Happy New Year to you, dear readers! –lambert
Study: Albatrosses May Use Ultra-Low-Frequency Hearing to Navigate Maritime Executive
How Geopolitics Might Crash a 2024 Soft Landing Bloomberg
The How and Why of Errors and Mistakes Times of India
English still rules the world, but that’s not necessarily OK. Is it time to curb its power? Guardian
Climate
Community forest management linked to positive social, environmental outcomes: study Monga Bay
Water
The 20 Farming Families Who Use More Water From the Colorado River Than Some Western States ProPublica
#COVID19
COVID Mask Mandates Return to Hospitals in Five States Newsweek. Check out these complex eligibility requirements:
This week, Mass General Brigham, the largest health system in Massachusetts, said that effective January 2, masks will be essential for healthcare staff directly engaging with patients [A] in clinical-care settings until respiratory illnesses fall below a certain percentage [B]. Patients and visitors are also strongly encouraged [C] to wear masks [D], which will be provided by the hospital, and staff in hallways and common areas are exempt [E].
More lethal hilarity from Hospital Infection Control (in the person of Erica Shenoy, see below). [A] So non-clinical staff (cleaners, porters), although in the same ward as patients, won’t be masked. [B] “Percentage” established how? CDC’s “green map,” heaven forfend? [C] Unmasked visitor: “I read the sign. So what?” [D] Baggy blues, or N95s? [E] Remember non-smoking areas in restaurants, and even airplanes? How’d that work out? It’s the same deal here, since #CovidIsAirborne and spreads like smoke. On the bright side, managing this complex system is a jobs guarantee for hospital administrators!
Universal Masking in Health Care Setting Annal of Internal Medicine. MGH’s Shenoy et al. defend their “Let me see you smile” Ideas and Opinions article in AIM. First priority: Tone policing: “Free, open, and respectful debate is a critical element of a functioning academy and society.” Second priority: No course change at HICPAC; patient protections will be reduced, translating: “[T]he rationale for ending universal masking remains sound. As evidence continues to evolve, we will continue to evaluate it. Aligned with the principles of implementation science and dynamic sustainability, we reiterate our support for ongoing development, reevaluation, and discontinuation of policies as conditions, contexts, and evidence change.” A heaping portion of mush. Gaaaah.
Hybrid immunity from SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in Canadian adults: cohort study (preprint) medRxiv. From the Abtract: “[W]e conducted serial assessments (each of ~4000-9000 adults) examining SARS-CoV-2 antibodies within a mostly representative Canadian cohort drawn from a national online polling platform…. Spike levels were higher in infected than in uninfected adults, regardless of vaccination doses. Among adults vaccinated at least thrice and infected more than six months earlier, spike levels fell notably and continuously for the nine months post-vaccination. By contrast, among adults infected within six months, spike levels declined gradually. Declines were similar by sex, age group, and ethnicity. Recent vaccination attenuated declines in spike levels from older infections. In a convenience sample, spike antibody and cellular responses were correlated…. Strategies to maintain population-level hybrid immunity require up-to-date vaccination coverage, including among those recovering from infection.” Isn’t it ironic…,
What do infectious disease specialists think about managing long COVID? Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology. N = 117 of 2,978 recipients. From the Abstract: “[O]ur survey of infectious disease providers and their perspective on long COVID care suggested a lack of familiarity with existing resources, a sentiment of missing guidelines, and scarcity of dedicated care centers. In addition, the low response rate to this survey can be interpreted as ID providers not regarding their specialty as the primary point of contact for delivering long COVID care.”
Organizing Toolkit to Keep Masks in Healthcare COVID Advocacy Initiative and COVID Safe Campus, Google Docs. For example:
We did it! Mask requirements are back in healthcare settings in LA County as of today Dec 29th! Thank you to everyone who has been tirelessly working on protecting our community for months, you made this happen! pic.twitter.com/KxAWn7ZDr9
— Joaquín Beltrán for Congress #FreePalestine (@joaquinlife) December 29, 2023
Eyam, the village that stopped Bubonic Plague Times of India
The United States is not a serious country:
China?
China’s manufacturing PMI falls for third month in a row highlighting 2024 challenges for world’s second-biggest economy South China Morning Post. Commentary:
3/5
That’s because the biggest constraint on the manufacturing sector hasn’t been access to capital but rather weak demand, so that expanding manufacturing investment mostly means expanding excess capacity. The latest data suggests this continues to be the case.— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) December 31, 2023
China struggles to disperse cheap loans to businesses in economic slowdown FT
Sweeping Chinese military purge exposes weakness, could widen, say analysts Channel News Asia
Facing roadblocks, China’s robotaxi darlings apply the brakes TechCrunch. Chinese executive: “[Cruise], a leader in the industry, needs 1.5 operators per vehicle.” Oh.
