#coronavirus live update

[bbctimesnews]

[tothepointofinsanity]

[I had one good day so of course it was expected that it would be another gloomy overcast this morning. Going to stay at home. Unread messages. Growing sense of worry. Sand in the grip of my palms. Maybe I just need to go to a beach.]

[The skies are very blue today. I was worried it would be grey out the whole morning.]

[counterintuitivecomics]

"Wear it and stay healthy," a comic about masking in solidarity with Palestinians. I made it for Steel Transplant's digital release COVID CAUTIOUS QUEERS ZINE 2 ($0+).

It's a collage of transparent printed text from news/science articles, magazine scraps, & marker drawings of posts by Muhammad Smiry & Omar Hamad. Title is a quote from Hala, a Palestinian girl who sold masks in Gaza until she was killed by Israel last June.

Support Muhammad, Omar, Care for Gaza, and Needle of Hope, and always MASK UP!

(Alt text in post, all sources under the cut:)

PAGE 1

White graph paper: "Her name is Ghazal, she sells masks everyday to make a living | Gaza" - Orig @MuhammadSmiry post (2/28/24):

Transparent text:

"white phosphorous" - Youmina Boukara et al, Gaza, armed conflict and child health, BMJ Pediatrics Open (2/12/24)

"two million Palestine refugees" - Masako Horino et al, Understanding coverage of antenatal care in Palestine: Cross-sectional analysis of Palestinian Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, 2019–2020, PLOS ONE (2/2/24)

"severe COVID" - Hatem A Hejaz, Palestinian strategies, guidelines, and challenges in the treatment and management of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), Avicenna J Med, (10/13/2020)

"60 times more likely" - “In Israel, you’re 60 times more likely to have a COVID vaccine than in Palestine” - Matthias Kennes for MFS (2/22/24)

PAGE 2:

White graph paper: "A little girl named Hala stopped me today and gave me this mask." - Post by @OmarHamadD (5/21/2024)

Transparent text:

"In this necroeconomy, lives are rendered and disposed of" - Nadia Naser-Najjab's book, "Covid-19 In Palestine: The Settler Colonial Context" (1/11/24)

Asma'a Adjerid's summary of the same book, MEDIA WATCH: BOOK (May 2024)

PAGE 3

White graph paper: "Didn't you know? She went to heaven three days ago." - Omar Hamad's 6/4/24 thread updating his post about Hala.

Transparent text:

"abduction of children" - Youmina Boukara et al, Gaza, armed conflict and child health, BMJ Pediatrics Open (2/12/24)

"long list of banned items" - ‘Long List of Banned Items’ – From Maternity Kits to Wheelchairs, Israel Blocks Gaza Aid (4/12/24)

"the implications are excruciating" - Tamara Qiblawi et al, Anesthetics, crutches, dates: Inside Israel's ghost list of items arbitrarily denied entry into Gaza, CNN (3/2/24)

PAGE 4

@OmarHamadD's thread about Rimas (8/12/24): https://x.com/OmarHamadD/status/1792981447889801725

Transparent text:

"US spends a record $17.9 billion on military aid to Israel since last Oct. 7" - Ellen Kickmeyer, CNN, (10/7/24)

The other small scraps are from the previously cited scientific papers & news articles.

PAGE 5

Brown paper:

"Wear it and stay healthy." - Hala, as quoted by @OmarHamadD (5/21/24)

Transparent paper:

Map of Palestine, with 2024 borders for Gaza and the West Bank.

"...freedom and justice...my true priority" - quote from Naser-Najjab, "COVID-19 in Palestine" (2024).

[seventeenmisaki]

stage name : misaki

birth name: kang hyunjin

> listed as hyunjin misaki kang in other sources

pronouns : she/her

position : main dancer, visual

birthday : december 25th, 1999

zodiac sign : capricorn

nationality : japanese, korean-american

sub-unit(s) : performance

instagram : @ kanghm

misaki facts !

> misaki was born in kyoto, japan.

> her family moved to long island, new york shortly after she was born.

> her family consists of her parents.

> misaki is half-japanese and half-korean.

> misaki goes by her japanese name/middle name most commonly. however, she does not mind if people use her first name.

> misaki has been a trainee under pledis since 2014.

> misaki was supposed to debut in a girl group under pledis in 2020, but the debut never happened due to internal problems and due to the coronavirus outbreak.

> misaki officially joined seventeen in april 2023 with their 10th mini album "fml".

> misaki is able to speak korean, english, and japanese.

> misaki is a former gymnast. she started when she was six and competed across the u.s.a. until she auditioned for pledis entertainment at the end of 2013.

> misaki started dancing when she was five at a studio in her hometown, but she was more focused on gymnastics rather than dancing.

> misaki auditioned for pledis by dancing to "because of you" by after school and "the boys" by girls generation. during her audition, she had to rap and sing for the first time.

> as a trainee, she started to learn how to produce music with woozi as one of her mentors.

> misaki is known to be very quiet, so sometimes she'll wander off on her own. the guys and staff members try to make sure that someone is with her at all times so she doesn't disappear.

> misaki is really shy at first, but she opens up once she is comfortable enough.

> misaki is really bad at contacting others through her phone because she keeps a lot of her notifications off. she had to compromise with s.coups to keep seventeen and other staff's notifications on.

> misaki's favorite activities are dancing, watching videos/tv, shopping.

> misaki does not know how to swim.

> misaki participated in several pledis artists's performances prior to her debut as a backup dancer. [link 1] [link 2]

> misaki takes classes at different dance studios when she has the opportunity to do so.

> misaki's favorite seventeen songs are: "fallin' flower", "cheers”, “_world”, “to you”, and many other songs.

> misaki's favorite "going seventeen" episodes are the "don't lie" series and "catch stock."

> she lives in a dorm with s.coups, joshua, and the8. update: she lives alone now since the others moved out, but all of the members visit her as much as possible. (author note: arrangements based off of a previous dorm arrangement).

return to masterlist

to be updated as needed

last update : feb 03, 2025

[blueberryinko]

How about this story idea/request??

Due to Covid + Quarantine, a boyfriend had been stuck over seas not being able to get back with her girlfriend back in the US (so imagine if the story took place today, that would of meant he was stuck in that other country for at least three years), only to finally get the opportunity to get back home.

He would get to his house where he and his girlfriend lives when when his went to finally see his gf again, he would see how quarantine had affected her; due to the need of money, she had to take jobs as a surrogate (with the current one being her 5th surrogate pregnancy with many, many multiples) with the cravings hitting her pretty hard, as she is now a heavily pregnant fat doughball, barely able to waddle and not being able to wear clothes due to her size (she also lactates a lot).

Then after a hard but loving conversation, the boyfriend admits that she loves the way his gf looks, with the couple getting into it.

Also you don’t have to write this, but maybe the boyfriend was stuck in Japan cause it was one of the first countries to get hit by COVID.

(Oh my fucking GOD this is so hot.)

Quarantine Gestator

(Minor reference to farting here only in the humorous sense, I promise)

“Can you believe I’m coming home soon?” Adam asked, looking at his computer screen, his girlfriend’s face showing on the monitor, though anything below her head was cut off.

