2021-12-22

Cool

• Exquisitely preserved embryo found inside fossilized dinosaur egg

• Bad Astronomy: Dinosaur-killer impact happened in late spring | SYFY WIRE

etc

• JWST launch postponed to Dec 25 due to weather conditions

  • James Webb Space Telescope - Launch Timeline

• California Pot Companies Warn of Impending Industry Collapse

• Earth’s magnetic field illuminates Biblical history Archive link

Horseshit

• Baseline pupil size is related to cognitive ability – ScienceDirect

celebrity gossip

• Jack Dorsey caused an uproar with a bizarre Web3 Twitter rant

• "If You Could Die Of Irony, She Would Be Dead": Musk Slams Liz Warren And Woke Culture In Epic Babylon Bee Interview | ZeroHedge

COVID / VaxCult

• Christmas cancelled in Gibraltar – the ‘most vaccinated’ place in the world

• Covid: Fines for Wales employees not working from home

• Bill Gates: Omicron Will Be The "Worst Surge We Have Seen So Far"

• President Biden Begs Americans 'Please Get Vaxx'd' While Unveiling Plan To Deal With Omicron Surge

• Israel recommends fourth Covid-19 dose for people over 60

  • Israeli PM announces fourth Covid jab for over-60s to tackle Omicron

• Omicron dominant in Denmark as daily infections reach new record

• US Army Creates Single Vaccine Effective Against All Covid, SARS Variants

• I live in a zero-Covid world

• WSJ, no less: The Dangerous Push to Give Boosters to Teens Archive link

  Last week I testified before Congress that many Covid policies are no longer driven by science. Data is being cherry-picked to support predetermined agendas, while the roles of natural immunity and life-saving therapeutics are being sidelined. We’ve seen medical bandwagon thinking hurt the country before. The false assumption that Covid spreads by surface transmission still has Americans engaging in futile disinfection rituals.

• Here's what we've learned so far about the Omicron variant

• One Medical failed to give out Covid-19 vaccines 'equitably'

• CDC withdraws support for PCR tests

• Paxlovid is expected to work well against Omicron – the problem is production

• Virtually every major health official in the US claimed Covid shots stop virus

  “Our data from the CDC suggests that vaccinated people don’t carry the virus, don’t get sick and that it’s not just in clinical trials, but it’s also in real world data.” - CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.

• Covid Omicron: European nations reinstate restrictions

• (Dec 15 2021) Why Paxlovid is a Just-in-Time Breakthrough - by Eric Topol

  • (Oct 2020) One doctor’s campaign to stop a covid-19 vaccine being rushed through before Election Day | MIT Technology Review

  By that point Topol, a heart expert and researcher with a huge Twitter following of his own, was already weeks into a personal campaign to make sure the administration could not rush a covid-19 vaccine through regulatory authorization before Election Day on November 3.

• Omicron infections appear no less severe than Delta; Covid-19 lowers sperm count

• Conditional Cash Lotteries Increase Covid-19 Vaccination Rates

• FDA won't approve fluvoxamine for Covid because there's no drug company sponsor

  But I can’t help wondering if this is entirely on the FDA. Fluvoxamine is legal. The only reason we need the FDA to get involved here at all is because if it’s not on the label, doctors will feel uncomfortable prescribing it. What if, in order to save thousands of lives and help beat back a global pandemic, doctors just did the uncomfortable thing?

• CNN expert: Cloth masks are useless "face decorations" at this point – HotAir

• WHO's Tedros Warns Holiday Gatherings Could Result In COVID Surge, Urges People To Cancel Events

• Mind-Boggling White House Presser Deploys Covid Blame Cannons, Vaporizes "Public Health" (and Walensky Slays) | naked capitalism

• How long should you isolate if you're fully vaccinated but have Covid-19? There is some debate

• Chicago mayor requiring vaccines for restaurants, gyms, other venues

• CVS and Walgreens to limit the number of at-home test purchases

• How Fauci and Collins Shut Down Covid Debate

• The vaccines work against severe disease. Here's why boosters are a good idea

• Amazon is rolling back Covid protocols in warehouses

• I did everything Biden told me to do. On Friday, I tested positive for COVID-19.

