Notre Dame Cathedral rises again National Geographic (David L)

Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh dies at 95 Tricycle (David L)

A Rio Grande Valley woman just broke the U.S. record for most bird sightings in a year Texas Monthly (resilc)

Amazing black and white photos of beautiful rock formations found in western US My Modern Met (David L)

1,100 exquisite root maps reveal the hidden world of plants Open Culture (David L)

Hubble finds a black hole igniting star formation in a dwarf galaxy NASA (guest)

The sheer force of Tonga’s eruption has baffled scientists, and now they’re trying to unravel what happened Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Kevin W)

A large rotating ice disk forms in the Presumpscot River in southern Maine Fliboard (David L)

Can Neural Networks Pass the MIT Math Test? Cantor’s Paradise (David L)

Transgenic pig kidneys implanted in brain-dead patients New York Times (resilc)

Cannabis use causes persistent cognitive impairment Neuroscience News (David L). For a long time, based on the stone people I knew in college, I thought so. Wanted to make a comparison with alcohol use, though…

#Coronavirus disease

Hong Kong culls hamsters and quarantines pet shop visitors over coronavirus fears Financial Times (David L)

Science/Medicine

Denmark and France are both experiencing a revival of Omicron, presumably BA.2. This will expand in popularity in Europe and soon North America.

– Virologist Brian Hjelle (@hjelle_brian) January 21, 2022

Covid reinfection: How likely are you to catch the virus multiple times? Guardian (Dr. Kevin). pivotal parts:

According to scientists at Imperial College London, Omicron has a 4.38 to 6.63 times higher risk of reinfection compared to Delta, after many factors are taken into account.

The team added that this means that protection against Covid-19 infection due to prior infection in the past six months has fallen from about 85% before rising from 0% in Omicron to 27%. This drop is not surprising, given that Omicron has been found to have the ability to largely evade the body’s immune response.

Study shows SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant spike mediates immune escape and tropism News-medical.net (Kevin W)

Serological screening indicates a single SARS-CoV-2 spillover event in cattle BioRxIv (guurst)

Neurological consequences of COVID-19 science

*Last month* (2016) more <5s were admitted to Covid than *2020* (1633). Growth is driven by babies.

Most probably only stay for a day or two – but this is a hospital and they’re sick and miserable. This is not a trip to the park.

How do we decide this is good? pic.twitter.com/NUEI2jM2Jw

— Prof. Christina Pagel (@chrischirp) January 21, 2022

https://t.co/2c5rG4djaP i mean… i told you pic.twitter.com/1FR2lNjJAb

— Anthony J Leonardi, PhD, MS (@fitterhappierAJ) January 8, 2022

1. Crystal Ball

The article states that “new variants will certainly emerge, some may be more severe than Omicron,” but its conclusions completely ignore this uncertainty

For a more cautious view, check out this talk @erictopol & @Bob_Watchman https://t.co/er50d0tyMo

— Philip Shelkens (@fibke) January 20, 2022

Study shows oral CBD can prevent COVID-19 infection in real-world patients Vice (resilc)

UK/Europe

France… https://t.co/2siMes3Dtp pic.twitter.com/jx2FffZ3iY

— Diego Bassani, PhD ?? ? ? ? (@DGBassani) January 20, 2022

we

It would be helpful if Pagel cites accurately, “detected” does not = report a given home test and damage/degradation reports in many states. But GM is only slightly exaggerating that everyone in the world will be infected with the new coronavirus at its rate of spread in March:

If that would be an astonishing percentage @trvrb True, only about a quarter of cases have been detected in the United States. pic.twitter.com/nyZuveidr5

— Prof. Christina Pagel (@chrischirp) January 20, 2022

She is a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco. The following theory:

*All* adults in Covid circles that I know now have children brought home from school. Children wear KN94/KN95 at school.

Has anyone else seen this?

– Rupa Maria, MD (@DrRupaMarya) January 21, 2022

On top of that is the pattern we see so often: when they let kids eat lunch together, schools act as if kids are wearing masks. The second is that the adult KN/N95 is not suitable for children and may leak a lot.

