CDC Introduces Streamlined Guidelines For Better COVID-19 Protection, Understanding

Aug 13, 2022 02:30 AM By Luigi Caler

VIDEO

CDC Relaxes COVID-19 Quarantine And Testing Guidelines: What To Know

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has streamlined its COVID-19 guidance to help the public better protect themselves from the risk of catching the novel coronavirus at this point of the pandemic.

The public health agency made some changes to its guidelines to ensure that everyone would be up to date regarding the preventive measures available against COVID-19. As the novel coronavirus continues to be a global problem, the CDC wants the public to be better equipped with more relevant information about the disease and the tools available to combat it.

The first guideline the CDC introduced continued to promote the importance of having up-to-date vaccines to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and death. Since the efficacy of the vaccines diminishes over time, the agency said people should get the newer vaccines when they become eligible.

Another recommendation from the agency said people should opt to wear a high-quality mask for ten days and get tested on day 5 instead of quarantining when exposed to someone with COVID-19. The CDC maintained that regardless of vaccination status, one should isolate when they test positive for the virus.

Upon testing positive, the CDC advised staying home for at least 5 days and isolating from other people in the household during the period. This is because a person is usually most infectious during the first 5 days of infection. Wearing a mask around other people at home is strongly encouraged.

For people with moderate COVID or severe illness, the CDC recommended isolating for ten days. The same recommendation was given to people who have a weakened immune system.

For those who developed the severe form of the disease, it is imperative to consult with a doctor before ending isolation. This is because ending isolation without a viral test is not a good option for this type of case.

If COVID-19 symptoms worsened after one’s isolation ended, they need to restart their isolation at day 0. They also need to talk to a healthcare provider if they have questions about when to end their isolation.

"We’re in a stronger place today as a nation, with more tools—like vaccination, boosters, and treatments—to protect ourselves, and our communities, from severe illness from COVID-19," said Greta Massetti, Ph.D., MPH, an author of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

She added, "We also have a better understanding of how to protect people from being exposed to the virus, like wearing high-quality masks, testing, and improved ventilation. This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives.”

UK
The workers’ revolt at Amazon keeps spreading
Coordinated action between official and unofficial strikes would send a strong message to the bosses and Tories

Bristol Amazon workers added to the wave of wildcat strikes on Thursday

 (Picture: Twitter/@walkout20201)

The revolt at Amazon goes on—workers struck and held a sit-in at the Bristol BRS1 centre on Thursday morning. Workers also walked out on Thursday at the BHX1 Site in Rugeley.

Wildcat walkouts, slowdowns and strikes at Amazon fulfilment centres have continued in several areas despite intimidation from managers and bosses. Dave*, who works at the BHX4 fulfilment centre in Coventry, told Socialist Worker, “Managers were telling us if we do protest, we won’t be paid from the minute we leave our work areas.”

He added that managers are even trying to use “divide and rule” tactics, to ensure that workers don’t take action.

“Managers are telling some workers they’ll be rewarded if they keep working. Some are also being given easier jobs than others. Of course, people are getting rattled by this.

“I feel like the managers are trying to get us to go against each other instead of the issue of pay.”

But despite all this, Dave said that workers still want to fight as conditions worsen at Amazon.

“People are still angry,” he said. “The British arm of Amazon made £20 billion between January and June this year.

“Things have got a lot worse since Jeff Bezos decided he wants to play astronaut. The new CEO has no idea what goes on in the warehouses. And this lack of care plays out in our fulfilment centre in Coventry.

“On Wednesday a staff member had to be taken away in an ambulance, but the board didn’t count it as an incident.

“This job is slowly becoming a rapid descent into hell, but most of us can’t afford to leave,” he added.

Workers at the Coventry and Tilbury deports sparked a wave of sit-ins and walkouts last week after hearing they would not receive a pay rise of more than 35p or 50p an hour.

In several depots, workers have now been told they won’t receive a pay rise at all. Anger at this news quickly spread to other fulfilment centres, from Bristol to Leicester, and turned into action. More than 200 workers at the depot in Swindon struck and protested in the canteen on Monday of this week.

