#Covid Testing Hawaii

[kabutone]

im really glad that palestine has not only raised awareness of the ongoing genocide but has brought attention to other ongoing human rights issues and occupations like congo and hawaii (and brought some attention back to ukraine but ive also seen people being weird about it). so now that we're having the conversation about why its bad to attempt to kill entire groups of people, i am begging that you start bringing masking and covid safety back into your politics.

a LOT of people who claim to be "leftist" or "progressive" or "inclusive" or whatever label you wanna use, have fallen into the mindset that disabled, immunocompromised, and otherwise high risk individuals deserve to get left to die. a lot of people are reacting with such shock and horror that the US would funnel so much money and support into a blatant genocide, but that wake up call came so much earlier for the people that were left to "fall by the wayside" by covid. the US has left the most vulnerable to die and is trying to convince you to leave them behind too. not to mention that even the healthiest and fittest person can become disabled by covid. the government is willing to let you and your family die if it means they can squeeze more money out of you. and if you believe that the pandemic is "over" or is no longer a big deal, you have bought into their eugenics, and i am begging you to fight back against it.

a lot of people refuse to mask, or test, or take others into consideration anymore because "i did my part." and they fail to recognize that their "part" is not over, they did the bare minimum and then failed their community. i hope that in a few months you won't be disregarding palestine because you "did your part" by using the tiktok watermelon filters and posting about it for a few months.

if you are pushing super hard for palestine, and any other nation suffering colonialism and genocide, i urge you to wear a mask and fight against the murder happening at home too.

[theculturedmarxist]

This interview was conducted with a public health employee of the Hawaii State Department of Health (HIDOH), as part of the WSWS Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic. The worker chose to use the pseudonym Robert to protect their identity.

Evan Blake (EB): Thank you for participating in the Global Workers’ Inquest into the COVID-19 Pandemic, it’s a pleasure to interview you. Can you describe your background and training in public health before the pandemic?

Robert (R): My training in public health began more than 25 years ago, initially centered on women’s reproductive health. I earned a degree in Public Health. My focus soon broadened from just women’s health to everyone’s due to the ongoing HIV/AIDS crisis.

Throughout my career, I collaborated with various organizations, including academic institutions and community health centers, to develop programs targeting most of the populations in the Bay Area. These initiatives encompassed health education, addiction support, and promoting healthy relationships, as well as offering HIV/AIDS and HCV [hepatitis C]testing, counseling, contact tracing, case management and patient navigation services. When I moved to Hawaii, I continued doing health education and working with those experiencing developmental disabilities, aging and chronic illnesses.

EB: What were your initial experiences when the pandemic began in early 2020? How would you characterize the initial pandemic response of DOH [Department of Health] and state officials more generally in Hawaii?

R: I noticed in December 2019, when there was talk of unusual illness in China’s news and social media. Seeing how it was being handled there made me concerned. There seemed to be more effort in hiding it than in handling it.

I waited for our government to mention it, especially on a more local level. I really thought that since, historically, the Hawaiian Kingdom has had effective quarantine and mitigation practices, that the current leadership would follow suit. My thinking was that we don’t have rabies in Hawaii, so obviously we know how to keep viruses out.

By February, I started contacting the DOH to hire me to help out any way possible. This looked like something that could easily be squashed if they rounded up all the HIV experts and put them to work. In early March, I put my disabled clients on quarantine. I bought a bunch of fabric and a serger and my family and I made hundreds of masks. Airborne transmission has always been known.

On March 4, 2020, Hawaii’s Democratic Governor David Ige declared a state of emergency in response to COVID-19, granting the state greater flexibility in responding to the crisis. This is officially when the problems with disappearing COVID funds began. On March 26, Ige issued a stay-at-home order, closing nonessential businesses and implementing strict travel restrictions.

I participated in the statewide Lt. Governor’s COVID town halls. Stay-at-home orders in March and May helped keep the numbers low. I waited for the health department to do something and cranked out masks. Schools had gone online at this point. It went pretty well for us. My kid’s school was really proactive about making sure the kids had access to what or who they needed, including computers.

My partner was labeled an essential worker because he was in construction. His boss took full advantage of this allowance and I wrote several of our state’s representatives who seemed actively concerned about COVID, about what to do in this situation.

By the end of May 2020, Dr. Mark Mugiishi, the chief executive of HMSA, brokered a deal with the UH Manoa nursing school to provide students to be trained as contact tracers. They were supposed to have seven different cohorts, but they stopped at three or four. Most of the trainees were never hired to do any work in the DOH and a majority of the graduates got letters stating thanks, but no thanks. The DOH only ever brought on a couple hundred contact tracers. That was after they got in trouble for not having enough and refusing help.

All the tracers and investigators started out being hired by agencies other than the DOH. This meant that we had no rights, but we had the same responsibilities as any other employee would have. We didn’t get hazard pay, union, or PTO, couldn’t participate in any of the benefits or mental health support and other programs they regularly provided and encouraged all employees to participate in. Most of us worked from 7 a.m. to late in the evening most nights. Most tracers and investigators were not from the locally COVID-trained cohorts.

A majority of the COVID hires weren’t brought in until much later in 2020 or in 2021. More were needed and available and instead of hiring tracers or case management, a call center was contracted to bottleneck the high volume of calls and cases.

State officials are notoriously reactive to any problem, emergency-related or not. The officials in charge of HIDOH when the pandemic was officially recognized were ill-fitted for their positions. Their responses were lackluster at best, with Sarah Park (state epidemiologist, COVID response leader) coming in to the UH Manoa COVID trainings to tell us that contact tracing was ineffective, as well as other disease mitigation techniques that we were being trained on, like routine screening.

When the contact tracing program started at the DOH, the National Guard was tasked with training us and facilitating most of the COVID mitigation efforts. This was after they had only received one day of training themselves. I met not one of them who had any health background whatsoever.

It’s been a performative disaster from the very start. Our DOH and state leadership were instrumental in encouraging the spread of COVID-19. State officials were slow to respond and, when they did, it was never an appropriate response. Hawaii usually sees at least 30,000 visitors per day from all over the world. They did everything in their power to keep that going.

EB: You mentioned that DOH employees were split up into different groups, including groups working with prisoners, homeless people, sports personnel, the wealthy, etc. Can you describe this in more detail and the class divide in the pandemic response in Hawaii?

R: DOH employees as a whole are siloed and do not collaborate or even have the slightest clue what the others are doing ever. It was difficult trying to get resources or info from within when trying to access data or connect people with other services. It was deeply embarrassing to me sometimes how incompetent everyone was.

For the pandemic efforts, the entire venture was militarized and we were beholden to chain of command operations as civilians. We were not allowed to speak to our higher-ups. Many were discouraged from speaking to anyone.

The contact tracing and case investigation were separated into several different focus groups headed by epidemiologists. These epidemiologists already had a disease focus and their loads were not lightened. They were added to. Most of them are not in fact actual trained epidemiologists. They have fallen into the position often through nepotistic means and meet bare minimum educational requirements. They had a lot of weird toxic drama that affected program function overall.

For example, if your team’s epidemiologist didn’t get along with a different team’s epidemiologist and you needed a file or lab result or info about an individual in their category, they may delay the info or just never give it to you. It was the worst addition to an already extreme high-stress situation.

The main group management often fell to the inexperienced National Guard, who were under the epidemiologists. Each group’s numbers fluctuated and usually had about 7–15 people, half National Guard, half civilian. The focuses were separated into schools, food service, military, healthcare and LT facilities, travel/VIP, Pacific Islander, severe/death, correctional facilities and homeless.

We had to wait for the daily cases to be handed to the epidemiologists. They would post new cases as they were processed into the system usually via an external call center, who received the cases mostly via the department’s only fax machine.

HIDOH hired an external call center to handle what was called first contact calls. This was actually one of the biggest obstructions to actual contact tracing or any real handling of infected patients in a timely manner.

