#coronavirus curbs

[newscast1]

China slams 'distorted' reports on Covid response, eases further curbs

China slams ‘distorted’ reports on Covid response, eases further curbs

China will resume issuing passports for tourism in another big step away from anti-Covid controls, that isolated the country for almost three years, as it further eases curbs amid a massive spike in infection. A health worker waits for people to take swab samples to test for the Covid-19 coronavirus inside of a compound in the Jing’an district in Shanghai. (Photo: AFP) By India Today Web Desk:…

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

By Hugo Francisco de Souza

New research shows that COVID-19 survivors, especially older adults and non-hospitalized patients, are at an increased risk for chronic fatigue syndrome—underscoring the need for comprehensive care for vulnerable populations.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Infection and Public Health, researchers carried out a retrospective cohort study comprising 3,227,281 pairs of patients with and without COVID-19 from a larger dataset of over 115 million patients to investigate the associations between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) infections and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) risk, particularly in the presence of comorbidities.

Cox proportional hazard models revealed that patients with prior SARS‑CoV‑2 infections were at increased risk of contracting CFS (HR = 1.59), with adults above the age of 65, Asians (HR = 1.75), females, and those with comorbidities including diabetes, obesity, hypertensive disease, and hyperlipidemia being identified as the highest risk populations. The omicron variant was associated with slightly higher CFS risk (HR = 1.40) than older SARS‑CoV‑2 strains (alpha HR = 1.33, delta HR = 1.40), with risk levels for Omicron similar to Delta, despite Omicron typically causing milder acute illness.

Furthermore, contrary to previous studies, this research found that non-hospitalized patients had a higher risk of developing CFS (HR = 1.64) compared to those who were hospitalized (HR = 1.22), challenging assumptions that more severe initial infections increase long-term fatigue risk.

Background

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains one of the worst in human history, infecting more than 700 million humans and claiming more than 7 million lives in only four years. While social distancing measures and vaccination campaigns have substantially curbed disease spread and dampened infection severity, many COVID-19 survivors report persistent or novel symptoms that cause debilitation for months or years following initial infection recovery.

Alarmingly, these conditions, collectively termed “long COVID,” are estimated to plague up to 78% of survivors, leaving them with chronic chest pain, lung diseases, muscle aches, and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). While studies aimed at establishing the association between SARS‑CoV‑2 infection and CFS risk have been carried out, none have evaluated the effects of covariates, particularly comorbidities and other preexisting medical conditions.

A growing body of evidence suggests the positive feedback loop between long COVID and other chronic conditions, observing that the presence of one increases the risk and severity of the other. Furthermore, long COVID is a multi-organ condition, highlighting the need for comprehensive, extensive cohort investigations into the associations between CFS and long COVID risk factors.

The present study uses an extensive cohort (COVID-19 cases; n = 3,227,281 pairs) across a spectrum of infection severity, age, sex, race/ethnicity, vaccination status, and comorbidities to establish the risk associations between prior COVID-19 infections and CFS risk. Study data was obtained from the United States (US) TriNetX database, a collaborative network comprising electronic health records of more than 115 million patients, between January 2020 and December 2023. Participant selection was carried out by first identifying CFS patients from the database (n = 3,227,281) and then 1:1 propensity score-matching (PSM) matching them with CFS-free patients (non-COVID-19 controls).

Relevant data included demographics, infection and comorbidity diagnoses, ongoing medications, procedures, and laboratory test results. Covariates under investigation included age, sex, COVID-19 vaccination status and disease severity, hypertensive diseases, race, ischemic heart diseases, hyperlipidemia, cerebrovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and depression. Patients were further divided into subcohorts based on the wave (alpha, delta, or omicron) of initial SARS-CoV-2 infection. The outcome of interest was medically confirmed CFS diagnoses.

Standardized Mean Differences (SMD) were used to compare covariates across COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 participants, with Kaplan–Meier analysis computing CFS incidence rates and univariate Cox proportional hazard models computing hazard ratios (HRs; CFS risk) in case and control cohorts.

Study findings

Of the 115,675,909 patients represented in the TriNetX database, 3,227,281 were confirmed to have experienced a prior COVID-19 infection and were included as cases. All cases were 1:1 PSM to COVID-free controls, doubling the size of the study dataset. Cases were predominantly female (54.4%), White (58.7%), and had a history of hypertensive disease (17%). Furthermore, obesity (8.1%), type 2 diabetes mellitus (7.8%), hyperlipidemia (14.2%), and depression (5.5%) were frequently observed as COVID-19-associated comorbidities.

SMD analysis and HRs revealed that COVID-19 patients presented both higher incidence (~0.6%) and risk (~59%, HR = 1.59) of CFS compared to non-COVID-19 ones. Notably, significant variable-associated differences in CFS risk were observed, with patients aged 65 and older (HR = 1.74), female sex (HR = 1.62), and Asian (HR = 1.75) patients revealed to be at highest CFS risk. Unvaccinated patients (HR = 1.62) were found to be more likely to contract CFS than vaccinated (HR = 1.25) ones. Contrary to previous research, non-hospitalized patients had a significantly higher risk of developing CFS (HR = 1.64) than those hospitalized (HR = 1.22), which may suggest that early medical care during acute infection mitigates long-term fatigue risk. This is one of the first reports of race/ethnicity altering post-COVID-19 CFS risk.