One worker said, “The management has announced they won’t approve the pay rise or change their decision and say they can’t help us.

“Amazon is a very profitable company, and we deserve fair pay. Just 35p is next to nothing in a situation like this. That works out to £700 a year, which will cover maybe two months of energy bills.

“It’s worrying me because mortgage rates have gone up, as has the price of fuel, groceries and energy. We have families—how will we pay the bills?

At fulfilment centres in Dartford, Tilbury, Belvedere, Hemel Hempstead, Chesterfield and Rugeley, workers took part in “slowdowns” this week.

This means that they picked only one package an hour.

Dave said he expects a new wave of anger in Coventry and elsewhere when the new “pay rise” comes into operation next month.

“Hopefully once September comes and we actually see how badly we’ve been screwed with the “raise”. That’s when it really starts,” he added.

Dave and other Amazon workers are making it clear that they won’t allow this corporate giant to get away with paying them pennies anymore. Workers must keep putting pressure on Amazon, escalate strikes and call for staff in more fulfilment centres to join them.

Amazon workers joining a coordinated strike of bus drivers, rail workers, BT workers and Royal Mail workers, who all have mandates to strike, would send a strong message to the bosses and the Tories.

Dave is a pseudonym 

SOCIALIST WORKER

UK

Grangemouth oil refinery workers stage solid wildcat strike
Strikers vow to return to the picket line every two weeks in a defiant stand against the bosses

Solid picket lines at Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland

Hundreds of oil refinery workers in Grangemouth, Scotland, have downed tools and stormed out on unofficial strike demanding a pay increase.

Around 250 workers joined a picket line outside the Grangemouth refinery, a petrochemical plant owned by a joint venture between PetroChina and billionaire Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos Group.

The workers from five different contractors stood across the A904 road, temporarily blocking tankers from accessing the industrial site. The action was in response to the Engineering Construction Industry Association’s (ECIA) “refusal to recognise the cost of living crisis”.

The picket line developed into a protest with marching workers carrying a banner reading, “ECIA let’s talk.”

Grangemouth refinery supplies over 60 percent of the petrol and diesel for forecourts in Scotland. Last year Ineos Group recorded gross profits of £2.95 billion.

But workers for contractors at the plant have received just a 2.5 percent pay rise back in January and are set to receive another meagre 2.5 percent pay rise next year. With inflation at 11.8 percent and set to rise up to 15 percent next year, workers will suffer a big real terms pay cut.

The strikers have vowed to return to picket lines every two weeks until a new pay deal is accepted.

The Grangemouth action was part of a protest at around 20 sites across Britain over pay for engineering construction workers covered by the National Agreement for the Engineering Construction Industry (NAECI). Workers came out in particularly big numbers at Humber Refinery in North Lincolnshire, owned by energy group Phillips 66, and at the Valero refinery in Milford Haven.

The Graqngemouth workers distributed a leaflet that read, “Some of us worked throughout the pandemic to keep the country running, some of us were made redundant. We accepted changes to the agreement and took a pay freeze to help the employers and to keep the industry moving during lockdown.

“Now we are asking the ECIA to come back to the negotiating table because of these once in a lifetime events. So far, they have point blank refused. We cannot allow this cavalier attitude to continue.”

The Grangemouth workers have a history of militancy. Having suffered a terrible defeat in 2013 it’s great to see the workers once more making a stand.

Ineos threatened to close the plant and cut 800 jobs. The Unite union accepted some cuts. Workers lost their final salary pension scheme, and bosses imposed a three-year pay freeze and worse contracts. Others fared worse and lost their jobs.

Unite also accepted not to strike for at least three years. The spirit at the plant, which has been rebuilt by actions since 2013, now is great to see.

MASS STRIKE

UK

As union announces four Royal Mail strikes, let’s strike together

Union leaders must seize this opportunity to unite strikes and make Friday 26 August a day of action for the whole working class

SOCIALIST WORKER
Tuesday 09 August 2022


Postal workers, like these ones in Wantage, voted for action in vast numbers

Around 115,000 postal workers in Royal Mail are set to strike for four days in August and September. Their action should be a focus to build massive strikes to transform the present scale of resistance over pay and against the Tories.

