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afeelgoodblog · 4 months

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The Best News of Last Year - 2023 Edition

Welcome to our special edition newsletter recapping the best news from the past year. I've picked one highlight from each month to give you a snapshot of 2023. No frills, just straightforward news that mattered. Let's relive the good stuff that made our year shine.

January - London: Girl with incurable cancer recovers after pioneering treatment

A girl’s incurable cancer has been cleared from her body after what scientists have described as the most sophisticated cell engineering to date.

2. February - Utah legislature unanimously passes ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy

The Utah State Legislature has unanimously approved a bill that enshrines into law a ban on LGBTQ conversion therapy.

3. March - First vaccine for honeybees could save billions

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the world’s first-ever vaccine intended to address the global decline of honeybees. It will help protect honeybees from American foulbrood, a contagious bacterial disease which can destroy entire colonies.

4. April - Fungi discovered that can eat plastic in just 140 days

Australian scientists have successfully used backyard mould to break down one of the world's most stubborn plastics — a discovery they hope could ease the burden of the global recycling crisis within years. 

5. May - Ocean Cleanup removes 200,000th kilogram of plastic from the Pacific Ocean

The Dutch offshore restoration project, Ocean Cleanup, says it has reached a milestone. The organization's plastic catching efforts have now fished more than 200,000 kilograms of plastic out of the Pacific Ocean, Ocean Cleanup said on Twitter.

6. June - U.S. judge blocks Florida ban on care for trans minors in narrow ruling, says ‘gender identity is real’

A federal judge temporarily blocked portions of a new Florida law that bans transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, ruling Tuesday that the state has no rational basis for denying patients treatment.

7. July - World’s largest Phosphate deposit discovered in Norway

A massive underground deposit of high-grade phosphate rock in Norway, pitched as the world’s largest, is big enough to satisfy world demand for fertilisers, solar panels and electric car batteries over the next 50 years, according to the company exploiting the resource.

8. August - Successful room temperature ambient-pressure magnetic levitation of LK-99

If the claim by Sukbae Lee and Ji-Hoon Kim of South Korea’s Quantum Energy Research Centre holds up, the material could usher in all sorts of technological marvels, such as levitating vehicles and perfectly efficient electrical grids.

9. September - World’s 1st drug to regrow teeth enters clinical trials

The ability to regrow your own teeth could be just around the corner. A team of scientists, led by a Japanese pharmaceutical startup, are getting set to start human trials on a new drug that has successfully grown new teeth in animal test subjects.

10. October - Nobel Prize goes to scientists behind mRNA Covid vaccines

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to a pair of scientists who developed the technology that led to the mRNA Covid vaccines. Professors Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman will share the prize.

11. November - No cases of cancer caused by HPV in Norwegian 25-year olds, the first cohort to be mass vaccinated for HPV.

Last year there were zero cases of cervical cancer in the group that was vaccinated in 2009 against the HPV virus, which can cause the cancer in women.

12. December - President Biden announces he’s pardoning all convictions of federal marijuana possession

President Joe Biden announced Friday he's issuing a federal pardon to every American who has used marijuana in the past, including those who were never arrested or prosecuted.

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And there you have it – a year's worth of uplifting news! I hope these positive stories brought a bit of joy to your inbox. As I wrap up this special edition, I want to thank all my supporters!

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

#best news of last week

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drsibia · 1 year

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allthecanadianpolitics · 3 months

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A study conducted by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control has found that prescribing medical-grade opioids dramatically reduced the rates of deaths and overdoses for drug users living in B.C. The study, published in the British Medical Journal, is described as "the first known instance of a North American province or state providing clinical guidance to physicians and nurse practitioners for prescribing pharmaceutical alternatives to patients at risk of death from the toxic drug supply." Researchers looked at anonymized health-care data of 5,882 people between March 2020 and August 2021, all of whom had opioid or stimulant use disorder. Those individuals filled a prescription under the B.C. Risk Mitigation Guide — clinical guidance developed in March 2020 to allow for physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to reduce deaths through harm reduction.

Tagging @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #canada #canadian politics #canadian news #british columbia #public health #harm reduction #drug usage #harm reduction works #overdose #research

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rohanjain1814 · 2 years

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Steps Clarus Eye Centre has taken to ensure your health and safety as you visit their eye care center

#clarus eye centre #eye care centre #covid #hygiene #health

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asthmabhawan-blog · 2 years

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Mucous membranes line your nose, mouth, and eyes. The virus comes in contact with healthy cells and multiplies within them. It reaches and infects nearby cells. The lining of the respiratory tract gets inflamed. Hence, the infection and inflammation can even extend up to the lungs.

