vox--2020-12-18--Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom gives Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman a stunning showcase

Near the beginning of Act 2 of Ma Rainey ’ s Black Bottom , August Wilson ’ s 1982 play about the famous blues singer and the complex rage born of American racism , a band argues during a recording break .
Levee , the flash-tempered young trumpet player with big dreams , castigates his three fellow musicians , who are all older than he is , for being too satisfied with their station in life , with the “ bone somebody done throwed you.
” He ’ ll never be satisfied , he says , and he ’ d @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doing so would allow him to see his ambitions realized .
Cutler , the band ’ s leader , reprimands Levee for his blasphemy .
But Toledo , the piano player — and the only literate man in the band , amid the segregation of 1920s Chicago — tells Cutler that while the group hasn ’ t sold their souls to the devil , they have done something similar : “ We done sold Africa for the price of tomatoes , ” he says .
“ We done sold ourselves to the white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
... We done sold who we are in order to become someone else .
We ’ s imitation white men.
” There ’ s some disagreement , but Levee , being Levee , is stuck on himself .
“ I ain ’ t no imitation white man , ” he says .
“ And I don ’ t want to be no white man.
” As soon as he can start his own band and make the records that Mr. Sturdyvant , the producer they ’ re working for , told him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ m gon na be like Ma and tell the white man just what he can do.
” Ma is the Ma Rainey of the play ’ s title , and the band has just watched her threaten to walk out of the studio , prompting the two white men managing the recording session to beg her to stay .
“ That ’ s the way I ’ m gon na be !
” Levee proclaims .
“ Make the white man respect me !
” “ The white man don ’ t care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ The colored folks made Ma a star.
” Wilson crammed into that page the nutshell of the conflict that drives Ma Rainey ’ s Black Bottom , the third of his Pittsburgh Cycle plays ( and the second to be adapted to film ) , which chronicle Black American life in the 20th century .
When the story takes place ( in 1927 ) , Ma Rainey is massively famous ; she brings in huge profits for the record company , and when she asks for a Coke during the recording @ @ @ @ @ @ @ But the request is as much a flex on her part as it is a desire for a cold soft drink .
Ma always knows that the power she exerts — as a bona fide but Black celebrity — has its edges , and she chafes against them .
Getting her way in small matters is a way of compensating for working in a world that sees her as , inherently , a problem to be dealt with — not because she ’ s a diva , but because she ’ s Black @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bowed on Broadway 36 years ago , telling a story set 60 years prior , which means its story is now nearly a century old .
And it ’ s more than ready for the big-screen treatment .
Denzel Washington has made it his personal mission to adapt all 10 of Wilson ’ s Pittsburgh Cycle plays into films , having started with the sixth , Fences , in 2017 .
He serves as a producer on this one .
Fences earned Viola Davis an Oscar .
Now she returns as Ma Rainey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the feat .
Not that it ’ s the same performance .
In Fences , she is the brave but beaten-down wife , who does her duty even when it ’ s killing her .
In Ma Rainey ’ s Black Bottom , she is both wholly in charge and seemingly not far from a meltdown , riding a fine line between wielding her power and watching it slip away .
Ma is traveling with her much younger lover , Dussie Mae ( Taylour Paige ) , who seems more in love with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Ma ’ s nephew Sylvester ( Dusan Brown ) .
They ’ ve come to Chicago so Ma can record with her band : Cutler ( Colman Domingo ) , Toledo ( Glynn Turman ) , Slow Drag ( Michael Potts ) , and Levee ( Chadwick Boseman ) .
Screenwriter Ruben Santiago-Hudson and director George C. Wolfe retained Wilson ’ s incredible dialogue but opened up the play ’ s setting just a tad , so that it works on screen .
A few added moments flesh out the story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ starts in the recording studio , where Ma ’ s white manager Irvin ( Jeremy Shamos ) and the white producer Sturdyvant ( Jonny Coyne ) argue about how to handle Ma and the band during the recording session .
But the movie starts at a concert , with Ma enthralling the masses but shooting daggers at Levee , who ’ s slipped on stage to literally steal the spotlight with a trumpet solo .
She fought for that spotlight , and he ’ s not going to take it from her .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ enough , but not before the film establishes itself at the start of the Great Migration , a decades-long period during which black Americans migrated north in droves , looking for a more equitable life and opportunities unavailable to them in the Jim Crow South .
By the end of the 1920s , when the play is set , a tenth of the Black population in the American South had migrated north .
By the 1970s , that figure increased to nearly 40 percent .
The north was no paradise .
Racism was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neighborhoods segregated , widening the generational wealth gap , exposing gross prejudices , and leading to long-lasting effects we still feel today .
Wilson set Ma Rainey ’ s Black Bottom in that historical context specifically because it ’ s a story about power , about how seemingly powerful Black artists like Ma and the music they made would be exploited by people who probably didn ’ t consider themselves to be racist .
After all , they worked with Ma , didn ’ t they ?
Levee is the other focal point @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ma , who ’ s seen it all .
The role is Chadwick Boseman ’ s last , stunning , heartbreaking performance .
Boseman ( who throughout his career played characters like Jackie Robinson , Thurgood Marshall , James Brown , and Black Panther ’ s T ’ Challa ) passed away in August at age 43 from a colon cancer few people knew he had , and his turn here makes his death feel horribly unjust .
Boseman plays Levee with an electricity that feels urgent .
This young man is aware @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him is designed to work against him .
He ’ s not optimistic , but he ’ s determined .
He knows he can make the future happen for himself in the way he wants it to happen .
He ’ s seen some horrible things in his life , but he is his own man and he ’ s going to make his own way .
He ’ s writing songs for Sturdyvant .
He ’ s remixing the blues and coming up with new ways to make music .
He will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Levee carries around so much rage , sizzling just beneath the surface .
His anger seems directed at men who hurt his family when he was young , but as the story wears on it starts to become clear : He ’ s just mad at the whole situation that he and many other Black people have found themselves in .
They have the illusion of power .
Levee can go out and buy a nice pair of shoes for himself ; he can entertain thousands from a stage ; he can dream @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own band , his own muscle to flex .
And yet , kicking down doors too often uncovers walls .
On the one hand , I ’ m not sure Ma Rainey ’ s Black Bottom really succeeds as a film .
It doesn ’ t have much of a style visually , and it feels trapped and stifled at times .
( Wolfe is best known as a celebrated and formidable theater director . )
When you watch a play on stage , you get to see the actors working together all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the movie , we ’ re more frequently up close , observing their faces .
We lose some of the perspective we ’ d have in a theater .
And Wilson ’ s inimitable dialogue loses just the tiniest bit of punch when the mouths speaking it are flattened on a screen , rather than breathing the same air as the audience .
On the other hand , there ’ s a way all of this works .
For one thing , the hemmed-in setting is representative of the characters ’ lives , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re free but holds out only one palm ’ s worth of freedom and keeps the rest behind its back .
We see that menacing tease over and over again .
The band members can ’ t go into a drugstore to buy a Coke , because the white men inside glower and block their way .
A car accident involving Ma ’ s automobile risks erupting into a brawl , or worse , until her white manager Irvin intervenes .
Ma can throw her weight around and get Irvin to beg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but his begging is driven by money , and money is fleeting .
Levee has been asked by Sturdyvant to write songs , but that ’ s no guarantee Levee will get what he ’ s looking for .
The inherently disposable quality of their existence , their replaceability , is something all of the Black characters in the film are sharply aware of .
They respond and cope in different ways .
Ma takes whatever she can get and yields as little as possible .
Levee screams at the heavens , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ men live the way they ’ re living in silence .
And it leads to a kind of self-hatred that ends in self-immolation .
The best plays are often more situation than plot .
They capture , unravel , and singe the edges of the power struggles between people who are standing on shifting sand , letting the upper hand change from moment to moment .
In retaining the feel of a play , Ma Rainey ’ s Black Bottom hangs onto that inherently theatrical quality .
And it emphasizes the matter of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of this film and its characters ’ world .
The end of the movie piles up the evidence that even the power we think we ’ ve seen Levee and Ma exercise is easy for men like Irvin and Sturdyvant to sweep away , like leftovers on the table after they ’ ve had their fill .
And I gasped at the final scene , which adds one small moment — as the film did at the beginning — to show us what ’ s been going on all along .
Respect was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mind .