On Tuesday the Royal Mail workers’ CWU union announced strikes on Friday 26 August, Wednesday 31 August and Thursday 8 and Friday 9 September.

It follows bosses’ imposition of a below-inflation “rise” of 2 percent. And that’s even more poisonous after the company has recently announced a £758 million profit, paid £400 million to shareholders and handed millions to its executives.

In response workers voted 98 percent for strikes on a 77 percent turnout.

Jane Loftus, vice-president and postal chair of the CWU, told Socialist Worker, “It’s outrageous that Royal Mail, a company awash with profits and handing millions to its top bosses, wants to cut the pay of the workforce in real terms.

“Everywhere now people are saying they have had enough and aren’t going to take this sort of treatment anymore.

“We want our pay strikes to be an encouragement to others to fight. Royal Mail management may well act in a ruthless way, but the CWU can beat them if we use all our strength. We’re looking for support and solidarity from workers everywhere.”

There is now a tremendous potential to unite strikes and make 26 August a focus for the whole working class. Well over 200,000 workers could come out that day—and that’s just the ones with live strike votes now.

If they move in the next 48 hours to give the necessary notice, the RMT, Aslef and TSSA unions on Network Rail, the train operating companies, the London Underground and the Overground could all stop that day. That’s over 50,000 workers.

Add in BT and Openreach—another 40,000 workers also in the CWU—who could be out. Then there are the Post Office Limited counters and cash distribution workers. Then there are local strikes at several bus companies. There are bin workers, health workers and even barristers who are in dispute and could strike.

Around 2,000 workers at Felixstowe—Britain’s biggest container port—have already announced a strike from 21-29 August. So they could be part of it as well.

With Royal Mail, the total is well over 200,000 workers. That would really shake up bosses and the Tories, and it isn‘t against the anti-union laws.

It can go much further. It should be a day for the whole working class. Union leaders must appeal for everyone to join in, come to rallies and marches and, if possible, strike. Make it a big all-union push for action at Amazon and Uber and all the other places where people are seething for action.

A united day could kick off strike ballots in the NHS, the universities, local government, the civil service and other parts of the public sector.

The 26 August is also the day when Ofgem, the energy regulator, announces the next price rises in gas and electricity that will be applied in October. So as well as the pay strikes, the rallies and marches can be open to everyone who wants resistance to the deadly scale of price rises.

It could focus climate change campaigners and anti-racists around the powerful core of working class action.

Friday 26 August should be Fightback Friday for every worker. The only thing that will stop it from happening is if the union leaders don’t act quickly. If they don’t get it together for 26 August, they must be pushed to create united action on one of the other Royal Mail strike days.

They must be pressured to build the individual sets of strikes but also to come together and to lay the basis for even bigger action by millions.

Striking rail workers say everyone should join fight

Discontent with poverty pay and terrible conditions is leading workers to take action and strike for better

Aslef strike in Leeds (Picture: Neil Terry).

The rail network is set to grind to a halt on Saturday, with around 6,000 train drivers ­planning to strike across nine train operating companies. In their battle for better pay, the members of the Aslef union are ­showing no sign of backing down—and now more workers are ready to join the fight.

Aslef members at four more ­operating companies are currently balloting for action. Strikes by train drivers will add to the mounting pressure on the bosses and the Tories. Next week sees bigger waves of action. Rail workers across Network Rail and 14 train operating companies are preparing to strike on Thursday 18 and Saturday 20 August.

It’s a battle to save jobs, protect safety and win a pay rise that beats inflation. Andy, a Network Rail worker from east London and member of the RMT union, told Socialist Worker that strikers are “ready to win.”

“The cost of living is pushing ­everyone to strike,” he said. “And that’s right. We need fair pay—there are people who I work with who no longer have enough money to raise their kids or pay rent or bills.”

Adam is a catering worker for train operating company LNER in Northumbria. He told Socialist Worker, “The mood is strong, full of hope and optimism for a victory. “There is a worry about the loss of earnings and the cost of living crisis. Fundraisers are planned to build a hardship fund for strikers, to keep them on the picket lines.”

