#Heart Problems after COVID-19

[maisha-online]

The Increased Risk of Arrhythmias Following COVID-19: What You Need to Know

The Increased Risk of Arrhythmias Following COVID-19: What You Need to Know #Covid19 #Arrhythmia #SARS #CoronaVirus #CardiacArrhythmia #Heart #HeartHealth

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light the numerous complications associated with the disease caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). While the respiratory symptoms of COVID-19 are well-known, there is growing evidence suggesting an increased risk of cardiovascular complications, including arrhythmias, in individuals who have contracted the virus. In this…

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#Arrhythmias #Can COVID cause cardiac arrhythmias? #Corona Virus #Covid #Covid-19 #Heart Problems after COVID-19 #Medical News #SARS #SARS-CoV-2

[swampgallows]

Now we know how COVID attacks your heart

Even patients with mild COVID symptoms could face a higher risk of developing heart disease and stroke

By Sanjay Mishra Nov 07, 2023 04:08 PM 5 min. read

Scientists have noticed that COVID-19 can trigger serious cardiovascular problems, especially among older people who have a buildup of fatty material in their blood vessels. But now a new study has revealed why and shown that SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, directly infects the arteries of the heart.

The study also found that the virus can survive and grow inside the cells that form plaque—the buildup of fat-filled cells that narrow and stiffen the arteries leading to atherosclerosis. If the plaque breaks, it can block blood flow and cause a heart attack or a stroke. The SARS-CoV-2 infection makes the situation worse by inflaming the plaque and increasing the chance that it breaks free.

This can explain long-term cardiovascular effects seen in some, if not all, COVID-19 patients.

SARS-CoV-2 virus has already been found to infect many organs outside the respiratory system. But until now it hadn't been shown to attack the arteries.

"No one was really looking if there was a direct effect of the virus on the arterial wall," says Chiara Giannarelli, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Health, in New York, who led the study. Giannarelli noted that her team detected viral RNA—the genetic material in the virus—in the coronary arteries. “You would not expect to see [this] several months after recovering from COVID.”

Mounting evidence now shows that SARS-CoV-2 is not only a respiratory virus, but it can also affect the heart and many other organ systems, says Ziyad Al-Aly, a clinical epidemiologist at Washington University in St. Louis. Al-Aly's research has shown that the risk of developing heart and cardiovascular diseases, including heart failure, stroke, irregular heart rhythms, cardiac arrest, and blood clots increases two to five times within a year of COVID-19, even when the person wasn't hospitalized.

"This important study links, for the first time, directly the SARS-CoV-2 virus with atherosclerotic plaque inflammation," says Charalambos Antoniades, chair of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom.

Virus triggers the inflammation in plaque

A recent study of more than 800,000 people led by Fabio Angeli, a cardiologist at University of Insubria in Varese, Italy, has shown that COVID-19 patients develop high blood pressure twice as often as others. More worrying is that the risk of cardiac diseases can also rise for patients who suffered only mild COVID symptoms.

"I saw a patient who now has a defibrillator, and she didn't even have a severe [COVID] illness," says Bernard Gersh, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.

Wondering whether the cardiovascular damage during COVID was due to the virus directly attacking the blood vessels, the NYU team analyzed autopsied tissue from the coronary arteries and plaque of older people who had died from COVID-19. They found the virus was present in the arteries regardless of whether the fatty plaques were big or small.

"The original finding in this study is that the virus was convincingly found in the plaque in the coronary artery," says Juan Carlos Kaski, a cardiovascular specialist at St George's, University of London, who was not involved in the study.

The NYU team found that in the arteries, the virus predominantly colonized the white blood cells called macrophages. Macrophages are immune cells that are mobilized to fight off an infection, but these same cells also absorb excess fats—including cholesterol from blood. When microphages load too much fat, they change into foam cells, which can increase plaque formation.

To confirm that the virus was indeed infecting and growing in the cells of the blood vessels, scientists obtained arterial and plaque cells—including macrophages and foam cells—from healthy volunteers. Then they grew these cells in the lab in petri dishes and infected them with SARS-CoV-2.

Giannarelli found that although virus infected macrophages at a higher rate than other arterial cells, it did not replicate in them to form new infectious particles. But when the macrophages had become loaded with cholesterol and transformed into foam cells, the virus could grow, replicate, and survive longer.

"We found that the virus tended to persist longer in foam cells," says Giannarelli. That suggests that foam cells might act as a reservoir of SARS-CoV-2. Since more fatty buildup would mean a greater number of foam cells, plaque can increase the persistence of the virus or the severity of COVID-19.

Scientists found that when macrophages and foam cells were infected with SARS-CoV-2 they released a surge of small proteins known as cytokines, which signal the immune system to mount a response against a bacterial or viral infection. In arteries, however, cytokines boost inflammation and formation of even more plaque.

"We saw that there was a degree of inflammation [caused] by the virus that could aggravate atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events," says Giannarelli.

These findings also confirm previous reports that measuring inflammation in the blood vessel wall can diagnose the extent of long-term cardiovascular complications after COVID-19, says Antoniades.

"What this study has found is that plaque rupture can be accelerated and magnified by the presence of the virus," says Kaski.

Understanding heart diseases after COVID

While this new research clearly shows that SARS-CoV-2 can infect, grow, and persist in the macrophages of plaques and arterial cells, more studies are needed to fully understand the many ways COVID-19 can alter cardiac health.

"The NYU study identifies one potential mechanism, especially the viral reservoir, to explain the possible effects" says Gersh. "But It's not going to be the only mechanism."

This study only analyzed 27 samples from eight elderly deceased patients, all of whom already had coronary artery disease and were infected with the original strains of virus. So, the results of this study do not necessarily apply to younger people without coronary artery disease; or to new variants of the virus, which cause somewhat milder disease, says Angeli.

"We do not know if this will happen in people who have been vaccinated," says Kaski. "There are lots of unknowns."

It is also not clear whether and to what extent the high inflammatory reaction observed in the arteries of patients within six months after the infection, as shown in the new study, will last long-enough to trigger new plaque formation. "New studies are needed to show the time-course of the resolution of vascular inflammation after the infection," says Antoniades.

COVID patients should watch for any new incidence of shortness of breath with exertion, chest discomfort, usually with exertion, palpitations, loss of consciousness; and talk to their physician about possible heart disease.

