Lost & Found
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Sanity Break #1
SANITY BREAK is officially the #1001 reason to love the Kiwis. Sex education has never been this ROFL!
Headlines that matter
HEADLINES THAT MATTER THE VIRUS IS COMING BACK! India: In our case, the virus never really went away. Our cases continue to climb—hitting 332,424 on Monday. We added 11,502 in one day. The number of deaths: 325. Two bright spots in this gloom: and . Also read: on five key questions about India’s numbers. So will there be a lockdown? Yes, in and in three other Tamil Nadu districts. In Delhi, no—or so CM Arvind Kejriwal. The Prime Minister with various chief ministers today, but nothing is expected to change. Unlock India continues. : The number of cases has crossed the 2 million mark, and states like Alabama, Florida and South Carolina are reporting record numbers. More worrying: a record number are being admitted to hospitals in many states. And President Trump is doing his bit to help the spread. On Saturday, he will hold in Oklahoma—in an enclosed stadium that fits 20,000. Zero social distancing or face masks required. : Beijing now has 79 confirmed cases, and the government has since banned Norwegian salmon. The reason: the virus was found on chopping boards used for chopping the imported salmon at Beijing’s Xinfadi market—ground zero for the new infection. : reported 45 new daily cases in Tokyo, many of them linked to its nightclub district. The capital came out of lockdown on May 25, but cases have been increasing ever since. : warns that it is important to target and isolate these new clusters—which will inevitably re-emerge. The organisation also made clear that it is too soon to talk about a ‘second wave’: > "The world is still in the middle of the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak… Countries where coronavirus infections are > declining could still face an 'immediate second peak' if they let up too soon on measures to halt the outbreak." RAJPUT’S DEATH UNSEALS ATTACK ON SALMAN KHAN Abhinav Singh Kashyap is the younger brother of Anurag Kashyap, and best known as the director of Dabangg. Seemingly triggered by Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, he penned a long calling out the Khans for “sustained gaslighting and bullying”—including death and rape threats. It’s quite remarkable—and still undeleted! Also calling out the Bollywood elite for its role in sidelining Rajput: Congressman and director . THE LATEST COVID GYAAN IS HERE Will thermal scanning save us from infection? . Many countries—including the Indian railways and airports—are investing in fancy temperature scanners. But they are virtually useless in detecting Covid cases. Forehead thermometers are poor at scanning core body temperature. Infrared kinds won’t help since virus-carriers don’t always have a fever. And that’s why attempts to use thermal scanners in the past—during the SARS outbreak, for example—proved to be a failure. Will antibodies save us from infection? . Not all antibodies are made equal. Only a certain kind—which blocks that spike protein on the virus—actually stops it from entering the human cell. But we don’t know how much our body needs to produce for it to be effective. And our antibody tests don’t tell us what kind we are carrying. Will the first covid vaccines save us from infection? . Given the rush to develop any kind of vaccine, most of the early versions most probably won't prevent infection—but they will protect us from getting very ill. More importantly: even successful vaccines (as for example, whooping cough) don’t always prevent you from infecting someone else. INDIANS ARE RUNNING OUT OF CASH Startups are broke: According to a , 38% have already run out of cash, and another 30% have only enough to survive another three months. Another 4% have already shut shop and 64% have cut costs to sustain themselves. Zero savings: According to calculations, 30% of urban Indians—139 million—will run out of savings by the end of June. More importantly, many already have: > “Taking a moderate scenario of incomes falling by 62% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas, close to 92 million urban Indians > (20% of the urban population) and 89 million rural Indians (10% of the rural population) ran out of savings to fund essential > consumption after the first 21-day lockdown.” Barter is back: Following a classic Depression-era pattern, Bengali villagers who have run out of money are in order to survive. What are they trading: the extra rice doled out by the government’s relief package. Changing salaries: Working in your pajamas will soon have a downside. Companies are planning your pay package to reflect your out-of-office status: “Components such as travel and conveyance allowance, fuel and driver allowances, and vehicle maintenance allowance may see an exit.” Yes, there is talk of paying instead for high-speed internet connections at home... laptops or printers, mental and physical health apps, home office furniture, expenses for domestic help or for childcare” etc. etc. We will believe it when we see it in this era of cost-slashing. COVID EFFECT: THE GLOBAL EDITION * Good news: The world is because we no longer go out to eat. And demand for sugar has dropped for the first time in 40 years. * Oscars 2021 are by two months from March to April 25, 2021. * Tata Motors 1,100 temporary jobs at its Jaguar Land Rover subsidiary. * Climate change advocates warn that if world leaders adopt “reckless recovery” programs to save their economies, the planet will be in deep trouble. Hasty plans that ditch environmentalism an extra 230 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide into the air by 2050. * A related read: on why the future of the world depends on India charting a low-carbon future. DOES AIRASIA HAVE A SAFETY PROBLEM? In a , AirAsia pilot Gaurav Taneja called out the airline for forcing its crew to fly even when they are unwell: > “We (pilots) cannot operate if we are less than 100 percent and this is the regulation, and if you are not 100 percent and still > flying, then its comparable to murder as you are putting the lives of 180-odd passengers on the line." He that he was then suspended for "standing up for safe operations of an aircraft and its passengers.” Aviation authorities are now his claims.