Strikes on Network Rail will be boosted by around 10,400 London Underground and Overground workers who plan to strike on Friday 19 August in two disputes over jobs, pay and safety.

Train managers in the TSSA union and electronic control workers in the Unite union also plan to strike on 18 and 20 August.

Strikers have to make sure union leaders don’t settle for less than a clear victory, but action on the railways are only the tip of the iceberg. Millions of workers sense that fighting back is the only way to ­confront the cost of living crisis.

There could be strikes in the postal service in the near future, with CWU union leaders expected to announce a date for action after Socialist Worker went to press. This would catapult a further 115,000 workers into action.

And 1,600 London bus workers employed by London United plan to strike on 19 and 20 August after refusing a paltry pay offer of 3.5 ­percent this year. In addition to all this, strikes by refuse workers, ballots for action in universities and wildcat strikes by Amazon workers show a growing mood to revolt.

NHS workers start the votes on key pay strikes

Unions representing hundreds of thousands of NHS workers in England and Wales are this week starting a series of ballots for strikes over pay. The Tory government has imposed a flat rate increase of just £1,400 a year, which for most workers will be an effective pay cut.

The Unite union, which represents laboratory staff and others, has just begun a five-week consultative ballot and asked its members to vote for industrial action. The nurses’ RCN will ballot for strikes from 15 September with a recommendation that members vote yes.

And, the giant Unison union is balloting for strikes—but not until 27 October.

The battle is now on to ensure the biggest possible turnout and the largest yet yes vote for strikes.

In Scotland, where the offer is a tiny 5 percent rise—a big pay cut—the results of unions’ consultative ballots on the offer were due on Friday this week.

The only way to stop the destruction of the NHS, and chronic understaffing, is to back the fight of those who work for it.

Coordinate action to hit Tories

Rail workers have been given strength by huge waves of solidarity from other trade unionists and activists. Network Rail worker Andy said the support is “overwhelming”, adding that “it’s nothing that we expected”.

He believes the solidarity has strengthened the mood among his colleagues to win. “The Tories now have to think twice about attacking us because there’s an army of people behind us.”

But to make the strikes stronger, they ought to be coordinated. Union leaders from RMT, Aslef, TSSA and Unite should call out every rail worker on the same day. And every worker across every industry who has a mandate could strike on the same day.

So, for example, bus drivers and refuse workers in dispute everywhere could strike on the same day as rail workers.

‘I want more strikes now,’ says RMT Network Rail worker

Even those workers who aren’t in a union could be urged to take part. Walkouts by Amazon workers have shown that it is possible to take action without going through ballots and meeting thresholds.

A day—or even better, several days—of united strikes would send a message the Tories could not ignore. And we need more rallies and demonstrations. The RMT has called demos for 20 August in cities such as Sheffield and Liverpool.

These should happen everywhere. They can focus support, build strikes, encourage others to join the battle and provide a forum for discussion.

Every striker has to be actively involved—on the picket lines and in deciding how to take the battle forward. It can’t be left to the union leaders

WE AREN'T FIGHTING JUST THE BOSSES BUT THE GOVERNMENT TOO

UK

New public mood backs train drivers striking this weekend, says Aslef leader Mick Whelan


Mick Whelan (centre), general secretary, Aslef, joins the picket line outside Paddington train station in London as members of the drivers union Aslef at seven train operators walk out for 24 hours over pay

TRAIN drivers striking at nine operating companies today can be assured of widespread public support, their union leader Mick Whelan told the Morning Star.

Members of drivers’ union Aslef will walk out for 24 hours in a pay dispute at Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, LNER, Southeastern, West Midlands Trains and London Overground.

Mr Whelan said that train companies claim to be barred from awarding a pay rise in line with inflation by “dodgy deals” imposed by the government when their franchises were turned into management contracts, but government says the dispute is nothing to do with it and must be dealt with by the companies.

“So we are caught in a Catch 22 situation where each side blames the other,” he explained.

“The drivers at these companies have not had an increase for three years. With inflation running at 9, 10 or even 11 per cent, we are being told to take a real-terms pay cut. Strike action is now the only option available, but we are always open for talks if the companies, or government, want to come to the table.”

