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taylorw2021

Russia Is Miffed by Cool Reception for Coronavirus Vaccine - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...ussia-coronavirus-vaccine.html

shared by taylorw2021 on 31 Aug 20 - No Cached
  • taylorw2021 on 31 Aug 20
     
    Recently, Russia announced that it had created the first Covid-19 vaccine. They were immediately met with skepticism by many Western countries, as well as from doctors around the world. I find it very interesting that Russia named their vaccine "Sputnik V" after Sputnik 1, the first space satellite; it seems like Russia wants to mirror the Space Race by racing to find a vaccine while other countries focus on trials to ensure a potential vaccine's safety and effectiveness.
  • cooperg2021 on 31 Aug 20
     
    Although it is obvious that this vaccine has not undergone enough testing for researchers to fully understand its efficiency or possible side effects, I find it interesting that western countries were so quick to dismiss it completely. I recently read an article on Dr. Fauci that explained his time as a health official during the AIDS crisis. Because scientists did not know how the virus spread and the majority of its victims were a part of the gay community, researchers refused to go off the strict track of trials usually regulated. In short, thousands and thousands of ill people were rapidly dying yet being told they could not undergo treatment for fear of bad side effects or results. After lots of protest from the LBGTQ community, Fauci, as the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, allowed for more experimental drug treatment due to the deadliness of the virus. Today, he is regarded as a hero and a scientific humanist who did the right thing when it was necessary. Yet when Russia follows a similar track, it is regarded as rushed and faked for nice press or some Cold-War feud against the US. Although the death rate was much higher, and subsequently side effects would matter less if the patient would ultimately die without intervention (whereas with Covid, side effects could be catastrophic by worsening large groups of the population who would have otherwise survived), I find it interesting that Americans still harbor so much resentment towards Russia (or at least assume that everything must be a competition). I wonder how this was reported on in other countries.
miriambachman

Ebola Drug Could Save a Few Lives. But Whose? - 5 views

www.nytimes.com/...uld-get-experimental-drug.html

Ebola

shared by miriambachman on 02 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • miriambachman on 02 Sep 14
     
    This article not only touches upon the dangerous and negative effects of the Ebola outbreak, but calls into questions an ethical controversy regarding preferential treatment when it comes to medical care. As the need for a cure escalates, the time allotted for the testing and developing of an anti-Ebola drug diminishes. Thus, medicine that has not been thoroughly tested has been distributed to two white Americans infected with the virus. This begs the question: Why these two? Does it have to do with their race or anti-African biases? And once the drug is fully developed, who will receive the treatment first? Who will be prioritized? Additionally, this contentious matter has added to the already distrustful African view of Western pharmaceuticals and relief efforts.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Karan Rai on 04 Sep 14
     
    I think this article really shows how the US can't really win in the eyes of other countries. If they had tested people from Africa before treating the American citzens who had been infected, then America would have been accused of using the Africans as guinea pigs. Instead, the CDC is now being accused of racism and valuing the lives of Americans over Africans.
  • bonnie_ko on 04 Sep 14
     
    Fascinating article! Like Karan mentioned, countries developing vaccines are in a bit of a Catch-22 bind. I personally think that offering the drugs to those it could benefit most would be the most helpful to both research and those it could save, but the hesitance on the companies part is understandable. I think interesting questions to ask is "Where is the line between justified and unjustified fear?", and "are possible lives saved worth the risk that it may end some?" I certainly am in the boat that all participants should be warned outright of negative side effects and possible failure as a part of experimental treatment. But the most fascinating part of this article is how it never mentions polling the people of the affected countries. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only people whose opinion is really concerned is country heads and ethicists. What do the people think of getting a fighting chance?
  • dredd15 on 04 Sep 14
     
    I found it interesting that not only did the article touch on the ethical questions of who to give the first available drugs to, from a standpoint of where it would be most effective rather than just where it would be most convenient. The part of the article where acceptance of the drug came into question was another touchy matter. The attempt to administer the drug as a solution to the Ebola break out is difficult because of the nature of the illness and the apprehension towards Western Medicine. Even though the medicine is available there's no telling if this quick fix will actually contain and solve the crisis just as Arthur Kaplan says at the end of the article.
  • aaron_godinez on 04 Sep 14
     
