newyorker--2020-06-19--How Llama Antibodies Could Help Fight the Coronavirus

Llamas , according to Inca lore , have a divine origin .
They came into being after Manco Cápac , the first Inca emperor , disapproved of the union between his son and one of his daughters .
The couple fled Cusco , drawing the ire of their father , who sentenced them to death .
Their mother made a desperate plea to Viracocha , the principal deity of ancient Peru , begging for the god ’ s mercy .
Viracocha obliged , and instead of taking the young people ’ s lives he turned them into animals—but let them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ born the llama , and the animal has been an emblem of the Andes ever since .
A less celestial reading of the origin of llamas would explain that they are members of the Camelid family , the evolution of which began ages ago .
For centuries , they have served as beasts of burden , ideal for work in high altitudes because their blood is extraordinarily rich in hemoglobin .
Leather has been made from their hides , wool from their fleece , and fuel from their dried excrement .
In more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ see tremendous potential in their antibodies .
Humans produce only one kind of antibody , but some animals , including llamas , produce another that is just a quarter of the size of that found in humans .
Scientists believe its size may make it the key to neutralizing coronaviruses .
Four years ago , a group of researchers from Ghent University , in Belgium , began looking into how llama antibodies could stave off Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ( SARS ) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome ( MERS ) .
The team @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , late last year , when a novel coronavirus emerged in China .
Could their research also be applied to SARS-CoV-2 ?
Soon enough , they were able to verify that llama antibodies could bind to the spike proteins found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 and prevent the virus from infecting cells .
In the video above , Xavier Saelens , a molecular virologist at Ghent University and one of the lead researchers on the project , speaks with The New Yorker about his findings and what they may mean for the future @ @ @ @

Llamas, according to Inca lore, have a divine origin. They came into being after Manco Cápac, the first Inca emperor, disapproved of the union between his son and one of his daughters. The couple fled Cusco, drawing the ire of their father, who sentenced them to death. Their mother made a desperate plea to Viracocha, the principal deity of ancient Peru, begging for the god’s mercy. Viracocha obliged, and instead of taking the young people’s lives he turned them into animals—but let them keep their human gaze. Thus was born the llama, and the animal has been an emblem of the Andes ever since.
A less celestial reading of the origin of llamas would explain that they are members of the Camelid family, the evolution of which began ages ago. For centuries, they have served as beasts of burden, ideal for work in high altitudes because their blood is extraordinarily rich in hemoglobin. Leather has been made from their hides, wool from their fleece, and fuel from their dried excrement. In more recent times, scientists have come to see tremendous potential in their antibodies. Humans produce only one kind of antibody, but some animals, including llamas, produce another that is just a quarter of the size of that found in humans. Scientists believe its size may make it the key to neutralizing coronaviruses.
Four years ago, a group of researchers from Ghent University, in Belgium, began looking into how llama antibodies could stave off Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The team was getting ready to publish its findings, late last year, when a novel coronavirus emerged in China. Could their research also be applied to SARS-CoV-2? Soon enough, they were able to verify that llama antibodies could bind to the spike proteins found on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 and prevent the virus from infecting cells. In the video above, Xavier Saelens, a molecular virologist at Ghent University and one of the lead researchers on the project, speaks with The New Yorker about his findings and what they may mean for the future of coronavirus treatment.


newyorker--2020-06-19--New York City’s Cornucopia of Bread to Go

Keep your sourdough starter to yourself : I value the staff of life too highly to leave it to anyone but professionals , or at least savants .
Luckily for me , in New York , bakers , professional and savant alike , have more than risen to the challenges of the past several months .
In March , Bien Cuit , a bakery with locations in Cobble Hill and Crown Heights , launched an online store called Bien Cuit Provisions , offering its superlative breads and pastries , including crunchy-crusted rye ficelles and salted chocolate-buckwheat cookies , for delivery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and for shipping nationwide .
She Wolf Bakery , which is affiliated with the restaurants Diner and Marlow & Sons , and which , for my money , makes the best bâtards and miches in the city , has partnered with online purveyors such as Farm to People and Natoora .
A new company called Bread Basket ( which is on hiatus until the fall ) designed C.S.A.-style boxes packed with a grab bag from various New York bakeries : half a dozen Kossar ’ s bagels , for example , with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a berry-coconut tea cake from Baked .
More thrilling still is a speakeasy-style marketplace that has popped up on Instagram .
One day in April , while scrolling mindlessly through my feed , I snapped to attention when I saw a picture of kardemummabullar , the Swedish confections whose buttery , flaky layers are coiled and knotted and coated in sugar and stirringly fragrant ground cardamom .
They were attributed to @ neighborhoodbread , a virtual Brooklyn-based bakery that was started by a pair of chefs who are furloughed from their high-end restaurant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ anonymous ) .
On a recent sunny afternoon , a masked bike messenger dropped off a pair of the flawless kardemummabullar , plus a crusty sourdough boule thickly scented with maple and fenugreek , a square of oily focaccia pocked with dollops of ricotta and pepita-parsley pesto , and a deliciously tangy Danish-style sprouted rye , whose fermented dough was so moist that it stayed good for weeks .
In similar fashion , I received sacks of raspberry kouign amann , croissants , and English muffins baked by Billie Rushe and Peter Magestro @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobs at Roberta ’ s and Williamsburg ’ s the Blue Stove , respectively , and who sell their wares from their apartment in Ridgewood as @ gravy.bakery .
Another day , a trio of baguettes I summoned from Manhattan were still warm when they arrived on my doorstep in Brooklyn .
They were made by Richaud Valls , a producer and an actor of some repute in his home country of France , who found that , in the U.S. , he was often typecast , because of his heavy accent , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ .
In March , while sheltering in place , he picked up a project he ’ d long ago abandoned : re-creating the baguette of his childhood .
The desired texture had eluded him on previous attempts , but this time he was shocked to find that he managed it on the first try .
Before long , he was running an Instagram bakery , too , called Richaud ( tagline : “ Baguette .
.
.
about it !
” ) .
The other day , the chefs behind @ neighborhoodbread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cent of several days ’ worth of sales to Color of Change , a racial-justice nonprofit .
Rushe and Magestro pledged twenty-five per cent of what they made on doughnuts to the A.C.L.U .
And Zoë Kanan , formerly of Simon & the Whale , and Dianna Daoheung , of Black Seed Bagels , are just two of the many New York bakers who participated in a recent worldwide virtual bake sale to support the Black Lives Matter movement .
The sale was spearheaded by Paola Velez , Willa Lou Pelini , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ behind @ bakersagainstracism .
All proceeds from Kanan and Daoheung ’ s strawberry-glazed pound cake and Jamaican beef patties went to the Black Feminist Project , an organization in the South Bronx whose many efforts include the Black Joy Farm , a source of vegetables and a gathering place for the surrounding community .
♦