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stsgluver · 6 months

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summary. instead of spending two weeks in a hot country, you're stuck in a cramped hotel with your boyfriend.

wc. 1.3k

tags. richly!gojo au, fluff, slightly suggestive themes but not really you've got to squint hard, swearing once

series masterlist

“i’m literally dying,” gojo whined, falling back dramatically onto the double bed in the room.

you shot him a glare from where you sat on the floor, searching through your suitcase for ibuprofen which you had grabbed in the airport’s pharmacy to help with the searing headache you had. despite his tendency to have migraines that could leave him bedridden for days, gojo had decided not to bring any painkillers just in case and that was just one of many reasons you might be killing him before the fortnight is over. “if you complain one more time you will be dead.”

you were meant to be going on a two week, all inclusive holiday with your darling boyfriend and his mega rich family in a hot foreign country, the worries of college pushed far to the back of your mind for fourteen days of pure bliss.

but fate clearly didn’t think you’d earnt such restbite as upon arrival and taking the mandatory test, both you and gojo had tested positive for covid-19. the light sniffles he had put down to hayfever and the headache you’d assumed was just what came with having gojo satoru as a boyfriend, were in fact symptoms of the illness you both had.

so now here you were: isolating in a small hotel room until your isolation period was up, or you both tested negative. it was sparsely decorated – a double bed in the centre of the room and a television opposite. there was a small open wardrobe where gojo had dumped his suitcase and an ensuite that would just about fit your lanky boyfriend. although not the best, there was some air conditioning as well which made the stifling heat just a little bit more bearable.

the staff had given you a specific number to call if either of your symptoms got worse and food would be brought to you at specific times everyday (not like the usual room service gojo was used to where he’d order banquets of food at stupid times in the morning). there were also the morning tests that you now had to do daily which left you pathetically sneezing afterwards. all in all, nothing that you had expected for your get away.

after finally finding the medication, you quickly swallowed two pills down with a sip of water. the sooner they could kick in and actually do something to help ease your discomfort, the better.

crawling onto the double bed, gojo welcomed you with open arms and you gratefully curled into his side, throwing one of your legs over him. yes, it was boiling and yes, you were mildly irritated with your boyfriend, but you were also in pain and, for all his flaws (which he denied having any), nothing could top being held close by him. the two of you were clingy with each other at the best of times – being ill and feeling sorry for yourselves only made you both worse.

“pass me the remote,” you patted the space next to gojo blindly, too lazy to lift your head to actually search for it. it had now been almost an hour of you two cuddled up on the bed, and for the last thirty minutes gojo had been rewatching the same show over and over. whilst you headache had marginally subsided, listening to the same crappy show was only driving you insane.

“no, i like this show,” gojo whined, swatting your hand away.

“satoru,” you dragged out, muffled as you pressed your face further into his top, “you’ve watched this episode three times, you don’t need to watch it again.”

gojo hummed thoughtfully, running his hands through your hair. it was enough to make you fall asleep if you weren’t careful. “yes i do.”

“why?” you rested your chin on his chest, meeting the gaze of his bright blue eyes that sparkled as they looked down at you.

“because i’m ill.” he coughed twice for affect, sounding as pathetic as ever as he ‘checked’ himself for a fever too.

you narrowed your eyes at him before pinching his side, causing him to let out a small yelp. “who’s fault is that?”

“covid’s.”

“no. yours,” you said pointedly, a little more alert as you relayed all the reasons why it was in fact gojo’s fault that you both had contracted this illness. “i said don’t go to geto’s party, we’re about to go on a very expensive holiday. you said but baby please please please-” you huffed, rolling back onto your back next to him defiantly. “so i gave in, as per, and now we’re–”

gojo brought his other hand to messily pat the top of your head, coaxing you to turn to face him. “i love it when you’re mad,” he was wearing a shit-eating grin that only widened when you blankly stared back at him – your annoyance radiating off of you in waves more powerful than the ones you could’ve been enjoying on the sun-ridden beach. “you’re so sexy.”

“you’re corny. and annoying,” you sat yourself up as you held out your hand, lifting a finger with each complaint, “and stupidly tall, and a pain in my ass… and i feel like you’re not even listening.”

gojo crossed his arms behind his head as he condescendingly nodded along, gazing up at you with a lopsided smile. his top had risen up ever so slightly to expose a sliver of his abs and you hated how attractive he looked when all you wanted to do was throttle him for his childish behaviour.

“oh i’m listening baby,” he encouraged with a teasing tone, tracing small patterns on the exposed skin of your leg. “go on.” there was a fire in his wake, one that no hot weather could ever compare to, not even covid had this much of an affect on you.

“i don’t think i want to anymore,” you mumbled arms crossed as you slowly lay back down and avoided his eyes, trying not to give him any indication that you were a complete fool for his touch (like your sudden bashfulness wasn’t completely giving you away).

gojo was slow with his movements, thoughtful as he dragged his hand up along your thigh, grazing your hips, giving your waist a light squeeze as he traced the outline of your body. your breath was caught in your throat as you allowed him to do as he pleased, all previous grievances forgiven as you watched entranced. gradually, he closed the gap that you had created, shifting his body until he straddled you, holding his body up by resting on his forearms either side of your head.

gojo dipped his head down, lips milimetres from your own that you would barely even need to lift your head from the pillow to touch. his voice was an octave deeper as he spoke. “shame, i was just starting to–”

and then he fell into a fit of very loud and very barky and very not sexy coughs. he didn’t even give you the decency of trying to limit the spread of his germs and buried his head into the crook of your neck once his coughs were over.

“mood fucking ruined,” you hit his shoulder lightly and he babbled something that was completely muffled and only tickled as his lips brushed your skin. “please let me at least change the channel so i die from this illness and not insanity.”

gojo lifted his head up ever so slightly, just enough so that he could peck the corner of your lips and point to the spot next to you. “i slipped the remote under my pillow. tv’s all yours baby.”

a/n. I think this is like the first thing ive posted in almost a month. I MISS YOU GUYS xxx

taglist. @jar-03 @animeflower26 @hyori2

#— toru!!#satoru #gojo drabbles #gojo x reader #gojo #gojo satoru #gojou satoru x you #gojo fluff #gojou satoru #rich boy!gojo

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themori-witch · 1 month

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As per request by a lovely anon, here are some general updates about me and my life:

I adopted four female rats from the RSPCA last year. It took some work but they are very sweet and silly. Their names are Tali, Liara, Kasumi, and Aria.

