Cows Have Been Infected With a Second Form of Bird Flu (NYT)

Dairy cows in Nevada have been infected with a new form of bird flu that is distinct from the version that has been spreading through herds over the last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced on Wednesday.

The finding indicates that the virus, known as H5N1, has spilled from birds into cows at least twice — leading to these two sets of infections — and that it could continue to do so. It also suggests that the virus may pose a persistent risk to cows and to the people who work closely with them.

Before last year, scientists did not know that cows were susceptible to this type of influenza.

“This is not what anyone wanted to see,” said Louise Moncla, an evolutionary biologist who studies avian influenza at the University of Pennsylvania. “We need to now consider the possibility that cows are more broadly susceptible to these viruses than we initially thought.”

Seeing the fnords is praxis

I still need to read The Communism of Love

Onion: Pentagon Warns China Developing Love, The Greatest Weapon Of All

“Our assessments indicate love is stronger than any technology possessed by the U.S. military,” said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, pledging to work with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and other regional partners to stop China from harnessing the invincible cosmic force that always emerges victorious. “Intelligence estimates suggest the program is in its final stages, so we must act quickly or love will overwhelm us and we will feel compelled to surrender to it.”

“If China succeeds, it will have the power to remake the global order by spreading universal love and understanding to every corner of the world,” Austin added.

NYT:

Stock markets fell sharply on Monday, dragged down by fears that advances in artificial intelligence by Chinese upstarts could threaten the moneymaking power of American technology giants.

OUR start-ups

THEIR upstarts

This is what caused the war between Freedonia and Sylvania!

Also, last I heard there are still 11 crew members stuck on that boat in Baltimore.

https://www.wmar2news.com/keybridgecollapse/11-dali-crew-members-remain-in-baltimore-nearly-8-months-after-key-bridge-collapse

Edit - Correction from @FunkyStuff@hexbear.net : “The 11 Dali crew members remaining in Baltimore have been off the ship since June. Before that, the entire crew spent three months onboard before they were allowed to disembark.”

Broke: owning the libs

Bespoke: leaving a crowd of very upset Hyannis Port tourists in your wake

Also: (https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/al-mayadeen-obtains-terms-of-gaza-ceasefire-deal)

“Israel” is to release all women and children under the age of 19 from its prisons.

Israeli forces must gradually withdraw from the Netzarim corridor and the Philadelphi Route.

Displaced residents must be allowed to return to their homes, with guaranteed freedom of movement throughout the Gaza Strip.

Hostile aircraft must vacate Gaza’s airspace for 8 to 10 hours daily.

All hospitals in Gaza must be rehabilitated. Field hospitals, medical equipment, and surgical teams must be permitted entry.

José “Cha Cha” Jiménez, a human rights activist who co-founded the Rainbow Coalition and served as chairman of the Young Lords organization, died Friday. He was 76.

Mr. Jiménez spent much of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s fighting gentrification in Lincoln Park, allying with other organizations in Chicago to uplift minority and low-income communities, and rallying for an independent Puerto Rico.

https://archive.is/tqRU6

Some good news, at least - the sheriff’s station in Altadena has burned down.

…

Also I just read Parable of the Sower, which is set in that area and features climate change and neighborhoods on fire. Octavia Butler is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena. That graveyard was on fire this morning, too.

And then they’ll blame the city for holding an event

The fire in Altadena is where this used to be:

The railway, originally incorporated by Thaddeus S. C. Lowe as the Pasadena and Mt. Wilson Railroad Co.,[1] existed from 1893 until its official abandonment in 1938, and was the only scenic mountain, electric traction (overhead electric trolley) railroad ever built in the United States.

Happy Getting Trampled to Death While Carrying A Flag That Says Don’t Tread On Me Day

A gust of wind blew papers off the lectern just as Trudeau stepped out to speak.

(NYT)

The knowledge of good and evil

Nancy Pelosi tripped on the stairs (NYT)

Ms. Pelosi tripped going down marble stairs at the Grand Ducal Palace and took a hard fall, according to a person familiar with the incident who was not authorized to comment and spoke on condition of anonymity.

…

It was the second time this week that an octogenarian congressional leader sustained an injury while carrying out their official duties.

On Tuesday, Senator Mitch McConnell, 82, Republican of Kentucky, tripped and fell in the Capitol following the weekly G.O.P. luncheon, spraining his wrist and sustaining a small cut to his face.

NYU has banned dozens of students and three (Jewish) professors from campus and declared them personae non grata for participating in a pro-Palestine protest. One of the professors is Rebecca Karl, author of Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-Century World, which I think I’ve seen recommended on here.

https://nyunews.com/news/2024/12/12/bobst-protest-arrests/

It started back when they were incessant burdens, and their parents soothed them with brandy.

Daniel Penny has been acquitted of all charges in the murder manslaughter criminally negligent homicide apparently totally fine death of Jordan Neely.

https://archive.is/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/nyregion/daniel-penny-not-guilty-jordan-neely.html