    The article brings to light interesting conflicts between African countries and the western industries of medicine. I feel like it would be effective to offer medical education to the local inhabitants in the infected african countries. That way their knowledge can help them avoid getting the disease. Furthermore, they would have more knowledge to help them decide whether or not they would like to take the drug that is possibly a functioning vaccination, rather than just not giving the sick African patients the option. The complexity of this problem is interesting because it deals with issues of ethics and trust.
Kako Ito

Public insurance and the least well-off | Lane Kenworthy - 6 views

lanekenworthy.net/surance-and-the-least-well-off

public insurance economics welfare poor nordic model universalism targeting redistribution income inequality

shared by Kako Ito on 27 Sep 15 - No Cached
  • Public insurance also boosts the living standards of the poor. It increases their income, and it provides them with services for which they bear relatively little of the cost.
  • Critics charge that public social programs tend to hurt the poor in the long run by reducing employment and economic growth. Are they correct?
  • Does public insurance erode self-reliance? Is a large private safety net as helpful to the least well-off as a large public one? Are universal programs more effective than targeted ones? Are income transfers the key, or are services important too?
  • ...17 more annotations...
  • Once again we see no indication that public insurance generosity has had a damaging effect
  • Note also that the employment rate increased in nearly all of the countries during this period. On average, it rose by nine percentage points between 1979 and 2013. That’s not what we would expect to see if generous public insurance programs were inducing large numbers of able adults to withdraw from the labor market
  • What we see in the chart is that countries with more generous public insurance programs tend to have less material deprivation.
  • With globalization, the advance of computers and robots, increased pressure from shareholders for short-run profit maximization, union weakening, and other shifts, wages have been under pressure. Couple this with the fact that many people at the low end of the income ladder have labor market disadvantages — disability, family constraint, geographic vulnerability to structural unemployment — and we have a recipe for stagnation in the market incomes of the poor.
  • here’s a good reason for these shifts: government provision offers economies of scale and scope, which reduces the cost of a good or service and thereby makes it available to many people who couldn’t or wouldn’t get it on their own.
  • Government provides more insurance now than it used to. All of us, not just some, are dependent on it. And life for almost everyone is better because of it
  • hese expenditures are encouraged by government tax advantages.22 But they do little to help people on the bottom of the ladder, who often work for employers that don’t provide retirement or health benefits.
  • To make them more affordable, the government claws back some of the benefit by taxing it as though it were regular income. All countries do this, including the United States, but the Nordic countries do it more extensively. Does that hurt their poor? Not much. The tax rates increase with household income, so much of the tax clawback hits middle- and upper-income households.
  • Another difference is that public services such as schooling, childcare, medical care, housing, and transportation are more plentiful and of better quality for the poor in the Nordic countries. Public services reduce deprivation and free up income to be spent on other needs. It’s difficult to measure the impact of services on living standards, but one indirect way is to look at indicators of material deprivation,
  • Targeted transfers are directed (sometimes disproportionately, sometimes exclusively) to those with low incomes and assets, whereas universal transfers are provided to most or all citizens.
  • Targeted programs are more efficient at reducing poverty; each dollar or euro or kroner transferred is more likely to go to the least well-off. Increased targeting therefore could be an effective way to maintain or enhance public insurance in the face of diminished resources.
  • “the more we target benefits to the poor … the less likely we are to reduce poverty and inequality.”
  • Korpi and Palme found that the pattern across eleven affluent nations supported the hypothesis that greater use of targeting in transfers yields less redistribution
  • The hypothesis that targeting in social policy reduces political support and thereby lessens redistributive effort is a sensible one. Yet the experience of the rich countries in recent decades suggests reason to question it. Targeting has drawbacks relative to universalism: more stigma for recipients, lower take-up rates, and possibly less social trust.44 But targeting is less expensive. As pressures to contain government expenditures mount, policy makers may therefore turn to greater use of targeting. That may not be a bad thing.
  • Public insurance programs boost the incomes of the least well-off and improve their material well-being. If such programs are too generous, this benefit could be offset by reduced employment or economic growth, but the comparative evidence suggests that the world’s rich nations haven’t reached or exceeded the tipping point.
  • Spending lots of money on social protection is not in and of itself helpful to the poor. Total social expenditures in the United States are greater than in Denmark and Sweden, because the US has a large private welfare state. But relatively little of America’s private social spending reaches the poor.
  • Public services are an important antipoverty tool. Their benefit doesn’t show up in income data, but they appear to play a key role in reducing material hardship. Services expand the sphere of consumption for which the cost is zero or minimal. And they help to boost the earnings and capabilities of the poor by enhancing human capital, assisting with job search and placement, and facilitating work-family balance.
  • Kako Ito on 27 Sep 15
     