“What- wait really?” Brie’s voice was pitchy and tinged with alarm, though she tried to mask it as enthusiasm. What would he say if he saw her like this? “Wh-when do you think you’ll be back?” She tried to probe gently, Adam not seeing his girlfriend’s nervousness. “Oh by next week at the latest.” He replied nonchanatly. “NEXT WEEK?” She yelped, her cheeks hot with embarrassment. “Oh my God, I- I can’t wait to have you b-back!” Truth be told she was dreading him coming back and seeing what a pig she’d made of herself.

Adam hadn’t seen his girlfriend in three years. The coronavirus pandemic had him stuck in Japan, only able to see her through Zoom calls. The time difference made it so that one of them was always tired and lethargic. She’d stopped showing her body a while back because ‘she’d grown too big to show ANYTHING off now.’ Being a professional surrogate, he’d gotten to see her belly grow with multiples twice over the pandemic, and he’d loved seeing every inch of her belly swell out larger and larger with half a dozen lives.

Being stuck in Japan hadn’t been all bad. Sure, the paper-thin walls of his apartment meant he could hear his neighbour blowing up her girlfriend like a hot air balloon, but the sights were still cool, he got delivery fresh from the restaurant across the way, and he’d managed to keep relatively healthy. The same couldn’t be said for his girlfriend.

“Hey honey, I’m ho-ome!” He called, opening the door to his apartment. “I-in here!” His girlfriend called. Last she’d updated him, she was seven months pregnant, and to his utter amazement, with eleven babies “Coming-holy shit babe!”

The sight Adam had walked into was.. really fucking hot. Brie had let herself go too much during the pandemic. She had REALLY let herself go. She was quite literally a huge ball of flab and baby, a doughball if he could make any such comparison. Adam felt his blood rush south as his jaw dropped, eyes wide. “B-brie.. baby, you look…”

Brie’s plump, round cheeks were a bright crimson, flapping her hands. Her body jiggled slightly as she did, completely humiliated by her titanic size. She was also, to Adam’s added arousal, completely naked, pink, puffy nipples gushing milk down her front. “Like a cow?” She knew it, she was a disgusting slob, she couldn’t even move of her own accord! Adam shook his head fervently. “No, god no, Brie, never! You look like a goddess!” He approached her, rubbing her soft, fat flesh gently. She cooed, sniffling. “You think so?”

“I know so,” Adam murmured. “You must have been so lonely.” He murmured. Quarantine had kept them apart for three years. “So.. when did you get, you know, this big?” He asked. Brie didn’t really know, but she could make an estimate. “Somewhere around a year and a half in? I think? I don’t know, I was carrying like seven babies back then, and my body just.. never lost the weight it gained. Doctors said my body was self-sustaining now at least, so there was that. I got used to it, but I didn’t want to show you my face, I love being like this, but I was so afraid you’d stop loving me.”

“Brie, how could I?” Adam reasoned. “You and I, six years we’ve been together, even longer we’d been best friends. I love you no matter how big or how small you are.” A kick from the babies made her body shudder, and Brie moaned. “What was it, thirteen babies in here this time?” He asked gently, kneeling to rub her belly. She confirmed with a nod. “Y-yeah, f-five families, a batch each.. the docs pumped me real full…” She moaned, the feeling of Adam’s hand orgasmic to her. She was so sensitive nowadays she could barely think, let alone waddle. Speaking of…

Her crotch dragged along the floor as she waddled. Small mews and whimpers escaped her as she did so, pounds and pounds of luscious, fatty flesh jiggling as she did so, the big butterball breeder simply unable to move under her own weight. Well, she could, just not for long. Adam caressed her belly as it met his hand. “So, you’re stuck like this?” Brie nodded, her chin hitting the thick layer of flab that was her divot. “For the rest of my life.”

“Then I’m moving you in to my place,” Adam decided. “We can get you a barn, some milking machines and an ultrasound room for you, I got a huge insurance payout from the airline after my flight delay.” Brie started to deny it, but Adam stopped her with a kiss. “Trust me babe, you can be my fat, bloated cow as long as you want.” Brie spluttered, “I don’t exactly like-nngggaaaahh!” She squealed as her clit throbbed, the weight of her pussy on the floor causing pressure in her underside.

“O-okay, I do like being like this.” Brie admitted quietly. Adam grinned, leaning down. He began to suckle from her teat, and Brie’s eyes went wide. “Oh, fuck, Adam!” She gasped as milk flowed down Adam’s throat. The babies kicked, and Brie wished they were theirs. Adam continued to drink, squeezing Brie’s golf-ball sized nipple, watching as a river of milk splashed down his girlfriend’s expanse, dripping down his chin. He stopped to take a breath, wiping his chin. “That.. tastes fucking amazing.” Adam grinned, rolling her further onto her belly.

“Adam-Adam, oh, sh-shit!” Brie shuddered, her entire frame reverberating as fat flesh slapped on her wooden floor. She flapped her hands, no longer in control of her body. The cold air wasted no time in chilling her sensitive, swollen labia, making her shiver. “C-cold, baby!” She whined. Adam leaned over, his hands over her head, fingers sinking slightly into her taut flesh. “I know love, want me to warm you up?” He asked gently.

Her coos were all the answer he needed, beginning to rub her belly. The sensation of dozens of unborn lives wriggling and shifting inside her caused her turgid frame to wobble, and she adored it. The fact that Adam seemed to be just as into it was a huge bonus for her. Her skin felt electric, his hands quickly warming her body. “Nnf- oh fuck!” She was a fat, baby baking blimp, and he was handling her like she was a modern angel, careful and loving.

“Fuck, you’re so big.” Adam hissed, playing with her fat belly. He wondered if her diameter would count as an entire baby bump in and of itself, layering kisses down her gut. “Aaanh!” Brie’s breath hitched, feeling him trailing down, down, down. Then, she felt hands on her underside. Then she was rolling. Her massive weight began to bowl around the room. “Uwaaaa…” If she could rub herself, she would. The feeling was heavenly, his hands manhandling her as she went. “Imagine what you’re gonna be like with MY babies inside you.” He growled possessively.

“A-Adam!” She started, and Adam watched as she babbled, her head coming around again to look at him from her divot. “You like that my big breeder?” She was helpless to him as she settled on her side. He kneeled down, taking her head in his hands and kissing her. “A-Adam, fuck, I want your babies!” She loved being a surrogate, but the primal, fertile side of her said she wanted her man’s babies cramming her womb, kicking and wriggling as they threatened to pop their big, fat mama.

“Oh I know baby, but don’t you like helping other families too? These babies are your gifts to the world, to people who want their own families.” Adam whispered, kissing her forehead. “Besides, you’re just a vessel now, right? What’s stopping anybody from, y’know, taking you as their breeder?” The teasing was too much. Brie’s pussy throbbed with need and her reddened cheeks heated further, sweat dripping down her chubby cheeks.

