Lambert and I, and many readers, agree that Ukraine has prompted the worst informational environment ever. We hope readers will collaborate in mitigating the fog of war — both real fog and stage fog — in comments. None of us need more cheerleading and link-free repetition of memes; there are platforms for that. Low-value, link-free pom pom-wavers will be summarily whacked.
And for those who are new here, this is not a mere polite request. We have written site Policies and those who comment have accepted those terms. To prevent having to resort to the nuclear option of shutting comments down entirely until more sanity prevails, as we did during the 2015 Greek bailout negotiations and shortly after the 2020 election, we are going to be ruthless about moderating and blacklisting offenders.
–Yves
P.S. Also, before further stressing our already stressed moderators, read our site policies:
Please do not write us to ask why a comment has not appeared. We do not have the bandwidth to investigate and reply. Using the comments section to complain about moderation decisions/tripwires earns that commenter troll points. Please don’t do it. Those comments will also be removed if we encounter them.
Mind-Altering Parasite May Make Infected People More Attractive, Study Suggests Science Alert
The Cantillon Effect and Stock Market Crashes Matt Stoller, BIG
Private equity moves into the antitrust spotlight FT
Special Report: How Wall Street banks made a killing on SPAC craze Reuters
The Math Prodigy Whose Hack Upended DeFi Won’t Give Back His Millions Bloomberg. Fascinating story with “Code Is Law” implications.
#COVID19
The U.S. is in a sixth COVID wave—but it doesn’t look like it on a new CDC map Fortune
As cases rise, Americans are ‘checked out’ on COVID-19 The Hill
The Normalization of “Working Through Covid” Culture Study
* * * A call for an independent inquiry into the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus Neil L. Harrison and Jeffrey D. Sachs, PNAS
* * * With old-school technology, can Novavax win over COVID vaccine skeptics? Los Angeles Times
The Smallpox Vaccine – What You Need to Know New York State Department of Health (Re Silc).
Brownstone Institute is at it again. Thread:
The Brownstone Institute is now so committed to undermining public health in the United States that they are pushing a conspiracy theory that a monkeypox outbreak modeling exercise conducted last year suggests that this year’s outbreak was a deliberate release or something.
— Carl T. Bergstrom (@CT_Bergstrom) May 23, 2022
* * * Routine Surveillance and Vaccination on a University Campus During the Spread of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant JAMA. From the Discussion: “Cornell’s experience shows that traditional public health interventions were not a match for Omicron. While vaccination protected against severe illness, it was not sufficient to prevent rapid spread, even when combined with other public health measures including widespread surveillance testing.” Maybe. I’m not seeing anything about ventilation (see under “Swiss Cheese Theory”). And when I look at “Campus Policy Shifts in Figure one, they look to me like they come much too late. (Also, one wonders if wasterwater detection would have provided earliier and more pinpointed detection.) So, I am not persuaded by the thesis of the article, and would be interested to hear from schools — if any — that succeeded. I’m also not persuaded that a college campus is anything like a microcosm for arger society.”
The neurological sequelae of pandemics and epidemics Journal of Neurology. From 2021, still germane.
China?
Coronavirus: Shanghai to expand app tracking to guard against Covid-19 resurgence, as city marks third day without community spread South China Morning Post. Progress in China:
Nationwide, overall Covid cases are trending down. Of China’s top 50 cities by economic size, only Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai currently have widespread restrictions in place. https://t.co/d0BYFYNxhd pic.twitter.com/jhgyeGeDan
— Bloomberg (@business) May 23, 2022
The Koreas
How North Korea Went from ‘Zero COVID’ to 1.2 Million Cases in 72 Hours Vice
India
The India Fix: Why is Indian politics not waking up to the existential threat of climate change? The Scrolls
UK/EU
Commission to extend EU debt-rule suspension to 2023 Politico
Syraqistan
Israeli Investigation Into Killing of Palestinian American Journalist Ends Before It Begins The Intercept
New Not-So-Cold War
Ukraine peace deal: Kyiv rules out ceding land to Russia BBC. That $40 billion must have been quite a head rush.
Russia-Ukraine War: Ukraine’s EU Bid Won’t Be Finalised For 15- 20 Yrs, Says France Republic World. Oof.
Debating Scott Ritter and Desna Is Just One Disaster for the Ukrainian Military Larry C. Johnson, A Son of the New American Revolution
McKinsey & Co. worked with Russian weapons maker even as it advised Pentagon NBC
How to Prepare for the Next Ukraine Michelle Flournoy, Foreign Affairs
Peru’s President Replaces Four Ministers as Crisis Escalates Bloomberg
Biden Administration
Biden Asia trip:
Biden in Japan to launch regional economic plan to counter Beijing Reuters. Not really an FTA. No ISDS, but that won’t stop corporate stakeholders from trying to get it in.
Explained: What is the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework? The Indian Express
With IPEF Launch Imminent, Here’s What You Need to Know About the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Public Citizen
US Picks Negotiators for Biden’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework Bloomberg
Taiwan not part of new Indo-Pacific economic initiative: White House Focus Taiwan
Biden vows military defence of Taiwan if China invades Agence France Presse. He went there:
Breaking: 拜登總統被問到，如果中國攻擊台灣，美國是否將會軍事介入，他回答「Yes」。When asked will US get involved militarily if China invades Taiwan, President Biden said “Yes” @VOANews @voachinese pic.twitter.com/DKI3IWzWa7
— 黄耀毅 (@VOAYYH) May 23, 2022
Kishida, Biden to call for China’s nuclear disarmament in joint statement Japan News. From the Department of Fat Chance.
* * * Bush is Biden is Bush TK News
My Lunch With President Biden Thomas Friedman, NYT
Capitol Seizure
AP source: Giuliani interviewed for hours by 1/6 committee AP
RussiaGate
Hillary Clinton Did It Editorial Board, WSJ
Assange
“He is a publisher who published true information.” See, there’s your problem:
“It’s basically the revenge of the United States” says wife of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange
Stella Moris calls US espionage charges against him “political persecution” and says UK Home Secretary – who will decide on his extradition – has his “life in her hands” pic.twitter.com/dQccKBeiad
— BBC HARDtalk (@BBCHARDtalk) May 17, 2022
Sports Desk
Tennis tours strip ranking points at Wimbledon over decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players CNN
Zeitgest Watch
This Is the Southern Baptist Apocalypse Christianity Today
Imperial Collapse Watch
A surge in Navy deserters could be a sign of a bigger problem for the military NPR (Re Silc).
What Will It Take for Momfluencers to Speak Up About Abortion Rights? New York Magazine
Class Warfare
You Have to Be Very Persistent’: Lessons from the Starbucks Union in Chile Labor Notes
The past two weeks in US unions, May 7-21, 2022 Who Gets the Bird
Inequality hysteresis Bank of International Settlements
Tesla Sedan Burns For 4 Hours After Crash, Fire Near Fillmore CBS
Did NASA find a mysterious doorway on Mars? No, but that’s no reason to stop looking The Conversation
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
