Thor’s incredible 3,000-mile journey: How celebrity walrus named after Norse god swam from his Arctic home to the shores of north Europe – before heading back after UK New Year visit Daily Mail
A Mummer-doctor and a nurse performed CPR to help save a man’s life during New Year’s Day Eagles game Philadelphia Inquirer. For those unfamiliar, the Mummers:
Laissez les bons temps rouler, but in Philly.
Why We Missed On Inflation, and Implications for Monetary Policy Going Forward Neal Kashkari, Medium
Climate
Major storm and atmospheric river impact California The Watchers. Commentary:
This is one of the most spectacular-looking and powerful bomb cyclones I have ever seen.
Heavy downpours, damaging winds, strong thunderstorms, widespread flooding, and even an isolated tornado are likely for California over the next 2 days. pic.twitter.com/N5crFTrWVa
— Colin McCarthy (@US_Stormwatch) January 4, 2023
Outlook for January 2023 – normal, with potential for Texas, Florida Wildfire Today
Winter Warm Spell Stifles Skiing in Swiss Alps YaleEnvironment. Fewer superspreading events, though.
#COVID19
White House cautions against panic as XBB.1.5 omicron subvariant spreads The HIll and Hong Kong Covid-19 reinfections increase by 4 times amid case surge, but experts say no cause for concern South China Morning Post/ Never panic until you’ve been officially told to remain calm.
How serious is the threat of new Covid-19 variants? FT
SARS-CoV-2 Viral Mutations: Impact on COVID-19 Tests U.S. FDA
Long COVID: Could mono virus or fat cells be playing roles? AP. A portrait of three citizen scientists.
China?
China Sees 14,700 COVID Deaths Every Day, Model Suggests Newsweek. Model from London-based Airfinity.
China and Philippines agree on new channels to resolve South China Sea maritime disputes among their 14 new deals South China Morning Post
European Disunion
Individual states should be unable to block EU decisions: Berlin Al Mayadeen. Commentary:
There is a sustained campaign to undermine the right of member states, enshrined in the Treaties, to veto Council decisions. On foreign & defence issues we should never – ever – give those who dream of an imperial Europe what they want & abolish the veto. We are not the US of E. pic.twitter.com/rf7UaJUwin
— Clare Daly (@ClareDalyMEP) December 20, 2022
Dear Old Blighty
Rishi Sunak’s strike law to let bosses sack workers and sue unions The Times
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine – The Big Push To End The War Moon of Alabama
The Case for Taking Crimea Foreign Affairs. Let me know how that works out.
Scholz Under Pressure For Tanks To Kyiv After France Move Barron’s
A single Iranian attack drone found to contain parts from more than a dozen US companies CNN
The little-known weapon knocking down Iranian drones over Kyiv Politico. “While U.S. officials can’t confirm the huge number of downed drones, ‘we don’t have any reason to not believe what they say,’ one Defense Department official who requested anonymity to discuss the issue said.” Oh.
Nord Stream Who? The American Conservative
Tinder in the trenches: How war has changed love and sex in Ukraine WaPo. Hoo boy [pants heavily].
Peru police use tear gas to clear protests after Machu Picchu evacuated Reuters
Blinken talks Lula White House visit, Venezuela with top Brazil diplomat Reuters and Brazilian Authorities Will Revive Fraud Case Against George Santos NYT (Furzy Mouse). Thanks, Lula!
The value of one consulting firm’s federal contracts has skyrocketed under the Trudeau government CBC (IM).
Republican Funhouse
Late-night talks yield no breakthrough in speaker battle Roll Call
A portrait of the ‘Never Kevin’ crew Politico. “Kevin can wait,” good one.
Supply Chain
Russia’s January wheat exports seen at at least 3.6 mln T – analysts Hellenic Shipping News
The Bezzle
SBF’s anticipated not guilty plea was a ‘smart play’ TechCrunch
Exclusive: FTX’s former top lawyer aided U.S. authorities in Bankman-Fried case Reuters
Kazakhstan among world’s leading crypto producers Andolu Agency
Federal Reserve, FDIC and OCC Warn Banks About Cryptocurrency Risks WSJ
The digital dollar is coming on the back of the FTX collapse The Hill
Ponzi Hospitals and Counterfeit Capitalism Matt Stoller, BIG. A must-read. Speculating freely: If private equity is pulling as much cash as it can out of hospitals, then Hospital Infection Control administrators will respond to that. Hence, cheap masks or no masks, no HEPA, no ventilation improvements beyond existing isolation wards, etc., and a captured CDC writing its guidance to accommodate them. Paradigm shifts cost money, even beyond the cost ot careers!
Healthcare
America Is a Sick Society—Literally WSJ. The URL: america-is-a-sick-society-literally-oecd-life-expectancy-infant-mortality-obesity-guns-healthcare. So sick the author felt the story needed a Daily Mail-style headline.
A Mass Extinction Is Taking Place in the Human Gut Wired
Fungi that cause serious lung infections are now found throughout the U.S. Science News
Our Famously Free Press
Capsule Summaries of all Twitter Files Threads to Date, With Links and a Glossary Matt Taibbi, TK News. Well worth a read.
Twitter files prove government was ‘in the censorship business in a huge way’: Matt Taibbi (video) FOX
Yes, the internet was always intended to spy on us. Yasha Levine. Taibbi owns the Twitter story, but Levine (and Ames) were there first.
Sports Desk
The Dark Pageant of the NFL The Atlantic
Report: Reyna Family Gave U.S. Soccer Details About Gregg Berhalter’s 1991 Domestic Violence Incident Defector
Realignment and Legitimacy
Federal agents: Two Puyallup men arrested and charged for Christmas substation attacks The News-Tribune (PI).
Imperial Collapse Watch
Putin is sending a warship into the Atlantic armed with new hypersonic cruise missiles Business Insider
A new world energy order is taking shape FT
Class Warfare
Workers: a photography special FT
Amazon Layoffs to Hit Over 18,000 Workers, the Most in Recent Tech Wave WSJ. “The layoffs are concentrated in the company’s corporate ranks.”
Why do people have to live outside? Brutal South
Who’s Really Behind All These Record Farmland Sales? AgWeb
How the Brain Calculates a Quick Escape Smithsonian. News you can use!
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote (semper loquitur):
Semper loquitur writes: “I don’t know if I mentioned it to you all but my pup Dizzy had a cancerous tumor removed recently. We have been anxiously waiting to hear about the biopsy. It came today and all is well! My relief is unquantifiable.”
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
