Source: Masks prevent COVID-19 outbreaks at child-care facilities, study says – UPI.com

Source: How Covid-19 vaccines succeeded in saving a million US lives, in charts – Vox

A Nevada man made his initial appearance in federal court today for allegedly making multiple threatening phone calls to an election worker in the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office. Gjergi Luke Juncaj, aka Gjergj Juncaj, aka Gjurgi Juncaj, aka George Juncaj, 50, of Las Vegas, was arrested by the FBI yesterday in Las Vegas. According to court documents, on Jan. 7, 2021, Juncaj allegedly made four threatening phone calls to an employee in the Elections Division of the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office. According to the employee, the threats included: I want to thank you for such a great job you all did on stealing the election. I hope you all go to jail for treason. I hope your children get molested. You are all going to (expletive) die. This case is part of the Justice Department’s Election Threats Task Force.

Source: Man Charged for Threatening Nevada State Election Worker | OPA | Department of Justice

What is happening here is not just that Ladapo does not appear to be competent for the job (which I think he isn’t), it’s that he has apparently subjugated the science to a right wing political ideology. For Ron DeSantis (Florida’s governor), that is a feature, not a bug. This is a very dangerous phenomenon.

There are certain positions in government that are supposed to be apolitical, positions based on topic expertise rather than ideology, positions that often can span multiple administrations even from different parties. The Fed, for example, is supposed to be politically neutral experts in managing the economy, who makes their decisions based on evidence and economic theory, not politics. Surgeon General is another such position, offering scientific expertise on public health issues, and standing apart from any political calculations.

Source: The Problem with Ladapo – NeuroLogica Blog

Australia’s Woodside Petroleum has announced it is following multinational energy groups Chevron and Total in exiting Myanmar, saying it is unable to work in the country following the military coup nearly one year ago and the regime’s continuing human rights abuses and violence against civilians.

The moves follow pressure from human rights groups, who have called on companies to stop doing business in Myanmar and cut off the flow of money from projects to the junta. February marks a year since the military re-took control of Myanmar in a coup.

Source: Woodside Petroleum to pull out of Myanmar one year on from military coup | Myanmar | The Guardian