    Through this article I have gained a deeper insight in how public expenditures and public goods promote wealth equality in a society. "Public services are an important antipoverty tool."
  • ...2 more comments...
  • olivialum on 29 Sep 15
     
    This article really helped me deepen my understanding of redistributing wealth downwards. I never thought about it, but things like social security, affirmative action programs, and public education are actually insurances that attempt to provide everybody with more equality when it comes to living standards as well as basic human rights.
  • samoshay on 29 Sep 15
     
    Yeah, it is a very common argument to say that social expenditures disincentives workers; interesting analysis on how wealthy countries haven't reached the "tipping point." I am curious to see what happens to labor force participation and employment in the next decades as robots further divorce economic growth from labor supply/demand.
  • charlesleesohn on 29 Sep 15
     
    Cool theory in regards to "the tipping point". Interesting, and solid criticism of large social expenditures. Wonder how socialists view this, as opposed to free-market economists.
  • smowat on 29 Sep 15
     
    "Public services are an important antipoverty tool. Their benefit doesn't show up in income data, but they appear to play a key role in reducing material hardship." INteresting to see the statistics and how social expenditures help reduce poverty and the wealth gap.
olivialum

Mental Health Care in West Africa Is Often a Product of Luck - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...s-often-a-product-of-luck.html

shared by olivialum on 12 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • A growing number of innovative groups have begun experimenting with a similar approach in Africa and Asia: providing therapy without clinics or doctors, relying instead on mobile nurses, cheap generic drugs and community support systems.
  • In impoverished parts of the world where psychiatry is virtually nonexistent, they say, it is the only way to begin reaching the millions of people in need.
  • “Here, if we had to wait for a psychiatrist, the people who desperately need treatment would never get it,”
  • ...19 more annotations...
  • slash rates of premature death from mental disorders by a third by 2030.
  • By one analysis, which includes Western countries and developing regions like West Africa, depression, drug abuse and schizophrenia are on track to be the three leading causes of lost economic output by 2030.
  • Among the successes have been group therapy for rape victims in the Democratic Republic of Congo, family and individual counseling for survivors of torture in Myanmar, and talk therapy and medication for people with depression in rural India.
  • But without reliable support, follow-up and medical supplies — particularly psychiatric drugs when needed — interventions can quickly lose traction, no matter how well trained and devoted the workers are.
  • One moment, she was dozing off during a rest period; the next, she felt the presence of strange men coming after her. She screamed at them to stop. “My shouting didn’t stop the men; they kept coming for me,” she said. “So, what did I do? I ripped off my school uniform and ran.”
  • The medical staff had little training in how to handle a psychotic break: the hallucinations and delusions characteristic of schizophrenia. They sent her home, where the sensation of being hunted seeped back into her thoughts.
  • Sometimes, she ran out onto the open savanna to escape the demons pursuing her.
  • Family members took turns keeping watch and exhausted traditional methods of healing. Precious animals were sacrificed to drive away the spirits disturbing her. Healers administered herbal powders, and one applied a pale dye to her face and body in an effort to purge demons.
  • Mental illness is a source of shame here, as in most of the world, and families do not advertise its presence. Yet each community has a chief or subchief responsible for keeping an eye out for the sick.
  • One is known as task sharing.
  • The second is community self-help.
  • The third is raising awareness
  • The evidence that a combination of these services can lead to lasting improvement for people with severe mental illnesses is thin, but a foundation is being laid.
  • “The key thing is that it’s not simply home-based care for people with schizophrenia,” Laura Asher, who is running the study, said by email. “It also involves awareness raising and community mobilization.”
  • the cost of these programs is minute compared with the cost of standard psychiatry
  • $8 per client per month on average, according to Peter Yaro, its executive director. In the United States, it costs $200 to $700 for a single appointment with a psychiatrist, depending on the provider, the type of care and the location.
  • In global cost-benefit terms, economists typically rate health care programs by the amount of disability they reduce per dollar. Historically, mental health interventions have scored poorly compared with efforts that save young lives, like neonatal care or treatment of diarrhea. A new analysis of mental health strategies in Ethiopia, for instance, found that treating schizophrenia with generic medications was about as cost-effective as treating heart disease with a combination of drugs, like aspirin and a statin — and much less cost-effective than treating depression or epilepsy. The findings, though preliminary, suggest that treating psychosis is relatively costly.
  • the studies do not take into account the effect of chronic psychosis on an entire family. “The person with psychosis becomes a full-time job for someone else in the family, and depending on how aggressive the person is, maybe more than one person,” said Dr. Simliwa Kolou Valentin Dassa, a psychiatrist in neighboring Togo
  • And if the disorder is seen as a result of a curse on the family, carried down through generations — a common interpretation here — the entire clan comes under suspicion.
Curtis Serrano

