Claiming Immunity
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Sanity Break #1
SANITY BREAK These two ladies are rocking their ballet and Beyonce moves—having endured 200 cycles of chemotherapy between them. We found comforting during these dire times. We hope you do too.
Headlines that matter
HEADLINES THAT MATTER CHINA VS THE UK * The UK upped the pressure on Beijing—with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab it of "gross and egregious" human rights abuses against its Uighur population. Raab isn’t ruling out imposing sanctions. * TikTok has reportedly to shift its headquarters to London—a move designed to distance itself from the Chinese government, and therefore avoid a ban in the US. * The reason: “the wider geopolitical context.” Translation: This is Beijing’s retaliation against the UK’s ban on telecom giant Huawei. It’s also threatening to take aim at a number of UK companies operating in China, including GlaxoSmithKline and Jaguar Land Rover. * Interesting counterpoint: According to , Brit officials privately told Huawei “that it was possible the decision could be revisited in future, perhaps if Trump failed to win a second term and the anti-China stance in Washington eased.” * Worth your time: cover story takes a clear-eyed view of the escalating trade war with China—which has left the world trade order in shambles. looks at what Mumbai has to do to replace Hong Kong as a global financial hub. Also watch: This of hundreds of shackled and Uighurs being led by the police. INDIA UNDER WATER More than 2.75 million people have been displaced by three waves of floods since late May. The death toll: 79. An additional 300,000 have been displaced . More importantly, there will be no respite from heavy rains which is expected to continue for another three days. Read: on the added peril of Covid-19 at relief camps; on the devastation at the Kaziranga sanctuary—95% of which is under water; on the traditional role of floods in preserving Kaziranga’s eco-system, and how climate change is disturbing that balance. The monsoon also created chaos and claimed two lives . See the insanity : THE LINK BETWEEN KIDS AND COVID Children are testing positive: A of kids under 18 who tested for Covid in Florida came up positive. The overall rate for the state: 18.1%. One likely reason: children are only tested when they show symptoms of the disease, and therefore are more likely to be infected. The good news: they only constitute 1.6% of hospitalizations in Florida. Spreading the disease: A significant contact tracing study shows that are more likely than any other age group to spread the virus within their household. Why this matters: This has a huge impact on the decision to reopen schools. Related India update: Delhi and Bihar want to in August. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have not made up their mind. Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala want to wait until September. THE INDIAN PANDEMIC: A QUICK UPDATE End is near? IIT Bombay researchers say the pandemic will come to an end across most of the country by October. The prediction is based on something called the Levitt's model which is explained . Fudging death rates? took a closer look at India’s death rates, and points to some troubling anomalies. Example: Vadodara’s cases have increased by more than 2,000 since the start of June. But the official number of deaths has barely risen from 57 to 60. But one hospital’s records show more than 100 Covid-related deaths. Yes on ‘community transmission’: Two sets of medical experts are calling on the government to stop denying the obvious. One: The Indian Medical Association on Sunday: > "This is now an exponential growth. Every day the number of cases is increasing by more than around 30,000… There are so many > factors connected with it but overall this is now spreading to rural areas. This is a bad sign. It now shows a community > spread." Also: Three experts in charge of India’s pandemic strategy the government of hiding data. They claim that health ministry officials blocked evidence of community transmission in 36 districts in early April (!). Why this matters: “16 of those 36 districts, covering areas in Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai among others, have emerged among places hit the hardest by Covid-19 in India.” In related news: The Tirupati temple will even though 140 of its employees have tested positive. SO WHO HACKED TWITTER? Last week, hackers gained access to Twitter’s internal system, and sent tweets soliciting bitcoins from its most famous handles—including Elon Musk, Barack Obama and Kim K. So whodunnit? The answer: “a group of young people—one of whom says he lives at home with his mother.” Point to note: these guys targeted 130 accounts, tweeted from 45 of them, and downloaded data from eight. () WFH IS HURTING WORKING MOTHERS A new US study shows that mothers have cut back their working hours four to five times more than fathers. Conclusion: Working from home has put an undue burden on women with children under 13, and created a huge gender gap in work hours. The reason isn’t clear, but the lead authors speculate “that part of the issue may be that ‘when a child needs help, they go to mommy first,’ and over days and weeks, that has a cumulative, undermining effect.” () SAY HELLO TO KHABRI! Yup, our doggo finally has a name thanks to all of you. FYI: Khabri edged out Bhaskerville by a wet nose. A for effort goes to Anchor which scored 20% of the votes. Also: Khabri is a very good and happy boy!
Sanity Break #2
SANITY BREAK Twitter’s most beloved comedian Danish Sait is the star of an upcoming Amazon Prime flick. The is delightfully OTT and totally incomprehensible. Non-Kannadigas, be sure to turn on closed captioning.
Smart & Curious
SMART & CURIOUS A LONG LIST OF GOOD MONDAY READS * Social media timelines have been awash with mental health counselors offering their services. has an important piece on why this may not be a good thing. * Netflix released the list of its ten most popular original movies. argues that the list reveals why the platform is no place for original or risky filmmaking. * For all recovering smokers, a lyrical read in titled: ‘Cigarette! Exquisite fiend, ephemeral friend, how I miss you!’ * An excellent read: essay on the many appropriations of Ramayana through history—from a 14th century Thai King’s capital city Ayutthaya to the Japanese anime character, Goku in Dragon Ball Z. * Boshika Gupta’s first-person account in describes the oddly frustrating experience of being neither plus-size nor size zero as a model. * offers the wisest take we’ve read on ‘cancel culture’—and how it turned him into someone he did not like at all. Yeah, he namechecked splainer which made it all the more excellent. * Priyanka Mattoo’s delightful essay in the recounts her childhood memories of a beloved Kashmiri dish—Rogan Josh—and her first attempt to cook it. Recipe included! * In , Paul Salopek pens what may be the definitive essay on India’s water crisis. Both the writing and the accompanying photos are stunning. We highly recommend making the time to read this—at leisure and on a laptop.
Weekend advisory
LIFE ADVISORY A LIFESAVER FOR THE DRUDGERY OF ROTE EMAIL Are you tired of typing out the same email over and over again to a whole lot of people? Did you know that Gmail (and therefore G Suite) has a very cool, timesaving tool called Templates? explains just how this nifty feature works. A MUCH-NEEDED RESOURCE ON WOMEN’S HEALTH is a new platform that brings together the best information on women’s health and wellness. We really liked: the wide range of topics, and a very accessible FAQ format of the articles. A CREATIVE WAY TO LET IT ALL OUT! Yes, you really just want to screeeeam! No, don’t rage in the privacy of your bathroom. Folks over in Iceland have a better idea: Record your primal roar and let it ring out across a scenic location in their countryside. Just head over to , scroll through the photos until you see a yellow button that says ‘Tap to scream’—then do as you are told.
Feel Good Place
THE FEEL GOOD PLACE When your life is in mortal danger… always make time to take that selfie. All of us carry way too much baggage, but we can still reach for the stars. Your dance moves are always way more impressive when it’s just you and the bathroom mirror.
