COUP-COUP-KA-CHOO December 9, 2020December 9, 2020 This is the article by Zeynep Tufekci in the Atlantic that everyone is reading. Remember “I Am The Walrus?” This isn’t that.* On the evening of September 11, 1980 [she begins], my mom was approached by a neighbor who held rank in the Turkish military. He told her to stock up on bread and rice. “Oh, another coup,” she immediately groaned. The neighbor was aghast—he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone what was coming. But my mom, of course, had immediately understood what his advice must have meant. Turkey is the land of coups; this was neither the first nor the last coup it would face. . . . . . . When Biden takes the presidential oath in January, many will write articles scolding those who expressed concern about a coup as worrywarts, or as people misusing terminology. But ignoring near misses is how people and societies get in real trouble the next time . . . Alarmism is problematic when it’s sensationalist. Alarmism is essential when conditions make it appropriate. So worth reading the whole thing. WheelTug picked up Royal Brunei Airlines — 9 more planes in queue. That’s tiny, of course, but I dutifully report on each inch . . . by inch . . . by inch. The Best Luxury Beauty Gifts For The Holiday Season. Sure, French Royal is only #16 . . . but look at the company we’re in! Dior! Swarovski! Hermès! Want something cheaper? Try Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience . . . with which (unlike French Royal) I have no connection. I just love it. *Well, and that wasn’t either, but for more than half a century I heard “Koo-koo-ka-choo.” It’s apparently “Goo goo g’joob.” Who-who-ka-knew? But you’re missing the point: read her article.