Markus Balázs Göransson

Putin’s friendship has limits — as Iran just found out Leaders in Damascus, Caracas and now Tehran have all discovered that Russian support only goes so far.

'“I’d like to emphasize, that the signing of the treaty does not mean the establishment of a military alliance with Iran or mutual military assistance,” Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko clarified to Russia’s State Duma at the time.'

www.politico.eu/article/vlad...

Weekend reading.

Thank you, Jenny!

The big hurdle is the peer-review but this response from the editors made my day.

Johan Carlson om 17:e aspekten av svensk pandemihantering som Sveriges intersektionella vänster tyckte var onödig att problematisera.

"Vi mot världen", s. 32

💔

Coronastatus 0514 - Novus - Kunskap och undersökningar English report can be downloaded here 20200514 Uppdaterad 20200514 kl 11:00 För tidigare dagar se länkar längre ned efter dagens uppdatering Sammanfattning Idag tittar jag vidare på de som varit sjuka...

"Är man lite förkyld så går många till jobbet ändå. Bara 12 % av de som precis blivit sjuka och är förvärvsarbetande stannar hemma från jobbet. De absolut flesta går ändå till jobbet då."

- Novus, maj 2020

novus.se/egnaundersok...

Utvisning av 18-åringar gör Sverige mindre attraktivt för toppforskare Problemet att de som fyllt 18 år förväntas stå på egna ben och därmed utvisas även om deras föräldrar har …

If you're a foreign professor in Sweden, the gov't will expel your children when they turn 18, even if you have permanent residency: sulf.se/nyhet/utvisn... via @sulf-union.bsky.social

Just got my copy of @dvanp.bsky.social's new book, "The DGSE: A Concise History of France's Foreign Intelligence Service," from Georgetown UP. I was involved on the editorial side of this book and it's a huge contribution. Available for pre-order today! press.georgetown.edu/Book/The-DGSE

Om du vill förstå varför så mycket teknik känns fientlig nu, varför allt kräver konto, samtycke och återkommande betalningar, titta på den jävla skrivaren.

Plastig. Passivt aggressiv. Full av ideologi, och av strukturellt hat mot dig som konsument och människa.

"Keep it simple"? Ät skit.

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Stay free

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said his face-to-face meeting with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Jan. 17 left him deeply alarmed about the U.S. president’s state of mind.

We are in excellent hands.

- This article addresses a case of official misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, the Swedish Public Health Agency (PHA) messaged against mask-wearing, warning that it could increase risk of infection.

2/2

bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/gsc/view/jou...

I'm reminded of Milošević, who moved fast and was good at whipping up emotions and using the system against itself, but who kept underestimating the resistance it would trigger and painted himself into corners (that he then used violence to get out of).

I meant, they keep biting off more than they can chew (Doge, tariffs, Greenland, Minneapolis, maybe Ukraine), and are forced to backtrack. Yes, they leave a lot of wreckage in their wake, but is that all they aim for?

I know, they have their ideas, but do they work?

It's just one overreach after another with this Trump administration.

Really glad to see this article with @mbgoransson.bsky.social and @pauloshea.bsky.social published in the Global Social Challenges Journal. The article presents a systematic review and analysis of how SVT covered the use of face masks in 2020. 1/ bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/gsc/view/jou...

That's it for me. Thank you for engaging with our article.

The Relationship Between Face Mask Use and Face-Touching Frequency in Public Areas: Naturalistic Study Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, a major public health goal has been reducing the spread of the virus, with particular emphasis on reducing transmission from person to person. Frequent face touching can transmit viral particles ...

Of course, it's misinformation when research says otherwise.

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

www.cambridge.org/core/books/a...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

Nice work! How Sweden’s national broadcaster (SVT) communicated mask scepticism during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most Swedes will probably recognize these themes:

Other recs more important Evidence for masks is weak
False sense of security
Far right wants masks
Can spread infection
Complicated to use

5. The PHA messaged that face masks may spread infection, that they were difficult to use, that places with mask requirements doing badly, that they caused compliance fatigue and other things that are clear examples of misinformation.

3. In addition to few RCTs about Covid, there is a wealth of non-RCT studies that point to the effectiveness of masking during Covid. 4. Using studies about masking and non-Covid respiratory illnesses to muddy the waters about masking and Covid is misinformation.

1. The Cochrane study draws conclusions about masking and respiratory illnesses in general. 2. It reviews mainly studies about non-Covid respiratory illnesses (which generally do not point to the effectiveness of masking) and very few about Covid (which generally point to its effectiveness).

What Went Wrong with a Highly Publicized COVID Mask Analysis? The Cochrane Library, a trusted source of health information, misled the public by prioritizing rigor over reality

www.scientificamerican.com/article/what...

The Cochrane study conflated the results of lots of studies before covid with very few studies during
Covid (which pointed in the direction of efficacy of masks against covid).

Very few of the studies reviewed in the Cochrane study were conducted during covid. There have been very few RCT studies on mask efficacy during covid (for obvious reasons), but they have generally demonstrated a moderate reduction in societal spread.

bsky.app/profile/mbgo...

bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/gsc/view/jou...

Nicholas did the lion's share of the work on this one, he did a truly amazing job.