“N-nothing…” She mewed. Adam grinned, standing up. “Exactly, Brie. Nothing. Which means I can claim you.” She was rolling again, head over ass as she went, until her body pressed against the wall, her feet just barely touching the floor. Adam unzipped, his manhood threatening to tear his boxers in half. She couldn’t see it, but she sensed the shaft rubbing against her belly. “A-adam!” She needed him badly, and he knew it. Stripping off his boxers, he positioned himself.

“Such a big, fertile belly, gonna get so much bigger.” He teased, sliding his cock into her navel. She instinctively clenched around him, and he hissed. “Good girl, so fucking tight, aren’t you.” He loved how big her boobs had gotten, and as he fucked her belly, he leaned over, taking an engorged boob in his mouth. He squeezed and milk flooded his mouth. It was rich and almost like vanilla. “Adam, p-please-!” She gasped, flapping her hands. Adam kept a firm hold of her, pumping her for all her worth. She was surprised he was so eager, but she supposed her milk tank were just so big he couldn’t help himself.

Once he’d gulped down his fill, he wiped his mouth. He increased his speed, watching as she jiggled. He imagined her in the future, rolling about their house, moaning about how fucking pregnant he’d made her, his fat bred bride barely able to waddle under her weight. They’d have to get helpers, maybe maids. Those thoughts were naughty enough, and he could think of several ways they could help her. He was rigid, and Brie didn’t think he could get any bigger. “A-adam, gotta cum, g-gotta- please-!” She begged, vibrating visibly, creaking loudly.

SLAP, SLAP, SLAP- “Almost- there!” Adam came with a grunt- “UWAAA!” She came with a wet splash, shaking and shuddering as she rode out one of the longest orgasms she’d ever had. Brie gasped and panted for breath as it finally ended. She’d been pent up for a full two years and she was so glad she’d been able to cum. Adam wasn’t done yet though. And she was ready.

He rotated her body, grinning as her fat womanhood rose to meet him, her swollen underside glimmering with the slick results of her orgasm. Adam inserted a finger, testing. “Nggff!” She mewed, and he knew she was just if not more sensitive down here. “So wet.. all for me? Good baby baker.” He wasted no time in impaling her on his cock. She took him easily, and he was big enough that his head probed her cervix. He shifted his hips, pulsing inside her.

“A-adam, h-when did you get so— nyaaah! Big!?” She begged, alarmed at his size. He slowed, concerned he’d hurt her. “D-don’t stop!” She whimpered. He took it gentle, slow. Her heartbeat was so fast her skin was flush and hot, damp with sweat that dripped down her diameter. She was at the peak of her pleasure and she couldn’t believe how lucky she was. Any other man would surely have broken up with her, but not Adam. He sped up, fucking her vigorously. “Ngggh, nggh, graah!” He growled, her moans in tandem with his, plap, plap, plap, the slapping of their skin went. She couldn’t possibly get more pregnant than she was now, but he could certainly try.

“Breed me, breed me, fucking make me huge!” She begged, and as Adam came with a roar, her body billowed, stretchmarks becoming paler and harsher, her diameter straining and bulging to contain his gigantic load. She could feel his swimmers racing inside her, pumping her to the max. It was so much to bear that Adam fell back, taking her with him as she became plugged with his cock, sat right at the entrance to her cervix. “Whooaaa!” She squealed, landing on him with a soft whoomp.

He was pinned under her, and he wasn’t sure he could get up. They stayed like that for a while, Brie just enjoying being his cocksleeve, keeping his warmth enveloped in her puffy, pregnant lips. Then- “I really need to fart.” Adam admitted. Brie groaned. “Please don’t, please don’t-“ Too late, he’d already done it. “Babe!” She giggled, wrinkling her nose. “That’s so gross!” Adam laughed along with her, “C’mon, you’ve farted before too!” Brie squawked. “Yeah but not while someone has been inside my vagina!” The ridiculousness of the situation caught up to them and they couldn’t help but collapse into laughter.

Eventually Adam managed to roll her off of him, climbing on top of her. “Did you mean what you said?” She asked him. “About wanting your babies inside me?” Adam laid down on her belly, his head poking over the risen mountain of her cleavage. “Yeah. I love seeing you so fertile and fucked full of babies, but I want you to be my baby mama. Maybe exclusively just my babies one day.” He admitted. Brie bit her lip, before confessing something. “At the end of this pregnancy I get a thirteen million dollar payout. We could get married and start building our family.”

Adam gaped, before clambering over her breasts and kissing her. “You know how much I love you, right?” Brie mewed, kissing him back. And as his cock became stiff once again she raised an eyebrow. “Ready for round three? I wanna suck you instead this time.” And he did so eagerly.

-

Thirteen years later

“Belle, help me roll your mother to the truck!” Adam ordered. He helped his wife out of their mansion, the double doors built for her giant circumference. Their daughter rushed to help them. “Jesus Dad, was just trying to wrangle the octuplets! They’re being fussy with Millie and Jane again.” Their helpers were loyal friends to the family, but even they struggled with the twelve children the fat doughball of a woman had bred for Adam.

And she was very overdue with seven more, her body having delayed labour for a while to ensure the healthiest babies, somehow her body just knew, it was designed for incubating now. And finally it was time for the babies to be born so they had to drive a little ways up their land do the birthing house, where Adam and Brie could be in private for their new arrivals.

“Okay, go back and help them then, try and get them down for their afternoon nap?” Their daughter rushed off and Brie moaned through another contraction. “Baby stop worrying, we’ve done all this before..” She came with a grunt, another contraction tightening her diameter. Adam sighed. “I know, I just worry about you.” Brie chuckled. “Don’t, I know what I’m doing.” She murmured. As she was strapped into the truck, Adam rushed around to the driver’s seat.

Brie was a big, several hundred pound breeding blimp of a woman. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.

[willowreader]

https://www.healthcentral.com/condition/coronavirus/long-covid-is-a-chronic-disease

Yes, Covid is a chronic disease.

NEWSLETTERS

Medically Reviewed

It’s Official: Long COVID Is a Chronic Disease

A new report from the Social Security Administration and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine confirms that COVID can cause long-term illness and, for some, permanent disability. We spoke to one of the report’s leading scientists.

Updated Jun 21, 2024

By

Michele G. Sullivan

Medical ReviewerTabitha Woolpert, M.D., M.P.H.



Getty Images/wildpixel

Editor's note: HealthCentral first asked the question, “What If COVID Is Chronic?“ in early 2021. Millions were living with unusual, life-upending, and sometimes painful post-infection symptoms of COVID-19 that lingered for many weeks or months—even after a negative test suggested they’d cleared the virus. From those early days, we made it our mission to chronicle the emerging science of long COVID, documenting an increasing body of research that suggested long COVID might be a new category of chronic disease. In June 2024, the scientific community announced that for some, COVID can indeed be a chronic disease.

A new 265-page report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, commissioned by the Social Security Administration, confirms what some scientists have long suspected: Infection from COVID can lead to lingering symptoms and long-term, possibly permanent disability. The report officially categorizes long COVID as a chronic condition that requires new and better ways to diagnose it, treat it, and help pay to manage it as we continue to learn to co-exist with the threat that this ever-mutating virus brings to us, now and in the future.

