#i was also prevented from playing both physically due to the pandemic

[mengjue]

What's Happening in China? The November 2022 Protests

Hello! I know that there's so much going on in the world right now, so not everyone may be aware of what is happening in China right now. I thought that I would try to write a brief explainer, because the current wave of protests is truly unprecedented in the past 30+ years, and there is a lot of fear over what may happen next. For context, I'm doing this as someone who has a PhD in Asian Studies specialising in contemporary Chinese politics, so I don't know everything but I have researched China for many years.

I'll post some decent links at the end along with some China specialists & journalists I follow on Twitter (yeah I know, but it's still the place for the stuff at the moment). Here are the bullet points for those who just want a brief update:

Xi Jinping's government is still enacting a strict Zero Covid policy enforced by state surveillance and strict lockdowns.

On 24 November a fire in an apartment in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, killed 10. Many blamed strict quarantine policies on preventing evacuation.

Protests followed and have since spread nationwide.

Protesters are taking steps not seen since Tiananmen in 1989, including public chants for Xi and the CCP to step down.

Everyone is currently unsure how the government will respond.

More in-depth discussion and links under the cut:

First a caveat: this is my own analysis/explanation as a Chinese politics specialist. I will include links to read further from other experts and journalists. Also, this will be quite long, so sorry about that!

China's (aka Xi Jinping's) Covid Policy:

The first and most important context: Xi has committed to a strict Zero Covid policy in China, and has refused to change course. Now, other countries have had similar approaches and they undoubtedly saved lives - I was fortunate to live in New Zealand until this year, and Prime Minister Ardern's Zero Covid approach in 2020-2021 helped protect many. The difference is in the style/scope of enforcement, the use of vaccines, and the variant at play. China has stepped up its control on public life over the past 10 years, and has used this to enforce strict quarantine measures without full regard to the impact on people's lives - stories of people not getting food were common. Quarantine has also become a feared situation, as China moves people to facilities often little better than prisons and allegedly without much protection from catching Covid within. A personal friend in Zhengzhou went through national, then provincial, then local quarantines when moving back from NZ, and she has since done her best to avoid going back for her own mental and physical health. Xi has also committed China to its two home-grown vaccines, Sinovac and Sinopharm, both of which have low/dubious efficacy and are considered ineffective against new variants. Finally, with delta and then omicron most of the Zero-Covid countries have modified their approach due to the inability to maintain zero cases. China remains the only country still enacting whole-city eradication lockdowns, and they have become more frequent to the point that several are happening at any given time. The result is a population that is incredibly frustrated and losing hope amidst endless lockdowns and perceived ineffectiveness to address the pandemic.

Other Issues at Play:

Beyond the Covid situation, China is also wrestling with the continued slowdown in its economic growth. While its economic rise and annual GDP growth was nigh meteoric from the 80s to the 00s, it has been slowing over the past ten years, and the government is attempting to manage the transition away from an export-oriented economy to a more fully developed one. However, things are still uncertain, and Covid has taken its toll as it has elsewhere the past couple of years. Youth unemployment in particular is reaching new highs at around 20%, and Xi largely ignored this in his speech at the Party Congress in October (where he entered an unprecedented third term). As a result of the perceived uselessness of China's harsh work culture and its failure to result in a better life, many young Chinese have been promoting 躺平 tǎng píng or "lying flat", aka doing the bare minimum just to get by (similar to the English "quiet quitting"). The combination of economic issues and a botched Covid approach is important, as these directly affect the lives of ordinary middle-class Chinese, and historical it has only been when this occurred that mass movements really took off. The most famous, Tiananmen in 1989, followed China's opening up economic reforms and the dismantling of many economic safety nets allowing for growing inequality. While movements in China often grow to include other topics, having a foundation in something negatively impacting the average Han Chinese person's livelihood is important.

The Spark - 24 Nov 2022 Urumqi Apartment Fire:

The current protests were sparked by a recent fire that broke out in a flat in Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang province. (This is the same Xinjiang that is home to the Uighur people, against whom China has enacted a campaign of genocide and cultural destruction.) The fire occurred in the evening and resulted in 10 deaths, which many online blamed on the strict lockdown measures imposed by officials, who prevented people from leaving their homes. It even resulted in a rare public apology by city officials. However, with anger being so high nationwide, in addition to many smaller protests that have occurred over the past two years, this incident has ignited a nationwide movement.

The Protests and Their Significance:

The protests that have broken out over the past couple of days representing the largest and most significant challenge to the leadership since the 1989 Tiananmen movement. Similar to that movement, these protests have occurred at universities and cities across the country, with many students taking part openly. This scale is almost unseen in China, particularly for an anti-government protest. Other than Tiananmen in 1989, the most widespread movements that have occurred have been incidents such as the protest of the 1999 Belgrade bombings or the 2005 and then 2012 anti-Japanese protests, all of which were about anger toward a foreign country.

Beyond the scale the protests are hugely significant in their message as well. Protesters are publicly shouting the phrases "习近平下台 Xí Jìnpíng xiàtái!" and "共产党 下台 Gòngchǎndǎng xiàtái!", which mean "Xi Jinping, step down/resign!" and "CCP, step down/resign!" respectively. To shout a direct slogan for the government to resign is unheard of in China, particularly as Xi has tightened control of civil society. And people are doing this across the country in the thousands, openly and in front of police. This is a major challenge for a leader and party who have prioritised regime stability as a core interest for the majority of their history.

Looking Ahead:

Right now, as of 15:00 Australian Eastern time on Monday, 28 November 2022, the protests are only in their first couple of days and we are unsure as to how the government will respond. Police have already been seen beating protesters and journalists and dragging them away in vehicles. However, in many cases the protests have largely been monitored by police but still permitted to occur. There seems to be uncertainty as to how they want to respond just yet, and as such no unified approach.

Many potential outcomes exist, and I would warn everyone to be careful in overplaying what can be achieved. Most experts I have read are not really expecting this to result in Xi's resignation or regime change - these things are possible, surely, but it is a major task to achieve and the unity & scale of the protest movement remains to be fully seen. The government may retaliate with a hard crackdown as it has done with Tiananmen and other protests throughout the years. It may also quietly revamp some policies without publicly admitting a change in order to both pacify protesters and save face. The CCP often uses mixed tactics, both coopting and suppressing protest movements over the years depending on the situation. Changing from Zero Covid may prove more challenging though, given how much Xi has staked his political reputation on enforcing it.

What is important for everyone online, especially those of us abroad, is to watch out for the misinformation campaign the government will launch to counter these protests. Already twitter is reportedly seeing hundreds of Chinese bot accounts mass post escort advertisements using various city names in order to drown out protest results in the site's search engine. Chinese officials will also likely invoke the standard narrative of Western influence and CIA tactics as the reason behind the protests, as they did during the Hong Kong protests.

Finally, there will be a new surge of misinformation and bad takes from tankies, or leftists who uncritically support authoritarian regimes so long as they are anti-US. An infamous one, the Qiao Collective, has already worked to shift the narrative away from the protests and onto debating the merits of Zero Covid. This is largely similar to pro-Putin leftists attempting the justify his invasion of Ukraine. Always remember that the same values that you use to criticise Western countries should be used to criticise authoritarian regimes as well - opposing US militarism and racism, for example, is not incompatible with opposing China's acts of genocide and state suppression. If you want further info (and some good sardonic humour) on the absurd takes and misinfo from pro-China tankies, I would recommend checking out Brian Hioe in the links below.

Finally, keep in mind that this is a grass-roots protest made by people in China, who are putting their own lives at risk to demonstrate openly like this. There have already been so many acts of bravery by those who just want a better future for themselves and their country, and it is belittling and disingenuous to wave away everything they are doing as being just a "Western front" or a few "fringe extremists".

Links:

BBC live coverage page with links to analysis and articles

ABC (Australia) analysis

South China Morning Post analysis

Experts & Journalists to Check Out:

Brian Hioe - Journalist & China writer, New Bloom Magazine

Bonnie Glaser - China scholar, German Marshall Fund

Vicky Xu - Journalist & researcher, Australian Strategic Policy Institute

Stephen McDonnell - Journalist, BBC

M Taylor Fravel - China scholar, MIT

New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre - NZ's hub of China scholarship (I was fortunate to attend their conferences during my PhD there, they do great work!)

If you've reached the end I hope this helps with understanding what's going on right now! A lot of us who know friends and whanau in China are worried for their safety, so please spread the word and let's hope that there is something of a positive outcome ahead.

[lilyginnyblackv2]

It takes a village... - Buddy Daddies - Episode 5 - Cultural Elements

There is the famous saying “It takes a village to raise a child.” And I think that was a key focus of this episode, and one of the lessons that Kazuki and Rei had to learn. There are three social and cultural aspects of Japan that I want to look at in regards to this episode:

1. Flus at School

2. Babysitting in Japan

3. Work-Life Balance

They all connect to each other in some way.

1. Flus at School

Likely when everyone saw the notice that Kazuki and Rei got about the daycare being temporarily closed due to a virus, the initial thought was Covid. And it was likely meant to be a nod to that. But, even before Covid, the flu (influenza) has always been taken very seriously in Japan and at Japanese schools.

In Japan, I worked at elementary and junior high schools, so a bit of a different setting from the daycare (my daycare experience with Japanese kids was back in the States at a juku and learning center). But, I doubt there is too much difference. Basically, once we entered flu season, parts of the whiteboards up in the Staff Room would be dedicated to keeping track of which students had the flu and how many students had it per class. Once it reached a certain amount, everyone in that class (whether they were sick or not) would not be allowed to come to school for a number of days.

(From a study that will be linked to below, and which was published online in 2015).

In the above excerpt I included, it talks about the effective measure of school closure to prevent pandemic influenza (specifically talking about the one in 2009). When I worked in Japan (2013 - 2019) as an ALT, I never experienced a full school closure because of the flu, but I knew of other ALT who had.

2. Babysitting in Japan

In this episode we have Kazuki telling Kyutaro, “Lately, we’ve been taking on some babysitting jobs...”

Kazuki really didn’t have a plethora of options to choose from here to make any sort of plausible excuse. This likely was the best thing he could say and pick, but it also isn’t that surprising that Kyutaro didn’t buy it for a second. Not only because male babysitters are rarer in general, but also because babysitting still isn’t a normal thing in Japanese culture. From a 2014 SavvyTokyo article entitled: Babysitting Services in Japan, there is this excerpt:

However, hiring a babysitter in Japan remains a privilege reserved for high-income earners, and is nowhere near as popular as it is in Western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, some families are forced to use babysitters due to a shortage of after-school nurseries. Some believe that a babysitter could help inject a dose of fresh air into a typical Japanese home, which can sometimes be known for its seclusion. This is particularly true today, in an ever-increasing international environment, where English education is at the forefront of most Japanese parents’ minds.

This lines up with my experiences with being a Weekend Camp Counselor for about 3 or so years when I lived close to the Tokyo area of Japan (from 2016 - 2019). My job was to play American summer camp style games and activities (Duck, Duck, Goose, Red Light, Green Light, Thunderdome, Tooty Ta Song, etc.) with native Japanese children at parks (like Yoyogi Park or Toyosu Park). The goal was to have the children get a full English immersion experience, while enjoying physical activities outdoors. But, like my boss told me, our service was also meant to allow the parents to have some free time in the day, since babysitting isn’t a big thing.

In American media, seeing a (usually) teen girl babysitting a neighbors kid is incredibly common. In Japan, there is still an expectation that the parents (mostly the mother) should be caring for their child or children, but that is getting harder and harder with the need for both parents to work, in order to get by (due to the state of inflation Japan has been in for years). One Japan Times contributor, Yuko Tamura, wrote about their experience with hiring a babysitter in a blog post entitled: Hiring a Babysitter for the First Time in Japan Taught Me a Lot. 

In this article she talked about the social and cultural aspects. First she notes, “Without grandparents in my neighborhood, I had almost no one to ask for help except my husband.” No mentions are made of siblings, cousins, aunts, or friends. In America, it wouldn’t be that uncommon to hear of any of the above (as well as, of course, grandparents) to do a little temporary babysitting for family or friends. But in Japan this just isn’t common, smaller family sizes are also likely a reason for this as well.

She also mentions lack of communication among neighbors, something that is definitely common, especially in cities in Japan, and “ I have been a highly private person; I suspect the majority of Japanese people are the same. Welcoming strangers at home could be a severe headache for people like me because it just doesn’t feel right.”

Houses in Japan are seen as very private places. Having big get togethers or parties at someone’s house in Japan is really uncommon (I have been to one or two, but it’s still not the norm). Going elsewhere to meet up, like at a karaoke place or café is far more common. So the idea of a babysitter goes against that idea, as well as the societal expectation of the mother being in caretaker mode 24/7, so it has made it harder for babysitting to become common place in Japan. 

That being said, the internet, the pandemic, the economy, women working more, and many other things are starting to shake things up a bit more in Japan. I also suggest that you give the blog post a full read (I’ll link to it below, along with every site and article I reference here), since it also touches on another concept a bit: Work-Life Balance, my last discussion point.

3. Work-Life Balance 

I won’t say too much about this, since I think the concept of Work-Life Balance is a fairly universal one and one that people are always trying to struggle with. It may be better and easier to navigate in some countries, and harder and more difficult to navigate in others. 

For Japan, it is harder, but there has been more of a push for more life and less work focus in recent years, and the pandemic has caused work-from-home, remote work, and so forth to become a bit more common in Japan. It’s still not as prevalent of a shift in work culture like we’ve been seeing happen elsewhere, but it is a start! I’ll add an article or two in the comments about this topic, just in case anyone wants to read up on it.

In this episode, we see Kazuki and Rei struggling with Work-Life Balance in a way neither has likely ever experienced before, since adding a child into the mix really does make for a very different beast. What I really like that we saw in this episode was showing Kyutaro telling Kazuki and Rei that he would look after Miri:

It’s unconventional, as noted above, but it is a good message to tell. And one that should be told more in anime and Japanese media. A sense of community is important, especially when raising a child, since as the saying goes, “It takes a village.”

