tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57831587335847327062024-03-28T09:00:31.888-04:00Progressive Charlestowna fresh, sharp look at news, life and politics in Charlestown, Rhode IslandUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger27514125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-38122936823338786662024-03-28T09:00:00.001-04:002024-03-28T09:00:00.141-04:00New studies suggest millions with mild cognitive impairment go undiagnosed<p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>Often until it’s too late</b></span></p><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/soeren-mattke-1484707">Soeren Mattke</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-southern-california-1265">University of Southern California</a></em> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ying-liu-1221170">Ying Liu</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences</a></em></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="267" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579473/original/file-20240304-18-x3o3fj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7360%2C4912&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #800180; font-size: x-small; text-align: left;">Mild cognitive impairment can be an early sign of <br>Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias.<br> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-women-lost-in-thoughts-in-wheel-chair-royalty-free-image/677895828?phrase=mild+cognitive+impairment+&adppopup=true">ivanastar/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mild cognitive impairment – an early stage of dementia – is widely underdiagnosed in people 65 and older. That is the key takeaway of two recent studies from our team.</span>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the first study, we used Medicare data for about 40 million beneficiaries age 65 and older from 2015 to 2019 to estimate the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in that population and to identify what proportion of them had actually been diagnosed. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Our <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-023-01272-z">finding was sobering</a>: A mere 8% of the number of cases with mild cognitive impairment that we expected based on a statistical model had actually been diagnosed. Scaled up to the general population 65 and older, this means that approximately 7.4 million cases across the country remain undiagnosed. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the second study, we analyzed data for 226,756 primary care clinicians and found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.14283/jpad.2023.131">over 99% of them underdiagnosed mild cognitive impairment</a> in this population. </span></p>
<h2><span style="color: #800180; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span></span></span></h2><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/new-studies-suggest-millions-with-mild.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-70839596264564384722024-03-27T23:17:00.000-04:002024-03-27T23:17:00.263-04:00Weekapaug fake fire district drops SLAPP suit against beach access activist<p><b style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">Free
speech wins</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ACLU of
Rhode Island<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.riaclu.org/sites/default/files/styles/featured_image_580x386/public/field_image/webfeature_contratadismissed.png?itok=-hbvFx2d" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="800" height="268" src="https://www.riaclu.org/sites/default/files/styles/featured_image_580x386/public/field_image/webfeature_contratadismissed.png?itok=-hbvFx2d" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
a victory against retaliatory lawsuits, the Weekapaug Fire District filed a
motion dismissing Westerly resident Caroline Contrata from a lawsuit regarding
a highly contentious shore access dispute in the town. <o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The ACLU of
Rhode Island had joined the case to represent Contrata, who was being sued for
monetary damages by the District in what the ACLU argued was a SLAPP
(“Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation”) suit intended to chill her
from exercising her freedom of speech about this dispute. The ACLU had sought
her dismissal from the case under the SLAPP statute.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
December, the Fire District filed this suit in Superior
Court against more than 20 defendants, including the Attorney
General and the Town of Westerly, for seeking a determination from
the Coastal Resources Management Council that a strip of land along the
beach at Weekapaug is not purely private. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Contrata,
who had moved to intervene in the proceedings before the CRMC, was the
only private individual being sued in the case. In defending Contrata, ACLU of
RI cooperating attorney Michael Rubin had argued in a court filing last month
that the only reason she was named in the complaint was because she “had the
temerity to ask the CRMC to designate a tract that is universally
acknowledged as a roadway … as a public right-of-way.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
ACLU called the dismissal of Contrata from the suit before it proceeded further
a victory validating her right to petition the government without retaliation. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
response to the Fire District’s actions, Contrata said today<i>: “With the help
of the ACLU, we achieved success in the court case. Now, I can get back
to the merits of the Spring Avenue right-of-way case that is before the CRMC.”</i>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Attorney
Rubin added: “I am glad that this local governmental district relented in the
