It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, October 22, 2020
Japan develops deer-friendly bags in effort to stop plastic ingestion of deer population
The proposed paper bags pose less of a health risk for Japan's treasured Nara deer that tend to eat them
Japan is looking into the use of deer-friendly bags in an effort to keep the country's famed Nara deer from eating plastic bags left behind by tourists at Nara Park. A group of locals have come up with a solution to replace plastic bags with a digestible type of paper bag made from rice bran. The proposed bags pose less of a health risk for Japan's treasured Nara deer that tend to eat them.
Nara, which is a small city and a former Japanese capital located in the south of Kyoto, has a growing population of Sika deer. There are more than 1,000 deer that freely roam the park and are protected by law.
Visitors are allowed to feed the deer, provided they only give them digestive and sugar-free deer crackers, also known as "shika sembei." These crackers are specially made for this purpose and do not come in plastic packaging. However, some park visitors are believed to be feeding the deer with other snacks. They then discard the food wrappers, leaving the scent of its former contents on the wrappers which the deer eat by mistake while foraging.
In 2019, more than 4kg of tangled up plastic litter and packets were found in the stomachs of several dead deer.
Local resident Takashi Nakamura, who runs a paper company, came up with the idea of rice bran bags. He worked together with two other Nara residents who helped develop the paper bags. The bags are to be made with the combination of recycled milk cartons and rice bran, which is the same material used to make the special deer crackers.
According to the BBC, tests on the bag were conducted by the Japan Food Research Laboratories and has declared the product safe for consumption. Each bag costs around 100 yen (£0.73) compared to a normal plastic bag which typically would cost about a few pence.
Around 3,500 paper bags have already been sold to six local companies including Nara's tourism bureau, a local pharmacy, as well as a local bank. The Nara Chuo Shinkin Bank has been giving the bags to clients to help them carry documents which has become quite a popular conversation topic among local residents.
Video captured by the researchers. Snow monkey on sika deer Youtube
Infant formula: Study warns millions of microplastics leak from baby bottles
Baby bottles that were made with polypropylene could release up to 16 million particles of microplastics per litre, the study found.
Feeding babies with infant formula has become the most common way of nourishing little ones, especially in a very busy society. However, there may be danger lurking around the corner. Recent research showed that during formula preparation, high levels of microplastics leak from baby bottles.
A study published in the journal Nature Food titled, "Microplastic release from the degradation of polypropylene feeding bottles during infant formula preparation," revealed that polypropylene-made infant feeding bottles release several millions of particles per litre of microplastics. When these bottles are exposed to high-temperature water and are sterilised, they release significantly higher amounts of microplastics.
In order to estimate the exposure of infants up to 12 months old to microplastics, researchers from Trinity College Dublin surveyed 48 countries. They found that baby bottles that were made with polypropylene could release up to 16 million particles of microplastics per litre. If it is in terms of nanoplastics, which are smaller in size, the amount runs in trillions.
Another key finding of researchers was that sterilisation in hot water can significantly increase the number of microplastics released from the bottles. The researchers estimated that when the temperature increases from 25 to 95 degrees Celsius, the number of microplastics released goes up from 0.6 million to 55 million particles per litre.
Aside from infant feeding bottles, other products made with polypropylene like kettles and lunchboxes would also release similar levels. Regions with the highest levels of daily exposure to microplastics were in North America, Europe and Oceania, pegged at more than one million microplastics daily. The researchers noted that microplastic leak may be reduced significantly by modifying formula preparation and sterilisation procedures.
The researchers recommended ways on how to prepare formula and sterilise infant feeding bottles. Sterilised water may be prepared using glass or stainless steel kettle or cooker. Then, use room temperature sterilised water to rinse sterilised bottles. Do this three times at the very least.
For formula preparation, water should be boiled using a non-plastic kettle. The infant formula must be prepared in a non-plastic container using water at a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius. Thereafter, the water must be cooled down to room temperature, then the prepared formula may be transferred to an infant-feeding bottle made of high-quality plastic.
High levels of microplastic leak during infant formula preparation using plastic feeding bottles. Photo: Pixabay
Professor John Boland, one of the authors of the study from Trinity's School of Chemistry, said that they do not want to unduly alarm parents, particularly when the information on any possible health consequences on infants is not yet sufficient. However, they are calling on policymakers to reassess existing guidelines used for preparing infant formula using plastic feeding bottles.
