Sierra Leone so far has had some Covid success despite low vaccination rates, and it illustrates the challenges poor countries face.
Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Update on Surgery and Mother’s Hospitalization
Thanks for your concern and kind notes about my surgery and how my mother is faring. A recap of the last nearly two weeks.
2:00PM Water Cooler 6/23/2021
~ Today’s Water Cooler: Open thread ~
Supreme Court Rules 9-0 Against NCAA, Opening Door to Further Antitrust Challenges of Student-Athlete Compensation Bans
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Monday NCAA antitrust decision opens the door to further more sweeping challenges of the organization’s business model.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb Shellacks Bitcoin and Cryptocurrencies
Nassim Nicholas Taleb explains why Bitcoin is not good for much except enriching early adopters and intermediaries.
How Energy Transition Models Go Wrong
Gail Tvergberg explains why oil prices are likely to remain be lower than full costs, and how that undermines the move to cleaner energy.
The Politics of ‘Follow the Science’
How the ralllying cry of “Follow the science” is looking more and more like sloganeernig as opposed to best practice.
2:00PM Water Cooler 6/22/2021
~ Today’s Water Cooler ~
‘Managed Retreat’ from Climate Disasters Can Reinvent Cities So They’re Better for Everyone – and Avoid More Flooding, Heat and Fires
Managed retreat is a promising way to deal with rising seas…except it requires things we’re bad at, like planning and cooperation.
Is Another Military Coup Brewing in Peru, After Historic Electoral Victory for Leftist Candidate?
The threat should not be taken lightly, especially given Peru’s long history of coups d’états.
The Bullshit Economy: How Amazon Sidewalk Steals Your Bandwidth
How Amazon’s Sidewalk feature enhances their products at customers’ expense.
Decade Of Chaos Could Send Oil To $130 Per Barrel
Oil mavens are stymied at guessing what the commodity’s price trajectory might be.
Mindat: The Wikipedia for Minerologists, Miners, and “Rock Hounds” (Except Not)
Citizen science goes unreward by giant monopolists Wikipedia and Google.
