The Third Slip: Issue 161 - The few formal
The Third Slip: Issue 161 - The few formal
Hello, Slippers! Welcome to The Third Slip - the weekly newsletter that is one of the few surviving customs to outlast the COVID-19 era. Many have fallen by the wayside. Pants? Pshhh! Desktops? Are you from 2019? Handshakes? Why don’t you just point a gun at me?! Eating out at a restaurant? Ah those good old days when we had only Doordarshan and Maruti 800s! TTS? Why, it will make a nice dessert for my third breakfast along with Maggi sprinkled with protein powder. There are some things that last forever. Like they say, pun is the slowest form of quit.
This is issue 161. 1,6,1 is the perfect sequence of scores in an over according to Sunil Gavaskar who implores batsmen to take a sensible single after a six is hit. And so, this is an issue with many sensible singles and the occasional instance where we cross the boundary or hit one over your head. Mostly because, as the Romans say, you can't spell COVID without VI. This is the time's new Roman...
The bad stuff
Hypocratic Oath: Doctors around the world aren’t being treated like the heroes they are: In the UK, NHS staff were told to wear aprons as protective gowns run out, while one in Delhi was fired over social media posts talking of gear shortage in hospitals. Who will protect the protectors, one wonders.
Bottom of the pyramid: Continuing the trend of the poor being horribly affected by the virus in non-virus ways, 200 in India have died of the lockdown alone. There were several other horrible stories - hundreds starving by the Yamuna as shelters in Delhi caught fire, people standing in 2 km-long lines for food, and the risk of starvation owing to a shoddy PDS is all too real.
Quick, a roundup of other pandemic-fueled nonsense from home: SC rejects PIL against PM CARES (because they SCARED); some idiots cut off a cop’s hand in Punjab; the UP government went through incredible lengths to attack the media (The Wire, specifically); farmer output will be affected despite a good monsoon predicted (supply chains and stuff hit)
Muslim chances: The pandemic cannot be communalized, someone said “Challenge Accepted”, said the BJP and its media cronies. Even milk-supplying Muslims are being attacked.
Monetary Monitoring: IMF projects 1.9% growth for India in 2020, while Barclays isn’t even that optimistic (0%). IMF says we’ll grow by 7.4% in 2021 though. Though not all is their fault, it’ll be interesting to see what BJP’s Department of Creative Mathematics can do this time. Around the world, 3% of global GDP is set to be wiped out (that’s it?) - and China's economy dropped for the first time in 4 decades - which is bad news for the world it supplies stuff to.
Tronald Dump: It’s been quite the week. Trump cut WHO funding (in the middle of a pandemic!), held up stimulus cheques because he wanted his name on them and tried to hasten the re-opening of some states (egged on by stupid followers who throng churches, beaches and even streets to support reopening). Comeuppance is rich here: South Dakota’s governor said “lulz lockdown” and now is one of the US’ largest hotspots. No wonder the country’s reputation is rock bottom.
Brekshit: UK is too proud to buy PPE in a EU bulk scheme. Honestly, we’re not sure whether to place this in the ‘bad’ or ‘hilarious’ stuff section. EU be the judge.
Organic degrowth: The virus is destroying things more than lungs (we mean organs, not marriages, the economy or the ‘tech’ section of this newsletter).
Non-prime: Even as the company gets richer, Amazon continues to make bad press by firing workers who speak up against workplace conditions.
Going South America: Bolsanaro fires health minister, and there are corpses on the streets in Ecuador.
Cov-TMNT-2: Oh, and if you needed a further plot twist in this dystopian movie we’re all watching, the virus is mutating.
The good stuff
Recover & cover up: Things are getting back to normal in Germany and the worst seems to be over in New York and Italy. China reported no deaths. Or… At least the state media did (y’know, like how they’re clamping down on research… Oh sorry, this is the good news section)
Vaccine Eloquent: WHO says 70 vaccine candidates are in development. This has developed at a speed that will be matched only by Mallus to liquor shops once the lockdown is lifted. Even AI is working on a treatment. Unprecedented.
Economy chamber: India’s central bank is trying to do what it can but more needs to be done by states & the center. Lots of PPE ordered from China (though, um, not all are of quality) + 3 lakh antibody kits. Regulations have stymied domestic development but things are moving. Industries in rural areas will be allowed to reopen. Hmm, this could lead to a nice boost for the hinterland.
