#How do I avoid getting the coronavirus?

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

Three years ago, Andrea Vanek was studying to be an arts and crafts teacher when spells of dizziness and heart palpitations suddenly started to make it impossible for her to even take short walks.

After seeing a succession of doctors she was diagnosed with long COVID and even now spends most of her days in the small living room of her third-floor Vienna apartment, sitting on the windowsill to observe the world outside.

"I can't plan anything because I just don't know how long this illness will last," the 33-year-old Austrian told AFP.

The first cases of COVID-19 were detected in China in December 2019, sparking a global pandemic and more than seven million reported deaths to date, according to the World Health Organization.

But millions more have been affected by long COVID, in which some people struggle to recover from the acute phase of COVID-19, suffering symptoms including tiredness, brain fog and shortness of breath.

Vanek tries to be careful not to exert herself to avoid another "crash", which for her is marked by debilitating muscle weakness and can last for months, making it hard to even open a bottle of water.

"We know that long COVID is a big problem," said Anita Jain, from the WHO's Health Emergencies Programme.

About six percent of people infected by coronavirus develop long COVID, according to the global health body, which has recorded some 777 million Covid cases to date.

Whereas the rates of long Covid after an initial infection are declining, reinfection increases the risk, Jain added.

- 'Everything hurts' -

Chantal Britt, who lives in Bern, Switzerland, contracted Covid in March 2020. Long COVID, she said, has turned her "life upside down" and forced her to "reinvent" herself.

"I was really an early bird.... Now I take two hours to get up in the morning at least because everything hurts," the 56-year-old former marathon runner explained.

"I'm not even hoping anymore that I'm well in the morning but I'm still kind of surprised how old and how broken I feel."

About 15 percent of those who have long COVID have persistent symptoms for more than one year, according to the WHO, while women tend to have a higher risk than men of developing the condition.

Britt, who says she used to be a "workaholic", now works part-time as a university researcher on long COVID and other topics.

She lost her job in communications in 2022 after she asked to reduce her work hours.

She misses doing sports, which used to be like "therapy" for her, and now has to plan her daily activities more, such as thinking of places where she can sit down and rest when she goes shopping.

A lack of understanding by those around her also make it more difficult.

"It's an invisible disease.... which connects to all the stigma surrounding it," she said.

"Even the people who are really severely affected, who are at home, in a dark room, who can't be touched anymore, any noise will drive them into a crash, they don't look sick," she said.

- Fall 'through the cracks' -

The WHO's Jain said it can be difficult for healthcare providers to give a diagnosis and wider recognition of the condition is crucial.

More than 200 symptoms have been listed alongside common ones such as fatigue, shortness of breath and cognitive dysfunction.

"Now a lot of the focus is on helping patients, helping clinicians with the tools to accurately diagnose long COVID, detect it early," she said.

Patients like Vanek also struggle financially. She has filed two court cases to get more support but both are yet to be heard.

She said the less than 800 euros ($840) she gets in support cannot cover her expenses, which include high medical bills for the host of pills she needs to keep her symptoms in check.

"It's very difficult for students who get long COVID. We fall right through the cracks" of the social system, unable to start working, she said.

Britt also wants more targeted research into post-infectious conditions like long COVID.

"We have to understand them better because there will be another pandemic and we will be as clueless as ever," she said.

[murmiss]

Our love.

Pairing- Simon "Ghost" Riley/reader.

Chapter warning- none, light smut, Still just fluff and tenderness, but next chapter Angst!!!!

Summary- A meeting on New Year's Eve turns to love. A strong, fiery love. But. Suddenly Simon's childhood friend Samantha shows up, and she's not herself. It seemed your relationship was going through an emotional seesaw and it was Samantha who was causing it, because Simon could only belong to her. Not you.

(The ending will be good)

Part1, Part2

Part one.

Wounded by life and many battles, Simon didn't think he'd ever be able to fall in love or get anything more than a quick fuck. Sex was an everyday occurrence, something he could get easily, even with his seemingly unattractive appearance. But real feelings were something out of the ordinary, something he longed for.

The encounter took place in December, when Simon was lonely on a holiday night, lighting a cigarette on the street. He was on his way to get a new bottle of alcohol, and awkwardly wondered about his mates who were celebrating with their families. Price was visiting his brother and his family, Gaz was welcoming the new year with his girlfriend Millie, and Jonny, even more so, with his parents. The image of Soap, dressed in a silly reindeer sweater, his mother, in a white apron, putting food on a plate popped into Simon's mind. Unconsciously he pictured himself at their table, surrounded by family and comfort. Johnny had actually offered to take him to visit for the holidays, but Simon had declined, deciding he didn't want to intrude. Trudging through the slippery road, covered with a thin layer of snow, and skirting the drifts, Simon slowly made his way to the small store nearby. The snow crunched under his boots, and the snowflakes landed on his eyelashes and hairline, melting immediately.

Upon reaching, Simon opens the creaky door and his eyes are immediately blinded by the bright light. Entering the store, Simon immediately heard an emotional argument and with his eyes he searched for the source of the noise. His gaze fell toward the cash register where his acquaintance Danny, the store owner and a young girl were standing.

"How the hell is it you can't sell me a goddamn bottle of shitty alcohol?" -already being slightly tipsy and frustrated you replied. It's New Year's Eve and it's going incredibly shitty. Living in another city, you thought making friends would be easy, but it's not. How do you make conversation? Do you just walk up and say, "Hey, dude? Let's be friends?" But no, it doesn't work that way. Not among adults, that's for sure.

After your mother died, you had to move away just to avoid seeing the face of your 'beloved' father. He was an asshole, but you didn't want to think about it. Life was hard and now, the only thing you honestly burned was a bottle of cheap booze to cheer yourself up. There was a cat at home and an empty fridge, but you didn't care. Your shift had ended just a few hours ago, and you didn't have the energy to not only decorate, but even cook.

"Ma'am, we can't sell to you, the cash register is already closed," Danny insisted firmly. The ghost, knowing it was just laziness, laughed dryly and, with a slight chuckle in his voice said, "Hey,Dan."

The guy behind the counter immediately exhaled and smiled, relaxing away from the disgruntled girl to chat with his acquaintance.

"It's late and you're still at work?" Simon asked dryly, but with a smile. Only the outline of his lips showed through the mask. In retirement, outside of his second self, Simon continued to wear the mask, but over half of his face, and every time people asked, he answered, "Protection from the coronavirus." And people seriously believed his joke.

"Actually, no, I'm closing, but this lady is in my way," Danny replied, defiantly turning around and giving an appraising look to the disheveled girl with the bottle in her hands. Danny was a pretty weird guy, lazy and very strange.

"Hey, I'm actually here and there while you guys are chatting. Sell me a bottle, dude," you exclaimed confusedly, lifting the bottle up and gesturing in desperation, but it was as if you weren't heard, and then you groaned, "Come on! Please! I'll show you my boobs"

Danny thought about it for a second and looked away from the girl again, and then, with a smirk, said, "Oh, girl, you're not impressing anyone with your tits tonight."

"Give me a bottle of whiskey," came Simon's gruff voice, clearly enjoying this strange situation.

"Sure thing, buddy," the russet-haired salesman replied smoothly, grabbing the bottle and punching it through the register.

You immediately shout indignantly : "hey, you're closed!".

To which you get a sharp reply: "Oh, girl, leave the store!"

"I've been coming here for a year, you..."-you don't have time to finish, as the big guy in the mask snatches the bottle from your hands and, grinning, says. "champagne? That's nice, try it too, Dan."

You stare at the man with a raised eyebrow for a couple of seconds, feeling both grateful and wanting to hit him over the head with the bottle. The man, rattling bottles, calls after you: "Let's go, neighbor." And you follow him.

It's cooler outside.

You look at the back of the big guy walking in front of you and pensively follow him, until an epiphany comes to you in a second. You let out a ragged groan, slap your warm gloved hand over your face, and catch up. "It's that what's-his-name... Raleigh. Rily.. Reyli... Riley, that's right, Riley," you think as you remember what his last name is on his mailbox.

"Why not with your family?" - Simon finally asks the question. Honestly, he doesn't know why he got into this adventure. In terms of... He was having fun watching this girl desperate to buy a bottle, and then... He found himself wondering. Simon recognized, though not immediately, his floor neighbor. Her apartment was the far one.

"I don't have anyone," comes the nonchalant reply. The girl stares pensively into the distance before asking back, "you? "

"Same shit."

They walk on and remain silent. The streetlights illuminate the already dark street, and the snow glistens under the bright lantern light. "Maybe..." - They both say in sync, and Simon feels awkward for the first time, muttering: "go on." The girl waits a few seconds and says, "Maybe.... Umm... Celebrate together? In terms of... Well. if you don't feel weird or something."

"Nah, I can't turn down the company of a pretty girl on this lonely night," Simon replies with a dash of flirtation he didn't expect himself.

A silly laugh escapes the girl's lips and Simon is ready to admit that it was the best laugh he's heard before.

It was a little awkward when Simon opened the door. His dog, Riley, immediately rushed to lick his guest and almost dropped the girl, but she laughed again. There seemed to be light coming from her disheveled hair, or it was his fantasy. She walked in awkwardly, but half an hour later they were sitting in his living room, wrapped in blankets and with a modest but cozy table. While Simon quickly cleaned up the mess, the girl ran to her apartment and brought some groceries, quickly chopping a salad for two, and Simon opened the champagne and poured it into glasses. To be honest, he'd never liked fancy and sweet champagne, finding it too feminine, but tonight was an exception. He really sympathized with this girl, who was carelessly and unafraid, sprawled on his couch and lazily stroked his dog Riley.

