Links 5/27/2020
Dino-dooming Asteroid Hit Earth At ‘Deadliest Possible’ Angle Barron’s. So there’s hope?
America’s Never-Ending Battle Against Flesh-Eating Worms The Atlantic
Loon stabs bald eagle to death Live Science
Aging Dams, Changing Climate: A Dangerous Mix Weather Underground
Siberian Heatwave Points to a Longer Wildfire Season Bloomberg
An Intuitive (and Short) Explanation of Bayes’ Theorem Better Explained. If you say so….
#COVID19
The science:
SARS-CoV-2 Reverse Genetics Reveals a Variable Infection Gradient in the Respiratory Tract Cell. Musical interlude.
* * *
Vaccines:
AP-NORC poll: Half of Americans would get a COVID-19 vaccine Associated Press
Why Immunity to the Novel Coronavirus Is So Complicated Smithsonian
First results from human COVID-19 immunology study reveal universally effective antibodies Rockefeller University
* * *
Treatment:
Indonesia, major advocate of hydroxychloroquine, told by WHO to stop using it Straits Times
* * *
Spread:
A cluster of coronavirus cases was reported in Arkansas after a swim party CNN. According to the governor. No case study I can find.
How one COVID-19 case at St Augustine’s Hospital led to 135 infections within 51 days – report KRISP. South Africa.
World Health Organization warns of ‘second peak’ in areas where COVID-19 declining NBC
Covid-19 Flares Up in America’s Polluted ‘Sacrifice Zones’ WIred
* * *
Testing and tracing:
SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in primary municipal sewage sludge as a leading indicator of COVID-19 outbreak dynamics medRxiv (dk). Looks solid.
* * *
Masks:
Moving Personal Protective Equipment Into the Community JAMA
China’s mask boom takes fabric away for nappy makers Agence France Presse
* * *
Financial response:
The Financial Catastrophe That Coronavirus Brought to Small Towns Pro Publica (Re Silc).
* * *
Business response:
A Coronavirus Conversation with Dr. Stephanie Taylor (interview) Engineered Systems (twonine). Look for: “As consulting and specifying engineers and/or facility managers, what steps should we take personally and or professionally to combat this outbreak?”
* * *
Reopening:
U.S. Economy Starts to Rise From Abyss Though Pain Far From Over Bloomberg
Tracking Consumer Comfort With Dining Out and Other Leisure Activities Morning Consult. Not so fast, Bloomberg.
* * *
Remedies and Ameliorations:
Virtual 7th-inning stretch brings ballpark feeling home Associated Press
China?
Hong Kong: Why China’s national anthem bill is so controversial Al Jazeera
Beijing expands proposed national security law for Hong Kong to prohibit ‘activities’ that would ‘seriously endanger national security’ South China Morning Post
US, China & Hong Kong’s Betrayal Patrick Lawrence, Consortium News
Beijing’s new national security laws and the future of Hong Kong Lausan
You gotta know the territory:
People’s Daily new poster on “Suppress #Hongkong independence, save Hongkong (打港獨救香港)” in Weibo. But in Cantonese, it could read as “HK Independence save (打救) HK”. Not to mention the bright yellow background #HongKongProtests https://t.co/wXBhGllkUA pic.twitter.com/vAsrIgbTYl
— Galileo Cheng (@galileocheng) May 26, 2020
* * *
China’s Weaker Yuan Fix Is the Real Cold War Salvo Bloomberg
China’s digital currency not set for launch as trials are ‘just routine’, central bank governor cools speculation South China Morning Post
Rich Chinese Snapping up Luxury Homes From Singapore to Sydney Bloomberg
We Must Resist the ‘China Threat’ Syndrome The Nation
The Limits of China’s Ecological Redline System Maritime Executive. Important.
In Philippine slums, heat, hunger take a toll under lockdown Reuters. Photo essay.