Near the beginning of Act 2 of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, August Wilson’s 1982 play about the famous blues singer and the complex rage born of American racism, a band argues during a recording break. Levee, the flash-tempered young trumpet player with big dreams, castigates his three fellow musicians, who are all older than he is, for being too satisfied with their station in life, with the “bone somebody done throwed you.” He’ll never be satisfied, he says, and he’d sell his soul to the devil if doing so would allow him to see his ambitions realized.
Cutler, the band’s leader, reprimands Levee for his blasphemy. But Toledo, the piano player — and the only literate man in the band, amid the segregation of 1920s Chicago — tells Cutler that while the group hasn’t sold their souls to the devil, they have done something similar: “We done sold Africa for the price of tomatoes,” he says. “We done sold ourselves to the white man in order to be like him. ... We done sold who we are in order to become someone else. We’s imitation white men.”
There’s some disagreement, but Levee, being Levee, is stuck on himself. “I ain’t no imitation white man,” he says. “And I don’t want to be no white man.” As soon as he can start his own band and make the records that Mr. Sturdyvant, the producer they’re working for, told him he could make, “I’m gonna be like Ma and tell the white man just what he can do.”
Ma is the Ma Rainey of the play’s title, and the band has just watched her threaten to walk out of the studio, prompting the two white men managing the recording session to beg her to stay. “That’s the way I’m gonna be!” Levee proclaims. “Make the white man respect me!”
“The white man don’t care nothing about Ma,” says Cutler. “The colored folks made Ma a star.”
Rating: 4 out of 5 vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark vox-mark
Wilson crammed into that page the nutshell of the conflict that drives Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, the third of his Pittsburgh Cycle plays (and the second to be adapted to film), which chronicle Black American life in the 20th century. When the story takes place (in 1927), Ma Rainey is massively famous; she brings in huge profits for the record company, and when she asks for a Coke during the recording session, she gets her Coke. But the request is as much a flex on her part as it is a desire for a cold soft drink. Ma always knows that the power she exerts — as a bona fide but Black celebrity — has its edges, and she chafes against them. Getting her way in small matters is a way of compensating for working in a world that sees her as, inherently, a problem to be dealt with — not because she’s a diva, but because she’s Black.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom bowed on Broadway 36 years ago, telling a story set 60 years prior, which means its story is now nearly a century old. And it’s more than ready for the big-screen treatment. Denzel Washington has made it his personal mission to adapt all 10 of Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle plays into films, having started with the sixth, Fences, in 2017. He serves as a producer on this one.
Fences earned Viola Davis an Oscar. Now she returns as Ma Rainey, with a performance poised to repeat the feat. Not that it’s the same performance. In Fences, she is the brave but beaten-down wife, who does her duty even when it’s killing her. In Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, she is both wholly in charge and seemingly not far from a meltdown, riding a fine line between wielding her power and watching it slip away.
Ma is traveling with her much younger lover, Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige), who seems more in love with access to power than with Ma herself, and Ma’s nephew Sylvester (Dusan Brown). They’ve come to Chicago so Ma can record with her band: Cutler (Colman Domingo), Toledo (Glynn Turman), Slow Drag (Michael Potts), and Levee (Chadwick Boseman).
Screenwriter Ruben Santiago-Hudson and director George C. Wolfe retained Wilson’s incredible dialogue but opened up the play’s setting just a tad, so that it works on screen. A few added moments flesh out the story. The play, for instance, starts in the recording studio, where Ma’s white manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) and the white producer Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne) argue about how to handle Ma and the band during the recording session. But the movie starts at a concert, with Ma enthralling the masses but shooting daggers at Levee, who’s slipped on stage to literally steal the spotlight with a trumpet solo. She fought for that spotlight, and he’s not going to take it from her.
We get to the recording studio soon enough, but not before the film establishes itself at the start of the Great Migration, a decades-long period during which black Americans migrated north in droves, looking for a more equitable life and opportunities unavailable to them in the Jim Crow South. By the end of the 1920s, when the play is set, a tenth of the Black population in the American South had migrated north. By the 1970s, that figure increased to nearly 40 percent.
The north was no paradise. Racism was everywhere; practices such as redlining kept neighborhoods segregated, widening the generational wealth gap, exposing gross prejudices, and leading to long-lasting effects we still feel today.
Wilson set Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in that historical context specifically because it’s a story about power, about how seemingly powerful Black artists like Ma and the music they made would be exploited by people who probably didn’t consider themselves to be racist. After all, they worked with Ma, didn’t they?
Levee is the other focal point of the film — a counterbalance to Ma, who’s seen it all. The role is Chadwick Boseman’s last, stunning, heartbreaking performance. Boseman (who throughout his career played characters like Jackie Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, James Brown, and Black Panther’s T’Challa) passed away in August at age 43 from a colon cancer few people knew he had, and his turn here makes his death feel horribly unjust.
Boseman plays Levee with an electricity that feels urgent. This young man is aware that every aspect of the world around him is designed to work against him. He’s not optimistic, but he’s determined. He knows he can make the future happen for himself in the way he wants it to happen. He’s seen some horrible things in his life, but he is his own man and he’s going to make his own way. He’s writing songs for Sturdyvant. He’s remixing the blues and coming up with new ways to make music. He will not be kept down.
And so Levee carries around so much rage, sizzling just beneath the surface. His anger seems directed at men who hurt his family when he was young, but as the story wears on it starts to become clear: He’s just mad at the whole situation that he and many other Black people have found themselves in. They have the illusion of power. Levee can go out and buy a nice pair of shoes for himself; he can entertain thousands from a stage; he can dream of a future where he has his own band, his own muscle to flex.
And yet, kicking down doors too often uncovers walls.
On the one hand, I’m not sure Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom really succeeds as a film. It doesn’t have much of a style visually, and it feels trapped and stifled at times. (Wolfe is best known as a celebrated and formidable theater director.) When you watch a play on stage, you get to see the actors working together all at once in wide shots; in the movie, we’re more frequently up close, observing their faces. We lose some of the perspective we’d have in a theater. And Wilson’s inimitable dialogue loses just the tiniest bit of punch when the mouths speaking it are flattened on a screen, rather than breathing the same air as the audience.
On the other hand, there’s a way all of this works. For one thing, the hemmed-in setting is representative of the characters’ lives, restricted by a country that says they’re free but holds out only one palm’s worth of freedom and keeps the rest behind its back. We see that menacing tease over and over again. The band members can’t go into a drugstore to buy a Coke, because the white men inside glower and block their way. A car accident involving Ma’s automobile risks erupting into a brawl, or worse, until her white manager Irvin intervenes. Ma can throw her weight around and get Irvin to beg her not to walk out the door, but his begging is driven by money, and money is fleeting. Levee has been asked by Sturdyvant to write songs, but that’s no guarantee Levee will get what he’s looking for.
The inherently disposable quality of their existence, their replaceability, is something all of the Black characters in the film are sharply aware of. They respond and cope in different ways. Ma takes whatever she can get and yields as little as possible. Levee screams at the heavens, cursing any God that would let Black men live the way they’re living in silence. And it leads to a kind of self-hatred that ends in self-immolation.
The best plays are often more situation than plot. They capture, unravel, and singe the edges of the power struggles between people who are standing on shifting sand, letting the upper hand change from moment to moment. In retaining the feel of a play, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom hangs onto that inherently theatrical quality.
And it emphasizes the matter of power, which lies at the root of this film and its characters’ world. The end of the movie piles up the evidence that even the power we think we’ve seen Levee and Ma exercise is easy for men like Irvin and Sturdyvant to sweep away, like leftovers on the table after they’ve had their fill. And I gasped at the final scene, which adds one small moment — as the film did at the beginning — to show us what’s been going on all along. Respect was never what the white man had in mind.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom premieres on Netflix on December 18.


vox--2020-12-18--A second Covid-19 vaccine has received FDA emergency use authorization

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency use authorization for Moderna ’ s Covid-19 vaccine , clearing the way for it to be the second vaccine distributed in the United States .
The decision follows a vote on Thursday by an advisory committee to the FDA which found that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its harms for people ages 18 years old and older .
“ With the availability of two vaccines now for the prevention of COVID-19 , the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic that is causing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States each day , ” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn , in a statement .
Between the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that received a green light last week and the Moderna vaccine , US officials were expecting to have enough doses to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of the month .
However , some states reported Thursday that they had received fewer doses than they were promised of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine .
Both of these vaccines use an mRNA platform to get human cells to make a component of SARS-CoV-2 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ component , the spike protein of the virus , is then used by the immune system to build up protection against the pathogen .
It ’ s an approach that is seeing widespread use in humans for the first time .
Both vaccines are also administered as two doses ; the doses of the Moderna vaccine are spaced 28 days apart , while the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine doses are spread 21 days apart .
Moderna ’ s vaccine can be stored long-term at minus 20 degrees Celsius ( minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit ) and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 8°C ( 36° to 46°F ) .
In contrast , the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine needs temperatures of minus 70°C ( minus 94°F ) .
The less stringent storage requirements of Moderna ’ s product may ease some of the logistical challenges of distributing a vaccine .
The task of getting delicate vaccines from manufacturers to hospitals and into the hands of patients is complicated , something that will have to be scaled up to immunize millions of people across the United States .
Already , the distribution of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has hit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that their allocations of the vaccine have been suddenly downscaled , while Pfizer said that there are millions of doses of its vaccine that have gone unclaimed .
Though having a second vaccine on the market increases the number of people who can get immunized , it could also complicate the distribution process further , with more doses to track , transport , and administer .
Health officials are also warning recipients about potential side effects of these vaccines .
At least four people who received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine under an EUA experienced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ severe are very rare , some doctors are pointing out that reactions to these vaccines can be more intense than responses to other inoculations , as Vox ’ s Julia Belluz explained : What ’ s now clear : An injection with either vaccine , both of which use mRNA technology , can feel more intense than other routine vaccinations ( such as the flu shot ) — with side effects for some recipients such as pain , headache , and fatigue .
And this may be especially true for Moderna ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who got the shot in clinical trials experienced a “ severe ” systemic adverse reaction , a classification the FDA uses to refer to side effects , like fever or fatigue , that require medical attention and prevent people from going about their daily activities .
Per guidelines set by an advisory group for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , the first people slated to receive the Moderna vaccine will be the same as those for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine — health workers and residents and staff at long-term care facilities .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ doses of each of these vaccines to be delivered through the end of March .
An EUA , however , is still short of a full approval , and there are still some outstanding concerns that need to be addressed .
Moderna noted in its briefing document that the company is still trying to find out how long the vaccine ’ s protection lasts , how well it prevents transmission , and its long-term impacts .
The company says it will monitor its trial pool for two years and will conduct additional studies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ under an EUA to get answers to these questions .