Omicron and delta variant patients were found to be at slightly higher CFS risk (HR = 1.40, respectively) compared to alpha variant patients (HR = 1.33), with Omicron showing similar risk levels to Delta despite typically causing less severe acute illness. Infection severity outcomes on HR ranged from 1.22 (the most severe infection requiring immediate hospitalization) to 1.64 (no hospitalization required).

Conclusions

The present study uses a cohort of more than 6 million patients to elucidate the risk associations between COVID-19 and its comorbidities and subsequent CFS risk. Supporting previous research, the study established a higher CFS risk (HR = 1.59) in COVID-19 patients compared to their COVID-19-free counterparts. Unlike earlier studies, this research highlighted the significant influence of race, with Asian patients showing the highest CFS risk (HR = 1.75), and emphasized the importance of comorbidities, with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) also contributing to increased risk (HR = 1.43), in addition to the known comorbidities of obesity, diabetes, and hypertension.

The findings on hospitalization severity were unexpected, as non-hospitalized patients had a significantly higher risk of developing CFS (HR = 1.64) compared to those hospitalized on the same day (HR = 1.22), suggesting that prompt medical care during acute infection may mitigate long-term fatigue risk.

Together, these findings provide a comprehensive evaluation of the landscape of CFS risk, helping clinicians better understand the needs of COVID-19 patients and potentially improving their quality of life.

Study Link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876034124002934

[beardedmrbean]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. federal judge on Tuesday restricted some agencies and officials of the administration of President Joe Biden from meeting and communicating with social media companies to moderate their content, according to a court filing.

The injunction came in response to a lawsuit brought by Republican attorneys general in Louisiana and Missouri, who alleged that U.S. government officials went too far in efforts to encourage social media companies to address posts they worried could contribute to vaccine hesitancy during the COVID-19 pandemic or upend elections.

The ruling said government agencies like the Department of Health and Human Services and the FBI could not talk to social media companies for "the purpose of urging, encouraging, pressuring, or inducing in any manner the removal, deletion, suppression, or reduction of content containing protected free speech" under the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

A White House official said the Justice Department was reviewing the order and will evaluate its options.

The litigation was originally filed by former Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. Schmitt, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in November, used Twitter to welcome the injunction and called it a win for free speech.

The order also mentioned by name officials including Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Jen Easterly, who heads the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, in its restrictions.

Judge Terry Doughty, in an order filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, made some exceptions for communications between government officials and the companies, including to warn about risks to national security and about criminal activity.

The injunction was first reported by the Washington Post.

Tuesday's order marks a win for Republicans who had sued the Biden administration, saying it was using the coronavirus health crisis and the threat of misinformation as an excuse to curb views that disagreed with the government.

U.S. officials have said they were aiming to tamp down misinformation about COVID vaccines to curb preventable deaths.

Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms, Twitter, and Alphabet's YouTube did not respond to requests for comment.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony Fauci was grilled by the Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic for 14 hours in January. In the lengthy interview, Fauci admitted that he was unaware of any scientific studies demonstrating that masking for children worked or that the 6-foot social distancing guidelines — which effectively shut down schools, churches, and businesses — were an effective way of curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Fauci also acknowledged that the lab leak theory was not a conspiracy theory as he previously suggested...

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Did PCJ and SH take COVID-19 protocols seriously? Because their behaviours showed the opposite.

PCJ and SH in People’s chat have pointed out how Covid protocols were followed, during the filming of Love Again (previous title Text for You) when PCJ was stranded in London with her husband to shoot the film in 2020.

In reality, there are some deviations from how PCJ and SH understood following the COVID-19 protocols, infringing the Covid restrictions. It's not the fault of the pandemic 😷 or the Government, and don't blame the virus for having irresponsible behaviour with actions that broke the UK COVID-19 rules and British Film Commission coronavirus guidance.

PCJ was reportedly in violation of the strict UK lockdown rules, to curb the rising number of Covid-19 cases. She was photographed visiting the salon alongside her mother and dog open privately to colouring her hair, saying it was for a film role. PCJ didn't say which film her mom would be in, to allow enter the salon with her.

The Met Police were alerted to reports of a Covid breach taking place within hairdressers. The regulations stated that ‘personal care services’, including salons and spas, should close. Hairdressers by law shouldn't have been opened, she should have been fined with the hairdressers. There are no excuses for her actions. No one is above the law— They thought they didn’t have to do the lockdown like the rest of us?

On the other hand, her co-protagonist SH has a history of breaking the law during the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time the reality regarding the COVID-19 pandemic was true and it was surprising to see SH and some cast of the film not knowing how to behave during this period and acting confused thinking that they were schoolmates in the playground at Lunch time. Why would the rules be any different for them?

Social distancing cost every production a fortune during the pandemic. Which was the result? You can't control what an actor (Covidiot) does at all times? Face covering and social distancing was required by COVID-19 Guidance: British Film Commission (BFC), especially in enclosed areas without adequate ventilation or where cast and crew are working closely. In a lockdown, Quarantining the cast and crew of a film or series was a key part of the plan.

His quarantine with loopholes. Outside the bubble, It was prohibited him from mixing with anyone from outside during filming or training.👇He broke the rules by not covering his mouth and nose without a face mask and taking photos with strangers 😷 “The rules applied to everyone and were put in place to keep people safe.” But, SH was not very careful. That sounds like he was determined to do as He, pleased. Was that one rule for him and another rule for everyone else?

