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Saved by @CodyyyGardner

We’re in a new year and we have also entered a new phase of this pandemic. So I thought I’d start off the new year with a quick catch-up thread on the UK variant B.1.1.7 and where we are at in this pandemic.

 The variant caught scientists' attention in early December based on a surge in cases around Kent and sequencing data showing it carried a host of mutations. (I wrote about this and how a quirk in the PCR is helping track it here: https://t.co/HupLMpgHPt).
CAVEAT: The pace at which we have learnt about this new variant is astonishing. But it’s important to realize that a lot of crucial lab experiments take longer. Most data now is looking at noisy epidemiological data and making inferences based on that.
Having said that: The picture is becoming clearer.
Good news first: There still is no evidence that the variant causes more severe disease or that it can reinfect people more easily or circumvent vaccine-induced immunity. Still, we need to stay vigilant.
The bad news: The evidence has only become stronger that B.1.1.7 is more transmissible and potentially a lot more transmissible than previously circulating #sarscov2. That has potentially massive consequences for the course of this pandemic.
Evidence comes from this preliminary report from @_nickdavies and others from @LSHTM for instance, showing the variant increasing in frequency across the UK. https://t.co/W8FzqvXYdZ
@_nickdavies @LSHTM "The continued rapid spread of VOC 202012/01 in England to high frequencies (50% or greater in all NHS regions as of 29 December 2020) makes it less likely that the spread of this variant is due to a founder effect or an otherwise selectively neutral effect."
@_nickdavies @LSHTM Recent report by Imperial College makes the same point:
"While rapid growth of the variant was first observed in the South East, similar growth patterns are observed later in London, East of England, and now more generally across England.”
https://t.co/QcyT8CmEb3
@_nickdavies @LSHTM Additional data from Denmark (which like UK is doing a lot of sequencing), suggests they are observing a similar pattern of the new variant spreading fast locally.
https://t.co/HMTNQLXa7R
@_nickdavies @LSHTM While the evidence is convincing that B.1.1.7 is spreading faster there are still a lot of question marks about how much faster. Given the data it’s hard to disentangle the effect of the variant spreading faster and changes in behaviour etc.
@_nickdavies @LSHTM Imperial report estimates what the variant adds to the R of #SARSCoV2 in a number of different ways. As you can see, best estimates range from 0.36 to 0.68. That would mean, on average, every person infected with B.1.1.7 infects an extra 0.36 to 0.68 persons compared to earlier
@_nickdavies @LSHTM Even if the truth turns out to be close to the lower estimates or please, please, please, below that, it is still a big effect. And remember: This is exponential growth, so the effect over time becomes massive.
I don’t think it has really sunk in, how serious this is.
@_nickdavies @LSHTM What does this mean for the pandemic?
Many countries have managed to reduce infections to low numbers by layering a lot of public health interventions on top of each other: teleworking, physical distancing, masks, no large gatherings, some kinds of shutdown etc.
@_nickdavies @LSHTM The idea was that if you do these things well enough, you get the effective reproduction number Rt below 1, so every infected person on average infects less than one other person. That means the virus does not spread and there is some wiggle room to keep schools open for instance
@_nickdavies @LSHTM That wiggle room has just become substantially smaller. If estimates are roughly right, keeping schools open is probably not possible.
Or, if you think of it in terms of the Swiss cheese model, we can afford fewer, smaller holes in the cheese.
https://t.co/FhC5Tw7qwq
@_nickdavies @LSHTM We have entered a new phase of this pandemic. On the one hand vaccinations have started, on the other hand this new variant is spreading faster, potentially causing a lot more sickness and death in a short time. Also: more people will need to be immunised to reach herd immunity.
@_nickdavies @LSHTM It’s not what anyone wants to hear, but the coming months may well be the hardest of this pandemic. If you’ve been thinking of vaccines as the light at the end of the tunnel: Yes, that light is there, as bright as ever. But the tunnel just got a bit darker and a little bit longer
@_nickdavies @LSHTM One addition: This is not the time to throw up your hands in despair and give up. Quite the opposite. We know what we need to do. We just need to do it better. This is the time to draw on whatever strength we have left and redouble our efforts to stem the spread of this virus.
@_nickdavies @LSHTM People love to say how this or that measure is "just postponing” things. Well, with vaccinations underway, “just postponing” things is exactly what we need to do. The variant is probably in many, many countries, but it is still early days and slowing it down will save lives.