#covid #covid 19 #long covid #national geographic #sars cov 2

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week

😷 - Mask off, but guard up! Seems like we're out of the tunnel

1. Abandoned dog seen wandering Detroit streets with stuffed toy rescued, now receiving care

An abandoned dog is preparing for a new home after animal rescue groups spent days trying to find her when she was spotted wandering Detroit with a stuffed toy. Nikki's owner recently died, and she was left to wander the streets with her favorite toy. 

As Nikki receives her care, the animal workers are making sure she is ready to head to her foster home. Almost Home is collecting donations to help pay for the treatment and Niki's care. Donate here.

2. New foster care agency matching LGBTQ+ kids with queer carers to become ‘their amazing, wonderful selves’

A new foster care service has been launched to help match LGBTQ+ young people with supportive carers and families in the South East of England. Apex Q, a service from agency Apex Fostering, will help encourage more LGBTQ+ foster carers, provide training and create more placements for queer children.

Apex Fostering, which covers north and east London as well as several southern counties, including Hertfordshire, Essex and Cambridgeshire, launched in 2021 and claims to have already placed more than 60 young people with foster families. 

3. Newquay Zoo celebrates birth of rare 'warty' piglets

A pair of rare piglets has been born at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall. The Visayan warty pigs, named for the three pairs of fleshy "warts" on the boar's face, which protect it while fighting rival pigs, are part of a breeding programme at the zoo.

The species lives in the forests of the Philippines, where there could be as few as 200 animals left.

4. New Alzheimer's drug slows disease by a third

We could be entering the era of Alzheimer's treatments, after the second drug in under a year has been shown to slow the disease. Experts said we were now "on the cusp" of drugs being available, something that had recently seemed "impossible".

The company Eli Lilly has reported its drug - donanemab - slows the pace of Alzheimer's by about a third.

5. Covid global health emergency is over, WHO says

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that Covid-19 no longer represents a "global health emergency". The statement represents a major step towards ending the pandemic and comes three years after it first declared its highest level of alert over the virus.

But Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the virus remained a significant threat.

6. Doctors have performed brain surgery on a fetus in one of the first operations of its kind

The baby’s condition, known as vein of Galen malformation, was first noticed during a routine ultrasound scan at 30 weeks of pregnancy. The seven-week-old is one of the first people to have undergone an experimental brain operation while still in the womb. It might have saved her life.

Before she was born, this little girl developed a dangerous condition that led blood to pool in a 14-millimeter-wide pocket in her brain. The condition could have resulted in brain damage, heart problems, and breathing difficulties after birth. It could have been fatal. The baby girl was born healthy. She didn’t need any treatment for the malformation.

7. Lastly, watch this father stork brings a blanket to warm up mother stork

----

That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation:

Buy me a coffee ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog. SUBCRIBE HERE for more good news in your inbox

#best news of last week #Youtube

[laurellynnleake]

🎇 NYE COVID-19 RED ALERT - AVOID CROWDS & MASK UP 🎆

You wouldn't know it from our governments, but Turtle Island, aka the US & Canada, are in the worst spike of illness and deaths since 2020's deadly Omicron surge.

That means it's more dangerous to go to a New Years party this weekend than it's been for approximately 96.4% OF THE ENTIRE PANDEMIC. It's bad out there tonight, and your odds of staying healthy after an unmasked gathering are NOT good.

The more people at your party, the higher the chance you'll catch COVID-19. You may think it's worth the risk, since many people appear to have "mild" infections, but that's not the whole story.

The first 2 weeks of COVID-19, aka the "acute phase", are just the beginning. Even if you don't need emergency hospitalization, or even if you never have any symptoms at all, the virus SARS-CoV-2 responsible for COVID-19 silently turns your immune system against you and shreds the lining of your circulatory and nervous systems. This can permanently elevate your risk of heart attacks, strokes, digestive problems, and even life-changing disabling disorders like ME/CFS.

And even if you escape relatively unscathed, you could pass the virus onto loved ones who WILL get hit hard, and survive with new life-long disabilities, or not survive at all.

COVID-19 never left, and our healthcare systems are NOT looking out for us. We have to take care of each other. Please, please rethink going out to that party tonight. If you can't avoid socializing, please protect yourself as much as you can:

Wear WELL-FITTING respiratory masks like N95s & KN94s

Use nasal sprays before & after, & CPC mouthwash after

Gather outdoors whenever possible

Get good air circulation indoors with air filters like CR Boxes, or open windows for outside air (bundle up if it's cold)

More resources on these tips, and how to reduce the damage if you do get sick, can be found on this COVID Safety Roundup list. All graphics courtesy of the Pandemic Mitigation Collection and Dr. Michael Hoebert, from their website. Hoebert further breaks down the data on his twitter too.

You can also ask me any particular questions and I'll do my best to help! We all deserve to survive this, and we'll do it together.

#covid 19 #long covid #still masking #mask up #actually disabled #covid isn't over #covid19 #new year #happy new year #new years eve

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

At the beginning of July, Nancy Davis started feeling nauseous. The Baton Rouge resident considered COVID-19 or the flu, then decided to take a pregnancy test just in case. She saw the two blue lines denoting a positive test and ran to the living room to tell her boyfriend. They were both elated.

But their happiness was short-lived. At the first ultrasound, at Woman’s Hospital, the largest birthing center in Louisiana, the technician looked troubled and left the room. A woman in a white coat entered. Davis knew that wasn’t good.

The doctor pointed to the top of the head. There was no skull, she told Davis, an unsurvivable condition. The doctor tried to comfort her, saying this was one of the conditions that qualifies as an exception under the state’s abortion laws. Davis, about 10 weeks into her pregnancy, was still heartbroken.

“There was nothing I would have preferred more than to have this baby,” said Davis, 36. Instead, she prepared herself to pay an estimated $5,000 for an abortion at the hospital.

But that’s not what happened. Even after doctors at the hospital said they would provide an abortion once she got the diagnosis of acrania, a rare and fatal condition, from a specialist, the hospital called to tell her it would not be able to do it, she said. The hospital directed her to a Florida abortion clinic instead, or to carry the baby to term.

'MEDICALLY FUTILE'

Davis' predicament illustrates the gray area in Louisiana's new abortion law and the administrative regulations that attempt to explain it to medical professionals and the public. They all but forbid abortion, except to save the life of the mother or when the fetus is "medically futile," according to a list of conditions issued by the state.

Acrania does not appear on the state’s list of accepted conditions for abortion. But the state also has a broad exception for any “profound and irremediable congenital or chromosomal anomaly existing in the unborn child that is incompatible with sustaining life after birth in reasonable medical judgment.”

Two physicians must sign off on the anomaly. But Woman’s still said it would not perform the abortion.