Due to an incident in which I was lied to by the employee of a major retailer about two of the rats in their adoption centre, Kasumi and Aria ended up pregnant. I now have 6 beautiful little baby rats as a result. They're gorgeous and doing very well, as are the mothers. They're 5 weeks old.

I'm still in a relationship with my lovely gamer boyfriend. We'll be celebrating 7 years together this year. 💕

Health stuff... I'll try to condense this:

- After a barrage of tests, cameras, scans, and more, I was officially told that I have severe Gastroparesis, which we all but knew. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the end of it. No further appointments, no medication to help symptoms - nothing. I was very much left to fend for myself, and that led to two hospitalizations, one in December of 2023 and one in February of 2024.

- December wasn't unfamiliar territory: 20 hours of vomiting and being unable to keep anything down led to my blood sugars being extremely high (Diabeyic Ketoacidosis). I stayed in for a few days after the DKA cleared up for monitoring.

- February was... terrifying. Started off the same as December with ceaseless vomiting, but the vomit turned to blood, and I could not stop bringing it up. Couldn't move, keep anything down, vision loss and lots, and lots of bringing up blood. I was in agony. I was rushed to A&E, where I was given anti-emetics and pain relief regularly through the many IVs I had in. Once the vomiting stopped, I was faced with another issue: my oesophagus was so inflamed and damaged that I couldn't eat or drink. I was kept in for 5 days and told that I was at risk of refeeding syndrome as I'd not eaten properly for about 3 days prior to admission. Luckily, that didn't happen, mostly because I was physically incapable of having more than a spoonful of yoghurt or mashed potato for over a week. We found out via my discharge papers that I'd had an Upper GI Haemorrhage. Scary scary scary. One good thing did happen after this admission, though! The team caring for me were absolutely outraged that I'd just been ignored since diagnosis, and I was sent home with an array of medication that has really helped me to get a handle on my symptoms during a flare up.

- Oh! I managed to catch Covid-19 quite literally on Yule and was very sick throughout New Year. I am vaccinated but caught a strain from Finland from a family member who had been there just before Yule.

I got another tattoo! It's one that I've wanted for almost a decade and I thought, given the stuff I've dealt with in the last 4 months, I deserve a treat.

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thiziri · 1 year

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‘An honour to showcase our work’: Princess Royal visits community stables.

The British Horse Society (BHS) recently welcomed their Vice-Patron, HRH The Princess Royal to a riding school in Birmingham to see how it is benefiting young people in the area.

Summerfield Stables is an inclusive community group with a core aim to ensure that all children and young people, regardless of sex, race, age or disability, in the local area have the opportunity to interact with horses, and the benefits this can bring.

This comes at a time when the equine industry’s riding centres and livery yards continue to face great challenges, with the BHS reporting a 15% reduction in riding schools since 2018.

“It was an honour to host HRH The Princess Royal and to showcase the important role that horses have in our community, as well as the difference they make to children’s lives,” said Georgian Urwin, Volunteer and Part-Qualified Stage 4 Coach at Summerfield Stables.

“Founded in 1970 by Roslyn Tedd-Urwin, for over 50 years Summerfield Stables has been an important presence in the community, offering opportunities for young people and volunteers which has been even more in demand since the Covid pandemic. Today, HRH has had the opportunity to see this first hand.”

The Princess Royal watched demonstrations from a host of the Approved Centre’s participants and volunteers. These comprised of an introduction to the BHS’s Pony Stars programme, which offers children the chance to discover, develop and nurture their love for ponies and the outdoors. Bobby, the BHS’s Equine Personality of the Year 2020 also made a star appearance.

HRH The Princess Royal heard from participants of the BHS Changing Lives through Horses initiative which the stables has been running since last year.

“It was a privilege and an honour to introduce our Vice-Patron HRH to Summerfield Stables and all those who work so hard to make it such a success,” said James Hick, Chief Executive Officer at the BHS. “We know that the horse/human relationship can be transformational for wellbeing, and it is great to champion those centres who are so passionate about providing all young people with their first interaction with horses.

“Together, we must continue to ride by the side of every equestrian and all those who care so passionately for them. Our riding schools are a critical part of this, helping to make sure they have access to education, horse care and welfare, practical riding tuition and most importantly, an inclusive and welcoming environment.”

#workanne #princess anne #princess royal #brf #british royal family

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covidsafehotties · 12 days

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"Published in The Lancet Psychiatry, the new study from the University of Oxford and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre investigated neurological and psychiatric diagnoses in over 1.25 million people following diagnosed COVID-19 infection, using data from the US-based TriNetX electronic health record network.

The study reports on 14 neurological and psychiatric diagnoses over a 2-year period and compares their frequency with a matched group of people recovering from other respiratory infections. It also reports data in children and older adults separately, and compares data across three waves of the pandemic. To our knowledge, these are the first robust data addressing these important questions."

#mask up #covid #covid 19 #covid isn't over #pandemic #covid conscious #long covid #covid is airborne #wear a mask #coronavirus

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cigarette-room · 1 month

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since you are a med student(if i remenber correctly) what is your favourite part of it?

Oh my god, everything. Genuinely. I have grown to like this so much.

