All posts by nedhamson

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

Coolcreen View Five

Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Number five of six from the Kerry County side on the descent Healy Pass, R574. Less sky and more land in this horizontal aspect.

Lavender hedgerows drawn the eye to that conical distant hill. In the lower left the new rhododendron leaves are flower-like.

Beara Peninsula, Coolcreen townland, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland.

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Copyright 2021 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved

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Military Targets Workers as Repression Escalates in Myanmar | Labor Notes

At least two union members were confirmed killed by the Myanmar military this week and at least six workers were shot dead at the Xing Jia shoe factory in the Hlaing Thar Yar industrial zone Tuesday, according to union leaders.

The factory workers, including the woman leader, were shot after the employer called the police when they demanded unpaid wages. Seventy workers were arrested and loaded onto two prisoner trucks.

Union leaders say the police and military violence against protesters in the industrial zones is much worse than is being reported because nationwide internet service repeatedly has been cut, including on Sunday before a violent crackdown.

Source: Military Targets Workers as Repression Escalates in Myanmar | Labor Notes

Autism screening guidelines used worldwide providing incorrect information, report warns

Could countless people actually be on the autism spectrum and not know about it? Researchers at the University of Bath say an internationally-recognized system for diagnosing autism is providing bad information. The results may have led to many people going without the proper care over the last decade.

The team of psychologists says when general practitioners screen patients for autism, they use the Autism Spectrum Quotient before referring them to a specialist for official diagnosis. Doctors around the world use this ten-point scale (AQ-10), which asks patients to agree or disagree with statements like, “I find it difficult to work out people’s intentions.”

Source: Autism screening guidelines used worldwide providing incorrect information, report warns

Writing on paper, instead of tablet or smart phone, boosts brain activity, aids memory recall – UPI.com

Writing on paper, instead of on a tablet or smart phone, boosted the brain activity of a group of Japanese university students when they tried to recall information they’d learned an hour earlier.

Source: Writing on paper, instead of tablet or smart phone, boosts brain activity, aids memory recall – UPI.com

Germany: Merkel, state leaders agree on strategy to jump-start vaccinations | News | DW | 19.03.2021

  • Germany’s new motto is “vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate,” she said.
  • The goal is to vaccinate “faster and more flexibly” starting in April.
  • “We want the proverbial and tried-and-true German thoroughness to be expanded with more German flexibility, too.”
  • The chancellor said she would be willing to take the AstraZeneca vaccine, but “would like to wait until it’s my turn.”
  • Merkel said Germany could use Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine pending EMA approval, adding Berlin would order the jab if the EU does not.
  • “I think we have a good chance of offering a vaccine to every resident by the end of the summer,” she said.
  • Looking at rising infection numbers, Merkel said Germany must not hesitate to return to a hard lockdown if necessary.
  • “I had hoped that we would manage without using this emergency brake, but that won’t be possible, if I look at the development of the past days,” she added.

Source: Germany: Merkel, state leaders agree on strategy to jump-start vaccinations | News | DW | 19.03.2021

In Jordan, homeschooling could be just what the education system needed | News and current affairs from Germany and around the world | DW | 19.03.2021

Only weeks after schools re-opened in Jordan, children are back at home, using newly-developed digital learning tools that could pave the way for a new and improved education system.

Source: In Jordan, homeschooling could be just what the education system needed | News and current affairs from Germany and around the world | DW | 19.03.2021

How Anti-Asian Activity Online Set the Stage for Real-World Violence – The New York Times

The Telegram group was a sign of how anti-Asian sentiment has flared up in corners of the internet, amplifying racist and xenophobic tropes just as attacks against Asian-Americans have surged. On messaging apps like Telegram and on internet forums like 4chan, anti-Asian groups and discussion threads have been increasingly active since November, especially on far-right message boards such as The Donald, researchers said.