Keep your sourdough starter to yourself: I value the staff of life too highly to leave it to anyone but professionals, or at least savants. Luckily for me, in New York, bakers, professional and savant alike, have more than risen to the challenges of the past several months. In March, Bien Cuit, a bakery with locations in Cobble Hill and Crown Heights, launched an online store called Bien Cuit Provisions, offering its superlative breads and pastries, including crunchy-crusted rye ficelles and salted chocolate-buckwheat cookies, for delivery in much of Manhattan and Brooklyn, and for shipping nationwide.
From top to bottom: a baguette baked by Richaud Valls, a French actor and producer who has been selling his bread on Instagram; a sun-dried-tomato loaf from Bien Cuit; a rye ficelle from Bien Cuit; a raisin-walnut campagne from Bien Cuit; a sourdough miche from Bien Cuit. Photograph by Vanessa Granda for The New Yorker
She Wolf Bakery, which is affiliated with the restaurants Diner and Marlow & Sons, and which, for my money, makes the best bâtards and miches in the city, has partnered with online purveyors such as Farm to People and Natoora. A new company called Bread Basket (which is on hiatus until the fall) designed C.S.A.-style boxes packed with a grab bag from various New York bakeries: half a dozen Kossar’s bagels, for example, with a Pain D’Avignon pecan-cranberry loaf and a berry-coconut tea cake from Baked.
In March, Bien Cuit set up an online store called Bien Cuit Provisions, offering delivery to much of Manhattan and Brooklyn and nationwide shipping. Photograph by Vanessa Granda for The New Yorker
More thrilling still is a speakeasy-style marketplace that has popped up on Instagram. One day in April, while scrolling mindlessly through my feed, I snapped to attention when I saw a picture of kardemummabullar, the Swedish confections whose buttery, flaky layers are coiled and knotted and coated in sugar and stirringly fragrant ground cardamom. They were attributed to @neighborhoodbread, a virtual Brooklyn-based bakery that was started by a pair of chefs who are furloughed from their high-end restaurant jobs (and who prefer to remain anonymous).
On a recent sunny afternoon, a masked bike messenger dropped off a pair of the flawless kardemummabullar, plus a crusty sourdough boule thickly scented with maple and fenugreek, a square of oily focaccia pocked with dollops of ricotta and pepita-parsley pesto, and a deliciously tangy Danish-style sprouted rye, whose fermented dough was so moist that it stayed good for weeks. In similar fashion, I received sacks of raspberry kouign amann, croissants, and English muffins baked by Billie Rushe and Peter Magestro, who had been furloughed from their jobs at Roberta’s and Williamsburg’s the Blue Stove, respectively, and who sell their wares from their apartment in Ridgewood as @gravy.bakery.
A number of bakers furloughed from their restaurant jobs have, like Valls, taken to selling their wares on Instagram, accepting orders for local delivery via DM. Photograph by Vanessa Granda for The New Yorker
Another day, a trio of baguettes I summoned from Manhattan were still warm when they arrived on my doorstep in Brooklyn. They were made by Richaud Valls, a producer and an actor of some repute in his home country of France, who found that, in the U.S., he was often typecast, because of his heavy accent, as a chef or a maître d’. In March, while sheltering in place, he picked up a project he’d long ago abandoned: re-creating the baguette of his childhood. The desired texture had eluded him on previous attempts, but this time he was shocked to find that he managed it on the first try. Before long, he was running an Instagram bakery, too, called Richaud (tagline: “Baguette . . . about it!”).
Valls’s baguettes (far left, second from right, and far right) are inspired by the bread of his childhood, in France. Bien Cuit’s ficelle (second from left) is made with blended rye flours and has an exceptionally crunchy crust. Photograph by Vanessa Granda for The New Yorker
The other day, the chefs behind @neighborhoodbread posted that they would donate fifty per cent of several days’ worth of sales to Color of Change, a racial-justice nonprofit. Rushe and Magestro pledged twenty-five per cent of what they made on doughnuts to the A.C.L.U. And Zoë Kanan, formerly of Simon & the Whale, and Dianna Daoheung, of Black Seed Bagels, are just two of the many New York bakers who participated in a recent worldwide virtual bake sale to support the Black Lives Matter movement. The sale was spearheaded by Paola Velez, Willa Lou Pelini, and Rob Rubba, the three D.C. chefs behind @bakersagainstracism. All proceeds from Kanan and Daoheung’s strawberry-glazed pound cake and Jamaican beef patties went to the Black Feminist Project, an organization in the South Bronx whose many efforts include the Black Joy Farm, a source of vegetables and a gathering place for the surrounding community. ♦
A Guide to the Coronavirus


newyorker--2020-06-19--“Mr. Jones” and “Wasp Network,” Reviewed

The Polish director Agnieszka Holland , now seventy-one , has toiled in many fields .
“ The Secret Garden ” ( 1993 ) and “ Washington Square ” ( 1997 ) point to a predilection for bookish costume drama , yet Holland also made three episodes of “ The Wire.
” Her most tenacious work has centered on lone figures , as they seek to outwit , or simply to withstand , the weight of authoritarian threat .
“ Europa Europa ” ( 1990 ) is based on the true story of a German Jewish boy who joined the Hitler @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2013 ) , a three-part series for HBO , is based on the true story of Jan Palach , who immolated himself in protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia .
And Holland ’ s new film , “ Mr .
Jones , ” is based on the true story of a young Welshman who found a terrible tale to tell .
The man in question is Gareth Jones ( James Norton ) , an adviser to David Lloyd George ( Kenneth Cranham ) , formerly the British Prime Minister .
It is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ met with condescending mirth when he tells a group of graying British high-ups that Hitler is intent on war .
Jones , however , knows whereof he speaks ; he interviewed the Führer , on a plane , and , for his next scoop , he hopes to talk to Stalin .
He therefore travels to Moscow , as an independent journalist , and although the interview never happens , the dogged Jones remains perplexed by the boom in Soviet industry .
How is it being funded ?
“ Grain is Stalin ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
And where is much of the grain traditionally reaped ?
Ukraine .
So that is where Jones goes .
As Lloyd George said of him , “ He had the almost unfailing knack of getting at things that mattered.
” What matters in “ Mr .
Jones ” is the Holodomor , the famine that befell Ukraine in the years 1932-33 .
Current scholarship estimates that just under four million people died .
They did not pass away from natural causes .
The best and the most detailed English-language study of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 2017 book by Anne Applebaum , who demonstrates that starvation was a deliberate policy , enforced by Stalin through the requisition of crops and other products and the widespread persecution , deportation , or even execution of the non-compliant .
His grand scheme of collectivized farming had failed , as any local farmer could have predicted , yet it was not ideologically allowed to fail .
Who better than the Ukrainians , so often distrusted and demonized by Moscow , to be cast as scapegoats and saboteurs ?
Dramatizing a theme of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ filmmaker .
Holland ’ s response is threefold .
First , she shadows virtually every scene with a distorting darkness , as if prophesying doom , long before the action reaches Ukraine .
Second , she introduces none other than George Orwell ( Joseph Mawle ) as a framing device .
At the outset , we find him at work on “ Animal Farm , ” the implication being that the novel—which boasts a Mr. Jones , a farmer , in the opening sentence—was inspired , or informed , by what we are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ move ; if , as a film director , you have faith in the strength of your narrative , why should it need an extra boost ? )
Later , the link is made explicit , as Jones , returned from his mission , is introduced to Orwell , though whether such a meeting ever took place is open to debate .
Holland ’ s third tactic , as Jones journeys through the blighted landscapes of Ukraine , is to show us only what he sees , in the hope that a deep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the particular .
Thus , when Jones eats an orange on a train and discards the peel , his fellow-passengers lunge and scrap for the nutritious prize .
Alighting at a secluded railroad station , he passes a body on the platform .
Lying there , frozen and unremarked , it is meant to represent the innumerable dead who are strewn around the countryside like litter .
The same goes for the scene in which a baby , though still alive and crying , is tossed onto a cart with the already deceased @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lumps of meat that are cooked and eaten by children , having been cut from the remains of their brother .
None of these monstrosities are inflated .
Applebaum ’ s book includes a lengthy section on cannibalism .
( Some parents consumed their offspring , survived , and , having woken to the realization of what they had done , went mad .
By then , they were in the Gulag .
How much hell do you want ? )
In a feature film , though , isolated horrors are liable to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surrealism rather than as testamentary evidence , and we don ’ t—or can ’ t—always make the imaginative leap in scale .
When Jones himself grows famished , and chews in desperation on tree bark , we are scarcely moved , for the plight of one outsider , from the well-fed West , is of no consequence in the apocalypse of hunger .
This is no reflection on Norton , who is plausibly stricken as the pale and bespectacled Jones , and we share his frustration when his reports on the Holodomor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Soviet Union , have only a limited impact .
They are scorned by the New York Times correspondent in Moscow , Walter Duranty , played by Peter Sarsgaard as a limping and low-lidded slimeball .
( Just in case we doubt his nefarious credentials , he hosts a languid orgy at his apartment . )
It was Duranty who , in brushing off Jones ’ s account of the atrocities , blithely explained to Times readers , “ You can ’ t make an omelet without breaking eggs ” —one of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the newspaper .
The eggs were human beings .
This determination not to know , or to look away when the facts admonish our beliefs , is among our most durable frailties , and Duranty was but the first of many skeptics .
As late as 1988 , an article in the Village Voice , reviling “ one-note faminologists ” and accusing them of falsehood , bore the subtitle “ A 55-Year-Old Famine Feeds the Right , ” as if the urge to verify hardship and grief were no more than a Reaganite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Medvedev , Russia ’ s President at the time , referred to the “ so-called Holodomor.
” Any discussion of Ukraine ’ s being intentionally victimized , he added , would be “ cynical and immoral.
” As for the valiant Jones , he was murdered in Inner Mongolia , in 1935 , allegedly by Chinese bandits , though suspicions linger that the Soviets had a vengeful hand in his demise .
Is it conceivable that Holland ’ s bleak , murky , and instructive film could prompt a change of heart in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a confession of crimes past ?
Not a chance .
The new film from Olivier Assayas , “ Wasp Network , ” is a mirror image of “ Mr .
Jones.
” Instead of a Westerner entering a Communist state , we have Communists infiltrating the West—Cuban spies , dispatched undercover to Miami .
The decade is not the nineteen-thirties but the nineteen-nineties .
The colors have changed from crow black and slush gray to sun-warmed pastels .
And a hungry man eats a Big Mac , rather than chowing down on a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ improvement , though vegans may disagree .
First up is a pilot , René González ( Édgar Ramírez ) , who defects , or appears to defect , by flying solo to the United States .
His true function , once he ’ s in Florida , is to report to his superiors , in Havana , on the activities of anti-Castro groups .
The trouble is that , regardless of his motives , he has to leave behind his wife , Olga Salanueva ( Penélope Cruz ) , and their young daughter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up to the paramount question : In what universe would any sentient creature voluntarily abandon Penélope Cruz ?
Assayas gives her dorky spectacles and shapeless clothes , and shows her laboring in a tannery and mopping a hospital floor , all in a vain effort to quench the flame .
Olga is easily the most fervid figure in the movie , and her reaction , when she ’ s finally told that René is not a traitor but a loyal ( if secret ) patriot , is an amazing coalescence of pride , @ @ @ @ @ @

