Links 7/19/2020

July 19, 2020
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Fire destroys organ, shatters stained glass at Nantes cathedral in France Reuters

A local bank wants your coins, and it will pay you above face value for them Journal-Sentinel

Private Equity Titans Turn to Europe for Mega-Deals Bloomberg. “No U.S. targets featured in the top five for the first time since 2003.” The locusts move on. Tomorrow to fresh woods, and pastures new.

Companies Made Millions Building Unemployment Websites That Didn’t Work The Markup. If by “work” we mean “deliver benefits on time,” yes.

Weird Monopolies and Roll-Ups: Horse Shows, School Spirit, Settlers of Catan, and Jigsaw Puzzles Matt Stoller, BIG

#COVID-19

Children are not COVID-19 super spreaders: time to go back to school (free) Archives of Disease in Childhood vs. Contact Tracing during Coronavirus Disease Outbreak, South Korea, 2020 CDC (summary). So we have conflict. Since the result of opening the schools is, potentially ruin — granted, not for the 1%, at least not yet — the Precautionary Principle would seem to indicate that we should keep the schools closed.

Coronavirus: characteristics of cases in pediatric Florida residents (PDF) State of Florida Department of Health

Detection and Genetic Characterization of Community-Based SARS-CoV-2 Infections — New York City, March 2020 CDC From the abstract: “The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene [(DOHMH)] conducted sentinel surveillance of influenza-like symptoms (ILS) and genetic sequencing to characterize community transmission and determine the geographic origin of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Among 544 specimens tested from persons with ILS and negative influenza test results, 36 (6.6%) were positive. Genetically sequenced positive specimens most closely resembled sequences circulating in Europe.” But note also: “During the weeks of March 8 and March 15, there was an increase in confirmed cases of COVID-19 among persons aged Covid-19 and Disparities in Nutrition and Obesity NEJM. From the abstract: “Though the factors underlying racial and ethnic disparities in Covid-19 in the United States are multifaceted and complex, long-standing disparities in nutrition and obesity play a crucial role in the health inequities unfolding during the pandemic.” Social determinants of health.

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Israeli doctor reinfected with coronavirus 3 months after recovering Jerusalem Post

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Short-range airborne route dominates exposure of respiratory infection during close contact Building and Environment

Forced Air The Architect’s Newspaper. Air conditioning takes command.

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“We All Want To Pretend This Isn’t Happening”: Mask-Free Pandemic Parties Are Popping Up In NYC Gothamist

‘Remember to smile with your eyes’: how to stay safe and look great in a face mask Guardian. It works!

Are Anti-Mask Masks Legal? Jonathan Turley. Exceptionally American.

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Inside Trump’s Failure: The Rush to Abandon Leadership Role on the Virus NYT

Trump says he won’t issue national mask mandate The Hill

Ousted Florida data manager Rebekah Jones’ whistleblower complaint takes aim at DeSantis Palm Beach Post

Saline Shortage Feared With Hurricane Season Threatening Production Bloomberg

School Reopening

Performing Arts Aerosol Study (PDF) National Federation of State High School Associations. High school bands

For parents who can afford it, a solution for fall: Bring the teachers to them WaPo and In the Same Towns, Private Schools Are Reopening While Public Schools Are Not NYT. You say “destruction of the public school system” like that’s a bad thing.

‘Welcome to Typhoid Mary Middle School’: Why an Educator and Dad Thinks Reopening Our Schools Is a Non-Starter Common Dreams

Please Don’t Make Me Risk Getting Covid-19 to Teach Your Child NYT

Biden rolls out school reopening plan amid coronavirus pandemic The Hill

Snares Empty Forests in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam Southeast Asia Globe. Hence, zoonotic disease.

China?

Despite the cheery font, I can see how many would not find this re-assuring:

Hong Kong third wave: civil servants ‘to resume work-from-home arrangements’, city faces daily record-high of ‘more than 100′ confirmed Covid-19 cases South China Morning Post

Why Ukraine is a secret weapon for China’s airpower Middle East Institute

UK/EU

EU leaders deadlocked on recovery fund in marathon summit FT

A third of British company audits failed quality test, watchdog says Retuers

Revealed: How Britain’s profiteering spymasters ignored the country’s biggest threats like coronavirus—and endangered the public Declassified UK. From May, still germane.

Former Black Country MP Ian Austin lined up for life peerage Express & Star. If I understand the UK context, this would be like President Biden awarding the members of the Lincoln Project the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Trump Transition

The U.S. Set Up These Programs to Offset Covid Hardship. They’re All About to Expire. Bloomberg. Handy chart:

Televangelists take a slice as churches accept billions in US coronavirus aid Guardian. I’ve always felt that religion should be run like a business.

How Dr. Deborah Birx’s political skills made her the most powerful person on the coronavirus task force CNN. Birx.

2020

The World Has Changed Too Much for Biden to Erase the Trump Effect Bloomberg

Failed State

Can the United States be United Again? Eugene Robinson v. Ian Bremmer, Pairagraph, “A hub of discourse between pairs of notable individuals,” in this case running the gamut from Bremmer to Robinson.

Vehicle Ramming: The Evolution of a Terrorist Tactic Inside the US Just Security

Police State Watch

The Border Patrol Was Responsible for an Arrest in Portland The Nation. A welcome caveat:

And about those uniforms:

And more:

Not all would agree that ths is a “misuse of DHS,” but the revulsion spans people not usually in alignment.

Border Patrol’s Dream of Becoming A National Police Force Is Becoming a Reality Jenn Budd, Southern Border. Budd is a Border Patrol whistleblower. For those who have not seen this map, here is the Border Patrol’s jurisdiction:

Feds, right-wing media paint Portland as ‘city under siege.’ A tour of town shows otherwise The Oregonian. Interestingly:

Were the Actions of Federal Agents in Portland Legal? NYT

Federal Asset Forfeiture May Undermine Efforts to Defund Police ShadowProof

Health Care

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Wants to Give Black Residents Health Coverage Truthout

Victory for whom?

Our Famously Free Press

These McClatchy financials are a window into how much damage Covid-19 has done to the newspaper business Nieman Labs

Imperial Collapse Watch

U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard prompts questions about lessons learned San Diego Tribune

How much does the F-35 actually cost? Speaking Security

U.S. General Discusses Status Of U.S. Troops In Afghanistan NPR

The Long, Lingering Death Of The U.S. State Department The American Conservative

The Making of Neoliberal Globalization: Norm Substitution and the Politics of Clandestine Institutional Change (PDF) American Journal of Sociology. Ah, norms.

Class Warfare

The Double Horseshoe Theory of Class Politics Michael Lind, The Bellows. Well worth a read (though the diagram omits the billionaires).

Drinking Alone Commonweal (stefan). Very, very good.

How constant Slack messaging has made work more taxing FT. A tax on time….

Owen Benjamin Vs Patreon: Dissident Comedian Set To Deal Massive Blow To Big Tech Censors National Justice (CL).

Antidote du jour (Richard Smith, via):

And upping my dog game:

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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