First contact call center got the first reporting of the case. The report would come in via fax (another massive problem). That person’s name and number would be taken down and someone from the call center or the National Guard would call and ask screening questions about their health and symptoms, often with not much health training. They had three days for the individual to answer before they stopped calling and threw it out.

By the time investigators or tracers got the case, it was often 5–10 days old. We never did real contact tracing in the department. Real contact tracing would involve calling the case immediately to help them trace and notify anyone who may have been exposed. It would also involve timely and actual distribution of resources, including testing, food and money. This is not what happened.

I saw hundreds of people who were overqualified for resources denied or provided the offered resources too late. Some tracers did what could be considered “guerrilla tracing” because they had their contact info passed around for those who needed help and couldn’t get through to the health department when they needed to, or they just needed resources or their results.

A majority of people who were infected did not receive a call from the DOH or any help. They also didn’t receive guidance on quarantine or health at all. Internally, there was never training or updating on variants, pathology or how to ask sensitive questions and talk to the general public. There was a lot of secrecy and internal guidance that wasn’t health-oriented or generally useful. It was often self-congratulatory and bloviated.

This all increased the class divide as those in the service industry couldn’t afford to heal or get better and many lost and are losing their jobs. Those who were able to sealed themselves away. Admin stayed in their offices and told no one to enter, and there was an increase in work-from-home jobs for those with privilege or education, like myself.

EB: Hawaii has the highest per capita number of active US military personnel of any US state and is the state’s largest income producer, yet tourism is often claimed to be the state’s dominant industry. What were the roles of the military and the tourism industry in relation to the pandemic?

R: The military has largely handled their own COVID cases, navigation, and often not sharing when they have clusters that directly impact civilians.

The tourism industry has a finger in everything. They have been extremely instrumental in helping COVID spread. Tourism interests are largely against the people of Hawaii, who are more often harmed than helped by their existence. Tourism and business degrees are what steers most of the boards of every institution in this state. You will find significantly more business degrees than Kanaka (Hawaiian person) representing leadership in the islands. Tourism is why most of those whose birthright is the islands are homeless or not in the islands.

Both industries had large roles in facilitating spread. They pushed to keep everything open and often refused to cooperate with the HIDOH in COVID mitigation efforts.

EB: How have the federal pandemic funds approved under Trump and Biden been dispersed within Hawaii? Can you describe any corruption or negligence that you’ve seen in this regard?

R: I can pretty much only describe corruption and negligence regarding the usage of funds. The HIDOH let over 30 million dollars’ worth of badly needed COVID tests go to waste and then spent over $60,000 to destroy them. The schools never saw much of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds put to use in the schools for mitigation efforts. Countless non-profits denied resources to the community. A robot dog was purchased to test homeless people for COVID, over $1 million were spent on Thanksgiving turkeys in Maui. Oahu’s police department got a bunch of new toys.

The HIDOH never upgraded their information transmission capabilities. They depended on two fax machines for the entirety of the COVID efforts, meaning that all data and case info was transmitted through these machines, slowing down any work or real efforts.

The machines ran over the weekend and whoever was on the following Monday had literal piles of data to enter into the system for reported cases, hospital data, etc. The whole venture has been performative negligence. The funding was better and more resources were distributed while Trump was president. Biden is an absolute disgrace, considering he campaigned on getting rid of COVID.

Most of the funds that could have been used to improve the community and help mitigate COVID were used irresponsibly and have been absorbed by the state. Governor Ige went out of his way to pass legislation that approved shady usage of funds and halt transparency. Governor Green is even worse. The COVID response was just a preview for how Green is handling the Lahaina fires.

EB: Schools reopened with less and less mitigation measures each year, causing repeated waves of mass viral transmission. Can you describe this process and the public health measures you advocated for them to implement? What was the response of various officials to your efforts? How are you seeing the impacts on children, including with Long COVID?

R: The 2020 school response was much better than the following years. Students were provided Chromebooks and instruction from their teachers. It wasn’t implemented in a way that made it easy for many instructors and families, but it was the safest option that was provided.

The following year, the district (the state has only 1) offered something completely different.

In-person instruction or a program for those staying home, that required the parent or caregiver to spend 4–6 hours per day implementing. With no live teachers or real support offered from the school or Department of Education (DOE). The schools who offered it didn’t even know what it was or how it functioned. They just referred parents to the program’s website or phone number if they needed any assistance.

Often parents who required more support or Special Education (SPED) services for their children were ignored, punished, had CPS called on them, or were harassed by some school’s staff and admin.

In many of the poorest areas, where much of our service industry workforce resides, the schools didn’t even offer an alternative to in-person classes. I’m in one of these areas and I removed my child from her school after they refused to provide any support or programming besides that awful program they were offering which forced the parent to provide instruction without support. I already had a job. They called CPS on me. They would send staff to my door every week to sign unnecessary paperwork. They did this for two years. Officials didn’t care. The School’s Superintendent and the super for my area was never even available and never returned calls. I called weekly. I was working on so many cases connected to our schools the whole time, it was no question about removing my kid.

None of the public schools had their air systems improved or HEPA filters added. Some were using hand sanitizer on children’s desks in between classes when they were supposed to sanitize them properly. There wasn’t any solid guidance provided to the schools. Every time I got through to a school nurse or principal about a case, they begged for info on what to do and how to handle mitigations with all the sickness.

Sickness in children and school staff wasn’t being reported accurately because contact tracers were instructed not to connect cases in the classroom with each other. This kept the cluster report low. Many teachers were punished for mentioning their own infections and they were not allowed to notify students’ parents either. This devastated our community, since it has one of the highest counts of multigenerational households in the nation.

Josh Green, who is now Hawaii’s governor, was the head of the COVID Task Force. His main messaging has only ever been regarding vaccines. He spent a significant amount of time pointing the finger at many of our Pasifika communities in regard to their vaccine hesitancy instead of working with them to mitigate COVID in other ways.

When the 2021–22 school year started, the district was ill-prepared and kids weren’t approved for vaccines yet. The school’s superintendent, Christina Kishimoto, was completely useless at getting any mitigations in the schools at all. She ignored the entire community, including so many teachers and parents who tried to keep or make the schools, or at least education, safe and accessible to all.

Senator Brian Schatz and others who had been previously notified about in-school spread and the actual numbers present instead of the falsely low reported ones, maintained the script that children needed to learn in-person. Even after in-person learning saw children being shoved together in cafeterias all day without proper instruction due to sick staff, those in charge maintained that the children needed to be in schools. This was supposedly for their mental health and education, which had never been prioritized previously.

Hawaii has had a major deficit in adequate and accessible education, as well as mental health care providers and services, for a very long time. Additionally, we don’t have school nurses in each school like many contiguous states offer. Many of our schools share a nurse and may not have an area for children to be sick or wait for someone to get them from school.

In-school cases often fell to vice principals and other staff. By the 2022–23 school year, schools had removed any guidance that was useful. They never upgraded or improved the air systems. Many of our schools have had problems with lack of proper air conditioning for a long time before the pandemic. The pandemic just made it worse.

There was a program created at the start of the 2022–23 school year to make the DOH, DOE and CDCF work together to improve the conditions in the schools. The HIDOE refused to meet or participate in any improvements to their school’s systems, provide resources such as testing, PPE or pandemic guidance.

Our state leadership has met with many COVID experts, DOH employees and medical staff who have told them what is happening in their districts, classrooms, hospitals and the community throughout the official pandemic and even now. They all have given lip-service and often have reacted appropriately in those meetings but nothing ever comes of it.

At first, children were just getting cold-like symptoms like everyone else. Those who had existing health issues usually suffered more. Not many children’s cases were followed past the initial call. Over time, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) became a focus as the children’s symptoms didn’t always go away.

