All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Almost 150 Queensland police officers and staff remain suspended over jab refusal – ABC News

“The Queensland Police Service is a massive organisation. It’s got over 17,000 staff, and I’ve got assurances from the Commissioner that there are sufficient resources to make sure the people of Queensland remain safe.”

Mr Ryan said there were “COVID-safe measures” in place for staff members who had received an exemption.

Source: Almost 150 Queensland police officers and staff remain suspended over jab refusal – ABC News

Opinion | Glenn Youngkin vs. Toni Morrison – The New York Times

But picking a fight over “Beloved” and the great Toni Morrison, the ancestral beloved, is an unwinnable battle. Some suburban white women voters may fall for this, and that is precisely whom Youngkin is targeting, but on the merits, on the history, on the piercing devastation of the institution of slavery and the myths that attend it, Morrison wins by knockout in the first round.

Meghan target of coordinated Twitter hate campaign, report finds | Online abuse | The Guardian

It analysed 114,000 tweets relating to the couple, and identified 83 accounts that it alleged were behind 70% of the more virulent anti-Sussex tweets.

“Our analysis allowed us to isolate 55 single-purpose accounts we identified as the primary hate accounts and 28 secondary hate accounts that mainly amplified the primary accounts,” the report said. With the accounts having a total of 187,631 followers, using analytic tools Bot Sentinel estimated “a combined unique potential reach of 17 million users”…

“This campaign comes from people who know how to manipulate the algorithms, manipulate Twitter, stay under the wire to avoid detection and suspension. This level of complexity comes from people who know how to do this stuff, who are paid to do this stuff.”

Source: Meghan target of coordinated Twitter hate campaign, report finds | Online abuse | The Guardian

Opinion | End the Secrecy. Open Up Adoption Records. – The New York Times

Adoptees are often completely cut off from our birth families the second our adoption papers are finalized. If it weren’t for DNA testing I would never have discovered that two half-siblings of mine had been adopted into a different family a few states away.

Adoptees should not have to go to great lengths to reconnect with their birth family. But, unfortunately, the complicated and often expensive process of DNA testing and hiring private investigators is often the only way to find biological relatives.

When birth records are sealed, adoptees suffer in order to uphold an archaic standard that was meant to shroud adoptions in secrecy to prevent shame. We live in a different era now and, like Sam, deserve a right to our records.

Merck Will Share Formula for Its Covid Pill With Poor Countries – The New York Times

Merck has granted a royalty-free license for its promising Covid-19 pill to a United Nations-backed nonprofit in a deal that would allow the drug to be manufactured and sold cheaply in the poorest nations, where vaccines for the coronavirus are in devastatingly short supply.

The agreement with the Medicines Patent Pool, an organization that works to make medical treatment and technologies globally accessible, will allow companies in 105 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia, to sublicense the formulation for the antiviral pill, called molnupiravir, and begin making it.

Merck reported this month that the drug halved the rate of hospitalizations and deaths in high-risk Covid patients who took it soon after infection in a large clinical trial. Affluent nations, including the United States, have rushed to negotiate deals to buy the drug, tying up large portions of the supply even before it has been approved by regulators and raising concerns that poor countries could be shut out of access to the medicine, much as they have been for vaccines.

Biden Bars Immigration Enforcement in ‘Protected Areas’ – The New York Times

The Biden administration on Wednesday designated the nation’s schools and hospitals, as well as a wide array of other locations, off limits to immigration enforcement, the latest sign that it is committed to protecting millions of undocumented residents from deportation while efforts to offer them a path to legalization remain stalled in Congress.

The new guidelines, effective immediately, list “protected areas” where immigration agents are to refrain from making arrests, conducting searches, serving subpoenas or carrying out other enforcement actions.

The sites include schools and university campuses; hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities, in addition to Covid-19 testing and vaccination sites; places of worship; and sites where children gather, such as playgrounds, day care centers and foster care facilities.

California Wineries Are Trading Pesticides for Owls – RTBC

owl

Today, 80 percent of Napa Valley winemakers control their rodent populations using owls, while only 21 percent use rodenticides. “Whether the use of barn owl boxes caused that reduction in rodenticides is, of course, not proven,” said one wildlife researcher. “Nonetheless, this result is encouraging.” Source: California Wineries Are Trading Pesticides for Owls – RTBC

I Don’t Do Love Anymore

Inhale Peace; Exhale Love. Joy will Follow! - RUELHA

This poem is divided into two parts. The first one I dedicate to someone very special. The second is inspired by this song from Four More Shots Please which is like the desi version of Sex and the city. I’ve not yet watched it. But it seems like a fun show. It’s definitely on my list especially since it’s highly recommended by this one {MMB}! It’s about four friends, two of whom are in their 20s and the other two are in their 30s. One’s lesbian, another’s a divorcee. And I’m unsure about the other two. If you notice, the setup is pretty much Bombay. For such a layout, it could also be Delhi, Pune or even Bangalore. But, there’s no way this is remotely possible elsewhere in India. I am very intrigued and really want to watch this series.

Like all my music-inspired poems, I suggest playing the song…

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