Symptoms of chronic COVID, per the report, include shortness of breath, cough, persistent fatigue, difficulty concentrating, memory changes, recurring headache, lightheadedness, fast heart rate, sleep disturbance, problems with taste or smell, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea. These symptoms may present as diagnosable conditions including interstitial lung disease and hypoxemia, cardiovascular disease and arrhythmias, cognitive impairment, mood disorders, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), and more.

[allthebrazilianpolitics]

Lula government ends daily COVID-19 tracking in Brazil

Facing the clear threat of a worsening pandemic in Brazil, driven by the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant, the Workers Party (PT) government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has signaled its intention to declare the pandemic over and get the Brazilian population used to “living” with the coronavirus.

On February 16, the Health Ministry announced that it will start releasing COVID-19 data of cases, deaths and vaccination rates weekly and no longer daily, starting March 3. Trying to justify what in practice means a further departure from monitoring the pandemic in the country, the Health Ministry’s director of immunization, Eder Gatti, stated that only nine of the 27 Brazilian states update the data daily, which supposedly does not “allow an epidemiological analysis.” Still, he claimed,“We are not restricting data. ... What we want here is to facilitate the work with the data and send weekly data that is more accurate.”

This claim is patently false. If the Lula government had a genuine concern about the pandemic, the least it could do is coordinate a national effort and assist the states in implementing a system to monitor the pandemic on a daily basis, with a mass testing program, genetic sequencing of the variants in circulation, among other measures completely ignored by the “herd immunity” policy of the former fascistic President Jair Bolsonaro.

However, almost two months after taking office, the Lula government has not reversed the Bolsonaro government’s measures to prioritize corporate interests over human lives, including its ending of the National Public Health Emergency due to COVID-19 as early as April 2022. The Lula government has also failed to implement awareness campaigns about the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the importance of wearing quality masks and distributing them for free, as well as other basic public health measures that would have an almost immediate impact and could prevent cases and deaths.

Continue reading.

[stele3]

[coochiequeens]

Leaders in Bulgaria are letting women be killed instead of updating laws against domestic violence

SOFIA -- On March 9, Kristina Blagoeva, a 32-year-old woman from Bulgaria's capital, contacted the Animus Association, an NGO that offers counseling and support to victims of domestic violence. She told the organization that the previous day the man she was having a relationship with had threatened to kill her.

Less than a month later, her body was found in the trunk of a car, with two bullets in her chest. On April 7, her partner, Kaloyan Kaymakchiyski, was charged with her murder. The prosecutor's office said the most likely motive was that Blagoeva had ended the relationship. The case has reignited a debate in Bulgaria about the country's domestic violence law, which rights activists and legal experts say needs modernizing to better protect women and has resulted in the deaths of dozens of women. But despite efforts to change the law, conservative factions in parliament have blocked any changes that would bring EU member Bulgaria in line with European norms, citing "gender ideology" and "traditional Christian values." The major flaw in Bulgaria's legislation, activists say, is that while restraining orders can protect women from being stalked or abused, they can't be obtained by women like Blagoeva, who are neither married nor living with their partners.

Yulia Andonova from Bulgaria's PULSE Foundation, which supports victims of domestic violence, says the current domestic violence law "isn't working" and is an "outdated" understanding of human relationships that does not correspond to current realities. The existing law considers domestic violence to be "any act of physical, sexual, mental, emotional, or economic violence…committed against persons who are related, who are or have been in a family relationship or in a de facto marital partnership." That definition is not expansive enough, say those calling on lawmakers to amend the law. "Think about how many people there are in such a situation. They have boyfriends but do not live together, whether because they are young and still live with their parents, or they are divorced and have children and an independent lifestyle, or they just live separately, work a lot, and spend only the weekend together," Andonova says. While there are no official, agreed-upon statistics in Bulgaria on the number of domestic violence victims, Interior Minister Ivan Demerdzhiev said this month that cases were escalating. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting lockdowns, there was an increase in the number of domestic violence incidents reported worldwide.

In a November 2022 survey by the National Statistics Institute, 20 percent of Bulgarian women between the ages of 18 and 74 said they had experienced sexual, physical, or psychological violence by their current or former partner. One third of women aged 18 to 29 said they had experienced violence from an intimate partner.

After Blagoeva's killing, questions were asked in public and in the media about why the Animus Association hadn't reported the case to the police. Both the Animus Association and the PULSE Foundation said that if they had flagged the case to the Interior Ministry, Blagoeva probably would not have received the protection she needed -- and almost certainly not in time.

"If Kristina [Blagoeva] had filed such an application [for a restraining order], it is unlikely that any court would have allowed it to be considered at all," Katya Krastanova from the Animus Association told RFE/RL. Given that Blagoeva wasn't living with her partner, her case wouldn't be considered domestic violence under Bulgarian law.

Without being able to obtain a restraining order, the only other way for someone like Blagoeva to seek protection is to go to the police and report death threats and stalking. But both Krastanova and Andonova say that generally this is not effective. Unlike a restraining order in a domestic violence case, which is usually issued on the spot in Bulgaria, prosecutors would need to collect evidence to build a case before filing charges -- and that process can typically take months, too long for those, like Blagoeva, who are in acute need.

"In [Blagoeva's] case, she was a victim of psychological harassment, surveillance, and stalking, and of indirect threats to her life. These facts are extremely difficult to prove, and it takes a long time for the police [to investigate]," Krastanova said.

Bulgaria's approach is at odds with the main document that regulates protection against domestic violence in Europe, the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention. The convention, which Sofia has signed but not ratified due to cross-party concerns about recognizing a third gender and same-sex marriage, defines domestic violence as any act of violence "between former or current spouses or partners, regardless of whether the perpetrator lives or has lived together with the victim."

The 37 European countries that have signed and ratified the Istanbul Convention are required to implement a number of measures in order to prevent crimes, protect victims, and prosecute offenders.

Changes were proposed to Bulgaria's domestic violence law in 2022. Under the pro-Western government of Kiril Petkov, who served as prime minister from December 2021 to August 2022, the Justice Ministry launched a working group, including judges and NGO representatives. Among the proposed changes to the law was getting rid of the concept of "de facto marital cohabitation" and replacing it with an "intimate relationship," which would expand the scope of the law to include partners who did not live together.

The proposed change, however, was left out of the final version of the bill. The PULSE Foundation told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service that the proposal had been rejected by the ruling coalition partners, the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the populist There Is Such A People party, because people in homosexual relationships would be included in the concept of "intimate relationships" and also given the right to protection.

RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service asked both the Bulgarian Socialist Party and There Is Such A People about their positions on the proposed amendments but did not receive a response.

Since 2020, Bulgaria has been governed mainly by caretaker governments and has seen five parliamentary elections in the past two years.