During the commercial break of the movie, Simon looked at the girl for a long time, and then, laughing, asked: "would you really show him your tits?"

"To whom?" she answered carelessly, but when she realized, she was immediately embarrassed and exclaimed: "God, no! It was a maneuver!" She gave an embarrassed shriek and her cheeks turned purple. She stared at Simon for a few seconds, then threw a small couch cushion at him, "You don't think well of me."

Simon just laughed. She was adorable.

From that vicious day, their relationship began. Living next door, they saw each other almost every day, saying hello in the elevator and looking forward to the next day and the next meeting.

You worked part-time at the Strawberry Nights cafe near your home, combining work with your hobby, drawing in between customers, sitting in a small staff room. Usually your sketchbook was full of simple drawings, crooked sketches of people that you drew out of boredom, maybe even funny caricatures of annoyed boss and colleagues. But it was different now. Instead of empty and idle drawings, your sketchbook was full of sketches of Simon, memorable moments of his appearance. Every tiny feature of his character, of his appearance, all reflected in the drawings. On the first page was a hand, a rough, masculine hand, but with a faint mole on the ring finger-a feature that not everyone would notice on close inspection, but you did. The scar above his left eyebrow, his blue eyes, like two bottomless oceans, his smile, like an aggressive grin but causing you to babble inwardly, his ridiculous laughter, driving you crazy.

Ah...Could it be love?

Sitting at a bar stool, you draw Riley's profile from memory, gently scribbling your pencil across the paper. Suddenly a shadow casts a frightening glare at you, forcing you to abruptly slam your sketchbook shut and look up, mentally hoping it's not your nasty boss and his damn inspections, but unfortunately, or fortunately, you meet your gaze with that bumbling hulk. A nervous laugh escapes your lips, and carelessly, without realizing it, you toss your hair back, carelessly fixing it. When did you ever start worrying about your appearance? Shit...

You bite your lip and mutter, "What do you want, Riley?"

He responds with his gruff and bassy laugh. You're lost for a second, and like a true villain, he speaks up. Too Hot.

-"When did I become Riley? What's the point of being formal, Ms. Barista?"- He's teasing again. He's being subtle.

"I'm on the job, Simon"-smiling playfully, rolling your eyes back and rising from your chair to stand taller, carelessly grabbing a mug from the table and saying in a pretend-sweet voice, "What would you like to order, sir? A mochaccino? Latte? Strawberry milkshake or for the classics?".

Simon froze with a smile on his face, unmasked, which was surprising in his case. Honestly, Riley didn't know what was going on, sitting on the edge of his bed at night, unable to get you out of his head. The smell of you, the sparkle in your eyes, the silly, slightly snorting laugh-- he thought he was going crazy. Why does he follow you? Why does he walk home slowly, to get home at the same time as you, for two minutes?

Is he in love? It hurts him to admit it, not when he's been shown so many times how insignificant a guy and lover he is. No one can accept him, and neither can you. But without listening to his brain, he goes back to the cafe where you work, gets closer to the counter and... Freezes. You paint? It's beautiful. What's beautiful? Your soft image, the careful movement of your hand drawing colored lines, the flutter of your eyelashes, or the drawing itself? He didn't know. The drawing, by the way. Riley lowered his gaze to the sketchbook itself and his heart skipped a few hard beats. Is that him? It can't be. No, definitely not. Or-- It's definitely him.

Before he knows it, you're startled and he can't help but laugh. You should see your eyes at that moment, like a kid caught red-handed.

"Do you want to go for a walk?"- Ghsot blurted out stupidly, instead of offering you a drink. His face was serious and his eyebrows were furrowed.

"Now?"-you replied, glancing at him confusedly, then turning toward the supervisor talking to your coworker. Turning back to the ghost, you whisper, leaning in, "I can't, the supervisor's here... My shift ends at 5:00 p.m."

He nods, and you lean back, slightly taken aback, watching him. He, without the slightest trace of his previous smile, turns around and walks to the window, taking the farthest chair.

"He's going to sit there for three hours and wait for my shift to end?" - you ask awkwardly, embarrassed, but immediately chuckle softly. How silly of him.

All you had to do was pretend to Mr. Aaron that everything was fine and not stare at Simon like a crazy woman. Well. Even if it didn't look pretty - sitting there drooling and staring at a customer - you didn't care anymore. Your shift was over, and you'd even managed to excuse yourself half an hour early. Nervous, you go to the staff room and take a long spin in front of the mirror.

"Damn! Why am I not ready today!" - You sigh nervously, and when you hear a woman giggling, you turn around sharply as well. Your heart is pounding like you've been launched by a rocket into space, but it was only Mindy.

"Damn it, Min!" -you reply with annoyance, patting yourself on the side in embarrassment. "Maybe... Maybe I should tell Simon I'm not feeling well. I'll look like a complete fool," you think at the same time.

"What are you thinking?" - Mindsy asks, innocently flapping her eyes. She was certainly annoying at times, but right now she was the only person you could complain to.

"I got called out of the blue for a date, and... I look like I crawled out of a dumpster. Seriously. I thought it was going to rain tonight, but..... Mud... and.. So I wore the first thing I could get my hands on. " - You make an embarrassed excuse, involuntarily lowering your gaze to the floor from your growing embarrassment. You don't know what to do, and Mindsy giggles like nothing happened. You flare up like a match and just want to respond to her laughter with a wry, "What's so funny?" but before you can say anything, the blonde pulls off her pink top.

"what are you doing on?" you ask confused.

"can't I help my friend?" she replies, staying in her bra and carelessly pulling a handkerchief out of her bag and tying it on herself in a bandeau top style. Honestly, she was so stupid, but when it came to style, she was incredibly resourceful.

"friend"-you whisper under your breath, as if you can't believe you can call her a friend, though now you realize that yes, you can.

"I'm not sure I can"-You hold her top in your hands, looking uncertainly at the blonde woman adjusting her makeup.

"Shut up, hurry up and get changed, and come here I'll do your makeup."-The girl replies, smacking her lips in front of the mirror and admiring her makeup quite a bit.

"You always have your makeup bag with you"-you giggle in response and quickly throw off your work uniform, putting it away carelessly in a drawer. You put on your blue jeans and the pink top Mindsy gave you over the top. Thank goodness you wore the same size clothes.

Honestly, it was weird as hell to wear someone else's clothes, and-- The feel of Mindsy's gentle hands was also suggestive.Unconsciously you smile as the image of you being a star in a movie plays in your head.Min hums a tune, and soon with a smug smile she pulls away.The makeup was lovely, and consisted of light pink blush, unobtrusive glitter on your eyelids, mascara to open up your fawn look, and a light gloss on your lips.

"Come on, run along, pretty girl, your prince on a white horse is waiting for you"-winks Mindsy and you, carelessly grabbing your bag, quickly leave the room, shouting to Min: "see you tomorrow!".

It seemed to Ghost that the hours had gone on impossibly long, he'd had three drinks, and all three times his fallout had fallen on strict espresso. But the Worst part was waiting to get ready. Scenarios played in his head as you were getting ready for the restaurant, you sitting in your lace shirt on the sofa and putting on lip gloss, your legs in lace stockings thrown one over the other and you relaxedly getting ready while he was already standing there in his suit. Simon gets hot, making him shift from foot to foot, sighing early and pulling back the neck of your sweatshirt, trying to get air under your clothes. As you walk out of that hellish staff room, his breath catches. He Nervously grabs your arm and pulls you behind him. You sigh raggedly, taken aback by his reaction.

The gears are turning in the ghost's head as he tries to figure out what you should do. A movie? He doesn't like movie theaters, go to a restaurant? That would tire you out, so only a bar or a walk sounded in his head. Glancing over at you, he immediately marked the Bar aside, because to Simon, pubs were always dirty places, with alcohol, and men who might stare at girls like you.

"There's an alcoholic ice cream store nearby," he blurts out, slowing down so that his gaze is directed at you, and inwardly Riley is very nervous.

"Alcoholic ice cream? I've never had anything like that before"-you giggle in response, and Simon immediately pulls you in. What's the rush? You don't know, but you follow him.

The store was small, but quite spacious. "Definitely for kinky drinkers," you think to yourself.

"There's Champagne and raspberry, tequila and lime, coconut rum, cognac and chocolate," you can't even make up your mind, your stomach rumbles with hunger and you don't have time to make a choice as this crazy man grabs every kind of ice cream for two. This snake smiles, and in a cocky, husky voice says, "Ice cream party? "

"Are you suggesting we get drunk on ice cream?" - You raise one eyebrow, your lips curving into a smile.

"No, I have a bottle of bourbon at home, let's go to my place," Simon carries the ice cream in his hands, careful not to drop any of the cans, and you grab a couple of them, wanting to help yourself steady yourself.

"Damn, you know what I want after a hard day's work, you're a wizard, aren't you?" -you say jokingly, and your eyes dart a little nervously to the last price tag. "Why is this ice cream so expensive?" - you think to yourself, but you raise an eyebrow in surprise when Simon holds out his card like nothing happened and pays for everything. He sure knows how to surprise.

"Where would you like to start?" - Ghost asks, looking into the bag and pulling out a brandy ice cream for himself.

"With raspberries," you follow his movements carefully and pick up a brightly colored box and a small plastic scoop. While Simon fiddles with the packaging, you taste the first spoonful.

