Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Washington governor orders vaccines for state employees, health care workers | TheHill

Under Inslee’s order, state employees and contractors working on projects within the state will have until Oct. 18 to provide proof of vaccination. Exceptions will only be allowed for medical or religious reasons, according to The Seattle Times.

Those employees who do not have a valid reason — political or philosophical objections and not considered valid reasons under the policy — will face “nondisciplinary dismissal” if they do not meet the vaccination deadline, Inslee’s office told the newspaper.

Local government officials including Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan (D) and King County Executive Dow Constantine (D) have also taken a stance to require vaccinations for city and county employees. Seattle police, state social workers, county jail employees and local road crews will reportedly be mandated to get vaccinated in alignment with Inslee’s order.

Source: Washington governor orders vaccines for state employees, health care workers | TheHill

Military display rolls into Brazil capital before tense vote – The Washington Post

The parade upset some lawmakers. Omar Aziz, the president of a Senate probe into the government’s COVID-19 pandemic response, said the parade was “a clear attempt to intimidate lawmakers and opponents. He (Bolsonaro) imagines he is showing strength, but he is showing a president weakened by investigations.”

Critics allege that Bolsonaro, who trails rivals in early opinion polls, is trying to sow doubt among his passionate supporters about the 2022 election results, setting the stage for potential conflicts similar to those spawned by former U.S. President Donald Trump’s allegations of fraud in the United States.

Source: Military display rolls into Brazil capital before tense vote – The Washington Post

Avian Flu Diary: CDC Science Update: Delta Variant

The Delta variant causes more infections and spreads faster than early forms of SARS-CoV-2

 

  • The Delta variant is more contagious: The Delta variant is highly contagious, nearly twice as contagious as previous variants.
  • Some data suggest the Delta variant might cause more severe illness than previous strains in unvaccinated persons. In two different studies from Canada and Scotland, patients infected with the Delta variant were more likely to be hospitalized than patients infected with Alpha or the original virus strains.
  • Unvaccinated people remain the greatest concern: Although breakthrough infections happen much less often than infections in unvaccinated people, individuals infected with the Delta variant, including fully vaccinated people with symptomatic breakthrough infections, can transmit it to others. CDC is continuing to assess data on whether fully vaccinated people with asymptomatic breakthrough infections can transmit. However, the greatest risk of transmission is among unvaccinated people who are much more likely to contract, and therefore transmit the virus.
  • Fully vaccinated people with Delta variant breakthrough infections can spread the virus to others. However, vaccinated people appear to be infectious for a shorter period: Previous variants typically produced less virus in the body of infected fully vaccinated people (breakthrough infections) than in unvaccinated people. In contrast, the Delta variant seems to produce the same high amount of virus in both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people. However, like other variants, the amount of virus produced by Delta breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people also goes down faster than infections in unvaccinated people. This means fully vaccinated people are likely infectious for less time than unvaccinated people.

Source: Avian Flu Diary: CDC Science Update: Delta Variant

Happy Birthday, Anna J. Cooper, & Can learning languages help when you are under stress? Yes! Write your Dreams in your favorite Languages!

Context, Thought, and Learning: ShiraDest Offers Project Do Better

Dr. Anna J. Cooper was a strong advocate for education, especially in Washington, DC, and one of the first Black women to earn a PhD.   August 10th is her birthday, and as she fought to make the dreams of Black students possible, we must fight to make all of our collective dreams possible for a safer, kinder world.

Write your dreams in a language all your own, if you have to, and then expand your world by learning two more languages.

My personal dream has always been to save and enrich all lives, and my dream for the world is to see a Tiny House or at least a small well-insulated room with kitchenette and bathroom, with potable water, green vegetables, brown rice and dried beans and solar/windpower with backup pedal power for every man, woman and child over maybe, the age of 10, world wide, free for that person’s use…

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How the Human Immune System Works

The human immune system is the most complex biological system we know, after the human brain, and yet, most of us never learn how it works. Or what it is. Your immune System consists of hundreds of tiny and two large organs, it has its own transport network spread throughout your body. Every day it makes hundreds of billions of fresh cells.

It is not some sort of abstract entity. Your immune system is YOU. Your biology protecting you from the billions of microorganisms that want to consume you and from your own perverted cells that turn into cancer.

Source: How the Human Immune System Works

Can Brazil’s Indigenous People Survive Bolsonaro? – JURIST – Commentary – Legal News & Commentary

The beginning of Bolsonaro’s Presidential term has seen an escalation in violence and murder, and even the President has been accused of committing crimes against humanity among indigenous tribes. Bolsonaro policy decisions do not just affect Brazil, some have a bearing on the welfare of the entire planet. Brazil is home to the Amazon rainforest, and although deforestation has been rampant in Brazil since 2012, it has become even more rampant since he has become President. The effect of his harsh policies can be seen on the roads of Brazil in the form of protest against Bill PL 490, which will allow mass deforestation on indigenous lands for industrial purposes.

Source: Can Brazil’s Indigenous People Survive Bolsonaro? – JURIST – Commentary – Legal News & Commentary