Former Justice Minister Nadezhda Yordanova from the Democratic Bulgaria electoral alliance, a member of Petkov's coalition government, was among the submitters of the bill in the parliament. She declined to comment to RFE/RL on which of the then coalition partners were opposed to the law being amended. She did confirm, however, that opponents of the proposal said the possible inclusion of same-sex couples in the legislation was an issue but not the only one.

"The main problem was how to divide the genuinely long-term relationships from those that are short-term, random, and do not involve a lasting commitment," Yordanova told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service.

In the end, parliament never passed the bill. In January, invoking "traditional Christian values" and "gender ideology," lawmakers from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the center-right GERB party, the nationalist Bulgarian Rise party, and the far-right Revival party rejected the planned changes to the legislation.

Yordanova told RFE/RL that Democratic Bulgaria will attempt again in the future to have the law amended in parliament, with a new approach being worked on to satisfy "conservative" factions of society.

For women like Blagoeva, though, it all comes too late.

"It's absolute nonsense," says the PULSE Foundation's Andonova to reject a bill aimed at helping women because of vague fears of gender ideology. "We don't have a working law. Obviously, there is no political will for people to live with dignity in this country," Andonova said. "That's the ugly truth."

[dragoneyes618]

Dear Lorne,

A long time ago, you began your career as a television writer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, before moving to Los Angeles, and eventually getting a shot at producing Saturday Night Live in 1975. It’s important to remember that the odds of becoming as powerful and rich as you have is a longshot at best. A man who has garnered over 60 Emmys, produces several television shows and films, and has turned names like Sandler, Ferrel, Rock, Belushi, Chase, Radner and Murphy into very rich and famous people says something about your power.

But here’s the thing.

Spider-Man warned us that with great power comes great responsibility.

Now don’t get me wrong. No one loves a hard laugh more than me. In fact, for many years, I was the class clown, making jokes and getting laughs, having spent many hours in the principal’s office or detention. Sometimes, I went a bit far but ultimately, I knew where to draw the line. I’m not so sure that you do.

Last week, former Saturday Night Live star Cecily Strong backed out of playing Representative Elise Stefanik on the show because she was “uncomfortable” with the heavily criticized sketch. You know, the one where you mocked Rep. Elise Stefanik, the one person trying to stop blatant hatred of Jews. You could have mocked and castigated Mrs. “It depends on the context” Magill, the clown who couldn’t say a genocide against Jews constitutes bullying or harassment. Now that, Lorne, would have been funny. But don’t take my word for it. There were many people who were shocked at that decision.

Journalist Jake Wallis Simons asserted, “Can’t believe SNL decided to mock those demanding tougher action on Jew-hatred on campus rather than those making excuses for calls for genocide.”

Meghan McCain mentioned that there is a “400% increase in antisemitic hate crime since October 7th and SNL thinks it’s hilarious…This is vile. Vile.” Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn noted, “This is really appalling – [NBC] do you think antisemitism is acceptable as the punchline of a joke about American society? This needs to be investigated by the FCC.” Kevin Haggerty wrote, “The disconnect from humor caused by the ‘woke mind virus’ found Saturday Night Live taking heat for a ‘vile’ skit. This is no longer satire. This is propaganda.” The ADL has tracked multiple ‘Weekend Update’ jokes this season that inappropriately using Jews as the punchline.

In fact, a few years ago during the Corona crisis, host Michael Che “joked” about Israel’s coronavirus vaccine rollout: “Israel is reporting that they’ve vaccinated half of their population. I’m going to guess it’s the Jewish half.” The ADL told Fox News that “basing the premise of the joke on factual inaccuracies and playing into an antisemitic trope inspires the mass murder of countless Jews throughout the centuries.”

Lorne, we all appreciate that ratings are key. But you could have found a dozen things to make fun of, yet instead chose to mock someone who is defending your rights. And Lorne, I think we all know that if the victims of these three morally bankrupt school presidents were not Jewish but black, that skit never would have aired. Even Al Sharpton, hardly a close friend of Jews, agreed and commented that if this vitriol was directed toward the black community, buses and protests would immediately line the streets.

The question that begs to be asked is why? Why do you continually choose to satire and mock Jews when you are one yourself?

The NBC office and the Rockefeller walls are not immune to mobs of terrorists like the ones who ran through colleges chanting “death to Jews.” As history has shown us, Hitler didn’t discriminate between the Jews he gassed.

What’s worse, the humor fell flat and opened the door to more haters of Jews. The only people that should have been mocked were the three antisemites in sheep’s clothing. Instead, your writers castigated the one courageous woman who chose to stick up for Jews when practically everyone else remained silent. And she’s not even Jewish.

Rather than mock her, you should thank her for her courage in fighting injustices.

No one is asking you to give up your $500 million empire. No one is asking you to march in Washington or donate to an Israeli cause. Asking you to stop adding fuel to the fire of antisemitism is not a huge ask.

In many ways, G-d chose to place you in a powerful position to help. To make a difference. But perhaps without intending to do so, you hurt a lot of people who take these threats and attacks very seriously. In fact, we have 6 million reasons to take these actions very seriously. You could follow the lead of other powerful individuals, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Schwimmer, Steven Spielberg, Patricia Heaton, Debra Messing, Jamie Lee Curtis, Mayim Bialik, Amy Schumer, Jon Voight, Madonna, Adam Sandler, Michael Rapaport, or the countless others who have chosen to stand up against tyranny and hate. Yet, for some reason, you chose the opposite.

Perhaps the most ironic aspect is that you were born on a kibbutz before your parents emigrated to Toronto.

Imagine if they decided to stay on that kibbutz.

Imagine if your whole family was there on October 7.

Ten to one, I’ll bet it wouldn’t depend on context.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preseved in our archive (Daily updates!)

By Benjamin Mateus

Stanford University held a conference last month with the misleading title, “Pandemic Policy: Planning the Future, Assessing the Past.” Given the utter bankruptcy of the US and global policy in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, one would conclude that a discussion on how the world can address the current and future pandemics is of immense importance and has significant relevance to international public health policies.

However, the one-day conference held at the prestigious university was funded through Collateral Global and supported by Brownstone Institute, promoters of pandemic misinformation and COVID-19 contrarians. It was the opposite of a serious discussion on pandemic preparedness.

To place these organizations into a proper perspective, it bears noting that Robert Dingwall, a British sociologist who has been heavily promoted by Collateral Global, wrote on his blog in March 2020 that the elderly would be better off to die from COVID-19 than to be protected and later die from a degenerative disease like dementia. This was a thinly disguised version of fascistic eugenics—weeding out the “unfit” from society.

The Stanford symposium showcased a panel of discredited scientists and supposed policy health experts associated with the reactionary Great Barrington Declaration, better characterized as a manifesto of death, set on promoting the notion that no broad-based public health initiatives should have ever been undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic or when the next pandemic strikes.

At the core of the debunked “declaration” is the claim that there can be “focused protection” against the pandemic for those at high risk, which would allow those at minimal risk of death to lead normal lives while building up immunity to the virus through natural immunity.