The Food and Drug Administration on Friday issued an emergency use authorization for Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, clearing the way for it to be the second vaccine distributed in the United States. The decision follows a vote on Thursday by an advisory committee to the FDA which found that the benefits of the vaccine outweigh its harms for people ages 18 years old and older.
“With the availability of two vaccines now for the prevention of COVID-19, the FDA has taken another crucial step in the fight against this global pandemic that is causing vast numbers of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States each day,” said FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, in a statement.
Between the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine that received a green light last week and the Moderna vaccine, US officials were expecting to have enough doses to vaccinate 20 million Americans by the end of the month. However, some states reported Thursday that they had received fewer doses than they were promised of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Both of these vaccines use an mRNA platform to get human cells to make a component of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. That component, the spike protein of the virus, is then used by the immune system to build up protection against the pathogen. It’s an approach that is seeing widespread use in humans for the first time. Both vaccines are also administered as two doses; the doses of the Moderna vaccine are spaced 28 days apart, while the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine doses are spread 21 days apart.
Moderna’s vaccine can be stored long-term at minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) and is stable for 30 days between 2° and 8°C (36° to 46°F). In contrast, the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine needs temperatures of minus 70°C (minus 94°F). The less stringent storage requirements of Moderna’s product may ease some of the logistical challenges of distributing a vaccine.
The task of getting delicate vaccines from manufacturers to hospitals and into the hands of patients is complicated, something that will have to be scaled up to immunize millions of people across the United States.
Already, the distribution of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has hit some bumps. State officials are reporting that their allocations of the vaccine have been suddenly downscaled, while Pfizer said that there are millions of doses of its vaccine that have gone unclaimed.
.@CDCgov has informed us that WA’s vaccine allocation will be cut by 40 percent next week — and that all states are seeing similar cuts.
This is disruptive and frustrating. We need accurate, predictable numbers to plan and ensure on-the-ground success.
No explanation was given. — Governor Jay Inslee (@GovInslee) December 17, 2020
Though having a second vaccine on the market increases the number of people who can get immunized, it could also complicate the distribution process further, with more doses to track, transport, and administer.
Health officials are also warning recipients about potential side effects of these vaccines. At least four people who received the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine under an EUA experienced severe allergic reactions. While effects this severe are very rare, some doctors are pointing out that reactions to these vaccines can be more intense than responses to other inoculations, as Vox’s Julia Belluz explained:
What’s now clear: An injection with either vaccine, both of which use mRNA technology, can feel more intense than other routine vaccinations (such as the flu shot) — with side effects for some recipients such as pain, headache, and fatigue. And this may be especially true for Moderna’s vaccine: About 16 percent of people who got the shot in clinical trials experienced a “severe” systemic adverse reaction, a classification the FDA uses to refer to side effects, like fever or fatigue, that require medical attention and prevent people from going about their daily activities.
Per guidelines set by an advisory group for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first people slated to receive the Moderna vaccine will be the same as those for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine — health workers and residents and staff at long-term care facilities. The US government has purchased 100 million doses of each of these vaccines to be delivered through the end of March.
An EUA, however, is still short of a full approval, and there are still some outstanding concerns that need to be addressed. Moderna noted in its briefing document that the company is still trying to find out how long the vaccine’s protection lasts, how well it prevents transmission, and its long-term impacts. The company says it will monitor its trial pool for two years and will conduct additional studies among the people who receive the vaccine under an EUA to get answers to these questions.


vox--2020-12-18--Congress passed a short-term funding bill, giving itself two more days to negotiate stimulus

Congress has delayed a vote on stimulus and government funding — again .
Although lawmakers were originally facing a self-imposed December 18 deadline to get both things done , they ’ ve postponed it once more by passing another short-term spending bill on Friday .
Because Congressional leaders had extended a previous deadline on government funding , they just approved a two-day addition .
Now , the House and the Senate have a bit more time to pass the spending legislation and the stimulus bill they intend to attach to it .
The latest continuing resolution is set to keep @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the day on Sunday , December 20 .
Lawmakers have said they hope to have ironed out their differences on a coronavirus relief agreement by then , with House leaders signaling that the earliest vote they plan to hold would take place Sunday afternoon .
“ I think we ’ re very close to getting an agreement , I think two more days would allow us the time to get it done and allow time for people to be able to read , ” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Friday .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ t begun negotiations on this stimulus agreement in earnest until earlier this week , with the end of the term looming over them .
( The $ 1.4 trillion government funding bill , meanwhile , has proven less contentious . )
The anticipated stimulus legislation , which is expected to net out at around $ 900 billion , won ’ t include the controversial corporate liability protections , nor will it include state and local aid provisions , though it is poised to contain more funding for unemployment insurance , small business support @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Lawmakers now have two days to work through the remaining sticking points .
What ’ s still being worked on Although the most contested provisions have been stripped from the bill , there are still some issues that lawmakers are debating .
As the Washington Post reports , some of the ongoing negotiations center on the number of weeks of expanded unemployment insurance ( UI ) the bill would cover : While a prior bipartisan draft had provided an additional $ 300 in UI for 16 weeks , the amount of coverage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ much shorter .
There ’ s also an ongoing disagreement over the amount that would be included in another round of stimulus checks , with Sens .
Bernie Sanders ( I-VT ) and Josh Hawley ( R-MO ) pushing for $ 1,200 payments while the leadership plan initially offered $ 600 options .
Sen. Ron Johnson ( R-WI ) on Friday opposed $ 1,200 payments twice and cited concerns about gains to the deficit , an issue on which most Americans disagree with him .
Despite these delays , lawmakers on both sides @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re committed to getting more stimulus done , even if it means staying in session longer .
There are , of course , no guarantees they will wrap up discussions by Sunday .
At this point , it ’ s been nine months since lawmakers passed their last major relief package , nine months in which millions of people have been laid off and tens of thousands of businesses have grappled with closing .

Congress has delayed a vote on stimulus and government funding — again.
Although lawmakers were originally facing a self-imposed December 18 deadline to get both things done, they’ve postponed it once more by passing another short-term spending bill on Friday. Because Congressional leaders had extended a previous deadline on government funding, they just approved a two-day addition. Now, the House and the Senate have a bit more time to pass the spending legislation and the stimulus bill they intend to attach to it.
The latest continuing resolution is set to keep the government funded through the end of the day on Sunday, December 20. Lawmakers have said they hope to have ironed out their differences on a coronavirus relief agreement by then, with House leaders signaling that the earliest vote they plan to hold would take place Sunday afternoon.
“I think we’re very close to getting an agreement, I think two more days would allow us the time to get it done and allow time for people to be able to read,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Friday.
Top lawmakers from both parties hadn’t begun negotiations on this stimulus agreement in earnest until earlier this week, with the end of the term looming over them. (The $1.4 trillion government funding bill, meanwhile, has proven less contentious.)
The anticipated stimulus legislation, which is expected to net out at around $900 billion, won’t include the controversial corporate liability protections, nor will it include state and local aid provisions, though it is poised to contain more funding for unemployment insurance, small business support, and another round of stimulus checks.
Lawmakers now have two days to work through the remaining sticking points.
What’s still being worked on
Although the most contested provisions have been stripped from the bill, there are still some issues that lawmakers are debating.
As the Washington Post reports, some of the ongoing negotiations center on the number of weeks of expanded unemployment insurance (UI) the bill would cover: While a prior bipartisan draft had provided an additional $300 in UI for 16 weeks, the amount of coverage in a final compromise bill could be much shorter.
There’s also an ongoing disagreement over the amount that would be included in another round of stimulus checks, with Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) pushing for $1,200 payments while the leadership plan initially offered $600 options. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) on Friday opposed $1,200 payments twice and cited concerns about gains to the deficit, an issue on which most Americans disagree with him.
Despite these delays, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have emphasized that they’re committed to getting more stimulus done, even if it means staying in session longer. There are, of course, no guarantees they will wrap up discussions by Sunday. At this point, it’s been nine months since lawmakers passed their last major relief package, nine months in which millions of people have been laid off and tens of thousands of businesses have grappled with closing.


vox--2020-12-18--How scarce will coronavirus vaccines be in the US?