[snake-main]

BOARD GAME CATEGORIES

FAVORITES

Twilight Imperium

Dominion

Splendor

Terraforming Mars

PRETTY DAMN GOOD

Azul

Tapestry

Coup

Kill Team

Necromunda

Mordheim

Century Spice Road

Plain ol chess

Kingdom Death Monster

NOT MY FAVORITES, BUT ILL PLAY THEM IN A PINCH

Pandemic

King of Tokyo

XCOM the board game

Gloomhaven

Eldritch Horror

The Resistance

Warhammer 40k

MTG (complicated feelings on mtg)

UNSURE, NEED TO PLAY MORE TO SOLIDIFY MY OPINION

Race & Roll for the Galaxy

Boss Monster

Root

Warhammer Armies Project

OWN, NEVER PLAYED

Scythe

Civilization the board game

Power grid

Wingspan

Battletech

Burrows & Badgers

[felicityzoid]

Coronavirus- A New Normal

Novel Coronavirus, 201-nCoV and the Covid-19 are the words we all hate and are terrified of, mostly terrified. It was first identified in humans in Wuhan, China. The disease subsequently spread rapidly, leading to a global pandemic. Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV). A novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans.

Due to this pandemic, the whole world had gone under self-isolation at the safety of their own homes. Students, teachers and other school faculties had to shift to online learning and office employees had to shift to work from home. It was new to all as no one had experienced such a kind of disease. Like every coin has two sides there are two sides also for online learning.  Some of the argumentative statements by both sides are that schooling is better because the kids get to interact with each other, and doubts can be solved easily by the teachers and the teachers can supervise the work that is being done by the kids and because teachers have no idea what the kids might be doing at home. While the others believe that online learning is better because the students can learn from the comfort of their homes which saves them the time taken to travel to school and back home.

I think we all can agree on one thing that the new tradition that came out of covid was the idea of having online parties. As people have been quarantined due to covid, they aren’t forgetting to have fun even though they are far from each other. Online parties are a great idea to take our minds off from work and enjoy ourselves a little. It is also a safe practice as people aren’t meeting each other which reduces the chances of the transmission.

Most of the countries have closed their borders to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus from other countries. After closing the border for 1.5 years now some countries are slowly and steadily opening their borders for travellers. Some countries have made ground rules to open their borders for international travellers. Some of the common rules are that the travellers should have a negative pre departure covid-19 test and should be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. While some countries are opening their borders for quarantine free travelling other countries are reducing the number of days of a quarantine order.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major effect on our lives. Many of us are facing challenges that can be stressful, overwhelming, and cause strong emotions in adults and children. Public health actions, such as social distancing, are necessary to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but they can make us feel isolated and lonely and can increase stress and anxiety. Learning to cope with stress in a healthy way will make you, the people you care about, and those around you become more resilient.

Stress can cause the following:

Feelings of fear, anger, sadness, worry, numbness, or frustration

Changes in appetite, energy, desires, and interests

Difficulty concentrating and making decisions

Difficulty sleeping or nightmares

Physical reactions, such as headaches, body pains, stomach problems, and skin rashes

Worsening of chronic health problems

Worsening of mental health conditions

It is natural to feel stress, anxiety, grief, and worry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are ways that you can help yourself, others, and your community manage stress.

Healthy Ways to Cope with Stress

Take deep breaths, stretch.

Try to eat healthy, well-balanced meals.

Exercise regularly.

Get plenty of sleep.

Continue with routine preventive measures (such as vaccinations, cancer screenings, etc.) as recommended by your healthcare provider.

Get vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine when available.

Helping Others Cope

Taking care of yourself can better equip you to take care of others. During times of social distancing, it is especially important to stay connected with your friends and family. Helping others cope with stress through phone calls or video chats can help you and your loved ones feel less lonely or isolated.

Covid-19 is going to be a new normal in the coming years and we all will have to learn to live with it. We all could play a part in helping the government by staying at home and getting vaccinated as soon as possible and getting a covid booster every year.

[didanawisgi]

The chicken-and-egg problem (which came first?)

“I am reading a report (i.e.,https://edition.cnn.com/2021/07/03/health/unvaccinated-variant-factories/index.html) citing some comments of smart and knowledgeable professors and I am just thinking ‘OMG, how can one make statements that blunt and be a professor?’ Clearly, these guys have little understanding of the evolutionary dynamics of this virus as revealed by the current pandemic; they seem to ignore the huge impact of immune selection pressure on convergent evolution of mutations and selective adaptation of the virus to the massively rising antibody titers against spike (S) protein. If they would understand the dynamics and landscape of the evolving mutations as clearly outlined by molecular epidemiologists, they would have no choice but to conclude that the observed shift in natural selection forces is driven by mass vaccination.

I would strongly advise these professors to read my critical opinion article on ‘Why is the ongoing mass vaccination experiment driving a rapid evolutionary response of SARS-CoV-2?’, which I recently posted and which should remain available for consultation on my website. As can be concluded from my comments following below, the statements made by these professors are not backed by any scientific rationale and contradict the most recent observations from phylogenetics-based natural selection analysis. It’s unfortunate that laymen can no longer rely on big names and titles but ought to question the credibility of professors and experts who don’t provide sound scientific evidence for the cheap one-liners they are spreading. Is this because some of them have now become more of bureaucrats than real experts or because they’re having serious conflicts of interests or both? I don’t know. Anyway, people now need to exert greater scrutiny over the messages the established scientific elite is trying to convey – with massive help of MSM - to the broader public. Of course, this also applies to the analysis shared by scientists like me and others who disagree with the mantras and dogmas the public is currently bombarded with. That’s why we need a transparent scientific debate, open to the public, where different opinions can be articulated, discussed and challenged. As long as the stakeholders of these campaigns, and especially the advising experts supporting those, refuse to engage in such a debate, their interpretations and simplistic one-liners should be treated with extreme caution. Their statements become even more suspicious as they don’t seem to feel the need to systematically test both healthy vaccinees and non-vaccinated individuals for shedding of variants and to characterize the virus shed (as this would unambiguously inform about the type of host environment that promotes natural selection of evolving variants!).

As already mentioned on multiple occasions, molecular epidemiologist have shown that population-level S protein-directed immune pressure is now driving the propagation of variants that are increasingly evolving mutations enabling resistance to S-specific antibodies (as now massively induced by the ongoing vaccination campaigns). As more infectious variants bind to the cellular Ace-2 receptor with enhanced binding strength, the Ace-2 receptor more readily outcompetes S-specific antibodies for binding to these variants. Consequently, these variants gain a competitive advantage when replicating in individuals who exert strong S-directed immune pressure on the virus (i.e., in vaccinees!), especially upon incorporating additional mutations (within the RBD) that prevent direct binding of S-specific vaccinal antibodies. Variants that are increasingly resistant to S-specific antibodies (e.g., delta and delta plus variant) can only adapt to the population provided the S-directed immune pressure is widespread in the population. This is, of course, the case if larger parts of the population get vaccinated and when vaccinees can easily transmit the variant due to relaxation of infection prevention measures. In principle, non-vaccinated individuals who are in good physical and mental health can deal with all variants, provided the infectious viral pressure does not exceed a certain threshold. This is because their innate antibodies have relatively lower affinity for the virus. However, breeding of more infectious and more anti-S antibody-resistant variants in vaccinees will inevitably enhance viral replication and transmissibility in vaccinees, thereby raising the infectious pressure and increasing the likelihood for non-vaccinated subjects to become re-infected while their natural/ innate antibodies (Abs) are being suppressed by short-lived S-specific Abs (elicited as a result from previous asymptomatic infection). So, ‘yes’, some non-vaccinated people will become susceptible to the disease and then contribute to further propagation of these variants. It’s important to note, however, that this is a result and not the source of the enhanced evolution of the virus. So, not the non-vaccinated individuals but the vaccinees are now responsible for driving Sars-CoV-2 evolutionary dynamics. It’s also important to note that non-vaccinated people will not contribute to natural selection as they will either eliminate the virus (thanks to their innate antibodies in synergy with natural killer cells) or become susceptible to Covid-19 disease due to suppression of their innate immune defense. Short-term shedding of low concentrations of viral variants by asymptomatically infected, non-vaccinated people is a direct consequence of shifting natural immune selection forces that are increasingly coming into play as a result of mass vaccination. This will ultimately put the vaccinees in much worse shape than the non-vaccinated as the latter will still be able to rely on their innate Abs.

So, non-vaccinated people are not to be considered factories of variants as there is no evidence whatsoever that they transmit more virus or shed for a longer time than asymptomatically infected vaccinees. As explained in the above-mentioned article, non-vaccinated people are not responsible for selecting immune escape variants and enabling adaptation of increasingly anti-S Ab-resistant variants. Vaccinees, however, are to be seen as the breeding ground and ‘pilot plants’ for these variants.

Let’s now comment on a few of these blunt statements:

“Unvaccinated people do more than merely risk their own health. They're also a risk to everyone if they become infected with coronavirus, infectious disease specialists say”

Comment: Not true. Unvaccinated people have the more reliable protection as they can deal with all Sars-CoV-2 variants. Their protection is merely threatened by the enhanced circulation of more infectious variants, the adaptation and spread of which is promoted by those who exert strong (but suboptimal!) immune selection pressure, i.e., vaccinees. To the extent that non-vaccinated people further adhere to infection prevention measures and -not at least - avoid close contact with vaccinees, the likelihood for them to become seriously ill remains reasonably low (but clearly higher as during the first 10 months of the pandemic where no variants were circulating). This particularly applies to children and youngsters in good health. As viral transmission by asymptomatically infected, non-vaccinated individuals is low and short-lived, they do not constitute a ‘factory’ of variants that poses a substantial risk to others.

“That's because the only source of new coronavirus variants is the body of an infected person.”

Comment: Vaccinees get infected all the time. They cannot contain the variants as shown in a multitude of publications and breakthrough reports. They are not only a source of asymptomatic transmission but even a breeding ground for steadily evolving immune escape variants.

"Unvaccinated people are potential variant factories," Dr. William Schaffner, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told CNN Friday.

Comment: This doesn’t make any scientific sense. See above. They should show us the data and perform a comparative analysis on vaccinees compared to non-vaccinated individuals. They should show us which group is evolving more problematic variants, the vaccinees or the non-vaccinated.

"The more unvaccinated people there are, the more opportunities for the virus to multiply," Schaffner said. "When it does, it mutates, and it could throw off a variant mutation that is even more serious down the road."

Comment: This is the ludicrous mantra of the WHO (see my previously mentioned article). What makes immune escape variants problematic is when they get selected and can subsequently adapt to the population. S-directed immune escape variants are preferably selected in vaccinees and the higher the vaccination coverage rate, the more rapidly and easily they will adapt to the population and become dominant.

Conclusion: The statements of these professors are not based on sound scientific grounds and ignore the basic principles of natural selection forces that are driving viral evolutionary dynamics. Instead, they’re based on simplistic mantras that can easily be conveyed to the broader public but do not match at all the molecular analysis of naturally selected mutations that are currently seen by genomic epidemiologists to be evolving under rising population-level immunity towards antibodies directed at S protein. The latter happens to be the target of the vaccines….So, don’t they think mass vaccination may help a bit to raise this selective immune pressure?

Again, we call for solidarity and not discrimination. All people deserve a treatment that can ultimately protect them from severe disease and long Covid. We do not want to end up with a society where some professors or, for that matter, any government agency, are holding people responsible for decisions they have to make based on their best understanding of never-ending contradictory messages. At this stage, science and common sense dictate that people should be treated at an early stage of clinical signs and symptoms. An ‘infection and treatment’ approach is not only very safe but it likely enables naturally protective immune mechanisms in both vaccinated and non-vaccinated people (even if they did not contract the disease in the past!). It may not prevent subsequent infection and mild disease but it should clearly protect against severe disease by virtue of priming of CoV-specific cytotoxic T cells (just as much as immunity acquired upon recovery from natural disease does). If treatment is only initiated when early signs and symptoms manifest, children and youngsters in good health will still be given the opportunity to eliminate the virus naturally at an early stage of infection by virtue of their innate antibodies.”

[siritoycollection]

Why Do You Need to Stop Giving Mobile Phones to Kids?

One of the most common complaints of parents this decade is that their children are “addicted” to screens of laptops, computers, tablets and mobile phones. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and hybrid and distance learning models, most children are assimilating more screen time into their day. That's why it's more important than ever to minimize the use of electronic devices. In this blog I try to give ways to stop minimizing the addiction to mobile phones and how toys, especially educational toys can be really helpful for kids.

While gadgets are a part of today's culture, they have adverse health effects. This is especially true for children spending substantial time learning on mobiles, laptops and tablets. It's important to utilize break times to get in some much needed physical activities. The parents have a plan to leave away devices somewhere else and engage kids in other productive ways.

According to studies and research by several renowned universities “The average time spent on screens is seven to ten hours a day”

Considering the fact that maximum brain development occurs by age of seven and further building by age 12, what children see, do or hear at this tender age will design their entire future. But in today’s digital world where everything is online or will be online, is it ideal to take kids completely off screens? - This is the counter question many of them ask. Often, due to the limited time, parents give these gadgets like smartphones to engage with their children.

Before we dive further, let’s first understand the big thing — screen time. It has today become a dilemma for parents and guardians because today’s kids are ‘digital babies’. On one side, you can’t take them completely off technology — because it will handicap them in the future. And on the other hand, they shouldn’t use too much of it or rather misuse it! We need to strike a good balance between gadgets and other activities like engaging with board-games.

Screen addiction basically is too much screen usage that makes a child completely lost in it and they end up feeling that screens alone will make them happy and these screens are everything. They reach a point after regular usage of these phones, laptops or tablets where they always want to go back to it every time they are free! Yes, these devices in all ways provide the best of the best i.e visually, auditory, sensorially! With a wealth of apps, games, devices, and content, it's easy for kids to become reliant on these gadgets for entertainment. And nobody, not even their parents/siblings, can compete/replace it. But too much screen time can tremendously impair a child’s development immediately.

         [Read about: Challenges faced by parents during Corona Pandemic]

And that’s not all, too much regular usage of mobiles especially can trigger the reward mechanism in the brain of kids – which makes the child more and more addicted. The reason this occurs is that screens in whichever form factor – tabs, smartphones, TV, video games, etc. are extremely stimulating.