SH’s actions were “totally indefensible” as people across the country made great sacrifices every day to help beat Covid. He openly branded himself a 'COVIDIOT' after regularly flouted government guidance during the coronavirus pandemic. So we could define it in another way: he was the perfect buffoon. SH never apologised for his mistakes and selfish behaviours.

This proves PCJ and SH things that they adopted to do for fun don't really seem fun anymore. Tired of them complaining about self-distancing in their sprawling jobs while a record number of Brits file for unemployment help. They are trying to save their skins to clean up actions and behaviours in their backyard and have used their platforms to do more than complaint about how hard it is to be rich in a plague, showing a different understanding of accepting Covid-19 protocols than the rest of us. His mask slipped, and his ugly truth was revealed. People’s chat, however well-intentioned, will not change that grim reality.

Either way, we must never forget the changes that the COVID-19 pandemic, an international public health emergency, brought to our society. They could not handle the pandemic like the rest of us, showing a selfish response when no one else could do such a thing. They will be remembered, and they will live with it, forgetting the essential…… Weren't We All In This Together?

COVIDIOT... (during the Covid-19 pandemic) a person failing to observe regulations or guidelines designed to prevent the spread of disease. 😷

"of course, some covidiots used this as an excuse to breach the rules"...👆

[josiebelladonna]

god as my witness, i didn’t want to do this.

but it seems like the world has drastically shifted in the last two months and hatred has swept through everywhere like the coronavirus, and i cannot risk being around people who perpetuate that hatred combined with fearmongering and it’s always done without even realizing it or knowing it. antisemitism is a form of racism, as the jews are levantine and not white, and the fact that swaths of people on here do not see this, understand it, or even question it is flooring to me especially when so many have the fucking balls to preach to the diaspora that they know their culture better than them (that is some real big brother shit, let me tell you).

now, full disclosure: i’ve been critical of israel in the past, just because i didn’t like how they were collectively punishing palestine for h*mas, and yet i’ve always been careful to differentiate the israeli government with the people as well as the rest of the diaspora (and fyi, a huge number of jews and israelis are on my side with this) because people are not their governments—and lo and behold, israel is letting netanyahu and herzog have it as we speak. i’ve always said that i wouldn’t be the artist i am today without the jews as my first big illustrative project with my cartoons was based on a Holocaust survivor story.

and as i’ve done more and more reading into israel, as i’ve been crossing paths with more and more jews and israelis over on threads and instagram, as i remember my brother visiting there back in 2018 and he and his wife absolutely loved it, i realize that the hate and the pro-palestine crowd really has no basis or substance: i get rude comments from that side all the time and they’re always like schoolyard bullies, or they try and flip the script and call me a zionist even though i’m not jewish and i can’t believe that’s an actual slur now because all it is is “the jews should be safe and coexist with their neighbors peacefully”: it’s not fascism, and it’s not “pro-genocide”, it’s about letting the most marginalized people on earth live.

now, do i feel palestine deserves better? absolutely. abso-fucking-lutely, and like i said, there are a lot of jews and israelis (25% of that population is arabic, hence why i say that) on my side with this, and way more than you think, too. they’re all indigenous to that land and this is a conflict that is very old and a little tiresome at this point, and apparently both sides are tired of it. i try not to take sides here for this reason: i’d rather listen to people talk and be supportive.

it’s all anyone can do. it’s imperative to bring in the word “and” here and i don’t understand why that’s so bloody hard, either.

i should also mention that “free palestine” is not only a genocidal statement against the jews and the israelis, but once you realize that h*mas are backed by iran and russia, known hostile powers, you should understand that palestine itself actually has nothing to do with it and this is a conflict that doesn’t involve us. the chant is pointless at best and an excuse to be antisemitic at worst.

kicking cal to the curb hurt, to be honest. always loved them, always got a kick out of them; but when i see them actively participating in blood libel against the jews and then turning around and saying “happy hanukkah”… no, i’m sorry. i can’t. i can’t. hypocrisy is where i draw the line. if you actively post that godforsaken “from the river to the sea” chant and then have the gall to wish all a hanukkah sameach, it’s closet antisemitism. i have to stand with the jews.

dora… i was starting to lose interest a while back, before all this happened, mainly because i was just starting to lose interest in the goth subculture—once a very cool community that i found deep interest in because i’ve always had this darkness in me has become not only just another meme but a bastion of pretension and you guessed it, hate. dora is like one of many former friends of mine, in that she got so belligerent and militant about her beliefs and that makes for a hostile environment. writing hamfisted lyrics and putting “this machine kills fascists” on your synthesizer makes you come off as so corny and edgy and like you have an anger problem more than you’re standing for something (when i was at my heaviest, i had mood swings, too; i get it). and once i realize that she’s older than me, it just gets sad, and uncomfortable and not in a good way, either. it’s on par with bikini kill screaming about palestine and subjecting themselves to potential charity fraud while israeli women and men were quite literally assaulted on october 7 and are grappling with the trauma.

feminism is such a hollow parody of itself now, and these two are just two cases of that, and i have a feeling i’m going to be doing this more. i’m going to start banning people but i don’t care if my follower count drops like a rock, though. it has a number of times, it can do it again. and it’s going to be painful for me, but i need to stand by what i believe in, and i need to clean house before 2024 starts—i’m probably going to be on main here less next year, anyway, just because of lifestyle changes and i have a lot of art and writing including kinktober all year on the horizon for my side blogs, but i need some clarity.

by the way, is anyone else totally weirded out by the sheer amount of lgbtq+ people who are pro-palestine? tel aviv is one of the most lgbtq-friendly cities on earth, and yet being that way in either gaza or the west bank will either get you jailed or killed (it gets even weirder when i realize the region not only birthed judaism but christianity as well; islam didn’t come about until some 500 years later and it came from persia—al-aqsa in jerusalem built on top of the temple mount is enough for me to understand that none of you see the forest for the trees). i genuinely feel like i’m living in a david lynch film or that we all died with bowie, prince, and leonard cohen in 2016 and we’re living in actual hell when i think about all of this.