Well-respected global health advocate Peter Hotez said of the conference, “This is awful, a full-on anti-science agenda (and revisionist history), tone deaf to how this kind of rhetoric contributed to the deaths of thousands of Americans during the pandemic by convincing them to shun vaccines or minimize COVID.”

These include discredited figures like Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, a Stanford public policy professor; Dr. Scott Atlas, former Trump administration adviser on the Coronavirus Task Force; and Anders Tegnell, Sweden’s former state epidemiologist, who advocated for a policy of mass infection to achieve “herd immunity” that had horrendous consequences on the population, in particular, the elderly and most frail. Tegnell’s most consequential remark during the conference gave the flavor of the event: “We have focused so much on mortality as a measure of outcome, but there are more important things.”

Included on the panel were Marty Makary, prominent Johns Hopkins University surgeon, who had repeatedly predicted that the population was on the verge of achieving natural immunity and the pandemic would thus come to an end. Also there was Oxford Professor of Epidemiology Sunetra Gupta, one of the original signers of the declaration with Bhattacharya, and Harvard University biostatistician Martin Kuldorff.

Graph compares COVID deaths in the US, Sweden and Norway (which adopted a far more rigorous pandemic mitigation program). [Photo: Our World in Data] Gupta has called for mass infection of the young and declared during the conference that her idea of focused protection had evolved into what she termed “individual risk reduction,” where each person would decide for him or herself the level of protection and mitigation they wanted to assume during a deadly outbreak. This is the literal opposite of public health, treating infection with a highly contagious and potentially lethal disease as a purely individual matter.

That institutions like Johns Hopkins, Harvard and Stanford are at the forefront of promoting such anti-science and anti-public health initiatives speaks to the deep political and moral decline in academic circles. Similarly, these “elite” institutions have embraced censorship and attacks on democratic rights of students protesting the US backing of Israel’s genocidal policies in Gaza.

Closing remarks at the Stanford conference were given by John Ioannidis, professor of epidemiology and one of the principal investigators of the fallacious, non-peer-reviewed Santa Clara County study, released in April 2020, which suggested that COVID-19 was no deadlier than the flu and that the pandemic measures to protect populations needed to be lifted forthwith.

At the time of that study, the COVID-19 pandemic was inundating the healthcare system of New York City. The CDC had noted that close to 20,000 people had died in the three-month window (March through May) with an overall crude fatality rate of 9.2 percent. Also, 30 percent of hospitalized patients with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 were known to have died.

Bhattacharya, who had locked arms with AFT President Randi Weingarten in forcing students and teachers back into schools in 2021 and served as a pandemic adviser to Florida’s fascistic Governor Ron DeSantis, attempted to sell the conference as a forum for people with opposing views coming together to air out their differences.

“What can we do in the future? The pandemic was by any measure a disaster,” he declared. Although he cited the correct number of deaths and economic turmoil caused by the pandemic affecting the poorest in the world, he blamed these losses, not on the failure to carry out systematic public health measures but on the measures themselves. It was a translation into academic jargon of the notorious declaration by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman that “the cure can’t be worse than the disease.”

Bhattacharya had the audacity to assert, “this conference was four years too late, but this is not too late, this is not the last pandemic the world will face.” The purpose of his efforts to codify the perspectives put forth by the Great Barrington Declaration is to ensure no real effort is taken by any government to address any threat, including the current bird flu outbreak that threatens to ignite another pandemic.

His ideas have nothing to do with the field of epidemiology or any scientific comprehension of the nature of pandemics. If he has a bone to pick with the Biden administration and its response to the pandemic is that Biden and Harris did not adopt the mass infection policy officially from the beginning, but only implemented it piecemeal.

Additionally, Bhattacharya has positioned himself as a fellow traveler with the anti-vaxxers promoting the false notion that the current mRNA vaccines are unsafe and the process through which they were brought forward violated safety measures which is patently false.

He wrote for the Brownstone Institute a report published on November 16, 2022, stating, “The Biden plan enshrines former president Donald Trump‘s Operation Warp Speed as the model response to the next century of pandemics. Left unsaid is that, for the new pandemic plan to work as envisioned, it will require us to conduct dangerous gain-of-function research. It will also require cutting corners in the evaluation of the safety and efficacy of novel vaccines. And while the studies are underway, politicians will face tremendous pressure to impose draconian lockdowns to keep the population ‘safe’.”

Scott Atlas blurted out the real purpose of the conference. Reading a prepared statement, he said that the lockdowns failed to stop the dying, and they failed to stop the spread. He blamed the economic lockdowns for the excess deaths rather than the virus. He blamed Dr. Anthony Fauci for implementing the lockdowns and not enforcing “targeted protection.”

Atlas later also called for complete US divestment from the World Health Organization and called for the termination of all middle-level scientists at the CDC, for which he received applause from his colleagues on the panel.

The Stanford conference was entirely divorced from the actual history of the pandemic, particularly its early weeks. The initial outbreak of COVID in Wuhan showed it was propagated by airborne transmission and was both highly contagious and lethal.

When, on January 30, 2020, the WHO declared the outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, Europe, the US, and other countries chose not to act. They could have rapidly eliminated and eradicated the virus but did nothing until the virus had spread globally and began its deadly rampage.

It was in early March, six weeks later, with the horrific scenes emerging out of Italy that prompted the working class to demand a shutdown. Auto workers took the lead in many countries, including the United States and Canada, and it was only out of fear of a mass rebellion among workers internationally that the ruling elites were forced to respond with limited lockdowns to stem the tide of infections.

The Great Barrington Declaration, the right-wing campaigns against mask and vaccine mandates and last month’s conference at Stanford were essentially rooted in fear of the independent initiative of workers insisting on serious in public health measures. The populist demagogy about allowing people the “freedom” to work in the midst of a deadly pandemic cannot disguise what is a fundamentally anti-working class perspective.

The maliciously false point being driven home by the organizers of the conference was that social interventions—masking, closure of schools and businesses, lockdowns, and maintaining social distancing—were worse than the disease, despite studies that have shown when such policies were actually implemented, they saved many, many lives.

As one 2023 study published in The Lancet found, in the period from January 1, 2020, to July 31, 2022, Hawaii, with stricter anti-COVID measures, saw 147 deaths per 100,000 compared to 581 per 100,000 in Arizona and 526 per 100,000 in Washington D.C. The national rate was 372 deaths per 100,000.

Similar conclusions were reached in a more recent comprehensive study that evaluated state by state in the US comparing restrictions in place and impact on excess deaths. As the authors of that study noted, “COVID-19 restrictions were associated with substantial reductions in excess pandemic deaths in the US. If all states had weak restrictions, as defined in the Methods section, estimated excess deaths from July 2020 to June 2022 would have been 25 percent to 48 percent higher than if all had imposed strong restrictions. Behavioral responses provided a potentially important mechanism for this, being associated with 49 percent 78 percent of the overall difference.” This last part of the statement underscores the importance of open channels of communications and an all-in approach to such matters. Public health is first and foremost a social concern.

And still another study published in January 2022 found that the impact of the limited measures employed saved between 870,000 to 1.7 million Americans.