Here are some impacts both immediate and long term of too much screen time on a child’s physiology:

1) Causes headaches

2) Leads to poor vision

3) Decline in physical activity

4) Affects posture

5) Causes obesity

So now let’s understand how can you as a parent nullify the impact that screen time has on children? How can you prevent your child from falling prey to this?

Foremost thing is that instead of relying completely on these screens to keep children engaged, parents have to focus on ways to improve their communication with the child. “Parents need to gradually draw them out of their comfort zone by talking to them to make them feel secure and confident. The key thing to understand is that children want to engage, and when there is no person around to do it, they begin to rely on devices and to stop these kids should have a wide variety of fun and educational toys in their shelves”

That said, you cannot expect kids, who spend hours on devices, to suddenly give it all up and chat with you. Don’t force them; just be around and they will gradually start getting comfortable talking and sharing things with you.

“Physical toys such as this from our collection Chota bheem & Friends and books support warm, verbally rich interactions and quality time for the parent and the child,” Ideally, parents should choose toys that are not over stimulating and encourage children to use their imaginations. When children solve real-world problems through casual games, social, emotional and behavioral skills will be developed and improved.

Encouraging your child to seek out and get involved in activities that don't need a screen like enjoying nature, playing soccer outside, or reading together a story-book, or even learning a new board game like chess are just a few ideas to name . It also helps to establish (and enforce) a daily schedule that everyone follows. Making it clear to your kids when they are allowed devices and when they are not, will help set right.

Keeping in mind the child’s interests and capabilities, start looking for alternatives, such those as mentioned below

a) Encourage hobbies – Hobbies help a lot in taking the child off screen. Pick up activities which are of interest to the children like dancing, singing, origami or painting.

b) Spending time for casual games – Toys play an important role in the learning process and overall-development of children. Sports and physical games always excite them. Casual Games and toys are the easiest ways to take the child off these gadgets. One such is our newest product Tangram Travel Game Magnetic Puzzle Book Game.

Get your children toys that are challenging, engaging and make them “learn through playing”. And it is through play that a child first learns to make decisions and solve problems. Some toys that would engage are:

A Mini Royal Enfield Bullet Motorbike model – This miniature toy is a wonderful way for children to experiment and learn about dynamics. Children can independently play the way they like it, in different directions, and adjust the speed to form interesting combinations. It improves the visual-tracking skills via the movement of wheels.

Thomas Train Track Set – Children love trains and traveling to reach the desired point. Each point on the number line depicts numbers and helps them understand that moving forward is addition. This toy not only keeps the children off screen but also is a great aid in development.

Parents are likely the only people in the world who are truly interested in what the child has to say and what the child feels. Engaging with them in fun-games and activities that are stimulating is a must to aid their development.

So parents, be smart and avoid devices that are likely to hamper your child’s development. I Hope that this blog helps you a lot in your parenting.

Check the Below Videos:

[artcademia]

Bodies

I have been grappling with this assignment for weeks now. Amidst the absurdities of an ongoing global pandemic that forces us to work, write and study from home, and the partial lockdown which forced my workplace to close for an indefinite time many weeks ago, I suddenly find myself with an abundance of time and a complete lack of inspiration and motivation at once. It took me forever to figure out which approach to take to this assignment. This was, however, not because the topics that we talked about in class did not stay with me – because they did. I very often find myself thinking about our session with Stacy Hardy and the way she drew our attention to our relationships with our own bodies. I have since made it a habit to actively try to sense myself in my whole body.

I remember back when I was younger, when I was still training for and performing in the circus, I used to be very much aware of my body and its strengths and limitations at all times. We spent months trying to push our bodies to new limits, constantly urging for more – more flexibility, more strength, more control. And we did it without consciously knowing that this was what we were doing. It never felt like exercising. It was merely part of the build-up to the annual climax: the public circus shows during the last week of summer break. Our bodies were our instruments; we used them as a means to tell stories to an audience.

In fact, many artists – particularly those who work in the performative sector – rely on their bodies to narrate stories or impart knowledge or emotions. And while actors or clowns usually use both their bodies and voices to portray characters and to narrate stories, dancers and acrobats are mostly restricted to their bodies. They move their bodies to tell their tales. The body is an important and absolutely essential part – not just of artists – but of every single person on this planet. By ‘body/-ies’, I refer to our actual physical bodies; that is our skeleton, muscles, organs, flesh, blood and skin. Bodies come in many sizes, shapes and colours. They can be flexible or stiff, tender or hard, fit or flabby, strong or weak, big or small, injured or healthy. They are incredibly versatile and can be shaped with the help of nutrition, exercise or drugs or even permanently altered through surgical intervention. Bodies can be decorated with tattoos, piercings, jewellery and clothes. Bodies can get ill or injured and bodies can be healed or even heal themselves.

And bodies have – at least in some way – been a very prominent topic throughout these past couple of months. The pandemic has forced us to focus thoroughly on how bodies work, how they can be vulnerable, how they can transmit diseases and what we have to do to keep them safe. Our bodies vulnerability to external hazards such as viruses has dominated and determined all kinds of decision-making during this pandemic. Decisions that were designed to protect as many bodies as possible, ironically forced many bodies into intermission. As theatres, opera houses, circuses, concert halls, sports stadiums and all sorts of stages had to shut their doors, millions of artists and performers suddenly find themselves unable to do the very thing they need to do to survive – both financially, physically and emotionally.

The movement of bodies has been restricted in various ways during this seemingly never-ending pandemic. Borders have been closed – not for goods, but for bodies – airplanes have been grounded, trains, trams and busses have come to a halt, ships were stuck in harbours, some governments have imposed curfews. And so, all over the world bodies have been stuck at home – at least those that have a home – to prevent them from ending up in body bags.

And many – including myself – have experienced feelings of rustiness, stiffness and ache due to a lack of movement. Confined to the safety of my apartment, I have come to re-evaluate my relationship with my body and the part I play in my physical and emotional wellbeing. I cannot even begin to imagine what this must feel like for dancers, acrobats or athletes. What if they are not only prevented from performing in front of an audience, but are also banned from their training halls, stages and dance studios? What does this situation do to people who are used to expressing their emotions through their bodies?

Back in May 2019, I went to see Jeremy Nedd & Impilo Mapantsula’s (CH/ZA) dance performance The Ecstatic at Kaserne Basel (co-production). The description of their show read as follows:

Pantsula, a historically significant South African subculture. Expressed not only as a powerful dance form which is well known for it’s [sic] high-speed virtuosic footwork, but also evident through a dress code, language, music, and a particular philosophy of life that is all it’s [sic] own. An expression that during Apartheid gave a voice to a whole generation. Praise Break, a mode of praise. A moment... a pause… a break in the context of the Christian Pentecostal Church service, where the dancing body, voice and music energetically coalesce and as a result blur the difference between ecstatic and cathartic. What happens when the aesthetics of these two worlds converge? What happens in this transcendental moment of “break”[?] Within the dance piece The Ecstatic six Pantsula dancers turn to the motions that lead up to the praise break in order to find out, and “break open” a new space all their own.

– https://www.kaserne-basel.ch/en/programme/the-ecstatic/07-05-2019_20-00

The show was phenomenal, and the audience seemed to be blown away throughout. The lightness, humour and flow with which the dancers moved across the stage was stunning and intoxicating. The performance was celebrated with a roaring round of applause and a standing ovation.

After the show, the audience had the opportunity to meet the crew and ask questions during an open discussion with the dancers and choreographers. Jeremy Nedd (CH) and the dancers (Impilo Mapantsula, ZA) explained, that the pantsula dance had its origins in the black townships of apartheid South Africa – particularly in Sophiatown and Alexandra in Johannesburg. The pantsula dance style and culture was developed by black South Africans as a form of peaceful protest against the racist apartheid regime. The dance moves originate from various everyday actions or movements frequently performed by black workers – for example running alongside and jumping on a moving train, sweeping the floor, or assembly-line work. Therefore, the pantsula dance tells the story of black South African workers. This is also reflected in their dance uniforms: pantsula dancers typically dress in colourful work wear inspired clothes, such as bib overalls and converse. According to Impilo Mapantsula, pantsula is not only a dance style, but rather a lifestyle and culture in itself.

What struck me, was the complete absence of women in the Impilo Mapantsula dance crew. When I questioned them about it, they explained that pantsula was originally developed and performed by men only. From the 1980s onwards, there was also an increasing number of female pantsula dancers. Impilo Mapantsula is actually a larger network of pantsula dancers in South Africa, which also includes women. However, they did not specify as to why they did not include any of them in the show.

I wonder what the pandemic with its curfews and lockdowns has done to the pantsula dancers and culture. Do they still meet in secret to dance? Do they dance together via skype or zoom in front of their smartphones? Do they now have to dance alone? What will happen to this culture and art form if it is forced to stand still for too long? How are they going to teach the next generations of pantsula dancers? How do they ensure that the knowledge and history communicated through this highly complex dance style will live on?

Pantsula is but one of countless forms of performative art which are practiced all over the world. How many of them will survive the pandemic? How will they change? Is the performative culture going to be changed throughout? Will dancers, actors and acrobats start to integrate physical distancing into their performances? I guess only time will tell.

Wanda Rutishauser

January 2021

[s-tier]

As some of you guys may have noticed on Twitter this past week or so, there were a couple different hashtags trending for short bursts of time like SaveSmash, FreeMelee, among others. I'd like to take the time to help give those out of the loop some context because there has been lots of misinformation going around.

First, if I get any facts mistaken let me know and I’ll be happy to correct it.

On 19 November 2020, Smash Bros tournament series, The Big House announced on Twitter that they have received a cease and desist from Nintendo of America (NOA) “primarily due to the usage of Slippi” and will cancel both the Super Smash Bros Melee and Super Smash Bros Ultimate online events. The Big House series has been hosting Smash tournaments for almost 10 years, and the more recent installments were even partnered with Nintendo.

Earlier this year, 22 June 2020, Project Slippi releases a version of Dolphin (a Nintendo Gamecube emulator) that includes features new to Melee like rollback netcode, integrated matchmaking, replay files, complex game statistics, and more. Rollback netcode is easily the most important addition, giving players an online experience that’s significantly better than what most modern fighting games provide. It’s especially valuable in a time where the world is fighting an ongoing pandemic and gathering dozens of players to compete in-person poses a major health risk. I could gush over how incredible Fizzi36 and the rest of the Project Slippi developers are for being able to incorporate rollback netcode into Melee, but that’s not the point of this post. Just need to know that the game’s ISO file and its contents do not need to be modified in any way in order for Slippi to do what it does.

Now, despite their claims, NOA is lying. As the copyright holder, Nintendo indeed has the legal right to shut down events, streams, and media that include any of their intellectual property. Most game companies don’t assert this right because, unlike Nintendo, they know it’s not a very good idea. However, based on The Big House’s initial statement and NOA’s follow up statement to Polygon on the C&D, the tournament was shut down for other reasons: game emulation/modification and piracy. First let me say that I’m not a lawyer and would rather have someone better suited explain; but from my understanding, Slippi would not be considered illegal modification of Melee, the game, since everything is done with Dolphin, the emulator, instead. And while it is possible that numerous Melee players may be competing on illegally obtained copies of the game and don’t own their own physical copy, the responsibility falls on Nintendo to prove it.

Some suggest The Big House takes this to court, but with how big Nintendo is, many agree that the amount of time and money needed to settle the case would be too high of a price for anybody in the community to pay. So is fighting for The Big House’s online tournament a lost cause? For this event in particular, most likely yes. It’s been over a week since the C&D was issued and despite the public backlash, NOA has yet to retract its decision. However, the Melee community is already making moves in response, and for the average person, all we can do is spread awareness and see what happens next.

News of The Big House shutting down had spread far and wide, trending on Twitter for some time, reaching influencers like moistcr1tikal, LudwigAhgren, and Mutahar(SomeOrdinaryGamers), several news outlets like Kotaku have covered the story, and gained support from various other competitive gaming communities including ones that play the games that Nintendo actually supports like Splatoon and ARMS.

Few days later on 23 November 2020, an anonymous Twitter account posts a Twitlonger that contains a list of claims exposing how Nintendo has actively gone out of its way to prevent the growth of the competitive Smash scene for many years as far back as 2006. Nintendo’s actions have not only have been a detriment toward the Melee community, but all the newer Smash games and beloved fan-game Project M, as well. Many figures in the Smash community agree that most or even all the statements made in that document are legit, and I highly recommend reading it for yourself and forming your own opinion.

I won’t go over everything covered in the Twitlonger, but in the past Nintendo famously tried to shut down the Melee tournament back at EVO 2013. Melee earned its spot at the event after raising almost $100,000 for breast cancer research. After a day of constant public backlack after the story reached the top of Reddit, Nintendo stepped down from their decision, and after that came one of the most memorable and impactful Smash events in history.

The information brought public by that first Twitlonger caused others came forward with their own claims against Nintendo, exposing their actions against these communities happening behind the scenes. These statements come from members of the ARMS, Project M, and Splatoon communities. (If I come across more, I’ll try to add them here.)

These developments, soon after The Big House’s C&D, made a lot of people upset towards Nintendo. While there are several ways to go about informing others and expressing your frustration with the situation, demanding fans of Nintendo to boycott their products will not help. Doing so would probably just make less informed people not want to support the Smash scene at all.

All this noise has made many people question what the Melee scene was after. Would a rerelease on modern hardware be the solution? No, if anything, it can give Nintendo more leverage to continue this abusive relationship with the competitive community. The Melee rerelease would also likely be the PAL (European/Australian) version of the game, but the community as a whole has already abandoned it in favor of NTSC (Japanese/American). Do Melee players want Nintendo to put up their own money and sponsor competitive events? In the past, yes, but after many, many years of no shown support thus far that is no longer the case. With how malicious Nintendo has been towards the Smash community over the years, many just want the company to turn a blind eye and leave Melee alone at this point.

