Link Log Roundup for May 5, 2020
In this edition: language, the safety net, clinical trials, raw onions, Pushkin, mutation, genetic superiority, soap-box racing, zip codes, music venues, density, public space, the New Deal, and Amazon.
Your daily look at links I’ve saved to my Link Log (RSS) over the course of each day but didn’t necessarily address or highlight here on the blog. These are the links I logged yesterday, and not necessarily links to things published yesterday.
Covid-19 Fears Spark Language-Based Discrimination
People speaking differently have been denied restaurant service or lodging, lost access to public transportation, and even been physically assaulted. Those targeted have included Chinese people who speak with a Wuhan accent who are in other areas of China; people who speak Mandarin, the official language of the mainland, in Hong Kong, where Cantonese is more common; Italians in other countries; people who speak Italian dialects while traveling outside of their home provinces — and even Americans traveling in their own country.
But I wonder—and I’m really only wondering tonight, because it’s already 2:00 and I am too tired to start chasing down the speeches and statistics I would need to make this as an assertion—if what is really driving this mad push, funded as we know it is by right-wing political groups, is a frantic determination to make sure the country does not turn again now, in the midst of this pandemic, to a government that regulates business and provides a basic social safety net, a government like the one we created during the Great Depression.
The response to Covid-19 is critical. It’s also making clinical trials harder
The snags reflect one of the paradoxes of infectious disease research — and one that could make it challenging to test experimental drugs and vaccines for Covid-19. When public health officials succeed in stamping out outbreaks, they also make it more difficult for researchers to find the volunteers they need for clinical trials. Earlier trials of drugs and vaccines for Zika and Ebola were stymied by such obstacles.
Virus-afflicted 2020 looks like 1918 despite science’s march
As in 1918, people are again hearing hollow assurances at odds with the reality of hospitals and morgues filling up and bank accounts draining. The ancient common sense of quarantining is back. So is quackery: Rub raw onions on your chest, they said in 1918. How about disinfectant in your veins now? mused President Donald Trump, drawing gasps instead of laughs over what he weakly tried to pass off as a joke.
Why is this interesting? - The Pushkin Edition
Today, the spread of misinformation on the internet is a common and dangerous reality, rather than something particularly notable or interesting. But three things stood out for me: the idea that a ~200-year-old poem would appeal to and be shared by so many, the trouble someone took to make such a respectable fake, and the question of ferreting out imitation art.
Scientists say a now-dominant strain of the coronavirus appears to be more contagious than original
The Los Alamos study does not indicate that the new version of the virus is more lethal than the original. People infected with the mutated strain appear to have higher viral loads. But the study’s authors from the University of Sheffield found that among a local sample of 447 patients, hospitalization rates were about the same for people infected with either virus version.
Genetic Superiority Means No Apologies
The pandemic has now killed nearly 70,000 people in this country. An internal Trump administration report, revealed by the Times Monday, anticipates as many as 3,000 deaths per day by early June. Some 30 million people are officially jobless. Half the states are easing restrictions, but even as they do so, a huge majority of Americans believes governors are “reopening” too quickly. That suggests a depth of doubt, or outright distrust, that no amount of Republican propaganda is going to improve.
Scaled-down Portland Soap Box Derby will move online because of coronavirus
Promoters are inviting volunteers to build their own shoebox racers for the “Tabletop Tabor,” a “mini-mountain model of epic proportions,” according to a recent news release. Teams will register and build original model cars at home. The vehicles will then be delivered to the Derby Central Office before race day.
Inequities in OHA’s data are likely to reflect the inequitable distribution of power and resources among Oregon communities. OHA believes by sharing this data, we can identify and continue conversations with affected communities for how to redistribute resources and power to rectify injustice. We are committed to helping the public better understand “why” the impact of the disease is shouldered more by certain communities.
Guest Editorial: Save Our Music Venues—Save Our Souls
Venues are in jeopardy, big time. Some will never recover. They were the first businesses to close because of COVID-19, and they’ll be the last to reopen. They face zero income, yet have sizable ongoing expenses due to rent (venues need a lot of square footage), insurance, utilities, and staffing. Venue offices are busier than ever as shows are postponed and rescheduled.
Density Isn’t Easy. But It’s Necessary.
The problem isn’t cities and density. Density is the solution: It’s what fosters innovation, creates jobs, manufactures wealth, welcomes diversity, makes culture blossom. It’s not some weird historical fluke that the world-class cities across the globe are also the densest. And, by the way, density is a big part of dealing with the actual biggest threat to us all — climate change.
American public space, rebooted: What might it feel like?
As isolation ebbs, a similar question confronts Americans repopulating the public places they share. How will these places reshape society — and how will trepidations about a post-isolation world shape them in turn? We can only go so far.
Now Anything Is Possible - Reasons to be Cheerful
The event encapsulated the government’s ineptitude at dealing with the Depression. Yet, within this crucible of crisis were forged institutions that stabilize America to this day. Months after Hooverville was torched, Hoover himself was voted out, and a set of New Deal reforms were enacted to protect unions, regulate banks and provide Social Security. In the blink of an eye, the structural dynamic between government and citizen was transformed — changes that have largely stuck a century later. As it turns out, it’s tough to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
An Amazon warehouse worker in New York has died of COVID-19
A worker at Amazon’s Staten Island, New York, fulfillment center has died of COVID-19, the company confirmed. Workers at the facility, called JFK8, have been calling for greater safety precautions since early March. While Amazon has made changes, the number of workers diagnosed with the virus continues to climb. According to alerts viewed by The Verge, at least 29 workers have fallen ill.