“pro-genocide”… where do you people get off.

[waterspinachdith]

PUBLIC HEALTH *cough coro cough*

Since the end of 2019, the world has been shaken by the Corona Virus Disease 19 (COVID-19) attack. The Malaysian government has adopted numerous phases of the Movement Manage Order (MCO) 2020 beginning on March 18, 2020, in an effort to control the prevention of COVID-19. In the face of the COVID pandemic-19, which is spreading rapidly, and the implementation of the PKP-PKPB-PKPP, which was executed for the first time in Malaysia, the public is always searching for sources to get the most up-to-date information on the status and news of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as the most recent Standard Operating Procedures (SOP). People used to rely on traditional sources such as radio and television to acquire information, but technological advancements now put everything at their fingertips through the usage of the internet and communications technology (ICT). The usage of technology such as the Internet, as well as media such as social media, is considered as extremely beneficial in giving up-to-date information. During the isolation or lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of persons accessing virtual (online) content rose over the world. Among the virtual content accessed is the ability to delight yourself and obtain up-to-date information on COVID-19.

In the past year, there have been 128 million more mobile phone users, according to the "Digital 2020 Global Statshot Report" by We Are Social, Hootsuite, and Kepios. This growth in mobile phone users is likely to contribute to an increase in social media use globally. The spreading of fake news and rumours is one of the major issues confronting the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, the WHO has voiced their concern about the virus pandemic as well as the issue of false information and the dissemination of persistent falsehoods. False information can prevent the responsible party from responding, prevent the public from receiving accurate information, and delay the adoption of measures to combat the outbreak.

The Movement Control Order (MCO) enforced in our country since mid-March last year to curb the spread of COVID-19 has also increased the use of the internet and communication on social media. Various campaigns and reminders are given by relevant agencies such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM) about the ethics of using social media, but such campaigns are considered unimportant and ignored by some netizens. Everyone is racing to share information and give opinions without considering the validity of the information. The public is advised to first check the validity of any information regarding the COVID-19 outbreak and the Movement Control Order (MCO) before sharing it on social media to avoid the spread of false news and inaccurate information. People can be upset by fake news. The community is under strain as a result of the scenario as reported in fake news. The existence of prior news has increased the burden of those responsible for determining the veracity of the news and presenting it to the community.

[perregrinstudiessometimes]

Book review of: Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and The Battle for Truth

Author: Elizabeth Williamson

Book started on: January 17th

Book ended on: January 20th

Format: audio book

Source: Libby (app that my library partners with)

Good reads summary:

“Based on hundreds of hours of research, interviews, and access to exclusive sources and materials, Sandy Hook is Elizabeth Williamson’s landmark investigation of the aftermath of a school shooting, the work of Sandy Hook parents who fought to defend themselves, and the truth of their children’s fate against the frenzied distortions of online deniers and conspiracy theorists.

On December 14, 2012, a gunman killed twenty first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Ten years later, Sandy Hook has become a foundational story of how false conspiracy narratives and malicious misinformation have gained traction in society.

One of the nation’s most devastating mass shootings, Sandy Hook was used to create destructive and painful myths. Driven by ideology or profit, or for no sound reason at all, some people insisted it never occurred, or was staged by the federal government as a pretext for seizing Americans’ firearms. They tormented the victims’ relatives online, accosted them on the street and at memorial events, accusing them of faking their loved ones’ murders. Some family members have been stalked and forced into hiding. A gun was fired into the home of one parent.

Present at the creation of this terrible crusade was Alex Jones’s Infowars, a far-right outlet that aired noxious Sandy Hook theories to millions and raised money for the conspiracy theorists’ quest to “prove” the shooting didn’t happen. Enabled by Facebook, YouTube, and other social media companies’ failure to curb harmful content, the conspiracists’ questions grew into suspicion, suspicion grew into demands for more proof, and unanswered demands turned into rage. This pattern of denial and attack would come to characterize some Americans’ response to almost every major event, from mass shootings to the coronavirus pandemic to the 2020 presidential election, in which President Trump’s false claims of a rigged result prompted the January 6, 2021, assault on a bastion of democracy, the U.S. Capitol.

The Sandy Hook families, led by the father of the youngest victim, refused to accept this. Sandy Hook is the story of their battle to preserve their loved ones’ legacies even in the face of threats to their own lives. Through exhaustive reporting, narrative storytelling, and intimate portraits, Sandy Hook is the definitive book on one of the most shocking cultural ruptures of the internet era.”

Book grade: 79/100

My thoughts:

Going in to this book I only had a surface level knowledge of both what happened at Sandy Hook, and the false reporting by the extreme right.