Ok so for a little background, I study in the Balkans, and the regime of medical studies there is you go to a highschool, any highschool, then you apply for uni and you go to a uni 6 years pass all relevant exams then a license exam and you're a doctor. Which is relevant because first 3 of those 6 years are academic years (theoretical exams, not any touch with the patient) and the last 3 are pent on clinical subjects, rotating on internal medicine and surgery and neurology and psychiatry and dermatology and forensic medicine and ophthalmology and radiology and *lists 300 other things*

So the first 3 years I couldn't wait for it to be over. Genuinely. I wanted to do real medicine stuff and COVID was in full swing and it all was so goddamn hard! But now I'm on year 5 and I love this all so much you have no idea

Now I love everything. I love when I anseer a professor's question correctly. I love when we smile and a patient smiles back, I love when we look at scans and notice the right thing in the right moment, I love wearing scrubs. I love the sweet old women and funny old men who are always the most eager to let you do a check-up because you kids have to learn from somewhere. I love when I pass an exam barely enough that I go phew, I almost failed that but one less! We pushed through! I loved rotating bones in my arms. I loved touching a human heart, a human brain, and then having an existential crisis later. I loved when the first autopsy I did I went back home and cried because I was so overwhelmed with the notion that this grandma was a human with so many stories to tell and I felt so grateful to her, in a way, and to the 9 people who donated their remains so we could have learned on them years earlier. I love psychiatry, a lot, and I loved attending additional classes that I didn't have to attend just for the nicest professor in the world to discuss with us how it is to work in prison. I love the pauses for coffee with my colleagues. And the first time we were carrying newborn little baby up to the neonatology department and spent an hour watching the nurses make little bundles off of them and how 15 of them in two rows were all sleeping at the same time (can u believe. Crazy I know). I loved when we spent hours in the basements of the big clinical centres in the rain just listening to our professor explain radiology to us. And when I held a dying patient's hand while we did a last check-up and the doctor then led us all into a room and held the most tearful, most important, lesson on end-of-life care. I loved every time we went into an operating room. And I loved every little encouragement I got from doctors and nurses and fellow students around me.

Long answer, I'm so sorry 😭❤️ there's too much things I wanted to say

#thank you for the ask op! ❤️#asks #❤️❤️❤️

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mariacallous · 3 months

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Sometimes the most obvious questions are the best. In the case of the Conservatives, the most obvious question is so glaring that one wonders why Tory politicians don’t ask it ten-times a day before breakfast: why don’t they move to the centre?

The opinion polls are predicting a Tory rout on the scale of 1906, 1945 or 1997.

Surely in the interests of preserving the Conservatives as a fighting force the party must compromise to limit its losses to Labour. Here are a couple of compromises that occur to me. They make perfect political sense until you realise that conservatism has been so radicalised that compromise now feels like treason.

First, health. When we remember the suffering of the early 2020s, we will remember covid, of course.

But we will also remember the millions on NHS waiting lists, the elderly left for hours until ambulances arrive, the cancelled operations, the sick who would work if they could be treated but cannot find a doctor, the explosion in mental illness, the needlessly prolonged pain, the needlessly early deaths.

The Conservatives ought to be doing everything they can to improve the health service before polling day – out of a reptile-brain survival instinct if nothing else.

They will not do it because in British conservatism’s ever-diminishing circles health is not a concern.

The dominant Conservative factions want a right-wing policy offer of tax cuts and immigration controls. Not one of the party’s leaders has discussed how the increase in life expectancy means the demands on the NHS of an ever-larger pensioner population make tax cuts unaffordable. Nor have I heard honest discussion of how the need for foreign health and care workers to fill the gaps in provision makes immigration essential.

Rather than face up to the impossibility of Thatcherite economics in the 21st century they prefer to change the conversation and look the other way.

Let me offer a second example, which I think Brits will soon be obsessing about.

After years of delays Brexit Britain is finally imposing border checks on food imports from the European Union. Wholesalers and retailers predict that bureaucratic costs and the need for veterinary and phytosanitary checks will lead to continental producers deciding to sell their goods elsewhere. Price rises and food shortages will follow.

What kind of government in an election year, of all years, wants empty shelves?

A Conservative kind of government appears to be the answer. The sensible move would be for the Conservatives to follow Labour’s policy of striking a deal to stick to EU standards and ease bureaucracy at the border. That would mean the UK following European food regulations, as EU ambassadors have made clear.

But compared to dear food and empty shops, who the hell cares about that?

Tories care. Brexit is their King Charles head, their reason for being, their obsession.

David Frost, who negotiated the UK’s disastrous exit agreement with the EU, wrote an unintentionally revealing paragraph last week which encapsulated the ideological capture of British Conservatism.

“The Conservative Party owns Brexit. Whether ministers like it or not, or maybe even wish it hadn’t happened, it’s the central policy of the Party and the government. They must be prepared to defend and explain it – to show why it’s so important that Britain is a proper democracy once again. For if voters come to believe Brexit is failing, then the Conservative Party will inevitably fail too.”

There you have it. Brexit is the Conservative party and vice versa.

What a distance we have come! In 2016, a mere eight years ago, the Conservative party’s leader and most of its MPs supported the UK’s membership of the European Union. Eurosceptics posed as mild-mannered people. They promised that leaving the EU would not mean leaving the single market .

But then leave won the 2016 Brexit referendum and set us off on a spiral of radicalisation, which was instantly familiar to those of us who grew up on the left.

