All posts by nedhamson

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

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley | Poetry Foundation

Ozymandias

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I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

Source: Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley | Poetry Foundation

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost | Poetry Foundation

The Road Not Taken

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Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Source: The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost | Poetry Foundation

‘The virus doesn’t care about excuses’: US faces terrifying autumn as Covid-19 surges | World news | The Guardian

The problem facing the United States is plain. New cases nationally are up a remarkable 50% over the last two weeks and the daily death toll is up 42% over the same period. Cases are on the rise in 40 out of 50 states, Washington DC and Puerto Rico. Last week America recorded more than 75,000 new cases daily – five times the rate of all Europe.

“We are unfortunately seeing more higher daily case numbers than we’ve ever seen, even exceeding pre-lockdown times,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “The number of new cases that occur each day in the US are greater than we’ve yet experienced. So this is obviously a very worrisome direction that we’re headed in.”

 

Source: ‘The virus doesn’t care about excuses’: US faces terrifying autumn as Covid-19 surges | World news | The Guardian

Thousands protest again over arrest of Russian regional governor

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Unrest in Khabarovsk as Sergei Furgal is held in Moscow in connection with murders

Tens of thousands of people in the Russian city of Khabarovsk have turned out for a protest over the arrest of the region’s governor on charges of involvement in multiple murders.

Local media estimated that the rally on Saturday attracted between 15,000 and 50,000 people. Protests have taken place every day this week, typically drawing hundreds of people .

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Portland mayor demands Trump remove federal agents from city | US news | The Guardian

“Once CBP agents approached the suspect, a large and violent mob moved towards their location. For everyone’s safety, CBP agents quickly moved the suspect to a safer location,” the agency said.

However, the video shows no mob.

In another case, Mark Pettibone, 29, said a minivan rolled up to him around 2am on Wednesday and four or five people got out “looking like they were deployed to a Middle Eastern war”.

Pettibone told the Associated Press he got to his knees as the group approached. They dragged him into the van without identifying themselves or responding to his questions and pulled his beanie over his eyes so he couldn’t see, he said.

“I figured I was just going to disappear for an indefinite amount of time,” Pettibone said, adding that he was put into a cell and officers dumped the contents of his backpack, with one remarking: “Oh, this is a bunch of nothing.”

After he asked for a lawyer, Pettibone was allowed to leave.

 

Source: Portland mayor demands Trump remove federal agents from city | US news | The Guardian

Dallas County schools can’t open through Sept. 7 | The Texas Tribune

Some of the largest urban and suburban school districts in the state, including thee 155,000-student Dallas Independent School District, will be required to keep their classrooms closed as a result of this order. Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa told local reporters earlier this week that he was considering alternatives, including pushing the start date later than Aug. 17, to prepare for fall during the virus’ surge.

After the Texas Education Agency said last week it is requiring public schools to offer in-person instruction five days per week to all students who want it, El Paso and Laredo health officials were among the first to issue mandates keeping local schools entirely virtual through August.

 

Source: Dallas County schools can’t open through Sept. 7 | The Texas Tribune