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Daily Archives: May 11, 2021

First comprehensive review of the global response to COVID-19

The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (WHO): “Since September 2020, the Independent Panel has systematically, rigorously and comprehensively examined why COVID-19 became a global health and socio-economic crisis. In May 2021, the Independent Panel presented its findings and recommendations for action to curb the COVID-19 pandemic and to ensure that any future infectious disease outbreak does not become another catastrophic pandemic…“For the Panel it is clear that the combination of poor strategic choices, unwillingness to tackle inequalities, and an uncoordinated system created a toxic cocktail which allowed the pandemic to turn into a catastrophic human crisis.”

  1. The main report presents the Panel’s findings and recommendations.
  2. Summary of the main report
  3. The companion evidence-based narrative describes 13 defining moments which have shaped the course of the pandemic
  4. Background documents represent the Panel’s in-depth research including an authoritative chronology of the early response. Additional background papers will be posted in the month of May 2021…”
  5. Via Science: “Their report, COVID-19: Make it the Last Pandemic, concludes that the world has failed to take pandemic threats seriously and build structures that can respond to fast-spreading pathogens. Countries relied on WHO to keep it safe but didn’t equip it with the resources to do so. “For many years, [WHO] has been given new tasks without sufficient authority or resources to undertake them fully,” the authors write. “In this pandemic, the efforts of its leadership and staff have been unstinting but structural problems have been exposed.”…

Colonial Pipeline: The DarkSide Strikes

CRS Insight – Colonial Pipeline: The DarkSide Strikes, May 11, 2021: “On May 8, 2021,the Colonial Pipeline Company announced that it had halted its pipeline operations due to a ransomware attack, disrupting critical supplies of gasoline and other refined products throughout the East Coast. This attack was similar to an earlier pipeline ransomware attack in… Continue Reading

This $60 million Brooklyn library renovation is so stunning, you’ll want to move in

Fast Company – The library doubles down on public space after a year of going without it. “…The pandemic caused libraries across the country to reorient the services they offer. In New York City, the library system closed completely before eventually moving to a reservation system for picking up holds. E-book borrowing increased nearly 50% across… Continue Reading

New report looks at the best times to post on each platform, based on insights from 20,000 users

“One SEO Company Sprout Social het published his latest listing of the best times to move to each of the company’s major social media platforms 20,000+ customer base, using the platform to schedule and post online. By analyzing this data, Sprout determined the best times to post based on when content sees the highest engagement… Continue Reading

How a ransomware attack shut down a major US fuel pipeline

Popular Science: “The network carries petroleum products like gasoline and aviation fuel. Here’s what to know. A surefire way to appreciate the importance of a key piece of infrastructure is to watch what happens when it unexpectedly stops working. For example, most people probably thought very little about the importance of the Suez Canal, but… Continue Reading

HP Wolf Security – New Report Assessing Remote Working Cyber Risks

HP – “Today we are excited to announce the findings of a new report – Blurred Lines & Blindspots – a comprehensive global study assessing organizational cyber risk in an era of remote work. The report shows that changing work styles and behaviors are creating new vulnerabilities for companies, individuals, and their data. According to… Continue Reading

How copyright filters lead to wage-theft

Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow – “…content ID was created to mollify the entertainment industry after Google acquired Youtube. Google would spend $100m on filtering tech that would allow rightsholders to go beyond the simple “takedown” permitted by law, and instead share in revenues from creative uses. But it’s easy to see how this… Continue Reading

The Case for Letting People Work From Home Forever

Wired – “Do you want happier, productive, more engaged, and more fulfilled employees and coworkers? Well, you should campaign to let them work remotely. Here’s why. “In 2020, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, almost 70 percent of full-time employees worked from home. Many employers that perhaps may never have considered offering a remote work option… Continue Reading