Readers, I rarely toot my own horn, but this kitchen sink-headlined post — CDC Director Cohen Must Reject HICPAC’s Shoddily Evidenced, Unreviewable, Statistically Invalid, Non-Performing, Conflicted, and Un-Peer-Reviewed Infection Control “Guidance” — really is important (that is, if you want to go to hospitals that heal you, as opposed to infecting you with SARS-CoV-2). If you haven’t read it, or commented upon it, please do so.
There are two UPDATES: First, a second footnote in the putative “evidentiary review” turns out to be bad, slowing HICPAC’s Gish Gallop to a canter. Second, the section on HICPAC wishing to reduce patient protections to avoid liability was a bit handwave-y. But now there’s a personal injury lawyer look for clients, so if you’re in North Carolina, and your hospital infected you with SARS-CoV-2, you can sue the bastards. And for more Covid fun, you can try out any of the action items at the end of the post.
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Jays jump in while crows hold out for the treat (press release) Anglia Ruskin University
Shocking study discovers bottlenose dolphins possess electric sixth sense Study Finds
The Fed Matters Less Than You Think A Wealth of Common Sense
Shared auditors may signal opportunities for bargain purchases, and deals also more likely to close Francine McKenna, The Dig
Climate
Future of fossil fuels sparks fiery debate at COP28 climate summit Upstream
Waterborne Diseases That Are Sensitive to Climate Variability and Climate Change NEJM
It Could Be a Vast Source of Clean Energy, Buried Deep Underground NYT. Met
California may require homeowners to replace broken A/C units with heat pumps starting in 2026 Sacramento Bee
Orsted Powers Up America’s First Major Offshore Wind Farm Heated
A Pipeline Giant Is Helping to Push Texas’s Power Grid to the Brink Bloomberg
Water
L.A. County aims to collect billions more gallons of local water by 2045 LA Times
#COVID19
Long COVID is associated with severe cognitive slowing (preprint) medRxiv, N = 270. From the Abstract: “We identified pronounced cognitive slowing in PCC patients, which distinguished them from age-matched healthy individuals who previously had symptomatic COVID-19 but did not manifest [post-COVID-19 conditions (PCC)]. Cognitive slowing was evident even on a 30-second task measuring simple reaction time (SRT), with PCC patients responding to stimuli ∼3 standard deviations slower than healthy controls. This finding was replicated across two clinic samples in Germany and the UK. Comorbidities such as fatigue, depression, anxiety, sleep disturbance, and post-traumatic stress disorder did not account for the extent of cognitive slowing in PCC patients. Furthermore, cognitive slowing on the SRT was highly correlated with the poor performance of PCC patients on the NVT measure of sustained attention…. Together, these results robustly demonstrate pronounced cognitive slowing in people with PCC, which distinguishes them from age-matched healthy individuals who previously had symptomatic COVID-19 but did not manifest PCC.”
Thousands of Americans Died Due to Internal FDA Strife Surrounding COVID Booster Rollout The Messenger
China?
Italy tells China it is leaving Belt and Road Initiative Reuters
Myanmar
Myanmar’s central bank to no longer set forex rates Channel News Asia
India
Navigating Deception: Dissecting the Implications of India’s Guidelines on ‘Dark Patterns’ The Wire
Syraqistan
Israel-Hamas war: UN’s Guterres invokes Article 99 over Gaza Deutsche Welle
This is a War on Children, and “Safe Zones” are Death Traps: UNICEF Juan Cole, Informed Comment
Senior US lawmakers review plan linking Gaza refugee resettlement to US aid to Arab countries Israel Hayom, said to have been owned by Sheldon Adelson:
The proposal was shown to key figures in the House and Senate from both parties. Some who were privy to the details of the text have so far kept a low profile, saying that publicly coming out in favor of the program could derail it…. They continue: ‘The neighboring borders have been closed for too long, but it is now clear that in order to free the Gazan population from the tyrannical oppression of Hamas and to allow them to live free of war and bloodshed, Israel must encourage the international community to find the correct, moral and humane avenues for the relocation of the Gazan population.’”
Handy map, with quotas:
I love the way the outbound arrows don’t originate in Gaza, the erasure is that deep.
Egypt’s former vice president warns of Gaza depopulation amid growing fear in Cairo The New Arab. El Baradei, remember him?
