Astronomers Say They Have Spotted the Universe’s First Stars Quanta
Landmark vaccine for honeybees Bangkok Post (Furzy Mouse)
Christine Lagarde: ECB press conference – introductory statement Bank of International Settlements
In Defense of Globalization Finance & Development, International Monetary Fund
It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future (Furzy Mouse):
Water
EPA to study impact of concentrated animal feeding operations on water The Poultry Site
#COVID19
The public health emergency is ending. Covid isn’t. Politico
David Leonhardt and the Emergency of Normal w/ Abby Cartus (01/31/22) (podcast) Death Panel
Why Are So Many Americans Dying Right Now? David Wallace-Wells, NYT. “Instead, perhaps several hundred thousand ‘unexpected’ deaths have been explained only by loose conjecture.” Just lucky, I guess!
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Should COVID Vaccines Be Given Yearly? Scientific American. Should we boost uptake of a vaccine that may be obsolete by the time it’s injected?
The FDA Is Considering a New COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy. Roughly Half the Public Appears to Be OK With It Morning Consult
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The continuing puzzle of defining duration of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity (accepted manuscript) The Journal of Infectious Diseases. “A central property of SARSCoV-2 is that symptoms are a poor metric for infectivity. Yet, the [CDC] guidelines focus on symptoms and not viral load which is destined to result in unnecessarily prolonged isolation for many people while occasionally missing periods of asymptomatic high transmissibility in others. On the other hand, while the guidelines were designed to be as simple as possible, they are not being followed uniformly across all sectors of society.”
Airway Mucus Dysfunction in COVID-19 American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. “In autopsy specimens, they found high degrees of production of the secreted airway mucin MUC5B and moderate amounts of MUC5AC. Strikingly, they also found occlusion of ∼50% of the small airways by mucus, as well as widespread aberrant expression of MUC5B within microcysts in damaged alveolar parenchyma. These findings have implications for understanding the pathophysiology and treatment of COVID-19 in particular and of viral pneumonia in general.”
China?
Space power China to build ground stations on Antarctica to support satellites Channel News Asia
China’s Xi Jinping a little sobered by Ukraine war, CIA chief William Burns says South China Morning Post
The Lights Wink Out In Asia The Scholar’s Stage
Inside the global battle over chip manufacturing The Verge
Australia likely to announce its future submarine plans in US next month Andalou Agency
European Disunion
Macron vs the unions: What happens next in France? Agence France Presse
Germany grapples with the limits of pacifism FT
Suspicions of state security set-up in Germany’s far-right ‘coup’ The Gray Zone
How Rod Dreher Caused an International Scandal in Eastern Europe The Bulwark. Hilarious!
Revealed: U.S Secret Military Deployment on British Cyprus Internationalist 360°. Speaking of Cyprus.
Dear Old Blighty
Half a million UK workers strike WSWS
Who’s on strike today? Every date of every UK walkout in 2023 Independent
Britain’s new crypto plans step up competition with EU regulations FT. Makes sense.
UK Investment Ad – sketch Larry & Paul
New Not-So-Cold War
White House Denies Joe Biden Offered to Give Ukrainian Territory to Putin Newsweek but Ukraine can’t retake Crimea soon, Pentagon tells lawmakers in classified briefing Politico. Big Z [genuflects] “furious.”
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US to send Ukraine longer-range bombs in latest turnaround AP. Big Z [genuflects] has said he wants Ukraine to be like “a big Israel.” That means he wants nukes, because of course he does. Why don’t we just cut to the chase?
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In High-Profile Raids, Zelensky Showcases Will to Tackle Corruption NYT. Virtue signaling for “In This House” liberals (plus, probably, score-settling and power shifts). New players will step into the newly vacant positions, and the game will roll on.
Proclamations and promises as the EU caravan rolls into Kyiv FT
Is the U.S. Military Capable of Learning From the War in Ukraine? Foreign Policy
Ukraine dispels the myth of American decline Will Marsall, The Hill. From the Progressive Policy Institute.
South of the Border
Chinese-owned copper mine in Peru may halt production over unrest Reuters. Commentary:
But if you start making phone calls to guys in the cmdtys trades on the ground, you’ll know that while most miners are putting on a happy face, some have already run “restricted” (next step is Care & Maintenance). 6/
— Paulo Macro (@PauloMacro) February 2, 2023
Lula Can’t Tell Vladimir from Volodymyr WaPo. The most PMC headline ever….
Biden Administration
Retired colonel has a theory about why suspected Chinese spy balloon is over Montana (video) CNN. Best headline ever but McCarthy calls for intel briefing on Chinese spy balloon over Montana Politico
A Pyrrhic Victory for Meta Over the FTC? Matt Stoller, BIG
The Supreme Court takes up Section 230 Brookings
The Bezzle
Charlie Munger says the U.S. should follow in China’s footsteps and ban cryptocurrencies CNBC
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ChatGPT May Be the Fastest Growing App in History Gizmodo.
Cathie Wood says AI will power the ‘most massive productivity increase in history’ Yahoo Finance. Given that increased bullshit = increased GNP, certainly.
Microsoft injects AI into Teams so no one will ever forget what the meeting decided The Register. “[A]utomatically generated meeting notes.” I love it. I wonder how long before somebody figures out how to game the minutes….
AI Goes to K Street: ChatGPT Turns Lobbyist IEEE Spectrum. Is there anything this wonder engine cannot do:
i asked Open AI to write a manifesto for a general strike pic.twitter.com/QYqbNtTwYI
— 𝖊dmu𝖓d hardy (@intercapillary) February 2, 2023
AI Looks Like a Bubble Every. “Bubble” is a bit off-point because it ignores the fraudulent aspect. “Bezzle” is better.
Police State Watch
Yikes (guurst):
Thursday in California, armed cops shot and murdered a double amputee who was running away on his leg stumps. I’m absolutely serious. His name was Anthony Lowe Jr. pic.twitter.com/YxvggJEUgH
— 🅹🅾️🅴🆈աrecκ ☭ (@joeywreck) January 31, 2023
I’ll be waiting for the good cops to step forward and condemn this. Speaking of good cops:
#BREAKING: In honor of #BlackHistoryMonth Miami Mayor Ponzi Postalita Francis Suarez just unveiled a Black History police cruiser with images of Africa all over it. #BecauseMiami pic.twitter.com/Mo5QYHeUVU
— Because Miami (@BecauseMiami) February 2, 2023
Healthcare
29 physician specialties ranked by 2022 burnout rates Becker’s Hospital Review. #1: Emergency Medicine.
Zeitgeist Watch
The Fukushima Exclusion Zone Is Becoming a Fossil Bed of Lost JDM Cars The Drive. Sounds like a great premise for the next William Gibson trilogy.
Why Is the Floor of the Oculus Already Crumbling? New York Magazine
Class Warfare
MRI scans reveal disparate impact of poverty and other ‘toxic stress’ on brains of Black children STAT
Managing Decline Rational Reflections. Of firms, not empires.
Shellfish Monopolists The Age of Invention. English Parliament of 1621.
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.