Lifeboat Foundation

Edward Snowden shows you how to make your phone go black in this full episode of VICE on HBO.

👽 Facial recognition and Covid 19 in Moscow, Russia.

Fyodor R.

Continue reading “Moscow’s Facial Recognition Tech Will Outlast the Coronavirus” »

A version of this story was first published by COVID-19 Waterblog. Read the original.

There has been quite some talk about SARS-CoV-2 shedding in faeces and what that might mean for the water industry. Here, Susan Petterson provides a snapshot of the current data.

As I see it, there are two aspects to this conversation: the first is a concern that sewage may contain infectious SARS-CoV-2 viruses; and the second relates to the more theoretical potential of using SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration in sewage as a public health surveillance tool.

Continue reading “What do we know about COVID-19 and sewage?” »

It is urgent to understand the future of severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission. We used estimates of seasonality, immunity, and cross-immunity for betacoronaviruses OC43 and HKU1 from time series data from the USA to inform a model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. We projected that recurrent wintertime outbreaks of SARS-CoV-2 will probably occur after the initial, most severe pandemic wave. Absent other interventions, a key metric for the success of social distancing is whether critical care capacities are exceeded. To avoid this, prolonged or intermittent social distancing may be necessary into 2022. Additional interventions, including expanded critical care capacity and an effective therapeutic, would improve the success of intermittent distancing and hasten the acquisition of herd immunity. Longitudinal serological studies are urgently needed to determine the extent and duration of immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Even in the event of apparent elimination, SARS-CoV-2 surveillance should be maintained since a resurgence in contagion could be possible as late as 2024.

The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has caused nearly 500,000 detected cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) illness and claimed over 20,000 lives worldwide as of 26 Mar 2020. Experience from China, Italy, and the United States demonstrates that COVID-19 can overwhelm even the healthcare capacities of well-resourced nations (2–4). With no pharmaceutical treatments available, interventions have focused on contact tracing, quarantine, and social distancing. The required intensity, duration, and urgency of these responses will depend both on how the initial pandemic wave unfolds and on the subsequent transmission dynamics of SARS-CoV-2. During the initial pandemic wave, many countries have adopted social distancing measures, and some, like China, are gradually lifting them after achieving adequate control of transmission.

New Analysis on the possible origins of a virus in the animal population.

Statistical analyses suggest that surveillance efforts for the next pandemic look beyond the flying mammals.

Many Lebanese people are complaining, on social media, that they had a sleepless night on Sunday due to a “weird noise” in the atmosphere.

As a result of these cyber complaints, #weird_plane_noise became the #1 top trending hashtag on Twitter in Lebanon.

At around 11:15 PM last night, the National News Agency reported that an Israeli spy plane was flying heavily over Beirut and its Southern Suburbs.

Circa 2017

What’s small, fast, and is launched from the bottom of a fighter jet? Not missiles, but a swarm of drones.

U.S. military officials have announced that they’ve carried out their largest ever test of a drone swarm released from fighter jets in flight. In the trials, three F/A-18 Super Hornets released 103 Perdix drones, which then communicated with each other and went about performing a series of formation flying exercises that mimic a surveillance mission.

Continue reading “A 100-Drone Swarm, Dropped from Jets, Plans Its Own Moves” »

Contact tracing is working in South Korea and Singapore. But it raises privacy issues.

Activity Post: Everyone is doing weird facebook activities, so I thought I would give it a try.

This is not a post for sharing anything but information in the comments section. Many like to read, and in a time of boredom reading passes time. I will start by posting a link to cool books to read, and in the comments section mention books you like to read or links of many books you like to read. Two books that changed my life were “Engines of Creation” by K Eric Drexler, and “The Society of Mind”, by Marvin Minsky…in fact name two books that have influenced you, and post a link with cool books to read, as that is more info…and we have no clue how long we will be locked up. Reading often leads to inspiration.

These 16 books like ‘1984’ include invasive rulers, rebels with a cause, and other dystopian themes. Like George Orwell’s novel, they remain with you long after the final page.

Continue reading “Big Brother Is Watching: 16 Unsettling Dystopian Books Like ‘1984’” »