Pakistan drone attacks kill nine suspected militants - 3 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...world-south-asia-11458921

Pakistan Afghanistan Middle East

shared by Curtis Serrano on 02 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Harrison Lee on 03 Oct 10
     
    Drone attacks are actually a major topic in this year's debate resolution (about troops in several countries, including countries in the Middle East). A major argument against the use of drones is the fact that they are unmanned. This means that the risk of losing soldiers is taken out of the equation when ordering military strikes. This risk has been one of the foremost deterrents against unnecessary military operations in the past. While the operations may be effective, many civilians are killed in the process, and there is significant collateral damage. Lastly, since the drones are stealthy, it is easier for the U.S. to evade accusations by not confessing to owning or using drones.
  • Rachel Katzoff on 03 Oct 10
     
    Drone attacks are a key part of the US's couterterrorism strategy in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.They have proven fairly successful at targeting militants but they also often kill innocent civilians by accident. Many see drones as being much more cost effective then other counterinsurgency or nation building efforts in those countries. A growing debate in the military now is the shift from counterinsurgency (nation building) to counterteorrism (drones) because it is much more cost effective and it requries less military casualties. Originally the drones were only used in Afghanistan, but now they have started targetting terrorists in Pakistan. The civilian lives lost in drone attacks in Pakistan hurt US-Pakistan relations.
Arshia Surti

Push on Talks With Taliban Confirmed by NATO Officials - 2 views

www.nytimes.com/...15nato.html

NATO Taliban Pakistan Karzai

shared by Arshia Surti on 14 Oct 10 - No Cached
  • Arshia Surti on 14 Oct 10
     
    Interesting new development. It seems that the US and NATO have been pursuing peace much more seriously than previously thought. Also, the Taliban denies that any peace talks have been taking place.
  • Matthew Schweitzer on 17 Oct 10
     
    This recent development is a clear indicator of the difference between Bush-era foreign policy and that of the Obama administration. It remains unclear whether this new approach to Middle East peace will prove effective, but given the failures of the last administration, it will be interesting to see where such discussions with the enemy, who we have long considered to be a terrorist group, will lead. President Obama has made significant strides in terms of the conflicts in the Middle East, withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, but the effectiveness of these actions have yet to be proven; what distinguishes this strategy, and perhaps leads to the optimism surrounding it, is that a renewed effort to negotiate peace and draw down American presence in the Middle East is so radically different than before: different, yes; effective, maybe; we will have to wait and see.
Kay Bradley