The Polish director Agnieszka Holland, now seventy-one, has toiled in many fields. “The Secret Garden” (1993) and “Washington Square” (1997) point to a predilection for bookish costume drama, yet Holland also made three episodes of “The Wire.” Her most tenacious work has centered on lone figures, as they seek to outwit, or simply to withstand, the weight of authoritarian threat. “Europa Europa” (1990) is based on the true story of a German Jewish boy who joined the Hitler Youth. “Burning Bush” (2013), a three-part series for HBO, is based on the true story of Jan Palach, who immolated himself in protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. And Holland’s new film, “Mr. Jones,” is based on the true story of a young Welshman who found a terrible tale to tell.
The man in question is Gareth Jones (James Norton), an adviser to David Lloyd George (Kenneth Cranham), formerly the British Prime Minister. It is the early nineteen-thirties, and Jones is met with condescending mirth when he tells a group of graying British high-ups that Hitler is intent on war. Jones, however, knows whereof he speaks; he interviewed the Führer, on a plane, and, for his next scoop, he hopes to talk to Stalin. He therefore travels to Moscow, as an independent journalist, and although the interview never happens, the dogged Jones remains perplexed by the boom in Soviet industry. How is it being funded? “Grain is Stalin’s gold,” he is told. And where is much of the grain traditionally reaped? Ukraine. So that is where Jones goes. As Lloyd George said of him, “He had the almost unfailing knack of getting at things that mattered.”
What matters in “Mr. Jones” is the Holodomor, the famine that befell Ukraine in the years 1932-33. Current scholarship estimates that just under four million people died. They did not pass away from natural causes. The best and the most detailed English-language study of the subject is “Red Famine,” a 2017 book by Anne Applebaum, who demonstrates that starvation was a deliberate policy, enforced by Stalin through the requisition of crops and other products and the widespread persecution, deportation, or even execution of the non-compliant. His grand scheme of collectivized farming had failed, as any local farmer could have predicted, yet it was not ideologically allowed to fail. Who better than the Ukrainians, so often distrusted and demonized by Moscow, to be cast as scapegoats and saboteurs?
Dramatizing a theme of such enormity is a test for any filmmaker. Holland’s response is threefold. First, she shadows virtually every scene with a distorting darkness, as if prophesying doom, long before the action reaches Ukraine. Second, she introduces none other than George Orwell (Joseph Mawle) as a framing device. At the outset, we find him at work on “Animal Farm,” the implication being that the novel—which boasts a Mr. Jones, a farmer, in the opening sentence—was inspired, or informed, by what we are about to witness. (A curious move; if, as a film director, you have faith in the strength of your narrative, why should it need an extra boost?) Later, the link is made explicit, as Jones, returned from his mission, is introduced to Orwell, though whether such a meeting ever took place is open to debate.
Holland’s third tactic, as Jones journeys through the blighted landscapes of Ukraine, is to show us only what he sees, in the hope that a deep note of universal suffering will resound through the particular. Thus, when Jones eats an orange on a train and discards the peel, his fellow-passengers lunge and scrap for the nutritious prize. Alighting at a secluded railroad station, he passes a body on the platform. Lying there, frozen and unremarked, it is meant to represent the innumerable dead who are strewn around the countryside like litter. The same goes for the scene in which a baby, though still alive and crying, is tossed onto a cart with the already deceased, to save time; or the lumps of meat that are cooked and eaten by children, having been cut from the remains of their brother.
None of these monstrosities are inflated. Applebaum’s book includes a lengthy section on cannibalism. (Some parents consumed their offspring, survived, and, having woken to the realization of what they had done, went mad. By then, they were in the Gulag. How much hell do you want?) In a feature film, though, isolated horrors are liable to come across as eruptions of a foul surrealism rather than as testamentary evidence, and we don’t—or can’t—always make the imaginative leap in scale. When Jones himself grows famished, and chews in desperation on tree bark, we are scarcely moved, for the plight of one outsider, from the well-fed West, is of no consequence in the apocalypse of hunger.
This is no reflection on Norton, who is plausibly stricken as the pale and bespectacled Jones, and we share his frustration when his reports on the Holodomor, delivered after he is thrown out of the Soviet Union, have only a limited impact. They are scorned by the New York Times correspondent in Moscow, Walter Duranty, played by Peter Sarsgaard as a limping and low-lidded slimeball. (Just in case we doubt his nefarious credentials, he hosts a languid orgy at his apartment.) It was Duranty who, in brushing off Jones’s account of the atrocities, blithely explained to Times readers, “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs”—one of the most shameful phrases in the history of the newspaper. The eggs were human beings.
This determination not to know, or to look away when the facts admonish our beliefs, is among our most durable frailties, and Duranty was but the first of many skeptics. As late as 1988, an article in the Village Voice, reviling “one-note faminologists” and accusing them of falsehood, bore the subtitle “A 55-Year-Old Famine Feeds the Right,” as if the urge to verify hardship and grief were no more than a Reaganite affectation. Twenty years later, Dimitry Medvedev, Russia’s President at the time, referred to the “so-called Holodomor.” Any discussion of Ukraine’s being intentionally victimized, he added, would be “cynical and immoral.” As for the valiant Jones, he was murdered in Inner Mongolia, in 1935, allegedly by Chinese bandits, though suspicions linger that the Soviets had a vengeful hand in his demise. Is it conceivable that Holland’s bleak, murky, and instructive film could prompt a change of heart in the current Russian establishment, or even a confession of crimes past? Not a chance.
The new film from Olivier Assayas, “Wasp Network,” is a mirror image of “Mr. Jones.” Instead of a Westerner entering a Communist state, we have Communists infiltrating the West—Cuban spies, dispatched undercover to Miami. The decade is not the nineteen-thirties but the nineteen-nineties. The colors have changed from crow black and slush gray to sun-warmed pastels. And a hungry man eats a Big Mac, rather than chowing down on a tree. That has to be an improvement, though vegans may disagree.
First up is a pilot, René González (Édgar Ramírez), who defects, or appears to defect, by flying solo to the United States. His true function, once he’s in Florida, is to report to his superiors, in Havana, on the activities of anti-Castro groups. The trouble is that, regardless of his motives, he has to leave behind his wife, Olga Salanueva (Penélope Cruz), and their young daughter, and the film never quite faces up to the paramount question: In what universe would any sentient creature voluntarily abandon Penélope Cruz? Assayas gives her dorky spectacles and shapeless clothes, and shows her laboring in a tannery and mopping a hospital floor, all in a vain effort to quench the flame. Olga is easily the most fervid figure in the movie, and her reaction, when she’s finally told that René is not a traitor but a loyal (if secret) patriot, is an amazing coalescence of pride, exasperation, and weepy fatigue.
But wait. Suddenly, we switch from René’s adventures to those of Juan Pablo Roque (Wagner Moura), another component of the network. He embeds himself in the expatriate community by marrying Ana Margarita (Ana de Armas), whose beauty he admires almost as much as his own. Then, later on, we turn to a third man, Gerardo Hernandez (Gael García Bernal), who is sent to Miami to command operations. Oh, and there’s a semi-related subplot, in which a hapless youth is recruited in El Salvador and paid to plant bombs in Havana’s hotels, in a bid to curb the tourist revenue on which the Cuban economy relies.
So who’s the hero? Or, to put it another way, which of these agents would be the least boring to have dinner with? Assayas has often proved his skill with ensembles, in season-ripened movies like “Late August, Early September” (1999) and “Summer Hours” (2009), but the new work, alas, lacks a dramatic core. The story can’t keep still, shifting from year to year and place to place, and, whereas “Mr. Jones” appalls you into wanting to know more, “Wasp Network” is so temperate in its political approach that you start to forget what’s at stake. The fiercest speech comes from Castro (the real thing, in a TV interview, not an actor in a beard), who brands America “the biggest spy in the world.” Touché. ♦


newyorker--2020-06-19--What to Stream: Charles Burnett’s Reckoning with History in “Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property”