Since Omicron emerged in November 2021, kids have had an increase in seizures and a lot of problems with focus and memory. My child has had several friends die from COVID. Long COVID in kids is terrifying, and the impact is already noticeable. Mine just stated that what everyone needs to know is that it’s harder for kids to learn now. She notices so much brain damage in her peers already. Before she got COVID, it was easier for her to process information. Things take much longer now.

To be honest, I’ve rarely seen an actual full recovery. People move benchmarks and brain damage is extremely hard to self-identify. COVID is long and lasting. Nearly every infection shows damage whether it’s noticed or not. For those who don’t have immediate consequences, it’s playing the long game.

EB: How else are you seeing the ongoing impacts of the pandemic associated with COVID-19 infection, including Long COVID?

R: I noticed very early on that regardless of how mild the cases were, there were often residual issues with the person’s ability to handle and process information. The one symptom that should be tracked more than temperature is cognitive ability—confusion, disorientation, odd and unusual thoughts and behaviors. The ongoing impact of any COVID infection is a significant amount of unchecked and untracked brain damage. It’s very difficult to self-diagnose and most of our medical providers are still unaware of COVID and how it presents.

Getting infected with COVID can reduce the immune system’s ability to function. Each reinfection can reduce immune function even more, inviting opportunistic infections to eventually kill us. This is how HIV functions, but at least there is treatment for that. There’s no treatment for Long COVID and there’s even less treatment or care for those under 12 years old. The impact I see right now is immense. Children and young adults are exhibiting Alzheimer’s and dementia-like symptoms, and there are huge increases of cancer, diabetes and heart problems at the population level.

EB: What have been your experiences advocating for Long COVID patients, and what are some of your greatest concerns with the “mass disabling event” of Long COVID associated with the pandemic? What do doctors know or not know, and what do you think needs to be done to address this?

R: While documenting cases in 2020, some had symptoms that just wouldn’t resolve. A few threatened to commit suicide and were in constant and severe pain. Many of their doctors didn’t believe them. I would contact their doctors and explain what Long COVID was. I would send them studies if they requested and would tell them what labs or referrals to order for their patients.

Many doctors were receptive at first. Some would gaslight the patients, saying that they were experiencing anxiety and not their actual ongoing COVID symptoms. I made an extra effort to contact those ones because they were making the patients worse and confused. I spent hundreds of hours on social media spaces giving talks about COVID, Long COVID and what I was seeing. Other Long COVID sufferers and advocates would join.

None of this data was being collected or distributed by our DOH, regardless of how the variants mutated or the community was being impacted. Any attempts to send information up the chain of command to the top were ignored and sometimes punished.

Over time, the doctors I was working with were getting Long COVID themselves. It led to a significant reduction in care for their patients. Some would brush the issue off because they had it and they were working, which they thought meant they were fine.

Doctors need to have proper information and guidance. Without it, many people are being told COVID isn’t really a problem. They trust their doctors to know about COVID. Their doctors are unknowingly feeding them to the fire. Vaccines are only one layer of a many-layered solution, and at this point vaccines aren’t very effective at preventing infection as the virus continues to rapidly mutate and new variants continue to evolve.

In terms of public health as a whole, the CDC is looked at as the main guidance for all these institutions. They need to be putting out clear messaging about COVID being airborne, the fact that an infection commonly lasts anywhere from 14–20 days, each reinfection can reduce immune function, and COVID is a vascular disaster that can wreck any and all organs of the body. These are things that scientists have known since 2020. There is absolutely no reason Drs. Rochelle Walensky and Anthony Fauci didn’t know the correct protocols for handling this pandemic. They both have HIV backgrounds.

My greatest concern about this mass disabling event is that I live in Hawaii. Disabled people were hidden, ignored and underserved here before the pandemic. It was nearly impossible to find mental and behavioral health services and they were often insufficient at best.

When everyone keeps getting reinfected, they will not be able to function. There’s low availability for services now and it’s already getting pretty noticeable. My friends working in the hospital are reporting incredibly low staff numbers and extreme burnout. We only had nine ambulances in circulation a couple weeks ago due to callouts.

Suicides, mental hospital stays and inability to function are becoming increasingly common and we’re just getting started. Since the pandemic began, there’s been an increase in car and plane accidents, heart attacks, diabetes, cancers, previously rare disorders and sudden deaths. Currently, COVID is listed as the third leading cause for death in the US, but if data were properly collected, COVID would be number one.

I took someone to the doctor for a head wound to be stitched and the doctor didn’t even mention concussion protocol. He said strange things that hadn’t been relevant regarding COVID since 2021. He behaved odd and childlike.

This mass disabling event is largely invisible. Many cannot self-diagnose the brain damage that a significant percentage of infections cause to some degree. It changes moods, thoughts, function, and can make people confused or angry.

My biggest concern is that with mass infection and reinfection, everyone is getting their brains melted. Who will take care of anyone when no one is left healthy and functional? Who will grow our food, participate in society, or even be able to get out of bed after we’ve all had multiple infections? Who will be left?

EB: Those are critical points, and concerns that should be more widely shared. The propaganda of the corporate media and political establishment has had a real impact, and prevented masses of people from understanding the dangers of COVID-19 and Long COVID.

Changing topics somewhat, when we spoke before you said that “Lahaina is an active crime scene, just like the COVID situation here is also an active crime scene.” Can you elaborate more on this and the criminal negligence that you believe caused this catastrophic fire? What other connections do you see between this fire and the COVID-19 pandemic?

R: Just the fact that there’s such a focus from those in charge on reopening and getting back to work tells me everything I need to know. The community just experienced a life-altering trauma and instead of really taking care of them and helping them get situated and time and resources to heal, it’s full-steam ahead. Open up, get back to work, go to school. Don’t worry about how you’re going to pay that mortgage on the burn pile where you used to live.

Just like with the COVID pandemic, the Emergency Management Agency lead didn’t have experience. They didn’t sound any alarm, and clearly weren’t well versed on emergency response protocols, otherwise they would have correctly used the emergency alarm system. Instead, Herman Andaya reasoned with everyone about why he didn’t think they were necessary.

For COVID, Josh Green facilitated thousands of tourists freely and consistently infecting our community with almost no guidance other than to get vaccinated. He gaslit us for years from his whiteboard and scrubs. He got even worse after he got COVID. The brain damage is real.

Why didn’t Maui sound the emergency system that is used for emergencies including wildfires? Why didn’t HIDOH enact their public health police powers to protect the community from COVID? Why do they both consistently report false numbers? Why do they both tell the community about resources that exist, but in reality are not actually available? Why is the community being forced to bear the brunt of the outcome of both disasters alone? Why does our leadership refuse to work with the community to solve either issue?

I know how greedy and careless this government is first-hand. Especially when local people are involved. Both disasters have resulted in very high losses to our Filipino and Pasifika communities.

How are we the only state without a fire marshal? Why is there never anyone held accountable? How do all these incredibly incompetent folks keep getting replaced by more incompetence? Nepotism. It has led to incredible incompetence and I have to assume it’s why there’s no accountability or oversight anywhere or for anything.

EB: Since the beginning of the pandemic, the WSWS has advocated for the full deployment of all available public health measures to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 throughout the world. Multiple countries proved that such a Zero-COVID strategy was possible, and we now know even more about viral transmission.

We have stressed that the fundamental reason this global elimination strategy has not been implemented is due to the division of the world into rival nation-states and the refusal of the capitalist ruling elites to accept any impingement on their ability to exploit workers and generate profits. What are your thoughts on this, and do you agree that we need to fight for a global elimination strategy?

R: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has exposed the challenges associated with the division of the world into nation-states, each pursuing its own approach to pandemic management. It’s been an absolute disaster.

When the virus first hit and people began seeing consequences and acting accordingly, I thought we had a chance at stopping the virus. Then the countries with more behaved greedily. They hoarded and wasted resources in the face of the countries who couldn’t get access to resources from the global market.

We are all in this together and no one is getting off this rock alive. Working together is the only way to get rid of this virus and all the others that have been popping up in the past few years.