“In the absence of additional guidance, we must look at each patient’s individual circumstances and remain in compliance with all current state laws to the best of our ability,” said Caroline Isemann, a hospital spokesperson, in a statement.

That's not how some doctors have interpreted the law.

'THEY JUST WON'T FUNCTION'

“Acrania, to me, is synonymous with anencephaly, and it’s on the list,” said Dr. Cecilia Gambala, a maternal fetal medicine specialist at Tulane University School of Medicine, referring to another brain and spine defect. “There is no skull.”

Gambala said that even if hospital attorneys were uncomfortable with giving the go-ahead for an abortion based on the acrania diagnosis, they could use the broad exception that the state allows for when a fetus is incompatible with life. And acrania, in Gambala's opinion, meets that description.

"Babies can be born alive, they just won't function," Gambala said. "Their heart might be beating, they can breathe, but they have no brain tissue to actually develop as far as comprehending what's happening or reacting to anything."

GUIDANCE NEEDED

Cases like this will become more common until there is more clarity surrounding the law, whether from legislation, additional guidance from the state Health Department or litigation, said Matthew Brown, a New Orleans-based attorney specializing in health care law.

“The problem is very specific,” Brown said. “And that’s why the law doesn’t address it.”

Brown said the hospital may view the fetus as currently viable because acrania is not immediately fatal and there is still a heartbeat. It also doesn’t immediately endanger the life of the mother, even though the health risks and psychological risks are significant as the pregnancy continues.

Other hospitals may see the situation differently. Until there is more clarity, scenarios like this will continue to play out, he said.

"Any pregnant woman at this point, even the ones [who] are hoping for a healthy child and planning to give birth, is facing additional uncertainty about how they're going to be cared for under bad circumstances because of this law," Brown said.

After seeing a maternal fetal medicine specialist, Davis starting researching the condition on her own. She found devastating images of infants and fetuses who looked like they were missing parts of their heads. She read that babies with acrania are stillborn or die shortly after birth, just like her doctors told her.

“I haven’t run across a case where these babies live,” Davis said.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT

The nearest abortion clinic that can take Davis is an eight-hour drive, and would require a week's stay because she needs a consultation before the procedure.

“I can’t just get up and shoot out; I have kids,” said Davis, who has a 13-year-old and a 1-year-old and no transportation, after a hit-and-run wreck totaled her car a few months back.

Florida also bans abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy, and Davis is now nearing 14 weeks. The next-closest state, North Carolina, is a 15-hour drive.

In desperation, Davis visited Care Pregnancy Clinic, a pregnancy crisis center that discourages abortions, on Flannery Road. Staff gave her information on how to bury the baby and said their prayers were with her.

“It makes me feel horrible, like I’m alone in this,” Davis said. “It makes me feel like they just threw me to the wolves.”

After being told to go to Florida, Davis said she wanted other people to know how laws decided in the Louisiana Legislature play out in real life.

“I never in a million years thought it would affect me like this,” she said. “It seems like Louisiana is the hardest place right now to get that done. They don't even wanna say that word.”

#us politics #news #tweet #twitter #@davenewworld_2 #Louisiana #abortions #abortion bans #Florida #north carolina #nola.com #nola #acrania #stillborn #anencephaly #non-viable fetus #abortion is a human right #abortion is healthcare #2022 #reproductive rights are human rights #reproductive health #reproductive rights

[shipposttt]

The Ship of the Day: Marina

Name: Maya x Carina 

Ship Name: Marina

Original content: Station 19 (2018) - a Greys Anatomy spin off 

Ship info: Station 19 is a Greys Anatomy spin off show about a group of firefighters at fire station 19. Maya Bishop is a firefighter at station 19 who later becomes Captain of station 19. Carina DeLuca is a doctor at Grey Sloan hospital, and they meet when they both go for drinks at Joe’s – a bar near the hospital. 

They begin their relationship, and it is quickly interrupted by the covid 19 pandemic. After being apart for so long they decide to move in together which is a big step in their relationship and leaves Maya, who before this relationship seemingly has commitment issues, quite frenzied. However, Maya accepts this change in their relationship just before another hurdle comes their way. Carina is going to be deported and so she is going back to Italy and going to have to work as a doctor there. However, when Carina is packing to leave Maya suggest the idea of marriage which Carina quickly turns down. They then get into a discussion about how they should’ve known by now that Maya wants to get married whereas Carina doesn’t and that Carina wants children whereas Maya doesn’t. This lead to what seems to be the end of their relationship and Carina leaves for the airport.

Although we see Carina have a change of heart on the way to the airport and she turns around and finds Maya where she proposes to her in front of their friends. They then have a beautiful small wedding which is somewhat ruined by Maya finding out she is getting demoted from captain. Their relationship seems to still remain strong and after discussing it thoroughly they decide to try for a baby. They search for a sperm doner and start the process. However, Maya’s mental health starts to quickly decline and their relationship hits a rough patch when Maya starts pushing herself too hard at work and not coming home and Carina does things such as taking pregnancy tests without Maya present. 

After Maya nearly dies by pushing herself too hard Carina decides to take a break from their relationship to give them both space and give Maya a chance to work on her problems. Maya who is hurt by the prospect of losing Carina starts to put work into getting better by doing therapy and taking a step back from work and even learning how to cook. She then starts to try and win Carina back by trying to ask her on a first date again. They go on the date and have a good time and then try to take things slow again. Although they both admit that they miss being together and start fixing their marriage and try to get back to a strong point. They even discuss the idea of them starting to try for children again.

Type of ship: Canon Queer

Whilst Maya and Carina have had their ups and downs – they took a break that nearly needed their marriage they still ended up back together and stronger. This is a testament to this show and the creators as none of the tropes usually associated with queer couples have been applied here. Both characters are still alive, and they are happily married to each other and trying for children. The same cannot be said for lots of other sapphic ships, canon or otherwise, in media. Again, they have had their downs but none of this is because or a result of them being in a same-sex relationship but rather due to mental health issues. 

The fact that the creators of this show have shown the downs of a relationship as happens with many real-life relationships queer or otherwise is important. This is because it allows fans to have a canon queer relationship with flawed, real, multifaceted characters who make mistakes but ultimately learn from their mistakes both apart and together. Again, this is important because in some instances it could be easier to have the two characters split up but the creators do not let this happen which is major for the portrayal of queer women in media and to fans. 