Innovations in cinematic style , if they ’ re at all significant , also open new dimensions of knowledge , emotion , and consciousness .
Expanded form expands content—not just in fictions but also in documentaries .
One extraordinary example is Charles Burnett ’ s daring and imaginative film “ Nat Turner : A Troublesome Property , ” from 2003 .
( It ’ s streaming on Amazon Prime and Vimeo . )
In a modest and straightforward way , it blends nonfiction , fiction , and metafiction—a narrative voice-over , dramatic reënactments , and on-camera interviews , including with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ analytical study of history .
The movie ’ s subject isn ’ t merely the story of Nat Turner and the rebellion that he led , in Southampton County , Virginia , in 1831 ; it ’ s also the story of how his life has become known and how it has been depicted .
Burnett ’ s film is a cinematic work of historiography , charting how authors ’ creations both form and deform the historical record—and shape or warp public opinion .
For Burnett , this record and its influence extend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reflect the current state of American politics , as suggested in the narration ( spoken by Alfre Woodard ) : “ For a nation unable to come to terms with the legacy of slavery , Nat Turner remains a troublesome property.
” Burnett is one of the crucial modern directors , best known for his dramatic features ( including “ Killer of Sheep , ” “ To Sleep with Anger , ” and “ The Glass Shield ” —the latter a discerning drama about systemic racism in policing ) .
Here , from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dramatic direction to bear on his documentary subject , and on his process itself .
He dramatizes events while they ’ re described in the narration ( Burnett wrote the script with Frank Christopher and Kenneth S. Greenberg ) , showing one of the rebels killing a white couple in their bed , and then showing the pursuit and capture of rebels by white militias and vigilantes .
The uprising began on August 21 , 1831 ; at least fifty white people were killed ; the rebels ’ forces included , the film @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the posse that chased them down numbered around three thousand .
As the historian Eric Foner tells Burnett , the names of the white victims are known , but not those of the black ones—neither the rebels nor other black people who were killed by whites in revenge .
The film both describes and dramatizes the few contemporaneous accounts of Turner , including a “ Wanted ” poster , an engraving of his capture ( on October 30 , 1831 ) , and , principally , the pamphlet “ The Confessions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ written and published by a white lawyer , Thomas R. Gray , who—for reasons that remain unclear—interviewed the rebellion leader in jail and ostensibly transcribed Turner ’ s account of his life and actions .
Burnett recreates these interviews dramatically , with Carl Lumbly playing Turner and Tom Nowicki playing Gray , emphasizing Turner ’ s description of himself as a religious visionary , a prophet .
The film calls special attention to one particular exchange , in which Gray asks Turner , now that the rebellion has been crushed and he himself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not find yourself mistaken now ?
” Turner responds , “ Was not Christ crucified ?
” Burnett emphasizes this moment from the “ Confessions ” to suggest , movingly , Turner ’ s self-awareness as a historic figure .
But Burnett also , relying on the testimony of scholars , puts the very composition of the pamphlet in the spotlight .
For Henry Louis Gates , Jr. , “ Confessions ” leaves open “ the question of whose voice is there ” ; Mary Kemp Davis says that she doubts that Turner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Vincent Harding considers the publication skeptically but not dismissively , stating , “ We can not take Nat Turner ’ s ‘ Confessions ’ at face value , but it is also very clear that we can not cast it aside.
” One of the central ideas of the film is the politics of violence in a movement of liberation .
Rick Francis , a white man descended from victims of the revolt , says , “ The killing of the women and children stick in my craw , ” and contends that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by history if he had limited the killing to adult males or just white adults.
” ( Remembered better by whom ? )
Bruce Turner , a descendant of Nat Turner , speaks powerfully of Turner ’ s principle : “ That evil that he saw was what was needed to be destroyed .
And the only way to force the destruction of that evil was to make the price so high that those who were practicing slavery would eventually sue for peace and say , ‘ We can not keep slavery because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The legal scholar Martha Minow trenchantly adds that , in considering Turner ’ s rebellion , “ many white people , they identify with the innocents , they identify with innocent children .
It ’ s a position that ’ s much more comfortable than identifying with slaveholders.
” Burnett considers other representations of Turner , including Harriet Beecher Stowe ’ s novel “ Dred , ” published in 1856 ; an essay written during the Civil War by William Wells Brown , an abolitionist who had escaped from slavery ; and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The film dramatizes scenes from each , with different actors portraying Turner in each version .
One especially moving sequence involves the Slave Narrative Collection of the Federal Writers ’ Project , a New Deal program , in the nineteen-thirties , in which writers , including Zora Neale Hurston , conducted interviews with subjects of historic relevance .
Burnett dramatically reënacts an interview with a formerly enslaved man named Allen Crawford , who was a hundred and two years old when the interview took place , in 1937 , and who had heard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Southampton County .
( The fact that Burnett had to reënact the conversation , which exists only as a transcript , is a painful reminder that documentary filmmakers didn ’ t respond to that moment of American history . )
The most probing sequence in the film concerns the most infamous depiction of Turner , by William Styron , in the novel “ The Confessions of Nat Turner , ” from 1967 .
The actor and director Ossie Davis describes his own childhood , when he and other black children play-acted the rebellion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Gates describes reading the book , as a teen-ager , in a single night .
Yet Styron ’ s book has been criticized , particularly by black writers , for its assertion that Turner had a friendly relationship with—and lusted after—a teen-aged white girl named Margaret Whitehead , whom he ( according to Gray ’ s pamphlet ) killed with his own hands .
Burnett brings a wide variety of critics into the film , including Ekwueme Michael Thelwell , who was a member of a group of ten black writers that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its publication , and who considers Styron ’ s depiction “ an act of arrogance coming out of a profound ignorance.
” But Burnett also interviews Styron himself , who defends his decision on the grounds that he thereby gave Turner “ human dimensions.
” ( Davis responds that he already considered Turner human , and only white readers might have harbored any such absurd doubts . )
Other writers , including Gates , Loyle Hairston , and Ray Winbush , criticize Styron for twisting the character of Turner to perpetuate and amplify @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stereotypes of black male sexuality .
Even more remarkably , Burnett dramatizes sequences from Styron ’ s novel that depict Turner ’ s relationship with Margaret , with the same earnestness and skill that he devotes to other , more sympathetic representations—and he puts himself onscreen , showing the activity on set and on location , with the crew bustling about , lights shining , cameras being readied , the actors preparing , and him planning to shoot material that he finds utterly inimical to his own sensibility .
In effect , Burnett @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into an actor , both on camera and behind it , as he plays the roles of creators , like Styron , with whom he attempts to identify and whose sensibility he attempts to recapture , immediately and directly .
The story of “ Nat Turner : A Troublesome Property ” is more than the history of representations of Turner ; it ’ s an effort to depict and to question the creative and imaginative process itself—and its intrinsic , inextricable politics .