Have reports of Bali’s death been greatly exaggerated? New Mandala
India
Please perform empathy for the heartwarming story of this one super-exploited migrant laborer’s daughter:
"I am so proud of her. She saved me"
15-year-old Jyoti Kumari cycled her injured father home after they ran out of money and food during India's lockdown
The 1,200km-long (745 mile) journey took seven days https://t.co/Zatv8I0NDW pic.twitter.com/QeVzmKpHMw
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 27, 2020
What frosts me about stories like this is that there are tens, hundreds of thousands of similar stories that go unsung. But the collective experience is carefully erased (“Her efforts have made global headlines and won hearts on social media“). I think a Christian would call stories like this and their dopamine loop-inducing reactions cheap grace.
UK/EU
Outcry Over Dominic Cummings Turns Public Against Boris Johnson for 1st Time NYT. For example:
Brilliant front page.
First, because it’s hilarious.
Second, because it’s also making a deadly serious point – Cummings’ refusal to abide by his own lockdown rules has made the rules a laughing stock. This will cost lives. 👇 pic.twitter.com/kPVF2mvhBb— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) May 27, 2020
And from the land of Torquemada:
Possibly the best anagram ever:
STAY ALERT; CONTROL THE VIRUS; SAVE LIVES anagrams to
EASILY SURVIVES TRAVEL NORTH TO CASTLE
Well done to @Telegraph compiler Tim King for coming up with this!
— Chris Lancaster (@SamuelTheSetter) May 26, 2020
German ECB executive shrugs off court ruling against bond buying FT
Europe’s Easing Timetable Intact With Virus Spread Under Control Bloomberg
New Cold War
Nord Stream 2: Geopolitics, economics or emotions? RT
Russia to test ‘Doomsday Drone’ in high Arctic Asia Times
Marching into Oblivion Irrussianality
Digital Agriculture Benefits Zimbabwe’s Farmers but Mobile Money is Costly Interpress News Agency
Venezuelan Government Seizes AT&T Assets, Looks to Re-establish DirecTV Cable Service Venezuelanalysis
Parched and privatised Development and Cooperation. Chilean drought.
RussiaGate
Stop Saying Donald Trump Colluded with Russia The National Interest
Trump Transition
U.S. Withdrawal From Open Skies Bolsters Case for New Strategic Regime Carnegie Moscow Center
Key Senate Democrat withdraws support from House measure on web browsing data The Hill (dk).
Feds Arrest Member of Fin7, Group Tied to a Billion Dollars Worth of Hacks Vice (dk).
Our Famously Free Press
Twitter labeled Trump tweets with a fact check for the first time CNN. Now do RussiaGate. Or Iraq WMDs.
Facebook Executives Shut Down Efforts to Make the Site Less Divisive WSJ
At Least A Dozen Local TV Stations Are Running ‘News’ Segments Produced By Amazon HuffPo. Gutting newsrooms has a bright side!
Black Injustice Tipping Point
Minneapolis police, protesters clash almost 24 hours after George Floyd’s death in custody Minneapolis Tribune
Groves of Academe
Imperial Collapse Watch
A US passport used to be an asset. Under Trump it has become a liability Guardian (Re Silc).
Retiring to a sunny foreign vacation spot was the American dream. Now the coronavirus is forcing some expats to come back. WaPo. At some point in the past, fleeing the country was not the American dream.
World witnessing US century ceding to Asian one, says EU foreign policy chief TASS
Class Warfare
Inside one of Amazon’s hardest-hit warehouses: ‘Why aren’t we closing the building?’ Reveal News
What’s the difference between a universal and means-tested child allowance? James Medlock
Aristotle’s Masterpiece, Or The Secrets of Generation displayed in all the parts thereof New York Academy of Medicine
Cartographers Have Secretly Been Hiding Illustrations Inside Switzerland’s Maps for Decades My Modern Met
Gears of war: When mechanical analog computers ruled the waves Ars Technica
Wartime for Wodehouse The New Yorker
Antidote du jour (via):
Bonus antidote:
These two alligators were spotted battling it out on a golf course in South Carolina. pic.twitter.com/X4vV1ZbTit
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) May 26, 2020
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
