Links 1/18/2021
Darkened SpaceX Satellites Can Still Disrupt Astronomy, New Research Suggests Gizmodo
Lael Brainard: Full Employment in the New Monetary Policy Framework (PDF) Bank of International Settlements. “The strong support from monetary policy, together with fiscal stimulus, should turn the K-shaped recovery into a broad-based and inclusive recovery that delivers full employment.”
Russia has never been this hot Barents Observer
#COVID19
Why West Virginia’s Winning The Race To Get COVID-19 Vaccine Into Arms NPR (UserFriendly). People’s arms, dammit.
Mississippi Expands Vaccine Access, But ‘Red Tape’ Delays Long-Term Care Vaccinations Mississippi Free Press (UserFriendly).
Nursing homes make big push to change minds of workers who refused vaccination NBC. The deck: “Cash bonuses, free TVs and paid time off are among the incentives nursing homes are offering to persuade staff members to get vaccinated.”
Current State of Mass Vaccination Preparedness and Operational Challenges in the United States, 2018-2019 Health Security. From the Abstract: “We found that most jurisdictions were not capable of or had not planned for rapidly vaccinating their populations within a short period of time (eg, 1 to 2 weeks). Many also noted that their focus on pill dispensing was driven largely by federal funding requirements and that preparedness efforts for mass vaccination were often self-motivated. Barriers to implementing rapid mass vaccination operations included insufficient personnel qualified to administer vaccinations, increased patient load compared to pill-dispensing modalities, logistical challenges to maintaining cold chain, and operational challenges addressing high-risk populations, including children, pregnant women, and non-English-speaking populations.”
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Op-Ed: Public Schools Should (Almost Always) Stay Open MedPage Today
Ventilator blues:
There’s a catch 22 to this suggestion. In GA and I’m sure in other states, we have to keep our doors shut and locked in school. This rule was implemented because of the school shootings. That goes for windows and other doors in the room leading outside.
— Susan McNally (@susanmcnally25) January 17, 2021
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Caffeine and caffeine-containing pharmaceuticals as promising inhibitors for 3-chymotrypsin-like protease of SARS-CoV-2 Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics. From the Abstract: “To our knowledge, this in silico study shows for the first time very inexpensive drugs available in large quantities that can be potential inhibitors against 3CLpro. In particular, the repurposing of linagliptin, and caffeine are recommended for COVID-19 treatment after in vitro, in vivo and clinical trial validation.” From the Results and Discussion: “caffeine and theophylline are naturally available in many plant species such as cocoa beans, kola nuts, tea leaves and coffee beans (Petimar et al., 2019; Risner, 2008). Consequently, it is easy to make it available to a large number of patients, regardless of their whereabouts or living standards, which is difficult or impossible-like for some other medications such as Remdesivir.” I sought reassurance on this to comprensate for my twin biases toward off-patent and natural, and toward caffeine [sips], which I received.
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The Coronavirus Is Evolving Before Our Eyes The Atlantic
New COVID Strains May Deepen Crew Change Crisis Maritime Executive
Pandemic Severe, But “Not Necessarily The Big One”: WHO NDTV (CA).
China?
US blacklists Xiaomi and Cnooc in flurry of actions to counter China FT
China’s pork output recovered ‘higher than expected’ last year after African swine fever ravaged 2019 South China Morning Post
Special Report: Burner phones and banking apps: Meet the Chinese ‘brokers’ laundering Mexican drug money Reuters. Hey, that’s our job!
On a Guizhou Mountainside, a Lesson in the Limits of Sex Ed Sixth Tone
The Pandemic Sessions | Interviews from Vietnam Vietnam Coracle. Two Vietnamese, two expats. Still interesting.
Indonesia’s Semeru volcano erupts spewing hot clouds days after deadly earthquake ABC Australia
Broken promises: How Singapore lost trust on contact tracing privacy Bloomberg
The Koreas
SKorean court gives Samsung scion prison term over bribery AP. Putting a billionaire in jail. That’s real First World mojo, right there.
India
Women at farm stir: ‘We are recreating history’ People’s Archive of Rural India
India hails ‘life saving’ Covid-19 vaccine rollout Agence France Presse
Syraqistan
France says Iran is building nuclear weapon capacity, urgent to revive agreement France24
Biden Doesn’t Need a New Middle East Policy Foreign Affairs
How COVID-19 vaccination is proceeding in Russia Russia Beyond
UK/EU
Why banks should not bear all the burden of Britain’s scam culture FT
French Muslim council agrees accord on ‘principles’ sought by Macron France24
Venezuela slams U.S. court approval of Citgo parent sale as ‘fraudulent’ Reuters
New Cold War
Trump Transition
Classicist struggle:
What did I learn from the Trump presidency?