Trivandrumbeating: Your weekly Kerala’s crushing the curve news (also, a hospital developed a cheap diagnostic kit)
Watson is that! World’s fastest supercomputer was created by volunteers donating spare time / power on their home PCs, combating the coronavirus.
Shun guy: Forget the faulty kits and scope for future pandemics, companies are just cutting ties with China and that’s benefiting nearby countries. Even India. This shouldn’t necessarily be a ‘good stuff’ story as common Chinese might suffer, but we hope it makes Dear Leader (theirs) take a bit of notice.
Tech’s up: Every week, startups and computer whizzes are stepping up. Ola offers their tech platform to governments to help with their operations. FB is taking a completely fresh approach to battle misinformation. And so much more.
Source code: A great source of positive news & heartwarming stories is John Krasinski’s YouTube series, and of course, Faye D’Souza’s daily Good News Tonight on Instagram.
The fun stuff
Noise Garry!: There’s now a tool to recreate annoying office sounds that you miss (one of the authors prefers instrumental post-rock, the other prefers 90s cricket commentary)
WWEll WWEll: It’s a heady week for rasslin’, as Florida deems the WWE an essential service (lulz) and Trump appoints Vince McMahon as an advisor to restart the economy (again… lulz). We’ve got No chance!
Oho chi minh: Vietnam has a rice ATM. Yes yes, an ARM. Don’t be pedantic.
The :’) stuff
Li Way: That Chinese doctor whistleblower is now a hero and people “send him” messages on Weibo everyday, talking about their daily lives. Total aw.
Afghan girls are making a prototype of a ventilator out of old car parts.
The silver linings
Rape dropped 83% in Delhi… (But child porn traffic increased 95%). It was the first March without a school shooting in the US since 2002. Telemedicine continues to get a boost. We might see the emergence of a new working class (excellent read, this)
And of course, you’ve read how every industry is going to change…
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Everything else (actually quite a bit happened)
Biden his time: Obama endorses Biden, so does Sanders. Maybe his lying low will help him win, as will the sudden unity in the Democratic Party. Right then, it’s time to focus on getting that moron out of the White House in November.
Really Spiteful Sanghis: Activist Anand Teltumbde was arrested on the Jayanti of his grandfather-in-law, Ambedkar. A shameful moment for India, as Dalit-hating nationalists will claim victory. His letter, written on the day before the arrest, is stirring and depressing. Meanwhile, no prizes for guessing who the Delhi police is arresting while no one’s looking. And Ramachandra Guha stops writing for HT because he’s being censored. Sangh ki baat.
Oil’s well: There was an oil price war. It’s sorted now.
Slickiweaks: Julian Assange somehow managed to father two children while living in the Ecuadorian Embassy. The mom? His… Lawyer. (as @chupchap said on Twitter - Quarantine tips from Assange)
Hg swells: Sure, weaken mercury regulations, USA. Why not.
Less than 20/20 Vision Fund: Softbank’s woes goes from bad to worse, as the Vision Fund faces a massive loss. Prodigal Son, anyone?
Google Pay: Google’s been ordered to pay for news reuse (in France, anyway - but this could have global ramifications)
Expecto Taxonum: A new snake discovered in Arunachal has been named after Salazar Slytherin!
Ok some good news now: Scientists might have found a “bath sponge” technique to boost clean car fuel tech and researchers in France have found an enzyme that will break down plastic!
LinkedOut: Lots of damn good reads. All coronavirus-related of course.
A fabulous essay : Our Pandemic Summer
The poor aren’t the problem, they are the solution. Excellent piece, this.
A fascinating look at why we might all be eating algae in the future.
A very good run-down of China’s ‘covid diplomacy’ (and a good counterpoint and an even more vociferous one)
The supply chain heroes who keep India going at this time.
“Am I The Asshole” - a look at a fascinating Reddit community.
And finally… Can we please have more women leaders? Please.
That’s it for this week. If you’d like to get in touch with us, we’re on Instagram (Chuck | Tony) and Twitter (Chuck | Tony). Or you can reach us on good ol’ email. Until next week, may you discover a previously missing dress in your wardrobe, and may you realise the fit is perfect because it’s worn by you. Bye!