The Pandemic's Return

A few days back, I estimated that Covid occupies about one-sixth of the news cycle these days, but it turns out I seriously underestimated the actually percentage.

The pandemic now accounts for at least 50 percent of each day's significant news as the delta variant kills the vulnerable and the unvaccinated expose everyone to a larger calamity, one that could have been avoided.

With pools of unvaccinated populations, the virus will be able to continue to mutate and spawn variants that will re-infect our communities, causing more suffering and death.

This now appears to be inevitable.

Still, there are hopeful signs. Vaccine makers ought to be able to adapt quickly enough to provide booster shots that will continue to save most of us from the worst fates. But as long as humans fail to achieve herd immunity, the essential syndrome will continue.

So there will be no end to this story for a long time to come.

Meanwhile, among the headlines that matter are those capturing the growing unrest around the world by people sick of restrictions, masks, vaccines -- the whole subject. The politics of Covid will continue to divide and shake our world for a long time forward.

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Like many people, I tend to watch my favorite films several times. 

Some of this is for enjoyment, but I also act like a screenplay surgeon by the third time through, dissecting what makes it work for me. I pay special attention to the soundtrack, interrupting the viewing at key points to search and locate the songs on YouTube and play them in their entirety before returning to the film.

I'm trying to understand how the music and the imagery interact to deepen the emotional impact. 

I also like to pull quotes out of the film for use in other contexts, always giving credit of course. There is some wonderful writing in films that we can apply to other situations, though it may get lost in translation. 

While this may be an odd way to consume items meant to be entertainment, it works for me because they are works of art on some level and enduring art speaks different languages each succeeding time we view it.

Part of the time, I'm trying to empathize with the artist, which frequently involves comprehending his or her obsession. Vermeer's "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is a prime example. Both the painting and the film it inspired capture how her beauty captivated and inspired Vermeer.

But of course there is the perspective of the muse; both matter equally, though the latter's story may not as often get told. In the film, Scarlett Johansson's interpretation of the girl rivals Colin Firth's interpretation of the painter in every way. 

That is parity. Now if only we could achieve that with every story.

 

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THE HEADLINES:

* Facebook's Broken Vows: How the Company's Pledge to Bring the World Together Ended Up Pulling Us Apart (New Yorker)

* Doctors Worry That Memory Problems After COVID-19 May Set The Stage For Alzheimer's (NPR) 

* The Delta Variant Is the Symptom of a Bigger Threat: Vaccine Refusal -- There are almost as many reasons for vaccine hesitancy and refusal as there are unvaccinated Americans. But this problem, not the variant, lies at the root of rising infection rates (NYT) 

* As virus surges, GOP lawmakers are moving to limit public health powers (WP) 

* NYC to require vaccines or weekly testing for city workers (AP) 

* Covid Treatment Options Remain Elusive, Despite Months of Effort and Rising Delta Cases Vaccine Mandate Is Not the Federal Government’s Role -- Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on Friday that mandating Covid-19 vaccinations was an appropriate decision for private sector companies, institutions and local communities. (NYT)

* Plunging life expectancy was a natural result of the pandemic. There were other causes, too. (Editorial Board/WP)

* Pandemic leaves Indians mired in massive medical debts 

(AP)

* VA becomes first federal agency to mandate covid vaccinations for employees (WP)

* No Longer ‘Hidden Victims,’ Children Are Dying as Virus Surges in Indonesia -- Hundreds have died from Covid-19 in recent weeks, many of them under the age of 5. National leaders face mounting criticism that they have been unprepared. (NYT)

* France approves law requiring coronavirus health pass for restaurants, other venues (WP)

* Soccer Team Was Lone Bright Spot in West Bank Village. Virus Took That, Too. -- Despite a fan base of just 1,400 people, the Wadi al-Nis club was a perennial West Bank powerhouse. But the team — most of whose players are related — could not defeat the coronavirus. (NYT)

* Unvaccinated snow leopard at San Diego zoo catches COVID-19. (HuffPost)

* In Louisiana, Vaccine Misinformation Has Public Health Workers Feeling ‘Stuck’ -- Facing deep mistrust stoked by rampant conspiracy theories, local health officials are fighting for influence when the only sure strategy for beating back the virus is getting more people vaccinated. (NYT)

* FDA asks Pfizer, Moderna to test their vaccines in more children to help rule out safety issues (WP)

* NFL to fine unvaccinated players $14,000 each time they violate safety rules. (HuffPost)

* Extreme weather renews focus on climate change as scientists update forecasts (Reuters)

* Are striped bass doomed? Some conservationists are worried. (WP)

* The Great Outdoors Is Giving Way to the Great Indoors -- Covid-19 isn't the only reason to wear a mask in the West. (NYT)

* Climate Scientists Meet As Floods, Fires, Droughts And Heat Waves Batter Countries (NPR)

* The massive Dixie Fire, currently California’s largest blaze, has destroyed dozens of homes and threatened more in remote communities that are hard for firefighters to reach. (AP)

* A blast of hot air is forecast to raise temperatures across much of the continental United States in the coming week, adding another stretch of sweltering days to what has already been a punishing summer for many. (California Today)

* Civilian casualties in Afghanistan hit record highs as U.S. forces withdraw (WP) 

* UN: Women, children casualties on the rise in Afghanistan (AP)

* U.S. General Won’t Commit to Ending Airstrikes on Taliban -- With the militants making advances across Afghanistan, the top American general there suggested that airstrikes may continue, even with the U.S. troop pullout largely completed. (NYT)

* As Taliban Advance, Thousands of Afghans Seek Refuge in Turkey (WSJ)

* Afghan resistance to the Taliban needs U.S. support — and a big morale boost (WP)

* Facebook and tech giants to target attacker manifestos, far-right militias in database (Reuters)

* After an article published by San Francisco's Mission Local last week incited public outrage, Uber will now display marketplace fees and drivers benefits fees to drivers in California. In its story, Mission Local reports “the discrepancy found between what Uber tells drivers a customer pays and what customers actually pay.” (Mission Local)

* It started with a mock ‘slave trade’ and a school resolution against racism. Now a war over critical race theory is tearing this small town apart. -- The question roiling Traverse City, Mich., is the question roiling America: Is this a racist place? (WP)

* Landlord Promises To Figure Out Why Leaky Ceiling Not His Fault (The Onion)

***

"Straight From The Heart"

Irma Thomas

Do you need me like I need you

Look at me I'm crying from yearning you

Make me forget the pain that you cause

Understanding it's a great thing

If it comes from the heart

If time will stand still

While I'm thinking of you

I think of all the pain that I wanted of you

Make me forget the pain that you cause

Understanding it's a great thing

If it comes from the heart

Picking up the pieces

Of my broken heart

It was real hard

-30-