Innovations in cinematic style, if they’re at all significant, also open new dimensions of knowledge, emotion, and consciousness. Expanded form expands content—not just in fictions but also in documentaries. One extraordinary example is Charles Burnett’s daring and imaginative film “Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property,” from 2003. (It’s streaming on Amazon Prime and Vimeo.) In a modest and straightforward way, it blends nonfiction, fiction, and metafiction—a narrative voice-over, dramatic reënactments, and on-camera interviews, including with Burnett himself—to create a deeply personal and analytical study of history. The movie’s subject isn’t merely the story of Nat Turner and the rebellion that he led, in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831; it’s also the story of how his life has become known and how it has been depicted. Burnett’s film is a cinematic work of historiography, charting how authors’ creations both form and deform the historical record—and shape or warp public opinion. For Burnett, this record and its influence extend to American history over all, and reflect the current state of American politics, as suggested in the narration (spoken by Alfre Woodard): “For a nation unable to come to terms with the legacy of slavery, Nat Turner remains a troublesome property.”
Burnett is one of the crucial modern directors, best known for his dramatic features (including “Killer of Sheep,” “To Sleep with Anger,” and “The Glass Shield”—the latter a discerning drama about systemic racism in policing). Here, from the start, he brings his keen dramatic direction to bear on his documentary subject, and on his process itself. He dramatizes events while they’re described in the narration (Burnett wrote the script with Frank Christopher and Kenneth S. Greenberg), showing one of the rebels killing a white couple in their bed, and then showing the pursuit and capture of rebels by white militias and vigilantes. The uprising began on August 21, 1831; at least fifty white people were killed; the rebels’ forces included, the film says, only sixty to eighty people, and the posse that chased them down numbered around three thousand. As the historian Eric Foner tells Burnett, the names of the white victims are known, but not those of the black ones—neither the rebels nor other black people who were killed by whites in revenge. The film both describes and dramatizes the few contemporaneous accounts of Turner, including a “Wanted” poster, an engraving of his capture (on October 30, 1831), and, principally, the pamphlet “The Confessions of Nat Turner,” which was written and published by a white lawyer, Thomas R. Gray, who—for reasons that remain unclear—interviewed the rebellion leader in jail and ostensibly transcribed Turner’s account of his life and actions.
Burnett recreates these interviews dramatically, with Carl Lumbly playing Turner and Tom Nowicki playing Gray, emphasizing Turner’s description of himself as a religious visionary, a prophet. The film calls special attention to one particular exchange, in which Gray asks Turner, now that the rebellion has been crushed and he himself is under arrest, “Do you not find yourself mistaken now?” Turner responds, “Was not Christ crucified?” Burnett emphasizes this moment from the “Confessions” to suggest, movingly, Turner’s self-awareness as a historic figure. But Burnett also, relying on the testimony of scholars, puts the very composition of the pamphlet in the spotlight. For Henry Louis Gates, Jr., “Confessions” leaves open “the question of whose voice is there”; Mary Kemp Davis says that she doubts that Turner spoke as Gray portrays him; and Vincent Harding considers the publication skeptically but not dismissively, stating, “We cannot take Nat Turner’s ‘Confessions’ at face value, but it is also very clear that we cannot cast it aside.”
One of the central ideas of the film is the politics of violence in a movement of liberation. Rick Francis, a white man descended from victims of the revolt, says, “The killing of the women and children stick in my craw,” and contends that Turner “would certainly be remembered better by history if he had limited the killing to adult males or just white adults.” (Remembered better by whom?) Bruce Turner, a descendant of Nat Turner, speaks powerfully of Turner’s principle: “That evil that he saw was what was needed to be destroyed. And the only way to force the destruction of that evil was to make the price so high that those who were practicing slavery would eventually sue for peace and say, ‘We cannot keep slavery because it will cost us too much.’ ” The legal scholar Martha Minow trenchantly adds that, in considering Turner’s rebellion, “many white people, they identify with the innocents, they identify with innocent children. It’s a position that’s much more comfortable than identifying with slaveholders.”
Burnett considers other representations of Turner, including Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel “Dred,” published in 1856; an essay written during the Civil War by William Wells Brown, an abolitionist who had escaped from slavery; and a 1935 play by Randolph Edmonds. The film dramatizes scenes from each, with different actors portraying Turner in each version. One especially moving sequence involves the Slave Narrative Collection of the Federal Writers’ Project, a New Deal program, in the nineteen-thirties, in which writers, including Zora Neale Hurston, conducted interviews with subjects of historic relevance. Burnett dramatically reënacts an interview with a formerly enslaved man named Allen Crawford, who was a hundred and two years old when the interview took place, in 1937, and who had heard stories about Turner while growing up in Southampton County. (The fact that Burnett had to reënact the conversation, which exists only as a transcript, is a painful reminder that documentary filmmakers didn’t respond to that moment of American history.)
The most probing sequence in the film concerns the most infamous depiction of Turner, by William Styron, in the novel “The Confessions of Nat Turner,” from 1967. The actor and director Ossie Davis describes his own childhood, when he and other black children play-acted the rebellion and held Turner up as a hero. Gates describes reading the book, as a teen-ager, in a single night. Yet Styron’s book has been criticized, particularly by black writers, for its assertion that Turner had a friendly relationship with—and lusted after—a teen-aged white girl named Margaret Whitehead, whom he (according to Gray’s pamphlet) killed with his own hands. Burnett brings a wide variety of critics into the film, including Ekwueme Michael Thelwell, who was a member of a group of ten black writers that challenged the book at the time of its publication, and who considers Styron’s depiction “an act of arrogance coming out of a profound ignorance.” But Burnett also interviews Styron himself, who defends his decision on the grounds that he thereby gave Turner “human dimensions.” (Davis responds that he already considered Turner human, and only white readers might have harbored any such absurd doubts.) Other writers, including Gates, Loyle Hairston, and Ray Winbush, criticize Styron for twisting the character of Turner to perpetuate and amplify white people’s dangerous and prevalent stereotypes of black male sexuality.
Even more remarkably, Burnett dramatizes sequences from Styron’s novel that depict Turner’s relationship with Margaret, with the same earnestness and skill that he devotes to other, more sympathetic representations—and he puts himself onscreen, showing the activity on set and on location, with the crew bustling about, lights shining, cameras being readied, the actors preparing, and him planning to shoot material that he finds utterly inimical to his own sensibility. In effect, Burnett, as a director, turns himself into an actor, both on camera and behind it, as he plays the roles of creators, like Styron, with whom he attempts to identify and whose sensibility he attempts to recapture, immediately and directly. The story of “Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property” is more than the history of representations of Turner; it’s an effort to depict and to question the creative and imaginative process itself—and its intrinsic, inextricable politics.


newyorker--2020-06-19--Getting White People to Talk about Racism

During times of intense crisis and upheaval , music can be grounding .
Amanda Petrusich , a New Yorker music @ @ @ @ @ episode with David Remnick .
John Legend and Phoebe Bridgers perform from their respective homes @ @ @ @ @ albums , which they released even though their tours were cancelled .
Plus , Petrusich @ @ @ @ @ in mid-century folk records , and the novelist Donald Antrim extols music as a balm @ @ @ @ @ The musician , who releases a new album this week , describes how the coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ .
Amanda Petrusich on the Joys of Folkways A New Yorker music critic on listening @ @ @ @ @ stuck in quarantine .
The musician performs two songs from her newest album .
The @ @ @ @ @ power of music .

Illustration by Golden Cosmos
During times of intense crisis and upheaval, music can be grounding. Amanda Petrusich, a New Yorker music critic, co-hosts this special episode with David Remnick. John Legend and Phoebe Bridgers perform from their respective homes, playing from their new albums, which they released even though their tours were cancelled. Plus, Petrusich explains why she finds refuge in mid-century folk records, and the novelist Donald Antrim extols music as a balm for isolation and fear.
John Legend, Live from Home
The musician, who releases a new album this week, describes how the coronavirus pandemic changed his creative process.
Amanda Petrusich on the Joys of Folkways
A New Yorker music critic on listening to classic field recordings while stuck in quarantine.
Phoebe Bridgers Talks with Amanda Petrusich
The musician performs two songs from her newest album.
Music Will Be Important
The novelist Donald Antrim on the power of music.