Unfortunately, such an approach seeks to prioritize the well-being of individuals and communities over economic interests as Cuba has done. They developed their own COVID-19 vaccines. They consistently have the lowest reported COVID cases and deaths globally. Often close to zero. Their vaccines work much better than ours have been.

This reflects true commitment to public health and an ability to leverage existing medical and scientific infrastructure to respond to the pandemic independently.

EB: Thank you for this invaluable interview and contribution to the Global Workers’ Inquest.

R: Thank you.

[eretzyisrael]

Good News From Israel

In the 23rd Aug 23 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:

Medical history made by Israeli spinal surgeons and heart valve implants.

Israeli aid organization is bringing relief to survivors of Maui wildfires.

Two Israeli renewable energy companies are powering ahead.

An Israeli jetpack lets you swim like a dolphin.

Positive economic news for Israeli unemployment, energy, and tourism.

Amazon announces major Israeli investment.

Israeli women win gold medals in judoka and windsurfing.

An Israeli Arab, a Druze and a Jew give inspiring messages.

Read More: Good News From Israel

Israel's usual high summer temperatures may explain why so many Israelis are indoors energetically working on innovations to make a better world.  Renewable energy developments include releasing hydrogen from water using regular sunlight; floating solar farms are now a commercial reality; and a solar farm that generates cheaper electricity than can be produced from fossil fuels. Israeli energy in the medical arena has resulted in the world's first spine surgery using Augmented Reality; the first implanted tricuspid heart valves; two cancer breakthroughs; life-saving blood clot removal; and the first blood test to diagnose bipolar disorder.  Energetic Israelis are helping save lives after devastating fires in Maui, Hawaii. Sometimes too much energy can be unhealthy or dangerous. So Israelis have been developing solutions to drought-afflicted trees, sun-baked streets, blast from explosions, and lithium battery fires.  Individually, many Israelis have been channeling their energy into major sporting successes. It's good to see the recent report on the economic benefits from Israel's energy discoveries; Israeli employment and tourist numbers are back to pre-Covid levels; and investment continues to flow from giant US, European and Asian companies. I ask readers to publicize these positive newsletter facts, counteracting the negativity of many Mainstream Media opinion pieces. The photo shows the completed solar roof of my local Netanya school that I portrayed previously under construction.  Many other schools have recently built similar roofs, helping Israel advance on its renewable energy targets for 2030.

[aethesfaelibrarae]

Are You Normal about Furries, Bronies and Neopronouns? And More Social Justice Litmus Tests You're Probably Failing

Listen—

I'm not saying that you have to like Furries. I'm not even saying that they're not cringe.

What I am saying is, this: just like any other fandom, there's what people find the most accessible part of the fandom (ie, the Loud part) and then there's what people find solace in. The first hurdle, at it's core, is asking the question: are you okay with weirdos that you personally don't like, understand or associate with? Are you okay with seeing a furry on TikTok, on Twitter, in real life existing? There are some people who really can't be. And that's how we get to the point where a librarian is bullied off the Internet, armchair headcanonned as autistic and no doubt traumatized. Because, at the end of the day, this question isn't so much "are you OK with Furries?" but have you grown up past the need to have your worldview palatable to you—or do you still need to have easily digestable weirdos to treat them as humans?

Bronies is that next step—mental image the Internet has instilled in a lot of us aside, the question becomes that of nuance. Can you acknowledge that two things can be true?

1) In this day and age, it is not only unfair but illogical to expect and demand that adult fans of a particular media not engage with that media in the ways that they would engage with other types of media. I'm talking about Bronies, yes but also Avatar the Last Airbender fans, Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Bluey and countless others.

There's this rise in black and white purity and pearl-clutching type of thinking that ends up like a worse version of every dystopia.

2) Should the adults in these spaces understand that any new additions to that media is not for them and that these spaces that they are apart of are, more likely than not, predominantly occupied by minors? Yes, of course!

The problem and stumbling point for this is... Too many people view this as a one or the other situation. I've seen minors proudly disregard 18+ warnings, I've seen adults arguing with, doxxing and being creeps. I find pro-shippers confusing and abhorrent. I don't have any easy fix for how to approach this. All I can do is put warnings, block/ban any minor engaging in unsafe behavior on my blog(s) [especially if they're brazenly foolhardy enough to announce it] and not be a creep myself. I'm getting to the point where I'm just going to ignore whatever the Internet calls the new "old age" and do my own thing.

Neopronouns—what really is the final boss for some people but not the final boss here.

After being an unpaid gender and sexuality 111 professor for two years, I say with extreme prejudice and exhaustion, ask me for my cashapp before you ask me questions or get to Googling*. Neopronouns have been around since Shakespeare. Singular They predates Singular You as a pronoun. Please go update your resume and do something worthwhile, find a hobby, grow a garden, something, anything else other than being mad at the person using fae/faer, frog, star or bun/bunself pronouns. You don't have to understand it, just respect it. And if you don't want to, maybe just don't engage with them??

Moving on to some newer ones. The major questions are—do you rock with Hawaii and Palestine? The Congo and Sudan? Do you support these places being free? Are you boycotting Starbucks and McDonald's? Are you watching Gaza and Rafah? Are you using your phone and other tech for as long as you can? Avoiding blood diamonds even more now? What are your thoughts about Covid? Are you still masking in public?

As we wind down, I also have to throw in the very basics, the ones that I always base my morals on—do you put the grocery store cart back? How do you treat waitstaff and people that you perceive as having some power over? If you see someone stealing groceries, especially baby formula, what do you do?

Answer these questions in your heart of hearts and sit with it. More than anything, this is specifically trying to call out the Vote Blue No Matter Who crowd and the brand of I'm a Good Person because I'm Better than You Liberal/left-facing centrist.

To be frank with you, I genuinely think that you fail some of the questions spectacularly and that's why you struggle with dismantling capitalism, white supremacy or anything else you claim to be so very against.

Because at the end of the day, when the revolution comes, you will be holding hands with at least one disabled Brony Furry with a name you can't say, neopronouns and dyed hair. Or when it's already too late and the voice of the people has gone deep underground, you will be face to face with the worst of survivors and no gentle voice to guide you through your moral quandary, just bitter, tired activists or people who waffle in the face of what needs to be done.

Your cognitive reasoning will shut down the moment you get offended. You should answer these questions and then sit with why you're offended.

And then if you still have the forethought to type, go donate, go click on the Arab site that's under 90% of activist accounts or bios. I promise you that the energy will be better used for them.

**Googling has become a skill especially in this Age of Misinformation and algorithms—there are always alternatives if you know where to look and again, request how you can compensate for the time and effort it'll take me to find you sources and then we'll talk.

—Aethe the Librarywyrm

[carolinemillerbooks]

New Post has been published on Books by Caroline Miller

New Post has been published on https://www.booksbycarolinemiller.com/musings/all-ye-need-to-know/