With a record number of Americans dying of Covid-19 every day , immunizing the public against the virus is more urgent than ever .
But hundreds of millions of people in the US are simply going to have to wait — probably several months — to get a vaccine .
Instead of the 300 million doses the Trump administration originally promised before the end of the year , the two vaccine developers first in line for Food and Drug Administration approval — Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna — expected to ship 35 million to 40 million doses total before January .
Since @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at two shots per person , that ’ s enough supply for no more than 20 million people .
But even reaching that many people will take some time .
The first batch of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine shipped from a Kalamazoo , Michigan , factory Sunday , following the FDA ’ s emergency use authorization Friday night , and will include only 2.9 million doses .
( A scientific committee that advises the FDA will consider whether to recommend authorization of emergency use of Moderna ’ s vaccine on December 17 . )
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ their initial year-end targets are being hampered by shortages of raw ingredients .
And on December 18 , state officials raised concerns about drastically reduced second-week shipments for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine .
Delays from the federal government mean the US could miss its target of 20 million first-dose vaccinations by the end of the year .
Both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech have vowed to ramp up production next year , but the exact amount they ’ ll make still isn ’ t clear , and the estimates keep shifting .
Moderna currently says it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million doses for the US ready in the first quarter of 2021 ; Pfizer plans to provide 50 million doses at the end of the second quarter and another 50 million in Q3 , according to the Washington Post .
The US government declined to purchase additional doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine earlier in the year .
And Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna aren ’ t the only vaccine providers falling short of their original targets : AstraZeneca and Oxford — another vaccine team that was supposed to deliver up to 300 million doses , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vaccine supply — have been beset by safety and transparency problems that caused them to fall weeks behind on finishing their phase 3 US trial .
To be clear , the effort to identify , test , and manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine has unfolded at remarkable speed .
By the middle of next year , we may have several effective vaccines to choose from .
But while the vaccines offer hope for the end of the pandemic , they are far from a quick fix .
For the foreseeable future , doses will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cover the highest-risk groups , like health workers and long-term care residents .
The federal government ’ s allocation strategy also means some states ( such as Wyoming ) will have more supplies for top-priority groups than others ( like New York ) .
This scarcity is forcing local health officials and administrators across the country to make ethically fraught decisions about which lives most urgently need protecting from Covid-19 .
Who is likely to go first ?
The effort to figure out who should get immunized first ultimately falls to the states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the federal government , which has better information on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and decides how many doses states will get .
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices , an expert group that makes recommendations on vaccination policy to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , put health personnel , along with staff and residents of long-term care facilities , at the front ( phase 1a ) .
In addition , two other influential health bodies have weighed in on the question of the highest-priority groups : The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the National Academies of Sciences , Engineering , and Medicine ( NASEM ) also put health workers first , and , in the case of NASEM , first responders too .
Again , though , local health authorities have the power to decide whom to prioritize ( though ACIP is likely to have the most influence on US vaccine rationing decisions ) .
“ Because all [ ACIP ] can do is make recommendations , those recommendations are going to be implemented in vastly different ways across the country , ” said Lawrence @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University .
“ And those [ differences ] have to do with whether you ’ re a red state or blue state , a mayor or governor.
” What ’ s already clear : Even the highest-priority groups won ’ t be fully vaccinated straightaway .
Operation Warp Speed , the task force in charge of national vaccine distribution , will distribute the initial batch of 2.9 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in proportion to states ’ adult populations .
( A second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reserved so the first group of people to be immunized have access to their second shot three weeks later . )
The initial shipment from Pfizer will cover only 12 percent of the people in ACIP ’ s phase 1a ( again , health workers and staff and residents of long-term care homes ) , or 0.9 percent of the country ’ s adult population .
This means “ states are going to need to make sub-prioritization decisions because the supply won ’ t cover the plan ACIP is proposing , ” said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics .
Most states have reported their estimates for expected doses in the first shipment , according to the state reports collected by Vox .

With a record number of Americans dying of Covid-19 every day, immunizing the public against the virus is more urgent than ever. But hundreds of millions of people in the US are simply going to have to wait — probably several months — to get a vaccine.
Instead of the 300 million doses the Trump administration originally promised before the end of the year, the two vaccine developers first in line for Food and Drug Administration approval — Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna — expected to ship 35 million to 40 million doses total before January. Since both vaccines are supposed to be dispensed at two shots per person, that’s enough supply for no more than 20 million people.
But even reaching that many people will take some time. The first batch of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine shipped from a Kalamazoo, Michigan, factory Sunday, following the FDA’s emergency use authorization Friday night, and will include only 2.9 million doses. (A scientific committee that advises the FDA will consider whether to recommend authorization of emergency use of Moderna’s vaccine on December 17.)
The vaccine developers say efforts to meet their initial year-end targets are being hampered by shortages of raw ingredients. And on December 18, state officials raised concerns about drastically reduced second-week shipments for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Delays from the federal government mean the US could miss its target of 20 million first-dose vaccinations by the end of the year.
Both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech have vowed to ramp up production next year, but the exact amount they’ll make still isn’t clear, and the estimates keep shifting. Moderna currently says it’ll have 85 million to 100 million doses for the US ready in the first quarter of 2021; Pfizer plans to provide 50 million doses at the end of the second quarter and another 50 million in Q3, according to the Washington Post. The US government declined to purchase additional doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine earlier in the year.
And Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna aren’t the only vaccine providers falling short of their original targets: AstraZeneca and Oxford — another vaccine team that was supposed to deliver up to 300 million doses, or 60 percent of the US coronavirus vaccine supply — have been beset by safety and transparency problems that caused them to fall weeks behind on finishing their phase 3 US trial.
To be clear, the effort to identify, test, and manufacture a Covid-19 vaccine has unfolded at remarkable speed. By the middle of next year, we may have several effective vaccines to choose from. But while the vaccines offer hope for the end of the pandemic, they are far from a quick fix. For the foreseeable future, doses will be scarce — not even enough to cover the highest-risk groups, like health workers and long-term care residents. The federal government’s allocation strategy also means some states (such as Wyoming) will have more supplies for top-priority groups than others (like New York). This scarcity is forcing local health officials and administrators across the country to make ethically fraught decisions about which lives most urgently need protecting from Covid-19.
Who is likely to go first?
The effort to figure out who should get immunized first ultimately falls to the states, but they are getting advice from the federal government, which has better information on the safety and efficacy of the vaccines and decides how many doses states will get.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, an expert group that makes recommendations on vaccination policy to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, put health personnel, along with staff and residents of long-term care facilities, at the front (phase 1a). In addition, two other influential health bodies have weighed in on the question of the highest-priority groups: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) also put health workers first, and, in the case of NASEM, first responders too. Again, though, local health authorities have the power to decide whom to prioritize (though ACIP is likely to have the most influence on US vaccine rationing decisions).
“Because all [ACIP] can do is make recommendations, those recommendations are going to be implemented in vastly different ways across the country,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University. “And those [differences] have to do with whether you’re a red state or blue state, a mayor or governor.”
What’s already clear: Even the highest-priority groups won’t be fully vaccinated straightaway.
Operation Warp Speed, the task force in charge of national vaccine distribution, will distribute the initial batch of 2.9 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in proportion to states’ adult populations. (A second batch of 2.9 million doses is being reserved so the first group of people to be immunized have access to their second shot three weeks later.)
The initial shipment from Pfizer will cover only 12 percent of the people in ACIP’s phase 1a (again, health workers and staff and residents of long-term care homes), or 0.9 percent of the country’s adult population.
This means “states are going to need to make sub-prioritization decisions because the supply won’t cover the plan ACIP is proposing,” said Ruth Faden, the founder of the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics.
Most states have reported their estimates for expected doses in the first shipment, according to the state reports collected by Vox.