Space debris collisions can make future launch missions even more dangerous, experts say
As it stands right now, the majority of objects that surround the planet are monitored by private firms and government agencies.
With renewed interest in space travel, news related to the risks involved with upcoming missions have caught the attention of experts around the globe. In fact, a near-collision almost happened on Thursday as a discarded rocket booster from China and an inactivated Soviet satellite narrowly missed one another. This was not reported by major space agencies or the military but was observed by LeoLabs, which analysed the data and projected a 10 percent or higher likelihood of the two objects crashing into the other.
Shortly thereafter, the United States military shared a statement that its team projected a "nearly zero percent probability of collision." A report from CNN points out that the group uses a massive array of telescopes and radars to monitor space traffic. Meanwhile, the former is a privately-owned firm which relies on ground-based radars exclusively for tracking. "We obviously have a great deal of respect for the 18th Space Control Squadron and their estimates. Nobody is disputing that these objects came close to one another," said company CEO Daniel Ceperley.
Based on calculations made by University of Texas at Austin astrodynamicist Moriba Jah, the aforementioned space debris were estimated to have been as close as 72 metres at the time. The data used was apparently taken from publicly available real-time space traffic information. He noted that the near-collision should be a wake-up call for an international collaboration to track all debris that are potentially dangerous for space traffic.
As it stands right now, the majority of objects that surround the planet are monitored by private firms and government agencies. However, these groups are hesitant to share details that would make it possible to quickly scan for threats. Ceperley said: "Multiple times a week we're seeing dead satellites come within 100 meters of each other, moving at tremendous speeds."
Large satellite dishes at the Los Angeles Broadcast Center of U.S. satellite TV operator DirecTV are seen in Los Angeles, California May 18, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Alcorn
According to sources, the Soviet satellite in question was launched in 1989 and was originally used for navigation. It measures 17 metres long with a diameter of two metres and weighs around 800 kg. The other is a 20-foot long March rocket booster from China that was launched in 2009. The most recent objects deployed in orbit are additional Starlink satellites from SpaceX. Elon Musk hopes to complete the constellation to beam down high-speed broadband internet across the globe
MUSIC Brian Wilson, Al Jardine speak out against the Beach Boys playing Donald Trump fundraiser
Brian Wilson and Al Jardine have spoken out against Mike Love's decision to have his touring version of The Beach Boys play a fundraiser for Donald Trump Sunday in Newport Beach, California.
Wilson and Jardine reached out to Variety through a spokesperson to say, "We have absolutely nothing to do with the Trump benefit today in Newport Beach. Zero. We didn’t even know about it and were very surprised to read about it in the Los Angeles Times.”
Tickets for the Trump campaign event ranged from $2,800 per donor to $150,000 a couple for co-chair status.
Love owns the license on the Beach Boys name for touring purpose, which led to Wilson and Jardine supporting a Change.org petition calling for a boycott of the touring Beach Boys after Love booked a headlining gig at the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada, with Donald Trump Jr. as the keynote speaker.
Love's support of Trump has never been a secret. His version of the Beach Boys headlined one of Trump's inaugural balls in 2017, Love telling Uncut magazine "that was a moving experience."
In that same interview, Love said, “I don’t have anything negative to say about the President of the USA,”
This latest friction between the former bandmates, who last set aside their differences for a 50th-anniversary tour in 2012, arrives just days before Love's Beach Boys make their way to Phoenix for a "Concerts in Your Car" performance at the Arizona State Fairgrounds.
Love made no mention of the Trump gig in a recent interview with The Arizona Republic about the Beach Boys drive-in, although he did discuss his strained relationship with Wilson, who's also his cousin.
Asked if he could see himself working with Wilson again, Love didn't hesitate to make it clear that he is always open to that prospect before quickly adding something guaranteed to make it hard to actually facilitate that next reunion.
"I could work with Brian anytime," he says. "That's not a problem. It's a question of whether he's permitted to come out and play."