Mentioned earlier, the Melee community has already taken action in response to the C&D. The general plan as of now is to respectfully spread awareness and continue announcing online tournaments. In December, Ludwig is hosting a big online Melee tournament using Slippi where the winner decides which charity organization will receive the prize money of tens of thousands of dollars. Fizzi released an updated version of Slippi with a spectator mode that enables smaller, independent tournament organizers to run online competitions without needing to rely on streaming, Discord’s screen share feature, or other methods of broadcasting gameplay. Many content creators and players are also taking the time to express how much Melee means to them and how the competitive Smash scene has positively influenced their lives.

Somehow, despite everything exposed up until now, people still actively defend Nintendo as if they did nothing wrong at all and tend to base their arguments on flawed logic and/or incorrect information (you’ll see a lot of it on the Nintendo subreddit). For the remainder of this post, I’ll try to break down a few common misconceptions and explain why Nintendo should not be defended by anyone that isn’t getting paid by them.

Thank you for reading.

________________

“The competitive Melee scene hurts Nintendo’s bottom line.”

Super Smash Bros Melee has been out of production for many years now, and Nintendo has yet to release it on modern consoles.

The competitive Smash community has historically been supportive of Nintendo’s current products at the time.

Assumes the existence of competitive Melee takes opportunities away from other Nintendo games’ existing communities, when in reality it was Nintendo’s own poor community management.

Assumes that competitive scenes negatively affects Nintendo’s brand and is unwelcoming to casual players and newcomers when companies like Blizzard and Valve pump millions into their competitive scenes knowing how profitable they are.

“Nintendo doesn’t want to support events for a scene full of abusive community members.”

Claims like these are ESPECIALLY BAD because it disrespects those who have been victimized by members of their community.

Implies that exposing and ejecting abusive people from the community, and attempting to create a safer environment is bad for the scene.

Assumes people in other communities aren’t capable of doing the same horrible things.

Long before all the allegations came out, Nintendo had already invited several of these community figures to events in order to promote their games.

“Just play the new game lmao Melee players don’t know how to move on”

Has been said for ages, and clearly those saying so don’t get it.

This is literally what Nintendo wants.

“Melee players have always been after the money.”

THERE’S HARDLY ANY MONEY TO BE WON IN THE FIRST PLACE. NO THANKS TO NINTENDO.

If playing video games for money was all Melee players want, they would not be competing in a game this difficult to be good at where tournament winnings can’t reliably pay the bills.

The majority of competitive Melee players are only in it for the passion, and being able to make a living through competing in a game they love is the dream.

“Competitive players take the fun out of games! Why should I support them?”

Unless you can’t read, or are some corporate bootlicker with no sense of empathy, I see no reason not to be supportive.

This whole situation is about a dedicated community that has existed for almost 20 years trying to play their favorite game with each other online in the midst of a pandemic, and for no good reason a big company will not let them.

“Supporting Melee and/or boycotting Nintendo means I have to give up my favorite games!”

No, buy and play what you want, how you want.

Do know that Nintendo is a big company with no intent on being your friend. Stop putting them up on a pedestal.

Boycotting Nintendo won’t do anything anyway; they’re too big, and the FreeMelee movement isn’t far-reaching enough to cause any significant harm to Nintendo’s profits.

"ACTUALLY, Nintendo is within their right to shut down events. They are allowed to kill Melee if they want.”

Yes, and Nintendo is within their right to suck my nuts.

Just because it’s legal doesn’t necessarily make it the right thing to do.

[for-your-therapeutic-smile]

They Never Teach You How to Stop

Rarely do I lack the words to express myself. Perhaps this reflects my failure to maintain my journal consistently throughout 2020. Here goes an honest attempt to capture and document my mental state and the fatigue of Covid, the inertia of this shelter-in-place, the anxiety of this political crisis we face as a nation, the pressure of being a 1L in law school against the backdrop of civil unrest and Justice Ginsburg’s death, coming out - my dad told me he was disappointed -, the possible erosion of my relationship with someone I love, and this feeling of absolute dread and resentment for a system that continuously fails my and future generations (robbing us of a social contract that promised life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness), among many other things I’m too tired to consider. When did we accept a $0 baseline as the American Dream? Oh, to be debt free - free from this punishment for having pursued an education. Stifling the educated to prevent them (myself included) from organizing and mobilizing the masses so we can supplant this system with a better one is the overall objective of the oppressive class (read: Pedagogy of the Oppressed); it’s the conflict between the bourgeois and the proletariat. The proletariat has swallowed the middle class, leaving only the ruling class. I am essentially on autopilot, forcing myself to go through the motions so I can survive another day. I know others join me in this mental gymnastics of unparalleled proportions, one social scientists and medical researchers will soon study and subsequently publish their findings in an attempt to explain the unexplainable. Despite a lack of air circulation, we are breathing history; the constitution, like our societal norms, must adapt accordingly. Judge Barrett: there is no place for originalism. While I seldom admit weakness or an inability to manage life’s curveballs, this series of unfortunate events seems almost too much to bear. 

And yet somehow I continue to find the energy to submit assignments due at 11:59 p.m., write this post at 1:38 a.m., “sleep”, wake at 7 a.m. so I can read and prepare (last minute!) the assigned material leading into my torts or contracts class. I find the energy to text my boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend) so I can attempt to salvage the real and genuine connection we have, cook elaborate meals to find some solace, wrestle with whether or not to hit my yoga mat (I don’t), apply to a fellowship for the school year and summer internships, prepare my dual citizenship paperwork, manage a campaign for two progressive politicians, and listen to music in an attempt to stay sane . . . ~*Queues John Mayer’s “War of My Life” and “Stop This Train”*~ . . . I realize I have to be kinder to myself, give credit where credit is due. I hate feeling self-congratulatory though.

Mostly, I am too afraid of the repercussions if I stop moving at a mile/minute, that I can just work away the pain and be the superhuman who numbs himself from the low-grade depression and nervous breakdown. My body tells me to slow down, as evidenced by the grinding of my teeth, but I take on more responsibility because people rely on me. I must show up. I am a masochist in that way. This is what I signed up for and I’ll be damned if I don’t carry through on my promise to do the work. Pieces of my soul scattered about like Horcruxes, though they’re pure, not evil, so I hope nobody resolves to destroy them. 

My mind rarely rests. It’s 3:08 a.m., one of the lonelier hours where night meets morning; it’s the hour for and of intense introspection. It makes you consider pulling an all-nighter, one you reserve for an “important” school or work deadline. We always put our personal lives on the back-burner. 3 a.m. sets the tone for a potentially awful day. But that doesn’t matter right now. I’m letting some of my favorite albums play in the background: Joni Mitchell’s Blue, Mac Miller’s Circles, Rhye’s Blood, Alicia Keys’ ALICIA, Coldplay’s Ghost Stories, Frank Ocean’s Blonde, Miley Cyrus’ Dead Petz in addition to other playlists, Tiny Desk performances, and tracks (I unearthed last week, like When It’s Over by Sugar Ray). I need to feel something. I need to feel anything. I need to feel everything. We experience such a broad spectrum of emotions throughout the day that we lose track of if we don’t pause to absorb them. Music reinforces empathy; it releases dopamine.

I spent the past two hours reading through old journals and posts, as scattered as they were, on a wide range of topics: poems I had written about falling in and out love, anecdotes about my world travels, and entries on personal, political, and professional epiphanies. The other night I found one of my favorites, a previous post from my time living in Indonesia, centering on the dualities of technology. It resonated with me more than the others. To summarize, I wrote about my tendency to equate the Internet with a sense of interconnectedness (shoutout to Tumblr for being my digital journal; to Twitter for being a place of comedy and revolution; to Instagram for curating my *aesthetic*; to Facebook where I track my family’s accomplishments and connect with travel buddies displaced around the globe all searching for a home). And yet I feel incredibly lonely and disconnected whenever I spend too much time using technology, so much so that I set screen time limitations on my phone recently to curtail this obsession with constant communication and information gathering. Trump and Biden admitted that it’s unlikely we’ll know the results of the election on November 3rd during their first presidential debate. Push notifications don’t allow us to learn of trauma within the comforts of our own homes. I’m already fearing where I will be when that news breaks. 

This global pandemic and indefinite shutdown of the world (economy) undeniably exacerbates these feelings. This is some personal and collective turmoil. But I was complicit in the endless scrolling and swiping of faces and places long before Covid-19. Instead of choosing to interact with my direct environment (today’s research links this behavior to the same levels of depression one feels when they play slot machines), I am still an active on all these platforms, participating the least in the most tangible one: my physical life. I am tired of pretending. I am tired of being tired. I am tired of embodying fake energy to exist in systems that fail me. I am tired of the quagmire. Like Anaïs Nin, I must be a mermaid [because] I have no fear of depths and a great fear of shallow living. This particular excerpt from that 2016 entry was difficult for me to read: “The fantasy of what could have been if a certain plan had unfolded will haunt you forever if you do not come to peace with the reality of the situation. I hope you come to terms with reality.” I am not at peace with my current reality. But is anyone?

It’s a bit surreal for my peers to have suddenly started caring about international relations theory. It’s transported me back to my 2012 IR lecture at Northeastern: are you a constructivist or a feminist? Realist or liberalist? Neo? Marxist? The one no one wants you to talk about. Absent upward mobility, this is class warfare. But I cannot be “a singular expression of myself . . . there are too many parts, too many spaces, too many manifestations, too many lines, too many curves, too many troubles, too many journeys, too many mountains, too many rivers” . . . It feels like America’s wake-up call. But I know people will retreat into the comforts of capitalism if Biden wins and, well, we all enter uncharted waters together if the Electoral College re-elects #45. For those who weren’t paying attention: the world is multipolar and we are not the hegemon. Norms matter. People tend to be self-interested and shortsighted. Look to the past in order to understand the future. History, as the old adage goes, repeats itself. Once a cheater, always a cheater. Taxation without representation. Indoctrination. Welcome to the language of political discourse. Students of IR and polisci have long awaited your participation. Too little too late? Plot twist: it’s a lifelong commitment. You must continue to engage irrespective of the election outcome or else we will regress just as quickly as we progress. Now dive into international human rights treaties (International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights; International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights), political refugees, FGM. No one said it wasn’t dismal. But it’s important. We need buy-in.  

While I am grateful for the continuation of my education, for this extended time with family, for this opportunity to be a campaign manager for two local progressive candidates (driving to Boston to pick up revised yard signs as proof that the work never stops), it would be remiss of me, however, not to admit that I am lonely: I am buried in my books, in the depressing news both nationally and globally, and in precedent-setting Supreme Court cases (sometimes for the worst, e.g. against the preservation of our environment). In my nonexistent free time I work on political asylum cases, essentially creating an enforceability framework of international law, for people fleeing country conditions so unthinkable (the irony of that work when my country falls greater into authoritarianism and oligarchy is not lost on me). I am fulfilling my dream of becoming a human rights lawyer which stems back to middle school. I saw Things I Imagined (thank you Solange). I have held an original copy of the Declaration of Independence that we sent to the House of Lords in 1778 and the Human Rights Act of 1998 while visiting the U.K. Parliamentary Archives as an intern for a Member of Parliament. This success terrifies and exhausts me; it also oxygenizes and saves me. Every decision, every sacrifice, has led me to this point. 

“It’s the choosing that’s important, isn’t it?,” Lois Lowry of The Giver rhetorically asks. This post is not intended to be woe is me! I am fortunate to be in this position, to have this vantage point at such an early age, and I understand the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. My life has purpose. I am committed to the work that transcends boundaries; it is larger than life itself. It provides a unique perspective. But it makes it difficult to coexist with people so preoccupied in the drama they create in their lives and the general shallowness of the world we live. It feels like there is no option to pump the brakes on any of this work, especially in light of our current climate, and that pressure oftentimes feels insurmountable. Time is of the essence. It feels, whether true or not, that hardly anyone relates to my experience, so if I don’t carve out this time to write about it, then I am neither recording nor processing it. 

Tonight, in between preparing tomorrow’s coursework, I realize that I have an unprecedented number of questions about life, which startles me because typically I have the answers or at least have a goal in mind that launches me into the next phase of life or contextualizes the current one. These goals, often rooted in this capitalistic framework, in this falsity of “needing” to advance my career as a means of helping people, distract me from asking myself the existential questions, the reasons for why we live and what we fundamentally want our systems to look like; they have distracted me from real grassroots community organizing until now. They distract me from the fact that, like John Mayer, I don’t know which walls to smash; similarly, I don’t know which train to board. Right now feels like we are living through impossible and hopeless times and I don’t want to placate myself into thinking otherwise despite my relatively optimistic outlook on life. As we face catastrophic circumstances – the consequences of this election and climate change (famine, refugees, lack of resources) – I do not want to live in perpetual sadness. I am searching for clarity and direction so I can step into a better, fuller version of myself. 

It’s now 3:33 a.m. Here is the list of questions that I have often asked myself in different stages of life, but recently, until now, I have not been willing to confront for fear that I might not be able to answers them. But I owe it to myself to pose them here so I can have the overdue conversation, the one I know leads me to better understanding myself:

Are you happy? Why or why not?

What do you want the future to hold? What groundwork are you going to do to ensure it happens?

What does your ideal day/week/month/year/decade look like? Why?

With whom do you want to spend your days? Why?

Who do you love and care about? Have you told people you care about that you love them? Does love and vulnerability scare you?

What do you expect of people – of yourself, of your partner, of your family, and of your friends? Should you have those expectations? Why or why not?

What do you feel and why?

What relaxes you? What scares you? What brings you joy?

What do you want to improve? Why?

What do you want to forgive yourself for and why?

Does the desire to reinvent yourself diminish your ability to be present?

Do you have a greater fear of failure or success? Why?

How do you escape the confines of this broken system? How do you break from the guilt of participation in it and having benefited from it?

How do we reconcile our daily lives with the fact that we’re living through an extinction event? This one comes from my friend (hi Jeanne) and a podcast she listened to recently.

How do you help people? How do you help yourself? Are you pouring from an empty cup?

How will you find joy in your everyday responsibilities, in the mission you have chosen for yourself? What, if any, will be the warning signs to walk away from this work, in part or in its entirety? Without being a martyr, do you believe in dying for the cause?

So here are some of the lessons I have learned during this quarantine/past year:

“I’ve Got Dreams to Remember,” so do not take your eyes off them. Chasing paper does not bring you happiness.

