Daily Archives: May 8, 2020


At UN, Reflection on World War II, Current Challenge 

The U.N. Security Council reflected Friday on the lessons learned from World War II on the 75th anniversary of its end in Europe, as the world faces its biggest collective challenge since then — the coronavirus.“How we react to the new challenge before us — the COVID-19 pandemic — could be as significant as how the world rebuilt after fascism was vanquished,” U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo told a virtual meeting of more than 80 nations, including nearly 50 foreign ministers, organized by Estonia, which presides over the Security Council this month.The end of six brutal …


Smallpox Eradication 40 Years Ago Has Parallels With Coronavirus Pandemic

As the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the World Health Organization reports the methods used to rid the world of the devastating disease can be used today to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.In the 20th century alone, more than 300 million people died from smallpox until it was eradicated in 1975 in an effort led by the World Health Organization. Observers agree the monumental achievement was made possible by global unity and cooperation, in which even the U.S. and Russia collaborated during the height of the …


Grandson of WWII Icon Took a Different Path

If DNA is destiny, it took an unexpected turn when the grandson of legendary World War II commander General Claire Lee Chennault was growing up.General Claire Lee Chennault (1890-1958), who commanded the legendary Flying Tigers and later the 14th Air Force in China, landed on the covers of Time and Life magazines during WWII. (U.S. Air Force)New York-based jazz musician Paul Sikivie says he was brought up with “a sense of awe” regarding his grandfather, one of the most storied commanders in the Asia theater during that war. But “he belonged to the world at …


No Sure Way to Predict Impact of Loosening COVID Restrictions

As some states moved to open their economies from the pandemic lockdown this week, Salon owner Shelley Luther reacts as supporters chant for her after she was released from jail in Dallas, May 7, 202 for refusing to keep her business closed amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19.Best guessIn the absence of experience, models provide policymakers with the best guesses available for what the implications of their decisions will be. But with a virus that scientists discovered less than six months ago, there is a tremendous amount that modelers don’t …


Experts Worry CDC Is Sidelined in Coronavirus Response

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has repeatedly found its suggestions for fighting the coronavirus outbreak taking a backseat to other concerns within the Trump administration. That leaves public health experts outside government fearing the agency’s decades of experience in beating back disease threats are going to waste.   “You have the greatest fighting force against infectious diseases in world history. Why would you not use them?” said Dr. Howard Markel, a public health historian at the University of Michigan. The complaints have sounded for months. But they have …


Models Differ on Impact of Loosening COVID Restrictions

As some states moved to open their economies from the pandemic lockdown this week, Salon owner Shelley Luther reacts as supporters chant for her after she was released from jail in Dallas, May 7, 202 for refusing to keep her business closed amid concerns of the spread of COVID-19.Best guessIn the absence of experience, models provide policymakers with the best guesses available for what the implications of their decisions will be. But with a virus that scientists discovered less than six months ago, there is a tremendous amount that modelers don’t …


Marine Life Declines for Another Year in Contested, Overfished South China Sea

Marine life in the politically disputed South China Sea took another hit over the past year, researchers said, due to overfishing and lack of international efforts to protect species.Vessels from multiple Asian countries are going farther out into the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea and casting deeper because coastal waters yield increasingly little, scholars and published research indicate. Giant clam harvesting, added to use of  cyanide and dynamite bombing for fish, damaged coral reefs last year, the analysts said.Marine life in the sea that stretches from Taiwan southwest to Singapore comes into …