case of this brave citizen, Caroline Contrata.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ACLU
of RI executive director Steven Brown said: “The ACLU is very pleased that the
Fire District reconsidered its decision to sue Ms. Contrata and has dismissed
her from this lawsuit. We commend Ms. Contrata for standing up to the District
to vindicate her rights and the rights of others.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A
copy of the District’s motion dismissing Contrata from the case, alongside the
ACLU’s memo to dismiss and the Fire District’s initial complaint, can be
found <a href="https://www.riaclu.org/en/cases/weekapaug-fire-district-v-contrata"><span style="color: windowtext;">here.</span></a></span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-79878256979016116492024-03-27T20:01:00.000-04:002024-03-27T20:01:00.134-04:00Special deal on nuclear secrets<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/politicalcharge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image-20.png?w=680&ssl=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="680" height="533" src="https://i0.wp.com/politicalcharge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image-20.png?w=680&ssl=1" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #0a0909; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">By Matt Wuerker</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></p>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-90877058434116945172024-03-27T18:00:00.002-04:002024-03-27T18:00:00.241-04:00Republicans just put Social Security squarely on the November ballot<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5_ReJRTbGUSOrIm396LU5oxxLwYYWBJz0Hwqv03jx4q0-D6em-fUZMEUydkwvue5hySh_AsZ39ZHzQSlayonkz-RLS3wl9QHkmk2MV7mpwNDeGC6W1oFbpVNJucyPTOpnpYzFIB6jap3Fg_-R-Ft8SxPDhbiEFtqqQjLtSevsiejDS2UEUGaQVUjzBQ/s768/Screenshot_24-3-2024_11108_twitter.com.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="768" height="628" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-5_ReJRTbGUSOrIm396LU5oxxLwYYWBJz0Hwqv03jx4q0-D6em-fUZMEUydkwvue5hySh_AsZ39ZHzQSlayonkz-RLS3wl9QHkmk2MV7mpwNDeGC6W1oFbpVNJucyPTOpnpYzFIB6jap3Fg_-R-Ft8SxPDhbiEFtqqQjLtSevsiejDS2UEUGaQVUjzBQ/w640-h628/Screenshot_24-3-2024_11108_twitter.com.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-3881150418549990702024-03-27T16:08:00.000-04:002024-03-27T16:08:00.145-04:00Why We Wait<p><b style="color: #674ea7; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">The
Science of Procrastination</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: black; padding: 0in;">By</span><span style="color: black; text-transform: uppercase;"> <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY</span> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2TIFZ4paR8ywFfaDDKQNv0oFmjzQRG8th8EPyS2ghNYsCUsFX3ig24SWAp43KJdPzzajPZ4kuEq0N5g4QDaPD9OVstlACCcQWkLyRG5FZ6M8fB4vHvVfk4mNEQS4Uu2mLIlwetAr96rDafWhXMCLP0GZhwy7u5C7glnyxx7gvOngSU9vR1C_ndCbP4k/s480/giphy%20(5).webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="261" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj2TIFZ4paR8ywFfaDDKQNv0oFmjzQRG8th8EPyS2ghNYsCUsFX3ig24SWAp43KJdPzzajPZ4kuEq0N5g4QDaPD9OVstlACCcQWkLyRG5FZ6M8fB4vHvVfk4mNEQS4Uu2mLIlwetAr96rDafWhXMCLP0GZhwy7u5C7glnyxx7gvOngSU9vR1C_ndCbP4k/w318-h586/giphy%20(5).webp" width="318"></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Putting off a burdensome task may seem like a
universal trait, but new research suggests that people whose negative attitudes
tend to dictate their behavior in a range of situations are more likely to
delay tackling the task at hand.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The psychological term to describe this
mental process is called valence weighting bias, which describes people’s
tendency to adapt in new circumstances by drawing more strongly from either
their positive or negative attitudes – or, in the context of approaching an
unpleasant task, whether negative or positive internal “signals” carry the most
weight in guiding the final behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Battle Between Positivity and Negativity</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“And the question is, which wins that battle
– if, indeed, there are elements of both positivity and negativity?” said
Russell Fazio, senior author and professor of psychology at The Ohio State
University.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span></span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/why-we-wait.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-48791228161324748732024-03-27T12:34:00.001-04:002024-03-27T12:34:00.140-04:00Is “Food as Medicine” a Game Changer for Diabetes?<p><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;"><b>So far, not really</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: black; padding: 0in;">By</span><span style="color: black; text-transform: uppercase;"> <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">PETER DIZIKES, MASSACHUSETTS
INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY</span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://mindd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Food-is-Medicine_5c1c89f68203fdb9269c6d6a7c5a3c97-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="724" height="215" src="https://mindd.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Food-is-Medicine_5c1c89f68203fdb9269c6d6a7c5a3c97-1.jpg" width="400"></a></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">How much can healthy eating improve a case of
diabetes? A new healthcare program attempting to treat diabetes by means of
improved nutrition shows a very modest impact, according to the first fully
randomized clinical trial on the subject.<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The study, co-authored by <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">MIT</span> health care economist Joseph Doyle of the MIT
Sloan School of Management, tracks participants in an innovative program that