Admin 🦈

#fandom #marina #maya x carina #station 19 #maya bishop #carina deluca #lgbtq community #gay ships #shipping

[maaarine]

Long Covid may be the body trying to fight off other viruses (Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph, April 08 2024)

"Dr Felicity Liew, from Imperial’s National Heart & Lung Institute, said:

“Even though the acute phase of illness resolves, there may be virus persisting in the body that could continually trigger the immune system and cause the ongoing inflammation that we found.

“It can also cause reactivation of herpes viruses or people that previously had glandular fever caused by Epstein-Barr virus, and it can cause that to reactivate and cause ongoing symptoms.

“Or it can result in autoimmunity, and all of those scenarios result in the types of inflammation that we see, and could result in chronic and ongoing abnormal inflammation represented by these proteins highlighted here.”

There are eight herpes viruses that routinely infect humans, and which lie dormant in the body.

Around 70 per cent of people in Britain carry the Herpes Simplex type 1 (HS1) virus, which causes cold sores, while 10 per cent have HS2, which can cause genital warts and is linked to cervical cancer.

Similarly, around nine in 10 people carry Epstein-Barr – also a type of herpes – which mostly causes no problems, but can sometimes lead to glandular fever, encephalitis, meningitis and trigger auto-immunity.

Usually dormant viruses are kept at bay by the immune system, but experts think Covid-19 requires so much attention that it may allow other viruses through the defensive cracks. (…)

Researchers believe long Covid may be similar, or the same, as post-viral syndrome which leads to people experiencing fatigue and brain fog after influenza and other viruses, and may be to blame for conditions such as ME/CFS.

The team say the sheer number of people suffering ongoing symptoms after Covid gives the opportunity to get to the bottom of what is causing these after-viral effects, and could lead to help for other long-term conditions."

#article #health #coronavirus #epstein barr #cfs

[covidsafehotties]

“After COVID-19, sudden heart attacks have increased as it can directly damage heart cells, leading to inflammation and scarring, weakening the heart and increasing the risk of irregular heartbeats and heart attacks.”

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

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Kamala/ James Arthur Harris

James Arthur “Kamala” Harris was a professional wrestler best known for his professional wrestling persona, Kamala, a fictional Ugandan giant. Harris was born on May 28, 1950, to Jessie Harris and Betsy Mosely in Senatobia, Mississippi. He had four sisters as well. Harris grew up in Coldwater, Mississippi where his family owned a furniture store. When he was four years old, his father was murdered after a dice game. Growing up, he worked as a sharecropper to help provide for the family. Harris dropout out of high school in the ninth grade and became a burglar.

In 1967, on the advice of police, Harris left Mississippi and moved to Florida where he worked a truck driver and fruit picker. He next moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan where he met a professional wrestler Bobo Brazil who became his trainer. In 1978, Harris made his professional wrestling debut as “Sugar Bear” Harris. One year later, in 1979 he won his first professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Association (NWA) Tri-State Tag Team competition with wrestler Oki Shikina. In 1980 he joined Southeastern Championship Wrestling as “Bad News” Harris and later that year won its championship. In 1982, Harris joined the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) after being offer by a job by promoter Jerry O’Neal “The King” Lawler.

While wrestling for CWA, Lawler and another wrestling promoter, Jerry Winston Jarret, created a new wrestling character for Harris. This character, named Kamala, was a stereotypical Ugandan headhunter with face and body painting who was supposed to be the bodyguard of former President of Uganda Idi Amin. Harris then joined Mid-South Wrestling owned by promoter William Harris and remained with the organization until 1986.

Harris wrestled with other wrestling organizations during his career including World Class Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE), and World Championship Wrestling before retiring in 2010 at the age of 60.

Despite his long successful wrestling career, Harris had numerous personal and health related issues. In 2011, had his left leg amputated below the knee due to complications from high blood pressure and diabetes. A year later, his right leg was also amputated below the knee. As a result of the amputations, a charity fund was set up to help with his financial needs.

In 2016, Harris was part of a class action lawsuit filed against World Wrestling Entertainment claiming that wrestlers received traumatic brain injuries during their time with WWE. Unfortunately for Harris and other wrestlers, the lawsuit was dismissed by Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant in 2018.

Harris was married twice during his lifetime, first to Clara Freeman. That marriage ended in divorce. He later married Emmer Jean Bradley and that marriage lasted until his death. He was also father six children, five daughters and one son.

In 2017, Harris underwent lifesaving emergency surgery to clear fluid from around his heart and lungs. His health problems continued. He was hospitalized on August 5, 2020, after testing positive from COVID-19 during the pandemic in Mississippi. Four days later, on August 9, Harris died from complications from diabetes and COVID-19 in Oxford, Mississippi. He was 70.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/people-african-american-history/kamala-james-arthur-harris-1950-2020/

#historical #black history month #wrestling

[dayjalois-blog]

Time travel and multiple universes

April 07 2024.

Time travel and multiple universes. Is it possible to travel through time or even to other universes? Yes. I have been doing both.

How is this possible? Tesla's device and the cowardice of Congress. When they murdered Tesla and stole both his device and papers it began a war of freedom. Freedom of choice. Freedom of life and the right to live one of one's choosing.

Until one of three events occur, I will make this a journal of a small fraction of experiences and devices' uses, without detail of construction of said devices. Congress is stripped of Tesla 's device and removed permanently. Two, we are sent to yet another universe or three, the planet is destroyed.

Not a pretty choice...the last, but when those murdered again and again, people like Challenger crew, Princess Diana, Paul Walker, for wanting freedom from control and Congress saving people like Sanjay Gupta, three of their own and Al Roker from deaths that were the results of their COVID-19 (June 2020) and a blood clot August 2019) reaching the heart, there must an end to their slavery, their desire to be a god must be done.

Tomorrow I must begin the process of creating a teleport. It is necessary in order to acquire funding for technologies to both aid in this war and, like many universes ago, open windows to hundreds of light years away...for exploring purposes.

End Entry.

April 08 2024

I really hate this body. Placing the obvious aside, with its medical problems, it tires very easily.

I didn't have as many low level resistors as I wished, so I am forced to take a "short cut"...as I label it. With the health issues of this body and lack of all necessary resistors, I have gotten the first teleport ready for soldering.

I am going to try to rest awhile. Maybe I will regain enough energy to solder and test it today.

Now, for those 'hooked' on time travel, I can give you information on what occurred, in the previous timeline, in regards to both the missing Sebastian Rogers and the two missing women whose car was found abandoned on Oklahoma 95 and Road L.

Will it be the same? I don't know. I can only say that my family and I are moving through universes and timelines more often now than ever before. Most recent move has been a short few months ago.

