Advocates encourage adoptions to celebrate National Rescue Dog Day KMGH
The ‘Devil Bird’ lands in New York, with more chances to come NYT
Climate
As Alberta burns, politicians ‘daren’t talk’ about climate change The Tye. Comment:
Incredible satellite images over western Canada this morning.
Most of the province of Alberta lies under the strongest blanket of wildfire smoke I have ever seen. #abfire #ABfires pic.twitter.com/XxQZd5VCiZ
— Kyle Brittain (@KyleBrittainWX) May 20, 2023
New $800 Million Sustainable Aviation Fuel Plant Planned in Washington State Seattle Times (PI) but Hush… it’s only voluntary Doomberg (PI).
It’s time to pay the pot of roses: Fossil fuel companies’ reparations for climate damagees One Earth, Cell:
Recent advances in the science of climate attribution clearly show that [the companies that engage in the exploration, production, refining, and distribution of oil, gas, and coal] have played a major role in the accumulation and escalation of [the costs of climate harm] delivering gigatons of carbon fuels to the global economy while deliberately ignoring predictable climate damage. Throughout this time, they have successfully shaped the public discourse on climate change through misinformation, misleading “advertisements”, lobbying and political donations to delay action either directly or through trade associations and organizations. other substitutes. Fossil fuel companies have a moral responsibility to parties affected by climate damage and a duty to repair that damage.
Water
Water, water everywhere, yet local US planners underestimate their estimates Inside climate news
#COVID19
Omicron Spike confers enhanced infectivity and interferon resistance against SARS-CoV-2 in human nasal tissues (preprint) bioRxiv. From the abstract: “This entry pathway unlocked by Omicron Spike avoids interferon-induced factors that limit SARS-CoV-2 entry after attachment. Therefore, the increased transmissibility exhibited by Omicron in humans can be attributed not only to its evasion of vaccine-induced adaptive immunity, but also to its superior invasion of nasal epithelia and resistance to the intrinsic cellular barriers present there.
Godotnasal vaccines, labor the sprays….Major Update: Masks for SARS-CoV-2 Prevention in Health Care Settings and Community Settings – Latest Update from a Quick and Living Review Annals of Internal Medicine. A meta-study. Since we decided to entrust an engineering problem to evidence-based medicine, supposedlyI imagine it’s only a matter of time before industrial masking becomes a target of anti-mask fervor (funded, of course, by business owners).
A methodological framework for assessing the benefits of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination after prior infection: a case study of five- to eleven-year-old children Vaccines. Model. From the abstract: “We show that the most important factors of benefit are: the degree of protection provided by prior infection; the protection offered by vaccination; the time elapsed since the previous infection; and future attack rates. Vaccination can be very beneficial for previously infected children if future attack rates are high and several months have passed since the previous major wave in that group. The benefits are generally greater for Long Covid than for hospitalization because Long Covid is both more common than hospitalization and prior infection offers less protection against it.
A poultry worker with bird flu traveled to SCOTLAND when he tested positive, prompting a warning of potential ‘disaster’ Daily mail. But freedom!
Several districts of Moscow in quarantine because of avian flu Anadolu Agency
China?
China’s shaky recovery reverses copper rally WSJ
Slightly more than half of mainland Chinese support full-scale war to take control of Taiwan, poll finds South China Morning Post
Coronavirus Hong Kong: Daily case count hits 10,000, but health chief says outbreak manageable in high vaccination rate and lower Covid severity South China Morning Post
* * * Xi’an Summit Highlights China Daily. Interesting:
The summit ended in Xi’an. It was decided to build a railway line to China, without Russia. And how it is possible – you can see it on the map. pic.twitter.com/IxsBa1TGyH
— Sprite (@Spriter99880) May 20, 2023
Kazakhstan in the middle The interpreter
Disputes over Kashmir and Ukraine do not hamper Russian-Pakistani trade expansion Andrew Korybko
Burma
Bangladesh reports growing insurgency on Myanmar border The Irrawaddy
India
The Adani probe will only produce heat, not light Bloomberg
What India’s decision to scrap its 2,000 rupee note means for its economy Channel News Asia
Syrian
Saudi diplomatic push brings Assad and Zelensky to Arab summit PA
Dear old Blighty
Is Britain finally ready to admit Brexit was a (catastrophic) mistake? Umar Haque (Re Silc). Lol no.
