The Digital Conversationalist

Andrea T Edwards

#9 Weekend reads – have we all finally woken up to the reality of COVID19?

Another big week of news, and surely this was the week we saw global acceptance of the huge challenges facing us in overcoming the pandemic? Of course there will always be those who doubt what is right in front of their eyes, but the majority is what matters, right?

No question I’m happy to be living in Asia, where it was taken seriously from the start. It’s been lovely to enjoy a little freedom in recent weeks, because we all did what was needed to get it under control. Nearly 40 days COVID19 free where I live, and that means we can get out, knowing we are safe (while remaining cautious).

The other undercurrent starting to increase, is how badly the economy has been impacted. While it’s been part of this story since the beginning, it is getting more intense now, and I am expecting the next few weeks to see this reality gain more traction in the media.

No question, it’s going to be a tough second half of the year, with more and more businesses closing doors, and the consequent unemployment.

And that impacts us all. The global mental health challenges continue, but this week, I was surprised by the number of people telling me how hard this last week has been on them. It was for me too. The rollercoaster ride of emotions is certainly not coming to an end anytime soon, so please, make sure you’re taking care of yourselves my friends. I think we are finally appreciating that we are in this for the long haul.

The only way I know how to cope is to get busy, help those in need, create something new, or work on something I’ve been meaning to do for years but never had a chance to do it.

Of course, sometimes we just need to rest and recharge, which is perfectly respectable too. I’ve found I regularly need to prioritize recharging, or the wheels fall off – especially when facing up to the truth of this time. It ain’t easy.  

Charity: If you are able, can you donate to the UN Refugee Program and World Food Program? We have millions of people facing famine and the impact of extreme poverty. Let’s help the organizations doing the most to address these challenges. Taking care of our fellow humans is so important.

Friends content

Weekends: “We belong in space” says NASA Astronaut Dr. Cady Coleman tks Glenn van Zutphen

The Digital Conversationalist Andrea Edwards – Connect With Confidence with Kerrie Phipps tks Happy to be a guest on Kerrie Phipps podcast this week

Zimbabwe-based entrepreneur wants to create a global market for baobab products thanks for this Sarah Le Breton. Awesome to see what your brother is doing.

A Homeless Person is Camping in My Neighborhood. Why is This a Police Matter? tks Kimi Ceridon

Content to read

And here’s the content I’ve been reading this last week. Scan the headlines, read the ones that jump out at you, read or watch them all. Knowledge is power, and global knowledge is even more powerful.

COVID19

Coronavirus Cases Are Peaking Again. Here’s How It’s Different This Time tks Denise Chai

How The World Missed COVID19’s Silent Spread

Covid-crisis is Intellectual Failure: Nobel Economics Winner Paul Romer

US secures world stock of key Covid-19 drug remdesivir

Coronavirus: What’s behind alarming new US outbreaks?

Close the bars. Reopen the schools. tks Denise Chai

Coronavirus: The human cost of fake news in India

Coronavirus US: Students ‘throwing COVID parties as part of contest to see who gets it’

10 things a conspiracy theorist taught me about the novel coronavirus tks Tim Wade

Self-Absorbed, Uncaring, Incompetent: COVID Has Exposed Populist Leaders for What They Are tks Benjamin Jenkins

Scientists just beginning to understand the many health problems caused by COVID-19

Top Public Health Experts Beg Young People To Take COVID-19 Seriously

A Horrifying U.S. COVID Curve Has a Simple Explanation

Asymptomatic COVID-19 findings dim hopes for ‘herd immunity’ and ‘immunity passports’

Flu virus with ‘pandemic potential’ found in China

Scientists Identify A Swine Flu Virus With Pandemic Potential

‘Trump political base hit hardest by coronavirus’

Correction: MSNBC’s Chris Hayes Misinterpreted Oklahoma Virus Test Data

Vanilla Ice throwing Fourth of July concert: ‘We didn’t have coronavirus’ in the ’90s

Arizona closes bars, gyms and other businesses after ‘brutal’ increase in Covid-19 cases

Anthony Fauci Warns U.S. Could Reach 100,000 Coronavirus Cases Per Day

CDC says U.S. has ‘way too much virus’ to control pandemic as cases surge across country

As an inmate, I had to educate an entire prison about coronavirus

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Former Talk Radio Host, Has No More Time for Dr. Anthony Fauci

The Coronavirus Becomes a Battle Cry for U.S. Extremists

Research: “This epidemic will be a detonator” tks Francine Varner

Coronavirus: ‘I’m all for masks,’ says Trump in change of tone

Coronavirus: How an Indian wedding and funeral infected 100

He posted his regrets over attending a party in California. The next day, he died of coronavirus tks Lisa Larson Lee

