The older you are, the more you know
A new poll from Pew Research Center shows that older Americans are following the coronavirus news closer than younger Americans. About 69% of Americans 65 and older said they were following the pandemic very closely. But only about 42% of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 said the same. That trend can be seen in the middle, too. Of those between the ages of 50 and 64, about 63% were following the coronavirus closely. Of those between 30 and 49, the number was about 54%
On 29 April 1770, explorer James Cook arrived in Australia. He would later claim the region for the British crown
Growing up on the shores of Botany Bay, or Kamay in the local Aboriginal language, Ray Ingrey learnt two versions of the historic events that unfolded in the area 250 years ago on April 29, when the crew of the Endeavour first made landfall on the Australian mainland.
We’re still here’: 250 years after Cook landing, Aboriginal community reflects
'Oh, I'd be wounded!': Turnbull shrugs off Liberal Party expulsion calls over damaging book
In a new interview, Malcolm Turnbull says the Liberal Party's 'crazed ideology' on climate change will only be removed by a devastating defeat — or Rupert Murdoch changing his stance.
Now, they don't use guns and bombs, I hasten to add, but it is the technique of terrorism, where you create enough mayhem, enough damage, that people in the middle say, "It has got to come to an end, how can I stop this terrible horror?"
Well, my judgement was the best way to do that was to flush it out, and as I said, I mean, if Cormann basically rescued Dutton's coup. and he did so. well, why? Why did he do it? Presumably because he wanted Dutton to be prime minister. He certainly didn't want Morrison to be prime minister, that's for sure.
Private Freedom Versus Public Interest: Houston, We Have A Problem
The logic of private interest – the notion that we should just ‘let the market handle it’ – has serious limitations. Particularly in the United States, the lack of an effective health and social policy in response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has brought the contradictions into high relief. – Aeon
Theatres face long road back amid coronavirus as performing ...
This short film profiles a small company in Somerset, England called Two Rivers Paper. Using water power, the company makes paper by hand for artists and designers, and they have a healthy appreciation for the unpredictability of their product.
Anything that’s made by a craftsman is imperfect. So, a hand-forged nail will be imperfect — every one will be slightly different. Handmade paper — every sheet is slightly different. So if you want perfection, if you want uniformity, then it has to be done by a machine. I often tell people that we sell imperfection, that’s what we do.
This short video segment from the BBC provides a closer look at how their paper is made. You can get yourself some Two Rivers paper from their online shop.
See also 700-Year-Old French Mill Still Cranking Out Handmade Paper and this short film on how marbled paper is made.
Pictures which are interpretable, and which contain a meaning, are bad pictures.” So holds Gerhard Richter, the art world’s great poet of uncertainty
“For all the puffery in calling ourselves Homo sapiens, the “wise human,” we display remarkably little wisdom, even of a prudential kind” — David Benatar (Cape Town) on how human choices about the treatment of animals led to the pandemic
The pandemic is revealing how bad our technology really is The Week. By technology is meant “tech,” but then airplanes don’t seem to be working very well either.
Low incidence of daily active tobacco smoking in patients with symptomatic COVID-19 Qeios. “Conclusions and relevance: Our cross sectional study in both COVID-19 out- and inpatients strongly suggests that daily smokers have a very much lower probability of developing symptomatic or severe SARS-CoV-2 infection as compared to the general population, ” confirming NEJM study. ‘Cause smokers’s alveoli are so crudded up with tar that they can’t get infected! Now do marijuana
AND PERHAPS FINISH THE JOB, IF NECESSARY: China sends team including doctors to North Korea regarding Kim Jong Un: Report.
Whenever Kim departs this mortal coil, the North Korean version of The Death of Stalin will no doubt be a hoot to watch.
You Can Now Watch Netflix Documentaries for Free on YouTube - MakeUseOf: “Netflix has uploaded some of its best documentaries to YouTube. This means they’re available for anyone to watch for free, with or without a Netflix subscription. The documentaries on offer include Our Planet, as narrated by David Attenborough. For several years, Netflix has allowed teachers to screen its documentaries in their classrooms. However, with schools around the world closed due to COVID-19, Netflix has uploaded a selection of documentaries for children (and adults) to watch at home instead. The documentaries are all available on the Netflix YouTube channel. The streaming media giant has even put them all in a playlist to ensure they’re easily accessible. They’re all available in English, with subtitles in other languages being added later this week…”
The Atlantic – COVID-19 is proving to be a disease of the immune system. This could, in theory, be controlled. “…COVID-19 is, in many ways, proving to be a disease of uncertainty. According to a new study from Italy, some 43 percent of people with the virus have no symptoms. Among those who do develop symptoms, it is common to feel sick in uncomfortable but familiar ways—congestion, fever, aches, and general malaise. Many people start to feel a little bit better. Then, for many, comes a dramatic tipping point. “Some people really fall off the cliff, and we don’t have good predictors of who it’s going to happen to,” Stephen Thomas, the chair of infectious diseases at Upstate University Hospital, told me
Entering a decisive decade for journalism, exacerbated by coronavirus: “The 2020 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), shows that the coming decade will be decisive for the future of journalism, with the Covid-19 pandemic highlighting and amplifying the many crises that threaten the right to freely reported, independent, diverse and reliable information. This 2020 edition of the freedom Index, which evaluates the situation for journalists each year in 180 countries and territories, suggests that the next ten years will be pivotal for press freedom because of converging crises affecting the future of journalism: a geopolitical crisis (due to the aggressiveness of authoritarian regimes); a technological crisis (due to a lack of democratic guarantees); a democratic crisis (due to polarisation and repressive policies); a crisis of trust (due to suspicion and even hatred of the media); and an economic crisis (impoverishing quality journalism). These five areas of crisis – the effects of which the Index’s methodology allows us to evaluate – are now compounded by a global public health crisis…