Be autonomous, particularly in your professional life.

Focus on values instead of accolades.

Do everything with intention and honest energy.

Listen to Tracy Chapman’s “Crossroads” & Talkin’ Bout a Revolution for an energy boost and reminder that other revolutionaries have shared and continue to share your fervent passion . . . “I’m trying to protect what I keep inside, all the reasons why I live my life” . . . When self-doubt nearly cripples you and you yearn a few minutes to run away when in reality you can’t escape your responsibilities, go for a drive and queue up “Fast Car” . . . “I got no plans, I ain’t going nowhere, so take your fast car and keep on driving.”

With that said, take every opportunity to travel (you can take the work with you if absolutely necessary). Go to Italy. Buy the concert ticket and lose yourself in the moment. Remember that solo excursions are equally as important as collective ones. But, from personal experience, you prefer the company. Find the balance.

Detach from the numbers people keep trying to assign to measure your personhood.

Closely examine the people in your inner circle and ask them for help when you need it.

“And life is just too short to keep playing the game . . . because if you really want somebody [or something], you’ll figure it out later, or else you will just spend the rest of the night with a BlackBerry on your chest hoping it goes *vibration, vibration*” (John Mayer’s Edge of Desire) . . . so love fiercely and unapologetically.

Be specific.

Go to therapy even when life is good.

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, December 28

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Ghislaine Maxwell scandal explodes 

Page 2: George Clooney was rushed to the hospital after rapidly dropping 28 pounds to play an ailing astronomer in his latest movie The Midnight Sky and the harrowing incident has infuriated worried wife Amal Clooney -- George’s scare came when he was diagnosed with life-threatening pancreatitis days before he was scheduled to start filming on a glacier in Finland -- Amal was unhappy and angry that he put his health on the line for the role and she was also furious because this wasn’t the first time the father of her twins has been in harm’s way and she’s demanding he take better care of himself so he’ll be around to care for his kids 

Page 3: Lori Loughlin’s deluded daughter Olivia Jade Giannulli is clueless over the college admissions scandal that landed her parents in jail and believes her own hype according to a body language expert -- in an interview on Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk Olivia claimed she had no idea posing for pictures on a rowing machine to finagle a crew scholarship to the University of Southern California despite never having practiced the sport was deceitful but body language expert Susan Constantine said Olivia doesn’t appear to have any understanding of the consequences of her actions or those of mom Lori and dad Mossimo Giannulli -- after observing Olivia’s confession Constantine said she didn’t notice any deceptive indicators such as pauses in her speech or shrugging of her shoulders however she labeled Olivia completely unequivocally oblivious which she said made it challenging to judge Olivia’s truthfulness 

Page 4: Lonely Diane Keaton is longing for love and she’s turned to former flame Jack Nicholson for help in landing a new guy -- Diane is truly desperate to find a man and she knows if there’s one person who can help her navigate the dating scene after all this time it’s Jack -- the Oscar-winning actress shocked the world when she recently admitted she hasn’t been on a date in 35 years and she made a joke of it but the pandemic has made her realize how lonely she really is -- Diane would never date Jack again but knows he has a lot of eligible friends who would fit her dating profile 

* Dying Olivia Newton-John worries endlessly about her daughter Chloe and made a touching final request of close pal John Travolta: Please take care of Chloe after I’m gone -- Olivia’s concerns for Chloe spiked after she blasted the COVID-19 vaccine on social media writing that natural medicine is the party she belongs to -- Olivia has been battling stage 4 breast cancer while John lost his wife Kelly Preston to the same disease and John loves and admires Olivia for the way she’s battled this disease and she’s given him the hope and encouragement he needs -- now Chloe’s ongoing issues have pushed Olivia to beg John to pledge he’ll be there for her daughter because Chloe has spent over $450,000 on multiple plastic surgeries including breast enhancements and a nose job and lip enhancements and Botox and she’s also battled anorexia and depression which led to bouts with cocaine and alcohol addiction -- Olivia has always been deeply concerned about who would look out for Chloe if she wasn’t around and now that she can see the end is near she asked John to be that person; he never blinked an eye and said of course 

Page 5: Ozzy Osbourne’s frail and feeble appearance has friends fearing for the rocker but he has no plans to abandon a 2022 comeback even if it kills him -- the 72-year-old singer has battled Parkinson’s disease and crippling nerve damage but has vowed he will die onstage -- nobody disputes he has the heart of a lion and it’s great to see him out and about again recording music and talking the good talk but ultimately Ozzy is a very sickly guy who needs to protect himself and not charge around trying to delude himself by living life at a pace that doesn’t make sense anymore 

Page 6: Rattled reality star Kylie Jenner is living in fear after being terrorized by two crazed fans and is now spending $350,000 a month on a 25-person security detail -- Kylie filed court documents seeking a restraining order against Justin Bergquist who allegedly broke into her $36.5 million California home last month 

Page 7: Lonely Ryan Seacrest may have nearly half a billion bucks in the bank but he’d trade in his riches for another shot at love -- he was so devastated by his breakup with on-again off-again galpal Shayna Taylor last summer he fears he may never find a woman to spend the rest of his life with and he now realizes her put his career before his personal life one too many times and may suffer for it forever -- Ryan’s recent health woes have been a wake-up call and forced him to understand the price he’s paying for taking his partners for granted for so long -- Ryan now realizes life is too short to go it alone and it’s finally dawned on him he’s not invincible and not so self-sufficient after all 

* Miley Cyrus’ admission that she’s had a lot of FaceTime sex has left friends and advisers fearing she may be setting herself up for some unwanted exposure -- though Miley explained she’s turned to virtual hookups to avoid physical contact during the pandemic but she’s putting herself at an entirely different kind of risk and she’s setting herself up as a potential victim of revenge porn 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Brooke Burke showed off her toned figure in Malibu, Andrew Garfield looked bored on the NYC set of Tick Tick...Boom!, Busy Philipps cleaning, Audrina Patridge and her daughter Kirra on a Beverly Hills playdate 

Page 11: Guy Fieri is eating up heaps of praise for handing out $500 grants to more than 43,000 restaurant workers across the nation -- he scrambled to raise over $21.5 million in seven weeks to help legions of unemployed restaurant laborers who have suffered financially due to the COVID-19 health and economic crisis -- through his new Restaurant Employee Relief Fund Guy personally buttonholed fat cats at cash-rich corporations such as PepsiCo and Uber Eats and Moet Hennessy USA to make donations -- he shows how he did it and shines a light on the industry’s continuing challenges in Restaurant Hustle 2020 a documentary he produced for the Food Network 

* Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood are spreading yuletide cheer with their TV holiday special but they’re more interested in ringing cash registers than Christmas bells -- Garth and Trisha rake in $60 million a year from concert ticket sales and CD purchases and merchandising but the couple saw their cash flow slow during the pandemic -- they lost a bunch of money but they had the unique opportunity to do TV specials and grab a big chunk of it back -- while the $10 million they are pocketing for their TV specials won’t make up for what they would have netted on tour it was a sweet stocking stuffer and they both want to get back on the road and really rake it in but TV has made the wait a lot easier 

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- With Beyonce and Taylor Swift facing off for Song of the Year at the upcoming Grammy Awards producers are scrambling to prevent another Kanye West explosion like what happened in 2009

* Killing off The Talk may be the only hope of saving Drew Barrymore’s tanking talk show

* The Real Housewives of New York are treating the first Black cast member Eboni K. Williams with kid gloves because no one wants to come across as racist 

* Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts (picture) 

Page 13: January Jones’ desperate bid for online attention has pals concerned she may be cracking up -- her red-hot career appears to have cooled since Mad Men ended in 2015 and January is dying to land another plum part like Betty Draper but she’s going about it the wrong way -- she’s been posting sexy bikini pictures and leggy dance numbers on Instagram but that’s not the way to catch the eye of casting directors especially with so few shows in production during the COVID-19 lockdown 

* Caitlyn Jenner has reached out to trans actor Elliot Page offering to be his big sister in an opportunistic PR ploy -- while Caitlyn was one of many trans celebs including Jazz Jennings and Geena Rocero to offer Elliot congratulations and support, Caitlyn viewed the announcement as a new opportunity to leap back into the limelight and she believes that by aligning herself with Elliot she can regain her status as an activist and the symbol of transgender rights in Hollywood -- Elliot is happy to listen to Caitlyn’s advice but he’s been navigating his gender issues for years and doesn’t need guidance and he’s not going to be rude but he doesn’t need the help 

Page 14: Crime 

Page 15: A never-before-heard audio recording is of iconic soul singer James Brown’s wish to leave his $100 million fortune to educate poor children -- in the garbled 1999 recording the singer who died suddenly in 2006 called the creation of his I Feel Good foundation his lasting legacy but his precious foundation has not seen a dime because his fortune has remained tied up in court since his death which is the subject of an investigation by the Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney’s office after allegations surfaced that Brown might have been poisoned by someone after his money 

Page 16: American Life 

Page 17: What Shocked and Rocked in 2020 -- the best scoops and stories of the year 

Page 25: Fired Hillsong Church pastor Carl Lentz was so starstruck by his celebrity parishioners he believed he was a star himself and his ego fueled his shocking fall from grace and now he’s getting mental health treatment after being accused of cheating on his wife and getting sacked for moral failures -- Carl tended the trendy megachurch’s New York City flock and regularly rubbed shoulders with celebs including NBA star Kevin Durant and singer Selena Gomez and even once invited Justin Bieber to live with him before being booted by bigwigs but now he’s said to be getting help at an outpatient facility specializing in depression and pastoral burnout but cunning Carl may have made the move simply to revamp his wrecked reputation 

Page 26: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are heading to couples therapy in a desperate bid to stay together because their marriage is hanging by a thread -- the pair are at each other’s throats as they struggle to adjust to their new life in America -- Harry’s gone from being excited about the move to feeling tortured and it’s like he swapped his royal prison in Britain for a new hell in a $14 million California mansion and he fears he’s made a terrible mistake but Meghan’s ordering him to man up and grab this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make millions away from the monarchy’s suffocating shadow -- the fighting came to a head before the holidays when Harry was feeling especially homesick and guilty about abandoning his family especially his brother Prince William and his grandmother Queen Elizabeth -- adding to their troubles Meghan seems hellbent on staying in the public eye during the pandemic and she masterminded their personal video calls to charities in London and the U.S. and the secret deliveries of meals to the needy but then she made them public and the truth is it’s The Meghan Show now and Harry’s just the side act 

Page 27: A charming Chinese spy bedded two Midwestern mayors and courted other clueless politicians to weasel her way into U.S. government circles -- Chinese national Christina Fang also known as Fang Fang, reportedly entered the U.S. as a college student in 2011 

Page 31: Candice Bergen moaned that at the age of 74 she’s a wreck and that she has a wattle -- Candice admitted to having her eyes done while filming the Murphy Brown reboot because they were very hooded and as for today she knows she should have injections because she has deep lines along her lip but she can’t take the pain 

* Rachael Ray lost her New York home to a blazing inferno but her holidays were salvaged by the warmth of community spirit -- following the devastating fire she and her husband moved into the property’s guesthouse and in a clip on The Rachael Ray Show the emotional host showed off her festively decorated digs and gushed she didn’t know where she’d be without friends and a community and people so dear to her that helped her bring Christmas to life even when you’re not at home 

Page 32: Health Watch -- blood test predicts Alzheimer’s 

Page 34: Longtime lovebirds Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell are hoping to make a movie with their whole family -- the star-studded cast would include Goldie’s kids Kate Hudson and Oliver Hudson and the couple’s son Wyatt Russell -- as for filming with the entire gang Goldie gushed that they have thought about it and she’d love to do something with her kids and the grandchildren too 

* Hollywood Hookups -- Kristin Cavallari and Jeff Dye heating up, Malik Beasley and Larsa Pippen dating but Malik’s wife Montana Yao filed for divorce, Chrishell Stause and Keo Motsepe dating 

Page 36: Infamous Hollywood hotel Chateau Marmont has a storied history of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll ever since it opened its doors in 1929 and nearly a century later it hasn’t been tamed -- even during the pandemic the majestic hotel is wild with drunks, overdoses and luckily averted suicide attempts and according to 911 records the debauched celebrity haunt is filled with people having breakdowns -- the Chateau’s crazy days and nights are legendary: it’s where John Belushi died in one of the bungalows in 1982 from a deadly cocaine-heroin concoction 

Page 38: One of the most iconic images from the James Bond films which is a handgun used by Sean Connery in Dr. No has sold for $256,000 at auction in Beverly Hills -- the gun is a deactivated semi-automatic Walther PP pistol -- the winning bidder who asked to remain anonymous is an American who’s seen every James Bond film with his children -- a helmet created for Tom Cruise in Top Gun also sold at the auction for $108,000 while a sword used by Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction sold for $35,200 

* Dolly Parton has one major thing left on her bucket list which is she wants to see Beyonce sing Jolene one of the country star’s signature songs -- Jolene has been recorded more than any other song Dolly has ever written but that isn’t enough for her because she also wants to see it updated by one of the top female stars of a new generation -- it has been recorded worldwide over 400 times in lots of different languages but nobody’s ever had a really big hit record on it and Dolly always hoped somebody might do it someday by someone like Beyonce 

* Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has wrestled his way into the alcohol market with his own tequila brand and lifted it into first place as the most successful spirit launch in history and he’s even on track to double George Clooney’s first-year launch -- Dwayne is expected to move more than 300,000 cases of small-batch Teremana Tequila in its first year of trading 

Page 40: Smitten singer Rihanna has fallen hard for A$AP Rocky but friends fear the playboy rapper will leave her broken-hearted -- Rocky is a charming guy but he also has a love ‘em and leave ‘em reputation and everyone’s concerned she’s more into him than he is into her -- Rihanna’s desperate to meet a man she can see herself with for the rest of her life and she believes Rocky might be the one but everybody thinks she’s rushing into things with Rocky -- Rocky is not interested in a long-term romance and Rihanna shouldn’t be thinking of this as more than a port in the storm 

* Lizzo is livin’ large and she’s showing every inch of her jiggles and folds on TikTok -- the body-positivity enthusiast wore a white bikini for an all-angles video in which she amply demonstrated the tricks models and celebs use to look slimmer -- she bared her belly and back and legs and sometimes jiggled her thighs or grabbed a hunk of herself to prove there’s more to luscious ladies than meets the eye and wrote, “Wild to see the body positive movement come so far. Proud of the big girls who gave it wings.” 

