Untranslatable phrases that explain what makes French, Japanese and American people tick The Telegraph
Why Central Bankers Are Unsure Whether They’ve Raised Rates Enough WSJ
Financial stability risks from cryptoassets in emerging market economies Bank of International Settlements
FTC Pauses Challenge to Amgen’s $27.8 Billion Deal for Horizon Therapeutics WSJ. Stoller will be happy.
Purdue Pharma’s Bankruptcy Heads to the Supreme Court WSJ
Climate
Tropical forests may be warming to a point where plant photosynthesis fails, study warns LA Times
Lower sulfur, warmer oceans: Scientists debate unintended impact of IMO 2020 Hellenic Shipping News
Maui’s Wildfire Recovery Is Haunted by the Specter of Colonialism The New Republic
Bare electrical wire and leaning poles on Maui were possible cause of deadly fires AP
Hawaii needs better siren codes The Risks Digest
Water
Navigating Water Conflict in Central Asia: The Amu Darya River and the Qosha Tepa Canal Project Modern Diplomacy
#COVID19
Evidence of leaky protection following COVID-19 vaccination and SARS-CoV-2 infection in an incarcerated population Nature. Important. From the Abstract: “A fundamental question regarding SARS-CoV-2 immunity is whether infection and vaccination confer all-or-nothing or exposure-dependent (“”leaky””) protection against infection.” If the vaccines are leaky, then “the dose makes the poison.” From the Discussion: “These findings also suggest the benefit of layered interventions in general, and particularly within densely packed social settings. In the presence of leaky vaccines, non-pharmaceutical interventions have been proposed in tandem with vaccination in order to reduce exposure and mitigate infection spread…. While our findings are obtained from the investigation of a correctional facility system, in the presence of a leaky vaccine, layered interventions may afford a benefit in other congregate settings and community settings where prolonged, close contact with infected people may occur, such as mass gatherings. If the protection offered by vaccination is indeed leaky, the increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant may have contributed to the well documented decline in the effectiveness of vaccination during periods of Omicron predominance.”
A Quick Update on the BA.2.86 Variant Eric Topol, Ground Truths:
Project NextGen, a $5 billion initiative by the US Department of Health and Human Service (HHS), is supposed to be funding development and clinical trials of better vaccines, which includes nasal and variant-proof. Initial allocations for over $1 billion were just announced, but it isn’t clear when we will see any real progress and whether a pan-sarbecovirus vaccine is a priority. The “”dream vaccine”” has been written about for nearly 3 years. It isn’t a dream. We can do this; BA.2.86’s appearance tells us once again why it’s so important. You’d think we’ve forgotten how quickly the very potent Covid vaccines were made and validated in the first 10 months of 2020.
Hopefully the public health establishment’s butchered vaccine roll-out hasn’t poisoned the well against new vaccines that are either genuinely sterilizing, or universal. One thing I’m sure of: If they do, it will take a whole new (and non-eugenicist) PMC generation to close the sale, because outside the Blue Bubble, none are trusted, and there aren’t enough Blue Arms for the necessary uptake. Mandy Cohen already makes my skin crawl, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
China?
Chinese leader Xi Jinping doubles down on ‘social stability’ as top priority for Xinjiang while pushing economic development South China Morning Post
With Xi Jinping facing challenges on multiple fronts, can China’s helmsman navigate through stormy seas? Channel News Asia
Communist Party Priorities Complicate Plans to Revive China’s Economy WSJ
What Evergrande’s collapse means for China’s economy, consumers and luxury Jing Daily
The back story to a Chinese lessor sale of 737 MAX orders Leeham News and Analysis
Foxconn billionaire Terry Gou announces Taiwan presidential bid Channel News Asia
Myanmar
Children of Notorious Ex-Myanmar Junta Minister Continue Corrupt Legacy The Irrawaddy
Trains Intersect with Everyday Life in Nostalgic Illustrations by Shinjiro Ogawa Spoon & Tamago
India
Adani’s bid to remake Mumbai slum spurs residents’ doubts, favouritism claims Channel News Asia
Row at India’s premier private university sparks debate on academic freedom Al Jazeera
Africa
ECOWAS: In Need of Help in Niger? RAND
Nigerien authorities cut off electricity, water to French Embassy: Reports Anadolu Agency
European Disunion
Greek authorities arrest 79 ‘arsonist scum’ in connection with devastating wildfires FOX
France pays winemakers to rip up vines as famous Bordeaux region faces uncertain future CNBC
Dear Old Blighty
Independence Minister Jamie Hepburn: ‘For half an hour, that was it – I thought we had won independence’ Holyrood
Hundreds of hospital wards closed due to Covid outbreaks The Herald
New Not-So-Cold War
Live: Ukraine has ‘liberated’ Robotyne village in Zaporizhzhia region, says official France24:
If you see a tight shot where a wide-angle view is possible, that means there’s something ouf-of-frame that the editor doesn’t want you to see. In this case, I’d speculate that it’s the absence of dragon’s teeth, which would show the Ukrainians had reached or breached at least one of the three Russian defensive lines.
