#21 Weekend Reads – keep the faith my friends, keep the faith

Hope this week has been ok for you. The main news this week was a continuation of the RBG story. It seemed to go rapidly from sorrow, to outrage, to fear and then political momentum started to move in the right direction faster than I’ve ever seen it happen before. One main thing stood out to me – hope grew this week.

I know many people are caught up fear right now, but empowerment is in the air. Strong momentum is building and the American public seem to have had enough. I know it’s hard to see it or feel it, but one of the things I do is track global conversations. And this is what I’m seeing.

The polls are strongly leading towards Biden, and while we lost trust in polls in the 2016 election, the percentages are much wider than they were back then. Equally, the conversation happening across all social media and the media, is reason for hope.

I know not everyone sees the world this way, but it is part of my passion for social media – observing the tapestry of conversation – the patterns, connecting the dots, understanding momentum.

Momentum in the last few years has felt dark. Repeating the worst of history seemed to be a certainty and the fact it was going to happen in one of the most unlikely places – the United States – has been alarming. We’ve all been in a bit of a stupor over that, haven’t we? It’s shocking seeing what’s going on and continues to go on.

But things are changing rapidly now. People are standing up and speaking up. We’ve seen record voter registration in States like Texas – a safe red seat that isn’t looking so safe!! Red states in the US are becoming blue, or very close to it, Republicans are running out of money, whereas RBG’s death saw record donations for the Democrats, and then we had former military and defense leaders declaring their support for Joe – check it out 22 Retired 4-Stars Join Nearly 500 NatSec Leaders in Letter Endorsing Joe Biden.

Another highlight was this news – Unanimous Senate commits to peaceful transfer of power after Trump refuses.

So keep the faith my friends, keep the faith. And speak up for the future you want to see in the world. If we allow others to control the global conversation, we will get what they want. Our power is in using the tools we have today to speak up and create the future we want for all of humanity.

And when you see some of the news around the climate crisis, we have no time to lose. Let’s get loud!!

Charity

The longer this pandemic goes on, the harder it is economically for people most impacted by this crisis. And yet, we are seeing record personal savings growth because people are spending less. If we only take care of ourselves right now, we are missing the message that if we force our neighbours into desperation, life will be worse for all. If you are able, please donate in your community, and globally, support the UN Refugee Program and World Food Program. Lets expand our generosity, not contract.

Friends content

Practicing Gratitude Brings The Clarity And Courage This Moment Requires – For Leadership & Life – a great piece from Margie Warrell. In her second quarantine, it’s a lovely reflection.

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.

Climate Crisis / 6^th Mass Extinction

Climate Disruption Is Now Locked In. The Next Move Will Be Crucial.

Extremes become routine in an emerging new Arctic – must read!!

Morrison’s rejection of 2050 net zero emissions target is at odds with Paris agreement, experts say

Our planet: too big to fail

Dear America, we too have seen red skies in Australia and we can tell you what happens next tks Karen Bergin

The U.S. Is on the Path to Destruction

Siberia landscape scarred by climate change

Flames That Won’t Die Out So Easily

For Thailand, the future is not mass tourism but a Blue Economy tks John Gordon

‘Wildfires are climate fires’: How to talk about climate emergency, global heating

Australia whales: 90 dead in mass stranding off Tasmania

Gas Companies Are Abandoning Their Wells, Leaving Them to Leak Methane Forever tks Mark Mulkerin

COVID19

National Institutes of Health staffer to ‘retire’ after being outed as author of online attacks against Dr. Anthony Fauci

‘I Feel Sorry for Americans’: A Baffled World Watches the U.S.

Why misinformation about COVID-19’s origins keeps going viral

COVID-DENIER Conspiracy theorist Trump supporter Tony Tenpenny who dismissed coronavirus as ‘socialist’ hoax is killed by disease

The Overwhelming Racism Of COVID Coverage

Why misinformation about COVID-19’s origins keeps going viral

How bad is Covid really? (A Swedish doctor’s perspective) tks Rebecca Kynaston

The only ‘circuit break’ in the pandemic we need now is from the government’s doom-mongering scientific advisers who specialise in causing panic and little else

7 dead, 177 infected after ‘superspreader’ wedding in rural US town tks David Lim

5 things scientists now know about COVID-19 — and 5 they’re still figuring out

The White House blocked the US Postal Service from sending face masks to every US household in April

Why face masks became political in the US

Covid: Is it time we learned to live with the virus?