"This is fucking delicious! " you mutter and hurriedly send spoonful after spoonful of ice cream into your mouth until your jaw freezes. You let out a ragged groan and giggle awkwardly, and Simon hurries after you, finishing his ice cream.

As you stroll through the dark courtyards and backyards, eating the most delicious ice cream of your life, you don't notice how intoxicated you are, and you find yourself in Riley's familiar apartment. You're sitting on the couch, stretched out in a relaxed pose, the TV is on pause, and Simon is in the kitchen heating up the pizza you just had delivered.

Time passed, and all that could be heard was your lecherous laughter and Riley's periodic barking. The bottle of bourbon disappeared in a matter of hours, as did all the ice cream and pizza.

"I feel like a balloon, Si" you laugh, clutching your stomach and gasping. The asshole paws at you like a cat, smirking through his teeth and whispering almost in your ear: "You should know how I feel when I have a hot girl like that around me."

"I'm a hot dog," you laugh again, then fall silent. You are so drunk. You say, "You're such an asshole," in a low, almost without hesitation, voice. You stare at his lips. Everything is happening slowly and yet so fast at the same time. His rough hands lift you easily off the couch and carry you confidently, even impatiently, straight to his hideout, dropping you carelessly onto the bed. Your hair spreads across the pillows and you let out a ragged groan, "Hey!" But no sooner do you resent it than he kisses you. Like a hungry dog. His hands shake and he piles on top of you, almost crushing you with his weight. He pulls away. You smile softly and playfully say, "Hey, you're heavy." He hesitates, but then you say, "Come here, damn it." You open your arms and he immediately snuggles up to you, kissing your face. You giggle in response, looking up at him with half-closed eyes. He pulls away, assumes a sitting position, and nervously throws off his shirt, tossing it carelessly to the floor. With rough hands covered in tattoos and scars, he carelessly grabs you by the top of your head.

"Stop!" - you squeaked, but not before he ripped the fabric with ease. Holy shit, it was Mindsy's top. But his action was so hot. You bite your lip, thinking to yourself that you'll buy her a new one. It's a little awkward, but you'll give her some kind of certificate and she won't be offended.

"Oh, God," you plead, arching your spine. Simon, like an insatiable, hungry dog, covers your body with kisses.

His caresses, rough and tender, every part of your body is art to him, your skin glistens, and in his eyes you are no less than Aphrodite.

Simon feels a slight shame, he feels like he is spoiling you with his twisted mind, his dirty hands touching your pure body and his lips corrupting your mind. But he can't stop, trying to be as careful as possible.

"Too big, Si," you whisper nervously, and he catches up immediately, stroking you gently through your hair, sliding his hands smoothly over your stomach, stroking you just as gently, as if you could vaporize at any moment.

"It's okay, baby, I got you," he whispers back.

Honestly, he didn't want to wake up this morning. Sleeping next to your soft and so beloved body, your natural gentle scent, the comfort that surrounded him. Next to you, he didn't remember the traumas of childhood and violent fights.

He really fucking loves you.

(The second part is in progress, but your reaction is very important to me. Write comments, put reactions so that I understand that you really like it. The most interesting part of this story is ahead.)

[sirravenous2]

First allow me to state a fact:

I will not respond to any comments on this, it's my opinion & I'm just sharing & don't have an opinion on anyone's opinion of My President!

My position on Donald Trump:

Make no mistake ... I'm not posting this for debate.

I don’t seek or need commentary.

It's okay if you don't agree because we are ALL entitled to our own opinions & you can Also just keep scrolling.

Just consider this ... When you think the President is a jerk; he is.

He’s a fucking New Yorker ... a QUEENS New Yorker.

He’s crude and can be rude.

He gets his feelings hurt & he’s a hothead.

He hits back - harder! He's made mistakes morally, personally, and professionally - who of us hasn't?!?

Certainly he's done things I don't agree with - all politicians have & oh my fuckin god. still do!

The media hates it when he tweets. Lol!

Why? Because he goes around the mainstream media & gets HONEST information out that they don’t want to report.

Let me tell you what else:

He is a guy who demands performance. If you don't work as hard as he does, you're fired!

He is a guy who asks lots of questions.

The questions he asks aren’t cloaked in fancy “political” bullshit phrases ... they are “why the hell ...” questions.

He doesn't structure his phrases so that anyone can misconstrue or misinterpret what he says in facts.

He is abrupt & to the point ... how many of us are the same way every day?

I know I am.

He is both harsh & kind ... most disciplinarians are.

For decades the health industry has thrown away billions of face masks after one use. Trump asks,

“Why the hell are we throwing them away"? Why not sterilize them & use them numerous times?”

They called him stupid. But what are they doing now?

Sterilizing face masks. Lol!

He’s the guy who gets hospital ships readied in one week when it would have taken loser greedy bureaucrats weeks or months to get it done.

He’s the guy who gets temporary hospitals built in three days. They said there was no way he could do it. Hahaha!

He’s the guy who gets auto industries to restructure to build ventilators in a business that’s highly regulated by agencies that move like our congress, sloths.

He’s the guy who asks, “Why aren’t we using drugs that might work on people who are dying; being killed slowly by big greedy pharma.

"What the hell do we have to lose"?

He’s the guy who restricted travel from China when the stupid Democrats and hateful liberals & liberal media were screaming “xenophobia” and “racist” ...

Now they’re wanting to know why he didn't react sooner.

Smfh...

He’s the guy who campaigned on securing the border - protecting America - in the face of screaming idiot Democrats & the liberal media.

Both Clinton and Obama talked about a crisis at the border & Obama did some things to address the crisis, but they all proved to be just more bullshit talk & definitely insufficient.

When Trump shut down borders in the midst of the coronavirus virus, they screamed louder.

Then the rest of the world followed suit, including the European Union with travel between their member countries.

Hahaha!

His policy is always 'America First'!

For many years we have complained about sending billions abroad while Americans suffer here.

I have for sure.

He's minimized that outflow of money!

Not anymore bullshit ass kissing aid!

Has he made mistakes? Yes.

EVERYONE I know has and does, we're all just people.

The “experts” wouldn’t & haven’t done any fuckin better! Fact!

Does he change his mind?

Yes, & he's allowed to, I mean who doesn't?

Trump is working harder than I’ve ever ever seen a President work ... twenty-four-hour days

Even when they complain that he takes vacations, he's really still at work ...

Mar-a-Lago ... working.

He isn’t hiding in his office ... never trying to avoid anyone, he’s out front - briefing, answering countless, nonstop questions - every day!

When Trump offers hope, they say he’s lying; and when he’s straight forward, they say he should be hopeful. Smh..

It’s a no-win situation with the mainstream media and the energized nonsense hate from left-wing liberals, but he will not be deterred!

Thank God!

And when the mainstream & social media trolls gaslight with false doctored

"soundbites",

Just look at the true whole context ... it's almost always a completely different picture than what's being painted!

Come on, jeeze!

I’ll take this kind of fucking leadership eight days a week & twice on Sunday, over a “polished, lying fake nice guy” politician who reads prepared speeches from a teleprompter & answers pre-scripted for certain questions.

Finally.

I’ll take him any day over any of our politicians.

I’m so fuckin proud to have him as My true American President!

I’m confident he will get us, America back on the course we need to be on to be a strong self reliant country again!

Like it was before corrupt elites started talking about social security & population control & dumbing down America's children with A rich wealthy pricks ideas (Rothschild or J. P. Morgan), to indoctrinate a school curriculum that doesn't teach anyone anything to do with truth & history & real intellect!Thank God, & thank you Mr. President, Mr Donald Trump, for your love of our people & our country!

He is my Motherfuckin President. ❤🇺🇸💯

I don't care what anyone else thinks on this opinion.

You can share this if you agree.

If you don't agree, that's okay, too.

We are all entitled to our opinions, & this is MINE.

And I will not respond or reply to anyone commenting on this post with good or bad opinions of My opinion or My President!

Thank you.

Or not .? ..

[imaginative-123]

This might be my Last Post regarding Vivziepop

I'm just going to say this as a longtime fan since 2019 I was extremely disappointed, before all of this I started following her since 2019 and watched Hazbin Hotel and I thought it was good alongside Helluva Boss which I rewatched in the past of my Youtube Downloads bec the PLDT internet during the Coronavirus that started in 2020 was not great. I used to listen to her different music genres of her speedraws while I'm drawing and I also watch her speedraws and was amazed by the process on how her artworks was made. I even made a fanart about her for my college project

This is my fav Die Young music video that I made fanart for

Artwork I Made for Technicals in History of Graphics Subject in First Year College for my favorite artist and animator Vivziepop.

