Not Through Me
April 21, 2020
“The belly is an ungrateful wretch, it never remembers past favors, it always wants more tomorrow.”
“It’s an universal law– intolerance is the first sign of an inadequate education. An ill-educated person behaves with arrogant impatience, whereas truly profound education breeds humility.”
“You can resolve to live your life with integrity. Let your credo be this: Let the lie come into the world, let it even triumph. But not through me.”
― Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Russian Internet Trolls Dive Deep Under The Bridge
When Russia announced the deadly July 1, 2019 fire aboard its deep-water submersible, little information was provided — especially not what it was doing just 60 nautical miles east of Norway. A Kremlin spokesman said the information was classified.
On July 4 President Vladimir Putin posthumously honored the 14 crew members who died fighting the fire. A navy officer said the crew had “prevented a planetary catastrophe.” The statement was not hyperbole.
Russia’s official story line has always been that the Losharik is a deep-sea research vessel that was studying the seabed of the Barents Sea. But Putin revealed the military submersible had a nuclear-powered engine, and the dead crew members included some of the most experienced officers of the Russian submarine corps. More detailed information remains closely guarded — by Moscow, Norway, the US, and witnesses to the incident.
The mission was clearly highly sensitive. So why was a submersible that can dive to 20,000 feet — over 10 times deeper than manned American subs operate — actually in the waters near Norway? Could it have something to do with the endless miles of fiber-optic cables crisscrossing the floor of the North Atlantic?
A 2017 report from the UK concluded that seabed cables carry 97 percent of the world’s internet traffic, including trillions of dollars in financial transactions, every day. They are easy to find and largely unprotected. Putin has increasingly stressed the importance of controlling the flow of information to keep the upper hand in a potential conflict. Imagine if Russia achieved the ability to choke off vital international communication channels at will.
Additional read: How a Nuclear Submarine Officer Learned to Live in Tight Quarters (Nautilus) Our favorite submarine movie: Das Boot (trailer). Please note we think it’s a good film but the movie still doesn’t change our mind as to how despicable any and all German military men were in World War II. But perhaps one day someone will say the same thing about American servicemembers in Iraq War II.
When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Take Over
- Mexico expects the peak of its Covid-19 infections in May. As authorities grapple with the virus, criminal groups are positioning themselves to leverage the pandemic for their own ends.
- Almost 200 active criminal groups throughout the country are acting as guardians and protectors of communities, while using extortion, kidnapping and violence.
- Analysts fear the crisis is setting the stage for criminal groups to further shift power away from the state. One said: “Law enforcement assets in Mexico will focus on Covid-19-related lockdowns, and criminal groups are clearly using the economic downturn and lockdowns to build up political capital.”
- The groups have been able to step into marginalized communities where the state fails to provide basic security, and draw locals into their orbit. Such local support can then insulate criminals against hostile incursions from state prosecutors and other criminal competitors.
- Civilians who live under the rule of criminal groups are well aware of their motivations. “It isn’t like any of them are good people,” said one local in Michoacán. “But the truth is we can’t expect much from anybody else. At least we know [the local armed group], so they are in some way the least bad solution.” (Guardian)
- Amid Pandemic, Italian Prosecutors Warn That Mafia Groups Are Cementing Their Power (NPR)
- Additional paintings: The Menaced Assassin by René Magritte and a painting by one of our favorite artists: The Death of Marat by Jacques-Louis David.
Image via Getty Images
Behind Every Successful Man Is His Sister…Edging Closer And Closer
- Kim Yo-jong is the younger sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. She has been rising in the leadership ranks since she was a teenager, and today is the most important figure in the regime behind her brother.
- She is her older sibling’s most trusted propagandist-in-chief, and rumored to be the brains behind Kim’s carefully constructed public image both at home and abroad.
- In March, she publicly praised Donald Trump for sending Kim a letter in which Trump said he hoped to maintain good bilateral relations and offered help in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. (Pyongyang continues to insist it hasn’t recorded a single case.)
- Last month, Kim Yo-jong made her first public statement, condemning the South as a “frightened dog barking” after Seoul protested against a live-fire military exercise by the North. According to a North Korean expert, the publication of political statements in her own name underlines Kim Yo-jong’s central role in the regime. “It is revealing that Kim Jong-un permitted her to write and announce a scathing statement about South Korea in such a personal tone. He is clearly ready to allow his sister to become his alter ego.” (Guardian)
- US monitoring intelligence that North Korean leader is in grave danger after surgery (CNN)
Chung Sung-Jun via Getty Images
Slow And Steady Wins The Race Eventually
- Tests for coronavirus antibodies in the blood — meant to assess the reach of the pandemic in America and whether people are building up an immunity — are seen as key to reopening the country and restarting the economy. The US has been rolling out the first tests for a few weeks, but alarm bells are going off.
- The FDA allowed about 90 companies, many in China, to sell tests without government vetting, the excuse being that the pandemic warrants an urgent response. But the agency has since warned that some of those businesses are making false claims about their products. The tests are often inaccurate, and because the scant federal guidance is so confusing, health care providers are administering certain tests unaware that they may not be authorized to do so.