vox--2020-12-18--The remixed genre tropes of Gideon the Ninth, explained

The Vox Book Club is linking to Bookshop.org to support local and independent booksellers .
One of the things that makes Tamsyn Muir ’ s fantasy novel Gideon the Ninth so deeply satisfying to read is the giddy joy it takes in playing with different genre tropes .
Sometimes I imagine Muir as a cackling mad scientist in a lab , grabbing beakers labeled “ enemies to lovers ” and “ in space ” and “ that incel meme about studying the blade ” and swirling all their contents together .
The combinations really shouldn ’ t work , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of why I always summarize this book as “ lesbian necromancers in space.
” It feels a little reductive , but it also comes as close as anything can to gesturing at all the trope-swirling glee going on here .
( Plus , trying to summarize a plot this complicated any other way is a fool ’ s game . )
So for today ’ s Vox Book Club discussion , I wanted to go through some of the foundational tropes in Gideon the Ninth and talk about how they work and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in genre-mixing , and in how to stick an impossible landing .
Spoilers for Gideon the Ninth ( but none for its sequel Harrow the Ninth ) follow .
Did you think we left the gothic house behind in October with Mexican Gothic ?
Never !
I love a gothic house novel more than most things , and Gideon the Ninth has a particularly lurid one .
The bulk of Gideon the Ninth takes place in Canaan House .
It appears to be the only surviving structure left on the planet everyone calls @ @ @ @ @ @ @ post-apocalyptic Earth , but we don ’ t know that for sure yet ) , and it is in ruins .
It ’ s there that our central cast of necromancers and cavaliers set to work trying to solve the puzzle that the Emperor-God has set before them : namely , how to turn the necromancers into the mysterious beings known as Lyctors .
Canaan House is in a state of luxurious decay , and it ’ s pocketed with secrets .
The characters are forever strolling through its shadowy corridors to discover @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ancient luxuries slowly rotting before them .
Placing us in this gothic setting is a good indication that the mysteries of Lyctorhood will be darker than any of our main characters expect they will be — and more , it ’ s a hint as to the exact nature of their darkness .
Gothic novels are animated in part by a violent disparity in power , which is what gives them their tension and their juice .
In Gideon the Ninth , the necromancers all have enormous power over their cavaliers , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ protagonist Gideon is indentured , has more power over her than most .
So one of the central strands of this novel is attempting to navigate this disparity — and , potentially , abusing it .
And Then There Were None As our central cast of characters tries to navigate the trials left behind for them by the original Lyctors , they find themselves getting picked off one by one .
It ’ s the same plot as Agatha Christie ’ s mystery And Then There Were None , which sees a group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one after another .
And just as in And Then There Were None , the murderer turns out to be the character you wrote off early on as someone who could never be a threat .
What makes this trope work so well is the sense of profoundly claustrophobic horror it engenders .
Canaan House is an island surrounded by water , and the space shuttles are dismantled shortly after everyone arrives : There is no escaping it .
Each person just has to wait , trying to work out which of their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ll be the one who survives .
Fake It Till You Make It Large chunks of the novel ’ s first half are given over to Harrow and Gideon ( mostly Harrow ) attempting to convince the rest of their party at Canaan House that they know what they are doing and that they come from a house as wealthy and powerful as anyone else ’ s .
In reality , they are barely squeaking by ; the Ninth House has no money and no resources , and Gideon isn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
This trope is a classic of both thrillers and social comedies : Think Tom Ripley trying to pass himself off as a moneyed WASP in The Talented Mr. Ripley , or Drew Barrymore posing as a popular teen in Never Been Kissed .
Done well , the Faking It trope engenders a sense of endearing vulnerability in the protagonist , who is always in danger of revealing their true self .
It offers the opportunity for both pratfalls and suspense .
And it also gives the protagonist a chance to show off @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and spin a quick lie .
In Gideon , the Faking It is mostly mined for comedy .
Harrow tersely explains that she ’ s festooned their living quarters with skulls for “ ambiance , ” and Gideon stalks around in black robes and skull face paint and sunglasses like an extremely committed D & D player , even though we know that she is just a sweet basic jock who loves pushups .
But it also gives Harrow some cracks in her facade of bitchiness , a weak spot in her armor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for .
It makes her become just vulnerable enough to be lovable .
Enemies to Lovers is a classic romantic trope , the basis of everything from Pride and Prejudice to this year ’ s Netflix series Never Have I Ever .
There ’ s a special joy in watching two people who hate each other come to first grudgingly appreciate one another and then fall in love .
When it works , there ’ s something especially sparkly and lively about these particular love stories .
Gideon and Harrow have hated each @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s also clear very early on that they would die for one another , and they react with disproportionate protectiveness whenever the other one is in danger .
They are opposing archetypes ( sweet jock versus vicious goth bitch , or , if you will , Sweaterboy versus Absolute Nightmare ) , so of course they must despise each other .
But the arc of their quest is designed to force them to work together anyway because Lyctorhood depends on the connection between necromancer and cavalier .
So in order to further their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to draw out their deeply buried appreciation for each other .
That is , they have to up until the very end of their quest .
Because Lyctorhood , as all that gothic foreshadowing suggested , depends in the end on betraying the bond between necromancer and cavalier .
That ’ s the toxic horror at the center of this trilogy .
While Gideon finds a way to turn that betrayal briefly into a transcendent sacrifice , the power dynamics of her relationship with Harrow add an icky kind of subtext to that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clear if a sacrifice on this level can ever be purely free , and much of the rest of the trilogy is given over to trying to work out the implications .
Interestingly , it ’ s also uncertain in Gideon the Ninth whether the connection between Gideon and Harrow is romantic .
The other relationships we see between necromancers and cavaliers aren ’ t always : Magnus and Abigail are married , but there ’ s also an uncle and nephew pair , and Camilla and Palamedes are in some kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end of Gideon that Harrow and Gideon have become the most important people in the world to one another , but they never make any explicitly romantic declarations of love .
But the tropes Muir rolls out for Gideon and Harrow are deeply romantic nevertheless .
Perhaps especially the next one we ’ ll be looking at .
When Gideon and Harrow at last reveal their final secrets to one another , rendering themselves vulnerable and knowable to one another , they do it in a pool .
That makes the scene @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the romantic staples of Japanese pop culture .
Classically , bathtub scenes are a great equalizer .
Hierarchies of class and rank are stripped away , and both characters are equally bare and equally vulnerable .
One of the tropes of anime is for two characters who are destined to fall in love to take a bath together and talk about their pasts , often while revealing their deepest and darkest secrets .
The shared intimacy of the moment pushes their relationship forward .
Harrow and Gideon don ’ t have to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is romantic .
The tropes tell us they are .
Gideon the Ninth ends with Gideon ’ s death , just as she and Harrow have finally found an equal footing and seem poised to turn a corner in their relationship .
For some readers of the novel , that death is just the latest iteration of the infuriating Bury Your Gays trope , in which lesbians are introduced in popular culture only to be immediately killed off , never left with a happy ending of their own .
That narrative tradition goes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ publishers mandated should never have happy endings , and it plays out today in shows like The 100 and The Magicians , which seem to treat their gay characters as somehow more disposable than their straight characters .
Personally , I don ’ t think Muir is playing into the Bury Your Gays trope so much as she is setting herself up to subvert it .
The trilogy is structured so thoroughly around Gideon and Harrow ’ s relationship that it seems impossible that their storyline won ’ t be resolved somehow in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ premise of this whole thing is “ lesbian necromancers in space , ” death doesn ’ t strike me as a very final obstacle for the lesbians .
But it ’ s a trope that is nonetheless deeply embedded into the narrative of the Locked Tomb trilogy .
And much of the way we read it will depend on what comes next .
Below are discussion questions to guide your conversation on Gideon , either in the comments below or in your own communities .
If you ’ re chatting here , I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harrow the Ninth .
We ’ ll talk about that one next month !
• What tropes did I miss in this basic overview ?
Which ones are your favorites ?
• Okay , here ’ s an obvious one I didn ’ t get into : the “ sorting by personality types/Hogwarts House ” stuff going on with the Houses .
Which House are you ?
I ’ m a Six , but I feel like that goes without saying for anyone who works here .
• Related : Which kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ devoted to her bones but I think spirit magic has a certain something going for it .
Also a fan of liminal spaces .
• How do you feel about all the anachronistic memes stuck in apparently at random ?
Personally , they always make me chuckle , but I can also see feeling that they break the world-building a bit .
• How about that enormous supporting cast ?
Who ’ s your fave ?
As someone who always roots for hyper-competent women , I am torn between Abigail , Camilla , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Gideon is coming back in the end ?
• There ’ s a compelling argument to be made that the relationship between Harrow and Gideon is too toxic to root for or romanticize , and that ’ s one of the major critiques I ’ ve seen of the whole Locked Tomb trilogy .
I personally find the way Muir is analyzing the toxicity compelling , but I can see the alternate argument .
Where do you fall ?
There ’ s no live event this month , but we ’ ll be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ post on Harrow the Ninth .
Sign up for our newsletter to make sure you don ’ t miss anything , and we ’ ll see you in 2021 !

