Last week's posts at Moon of Alabama:
- Dec 27 – When China Does Great Question Its Cost
Related:
– Japan-US ‘island chain’ will roil China, Russia – Indian Punchline
– China’s Soft-Power Advantage in Africa – Beijing Isn’t Just Building Roads—It’s Making Friends – Foreign Affairs
– exclusive | US applies to China for 18 officials to attend Winter Olympics after Joe Biden declares diplomatic boycott – SCMP
- Dec 28 – The Federal Government's Covid Failure Becomes Even More Apparent
Related:
– The very bad day at the CDC – Eric Topol
– The CDC’s Defense of Its New COVID Guidelines Is Complete Nonsense – Slate
– 3 big questions about the Biden administration’s Covid response in 2022 – STAT
- Dec 30 – Talks Between Putin And Biden Continue
Related:
– What the US Misunderstands About Russia – Nina L. Khrushcheva
– Four Western provocations that led to U.S.-Russia crisis today –Responsible Statecraft
– Deciphering the Biden-Putin Telephone Chat of December 30, 2021 – Gilbert Doctorow
- Dec 31 – A Happy New Year To All Moonkind
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Other issues:
Covid-19 – Good news:
As expected vaccinated people have a good T-cell response when infected with Omicron. This was my argument against boosters in otherwise healthy people when I wrote: Why You Should Get Vaccinated But Don't Need A Third Shot
- SARS-CoV-2 spike T cell responses induced upon vaccination or infection remain robust against Omicron – medRxiv
- SARS-CoV-2 vaccination induces immunological memory able to cross-recognize variants from Alpha to Omicron – bioRxiv
- Preferential expansion of cross-reactive pre-existing switched memory B cells that recognize the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant Spike protein – medRxiv
In Omicron Update I mentioned signs that Omicron is probably less severe because it does not infect the lungs. New research confirms that thesis.
- Studies Suggest Why Omicron Is Less Severe: It Spares the Lungs – NY Times
- People with Omicron are less likely to need hospitalization, British report finds. – NY Times
Covid-19 – Bad news:
- Omicron Is Our Past Pandemic Mistakes on Fast-Forward – Atlantic
- Uncounted: Inaccurate death certificates across the country hide the true toll of COVID-19 – Missouri Independent
- BREAKING! Southern France Reports Spread Of New SARS-CoV-2 Variant B.1.640.2 With 46 Mutations And 37 Deletions Originating From Cameroon! – Thailand Medical
John Nkengasong @JNkengasong – 1:34 UTC · Jan 1, 2022
Two years,<100 cases of the virus that causes the Covid-19 were reported globally. Today, 280M people have been infected with 5.4M deaths. Major lessons: we are more #connected, more #vulnerable, and more #inequalities than we thought! Let’s act more collectively in 2022!
Syria:
- Salafis Throwing Bombs: How American and British Planners Partnered With Al-Qaeda Affiliated Groups At the Start of the Syrian Civil War – William Van Wagenen / Libertarian Institute
Economy:
- The Fed’s Doomsday Prophet Has a Dire Warning About Where We’re Headed – Politico
- The Selective Sovietization of American Capitalism – Amar Bhidé
- Dollar’s year of living dangerously awaits – Asia Times
On the cause and the best response:
- Indebted Demand – Mian, Straub, Sufi – Harvard
When demand is sufficiently indebted, the economy gets stuck in a debt-driven liquidity trap, or debt trap. Escaping a debt trap requires consideration of less conventional macroeconomic policies, such as those focused on redistribution or those reducing the structural sources of high inequality.
Last but not least:
- America’s Malaise and Its ‘Failure of National Purpose’ – ‘Things Are Not Getting Better’ – Alastair Crooke / SCF
Use as open thread …