From The New Yorker.
Category: The World
Life, the Universe, and everything in it.
An Interview With the Mayor of Minneapolis
This podcast interview is really interesting perspective on police racism and brutality from the mayor of the city where things flamed up.
Jacob Frey is a civil rights lawyer and the mayor of Minneapolis and is still largely powerless to reign in police brutality even when it is reported. This is a really interesting study on why this problem is so intractable.
Know Thy Enemy: Inside the Coronavirus Genome
Here’s an amazing detailed look at coronavirus genome. This article breaks the genetic code down into components such as Protein Scissors, Bubble Maker, and Copy Assistants.
This reads a lot like a software design document, with its factories, helpers, validators, and garbage collectors. 😬
The creepiest thing is the very end, where the genome trails off in a series of a’s, like the padding at the end of a Base64 string. 🧐
The coronavirus genome ends with a snippet of RNA that stops the cell’s protein-making machinery. It then trails away as a repeating sequence of aaaaaaaaaaaaa…
It’s Time To Go On the Offensive Against the Coronavirus
I was talking with my kids about going after the virus the other day, half jokingly but also half serious…
I’m tired of sitting around the house waiting for the pandemic to solve itself. We didn’t win World War II sitting around the house hoping the Axis would surrender! We didn’t land on the moon waiting around doing nothing to see if somehow someone magically landed there!
It’s the same with the virus. We need to go after the virus! We need to hunt it down and destroy it until the planet earth is free if this deadly, hidden nemesis of all humankind.
It’s time for action!
As Winston Churchill would say, or rather did say, near the beginning of World War II…
We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
Winston Churchill – June 4, 1940
I joked with my kids that we should have a day where everyone in the world just Clorox’s every inch of the planet. “Inch by inch!” was our rally cry.
So I was pleased to see this article come up on The New Yorker, which offers more realistic and helpful ideas than a Clorox Day. Still, it basically says that that yes, we can and should go on the offensive against the coronavirus. It offers hope and something specific to actually do! 💪🏻🌎
👉 It’s Not Too Late to Go on Offense Against the Coronavirus
Thank you, Jim Yong Kim, inspiring physician and anthropologist. Via Apple News.
Covid-19 Relief Fund
If you’re fortunate enough to have a steady paycheck through this pandemic and you want to help other people affected directly or indirectly by the lockdown, here’s a simple way.
The fund is underwritten by The New York Times. Every dollar goes to aiding organizations that:
- help food banks across America meet increased demand
- bring books to children studying at home
- support social services, arts, and cultural organizations affected by the virus
- deliver meals to those in need
Mental Break Town 