newyorker--2020-06-19--Why You Can’t Just Vote on Your Phone During the Pandemic

When Alex Howard , a resident of Washington , D.C. , failed to receive an absentee ballot for the city ’ s June 2nd primary , he assumed that he would have to vote in person .
Then , by chance , on the day of the election , he saw a Twitter post alerting voters of the option to vote remotely over the Internet .
Howard , a digital-governance expert at Demand Progress , an advocacy group for good governance , decided to give it a try .
“ I ’ m a poker and a prodder and a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he told me .
“ I like to see how things work.
” He was directed to a Web site typically reserved for members of the military , which sent him to a site where he confirmed his date of birth and address .
He then logged on to another site to vote .
A few minutes later , he e-mailed his completed ballot to the Board of Elections .
“ There were people who stood in line for hours and hours to vote , and here I was , voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said .
“ It was really good for my family from a health standpoint , but whether it ’ s a good idea at scale—I don ’ t think so.
” He is still waiting to hear if his ballot was received .
If there was ever a good time to vote on a smartphone or computer , during a global pandemic would seem to be it .
Internet voting doesn ’ t require social interaction , and it ’ s convenient and familiar : selecting candidates from an online ballot is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Amazon .
An April survey of twelve hundred registered voters found that forty-six per cent of respondents were worried about catching COVID-19 if they or a family member were to vote in person , and nearly half of respondents said that they would like the option of voting online .
West Virginia will allow disabled voters to use a mobile platform in November ’ s general election .
The idea of voting over the Internet gained traction after the 2000 Presidential election , when the country was thrown into a constitutional crisis owing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ machines .
People were already shopping and banking online , and there was a feeling that maybe voting online was a way to supersede America ’ s aging election infrastructure .
In 2002 , Congress authorized the Department of Defense to develop an online-voting system for the military .
Two years later , when it became clear that the integrity of the ballots sent over the Internet could not be assured , the program was shut down .
Undeterred , Congress , in 2005 , asked the Election Assistance Commission , along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to develop standards for a secure , online absentee-voting system .
After years of study , they gave up , reporting that such a system was not yet feasible .
Still hoping to facilitate mobile voting , Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voting Empowerment ( MOVE ) Act of 2009 .
It directs the states to create a way for voters in those categories to obtain and return absentee ballots by mail or electronically .
Every state is required to deliver ballots online ; thirty-two states also allow some subset of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizens living abroad , and the disabled—to return them that way , too .
When Howard voted online , it was through a system set up under the MOVE Act .
For computer scientists who study election software , online-voting programs are a security nightmare .
They invite bad actors to slip in undetected and compromise election systems , leaving those systems susceptible to denial-of-service attacks , ransomware , malware , and vote flipping .
In 2014 , a team of computer scientists at a company in Portland , Oregon , that builds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the Department of Defense showed , in real time , how easy it is to change the contents of a voter ’ s PDF file as it travels over the Internet .
They sent a video of their attack to secretaries of state and other election officials , and posted an explanatory video on YouTube , showing all the weak links in the online transmission of ballots .
“ This is not just a theoretical danger , ” one of the researchers , Joe Kiniry , said at the time .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your computer and before they reach election officials .
What ’ s more , there ’ s no trace of foul play.
” Last month , in anticipation of renewed calls for online voting during the pandemic , the Department of Homeland Security sent a federal risk assessment to state election officials around the country , warning them of the insecurities of Internet voting and concluding that the technology was not advanced enough to be widely disseminated .
The decision by the D.C. Board of Elections to allow residents to use a system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to have been made the night before the election .
Washington was under an emergency lockdown order because of the pandemic , and there was a curfew in place because of the protests .
Hundreds of voters had not received their absentee ballots .
It was not the first time a crisis spurred election officials to bypass election laws and offer domestic voters the option to cast ballots online : in 2012 , New Jersey allowed Internet voting after Hurricane Sandy .
The decision was a disaster .
According to one report , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote electronically said they were met by busy signals , email error messages or silence , and could not tell if their ballots were counted.
” In that election , around fifty thousand voters returned ballots by e-mail or fax , which precipitated an eighteen-month investigation by the Constitutional Rights Clinic at Rutgers Law School .
According to the clinic ’ s report , the eleventh-hour work-around contravened New Jersey election laws and left the results open to manipulation .
In D.C. this month , about five hundred residents received ballots by e-mail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have seemed especially significant .
“ I guess there are Russian hackers that can do anything , but I doubt they ’ re really concerned with the Ward 2 D.C. election , ” Elissa Silverman , the district-council member who posted the tweet that Howard saw , told the Wall Street Journal the day after the primary .
But that ’ s shortsighted .
As Jeremy Epstein , a cybersecurity expert and the vice-chair of the U.S. Technology Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery , told me , “ Attackers may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out the landscape , learn the vulnerabilities , and then save their opportunities for attacking a real election later on.
” The online primary voters in D.C. were using OmniBallot , a software package developed and licensed by a company called Democracy Live .
In February , the King County Conservation District , a natural-resources-assistance agency in Washington State , used the system to allow all registered voters to vote on their smartphones for the board of supervisors .
A segment on NPR called it “ a historic moment for American democracy.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democracy Live , told me that almost all of the jurisdictions that use OmniBallot—over ninety-five per cent—only use it to deliver ballots to voters , who then return printed copies by posted mail .
D.C. had been one of these “ one-way ” jurisdictions .
“ Electronic ballot return was turned off there , ” he said .
But when I pointed out that Howard had been directed to return his ballot online , Finney said that doing so was “ outside of OmniBallot and out of our purview.
” If other jurisdictions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ over e-mail , Democracy Live would not know .

When Alex Howard, a resident of Washington, D.C., failed to receive an absentee ballot for the city’s June 2nd primary, he assumed that he would have to vote in person. Then, by chance, on the day of the election, he saw a Twitter post alerting voters of the option to vote remotely over the Internet. Howard, a digital-governance expert at Demand Progress, an advocacy group for good governance, decided to give it a try. “I’m a poker and a prodder and a professional evaluator of government I.T. programs,” he told me. “I like to see how things work.” He was directed to a Web site typically reserved for members of the military, which sent him to a site where he confirmed his date of birth and address. He then logged on to another site to vote. A few minutes later, he e-mailed his completed ballot to the Board of Elections. “There were people who stood in line for hours and hours to vote, and here I was, voting at home on my laptop,” he said. “It was really good for my family from a health standpoint, but whether it’s a good idea at scale—I don’t think so.” He is still waiting to hear if his ballot was received.
If there was ever a good time to vote on a smartphone or computer, during a global pandemic would seem to be it. Internet voting doesn’t require social interaction, and it’s convenient and familiar: selecting candidates from an online ballot is not much different from ordering items on Amazon. An April survey of twelve hundred registered voters found that forty-six per cent of respondents were worried about catching COVID-19 if they or a family member were to vote in person, and nearly half of respondents said that they would like the option of voting online. West Virginia will allow disabled voters to use a mobile platform in November’s general election.
The idea of voting over the Internet gained traction after the 2000 Presidential election, when the country was thrown into a constitutional crisis owing, in part, to faulty voting machines. People were already shopping and banking online, and there was a feeling that maybe voting online was a way to supersede America’s aging election infrastructure. In 2002, Congress authorized the Department of Defense to develop an online-voting system for the military. Two years later, when it became clear that the integrity of the ballots sent over the Internet could not be assured, the program was shut down. Undeterred, Congress, in 2005, asked the Election Assistance Commission, along with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to develop standards for a secure, online absentee-voting system. After years of study, they gave up, reporting that such a system was not yet feasible. Still hoping to facilitate mobile voting, Congress passed the Military and Overseas Voting Empowerment (MOVE) Act of 2009. It directs the states to create a way for voters in those categories to obtain and return absentee ballots by mail or electronically. Every state is required to deliver ballots online; thirty-two states also allow some subset of voters—typically deployed members of the military, citizens living abroad, and the disabled—to return them that way, too. When Howard voted online, it was through a system set up under the MOVE Act.
For computer scientists who study election software, online-voting programs are a security nightmare. They invite bad actors to slip in undetected and compromise election systems, leaving those systems susceptible to denial-of-service attacks, ransomware, malware, and vote flipping. In 2014, a team of computer scientists at a company in Portland, Oregon, that builds secure systems for the National Security Agency and the Department of Defense showed, in real time, how easy it is to change the contents of a voter’s PDF file as it travels over the Internet. They sent a video of their attack to secretaries of state and other election officials, and posted an explanatory video on YouTube, showing all the weak links in the online transmission of ballots. “This is not just a theoretical danger,” one of the researchers, Joe Kiniry, said at the time. “Votes are silently changed after they leave your computer and before they reach election officials. What’s more, there’s no trace of foul play.” Last month, in anticipation of renewed calls for online voting during the pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security sent a federal risk assessment to state election officials around the country, warning them of the insecurities of Internet voting and concluding that the technology was not advanced enough to be widely disseminated.
The decision by the D.C. Board of Elections to allow residents to use a system reserved for overseas and disabled voters appeared to have been made the night before the election. Washington was under an emergency lockdown order because of the pandemic, and there was a curfew in place because of the protests. Hundreds of voters had not received their absentee ballots. It was not the first time a crisis spurred election officials to bypass election laws and offer domestic voters the option to cast ballots online: in 2012, New Jersey allowed Internet voting after Hurricane Sandy. The decision was a disaster. According to one report, “hundreds of those who attempted to vote electronically said they were met by busy signals, email error messages or silence, and could not tell if their ballots were counted.” In that election, around fifty thousand voters returned ballots by e-mail or fax, which precipitated an eighteen-month investigation by the Constitutional Rights Clinic at Rutgers Law School. According to the clinic’s report, the eleventh-hour work-around contravened New Jersey election laws and left the results open to manipulation.
In D.C. this month, about five hundred residents received ballots by e-mail in a primary election that may not have seemed especially significant. “I guess there are Russian hackers that can do anything, but I doubt they’re really concerned with the Ward 2 D.C. election,” Elissa Silverman, the district-council member who posted the tweet that Howard saw, told the Wall Street Journal the day after the primary. But that’s shortsighted. As Jeremy Epstein, a cybersecurity expert and the vice-chair of the U.S. Technology Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery, told me, “Attackers may well use a low-consequence election to scout out the landscape, learn the vulnerabilities, and then save their opportunities for attacking a real election later on.”
The online primary voters in D.C. were using OmniBallot, a software package developed and licensed by a company called Democracy Live. In February, the King County Conservation District, a natural-resources-assistance agency in Washington State, used the system to allow all registered voters to vote on their smartphones for the board of supervisors. A segment on NPR called it “a historic moment for American democracy.” Bryan Finney, the C.E.O. of Democracy Live, told me that almost all of the jurisdictions that use OmniBallot—over ninety-five per cent—only use it to deliver ballots to voters, who then return printed copies by posted mail. D.C. had been one of these “one-way” jurisdictions. “Electronic ballot return was turned off there,” he said. But when I pointed out that Howard had been directed to return his ballot online, Finney said that doing so was “outside of OmniBallot and out of our purview.” If other jurisdictions are allowing voters to cast completed OmniBallots over e-mail, Democracy Live would not know.
Five days after the D.C. election, two computer scientists, J. Alex Halderman, at the University of Michigan, and Michael Specter, at M.I.T., released the results of an independent forensic analysis of OmniBallot. Their report can be summed up in three words: it’s not safe. In their estimation, the system is vulnerable to malware and manipulation. Halderman and Specter were especially concerned that, even when a voter returns an OmniBallot by traditional mail, the contents of that ballot, along with the identity of the voter, are recorded by the software. If that information were to be leaked or sold, they wrote, it could be used for targeted political ads, disinformation, or coercion. (When the researchers pointed out that the Democracy Live Web site did not have a policy spelling out the company’s privacy protocols, Finney added one.) In his response to the report, Finney noted that Halderman and Specter’s complaints “relating to the transmission of ballots and the possibility of a compromised device . . . is a universal critique of Web sites in general.”
But a voting Web site, which conveys the most basic expression of citizenship, is also a repository for the democratic process. In January, Halderman co-authored a piece for Slate titled “Internet Voting Is Happening Now and It Could Destroy Our Elections,” which took aim at a blockchain-based electronic-voting system that was in use at the time in West Virginia, called Voatz. Specter and two other M.I.T. researchers were the authors of a technical takedown of Voatz, which resulted in its actual takedown by the state. Among other issues, they found that hackers could easily change votes. West Virginia switched to OmniBallot.
West Virginia’s Voatz pilot and the King County Conservation District OmniBallot election were underwritten by the venture capitalist Bradley Tusk, through his charity, Tusk Philanthropies. Since 2017, Tusk Philanthropies has spent about two million dollars a year funding online-voting pilots around the country. There have been twelve so far. (Tusk was not involved in June’s D.C. primary.) Before he became wealthy from an early investment in Uber, Tusk worked in government, as the communications director for Senator Charles Schumer, as the campaign manager for Michael Bloomberg’s third mayoral race, and as the deputy governor of Illinois. He is concerned that low-turnout elections, like primaries, bring out only the most engaged voters, who tend to represent special interests and ideological extremes. Higher turnout in primaries, Tusk told me, is likely to have a moderating effect, and the ease of voting on a phone or computer would facilitate that. Voter participation doubled in February’s King County election, although it’s not clear if that was because of the smartphone app or the advertising campaign to promote it. “If you told me that we’re going to do mobile voting for every voter in the general election, I’d say that’s crazy,” Tusk said. “The technology isn’t there yet. The systems are not there yet. There’s a reason why we’re funding these very small pilots. It’s to test proof of concept without taking major risks.”
In April, as the pandemic threatened to upend primaries, and mobile voting was looking like a practical alternative to in-person voting, more than seventy members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science wrote a letter to the country’s governors and secretaries of state, warning them of the dangers of Internet voting. “At this time, Internet voting is not a secure solution for voting in the United States, nor will it be in the foreseeable future. . . . Two decades of scientific and technical analysis demonstrate that secure Internet voting systems are not possible now or in the immediate future.” Tusk is resolute. He’s thinking of hiring engineers to build a better online-voting platform. “I want to see if it’s feasible,” he told me. “Maybe it will take six years, maybe it will take twenty years. Maybe it will cost two million dollars. Maybe it will cost twenty million dollars. And maybe the answer is that we have to bring some of the critics onto the team.”