WHO study finds Remdesivir and other repurposed drugs ineffective in COVID-19
Unfortunately, the trial results reveal that none of these medicines effectively reduce mortality, initiation of ventilation, and duration of hospital stay. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server. WHO Solidarity Trial – information to October 4, 2020 on entry, follow-up (FU) and intent-to-treat (ITT) analyses
Background information
Since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, many antiviral drugs have been repurposed to treat severely affected COVID-19 patients. Of these drugs, Remdesivir, Hydroxychloroquine, Lopinavir, and Interferon have shown promising outcomes in many studies. To evaluate the efficacy of these four drugs in reducing COVID-19 related morbidity and mortality, a large, multinational, randomized trial involving hospitalized COVID-19 patients has been conducted by a WHO expert team in March 2020. The trial protocols
The trial involved a total of 11,266 COVID-19 patients who were admitted to 405 hospitals in 30 countries. The patients were randomly divided into different drug groups. Precisely, 2,750 patients received Remdesivir, 954 received Hydroxychloroquine, 1,411 received Lopinavir, 651 received Interferon, and Lopinavir, 1412 received only Interferon, and 4088 did not receive any study drug (control group). No placebos were used in this trial.
The primary objective of the trial was to assess in-hospital mortality. In addition, initiation of ventilation and duration of hospital stay were assessed as secondary objectives. Findings of the trial
The trial findings revealed that none of the study drugs had beneficial effects on hospitalized COVID-19 patients in terms of reducing mortality, initiation of ventilation, and hospitalization duration.
Remdesivir initially developed for treating Ebola and hepatitis C patients, has been repurposed for COVID-19 treatment because of its ability to inhibit viral replication. A trial conducted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has previously shown that Remdesivir can moderately reduce the recovery time in COVID-19 patients. Based on this finding, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted emergency authorization for Remdesivir use on May 1, 2020. Presently in the United States, Remdesivir is used routinely for treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients irrespective of disease severity.
Although no effect on mortality has been observed in the NIH’s trial, a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that Remdesivir reduced mortality by 70% in COVID-19 patients receiving low-flow oxygen. The study also showed that Remdesivir effectively reduces recovery time and disease progression.
Previous studies have revealed controversial findings regarding Hydroxychloroquine and Lopinavir, with most showing no specific or significant efficacy with these drugs when treating hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Regarding Interferon, no large-scale trials assessing the mortality reduction effects have been reported.
According to the WHO experts, the “unpromising” findings of the current trial “suffice to refute early hopes” created by small-scale or non-randomized trials that any of the study drugs “will substantially reduce inpatient mortality, initiation of ventilation, or hospitalization duration.”
They mentioned in the manuscript that mortality related findings the trial showed are in line with the findings of all major clinical trials.
To study the efficacy of other therapeutic drugs, such as immunomodulators and monoclonal antibodies explicitly targeting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the trial is currently recruiting about 2,000 patients per month.
The SOLIDARITY randomized trial of 4 repurposed drugs in 11, 266 hospitalized patients with #COVID19: HCQ, Remdesivir, Interferon, Lopinavir (each vs placebo) All without effect on survival or secondary endpointshttps://t.co/YYvDwBn8wDpic.twitter.com/WDW2N3M3B9— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 15, 2020 *Important Notice
medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. Journal reference:
Written by Dr. Sanchari Sinha Dutta is a science communicator who believes in spreading the power of science in every corner of the world. She has a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree and a Master's of Science (M.Sc.) in biology and human physiology. Following her Master's degree, Sanchari went on to study a Ph.D. in human physiology. She has authored more than 10 original research articles, all of which have been published in world renowned international journals.
PERMANENT ARMS ECONOMY Canada halts transfer of drone technology to Turkey over Karabakh War Canadian Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne speaks during a press conference at the Von Wattenwyl Haus in Bern, Switzerland, 24 August 2020. Champagne is on an official visit to Switzerland. EPA-EFE/ANTHONY ANEX
Canada’s foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on Monday said he has suspended export permits to NATO ally Turkey, which is backing Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Champagne added he had instructed officials to investigate claims that Canadian drone technology is being used in the fighting. The move follows reports that Ankara has deployed dozens of unmanned aircraft in combat against Armenian forces in the region. Morocco has also announced a boycott of Turkish goods over the conflict.
Armenia and Azerbaijan were part of the Soviet Union and have been involved in a territorial conflict since gaining independence within the 1990s. The main issue is the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians.
The fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh escalated on September 27. Each side has accused the other of targeting civilians. Both sides have rejected talks and ignored growing international calls for a ceasefire.