provides healthy meals in order to address diabetes and food insecurity at the
same time. The experiment focused on Type 2 diabetes, the most common form.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;"><b><span></span></b></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/is-food-as-medicine-game-changer-for.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-59302246173179905782024-03-27T09:00:00.001-04:002024-03-27T09:00:00.154-04:00Wealth of US Billionaires Hits $5.5 Trillion—Up 88% Since Pandemic Hit<p><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>The obscenely rich</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/author/chuck-collins" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; text-transform: uppercase;">CHUCK COLLINS</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and </span><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/author/omar-ocampo" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222; text-transform: uppercase;">OMAR OCAMPO</span></a> for<a href="https://inequality.org/great-divide/billionaire-wealth-up-88-percent-over-four-years/" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #005dc7;">Inequality.Org</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/image.png?id=51765946&width=627&quality=90" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="477" data-original-width="627" height="487" src="https://www.commondreams.org/media-library/image.png?id=51765946&width=627&quality=90" width="640"></span></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br>Four years ago, the United States entered
the Covid-19 pandemic. <i>Forbes</i> published its <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr/2020/04/07/forbes-publishes-34th-annual-list-of-global-billionaires/?sh=f20a7d13edfa" target="_blank"><span style="color: #005dc7;">34th annual billionaire survey</span></a> shortly
after with data keyed to March 18, 2020. On that day, the United States had 614
billionaires who owned a combined wealth of $2.947 trillion.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Four years later, on March 18, 2024, the
country has <b>737 billionaires</b> with a combined wealth of <b>$5.529
trillion</b>, an <b>87.6 percent increase</b> of $2.58 trillion,
according to Institute for Policy Studies calculations of <i>Forbe</i>s <a href="https://www.forbes.com/real-time-billionaires/#a9ac9993d788" target="_blank"><span style="color: #005dc7;">Real Time Billionaire Data</span></a>.
(Thank you, <i>Forbes</i>!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">The last four years have been great for
particular billionaires:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/wealth-of-us-billionaires-hits-55.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-58747990794719071172024-03-26T23:04:00.000-04:002024-03-26T23:04:00.246-04:00What we would expect under a Trump dictatorship<p><b><span style="color: #ffa400; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;">We need to think about the unthinkable</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/author/andrea-mazzarino"><span color="windowtext" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-transform: uppercase;">ANDREA MAZZARINO</span></a> in </span><a href="https://tomdispatch.com/if-america-were-a-trumpian-autocracy/" style="font-family: inherit;"><span color="windowtext">TomDispatch</span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://assets.amuniversal.com/a8e51380c95c013c4561005056a9545d.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="541" data-original-width="750" height="289" src="https://assets.amuniversal.com/a8e51380c95c013c4561005056a9545d.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">We should already be talking about what it would be like,
if Donald Trump wins the 2024 election, to live under a developing autocracy. </span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Beyond the <a href="https://www.heritage.org/conservatism/commentary/project-2025" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">publicized</span></a> plans
of those around him to gut the federal civil service system and consolidate
power in the hands of You Know Who, under Trump 2.0, so much else would change
for the worse.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">All too many of us who now argue about the Ukraine
and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/tag/gaza"><span color="windowtext">Gaza</span></a> wars and their ensuing
humanitarian crises, about police violence and extremism in the military here
at home, about all sorts of things, would no longer share a common language. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Basics that once might have meant the same thing to you and me, like claiming
someone won an <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/feb/05/trump-insurrectionist-supreme-court-jill-habig" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">election</span></a>, might
become unsafe to mention. In a Trump 2.0 world, more of our journalists would
undoubtedly face repercussions and need to find roundabout ways to allude to
all too many topics. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A moving <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/18/opinion/magas-violent-threats-are-warping-life-in-america.html" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">opinion column</span></a> by
the <i>New York Times’s</i> David French, who faced threats for his
writing about Donald Trump, highlighted how some who voiced their views on him
already need round-the-clock police protection to ensure their safety and that
of their family.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://assets.amuniversal.com/6f340990915f013c33f1005056a9545d.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="750" height="310" src="https://assets.amuniversal.com/6f340990915f013c33f1005056a9545d.png" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">I often think about the slippery slope we Americans could
