ProMED Digest, Vol 95, Issue 78 [3] Yemen: MSF report Date: Thu 21 May 2020 Source: Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) [edited] The number of deaths occurring in the COVID-19 treatment centre that MSF runs in Aden, Yemen, speaks to a wider catastrophe unfolding in the city, the international medical organisation said today [20 May 2020], … [Read more…]
Over at the New York Review of Books Daily, Bill McKibbon writes about the how big oil is losing its “big”. Read it here, from May 12, 2020. A study published this week in the journal Nature by economists at the Beijing Institute of Technology calculated that while investments to reduce greenhouse gases in line … [Read more…]
From the comments on this NYT essay on The Disastrous Employment Numbers, May 8, 2020: sedanchair Seattle 9h ago @nero Because thanks to Trump, they can simply steal our money and get away with it on a scale unprecedented even in previous bailouts. As with every scam Trump ever participated in, there’s no need for … [Read more…]
On their web site, Mark Quattrocchi explains the why of their donations of internet hot spots to rural and unconnected students in Sonoma County. This effort is also written up in the Press Democrat on May 2, 2020. We all need a feel good moment every once in a while.
In the Atlantic is an essay covering the confusion surrounding the pandemic, it is well worth the time to read: Why the Coronavirus Is So Confusing A guide to making sense of a problem that is now too big for any one person to fully comprehend Story by Ed Yong April 29. 2020 And the … [Read more…]
Sobering summary of our current state from The Atlantic’s George Packer: When the virus came here, it found a country with serious underlying conditions, and it exploited them ruthlessly. Chronic ills—a corrupt political class, a sclerotic bureaucracy, a heartless economy, a divided and distracted public—had gone untreated for years. We had learned to live, uncomfortably, … [Read more…]
From the Guardian, April 18, 2020 Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong, said while the world’s attention is focused on the covid-19 epidemic, Beijing has taken “yet another step towards burying one-country, two-system” and the arrests show that “Beijing is determined to throttle Hong Kong”. He said the liaison office’s claim that it … [Read more…]
At about 04:30 AM this morning, I woke while dreaming that I was watching Joe Biden’s inauguration speech on TV. Biden was speaking of the need for a green new-deal and infrastructure initiative to put America back to where it should be and increase employment. It was the most pleasant dream I’ve had in many … [Read more…]
Published in the Hill, Saturday April 11, 2020 While the number of cases in hard-hit areas like New York, New Orleans and Detroit may slump, the virus will find new fuel in other areas. On Thursday, at least a dozen states reported their highest one-day case counts. They included both states like Massachusetts, Minnesota and … [Read more…]
Last time I shaved off my beard was in 2009, just after I was fired during the recession. Then I did it just to see what was under the facial hair, as part of the ritual of self-examination during a fit of depression. This time I cut it off slowly to make sure my face … [Read more…]