It might just be design wonkery, but an article of corporate identity, corporate culture, the power of symbols, and what happens when you don't manage brand properly (hint, all 3 of those clash). "While NASA says there's 'a good chance' the worm logo will pop up again in the future, the organization's official logo remains the 'meatball' design introduced a year after the agency was established, in 1959, and replaced by the worm from 1975 until 1992."
"Elon Musk has confirmed Starship prototype SN4 passed a cryogenic proof test on Sunday, a milestone for the project designed to send payloads to Mars."
Oh, Microsoft… "Like many chat apps, Teams lets colleagues send each other whimsical animated Gif images… But CyberArk researchers discovered a problem that meant viewing a Gif could let hackers compromise an account and steal data… Microsoft has since patched the security hole, researchers said." Everybody does it, except they don't. Microsoft products are notoriously buggy and tend to not be developed with security in mind.
Something new has been added. "The CDC has long said said that fever, cough and shortness of breath are indications that someone might have the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. It has now added six more conditions that may come with the disease: chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell."
"Coronavirus antibody tests have garnered attention from officials as a potential tool to evaluate people's immunity to the illness. But the majority of companies creating the tests have had little to no regulatory oversight, according to the chair of the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy." As a personal opinion, the tests in the US are for shit and will probably shown to have both low-sensitivity and a high false-negative rate. This is why you have regulations, as "market forces" means how many dead people pile up on either side of the decision line.
"'Worse than [the funding] — if you can believe it — worse than that is that he and the secretary of state have been deleting any reference to the World Health Organization in any of our strategies on how we can deal with the pandemic. That may be more harmful than just the money,' Pelosi said." The Dear leader does not share the spotlight.
"The furor over President Donald Trump's toxic suggestion that the coronavirus might be treated with an injection of disinfectant mounted Sunday as the President avoided the briefing room and one of his top medical advisers insisted his remarks were misinterpreted." Do you believe me or your lying eyes and ears? "Asked by CNN's Jake Tapper what the American people should know about disinfectants and the human body, (Dr. Deborah Birx) instead defended the President's tendency to muse aloud about his ideas as he processes new information, and suggested that the media had missed the point of the White House presentation." JFC, Dr. Birx, that's even worse.
"Returning to the West Wing just a month after impeachment, one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers found a presidency in crisis: a deadly disease outbreak, a tumbling stock market and a White House struggling to form a clear message about how it was confronting a quickly escalating threat." The story of the feisty little sycophant and he desire to silence the child who yells the Emperor has no clothes.
"If you're getting money from the federal government as part of the recent stimulus response to the coronavirus, you'll also get a letter from President Donald Trump explaining why." Uh, no thanks. We're cool. This is the power of the incumbency. This is why there are rules about using official government-owned and paid for mechanisms for re-election and supporting the election of others.
"Italy has outlined plans to ease the strict restrictions it imposed seven weeks ago to curb the spread of the coronavirus… Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said the measures would be relaxed from 4 May, with people being allowed to visit their relatives in small numbers."
"The first world leader known to have had coronavirus is now leading his nation's response to it, and in a speech outside 10 Downing Street, the British Prime Minister had a clear message: Don't give up on the lockdown yet… In his first remarks after returning to work Monday, Johnson acknowledged that the restrictions were hard to bear and risked taking a heavy toll on the economy." Funny how actually having the disease can change your perspective on what government should do.
"For weeks we have heard that merely asking questions about the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak is 'politicising the crisis'. But now some people on the right are indeed making the pandemic political – firing up the culture wars forged in what now feels like the prehistoric age of Brexit… Luminaries of the leave campaign have jacked up familiar themes to revive a well-worn narrative: of patriotic ordinary people set against 'whingeocrat' metropolitan elites and woke leftists who hate Britain." Waves to my friends in Russia.
Meanwhile, New Zealand plugs along. "New Zealand claimed Monday it had 'eliminated' the coronavirus as the country announced the easing of restrictions from 'level four' to 'level three,' with new cases in single figures… At a news conference, New Zealand reported one new case, four 'probable cases' and one new death."
Misinformation, why we need the "truth in broadcasting act" to return (and include online media in the definition of "broadcasting"). "Maatje Benassi, a US Army reservist and mother of two, has become the target of conspiracy theorists who falsely place her at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, saying she brought the disease to China… The false claims are spreading across YouTube every day, so far racking up hundreds of thousands of apparent views, and have been embraced by Chinese Communist Party media. Despite never having tested positive for the coronavirus or experienced symptoms, Benassi and her husband are now subjects of discussion on Chinese social media about the outbreak, including among accounts that are known drivers of large-scale coordinated activities by their followers."