Although despite Vivziepop's success as an Indie animator and for running Spindlehorse, I cannot deny she's a very controversial person to any video or tweets about her is always related to her past controversies, while I do see that there are unfair accusations thrown against her I still wish she addressed her other controversial stuff that she didn't addressed whether she's aware of what she did or not and I'm not going to mention any names bec I do not want to be involve deeper in the drama bec I've seen there are other tumblr and twitter posts calling her out, not to mention the fanbase is divided with diehard fans, neutral fans, haters, stalkers and critical fans. Also the reason why I'm really dissapointed with her bec any controversy that is meant to call out her attention she blocks people on Twitter whether the person is criticizing her show and her actions and not to mention she started becoming unprofessional lately. I can understand if blocking is meant to avoid harassment, if that's the case, but when it comes to criticism she was acting unprofessional and not to mention not addressing in a professional manner can make people go unprofessional against the creator, if I'm being honest she needs a PR Manager or Assistant to guide her. At the end I'm disappointed, I expected better from her, being a longtime fan since 2019 deeply hurts me, for me this might be my last post including the tumblr fanart works I liked related to the show. I just hope she won't get the worst Cancellation that might make her leave the internet and cancel Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss and her other projects, bec that is the worst thing to happen and I wish she needs to step up her game and try to improve her behavior including the writing of her shows. Only time will tell until she realizes this, and I don't follow Viviziepop or Ayy Lmao anymore, and I'm all for valid criticisms for Vivziepop just as long as the people were not harassing her or sending death threats and also making false accusations against her and just because you may not like her as a person does not give it a free pass to make up false accusations and lies against her and is not acceptable, the fandom should do better. Until then, goodbye Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss fandom, I used to be a fan of the show but I cannot support Vivziepop anymore, and it's time for me to leave.

BTW the art that I made for college will not be removed despite my mixed feelings about Vivziepop it would be a shame for me to delete it with all the hardwork I made it. So it will not be deleted from my Deviantart and my tumblr post including my other Hazbin Hotel redesign edits and Beelzebub redesign edits in my Deviantart account if you guys also want to check out my work there.

If Charlie Morningstar the Princess of Hell will redeem sinners by making Hazbin Hotel a place to rehabilitate sinners and make them become better people, then I hope Vivienne Medrano who uses her creativity through her artworks and being an indie animator to inspire her fans and artists like me, but she needs to grow up and become a better person.

[quirky-witshere]

Why did I do that?!

Hey!

When I say I do dumb stuff. I MEAN IT.

Well yes... as from the title, it's quite understood that it's again going to be this teenager ramble about how busted her life has been... and stuff.

But yes man! This is basically how our teenage life has been... Even if you are reading this as a person who has crossed this phase, then I feel you can surely relate to this feeling of you know, how stressful this teenage phase is....

So rather than being too philosophical... I would rather jump onto this wild ride of embarrassing incidents and nightmares... That I know for sure that 'THIS' specific incident is surely gonna live rent-free in my mind and life.

So this incident just dates a year back... So we all remember that stupid protein and DNA particle named grandly as the Novel Coronavirus which was causing a lot of havoc (dude that shit mutated faster than a chameleon) made me go and take the vaccine for its prevention. Our country's government had just begun its campaign for teenagers that month, so me being an ideal citizen [🙃] had decided to fix my appointment on the very first day of the campaign.

So when I went there, miraculously I met one of my best friends. So after I had my vaccination done and was waiting in the waiting room just to see if there were any side effects of the dosage.

But my fellow readers might wonder, hey miss what is so embarrassing about this incident... Things are just so normal... But my dear readers when things are normal in a teenager's life, it's just the signal that things are actually gonna get twisted... [😈]

So drifting back to where was I... Oh yes, so to just kill time, I was just scrolling through my Instagram feed, that's When I spotted another friend of mine whom I used to despise a lot let's say for my whole primary year at school but my nostalgic side just made me wonder, "Oh wow, she is also here... and I have not met her for the past 9years so it's time to go and check on her... Maybe a small hi will not hurt...'' 

So like a machine, I stood up and went and sat next to her and that was when I was like, "hey girl! how are you doing? I was that girl from our third grade with whom you made a deal over the tricolor pasta for the answer during the class test because of which you and I had to broom away the class at the end of the day... hey dude, you still can't recognize me....?! " 

So this was me fooling myself in front of someone, who didn't even remember me even a bit even after me narrating out our weird incident for a whole 5 MINUTES. That's when she gave me that annoyed look that clearly stated that she didn't remember me even a bit and I was that bothersome person who was just disturbing her out of blue!

So it ended up with me trying to convince her for the next 5 minutes that she did bring the tricolor pasta and it was HER ingenious offering to me for the answers in the test. This became even more awkward when her friend asked her what was she talking about with me.... the only reply that my so-called acquaintance gave her, (that to mouthing it to her) that she herself couldn't make a head or tail out of the conversation she was having with me. 

So that's how it was me getting embarrassed even at an incident where I could have just avoided being a bummer.

Friend issue, anyways...(ー_ー゛)

Well, see you guys next time...Till then 

Fighting!💜

lots of luv, quirky-witshere🫰🏻

[qhalalimited]

COVID-19, The Catalyst to Digital Transformation

https://jpcdn.it/img/8b2f8d9ac225aeb6877ff966d61366c6.jpg

There is definitely no shortage of studies and articles written on the success and failures of digital transformation. Up until recently, the largest detractor of digital transformation have been the people. COVID-19 calls for unconventional and situation response strategies, digital channels being a best pick. Everything is being digitized. The once relegated digital strategy is being dusted, figuratively.

You might have come across these two polls on your social media pages.

https://justpaste.it/!https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1765/1*FGWLFpYUicMVSrepWsRPKQ.jpeg

https://justpaste.it/!https://miro.medium.com/v2/resize:fit:1020/1*smfeNvu6iNJaj7msdCoQbg.jpeg

Recently, going digital has become a necessity rather than a nice to have. With social distancing, curfews and lockdowns limiting human contact, customers are engaging with businesses through online channels. This past few weeks, culture has been disrupted, for instance, those who were used to an 8–5 job, have all over sudden been forced to adopt a new way of working. Some can no longer have long winded meetings, or a pile of paper to go through for reference. How might we as businesses continue supporting business continuity in these not so business as usual times?

It has been hopeful to see organizations working tirelessly to support their clients, employees, those affected and everyone at large. Here are some SMS sent out this week from different businesses, showing a need for business continuity and at the same time staying safe amidst the chaos. In all of them, digital tools are at work.Curb the spread of Coronavirus, Avoid cash with M-PESA Transactions. Send money KSh 1,000 & below for free. Free Bank to M-PESA Transactions.Buy One Get One Free Today!! 2 large pizza at KES 1300. Experience Free and Safe Delivery Services!To prevent potential spread of COVID-19, we encourage you as our valued customer to use M-pesa or other alternative payment services for bill payment.Get these products from the comfort of your home! Free delivery, buy1get1free!Free e-learning material for form 1 to form 4, accessible anywhere anytime!Work from home, with unlimited internet today. Sign up and get one month absolutely free!

This has us thinking, will #COVID19 take the credit for accelerating #DigitalTransformation?

What does digital transformation mean?

We see it as a transformation that thrives through a continuous change. It has technology as an enabler but is deeply supported by the people and process shifts. It involves making changes from a current state to one where digital technology is integrated into all areas of the organization. It’s a culture change, a mindset and a process streamlining, where all units of the organization support the new way of doing things.

In the wake of COVID-19, businesses are required to adopt to new ways of working. All this to be able to serve their clients, support their employees and ultimately survive. Customers are now using online channels to engage with businesses be it in e-commerce, e-learning, digital payments, online entertainment among others. Other more traditional organizations are also moving online to reach and serve their clients in these uncertain times e g the case of online justice where judgement in courts is being delivered via online tools.

Why do I need to think of this digital transformation?

COVID-19 is clearly bringing the world together, to work on a solution, and contain the transmission. At the same time, it’s keeping us apart and leaving digital channels as the only safe resort.

Now more than ever, the value of IT has never been clearer. This has been showcased through remote collaborative work, business continuity amidst the pandemic and IT as the ultimate support tool. The more automated a business process is, the easier it has been to adjust. Organizations should definitely use this time to catalyze their transition.

Now more than ever, customers are opting to engage with businesses through digital channels. Businesses should work to scale those channels to not only deal with the rising demand but also offer an improved customer experience. Organizations should ensure they are doing digital customer journey audits to see how they can effectively map their offline experience to an online experience, and even provide a better experience. Now more than ever, interactions with customers will occur on screen rather than in person.

What can you do now?

Digital transformation is enabled by tech but it’s ultimate success depends on much more — the mindset, the people and the processes. Now is a high time to consider this shift. Why? Because the value of digital channels has become more obvious. As a business, if you haven’t already, start working on digitizing the current experience that you are delivering to your customers. This will set you up not only for now but in the long haul. You can use this period to test out your new ways of working and how best you can deliver value to your users. Are you in need of a digital audit? Digital strategy planning or someone to implement what you already have in mind? We work with organizations to help them actualize their digital plans. Reach out to us at

info@qhala.com, we can help your organization adjust to the new reality.

[transmutationisms]

Leonardi was one of the first experts to recognize how SARS-CoV-2 damages T cells, which worsens with repeat infections. In late 2020, he and Rui Proenca, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University, published research in Frontiers in Immunology describing SARS-CoV-2 as a "lympho-manipulative pathogen," meaning it alters the immune organs called lymph nodes, and "distorts T cell function, numbers, and death, and creates a dysfunctional immune response."

"For years, I've been saying these repeat infections have the potential to harm our immune systems," Leonardi said. "I anticipated a cumulative effect."

But Leonardi argues that this is no reason to compare COVID to AIDS.

"When you use so much hyperbole, you actually do a disservice to true and real statements that SARS-CoV-2 actually can be harming the immune system," Leonardi told Salon. He emphasized that just because a virus can harm the immune system or even deplete T cells like SARS-CoV-2 does not make it analogous to HIV. Measles, for example, can delete immune memory by destroying T cells, which can take two to three years to recover. But no one calls measles "airborne AIDS."