soon find ourselves on. After all, from the time Vladimir Putin became Russia’s
president in 1999, I spent 20 years traveling to his country and back, working
there first as an anthropology doctoral student and later as a human rights
researcher. </span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve followed Russian politics closely, including as a therapist
specializing in war-affected populations, asylum seekers, and refugees. Friends
and colleagues of mine there have faced threats to their safety and their
careers amid a Kremlin crackdown on public discussion after Putin’s invasion of
Ukraine, and several fled the country with their families in search of safety
and a better life.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To be sure, there are many differences between the United
States, with its robust democratic tradition, and Russia, which only <a href="https://tobinproject.org/sites/default/files/assets/Chapter%2010%20-%20Russia%20-%20Miller_0.pdf" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">briefly</span></a> had
competitive elections and a free press. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Nonetheless, my experiences there offer
a warning about how a Trumpian version of top-down rule could someday stifle
any possibility of calling out state-sponsored violence for what it is, and
what it might feel like if that’s our situation here someday.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: large;">Tucker Carlson’s Moscow</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://resources.arcamax.com/newspics/278/27846/2784632.gif" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="465" data-original-width="600" height="310" src="https://resources.arcamax.com/newspics/278/27846/2784632.gif" width="400" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">On first look, far-right journalist Tucker Carlson’s
recent visit to Moscow, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rBEpVz0J20" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">covered</span></a> exuberantly by Russia’s state
media, might seem like an example of an American tourist’s naïve glorification
of another country’s luxuries. </span><div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Carlson marveled at the fancy tilework of the
city’s subway system, visited the national <a href="https://meduza.io/en/news/2024/02/04/american-political-commentator-tucker-carlson-spotted-attending-ballet-in-moscow" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">ballet</span></a>, and noted
that you can buy <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/02/tucker-carlson-trip-russophilia-putin-interview/677488/" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">caviar</span></a> cheaply
at the local grocery store. He also pointed out that Moscow’s pristine <a href="https://twitter.com/SputnikInt/status/1767507108583370952" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">streets</span></a> had no homeless people and no
apparent poverty.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the gilded halls of the Kremlin palace, he <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/02/08/1230024588/tucker-carlson-putin-interview-video#:~:text=Hourly%20News-,How%20Tucker%20Carlson's%20two%2Dhour%20interview%20of%20Russia's%20Vladimir%20Putin,They%20spoke%20for%20two%20hours." target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">interviewed</span></a> President
Putin for more than two hours. Despite his guileless expression, Carlson
occasionally appeared flummoxed as Putin lectured him endlessly on Russian
history and the centuries-old claim he insisted Moscow has on Kyiv as its
protector from aggressors near and far. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, he never challenged Putin on
his rationale for invading that country (nor did he refer to it as an invasion)
or any of the Russian leader’s other outrageous claims.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I’m of the school of thought that considers Putin’s
Russia exactly the sort of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/08/opinion/why-maga-loves-russia-and-hates-ukraine.html" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">anti-woke paradise</span></a> the
MAGA crowd craves. Anyone of Carlson’s age who grew up during the Cold War and
turned on his or her television in that pivotal period when the Berlin
Wall <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xjqlwHvrYs" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">fell</span></a> should certainly know that all of
Russia doesn’t look anything like what he was shown. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">He should also have known
about the recent history of economic “<a href="https://thebrooklyninstitute.com/items/courses/new-york/all-shock-no-therapy-the-political-economy-of-post-soviet-crisis/" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">shock therapy</span></a>” that
drained Russian public services of funding and human resources, not to speak of
the decades of <a href="https://www.ponarseurasia.org/high-level-corruption-in-russia/" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">corruption</span></a> and
unfair economic policies that enriched a choice few in Putin’s circle at the
expense of so many.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, something had to happen to turn the Moscow
that Carlson saw into a sanitized moonscape. If you haven’t been following
developments in Russia under Putin, let me summarize what I’ve noticed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/22/russia-protests-more-than-1300-arrested-at-anti-war-demonstrations-ukraine" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">Protesters</span></a> —