The Vox Book Club is linking to Bookshop.org to support local and independent booksellers.
One of the things that makes Tamsyn Muir’s fantasy novel Gideon the Ninth so deeply satisfying to read is the giddy joy it takes in playing with different genre tropes. Sometimes I imagine Muir as a cackling mad scientist in a lab, grabbing beakers labeled “enemies to lovers” and “in space” and “that incel meme about studying the blade” and swirling all their contents together. The combinations really shouldn’t work, but somehow they do.
That’s part of why I always summarize this book as “lesbian necromancers in space.” It feels a little reductive, but it also comes as close as anything can to gesturing at all the trope-swirling glee going on here. (Plus, trying to summarize a plot this complicated any other way is a fool’s game.)
So for today’s Vox Book Club discussion, I wanted to go through some of the foundational tropes in Gideon the Ninth and talk about how they work and why. This novel is a lesson in genre-mixing, and in how to stick an impossible landing.
Spoilers for Gideon the Ninth (but none for its sequel Harrow the Ninth) follow.
Gothic House
Did you think we left the gothic house behind in October with Mexican Gothic? Never! I love a gothic house novel more than most things, and Gideon the Ninth has a particularly lurid one.
The bulk of Gideon the Ninth takes place in Canaan House. It appears to be the only surviving structure left on the planet everyone calls The First House (most likely a post-apocalyptic Earth, but we don’t know that for sure yet), and it is in ruins. It’s there that our central cast of necromancers and cavaliers set to work trying to solve the puzzle that the Emperor-God has set before them: namely, how to turn the necromancers into the mysterious beings known as Lyctors.
Canaan House is in a state of luxurious decay, and it’s pocketed with secrets. The characters are forever strolling through its shadowy corridors to discover horrors lurking, or marveling at the ancient luxuries slowly rotting before them. Placing us in this gothic setting is a good indication that the mysteries of Lyctorhood will be darker than any of our main characters expect they will be — and more, it’s a hint as to the exact nature of their darkness.
Gothic novels are animated in part by a violent disparity in power, which is what gives them their tension and their juice. In Gideon the Ninth, the necromancers all have enormous power over their cavaliers, and Harrow, the necromancer to whom our protagonist Gideon is indentured, has more power over her than most. So one of the central strands of this novel is attempting to navigate this disparity — and, potentially, abusing it.
And Then There Were None
As our central cast of characters tries to navigate the trials left behind for them by the original Lyctors, they find themselves getting picked off one by one. It’s the same plot as Agatha Christie’s mystery And Then There Were None, which sees a group of strangers on a remote island dying one after another. And just as in And Then There Were None, the murderer turns out to be the character you wrote off early on as someone who could never be a threat.
What makes this trope work so well is the sense of profoundly claustrophobic horror it engenders. Canaan House is an island surrounded by water, and the space shuttles are dismantled shortly after everyone arrives: There is no escaping it. Each person just has to wait, trying to work out which of their number is killing them and hoping they’ll be the one who survives.
Fake It Till You Make It
Large chunks of the novel’s first half are given over to Harrow and Gideon (mostly Harrow) attempting to convince the rest of their party at Canaan House that they know what they are doing and that they come from a house as wealthy and powerful as anyone else’s. In reality, they are barely squeaking by; the Ninth House has no money and no resources, and Gideon isn’t anything close to a properly trained cavalier.
This trope is a classic of both thrillers and social comedies: Think Tom Ripley trying to pass himself off as a moneyed WASP in The Talented Mr. Ripley, or Drew Barrymore posing as a popular teen in Never Been Kissed. Done well, the Faking It trope engenders a sense of endearing vulnerability in the protagonist, who is always in danger of revealing their true self. It offers the opportunity for both pratfalls and suspense. And it also gives the protagonist a chance to show off their ability to think on their feet and spin a quick lie.
In Gideon, the Faking It is mostly mined for comedy. Harrow tersely explains that she’s festooned their living quarters with skulls for “ambiance,” and Gideon stalks around in black robes and skull face paint and sunglasses like an extremely committed D&D player, even though we know that she is just a sweet basic jock who loves pushups. But it also gives Harrow some cracks in her facade of bitchiness, a weak spot in her armor that she is working furiously to compensate for. It makes her become just vulnerable enough to be lovable.
Enemies to Lovers
Enemies to Lovers is a classic romantic trope, the basis of everything from Pride and Prejudice to this year’s Netflix series Never Have I Ever. There’s a special joy in watching two people who hate each other come to first grudgingly appreciate one another and then fall in love. When it works, there’s something especially sparkly and lively about these particular love stories.
Gideon and Harrow have hated each other since childhood, but it’s also clear very early on that they would die for one another, and they react with disproportionate protectiveness whenever the other one is in danger. They are opposing archetypes (sweet jock versus vicious goth bitch, or, if you will, Sweaterboy versus Absolute Nightmare), so of course they must despise each other. But the arc of their quest is designed to force them to work together anyway because Lyctorhood depends on the connection between necromancer and cavalier. So in order to further their own ambitions, they have to learn to draw out their deeply buried appreciation for each other.
That is, they have to up until the very end of their quest. Because Lyctorhood, as all that gothic foreshadowing suggested, depends in the end on betraying the bond between necromancer and cavalier. That’s the toxic horror at the center of this trilogy. While Gideon finds a way to turn that betrayal briefly into a transcendent sacrifice, the power dynamics of her relationship with Harrow add an icky kind of subtext to that sacrifice. It’s not entirely clear if a sacrifice on this level can ever be purely free, and much of the rest of the trilogy is given over to trying to work out the implications.
Interestingly, it’s also uncertain in Gideon the Ninth whether the connection between Gideon and Harrow is romantic. The other relationships we see between necromancers and cavaliers aren’t always: Magnus and Abigail are married, but there’s also an uncle and nephew pair, and Camilla and Palamedes are in some kind of deeply platonic love. We know by the end of Gideon that Harrow and Gideon have become the most important people in the world to one another, but they never make any explicitly romantic declarations of love.
But the tropes Muir rolls out for Gideon and Harrow are deeply romantic nevertheless. Perhaps especially the next one we’ll be looking at.
Bathtub Bonding
When Gideon and Harrow at last reveal their final secrets to one another, rendering themselves vulnerable and knowable to one another, they do it in a pool. That makes the scene an example of Bathtub Bonding, one of the romantic staples of Japanese pop culture.
Classically, bathtub scenes are a great equalizer. Hierarchies of class and rank are stripped away, and both characters are equally bare and equally vulnerable. One of the tropes of anime is for two characters who are destined to fall in love to take a bath together and talk about their pasts, often while revealing their deepest and darkest secrets. The shared intimacy of the moment pushes their relationship forward.
Harrow and Gideon don’t have to kiss for us to know their relationship is romantic. The tropes tell us they are.
Bury Your Gays
Gideon the Ninth ends with Gideon’s death, just as she and Harrow have finally found an equal footing and seem poised to turn a corner in their relationship. For some readers of the novel, that death is just the latest iteration of the infuriating Bury Your Gays trope, in which lesbians are introduced in popular culture only to be immediately killed off, never left with a happy ending of their own. That narrative tradition goes back to lesbian pulp novels, which publishers mandated should never have happy endings, and it plays out today in shows like The 100 and The Magicians, which seem to treat their gay characters as somehow more disposable than their straight characters.
Personally, I don’t think Muir is playing into the Bury Your Gays trope so much as she is setting herself up to subvert it. The trilogy is structured so thoroughly around Gideon and Harrow’s relationship that it seems impossible that their storyline won’t be resolved somehow in the end. Plus, since the premise of this whole thing is “lesbian necromancers in space,” death doesn’t strike me as a very final obstacle for the lesbians.
But it’s a trope that is nonetheless deeply embedded into the narrative of the Locked Tomb trilogy. And much of the way we read it will depend on what comes next.
Discussion questions
Below are discussion questions to guide your conversation on Gideon, either in the comments below or in your own communities. If you’re chatting here, I’ll ask that you avoid spoiling Harrow the Ninth. We’ll talk about that one next month!
What tropes did I miss in this basic overview? Which ones are your favorites? Okay, here’s an obvious one I didn’t get into: the “sorting by personality types/Hogwarts House” stuff going on with the Houses. Which House are you? I’m a Six, but I feel like that goes without saying for anyone who works here. Related: Which kind of necromancy is coolest? Obviously Harrow is devoted to her bones but I think spirit magic has a certain something going for it. Also a fan of liminal spaces. How do you feel about all the anachronistic memes stuck in apparently at random? Personally, they always make me chuckle, but I can also see feeling that they break the world-building a bit. How about that enormous supporting cast? Who’s your fave? As someone who always roots for hyper-competent women, I am torn between Abigail, Camilla, and Ianthe. Do you think Gideon is coming back in the end? There’s a compelling argument to be made that the relationship between Harrow and Gideon is too toxic to root for or romanticize, and that’s one of the major critiques I’ve seen of the whole Locked Tomb trilogy. I personally find the way Muir is analyzing the toxicity compelling, but I can see the alternate argument. Where do you fall?
There’s no live event this month, but we’ll be back on January 15 with a discussion post on Harrow the Ninth. Sign up for our newsletter to make sure you don’t miss anything, and we’ll see you in 2021!


vox--2020-12-18--Progressives, trying to sway Biden, send list with 100 potential foreign policy hires

Progressive foreign policy groups advising President-elect Joe Biden ’ s transition team are planning to send the team a glitzy booklet featuring profiles of 100 people they want serving in the administration — the greatest effort yet by progressives to sway Biden ’ s handling of global affairs .
During the campaign , left-leaning foreign policy organizations held regular sessions with top members of Biden ’ s team — including Antony Blinken , who has now been tapped as secretary of state — about how the nominee could pursue a more progressive foreign policy .
Their advice included suggestions like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ repealing the 2001 military force authorization that allows the war on terror to persist , and ending support for governments that abuse human rights .
Getting more progressives into the White House , State Department , and other key agencies is seen as a way to ensure their advice turns into action .
“ Personnel is policy , ” as many often say in the nation ’ s capital , meaning the views and priorities of the people you put in place to craft policy impact policy outcomes .
It ’ s hard @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the thinking goes , without progressives actually running foreign policy .
Which is why a consortium of progressive foreign policy groups created the digital booklet for Biden ’ s transition team , a move Politico first reported .
“ There ’ s no good reason for the president-elect not to hire all of them ” The effort was coordinated by the Center for International Policy ’ s Yasmine Taeb and Common Defense ’ s Alex McCoy .
They each spent weeks coordinating among various organizations to identify 100 consensus picks to pitch to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proposed staffers are 65 percent women and people of color , and they come from left-leaning think tanks , activist organizations , and congressional offices .
While the drafters told reporters that none of the people on the list would have corporate ties , a draft booklet showed at least two of them had some affiliation with Goldman Sachs .
The final list , they ’ ve assured me , won ’ t include those people .
McCoy is confident in the recommendations .
“ There ’ s no good reason for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” he told me .
Biden now “ has a compelling slate of options for staffing the national security agencies .
The existence of this slate proves that anyone who claims there is no choice but to rely on personnel with more problematic views in order to staff these agencies with competent experts is wrong.
” “ These are people who have a clear track record of commitment to the cause of fulfilling Joe Biden ’ s campaign promise to end the forever wars , ” McCoy continued .
“ They ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the previous mistakes in US foreign policy , which Joe Biden rightly wants to avoid repeating.
” It ’ s unclear how many of the people on this list might actually get jobs in the Biden administration or how senior they might be .
But two names on the list — Matt Duss , Sen. Bernie Sanders ’ s national security adviser and a leading progressive foreign policy proponent , and Trita Parsi , a longtime advocate for a softer US approach toward Iran — will likely garner the most attention and controversy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be the deputy national security adviser , potentially making him one of the top foreign policy officials in the government , or a senior adviser to Blinken at the State Department .
Parsi , meanwhile , was put forward as the top National Security Council official for Iran policy , which would put him at the center of major decisions on America ’ s handling of the Islamic Republic .
Their years-long focus of prioritizing diplomacy toward Iran will surely worry proponents of a harder-line policy both in and out of government .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ were recommended for don ’ t require Senate confirmation , so they would be eligible to serve if Biden wants them to .
Put together , the list of 100 names shows how seriously progressives have taken their effort to influence the Biden administration ’ s foreign policy .
Whether or not the incoming president takes their advice and staffing suggestions could prove an early fault line in the growing intra-left fight over the future of America ’ s place in the world .