Here is how it worked on the left in the 20th century. You would be in a meeting where everyone agreed to a leftist policy: say that the government should encourage banks to give micro loans to poor people to keep them out of the hands of loan sharks.

Everything seems fine until an accusatory voice accuses all present of being sellouts because they do not believe in nationalising the banks,

Or today, after the great awokening, an academic department will propose reasonable measures to check that they are not unconsciously discriminating in their application process, only to be told that, if they were truly concerned with justice, they would decolonise the curriculum and purge it of “white” concepts such as truth and objectivity.

The near identical radicalisation of the right has been more serious because the right has real power.

Here is how its spiral into Tory Jacobinism went.

After winning the Brexit referendum in 2016, retaining the UK’s membership of the single market and the customs union suddenly became wholly unacceptable. They had to go.

As the ideological temperature rose, Theresa May’s attempts at compromise became sellouts, judges became enemies of the people, and the only acceptable way to leave became Frost and Johnson’s impoverishing hard Brexit.

We now have a new Tory ideology: “Brexitism.” It is a style of swaggering bravado and a bawling loud-mouthed way of doing business that goes far beyond the UK’s relations with the EU.

The catastrophic premiership of Liz Truss was “Brexitist”. She crashed the economy because she believed she was right to ignore the warnings of the Treasury, Bank of England and Office for Budget Responsibility.

What true Brexit supporter trusts experts, after all?

Brexit showed that you did not need them. All you needed was the will to impose a radical agenda and then the world would accommodate itself to your desires.

In retrospect, 2016 plays the same role for the radical right of 21th century Britain that 1917 played for the British radical left in the 20th. The fluke communist takeover of Russia in 1917 convinced hundreds of thousands over the decades that revolution could succeed in the UK, even though communism never stood a chance in this country.

The fluke leave win of 2016 has had an equally mystifying effect. Because radical right politics succeeded in one set of circumstances, its supporters assumed they would succeed in all circumstances.

Nowhere in right-wing discourse do you hear suggestions that the Conservative defeat might be softened if the government appealed to the majority of voters. Instead, the right says that the only way to save the right is for the right to move rightwards and become more rightly right wing.

Once again, the parallels with the communist movement to people of my age scream so loudly they are deafening.

To quote the weirdest example. A few weeks ago, an anonymous group of wealthy men calling themselves the Conservative Britain Alliance spent about £40,000 on opinion polling, and gave the results to the Daily Telegraph. They showed the Conservatives were heading for a landslide defeat, as so many polls do.

But the spin put on it by the Conservative Britain Alliance’s frontman Lord Frost (again!) was that the Tories must move to the right to attract Faragist voters, not to try to stem the growth of Labour support.

A further release from the anonymous group of wealthy men added to the impression of a right wing living in the land of make believe.

They produced findings that showed the Conservatives could win if Sunak were replaced by a hypothetical Tory leader. This imaginary figure was a political superhero who would be strong “on crime and migration” (naturally) but also had the superpower to “cut taxes and get NHS waiting lists down” at the same time.

Lower taxes and better public services all at once in a wonderful never never land.

My guess is that it will take three maybe four election defeats to batter the delusions of 2016 out of the Conservative party.

Perhaps no number of defeats will suffice, and Brexitism will be Toryism’s final delirium.

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allthecanadianpolitics · 7 months

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A Quebec Superior Court judge is being asked to authorize a class-action lawsuit on behalf of all residents of public long-term care homes that experienced COVID-19 outbreaks during the pandemic’s first two waves.

Montreal lawyer Patrick Martin-Menard said Monday in court that Quebec’s early response to COVID-19 in long-term care homes was marked by improvisation and that a pre-existing pandemic plan was ignored until it was too late.

The lawsuit would also include family members of residents who died between March 2020 and March 2021.

Martin-Menard says that outbreaks at care homes would have been prevented had the existing plan been put into action.

He says long-term care centres were ill-prepared to receive patients from hospitals, and couldn’t properly care for residents after the government banned visits from family caregivers. [...]

Tagging: @politicsofcanada

#cdnpoli #coronavirus #coronapolitics #Québec #elder care #healthcare #public safety #CAQ #Coalition Avenir Québec

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mousedetective · 11 months

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Organizations To Help Indigenous People

I've been reblogging three separate posts for a while now and I thought I'd combine them all into one for maximum ease. Please reblog this list and help these organizations if you can!

Warrior Women Project

Sitting Bull College

First Nations COVID-19 Response Fund

The Redhawk Native American Art Council

Partnership With Native Americans

Native American Heritage Association

National Indigenous Women's Resource Center

Indigenous Women Rising (abortion access fund)

Indian Residential School Survivor’s Society

Stop Line 3

Honor The Earth

The Lakota People’s Law Project

Amazon Frontlines

‘Āina Momona

The Native Wellness Institute

The Native Americans Rights Fund

National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation/University of Manitoba

First Nations Child & Family Caring Society

Native Women's Association of Canada

Indspire

Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre

Micmac Benevolent Society

Mawita'mk

Advancing Indigenous People In STEM

Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment

The Association on American Indian Affairs

First Nations Development Institute

American Indian College Fund

Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment (CARE)

Hopa Mountain

Indigenous Values Initiative

Native American Disability Law Center

People’s Partner for Community Development

If anyone has links to other organizations that help indigenous people, please feel free to add them!