Page 42: Red Carpet -- The Crown stars -- Claire Foy, Emma Corrin, Gillian Anderson, Vanessa Kirby, Erin Doherty 

Page 47: Odd List -- baseball fan Darren Johnson hatched an unusual idea for his new chicken coop making it a model of Houston’s former Eighth Wonder of the World The Astrodome

[roartosoar]

How I Started Writing to Prisoners

It’s been a year since uncertainty became the new normal, where human connection is maintained through zoom meetings, facetime and social distancing. If you’re lucky, you had loved ones living in your home to provide touch, talk and play. What about the humans on the inside of institutions?  How is their connection maintained? They do not have facetime, they barely have anything. In fact, during the pandemic all programs, visiting hours and external contact was cut off from incarcerated individuals. This doesn’t include the lifers who haven’t seen someone from the outside in over a decade, or the ones who have simply given up hope. If you thought being stuck at home with your kids was bad, imagine not seeing them for fifteen years, isolated in a cell, staring at cold concrete. Imagine not seeing or talking to anyone. 

If you are anything like me:

·You do not like to feel helpless

·You can relate to feeling unheard, lonely or isolated

·The mistreatment of marginalized and vulnerable communities upsets you

So what do you do? Something! Anything to give hope and build endurance to keep going. In my case, I chose to write handwritten letters to incarcerated individuals, mainly those serving a life sentence. Now, I didn’t wake up one morning telling myself, “I’m going to write to prisoners!”. It was a slow, uncomfortable process, it still is. 

How it started

It began by sending love notes to friends and family I missed. Shortly, it evolved to include communities I was actively involved in like The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. Knowing my work with AFSP, my friend asked me to write to his foster daughters. Due to unforeseen circumstances, him and his wife were no longer able to house the girls. This inspired me to post on Reddit:

“If you feel unheard, lonely or isolated and would find joy in a letter of hope, DM your address to me”. FinchWitch 

The Responses were overwhelming. Many of us were hurting but not everyone was asking for help. Myself included. I discovered writing thoughtful, tangible letters not only helped others, it helped myself.

Challenge Accepted 

What do you do when you feel good about acts of kindness? You share with a friend. Which is exactly what I did when I felt I was onto something. Feeling unheard or lonely is diverse in that it's situational but it also unifies us as humans because we’ve all felt that way at one point in our lives. Telling my writing journey to my friend Jon, he quickly replied in a daring tone, “Oh you want to write to lonely people?”. He proceeded to talk to me (something he rarely does) about his experience in prison and returning to society after. A time period of approximately twenty years. He mentioned his battle with mental health, missing the growth of this son and forgetting what a hug felt like. A letter from the outside would have given him persistence to go on. He ended his talk by challenging me to write to incarcerated individuals. While I immediately accepted the challenge, the task proved to provide some obstacles. 

Do you know how to write to someone on the inside? I didn’t either. Once I found out about websites online, I was still hesitant to put pen to paper. The websites had so many rules. Identify your intentions, whether you are willing to be a prayer partner, provide financial means or legal assistance. There was no filter for “provide hope”. Once my boundaries were established, I had to go through profiles and select someone. What was I looking for? Who was I looking for? I thought about what Jon said, so I filtered people serving a life sentence, who were not currently receiving mail and were far away from me. I also purchased a P.O. Box for additional safety. The next step was to start writing! What would you write to an incarcerated person for the first time? I chose to write about myself, tell them this story and how my friend inspired me to write to them. I made my boundaries very clear, I offer friendship and an ear with an open heart. A few letters have been returned as some institutions spam all mail from strangers, but most get a response and I have friends on the inside I write to regularly. Both of us look forward to each other's letters and have found comfort in being heard.

I know what you’re thinking or have thought about, they did this to themselves. It’s their fault they are in there. You’re not wrong, many incarcerated individuals will tell you they are not a bad person, they made a terrible mistake. Can you honestly say you’ve never made a terrible mistake? We all make mistakes, these humans are serving the harshest consequence for theirs. Does this mean they deserve to serve their crime locked alone in a cell with no connection to the outside world? Personally, this is a harsh truth I no longer want to ignore.

How can you help?

Donate for supplies: It costs about $2 per letter. https://gofund.me/4848f232 

Become a penpal: email request to sorianostateofmiind@gmail.com Requires minimum of 3 month commitment and notification of last letter. No one likes to be ghosted.

Share 

I’m hoping by sharing my story with you I have given you something to think about that you probably haven’t before. I know I didn’t. Bonus if you choose to take action, may it be my suggestions above or your own. All that matters is your intention. I intend to speak for the unheard with a smile on my face and love in my heart. 

Love & Light,

xxxBeckz

Research to inspire helping

Spending money on others improves your quality of life. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18356530/ 

Studies show people who engage in charity organizations have higher levels of life satisfaction, physical health and self-esteem. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1693420/ 

Criminal justice Facts

https://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/ 

There are 2.2 million people in the nation’s prisons and jails.

Changes in law and policy, not changes in crime rates, explain most of the 500% increase over the last 40 years.

One in nine people in prison is now serving a life sentence, nearly a third of whom are sentenced to life without parole.

If you currently feel unheard and would like to receive some hope to keep going please mail request to:

Rebecca Soriano

P.O. Box 14481 

Long Beach, CA 90853

[newstfionline]

Saturday, December 19, 2020

Tax cuts for the wealthy aren’t trickling down (CBS News) Do tax cuts for the wealthy really help the overall economy and “trickle down” to everyone else? It’s not a trickle question. David Hope of the London School of Economics and Julian Limberg of King’s College London examined 18 developed countries and did the math. “Per capita gross domestic product and unemployment rates were nearly identical after five years in countries that slashed taxes on the rich and in those that didn’t, the study found. But the analysis discovered one major change: The incomes of the rich grew much faster in countries where tax rates were lowered. Instead of trickling down to the middle class, tax cuts for the rich may not accomplish much more than help the rich keep more of their riches and exacerbate income inequality.” 50 years of tax cuts for the rich failed to trickle down.

Suspected Russian Cyberattack Strikes at Heart of U.S. Government (Foreign Policy) As more details are revealed about Russia’s alleged hack of the U.S. government, it’s becoming clear that the breach is much worse than previously thought. On Thursday, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warned that is “poses a grave risk” to federal, state, and local governments as well as private companies and organizations. There is a growing list of reported victims: the Centers for Disease Control, the Defense Department, State Department, Commerce Department, Department of Homeland Security, Treasury Department, the U.S. Postal Service, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy were all affected. “This is, I think, appears to be at this point the most serious cyberattack this country has ever endured,” Sen. Angus King, I-Maine said on NPR. Microsoft, which is helping to respond to the hack, noted that “the attack unfortunately represents a broad and successful espionage-based assault on both the confidential information of the U.S. Government and the tech tools used by firms to protect them … ongoing investigations reveal an attack that is remarkable for its scope, sophistication and impact.”

California hospitals buckle as virus cases surge (AP) Hospitals across California have all but run out of intensive care beds for COVID-19 patients, ambulances are backing up outside emergency rooms, and tents for triaging the sick are going up as the nation’s most populous state emerges as the latest epicenter of the U.S. outbreak. On Thursday, California reported a staggering 52,000 new cases in a single day—equal to what the entire U.S. was averaging in mid-October—and a one-day record of 379 deaths. More than 16,000 people are in the hospital with the coronavirus across the state, more than triple the number a month ago. Patients are being cared for at several overflow locations, including a former NBA arena in Sacramento, a former prison and a college gymnasium.

‘Unbelievable’ snowfall blankets parts of the Northeast (AP) The Northeast’s first whopper snowstorm of the season buried parts of upstate New York under more than 3 feet (1 meter) of snow, broke records in cities and towns across the region, and left plow drivers struggling to clear the roads as snow piled up at more than 4 inches (10 centimeters) per hour. “It was a very difficult, fast storm and it dropped an unbelievable amount of snow,” Tom Coppola, highway superintendent in charge of maintaining 100 miles (160 kilometers) of roads in the Albany suburb of Glenville, said Thursday. “It’s to the point where we’re having trouble pushing it with our plows.” The storm dropped 30 inches (76 centimeters) on Glenville between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. Thursday, leaving a silent scene of snow-clad trees, buried cars and laden roofs when the sun finally peeked through at noon. Much of Pennsylvania saw accumulations in the double digits. Boston had more than 9 inches (23 centimeters) of snow early Thursday morning.

1 in 5 prisoners in the US has had COVID-19, 1,700 have died (AP) One in every five state and federal prisoners in the United States has tested positive for the coronavirus, a rate more than four times as high as the general population. In some states, more than half of prisoners have been infected, according to data collected by The Associated Press and The Marshall Project. As the pandemic enters its 10th month—and as the first Americans begin to receive a long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine—at least 275,000 prisoners have been infected, more than 1,700 have died and the spread of the virus behind bars shows no sign of slowing. New cases in prisons this week reached their highest level since testing began in the spring, far outstripping previous peaks in April and August. As the virus spreads largely unchecked behind bars, prisoners can’t social distance and are dependent on the state for their safety and well-being.

Shut down by corona, Berlin restaurant opens for homeless (AP) The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t made life on the streets of Berlin any easier for Kaspars Breidaks. For three months, the 43-year-old Latvian has faced homeless shelters operating at reduced capacity so that people can be kept at a safe distance from one another. And with fewer Berliners going outdoors, it’s much harder to raise money by panhandling or collecting bottles to sell for recycling. But on a chilly winter morning this week Breidaks found himself with a free hot meal and a place to warm up, after the German capital’s biggest restaurant, the Hofbraeu Berlin—itself closed down due to coronavirus lockdown restrictions—shifted gears to help the homeless. It was a clear win-win proposition, said Hofbraeu manager Bjoern Schwarz. As well as helping out the homeless during tough times the city-funded project also gives needed work to employees—and provides the restaurant with welcome income. In cooperation with the city and two welfare organizations, the restaurant quickly developed a concept to take in up to 150 homeless people in two shifts every day until the end of the winter, and started serving meals on Tuesday.

Japan: Snow traps 1,000 drivers in frozen traffic jam (BBC) Rescuers are trying to free more than 1,000 vehicles which have been stranded on a highway for two days after a heavy snow storm struck Japan. Authorities have distributed food, fuel and blankets to the drivers on the Kanetsu expressway, which connects the capital Tokyo to Niigata, in the north. The snow, which began on Wednesday evening, has caused multiple traffic jams along the road. Officials have been using a combination of heavy machinery and physical labour to dig out the vehicles one by one, but around 1,000 cars were still stranded on the road as of Friday noon.

‘Nightmare’ Australia Housing Lockdown Called Breach of Human Rights (NYT) The sudden lockdown this summer of nine public housing towers in Melbourne that left 3,000 people without adequate food and medication and access to fresh air during the city’s second coronavirus wave breached human rights laws, an investigation found. The report, released on Thursday by the ombudsman in the state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, said that the residents had been effectively placed under house arrest for 14 days in July without warning. It deprived them of essential supports, as well as access to activities like outdoor exercise, the report said. The lockdown was not “compatible with residents’ human rights, including their right to humane treatment when deprived of liberty,” Deborah Glass, the Victorian ombudsman, wrote. The report recommended the state government apologize publicly to tower residents, as well as improve relationships and procedures at similarly high-risk accommodations in the city so that they might be better prepared for future outbreaks. Though Australia has won global praise for successfully slowing the spread of the coronavirus in the country, the report was a scathing rebuke of state officials’ decision to apply stringent measures to the public housing residents, who said they felt trapped and traumatized and suspected discrimination. Several described it as a “nightmare.”

Fiji says two dead as powerful cyclone tears across Pacific nation (Reuters) A powerful cyclone pounded Fiji, killing two people and leaving a trail of destruction across the Pacific Island nation, authorities said on Friday. Cyclone Yasa, a top category five storm, made landfall over Bua province on the northern island of Vanua Levu on Thursday evening, bringing torrential rain, widespread flooding and winds of up to 285 km per hour (177 miles) across the archipelago. Scores of houses were destroyed, while power was cut to some areas and roads blocked by fallen trees and flash flooding, authorities said. Officials with the Red Cross said authorities were scrambling to help affected communities. Adverse weather has hampered efforts by aid groups to dispatch assistance, with waves of more than 3 metres (10 ft) preventing ships leaving Suva.

Radio stations may be the real “e-learning” revolution (Rest of World) The impact of a student’s socioeconomic status on their access to education during the pandemic is playing out globally, exposing just how closely tied internet access is to educational opportunity. In Sub-Saharan Africa, over 85% of households lack access to the internet at home and 89% of students do not have access to a computer outside of school. On the African continent, expensive and unreliable internet reaches only 40% of the population. Many governments, companies, and NGOs think that throwing millions of dollars behind providing tablets is the best way to improve the quality of education, but this impulse overlooks infrastructural issues like access to the internet, teacher training, and the cost of upkeep that students need to use the tablets in the first place. “Even if we did have a device for every student, they would have nowhere to charge them,” Reshma Patel, the executive director of Impact Network, a nonprofit that provides education for over 6,000 kids in rural Zambia through community schools, told Rest of World. Impact-run schools adapted radio lessons, since a majority of their students live in homes without electricity. Faced with the shutdown of the 43 schools she supervises, Patel relied on the “forgotten stepchild of tech interventions” to reach students: radio. On the continent, radio has long been a window to the external world. Shoeshoe Qhu works as the station manager at Voice of Wits 88.1 FM, a university radio station in Johannesburg, South Africa. She grew up in a mountainous village of 100 homesteads without electricity or running water. While there wasn’t television, there was radio. As long as her family had access to batteries and a receiver, it was free. “If you wanted to hear what was happening everywhere else, you could only get it through the radio,” Qhu said. “I grew up with radio, and it gave me access to the world,” she added. “It meant everything.”