America Needs to Lock Down Again

Melbourne is not a city in revolt. The truth is far more incredible (and far more boring) tks Phillipa Edwards

Global Politics

Lindsey Graham: ‘I’m getting killed financially tks Kimi Mc

22 Retired 4-Stars Join Nearly 500 NatSec Leaders in Letter Endorsing Joe Biden tks Frank Roberts

Trump’s Leading Pick To Replace RBG Believes Husbands Should Rule Over Wives

Kim Jong-un apologises for killing of South Korean official

Trump Describes Journalist Hit By Rubber Bullet As ‘A Beautiful Sight’

Trump Selects Amy Coney Barrett to Fill Ginsburg’s Seat on the Supreme Court

‘Vote Him Out!’: Protesters Boo Trump During Visit To Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Casket

Texas shatters voter registration records again as Trump-Biden election draws closer

Why we should listen to what Olivia Troye says about Donald Trump

Trump won’t commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he loses – tks Saxon Shirley

Donald Trump attacks China for ‘unleashing coronavirus plague onto the world’

The Election That Could Break America

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s former law clerks line up to honor her on Supreme Court steps tks Pattie Grimm

Thailand protests: Thousands join huge rally demanding reforms

Belarus protests: Opposition icon, 73, among hundreds detained in Minsk

White House Confirms The Senate Doesn’t Have Enough Time To Confirm Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee Before Election

This Republican Party Is Not Worth Saving

Pelosi won’t rule out new impeachment to delay SCOTUS vote if Biden wins tks Bob Hooey

Four New Justices, No Matter What

Honor Ginsburg and Lewis: “Vote Him Out”

Business and Technology

It’s Official — Lots of Salespeople Hate Their CRM

Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook have a plan to kill the iPhone

FinCEN Files: All you need to know about the documents leak

ESG index funds hit $250 billion as pandemic accelerates impact investing boom

Tech brands must embrace ethics to build trust with customers

Worst Shipping Crisis in Decades Puts Lives and Trade at Risk tks Glenn Van Zupthen

Facebook says it removed 1 million groups in past year for breaking rules

Big Four accounting firms unveil ESG reporting standards tks Jessica Figueras

Indigenous group apologise after accidentally blowing up Rio Tinto’s headquarters tks Mark Karklins

Social issues (#BlackLivesMatter) and humanity

Congress Finally Passes Bill To Address Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women tks Laina Raveendran Greene

Breonna Taylor: Two officers shot during Louisville protests

‘Spit on a homeless man’, ‘have sex with a woman over 80kg’: Shore School boys’ “tournament” proves male privilege prevails

JIM CARREY: “THERE IS NO ME”

Breonna Taylor: Kentucky city on edge ahead of prosecutor decision

Trump’s gene comments ‘indistinguishable from Nazi rhetoric’, expert on Holocaust says tks Frankie Lambert

‘Quite frankly terrifying’: How the QAnon conspiracy theory is taking root in the UK

Solastalgia tks Sophia Henri

To Honor Ginsburg, Democrats Have One Choice: Go Nuclear

Faces of Power: 80% Are White, Even as U.S. Becomes More Diverse tks Ginnie Cartwright

Facebook to Curb Internal Debate Over Sensitive Issues Amid Staff Discord

Saudi Arabia announces more than $200 million in UN aid funding to Yemen

Pope Francis to parents of L.G.B.T. children: ‘God loves your children as they are.’ tks Bob Hooey

Facebook Has Been A Disaster For The World

Passion, humour, history

Richie Porte’s hometown celebrates Tour de France podium finish tks Simon Kearney

Let me know if anything jumped out at you?

Cheers

Andrea

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