#indigenous people #native americans #native canadians #indigenous organizations #support indigenous people #support native people #signal boost #for a good cause #please reblog #please help #please share #please donate

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yridenergyridenergy · 2 years

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Live report - Dir en grey tour22 From Depression to____ at Kawasaki Club Citta [2022/10/25]

Setlist

Rasetsukoku (2011 ver.)

Ash (2018 ver.)

T.D.F.F.

Wake (2018 ver.)

OBSCURE (2011 ver.)

The Perfume of Sins

Kodoku ni Shisu, Yueni Kodoku.

Oboro

Ain't afraid to die (2022 ver.)

DRAIN AWAY

Merciless Cult

-Saku-

THE IIID EMPIRE (2018 ver.)

Encore:

G.D.S.

Kodou

[KR]cube

Hageshisa to, Kono Mune no Naka de Karamitsuita Shakunetsu no Yami

CHILD PREY

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Up until the very second Shinya walked on stage, opening the way for the rest of the band, I kept thinking this was a dream and could not really be happening.

Three years since I last saw Dir en grey. I'd said it: as soon as Japan opens the gates, I will be there. Here I am. And yet, there were so many variables that could have gone wrong until the very last minute: I did my part of being very careful not to catch COVID-19, I monitored my overly-high Canadian body temperature (they totally did not check, in the end), but with the last couple of weeks' Tsutaya autograph sessions, I could still be let down by just one of the members or staff getting infected.

Fortunately, at last, they were still alive and well!

It seems like somebody stomped their foot and decided: "Fuck the fans, we don't want to play I'll", although tomorrow's setlist will be different, so I am sure that some still have their fingers crossed.

In fact, I came into this show not only starved from Dir en grey and sukekiyo, but I also have not looked at the "BEST SONGS" ever since the final results of the song battle polls were posted. All I knew was that Phenomenon was out, as well as most of the last ten years... Anyway, I felt like keeping that surprise of what songs should be featured in the setlist would get me more excited.

While we were waiting for the show to start, instead of playing some background songs picked by Kaoru from other bands, it was a few of Dir en grey's remixes. I can remember CONCEIVED SORROW (unplugged?), Dozing Green before construction, embryo, Filth, the fucking good Gyakujou no tannou keloid milk remix from the Drain Away single, etc. The onr that sounds like the Matrix soundtrack in the second half.

As always, eventually we hear the last remix's volume double, the tell-tale sign that the lights will get shut and the band will appear on stage!

Shinya wore a white top as usual. His hair was quite purple/pink. Die wore probably a brand T-shirt, but he had cut it so, so wide that within a minute and for the rest of the main set, we literally saw his right nipple! He also wore a black shiny necklace, the kind that drops in the shape of a triangle toward the chest. Toshiya wore a white prince jacket with black flourishing, tight black jeans. Kaoru had a rather professional suit top on but he wore some ample scarf or whatever underneath, and a dress shirt of course. The suit was black I think, whereas the stuff underneath was bronze-ish.

As for Kyo, he had black tight leather pants under a long green checkered dress. I think it was open on the sides, below the waist. It looks like some of his Madara Ningen dresses? He had a red knot bow at his neck but man... Above the shoulders? His hair has grown and is still blond, and he styled it super spiky. His hair seriously looked close to Cloud Strife in that sense! The masterpiece of it all was his makeup though. The eyes were heavily shadowed with white dots or "piercings" to the side and below+under them. Above each eye was a wide blue trail, not too sure. The eye shadows were linked on his forehead by a an upside down U, like an arc, and there seemed to be something dead in the centre but I wouldn't say it was a third eye. His mouth was well highlighted with dark makeup and elongated with thin lines horizontally on each side. Going back to his eyes, he wore red eyelashes and he had white contact lenses at least in the main set, so when the stage was bathed in red light, he seemed to have dead empty eyes, enlarged by all the red.

Already anticipating a huge nostalgia trip that the band would reluctantly play, it did not seem like much of a surprise to hear the first notes of Rasetsukoku. Kyo had said at his Tsutaya signing session that that was the ome song he was looking forward to play this tour, when a fan asked, so I thought that they wanted to start with that to pump up everyone and themselves, rather than to do the dreaded I'll first. But no, it just kept getting fucking better!

New Ash, new TDFF, new Wake... As you can see above, I got a bruise on the back of my right hand from pumping my fist/hand so fucking hard at these songs despite wearing a bracelet with metal. In Wake, it was only near the end, progressively, that some people joined in putting their hands up. My deltoids did not ghost me, I was able to keep a strong arm up the whole show, alternating between the two, sometimes putting up both. The band was on fire!

Toshiya was so demanding in the beginning, and he did all the mouthing that we have seen him do in the DVDs. It's weird, having had just that to experience these past three years. But yeah, for the main part, they were all exactly like how I'd watched them hah.

In Obscure, Kyo did his traditional hand-thrown-up kind of headbang. You know what I mean. I think Toshiya spun around after the first heavy part as usual, but I was busy following Kyo who had also seemed to spin toward the right side of the stage and stopped himself short of backing into Die, who wasn't looking.

The Perfume of Sins started and I was so glad that we had accurately predicted that they would play some songs from Phalaris, because those songs were not part of the polls, right hah?

Kyo set his mic on his vertebral stand and the moment he sings: "NOSE", the atmosphere turns HEAVY. The Perfume of Sins is performed to make it the literal heaviest song ever. He leans backward with the mic on stand for each word in the introduction, then the band members all get laser focused playing at such a fast pace. Shinya was crouched on his drums, I really hope that song isn't the death of him.