In the last, Sebastian Rogers was found hiding out near a farm...sometimes in a greenhouse at a school. He was fine. It was said that he was angry about not getting an expensive pair of shoes like a friend of his.

The two women? Before we were moved to this universe...this timeline, one was found dead on a farm. The other...the person has not been located at that time.

Again, this information was from one of many timelines, universes we have been in the last short few months. How many? I would say three to four.

My next device to be created, after the testing and, if need, if supplies permit, adjusting, will be the exterior planetary window.

It's rest time.

End Entry.

April 14 2024.

Wow! Getting old can be tiresome. Teleports. I did the math on several. It seems that between the poor battery, poor power cord of the phone and the many difficulties of this body, I seem to only labour half a day. Having said that, I have given a lot of thought to making teleportation available to the masses. My decision...is not yet.

I still need a means to make the environment more suitable for us. As result, I am going to use another part of the technology to solve both 'dead end' homicides and missing persons. How? Easy for me. I will begin, once paid and given the correct exact information, will open a door to the event and record it with either a cellphone or video camera.

Wait?! Proof...proof! Okay. I have calculated a well known death event... Nicole Brown Simpson. I calculated to open the door on the 20th of April.

I set this date in order to adjust the door to make it invisible from the target's view. When it recorded it I will post it by the next day. After posting, I will be finishing a website to launch to assist in gaining clients.

End Entry.

April 18 2024

I have been working hard today! Not on the door to save Nicole Brown Simpson...yet. That must wait until Monday, as long as my supplies last. I have three other devices that require attention first. - This is due to needing to teach some interfering retards a lesson for trying to interfere with our survival and my work.

I almost finished the first today. It will be complete tomorrow and the next will begin. I project, considering the idiocy I am currently having to deal with, that, should supplies last, I will be able to save her by Thursday of next week.

Tired...

End Entry

April 25 2024

I calculated the electron formation of the device for Nicole Brown Simpson murder too low. It will take me past the moment to get the door to open, so I must recalculate and reconstruct the device again. This will not happen until next month.

Why did I not give it the proper calculations in the first place? Simple, the higher the rate the easier it is to pass from one moment to another. In the last universe I did this, the person who committed the act of murdering them actually tried to pass through the door to use the very same knife to stab me in the stomach. Fortunately the rate was low enough to delay the teleport.

Well, I will be looking forward to next month. And the posting of the video.

For those of you who read this, believe in "time travel" then you have your masters in DC to thank for repeats though they're coming to an end.

End Entry

#Time Travel #Multiple Universes #Journal

[mightyflamethrower]

It is a small study, but a very disturbing one.

We keep being told that injury to the heart from the COVID vaccine is very rare, but a study done in Basel Switzerland indicates that the rate of subclinical myocarditis after the COVID vaccine is hardly rare at all.

In fact, in a study with only 777 participants with a median age of 37--all medical professionals getting the COVID vaccine–the incidence of elevated cardiac enzymes 3 days after injection was pretty substantial, at almost 3%.

The CDC did a study and from that, they claimed the rate was 0.001%, or one out of 100,000.

2.8% is a lot higher than 0.001%. Another 0.3% had “probable myocarditis,” putting the total at over 3%. That is 3000 times higher than the US government claimed. 

In this small study, nobody had serious complications, but with a myocarditis complication rate of 3%, you would have to expect that giving out hundreds of millions of doses is a pretty risky proposition.

I think we all knew that already, but this study seems to put the nail in the coffin of “vaccine injuries are super rare” from COVID-19 shots.

Oops. Who could have guessed?

One oddity was that the rate of myocarditis among the participants was heavily weighted toward women, not men. That could be an artifact of the sample, or it could indicate that women are more likely to get a complication, but the complications are more likely to be serious among men.

One reason the researchers posit for the vast difference between their results–which are based upon blood tests looking for cardiac enzymes in all participants–and the commonly asserted claim that vaccine-induced myocarditis is rare is that the only cases that are diagnosed without looking specifically for it are severe.

In other words, most people don’t go to the doctor until there is a serious problem, so many people suffer from myocarditis without ever getting diagnosed.

This suggests that there is a very large group of people who were afflicted but never treated. This in most cases would not be a huge problem, as the inflammation resolves on its own, but in some cases, actual damage to the heart was done without it ever being caught.

Another variable, not mentioned, is that myocarditis complications are more common in young men, and this study skewed both female and middle-aged professionals. Given the cohort studied, one would expect them to be not entirely representative of the population as a whole. They are likely wealthier, healthier, and moderately older than the population as a whole.

In any case, this study sheds quite a light on just how deceptive the CDC, the FDA, and NIAID have been about vaccine safety. And also how intentionally ignorant they have chosen to be. This was not a complicated study to do. The researchers chose a cohort easy to recruit, tested them both before and after vaccination to create a baseline and comparison, and analyzed the data.

Easy peasy. Not even that costly. If you wanted to know the actual numbers of people with heart damage post-vaccine, this was an easy-to-construct and interpret study, and you can get results very quickly.

Why didn’t our public health officials do it then? Why did it take a hospital in Switzerland to come up with the idea and execute it? In 2023, no less.

Being off by a factor of 3000 is more than an oops. It is a very big deal.

[peachychilvary]

Memoir

My Story From Childhood to Adulthood

Hello, everyone, every two, every three! Good morning, afternoon, and evening to you all. This is your beautiful girl, Berlyn U. Armas. Sometimes, I hear people talk about my surname because it's ARMAS, which means gun or weapon. They find it unique, which is true; I haven't even met someone with the same surname as mine in my entire 18 years of living; even at school, I don't have a similar surname with anyone. Well, yes, I am 18 years old. I was born on January 23rd, 2006. I was born at Mactan Hospital in Lapu-Lapu City. My favorite colors are red and black. I know black is a shade, not a color; you don't have to nag at me. ☹️ but yes, I love black and red—not bright red, but dark red. I lived in Camella Home, Bankal Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, Philippines.

 

This is my memoir from childhood to adulthood. I am not even sure if I am now grown up because he once told me I am still his baby. I don't even have a boyfriend or an ex-boyfriend. I am NBSB, which means NO BOYFRIEND SINCE BIRTH. Do you know why? in view of the fact that I am scared of commitment and that my parents will not allow me to be in a relationship. But I have been in a lot of situations. I remember when I was in 8th grade, I entertained that one boy in our school because he kept messaging me, and one time my brother suddenly saw my phone and saw our conversation. My brother told my parents about it, and they scolded me for being a rock head. But right now, I am ready to commit to the right person. I am still waiting for the right person. I don't know why they don't want to talk to me or approach me; I don't even bite. I guess they don't want the right person, then. Well, it's their loss, not mine. And one thing I am very picky about when it comes to boys is that I always make sure they are willing to take the risk of whatever happens. I am a good person, and I have a kind heart. I treat everyone with a good personality 🤡. This is not a cap, I swear😌.