even many <a href="https://twitter.com/Rachel_Denber/status/1763740025815015805?cxt=HBwW-oW9ra6NiPowAAAA&cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjcw%3D%3D&refsrc=email" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">going</span></a> to
opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s recent memorial service — have been arrested
or at least intimidated when appearing to sympathize with anything that’s not
part of the Kremlin’s official pro-Putin ideology. Many groups, from
Asian <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/09/07/russia-pressures-migrant-workers-with-raids-military-summons-a82303" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">migrants</span></a> to
the <a href="https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2018/06/29/where-are-moscows-homeless-people-a62053" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">homeless</span></a>, have either
been rounded up by the police or at least relocated far out of the view of
tourists of any sort. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, the imprisoned American journalist whom Carlson
briefly gestured toward emancipating, <i>Wall Street Journal</i> reporter
Evan Gershkovich, had written on the practice of <i>zachistki</i>, or
mop-up operations by the Russian authorities that, for instance, relocated
homeless services to the outskirts of Moscow, far from public view. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course,
Gershkovich is now <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68111693" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">imprisoned indefinitely</span></a> in Russia on
charges of espionage for simply reporting on the war in Ukraine, proving the
very point Carlson so studiously avoided, that an endless string of lies
underscore Putin’s latest war.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">What’s more, amid sub-subsistence wages, housing
shortages, and the thin walls of so many city apartments, ordinary Russians are
not always able to engage in the “hard conversations” that conservatives like
Alabama Senator Katie Britt boast of having in their well-furbished kitchens.
After all, neighbors are now encouraged to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67427422" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">denounce</span></a> each other for decrying
Russia’s war. (You <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/28/world/europe/russia-repression-children.html" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">could</span></a>, it seems, even
end up in prison if your child writes “no to war” on a drawing she did for
school.)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are very personal ramifications to living in an
autocracy with which Tucker Carlson and, of course, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4332828-liz-cheney-book-mark-green-orange-jesus/" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">the Orange Jesus</span></a> himself
are signaling their agreement when they entertain the views of leaders like
Vladimir Putin or <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/08/politics/trump-orban-mar-a-lago/index.html" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">call</span></a> Hungarian
autocrat Viktor Orbán “fantastic.” They’re signaling what their end goal is to
Americans and, sadly enough, it’s not particularly far-fetched anymore to
suggest that, someday, we won’t even have the freedom to talk about all of this
with each other.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: large;">The Thing That Cannot Be Named</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tucker Carlson at least did his homework. He clearly knew
that you couldn’t describe the war in Ukraine as an unprovoked Russian
invasion, given that country’s carefully crafted censorship laws.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Since his February 2022 invasion, Putin has referred to
it as a “special military operation” focused on the defense of Russia from NATO
and the “denazification” of Ukraine. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">During that first spring, the Russian
president signed a law forbidding journalists from even calling the invasion a
“<a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/03/05/1084729579/russian-law-bans-journalists-from-calling-ukraine-conflict-a-war-or-an-invasion" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">war</span></a>,” choosing
instead to frame the killing, displacement, abduction, torture, and rape of
Ukrainian citizens as a surgical rescue operation provoked by the victims
themselves. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Broader, vaguer censorship laws were then passed, further limiting
what Russians of all stripes could say, including one against “<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/08/russian-court-decisions-laws-discrediting-armed-forces-new-low-clampdown" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">discrediting the army</span></a>,”
which imposed stiff fines and prison sentences, and more recently, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-parliament-backs-confiscating-property-anyone-spreading-fake-news-about-2024-01-31/" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">property confiscations</span></a> on
anyone deemed to have said anything negative about Russia’s armed forces. While
the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/12/29/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-censorship.html" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">thousands</span></a> of
arrests made may seem modest, given Russia’s 146 million people, it’s still, in
my opinion, thousands too many.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Russian leader’s perverse framing of his unprovoked
war is undoubtedly what also allows him to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/putin-admits-russia-suffered-huge-losses-ukraine-1852660#:~:text=%22The%20losses%20were%20113%20thousand,amount%20of%20363%20thousand%20people.%22" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">admit</span></a> that