Turkey, which has military cooperation deals with Azerbaijan, accused Canada of creating obstacles concerning the export of military equipment to Turkey “in a way that does not comply with the spirit of alliance”: “Our expectation from Canada, is to lead a policy that stays away from double standards, to act without falling under the influence of anti-Turkish groups in the country and without being trapped by narrow political interests”, Turkey’s foreign ministry said.
According to figures by the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly, Turkey’s military exports to its ally Azerbaijan have risen six-fold before the fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh broke out.
Electric cars emit more than ‘regular’ ones? Not so fast, new research shows It's one myth that just needs to go away, scientists say.
Pick a region of the globe — any region. There’s a 95% chance electric cars in that area will be greener than petrol cars, even if the electricity comes from fossil fuels. In some areas, the difference is already huge.
The sale of electric cars is taking off in the world. Places like Scandinavia, China, California, or Japan are leading the way, but the rest of the world is also catching up. It’s a bumpy road, however, and misleading myths aren’t helping.
A particularly pervasive myth is that electric cars aren’t really that eco-friendly, that they produce more emissions than regular old cars. But while electric cars have their own environmental concerns (especially in regards to the elements in their batteries), when it comes to emissions at least, electric cars are almost always better. A study recently published in Nature clearly shows it.
The new research from the universities of Nijmegen in The Netherlands, and Exeter and Cambridge in the United Kingdom, shows that in 95% of the world, driving an electric car produces fewer emissions than a petrol car.
The team split the entire globe into 59 regions and found that in 53 of them (covering 95% of the global landmass, and including the US, China, and Europe) electric cars are already less emission-intensive than fossil-fuel alternatives.
The study covered the entire lifecycle assessment of cars, including production and driving emissions, and the differences were striking.
In countries like Sweden and Denmark (which get most of their electricity from renewables) or France (which is largely powered by nuclear), the margin is particularly large: electric cars emit about 70% less over their lifetime. But what’s perhaps more surprising is that even in countries where the bulk of the electricity comes from fossil fuels, electric cars still produce fewer emissions.
For instance, in the UK, renewables account for around 20% of the country’s electricity, and still, electric car emissions are 30% lower on average. Of course, there are substantial differences between different types of cars (which is also why it’s so difficult to carry out reviews and averages as there are so many different parameters to consider) — but when we take into consideration all the cars on the street, from newer, efficient cars, to high emission junk cars, electric cars seem to fare better.
This is in line with previous estimates (and even a bit more conservative than some). For instance, a 2019 lifetime assessment in the UK found that a Nissan Leaf EV, one of the most popular electric cars, produces three times fewer emissions than the average conventional car, even before accounting for the falling carbon intensity of electricity generation forecasted for the future.
It’s worth noting that sometimes, analyses come with different conclusions. Most notably, a recent working paper from a group of German researchers concluded that “electric vehicles will barely help cut CO2 emissions in Germany over the coming years”. However, the study was not peer-reviewed and other experts were very critical of it. Meanwhile, verified, peer-reviewed studies showed the exact opposite: electric cars have substantially lower emissions.
To sum things up, the vast majority of evidence indicates that electric cars are cleaner than fossil fuel cars, even after considering the production process and the entire lifecycle. Myth — busted.
Jean-Francois Mercure, of Exeter University, a co-author of the study, concludes: “The answer is clear: to reduce carbon emissions, we should choose electric cars and household heat pumps over fossil fuel alternatives.”
The paper “Net emission reductions from electric cars and heat pumps in 59 world regions over time” was published in the journal Nature Sustainability.
Senior Contributor FORBES Leadership Strategy Insights into the psychology underlying critical choices in business
LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 26: A protestor holding a placard attends a "We Do Not Consent" ... [+] GETTY IMAGES
It’s common these days for people to talk about denial. But less often do we hear what can be done about it. Without a sound understanding of what denial is and how it operates, efforts to alter attitudes and behaviors founded on denial are bound to fail. Yet inroads are possible if they are based on an in-depth understanding of the phenomenon.
Denial is pernicious and can have dire impacts. Climate change denial leads to lack of action that would preserve a healthy planet. Mask denial leads to increased spread of and mortality from the COVID virus. Denial of sexual abuse leads to horrific instances where an abuser is allowed to persist in their malfeasance for years because those responsible for the institutions in which they operated—schools, churches, companies, scouts, etc) refused to face the terrible reality that existed under their own roofs.