In case you're still laboring under the delusion that the Amish shun all technology… "Dr. Heng Wang, a board certified pediatrician and the Medical Director of the DDC Clinic located in Middlefield, OH, announced today that their Amish Genetic Disease Panel will now test for 160 rare conditions. This important tool allows faster diagnosis of unidentified genetic conditions at a reduced cost. DDC Clinic delivers personalized and life-changing medical care to special needs children affected by rare genetic disorders."
The fleecing of America. "While the government has not yet identified the entities that received the funding under (PPP), an in-depth analysis of almost 200 recipients by NBC News raises questions about some of them… The analysis shows three companies with ties to the Trump administration received a total of $18.3 million under the program… Another recipient received a loan from a bank that previously employed its board's chairwoman. Four companies received more than the $10 million maximum by applying for multiple loans through subsidiaries. Four other companies receiving more than $20 million in aggregate have wealthy investor board members in common." Just 5 years ago, even the smallest whiff of scandal would have been avoided, but now in the age of Trump, it's just a fucking grifter's ball. (Grokked from Joy Reid)
"Even as the U.S. small business relief program is set to reopen Monday with fresh funding, the full extent that public companies tapped the emergency facility is only now becoming clear… More than 220 public companies applied for at least $870 million from the government program that was billed as for small businesses without access to other sources of capital, according to Washington D.C.-based data analytics firm FactSquared." The fat cats belly up to the trough. And they ain't gonna give it back.
"Deutsche Bank said it expects to report a fall in net income in the first quarter from a year ago, and will set aside a significant amount for potential loan losses when it reports full earnings Wednesday… It also warned that it could miss its capital target in the future, as a result of Covid-19." Well that and writing off the president loans as a political favor.
How goes that great oil deal the president "helped" with the OPEC+ countries? "Oil slumped below $12 a barrel as the biggest oil ETF said it will sell out of its June WTI futures position, adding to the downward pressure from a huge glut."
"Stephen Miller indicates immigration pause will be long term: report." There's a line in a book that's apropos, I can't remember right now which book, but it goes like this, "some fuckers just need killing." (Grokked from Charlie Stross)
Anatomy of a political hit piece. "Amid growing criticism from progressives and increased anxiety among the nation's working families, small business owners and local and state governments that economic relief from the coronavirus pandemic will come too late and be too little, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday told television viewers to 'just calm down' when asked if she had erred in her legislative strategy with the Trump White House and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell." So, here we have 4 stakeholders identified who are worried, "progressives… working families, small business owners and local and state governments." Sounds good, like that's the whole Democratic base right there. I mean, everybody is worried, right? "Asked by CNN's Jake Tapper on 'State of the Union' if she had made a "'tactical mistake' by allowing an 'interim' piece of coronavirus relief package — known as COVID 3.5 — to pass last week without much stronger support for state and local governments, Pelosi deflected on the premise." Only one of those stakeholders was passed by. Setup, and then moved the goalposts. "'Just calm down,' Pelosi said. 'We will have state and local and we will have it in a significant way. It's no use going on to what might have been.'" And then the hammer, Pelosi being dismissive of all those concerns… when the legislation she helped pass addressed 3 out of the 4 stakeholders directly, and the 4th indirectly. But by the conflation in the first paragraph, the author implies that the failure pointed out in the second paragraph pertains to all 4 stakeholders, when it doesn't. Also, the article never actual beings in any of those stakeholders, but is just about not getting local and state government relief and a missed opportunity for leverage. And while that is true, it is not anywhere near the consternation implied in the first paragraph.
"South Korea continued to pour water on mounting speculation about the health of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, telling CNN he is 'alive and well.'" You've got a friend in me (well, South Korea).
"This is hardly the first time that the libertarians have been challenged by big government conservatives. There’s a long history of the GOP embracing activist government when in power and then turning against it ferociously when a Democrat is in the White House. The GOP has a built-in advantage when it comes to using the government to ameliorate economic hardship. Decades of polling consistently shows that Democrats trust the government at high levels despite who controls the White House, while Republican voters fluctuate depending on the party affiliation of the president." Wow, Politico, you sure took a long time to get there.
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