Rail workers kept services running through the coronavirus pandemic while the government handed public money to operators that used it to shore up profits, Mr Whelan pointed out.

Yet rather than negotiate properly with unions, he said, ministers and rail companies such as Avanti are “spreading lies” about workers taking “unofficial strike action” to cover up their own failure to employ enough staff to run trains if workers don’t volunteer to work overtime.

Propaganda about unions resisting “modernisation” is also just that, Mr Whelan told the Morning Star.

“The government is using the pandemic and other failures like the fallout from its Brexit deal to push attacks on the workforce it has wanted for a long time.

“Nobody has come to us to talk about introducing new technology or decarbonisation. ‘Modernisation’ just means attacks on unions and workers’ terms and conditions.”

But Mr Whelan said that if transport strikes were often unpopular in the past, the mood has changed.

“Strikes are really resonating now and we’re getting unprecedented support,” he said. “I was incredibly proud to speak at the Morning Star rally this week where we heard from workers in sector after sector taking strike action to defend their living standards.”

Major travel disruption across UK as train drivers strike over pay 

13 August 2022

Train strikes are set to grind the country to a halt on Saturday. Picture: Alamy/LBC

By Sophie Barnett

Rail passengers will face huge disruption today as train drivers at nine operating companies stage a 24-hour walkout in a row over pay and working conditions

Football fans, tourists and holidaymakers will be among tens of thousands of passengers affected by the strikes by members of Aslef.

Workers at nine train companies will walk out for 24 hours, crippling large parts of the network, with some parts of the country having no services.

Passengers are being urged not to travel where possible and to check their journeys before setting off.

The strikes will hit Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Greater Anglia, Great Western Railway, Hull Trains, LNER, London Overground, Southeastern and West Midlands Trains, with further industrial action planned in the coming weeks.

Passengers are also advised to consider starting journeys later on Sunday August 14.

Read more: Tube, train and bus strike dates: When are the walkouts set to cripple UK in August

The 24-hour walkout coincides with another busy weekend of football, with Premier League games in Manchester, London, Birmingham and Brighton likely to be affected.

Passengers with advance, off-peak or anytime tickets affected by the strike can use their ticket either on the day before the date on the ticket, or up to and including Tuesday August 16, or can change their tickets to travel on an alternate date, or get a refund if their train is cancelled or rescheduled.

Aslef said that drivers on strike on Saturday have not had a pay increase for three years.

The union is also balloting drivers at Chiltern Railways, Northern Trains and TransPennine Express for strikes, with the results due later this month.

Dick Fisher, an organiser for Aslef, told LBC the strike is all about train drivers' pay, as he joined the picket line at Euston Station in London.

"They worked all through the pandemic and they haven't had a pay rise in three years, they're saying 'enough is enough'," he said.

"The employers aren't listening, we've put in pay claims for three years that are basically being ignored."

He said they are calling for a meeting with their employer to find a "sensible way forward", but claims they are "not talking to us".

Steve Montgomery, chair of the Rail Delivery Group, condemned Aslef's strikes, and said they are "damaging" for the economy.

He told LBC official talks will take place with Aslef and the RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) next week in what he described a "good step forward".

Aslef train drivers on strike at Euston Station. Picture: LBC

Strikes will also take place on Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week - with the rail network, Tube and London buses affected.

US fails to address reparations' calls at UN race record review

2022/8/12 
© Agence France-Presse

Washington is committed 'to eliminating systemic racism', 

Desiree Cormier Smith told a UN review of the United States' race record

Geneva (AFP) - Washington vowed to do better on battling racial discrimination at an emotion-laden UN review of its record Friday, but officials did not respond to calls for reparations after centuries of systemic racism.

"We need to continue to make strong, concerted efforts to eliminate the scourge of racial discrimination in our country," said Desiree Cormier Smith, who was recently appointed as the first US special representative for racial equity and justice.

Speaking before the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), she stressed Washington's commitment "to eliminating systemic racism", but acknowledged there was "so much left to do".

Cormier Smith, herself of African American descent, co-chaired a large, diverse US delegation at the two days of hearings in Geneva.

She pointed out that the issue was "deeply personal for many of us".