I think many would benefit from reading this book. This book is less about Sandy Hook, and more about the rise of false reporting by the extreme right. This book highlights the blatant disregard for the truth and human suffering that happened at Sandy Hook that was perpetrated by Alex Jones, info-wars, and many other right wing “news” sources. 

I struggle writing reviews for books like these, because my opinion doesn’t matter. These books showcase the facts, and the fact is that Alex Jones lied to his viewers and profited off of those lies. Regardless of whether or not, Alex Jones believes what he said about Sandy Hook, the things that he said are still false. The things that he said still hurt the morning families trying to understand the loss of their children and the things that he said, set a precedent of false “news” regarding pretty much every major shooting that has happened since Sandy Hook.

There was a moment in one of the earlier chapters where the author mentions that a false piece of reporting originally reported that the shooter was the son of a teacher at Sandy Hook. This was the first time I had had that misconception corrected for me. I had been avoiding news on Sandy Hook because I knew about the horrible conspiracies surrounding it and because I was so wary of any news regarding it I never sought out the truth.  Bad reporting in the early days of Sandy Hook caused my mis-knowledge. That bad reporting also fueled people Alex Jones, and his conspiracies.

Because of the polarization of this topic, and the fact that the book takes such a strong side, means that this book fuels its reader, both with grief, but also with rage. This is the type of book that you have to put down every once in a while, because the human body is not meant to be exposed to such strong, horrible emotions for that length of time. I found myself often pausing and trying to gather my thoughts, and I hope that more than just anger comes from this book. I hope that this book does good and reminds people that reporters are not without their faults and that doing your own research means checking more than a couple of sources, and then taking a step outside of our bubbles is not only good but necessary. I deeply appreciate the last chapter that showcases what governments and people are currently doing to help stop the spread of misinformation and stop the tactics that conspiracy theories used to spread that misinformation.

The Internet makes it very easy to get trapped in an echo chamber, where you only see people who agree with you. That is dangerous, regardless of your politics and causes conspiracies like this to spread to the people, most vulnerable to believe them. Social media is not without the fault in this, but the problem remains a human issue. 

[partisan-by-default]

German security agencies have disrupted several plots in recent years by small groups linked to the Reich Citizens movement accused of planning attacks on critical infrastructure, government officials and even the national parliament. While it is unclear how far advanced such plans were, authorities have expressed alarm that the alleged plotters had acquired weapons and included people who aren't usually on the radar of security agencies, such as judges and police officers.

Thomas Haldenwang, who heads the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, or BfV, said the mixing of previously separate groups — from far-right extremists to QAnon conspiracy theorists — and their willingness to use violence was particularly worrying.

“What links all of these groups is that they despise our state and our democracy, reject it and want to abolish it,” he told The Associated Press in an interview in Berlin.

Haldenwang said anti-government extremists consciously use wedge issues to stoke fear and gain new followers. These include migration — where far-right actors have perpetuated the myth of a “great replacement” — but also government measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic and combat climate change.

��All of these issues can be used to spread a particular narrative and give the impression that the state isn't in control of certain situations and therefore it needs to be toppled,” he said.

[letsgethaunted]

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Episode Thirty-Seven: Indonesian Ghosts During Coronavirus Photodump

Image 01: An Indonesian police officer wearing a COVID-19 themed helmet conducts a campaign and disinfects motorists' vehicles in Mojokerto, East Java on Apr 3, 2020. (Credit: AFP/Juni Kriswanto)

Image 02: A man punished for breaking coronavirus isolation rules sits on a bed in a supposedly haunted house in Indonesia’s Sragen, on Java Island, after being confined there as punishment. (Credit: AFP/Anwar Mustafa)

Image 03: A volunteer keeps watch at a coronavirus quarantine facility, a repurposed abandoned house believed by some locals to be haunted, at Sepat village in Sragen, Central Java, Indonesia on April 21. (Credit: Anwar Mustafa/AFP/Getty)

Image 04: Two youngsters in Kepuh village in Sukoharjo, Central Java, stand guard dressed as pocong (shrouded corpses) at the entrance to their village to keep residents in as part of restrictive measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. (Credit: Kesongo Hamlet)

Image 05: Volunteers Deri Setyawan, 25, and Septian Febriyanto, 26, sit on a bench as they play the role of ‘pocong’, or known as ‘shroud ghost’, to make people stay at home amid the spread of COVID-19 in Indonesia. (Credit: Reuters)

Image 06: Video of people breaking quarantine being scared back into their homes by fake pocong. (Credit: NY Post)

Image 07: Video of an alleged pocong caught on camera in a jungle in 2009 (Credit: Willy Guitara/YouTube)

Image 08: A clip from an Indonesian newscast in circa 2008/9 showing an alleged pocong jumping 50 meters (Credit: DANIELORBIS666/MetaTube)

Image 09: An artist’s rendition of the kuntilanak (Source: keepo . me)

Image 10: A Toyol/Tuyul (left) and a boy being questioned by police for pretending to be a tuyul (right) Credit: Tribunnews

[kiberastories]

Officers from the Kenya Defence Forces disinfect the streets in Kibera slum to help curb the spread of the new coronavirus. Photo by © Brian Otieno @storitellah #KiberaStories (at Kibera, Nairobi Area, Kenya) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAdmE-YA5jL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[covid-safer-hotties]

Reference archived on our website

TL;DR: 69.1% of people who've recovered from mild covid had lingering cognitive impairment.