Sanity Break #2
SANITY BREAK This MF Hussain painting of Gandhari is just one of the many gems on offer on the of Siddhartha Shah—the curator of modern South Asian art at the Peabody Essex Museum. This guy is a must-follow.
Smart & Curious
SMART & CURIOUS A LIST OF INTRIGUING THINGS staged a mass scream in protest against gender inequality and domestic violence. dresses up as different superheroes to keep kids in his online classes entertained. Check out the sweet photo gallery. has a penis problem, or this may just be a vicious piece of gossip. In this case, we don’t give an eff: > “The disgraced movie mogul’s deformed genitalia is the result of a life-threatening bacterial infection known as Fournier’s > gangrene, according to reports in Graydon Carter’s Digital News Weekly Airmail. The infection can strike middle-aged men and > diabetics—Weinstein, 68, is both—when bacteria enters through a cut or scratch in the genitals and spreads through the > bloodstream. Some patients require skin grafts, but more extreme cases, such as Weinstein’s, require an operation to remove the > testicles.” out its own line of AIRism masks—which have three layers, including an exterior one that blocks 90% of ultraviolet rays. Also: a high-performance filter with 99% efficiency in filtering out bacteria. The fabric: non-woven cotton fabric that wicks away sweat. The bad news: it is only available in Japan as of now. poster was designed in 2013 for a campaign in Singapore. It’s true message becomes clear when you turn it upside down. (h/t ) A LIST OF GOOD READS * This scathing takedown of Arvind Kejriwal in went viral on Tuesday. * reports on Indian job portals which are going the extra mile for laid off employees. * explains a newly discovered side-effect of pollution: plastic rain—microplastic particles blowing through the air and falling via raindrops. * This excellent by Mahesh Rangarajan explains why our outrage over elephant deaths is misdirected. This is the rare well-informed and nuanced piece on a subject that more typically inspires outrage and virtue-signalling. * We put a shout out for non-Covid reads on Twitter—and pointed us toward this : ten writers on what it’s like to write a character who is ‘other’, i.e. not of their identity. * profiles a taxi driver who now finds himself driving a hearse transporting Covid corpses. The observed details of his life make it worth your time.
Weekend advisory
LIFE ADVISORY THREE FOOD THINGS * Wanna bake bread—but don’t have a loaf pan? shows you how to use everything from a skillet to a cake pan. Handy recipe links included. * This guide is titled ‘Cheap & Easy Baked Bean Recipes Using Minimal Ingredients’—what’s not to like?! * So you forgot to defrost the meat overnight 🤷♀️ . Fear not, here’s everything you need to bail yourself out of this mess. Scroll through this from Food Network or watch the video below: WHY YOU’VE GOT TO GET THOSE ZZZZS Sleep deprivation does this to your brain and body. Please get a good night’s rest!
Feel Good Place
THE FEEL GOOD PLACE is a baller! And we can’t get enough of her skillz. can you fit in a single waterhole? , Insta-junkies remain the same. is now officially a teenage-boy pissing contest. Coming up next: arm wrestling instead of debates.