All Ye Need To Know

Retired scientist Ronald Mallett continues to work on the possibility of time travel.   Like Albert Einstein, he believes time and space are interconnected. That’s why he is tinkering with technology that will allow him to bend time as if it were in a black hole. Despite this seemingly hopeless pursuit, he invites us to imagine the possibilities that could occur if he succeeds.  Covid-19 could have been stopped in its tracks if we’d been able to carry a vaccine into the past.   Mallett says nothing about negative consequences that could arise when we fiddle with history. An ill-fated adjustment might recreate the Mesozoic Era. True, some people make a habit of looking backward. Mississippi’s legislature is nostalgic enough to resurrect the separate but equal Jim Crow laws of the 1800s.  Unfortunately, in their bid to defend state rights, they forgot about human ones.   Knowing little of ourselves, substituting the past for the present takes us into a tulgey wood of thorns and bogs. Writers from William Saroyan to Honoré de Balzac see our misadventure as the Human Comedy. By the phrase, they mean that ignorance gives birth to countless absurdities. These literary giants have spent many a candle-lit night in pursuit of them. The result has been an endless series of written comedies and tragedies. If vanity could learn from genius, we might survive…perhaps even grow wise from the exposure.  But imagination isn’t the sole purview of brilliance.  Lesser minds employ it, roo.  How else could QAnon exist? Belief is awkward to confront because it is impervious to evidence. If I prefer strawberry ice cream to pistachio, the question of accuracy doesn’t apply. Ambiguity, of course, is part of the human condition.  Quantum physics informs us that truth is relative. Reality lies at the intersection of matter and the observer. Any ignorance we carry en route alters what we perceive. Just as a black hole bends time and space, so black holes of the mind bend reality.      Lauren Boubert, a Republican member of Congress, provides an example. She has submitted a tax proposal to Congress based on her notion of geography. Since her knowledge of our country is limited to the continental United States, she leaves out Alaska and Hawaii. If her bill succeeds, these two states would have to fend for themselves. Or, they could form a separate but equal union which Mississippi might envy. Equally unburdened by evidence, a drag queen astounded 11-year-olds at an elementary school with the announcement that many genders exist. Seventy-three to be precise. With a little imagination, more be possible. The number has been growing. President Barrack Obama created the opportunity for these endless possibilities. Executive Order 13672 was his attempt to end lifestyle discrimination at the federal level.  The impression the document left was that gender was a state of mind. A Facebook friend warned I was dipping my toe into troubled waters when I wrote a blog about Executive Order 13572. But how could I ignore it? I’m an  English teacher. When I hear plural pronouns used in the singular, I bristle. Yet as an English teacher, I also know that language changes. The MLA Style Center, that arbiter of modern usage, already prods me in the direction of a new “they.”…Jules is writing their research paper on Jane Austen’s Persuasion;  Ari read the instructions to themselves [or themself] before beginning the test. Unfortunately, no one has alerted Grammarly about the change. K. Rowling stumbled into the gender crisis without the benefit of a friendly warning.  Not one to mock different lifestyles, she uttered remarks meant to defend women’s rights. But, we all know where the road of good intentions leads. Harpies soon descended and claiming the high ground, they called for a boycott of her latest video game, though it, like many of her enterprises, provides the lifeblood of numerous charities. J. K. Rowling needn’t have worried.  Isle Bryson made her point for her. Faced with an 8-year jail sentence, “they” claimed to be a transgender female, and at “they’s” request, “they” was sent to a woman’s prison. No sooner had “they” donned a uniform of one shade of gray, than “they” proceeded to rape two fellow inmates. Rowling’s video game, as it happens, suffered no similar harm.  Hogwart’s Legacy game enjoyed record sales. In this Barnum and Bailey world, a little humility doesn’t go amiss.  As homo sapiens, we are no more in control of our lives or the environment than earth’s smallest creatures.  We may shrug with indifference at an ant war unfolding beneath our feet, yet we fail to consider that Nature may take the same view of us and our endless wars.  Like Lauren Boubart, Nature shows a wanton ignorance of geography. We’d do better to ponder our place in the universe than spend time making up rules that discriminate.  If a child born as a girl wants to be a boy,  I doubt the moon will fall out of the sky for that ambition. If we are honest, controlling someone’s inner life is more difficult than controlling the outer one. How can we take charge of anything when we are blind to events that will occur over the next 30 seconds?  Some of us avoid the terror of a random cosmos by placing our faith in a god or gods.  I, too, feel the impulse. Nonetheless, when studies show that prayer is no more successful than a coin toss, I’m disinclined to take a leap of faith. Should I be wrong in my irreligious leanings and one day find myself in the presence of a celestial being, I’m certain to be struck with another conundrum. Shall I refer to this deity as “he,” “she,” or “they”? 

[rodolfo9999]

We waited two hours for the PCR test on our return and it was COVID-19 negative. We cleared customs safely and spent the night at the Excel Hotel Tokyu in Haneda. The next day, we flew first class from Haneda back to Itami, and our Hawaii tour ended without incident.

[macmanx]

Well, it happened; I'm COVID-19 positive, sigh.

I figured I'd share what I did and did not get COVID from as a cautionary tale.

First of all, @sjwallin and I are vaxxed with 2 boosters, and I'll be blocking anyone who claims those don't work. Vaccination is where you start. If you haven't done that, you brought it on yourself, and you'll be experiencing far worse symptoms than any vaxxed individual.

How effective have those vaccines been (Moderna for myself, Pfizer for Sarah)? We were on direct flights to/from Hawaii to visit my mother for a week. We went to Star Wars Celebration 2022 for 2 days. Sarah went on a direct flight to/from Boston to record her latest piece. We volunteered to drive Grandpa to visit family in Arizona who may or may not have been vaccinated (the fact that it's uncertain is, well, there ya go).

That's a lot of hits on the COVID-19 risk counter, and I'd like to extend a huge thanks to our vaccines!

What happened? Dad (vaxxed, boosted, and perfectly healthy) came over to hang out at our place. The next morning, he had a sore throat and tested positive. 3 days later, so did I. :(

And that's what I mean about this being a cautionary tale. So many high risks, and yet, the one low-risk common-place family activity is what did it.

Get vaccinated, get boosted, and take precautions. It may still happen through no fault of your own, and that's ok, but take the steps to at least manage the risks you expect.

Anyway, since I'm isolated and can't spread COVID, here's a meme to spread.

[sleepysera]

12.11.22 Headlines

WORLD NEWS

Kosovo: Roads blocked as violence between Serb protesters and police continue (BBC)

“Serb protesters in northern Kosovo blocked roads for a second day on Sunday following an exchange of fire with police. Trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles blocked several main roads leading to two border crossings with Serbia. Longstanding tensions between authorities and Kosovo's Serb minority have been rising in recent weeks.”

Russia: Putin says Russia could adopt US preemptive strike concept (AP)

“Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow could adopt what he described as a U.S. concept of using preemptive military strikes, noting it has the weapons to do the job, in a blunt statement amid rising Russia-NATO tensions over Ukraine.”

Peru: President asks Cabinet to take anti-corruption pledge (AP)

“Peru’s newest president, Dina Boluarte, swore in her Cabinet on Saturday just three days after becoming the country’s first female head of state and asked each minister to pledge not to be corrupt while in office. The 17 ministers picked by Boluarte, who on Wednesday was elevated from vice president to replace the ousted Pedro Castillo as the country’s leader, will be key to further inflaming or calming a South American country experiencing a seemingly endemic political crisis.”

US NEWS

Covid-19: Hospitalizations signal rising Covid-19 risk for US seniors (AP)

“Coronavirus-related hospital admissions are climbing again in the United States, with older adults a growing share of U.S. deaths and less than half of nursing home residents up to date on COVID-19 vaccinations.”

Hawaii: Scientists lower alert for Mauna Loa, say eruption could end (AP)

“Scientists lowered the alert level for the Mauna Loa volcano on Hawaii’s Big Island from a warning to a watch on Saturday and said the mountain’s first eruption in nearly 40 years may soon end.”

NASA: Orion capsule blazes home from test flight to moon (AP)

“NASA’s Orion capsule made a blisteringly fast return from the moon Sunday, parachuting into the Pacific off Mexico to conclude a test flight that should clear the way for astronauts on the next lunar flyby.”