 

When I was a kid, I was always full of curiosity and energy. I loved exploring the outdoors, climbing trees, and getting lost in my own imaginary worlds. I remember playing with my childhood friends back then. We would play every four hours in the afternoon until our parents would come to our playground to pick us up just to go home. I also remembered when I accidentally punched my brother when we were little. I have no idea why I did that to him, but he cried after I punched him. When I was in 2nd grade, there was gymnastics training in our school gym, and as I watched it every day, I became more interested in entering gymnastics. I told my mother about it, and she supported me and let me join the sport of gymnastics. As I train every day, my coach sees my potential and says I can join any competition because of the improvement of my skills. As time went by, I became more interested in entering every competition. Sometimes I will receive awards, sometimes not; it depends. 

 

In the seventh grade, I discovered that I have a passion for dancing. By the time I reached the eighth grade, I eagerly joined a dance troupe within our school, taking center stage at every event and earning recognition from everyone on campus. The connections I forged during these experiences led to a lot of friends that enriched my school life. However, as I reached the ninth, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brought about unforeseen challenges. Because of COVID-19, the government has decided that all students will take online classes and modular classes during this time because of the virus, so the students will not get infected and to secure their health. At the time I graduated from high school, I graduated with honors, and I am so proud of myself, even if I faced challenges during my 10th grade, together with family problems and financial problems. Even so, I didn't let that affect my academic success. My parents are very proud of me. Despite these shifts, my determination to pursue both academic excellence and my love for dancing remained undeterred.

 

As I entered senior high school, the government allowed the schools to have face-to-face classes again. I decided to choose the ABM strand. I don't know why I chose that strand; I just did. During this time, I met new friends and also joined the dance troupe at our school. Yes, I passed the audition that time. If our school held an event, we also had to practice for the intermission number. I also joined the SSG organization in our strand to lead and guide the students. I still strive for academic success and have started to join school activities to represent our section and the ABM department. As I grew older, I noticed that I became more competitive whenever we had a dance competition at our school. I feel disappointed in myself whenever we can't achieve that championship because I always think that maybe I didn't do better, or maybe I should have done it better. 

 

Growing up was an incredible journey filled with unforgettable moments. Each day brought new discoveries and opportunities for growth. Whether it was trying new hobbies, making mistakes, or facing challenges, I embraced it all with a sense of wonder and excitement. Growing up taught me valuable lessons about resilience, empathy, and the importance of staying true to myself. Looking back, I cherish those memories and the person they shaped me into today. I will also thank my parents for supporting and taking care of me. Lastly, I also thank God, who always guides me and gives me never-ending blessings.

#empowerment technology #childhood #adulthood #branding

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

Just before 7 am on March 3, Danny Lemoi posted an update in his hugely popular pro-ivermectin Telegram group, Dirt Road Discussions: “HAPPY FRIDAY ALL YOU POISONOUS HORSE PASTE EATING SURVIVORS !!!”

Hours later, Lemoi was dead.

For the last decade, Lemoi had taken a daily dose of veterinary ivermectin, a dewormer designed to be used on large animals like horses and cows. In 2021, as ivermectin became a popular alternative COVID-19 treatment among anti-vaxxers, he launched what became one of the largest Telegram channels dedicated to promoting the use of it, including instructions on how to administer ivermectin to children.

But despite Lemoi’s death, the administrators of his channel are pushing his misinformation—even as his followers share their own worrying possible side effects from taking ivermectin and some question the safety of the drug.

Lemoi, a heavy equipment operator who lived in Foster, Rhode Island, “passed away unexpectedly” on March 3, according to an online obituary post by his family last week. He was survived by his parents and brother. The obituary gave no details about the cause of his death.

In the Telegram channel, administrators broke the news of his death to his followers. “Though it was obvious that Danny had the biggest heart, it was unbeknownst to him that his heart was quite literally overworking and overgrowing beyond its capacity, nearly doubled in size from what it should have been,” the admins wrote, adding: “We understand that this is going to raise questions for those who were following him.”

The admins added that Lemoi had undergone testing on his heart last year, but the results had shown no cause for concern.

Lemoi began taking the version of ivermectin designed for animals on a daily basis in 2012, after he was diagnosed with Lyme disease, according to a detailed account of his medical history he gave on a podcast last November. He said then that five months after first taking the drug, he quit all other treatments and believed ivermectin had “regenerated” his heart muscle.

During the pandemic, Ivermectin became hugely popular among anti-vaxxers, many of whom were taking and recommending the veterinary formulation of the drug, rather than the one designed for human use. While ivermectin for humans is used to treat serious illnesses like river blindness, it has repeatedly been shown to be an ineffective treatment for COVID-19.

And according to the Missouri Poison Center, ingesting large doses of ivermectin formulated for animals has a long list of side effects, including seizures, coma, lung issues, and heart problems. Veterinary ivermectin is not a cure or effective treatment for COVID, the FDA has repeatedly warned, and is highly concentrated because it is designed for large animals like horses and cows. “Such high doses can be highly toxic in humans,” the FDA cautions.

“Danny was fully convinced that his heart had regenerated after his incident with Lyme disease that almost ended in congestive heart failure,” the admins wrote, before claiming that “a family history of heart disease and chronic stress” were why his heart had ultimately become engorged. “All of his other organs were unremarkable,” the admins wrote. “And this was determined to be a death by unfortunate natural causes.”

The admins of Lemoi’s channel did not respond to VICE News’ questions about where they got their information about his death. Lemoi’s surviving family did not respond to VICE News' request for comment on the cause of his death.

But a review of Lemoi’s Telegram channels shows that many of his followers who are taking his dosage recommendations, or “protocols,” for veterinary ivermectin are experiencing numerous known side effects of taking the drug.

“I’m 4 months now and all hell’s breaking loose, all pain has hit my waist down with sciatic, shin splints, restless leg syndrome, tight sore calves & it feels like some pain in the bones,” a member wrote on Friday.

Lemoi explained away the negative side effects of taking veterinary ivermectin by describing them as “herxing,” a real term to describe an adverse response that occurs in people who take antibiotics as a treatment for Lyme disease.