- Misusing antibody test results to diagnose the disease means doctors can miss the early stages of infection. “People don’t understand how dangerous this test is,” said an infectious disease expert. “We sacrificed quality for speed, and in the end, when it’s people’s lives that are hanging in the balance, safety has to take precedence over speed.” (NYT)
- With Broad, Random Tests for Antibodies, Germany Seeks Path Out of Lockdown (NYT)
- Los Angeles coronavirus infections 40 times greater than known cases, antibody tests suggest (Reuters)
Covid-19
- Tokyo, in a State of Emergency, Yet Still Having Drinks at a Bar (NYT)
- Singapore coronavirus outbreak surges with 3,000 new cases in three days (Guardian)
- People who need care are not going to hospitals because of coronavirus, doctors say – The (WaPo, $) & The Pandemic’s Hidden Victims: Sick or Dying, but Not From the Virus (NYT)
- Additional paintings: The Agnew Clinic by Thomas Eakins and Hospital in Arles by Vincent van Gogh
- Air pollution linked to raised Covid-19 death risk (BBC)
- China Raises Easing Coronavirus Border Controls With Other Countries (WSJ, $)
Covid-19 & Business
- Disney stops paying 100,000 workers during downturn (BBC)
- CEOs sticking with Trump’s ‘open the economy’ group after he tweets call to ‘liberate’ states (The Verge)
- Dow futures reverse, point to opening drop of about 300 points (CNBC)
- The ‘Undertaker Of Silicon Valley’ Stays Busy As Startups Lay Off Thousands (NPR)
The (Economic) Downward Spiral: No Customers, No Job, No Commute, No Money, No Need For Gas = Too Much Oil
- In a startling economic turn, US oil prices sank below zero on Monday for the first time in recorded history. The price of crude oil collapsed from $18 a barrel to -$38 in a matter of hours. The price collapse is known in the industry as the West Texas Intermediate price.
- The collapse accelerated because Monday was the last day oil producers could trade barrels that are scheduled for delivery next month, when oil storage is expected to reach capacity.
- The lack of storage capability is forcing producers to pay buyers to take the excess. Concerns over the economy, which directly affect oil demand, have been heightened by the growing standoff between President Trump and state governors over whether the US can begin to lift restrictions on movement and businesses imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
- The last time floating storage reached levels close to this was in 2009 in the depths of the financial crisis, when traders stored more than 100 million barrels at sea before offloading stocks as the economy began to recover. (Guardian)
- Explainer: What is a negative crude future and does it mean anything for consumers? (Reuters)
- Additional song: Oil producers to oil storage companies right now: “And you could have it all, My empire of dirt.” Hurt by Nine Inch Nails.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the American Empire: America is Increasingly Getting Nuttier
- 73% Of Inmates At An Ohio Prison Test Positive For Coronavirus (NPR)
- Trump Adviser: Social Distancing Protestors Are the Second Coming of Rosa Parks (Vanity Fair)
- US anti-lockdown rallies could cause surge in Covid-19 cases, experts warn (Guardian)
- How Abortion, Guns and Church Closings Made Coronavirus a Culture War (NYT)
- Front-Runner for Country’s Dumbest Governor to Reopen Essential Bowling Alleys, Nail Salons Friday (Vanity Fair)
- ‘It’s beyond frustrating’: tensions peak as Hawaii locals urge tourists to stay out (Guardian)
- America doesn’t want another Tea Party (Vox)
- Getting unemployment has been a nightmare for millions of people across the country (Vox)
- Pro-gun activists using Facebook groups to push anti-quarantine protests (WaPo, $)
- Coronavirus: Immigration to US to be suspended amid pandemic, Trump says (BBC)
- ‘No way food safety not compromised’: US regulation rollbacks during Covid-19 criticised (Guardian) & Experts say it may be time for grocery stores to ban customers from coming inside because of Covid-19 (CNN)
- Trump and Fauci: America’s future hangs on this delicate relationship (Guardian)
Live Long and Prosper (in Certain Countries): Make the Vulcan Salute & Clean Your Hands
- The fight at the frontlines of Covid-19 is being waged in clinics and hospitals around the world. But the success of that fight depends in large part on the effectiveness of the healthcare systems in each country. So far there’s been a noticeable correlation between a country’s ability to contain the virus and previous rankings of its healthcare system to provide positive health outcomes.
- The Legatum Prosperity Index measures economic and social prosperity policies and conditions based on 12 pillars in 167 nations. The health pillar of the index specifically measures the extent to which people in each country are healthy and have access to the services necessary to maintain good health, including health outcomes, healthy systems, illnesses and risk factors, and mortality rates.
- Unfortunately, America isn’t even close to the top ten healthiest countries as detailed in the institute’s 2019 report. Listed as the top five healthiest countries are Singapore, Japan, Switzerland, South Korea, and Norway. Next are Hong Kong, Iceland, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Austria. The US ranks 59th. (BBC)
Pnut Positives
Friendship Is a Lifesaver (Nautilus) and At times of suffering, the greatest gift is accompaniment by another (Aeon). You all know we love quotes here, and we have used this quote before: “Friendship is everything. Friendship is more than talent. It is more than the government. It is almost the equal of family. – Mario Puzo, The Godfather. Call a friend sometime this week or next.