What can be done?
Here are seven steps for leaders, message crafters and policy makers to consider if they want to undermine denial that is threatening public health, the fate of the earth or simply individual well being.
1. Understand what denial is and how it operates. Freud and the psychoanalysts that followed him identified denial as one of a slew of defense mechanisms—mental maneuvers people use to protect themselves from painful, bad or unwanted feelings. Denial is so powerful because it works. In the short run, warding off bad feelings by denying something scary or hard to comprehend makes the denier feel better. There is an immediate release of tension. No matter how bad the long term consequences of denial may be, the short term immediate positive benefit must be acknowledged.
2. Analyze and identify with as much specificity as possible the bad feelings that are being warded off by the defensive action. Helplessness in the face of climate change? Inconvenience and fear regarding wearing masks? Guilt about personal responsibility? A good defense mechanism may serve to help a person (or group) avoid a number of painful emotions.
3. Understand that logic and information will never defeat denial. Public health officials and climate scientists have learned this painful lesson. Messaging needs to be emotional, personal, vivid, direct. Remember that denial operates because it protects against painful emotion so it can only be attacked by dealing with painful emotion in an emotionally vivid way.
Consider this ad from the Lincoln Project, the coalition of veteran Republican strategists that have organized to defeat Trump in the current election.
The information presented isn’t new to the viewer. But the sonorous voice in the background reciting the names of the dead, combined with the visual images stop time for a moment. Thought the intention is to convey a message, “Defeat trump,” the ad would be equally effective if it concluded “Just Wear a mask.”
4. Analyze the factors that are reinforcing denial in this specific situation. Since denial is so effective and efficient in diminishing anxiety and other rotten emotions, it doesn’t take much to keep it going. Groupthink—the tendency of people to jump on the bandwagon when a belief is popular among the people they relate to—can powerfully reinforce denial. Nullifying the effect of groupthink is difficult and leadership plays a major role.
5. Don’t underestimate the role of leadership. If leaders are seen as braving the uncomfortable feelings and ideas that denial could be warding off, then those that look up to them will be more likely to find the strength to do so as well. Conversely, if leaders engage in denial either explicitly or implicitly, those they lead will double down on the position of avoidance.
6. Empathize with the person who is struggling to grapple with an uncomfortable reality. Instead of just touting the importance and safety of vaccinations, say “I realize it’s incredibly hard to get your kids vaccinated when most of the Mom’s in your community say it’s bad for them.”
7. Reinforce and applaud the courage it takes for someone to tolerate anxiety, uncertainty, guilt and bucking the opinions of their friends and families rather than resorting to the quick fix of denial.
Without defense mechanisms, we would be paralyzed. If every source of anxiety or uncertainty were faced all the time in its full glory, we would not be able to get in a car, make an investment or even cross the street. Defense mechanisms like denial are irrational but protective. Avoiding fright, guilt, dread and discomfort feels good, in the moment. To outsmart denial it’s crucial to respect its power, appreciate its adaptive value, appeal to emotion not intellect and offer the alternative of braving short term anxiety and emotional distress for a long term gain.
Prudy Gourguechon is a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who advises leaders in business and finance on the underlying psychology of critical decisions. She is currently working on a book, "Starting Older: Understanding and Making the Most of a New Life Stage." As a consultant, she works with senior leaders and investors to help them manage complex business relationships and navigate critical business decisions and transitions. Her unique perspective helps uncover the irrational, emotional and idiosyncratic forces that lie beneath both every day and transformative business decisions. This perspective prevents stalled strategies and repetitive, costly mistakes and helps rising leaders move up. Her consulting work is informed by 35 years of experience as a psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and organizational leader (She is a past President of the American Psychoanalytic Association). Dr. Gourguechon has developed a model of leadership assessment and development that spells out the fundamentals of character and cognition that a leader with responsibility for fates and fortune must have. See her LA Times op-ed and interview on The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell for a preview. She invites people in finance to download her free e-book looking at the psychology of investing through a psychoanalytic lens available on her website. Visit her website, http://www.invantageadvising.com/ and follow on Twitter (@pgourguechon) for updates.