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Johnny Silverhand
Johnny Silverhand
@SparesofWar
@ImPranav_M @GunduHuDuGa That's a good qsn, if not a bit nuanced. Avataras are of many varieties and frankly, most of the classification is only for our understanding and not really binding on Paramatma Himself. We can take several approaches to understanding this. If you go by a Vedantic approach,+

@GunduHuDuGa Avatara means that which descends from an exalted state (Taara). Going by Upanishadic observaton of Purnam adham purnam idham, every manifestation of Bhagavan is indeed wholesome. In fact, Avataras usually happen when Iswara is propitiated with certain qualities already+

@GunduHuDuGa described in the Vedas by other Devatas. So, in order to please them, He assumes the form that best envisages the said Vaidika tatvam. For example, Varaha and Nrusimha avatars, though they have sthoola prayojanas, also exemplify the Tejovanna tatvam propounded by Upanishads.+

@GunduHuDuGa All these tatvams ultimately emanate from Him so whatever form He takes is indeed Purna. Now, one may ask then if that's the case, why such a distinction had to be made in the first place. That is because of upasana vidhis and understanding of how Bhagavad tatvam shines+

@GunduHuDuGa with each Leela being performed. Let's take Nrusimha avatar. The purpose of the avatar is neither to save Hiranyakasipu nor rescue Prahlada. For that He need not descend down as H's boons are applicable only for Brahman's creation and not Paramatma Himself.+
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Jason_Q
Jason_Q
@JasonQ38367909
Ok. Here we are. Again. Doom@and gloom. Ya know.....POTUS never says anything without there being something coded within it. Including his short speech last night.

Anyone catch the color of the tie?
It was a baby blue tie with hints of pink. You know. Nursery colors

Because what was it all about? The CHILDREN.

So first off. When we look at numbers of missing children in the 90’s during the Clinton Child Catching and Cooking Machine and THEN compare that with the #’s of that pesky “V” from Chiiiina” ...

There were over 900k kids missing EACH YEAR during their Reign of terror... was there ANY alert or warning about an increase yearly of child snatching?

Nope.

So when you create something in a lab and blame it on “bat soup” in a market... with a survival rate of 99.4%..

Any alarm or warning?

Oh just a “Pan”demic level 6 ( it’s so amusing that these sick pricks use the half man / half goat god Pan along with demic with a level of 6 to stress the pure evil in this)

I to o is 6 spaces
C to n is 11 spaces.

Demic to demon is 17 letter shifts

Wouldn’t it just surprise you that the finishing of #17 left us with 17 spaces left...🤔💫💫
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Vigilant AFA
Vigilant AFA
@AfaVigilant
One fascist to watch in 2021 is Joseph Charles "Oakman" Golinske of SE MI. He's been a Proud Boy for a couple years, but took a break recently from the group and promotes himself through the "Oak Nation" channel on Telegram.


Most people may be familiar with him as the tall guy in the Proud Boys bridge shot, from their August 17, 2019 attack on Portland, which featured an American Guard bus trying (and failing) to bludgeon antifascists with hammers.


He was also with his g/f at the time (Dominique Tota, left of Tarrio), and that's definitely a twitter account folks will want to block/report because he posts on it.


He's been plenty active at the pro-Covid/anti-mask/ReOpen protests in Lansing MI, seen here with Jerry Wayne and an effigy of Gretchen Whitmer, who his militia friends tried to kidnap and publicly execute.