newyorker--2020-06-19--As New York Reaches a Coronavirus Landmark, Parts of Red America Are Facing a Potential Disaster

In the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic , Friday marks a small landmark .
Andrew Cuomo , the governor of New York , is delivering the last of his daily briefings , which have been watched avidly from Bensonhurst to Buffalo , and well beyond .
Back in early April , when the Empire State was recording more than ten thousand new coronavirus cases each day , and nearly eight hundred deaths on some days , the sight of a socially distanced Cuomo going calmly through the latest figures , and explaining the situation regarding masks , gowns , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but also a reassuring one .
With the country effectively leaderless , there was at least one responsible adult in a position of authority—or so we told ourselves as we hunkered down in our apartments and listened to the ambulances racing by .
During the past couple of months , New York ’ s case figures have fallen precipitously .
On Thursday , the state reported six hundred and eighteen new infections , and just thirty-two deaths .
Most of New York is now well into the reopening process , and New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week , Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed on Thursday , allowing many offices , retail stores , barbershops , and playgrounds to reopen .
From this point on , Cuomo will deliver his COVID-19 briefings as needed , he has indicated .
New York ’ s comeback is a testimony to the heroic efforts of health professionals , E.M.T .
employees , transit workers , delivery-truck drivers , and equally essential workers in supermarkets , warehouses , and other places—many of them poorly paid—who kept the stricken city and state going through its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ de Blasio , after some critical early missteps , also deserve credit for sticking at it , as do ordinary New Yorkers who obeyed the stay-at-home orders and wore masks when they became available .
The key point is that it took a monumental and community-wide effort to limit the official death toll to fewer than twenty-five thousand statewide .
( Based on the number of “ excess deaths ” this year , the actual figure is probably considerably higher . )
The experiences of New Jersey and Massachusetts were similar .
Now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other parts of the country , there is every reason to suppose that these places will need similarly comprehensive efforts to prevent a disaster from occurring .
At the moment , though , particularly in parts of red America , a combination of poor leadership , public exhaustion , and right-wing politics is greatly hampering an effective response .
Take Arizona , Florida , and Texas , three Republican-run states that began reopening their economies in early May .
In all three states , the number of confirmed new cases has spiked over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Thursday , Arizona reported 2,519 new infections and Florida reported 3,209 , both of which were record highs .
On Tuesday and Wednesday , Texas reported almost eight thousand new cases , which is by far its biggest two-day count yet .
These numbers are still relatively small compared to what was experienced in the Northeast , but the nature of a pandemic is that when it gets going it can spread very rapidly , and there are other worrying signs that this may be starting to happen .
In all three states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ results has increased , which means the rise isn ’ t simply an artifact of more testing .
In Arizona , the rate of positive tests was five per cent on May 10th , and it ’ s now 9.1 per cent , according to reportingon Thursday from KTAR , a Phoenix news station .
In Florida , the positive rate was below five per cent a month ago , and it ’ s now 7.4 per cent , according to the coronavirus database that Johns Hopkins University maintains .
The number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arizona on Wednesday , 3,861 people had been hospitalized for COVID-19 , compared to 1,699 a month ago , according to figures from the COVID Tracking Project—a rise of about a hundred and thirty per cent .
A former director of the state ’ s health department has warned that emergency field hospitals may be needed by July 4th .
In Texas , state authorities reported on Thursday that there are 2,947 people with COVID-19 in hospitals , which represents a doubling since Memorial Day .
In Florida , 12,673 people are hospitalized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to the COVID Tracking Project .
As yet , the number of deaths hasn ’ t risen as sharply as hospitalizations .
That may well change in the coming weeks .
With the virus spreading , bitter disputes have arisen between the states ’ Republican governors—Doug Ducey , in Arizona ; Ron DeSantis , in Florida ; and Greg Abbott , in Texas—and local leaders in the hardest-hit areas , who are calling for mandatory mask-wearing , more health resources , and an expansion of contact tracing .
Despite having had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in infections , all three states have fallen woefully short in all of these areas .
The dispute over the use of masks is particularly tragic , since it is by far the easiest and cheapest way to check rapid spread of the virus .
Pressured by conservative activists and demonstrators , who in turn have been inspired by President Trump ’ s chronic irresponsibility on this matter , Ducey , DeSantis , and Abbott have refused to issue statewide orders mandating wearing masks in public .
Finally , in the past couple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Arizona , and Abbott , in Texas—have shifted ground , but the manner in which they moved demonstrated the damaging politics at play .
On Wednesday , Abbott said that , while he was sticking to his refusal to act at the state level , he would support local authorities and businesses that require employees and customers to wear masks .
“ We want to make sure that individual liberty is not infringed upon by government and , hence , government can not require individuals to wear a mask , ” told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , pursuant to my plan , local governments can require stores and businesses to require masks.
” The same day , Ducey belatedly acknowledged reality , noting , “ There is a trend , and the trend is headed in the wrong direction.
” He also dropped his opposition to cities in Arizona , such as Tucson and Flagstaff , mandating the wearing of masks in public , but he again refused to issue a statewide order , saying it wouldn ’ t work , and adding , “ I know some people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ freedom.
” It has long been a basic principle of democratic governance that where public health comes into conflict with individual freedoms , the latter may have to be constricted , at least temporarily .
But with Trump in the White House and elected Republicans terrified of incurring his supporters ’ wrath , there is now , in parts of red America , nobody willing to make this argument or to follow through with actual edicts .
Local leaders and their constituents are left to fend for themselves .
Indeed , DeSantis , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Wednesday , when , after insisting that he wouldn ’ t suspend any of his reopening measures , he added that residents of the state should “ make wise decisions for themselves based upon their own personal risk.
” In DeSantis ’ s America , which is Trump ’ s America , you are on your own , even during a pandemic .
According to a mathematical model maintained by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington , which the White House used for a time , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is currently at about a hundred and eighteen thousand , will rise to more than two hundred thousand by October , and it could hit a quarter of a million .
To be sure , this is just a prediction , and a lot of assumptions went into it .
But it ’ s an indication of how things have deteriorated over the past few weeks , and how unlikely it is that an effective nationwide response will be found .
• The coronavirus vaccine is on track to be the fastest ever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ revealed about American medicine .
• Recommendations for maintaining social distancing as the U.S. reopens , from socializing and using public bathrooms to wearing masks .
• Why remote work is so hard—and how it can be fixed .
• Seattle leaders let scientists take the lead in responding to the coronavirus .
New York leaders did not .
• The long crusade of Dr. Anthony Fauci , the infectious-disease expert pinned between Donald Trump and the American people .
• What to read , watch , cook , and listen to under @ @