How the U.S. sees Ukraine’s push: No stalemate, but no breakthrough David Ignatius, WaPo. The CIA clears its throat.
To ‘crush the Russian army and strangle the troops in frontline fortifications,’ Ukraine needs to advance 10 more miles, says war expert Business Insider. “Ukraine can break significant ground by bringing Russia’s ground line of communication under its guns and achieve fire control of the land corridor to Crimea.”
“The more your trench looks like a grave, the better your chances of survival.” Things that save, annoy, surprise, and delight soldiers fighting on the front Ukrainska Pravda
Wagner chief Prigozhin’s death in plane crash confirmed by genetic tests, Russian inquiry says France24
After equating corruption with treason, some cases may be transferred from Anti-Corruption Bureau to Security Service of Ukraine Ukrainska Pravda
The Supremes
Qualified Immunity Faces an Existential Threat at the Supreme Court The New Republic. The deck: “A judicial doctrine that has denied justice to an untold number of plaintiffs may be founded on a centuries-old scrivener’s error.”
Once-suspended Twitter user argues California violated his First Amendment rights SCOTUSblog
Spook Country
Partners in Crime The Tablet. More on the Censorship Industrial Complex and Missouri v. Biden.
Digital Watch
Google Gemini Eats The World – Gemini Smashes GPT-4 By 5X, The GPU-Poors SemiAnalysis
Most of My Instagram Ads Are for Drugs, Stolen Credit Cards, Hacked Accounts, Counterfeit Money, and Weapons 404 Media
Our Famously Free Press
Ralph Nader’s Newspaper Is a Salvo Against D.C. Media The Nation. The Capitol Hill Citizen. PDF only (?!).
Sports Desk
Simone Biles wins record 8th US gymnastics title, a decade after her first Al Jazeera. Impressive:
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No “twisties” apparent.
The Bezzle
Deepfake Imposter Scams Are Driving a New Wave of Fraud Bloomberg
“”Anansi’s Gold”” examines one of the world’s biggest con artists The Economist
Zeitgeist Watch
6 Zendaya-Approved Tips to Take the Perfect Instagram Selfie Teen Vogue. News you can use!
Guillotine Watch
Just 22 people are needed to colonize Mars — as long as they are the right personality type, study claims LiveScience. Including servants?
How Wealthy UFO Fans Helped Fuel Fringe Beliefs Scientific American. Beware of squillionaires with bright ideas.
Realignment and Legitimacy
A right-wing sheriffs group that challenges federal law is gaining acceptance around the country AP. Note that the “Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers” view their powers as “self-executing.”
Class Warfare
Symposium from Doctorow and Illingworth’s on Cooley et al. Interesting:
Transnational Uncivil Society Networks: Kleptocracy’s Global Fightback Against Liberal Activism Alexander Cooley, John Heathershaw and Ricard Soares de Oliveira European Journal of International Relations
How the kleptocrats and oligarchs hunt civil society groups to the ends of the Earth Cory Doctorow. Given that oligarchs also fund “liberal” NGOs, I’m inclined to view this as factional fighting within capital. Stimulating nonetheless!
Bagmen for the Transnational Oligarchy Nina Illingworth Dot Com
Who Gets Sick from COVID-19? Sociodemographic Correlates of Severe Adult Health Outcomes During Alpha- and Delta-Variant Predominant Periods, 9/2020–11/2021 (accepted manuscript) The Journal of Infectious Diseases. From the Abstract: “Per infection with SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality were higher among non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaska Native persons, non-Hispanic Black persons, and Hispanic or Latino persons compared with non-Hispanic White persons, males compared with females, older persons compared with younger, persons in more socially vulnerable counties compared with less, persons in large central metro areas compared with rural areas, and persons in the South compared with the Northeast. Meaningful disparities in COVID-19 morbidity and mortality per infection were associated with sociodemography and geography. Addressing these disparities could have helped prevent the loss of tens of thousands of lives.” How can you claim to do “sociodemographic” analysis without considering income?!
Amid the New Normal of COVID, There’s an Old Normal Too Capital & Main. Remember “essential workers”? Good times.
Workers exposed to extreme heat have no consistent protection in the US AP
Is It Real or Imagined? Here’s How Your Brain Tells the Difference Wired. Don’t tell Marketing!
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
