If Corporations Are People, Then Animals Should Be Too The New Republic (Furzy Mouse).
Climate
Japanese, Brazilian leaders agree to protect Amazon rainforest Anadolu Agency
Fire for Water BioGraphic
Mexico’s Floating Gardens Are an Ancient Wonder of Sustainable Farming Reasons to be Cheerful
Water
Thames Water London Review of Books
Pandemics
Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus Infection in a Dairy Farm Worker (letter) NEJM. “The virus identified in the worker’s specimen had a change (PB2 E627K) that has been associated with viral adaptation to mammalian hosts and detected previously in humans and other mammals infected with HPAI A(H5N1) viruses and other avian influenza A virus subtypes, including A(H7N9) and A(H9N2). No genetic markers associated with reduced susceptibility to influenza antiviral drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration were identified.” Commentary:
BTW, we submitted a CDC proposal earlier this year to do exactly this, but the topic was pulled from the BAA so the proposal wasn’t even reviewed.
2/— Marc Johnson (@SolidEvidence) May 4, 2024
(BAA = CDC’s “Broad Agency Awards.”)
Potential Pathways of Spread of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A/H5N1 Clade 2.3.4.4b Across Dairy Farms in the United States (preprint) medRxiv. From the Abstract:
The emergence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) A/H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b has led to an unprecedented intercontinental spread affecting a broad spectrum of avian and mammalian species….. The study aimed to evaluate the modes of introduction and transmission to dairy farms, through geospatial and exposure analyses. Our findings favour a singular introduction over multiple independent introductions, with non-waterfowl species exhibiting the highest dairy farm exposure, which is a major shift from historical waterfowl spread. Moreover, bidirectional spread between cattle and poultry highlights the intricate nature of disease transmission within the agricultural ecosystem. Additional factors such as livestock trade, poultry litter feed and contaminated milking machinery likely contributed to the amplification of the outbreaks throughout the United States. As large-scale outbreaks persist in the United States, the likelihood of a human pandemic increases, making it imperative to enact and sustain heightened surveillance measures across all potentially impacted species.
The avian and human influenza A virus receptors sialic acid (SA)-α2,3 and SA-α2,6 are widely expressed in the bovine mammary gland (preprint) medRxiv. From the Abstract: “We found all receptors were expressed, to a different degree, in the mammary gland, respiratory tract, and cerebrum of beef and/or dairy cattle…. These results provide a mechanistic rationale for the high levels of H5N1 virus reported in infected bovine milk and show cattle have the potential to act as a mixing vessel for novel IAV generation.” You’d think we could finish our first experiment with serial passage through the general population before starting the second, but apparently not.
Thousands Believe Covid Vaccines Harmed Them. Is Anyone Listening? NYT. Commentary:
Vaccines have saved 154 MILLIONS LIVES in the last 50 years alone. And 9 billion life years. But RFK Jr and anti vax MAGA Trump folks want to eliminate vaccine guidelines for all public schools. Both democracy and MILLIONS OF CHILDRENS’ lives and health are on the ballot this… https://t.co/VmACummTEw
— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) May 5, 2024
Contribution of vaccination to improved survival and health: modelling 50 years of the Expanded Programme on Immunization The Lancet
2 new COVID variants called ‘FLiRT’ are spreading in the U.S. What are the symptoms? Today. A complete mess. CDC still recommending handwashing, and “Wear a mask in crowded, indoor spaces.” Like hospitals [ha ha, what am I thinking].
Akiko Iwasaki: The Immunology of Covid and the Future Eric Topol, Ground Truths
Temporal trajectories of COVID-19 symptoms in adults with 22 months follow-up in a prospective cohort study in Norway (preprint) medRxiv. N = 146,065. From the Abstract: “A positive SARS-CoV-2 test was associated with new onset memory- and concentration problems, anosmia and dysgeusia, dyspnoea and fatigue as well as self-assessed worsening of overall health, which persisted for the length of the follow-up of 22 months, even when correcting for symptoms before COVID-19 and compared to symptoms in negative controls.”
How Good, Kind, Caring People Became The Bad Guys Jessica Wildfire, OK Doomer
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right (Here I am, stuck in the Middle with you….) Essays You Didn’t Want to Read
China?
