Alien Hunters Discover Mysterious Signal from Proxima Centauri Scientific American

Forests in Brazil emitting more carbon than they absorb due to climate change: Study ABC

Australian ‘super seaweed’ supplement to reduce cattle gas emissions wins $1m international prize The Hill

#COVID19

‘I failed’: Operation Warp Speed leader takes responsibility for Covid-19 vaccine distribution confusion STATS. Political class: “What is this responsibility of which you speak?”

A side-by-side comparison of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines STAT

FDA investigating five allergic reactions after Pfizer shot in U.S. Reuters

African-American Resistance to the COVID-19 Vaccine Reflects a Broader Problem Jelani Cobb, The New Yorker

Health Canada announces that dudes who wear shorts all winter will get vaccine last The Beaverton

* * *

Preliminary genomic characterisation of an emergent SARS-CoV-2 lineage in the UK defined by a novel set of spike mutations Virological.org (dk). From the Abstract: “Preliminary genomic characterisation of an emergent SARS-CoV-2 lineage in the UK defined by a novel set of spike mutations.” And from the body of the paper: “Although we speculate here that chronic infection played a role in the origins of the B.1.1.7 variant, this remains a hypothesis and we cannot yet infer the precise nature of this event” (see the section under “Lineage-defining mutations & rate of evolution”; this paper doesn’t need a translator, mostly).

Here’s what you need to know about the new coronavirus variant, now confirmed in SA Business Insider. South Africa’s variant, not the same as the UK’s.

Antibody-Dependent Enhancement Derek Lowe, “In the Pipeline,” Science. Interesting.

* * *

Long-distance airborne dispersal of SARS-CoV-2 in COVID-19 wards Nature. From the Abstract: “Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in central ventilation systems, distant from patient areas, indicate that virus can be transported long distances and that droplet transmission alone cannot reasonably explain this, especially considering the relatively low air change rates in these wards. Airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 must be taken into consideration for preventive measures.” Important caveat: “Infective ability of the samples was assessed by inoculation of susceptible cell cultures but could not be determined in these experiments.”

There should be one of these at every entrance to every public building:

A Japanese startup WACO has installed high-tech handwashing stations in Tokyo to encourage shoppers to wash their hands and sterilize their phones on the go https://t.co/jSEdXPrRRQ pic.twitter.com/wsUx6tB2Sz

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 19, 2020

If there’s one surface where aerosols (spoken) transform into fomites (touch), it would be the surface of cellphones. Although I can’t recall a study on this.

* * *

COVID-19 outpatients: early risk-stratified treatment with zinc plus low-dose hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin: a retrospective case series study COVID-19 outpatients: early risk-stratified treatment with zinc plus low-dose hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin: a retrospective case series study International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents. We ran this in October as a pre-proof; this is the published version.

* * *

Tucker Carlson: Public confidence in the coronavirus vaccine won’t be achieved by Big Tech censorship FOX (MV).

‘Do as I say’: Anger as some politicians ignore virus rules AP

China?

Invincible empire? Bloomberg

Coronavirus: China to vaccinate 50 million people for Lunar New Year South China Morning Post (Re Silc).

Why Health Is The New Luxury In China Jing Daily

No ‘Negative’ News: How China Censored the Coronavirus NYT

‘On notice’: Sydney braces for lockdown to contain COVID-19 outbreak by Christmas The Age

First major COVID-19 outbreak hits Thailand as South Korea sets infection record Channel News Asia

India

India hits 10m Covid cases as tough measures fail to halt spread FT

The Remedy to the Agricultural Crisis That No One Is Talking About The Wire

Thousands gather in Sacramento, block traffic on Highway 50 to protest India farming laws Sacramento Bee

Mauritius

MOL Releases Internal Investigation Report on MV Wakashio Accident gCaptain. With excerpts from the report.

UK/EU

London Begins Emergency Lockdown as U.K. Fights New Virus Strain Bloomberg

Grenfell Tower inquiry: ‘Whistleblower’ refusing to give evidence BBC

Brexit

Brussels faces fishing backlash as Brexit talks drag on FT

Brexit to send price of dildos and butt plugs soaring, sex toy company warns Yahoo News

Meet the toilet barons of Brexit Wired (Colonel Smithers). Where there’s muck, there’s brass.

Operation Amazônia: Brazilian Army “simulates war” with Venezuela Brasilwire

New Cold War

U.S. State Department Closing Two Consulates In Russia NPR

RussiaGate

Former CIA and Pentagon Chief of Staff Jeremy Bash: This is an epic national security crisis MSNBC. Solarwinds123Gate?

Trump Transition

Trump To CIA: Say Goodbye To Your War On Terror The Intercept. That’s a damn shame.

Pence announces that Space Force personnel will be called guardians CNN. “Awesome Mix Tape no. 1” playing during the presser, no doubt. (This is Pence, willing executioner for Hitler, who was handed the Space Force chew toy by Pelosi, one can only presume to advance the strategic goals of defeating facism and restoring “our democracy”).

Congress reaches deal on new economic-relief bill, $600 stimulus payments AP. $600 is what rich people think the working class thinks is a lot of money.

The questionable integrity of former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara The Komisar Scoop

Biden Transition

Biden Goes To Bat For BlackRock, Stays Vague On Direct Aid To Struggling Americans David Sirota and Walker Bragman, The Daily Poster

Biden introduces his environment team, calling climate change ‘the existential threat of our time’ Fortune

Health Care

A New Congressional Budget Office Study Shows That Medicare for All Would Save Hundreds of Billions of Dollars Annually Jacobin

Our Famously Free Press

We need to learn how to talk to (and about) accidental conspiracists Neiman Labs

Readers, have any of you had this experience? Thread:

Somewhere in town last night there was a huge explosion that rocked my house. This morning, I can’t find anything on it anywhere. Not a news item, not a tweet.

It’s making me think about decline of local news and local experience that’s contributing to our current crisis.

— Jared Yates Sexton (@JYSexton) December 19, 2020

I mean a material, explosion-level event, not just something that should have been reported and wasn’t, like corruption.

Police State Watch

Bodycam Video Shows ‘Mob Mentality’ of Boston Police Who Responded to George Floyd Protests, Lawyer Says The Appeal

Class Warfare

Why They’re Denying You Healthcare And Financial Support During A Pandemic Caitlin Johnstone

‘Nothing under our tree’: millions in US cope with financial misery during holiday season Guardian (Re Silc). “Santa Claus is coming to town” seems more than usually ironic this year; Santa, after all, is not the only one coming to town.

Impatience: a deep cause of Western failure in handling the pandemic? globalinequality

The Art of Losing—Three Poems for the COVID-19 Pandemic JAMA

On the allure of people singing together Dorchester Reporter

Antidote du jour (via):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here