The Biggest Mood (KC Simpkins)

I am so inspired by @keyachatterjee.bsky.social speaking this morning at #OurPlanetOurHealth about current events. Talking to us about the exact moment we're in, as adults, with the harsh truth and tips from @freedcproject.bsky.social. WOW this is so refreshing!! Not mincing words. Thank you!

A picture of the Mary Tyler Moore statue in downtown Minneapolis, depicting the iconic moment from the show where she throws her hat in the air. But the hat has been covered over with a protesters cardboard sign, reading “FUCK ICE.”

On a downtown street in Minneapolis, as people stream out from the massive march, Mary Tyler Moore says “fuck ice.”

ICE agent asked why he's taking pictures of a legal observer's car, replies: "Cuz we have a nice little database and now you're considered a domestic terrorist. So have fun with that."

Anti-ICE protesters fill the streets of downtown Minneapolis during an "ICE Out" rally on Jan. 23.

📷️ Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune

Continuing coverage: bit.ly/3ZsrBxQ

Danish MEP Anders Vistisen to Donald Trump :”Let me put this in words you might understand: Mr. President, fuck off.”

Mischief Toy Store in St. Paul has until Wednesday to turn over employment records to the Department of Homeland Security as part of a surprise audit launched Friday, just hours after one of the shop's owners criticized ICE agents during a television interview. bit.ly/4r5AFol

Behind the disturbing image of ICE snatching a half-naked, elderly Hmong American from his home DHS has claimed without evidence that they were looking for someone else when they took ChongLy Scott Thao.

New — I wrote about ChongLy Scott Thao, the elderly Hmong American wrongly arrested and forced out of his home by ICE in his underwear during the punishing Minnesota winter, what witnesses saw, and DHS's racist claim that he fit the description of another Asian man they were looking for.

My story:

Today feels extra in terms of doomerism and I don't know if it's bot driven or reactionary. Probably a combo of both, but there are many, many things you can do, in both short term immediate assistance and long term. Thread below:

Is the goal that links always go in the 2nd post or something? I felt like I missed a memo. 🤪

The #1 reason I barely use Bluesky anymore is the SUPER SHORT CHARACTER LIMIT

How am I supposed to say anything of meaning or also include a link with only this many characters?

Threads allows for almost 2x as much, and crossposting becomes impossible.

Tagging people also uses up precious space.

Stand With Minnesota A directory of places to give to as Minnesota defends itself from ICE occupation

Good places to contribute 💙

www.standwithminnesota.com

Experts Call For N95s Over Surgical Masks As Flu, Covid Viruses Spread World Health Network experts urge WHO to make N95, KN95, or FFP2 respirators the standard for protection for healthcare workers, not inferior surgical masks.

Great piece by @drjudystone.bsky.social 🤩

"Last week, the WHN sent a letter to the WHO urging them to declare respirators as the default protection for healthcare workers, rather than surgical masks. They said that FFP2/3 respirators or N95s should be the standard."

www.forbes.com/sites/judyst...

YouTube video by Federal Reserve Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell

Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...

How not to catch the flu? The airborne infection transmission pathway remains elusive

We just published our “Insights from lack of transmission in a controlled transmission trial with naturally infected donors” in the journal PLOS Pathogens. I've summarized it in a Substack post. "How not to catch the flu?" profairborne.substack.com/p/how-not-to...
#Influenza #AirborneInfection

"Our results suggest that portable air purifiers that stir up the air as well as clean it could be a big help. But if you are really close and someone is coughing, the best way to stay safe is to wear a mask, especially the N95,” said Milton."

Another reason for improved indoor air quality!

Study: How can we stop the spread of flu? | University of Maryland | School of Public Health This year’s flu season is turning out to be brutal. As a new variant known as subclade K spreads rapidly, a study out today offers clues as to how to avoid the annual sickness.

How can we stop the spread of flu?

New research on real cases:

"Being up close, face-to-face with other people indoors where the air isn’t moving much seems to be the most risky thing – and it’s something we all tend to do a lot..." @donmilton.bsky.social

sph.umd.edu/news/study-h...