Federal judge in Texas blocks Biden’s vaccine authorization for federal workers hill

Arizona sues U.S. to block recovery of funds for mask-wearing policy in schools Wall Street Journal

Mask rule sparks political game and harsh environment in the House hill

climate

The extremely long, slow “death” of coal Grid News (resilc)

Everyone’s Least Favorite Climate Fix? Nuclear power has a new look. christian science monitor

Dairy farms are defending pollution lawsuits.Some say Vermont regulations are on trial Seven days (resilc)

Brexit

A third of UK business owners fear their companies will cease to exist within a year as the Brexit shock intensifies City morning (guurst). Still closely related from earlier this week.

old blight

Average UK first-home buyer is now over 30, says Halifax Guardian (Kevin W)

Germany wants to attract 400,000 skilled workers from abroad every year Reuters (resilc)

new cold war

Secretary of State Blinken meets with Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov in Geneva, Switzerland. C-SPAN (Kevin C)

From the day before the meeting: Blinken threatens Moscow with ‘significant consequences’ Daily news (guurst). Google Translate: Blinken threatens Moscow with ‘significant consequences’

How Emmanuel Macron Ended Europe’s War Threat Responsible Statecraft (resilc)

The Intellectual Bankruptcy of Anthony Blinken and the Biden Administration Gilbert Doctorow (guurst). pivotal parts:

Russians’ responses to threats and opportunities are flexible and constantly changing. This is what makes it difficult for us commentators to foresee the actual path of the ending. But it also makes it almost certain that the Russians will get what they want and change the European security architecture to their advantage in the face of American insensitivity.

More Gilbert Doctorow: Russian elites talk war: ‘An evening party with Vladimir Solovyov,’ January 16, 2022 (Chuck L)

Syria

The UAE’s painful choice: Strike in its cities or fail in Yemen The Cradle (Chuck L)

1/6

A veteran charged in Capitol riots has been sentenced to home detention and probation after a Marine identified him to the FBI Business Insider

trump card

Read Trump’s never-issued order that would confiscate voting machines Politician (David L)

Biden

Democrats want Manchin’s way to salvage Biden’s agenda hill. So what is Biden’s agenda?

If you’re not paying $4,000 a month for a 300-square-foot apartment in a big city and spending more than half of your grocery bill on Uber Eats, you basically have no idea what the Democrats are talking about. https://t.co/sKxj1Sgftd

— Shant Mesrobian (@ShantMM) January 21, 2022

wake up watch

A Florida bill that bars public schools and private businesses from making white people “uncomfortable” when teaching students or training employees about the country’s past discrimination received its first approval on Tuesday.https://t.co/URwHagL0gj

— Associated Press (@AP) January 18, 2022

police state watch

Pastor, sister say rogue Alabama police seek revenge Aluminum Network. call boy.

The true cost of policing NJ.com (visitors)

Our famous free news

Last year, I wrote an article about a New York Times writer who did not disclose that he worked for the CIA, Palantir, and the police, or that he currently runs a consulting firm that relies on “enforcement” contracts. This is a shocking, unethical episode. https://t.co/E4JjIZDdUD

— Alec Karakatsanis (@equalityAlec) January 18, 2022

Legendary investor Jeremy Grantham predicts S&P 500 will plummet 50% after fourth U.S. ‘super bubble’ of last century bursts Business Insider (David L.). Chances are he’s right…but when? As in the dot-com era, there is usually a brief blowout phase before an implosion. You could see “bad things” looming in 2007-8 as the huge levers around housing fell apart. This time, the sources of relaxation now appear to be more diffuse.

Janet Yellen chooses Reagan economics phrase for new Davos speech Axios (Kevin W.). Kill me now.

Inflation: US vs. Eurozone and UK Meng Qiqin

Professionals must now disclose their interest in PR [Puerto Rico] case credit note. As far as McKinsey’s proprietary trading is concerned, the horse is out of the barn and measured in the next county.

Fed releases long-awaited study on digital dollar, but has not yet taken a stance on creating a digital dollar CNBC (Paul R)

A New Model of Moral Leadership, Beyond “Don’t Lie, Don’t Cheat… Harvard Business Review (Dr. Kevin). sigh. Harvard Business School grad Paul Birzerian indicted after jail, there’s a lot of belly button staring about ethics. After a lot of learning (real learning, not for self-serving or excusing), schools come to the conclusion that there is nothing they can do. By the time students enter school, their code of ethics has been established.

guillotine watch

All you need to know about today’s Zillow Discovery is that it was built in the United States of America in 2010. 1/ pic.twitter.com/Rd5JrrsVgr

– Rebeccamakkai January 14, 2022

A certain fashionista just died White Hot Harlots (Anthony L)

Class struggle

States with Highest Job Resignation Rates in 2022 Wallet Center

Gen U: Generation Union (Jaz Brisack and Casey Moore of Starbucks Workers United) Michael Moore

The antidote of the day. Alison L’s Daisy:

And a bonus (Howard Bill IV):

Second reward (Musk Ox fan Dr. Kevin):

Check out yesterday’s link and antidote du Jour here.