Outside of the Proud Boys, his solo "career" with Oak Nation features the same misogyny, classism and gateway to far-right domestic terrorism the Proud Boys themselves feature. Here's him peddling oxychlorinque and bragging about harassing service workers.
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Angus Johnston
Angus Johnston
@studentactivism
I’ve asked Byers to clarify, but as I read this tweet, it seems that Bret Stephens included an unredacted use of the n-word in his column this week to make a point, and the column got spiked—maybe as a result?


Four times. The column used the n-word (in the context of a quote) four times. https://t.co/14vPhQZktB


For context: In 2019, a Times reporter was reprimanded for several incidents of racial insensitivity on a trip with high school students, including one in which he used the n-word in a discussion of racial slurs.

That incident became public late last month, and late last week, after 150 Times employees complained about how it had been handled, the reporter in question resigned.

In the course of all that, the Times' executive editor said that the paper does not "tolerate racist language regardless of intent.” This was the quote that Bret Stephens was pushing back against in his column. (Which, again, was deep-sixed by the paper.)
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Billy Bostickson \U0001f3f4\U0001f441&\U0001f441 \U0001f193
Billy Bostickson 🏴👁&👁 ...
@BillyBostickson
@snip96581187 @Daoyu15 @lab_leak @walkaboutrick @ydeigin @Ayjchan @franciscodeasis @TheSeeker268 @angie_rasmussen Clearly, because as I have been saying for 8 months now, DTRA and DARPA have been using Ecohealth and UC Davis to collect novel pathogens for gain of function work back in the USA. I have documented this in many threads which I will post here just to annoy everyone.

@Daoyu15 @lab_leak @walkaboutrick @ydeigin @Ayjchan @franciscodeasis @TheSeeker268 @angie_rasmussen


@Daoyu15 @lab_leak @walkaboutrick @ydeigin @Ayjchan @franciscodeasis @TheSeeker268 @angie_rasmussen


@Daoyu15 @lab_leak @walkaboutrick @ydeigin @Ayjchan @franciscodeasis @TheSeeker268 @angie_rasmussen


@Daoyu15 @lab_leak @walkaboutrick @ydeigin @Ayjchan @franciscodeasis @TheSeeker268 @angie_rasmussen
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1/ Here are my notes from @robertwrighter's book - Nonzero: the logic of human destiny. I enjoyed the book very much.

The basic premise of the book is that history has a direction which favors co-operation and non-zero sum games, and that causes an increase in complexity.


2/ Starting from the first replicating molecule which co-operated with an outer layer to form first proto-cell, evolutionary and cultural history is full of examples where two entities come together to survive and progress a lot more than they would have done individually.

3/ This co-operative entity fares much better than two individual entities because of specialization. If two entities are in the same boat - that they win together or lose together - then trust is implicit.

4/ In a non-zero sum game, trust causes entities to focus on what they do best.

For example, eukaryotic cells - the ones animals and plants have - emerged when two proto-cells merged, and one took the role of energy generator (mitochondria), the other specialized in protection.

5/ Some scientists believe that even nucleus in a cell is a result of an early cell merging with another cell.

So M&A is not a recent phenomena, entities have been merging because of common interests ever since life started.
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Danielle \U0001f1e7\U0001f1f4
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❤✈️🌎 2 years ago today @JamesIvings and I sold all our belongings and left the UK to travel for a year. We've never been happier and we have no plans to ever return there 🙂

Thread 👇

Since then we've started a remote web dev company @SquarecatWebDev and been lucky enough to have completed several freelance projects 💻 that have kept us on the road.

In the last few months we've become a huge part of this amazing new Maker community and have found so many new friends from @makerskitchen, @women_make_ and several others! 🥰

We love travelling together (even if I'm only a glorified laptop watcher 😒) but we're both much happier being able to share our ideas outside of our own little bubble and our products have benefitted too!