Biden Administration
Will Biden’s helmet environmentalism bridge the gap on the future of clean energy? PA
A cohort of scientists is about to be crushed Mike the Mad Biologist
The infectious disease specialist, in danger of extinction (manuscript accepted) Journal of Infectious Diseases. “Forty-four percent of ID fellowship programs did not fill their training positions under the National Resident Matching Program medicine subspecialty match, the highest percentage since 2016 (when 58% programs have not been filled). In fact, ID fellowship training has been undersubscribed for many years, with the applicant-to-position ratio below 1.0 dating back to 2012.”
New not so cold war
How the US is helping Ukraine acquire F-16s shows that for military aid, ‘no’ can become ‘yes’ PA
“Birds in a cage”? Logistic challenges on the cards as Ukraine gets F-16s France 24
When we have F-16s, we will win this war – Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Ukraine Pravda
* * * Zelensky says ‘Bakhmut is only in our hearts’ after Russia claims control of Ukrainian city PA
The offensive before the offensive: Ukraine strikes behind Russian lines WSJ
The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces is said to be in critical condition after being injured Weekly Euro News
* * * Hillary Clinton says war in Ukraine set back China’s plans for Taiwan FT
Ukraine mulls allowing transit of Russian ammonia in exchange for expanded Black Sea grain deal Reuters
Democrats in negligee
Donald Trump against America Michael Tomasky, The New Republic. ask the postmanask the postman, ask the milkman, white foam!
NGO:
An algorithm decides who gets a liver transplant. Here are 5 things to know. The markup. No more NGO problems.
Nonprofits Undermine the Progressive Project (excerpt) Noah Smith, Noahpinion. Project La Sombrita of the NGO Kounkuey. Comment:
It provides no utility as shade or shelter, so price is irrelevant. It is a floor lamp, its price can be set accordingly and does not require a world excursion in search.
If a client has design criteria that impede professional execution and harm the public good, you refuse… https://t.co/El8dE7n3Aq
— Naomi Wu 机械妖姬 (@RealSexyCyborg) May 20, 2023
Entertaining thread!
Baaad Banks
Schrödinger Swap: The Audacious Plan to Trigger Credit Suisse CDS FT Alphaville
America’s Biggest Bank Is Everywhere and Hasn’t Stopped Growing WSJ
digital watch
Chatbots don’t know what’s wrong Quant. Important.
AI just killed its first big stock Risk coverage. Bullshit > education.
Zeitgeist Watch
“The day it fell apart.” Patrick Lawrence, The Melee. April 30, 1975. Powell Memo was from 1971, so maybe not?
Not a parody (Re Silc):
Bud Light and Budweiser will launch new temporary Camo beer bottles in an attempt to appease conservative consumers following the brand’s slump in sales following the ongoing boycott. 📉
🧾The brand experienced a -23.6% drop in sales compared to last year (week ending May 6).
The new bottle will be… pic.twitter.com/9Icw7MZJhN
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) May 17, 2023
Imperial Collapse Watch
How America Weaponized the West A herd. Worth reading.
Class struggle
New data highlights the wide gap between college graduates and everyone else Axios
The new daily reality of service robots WSJ
Starbucks union workers have a new strategy to win a first contract In these times
Mike Elk: journalism and solidarity (video) Zero hour with RJ Eskow
Grand Theft Capital: The Growing Exploitation and Theft of the American Working Class Monthly review
Why flying sucks Business Intern
To go up London book review
Advice from a traveler; the whole thread is worth reading:
For about 7 years I lived without a fixed address. For 5 of those years I traveled constantly. Where the hell did I sleep?
About 7 out of 10 nights I “stealth camped” wherever I could sleep undetected. In almost 2000 nights I’ve been caught <10 times.
Megathread
1/25+ pic.twitter.com/WNSzomNfJk– 𝙰𝚍𝚒𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚍𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛 (@shagbark_hick) May 20, 2023
I’m not sure I like the account’s pinned tweet very much, but this thread is awesome. Maybe I should have filed it under The Jackpot….
Antidote of the day (via):
See Yesterday’s Links and Today’s Antidote here.
