The pandemic remains the biggest story of our time. It is global in nature and relentless in resisting a solution.
As the weather cools and what was traditionally known as "flu season" begins, Covid will inevitably make another comeback among the unvaccinated, who are a whopping eleven times more likely to die of the disease than the vaccinated.
I'm one of those people who was never attentive when it came to flu shots, but Covid changed me for the better. Regardless of our personal preferences, we need to get these shots (flu, Covid) for the good of everybody.
That concept -- what is good for the whole -- goes against the ingrained American ethic of "every man for himself."
Talking with an unemployed friend recently about the difference between jobs in the private sector and the non-profit sector, we agreed that while competition between individuals can produce profits for companies, few people ever tabulate the losses that occur in human terms.
A study by psychologists some years back of the most common word used by corporate executives when describing their colleagues was "kill," as in "he's trying to kill me."
This was the result of an over-emphasis on pitting one executive and his team against another executive and his team, as if corporate affairs were sporting matches.
These days in management circles in both the private sector and non-profit circles there are books purportedly about management philosophy circulating with titles such as "Radical Candor." (My unemployed friend, who is extremely talented, left his job after a "360" review based on that book's methodology.)
IMHO, these types of management techniques are nothing more than thinly veiled attempts to legitimize cruel interpersonal communications that rarely lead to better results but commonly lead to hurt feelings. And they are all based on the tired old assumptions that competition among human beings is a good thing.
In my experience, hurt feelings are responsible for more failures of companies reaching their goals, and more departures by talented employees than any other single factor.
It's not only higher salaries and better benefits --or cheap ideas like "radical candor" -- that affect outcomes in this world; it is cooperation, teamwork, mutual respect, compassion, and inspired leadership. Workers of all stripes want to feel inspired that they are working for something that matters.
The "radical candor" proponents would be better served by looking in the mirror and practicing radical self-criticism rather than focusing their sermons on others.
Then they might find out where the real problem lies.
***
THE HEADLINES:
* U.S. Retail Sales Rebound Despite Delta Variant (WSJ)
* Asia supercharges vaccination efforts after slow start, U.S. lags (Reuters)* The World Health Organization says global coronavirus cases have seen their “first substantial decline” in more than two months after the delta variant sparked widespread havoc, although cases in the U.S. remain high, notably among children. The agency has called for all countries to inoculate 70% of their populations by mid-2022 to get the pandemic under control. Lower-income nations, however, are far behind, prompting concern that the virus could continue to mutate. [HuffPost]
* The unvaccinated are 11 times more likely than the vaccinated to die from Covid-19. (California Today)
* China should consider vaccinating children aged under 12 against COVID - China CDC expert (Reuters)
* U.S. Booster Policy Is in Flux as Studies Add to Dissent -- A week before President Biden’s plan is to roll out, scientists are at odds about whether extra coronavirus shots are needed and for whom. (NYT)
* Moderna says COVID-19 vaccine protection wanes, makes case for booster (Reuters)
* Why We’re Experiencing So Many Unusually Hot Summer Nights -- Across the U.S., nights are warming faster than days because of climate change, and this effect is amplified in cities. (NYT)
* How to Talk About Climate Change Across the Political Divide -- Katharine Hayhoe, an atmospheric scientist and evangelical Christian, has written a book that lays out strategies for discussing the climate crisis in a divided country. (New Yorker)
* Drenching rains to soak parts of Pacific Northwest, northern California that have faced wildfire risk (WP)
* UN chief urges ‘rapid’ emission cuts to curb climate change (AP)
* Red states advocating for the hunting and trapping of rebounding populations of grey wolves may have mucked up. Conservation groups filed a petition saying resurgent threats to wolf populations from humans should warrant the creatures being relisted as endangered. The Fish and Wildlife Service seemed to agree in an initial review Wednesday. [HuffPost]
* UN says world likely to miss climate targets despite COVID pause in emissions (Reuters)
* The ozone hole over the South Pole is now bigger than Antarctica (CNN)
* The S.F. airport will get four new shops, including an outpost of longtime local bookstore Green Apple Books. (SF Chronicle)
* EXCLUSIVE Facebook to target harmful coordination by real accounts using playbook against fake networks (Reuters)
* With resounding victory, Newsom takes control of his party in Calif. -- The Democratic governor said “Trumpism” was on the ballot in his recall race. His win has boosted his national profile. (WP)
* Newsom Beat the Recall, Now Comes the Hard Part: Governing California -- Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing multiple crises. Ninety percent of California is in extreme drought. The median home price has eclipsed $800,000. Some 100,000 people are sleeping outside or in their cars. (NYT)
* Well before the evacuation, a generation of Afghans escaped to Europe. Their experience has been dire. (WP)
* Democrats Face New Hurdle After Republicans Gerrymander All Left-Leaning Voters Into Single House District (The Onion)
***
"I Will Let You Go"
Put your hands in the water
Watch them go under
Put your hand to the light
Watch the light… come through
And I will let you go
And I will let you go
Put your time on the table
See who’ll sit down with you
Give your love to the ones
Who offer you bruise
After bruise, after bruise
And I will let you go
And I will let you go
And I will let you go
How we play fight
As we dance slow
The smile you makes
Saying ‘yes’ meaning ‘no’
Is so grey, so faint
The words stray in your mouth
With an ache
I’m standing in the water
With the light on my shoulder
The weight of the doubt
Turned me to glass
I’m through living in question
Dreaming the answers
No more paving the present
With pain from my past
And I will let you go
And I will let you go
And I will let you go
And I will let you go
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