Attempting to curb only severe acute disease opens us up to lingering post-viral illness that can be just as severe.

Abstract

Background:

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) causes persistent symptoms, including brain fog. Based on limited research on the long-term consequences of mild COVID-19, which has yielded inconsistent results, we investigated which cognitive functions were most affected by COVID-19 in non-hospitalized Asian patients with long-term COVID and subjective cognitive complaints.

Methods:

Fifty-five non-hospitalized patients with long COVID and brain fog (24 males and 31 females, mean age: 45.6 ± 14.6 years, mean duration of education: 14.4 ± 3.0 years) were recruited. Neuropsychological assessments included screening tests for overall cognition, and comprehensive tests for memory, executive function, processing speed, and subjective emotional and disease symptoms. Cognitive test scores were converted into Z-scores. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to define cognitive domains across subtest scores.

Results:

Comprehensive assessments revealed cognitive impairment in 69.1% of patients (<1.5 standard deviation in at least one test). The processing speed (27.3%), memory recall (21.8%), memory learning (20.0%), and inhibitory control (18.2%) were the most affected areas. Self-reported anxiety and depression were observed in 35% and 33% of patients, respectively. Furthermore, the degree of self-anxiety can be used to predict learning performance.

Conclusion:

Nearly 70% of patients with subjective cognitive complaints and long COVID had objective cognitive impairments. A comprehensive evaluation is essential for patients with long COVID and brain fog, including those with mild symptoms.

[beardedmrbean]

The dramatic scenes of streets ablaze to the sound of gunfire from blank-firing pistols as fireworks, stones and bottles were hurled at the police and emergency service workers shocked many. For two years the sale of fireworks had been banned in an attempt to prevent large gatherings and curb the spread of the coronavirus. This year's New Year's Eve celebrations have again reignited the debate about a potential ban on the sale of fireworks.

Eyewitnesses among police and firefighters spoke of unprecedented violence against them, calling for better protection.

But the fact that the multi-national, ethnically diverse district of Neukölln in Berlin was one of the main hotspots for the violence — local police described the intensity of the violence there as far worse than in previous years — was quickly seized upon by politicians and commentators. 

"[It's] more about unregulated migration, failed integration and a lack of respect for the state than fireworks," the former-Health Minister Jens Spahn of the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) said one day after the events.

On the same day, the disgraced former editor of the mass-market tabloid Bild, Julian Reichelt, posted a video on YouTube with the headline "Young, male, lawless: Migrants rampage through our cities on New Year's Eve — the state capitulates."

The conservative Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), part of the largest opposition bloc in the federal parliament, the Bundestag, called for a new security concept and tougher policies to limit and control immigration.

Several representatives of the center-left federal government were quick to urge a tough response on perpetrators but objected to stoking xenophobic sentiment.

"We must show violent people who refuse to integrate into our cities the limits: with a firm hand and clear language. But without stirring up racist resentment. Those who exploit the necessary debate in order to exclude do not solve the problem, but rather intensify it," tweeted Interior Minister Nancy Faeser of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD). 

Police data on the perpetrators

On Tuesday, the Berlin Police Department said that of 145 people arrested in connection with the violence, 139 were male, two-thirds were under the age of 25, and 27 were minors. They have all been released.

Of the 145 arrested, 45 were reported to be German nationals, 27 Afghan, and 21 Syrian.

In Germany, one-quarter of the population has a so-called "migration background," meaning that they themselves or at least one of their parents was not born in the country. Among people under the age of 25, this number is higher. And in some urban areas such as Berlin's Neukölln district, around 40% of the population has such a "migration background".

The figures released by the Berlin police do not show whether the group of people who were arrested are actually representative of the group of people who took part in the violence — or whether specific groups were targeted for arrest.

"Whenever we have arrest data like this, we need to see that this data first and foremost reflects what the police did and who they arrested, not necessarily who the perpetrators were," Niklas Harder, the co-head of the Integration Department at the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DeZIM) and an associate member of the Immigration Policy Lab at Stanford University told DW. 

Countering racist statements

Many were quick to warn against blaming the New Year's Eve violence on people with migrant backgrounds.

"Yes, many of [those arrested] did have a migrant background, but they are not a homogeneous group. There is no homogeneous group of immigrants in Germany — and as you can see from the numbers this was a very diverse group of people," said Frank Asbrock, a professor of social psychology at the Chemnitz University of Technology who specializes in group violence and juvenile offenders. 

This year's violence has triggered memories of events on New Year's Eve in 2015/16 in Cologne where hundreds of women were sexually assaulted by groups of men. Of the 153 suspects, 103 were from Morocco or Algeria, 68 were asylum-seekers and 18 were suspected of illegally being in the country.

Initial media reports in 2016 did not refer to the nationality or ethnicity of the suspects and both the police and the journalists were accused of a cover-up. 

The non-binding German Press Code

— to which DW also adheres — states that when reporting on criminal acts, as a rule, religious, ethnic, or national affiliation should not be mentioned unless there is a well-founded public interest. It also states that particular attention should be paid to the fact that mentioning it could fuel prejudice against minorities.

"What it does is mostly stir up emotions, and it satisfies those people who say that the perpetrators, the people who did this, are all foreigners, all migrants," psychologist Frank Asbrock told DW.

Indeed, the federal coalition government’s Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Ferda Ataman warned that there was no justification for what she described as the "racist reactions" to the New Year’s Eve violence.