• FDA intransigence prevents distribution of effective rapid tests

• While omicron explodes around the world, Covid cases in Japan keep plummeting

• Omicron Covid-19 cases drop in South Africa, potentially signaling end of surge

• Omicron Has 80% Lower Risk of Hospitalization in South Africa

• Leaked Covid modelling shows just the most worrying scenario – not most likely

• WHO says vaccine booster programs will prolong Covid crisis

• FDA Authorizes First Oral Antiviral for Treatment of Covid-19

  • FDA authorizes first antiviral pill for Covid, Paxlovid

• NFL’s Covid-testing plan could fuel spread but it’s ‘where society is going’

• The Risk of Vaccinated COVID Transmission Is Not Low

• South Africa’s omicron wave appears to be subsiding just as quickly as it grew

Culture War / Re segregation / Faith Fights

• Founder of Black Girls Code has been ousted as head of the nonprofit

• Linux Foundation's report on diversity, equity, and inclusion in open source

  • "On the Internet, no one knows you're a dog"

• Are we past peak “woke”?

Edumacationalizing / Acedemia Nuts

• Princeton Researcher Apologizes for Threatening GDPR/CCPA Email Study

  I have carefully read every single message sent to our research team, and I am dismayed that the emails in our study came across as security risks or legal threats. The intent of our study was to understand privacy practices, not to create a burden on website operators, email system operators, or privacy professionals. I sincerely apologize. I am the senior researcher, and the responsibility is mine.

  • Q: why are some emails sent from simulated identities?

  A: When the system has even higher confidence, it sends up to several emails that simulate real user inquiries about GDPR or CCPA processes. This research method is analogous to the audit and “secret shopper” methods that are common in academic research, enabling realistic evaluation of business practices. Simulating user inquiries also enables the study to better understand how websites respond to users from different locations.

• UBC bans non-minority candidates from applying for tenure-track quantum position

Media / ShowBiz / Censorship

• Journalist sues Twitter after ban for saying vaccine doesn't stop transmission

  • Alex Berenson Sues Twitter For Purging Him From The Platform

TechSuck

• Rust language drama The Core Team Is Toxic - HackMD

• Developer creates ‘Quite OK Image Format’ that beats PNGs • The Register

• Hidden Networks in TP-Link Routers | Hacker News

• Amazon’s Alexa Stalled with Users as Interest Faded

Economicon / Business / Finance

• $1 Slice Pizza Inflation

• 11-week Kellogg’s strike to end after multi-year agreement reached

• Why Bitcoin is worse than a Madoff-style Ponzi scheme Archive link

Gubmint / Poilitcks / Law Making

• Biden might extend the student-loan payment pause beyond February 1

• U.S. opens investigation into 580k Tesla vehicles over game feature

• Coal Miners Urge Manchin to Rethink Opposition to Spending Bill

• SHE'S ALIVE! Siri Interrupts Ted Cruz As He Bashes Big Tech In Interview (Video) - The Lid

Law Breaking / Police / Internal Security

• EV startup Nikola settles with U.S. for $125 million | The Seattle Times

  Electric- and hydrogen-powered truck startup Nikola has agreed to a $125 million settlement over charges that it defrauded investors after misleading them about its products, technical advances and financial prospects.

External Security / Militaria / Diplomania

• Air Force allows usage of pronouns in electronic signature

• US Mercenaries Preparing Chemical 'Provocation' In Eastern Ukraine: Russian Defense Chief | ZeroHedge

• Tensions with Russia Are Complicating the International Space Station

• 33rd Anniversary of the Pan Am Flight 103 Bombing

World

• Satellite photos reveal worrying antennas in South China Sea

• Why Putin has such a hard time accepting Ukrainian sovereignty

• Europe’s energy crunch continues as gas and power prices soar

• The Persecution of India's Christians

Health / Medicine

• Series of preclinical studies supports the Army’s pan-coronavirus vaccine

• Please don’t weigh me, US patients ask doctors

• U.S. death rate soared 17 percent in 2020, final CDC mortality report concludes

Environment / Climate / Green Propaganda

• Devon calls victory in 27-year war on termites

• We’re Heading Toward a American Climate Tragedy

• Snow could pile as high as a one-story building for some