How Redlining's Racist Effects Lasted for Decades - The New York Times - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...ffects-lasted-for-decades.html

race real estate discrimination

shared by Kay Bradley on 16 Nov 21 - No Cached
  • “We now have evidence that is very systematic and nationwide that has detailed that these borders did matter,” said Leah Boustan, an economic historian at Princeton
  • As of 1930, there were already clear differences along some of the borders in racial demographics and homeownership rates. Blacks were already more likely to be living in “D” neighborhoods than “C” neighborhoods, for example.
  • This process can be invisible to people who might look at these communities, Mr. Sugrue said, and place blame for their disrepair on residents who don’t value their homes.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Commercial investors, meanwhile, would have stayed away.
  • And any existing homeowners would have struggled to obtain credit for maintenance and repairs
  • Because those homes could be frequently repossessed by predatory lenders, these neighborhoods would experience more population instability.
  • Richard Rothstein, a researcher with the Economic Policy Institute who has written a new book, “The Color of Law,” on how official policies like redlining fostered segregation. These maps — and their lingering effects — derive from a time when the American government, he writes, believed that “inharmonious racial groups” should be separated.
diegomartelll

Venezuela's Supreme Court Consolidates President Nicolás Maduro's Power - The... - 2 views

www.nytimes.com/...venezuela-nicolas-maduro.html

shared by diegomartelll on 13 Oct 16 - No Cached
  • diegomartelll on 13 Oct 16
     
    Venezuela's Supreme Court stripped the nation's Congress of budgetary authority, effectively giving more power to President Nicolás Maduro. The Congress is the only institution controlled by the opposition.
  • evansimons on 14 Oct 16
     
    Venezuela's government overall seems very corrupt. The Supreme Court does not seem to care about the good of the overall country, more for themselves. An example is towards the end of the article where they overruled a law that would have freed 120 prisoners because they were "opposition politicians or activists." Overall this is a very interesting situation and I would like to see what happens in the future.
Njeri Kamau-Devers

Asian markets slide on eurozone downgrade fears - 1 views

Below is the link. Sorry about that. http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/15/business/asia-markets/index.html?eref=rss_latest&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_latest+%28R...

euro crisis effect in asia Sony China

started by Njeri Kamau-Devers on 16 Jan 12 1 follow-up, last by Njeri Kamau-Devers on 16 Jan 12
aaron_godinez

When Middle East Conflicts Become One - 5 views

www.nytimes.com/...east-conflicts-become-one.html

shared by aaron_godinez on 02 Sep 14 - No Cached
  • aaron_godinez on 02 Sep 14
     
    I chose this article about the Israel-Palestine conflict because it talks about how this conflict is not an isolated battle between Israel and Palestine. The Op-Ed columnist David Brooks writes that because of all the conflict in the Middle East each country, group, or "political contour" that is striving for power influences the actions of either the Palestinian or Israeli parties. For example, Brooks mentions how Egypt blocked 95% of the tunnels that connected Egypt to Gaza, which costed Hamas $460 million a year. Hamas could not attack Egypt, so they attacked Israel instead. The public dissatisfaction caused Egypt to end the blockade. Thus, the external parties in the Middle East have a large effect on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and Brooks says that the conflict should therefore be analyzed from a different perspective: "It, like every conflict in the region, has to be seen as a piece of the larger 30 Years' War" (Brooks). This article shows us that we need to think a little more broadly when analyzing certain conflicts.
  • ...4 more comments...
  • maxdewit on 04 Sep 14
     
    Dude. Best. Article. I. Have. Read. About. The. Conflict. Wow. In all seriousness though, this article really opens my eyes to the true reasons why Hamas is attacking Israel. Also never thought I'd see Egypt rooting for Israel but that cool!
  • maxdewit on 04 Sep 14
     
    I also liked this article so much I shared it on fahssbuk!
  • Katie Despain on 04 Sep 14
     