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 1.13 (after 1940)

1942 – Henry Ford patents a soybean car, which is 30% lighter than a regular car. 1942 – World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter. 1950 – British submarine HMS Truculent collides with an oil tanker in the Thames Estuary, killing 64 men. 1950 – Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China. 1951 – First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins. 1953 – An article appears in Pravda accusing some of the most prestigious and prominent doctors, mostly Jews, in the Soviet Union of taking part in a vast plot to poison members of the top Soviet political and military leadership. 1958 – The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera. 1963 – Coup d'état in Togo results in the assassination of president Sylvanus Olympio. 1964 – Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, in response to anti-Hindu riots in East Pakistan. About one hundred people are killed. 1964 – In Manchester, New Hampshire, fourteen-year-old Pamela Mason is murdered. Edward Coolidge is tried and convicted of the crime, but the conviction is set aside by the landmark Fourth Amendment case Coolidge v. New Hampshire (1971). 1966 – Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 1968 – Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison. 1972 – Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong. 1977 – Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1045, a Douglas DC-8 jet, crashes onto the runway during takeoff from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, killing five. 1978 – United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled "paid" or "volunteer" donors. 1982 – Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet, crashes into Washington, D.C.'s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists. 1985 – A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa. 1986 – A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties. 1988 – Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China. 1990 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia. 1991 – Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1,000 others. 1993 – Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center. 1993 – The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is signed. 1993 – Operation Southern Watch: U.S.A.F., U.S.N., R.A.F. and French Air Force jets attack AAA and SAM sites in Southern Iraq. 1998 – Alfredo Ormando sets himself on fire in St. Peter's Square, protesting against homophobia. 2000 – A Short 360 aircraft chartered by the Sirte Oil Company crashes off the coast of Brega, Libya, killing 21. 2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800. 2012 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino's negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths. 2018 – A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii causes widespread panic in the state. 2020 – The Thai Ministry of Public Health confirms the first case of COVID-19 outside China. 2021 – Outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump is impeached for a second time on a charge of incitement of insurrection following the January 6 United States Capitol attack one week prior.

[healthstyle101]

ACT test scores hit new 30-year low

ACT Test Scores Reach Lowest in Over 30 Years: Lack of College Readiness High school students' ACT scores have hit a three-decade low, highlighting a significant readiness gap for college-level studies, as reported by the nonprofit organization responsible for the test. Six Years of Decline, COVID-19 Speeds It Up Scores have been on a steady decline for six years, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating this downward trend. The students from the class of 2023, whose scores were unveiled recently, were in their first year of high school when the pandemic struck the United States. Postsecondary Readiness Challenge Janet Godwin, the CEO of the nonprofit ACT, candidly stated, "The hard truth is that we are not doing enough to ensure that graduates are truly ready for postsecondary success in college and career." Scores Drop, but Why? The average ACT composite score for U.S. students is now 19.5 out of 36, a drop from last year's 19.8. In crucial subjects like reading, science, and math, the average scores fall below the ACT's benchmarks for success in first-year college courses. Even English, while just above the benchmark, has declined compared to last year. Test-Optional Trend and Its Impact Many universities, in response to criticism that standardized tests favor wealthier students and put low-income students at a disadvantage, have made these tests optional in their admissions processes. Some, like the University of California system, don't even consider ACT or SAT scores when submitted. Still Valuable for Course Placement Despite the trend toward test-optional policies, Godwin emphasized that these scores remain valuable for placing students in the right college courses and helping academic advisors better support them. "In terms of college readiness, even in a test-optional environment, these kinds of objective test scores about academic readiness are incredibly important," she noted. Mixed Opinions from Students Opinions among students vary. Denise Cabrera, a 17-year-old senior at Waianae High School in Hawaii, sees the value in the test but questions its necessity. She's applying to colleges that have waived test score requirements during the pandemic, like the California Institute of Technology. Though she knows they aren't considering scores, she doesn't want to limit her options. A Look at the Numbers This year, approximately 1.4 million U.S. students took the ACT, showing an increase from the previous year. However, the numbers haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels. Godwin believes that they may never fully recover due, in part, to test-optional admission policies. Benchmarks for Success Only 21% of students who took the test met the benchmarks for success in college-level courses across all subjects. Research from the nonprofit indicates that students meeting these benchmarks have a 50% chance of earning a B or better and nearly a 75% chance of earning a C or better in their corresponding college courses. Read the full article

[jayfurr]

Back from Europe

We just got back from a two and a half week trip to Europe. We flew to Bilbao, Spain and hung out there for two days, then boarded the Norwegian Gem for an 11-stop cruise that began in Bilbao and ended in Rome. After three days in Rome we flew home. A kind fellow tourist (identity unknown) managed to give us both Covid-19 toward the end of the trip — our last full day in Rome and our travel day home were both miserable, and we tested positive as soon as we got to our house. (We did wear masks the whole way home, our diagnoses unconfirmed but strongly suspected.)

Other than one “sea day” as we sailed from Bilbao to our first stop in Lisbon, Portugal, we had a different stop in a different city every day, winding up visiting a total of six countries:

Lisbon, Portugal

Portimao, Portugal

Cadiz, Spain

Gibraltar, UK

Motril, Spain (jumping off point for a bus trip north to Granada)

Ibiza, Spain

Palma, Spain

Barcelona, Spain

St. Tropez, France

La Spezia, Italy (jumping off point for a bus trip inland to Florence)

Rome, Italy (we also visited Vatican City)

We are not inveterate cruisers — this is our fifth cruise, ever:

2004 Western Caribbean — Royal Caribbean

2007 Alaska — Royal Caribbean

2017 Hawaii — Norwegian Cruise Line

2018 Baltic Sea — Norwegian Cruise Line

2023 Spain/Portugal/Gibraltar/France/Italy — Norwegian Cruise Line

What made this one different, other than the length (the others were not as long) was that I bid for a room upgrade weeks prior to embarkation, not knowing if my bid amount would be enough to beat out others bidding for the same upgrades. Apparently it was, because we were did get upgraded; it was to a two-bedroom (a master bedroom and a smaller kids’ bedroom) “penthouse” suite that was the size of two regular staterooms and which came with butler service — daily treats and fresh ice deliveries multiple times per day, stuff like that, with our morning scheduled room service delivered *exactly* at the specified time each day, and other little lagniappes of elegance. We were also entitled to priority debarkation each day and we got to have breakfast each day in one of the specialty restaurants rather than fending for ourselves in the main buffet. It was nice. It will be hard to go back to a regular sized stateroom if we cruise again in the future. (Note: it was not a “Haven” suite — NCL has a whole deck at the very top of the ship for the people who really want to lay out some cash; you can’t even get to that floor without a special keycard. We did not spend that much.)

Would we do it again? Yes. It was fun. But as I said, we are not inveterate cruisers; we’re averaging one every 5.2 years.

What was our favorite part? Carole really liked Granada and the forests around the Alhambra. I liked Cadiz a lot — it was a bustling small city with lots of color and life and beautiful views. We both would have enjoyed having much more time in Barcelona, but that stop was annoyingly short. We were allowed off the ship at 9 am or so after arriving from Palma in the Balearic Islands and we had to be back on the ship at 4:30 pm so we could sail on to St. Tropez in France. We saw Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia in a whirlwind of rush-rush-rush… and that was it.

Least favorite? Well, other than the stop where we caught Covid … 🤒 The one stop neither of us much good to say about was Lisbon, as we found it a somewhat shabby, rundown city with uncollected trash everywhere — everywhere we were taken on our two-hour “Panoramic Drive through Lisbon” tour took us past slums and rundown buildings. I’m sure there are nice areas, but we didn’t see them on what meant to be a quick trip to the really cool stuff. (Our Baltic trip taught us the folly of booking nine-hour “See Every Damn Thing There Is To See” city tours; they left us exhausted and mentally wiped out.)

We’ll be sharing some photos and anecdotes, but please don’t feel compelled to pay any attention to them whatsoever. Other than being made to look at someone else’s baby photos (and I grant you that there are even people who enjoy doing that) I think having someone else show you endless snaps of fun places they went while you were at home punching a timeclock is at the top of a lot of people’s “No, thanks” lists. 🌍

P.S. Do not touch the apes.

[dertaglichedan]

Are Emergency Powers A Test To See What Americans Will Put Up With?