No matter your message, your policies, your public, as an executive you must have *some* amount of decorum & abide by the following Roman virtues:
+ Dignitas
+ Gravitas
+ Auctoritas
+ Iustitiain addition to the main one: Prudentia.
— Nassim Nicholas Taleb (@nntaleb) January 17, 2021
QAnon’s Predictions Haven’t Come True; So How Does The Movement Survive The Failure Of Prophecy? Religion Dispatches. From October 2020, still germane.
Swiss text sleuths unpick mystery of QAnon origins Channel News Asia
Capitol Seizure
Pushing on an open door (JS):
“Attempted coup” pic.twitter.com/07mvbN0bE5
— Mark Dice (@MarkDice) January 17, 2021
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Liberalism’s War on the Internet Benjamin Studebaker. If the Capitol Seizure really is like 9/11, we’ll over-react, impose Draconian security legislation, declare war on the wrong enemies, lose it, and spend trillions of dollars (ka-ching). And the same people will be in power at the end as were in power at the beginning. It’s not like we don’t have form.
Massachusetts teen turns in her own family as Capitol rioters ABC7
The lives of others:
This is amazing. https://t.co/pPpIWhRJn5
— Eladio Bobadilla (@e_b_bobadilla) January 16, 2021
Hundreds in publishing sign letter objecting to book deals for the Trump administration Los Angeles Times (DJG). While furiously office politicking to edit the (final?) volume of Kissinger’s memoirs, no doubt.
Twitter temporarily suspends Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for election misinformation CNN
Manchin: Removing Hawley, Cruz with 14th Amendment ‘should be a consideration’ The Hill
Root out police departments’ extremists New York Daily News
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House panels open review of Capitol riot The Hill
What the right gets wrong about Big Tech and the Capitol coup Kara Swisher, Politico. “There is nothing that Parler was doing that companies like Facebook were not guilty of too and in larger measure and for a very long time.” Scaling the dopamine loop is bad and should be illegal.
The Unlikely Connection Between Wellness Influencers and the Pro-Trump Rioters Cosmpolitan
Would I have stormed the Capitol? Boston Globe
Online far-right movements fracture in wake of Capitol riot NBC
Do Democrats realize the danger they are in? Ryan Cooper, The Week
Inaugural
FBI vetting Guard troops in DC amid fears of insider attack AP. Paragraph three: “[Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy] and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn’t flagged any issues that they were aware of.”
Biden Transition
Bullet points:
Here’s the page from the Biden Transition book outlining plans to “rescind Keystone XL pipeline permit” among his priorities on Jan 20: #cdnpoli #KXL pic.twitter.com/bzysouUYuo
— Richard Madan (@RichardMadan) January 18, 2021
Race, not class. And nothing at all on health care.
Democrats ready immigration push for Biden’s early days Politico
An increase to a $15 minimum wage marks a core component of Biden’s new stimulus plan Business Insider. “[N]ot a clear timeframe.”
Divided Senate Gives Kamala Harris Powerful Tiebreaker Role Bloomberg
The US must now repair democracy at home and abroad Brookings Institution. The adults are back in the room….
The ABC has been radicalised David Llewellen-Smith, Macrobusiness. More interesting than the headline, a summary of the Biden administration’s prospects (combined with a media critique of ABC Australia).
Boeing
Boeing’s deal with the DoJ highlights the limits of US justice FT
Imperial Collapse Watch
Asia’s rise and the steady decline of the West Nikkei Asian Review
Class Warfare
The Rich Are Minting Money in the Pandemic Like Never Before Bloomberg. So what’s not to like?
Pain, despair and poverty reach fever pitch for unemployed workers CNBC
Essential work:
When I was 16 my first job was at McDonald’s. Now I’m months away from defending my dissertation for my PhD. I’ve had many jobs in between – research assistant, archival assistant, editor, etc. The hardest work out of them all? That McDonalds job. 1/5
— Nicole Lee Schroeder (@Nicole_Lee_Sch) January 16, 2021
Prop 22 Is Here, and It’s Already Worse Than Expected The American Prospect
The Rise of Human Capital Theory Economics from the Top Down
Developers: These botched software rollouts are costing businesses billions TechRepublic (original).
Antidote du jour (via):
See Yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