    What negative affects, if any, does the loss of $460 million a year have on citizens? How exactly do firing shots at Israel give Middle Eastern powers over each other? Perhaps the recent ceasefires have failed because of the lawmakers' outdated strategies. Maybe the "deft negotiators" themselves do not realize that the conflict is no longer self-contained.
  • miriambachman on 04 Sep 14
     
    It's interesting how this article helps to rid the reader of past notions and assumptions about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It touches upon just how global the conflict and its effects are. The violence and chaos that has risen to an all time high is not solely isolated to the region (in geographic and cultural terms). Its interesting to think that Arab nations could/would play "games" with one another, involving the abuse Israel for financial or political gain.
  • janh97 on 04 Sep 14
     
    I think it's interesting that these outside countries are involving themselves by using all the deaths of the Israelis and Palestinians as leverage to get what they want. The violence in Gaza negatively influences all of its surrounding regions. Violence only brings more violence.
  • dredd15 on 04 Sep 14
     
    This article was a great way to clear the air on many misconceptions that have been floating around that make the Israel-Palestine conflict seem like a very straightforward conflict. This makes it clear that many of the warfare between Israel and Palestine isn't related to conflict between these two nations, rather in some cases it is attempts by Palestinian states and Muslim rebels to show dominance to other Middle Eastern countries and sects in order to make political and economic moves. With so much intertwining of conflict with the Egypt and the Islamists at the Arab Spring and the closing of the 95% of the tunnels being closed between Egypt and Gaza. The Brotherhood, ISIS, and other militant groups are vying for power throughout the Middle East and flexing their muscle on anybody and everybody to establish political dominance.
jacquelinec56

http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/46581300.pdf - 0 views

www.oecd.org/...46581300.pdf

shared by jacquelinec56 on 27 Dec 15 - No Cached
  • jacquelinec56 on 27 Dec 15
     
    This article discusses the history of brazil's educational system and its effectiveness. It also goes into modern reform.
mdupee

Cuba Resort Coast Flooded, Houses Toppled as Hurricane Irma Moves On - NBC News - 2 views

www.nbcnews.com/...d-hurricane-irma-moves-n800066

hurricane

shared by mdupee on 11 Sep 17 - No Cached
  • mdupee on 11 Sep 17
     
    An interesting look at the effects of hurricane Irma on another country. Especially interesting is the way in which the cuban military forced civilians to evacuate, while in Florida no one is forced to evacuate, just very strongly advised.
caroliner0che

Health Bill Appears Dead as Pivotal G.O.P. Senator Declares Opposition - The New York T... - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...repeal-susan-collins-dead.html

shared by caroliner0che on 27 Sep 17 - No Cached
  • caroliner0che on 27 Sep 17
     
    Senator Susan Collins of Maine becomes the third Republican to announce her opposition to the Graham-Cassidy bill, effectively killing it. Her stance was based on the bill's lack of provisions for people with pre-existing conditions, among other things.
sashajlu

Americans finally know what it's like when the US President orders a coup - Thai Enquirer - 2 views

www.thaienquirer.com/...the-us-president-orders-a-coup

shared by sashajlu on 07 Jan 21 - No Cached
  • sashajlu on 07 Jan 21
     
    The article reads as "karma" for the US supporting a number of coups in numerous other countries including Thailand.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Kay Bradley on 07 Jan 21
     
    Great find, Sasha!
  • jalene2021 on 07 Jan 21
     
    It is definitely interesting to be on the receiving end of an attack on democracy rather than watching (or in some cases supporting) one in other countries. Despite this possibly being seen as Americans getting a taste of their own medicine and maybe gaining more sympathy for the plight of other countries struggling to uphold their democracies, I personally doubt that it will have that effect on most people. However, it did cause many members of the senate who were previously going to object to the election results reconsider, so only time will tell what the ripple effects of this violence will be.
  • ethand2021 on 07 Jan 21
     
    I agree with Jalen's sentiment but I believe that the quick switch to certifying the election results by some republicans shows that it was nothing more than an attempt to buy political power with their constitutes.
  • mayas2021 on 07 Jan 21
     