The committee of 18 independent experts evaluates how countries adhere to an international convention on eliminating all forms of racial discrimination, which the United States ratified in 1994.

The US officials faced questions from the committee on issues including police violence and killings of black people, rising levels of hate speech, and the treatment of indigenous people and migrants.

Reparations commission?

During its first regular review of the US record since 2014, the CERD committee for the first time also addressed the thorny issue of reparations.

Faith Dikeledi Pansy Tlakula, a CERD committee member from South Africa and its lead expert on the US situation, asked the officials whether Congress or President Joe Biden himself planned to respond to demands for "a commission to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans".

Rights advocates argue that the legacy of slavery and subsequent periods marked by exploitation, segregation and violence, continue to be seen in economic, health, education, law enforcement, housing and other policies and practices.

Statistics show that black families on average have far less wealth than white families, while black people are imprisoned at three times the rate of their white peers, and are far more likely to die at the hands of police.

 
'Disappointing'

Other committee members also raised the issue of reparations in their questions.

But the US officials, who spent hours responding to the committee's queries, failed to address the matter before the hearing time ran out.

They were given 48 hours to provide written responses. The committee is due to issue its findings on August 30.

Many of the rights advocates who had travelled to Geneva to brief the CERD ahead of the review and attend the hearings, hailed the committee for pressing the US on reparations, but decried the lack of response.

"The issue of reparations was elevated to an unprecedented level," said Wade Henderson, former head of umbrella rights organisation The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

He said it was "disappointing" that the officials had not responded, but voiced optimism it would "inspire a much more aggressive campaign" at home.

Vince Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said he hoped that Washington would soon provide a serious response.

"It is the defining racial justice issue of the era," he said.

DON'T FORGET THE UN RIGHTS FOR INDGENOUS PEOPLES CALL FOR REPATRIATIONS AS WELL

US astronaut Jessica Watkins sets sights on Moon... and Mars

2022/8/13 
© Agence France-Presse

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins spoke to AFP from the International Space Station on August 1, 2022

Washington (AFP) - If you had the choice, would you rather go to the Moon or Mars?

The question is utterly theoretical for most of us, but for US astronaut Jessica Watkins, it hits a bit differently.

"Whichever comes first!" Watkins says with a laugh, in a lengthy interview with AFP from her post on the International Space Station (ISS).

At 34, Watkins has many years ahead of her at the US space agency NASA, and could very well be one of the first women to step foot on the Moon in the coming years, as a member of the Artemis team preparing for upcoming lunar missions.

Missions to Mars are off in the future, but given that astronauts often work into their 50s, Watkins could conceivably have a shot.

Either way is just fine, she says.

"I certainly would be just absolutely thrilled to be able to be a part of the effort to go to another planetary surface, whether it be the Moon or Mars."

In the meantime, Watkins' first space flight was a history maker: she became the first Black woman to undertake a long-term stay on the ISS, where she has already spent three months as a mission specialist, with three months to go.

The Apollo missions that sent humans to the Moon were solely staffed by white men, and NASA has sought over the years to widen its recruitment to a more diverse group of candidates.

The agency now wants to put both women and people of color on the Moon.

"I think it is an important milestone for the agency and the country, and the world as well," Watkins says. "Representation is important. It is true that it is difficult to be what you can't see."

The Maryland native added that she was "grateful for all of those who have come before me... the women and Black astronauts who have paved the way to enable me to be here today."

Geologist at heart

Born in Gaithersburg in the suburbs of Washington, Watkins grew up in Colorado before heading to California to study geology at Stanford University.

During her doctoral studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, her research focused in part on Mars and she worked on NASA's Curiosity rover, which just celebrated 10 years on the Red Planet.

Watkins still has a soft spot for Mars. In fact, she has published a scientific study on the planet during her stint on the ISS.

"I would certainly call myself a geologist, a scientist, an astronaut," she says.

Watkins remembers the moment that she realized space and planetary geology -- the composition of formation of celestial bodies such as planets, moons and asteroids -- would be her life's work.

It came during one of her first geology classes, in a lecture about planetary accretion, or when solids gradually collide with each other to form larger bodies, and ultimately planets.