Watch those passwords (NYT) Dutch hacker Victor Gevers claims to have logged in to President Trump’s Twitter account six years ago by guessing the password: “yourefired.” Then he did it again. On Oct. 16, Gevers, 44, made an accurate guess, “maga2020!,” on his fifth try, according to Dutch prosecutors. Hacking is a crime in the Netherlands. But on Wednesday, Dutch officials said they would not press charges because Gevers had met the bar for “responsible disclosure,” demonstrating how easy it could be to gain access to the U.S. president’s handle: @realdonaldtrump.

[bunkershotgolf]

Golf Retail at Two Club Lengths

By ED TRAVIS

Retailing has taken an unprecedented hit. According to the U.S. Census Bureau the Sporting Goods/Hobby/Musical category had 38% lower sales in April than in March and Adobe’s Digital Economy Index reported online purchasing increased 49% in April.

It is easy to see the most immediate task for all retailers is to figure how to take advantage of the “new normal,” whatever that may be.

As shelter-in-place restrictions are being removed stores of all sizes are faced with figuring out how to attract customers, perhaps in ways never considered previously. E-commerce was already a major factor but due to the recent health requirements the trend is sure to gain momentum. Consumers, many for the first time, are taking advantage of the inventory variety, ease of comparison shopping, speed of ordering and often lower prices.

According to one major golf retailer, PGA TOUR Superstore (PGATSS), the solution is continuing a customer-centered instore experience and doing business at “Two Club Lengths.”

Dick Sullivan, President and CEO of PGA TOUR Superstore, has a reputation for dynamic management that is readily apparent while leading the company for the past decade. PGATSS’s results and his leadership were recognized in 2018 when he was the first retailer to be elected chairman of the National Golf Foundation. We had the opportunity to ask him questions about the present retailing situation and what it means for his operation.

Ed Travis: With store closings forced by the efforts to contain transmission of the COVID-19 virus did PGATSS lay off employees? If so, will they all be eventually reemployed?

Dick Sullivan: Our number one priority remains health and safety of Associates and customers. After that our focus is on preserving jobs. We have not furloughed Associates or had pay cuts. Our vision and business strategy are driven by a long-term approach in everything we do. That means making good, smart decisions for our business for the months and years ahead.

ET: An online ordering program with Curbside Caddie pickup was initiated. Considering the circumstances do you consider it a success?

DS: Absolutely, we were still able to accommodate our customers in our local markets while the stores remained closed to the public. We conceived the Curbside Caddie idea and integrated it into our digital experience in less than 48 hours. It has represented approximately 25-50% of our total e-commerce orders since launch.

ET: During the stay-at-home period were hard goods sales hurt more or less than soft goods?

DS: There has been significant demand in the accessory’s category because the majority of our sales are being driven by people that are out playing golf or practicing at home. Not surprisingly, many Customers have bought training aids, push/pull carts and golf balls, etc.

375% reflects the increase in push/pull cart sales from April of this year, compared to April of last year. With nearly 95 percent of golf courses open across the US, many facilities have put in place walking only protocols. Golf is a game that offers many physical and well-being benefits. Walking nine holes of golf is equivalent to 5,000 steps.

What has been the consistent number one category of products sold online was clubs. Our online club sales were up 120% vs. prior year and we attribute this to excellent blended offering of both repositioned and new clubs. It’s interesting to note, we’ve seen a noticeable increase in women’s packaged sets being purchased. Soft goods have seen smaller comp increases during this time compared to hard goods.

ET: With approximately two-thirds of your locations reopened have there been problems for employees and customers with social distancing and other preventative measures?

DS: We’ve done a good job of “doing the right thing.” Sanitation supplies, on the way in and out of the store, signage to reinforce social distancing, Associates wearing masks and we provided them with individual hand sanitizers in addition to multiple sanitation stations throughout the stores. We are also regularly wiping down clubs that are being demoed, golf balls that are being used in the simulators and on the putting green, and high traffic areas and surfaces.  

We implemented a new ‘Starter’ position to help customers navigate the rules and to clean any equipment that is brought in for repairs or regripping. It gives the customer an opportunity to ask questions and hear what we are doing to help make them comfortable and safe.

We have also established a que line at check-out and labeled spacing to ensure social distancing guidelines.

ET: Will the costs of extra cleaning, etc. result in increased prices?

DS: No. Putting people first has always been our top core value. The health and safety of our Associates and customers will always be our top priority. Comfort, care, and cleanliness, has been our operational approach driving us during this time. For example, we have secured disposable masks, reusable masks, gallons of hand sanitizer, individual hand sanitizer, gloves and set up 450 hand sanitizing stations.

We also set up social distancing protocols reminding people to stay “two club lengths” (six feet) away from each other. And, then there is the signage throughout our stores and at the Store Support Center reminding people to practice social distancing, frequently wash hands, etc., all based on CDC and other government guidelines and recommendations.

ET: Before the closings, the growth trend in both instore and online sales had been extraordinarily strong. What special promotions or other initiatives will be done to reestablish that growth?

DS: We will continue to manage online business as we have working different exclusive promotions and offers. For the stores, we will celebrate Father’s Day with our usual focus on gifts for Dad and special offers. After Father’s Day, we will assess the results including what we heard from our customers and Associates and then plan the balance of the year as needed. I think it goes without saying that we are moving into uncharted territory with the season shifting to the second half of the year. The typical playbook is not going to work in 2020 and we want to be as agile and responsive as possible.

ET: Instore sales at the Altamonte Springs, Fla. location have shown a very significant increase since reopening May 4. What were the contributing factors and have similar results been seen in other locations?

DS: We have seen a significant year over year sales increase since re-opening our Altamonte Springs location. This is due to a couple of factors. The first being that a local competitor closed their location prior to and unrelated to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Secondly, the Altamonte Springs location relies more on its residential community rather than tourists. As you know, when they rank the top cities in the US for golf, Orlando is always in the top-10. http://theaposition.com/golf/courses-and-travel/1526/the-a-list-what-is-the-best-golf-city-in-the-us

ET: Given the depressed conditions some retailers are permanently closing locations while PGATSS is opening a new store in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. What is your thinking about such expansion right now and are more new store openings planned in the near future?

DS: Our brand has tremendous momentum and many markets that are not yet served. We support a game that is well-positioned to serve a higher purpose – particularly right now. Our growth plans have not changed. Not only Palm Beach opening, but we will open a store in Columbus, Ohio the week of the Memorial.

ET: An attraction and strength of PGATSS stores has been the “experience” consumers get when making a visit. How do you see that going forward?

DS: We have a very strong brand and history of consistently delivering positive experiences and trust for our Customers. Customers have thanked us for creating a safe environment for them to continue to enjoy shopping in our store and leveraging all that our store has to offer – putting green, hitting bays, fitting studio and more. We have made many enhancements to continue to facilitate the in-store experience that our customers enjoy. Their feedback and input have validated that they feel comfortable, are easing back in gently but looking forward to getting back into the store.

ET: The stay-at-home rules and retail shut down resulted in an immense increase of online transactions. According to some analysts this means basic changes to retailing in general as many shoppers may have simply gotten the “online habit” rather than making trips out to stores. Do you share that view, or do you see retailing returning with a similar buying pattern as it has had in the past due?

DS: We expect to continue to have strong online sales and will continue to elevate the digital experience – as we always have. That said, given the strong retail results we’ve been experiencing, as well as the feedback and insights directly from our Customers over the past month, we believe that our retail experience will be an opportunity for consumers to get custom fit and connect with others over their shared passion for the game, as well as continue to be mindful of their own self-care – mind, body and spirit. Golf is the game that provides that solution.

[onlyeverydaysa]

3. Africa and the novel coronavirus.

Africa enjoyed a short bit of time before the novel coronavirus hit its shores. Here, however; the amount of time that lapsed till the first few reported confirmed cases made the world question whether or not we would be ready to handle a health crisis of this magnitude. Kind of ironic because the entire world including first world countries were and are still not equipped to handle a pandemic of this magnitude as we can clearly see from the numbers and how different areas have shifted to become the epicentre. But I digress. 

The first known and confirmed cases in Africa originated from Egypt, and was said to be someone who was not of Egyption nationality who had recently travelled to an area affected by COVID-19 and was reported on the 14th of February, 2020. The last African country to catch COVID19  was Lesotho who recorded their first case on the 13th of May, 2020. 

Then on the 5th of March, 2020 the first known and confirmed case was recorded / reported to South Africa. South Africa was ‘the 7th African country to  have a citizen test positive for the disease’. The person was said to be a 38 year old male who had travelled to Italy with his wife in a group of 10 people. Here, South Africa was held to be ‘one of 2 countries on the continent with reliable testing capabilities’. But testing capacity has since improved in other countries due to the rapid spread and severity of coronavirus and the need to  be able to take care of our people. Here, the rand was said to weaken against the dollar after confirmation of our first corona case. 

We watched the novel coronavirus spread rapidly across Africa in quite a short period of time. It almost looked, well, too co-ordinated. Was that just coincidence? I don’t know but again this takes me back to whichever theory you believe in about it’s origins; as that theory might have an answer that suits you. -sips tea- However, one must also take into consideration how much travelling was still allowed during the earlier days of COVID19 and how in general, mild cases have been allowed, in most cases to treat themselves at home - which means the potential for underreporting of real COVID19 cases  throughout the world; whilst some non-COVID cases have been misdiagnosed as covid cases potentially inflating numbers in some areas will cause problems for us when analysing what needed to be done, what has been done and what still needs to be done to fight COVID19. 

But here is what we do know: every country’s experience of coronavirus is different and as a result everyone has had to respond differently to try address the unique challenges facing their country. The one size fits all approach couldn’t be used to treat this virus, as it has been used to treat other viruses and we are seeing in some instances this difference in approach paying off in some countries whilst going wrong in others which has been both eye opening and scary as the entire world realises that the entire health system has been greatly neglected. 

However, despite having been praised for trying to get ahead of the curve by WHO and many others (and also praising WHO for their role in helping to combat COVID19) in our earlier days dealing with coronavirus, our numbers have since drastically shot up (currently sitting at about 23 615 as of the 25th of May, 2020 - Africa Day) and are expected to peak only around August / September/ Also, despite efforts by government to keep people calm and despite efforts by everyone to try and focus on the facts and the science of it all there have been some later decisions that have arguably taken us backward or caused us as citizens to question whose interests are best being served by some of the implementation measures introduced by government to combat / curve / reduce the spread of COVID-19. 

But with regards to my experience in South Africa, I would definitely say we tried to do the best we could with the cards that we have been dealt and as critical as I am of politicians, authority and structures I would say that some of the decisions that have been taken have been quite impressive actually, despite potential political, racial and class differences that the country is facing. Also I am very proud of our healthcare sector and how they have managed to actually also encourage us to stay calm by leading by example from our Health Minister, to doctors, nurses, lab techs, scientists, pharmacists, paramedics and other essential staff that work at the health facilities including cleaning staff, security, food suppliers etc. Everyone has just been calm in the public eye. Our response between mid-march up until early April definitely inspired a sense of feeling safe (health wise), albeit not physically; because the army & the police were unleashed on the people causing greater distress.

Some controversial issues raised were in relation to class and how lockdown impacted on the unemployed, underprivileged and working class in a society that is so deeply unequal - actually even known as the most unequal country in the world. Social media has opened the door for all these different debates, with many people openly questioning and criticizing some of the decisions taken by the government. Most notably, the open letters to the president written by Ntsiki Mazwai and Gareth Cliff which caused a stir. For which I will definitely say at the time Ntsiki raised some valid concerns even though her tone was harsh. Gareth’s letter stated nothing new, but then when he was questioned on it, on the popular South African tv show the Big Debate SA he didn’t really articulate himself well and quite frankly was quite rude and unfortunately played into critiques belief that he was clout chasing and seeking relevance (a story for another day). (This all depends on which side of the debate you fall on, I guess).

Meanwhile, round-about mid to late-April (21 April, 2020) Madagascar announced a herbal mix remedy called COVID Organics that is preventative and curative in nature. The remedy is said to contain Artemisia Annua, a plant used in medicines to combat malaria, for which it has been critiqued to say that this plant does not fight malaria in its plant-like state. Here, several African countries had opted to try it by mid-May, including: Liberia, Equitorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Tanzania, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Republic of Congo who have all ‘received some bottles’ of COVID Organics. The emergence of this remedy sparked growing debate around the usefulness / effectiveness in herbal and traditional medicine in combating COVID19 here on the African continent even though China has been exploring this option since February. This resulted in WHO cautioning against herbal remedies that are untested but criticism for the centering of Western medicine as the solution has grown. This led to a call to boycott WHO on social media which never really went further and was then resolved when WHO was rumoured to have agreed to look into COVID Organics but concerns were raised around the non-disclosure clause said to be agreed upon between the two (also rumour, as the sources on this are now more scarce). However Madagascar is still a member of WHO and supporting WHO. Madagascar was recently elected (22 May) on their executive board. 

Personally, I believe a combination of both forms of medicine must be looked into, because some homemade remedies have proven effective in combating or helping to boost our immune systems against flu and if flu is a virus that logic holds. But on the other hand, noting that respiratory illnesses like pneumonia require antibiotics and other inflammatory and other drugs as well as liquids, rest, and possible oxygen therapy a more impactful drug with organic properties may be what is needed. But again I am not a medical expert so I am merely stating an opinion based on my understanding - its not fact. Anyway, interestingly enough: Madagascar only had 121 cases and no deaths at the time of releasing COVID Organics. Now by the 25th of May, 2020 they had 527 cases (I stand to be corrected). This is still significantly less than most countries especially for a population of 27.6 Million people so they must be doing something right even if it might not be linked to medicine - it could just be that they have disciplined citizens who are taking care of their health by eating healthy and practicing effective social distancing and sanitization.

To date, Africa as a whole continent has had 111 812 confirmed cases of COVID!9, with 3 354 deaths and 45 001 recoveries as of 6am, (25 May, 2020). In blog posts to follow, I will continue to touch on South Africa as my primary example of what is happening (for obvious reasons as you can tell by the name of this blog) and I will then try to give examples of what has been done in other countries. 

*Disclaimer (again): images aren't mine. I just use pics from the net from the sources I touch on, for my posts. 

*Wrote this piece on Africa Day, but struggled to post it. 