hundreds of thousands of Russians have been killed or wounded so far, something
he couldn’t otherwise say. In a country suffused with right-wing Christian
nationalism, it also certainly helps his cause that <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/russias-ethnic-minorities-disproportionately-conscripted-to-fight-the-war-in-ukraine" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">most</span></a> of Russia’s
war dead come from remote, poor, and predominantly minority regions.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This is the sort of muddling of meaning and motives that
autocratic leaders engage in to justify deaths of all kinds. American
equivalents might be what the MAGA crowds do when they blame the January 6th
far-right assault at the Capitol, aimed at police and lawmakers, on the “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/27/jan6-donald-trump-truth-lies/" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">Antifa</span></a>,” or extreme
leftists, without disputing that people were hurt. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Or consider then-President
Donald Trump’s comment that far-right white supremacist Charlottesville rioters
and counter-protesters included “<a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-defends-2017-fine-people-comments-calls-robert/story?id=62653478" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">very fine people on both sides</span></a>”
— no matter that one such fine person <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/james-alex-fields-driver-deadly-car-attack-charlottesville-rally-sentenced-n1024436" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">plowed down</span></a> a
counter-protester in his car, murdering her, or that certain of those “fine”
white supremacists espoused anti-Semitic conspiracy theories considered <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-year-ago-the-charlottesville-rally-shined-a-light-on-white-supremacists-and-sparked-overdue-conversations" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">by some</span></a> an
incitement to violence.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For their part, Russians of various political stripes
enjoy an ancient tradition of using dark humor and irony to engage in the kinds
of conversations they really want to have. Take as an example the way
progressive journalists like those at the news stations TV Rain and Novaya
Gazeta (since banned from operating) began <a href="https://novayagazeta.ru/articles/2024/02/26/sanktsii-imeni-togo-kogo-nelzia-nazyvat" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">discussing</span></a> the
war in Ukraine as “the thing that cannot be named.” Eventually, however,
sweeping censorship laws prevented even workarounds like those.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s not a small thing to live in a place where you can’t
say what you want to for fear of political persecution, especially when you’ve
grown up in other circumstances. A good friend of mine who came of age after
the fall of the Berlin Wall and led a prosperous, happy life in St. Petersburg,
fled the country on the last train out of that city to Helsinki, Finland, her
young child in tow. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Her goal: to start life over from scratch and avoid having
to raise her child in a place where he would be brainwashed into thinking
Russia’s armed forces and police were infallible and beyond critique. I suspect
that many of the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/where-have-russians-been-fleeing-since-mobilisation-began-2022-10-06/" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">hundreds of thousands</span></a> of
Russians who joined her in fleeing the country weren’t that different.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Imagine raising a child whose unquestioning mind you
can’t recognize. (That goes for you, too, Trump supporters, because — count on
it! — once in office again, he would undoubtedly move toward ending elections
as we know them, not to speak of shutting down whatever institutions protect
our speech!)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400; font-size: large;">America and the Lie that Begot Other Lies</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://cdn.creators.com/214/367898/367898_image.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="538" data-original-width="720" height="358" src="https://cdn.creators.com/214/367898/367898_image.jpg" width="479" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">Events in recent years indicate that Americans —
particularly those in the MAGA camp — have grown inured to the public mention
of armed violence. Who could forget the moment in 2016 when candidate
Trump <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/23/politics/donald-trump-shoot-somebody-support/index.html" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">boasted</span></a> at a
campaign rally before winning the presidency that “I could stand in the middle
of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters”? As racially and
politically motivated violence and threats have proliferated, so many of us
seemed to grow ever less bothered by both the incidents themselves and the
rationales of those who seek to encourage and justify them.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My own adult life began as Vladimir Putin consolidated
power in Russia, while former President George W. Bush launched his — really,
our — disastrous Global War on Terror, based on lies like that Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately, we’ve
spilled all too little ink here on the <a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/figures/2021/WarDeathToll" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">nearly one million people</span></a> who