"I remember learning about that process... and realizing then that that was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and what I wanted to study," she recalls.

"The notion of being able to be a part of an effort to actually do field work on the surface of another planetary body is super exciting, and I look forward to being a part of it."

The Artemis program, a successor to Apollo, is aimed at slowly establishing a lasting human presence on the Moon. The end goal is to set up a base that would be a forward operating station for any eventual trips to Mars.

The first uncrewed mission under the Artemis banner is set to take off for the Moon at the end of August.

Watkins is one of 18 astronauts assigned to the Artemis team, to either provide ground support or eventually take flight.

Officially, every active NASA astronaut (there are currently 42) has a chance to be selected to take part in a lunar landing.

'Push the limits'

While previous mission experience may weigh heavily in NASA's choices for personnel for the first crewed Artemis flight, Watkins's academic background certainly should boost her chances of being chosen.

Being good-natured and having a healthy team spirit are also key for space flight teams, who spend long periods of time confined in small spaces.

Watkins says her colleagues would call her "easygoing," and her time playing rugby taught her the value of working on a team.

So how does she define being an astronaut?

"Each of us all have that sense of exploration and a desire to continue to push the limits of what humans are capable of. And I think that is something that unites us," she says.

Watkins says she dreamed of going to space when she was young, and always kept it in the back of her mind -- without ever thinking it could be a reality.

"Don't be afraid to dream big," she says. "You'll never know when your dreams will come true."

'Shameful and disgusting' Republicans slammed for inciting violence against law enforcement officers

Tom Boggioni
August 12, 2022

Ronna Romney McDaniel (Photo via Olivier Douliey for AFP)

Late Thursday, the president of Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association lashed out at Republicans who have been attacking the FBI and Department of Justice employees for their part in serving a warrant for classified materials at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort earlier in the week.

Since FBI agents descended on the former president's Florida home at the direction of Attorney General Merrick Garland, Republican Party lawmakers have been raising a fuss that has included calls to "defund the FBI" as well as calling for investigations and purging of DOJ officials if the GOP takes control of the House in November.

With that in mind, the Washington Post reports that Larry Cosme issued a statement stating the GOP lawmakers making threats about "coming for you" is far beyond the pale.

While noting a Cincinnati man attacked an FBI field office -- and subsequently died -- Thursday afternoon with the assault directly attributed to the violent rhetoric against the department due to the Mar-a-Lago investigation, Cosme stated, "The rank-and-file officers on the street and agents, they are career employees that … cherish the Constitution like the average American."

IN OTHER NEWS: Rep. Jamie Raskin dismisses right-wing calls for civil war as 'desperate' response to Trump's 'losing' case

He added, "So for them to be attacked by these individuals that believe something else — or they’re believing, you know, someone’s rhetoric that’s uncalled for — to me, it’s shameful and disgusting.”

The Post report adds that Republican National Committee head Ronna Romney McDaniel is also at fault, pointing out that she inflamed conservatives with an op-ed for Fox News insisting, "Trump targeted by Biden administration, and they can do it to you, too.”

The report adds, "The FBI is not the only target of such rhetoric: Republicans this week have also been warning Americans that an army of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agents is 'coming' for them, as Democrats seek to boost the tax agency’s funding and ability to pursue tax dodgers. Many in the GOP have zeroed in on the fact that certain special agents carry guns, casting them as a threat or falsely suggesting the IRS is arming tens of thousands of new employees. Treasury Department officials have said the proposed funding is meant to target high-income tax evasion."

FBI agents condemn threats against agency after Trump raid

2022/8/11 
© Agence France-Presse

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation came under attack by conservatives after its agents raded Donald Trump's home

Washington (AFP) - The FBI Agents Association said Thursday that the surge of threats against them after the raid on the home of former president Donald Trump encouraged violence against law enforcement and was "unacceptable."

Conservative politicians and Trump himself bashed the Federal Bureau of Investigation as "corrupt" and "politicized" following the raid Monday, in which agents sought classified documents that Trump had retained in violation of rules on official records.

That was followed by a surge of violent threats against the FBI and Justice Department on social media and in conservative chat rooms.

