Links 9/22/2020 – Church Security

#COVID19

SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Dynamics Should Inform Policy SSRN. Handy chart:

Lots of scope for variation here, at the national level all the way down to the individual neighborhood and even dwelling. That, I think, should be the takeaway, oft-misconceived, from the concept of “airborne”: Not that Covid is insanely infectious, but that it’s capricious. If the wearables crowd would stop focusing on magic glasses that augment reality with advertising, and help us visualize air currents instead, they would be doing a lot to help. Prove me wrong, techies!

Antibody Responses to SARS-CoV-2: Let’s Stick to Known Knowns (PDF) Journal of Immunology. From the Abstract: “In this article, which is part opinion piece and part review, we argue that the normal cadence by which we discuss science with our colleagues failed to properly convey likelihoods of the immune response to SARSCoV-2 to the public and the media. As a result, biologically implausible outcomes were given equal weight as the principles set by decades of viral immunology. Unsurprisingly, questionable results and alarmist news media articles have filled the void. We suggest an emphasis on setting expectations based on prior findings while avoiding the overused approach of assuming nothing. After reviewing Ab-mediated immunity after coronavirus and other acute viral infections, we posit that, with few exceptions, the development of protective humoral immunity of more than a year is the norm. Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 is likely to follow the same pattern.”

Low genetic diversity may be an Achilles heel of SARS-CoV-2 (PDF) PNAS. “SARS-CoV-2 genetic diversity is remarkably low, almost entirely the product of genetic drift, and should not be expected to impede development of a broadly protective vaccine.”

A Covid-19 Vaccine for Children May Not Arrive Before Fall 2021 NYT

Why misinformation about COVID-19’s origins keeps going viral National Geographic

Frozen Meat Against COVID-19 Misinformation: An Analysis of Steak-Umm and Positive Expectancy Violations Journal of Business and Technical Communication (dk).

California’s Deadliest Spring in 20 Years Suggests COVID Undercount KHN

L.A. Mayor Unveils Push To End Homelessness By Sending Around Some Pretty Reasonable Zillow Listings The Onion

California’s troubled unemployment agency needs immediate overhaul, report says Los Angeles Times

NBC 7 Retracting Story on Gloria and 101 Ash Street Investigation NBC

China?

Xi: No nation should act like boss of the world China Daily

Almost 40 Chinese warplanes breach Taiwan Strait median line; Taiwan President calls it a ‘threat of force’ CNN

‘You will be put into detention’: Former ABC bureau chief tells story of fleeing China for first time ABC Australia

Gangster capitalism and the American theft of Chinese innovation TechCrunch

Hong Kong domestic helper loses Court of Appeal challenge against ‘live-in’ rule South China Morning Post

China’s Epic Dash for PPE Left the World Short on Masks Bloomberg

Victoria premier’s department head ‘unaware’ who decided to use security guards in hotel quarantine Guardian

Rio Tinto expected to destroy 124 more Aboriginal sites Independent

India

Farm Bills and Labour Law Changes: Modi’s Big Gamble in the Middle of a Pandemic The Wire

Truckin:

On my recent trip to India (Trichy & Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu), I was *fascinated* by the trucks, lorries and buses on the roads. Going through my notes, I find myself wanting to look them up. The brand that stood out the most for me was Ashok Leyland: https://t.co/FoP4hvZkmL pic.twitter.com/5sXM09aiPb

— visa is cleaning out his notes (@visakanv) December 12, 2018

Gorgeous thread (albeit from 2018).

Climate imperialism and the US elections Africa Is a Country

A sample brand check on Plastics found in Lake Victoria exposes companies that are ignoring to #EndPlasticPollution. Climate Watch

UK/EU

FinCEN Files: Deutsche Bank tops list of suspicious transactions Deutsche Welle

Combustible insulation used on Grenfell Tower was sold at a heavy discount to building company WSWS (JZ). See NC Grenfell coverage here, here, here, and here.

Broadband: Old TV caused village broadband outages for 18 months BBC

Facebook Says it Will Stop Operating in Europe If Regulators Don’t Back Down Vice. They’ll never miss it. I didn’t.

Assange

Your Man in the Public Gallery: Assange Hearing Day 14 Craig Murray

Julian Assange ‘should NOT be charged with revealing state secrets because 250,000 WikiLeaks files were already available online after Guardian journalist published the password in his book’, court hears Daily Mail

Release WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange, say current and former world leaders NBC

Guide To Journalists And Organizations Covering Assange Extradition Trial Shadowproof

Silence reigns on the US-backed coup against Evo Morales in Bolivia Guardian

Evo Morales’ candidate rides high in polls ahead of Bolivia vote Buenos Aires Times

The U.S. Needs To Abandon Its Dead-End Venezuela Policy The American Conservative

Exclusive: Secret cables reveal Britain interfered with elections in Chile Daily Maverick

Trump Transition

Full funding required for planned 2024 moon landing, NASA chief says CBS

2020

The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and covering the Republican push to replace her. Columbia Journalism Review

‘I want them to do it’: Donald Trump says he welcomes second impeachment over Supreme Court seat USA Today. They’ll let you know after brunch.

Facebook vows to restrict users if US election descends into chaos FT

Counting Presidential Dead Is a Distraction Foreign Policy

Health Care

Many Hospitals Charge More Than Twice What Medicare Pays for the Same Care NYT. “A public option, distinct from the more controversial ‘Medicare for all’ proposals that would do away with private insurance, has been embraced by Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic presidential nominee.” Proposals already walked back (albeit by “anonymous Democratic congressional sources”, but who’s the party leader?). The Times just gets worse and worse.

Big Brother Is Watching You Watch

Companies can track your phone’s movements to target ads Ars Technica

Protests and Riots

DeSantis calls for tougher laws on Florida protesters: ‘We’ve seen disorder and tumult’ Tallahassee Democrat

Black Injustice Tipping Point

The Cop Who Quit Instead of Helping to Gentrify Atlanta Mother Jones. Another form of law enforcement for profit.

LMPD cancels days off while waiting on AG Daniel Cameron’s decision in Breonna Taylor case Courier-Journal

“more than half the racial gap in individual stock ownership has disappeared essentially overnight.” The Reformed Broker

Look What Has Been Taken From Black Americans Bloomberg

Imperial Collapse Watch

Space Force deploys its first squadron outside of the U.S. CBS (Re Silc).

Boeing, Boeing…

Union for FAA’s safety engineers urges more changes to Boeing 737 MAX before it can fly again Seattle Times

Class Warfare

Gig Economy Company Launches Uber, But for Evicting People Vice (pete).

Inspiring: Local Uber Driver Makes $100k a Year Driving 84 Hours a Week Vice (Hubert Horan). The deck: “You can’t, you won’t, please don’t.” Horan comments: “Exact same dishonest PR scam Uber tried to pull in 2014 when it claimed NYC Uber drivers earned 90K a year.” Don’t ever change, Uber. Don’t ever change.

A new era of hunger has hit the US FT. Everything’s going according to plan!

What Is the Sound of Thought? MIT Technology Review

Watch Contractors Hypnotically Build an Entire Wind Turbine Farm Popular Mechanics (Re Silc). It’s the watching that’s hypnotic, not the building.

Antidote du Jour (via):