Progressive foreign policy groups advising President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team are planning to send the team a glitzy booklet featuring profiles of 100 people they want serving in the administration — the greatest effort yet by progressives to sway Biden’s handling of global affairs.
During the campaign, left-leaning foreign policy organizations held regular sessions with top members of Biden’s team — including Antony Blinken, who has now been tapped as secretary of state — about how the nominee could pursue a more progressive foreign policy. Their advice included suggestions like reducing the Pentagon’s budget, repealing the 2001 military force authorization that allows the war on terror to persist, and ending support for governments that abuse human rights.
Getting more progressives into the White House, State Department, and other key agencies is seen as a way to ensure their advice turns into action. “Personnel is policy,” as many often say in the nation’s capital, meaning the views and priorities of the people you put in place to craft policy impact policy outcomes. It’s hard to have a progressive foreign policy, the thinking goes, without progressives actually running foreign policy.
Which is why a consortium of progressive foreign policy groups created the digital booklet for Biden’s transition team, a move Politico first reported.
“There’s no good reason for the president-elect not to hire all of them”
The effort was coordinated by the Center for International Policy’s Yasmine Taeb and Common Defense’s Alex McCoy. They each spent weeks coordinating among various organizations to identify 100 consensus picks to pitch to Biden’s transition team.
The proposed staffers are 65 percent women and people of color, and they come from left-leaning think tanks, activist organizations, and congressional offices.
McCoy is confident in the recommendations. “There’s no good reason for the president-elect not to hire all of them,” he told me. Biden now “has a compelling slate of options for staffing the national security agencies. The existence of this slate proves that anyone who claims there is no choice but to rely on personnel with more problematic views in order to staff these agencies with competent experts is wrong.”
“These are people who have a clear track record of commitment to the cause of fulfilling Joe Biden’s campaign promise to end the forever wars,” McCoy continued. “They’re people who have been foresighted about the previous mistakes in US foreign policy, which Joe Biden rightly wants to avoid repeating.”
It’s unclear how many of the people on this list might actually get jobs in the Biden administration or how senior they might be. But two names on the list — Matt Duss, Sen. Bernie Sanders’s national security adviser and a leading progressive foreign policy proponent, and Trita Parsi, a longtime advocate for a softer US approach toward Iran — will likely garner the most attention and controversy.
Duss was specifically recommended to either be the deputy national security adviser, potentially making him one of the top foreign policy officials in the government, or a senior adviser to Blinken at the State Department. Parsi, meanwhile, was put forward as the top National Security Council official for Iran policy, which would put him at the center of major decisions on America’s handling of the Islamic Republic.
Their years-long focus of prioritizing diplomacy toward Iran will surely worry proponents of a harder-line policy both in and out of government. However, the positions Duss and Parsi were recommended for don’t require Senate confirmation, so they would be eligible to serve if Biden wants them to.
Put together, the list of 100 names shows how seriously progressives have taken their effort to influence the Biden administration’s foreign policy. Whether or not the incoming president takes their advice and staffing suggestions could prove an early fault line in the growing intra-left fight over the future of America’s place in the world.


vox--2020-12-18--How the US government hack happened, and what it means, explained by an expert

Suspected Russian government hackers breached the computer networks of the US Defense Department .
The Commerce Department .
The Treasury Department .
The State Department .
Homeland Security .
Even the part of the Energy Department that oversees America ’ s nuclear arsenal .
And it appears they ’ ve had access since as far back as March .
It ’ s one of the largest and most brazen hacks in American history — and it may just be the beginning of a much larger global espionage effort .
What makes it even more troubling is that it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to .
Some experts believe it may take years before the hackers are completely out of the US government ’ s networks and the full extent of their spying efforts are understood .
And it gets worse : Reuters on Thursday reported that the hackers also gained access to Microsoft , which means anyone who uses their software could potentially be compromised .
This all sounds scary , and there really is reason for concern .
To better understand what we know , what the stakes are , and what all this could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Jason Healey .
Healey is a cybersecurity expert , a former Air Force officer and White House official , and the author of the first history of conflict in cyberspace .
In our conversation , he explained the underlying danger of it all : “ To put it in war-fighting terms : [ Vladimir ] Putin had us entirely at risk of attack , and we had zero idea.
” That ’ s bad enough , but it could get much , much worse , especially if the hackers also got @ @ @ @ @ @ @ multinational firms .
“ If the Russians were in these companies , especially Microsoft , I strongly suspect they ’ re also going to be in German , French , British , Japanese , and South Korean companies , ” he told me .
It ’ s possible , then , that “ this has only started.
” Our conversation , edited for length and clarity , is below .
Let ’ s start with the basics : What happened here ?
The Russians , knowing they would struggle mightily to get into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also members of the Fortune 500 — instead found that they all used the same software for network management , made by a company called SolarWinds .
Rather than trying to come in the front door , they hacked SolarWinds and inserted their own code into the software .
Then SolarWinds signed it and said , “ Yes , this is authentic SolarWinds software.
” Then all of those targets , and surely European and other democratic governments , also downloaded and accepted that Trojan horse unknowingly — and it ’ s been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it seem like US officials and many others suspect it was Russian , even though no one has officially attributed the hack to Russia yet ?
We can figure out attribution in many ways .
For example , it might be something technical , like the hackers left something behind in their code , or investigators could see that it had been compiled in Cyrillic .
Sometimes , we can just see they ’ re using the same infrastructure , they ’ re using the same means as others that we ’ ve @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up .
I ’ m a fan of the Ocean ’ s Eleven movies .
If you ’ re in the Ocean ’ s Eleven world and you know anything about art crime , you would know immediately if a robbery was done by Ocean ’ s gang or the Night Fox .
The same is true here .
In other cases , you can figure it out by context .
When the Russians went after Estonia , it was pretty clear who was attacking the Estonians , right ?
At least you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And last , there might be actual hard intelligence .
We might be in the Russians ’ networks and seeing what they did .
I suspect that in this case , attribution came because US officials saw the same tactics and techniques , the “ fingerprints ” of the Russian group Cozy Bear , that we ’ ve seen before .
They were probably able to quickly attribute the hack to them it because of that .
What can we suspect the hackers are doing inside the networks of all these federal agencies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ve likely been doing , and then there ’ s what they could have been doing .
First , they would have had to expand out the presence from just the SolarWinds software .
With SolarWinds , they would ’ ve had a great visibility into the networks they were in , like the Department of Homeland Security .
That ’ s useful , but not nearly as useful as it might be .
So then they would ’ ve had to set up ways to collect information and send it back out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of software that already is sending a lot of information around .
Therefore , the Russians were able to camouflage the information that they were stealing as part of that , it looks like .
They didn ’ t have to hire a human spy to try and get into the Department of Homeland Security and Commerce and Defense and the other places .
They were able to use the SolarWinds software to gain the access so they could just steal that information .
The first step , then , was getting into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was taking stuff away .
A lot of the comments I ’ ve seen have focused on how this is not an attack , this is espionage .
That ’ s absolutely right .
But imagine if this went undetected for another six months , and a new crisis arose .
Say , hypothetically , [ President-elect Joe ] Biden wanted to support pro-democracy demonstrators in Belarus after Russian President Vladimir Putin significantly backed the autocrat in power against those protesters .
With the access that Putin had with the SolarWind software — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , it ’ s even worse if they got into Microsoft — imagine the damage that Russia could do if it switched from espionage to disruption .
To put it in war-fighting terms : Putin had us entirely at risk of attack , and we had zero idea .
Why does the reported Microsoft hack appear to distress you so much ?
SolarWinds is deep in networks , and many companies use it for their “ plumbing , ” let ’ s say .
Microsoft isn ’ t just in a couple or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it ’ s in millions of places .
It ’ s everywhere .
The absolute worst case is if they were able to do to Microsoft what they did to SolarWinds , and when we use Microsoft email , we have accepted Russian code .
Potentially , then , everybody who ’ s using Microsoft 365 was compromised .
The amount of what you can do from a popular network management software to probably the most powerful technology company to ever exist , and one of the most powerful companies ever , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this hack go undetected for so long ?
In part because the Russians were pretty good .
I don ’ t want to say brilliant , but they were good enough to know what they needed to do to stay .
Also because this kind of software was already in so many of the places that they needed to go , like routers .
They were substantially helped just because they were going after network management software .
What kind of things might the hackers have access to ?
The upside is that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they were only in the unclassified networks , which would have given them a solid understanding about America ’ s unclassified work .
They were in the National Nuclear Security Administration ( NNSA ) of the Department of Energy , but only on the unclassified side , and we don ’ t have unclassified plans for nuclear warheads .
Those are all deeply classified .
They might now understand the inner workings of the NNSA : its organizational structure , who was traveling , and maybe things like unclassified strategic plans .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crown jewels like our warhead design .
We can say the same thing , hopefully , about the Department of Defense , of Commerce , of Treasury , and the rest .
By the way , it looks like we caught the Russians doing this , but who ’ s to say the Chinese don ’ t have some kind of similar access ?
I assume the US will retaliate for this espionage effort , and I ’ d also assume US officials are deep into Russian and whoever else ’ s networks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and after mid-January I think we can expect something .
[ President ] Trump so far hasn ’ t said anything about this .
I think there ’ s no doubt that there will be some retaliation as long as it doesn ’ t particularly violate any stated US norms .
The US is going to say we ’ re going to go back to Russian intelligence , maybe we ’ re going to try and knock down their home networks , we do additional sanctions and indictments , if we can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I would suspect a lot more aggression from US Cyber Command against the Russians instead of just stalking them for intelligence purposes , like actively moving to stop them wherever we can .
There is a risk that , when you confront adversaries , they ’ re going to burn it all down .
The North Koreans do this , for example .
They destroy your infrastructure rather than get kicked out of where you caught them .
It would surprise me if these hackers did that , but it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broader than we ’ ve already detected ?
I have no doubt that this , at least in the United States , is going to be a major shock .
But just wait until this hits Europe .
If the Russians were in these US companies , especially Microsoft , I strongly suspect they ’ re also going to be in German , French , British , Japanese , and South Korean companies .
This has only started .
What ’ s the big takeaway from all of this ?
This just demonstrates @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We have this critical dependency on a small bit of software that none of us have ever heard of , that all of a sudden has a vulnerability that someone attacks , and it ends up having this massive , system-wide impact .
Dan Geer , one of the smartest people in the cybersecurity business , said as society becomes more technological , it becomes increasingly dependent on “ distant digital perfection , ” basically meaning we need almost everything to be perfect in order not to be vulnerable — and of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ So let ’ s take this big picture .
It ’ s unlikely that our kids are going to have an internet that ’ s as open , secure , and resilient as the one that we have today .
With these kinds of attacks going on , and the amount of vulnerability that we have , things are going in a really , really bad direction .
This isn ’ t a sustainable way to run a global internet — it ’ s going to get messed up .