Another example is Ebola, a virus with a fatality rate between 25 to 90 percent. "Ebola is one of the most efficient murderers of T cells," Leonardi said. "If someone gets an Ebola infection, their blood is a T cell graveyard. It's a site of cremation. It's just chaos, it's insane. But we don't call Ebola 'airborne HIV' or 'airborne AIDS."

It's true HIV creates immunodeficiency by slowly depleting T cells, but it can take two to six weeks to develop symptoms and about a decade to develop into AIDS. In contrast, SARS-CoV-2 can damage the immune system in a few days.

Both viruses are different species with entirely unique mechanisms for entering host cells. HIV is a retrovirus, meaning it can insert itself into the DNA of a host and lay dormant there until something stirs it out. There is some evidence that SARS-COV-2 can lay dormant in reservoirs in the body, but it does this a different way.

Unlike the early days of the HIV pandemic, there are now very effective medications for HIV. No vaccines yet exist for HIV, but that may change in the near future. In contrast, there are many COVID vaccines and they are all pretty effective, even against some of the newer variants. And though COVID infection can last for years, many, many people recover. That isn't the case for HIV, which is incurable except in the case of a few experimental patients.

Epidemiologists have long agreed that if HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, were to become airborne, then it would be an extreme disaster. Some medical experts have gamed out this scenario, predicting infections across the planet could reach 100 percent as quarantine became useless. The long latency of the virus would make it almost impossible to avoid. That is, if SARS-2 really were like an airborne AIDS, it would be a serious problem, one capable of crumbling global society. Fortunately, reality is much different.

No, COVID is not “airborne AIDS." But what it does to your immune system is still scary

--

T cells are one arm of the adaptive immune system. One subset, known as CD4 T cells, helps B cells make antibodies and helps coordinate the immune response. Another subset, known as CD8 T cells, kills infected cells to limit the spread of viruses.

Using a highly sensitive method to fish out coronavirus-specific T cells from hundreds of blood samples collected at multiple time points, the authors found that compared with people who had been vaccinated, people who had been infected had significantly reduced CD8 T cell responses against the coronavirus. Vaccination after an infection helped, but the CD8 T cell response was still much lower than in those who had never been infected.

“This suggests that SARS-CoV-2 virus infection may cause long-term damage to the patients’ immune system well after viral clearance,” the authors wrote.

In their discussion, the authors made a comparison to infection with HIV and hepatitis C virus, noting that reduced CD8 T cell function has been observed in patients as long as a year after those viruses were either fully or nearly eliminated. This comparison was then highlighted in an NIH press release, which people on social media then quoted to lend credence to the false idea that COVID-19 is HIV-like.

But the authors’ comparison is specific to a particular phenomenon with those viruses and their effects on CD8 T cells after total or near-total viral clearance. It doesn’t mean COVID-19 causes an immunodeficiency on par with HIV, which permanently damages the immune system by killing off a person’s CD4 T cells.

“The damage we cited in our paper was more subtle,” Davis told us — “not on the same scale as the CD4 wipeout for HIV.”

In fact, the Stanford group found no noticeable differences in the CD4 T cells from people who had been infected versus not.

As Danny Altmann, a professor of immunology at Imperial College London, told us, the “immune effects of Covid are nothing like HIV at all.”

While the comparison was misunderstood, some scientists criticized the authors for making it.

“The scale of the defect in HIV and HCV is so much greater that I think anything that’s being reported here — even if we take it at face value — that I think that was a … risky analogy to make,” Paul G. Thomas, an immunologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, said in a phone interview. “I think that’s caused a lot of alarm and a lot of frantic press speculation that’s really not warranted.”

Posts Exaggerate Lab Findings About COVID-19’s Impact on Immune System

--

covid is not unique among viruses for having negative effects on T cells, and there is certainly no good evidence suggesting that it is uniquely like HIV, either in its acute or long-term outcomes or mechanisms. again the most relevant medical comparison here is probably SARS, a related virus that (like many many many other acute illnesses) triggers long-term post-viral conditions in some people. jumping straight to comparing covid to HIV---either because it's perceived as the scariest virus or because it's the main context in which many people have heard of T cell damage---is unhelpful and inaccurate both medically and politically.

ive been saying this for Literally Years Now but the most direct medical comparison to covid probably is never going to be HIV on any metric, overall it's probably the SARS outbreak of the early aughts (related viruses, similar transmission, what appear thus far to be similar rates/experiences of post-viral conditions and disability) and politically i do understand why people reach for HIV but like you really need to understand that our current situation is similar to how EVERY SINGLE pandemic / epidemic / outbreak has 'ended' in recent / capitalist history. these are political designations, that tend to get made once the ruling class considers itself safe, and it is typical that workers, global southerners, racialised people, &c continue to bear the brunt of diseases that would be treatable or preventable, were imperial countries and their ruling classes to care. we should be furious every time this happens and in every case where it is still happening: flu, TB, malaria, ebola, zika, plague, on and on, even the smallpox eradication campaign championed as a definitive triumph for public health occurred unevenly and the US and europe allowed the disease to continue to exact its most brutal toll on people in the Horn of Africa and southeast Asia until it was finally eradicated. covid is not unique in its medical OR political properties or ramifications, if you think it is you sorely need to do some more reading and this is why it is both unhelpful and yes, often homophobic to see how often 'covid communicators' jump straight to making alarmist and poorly contextualised comparisons to HIV, Specifically.

[drsorrell]

Core Writing: Mon 11.6.23

Announcements & Reminders

Start thinking about how to "reboot" Paper #1 (already!): What would you like to expand upon? How would your ideas change? What research do you need? What other authors (book, blog, or outside) would you use?

Make up any missing work.

Paper #2, Grading + Final Draft Comments

I will be done by the end of Monday.

Apply what we work on in class to papers.

Connections between authors.

Use TS-E and IS-E more and more as we go along.

Think ideas through in detail.

Use an original thesis to direct distinct BPs that support it by discussing relevant evidence.

Your thesis and ideas should get more complicated (layered, "deep") in each subsequent paper. What works in Paper #1 works differently in Paper #2 and then very differently in Papers #3 and #4.

Don't use AI or credit it (our presentation).

Rethink, revise, and reorganize for real. For instance, if I say, "Some IS-E about your own college experience at SVC so far would help you prove this point," don't just add one sentence. If I say, "Your real thesis and ideas are in BP3; now you need to reorganize the paper," it means you need to go back, redo your thesis and each BP, and then likely add another one.

Don't be afraid to get personal if you want.

Direct the reader. The reader shouldn't have to figure out what you are doing. This is not a piece of literature. It is a piece of academic writing that formulates a persuasive, evidence-driven argument. For example, "I am talking about Blanda more than Boyd in this paper because he seems more solution-focused for the future, and Boyd seems more concentrated on his we got here. Since my thesis is a recommendation for colleges to limit the use of technology in classes, this strategy makes sense."

Close Reading Activity, Part 2

Lewis: "The coronavirus smashes up the bargain that so many dual-earner couples have made in the developed world: We can both work, because someone else is looking after our children. Instead, couples will have to decide which one of them takes the hit. (716).

Ramanathan: "'Games can and often do center women while also reinforcing harmful stereotypes or turning those women into sexual fantasies for the benefit of straight male players.' If the industry wants to make advances, it needs to move beyond having a handful of games with female characters and include more women behind the scenes to avoid those sorts of portrayals" (727, includes a quote within a quote: 'Games...straight male players')

Wright: "But maybe through the lessons learned from Title IX and with the vision and passion of a generation who came of age under its provisions, we can change the culture. Think about the world that could create. One in which women are valued for their athletic pursuits, not compared to their male counterparts, and certainly not sexualized. One where the old stereotypes about female athletes don’t exist, where there aren’t any more barriers to access. Where the playing field is truly, completely, finally level." (736).

Instructions: Choose one and close-read it in detail.

Which words jump at you as out-of-place, weird, repeated, or especially important?

Which grammar aspects do you notice? How do the sentences work (as sentences)?

Are there any other subtexts you can read into this that the author might not have intended?

Homework

Prep for Outline #3 (slideshow)

Complete InQuizitive: “Pronouns That Don’t Agree with Their Antecedents.”

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved in our archive

by Simon Spichak

Key points you should know:

The only ongoing pediatric trial in the U.S. is testing a drug, called larazotide, aimed at tightening the gaps between cells in the gut to prevent coronavirus spike protein from leaking into circulation.

Because of cost and age discrimination, companies often develop drugs in adults before testing new treatments in kids.

The RECOVER initiative is ramping up to start clinical trials in kids soon, but parents and kids want to see more urgency.

Involving parents and children with Long COVID throughout the clinical trial process is necessary to make trials more effective. After an initial SARS-CoV-2 infection in January 2021, Laura���s then nine-year-old son Matthew* developed symptoms that never went away — fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, rashes, joint pain, and shortness of breath.

His school recognizes he’s at extra risk if he attends in person when there are high levels of COVID-19, flu, or other transmissible diseases. For people with Long COVID, reinfections can make symptoms worse, bring on new diagnoses, and further disable them. So far during the 2024-2025 school year, he’s attended only three and a half days.

“There’s always pretty much just pain,” Matthew, now 12, told The Sick Times.

Matthew is on a baseball team but has to pace himself to avoid crashing. A treatment could make it easier for him to participate. “I wouldn’t have to save up all my energy just to do one thing,” he said.

But as of October 16, there are only two registered drug trials for Long COVID in kids — one in the U.S. and one in Pakistan. Why?

One reason is little acknowledgment of Long COVID in children from policymakers or media outlets, according to Megan Carmilani, founder of the advocacy group Long Covid Families. “There was a lot of rhetoric and denial about the idea that COVID could affect kids so there’s just not a lot of research that has been conducted,” Carmilani said.

