us Washington, Jefferson and Madison, sees no good coming from what the special session of the state legislature is about to do.

SLEEPWALKING INTO SECESSION: We have flirted with disaster before. Now we must avert it.

ROGER SIMON: Are All Presidential Conventions Going to Be Infomercials Now?

GREAT NEWS!

Though to be fair, the above tweet is a cheap shot at the Dacia Sandero, which is a lovable little subcompact from Romania, and the star of a hilarious running joke during the classic years of the BBC’s Top Gear: 

YOU DON’T SAY: Special Prosector In Jussie Smollett Case Finds ‘Abuses Of Discretion’ By Kim Foxx’s Office.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Campus black privilege, explained: History prof spells out what it is, why it’s counterproductive.