As White House eyes 'herd immunity,' Sweden's no-mask approach is failing to contain COVID-19
BARCELONA — Fresh from arrival at Spain’s El Prat Airport, the bald, middle-aged man strode across the terrace of a popular Barcelona restaurant, giving bear hugs and dramatically kissing old friends as well as new acquaintances. “He was touching everybody and spit-talking,” said Carmen Oko, a teacher, “and he kept coughing in everyone’s faces.” When Oko yelled across the terrace demanding that the visitor cover his mouth when he coughed, he told her to stop being paranoid, everyone would eventually get COVID-19 anyway.
When another witness to the spectacle asked why he was blatantly defying public health recommendations, he said that Spain, where face masks are mandated (except for in restaurants, now believed to be a major source of spread), has it all wrong. The correct approach, he said, was that of his home country of Sweden, where the government has taken a laissez-faire attitude, strongly discouraging mask use, emphasizing personal responsibility and giving at least the appearance of encouraging herd immunity by allowing some to get sick until a base immunity is established. It is a concept gaining favor in the Trump administration, whose policies increasingly reflect the minority views of the president’s coronavirus adviser, Dr. Scott Atlas, a radiologist with no expertise in epidemiology or public health.
DOCTOR QUACK
Dr. Scott Atlas, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, at the White House on Oct. 12. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)
But in hard-hit Spain, which has the highest cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in the European Union and where, with national cases surging over 13,000 a day, capital Madrid is again under lockdown and new restrictions are going into effect all over the country, that behavior was considered outrageous, driving at least one patron out of the restaurant and home, he said, to shower.
“Now Sweden has the lowest COVID rate in all Europe,” the visitor boasted, though statistics refute his claim. Not to mention that he was ignoring even the recommendations that the Swedish Public Health Agency did make, including social distancing, frequent washing of hands and coughing into elbows.
With infection rates now rising in Sweden — though not to the extremes of countries such as Spain, France, Belgium and the U.K. — the Swedish prime minister himself recently implored his countrymen to stop hugging and kissing their friends, and for youth to stop partying, all factors blamed for the uptick in cases to more than 600 a day, up from around 100 at summer’s end.
A country larger than California in size but with a mere 10 million residents, Sweden is the renegade country that’s turned into an internationally observed lab experiment in COVID-19 control. In the early days of the pandemic, the Swedish government was slammed for being reckless, even by Trump — refusing the lockdowns adopted by its Scandinavian neighbors and keeping most everything open, businesses, restaurants and schools (except for students older than 15, whose classes went online). But with the ascendancy of Atlas, who has praised the Swedish model, it’s getting another look.
The Public Health Agency has denied that it ever sought to achieve herd immunity by letting much of its society get sick (although that assertion is contradicted in the agency’s emails) but rather tried to balance the impact on hospitals with concerns about the economy. Whatever its original motives, it remains unconventional in its policies, including dismissing the use of face masks, saying they give false security, a contention that one vocal group of Swedish health and science researchers and professionals, calling itself Vetenskapsforum (Science Forum) COVID-19, takes issue with, along with most of the Swedish government’s approach.
Face masks in a shop in Stockholm in August. (Tom Little/AFP via Getty Images)
In a video titled “You Should Be Protected,” the group says the Swedish government’s anti-mask messaging, and the idea that the face coverings themselves are dangerous because they are so difficult to use correctly, have become so ingrained that public employees, from teachers to ophthalmologists to nurses, have been badgered, even fired, for wanting to wear masks. The group also contends that anti-face-covering policy may be linked to unnecessary deaths.
“Mortality in Sweden has by far exceeded the mortality observed in the other Nordic countries,” the group states on its website. “Sweden is actually today among the highest countries in the world when it comes to deaths per capita from COVID-19.” In fact, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, Sweden’s death rates put it at No. 17 among the world’s 191 countries.
With nearly 6,000 deaths — about half of those in its eldercare facilities, where 7 percent of residents have died — the Swedish mortality rate (58.12 per 100,000), adjusted for population, is five times as high as neighboring Denmark’s (11.83 per 100,000), nearly 12 times as high as Norway’s (5.23 per 100,000) and only a little better than the U.S.’s (67.28 per 100,000). The country’s coronavirus infection rate also remains far higher — twice that of Denmark and three times as high as Norway’s, both of which encourage mask use.
