What Can Bonobos Teach Us About the Nature of Language? Smithsonian
Why we need sharks: the true nature of the ocean’s ‘monstrous villains’ The Guardian
Italian mafia bonds sold to global investors FT
Fraud, Short Sellers & Media Investor Amnesia
Implications of financial market development for financial stability in emerging market economies (PDF) Bank of International Settlements
#COVID-19
Catching and killing of airborne SARS-CoV-2 to control spread of COVID-19 by a heated air disinfection system ScienceDirect. From the abstract: “This study paves the way for preventing transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other highly infectious airborne agents in closed environments.” Big if true; here is the press release. HVAC mavens please weigh in!
Identification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Healthcare Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Units (preprint) medrXiv. From the abstract: “The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in approximately 25% of samples taken from nine different locations in multiple air handlers. While samples were not evaluated for viral infectivity, the presence of viral RNA in air handlers raises the possibility that viral particles can enter and travel within the air handling system of a hospital, from room return air through high efficiency MERV-15 filters and into supply air ducts.”
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Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Spain (ENE-COVID): a nationwide, population-based seroepidemiological study. The Lancet. Interpretation: “The majority of the Spanish population is seronegative to SARS-CoV-2 infection, even in hotspot areas. Most PCR-confirmed cases have detectable antibodies, but a substantial proportion of people with symptoms compatible with COVID-19 did not have a PCR test and at least a third of infections determined by serology were asymptomatic. These results emphasise the need for maintaining public health measures to avoid a new epidemic wave.” Shorter: So much for herd immunity.
The implications of silent transmission for the control of COVID-19 outbreaks PNAS. From the abstract: “[O]ver one-third of silent infections must be isolated to suppress a future outbreak below 1% of the population. Our results indicate that symptom-based isolation must be supplemented by rapid contact tracing and testing that identifies asymptomatic and presymptomatic cases, in order to safely lift current restrictions and minimize the risk of resurgence.”
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Longitudinal isolation of potent near-germline SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies from COVID-19 patients Cell. From the abstract: “Our results demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies are readily generated from a diverse pool of precursors, fostering the hope of rapid induction of a protective immune response upon vaccination.”
More on T Cells, Antibody Levels, and Our Ignorance Science
US Grants Novavax $1.6 Billion for Vaccine Orders Industry Week
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Florida Education Commissioner mandates all schools to reopen in August Tallahassee Democrat
School openings across globe suggest ways to keep coronavirus at bay, despite outbreaks Science
China?
China Coal Group Halts Demand Index Used as Economic Indicator Bloomberg
With new security law, China outlaws global activism Axios
In Hong Kong national security law, echoes of China’s own cyber crackdown Reuters
The Virus Has Trapped $111 Billion of Luxury Spending in China Bloomberg
China’s distant-water fishing fleet: scale, impact and governance ODI
Australia coronavirus: quarantine guards spread disease, leading to Melbourne’s new lockdown South China Morning Post
Drought spurs Australia to import rice or risk empty shelves Straits Times
Export gloom sours Pakistan’s prized mango season Channel News Asia. FIrst covid, then locusts, now this….
The Impact of Coronavirus on Foreign Workers Bloomberg
The Koreas
Envoy Says U.S. Ready to Resume Nuclear Talks With North Korea Times
North Korea says it has ‘no intention’ of resuming in-person talks with U.S. CBC
UK/EU
Lagarde puts green policy top of agenda in ECB bond buying FT
Ayotzinapa: Experts identify the remains of missing student El Universal
New Cold War
Three arms control negotiators walk into a café… Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Trump Transition
Tracking PPP Loans Pro Publica. Lots of stories being generated from this data.
The Airline Bailout Loophole: Companies Laid Off Workers, Then Got Money Meant to Prevent Layoffs Pro Publica
While Washington Dithers, States Put Infrastructure Spending on Ice Bloomberg
U.S. withdrawal from WHO over claims of China influence to take effect July 2021: U.N. Reuters
Chief Justice Roberts was hospitalized after head injury Politico
2020
Purdue Pharma Made Political Contributions After Going Bankrupt The Intercept
Cognitive Bias and Public Health Policy During the COVID-19 Pandemic JAMA
Is Racism a Mental Illness? Vice (Re Silc).
A Letter on Justice and Open Debate Harpers
ending the charade Fredrik DeBoer
Democrats in Disarray
A Leader Without Leading American Prospect (UserFriendly).
Our Famously Free Press
Right-Wing Media Outlets Duped by a Middle East Propaganda Campaign Daily Beast
Failed State Watch
Growing number of Texas sheriffs refuse to enforce governor’s mask requirement CBS
Big Brother Is Watching You Watch
Maine Spy Agency Spread Far-Right Rumors of BLM Protest Violence Mainer
Imperial Collapse Watch
The world falls apart as the US withdraws Martin Wolf, FT. “Even when people around the world did not like what the US did, they thought it knew what it was doing.” Iraq? Afghanistan? Libya? Really?
South Sudan: Another U.S.-Sponsored, Nation-Building Fiasco The American Conservative
“…the Russian painter Vasily Vereshchagin took General Helmuth von Moltke….” (thread) Mac William Bishop (deplorado).
Class Warfare
The Faltering Escalator of Urban Opportunity (PDF) David Autor, The MIT Task Force on Work of the Future
As draw of city life faded for non-college workers, Blacks and Latinos were squeezed hardest Reuters
Contemplating Recession At The Edge Of The World The American Conservative
Loveland Walmart Distribution Center has COVID-19 outbreak Loveland Reporter-Herald. Love the “Now Hiring” signs!
Dutch police discover secret torture site in shipping containers CNN. Yikes.
I’m a U.S. Citizen. Where in the World Can I Go? NYT. Here’s the list; entry requirements differ: Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Croatia, Ecuador, French Polynesia, Jamaica, Kosovo, Maldives, Mexico, North Macedonia, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Serbia, Tanzania, Turkey, Turks and Caicos, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. I shouldn’t mock this; as a general matter, the very last thing the United States needs is to be more disconnected from the world.
Antidote du jour (via):
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