The tide started to shift earlier this year in February. The National Institutes of Health’s RECOVER program, which includes studies tracking Long COVID in children, published a review paper in Pediatrics estimating 5.8 million kids in the U.S. were living with Long COVID, more than the 4.9 million children living with asthma.

“Children are in the most high risk environment [for infection],” Carmilani added. Most daycares and schools have not upgraded their air filtration or implemented measures to prevent the spread of airborne infections. “Children cannot consent to infection at all, and they’re legally required to be in some of these environments where families are reporting they’re getting sicker.” Research suggests that kids represent one in every four people with Long COVID.

Carmilani tracked how often children were mentioned during the September meeting kicking off the RECOVER-Treating Long COVID initiative, which will support new clinical trials. “And in two and a half days, I think the total was 53 minutes,” Carmilani said.

The initiative is a direct response from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to criticism that the research program was moving too slowly to find treatments.

Experts who spoke with The Sick Times brought up many different reasons why developing new drugs for children with Long COVID has moved at such a glacial pace. Many pharmaceutical companies might not see Long COVID as profitable. And running trials in children is complex and expensive, as they can have different symptoms and underlying biological processes behind those symptoms from adults.

“I want more clinical trials focused on cures and effective treatments. We want treatments that are actually getting at the underlying causes and not just sticking a band aid on symptoms,” Katherine, a parent of a 16-year old with Long COVID told The Sick Times.

*Editor’s note: Children with Long COVID and their parents who spoke to The Sick Times for this story are referred to by their first names to protect their privacy.

[comfymommy]

Can Pragnant Women Wear Mask ? - COMFY MOMMY – ComfyMommyShop

Pregnant women with COVID-19, who have pre-existing medical conditions, like diabetes or chronic high vital sign, or those that are older or overweight, also are more likely to suffer severe health complications thanks to COVID-19. The research says all people, including pregnant women, can wear masks once they are public to slow the spread of COVID-19. Wearing of the mask is recommended because studies have shown that folks can spread the virus before showing any symptoms.

ARE FACE MASKS SAFE DURING PREGNANCY?

Worldwide, many pregnant women wear masks at work, including the widely used N95 respirator with a filtering mask. The N95 respirator restricts normal airflow, so a lady may need to breathe harder while wearing it. A question that arises in our mind, does an N95 filtering mask put more physical stress on a pregnant woman who wears it?

But the research says whether pregnant women who wear an N95 respirator have different health effects than women who are not pregnant. Researchers took steps to make sure that the tests did not themselves create a risk for harm. They monitored 16 pregnant and 16 non-pregnant voluntary participants for pulse rate, pressure level, fetal pulse, and other indicators of heart and lung function. The research includes an hour of alternating sitting, standing, and moderate exercise on a stationary bicycle, both with and without a filtering mask.

However, both pregnant and non-pregnant women wearing the respirator mask had a mild—but significant—increase within the heart resting or pressure. The provisional increase did not affect heart and lung function, so it is unlikely to cause health problems in healthy women.

HOW CAN PREGNANT WOMEN SAVE THEMSELVES FROM GETTING COVID-19?

Pregnant women should do similar things in the general public to avoid infection. You will help stop the spread of COVID-19 by taking these actions-

Cover your cough (using your elbow may be a useful technique).

Avoid people that are sick.

Clean your hands often using alcohol-based hand sanitizer or soap and water.

Stay at home or a minimum of six feet faraway from people who do not sleep in your home.

Avoid public gatherings and individuals with symptoms.

Maintain an appropriate social distance (6 feet) and wear a mask if you will not maintain distance.

What if I am a pregnant health care worker exposed to Coronavirus?

Ans- At present, pregnant patients should observe similar precautions and procedures. All other healthcare workers are instructed to look after their employee health or infection prevention and control departments for guidance on PPE.

CAN COVID-19 CAUSE PROBLEMS FOR A PREGNANCY?

Ans- We do not know at this point if COVID-19 would cause problems during pregnancy or affect the health of the baby after birth. It is essential to possess an idea in place and brace oneself for you and your family's best health. Do not panic, but know enough and stay informed to understand when the time is right, if necessary, to take proper action.

[xtruss]

A detail view of a face mask on September 24, 2021, in Kohler, Wisconsin. Donald Trump and conservatives across social media are heightening awareness to potential mask mandates due to new cases stemming from coronavirus variants. Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

United States: Mask Mandate Comeback Sparks 'We Will Not Comply' Movement

— By Nick Mordowanec | August 31, 2023

will not comply' movement is slowly formulating across social media, spurred by Donald Trump's renewed focus on mask mandates and COVID-affiliated lockdowns that he initiated at the pandemic's inception.

Trump, in a video posted Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, vowed to reject any "fearmongering" of new coronavirus variants and if elected president pledged to cut federal funding for entities like schools and airlines that follow such protocols.

Trump was the individual who set the original mandates and lockdowns in motion, however, when coronavirus cases escalated exponentially starting in March 2020. At the time, he urged individuals to avoid bars, restaurants and other areas where 10 or more people were gathered in the hope that the virus would dissipate by that summer.

"'Do not comply' means your [sic] not going to go to work if your employer requires a mask as part of the 'mandate' not law; your [sic] not going to wear one at the Dr, Dentist, restaurant or stores," wrote one Facebook user. "Imagine if everyone did not comply how that would hurt our government or economy.

"If every American did not go to work or buy anything at all for one or two days things would get real. We are all slaves to our Government until we stop conforming to the demands and dollar."

New coronavirus variants now emerging with case spikes in certain parts of the United States include EG.5 and BA.2.86. Major companies like Pfizer and Moderna who were highly involved in the swift rollout of vaccines at the height of the pandemic are scheduled to release a new vaccine in mid-September to combat the omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, pending approval from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

A CDC spokesperson told Newsweek on Thursday via email that the center's advice for individual and community actions around COVID-19 is tied to hospital admission levels, which are currently low for more than 97 percent of the country.

"CDC continues to recommend that all people are up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines and take steps to themselves and others," the spokesperson said. "Anyone may choose to wear a mask at any time."

Time may tell whether the discussion around mandates and lockdowns is alarmist considering that very few places in the country have COVID-related measures currently in place.

One, for example, is Morris Brown College, a small Atlanta-based historically Black college, which told students to adhere to mask-wearing for a two-week period due to an influx of COVID-related cases.

"Dear Atlanta College, Regarding your precautionary mask mandate... I have a precautionary Foot I'd like to shove up you're a**!" wrote comedian and former Saturday Night Live actor Rob Schneider on X, in response to the Morris Brown mandate. "But don't worry, it's just for the next 14 days! For your own protection! Ps. Students WAKE UP, SHEEPLE! SAY NO!"

Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin released a video on X of her literally shaking her head when confronted with hypothetical mandates, even burning some masks outdoors.

Libs of Tik Tok, which has 2.4 million followers on X, is encouraging individuals to ignore all mandates and pledges to support impacted businesses—and even pay any fines for noncompliance.

One X user posted that she would ignore mandates instituted by Trump, President Joe Biden or anyone else.

"I won't mask again," the user wrote. "I don't care what Trump or Fauci or Birx or Biden or any other governmental agency try and push again. I won't deal with the anxiety mask wearing brings me again. Not going to cover my daughter's beautiful face or force her to deal with the frequent painful breakouts again. Nope. For my child, I say, never again."

[j2memories]

Variety article (October 9th 2020)

‘Supernatural’s’ Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki on Their Final Scene Together, Moving onto ‘The Boys’ and ‘Walker’

Oct 9, 2020 9:00am PT

By Danielle Turchiano

The Winchesters’ work may not yet be done on “Supernatural,” but their portrayers, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, already have to think about shedding Dean and Sam and stepping into new characters.

The CW demon-hunting drama called series wrap in early September, with the guys sharing their final scene as on-screen brothers on Sept. 10.

“When I showed up, it was our last day of filming at the studios and it was a big day, script-wise. And our third AD, Emma — we call her G.G., which is short for ‘garden gnome,’ because she’s little — she came up to me and was already in tears; she was like, ‘It’s our last day at the studio.’ And I just said, ‘Nope. No, no no, another day at the office, business as usual, don’t start that s—.’ That’s how I do the work,” Ackles tells Variety.

With only days since between wrap and chatting with Variety, Padalecki points out that he doesn’t “know if I’ve unpacked” what that final brother moment fully means emotionally. He shares that he has been “avoiding really delving back into that mindset and what it means and what it meant.”

“Even though Jensen and Jared knew, ‘Hey “Supernatural’s” done on Friday; we finished on Thursday,’ we had to treat it like, ‘OK this may be the last minute of the Super Bowl, but we’ve still got plays to make’; we still have to be on point,” he explains.

“Supernatural” began airing the final seven episodes of its 15-season run on Oct. 8, with the world watching whether or not the Winchesters would be able to defeat God (Rob Benedict), who has been hell-bent (no pun intended) on destroying universes of late. Unlike seasons past, though, the episodes have wrapped ahead of time: The first five were finished in the spring, as the show was originally scheduled to end in May. When the coronavirus pandemic halted production, they had two episodes to go, which were completed amid the still-ongoing pandemic in early September.

“We didn’t let COVID stop any brother moments,” Padalecki promises, noting that protocol on-set had the co-leads getting tested every three days and only interacting with essential personal, such as each other, the director, cinematographer and their key makeup and hair artists.

