FD Afternoon Tea 9.29.2020 - Missile Swords

Drones firing missiles that explode in blades not bombs, NYC’s unemployment rate hits 16%, how to stop eating your feelings, and essential workers are wrung out. It’s Tuesday, September 29th 2020, and this is the Tea.

The US military is quietly killing terrorist leaders in Syria with its secret missile packed with swords (WeAreTheMighty) Good summary of the paywalled New York Times covering the Hellfire AGM-114R9X missile, which has six blades that extend before impact. While alluded to a few times over the last year, it’s been confirmed used to kill terrorist leaders twice over the last two months. Not even kidding. Sword missiles.

'I cry before work': US essential workers burned out amid pandemic (Guardian) If you know anyone who works in a grocery store, retail, or healthcare, this is nothing new and you can skip this link.

‘We’re at War’: New York City Faces Financial Abyss (New York Times) The disproven arguments for austerity from a bit over a decade ago are being trotted out as a justification to not put this crisis to bed. For people in the Bronx, the air pollution of the expressways is making it worse.

White House recruited climate critics for NOAA (E&E News) The Trump administration is quietly attempting to re-staff the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to install climate change deniers.

The Road Ahead: Charting the coronavirus pandemic over the next 12 months — and beyond (STAT) A pathway out of the darkness is right before us, we only have to walk down it.

How to stop emotional eating (Psyche) From an analytical perspective, a targeted, helpful, and respectful set of tools, tips and practices to help with mindless/emotional eating.

The value of uncertainty (Aeon) Uncertainty is gripping in fictional narrative, but unhinges us over time in real life. The flexible bend in the wind, while the rigid break.

The weaponization of web archives: Data craft and COVID-19 publics (Harvard Kennedy School) Archive.org, also known as the Internet Wayback machine, should be funded by the Library of Congress. It is a public good.

Conflict Flares Up in Nagorno-Karabakh, with Joshua Kucera (Foreign Exchanges) In case you were chomping at the bit for over an hour of context and info on the conflict I mentioned yesterday, FX has you covered, talking to a reporter out of Eurasianet.

Song of the Tea: Given the theatrical fight for America’s soul going on this evening, I am keeping the psychedelic folk train going with Hicksville by Celtic Cross, another Simon Posford side project.

The gray rolls in, don’t get too sloshed playing the debate drinking game tonight.

Yours,T