“My wife has been taking ivermectin for 3 months,” a member wrote Friday. “She is being treated for autoimmune hepatitis, thyroid, and vertebrae issues. She has had some serious HERXING. Today she has a migraine, vomiting and severe stomach pain. Does anyone have any ideas how to help, and are these HERXING symptoms?”

Some members of the group are taking ivermectin not only as a treatment against COVID, but as a cure-all for almost every disease—from cancer and depression, to autism and ovarian cysts—believing that every disease is caused by a parasite that is removed from the body by ivermectin, just as animals are given the drug to treat parasitic worms like tapeworm.

Lemoi also formulated an ivermectin regimen for children, and numerous members of the group reported that they were using it. This week alone one member wrote that she had established another group for “parents of children on the spectrum, cerebral palsy, pans/panda, downs etc.,” who are using the Lemoi’s recommended children’s dosage.

When some members of the group blamed Lemoi’s death on ivermectin, they were criticized in the Telegram channel; their fellow group members claimed they were spreading misinformation.

​​“No one can convince me that he died because of ivermectin,” one member wrote this week. “He ultimately died because of our failed western medicine which only cares about profits and not the cure.”

Despite Lemoi’s death, administrators said this week the Telegram channel would live on, and the group is attracting new members who continue to take ivermectin despite suffering serious side effects.

“I am very new to this... I’ve been on Bimectin paste for 20 days,” one new member wrote on Friday morning, explaining that he too was suffering from Lyme disease. “I have severe chest pain. Costochondritis symptoms. Air hunger, internal tremors, brain fog, headaches on the back of my head, anxiety, depression, doom and gloominess.”

Oh...just remembering all the MAGA freaks on here that were foaming at the mouth over ivermectin and wondering why @staff never gave us a "report medical misinformation" option...

#us politics #news #vice news #2023 #anti vaxxers #fuck antivaxers #republicans #conservatives #ivermectin #ivermetin side effects #telegram #Dirt Road Discussions #Danny Lemoi #medical misinformation #coronavirus misinformation #misinformation #Missouri Poison Center #food and drug administration #Lyme disease #herxing #tweet #twitter #tumblr #@staff we need a covid misinformation report option #@staff

[mariacallous]

An official investigation into a pandemic would seem an unlikely source of sordid entertainment. But such is the nature of contemporary politics in Britain that the inquiry into its official response to COVID-19 has been reduced to just that.

Over the past few weeks, in an office building near Paddington Station in west London, some of the United Kingdom’s most distinguished lawyers have questioned those at the heart of the British state about their response to the pandemic. The inquiry is set to reach its peak in a few weeks’ time, when investigators question former Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other key ministers, including current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who was then the chancellor (finance minister), and Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, whose reputation has been little enhanced by his decision to quit politics after a very public extramarital affair and instead become a reality TV star.

Already, the inquiry has shone a light on the bombast and buffoonery in Downing Street, led by and personified in the then-prime minister, Boris Johnson. Most of the coverage so far has been focused on the questions of who said what to whom. And it has been colorful—women denigrated with sexist slurs, other civil servants dismissed with elaborate insults, multiple hatreds laid bare— with most of the vulgarity emanating from the testimony of Dominic Cummings, a self-styled Rasputin figure who had been at Johnson’s right hand until they spectacularly fell out and became archenemies.

While the palace intrigues have caught the media’s attention, the more important failures—the gradual erosion of the publicly funded National Health Service (one of very few state institutions in Britain that remain overwhelmingly popular) and the wider weaknesses of state structures—have yet to receive a proper airing. (That time may yet come. The inquiry has been split into five so-called modules, and it is only midway into the second.)

The state’s dysfunction, however, needs to be seen in a wider context. At the onset of the pandemic, Britain was mired in self-delusion. Years of austerity had drained public services of the ability to do anything more than muddle through, with no slack in the system in case anything went wrong. A sense of entitlement among a small group of Conservative Party politicians, all educated at elite schools, had reinforced a foppish self-belief rather than self-awareness. And decades of denial about the U.K.’s real place in the world had infused, in politicians of all parties, a view that Britannia did still rule the waves.

How else to account for Johnson’s approach to the pandemic, painfully laid bare by several of his former advisors? In devastatingly deadpan evidence, the deputy head of the civil service, Helen MacNamara, said she struggled to think of a single day when Downing Street adhered to the emergency rules it had set, which many citizens were prosecuted for failing to follow.

She described how in the crucial period leading up to the first lockdown, Johnson declared that the United Kingdom’s “world-beating” systems would cope better than all others. For 12 crucial days, people were allowed to go about their daily lives unaffected, even after the World Health Organization declared on March 11, 2020, that the coronavirus outbreak was a pandemic.

The disease, Johnson blithely told colleagues, would be no worse than swine flu. He and his officials had no interest in learning from others, such as from countries that had coped with the SARS virus. MacNamara revealed how ministers fell about laughing when they were told about European states shutting down, mocking the Italians for rushing to do so.

This sense of go-it-alone braggadocio, very much a Johnson hallmark, had seemingly been turned into a governing principle since the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union.

As early as March 13, MacNamara marched into the prime minister’s office to tell him that the National Health Service would be overwhelmed. “I think we are absolutely fucked. I think this country is heading for a disaster. I think we are going to kill thousands of people.” Johnson finally declared a lockdown on March 23. By then it was already very late, and many lives were lost that otherwise might have been saved.

That was just the start. Texts and WhatsApp messages have also provided a treasure trove of material attesting to the government’s inability to cope. The head of the civil service, Simon Case, wrote to a colleague he had “never seen a bunch of people less well-equipped to run a country.” He described the atmosphere inside Downing Street as “mad” and “poisonous.”

Throughout the two-year pandemic, Johnson would repeatedly get the science wrong, veering between desperation and complacency. One of his officials’ diary entries noted that he had expressed the belief that the coronavirus was “just nature’s way of dealing with old people.”

Nor were government structures properly equipped. The head of the health service admitted that there was a “disconnect” between government and the realities on the ground. Very few senior civil servants had any science background.

Other faults cited by experts in the inquiry and outside it have been overcentralization in the health service and a failure to consult regional authorities across broader policymaking, and a lack of understanding of demographics. Differential impacts on poorer people or ethnic communities were accepted as inevitable. Epidemiological data was inconsistent and disorganized. There were not enough hospital beds or dedicated wards. Supplies of personal protective equipment for health workers were in shambles, as was testing, and tracing was a nonstarter. Borders were not closed for many weeks. Throughout the crisis, informal procurement policies bordered on the corrupt, with several companies linked to friends of ministers receiving large contracts and sometimes producing equipment that failed to work.

