Lethal Levels of Heat and Humidity Are Gripping Global ‘Hot Spots’ Sooner Than Expected
A High-Tech Coronavirus Dystopia ; The Wild Weather of Jupiter ; and More Picks
A High-Tech Coronavirus Dystopia ; The Wild Weather of Jupiter ; and More Picks 5/11
A High-Tech Coronavirus Dystopia (Lisa)
The author writes, “It has taken some time to gel, but something resembling a coherent Pandemic Shock Doctrine is beginning to emerge. Call it the ‘Screen New Deal.’ Far more high-tech than anything we have seen during previous disasters, the future that is being rushed into being as the bodies still pile up treats our past weeks of physical isolation not as a painful necessity to save lives, but as a living laboratory for a permanent — and highly profitable — no-touch future.”
Scientists Concerned That Coronavirus Is Adapting to Humans (Mili)
The author writes, “[An] analysis of more than 5,300 coronavirus genomes from 62 countries shows that while the virus is fairly stable, some have gained mutations, including two genetic changes that alter the critical ‘spike protein’ the virus uses to infect human cells.”
Prison Labor Replaces Striking Garbage Workers in New Orleans (Chris)
From the Payday Report: “Under state rules, prison inmates, employed by Metro Services, will be paid only 13% of what garbage workers, who only make $10.25-an-hour, are being paid.”
For Cops Who Kill, Special Supreme Court Protection (Dana)
The authors write, “The U.S. high court’s continual refinement of an obscure legal doctrine has made it harder to hold police accountable when accused of using excessive force.”
Ex–Green Beret Pitched Venezuela Plot to Colorado Investors Last Year (Reader Pat)
From the Military Times: “Former Sgt. 1st Class Jordan Goudreau … appeared to be shopping around for investors to back the paramilitary mission using a patchwork of documents, which included a wish list of military gear, including several aircraft, armored vehicles, hundreds of M4 carbines, PVS-14 night vision goggles, ballistic plates and helmets, several hydraulic breaching tools, ketamine and morphine.”
Incredible High-Res Images of Jupiter Reveal the Secrets of Its Wild Weather (Dana)
The author writes, “Jupiter is not a serene place. The giant planet is wracked with tempestuous storms, wide bands of roiling cloud that encircle the entire globe, extending to depths many times thicker than the atmospheric distance between Earth and space.”