Cold War Consequences: US Scrambles for Rare-Earth Magnets Produced in China Sputnik International
China’s steel industry risks ‘falling off a cliff’ as overcapacity concerns point to end of an era South China Morning Post
Macron set to press China’s Xi on trade, Ukraine during Paris visit France24
Commentary: China’s new moon mission is a rare example of countries working together Channel News Asia
India
Canadian police arrest three in slaying of Sikh separatist that strained ties with India France24
Syraqistan
Turkiye to join genocide case against Israel at ICJ: FM The Cradle
Northern Gaza in ‘full-blown’ famine: Senior UN official EuroNews
Advisors Assure Biden This Will Blow Over Once All Gazans Dead The Onion
Report: Hamas Accepts Gaza Cease-fire Deal; Israeli Officials Reject Prospect of War Ending Haaretz
Hamas says no hostage deal without end to war as talks resume Updated 3 minutes ago Telegraph
Israel’s war on Gaza live: Hamas says Netanyahu ‘hindering’ truce efforts Al Jazeera
Ceasefire should be ‘no-brainer’ for Hamas, Blinken says Channel News Asia. Dumb as a stump.
Israeli forces detain Greek Consul’s personal guard at Church of Holy Sepulchre Anadolu Agency
International Court of Justice severely limits the transfer of arms to Israel Middle East Monitor
Charge Palestine With Genocide Too The Atlantic
Rules of the Game New Left Review. Iran and Palestine.
AIPAC Is Secretly Funneling Money Into a Congressional Race, Sources Say. Here Are the Details. Ryan Grim, The Intercept
European Disunion
“The ‘foreign agents law’ in its current form clashes with European values,” – the head of the European Commission for EU Enlargement JAM News
Why France is finding vegan croissants hard to stomach BBC
New Not-So-Cold War
RUSI Report Quietly Validates Russia’s Strategic Superiority: A Breakdown Simplicius the Thinker. A must-read (original).
Sullivan says military aid will help Ukraine mount counteroffensive in 2025 FT
German general warns of “fatal error” NATO will make if proxy war in Ukraine continues InfoBrics
Will the NATO war games on Russia’s borders trigger a nuclear response? Discussion on Iran’s Press TV Gilbert Doctorow, Armageddon Newsletter
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, May 4, 2024 Institute for the Study of War. “Russian forces appear to be choosing to exploit the tactical situation northwest of Avdiivka – a sound military undertaking – but their ultimate objective in this frontline sector remains unclear.” Unlike Ukraine’s summer offensive, a punch telegraphed as broadly as possible.
Zelenskyy briefed by Ukraine’s commander-in-chief and intelligence chief : We are aware of all the aspects of the current situation Ukrainska Pravda. Confidence-builder!
Zelensky is in a predicament in the war against Russia – opinion Jerusalem Post
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list AP
Ukraine returns to Black Sea container market Container News
Brendan Mcgeever, Antisemitism and the Russian Revolution Historical Materialism
2024
Unredactions Reveal Early White House Involvement in Trump Documents Case Julie Kelly, RealClearInvestigations. A “whole of government” approach to lawfare….
The Supremes
Biden Top Supreme Court Lawyer Laments Shadow Docket Effect Bloomberg Law
How ‘History and Tradition’ Rulings Are Changing American Law NYT
Digital Watch
Some scientists can’t stop using AI to write research papers The Register
Our Famously Free Press
Twitch app moves into news coverage, redefining journalism (press release) University of Oregon
X launches Stories, delivering news summarized by Grok AI TechCrunch. The creators will, naturally, be compensated?
Groves of Academe
Pro-Palestinian protests stretch on after arrests, police crackdowns: Latest updates USA Today
Student encampments have the potential to strengthen US democracy Guardian
How Do I Prepare My Phone for a Protest? (Updated 2024) The Markup
Imperial Collapse Watch
BRICS and De-Dollarization Efforts – Analysis InfoBrics
Class Warfare
Is Nominal Wage Growth Starting to Slow? Matthew Klein, The Overshoot
Administrative Enslavement (PDF) Columbia Law Review. “There are currently over a million people enslaved in the United States. Under threat of horrendous punishment, they cook, clean, and even fight fires. They do this not in the shadow of the law but with the express blessing of the Thirteenth Amendment’s Except Clause, which permits enslavement and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime.”
Doing Some (Catfish) Noodling? JSTOR Daily
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
