B.C. watching COVID-19 vaccine supply to accelerate delivery of second doses – North Shore News

British Columbia health officials say second doses of COVID-19 vaccines may be given sooner than previously expected.

The province says officials are closely monitoring the supply of vaccines and more information will be released in early June.

In a statement, the province says with a large and steady vaccine supply after most people have had their first jab, officials will be able to consider how they might be able to accelerate the delivery of second shots.

Source: B.C. watching COVID-19 vaccine supply to accelerate delivery of second doses – North Shore News

Dans, dans, dans

Google translation of introduction: From Ngorongoro to Serengeti you only drive a few hours, but you don’t realize how time passes, especially when every meeting is completely new. The landscape is always changing, with natural elements and people. We are in the care of Jackson, our driver and guide from the Tanzania EasyTravel agency, in the same jeep we rented to visit three nature reserves (see Ngorongoro and Safari posts)

ore de drum

Serengeti, 2018

De la Ngorongoro la Serengeti parcurgi o distanță de numai câteva ore cu mașina, dar nu-ți dai seama cum trece timpul, mai ales când fiecare întâlnire e cu desăvârșire nouă. Peisajul se schimbă mereu, cu elemente naturale și oameni. Suntem în grija lui Jackson, șoferul și ghidul nostru de la agenția EasyTravel Tanzania, în același jeep pe care l-am închiriat pentru a vizita trei rezervații naturale (vezi postările Ngorongoro și Safari)

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Una dintre cele mai placute surprize a survenit imediat după trecerea de poarta oficială a rezervației Serengeti.

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Dinspre orizont, am zărit apropiindu-se o procesiune de elefanți.

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Priveliștea era învăluită într-o lumină strălucitoare, nuanțată de nori de praf. În frunte mergea decana de vârstă, o doamnă cu riduri adânci, venerabile.

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Echivalentul în etatea umană ar fi fost de optzeci de ani. Puii se aflau în mijlocul grupului, cât mai apărați.

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Am oprit mașina și i-am așteptat. Veniseră…

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A pair of Pileated Woodpeckers

Roadtirement

If you’ve seen some of our previous posts, you’ll know that we have been enjoying feeding birds in our backyard. It is always fun to see different birds and to watch the antics of them all. But sometimes we just have to say “Wow! Look at those!”

That time came when a mating pair of Pileated Woodpeckers showed up at our tree with suet feeding stations. The male is on the left, female on the right. (We call them Woody and Wilma) We had seen the female before, but this was our first sighting of the male. And yes, to us, this was a thrilling event!

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Tegaru (The People of Tirgay)

Grounds For Hope

 Over hundred days of burning fires 
 As though hell broke through my Tigray.
 Who is to blame? Has the government conspired?
 Is this an ethnic cleansing being downplayed?
 
 Surrender Mek’ele; there is no mercy!
 Do as I say and comply.
 If I can’t have you at will, I will by intimidation.
 You can’t escape; you will be crucified. 
 
 Don’t beg for empathy; I don’t give a damn!
 Your fearful, tearful eyes excite me.
 I want your body, and I want your land.
 Get on your knees and kiss my loins.
 
 Don’t scream, Mek’ele. My guns are louder.
 I fire them with ease and no regrets.
 My life depends on the gunpowder.
 I was prepared to oppress.

***This poem was inspired by the story from my dear friend, Biniam. He is from Tigray, Northern Ethiopia and has shared with me about the atrocities of the current war, where Ethiopian and Eritrean…

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Are You a Plant?

CRAIN'S COMMENTS

Some days, there’s nothing worth a few words, and other days are rich with content. Some seem full of grief and sadness, and others are funny and puzzling.

The alternative title for this post is: “What else that we think we know about our world is wrong?”

PIEZO proteins are responsible for the human sense of touch. Despite the importance of touch, these proteins were only identified about ten years ago. However, they are what enables skin contact to be converted into signals to the brain.

The news from Scripps Research Institute is that plants have these proteins as well, enabling them to sense the hardness of soil (and presumably objects like rock) around their roots and direct root growth. One protein in this class is concentrated in root tips, PZ01.(1)

So we’re not quite as different from plants as we thought.

We already have Simard’s research indicating that plants…

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‘I am seeking justice’: Tulsa massacre survivor, 107, testifies to US Congress | US news | The Guardian

For nearly a century she was denied a voice by a culture of silence. Finally, at the age of 107, Viola Fletcher got a national stage on Wednesday to bear witness to America’s deep history of racial violence.

Fletcher is the oldest living survivor of a massacre that took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on 31 May and 1 June 1921 when a white mob attacked the city’s “Black Wall Street”, killing an estimated 300 African Americans while robbing and burning more than 1,200 businesses, homes and churches.

She was just seven years old at the time.

For decades the atrocity was actively covered up and wished away. But Fletcher and her 100-year-old brother are seeking reparations and, ahead of the massacre’s centenary, appeared before a House of Representatives judiciary subcommittee considering legal remedies.

Congressman Steve Cohen, chairman of the panel, acknowledged coronavirus restrictions and said: “Those in the room, I’d like to ask you to keep your face mask on at all times unless you’re speaking – or unless you’re over a hundred years old.”

Source: ‘I am seeking justice’: Tulsa massacre survivor, 107, testifies to US Congress | US news | The Guardian

Flouting CDC Guidance, Some Schools Are Lifting Mask Mandates – Mother Jones (Me: buy more coffins – people are going stupid again over pandemic)

Another district following suit is Cobb County, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. Last Thursday, just hours after the CDC made its initial statement on vaccinated people no longer needing to wear masks, Cobb County superintendent Chris Ragsdale issued an announcement: “In accordance with the new guidance, Cobb Schools will no longer require fully vaccinated individuals to wear a mask,” he wrote. The district doesn’t plan to verify vaccination status—the new rules will work on an honor system.  Source: Flouting CDC Guidance, Some Schools Are Lifting Mask Mandates – Mother Jones

The GOP Is Turning the January 6 Insurrection Into a New Lost Cause – Mother Jones

They looted congressional offices, vandalized the building, and assaulted hundreds of law enforcement officials. The insurrection left five dead—including Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick—and marked a dark day in the history of the United States. Among the countless photos that went viral was one of a man flying a Confederate flag inside the Capitol. That such a symbol was still proudly waved in America only foreshadowed the egregious whitewashing to come. Source: The GOP Is Turning the January 6 Insurrection Into a New Lost Cause – Mother Jones