During the hysteria of the covid pandemic questions swirled around how the federal government would respond to the events under the declaration of a national health emergency.  What kind of powers would they claim to have and which constitutional rights would they try to suppress?  What many Americans did not consider, however, was the implementation of emergency powers under state governments rather than the White House.

Most of the covid mandates crushing the US economy during that period were not federal mandates, but state mandates, and there's a good reason why covid tyrants chose to focus on state level restrcitions.

There are a number of requirements and obstacles for any president seeking to enforce mandates at the federal level, along with more scrutiny and oversight than is commonly understood.  Though a president can declare emergencies unilaterally, there are still some legal checks and balances (to be sure, these are quietly being eroded with each passing year). 

On the other hand, state governors in 44 states have sweeping authorities under emergency conditions, with very little immediate legal recourse.  As we have seen recently in places like Hawaii and now New Mexico, Democrat governors have been playing with fire (no pun intended) as they seek to push the envelope of emergency controls at the state level.

In Hawaii, the exploitation of state emergency provisions under Governor Josh Green led to possibly thousands of deaths as they refused to release water supplies for fire fighting and even blockaded Maui residents, forcing them back into the blaze.  They have even put an information blackout in place and denied news organizations access to the scene of the disaster.  One has to ask – Was this done out of stupidity?  Or was this a test to see what kinds of trespasses and controls citizens would accept?

In New Mexico we see a similar extreme overstep by Governor Michelle Grisham, who believes she has the authority to dictate the 2nd Amendment rights of  Albuquerque residents due to rising crime.  The level of mental gymnastics on display in her arguments to justify the banning of lawful open carry and conceal carry protections make it clear that this is not about protecting the public.  The lack of logic and reason indicates that this is an ideological decision based in zealotry.  Watch as she struggles to present any reasonable position – turning instead to deflection.

[gdgaribay498]

Important images of the summer 2023

Maui fires

In early August a devastating series of wildfires broke out in Maui, mainly in the western town of Lahaina. The month of August is considered to be the peak of Hawaii’s dry season. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, since the beginning of August, Maui has been under abnormally and severely dry levels of drought with increasing chances of wildfires. There have been multiple reasons as to why the wildfires began. One being that during Hawaii’s wet season vegetation grew tall which dried out during the dry season, making it extremely flammable. Dry vegetation, severe drought conditions and the strong winds created by category 5 Hurricane Dora were the main reasons for the fires. However, in the New York Times, it was recently released that “Maui County Officials have claimed in a lawsuit that intentional and malicious mismanagement of power lines by Hawaiian Electric, the state’s leading utility, had allowed flames to spark.” Due to the tragic events, more than 2,200 structures were damaged and destroyed, estimating a total of $5.5 billion, according to the Pacific Disaster Center and Federal Emergency Management Agency. A growing concern from the residents of Maui was the small amount of time they had to evacuate. Residents also questioned why Maui’s largest system of outdoor warning sirens did not go off, since its purpose is to alert people of life threatening events like hurricanes and tsunamis. As to date, the fires in Maui have mostly been contained, but now people have to live with the environmental hazards that remain. One being the contamination of water and air from the residue of harmful chemicals from infrastructures. 

This photograph is unique because it emotionally demonstrates the tragic event that occurred early August. As you look at the picture you see a house of fire, and in general fire all around, which is how the town of Lahaina looked for days. When you look at this picture you feel for those that had to evacuate quickly, leaving their houses and businesses to burn. This image is significant because this series of wildfires is considered the deadliest wildfire in more than a century and the deadliest natural disaster in Hawiian history, killing at least 114 people. Most importantly, experts say that this event can happen again due to climate change and droughts.

COVID cases on the rise

For quite some time now we have gotten a sense of normality since the COVID-19 pandemic that broke out three years ago. The COVID-19 pandemic has been incredibly important and significant for several reasons. Not only did the virus rapidly spread worldwide infecting millions of people, but the pandemic also had effects on the economy due to lockdowns, travel restrictions, social distancing measures, job losses and more. The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of preparedness and the need for adequate resources for any future events. In recent times, positive COVID cases have declined, in which ended social distancing and the mask mandate. However, in the mix between weather changes and flu season approaching, COVID cases have silently been increasing. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID hospitalization and death records have been increasing since the beginning of July. However, according to CDC Director, Mandy K. Cohen, there has been an increase of 10,000 cases a week. But it is not a reason to get alarmed, for as during COVID’s highest peak in August last year, cases would total up to 40,000 cases per week. Due to stronger immunity, COVID vaccines, home tests and treatments are helping people remain from a trip to the hospital. During the summer a new strain of the variant Omicron, EG.5, has surfaced in the United States. The CDC said that there is no evidence that EG.5 causes a more severe illness than the prior variants. It is still important to practice good hygiene and washing hands frequently. This image is significant because when one looks at it they might be brought back to the challenges of the pandemic in 2020. Therefore, it is important to remain informed on the increasing cases and practice adequate precautions to remain in good health and keep others safe.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

New Zealand’s situation 🇳🇿 during MiK2 filming and Omicron variant.

In August 2021, New Zealand entered nationwide lockdown due to a case of community transmission in Auckland of the Delta variant, with subsequent community cases in Auckland and Wellington. Due to rising cases nationwide, the Government abandoned its elimination strategy while accelerating the country's vaccination rollout.

Auckland remained in a form of lockdown until 3 December 2021 when the new COVID-19 Protection Framework ("traffic light system") came into effect.

When SH flew to New Zealand in January 2022 he entered a Managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) a quarantine system implemented by the New Zealand Government during the country's COVID-19 pandemic later when MiK2 started to film the island country was on “Red alert level” 🚩 of the Omicron response with mandates for face mask-wearing. Managed isolation was still being used at that time, so community spread of Omicron was not detected until mid-January with two Omicron sub-variants. The close contact isolation period was increased from 7 to 10 days.

New Zealand was not prepared for the Omicron outbreak that was expected in a ‘matter of weeks, in January 2022 country’s ‘traffic light’ Covid protection framework was ‘not fit for purpose

Between February and May 2022, the New Zealand Government gradually eased border restrictions, public gathering limits, and vaccine mandate requirements. New Zealand borders were closed and just open to travellers as of 31 July 2022.

Incidentally, I suspected that SH tested positive for Covid-19 before his flight so, his plans changed, but he will never mention it. Most people with COVID-19 are relatively mild illness, especially if they have been vaccinated like SH. Based on what we currently know, herpes is a potential complication of coronavirus disease 🦠 COVID‐19 affects the immune system and may increase the risk of Herpes.

I think herpes on the lip confirms an association with COVID‐19. Herpes simplex-1 and varicella-zoster viruses are strongly associated with COVID-19 infection.

But, the question is, Did Sam need to travel to New Zealand to have fun during the Omicron variant, as he did while holidaying in Hawaii amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020? 😷

[humansun]

nothing is aligned my friends

Written June 14th, 2023 at 12:50AM

Wow! Look at me! I am on this document. I never thought I’d make it, but here I am.

Yesterday, I was very sick. Bed-ridden if you will. It was pretty much awful. I haven’t gotten a positive test from the covid tests, but for some reason, I feel like it’s covid! It just feels horrible to be sick.

Yesterday, I was thinking about how perhaps the reason why I feel so down about myself is because the main way I was able to get serotonin or joy in my life was based on my productivity and accomplishments. That’s interesting, isn’t it? Maybe the way other people get serotonin and joy is because of other aspects of their life that bring this to them.

That, or we live in a society that rewards productivity and having a full-time job instead of those who try to find a different path to their success. Perhaps this society rewards the traditional definition of success. I could be very very wrong, but it’s fun exploring what the possibilities of my emotions are. Maybe I’m just victimizing myself because I feel bad about myself in this situation.

Because what I’m going through specifically is extremely difficult. And it is. 

I have half a month to finish everything I said I’d finish or else I won’t have boba for the rest of the year. That sounds awful, but at the same time, so needed. I need a taste of punishment. LOL I need some humbling, disciplining for not getting my work done. Shake. My. Head.

