#43 Weekend reads – reflecting back, asking for help

A year on. This time last year I went into my first quarantine period. I had two weeks off in between and then the whole of Thailand locked down. We were slow to emerge too. It was weeks after it was officially over before we came back out into the world. Most of us were very hesitant.

For my family, it has not been a bad experience going through the pandemic from Thailand. The government has done an amazing job keeping it under control, but on the other side, it has been a disaster economically.

It is very alarming to see the scale of impact on the local community in Thailand. It is quite simply devastating. All developing countries around the world are experiencing this, and while so many of the developing countries did what was needed to get it under control, it is the global response that always mattered.

Read this: Focus on food security

Read this: Travel’s Covid-19 Blues Are Likely Here to Stay—‘People Will Go Out of Business’

And then this: Pfizer-BioNTech Shot Stops Covid Spread, Israeli Study Shows. Not peer reviewed, but promising.

By allowing it to grow as it has, with mutations and variations becoming a more severe threat, the people struggling the most will now have to struggle for longer. Getting through the first year was hard, but all economists suggest, 2021 is going to be so much worse.

And that is why, every week, I include charities to help people in developing countries get through this time. There is so much help needed, so if you are still working, still stable, and still capable, please donate where it makes sense to you. It really is time to lend a helping hand, but not just once, every month if you can.

If you can’t afford to support financially, volunteering your time is always valuable too. Equally, sharing information on social media that matters is a great contribution. You could share creative ways to make money. Mental health advice and tips. Gardening tips. And more. There is much that is needed in the world right now.

Friends content

One Year On… Natalie Turner wrote this wonderful blog, reflecting back on the year. Worth a read.

How do you know that your presentation is successful? And the fabulous Meenakshi Sarup shared these great insights, which I found incredibly valuable. Check it out.

Charity

And here are those charities. Before you scroll, please, if you can donate, donate, donate!!! Some suggestions World Food Program., UN Refugee Program, PowerOf , Kiva.org, Soi Dog Foundation. If you can afford to be generous, now is the time to help your fellow human.

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

Watch this: Attenborough gives stark warning on climate change to UN

COVID-19 outbreak: How we deal with animals and the environment threatens human health

Why Greenpeace is dropping huge boulders into the sea tks Claude Calleja

FEMA flood insurance rates could spike for some, new study shows

Texas freeze shows a chilling truth – how the rich use climate change to divide us

‘Something bit my butt’: Alaska woman using outhouse attacked by bear

Ranked: the environmental impact of five different soft drink containers tks David Lim

Climate crisis hits ‘worst case scenario’ levels – Environment Agency head

Workers clear ‘huge, disgusting’ fatberg from London sewer

5 questions to ask about any climate change solution, from Bill Gates tks Richard Lowe

Current Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation weakest in last millennium

New Zealand: Pilot whales refloated at stranding spot

Poaching is sending the shy, elusive pangolin to its doom

Fertility rate: ‘Jaw-dropping’ global crash in children being born tks David Lim

Fossil Fuel Emissions Responsible for 1 in 5 Deaths

It’s been 5 years since the Paris Agreement was adopted – here’s where we stand today

It’s snowing … in Saudi Arabia! tks Bob Hooey

COVID19

Covid US death toll: Imagining what 500,000 lost lives look like

New ‘Finnish’ Covid strain discovered may not show up in tests – and could be spreading undetected

After a year of death and solitude, Italy is a sober, serious place

When Could The United States Reach Herd Community? It’s Complicated

Gwyneth Paltrow: NHS boss urges caution over star’s long Covid regime

Covax vaccine-sharing scheme delivers first doses to Ghana

Periodontitis shown to be a risk factor in Covid-19 severity. Learn how to emphasise gum disease prevention with your patients.

See How Covid-19 Has Tested the Limits of Hospitals and Staff

Meghan McCain: Replace Dr. Fauci With Someone Who ‘Understands Science’

A Ripple Effect of Loss: U.S. Covid Deaths Approach 500,000

Covid: Anti-vaccination protests held in Australia ahead of rollout

Global Politics

Jamal Khashoggi: US says Saudi prince approved Khashoggi killing

Ex-Security Officials Spread Blame for Failures of Capitol Riot

CPAC Cancels Speaker at ‘America Uncanceled’ Conference tks Eylard Wurpel

4 More States Propose Harsh New Penalties For Protesting Fossil Fuels

Tough Sanctions, Then a Mysterious Last-Minute Turnabout

Supreme Court Denies Trump’s Final Bid to Block Release of Tax Returns tks Frank Roberts

State GOP lawmakers propose flurry of voting restrictions to placate Trump supporters, spurring fears of a backlash

Myanmar coup: witnesses describe killing of protesters as unrest continues

Trump gears up for war with his own party

Biden, Warnock, and the resurgence of the liberal Christian tks Denise Chai

Business and Technology

Farfetch reaches profitability after 12 years

Entire school board resigns after accidental public livestream

Travel’s Covid-19 Blues Are Likely Here to Stay—‘People Will Go Out of Business’

Ken Ham: The Perseverance Rover’s Budget Should Have Been Spent on Creationism

Scientists Achieve Real-Time Communication With Lucid Dreamers in Breakthrough

Can I be the first to report that social media is dead?

Social issues (#BlackLivesMatter) and humanity

Brazilian butt lift: behind the world’s most dangerous cosmetic surgery

I’m Exhausted From Trying To Be The ‘Right’ Kind Of Black Girl At Work Tks Muchanga Zebron

Cattle stranded on ship in Spain must be destroyed, say vets

China court orders man to pay wife for housework in landmark case

El Chapo’s wife Emma Coronel Aispuro arrested in US over ‘drug trafficking’

Woman admits killing maid; starved her to 24kg and assaulted her almost daily in ‘utterly inhumane’ case tks Cheryl Tan

Prince Philip has infection and is set to stay in hospital ‘for several days’

Where Have All the Houses Gone? – The New York Times

7 Truths About Women and Money

S’pore pastor apologises after asking girls to dress modestly to prevent men’s ‘lustful thoughts’ tks Shawn Lim

I, Too, Require Payment Not to Rap tks Barry Graubart

Home schooling: ‘I’m a maths lecturer – and I had to get my children to teach me’

The rise of the spornosexual, the more hardcore, body-obsessed version of metrosexuals tks Kevin Cottam

Biden, Warnock, and the resurgence of the liberal Christian tks Denise Chai

Passion, humour, history

Keep it down! Why sales of silent sex toys are surging

Prince Harry defends Netflix’s The Crown in James Corden interview

Tiger Woods car crash: Golfing great ‘awake and responsive’ following surgery

Gillian Anderson will play Eleanor Roosevelt in new series about first ladies tks Gina Giachetti

Bird flu: humans infected with H5N8 strain for first time in Russia

Boeing 777: Dozens grounded after Denver engine failure

US plane scatters engine debris over Denver homes

An Afternoon with Prince Harry & James Corden

Let me know if anything jumped out at you?

Cheers

Andrea

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