Then, when singing the first real verse, Kyo gestured the "hitotsu", from what I remember, like his two index fingers were coming into or out of his eyes. After that, for "oboete hoshii", the fingers move outward as though expulsed from his ears, and for "soko no inochi", those fingers which were levitating in mid-air start disintegrating downward.

When that part is repeated in the second half, suddenly Kyo became a dysfunctional, agitated pantomime or robot, both arms swaying mechanically up and down disorderly.

One last thing I remember for that song is that in between his verses, at some beat, Kyo leaned forward with his mic supportinh him in the opposite direction (like a long upside-down V) and seemed to almost pant with the rythm.

Kodoku ni shisu, yueni ni kodoku was played next and I could not believe my luck! Another song I love, a high-energy one. And this time, it made up for the way too soft version I had heard in mode of Withering to death. in Kyoto Rohm Theatre in 2017. This time, what had to be screamed was screamed, there was no rest for Kyo's throat, he was all the way into it, without stepping over board and cutting though.

I remember that in one song, Kyo stroke his mic into the crate and simultaneously, Toshiya had to adjust his left ear piece. Coincidence? Hopefully his ears are fine since that time he had COVID, but it did seem like the bang affected him.

Next was Oboro and we were still clapping the whole band but we quickly shut up when Kyo began heavily breathing, almost sobbing with his mic on his chest. He gets so emotional throughout this song all the time, his voice cracks up even further when mentioning the tears/namida.

And then, and then, and then .......... !

13! They played thir-the hell-teen!

I don't think Kyo was still using the stand by that point. He actually sang quite softly, more than the recorded song already is (one interviewer had said it sounded like Kyo made a conscious effort to sound young, which Kyo denied). Nevertheless, it still held all the emotions of this recent song that he is fond of.

Ain't afraid to die was nice. Hm, did Kyo bring back the stand for that song? I just remember that there are green beam lights in the beginning before the band joins. I think it was also in that song that the backdrop video showed a lot of "depression"s typed. He sang it very sincerely too, not as emotional as Oboro but he definitely felt it. The dark makeup on his lips, it really served to exaggerate how wide his mouth could open, highlighting his own instrument.

It may have been at the end of this song that Toshiya hugged his bass, but more like crossing his arms in front of his chest. He has held his bass more intimately and this time wasn't exactly like that. By this point, Toshiya had taken his prince jacket off and was wearing a long-sleevd black shirt, maybe with a turtle neck?

Drain Away felt like the band's one "old" gift tonight. I just felt the energy that they were projecting it for the audience rather than necessarily playing it for themselves too.

Merciless Cult next! Holy hell, they were ruthless tonight. Kyo asked us to do more and he got up front demanding us to sing but like... we couldn't hah? So I clapped. He even removed his ear pieces either here or in the encore but... Please hear my clapping?

Saku was heavy, heavy, heavy. I can't remember anything specific other than so much energy.

In The IIID Empire, Toshiya threw his mic stand in the second part but he must have gotten a cable stuck in his bass because it took him too long to turn to us and his expression seemed a bit tense hah.

The first part ended and I could not believe it. First of all, I was busy trying to look at the other energetic members for the finale of The IIID Empire and when I looked back at the centre of the stage, I could not see Kyo. I thought he had dropped to the floor but he had done it before the final beat, so it would have been odd. But no, he never got up, so he had in fact left extremely swiftly before the song even ended.

We started 'clapping the encore' immediately. It took a little while, because eventually we were so impatient that our clapping was not slow like for: "en-co-ru", it was full-on fast clapping just like when the band members appear on stage. For them to get the message hah. We did that twice but, eventually, G.D.S. started playing! Everybody got super hyped. All the band members wore the tour T-shirts except Kyo, who took his alice auaa Androgynos outfit out from his closet again! He still had his main set makeup.

C seemed to hold a very special meaning. That or another song, but there were lyrics about being able to scream that Kyo directly reflected on us, who had to stay silent.

Next was Kodou, to everyone's enjoyment of course. Kyo only sang that first heart-shattering scream, but the song was so strong nevertheless.

For some reason, on three occasions in Kodou Toshiya flipped his bass upward as though to create a special effect by rotating it back to its original position, slamming it, but I could not hear anything or see what he was doing with the cords in front of his face.

KR Cube elicited some cheers in the crowd despite the order to be quiet in the venue. In the beginning, when Kyo does that "ooeh" sound, he crouches backward with a hand on his inner thigh. He got really teasy and energetic in that song. He even seemed to nod at people like: "Yeah yeah, you know what dance move, do it but I won't", but he was definitely dancing throughout it while doing grimaces.

Hageshi sato was great to hear again, but it sucks because you're stuck multi-managing the band almost all coming up to the stage and responding to the song itself because Kyo would not have it otherwise hah.

The last song came way too fast. Kyo stared at us and stomped his foot widely once, twice, maybe even threw times. The audience responded by stomping too, but he was clearly not satisfied. Eventually, he hit his chest with his mic very strongly. It was only when he really did seem pissed still, as his deafening silence throughout that minute implied, that people actually stopped stomping and you could hear the huge contrast in volume of clapping now. Like what the fuck were people expecting? What were you doing before? Then he announced: "Last song!"