Vetenskapsforum COVID-19 asserts that due to a paucity of testing at the start of the pandemic and the types of tests used in Sweden, the number of cases could actually be far higher than reported.
Whatever the actual numbers, with a second wave slamming Europe — leading France to impose a nationwide 9 p.m. curfew, and Belgium and the Netherlands to shutter bars and eateries — the Swedish government appears to be backpedaling, or at least considering modifying its hands-off stance. Last week the national health agency handed localities the right to decide their own policies, which may lead to municipal mask mandates, even partial lockdowns of hard-hit cities like college town Uppsala.
The rising rates in Sweden have compelled Denmark to flag it as a no-go zone. “We Danes always admired Sweden as a good society,” says Peter Julius, who is training to be a hypnotherapist. “But since coronavirus, and their no-mask policy, we’re like, ‘What are you doing?’”
People, most wearing protective masks, at a train station in Aarhus, Denmark, in August. (Ritzau Scanpix/Bo Amstrup via Reuters)
But polls show that the government’s policies, while declining somewhat in approval, still remain popular in the country, with 58 percent supporting the policies of the Public Health Agency. And though the Swedish “it’s up to you” model may well not work in other countries, Swedes are quick to point out that their situation is unique. “Sweden is sparsely populated, and nearly half the population lives in one-person households,” notes Helena Centerwall, a Swede running a bed-and-breakfast in Spain. “It’s easier to isolate if you’re already isolated.”
“Swedes socially distance by nature,” says Ann Sjostrom, who works as a substitute teacher in a town an hour’s drive from Stockholm. “We stay at home. When we go out, we go for walks in nature.”
And the transportation authorities are encouraging Swedes to avoid mass transit. “Why not ride your bike?” asks the website of one regional bus service. “Or do you really need to go out at all?”
“I like the Swedish way more,” says psychotherapist Ulf Hedqvist, who divides his time between Barcelona and Västeras, Sweden. On a recent trip to Barcelona, he noted two behaviors that have certainly contributed to the rising numbers in Spain. While most locals wore masks, “many failed to cover their nose — some even wore the masks on their throats,” he says. And it’s easier to socially distance in Sweden. “Here, we’re not kissing and hugging all the time like they do in Barcelona,” he says. Yet another factor for the surge in Spain, say commuters: jam-packed rush-hour metro cars — a situation that has prompted protests in Madrid.
Spanish health care workers protesting on Tuesday outside a hospital in Madrid to demand better working conditions. (Burak Akbulut/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Former heart surgeon Gunnar Brandrup-Wognsen, who volunteered in the ICU of a Göteborg hospital during the peak of Sweden’s outbreak, likewise supports his government’s approach. He’s been dismayed when he travels to other countries, such as France, and sees many using “cheap, ineffective masks” that they put on, then pull off and keep reusing, giving a sense of false security. “You think you’re safe, so then you don’t adhere to social distancing,” he says. Despite a slowness to test and trace, and the loss of so many seniors, he believes Sweden has done a fine job of balancing public health and hospital concerns with the economy and society. “Of course we won’t know if this was the right approach until we can look back in the rearview mirror.”
But dissent in the country where very few don face coverings can be found in surprising places. Take, for instance, Jack Sjöstrom, a high school senior. “The World Health Organization recommends wearing masks,” he says, “and I’m going to listen to them.” The civics major finds the Swedish approach “pretty worrying,” wants more “evidence-based” policies and is concerned about Sweden’s relatively high death rate. The only one in his family to wear a face mask, which he uses whenever he leaves home, he’s also the only one in his school to wear one in class, which has led to some mockery. “Some kids fake-cough whenever they see me in my mask,” he says. But, being good Swedes, they fake-cough into their elbows.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are ‘grifters in the White House,’ says Ronald Reagan’s son
The son of the 40th president says Donald Trump’s daughter and son-in-law have ‘no qualifications whatsoever to work in the White House.’
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner look on as US President Donald Trump, places a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Warrior during a tour of Westminster Abbey in central London, on day one of his state visit to the UK. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday June 3, 2019. See PA story ROYAL Trump. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
As the son of the late Ronald Reagan, Ron Reagan certainly knows something about the role of adult children in a president’s political life and administration. One key thing, as he says in a CNN interview: They shouldn’t be working in the White House.