"Anyone who listens to emergency forces knows that these acts cannot be ethnicized," she said. "We don't have a problem that can be deported. It's about developments that need to be taken seriously in OUR society." 

In an interview with Der Spiegel news magazine, Güner Balci, Neukölln's integration officer — herself born and raised in Neukölln — said the violence was carried out by a small group of socially disadvantaged people, some of whom are known to her, and that she was certain that drugs also played a role. 

"It's the hopelessly left-behind, to put it bluntly: absolute losers. It is, by the way, the same young people and sometimes children, who behave this way throughout the year, cause trouble, and make life difficult for the entire neighborhood," Balci said.

"In general, I think it's unrealistic to think of a singular explanation, because in every demographic or group we mention, whether it be men, young men, young urban men, migrants, or socially disadvantaged youth: the majority of each group that is mentioned in the debate did not participate in these riots," according to Niklas Harder of the German Center for Integration and Migration Research.

Berlin government taking action

With Berlin facing a (re)election on February 12, the city's governing mayor, Franziska Giffey (SPD), has been keen to show initiative and has announced plans for a summit to tackle youth violence. 

But Tahera Ameer, program director at the Amadeu Antonio Foundation

, an NGO that monitors racism in Germany, was one of many to warn against politicians' knee-jerk reactions.

She rejected the immediate suggestion of failed integration. 

"It's frustrating that the people in positions of power who are able to shape this discourse, like Interior Minister Faeser, that the first thing they talk about is being tough on 'people who refuse to integrate' and 'we have to acknowledge the fears' or 'failed migration policy,'" Tahera Ameer told DW.

She believes that the release of information regarding the nationality of those arrested points to a broader problem within German society that is hostile to immigration.

"These figures are a form of segregation into the "we" and the "them" and the "we" is always the white, non-immigrant German society. There may be unique meanings behind certain behaviors by certain groups, but group violence is not unique to some milieus and not others," Ameer said.

"I'm not willing to accept that that's normal — that we release the numbers relating to the nationality of these people and that we don't talk about toxic masculinity or gender cliches or the people disconnected from society," she said.

[iloveabunchofgames]

#JakeReviewsItch

Amelie

BIG OL' CONTENT WARNING! At the bottom of the description on the Itch page

by Two and a Half Studios

Price (US): $3.99

Included In: Bundle for Ukraine, Queer Games Bundle 2022

Genre: Visual Novel

Pitch: Aristocrat Amelie is in lockdown while the plague ravages the outside world. Her maid feels prickly about a visit from Amelie's pen-pal. A short, anime-style visual novel, retold three times from each character's perspective, with a few branching paths

My expectations: Much to my disappointment, this does not appear to have anything to do with the major motion picture of the same name. Fox Interactive's Alien: Resurrection: The Game and Psygnosis' The City of Lost Children remain the only games based on Jean-Pierre Jeunet's illustrious oeuvre. Is no one brave enough to take a chance on a Micmacs game? So anyway, I'm going to have to put that disappointment out of mind and try to focus on reviewing Amelie for what it is rather than what it is not. I'm open to a queer visual novel with "psychological horror." Two and a Half Studios released five games in this style from 2018 to 2022. Given my recent experience with prolific visual novelists, I have concerns about them being stretched too thin. They're saying Amelie is ~20,000 words (1-1.5 hours), which is relatively constrained. This could be good!

Review:

A young woman lives with her maid in an ornate manor. Her parents, infected by the plague, have left their home until they’re better. When the woman’s pen-pal arrives for a visit, the maid is livid. The pen-pal assures them that lockdowns are lifting and travel is becoming more common, but the maid insists that for everyone’s protection, this interloper must go.

Ooooookay… It’s a game from 2021, back when we still kinda took the pandemic seriously, but society at large was starting to get comfortable admitting that we’re more concerned with Starbucks and letting children be someone else’s problem for eight hours a day than we are with preventable deaths…

One possible reading of Amelie is that we have to get back to normal. Making minimal personal sacrifice to curb the spread of a case of the sniffles that’s not even dangerous if you’re young and healthy is oppressive. Women are being oppressed by life-saving courtesy.

My reading is that it’s a ghost story. Current events like the pandemic and attacks on womens’ rights influenced it, but it’s primarily a self-contained story about ghosts.

The presentation and design are uneven. The ghost story isn’t bad. Maybe a light recommendation?

+ As trope-y ghost stories go, this one is fine. I was a few steps ahead of almost everything, but even so, it had me asking questions and looking forward to what might happen next. Plus, feminism and lesbian visibility. Cool and cool. + Dig those backgrounds and special insert shots. + The developers call the music "gorgeous." I don't agree, but it is memorable and effective, both when trying to lure you in and spook you out. + Each character is distinct. Most of the time, there aren't visual or audio cues to indicate who's talking. The name of the speaker is displayed, but I could usually ignore that and still figure it out based on the written voice.

– It's possible the ultimate message is that we need to stop living in fear and forget about coronavirus prevention. I'm immunocompromised. A member of my family died from COVID-19 last week. I believe it's just a funtimes ghost story, but maybe, just maybe, this is a work of COVID denial, and I'm not onboard with that. – Background/character art mismatch. – Going through the story multiple times with multiple characters and multiple outcomes? Good! Clicking through repeated dialogue but not clicking too fast because there might be something new inserted between the old stuff? Not good. Did we learn nothing from Arrested Development's fourth season? – Two and a Half Studios, you have promise, and I hope you learned some lessons. Think about how long we're going to be in these scenes, and figure out your artists' priorities—and make sure they're working together. Think about what you're saying. Are we making choices or not?