"Special Agents and their families should never be threatened with violence, including for doing their jobs," the association said in a statement.

"The threats made recently contribute to an atmosphere where some have, or will, accept violence against law enforcement as appropriate. It is not," it said.

The statement was released shortly after Attorney General Merrick Garland said he himself had approved the unprecedented raid on a former president's home.

Garland called the attacks on the FBI "unfounded."

"I will not stand by silently when their integrity is unfairly attacked," he said.

After the raid Monday, Trump issued a statement saying his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida was "under siege, raided and occupied by a large group of FBI agents."

"Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third World Countries," Trump said.

Hour Republican leader Kevin McCarthy accused the FBI and the Justice Department of "weaponized politicization.”

Republican Senator Ted Cruz said the FBI had become "an attack dog to help the Democrats" and Republican Congressman Paul Gosar tweeted that "we must destroy the FBI."

Another fervent Trump supporter, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, attacked the agency and spoke of "civil war."

"The FBI has gone rogue and is doing the dirty work of a communist regime," she said on Twitter.

"This is not a partisan or political issue," the agents' association said in their statement.

"Calls for violence against law enforcement are unacceptable, and should be condemned by all leaders."

The statement also came after an armed man's attack on the FBI's office in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Thursday which turned into a pursuit of the suspect into the countryside, in which the man exchanged gunfire with law enforcement.

Officials later said the situation was later contained, without providing details. The reason for the attack remained unclear.

Trump's history of playing loose with intelligence

AFP
August 13, 2022

A tweet from US President Donald Trump dated August 30, 2019, apparently shows a classified US intelligence community image of an Iranian rocket launch site.failed rocket lauch attempt at the Safir SLV Launch site in northern Iran. 


Washington (AFP) - Court documents unsealed Friday showed that FBI agents retrieved a number of highly classified documents in a raid on ex-President Donald Trump's Florida home.

The raid was just the most recent episode in which the former US leader was accused of playing loose with and abusing classified information.

Iranian missile site

As president, Trump had the power to unilaterally declassify information. But some of his actions stunned the US intelligence community nonetheless.

On August 30, 2019 he tweeted what was believed to be a classified high-resolution image of an Iranian rocket launch site.

"The United States of America was not involved in the catastrophic accident during final launch preparations for the Safir [Space Launch Vehicle] Launch at Semnan Launch Site One in Iran," Trump tweeted.

Israeli intelligence

On May 10, 2017 Trump met Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and ambassador Sergey Kislyak in the White House Oval Office.

In the meeting, Trump told the two Russians about intelligence the United States had received from a Middle East ally about an Islamic State plot.

The highly classified intelligence, it turned out, came from Israel, which was upset by the disclosure, according to media reports.

- Location of nuclear subs -

In April 2017 Trump told Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte that two US nuclear submarines were off the coast of North Korea, boasting of "a lot of firepower," according to a Philippines transcript of their call.

The Pentagon only very rarely discloses the location of its submarines, which are crucial to the US strategic defense force.

Secret nuclear weapons

In a 2019 interview Trump told writer Bob Woodward about an unknown US nuclear capability that may have been a specious boast, or divulged highly secret information.

"I have built a nuclear, a weapons system that nobody’s ever had in this country before," Trump told Woodward.

"We have stuff that Putin and Xi have never heard about before," he added.

Details of Special Forces raid

After a US operation killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria in October 2019, Trump, boasting of the attack, revealed numerous details that the Pentagon would normally withhold, like how many helicopters were involved, how the commandos entered the residence, and that the US had intelligence from Islamic State use of phones and the internet.

The information "could contribute to a reverse engineering of our intelligence methods by the adversary," former special operations commander Michael Nagata told Politico.
Secrecy with Putin

Trump also withheld intelligence from his spy chiefs. In July 2018 Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence, was visibly surprised at the Aspen Security Forum when the host told him the White House had tweeted that Russian President Vladimir Putin was invited to visit Washington.

"Say that again?" Coats said.

Coats also said he was in the dark about what Trump discussed in a two-hour, one-on-one meeting with the wily Russian leader three days earlier.

"I don't know what happened in that meeting," Coats said.