*A reminder that  the blog posts in the 21 Conversation series are just bits & pieces of the COVID19 experience that I have found worth talking about touching on some facts, some opinion and some theories you may or may not agree with, I have linked some of the sources that speak to these issues in all the posts that range from news to stats and facts to blogs to youtube so take everything with a pinch of salt. But always keep up to date with coronavirus news through reliable sources and keep up to date with your country’s rules, regulation and other legislation through official government sites.  I hope lockdown is treating you well if you are in lockdown and if you happen to be reading this and your country isn’t on lockdown let us know how your country is handling it. Stay safe everybody. 

M.T.M

Sources:

1. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/02/egypt-confirms-coronavirus-case-africa-200214190840134.html

2. https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/world-news/first-coronavirus-case-south-africa-who-is-it-where-reported/

3. https://techcentral.co.za/first-case-of-coronavirus-in-south-africa/96364/

4. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/05/africa/south-africa-first-coronavirus-case/index.html

5. https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2020/03/05/south-africa-confirms-first-case-of-covid-19/

6. https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/coronavirus-in-sa-who-boss-praises-south-africas-response-to-covid-19-pandemic-45923836

7. https://www.cnbcafrica.com/news/2020/04/09/african-union-reaffirms-support-for-who-amid-covid-19-pandemic/

8. https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/who-again-heaps-praise-on-south-africas-response-to-covid-19/

9. https://mg.co.za/article/2019-11-19-why-sa-is-the-worlds-most-unequal-society/ 

10. https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-04-04-poverty-shows-how-apartheid-legacy-endures-in-south-africa/

11. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52125713

12. https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/396473/handling-of-the-covid-19-crisis-makes-mkhize-a-stand-out-leader-analysts/

13. https://www.cnbcafrica.com/africa-press-office/2020/05/12/coronavirus-south-africa-employment-and-labour-praised-for-prompt-payment-of-coronavirus-covid-19-temporary-employer-employee-relief-scheme-ters-benefits/

14.https://select.timeslive.co.za/news/2020-03-23-sa-states-response-to-covid-19-gets-a-huge-thumbs-up/

15. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52619308

16. https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/395685/extending-lockdown-would-not-delay-south-africas-coronavirus-peak-by-much-mkhize/

17. https://citizen.co.za/lifestyle/your-life-entertainment-your-life/entertainment-celebrities/2261937/ntsiki-mazwai-pens-scathing-open-letter-to-ramaphosa-opposes-lockdown/

18. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFPD2zj6DCE&t=6s

19. https://www.garethcliff.com/dear-mr-president/

20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8iGnW2cSYc 

21. https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/madagascar-population/

22. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-madagascar-idUSKBN22K1HQ

23. https://www.msn.com/en-za/news/other/madagascar-launches-miracle-drink-for-coronavirus-infection/ar-BB12WZoM

24. https://africa.cgtn.com/2020/04/21/madagascar-president-backs-unproven-herbal-treatment-for-coronavirus/

25. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/05/coronavirus-madagascar-herbal-remedy-covid-organics-200505131055598.html

26. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52374250

27. https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/who-to-study-madagascars-drug-to-treat-covid-19-/1840971#

28. https://africacheck.org/fbcheck/no-madagascar-hasnt-quit-world-health-organization/

29. https://www.africanews.com/2020/05/25/coronavirus-in-africa-breakdown-of-infected-virus-free-countries/

30. https://www.webmd.com/lung/understanding-pneumonia-treatment

31. https://www.drugs.com/condition/pneumonia.html

[atlanticcanada]

Flu shot more important than ever during COVID-19 pandemic, expert says

The annual flu shot will be more important than ever during the coronavirus pandemic, according to one infectious disease expert, who says it would be a “double whammy” to be infected with both viruses.

Dr. Abdu Sharkawy hopes the influenza vaccine, which is typically first available in October and November, is offered earlier this year.

“Even if it isn’t, I would hope that as many people as possible recognize that the flu shot is fairly effective, it helps protect yourself and everyone around you. So please get the flu shot,” he said Thursday on CTV’s Your Morning. 

“This is the one year you don’t want to miss it.”

As health officials prepare for a possible “second wave” or resurgence of COVID-19 infection in Canada in the fall, some have expressed concern that the flu season might overwhelm hospitals and compound efforts to stamp out the novel coronavirus if flu shot uptake is low. In the 2018-2019 season, just four in 10 Canadians reported receiving the influenza vaccine, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. A recent national survey of 1,922 Canadians by Pollara Strategic Insights found that the uptake number could go up, with 57 per cent responding that they would “definitely or probably” get the shot in 2020. A similar global survey published last week in The Journal of Pediatrics identified a nearly 16 per cent increase in number of caregivers that said they plan to vaccinate their child against influenza in the coming season. Researchers suggested that "[c]hanges in risk perception due to COVID-19​" may be playing a role.

Newsletter sign-up: Get The COVID-19 Brief sent to your inbox

Lessons from the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April may also play a role in preparing Canadians for the flu season, both in hospitals and in the community, said Sharkawy.

“Knowing that we were vigilant in anticipating [a surge of infections] before, we’re well-equipped to handle [both] if the situation does arrive,” he said, noting resource deployment, infection control planning and improved testing protocols. 

Plus, Canadians themselves are more vigilant about public health measures such as hand-washing, physical distancing and masking than before the pandemic, he said. Australia, which is nearing the end of its winter, may serve as an example: the country experienced a major drop in influenza infections and deaths compared to the previous season. Experts credit COVID-19 restrictions and lockdown measures.

But the upcoming flu season could still prove challenging for hospitals since it can be difficult to differentiate between influenza and COVID-19 infection. In late February and early March this year, there were “undoubtedly” coronavirus infections mistaken for influenza, said Sharkawy. To avoid the same miscalculation, he expects coronavirus testing to ramp up this fall.

“I think it’s going to be very important to have rapid testing available to us so that we can easily distinguish between the two of them both inside and outside medical settings,” he said.

The ability to distinguish between the two won’t always be helpful though, since it’s “absolutely” possible to have concurrent infections of influenza and COVID-19, which are different viruses of different families. In a July case study, doctors in Japan warned of “coinfection” and described a 57-year-old restaurant worker who tested positive for influenza A, but as his condition failed to improve, he later received a positive COVID-19 test. How frequently this occurs is not known, but a pair of U.S. studies found that 2.1 per cent of patients in New York City and 20.7 per cent of patients in Northern California had a second respiratory infection in addition to COVID-19.

“Certainly that would be a double whammy we want to prevent,” said Sharkawy.

“It speaks to the importance of doing things like hand-washing, distancing and masking in indoor settings. All of these things work and they should help prevent both of these illnesses.” 

from CTV News - Atlantic https://ift.tt/2DRXZ75

[renpark-blog2]

Staying Sane in the Quarantine

A One-off blog post by Ren

As we may all be painfully aware of, different parts of our country have been under varying levels of quarantine due to the unfortunate and current pandemic that is ravaging the rest of the Globe. And strangely, as the quarantine progressed, there has been a topic that’s been popping up more and more, and it seems that more people are talking about it than ever before, whereas people used to play it off as something minor that wouldn’t affect our day to day life to being part of our daily struggle just to survive, maybe since they finally get to experience for themselves, they finally managed to gain enough empathy to understand people going through it.

  I am of course talking about our mental health, which despite what anyone tells you, is just, if not more important than Physical health according to professional health experts. It seems that since the quarantine was initiated and our freedoms became limited, as well as other… more special problems… mental health deterioration has become somewhat of a secondary epidemic tied closely with the current pandemic we’re feeling right now.

Our mental health plays a big part of our life, you could even say how good your mental health is dictates how good your day will be today or even tomorrow, it’s an essential part of life that’s almost impossible to control, yet somehow it controls you in almost every way imaginable. At first, it may seem a bit fun to be forced to stay at home, you can do whatever you want,  you can do things whenever you please, since you’re not going anywhere anyways, but there’s just so much you can do when you’re stuck at home, it gets to a point where everything becomes overly repetitive and you start feeling like you’re wasting your life away instead of being productive with your life and getting somewhere, it becomes quite overloading and over time you just run out of energy and motivation to do anything. It can be quite a vicious cycle, one that’s hard to deal with, and much harder to end.

I’ve been going through something similar this lockdown, especially with everything going on both personally, and publicly. The world is such a stressful place to be in right now, especially with all the ongoing events and the responses to them. Everything feels like it’s out of control and it makes me feel even worse that there’s nothing I can do about it.

I am aware that a lot of us are going through the same thing, I want to help in any possible way that I could. So here are some ways I have used to cope with and improve my deteriorating mental health, I hope that this manages to help you, but if it doesn’t, please don’t hesitate to contact a mental health care professional.

1.) Temporarily disconnecting from the world

I know that it may seem irresponsible to suggest this, but an effective coping mechanism is to disconnect yourself from the outside world for a while. Trying to stay away from the news, away from social media, away from anything that keeps on bringing back the negative emotions that you want to get rid of. Staying informed is important, but being too informed makes you start questioning things that you would not want to question, it can get quite dangerous.

I’m fully aware that some of us are fighting for something, and we think that if we rest even for a little bit we are going to lose this battle. But do not fear such thing, remember that you are just as important as the thing that you’re fighting for, give yourself a break for a short while, fighting for something can become extremely and dangerously emotionally taxing in the long run. Remember that this is not just your fight but our fight, take some time to recover, let other people handle the situation first, remember that you’re not alone in this. Don’t forget that a soldier well rested is more effective than an exhausted one.

 2.) Giving yourself time to breathe

Society expects us to be constantly on the move 24/7, we’re not allowed to rest, we merely exist in order to be productive. Don’t forget that you’re human too, and you need to take breaks every once and again, you aren’t some kind of super soldier that does not have the concept of being burnt out or being tired. Some standards of modern society are impossible to achieve, and you just have to accept it, although you should never stop doing your best in anything, but you still need to remember to allow yourself to breathe every now and again, don’t kill yourself from working and tiring yourself out.

Remember that you don’t exist just to keep on working, let yourself rest, let yourself breathe, always being productive will make you less productive. Overexerting can strain you both physically and mentally, it can take a heavy toll on you, and may even affect your overall productivity. So please, remember to breathe, remember to let some fresh air get into your lungs before you keep going in this tunnel of never-ending smoke.

 3.) Letting yourself do things that you want to do once in awhile

A lot of people will say otherwise, but it’s good to let yourself have fun once in a while, sometimes ignoring your responsibilities for awhile can actually be good for you. We are not machines, we have the need for recreation, which is just as important as our need for shelter and food, but recreation should also be taken in moderation, too much recreation would cause you to abandon your responsibilities, which would be even more devastating. Remember to let yourself have fun but have just the correct amount of fun to not go crazy, especially in these trying times.

If you think that there is no time for fun and that you have to keep working on a constant basis, please remember that this could contribute greatly to you burning out. Having fun is important if you want to keep on working too, too much of something will become bad in the long run, and the same goes for work, enjoyment and recreation is here to counteract that, so don’t be afraid of letting yourself do what you want every once in a awhile. But like everything good with life, remember to do everything in moderation, as I cannot stress enough, too much of something will just make you worse off that where you started.

 4.) Managing your time and your workload

This one should be the easiest to explain but one of the hardest to do. It’s important to manage your time and your workload, as to make sure that you don’t get overwhelmed and regain a semblance of control in your life. It’s extremely difficult to do because there’s not one answer on how you should be managing your time, because people have different ways of being able to cope with different levels of workload. But there is one thing that I have realized myself that helps with easing the workload, and that is not being too hard on yourself.

Being strict on yourself only makes you feel worse, especially when you don’t reach your deadlines, which happens more often that we would like to admit. It gives a feeling of the loss of control, of not being good enough, it’s a feeling that we all know and quite abhor. Give yourself a deadline, but be more flexible with yourself, treat yourself with the same amount of strictness as that of a parent who wants their child to grow up well, and not like as if you are your own supervisor.

 5.) Taking a break from everything for awhile

Every once in a while, you get the feeling where even recreation isn’t enough to fulfill you anymore. That is a sign that you need to take a break from almost everything, the time you have to do so will depend on how you feel. Sometimes it’s not so bad to let yourself go, you don’t have to be busy all the time, sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all. Think of it in the way of letting your wounds heal over time.

There’s nothing wrong with doing nothing, so do not be ashamed of doing something if it’s for the sake of getting better. Catch up on your sleep, play games, do whatever doesn’t cause you any type of emotional stress. Let yourself go, remove that baggage even if it’s just for a short time, you can come back stronger, you can come back better.

 6.) Taking back control of your life

This is something that is much easier said than done. But you should start taking steps to take back control of your life, taking matters into your own hands and giving yourself a feeling of being able to do things, that you are able to get over your problems. Of course, there is not one way of doing this, there are different problems for different people, but you should take time to learn about your problems, and eventually you will learn to deal with them, and take back control. Make sure not to deal with large problems first, make sure to start small, as small problems can eventually get big, especially when left unchecked.

 7.) Helping and getting help

This one is especially important, and something a lot of people tend to take for granted. Getting help from people, professional or not, is important for preventing your mental health from degrading. Just the fact that there is more than one person dealing with the problem makes it easier to handle and to solve. As two brains is better than one, as they say. But not all problems need to be solved, just the idea that someone is willing to listen to you and share your pain should be enough to lift at least a little bit of weight off of your shoulders. Make sure that you seek help when you can, this will help you much more than you think it will.

The other way is also important. Helping others can give you a sense of being needed by someone, it will give you a small pocket of relief and help you realize your worth. Even if you aren’t able to help yourself, never forget to lend a helping hand to those who need it, and make sure to do it only if you’re able to, as you would not want to risk making the situation worse than it already is.

Those are some ways I learned to cope and to improve my mental health ever so slightly. I hope that this was able to help in any way. I know that this would not be of help to everyone, but even if it helps someone who desperately needs it, even if it’s just one person, then this long wall of text would have served its purpose. 😊

If you still feel terrible, remember to go to a professional, they would probably know a lot more than I would. Or even a friend if you cannot afford to do so. Just remember that you shouldn’t do things alone, let yourself be helped, even if it’s a little bit.