Iran urges Egypt to unconditionally open Rafah crossing Anadolu Agency
Putin Makes a Rare Middle East Trip Foreign Policy. Commentary:
Quite a statement in and of itself for Saudi Arabia’s official Foreign Ministry account to post this whole 6 minutes video of Putin’s visit. https://t.co/yuvVOz20TD
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) December 7, 2023
Are Yemen’s Houthis Getting Involved In The Israel-Hamas War? Madras Courier
Why Yemen’s Houthis are attacking ships in the Red Sea The Economist
Israeli Police Greenlight Far-right March Rallying for ‘Full Jewish Control’ Over Temple Mount Haaretz. What could go wrong?
Scandal-stained Israeli ‘rescue’ group fuels October 7 fabrications The Grayzone
The Official Story Of October Seventh Caitlin Johnstone
Israel’s Permit Regime The Baffler
How Israel Got an Endless Supply of U.S.-Made Smart Bombs In These Times
European Disunion
Here’s One Time When Europe Really May Lead John Authers, Bloomberg
Two crucial dinners to keep EUCO on track Politico
Dear Old Blighty
Johnson says ‘sorry’ – but ONLY for getting caught calling Long Covid ‘b*llocks’ Canary
Britain needs a way out of economic stagnation Martin Wolf, FT
New Not-So-Cold War
Trial window: Russia allows negotiations with Kiev in a Western country (Google translation from original) Izvestia. The deck: “Which state besides Hungary could become a mediator between Moscow and Kiev?” From the article:
Russia is ready for negotiations with Ukraine, including on the territory of a Western country , a high-ranking source told Izvestia. Earlier, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó said that Budapest could still become a mediator between Moscow and Kiev on the issue of resolving the conflict. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized that today Ukraine and its Western partners do not demonstrate readiness to negotiate with Russia. Nevertheless, the expert community believes that, most likely, the role of mediator could go to a country that is not a member of the NATO bloc.
And Hungary is in NATO, so.
Ukraine soldiers in ‘hell’ as there’s not enough men: ‘Some soldiers can’t even swim’ Express
Miscalculations, divisions marked offensive planning by U.S., Ukraine WaPo. Not paywalled, therefore sending a message. But this quote:
During one visit to Wiesbaden, Milley spoke with Ukrainian special operations troops — who were working with American Green Berets — in the hope of inspiring them ahead of operations in enemy-controlled areas.
“There should be no Russian who goes to sleep without wondering if they’re going to get their throat slit in the middle of the night,” Milley said, according to an official with knowledge of the event. “You gotta get back there, and create a campaign behind the lines.”
Looks like Zelensky got the message–
Pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician Illia Kyva assassinated near Moscow: “Such a fate will befall other traitors of Ukraine” CBS
Are Ukraine’s President and Chief Commander Really at War? Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Political Frictions Unsettle Ukraine as It Seeks More Military Support NYT
Biden Administration
As Ukraine aid falters in the Senate, Biden signals he’s willing to make a deal on border security AP
Dems assess wreckage of border talks: ‘They never should have started’ Politico
The Supremes
Justices to hear major tax case SCOTUSblog
Spook Country
Warrantless surveillance hitches a ride on defense policy bill — causing fresh GOP agita Politico. Warrantless surveillance invented by Bush, normalized by Obama, and now loved by liberal Democrats.
The Bezzle
Large crypto-mining farm discovered in Abkhazia; owner said to be “influential person” JAM
Digital Watch
Boffins devise ‘universal backdoor’ for image models to cause AI hallucinations The Register. Excellent. Now make it a LightRoom plugin.
The FInal Frontier
Commercial companies to collaborate for DARPA’s new lunar economy study TechCrunch
Zeitgeist Watch
Venice gondola filled with tourists capsizes after selfie-snapping passengers refuse to sit down FOX
‘How do you reduce a national dish to a powder?’: the weird, secretive world of crisp flavours Guardian
Imperial Collapse Watch
The Global Credibility Gap Foreign Policy
The U.S. Can Afford a Bigger Military. We Just Can’t Build It. WSJ
The Military’s Big Bet on Artificial Intelligence Undark. You just buy AIs, you don’t have to recruit them.
Guillotine Watch
Lifestyles of the Blessed & Famous: Preacher Homes Sold in 2023 The Roys Report. For example:
Class Warfare
Norway union joins Tesla blockade in support for Swedish workers Reuters (Sub-Boreal).
A New Path for Unionizing Uber and Lyft On Labor
The first results from the world’s biggest basic income experiment Vox
Learning By Doing Couchfish. Sustainable tourism.
Urbanism and Peace Dror Poleg
Optimism Linked to Poor Decision-Making and Lower Cognitive Skills Neuroscience News
Antidote du jour (via). From LNK:
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
