Facebook: The Positive

There are plenty of negative impacts of social media, so I thought I should note one of the positive aspects of Facebook in particular. The other day, after I wrote about the violence inflicted on Hazaras in Afghanistan, I received the following message from Fawad Ahura:

"I'm Hazara. You have heard right about the Hazaras people in Afghanistan. We are an oppressed group here. We are murdered in school, in the street, in the university, and in our home. No place is safe for us. Nowadays, even the government tries to kill us in our homes, they destroy and bombard our houses in Herat and in Behsood. What can we do? Nothing but watch and cry for our lost parents, and siblings. I'm eager to know your opinion about the situation in Afghanistan. How do you anticipate the future of Afghanistan?"

This was a remarkable development from my perspective. It would be extremely difficult for me to locate somebody on the other side of the world without Facebook.

As for Farad's question, I wish I had special insight into Afghanistan's fate. The violence has been going on for so long, it has become difficult to envision how it will stop.

Afghanistan's problem is it sits at the crossroads of the clashing empires of the East and West. When it has not been at the center of the fight between colonial Britain and imperialist Russia, or the Cold War standoff between the U.S. and the Soviets, it is stuck between rival aspirations of Iran and Pakistan, with India and China looming nearby as well.

Still desperately poor by global standards, Afghans are nonetheless resilient and determined people, willing to struggle to shake off external oppressors and achieve independence. But the tribal rivalries of at least seven major groups, with Hazaras at the bottom of the pyramid, will continue to be an internal issue when and if foreign powers finally leave Afghanistan alone.

Of course I'm aware of the many valid critiques of Facebook, especially how its algorithmic fueling of conspiracy theories and hate groups endangers our collective welfare, but I don't want to overlook the positives like Farad contacting me through its network. That is an example of how Facebook is a valuable resource.

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The good old Associated Press, America's leading news wire service, also comes up with insightful analytical pieces now and then. That is the case with its new report suggesting the end of the pandemic is likely to come in a series of indistinct phases that will not bring a satisfying sense of closure to what has been a severely disorienting period.

"We believe in happy endings, you and I," sings the country singer, but the Covid-19 era will probably end with a series of wispy clouds, not a glorious rainbow.

That said, the day does seem to be approaching when the virus will no longer be at the top of our charts.

BTW, I should note that I was wrong when I said I assumed Biden would be a one-term President; now he says he'll run for re-election in 2024. 

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The news:

* 

Weaned on Hollywood endings, Americans now face a messy one. “Finding light in the darkness is a very American thing to do,” President Joe Biden said this month. “In fact,” he said, “it may be the most American thing we do.” (AP)

* Biden says he plans to run for re-election in 2024. (Joe Biden)

* Few Facts, Millions Of Clicks: Fearmongering Vaccine Stories Go Viral Online (NPR)

* 4 theories:  WHO scientists mull clues on virus' origin --They are, in order of likelihood: from a bat through an intermediary animal; straight from a bat; via contaminated frozen food products; from a leak from a laboratory like the Wuhan Institute of Virology. (AP)

* The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines are effective in pregnant and lactating women, who can pass protective antibodies to newborns, according to research published Thursday in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. (CNN)

* Democrats push Biden on returning war powers authority to Congress (WaPo)

* Democrats Begin Push for Biggest Expansion of Voting Since 1960s (NYT)

* Andrew Cuomo’s family members were given special access to covid testing, people familiar with the arrangement say (Albany Times-Union)

* Virginia became the first state in the South to abolish the death penalty, a punishment rooted in lynchings that is still disproportionately applied to black people. Virginia, the 23rd state to abolish the death penalty, has executed more people than any other state. [HuffPost]

* Pompeo rejected U.S. effort to declare “genocide” in Myanmar on eve of coup, officials say (Reuters)

* Jobless claims reached their lowest level of the pandemic, dropping to 684,000 last week, adding to evidence the economy is ramping up. (WSJ)

* White House Considers Executive Orders on Gun Control (NYT)

* Sen. Bernie Sanders' Next Progressive Frontier: Reshaping A 'Rigged' Tax System (NPR)

* The gun implicated in Boulder uses the same ammunition as an AR-15. It’s legally a pistol. (WaPo)

* Oakland is piloting a guaranteed income program to combat poverty in the city. Mayor Libby Schaaf announced that 600 low-income families of color, chosen at random, will soon get $500 a month for 18 months. The program follows similar experiments in California and around the country. [The Oaklandside]

* ‘I Will Die Protecting My Country’: In Myanmar, a New Resistance Rises (NYT)

* Sleeping Octopuses May Have Dreams, But They're Probably Brief -- Octopuses have an "active" phase of sleep, the kind that might involve dreaming, but they probably don't have long, complicated dreams like people do. (NPR)

* If there’s ever a scandal about me, *please* call it Elongate (Elon Musk/Twitter)

* Suitcase Spends All Year Looking Forward To Carousel Ride (The Onion)

***

We believe in happy endings 
Never breaking 
Only bending 
Taking time enough for mending 
The hurt inside 

We believe in new beginnings 
Giving in 
And forgiving 
We believe in happy endings 
You and I

-- Bob Mcdill

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