“In those final moments, without giving away too much, one thing you’ll see in my opinion for me [is] the lines that separate the the character from the actor get heavily blurred,” Ackles says of Dean and Sam’s last scene together.

Because of schedule changes due to COVID, both Ackles and Padalecki were able to look ahead to what their next projects would be before finishing the arguably the longest-running one of which they will ever be a part.

Early this year, Padalecki booked the titular role in the CW’s reboot of “Walker, Texas Ranger,” simply titled “Walker”; for the first time in his career he will also be an executive producer on that project. In August, Ackles announced he would be joining the cast of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys” for the third season, playing the first superhero, Soldier Boy. Just yesterday, it was announced the Ackles also signed an overall deal with Warner Bros. Television Group.

“My new character, Walker, is different than Sam and so I’ve been spending time since they called, ‘That’s a wrap,’ getting back into that mindset. I was able to get into that mindset during quarantine, but I know as well as any actor that it takes a while to fully flesh out a character anyways — and it should,” says Padalecki. “If ‘Walker,’ the TV show, goes for three or four or five or six or seven years or whatever, then I hope he’s more fleshed-out and more developed than he was during the pilot. And so, I’ve done a lot of work — I’ve done the character work — and I’m going to start from there and let what happens between ‘action’ and ‘cut’ inform me more.”

Both actors say that no matter what new character comes their way, there have been invaluable lessons learned on the set of “Supernatural” that they will carry with them.

“The last 15 years was not just going to work, it was an educational experience. I learned a lot about everything I do. Jared and I didn’t go to school for this; we learned on the job. And so, the more on-the-job we have been, the more we have learned. I certainly never anticipated being this educated in what we do, and I think that that will only help us in what we do moving forward,” says Ackles.

Adds Padalecki: “I’m going to take Sam Winchester and the lessons I learned from ‘Supernatural,’ proudly, into every job I do — and probably outside of jobs, just as what kind of a human being I want to be.”

“Supernatural” airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. on the CW.

Watch Variety’s video interview with Ackles and Padalecki above.

Link to the article

[seekerszone]

If I have corona?

If I have corona? #coronavirus #newcorona

If I have corona? What do you going with coronavirus. Have you consider about Early care and after care of corona. Here is upto date details for coronavirus for getting avoid illness. What is the coronavirus? The corona virus can cause a cold. Some people get worse complaints, such as pneumonia. The virus is contagious. The virus can pass from one to the other via droplets in the air. A corona…

[orcelito]

Oh also my work is officially mandating a 2 week quarantine if we go out of state or go to a large gathering. Or if we r sick.

I say “quarantine” just cause that’s the word they used, they just mean we can’t come to work.

Which honestly considering how much of a hassle it is to normally get out of going to shifts, that’s pretty fuckin nice

[spurgie-cousin]

ok i couldn't resist i had to read the Jinger NYT article immediately:

(CW: sexual assault and r*pe mention)

they almost exclusively refer to Jinger as Mrs. Vuolo which for some reason makes me feel feral. it's just clunky and I don't like it.

the Jill Dillard erasure!!!!!! another article claiming Jinger is the 'first' to question her parent's religion when that is just 1000% not true and like, what kind of fact checkers would not investigate if any of her siblings were up to something similar?

and on that note, why won't Jinger herself acknowledge Jill???? purely to sell more books as the 'first' to break away, bc that's pretty irritating

i learned from this article that Bill Gothard never married which is just fucking hilarious to me. all these rules about how to live as a married couple and this bitch really had no experience or idea what he was talking about (another example of how men really do just be saying any old thing and getting away with it)

Jinger makes a point to the interviewer that the reason she is trying to avoid the term 'deconstruction' is because she doesn't want to scare off readers who might currently be involved with IBLP or similar structures, to which I say, fair. she says that of all the people who'd possibly read the book those people are her intended audience (although I'm sure she's not mad at being an NYT bestseller right now).

the interviewer notes that the book is very generous to Jim Bob in Michelle, which I know I've talked about a lot before, just noting it again.

apparently she talks about Josh a bit, says they haven't spoken in 2 years, calls him a hypocrite and compares him to Gothard so. at least there's some kind of shit talking.

Bill Gothard is still alive and has started a new organization, apparently. Jinger adds in the book that she believes the women who have accused him of harassment and r*pe.

here's what they include about MacArthur's church, which I think is important for people to know:

"Mrs. Vuolo characterizes her current church in Southern California as very different than the environment she was raised in. The church, Grace Community Church, is led by John MacArthur, a popular pastor known for his rigorous preaching style, his opposition to “superstitious” charismatic theology and, more recently, his resistance to keeping his church closed in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.

The church is conservative on issues like homosexuality, gender, and women in church leadership. Christianity Today reported this week that leaders at the church repeatedly advised women to avoid reporting their abusive husbands and fathers to authorities, and instead to forgive and submit to them. ..... The church plays a large role in Mrs. Vuolo’s family’s life. Her husband leads a Bible study group for college students and is employed by a seminary affiliated with the church, the Master’s Seminary, where he is working on a doctorate of ministry. “Becoming Free Indeed” credits a ghostwriter named Corey Williams who is the seminary’s chief communication officer. “This is what people won’t like about this story,” said Austin Duncan, director of the seminary’s MacArthur Center for Expository Preaching, who knows the Vuolos well. “They still have a standard of authority that’s outside of themselves.”"

To which I just have to say, nobody's issue with Jinger's religious affiliation is that she still "has a standard of authority outside" herself 🙄🙄🙄 or at least not people who are coming at the story in good faith.

The issue is listed clearly in the paragraph above that one: it's a church that still promotes misogyny and homophobia, and is anti-science and intellectualism. As did Bill Gothard, he just added a bunch of stupid extra rules on top of it.

[reanimatedcourier]

How to Write Indigenous Characters Without Looking like a Jackass:

Update as of December 26th, 2020: I have added a couple new sections about naming and legal terms, as well as a bit of reading on the Cherokee Princess phenomenon.

Boozhoo (hello) Fallout fandom! I'm a card-carrying Anishinaabe delivering this rough guide about writing Indigenous characters because wow, do I see a lot of shit.

Let's get something out of the way first: Fallout's portrayal of Indigenous people is racist. From a vague definition of "tribal" to the claims of them being "savage" and "uncivilized" mirror real-world stereotypes used to dehumanize us. Fallout New Vegas' narrated intro has Ron Perlman saying Mr. House "rehabilitated" tribals to create New Vegas' Three Families. You know. Rehabilitate. As if we are animals. Top it off with an erasure of Indigenous people in the American Southwest and no real tribe names, and you've got some pretty shitty representation. The absence of Native American as a race option in the GECK isn't too great, given that two Native characters are marked "Caucasian" despite being brown. Butch Deloria is a pretty well-known example of this effect. (Addendum: Indigenous people can have any mix of dominant and recessive traits, as well as present different phenotypes. What bothers me is it doesn't accommodate us or mixed people, which is another post entirely.)

As a precautionary warning: this post and the sources linked will discuss racism and genocide. There will also be discussion of multiple kinds of abuse.

Now, your best approach will be to pick a nation or tribe and research them. However, what follows will be general references.

Terms that may come up in your research include Aboriginal/Native Canadian, American Indian/Native American, Inuit, Métis, and Mestizo. The latter two refer to cultural groups created after the discovery of the so-called New World. (Addendum made September 5th, 2020: Mestizo has negative connotations and originally meant "half breed" so stick with referring to your mixed Latine and Indigenous characters as mixed Indigenous or simply by the name of their people [Maya, Nahua].)

As a note, not every mixed person is Métis or Mestizo. If you are, say, Serbian and Anishinaabe, you would be mixed, but not Métis (the big M is important here, as it refers to a specific culture). Even the most liberal definition caps off at French and British ancestry alongside Indigenous (some say Scottish and English). Mestizo works the same, since it refers to descendants of Spanish conquistadors/settlers and Indigenous people.

Trouble figuring out whose land is where? No problem, check out this map.

Drawing

Don't draw us with red skin. It's offensive and stereotypical.

Tutorial for Native Skintones

Tutorial for Mixed Native Skintones

Why Many Natives Have Long Hair (this would technically fit better under another category, but give your Native men long hair!)

If You're Including Traditional Wear, Research! It's Out There

Languages

Remember, there are a variety of languages spoken by Indigenous people today. No two tribes will speak the same language, though there are some that are close and may have loan words from each other (Cree and Anishinaabemowin come to mind). Make sure your Diné (you may know them as Navajo) character doesn't start dropping Cree words.

Here's a Site With a Map and Voice Clips

Here's an Extensive List of Amerindian Languages

Keep in mind there are some sounds that have no direct English equivalents. But while we're at it, remember a lot of us speak English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese. The languages of the countries that colonized us.

Words in Amerindian languages tend to be longer than English ones and are in the format of prefix + verb + suffix to get concepts across. Gaawiin miskwaasinoon is a complete sentence in Anishinaabemowin, for example (it is not red).

Names

Surprisingly, we don't have names like Passing Dawn or Two-Bears-High-Fiving in real life. A lot of us have, for lack of better phrasing, white people names. We may have family traditions of passing a name down from generation to generation (I am the fourth person in my maternal line to have my middle name), but not everyone is going to do that. If you do opt for a name from a specific tribe, make sure you haven't chosen a last name from another tribe.

Baby name sites aren't reliable, because most of the names on there will be made up by people who aren't Indigenous. That site does list some notable exceptions and debunks misconceptions.