    I doubt that our countries leader's will see the irony in this situation, as most of them believe this attempted insurrection was anti-democracy, and all of the coups the U.S. supports are supposedly democratic.
theos2022

Venezuela Cracks Down Using Security Forces Amid Coronavirus Pandemic - The New York Times - 2 views

www.nytimes.com/...coronavirus-venezuela.html

shared by theos2022 on 27 Aug 20 - No Cached
  • theos2022 on 27 Aug 20
     
    Venezuela, under the leadership of President Maduro, has started to to use military force, intimidation, and imprisonment to address the coronavirus and consolidate political power. It is believed that the virus presents a threat to the Venezuelan government because it exposes the country's lack of resources and vulnerability in times of turmoil. It has now essentially become a crime to contract the virus because one can be labeled a bio-terrorist. I was drawn to this article because I wanted to see how other countries have been addressing the virus and this approach certainly stood out to me.
  • jalene2021 on 29 Aug 20
     
    This article is really interesting. I think it highlights the fact that a crisis shows the true colors of a government and what they value. In this case they clearly don't value the lives of their citizens. Although their methods may be effective at slowing the spread of coronavirus, given the conditions the so called "bio-terrorists" are forced to live in, they are not effective at keeping their citizens healthy. Rather, the government is only employing this method to perpetuate power. From what I have seen in this and other articles, it appears that in many places around the world the government's response to COVID-19 has less to do with protecting the health and well being of citizens and more to do with maintaining power and image.
  • astas2021 on 29 Aug 20
     
    This article is both fascinating and deeply disturbing. Like Jalen said, this really does put on full display what a government actually cares about. I saw in the article that Pres. Maduro said "[his citizens are] given care that's unique in the world, humane care, loving, Christian," and having done a quick google search I've realized that Venezuala is an officially Roman Catholic country. I found this interesting, and I've often wondered why countries that are officially religious seem so often not to adhere to the values of those religions, while claiming that they do. An easy answer is to protect their reputation and economy, but I'd love to look into it more.
ershai

Venezuela subtracts six zeros from currency, second overhaul in three years | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...verhaul-three-years-2021-10-01

venezuela currency economy

shared by ershai on 20 Oct 21 - No Cached
  • Venezuela's year-on-year inflation is 1,743%, according to the Venezuelan Finance Observatory. A minimum wage salary is barely $2.50 per month.
  • Maduro's socialist government blames U.S. sanctions for the country's woes, while critics assign responsibility to interventionist macroeconomic policies
  • widespread adoption of the U.S. dollar for commercial transactions in Venezuela
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Bolivars in cash in Venezuela are rarely used for routine purchases
  • ershai on 20 Oct 21
     
    In the beginning of October, Venezuela cut six zeros from its currency in an attempt to fight inflation. Similar attempts have occurred, in 2018 for example, but the effects typically don't last more than a few years. Bolivars in cash are rarely used for everyday purchases anymore.
juliam814

Pfizer to Vaccinate Entire City of Toledo in Brazil As Part of Study - The New York Times - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...entire-city-toledo-brazil.html

Brazil NYTimes Covid-19 Vaccinations

shared by juliam814 on 20 Oct 21 - No Cached
  • Pfizer announced that it would fully vaccinate everyone in the city over the age of 12 so it can carry out a study of the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.
  • The study will follow participants for up to one year to investigate how long vaccine protection lasts against Covid-19 and new virus variants.
  • Brazil has suffered one of the world’s highest death tolls from the pandemic.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Many Brazilians have expressed anger at how slowly their government acquired vaccines and a corruption scandal involving vaccine deals.
  • juliam814 on 20 Oct 21
     
    To contrast with President Bolsonaro's Covid-19 response, this town in Brazil is allowing Pfizer to test the lasting effects of an entirely vaccinated (ages 12 and up) city.
Sam Anderson Moxley

Biden brings momentum back - 1 views

www.arabnews.com/biden-brings-momentum-back

United States Presidential Race Vice President Debate

shared by Sam Anderson Moxley on 14 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Sam Anderson Moxley on 14 Oct 12
     