There’s something about Asian American content nowadays that feels catered towards middle-class, educated communities - and not saying that people outside of these communities can’t watch, but it feels catered to those folks. People who go to UC’s or have college degrees and are making money to pay for these subscriptions.

It’s interesting. I also came across that pinterest post that was highlighting the hierarchy of humor. What. It’s fascinating to observe objectively the world we live in, specifically media. It’s interesting critiquing it myself and trying to understand what about AAPI media nowadays that doesn’t necessarily sit right with me. Who in Hawaii actually lives a life anywhere similar to Doogie Kamealoha? I’m not sure anyone.

But at the same time, it’s a process. Things can’t change overnight. What do I even want to see? What can I even make that could be half as good as Beef? I’m not sure anything!

I’m learning more everyday that it’s not always about AAPI media, but it’s about what I want to engage in as a creator myself. What stories and energies am I attracted towards as a partially eccentric person myself? I’ll admit it - I didn’t realize cream cheese was literally cheese in cream form until earlier today. I also learned that I have intense cuteness aggression for my Fuzzy Fish aka my boyfriend. What is happening. Who am I. What am I doing?

Will I change unless I actually change? The answer is probably no. I will probably be doing and thinking the exact same shit when I’m 30 unless I go through something intense or super changeworthy. And I don’t have that yet?! Do I sign up for a meditation retreat? But what if it’s a cult? Ugh.

This is my brain. Hello. Yes. This is what I think and especially so when I am sick at my sister’s home, quarantining from my family in order to be a good daughter. I love the narrative of pulling myself up by the bootstraps and doing things because other white men did it with their $3-$10k to make their own movie, yada yada yada. Obviously, there is good stuff in there but at the same time, how anxious were these men? Do they walk around afraid someone’s going to kidnap and rape them? No. 

I’m screaming from the inside out. Nothing is making sense. Nothing is altogether. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. I’m just dancing in my seat. That is the moral of the story. I’m going to watch Kung Fu..KUNG FU WHAT. KUNG FU HUSTLE with my sister next week and suddenly I will be injected with all these creative juices and my life will change. That is what is going to happen. Yay. Life is solved. Everything is wonderful. I am blessed. Gratitude. Meditation. Anxiety-free brain. Whoooo!

Written 1:15PM

I keep getting distracted by random youtube or instagram or any social media content. Woo! Life sucks.

Guess what though! I was listening to a podcast about anxiety this morning and have decided to go sober on the following things:

Caffeine

Alcohol

Drugs

With the exception of celebrations like weddings or someone’s birthday.

Written June 14th, 2023 at 9:47PM

The constant feeling of impending doom when night falls is annoying. I’m getting the energy endlessly sucked out of me. At least I’m prepared though.

I have never loved anyone the way I love my Fuzzy Fish. 

He is the epitome of a wonderful human being who brings me immense feelings of delight. I wish one day to hug and squeeze him until he suffocates from my physical affection.

Today was oddly productive - especially because I’m sick. I spent most of the day figuring out what I could do to be even more productive! Look at that. When you thought it was over, it wasn’t. 

There’s still plenty more to do though, which I will prioritize since I do want boba for the rest of the year. My goal is to not get sucked into content and distractions that keep me from doing my work. That will get me no where in life. It’s truth.

Anyways, plenty of meetings tomorrow. It’ll be a fun time.

[nityarawal]

I completed all dental work last week!

I saw eye Dr Monday for several hours. He ran many tests and could only propose surgery to plug tear ducts for 6 months to stop bugs coming out!

Some kind of fungus us still going after 90 day cleanse- continuing herbs & natural Dr's protocall- but I need my assets to move forward now with my kids. 

I've tried many social workers, 100's of attys & law enforcement/Courts totally failed my family. 

I'm sick of their gross Dr's & officers chasing us and sexually assaulting me & my family.

Please settle with ex. 

Dr. Natalya & Dr. Cash have tried for 3 months to get me a referral to Infectious diseases and Dermatology. 

We feel IEHP & Medical system has failed in medical emergencies and do to foul play they cost my health in tick as well as covid germ warfare. .

This place below will take medical & iehp but insurance companies & drs fail to cooperate. Blue Shield & Triple A have Stirling men complicit hurting my mommy friends & I. Airbnb & real estate brokers are in on ponzi scams with sex Stings at courts. 

This is a state/County emergency. 

Dr. Scott Partlow says he took a bribe on my court case through corrupt system and boys clubs. He sold Elizabeth Rojo to hospital on a 72 hour hold because she wouldn't sleep with him and was escaping her Abusers. He threatened to slander me too because I didn't want him to touch me and he violated me.

We need to close these de-licensed Dr's down. 

If a Dr. or cop loses licenses its for good reason. 

Dr. Sunil Rawal needs to be delicensed and deported for ponzi scam against my family.

Please have all criminal's money's donated to my charities so I can attend to mothers correctly. 

Pimping pregnant woman to Trafficking Dr's and hospitals on foul play is unacceptable.

Dr. Scott Partlow was trafficked by his father Bruce Paltrow and his Jewish dad trafficked by neo- nazis. Darin David Joye should be sponsored by George Harrison if he's their Illegitimate brother- not my family and bribes from attys! 

Only way to stop cycle of Germ war & gigolos is to de-bug and deport all parasites at court. 

Our tax dollars shouldn't be paying for all these celebrity Illegitimate brats to hustle my country. 

We need full reperations from UK & America NOW! 

All kids returned. 

No Britney & I don't agree to pimp our sons out to University of Hawaii. 

It's bad enough they prostitutes my brother & threaten to rape our kids constantly! No thankyou! 

Thanks!

Nitya Huntley Rawal

https://www.yelp.com/biz/advanced-dermatology-and-skin-cancer-specialists-palm-springs-palm-springs

Need x rays sent to nityahuntley@gmail.com- fire Judith and Alexi for foul play at Cathedral City & medical malpractice. We know they took bribes to cancel appointments 3 days in a row. Need full reperations on insurance. 

Close office. Is Dr. Sina OK or is he in a conservatorship?

Thanks!

Nitya Rawal 

Need you to file this with IRS so they stop stealing from me and harassing family. I need a refund on tax returns. You sold me out on bribes and promise money that never came! I'm not paying for 18 months wrongful rental car arrest or rapes from government. You need to fix this now or LNC bank and Wells Fargo needs to refund for all rents, legal fees and utilities since 2016 violent scam! 

On Thu, Mar 2, 2023, 3:44 PM nitya rawal <nityahuntley@gmail.com> wrote:

Hi message Mr. Stapleton & Mathew Robert's daily. No one confirmed or called back about your Dr's appointment today. I asked Christopher to cancel it. 

I'm seeing my dentist about these parasites you gave me & am leaving state this weekend with my kids.

We can't risk anymore violence from your mentally incompetent defense team. Do your homework & send in my files. You don't need anymore data or DNA from my family. You've violated us with extreme racism on Gag orders. No. I won't be quiet about your violence or sexual assaults and I will leave to a stare that's closing your defense down if you can't perform today. Sandiego, Riverside & LA are parasitic con artists scamming our people.

Thanks!

Nitya

Friendly reminder: Nitya's Western Dental appt is on 03/03/2023 at 03:00PM at Cathedral City 69160 Ramon Rd,92234. Covid screening reqd. Reply STOP to opt out.

Rest of spirochete video & thread is posted on Twitter for legal/medical/court team:

https://twitter.com/nityalakshmi108/status/1631323994514399232?t=d6Y5hVEduOcUstUCZO-N8w&s=19

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: Vanessa Navarette <Vanessa.Navarette@smilebrands.com>

Date: Thu, Mar 2, 2023, 12:53 PM

Subject:

To: NITYAHUNTLEY@GMAIL.COM <NITYAHUNTLEY@gmail.com>