died across our Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African war zones since 2001
(and the <a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2023/IndirectDeaths" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">many millions more</span></a> who
lost their lives, even if less directly, or were turned into <a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/files/cow/imce/papers/2021/Costs%20of%20War_Vine%20et%20al_Displacement%20Update%20August%202021.pdf" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">refugees</span></a> thanks
to those wars of ours). </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And don’t forget the <a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/costs/human/military/killed" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">more than 7,000 American troops</span></a> (and
more than 8,000 contractors!) who died in the process, essentially baptizing
our national lies in pools of blood. And how could that not have helped
normalize other lies to come like Trump’s giant one about the 2020 election?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Thankfully, in this country we can still say what we want
(more or less). We can still, for instance, call out the Pentagon for <a href="https://theintercept.com/2021/06/03/pentagon-civilian-casualties-report/" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">underreporting</span></a> the
deaths its forces have caused. In other words, something like <a href="https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/" target="_blank"><span color="windowtext">the Costs of War Project</span></a> that I helped
to found to put our lies in context can still exist. But how long before such
things could become punishable, if not by law, then through vigilantism?<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yes, President Biden is arming Israel in its gruesome
fight against Hamas while providing only the most modest aid to Gaza’s
war-devastated population, but we can still hold him to account for that. If
the 2024 election goes to Donald Trump, how long will that be true? </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">If we don’t
get to the point right now where all of us are calling out lies all the time,
then every Trumpian lie about violence — from Republican members of Congress
calling the January 6th rioters “peaceful patriots” to The Donald’s claim that
he would only be a dictator on “day one” of his next presidency (a desire
supported by a significant majority of Republicans) — will amount to lies as
consequential as the 1933 burning of the Reichstag parliament building in
Germany, which Hitler’s ascendant Nazi party attributed to communists, setting
the stage for him to claim sweeping powers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We are entering a new and perilous American world and
it’s important to grasp that fact. In that context, let me mention a Russian
moment when I did no such thing. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I still feel guilty about a dinner I had with
human-rights colleagues in 2014, including a Russian activist who had dedicated
his career to documenting political violence and war crimes committed under
successive Russian leaders from Joseph Stalin to Vladimir Putin. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I was sitting
at the far end of the table where I couldn’t catch much of the conversation and
I joked that I was “out in Siberia.” Yes, my dinner companions graciously
laughed, but with an undercurrent of discomfort and tension — and for good
reason. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They knew the dangerous world they were in and, in fact, that very
activist has since been sent to a penal colony for his work discrediting the
actions of the Russian armed forces. My joke is anything but a joke now and
consider that a reminder of how quickly things can change — and not just in
Russia, either.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, oppression feels closer than ever in America
today and verbal massaging, joking, or willful ignorance can only mask what
another Trump presidency could mean for us all.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>© 2023 TomDispatch.com<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/author/andrea-mazzarino"><b><span color="windowtext" style="text-transform: uppercase;">ANDREA MAZZARINO</span></b></a> </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Andrea Mazzarino co-founded Brown University's Costs of
War Project. She is an activist and social worker interested in the health
impacts of war. She has held various clinical, research, and advocacy
positions, including at a Veterans Affairs PTSD Outpatient Clinic, with Human
Rights Watch, and at a community mental health agency. She is the co-editor of
"War and Health: The Medical Consequences of the Wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan" (2019).</span></i></p></div></div></div>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-50526870544081399032024-03-26T20:00:00.000-04:002024-03-26T20:00:00.129-04:00Sure.<p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sadanduseless.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/nathan-cooper11.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="660" height="599" src="https://sadanduseless.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/nathan-cooper11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/coopercartoons/" rel="noopener" style="background-color: white; box-sizing: inherit; font-family: -apple-system, system-ui, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif, "Apple Color Emoji", "Segoe UI Emoji", "Segoe UI Symbol"; font-size: 17px; text-align: left; transition: color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.1s ease-in-out 0s;" target="_blank">Nathan Cooper</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-34070127610206715322024-03-26T18:04:00.000-04:002024-03-26T18:04:00.249-04:00Happy 90th birthday!