Here's to another year of nomading with my favourite person and to the Maker community continuing to grow with our help! Maybe one day we'll all get to meet each other ✌️ 💛
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1/Just had an interview scheduled with @goddeketal, Dr Simon Goddek, the post-doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Mathematics and Statistics in the field of biotechnology, at an unnamed Dutch university. This researcher has been publicly pointing out that the paper that...

2/ the PCR test as the gold standard underlying global "lockdowns" was passed after maximum ONE day of peer review, as opposed to the average at that same journal of 172 days in 2019. Also that several authors have conflicts of interest. Unfortunately we were forced to cancel..

3/ because he was strongly advised by his university to maintain silence and not speak publicly -- to step back from this issue. I learned from a source that his university was heavily assailed by many complaints. Other scientists who have signed the review criticizing the PRC..

4/test, the "Retraction Request Letter", a critique that got worldwide attention, have also been bombarded with attacks, their relatives are being called at night, and their universities assailed. Some are at risk of losing jobs. Even former employers are being harassed. I..

5/ Note : scientists around the world are being silenced and harassed if they speak up in normal criticism of the scientific methods or conclusions used to advance the lockdown agenda and COVID testing. This is not post-enlightenment scientific discourse, this is how scientists
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Vibhu Vashisth
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हिमालय पर्वत की एक बड़ी पवित्र गुफा थी।उस गुफा के निकट ही गंगा जी बहती थी।एक बार देवर्षि नारद विचरण करते हुए वहां आ पहुंचे।वह परम पवित्र गुफा नारद जी को अत्यंत सुहावनी लगी।वहां का मनोरम प्राकृतिक दृश्य,पर्वत,नदी और वन देख उनके हृदय में श्रीहरि विष्णु की भक्ति अत्यंत बलवती हो उठी।


और देवर्षि नारद वहीं बैठकर तपस्या में लीन हो गए।इन्द्र नारद की तपस्या से घबरा गए।उन्हें हमेशा की तरह अपना सिंहासन व स्वर्ग खोने का डर सताने लगा।इसलिए इन्द्र ने नारद की तपस्या भंग करने के लिए कामदेव को उनके पास भेज दिया।वहां पहुंच कामदेव ने अपनी माया से वसंतऋतु को उत्पन्न कर दिया।


पेड़ और पौधों पर रंग बिरंगे फूल खिल गए और कोयलें कूकने लगी,पक्षी चहकने लगे।शीतल,मंद,सुगंधित और सुहावनी हवा चलने लगी।रंभा आदि अप्सराएं नाचने लगीं ।किन्तु कामदेव की किसी भी माया का नारद पे कोई प्रभाव नहीं पड़ा।तब कामदेव को डर सताने लगा कि कहीं नारद क्रोध में आकर मुझे श्राप न देदें।

जैसे ही नारद ने अपनी आंखें खोली, उसी क्षण कामदेव ने उनसे क्षमा मांगी।नारद मुनि को तनिक भी क्रोध नहीं आया और उन्होने शीघ्र ही कामदेव को क्षमा कर दिया।कामदेव प्रसन्न होकर वहां से चले गए।कामदेव के चले जाने पर देवर्षि के मन में अहंकार आ गया कि मैने कामदेव को हरा दिया।

नारद फिर कैलाश जा पहुंचे और शिवजी को अपनी विजयगाथा सुनाई।शिव समझ गए कि नारद अहंकारी हो गए हैं और अगर ये बात विष्णु जी जान गए तो नारद के लिए अच्छा नहीं होगा।ये सोचकर शिवजी ने नारद को भगवन विष्णु को ये बात बताने के लीए मना किया। परंतु नारद जी को ये बात उचित नहीं लगी।
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Here's the most useful #Factualist comparison pages #Thread 🧵


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https://t.co/hT5XPkTepy #english #wiki #wikidiff

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What is the difference between “alias” and “pseudonym?”

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