Child Prey had the backing vocalists actually really stoic, it seemed. It was kind of a blur, because Kyo also left way, way promptly. Nonetheless, I think he saw my energy throughout the show, but I can't control the rest of the audience or maybe even just his personal mood that day.

For the goodbyes, listen to this: Toshiya stood up on Kyo's crate after throwing his bottle cap+straw planted in it into the crowd, then he drank a gulp of water and poured he rest of it on his head. There was a lot left! He must have realized that his shirt was uncomfortable wet, or he wanted to anyway... But he took off his shirt! Damn he is back to being really ripped. In fact, the short sleeves of the Shinichi Sakamoto shirt he wore were clearly made to show how muscled Toshiya's arms still were. Damn. And no body fat, I can tell you that hah. Oh and he also threw his T-shirt wet from water and sweat into the crowd. Screw COVID apparently hahah.

As Toshiya was leaving, Kaoru pointed backward with an expression like: "Wow" It wasn't clear if he was referring to his fellow band member's muscled chest or the back screen which showed: "Dir en grey 25th Anniversary", or both hah.

Die actually left before Kaoru after throwing a knotted towel very far in the back of the audience. Then, Kaoru teased us and threw so many picks, going back to his stand to rip a few more from it again. He looked really grateful.

We stayed for a very long time clapping ferociously to demand a second encore, but alas.

And now, as you can see in the picture above, I also sport a bruise in my palm from clapping very energetically. You can't claim that I don't put my all into it hahah. Especially not after three years yo.

Can't wait to see what differences tomorrow will have!

#Dir en grey #live report #the return!#from depression to #25th anniversary #京 #Kyo

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grandmaster-anne · 1 year

Text

We'd all lose out if our heritage crumbled away

The Telegraph commentary article by Sir Tim Laurence | Published 29 December 2022

Do we care about our heritage? What is heritage? One definition is: “Features belonging to the culture of a particular society, such as traditions, languages or buildings, which come from the past and are still important”. Is the past still important? Shouldn’t we just look ahead, not behind? As the chairman (for only a few more days sadly) of the charitable trust English Heritage, I am unsurprisingly on the side of “still important”. I’ll try to explain why.

English Heritage looks after built heritage. Over 400 of the most historically significant sites in England are in our care, from Tintagel Castle in Cornwall to Dover Castle in Kent; from Stonehenge to Hadrian’s Wall. Why do we bother? Why don’t we just let it all quietly crumble away?

Governments have effectively suggested this in the past. There may be some taxpayers who feel the same. That is why the more historic buildings which are cared for away from the public sector, the better. Fortunately, the great majority are either in private hands or in various charities. Expecting public servants to prioritise between re-roofing a castle and providing better social care or waste collection is unfair on them. Best leave the re-roofing to us enthusiasts.

One answer to the “why bother” question is because historic buildings give us a physical connection with what has gone before. Stand in our sites and you are standing where history happened. This helps us gain a sense of where we have come from, what our values are, how hard-won were our freedoms. Dover Castle contains several of our stories at a single site, from the lighthouse built there by the Romans to the tunnels from where the evacuation of Dunkirk was directed. At Battle Abbey, you can stand on the spot where the arrow pierced King Harold’s eye.

Some parts of our history are uncomfortable or worse. We must not shy away from presenting the whole picture, set in the context of its day. The 12th century massacre of Jews at Clifford’s Tower in the centre of York was an appalling tragedy. We tell that story along with many others in a brilliant new timber structure within the Tower which gives better access at all levels.

The curious tale of Caribbean prisoners-of-war held at Portchester Castle in Portsmouth Harbour in the 1790s was re-discovered only recently and is now told in full. The transatlantic slave trade – a ghastly stain on our nation’s history – is explained at those sites where there is a connection. But so is the story of England’s role in the abolition movement. Kenwood in Hampstead was the home of Lord Mansfield whose 1772 ruling was one of the key milestones in that journey. It doesn’t excuse what went before but it reflects another side of the national character.

The physical beauty and serene atmosphere at many historic sites are other reasons why we should look after them. A walk around Lindisfarne Priory in Northumberland or Mount Grace Priory in Yorkshire is a great way to revive the soul.

Can the past help us prepare for the future? Perhaps. “If men could learn from history,” wrote Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1831, “what lessons it might teach us! But passion and party blind our eyes, and the light which experience gives is a lantern on the stern, which shines only on the waves behind.”

Nearly a century later, King George V toured the cemeteries of the Western Front and asked “whether there can be more potent advocates of peace upon the Earth through the years to come than this massed multitude of silent witnesses to the desolation of war.” Sadly, it appears that President Putin is blind to this. Nonetheless, it is important that the message remains visible for those who have the wit to understand it and the wisdom to apply it.

So we heritage bodies press on, bruised by the effects of Covid but unbowed, helped by generous government support (thank you, Prime Minister, much appreciated). To survive financially we need more members and other visitors, and that encourages us to present our sites in ever better ways, to make the experience more rewarding, to serve good coffee and to keep the loos clean. That is in everyone’s interest. We will need more philanthropic support as well. We must try out new approaches to make sure every part of our society feels welcome and well-informed, even if that generates criticism from some quarters. It’s good to test what works and what doesn’t, as long as one is prepared to recognise the latter and change course accordingly. If such public controversy and debate encourages more people to visit our sites and find out for themselves, then we have all gained.

Sir Tim Laurence is chairman of English Heritage

#tim laurence #the telegraph #article

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