But Reagan also goes further when asked what he thinks about Donald Trump giving his daughter, Ivanka Trump, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, jobs as senior advisers in his administration.
“Well, they’re certainly entitled to go campaign for their dad,” Reagan said of Trump’s children. “My eldest brother and sister did that, and there’s nothing wrong with that. When you cross the line is — I hate to say it here and I don’t mean to be blunt — but we’ve got a bunch of grifters there in the White House. They’re treating this as a grift.”
Ex-president's son calls out Trump's kids: They have no qualifications for their WH roles CNN
Ron Reagan, son of former President Ronald Reagan and former first lady Nancy Reagan, tells CNN's Ana Cabrera that his father would "be horrified" by the Republican Party of today. He added that the Trump children are profiting off of their father's presidency as "grifters.
Reagan, the son of the 40th president and his wife, Nancy Reagan, explains his “grifter” statement by saying the Trump family is “mixing business with pleasure” or “business with statecraft.”
“They’re using the hotels and the golf clubs to profit off the presidency,” he said. “Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have no qualifications whatsoever to be in the position they’re in. Zero. Zip. And they’re using it to make money, basically.”
The non-partisan watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW) has documented multiple instances of potentially unethical conduct and conflicts of interest by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, the Daily Beast reported. The conduct ranges from Ivanka Trump receiving trademarks from the Chinese government while her father was in talks with the Chinese president to a complaint CREW filed with the U.S. Justice Department in 2019, asking it to look into whether the couple violated federal law by profiting from a tax program they had championed.
CREW’s Executive Director Noah Bookbinder explained in 2019: “Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have continued to conduct themselves in ways that create a real possibility that they are capitalizing on their roles as government officials to enrich themselves.”
Ron Reagan Jr., son of former President Ronald Reagan touches the casket of his father during his speech on June 11, 2004 in Simi Valley, California. Reagan died of pneumonia due to complications with Alzheimer’s at age 93 at his home in California and will be laid to rest at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on June 11 in Simi Valley, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Ron Reagan famously departed from his conservative icon father on politics, although he didn’t speak out on his liberal views until after his father left the White House in 1989. Reagan is an atheist who has worked as a liberal political commentator and MSNBC contributor, and he was outspoken about his opposition to George W. Bush’s presidency, speaking at the 2004 Democratic National Convention.
More recently, he has called Trump “a traitorous president who is betraying his country.” In a 2020 interview with the Daily Beast, Reagan said his father would not want Republicans voting for Trump.
“The Republican party at this point, for a whole host of reasons to do with Donald Trump, is an entirely illegitimate political party just made up of a bunch of sycophantic traitors mouthing Kremlin propaganda to defend this squalid little man who is occupying the White House,” Reagan told the Daily Beast.
“This is a dying party,” he said. “They either have to remake themselves entirely or they will disappear eventually. Within a decade the Republican Party will be a minor fringe group if it continues going this way.”
Reagan repeated these sentiments about the Republican party in his interview with CNN, saying his father would be “horrified” by what the party has become under the leadership of Trump.
Ron Reagan
JIM SPELLMAN/WIREIMAGE "PROUD ATHEIST NOT AFRAID OF GOING TO HELL"
“The spinelessness in the face of this pathological entity in the White House right now would shock him,” Reagan said.
“Donald Trump has done a tremendous amount of damage to this party,” he said. “When I think of my father, I think of words like ‘integrity,’ ‘decency,’ ‘dignity,’ ‘honor,’ and ‘patriotism.’ Not nationalism, but patriotism. All of those qualities are in very short supply in this White House, and frankly, the Republican party has been complicit in degrading those values.”
Nonetheless, Reagan said Republicans today shouldn’t look back to the time of his father, but toward the future.
“It’s going to be a dark road or it’s gonna be a more progressive road,” he said. “So I don’t think going back to the days of Ronald Reagan is the answer for the Republican party, but they don’t have much else. They really don’t have much else.”
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A sight that’s bound to become more and more familiar: an electric car being charged. Image credits: Chuttersnap / Unsplash.
![Ron Reagan](https://imagesvc.meredithcorp.io/v3/mm/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F20%2F2020%2F10%2F20%2FRon-Regan-Jr.jpg&q=85 "Ron Reagan Signs Copies Of "My Father At 100"")