Afternoon Tea 11.16.2020 - Fatigue Waves

An Elixir for escaping the Wrath of the Heavens

November 16, 2020

Rebekah Mercer admitted to founding Parler, Q outed by his son on Parler, Morocco suppressed the Polisaro Front’s uprising, Peru’s latest president lasted six days, trucking pirates, and your regular reminder: You’re not weak, at fault, or worse than others, you are attempting to survive living in a failed state during a global pandemic. It’s Monday, November 16th 2020, and this is the Tea.

The Enraging Deja Vu of a Third Coronavirus Wave (ProPublica) & How Trump Sold Failure to 70 Million People (The Atlantic) Pandemic Fatigue Is Just Exhaustion in the Face of a Failed State (New Republic) You’re not weak, a failure, or somehow at fault. Surviving in a state where government has effectively abandoned you, is exhausting.

Meet Rebekah Mercer, the deep-pocketed co-founder of Parler, a controversial conservative social network Did you need another reason to hate the Mercers besides Cambridge Analytica and the general erosion of Western democracy? Another one. (Also, we might have found out the identity of Q from…his son? Ron vs. Jim Watkins)

Morocco troops launch operation in Western Sahara border zone (Al-Jazeera) Remember that thing I was concerned was going to happen? Welp, it happened. As a note, unlike Trumpalos, paramilitary groups in the developing world use the Toyota Hilux, not a gas tank on wheels like the F-150.

Peru Currency Sells Off With Power Vacuum and Split Congress (Bloomberg) The latest interim president of Peru lasted six days. Six. To put this in perspective, all but one of Peru’s presidents have been impeached, jailed or sought for questioning, dating back to 1985. You gotta love consistency like that.

In the Philippines, fake news can get you killed (RestOfWorld) What it says on the tin. In Duterte’s Philippines, allegations on Facebook might get you murdered by the cops.

The Pirates of the Highways (Narratively) I really had no idea that 18 wheelers were stolen this often and with methods this insanely sophisticated:

In recent years, a 12-member Louisville-based outfit operated a complex cargo-thievery network across more than 10 states. They would conduct surveillance on facilities shipping high-value goods, then follow departing trucks until they stopped for gas, at which time the trailer would be stolen, driven miles away, hooked up to a different tractor, and taken back to Louisville to be sold off. The group took everything from cigarettes to appliances to baby formula, as well as a load of thousands of cell phones, a single shipment valued at almost $12 million. All told, the group stole $30 million worth of cargo from 2012 to 2015, but the high-value cell phone heist proved to be their undoing.

How the U.S. Military Buys Location Data from Ordinary Apps (Vice) The military has purchased data sets on the gray/black market from anything as big as the full data set for a Quran & Islam app with 98 million downloads, or a simple app that helps you level your posters.

A dinner party Killed my Dad. (Medium) A desperate plea. A personal, quiet plea. If you can, don’t travel & congregate in large gatherings during Thanksgiving. Please. This is a gut-wrenching read.

I would never tell anyone what to do for their own family. I know that even a month ago, the thought of not having a family Thanksgiving — which happens to be my favorite holiday — would have been met with resistance, probably flat-out ignored.

But this year, Mom will be coming over. And that’s it. Because a dinner party killed my Dad.

Fantastically Wrong: That Time People Thought a Comet Would Gas Us All to Death (WIRED) From 2015, but mentioned in this spectacular thread by foone about just how old and rehashed pandemic conspiracy theories actually are. Which led me to one of the greatest advertisements I’ve ever seen: Hope’s Anti-Comet Pills

Song of the Tea: Dillon Francis picked up a delightful new vocalist in Evie Irie for this oddly psychedelic bubble gum house track. Float on by to the end of your Monday…

Stay WarmStay SafeStay BatmanYours,T