Farmers Find Wild African Cat Wandering Around Missouri Smithsonian
Have model organisms evolved too far? (press release) University of Birmingham. E. coli.
Climate
Study: 15 million people live under threat of glacial floods AP
Green Empire? New Left Review
New Not-So-Cold War
Will Ukraine Wind Up Making Territorial Concessions to Russia? Foreign Affairs. Ask the experts! Handy chart:
(The faces are for experts actually quoted in the article.)
GOP base warms to giving Russia some of Ukraine’s territory WaPo
The Anatomy of Annexation: How a 2010 ICJ Ruling Destabilized International Law to Putin’s Benefit The National Interest
* * * Germany approves delivery of Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine Andalou Agency. 178. But maybe 237. And such small portions!
Ukraine army discipline crackdown sparks fear and fury on the front Politico
As Russia Amasses Troops in East, Questions Remain About Its Ability to Sustain an Offensive NYT
* * * In Ukraine, There’s Once Again Talk Of An Anti-Corruption Campaign. Will It Really Happen This Time? Radio Free Europe. Note the source.
Security Service of Ukraine notifies its former head of suspicion of high treason Ukrainska Pravda
Ukraine War Day #349: Who Is Destroying Ukraine’s Forests? Awful Avalanche
IMF issues Russian economic growth outlook that is more optimistic than Bank of Russia’s BNE Intellinews
How Putin made himself Maidan-proof by waging war on Ukraine Al Jazeera
Does the United Nations still exist? Social Europe
Water
Jackson water system a step closer to getting new owners AP. Not viewed with favor by Jackson.
#COVID19
Long COVID: What Do the Latest Data Show? KFF. Good news if true.
Bivalent Covid-19 Vaccines — A Cautionary Tale (perspective) NEJM. “Why did the strategy for significantly increasing BA.4 and BA.5 neutralizing antibodies using a bivalent vaccine fail? The most likely explanation is imprinting. The immune systems of people immunized with the bivalent vaccine, all of whom had previously been vaccinated, were primed to respond to the ancestral strain of SARS-CoV-2. They therefore probably responded to epitopes shared by BA.4 and BA.5 and the ancestral strain, rather than to new epitopes on BA.4 and BA.5.”
Analysis of mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake Among Immunocompromised Individuals in a Large US Health System JAMA. From the Conclusion: “Our results highlight a substantial gap in adherence to CDC recommendations for mRNA monovalent COVID-19 booster doses among immunocompromised individuals in a large, sociodemographically diverse population.”
China?
US should not let its China policy drift because of sensationalizing of balloon: China Daily editorial China Daily
Commentary: Spy balloon or not, history cautions against overreaction in latest tension to US-China relations Channel News Asia
On day ‘spy balloon’ was shot down, China refused call with Pentagon chief, US says South China Morning Post
* * * Tech war: starved of chips, China’s bid to topple US as No 1 economy faces ‘unprecedented’ pressure South China Morning Post
Myanmar
Myanmar’s coup: Two years on but a long fight ahead Frontier Myanmar
Tipping the scales in Myanmar’s civil war Australian Strategic Policy Institute
Bill Gates: Stop Telling Africans What Kind of Agriculture Africans Need Scientific American
European Disunion
More than 750,000 protest against pension reform across France France24
‘Real’ wages fell at record speed in Germany last year The Local
Here is when Russia starts building Hungary’s new nuclear power plant Daily News Hungary
Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: Race to Rescue Survivors WSJ. Live updates.
Dear Old Blighty
Strikes: Who is taking industrial action in 2023 and when? Sky News
England’s Health Service Enters Biggest-Ever Week Of Strikes Forbes
UK‘s Royal Mail workers call off 24-hour strike, union says Reuters. Solidarity!
Britons face 20,000 digital pound cap under Bank of England plan Reuters. The ceiling for dull normals when they take away cash? Good to know.
Biden Administration
Remarks of President Joe Biden – State of the Union Address as Prepared for Delivery The White House
Joe Biden warns China over threats to US sovereignty in State of the Union address FT
Biden, GOP battle at raucous state of the union The Hill
Expect Big Replenishment Orders Soon, Army Tells Industry Defense One. Ka-ching.
Supply Chain
Climbing cases of seafarer abandonment places profits above people as $40 million is lost in unpaid crew wages Hellenic Shipping News
Healthcare
U.S. Health Care from a Global Perspective, 2022: Accelerating Spending, Worsening Outcomes The Commonwealth Fund. Commentary:
Some staggering visual aids/charts in this analysis… Here’s avoidable deaths pic.twitter.com/WUu4RFJM3x
— Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) February 7, 2023
Exceptional!
Tech
Japan rolls out ‘humble and lovable’ delivery robots Bangkok Post (Furzy Mouse). Every time I see the dorbs-inducing rounded edges of one of those lozenge-like bots creeping about I want to beat it into shards with bat.
Killer robot swarms, an update Politico
Our Famously Free Press
Will Ashley Biden’s Diary Take Down Project Veritas? After a decade of punking liberals with hidden-camera stings, James O’Keefe becomes the story. New York Magazine. From January, still entertaining at the very least.
The Blood Libel Commonweal. A very early moral panic.
Gaslighting: What It Is and How to Stop It WebMD
Class Warfare
America’s Labor Shortages Are Good, Actually Eric Levitz, New York Magazine
Fed chair warns of even higher rates if jobs data stays strong FT. Still turning the rubber thumbscrew…..
A Chilling Paragraph from 1960 Ted Gioia, The Honest Broker (IM Doc).
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