Coronavirus: Immunity may be more widespread than tests suggest

#BlackLivesMatter / all racism

Man shares two lessons he learned from disrupting a racist joke in a group of white people

Sacha Baron Cohen Infiltrates Conservative Rally as Racist Country Singer

‘Black Lives Matter’ Will Be Painted on Street Outside Trump Tower

How the officers charged in George Floyd’s death could get their jobs back

Stop Firing the Innocent

Rethinking The Legacy Of Christopher Dorner, The Cop-Killing Cop

Armed St. Louis couple comes out waving AR-15 at BLM protesters

Entire pro softball team quits after GM posts an anti-kneeling tweet using their photo

‘Irish slaves’ post that’s been shared nearly a million times is basically 100% false

Climate Crisis/6th Mass Extinction

Analysis: China’s CO2 emissions surged past pre-coronavirus levels in May

Carbon dioxide at Mauna Loa reaches new record high at 417 ppm

‘Nowhere to hide’: South Pole warms up with climate change a factor

Ukraine floods: Why climate change and logging are blamed

Hawaiian Group Breaks World Record with Biggest Ocean Plastic Cleanup Ever

Beyond Google: my afternoon trawling Trove for the first mentions of climate change

Affluence is killing the planet, warn scientists

Combining climate, economic, and social policy builds public support for climate action in the US

Beyond a climate of comfortable ignorance

Arctic forecast: Sunny with a higher chance of carbon emissions

The Ugly History of Climate Determinism Is Still Evident Today

Siberia heatwave: why the Arctic is warming so much faster than the rest of the world

Why Planting Trees Won’t Save Us

Mass civil disobedience needed to force dramatic action on climate change, Jonathon Porritt says

Introducing a carbon charge in the uk.

Renewables are cheap and effective. Now, let’s make them just and humane too

Hundreds of elephants found dead in Botswana

Amazon fires at 13-year high for June

Global Politics

From pandering to Putin to abusing allies and ignoring his own advisers, Trump’s phone calls alarm US officials

Hillary Clinton taunts Trump over coronavirus management

Russia Secretly Offered Afghan Militants Bounties to Kill U.S. Troops, Intelligence Says

Donald Trump’s re-election playbook: 25 ways he’ll lie, cheat and abuse his power

Beyoncé’s BET speech: ‘Vote like our life depends on it’

GOP senator gives activists grim 2020 assessment amid fears over holding Senate

Iran issues arrest warrant for Trump; Interpol denies help

Hong Kong security law: Minutes after new law, pro-democracy voices quit

Barr interfered in SDNY cases tied to Trump interests: NYT

Australia to spend $270b building larger military to prepare for ‘poorer, more dangerous’ world and rise of China tks Domenica Hiranyagarbha DeCrea

Hong Kong begins life under a new Chinese national-security law

Trump in ‘fragile’ mood and may drop out of 2020 race if poll numbers don’t improve, GOP insiders tell Fox News tks Mary Shin

A Scathing Ad From The Lincoln Project: Betrayed

Business and technology

The Graceful Exit

Fortnite Movie Nite: Christopher Nolan’s hit films screen in-game

TikTok Tells Brands Not to ‘Make Ads’ at First-Ever NewFronts

BP sells petrochemicals business to Ineos in $5bn deal

New Analysis Says Coal’s Hit a ‘Tipping Point’ And No Longer Makes Financial Sense

Social issues and humanity

Exclusive: NRA has shed 200 staffers this year as group faces financial crisis tks Barry Graubart #ThoughtsAndPrayers indeed

The Unfathomable Stupidity of Rich White Men tks Claire Kielty

‘People will die within months’: Lebanon heads for famine as pandemic accelerates hunger tks Zai Miztiq

Millions Of Taxpayer Dollars Are Going To Schools That Push Conversion Therapy

Rape conviction rates rise 75% in Sweden after change in the law

Outrage as Indian judge calls alleged rape victim ‘unbecoming’

How conspiracy theories emerge—and how their storylines fall apart

Nagaland dog meat: Animal rights groups hail ban as ‘major turning point’

Oneness vs. The 1%: #VandanaShiva at the United Nations Office at Geneva – tks Chantal Fernandes

Passion, humour, history

First Viking ship excavation in a century begins in Norway

Hagia Sophia: Turkey delays decision on turning site into mosque

Li Zhensheng: Photographer of China’s cultural revolution

Thanks for this Phillipa Edwards!

Let me know if anything jumped out at you?

Cheers

Andrea

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Andrea T Edwards

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