Most spare US doses going to COVAX: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-vaccine-coronavirus-pandemic-business-health-government-and-politics-f920bf3b59940da33cad9eb64285bb66 . The proposed plan is to give 75% of spare doses to COVAX, with the remaining 25% distributed bilaterally. This avoids hard feelings from other countries. It also allows doses to go to US adversaries and provides a strong US endorsement of the UN and the WHO.
On paper, this looks like smart global politics. US politics have already been addressed by providing doses to everyone who wants one. Also, this solution would never have occurred under the prior administration. In this sense, the continued demonstration of what competent government looks like is smart domestic politics, too.
WHO revamps variant naming system: https://www.statnews.com/2021/05/31/the-name-game-for-coronavirus-variants-just-got-a-little-easier/ . The existing naming system is dysfunctional, but it’s unlikely that this is an improvement.
WSJ: Pandemic has damaged children’s vision: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pandemic-made-kids-eyesight-worse-doctors-say-11622484000 . A simpler explanation would seem to be that in-person learning requires less screen time.
WSJ: Brazil’s experiment with Chinese vaccine highly successful: https://www.wsj.com/articles/brazils-experiment-to-vaccinate-town-with-chinese-coronavac-reduced-covid-19-deaths-by-95-11622479864 .
Peru more than doubles its reported COVID death toll, to 180,000: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-05-31/new-data-in-peru-show-covid-19-death-toll-is-over-180-000 . More: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/31/peru-adjusts-covid-19-death-toll-to-over-180000 . Peru now has the highest reported COVID per capita death toll in the world.
Bat-human interaction map: https://www.vox.com/22456392/coronavirus-pandemic-bats-forests-spillover-china-indonesia . So, a lot of work went into showing that the most likely place for zoonotic spillover is … southern China. We’ve known this for decades.
WSJ: Europe, Canada look to speed pace of vaccinations: https://www.wsj.com/articles/canada-and-europe-seek-to-boost-vaccine-access-after-troubled-rollouts-11622462400 .
WSJ: Greece prioritizes vaccines for islanders: https://www.wsj.com/articles/greece-rushes-to-vaccinate-islanders-against-covid-19-to-save-summer-tourist-season-11622453400 .
China announces “three child” policy, but there may not be many takers: https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/31/economy/china-economy-three-child-policy-intl-hnk/index.html . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-to-ease-limits-on-births-allowing-couples-to-have-three-children-11622447583 . The “one child” policy was a demographic disaster, leading to an aging population and the abandonment or killing of female babies. As a result, there were many more male children than female children, further exacerbating the downward pressure on reproduction.
Now that China’s society has modernized, there is the common pressure in advanced nations to reduce family size. It is unclear if even substantial economic incentives to raise children will alter these trends.
China tries to restrain surging value of yuan: https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2021-06-01/chinas-central-bank-tries-to-stop-surge-in-currencys-value .
WSJ: COVID slows Indian economy: https://www.wsj.com/articles/indias-covid-19-surge-to-hamper-economic-recovery-11622468223 .
The future of the Biden agenda: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/biden-enters-memorial-day-facing-high-stakes-home-abroad-n1269108 . There is no question that the next 3 months are critical in Biden’s momentum for the Democratic agenda. There is also considerable uncertainty.
The “I’m an idiot” insurrectionist defense: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/capitol-rioters-attorney-calls-him-dumb-who-believed-what-he-heard-on-fox-news/ar-AAKzu3q?li=BBnbfcL . We know there is substantial overlap between criminals and idiots. This is not much of a defense to the crime, but it may affect sentencing (“I’m not a big fish”).
Understanding Tulsa’s racial massacre of 1921: There has been extensive coverage of this horrific event over the last few days. I would just reference a story previously presented to readers: Last July, the US Supreme Court ruled that the eastern half of Oklahoma is an Indian reservation. That includes Tulsa. So the white mob burned down Greenwood, an enclave of blacks created by enforced segregation. And they did not legally control either Greenwood or Tulsa itself.
Who can possibly argue that there is not systematic racism in the US? And what is Senator Tim Scott doing mouthing their words?