Singing unmasked, indoors spreads COVID-19 through aerosols, new study confirms Singing indoors, unmasked, can swiftly spread COVID-19 via microscopic airborne particles known as aerosols, confirms a new peer-reviewed study of a March choir

Why am I posting about this?

Because from the start of 2020, I was covering the scientific research that showed Covid (Sars-CoV-2) spread primarily through airborne aerosols (link below).

Those same folks authored and endorsed this letter. I stand with them.

www.colorado.edu/today/2020/0...

Face masks ‘inadequate’ and should be swapped for respirators, WHO is advised Experts are urging guideline changes on what health professionals should wear to protect against flu-like illnesses including Covid

Media article: www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Open Letter: whn.global/a-call-for-t...

Prof @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social: “...By sealing against the face, respirators force airflow to pass through them, filtering out the airborne germs. Respirators are designed to fit closely around the face & meet high filtration standards. Medical masks, in contrast, fit loosely & leak extensively.”

The graphics are also well done, clearly illustrating the difference between a surgical mask and a respirator:

Surgical face masks are loose fitting and designed for one-way protection, while the FFP2 respirator (likely a KN94 or KN95 here) is a tight-fitting mask, which creates a facial seal.

And, while "Surgical masks are still “better than nothing”,

"Surgical masks are to respirators what the typewriter was to the modern computer, said Finkel, who was chief regulatory official at the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration between 1995 and 2000: “Obsolete.” "

My favorite quote: Prof @adamfinkel.bsky.social of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, one of the letter’s organisers, said surgical masks were not designed to stop airborne pathogens but “invented to stop doctors and nurses from sneezing into the guts and the hearts of patients."

There is “no rational justification remaining for prioritising or using” the surgical masks that are ubiquitous in hospitals and clinics globally, given their “inadequate protection against airborne pathogens”, they said in a letter to WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Open Letter to WHO: A Call for the Universal use of Respirators in Healthcare - WHN January 7, 2026 The letter below (a button to download it as a .pdf file is at the bottom of this page) was sent to seven top officials at the World Health Organization on Wednesday 7 January. Press c...

The letter is a timely call for adequate protection against airborne pathogens for healthcare workers and patients, as the the current WHO guidelines are inadequate and causing harm, given that the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens is established.

whn.global/a-call-for-t...

Face masks ‘inadequate’ and should be swapped for respirators, WHO is advised Experts are urging guideline changes on what health professionals should wear to protect against flu-like illnesses including Covid

Please read an important piece of media from @theguardian.com that covers an "Open Letter to WHO: A Call for the Universal use of Respirators in Healthcare," published by the World Health Network, & authored, endorsed, and signed by top health & AQ experts.

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

Face masks ‘inadequate’ and should be swapped for respirators, WHO is advised Experts are urging guideline changes on what health professionals should wear to protect against flu-like illnesses including Covid

YOUR FLIMSY SURGICAL MASK NEEDS AN UPGRADE

If you're a medical professional or a patient, the science makes clear that we know better than to continue using surgical masks as the standard in care.

It's time to do better with this info: Respirators offer superior protection from airborne pathogens.

Face masks ‘inadequate’ and should be swapped for respirators, WHO is advised Experts are urging guideline changes on what health professionals should wear to protect against flu-like illnesses including Covid

Our letter to the World Health Org. urging WHO to declare surgical masks obsolete and recommend N95/FFP2-3 respirators in healthcare, prompted coverage today in The Guardian. www.theguardian.com/global-devel... @gregggonsalves.bsky.social @fastlerner.bsky.social @joho.bsky.social

Relying on ChatGPT to teach you about a topic leaves you with shallower knowledge than Googling and reading about it, according to new research that compared what more than 10,000 people knew after using one method or the other.

Shared by @gizmodo.com: buff.ly/yAAHtHq

"CDC no longer trustworthy"

It's been 10 months. We are in deep shit.

www.cidrap.umn.edu/childhood-va...

Thank you, found it thrifting! 😎