The most insidious issue that the COVID-19 contrarians fail to mention is that herd immunity is not achievable with a virus like SARS-CoV-2, which mutates so rapidly, and the issues raised by Long COVID and reinfections with the concomitant long-term health impacts that will debilitate the population are not even considered. Current estimates place the number of those suffering from Long COVID across the globe at over 410 million as of the end of 2023.

The response to pandemics requires a social investment in public health on an international scale. The global nature of the economy poses that a national approach as was seen in China and its Zero COVID policy cannot withstand an anti-public health policy that is imposed on the global population. This raises the need for a socialist perspective not only to the global economy but to the global health of the working class.

[mariacallous]

In the first four months of the Covid-19 pandemic, government leaders paid $100 million for management consultants at McKinsey to model the spread of the coronavirus and build online dashboards to project hospital capacity.

It's unsurprising that leaders turned to McKinsey for help, given the notorious backwardness of government technology. Our everyday experience with online shopping and search only highlights the stark contrast between user-friendly interfaces and the frustrating inefficiencies of government websites—or worse yet, the ongoing need to visit a government office to submit forms in person. The 2016 animated movie Zootopia depicts literal sloths running the DMV, a scene that was guaranteed to get laughs given our low expectations of government responsiveness.

More seriously, these doubts are reflected in the plummeting levels of public trust in government. From early Healthcare.gov failures to the more recent implosions of state unemployment websites, policymaking without attention to the technology that puts the policy into practice has led to disastrous consequences.

The root of the problem is that the government, the largest employer in the US, does not keep its employees up-to-date on the latest tools and technologies. When I served in the Obama White House as the nation’s first deputy chief technology officer, I had to learn constitutional basics and watch annual training videos on sexual harassment and cybersecurity. But I was never required to take a course on how to use technology to serve citizens and solve problems. In fact, the last significant legislation about what public professionals need to know was the Government Employee Training Act, from 1958, well before the internet was invented.

In the United States, public sector awareness of how to use data or human-centered design is very low. Out of 400-plus public servants surveyed in 2020, less than 25 percent received training in these more tech-enabled ways of working, though 70 percent said they wanted such training. 

But knowing how to use new technology does not have to be an afterthought, and in some places it no longer is. In Singapore, the Civil Service Training College requires technology and digital-skills training for its 145,000 civilian public servants. Canada’s “Busrides” training platform gives its quarter-million public servants short podcasts on topics like data science, AI, and machine learning to listen to during their commutes. In Argentina, career advancement and salary raises are tied to the completion of training in human-centered design and data-analytical thinking. When public professionals possess these skills—learning how to use technology to work in more agile ways, getting smarter from both data and community engagement—we all benefit.

Today I serve as chief innovation officer for the state of New Jersey, working to improve state websites that deliver crucial information and services. When New Jersey’s aging mainframe strained under the load of Covid jobless claims, for example, we wrote forms in plain language, simplified and eliminated questions, revamped the design, and made the site mobile-friendly. Small fixes that came from sitting down and listening to claimants translated into 48 minutes saved per person per application. New Jersey also created a Covid-19 website in three days so that the public had the information they wanted in one place. We made more than 134,000 updates as the pandemic wore on, so that residents benefited from frequent improvements.

Now with the explosion of interest in artificial intelligence, Congress is turning its attention to ensuring that those who work in government learn more about the technology. US senators Gary Peters (D-Michigan) and Mike Braun (R-Indiana) are calling for universal leadership training in AI with the AI Leadership Training Act, which is moving forward to the full Senate for consideration. The bill directs the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the federal government's human resources department, to train federal leadership in AI basics and risks. However, it does not yet mandate the teaching of how to use AI to improve how the government works.

The AI Leadership Training Act is an important step in the right direction, but it needs to go beyond mandating basic AI training. It should require that the OPM teach public servants how to use AI technologies to enhance public service by making government services more accessible, providing constant access to city services, helping analyze data to understand citizen needs, and creating new opportunities for the public to participate in democratic decisionmaking.

For instance, cities are already experimenting with AI-based image generation for participatory urban planning, while San Francisco’s PAIGE AI chatbot is helping to answer business owners' questions about how to sell to the city. Helsinki, Finland, uses an AI-powered decisionmaking tool to analyze data and provide recommendations on city policies. In Dubai, leaders are not just learning AI in general, but learning how to use ChatGPT specifically. The legislation, too, should mandate that the OPM not just teach what AI is, but how to use it to serve citizens.

In keeping with the practice in every other country, the legislation should require that training to be free. This is already the case for the military. On the civilian side, however, the OPM is required to charge a fee for its training programs. A course titled Enabling 21st-Century Leaders, for example, costs $2,200 per person. Even if the individual applies to their organization for reimbursement, too often programs do not have budgets set aside for up-skilling.

If we want public servants to understand AI, we cannot charge them for it. There is no need to do so, either. Building on a program created in New Jersey, six states are now collaborating with each other in a project called InnovateUS to develop free live and self-paced learning in digital, data, and innovation skills. Because the content is all openly licensed and designed specifically for public servants, it can easily be shared across states and with the federal government as well.

The Act should also demand that the training be easy to find. Even if Congress mandates the training, public professionals will have a hard time finding it without the physical infrastructure to ensure that public servants can take and track their learning about tech and data. In Germany, the federal government’s Digital Academy offers a single site for digital up-skilling to ensure widespread participation. By contrast, in the United States, every federal agency has its own (and sometimes more than one) website where employees can look for training opportunities, and the OPM does not advertise its training across the federal government. While the Department of Defense has started building USALearning.gov so that all employees could eventually have access to the same content, this project needs to be accelerated.

The Act should also require that data on the outcomes of AI training be collected and published. The current absence of data on federal employee training prevents managers, researchers, and taxpayers from properly evaluating these training initiatives. More comprehensive information about our public workforce, beyond just demographics and job titles, could be used to measure the impact of AI training on cost savings, innovation, and performance improvements in serving the American public.

Unlike other political reforms that could take generations to achieve in our highly partisan and divisive political climate, investing in people—teaching public professionals how to use AI and the latest technology to work in more agile, evidence-based, and participatory ways to solve problems—is something we can do right now to create institutions that are more responsive, reliable, and deserving of our trust.

I understand the hesitance to talk about training people in government. When I worked for the Obama White House, the communications team was reluctant to make any public pronouncements about investing in government lest we be labeled “Big Government” advocates. Since the Reagan years, Republicans have promoted a “small government” narrative. But what matters to most Americans is not big or small but that we have a better government.

[daancienttime]

The Devastating Impact of Coronavirus on Greek Mythology Girls

Greek Mythology Girls Blog, like many other websites, relied heavily on user-generated content and active community participation. However, with the pandemic spreading across the world, people's lives were disrupted, and priorities shifted. As the health crisis escalated, the interest and engagement of readers dwindled. Many followers faced personal hardships, including health issues, financial struggles, and emotional stress, which understandably diverted their attention away from the blog.