Suspected Russian government hackers breached the computer networks of the US Defense Department. The Commerce Department. The Treasury Department. The State Department. Homeland Security. Even the part of the Energy Department that oversees America’s nuclear arsenal.
And it appears they’ve had access since as far back as March.
It’s one of the largest and most brazen hacks in American history — and it may just be the beginning of a much larger global espionage effort.
What makes it even more troubling is that it’s still unclear precisely what they got access to. Some experts believe it may take years before the hackers are completely out of the US government’s networks and the full extent of their spying efforts are understood.
And it gets worse: Reuters on Thursday reported that the hackers also gained access to Microsoft, which means anyone who uses their software could potentially be compromised.
This all sounds scary, and there really is reason for concern. To better understand what we know, what the stakes are, and what all this could mean, I called up Columbia University’s Jason Healey. Healey is a cybersecurity expert, a former Air Force officer and White House official, and the author of the first history of conflict in cyberspace.
In our conversation, he explained the underlying danger of it all: “To put it in war-fighting terms: [Vladimir] Putin had us entirely at risk of attack, and we had zero idea.”
That’s bad enough, but it could get much, much worse, especially if the hackers also got into European systems and the networks of multinational firms. “If the Russians were in these companies, especially Microsoft, I strongly suspect they’re also going to be in German, French, British, Japanese, and South Korean companies,” he told me. It’s possible, then, that “this has only started.”
Our conversation, edited for length and clarity, is below.
Alex Ward
Let’s start with the basics: What happened here?
Jason Healey
The Russians, knowing they would struggle mightily to get into hard targets — the US government and also members of the Fortune 500 — instead found that they all used the same software for network management, made by a company called SolarWinds.
Rather than trying to come in the front door, they hacked SolarWinds and inserted their own code into the software. Then SolarWinds signed it and said, “Yes, this is authentic SolarWinds software.” Then all of those targets, and surely European and other democratic governments, also downloaded and accepted that Trojan horse unknowingly — and it’s been sitting there for months.
Alex Ward
Why does it seem like US officials and many others suspect it was Russian, even though no one has officially attributed the hack to Russia yet?
Jason Healey
We can figure out attribution in many ways. For example, it might be something technical, like the hackers left something behind in their code, or investigators could see that it had been compiled in Cyrillic.
Sometimes, we can just see they’re using the same infrastructure, they’re using the same means as others that we’ve seen, and we can match that up. I’m a fan of the Ocean’s Eleven movies. If you’re in the Ocean’s Eleven world and you know anything about art crime, you would know immediately if a robbery was done by Ocean’s gang or the Night Fox. The same is true here.
In other cases, you can figure it out by context. When the Russians went after Estonia, it was pretty clear who was attacking the Estonians, right? At least you could form a pretty good hypothesis.
And last, there might be actual hard intelligence. We might be in the Russians’ networks and seeing what they did.
I suspect that in this case, attribution came because US officials saw the same tactics and techniques, the “fingerprints” of the Russian group Cozy Bear, that we’ve seen before. They were probably able to quickly attribute the hack to them it because of that.
The methods used to carry out the cyberhack are consistent with Russian cyber operations.
But it’s crucial we have complete certainty about who is behind this.
We can’t afford to be wrong on attribution, because America must retaliate, and not just with sanctions. — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) December 18, 2020
Alex Ward
What can we suspect the hackers are doing inside the networks of all these federal agencies?
Jason Healey
There’s what they’ve likely been doing, and then there’s what they could have been doing.
First, they would have had to expand out the presence from just the SolarWinds software. With SolarWinds, they would’ve had a great visibility into the networks they were in, like the Department of Homeland Security. That’s useful, but not nearly as useful as it might be. So then they would’ve had to set up ways to collect information and send it back out.
Unfortunately, SolarWinds is the kind of software that already is sending a lot of information around. Therefore, the Russians were able to camouflage the information that they were stealing as part of that, it looks like. They didn’t have to hire a human spy to try and get into the Department of Homeland Security and Commerce and Defense and the other places. They were able to use the SolarWinds software to gain the access so they could just steal that information.
The first step, then, was getting into the right places. The second step was taking stuff away.
A lot of the comments I’ve seen have focused on how this is not an attack, this is espionage. That’s absolutely right. But imagine if this went undetected for another six months, and a new crisis arose. Say, hypothetically, [President-elect Joe] Biden wanted to support pro-democracy demonstrators in Belarus after Russian President Vladimir Putin significantly backed the autocrat in power against those protesters.
With the access that Putin had with the SolarWind software — and then, oh, my god, it’s even worse if they got into Microsoft — imagine the damage that Russia could do if it switched from espionage to disruption. To put it in war-fighting terms: Putin had us entirely at risk of attack, and we had zero idea.
Alex Ward
Why does the reported Microsoft hack appear to distress you so much?
Jason Healey
SolarWinds is deep in networks, and many companies use it for their “plumbing,” let’s say. Microsoft isn’t just in a couple or even tens of thousands of places, it’s in millions of places. It’s everywhere. The absolute worst case is if they were able to do to Microsoft what they did to SolarWinds, and when we use Microsoft email, we have accepted Russian code. Potentially, then, everybody who’s using Microsoft 365 was compromised.
The amount of what you can do from a popular network management software to probably the most powerful technology company to ever exist, and one of the most powerful companies ever, that’s really substantial.
Alex Ward
How could this hack go undetected for so long?
Jason Healey
In part because the Russians were pretty good. I don’t want to say brilliant, but they were good enough to know what they needed to do to stay. Also because this kind of software was already in so many of the places that they needed to go, like routers. They were substantially helped just because they were going after network management software.
Alex Ward
What kind of things might the hackers have access to?
Jason Healey
The upside is that — we suspect, fingers crossed — they were only in the unclassified networks, which would have given them a solid understanding about America’s unclassified work. They were in the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the Department of Energy, but only on the unclassified side, and we don’t have unclassified plans for nuclear warheads. Those are all deeply classified.
They might now understand the inner workings of the NNSA: its organizational structure, who was traveling, and maybe things like unclassified strategic plans. But they wouldn’t have gotten the crown jewels like our warhead design.
We can say the same thing, hopefully, about the Department of Defense, of Commerce, of Treasury, and the rest.
By the way, it looks like we caught the Russians doing this, but who’s to say the Chinese don’t have some kind of similar access?
Alex Ward
I assume the US will retaliate for this espionage effort, and I’d also assume US officials are deep into Russian and whoever else’s networks right now.
Jason Healey
We can assume so, and after mid-January I think we can expect something. [President] Trump so far hasn’t said anything about this.
I think there’s no doubt that there will be some retaliation as long as it doesn’t particularly violate any stated US norms. The US is going to say we’re going to go back to Russian intelligence, maybe we’re going to try and knock down their home networks, we do additional sanctions and indictments, if we can figure out whom to do that against.
I would suspect a lot more aggression from US Cyber Command against the Russians instead of just stalking them for intelligence purposes, like actively moving to stop them wherever we can.
There is a risk that, when you confront adversaries, they’re going to burn it all down. The North Koreans do this, for example. They destroy your infrastructure rather than get kicked out of where you caught them. It would surprise me if these hackers did that, but it’s possible.
Alex Ward
Could this hack be even broader than we’ve already detected?
Jason Healey
I have no doubt that this, at least in the United States, is going to be a major shock. But just wait until this hits Europe. If the Russians were in these US companies, especially Microsoft, I strongly suspect they’re also going to be in German, French, British, Japanese, and South Korean companies.
This has only started.
Alex Ward
What’s the big takeaway from all of this?
Jason Healey
This just demonstrates the amazing vulnerability of our digital societies. We have this critical dependency on a small bit of software that none of us have ever heard of, that all of a sudden has a vulnerability that someone attacks, and it ends up having this massive, system-wide impact.
Dan Geer, one of the smartest people in the cybersecurity business, said as society becomes more technological, it becomes increasingly dependent on “distant digital perfection,” basically meaning we need almost everything to be perfect in order not to be vulnerable — and of course everything is far from perfect.
So let’s take this big picture. It’s unlikely that our kids are going to have an internet that’s as open, secure, and resilient as the one that we have today. With these kinds of attacks going on, and the amount of vulnerability that we have, things are going in a really, really bad direction.
This isn’t a sustainable way to run a global internet — it’s going to get messed up.