In the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic, Friday marks a small landmark. Andrew Cuomo, the governor of New York, is delivering the last of his daily briefings, which have been watched avidly from Bensonhurst to Buffalo, and well beyond. Back in early April, when the Empire State was recording more than ten thousand new coronavirus cases each day, and nearly eight hundred deaths on some days, the sight of a socially distanced Cuomo going calmly through the latest figures, and explaining the situation regarding masks, gowns, and ventilators, presented a ghastly spectacle, but also a reassuring one. With the country effectively leaderless, there was at least one responsible adult in a position of authority—or so we told ourselves as we hunkered down in our apartments and listened to the ambulances racing by.
During the past couple of months, New York’s case figures have fallen precipitously. On Thursday, the state reported six hundred and eighteen new infections, and just thirty-two deaths. Most of New York is now well into the reopening process, and New York City will take another significant step next week, Mayor Bill de Blasio confirmed on Thursday, allowing many offices, retail stores, barbershops, and playgrounds to reopen. From this point on, Cuomo will deliver his COVID-19 briefings as needed, he has indicated.
New York’s comeback is a testimony to the heroic efforts of health professionals, E.M.T. employees, transit workers, delivery-truck drivers, and equally essential workers in supermarkets, warehouses, and other places—many of them poorly paid—who kept the stricken city and state going through its darkest days and nights. Cuomo and de Blasio, after some critical early missteps, also deserve credit for sticking at it, as do ordinary New Yorkers who obeyed the stay-at-home orders and wore masks when they became available.
The key point is that it took a monumental and community-wide effort to limit the official death toll to fewer than twenty-five thousand statewide. (Based on the number of “excess deaths” this year, the actual figure is probably considerably higher.) The experiences of New Jersey and Massachusetts were similar. Now, as case counts rise alarmingly in other parts of the country, there is every reason to suppose that these places will need similarly comprehensive efforts to prevent a disaster from occurring. At the moment, though, particularly in parts of red America, a combination of poor leadership, public exhaustion, and right-wing politics is greatly hampering an effective response.
Take Arizona, Florida, and Texas, three Republican-run states that began reopening their economies in early May. In all three states, the number of confirmed new cases has spiked over the past couple of weeks. On Thursday, Arizona reported 2,519 new infections and Florida reported 3,209, both of which were record highs. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Texas reported almost eight thousand new cases, which is by far its biggest two-day count yet. These numbers are still relatively small compared to what was experienced in the Northeast, but the nature of a pandemic is that when it gets going it can spread very rapidly, and there are other worrying signs that this may be starting to happen.
In all three states, the percentage of tests returning positive results has increased, which means the rise isn’t simply an artifact of more testing. In Arizona, the rate of positive tests was five per cent on May 10th, and it’s now 9.1 per cent, according to reporting on Thursday from KTAR, a Phoenix news station. In Florida, the positive rate was below five per cent a month ago, and it’s now 7.4 per cent, according to the coronavirus database that Johns Hopkins University maintains.
The number of hospitalizations has also risen sharply. In Arizona on Wednesday, 3,861 people had been hospitalized for COVID-19, compared to 1,699 a month ago, according to figures from the COVID Tracking Project—a rise of about a hundred and thirty per cent. A former director of the state’s health department has warned that emergency field hospitals may be needed by July 4th. In Texas, state authorities reported on Thursday that there are 2,947 people with COVID-19 in hospitals, which represents a doubling since Memorial Day. In Florida, 12,673 people have been hospitalized, compared with a cumulative total of 8,553 a month ago, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
As yet, the number of deaths hasn’t risen as sharply as hospitalizations. That may well change in the coming weeks. With the virus spreading, bitter disputes have arisen between the states’ Republican governors—Doug Ducey, in Arizona; Ron DeSantis, in Florida; and Greg Abbott, in Texas—and local leaders in the hardest-hit areas, who are calling for mandatory mask-wearing, more health resources, and an expansion of contact tracing. Despite having had months to prepare for a possible surge in infections, all three states have fallen woefully short in all of these areas.
The dispute over the use of masks is particularly tragic, since it is by far the easiest and cheapest way to check rapid spread of the virus. Pressured by conservative activists and demonstrators, who in turn have been inspired by President Trump’s chronic irresponsibility on this matter, Ducey, DeSantis, and Abbott have refused to issue statewide orders mandating wearing masks in public. Finally, in the past couple of days, two of them—Ducey, in Arizona, and Abbott, in Texas—have shifted ground, but the manner in which they moved demonstrated the damaging politics at play.
On Wednesday, Abbott said that, while he was sticking to his refusal to act at the state level, he would support local authorities and businesses that require employees and customers to wear masks. “We want to make sure that individual liberty is not infringed upon by government and, hence, government cannot require individuals to wear a mask,” told a Waco television station. “However, pursuant to my plan, local governments can require stores and businesses to require masks.” The same day, Ducey belatedly acknowledged reality, noting, “There is a trend, and the trend is headed in the wrong direction.” He also dropped his opposition to cities in Arizona, such as Tucson and Flagstaff, mandating the wearing of masks in public, but he again refused to issue a statewide order, saying it wouldn’t work, and adding, “I know some people view this as an issue of personal freedom.”
It has long been a basic principle of democratic governance that where public health comes into conflict with individual freedoms, the latter may have to be constricted, at least temporarily. But with Trump in the White House and elected Republicans terrified of incurring his supporters’ wrath, there is now, in parts of red America, nobody willing to make this argument or to follow through with actual edicts. Local leaders and their constituents are left to fend for themselves. Indeed, DeSantis, in Florida, said this openly on Wednesday, when, after insisting that he wouldn’t suspend any of his reopening measures, he added that residents of the state should “make wise decisions for themselves based upon their own personal risk.”
In DeSantis’s America, which is Trump’s America, you are on your own, even during a pandemic. According to a mathematical model maintained by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which the White House used for a time, the death toll from the virus, which is currently at about a hundred and eighteen thousand, will rise to more than two hundred thousand by October, and it could hit a quarter of a million. To be sure, this is just a prediction, and a lot of assumptions went into it. But it’s an indication of how things have deteriorated over the past few weeks, and how unlikely it is that an effective nationwide response will be found.
A previous version of this piece incorrectly described Florida’s hospitalization count.
A Guide to the Coronavirus