The pandemic's consequences were felt by the blog's contributors as well. Writing and researching content on ancient mythology required focus, creativity, and emotional investment. Unfortunately, the pandemic's anxieties and restrictions made it difficult for writers to maintain their usual levels of productivity and dedication. Some contributors might have faced job losses or increased workload due to shifting work dynamics, leaving them with little time or energy to contribute to the blog.

Another crucial aspect that impacted the blog's reach was the surge in misinformation and sensationalism during the pandemic. With numerous myths and misconceptions about the virus circulating, readers might have been skeptical of consuming content, even if it pertained to mythology. The climate of uncertainty caused people to seek out factual information about the pandemic, often overlooking or dismissing leisurely pursuits like the Greek Mythology Girls Blog.

Furthermore, the pandemic significantly altered online content consumption patterns. People found themselves spending more time on social media and news websites, trying to stay updated on the rapidly changing situation. As a result, niche platforms like the Greek Mythology Girls Blog struggled to compete for attention in an increasingly crowded online space.

The financial impact of the pandemic also affected the blog's operations. Advertisers, who were themselves dealing with economic challenges, reduced their spending on non-essential platforms like the blog, leading to a decline in revenue. As a result, the blog faced resource constraints, hindering its ability to adapt and overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic.

Despite these setbacks, the Greek Mythology Girls Blog attempted to adapt to the new reality. They might have shifted their focus to discussing how ancient myths and legends could provide valuable insights and comfort during challenging times. They could have also used their platform to raise awareness and funds for pandemic-related causes or support their writers who were facing difficulties.

As the pandemic eventually receded, there might have been opportunities for the blog to regain its footing. The enduring allure of Greek mythology and a sense of community amongst its followers could have helped revitalize the platform. Additionally, they could have explored innovative ways to diversify content, engage with readers, and expand their reach.

[hadit93]

Scarlet Imprint, Peter Grey, and Gordon White. An Update.

Some time ago I wrote a post about Peter Grey and Gordon White concerning a video for Gordon's course which they released publicly. Towards the end of this video Peter Grey said something regarding the language of division which I still disagree with now. I believe labels should be applied where a certain behaviour is being exhibited so that we can make a judgement about that person and whether we want them around our circle.

This being said, I do believe my own reaction to these words was reactionary and also I have to admit, they were fuelled and inspired by others who had shown the clip to me and it seemed to inspire me to really go into attack mode. Something I take little joy in doing and try to avoid as much as possible. The post got reblogged and it seemed a lot of people agreed with my stance, but also, a lot just wanted to hate on Grey and his work for reasons that were not all that justified in my opinion. I even stated in my post that I quite enjoyed his work, his work is not of issue to me. His words in this video were of issue to me, however, I also did not reach out to him directly and asked for an explanation. I took a short snippet of a conversation and assumed I knew his moral compass from such a small insight into his thoughts.

This is fundamentally wrong to do, I have judged someone prior to knowing their actual stance or giving them a chance to defend themselves. I have engaged in a cancel culture surrounding Grey and Scarlet Imprint and I do not want to be involved in that.

I have deleted the post, however, I cannot delete the reblog. I hope that if anyone who did reblog the post will delete it for me.

I still disagree with Grey on this occasion, however, I apologise to him for my words and quick-to-judge attitude on the occasion in question. And for jumping on the bandwagon at the time. It was wrong of me to do, and also not in line with how I like to conduct myself. There are reasons I was keen to do so at the time, however, I do not wish to go into them as they are personal in nature and were caused by myself rather than any third party.

I would also like to apologise to Gordon White. I still believe his views on the Coronavirus are wrong. But I should not have dismissed his entire work because I disagree with one of his ideas or opinions. I believe his opinion could be damaging, but only to adults who should have the mental capacity to make their own informed choices. In this instance, it is none of my business what he or others believe. Again some of my anger came from reasons such as a family member nearly dying from this virus he was stating didn't exist or 'wasn't that bad'. It has ruined lives and at that time I was angry.

These people have absolutely no idea who I am, probably never read the post in question, and will most likely never read this. However, apologising in this instance feels like the correct thing to do- I can disagree with someone's ideas and still enjoy their work. Crowley being a prime example.

This post is long overdue, I apologise for that too. I meant to address this much sooner. I wish Grey and White the best in their future endeavours.

[fromdevcom]

COVID-19 global pandemic has been responsible for presenting businesses with unprecedented challenges. It has impacted every industry, and we understand that numerous organizations are reeling under the pressure of an unstable economy. Small businesses across the globe are reeling under the impact of COVID-19. Small organizations have encountered financial challenges, and they have been compelled to adapt to and implement novel forms of selling.  As small businesses are gradually navigating through the coronavirus scene and preparing to see the end of the pandemic, they are looking for various ways of strategizing to get the maximum out of the current situation. Let us discuss a few helpful tips for guiding your business toward boosting sales despite the dire circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 has been like a shock to your business. As per the statistics, presented by a study conducted by SHRM, around 62 percent of small businesses have experienced a dip in revenues since the beginning of COVID-19. For tackling this sudden cash flow change, it may be necessary to modify other processes like marketing mindset and stratagems. Mike Giannulis Offers Marketing Tips to Tackle COVID-19 Situation The COVID-19 global pandemic has drastically transformed the businesses and lives of consumers as well. With the new normal, organizations are thinking of new ways of marketing to customers. You may consider using these valuable marketing tips for businesses to survive, sustain, and thrive through COVID-19. Focus on Reassuring Your Clients Your clients are your most valuable business asset. Without them, you cannot succeed as a business. Under these dire circumstances, organizations are facing uncertainty. Now is the time to focus on reassuring your customers that your business is steady, and there is no threat to its integrity. You must reassure your clients that you are forever there for them.  It is best to keep in touch with your customers. You should inform them how your business is taking proactive steps to combat the COVID-19 crisis. You may keep sending email updates, posting updates on social media regularly. Your clients would be happy to get the updates and appreciate your sensitivity toward the existing pandemic crisis says Michael Giannulis. Be Innovative & Creative The COVID-19 situation is certainly not the best time to concentrate your attention and remain loyal to your previous marketing stratagems. It is the right time for taking risks and coming up with creative and innovative marketing tactics. You may win a competitive edge over the others if you adopt a unique approach to marking your goods and services. If you jazz up your marketing endeavors, it can help in attracting brand new clients and maintaining a thriving business even during COVID-19. Boost Your Efforts on Social Social media has been the king even before the sudden advent of the coronavirus pandemic. A huge chunk of Americans, almost 79 percent, seems to have impressive social media business profiles online. This number is consistently going up as more and more people are going virtual during the global pandemic. Boost your interactions and activities on social media by: Starting or joining conversations. Using paid advertisements and sponsored posts. Posting frequently. Having an online contest. Keeping all your clients in the loop by providing store updates. Promoting limited-time or special offerings. Conclusion With the COVID-19 onslaught continuing across the globe, your organization must make necessary changes for mitigating losses and boosting sales. Businesses can thrive if they communicate with clients regularly, cater to new customer requirements, plan effectively, and adjust marketing stratagems.