Friday, September 10, 2021

To Escape From Sorrow


In addition to his six soul-wrenching "Letters From Helmand," our correspondent inside Afghanistan occasionally explains his rationale. In our conversations, he captures the universal spirit that pushes artists of all kinds, including writers, to reach out. And to serve as a voice for the despair his people are feeling right now. 

Here is an example:

"I think writing is kind of venting what we bear inside us that weighs on our shoulders, and helps to remove the loneliness and agony which surrounds us. Honestly, people's attention is not as important to me as writing for myself, to escape from sorrow and loneliness."

Establishing a channel for his voice also helps me clarify my own purpose as a writer. And suddenly, after many months of doubt, I've begun to appreciate why it is important to keep doing this on Facebook.

Here, our correspondent can continue to give us a view from the ground for what is happening not only physically to his people, but psychologically as well. He captures the agony of the Afghan people in a way no foreigner can hope to do.

So I'm going to continue to encourage him to write to us – a small but caring group of Westerners who are listening. Maybe over time our group will grow in size and influence.

And I know what you can do as well, which is to add comments below. If his writing touches you, tell him that. He will read your comments and may respond from time to time through me.

More importantly, we can build right here for him what every writer needs: a feedback loop with readers. Perhaps then his journey will not be quite as filled with sorrow and loneliness. And perhaps ours will not as well.

Thank you.

***

External links to our six Letters From Helmand: <https://hotweir.blogspot.com>

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THE HEADLINES:

* Unvaccinated people 11 times more likely to die of covid-19, CDC report finds (WP)


* ‘Our Patience Is Wearing Thin’ -- Initially reluctant to enact mandates, the president is now moving aggressively to require vaccination as the Delta variant races across the country. (NYT)


* VIDEO: Biden Mandates Vaccinations for Two-Thirds of U.S. Workers -- President Biden announced sweeping actions to vaccinate tens of millions of American workers against the coronavirus, including private-sector employees, health care workers and federal contractors. (AP)


* Least Vaccinated States Lead Spike in Children’s Cases, Leaving Some Hospitals Stretched  -- Though serious illness in young people remains uncommon, more children are now being hospitalized for Covid-19 than ever before — especially in states where fewer residents have been vaccinated. (NYT)

* Biden’s New Vaccine Push Is a Fight for the U.S. Economy -- The effort reflects the continuing and evolving threat the coronavirus pandemic poses to the economic recovery. (NYT)

* The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investigating four possible Covid-19 deaths, including one in California, from January 2020, part of a scattershot collection of clues about the virus’s early spread. (CDC)

* COVID-19 vaccines hold strong against Delta, protection waning in older adults (Reuters)


* Facebook’s Taliban Ban Will Prove Costly for Afghans --Why the tech giant is on the wrong side of history yet again. (Foreign Policy)


* Giuliani associate Igor Fruman pleads guilty to solicitation of a contribution by a foreign national (CNN)

* Attorney General Merrick Garland's Justice Department sued the state of Texas over its new abortion ban, calling the law a "scheme to nullify the Constitution of the United States"and asking for an injunction to halt enforcement. [HuffPost]

* Texas' new abortion ban has already unleashed a surge of women crossing state lines to clinics in areas where laws are less harsh. A clinic in Oklahoma City predicted more than half its patients will come from Texas. [Vice News]

* The "Roe baby," whose mom was the plaintiff in the landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, publicly identified herself for the first time. Her mother never had an abortion, but gave her baby up for adoption. Now, that baby is 51 and has deeply reflected on the issue that has overshadowed her life. [HuffPost]


* Poor countries say lack of vaccines may exclude them from climate talks (Reuters)


* California recorded its hottest-ever June through August this year, as the nation overall did the same. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association)

* Harvard, the world's richest university will divest its $42 billion endowment from fossil fuels, bowing to a decade of student and faculty protests over climate change. [HuffPost]

* California’s drought is driving up greenhouse gas emissions, as water use, collection, treatment and management is linked to about 20 percent of California’s statewide electricity use, according to a new study published by the Oakland-based Pacific Institute. (The Hill)


* Smart Glasses Made Google Look Dumb. Now Facebook Is Giving Them a Try. -- The company has teamed up with Ray-Ban to create glasses that can take photos, record video, answer phone calls and play podcasts. (NYT)

* Kellye SoRelle, a volunteer member of a Trump lawyers group and general counsel of the far-right Oath Keepers, said FBI agents seized her iPhone with a search warrant citing a "seditious conspiracy" investigation. SoRelle is closely associated with Oath Keeper founder Stewart Rhodes, who figures in the broader Capitol riot case. [HuffPost]

* The Los Angeles Police Department has directed its officers to collect the social media information of every civilian they interview, including individuals who are not arrested or accused of a crime. (The Guardian)

* How San Francisco skyscrapers have changed since 9/11 (SF Chronicle)

* New Study Finds Average American Stands No Chance Against What’s Coming (The Onion)

***

(Thanks to the best editor I know for help on this post.)

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