🧡🧡🧡🤍🤍 Bottom Line: If you got Amelie in a bundle and creepy ghost stuff is up your alley, sure, why not? It's nothing new or exceptional, but the ghost stuff? It's fine. For potential paying customers, here's an endless list of Itch visual novels tagged with "horror" and "LGBT". You don't need this one.

#JakeReviewsTwitch is a series of daily game reviews. You can learn more here. You can also browse past reviews...

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[recentlyheardcom]

Measures of UAE Ministry Of Labor To Curb Spread Of Coronavirus

Author Dr. Hassan Elhais Published April 24, 2020 Word count 553 UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratization (MOHRE) has recently issued new Ministerial Resolution number 279 of the 2020 concerning Employment stability for non-national employees working in the private sector amidst the period of applying precautionary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus/COVID-19 within the…

[englishindubellay]

Joe Biden announces first steps to curb ‘epidemic’ of US gun violence

Joe Biden, under pressure to act after a slew of mass shootings, has announced his first steps to curb the “epidemic” and “international embarrassment” of gun violence in America.

The president has prioritised the coronavirus pandemic and economic recovery during the first two and half months of his presidency. But a series of recent shooting tragedies in Georgia, Colorado and California led to renewed calls for urgent action on guns.

Biden said he is directing the justice department to tighten regulations on sales of so-called “ghost guns”, which are untraceable firearms assembled from kits.

About 316 people are shot every day in America and 106 of them die, Biden noted, “hitting Black and brown communities the hardest”. Gun violence is estimated to cost the nation $280bn a year, according to the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. “This is an epidemic, for God’s sake, and it has to stop,” an emotional Biden said.

But many of his election campaign promises – such as banning assault weapons altogether and requiring background checks for most gun sales – require congressional action.

And the National Rifle Association vowed to fight Biden’s moves. Amy Hunter, a spokeswoman, said: “Biden has made clear his sights are set on restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners while ignoring criminals and foregoing substantive measures that will actually keep Americans safe.”

Adapted from The Guardian

Joe Biden announces first steps to curb ‘epidemic’ of US gun violence

Joe Biden annonce ses premières mesures afin de réduire l « épidémie » de violence par armes à feu aux Etats-unis

Joe Biden, under pressure to act after a slew of mass shootings, has announced his first steps to curb the “epidemic” and “international embarrassment” of gun violence in America.

Sous la pression suite à un grand nombre de massacres, Joe Biden a annoncé ses premières mesures pour réduire cette « épidémie » et « mauvaise image pour l'étranger » liées à la violence par arme à feu en Amérique.

The president has prioritised the coronavirus pandemic and economic recovery during the first two and half months of his presidency.

Au cours des deux premiers mois et demie de son mandat, le Président a fait de la pandémie et de la reprise économique ses priorités.

But a series of recent shooting tragedies in Georgia, Colorado and California led to renewed calls for urgent action on guns.

Toutefois, dernièrement, une série de fusillades tragiques en Géorgie, au Colorado et en Californie a suscité une nouvelle fois des appels pour que des mesures urgentes soient prises au sujet des armes.

Biden said he is directing the justice department to tighten regulations on sales of so-called “ghost guns”, which are untraceable firearms assembled from kits.

Joe Biden a déclaré qu'il a donné instruction au ministère de la Justice pour que la réglementation soit durcie sur les ventes de ce qu'on appelle les « ghost guns » qui sont des armes à feu assemblées à partir de kits et dont la traçabilité est impossible.

About 316 people are shot every day in America and 106 of them die, Biden noted, “hitting Black and brown communities the hardest”.

Environ 316 personnes sont victimes de coups de feu tous les jours en Amérique, dont 106 mortellement, a précisé Joe Biden « et les communautés noires et hispaniques sont les plus touchées »

Gun violence is estimated to cost the nation $280bn a year, according to the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. “This is an epidemic, for God’s sake, and it has to stop,” an emotional Biden said.

La violence par arme à feu coûterait au pays 280 milliards de dollars par an, d'après le Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund. « C'est une épidémie et, prions le ciel, il faut qu'elle cesse », a déclaré Joe Biden avec émotion.

But many of his election campaign promises – such as banning assault weapons altogether and requiring background checks for most gun sales – require congressional action.

Cependant, nombreuses sont ses promesses de campagne comme l'interdiction totale des fusils d'assaut et la mise en place de vérifications d'identité lors de l'achat de presque toutes les armes à feu, qui exigent d'être votées par le Congrès.

And the National Rifle Association vowed to fight Biden’s moves.

Et la NRA (National Rifle Association) a promis de se battre contre les projets de Joe Biden.

Amy Hunter, a spokeswoman, said: “Biden has made clear his sights are set on restricting the rights of law-abiding gun owners while ignoring criminals and foregoing substantive measures that will actually keep Americans safe.”

Amy Hunter, la porte-parole du lobby a déclaré : «  Joe Biden a ét�� clair quant à sa volonté de restreindre les droits des bons citoyens détenteurs d'armes à feu tout en laissant faire les criminels et en renonçant aux mesures strictes qui s'imposent vraiment pour protéger les Américains. »

Adapted from The Guardian, April 8th, 2021