India
Pegasus Used to Target The Wire’s Founding Editor, Reporter Working on Adani, Amnesty Confirms The Wire
The Lucky Country
A nation for a continent – no thanks Pearls and Irritations
Syraqistan
Maersk pauses Red Sea sailings after Houthi attack on container ship Reuters
Houthis show no sign of ending ‘reckless’ Red Sea attacks as trade traffic picks up, commander says AP
Two U.S. Navy Amphibs Leave Red Sea Despite Houthi Attacks on Shipping Maritime Executive
‘Blood libel’: Israel slams South Africa for filing ICJ genocide motion over Gaza war Times of Israel. Here is South Africa’s filing (PDF).
Netanyahu says Gaza war on Hamas will go on for ‘many more months,’ thanks US for new weapons sales AP. Commentary:
This is battlefield artillery because it is not expected to be precise. Has a huge blast radius and often lands outside where it was aimed. Israel has now packed two-plus million people into very tight quarters.
The mere act of shipping them more of these rn is a potential war… https://t.co/EJZxzccmEH
— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) December 30, 2023
Scoop: Biden in “frustrating” call told Bibi to solve Palestinian tax revenue issue Axios
Analysis: Has Israel weakened Hamas enough to win the war on Gaza? Al Jazeera
Where Was the Israeli Military When Hamas Attacked? NYT. Scroll to the text.
Pakistan poll body rejects ex-Premier Khan’s nomination papers for 2024 elections Anadolu Agency
Dear Old Blighty
Inside Labour’s plan to open up NHS to private ‘entrepeneurs’ iNews
New Not-So-Cold War
Pushing Ukraine Past Breaking Point: How the Largest Missile Strike in Russian History Just Unfolded Over 18 Hours Military Watch
Ukraine’s Nightmare Scenario Is Now Its Reality Foreign Policy
Zelenskyy: We are working with partners on robust solutions Ukrainska Pravda
Where does the river flow – 2024 (Google translation) Rossiiskaya Gazeta
Words vs. deeds:
So a large part of the stated justification for NATO supporting Ukraine is the supposed belief that “the West is next” – that Ukraine is merely the first domino to fall in a new Russian march to Berlin.
It’s very odd then that the actual members of NATO aren’t acting like it.… pic.twitter.com/a6OFej8fwf
— Armchair Warlord (@ArmchairW) December 28, 2023
Biden Administration
DOJ torched after prosecutors announce Sam Bankman-Fried will not face trial on illegal political donations FOX. You don’t say.
Effective altruism was the favoured creed of Sam Bankman-Fried. Can it survive his fall? FT
When Silicon Valley’s AI warriors came to Washington Politico
Fake Plane Parts Scandal Shows Peril of Antiquated Paper System Bloomberg
Spook Country
US claims Chinese spy balloon linked to US-based internet provider Anadolu Agency
Digital Watch
Google settles $5 billion privacy lawsuit over tracking people using ‘incognito mode’ AP
The Internet Is About to Get Weird Again Rolling Stone
How AI-created fakes are taking business from online influencers FT
Xmas Post-Game Analysis
“Our seasonal card” (AC):
New Year’s Eve Pre-Game Festivities
For those seeking insight into my personal New Year’s Eve celebration (sound down):
I hate New Year’s Eve – there, I’ve said it The Telegraph
What went right in 2023? Here’s some good news Al Jazeera
Mess They Made of 2023 Patrick Lawrence, Consortium News
2023: The year of the total COVID cover-up WSWS
Happy anniversary:
4 years ago today: Dr. Li Wenliang warns his colleagues that 7 people in Wuhan have been diagnosed with coronavirus. A screenshot goes viral and he’s later arrested for “spreading rumors” pic.twitter.com/iCUAIvZrym
— BNO News (@BNOFeed) December 30, 2023
Kudos to Li Wenliang, and also to Zhang Yongzhen, who released the SARS-CoV-2 genome.
Sports Desk
State of college football has coaches up in arms: ‘It needs to be fixed’ Orlando Sentinel. No. It needs to be abolished (which includes returning it to genuine amateur status).
Zeitgeist Watch
Voluntary simplicity Duane Elgin and Arnold Mitchell, Co-Evolutionary Quarterly. 1977, still germane. Sadly truncated at The Honest Broker.
The kids are alright:
“I was pepper sprayed in the face point-blank by the Cambridge city police at a weapons manufacturer protest and this eyeliner stayed on!” pic.twitter.com/vKsqzwv6iJ
— Isabella Rosario (@irosarioc) December 29, 2023
Guillotine Watch
Consulting firm McKinsey agrees to $78 million settlement over claims it helped fuel the opioid crisis AP
Class Warfare
Review of The Case for a Job Guarantee by Pavlina R. Tcherneva, Polity Press (2020) NJFAN
What was it like when the cosmic dark ages ended? Big Think
Eppur si muove:
World at Dawn Orion
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