Here's a list of last names from the American census.

Indian Names

You may also hear "spirit names" because that's what they are for. You know the sort of mystical nature-related name getting slapped on an Indigenous character? Let's dive into that for a moment.

The concept of a spirit name seems to have gotten mistranslated at some point in time. It is the name Creator calls you throughout all your time both here and in the spirit world. These names are given (note the word usage) to you in a ceremony performed by an elder. This is not done lightly.

A lot of imitations of this end up sounding strange because they don't follow traditional guidelines. (I realize this has spread out of the original circle, but Fallout fans may recall other characters in Honest Hearts and mods that do this. They have really weird and racist results.)

If you're not Indigenous: don't try this. You will be wrong.

Legal Terms

Now, sometimes the legal term (or terms) for a tribe may not be what they refer to themselves as. A really great example of this would be the Oceti Sakowin and "Sioux". How did that happen, you might be wondering. Smoky Mountain News has an article about this word and others, including the history of these terms.

For the most accurate information, you are best off having your character refer to themselves by the name their nation uses outside of legislation. A band name would be pretty good for this (Oglala Lakota, for example). I personally refer to myself by my band.

Cowboys

And something the Fallout New Vegas fans might be interested in, cowboys! Here's a link to a post with several books about Black and Indigenous cowboys in the Wild West.

Representation: Stereotypes and Critical Thought

Now, you'll need to think critically about why you want to write your Indigenous character a certain way. Here is a comprehensive post about stereotypes versus nuance.

Familiarize yourself with tropes. The Magical Indian is a pretty prominent one, with lots of shaman-type characters in movies and television shows. This post touches on its sister tropes (The Magical Asian and The Magical Negro), but is primarily about the latter.

Say you want to write an Indigenous woman. Awesome! Characters I love to see. Just make sure you're aware of the stereotypes surrounding her and other Women of Color.

Word to the wise: do not make your Indigenous character an alcoholic. "What, so they can't even drink?" You might be asking. That is not what I'm saying. There is a pervasive stereotype about Drunk Indians, painting a reaction to trauma as an inherent genetic failing, as stated in this piece about Indigenous social worker Jessica Elm's research. The same goes for drugs. Ellen Deloria is an example of this stereotype.

Familiarize yourself with and avoid the Noble Savage trope. This was used to dehumanize us and paint us as "childlike" for the sake of a plot device. It unfortunately persists today.

Casinos are one of the few ways for tribes to make money so they can build homes and maintain roads. However, some are planning on diversifying into other business ventures.

There's a stereotype where we all live off government handouts. Buddy, some of these long-term boil water advisories have been in place for over twenty years. The funding allocated to us as a percentage is 0.39%: less than half a percent to fight the coronavirus. They don't give us money.

"But what about people claiming to be descended from a Cherokee princess?" Cherokee don't and never had anything resembling princesses. White southerners made that up prior to the Civil War. As the article mentions, they fancied themselves "defending their lands as the Indians did".

Also, don't make your Indigenous character a cannibal. Cannibalism is a serious taboo in a lot of our cultures, particularly northern ones.

Our lands are not cursed. We don't have a litany of curses to cast on white people in found footage films. Seriously. We have better things to be doing. Why on earth would our ancestors be haunting you when they could be with their families? Very egotistical assumption.

Indigenous Ties and Blood Quantum

Blood quantum is a colonial system that was initially designed to "breed out the Indian" in people. To dilute our bloodlines until we assimilated properly into white society. NPR has an article on it here.

However, this isn't how a vast majority of us define our identities. What makes us Indigenous is our connections (or reconnection) to our families, tribes, bands, clans, and communities.

Blood quantum has also historically been used to exclude Black Natives from tribal enrollment, given that it was first based on appearance. So, if you looked Black and not the image of "Indian" the white census taker had in his brain, you were excluded and so were your descendants.

Here are two tumblrs that talk about Black Indigenous issues and their perspectives. They also talk about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia.

However, if you aren't Indigenous, don't bring up blood quantum. Don't. This is an issue you should not be speaking about.

Cherokee Princess Myth

"Princess" was not a real position in any tribe. The European idea of monarchy did not suddenly manifest somewhere else. The closest probable approximation may have been the daughter of a chief or other politically prominent person. But princess? No.

Here is an article talking about possible origins of this myth. Several things are of note here: women from other tribes may have bee shoved under this label and the idea of a "Cherokee Princess" had been brought up to explain the sudden appearance of a brown-skinned (read: half Black) family member.

For a somewhat more in depth discussion of why, specifically, this myth gets touted around so often, Timeline has this piece.

Religion

Our religions are closed. We are not going to tell you how we worship. Mostly because every little bit we choose to share gets appropriated. Smudging is the most recent example. If you aren't Indigenous, that's smoke cleansing. Smudging is done in a specific way with ceremonies and prayers.

Now, a lot of us were forcibly converted. Every residential school was run by Christians. So plenty of us are Catholic, Baptist, Anglican, Lutheran, etc. Catholicism in Latin America also has influence from the Indigenous religions in that region.

Having your Indigenous character pray or carry rosaries wouldn't be a bad thing, if that religion was important to them. Even if they are atheist, if they lived outside of a reserve or other Indigenous communities, they might have Christian influences due to its domination of the Western world.

Settler Colonialism and the White Savior Trope

Now we've come to our most painful section yet. Fallout unintentionally has an excellent agent of settler-colonialism, in particular the Western Christian European variety, in Caesar's Legion and Joshua Graham.

(Addendum: Honest Hearts is extremely offensive in its portrayal of Indigenous people, and egregiously shows a white man needing to "civilize" tribals and having to teach them basic skills. These skills include cooking, finding safe water, and defending themselves from other tribes.)

Before we dive in, here is a post explaining the concept of cultural Christianity, if you are unfamiliar with it.

We also need to familiarize ourselves with The White Man's Burden. While the poem was written regarding the American-Philippine war, it still captures the attitudes toward Indigenous folks all over the world at the time.

As this article in Teen Vogue points out, white people like to believe they need to save People of Color. You don't need to. People of Color can save themselves.

Now, cultural Christianity isn't alone on this side of the pond. Writer Teju Cole authored a piece on the White Savior Industrial Complex to describe mission trips undertaken by white missionaries to Africa to feed their egos.

Colonialism has always been about the acquisition of wealth. To share a quote from this paper about the ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples: "Negatively, [settler colonialism] strives for the dissolution of native societies. Positively, it erects a new colonial society on the expropriated land base—as I put it, settler colonizers come to stay: invasion is a structure not an event. In its positive aspect, elimination is an organizing principal of settler-colonial society rather than a one-off (and superseded) occurrence. The positive outcomes of the logic of elimination can include officially encouraged miscegenation, the breaking-down of native title into alienable individual freeholds, native citizenship, child abduction, religious conversion, resocialization in total institutions such as missions or boarding schools, and a whole range of cognate biocultural assimilations. All these strategies, including frontier homicide, are characteristic of settler colonialism. Some of them are more controversial in genocide studies than others." (Positive, here, is referring to "benefits" for the colonizers. Indigenous people don't consider colonization beneficial.)

An example of a non-benefit, the Church Rock disaster had Diné children playing in radioactive water so the company involved could avoid bad publicity.

Moving on, don't sterilize your Indigenous people. Sterilization, particularly when it is done without consent, has long been used as a tool by the white system to prevent "undesirables" (read, People of Color and disabled people) from having children. Somehow, as of 2018, it wasn't officially considered a crime.

The goal of colonization was to eliminate us entirely. Millions died because of exposure to European diseases. Settlers used to and still do separate our children from us for reasons so small as having a dirty dish in the sink. You read that right, a single dirty dish in your kitchen sink was enough to get your children taken and adopted out to white families. This information was told to me by an Indigenous social work student whose name I will keep anonymous.

It wasn't until recently they made amendments to the Indian Act that wouldn't automatically render Indigenous women non-status if they married someone not Indigenous. It also took much too long for Indigenous families to take priority in child placement over white ones. Canada used to adopt Indigenous out to white American families. The source for that statement is further down, but adoption has been used as a tool to destroy cultures.

I am also begging you to cast aside whatever colonialist systems have told you about us. We are alive. People with a past, not people of the past, which was wonderfully said here by Frank Waln.

Topics to Avoid if You Aren't Indigenous

Child Separation. Just don't. We deserve to remain with our families and our communities. Let us stay together and be happy that way.

Assimilation schools. Do not bring up a tool for cultural genocide that has left lasting trauma in our communities.

W/ndigos. I don't care that they're in Fallout 76. They shouldn't be. Besides, you never get them right anyway.

Sk/nwalkers. Absolutely do not. Diné stories are not your playthings either.

I've already talked about drugs and alcohol. Do your research with compassion and empathy in mind. Indigenous people have a lot of pain and generational trauma. You will need to be extremely careful having your Indigenous characters use drugs and alcohol. If your character can be reduced to their (possible) substance abuse issues, you need to step back and rework it. As mentioned in Jessica Elm's research, remember that it isn't inherent to us.

For our final note: remember that we're complex, autonomous human beings. Don't use our deaths to further the stories of your white characters. Don't reduce us to some childlike thing that needs to be raised and civilized by white characters. We interact with society a little differently than you do, but we interact nonetheless.

Meegwetch (thank you) for reading! Remember to do your research and portray us well, but also back off when you are told by an Indigenous person.

This may be updated in the future, it depends on what information I come across or, if other Indigenous people are so inclined, what is added to this post.