    This article gives an Arab perspective on the vice presidential debate. There are some interesting choices in words to describe Biden's apparent victory over Ryan Thursday night: "feisty vice president Joe Biden came out swinging" "clashed sharply" "savaged surging" "crackling showdown" "Passionate and adamant". This type of language demonstrates the writers bias toward The democratic party. They also illustrate their bias through their explanation of the mixed post-debate polls. They explain that Ryan's good looks distracted viewers from Biden's stellar points.
  • ...2 more comments...
  • Jasper Arasteh on 15 Oct 12
     
    I think this is a very interesting viewpoint to read about the debate from. Its interesting how the writer seems much more biased towards the democratic party despite the democratic party's promises regarding Israel at the DNC. It appears that this site is Saudi Arabian. Since the Saudi government is such a big ally of the united states, it makes me wonder how reporters in a country thats not on so good terms with the US like Iran views the current election. Also I think they were saying that Biden's facial expressions were distracting, not Ryan's looks, but I could be wrong.
  • Michelle Ito on 15 Oct 12
     
    I agree with Sam and Jasper, I thought that the reporter seemed very biased towards the democratic party. And I understand how some reporters cannot help themselves because he or she believes so much in the candidate's beliefs and agenda. But this article is not an example of this type of bias. Instead, the reporter focused a lot on the candidates personality and appearance. I think this is wrong; it is more important to talk about what Biden and Ryan said and stand for than how they said it even if they are just running for vice president. This makes me question the effects readers (who did not watch or listen to the debate) will have. And if this does greatly affect readers, how well informed these readers are, and why this article affected them?
  • Robert Giesler on 15 Oct 12
     
    I think this site posts very biased articles in general on this election. After the last debate, the report on that seemed incredibly biased towards Republicans, so I think maybe they just go with whoever "won" the debate. It's interesting how the only evidence used in the debate shown in this article is about foreign policy and terrorism, and I agree that it would be interesting to look at something from Iran or the likes.
  • Kay Bradley on 15 Oct 12
     
    Good find, Sam! Even if the source shows overt bias, it's good to know what's out there being said about US politics!
Thomas Peterson

Secret Israel-Syria Peace Talks Involved Golan Heights Exit - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...volved-golan-heights-exit.html

Israel Syria Peace Talks US

shared by Thomas Peterson on 14 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Thomas Peterson on 14 Oct 12
     
    This situation reflects on Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations" in an interesting way. It appears that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad prioritized Syria's relationship with Iran, what some might call a civilizational tie, over the political interests of Syria as an individual state in his decision to turn down a deal with Israel that would have returned the Golan Heights to Syria's control. The discussion of the influence of upcoming elections in Israel and the US on the release of this news also adds an interesting dimension. Is it the Obama administration that is manipulating the facts about these peace talks so as to appear more effective in Middle East policy? Or is it Netanyahu who is misrepresenting his involvement in an effort to appear strong and unyielding towards the rest of the Arab world in an election year?
  • Kay Bradley on 15 Oct 12
     
    Interesting!
Thomas Peterson

Why Georgia isn't on Obama's mind - 2 views

mondediplo.com/georgia

Foreign Perspective France Presidential Election Obama Romney Non-Swing States

shared by Thomas Peterson on 14 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Thomas Peterson on 14 Oct 12
     
    This French perspective on the US electoral process is really eye-opening. As Americans we are desensitized to the fact that vast swathes of our country are effectively ignored in the Presidential election process. However, from an outside perspective this phenomenon appears strange and disturbing. In France, which elects its presidents directly, the electoral college seems to subvert the interests of democracy without a clear purpose. Thus, the analysis of non-swing states addresses questions I would have never really thought to ask. This article focuses primarily on Georgia and South Carolina as examples of this phenomenon. The finding that many individuals in poor and uneducated populations in these states don't know who the Republican candidate is or when the election will occur is shocking and a little alarming, but, upon greater investigation, makes sense. Why would a presidential candidate ever visit either of those states in this day and age?
  • Kay Bradley on 15 Oct 12
     
    Let's talk about this one in class!
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