In short, contingency plans for governing in an all-consuming crisis of the kind that arrived with COVID-19 did not exist. But this was not only a matter of Johnson’s administrative incompetence. The British political system has for centuries been based on the so-called good chap theory of decent people playing by informal rules and doing their best. Regulations and structures are habitually dismissed, usually by the political right, as stiflingly un-British. At the apex of power, the relationship between the prime minister, his or her cabinet, and senior officials is blurred and subject to interpretation by each set of incumbents. Civil servants have a duty to political impartiality and to not making public statements, leaving them invariably to being blamed for government mistakes. Although these pressure points have always existed, morale is said now to be at an all-time low.

The watchword now is resilience, and it is at the heart of preparations that the opposition Labour Party, which has a consistently large lead in opinion polls, is making for government after a general election that is most likely to take place between May and October in 2024. The task is considerable. Politics based in precedence and making it up as you go along may have worked in the past (although as ever in Britain, the country’s performance is seen through rose-tinted spectacles), but there’s little reason to think they will be adequate to present and future transnational crises—from climate to migration to natural resources to another pandemic.

What is required is a thorough reconstruction of the United Kingdom’s governance. One of the key figures in any future Labour government is a top civil servant who shortly after delivering her report Johnson’s “party-gate” scandals announced that she was moving to be chief of staff to the likely next prime minister, Keir Starmer. Her main task, which she has already begun planning, is an overhaul of structures, rights, and responsibilities of government departments. This is expected to be wide-ranging.

It has been necessary and, indeed, instructive—and possibly entertaining—for the COVID-19 inquiry to delve into the miscreance of Johnson and his cabal. But it has so far been insufficient in terms of addressing deep-rooted systemic failings.

[phoenixonwheels]

Antivaxxer hall of fame

Covid? What Covid? Gene’s gonna live his life.

Congrats Gene! This post just qualified you for the antivaxxer hall of fame.

Hey Gene, here’s a little prediction: Before you inevitably drag your useless Covid-ridden ass to the hospital, you will absolutely know you have Covid.

Covid tests are a scam donchaknow.

So wait, now you believe in Covid? Oh buddy, it is waaaaaay too late for that.

Narrator: He was not good.

Oh of course his useless Covid-denier ass is now wasting a hospital bed.

2-1/2 years into Covid.

6.4 million confirmed Covid deaths.

Barbara: We are shocked at his completely unpredictable death. 🙄🙄🙄

[ID: Facebook posts by Gene Dunn: 13 Jan 2022: “It’s been over 400 days. You have likely been exposed at some point. You either got sick or miraculously recovered, or you have natural immunity. Live. Your. Life.” 4 Feb 2022: “So many of you regret taking it. None of us regret not taking it.” 6 Feb 2022: “Imagine a vaccine so safe you have to be threatened to take it for a disease so deadly you have to be tested to know you have it!” 4 Jul 2022 “Well I’m still not well and after realizing how short of breath I was getting out the spa and flipping the cover back on I decided to take a C-19 test and guess what? The results were I could be positive or I could be negative. This is why I don’t believe all the media BS.. these test are just a money making deal” 6 Jul 2022: “I can't take thsi pain any longer....now I am having coughing and breathing problems ,,,the first test O took was questionable but this one was a solid positive” 6 Jul 2022: “The doctor was limited on the treatment because treatment should be started within the first five days and I am now on 10. She did give me some medication and an inhaler and theChest x-ray and I should be good,,.” 11 Jul 2022: “Here I am again. Gene is in ICU and is stable. They intubated? him this morning at 7 a.m and have him knocked out. Nurse says he is stable and time will tell. They will call me with any significant changes. We pray and wait. Thank you all. Barbara” 26 Jul 2022: “It is with a shattered heart that we announce the passing of our beloved Gene Dunn. Gene was our warrior. A good man that fought a hard and courageous fight but his condition worsened over the past couple days and he succumbed to his illness at 1:30 a.m. today at Community Memorial Hospital. We are devastated. We are still in shock.”]

#covid 19 #coronavirus #dying to own the libs #karma is a bitch #fucked around and found out #fafo #Covid denier #antivaxxer

[brostateexam]

Something has gone wrong with work. On this, everyone seems to agree. Less clear is the precise nature of the problem, let alone who or what is to blame. For some time we’ve been told that we’re in the midst of a Great Resignation. Workers are quitting their jobs en masse, repudiating not just their bosses but ambition itself—even the very idea of work. Last year, as resignation rates appeared to plateau, the cause célèbre shifted to “quiet quitting.” This theory holds that what truly distinguishes the present crisis is a more metaphorical sort of resignation: a withdrawal of effort, the sort of thing that is called “work-to-rule” when undertaken by a union. This supposed rebellion against extortion has served as fodder for familiar right-wing complaints about entitlement. The most optimistic commentators on the left, however, have assimilated these hypothetical phenomena into a vision of revitalized working-class self-activity. The AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler has boasted of “labor’s great resurgence.” Even the New York Times, in its own milquetoast fashion, has acknowledged the prospect that, “after decades of declining union membership, organized labor may be on the verge of a resurgence in the U.S.”

There is evidence for all and none of these accounts. Despite declining in 2022, the overall rates of resignation remain higher than at any point in the twenty-first century before the pandemic. But such numbers conceal striking differences across sectors. Statistically speaking, the Great Resignation has been confined almost entirely to the low-wage service industries. Rates of quitting among the so-called laptop class budged only slightly after the initial recession following COVID-19 and now sit at or below pre-pandemic levels. But aggregate employment in the sectors at the heart of the Great Resignation has been growing at a solid clip for years. There’s been a particular acceleration in the gig economy—self-employment increased about 20 percent in the first two years of the pandemic. The quitting phenomenon is real, in other words, but it manifests more frequently in canvassing for better deals than in a radical refusal to work altogether. As its icon we should not imagine a Charles Foster Kane type who realizes, at the summit of his professional climb, that all is vanity, but rather a taxi driver switching fleets a few times in search of better pay and conditions before deciding to drive for Uber.

The evidence for quiet quitting—a concept popularized by a viral TikTok video—is considerably more qualitative, to put it kindly. The best numbers on the subject come from the biannual Gallup study of employee engagement. The data suggests that, since 2019, engagement has indeed declined while active disengagement has risen—but very modestly, and not to historically unusual levels. Unlike resignation, however, the disengagement trend seems to be just as pronounced, perhaps even uniquely pronounced, among white-collar workers. Gallup reports that “managers, among others, experienced the greatest drop” in engagement.

#long reads