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Contents contributed and discussions participated by arjunk2022

arjunk2022

US Fed could hike interest rates as soon as March, says Bullard - 0 views

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    Essentially, the Fed is increasing interest rates and reducing it's spending to counteract inflation. This is in contrast to the increased spending it has had during the pandemic so far.
arjunk2022

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/16/health/purdue-pharma-opioid-settlement.html - 0 views

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    This article was mostly a summary of a settlement with Purdue pharma: "the settlement, part of a restructuring plan for Purdue approved in September by a bankruptcy judge, should not go forward because it releases the company's owners, members of the billionaire Sackler family, from liability in civil opioidrelated cases." This seems like a big win in the effort to make pharmaceutical companies more accountable, and I'm interested to see what (if any) action follows.
arjunk2022

African Union health watchdog CDC appeals for calm over Omicron - 1 views

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    This article is essentially about the African Union Health Minister saying that there are methods to soften the blow of the Omicron Variant that warrant some optimism. We generally see bad news around COVID, especially with Omicron, so this is good to see.
arjunk2022

The Government Says Trans Kids Have Restroom Rights. Schools Are Restricting Them Anywa... - 0 views

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    It seems like the main issue with trans restroom rights is enforcement: "Although the Supreme Court declined in July to consider a challenge to Grimm's victory in a lower federal court, SCOTUS did not set a federal precedent for similar school restroom cases, essentially leaving it up to each presidential administration to enforce Title IX in educational settings."
arjunk2022

Anti-LGBTQ+ Discrimination Increases Amid Nationwide Attacks on Trans Americans | them. - 0 views

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    Especially in the bay area, it's easy to feel like large progress is being made, but this article shows that that's not really the case throughout the country, especially with states like Texas passing anti-trans sports bills. I'm not really sure what the solution is to create national change, but it is clear that we need one.
arjunk2022

Bitcoin, ethereum rise as Venezuela launches digital currency - 0 views

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    Venezuela has decided to launch a government cryptocurrency: "Venezuela had announced in August that it is revamping its national currency, the bolivar and launching its central bank digital currency (CBDC) - the digital bolivar - on 1 October". While it may not be something they keep forever, it seems like it could help in the short term as Venezuela suffers from hyperinflation.
arjunk2022

With Venezuela's economy in crisis, cryptocurrency fills the gaps - 0 views

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    Venezuela was hit hard by hyperinflation and US sanctions. With distrust in the government's currency and economic systems, cryptocurrency has become increasingly popular in the country: "In Venezuela, crypto is mainly used to hedge against inflation that causes bank deposits to sharply depreciate in weeks or even days"
arjunk2022

Infographic: How the price of petrol has changed (2001-2021) - 0 views

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    This article talks about high fuel prices across the globe. Interestingly, Venezuela has some of the lowest prices (possibly because they have the most reserves). I'd be interested to see how this has impacted their economy over time.
arjunk2022

Venezuela's New Lettuce-Based Economy Is Good Enough for Now - 0 views

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    This article talked about the benefit of dollarization in Venezuela. I never thought about how other currencies' integration could be an economic tool, but it makes a lot of sense how it could help in this case: "Venezuelans spontaneously began to adopt the dollar in 2019 as a way of fending off hyperinflation".
arjunk2022

Cuba begins commercial exports of its COVID-19 vaccines - 0 views

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    Fairly self-explanatory. It seems like Cuba wants approval from the UN to export more vaccines, and that there was a prior agreement for Venezuela to buy some vaccines from Cuba. However, the Venezuelan National Academy of Medicine seems to be concerned about the research that went into these vaccines.
arjunk2022

Bolsonaro should face charges for COVID pandemic: Senate inquiry - 0 views

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    We mentioned this in class, but it seems the president of Brazil might be prosecuted for incompetence in handling the pandemic in Brazil. The question in my mind, though, is whether he's being prosecuted for incompetence or malicious intent. If it's the former, what's the line between reasonable and criminal incompetence for public officials? They do also mention, however, that he likely won't be charged because of the government's structure: "Any charges against Bolsonaro, however, would have to be brought by Brazil's prosecutor - a general appointed by Bolsonaro, making it highly unlikely that he will face trial."
arjunk2022

Apathy and Wariness of Kremlin Leave Russians Unvaccinated - 0 views

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    It seems like distrust of the government, as well as its initial reluctance to enact precautions, has left a lot of people in Russia with a very apathetic attitude toward the pandemic.
arjunk2022

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/04/us/california-abortion-roe-v-wade.html - 0 views

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    The gist seems to be that while Californians value abortion rights a lot more than other states, there are still a significant amount of people who believe that California should not protect abortion rights as much as it does.
arjunk2022

The Census Bureau's First Ever Data on LGBTQ+ People Indicates Deep Disparities | them. - 1 views

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    This is a pretty clear indicator of the economic bias against the queer community in the U.S.
arjunk2022

Pope Francis Won't Budge on Gay Marriage: "Marriage Is Marriage" | them. - 0 views

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    While Pope Francis is one of the most progressive popes in recent history, especially when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues. However, the Catholic Church (unsurprisingly) still has rather conservative views on queer people and the community in general, especially people who aren't cisgender. I'd be interested to see (though I doubt this information will be public anytime soon) how much of this comes from Pope Francis' own beliefs as opposed to the pressure applied by the rest of the church.
arjunk2022

Chinese Volleyball Star Comes Out by Posting Photo With Girlfriend | them. - 2 views

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    I don't know that much about LGBTQ+ rights or the queer community there. I'd be interested to see what it's like and how this fits into the movement for more LGBTQ+ rights in China.
arjunk2022

Justice Department Says U.S. Will 'Protect' Texas Women Seeking Abortions - The New Yor... - 2 views

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    The Attorney General seems to condemn the Texas abortion ban. The 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act is supposed to protect women's rights to abortions. While this statement seems to be a good initial step, it's unclear how much the federal government can/will help challenge the Texas law.
arjunk2022

Biden Opens New Federal Office for Climate Change, Health and Equity - The New York Times - 7 views

  • wildfire smoke may contribute to premature births, the Biden administration is
  • consequences of climate change and their disproportionate effects on poor communities.
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    This is very cool, good work!
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