<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vbnt-w6E1HhjTBxF77tRvNJhlZrNfLZ7RzizlBDPdzDXcbjsfb_tlJ59Qyp5QqZxGNeLxJVNW-xzy9cZxvinVpjSNHhoe3kqNXIMoVXOHnvJF-LaG7cvweLsqCZPbDTFtCdfmWwxE89h94i6X0Qw1jVTJuTTp3TPdzCJOppcOZtLIek8icZQ9U1gclA/s438/Screenshot_26-3-2024_142451_www.blogger.com.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="438" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_vbnt-w6E1HhjTBxF77tRvNJhlZrNfLZ7RzizlBDPdzDXcbjsfb_tlJ59Qyp5QqZxGNeLxJVNW-xzy9cZxvinVpjSNHhoe3kqNXIMoVXOHnvJF-LaG7cvweLsqCZPbDTFtCdfmWwxE89h94i6X0Qw1jVTJuTTp3TPdzCJOppcOZtLIek8icZQ9U1gclA/w640-h636/Screenshot_26-3-2024_142451_www.blogger.com.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-59064421197132991412024-03-26T16:01:00.001-04:002024-03-26T16:01:00.246-04:00How to make solar power more ecologically beneficial to the land it sits on<p><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>Solar power occupies a lot of space </b></span></p>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/matthew-sturchio-1483028">Matthew Sturchio</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/colorado-state-university-1267">Colorado State University</a></em></span>
</span><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><iframe class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" frameborder="0" height="400px" id="k06YW" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/k06YW/1/" style="border: none;" width="100%"></iframe></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">As societies look for ways to cut greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change, large-scale solar power is playing a central role. Climate scientists view it as the tool with <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/syr/">the greatest potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2030</a>. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the U.S., the Department of Energy predicts that solar will <a href="https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=61424">account for nearly 60%</a> of all new utility-scale electricity-generating capacity installed in 2024. </span></p>
<p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">But ideal locations for solar development often overlap with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-47803-3">croplands or grasslands used for livestock grazing</a>. Typically, large-scale solar arrays are designed to maximize energy generation, without much consideration for the ecosystems in which they are placed. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">For example, grading land and removing vegetation can <a href="https://www.popsci.com/environment/solar-farm-construction-epa-water-violations/">cause erosion and send runoff into waterways</a>. Solar developers have been fined for such environmental violations in <a href="https://www.pv-magazine.com/2023/05/10/u-s-court-orders-developer-to-pay-135-5-million-in-100-mw-solar-property-damage-case/">Georgia</a>, <a href="https://www.gazettenet.com/Developer-to-pay-$1-14-million-for-wetlands-stormwater-violations-38651958#">Massachusetts</a>, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/settlements-resolve-clean-water-act-violations-four-solar-farm-construction-sites-alabama">Alabama, Idaho and Illinois</a>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">There also are concerns about how large solar installations affect <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/02/11/climate/climate-change-wildlife-solar.html">animal movement patterns</a>. In the western U.S., removing native vegetation to make room for solar farms can threaten endangered animals and insects that rely on these plants as food and habitat. Native plant communities take a long time to reestablish themselves in these water-limited areas after they are disturbed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">I am <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Oyns6e8AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">an ecologist</a> and a member of a research team led by <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=e5RTvRMAAAAJ&hl=en">Alan Knapp</a> at Colorado State University. We investigate how solar development affects grassland ecosystem health – in particular, how plants’ growth and water use patterns and response to light change once solar panels are installed overhead. Through this work, we hope to inform a more sustainable future for solar energy.<span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/how-to-make-solar-power-more.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-9189264418012395482024-03-26T12:02:00.000-04:002024-03-26T12:02:00.138-04:00'Dirty Dozen' Guide Shows 95% of These Fruits and Veggies Tested Positive for Pesticides<p><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-large;"><b>New guide to safer choices</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/author/oliviarosane"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #222222; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-transform: uppercase;">OLIVIA ROSANE</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJJeLoBXQAA8Ppf?format=jpg&name=large" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJJeLoBXQAA8Ppf?format=jpg&name=large" width="400"></a></div>The latest edition of an annual consumer's guide <a href="https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #005dc7;">published</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"> Wednesday
reveals that almost three-fourths of non-organic fruits and vegetables sampled
contained traces of toxic pesticides while the "dirty
dozen"—including strawberries and spinach—tested at levels closer to 95%.</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">Scientists with the Environmental Working Group (EWG)
document in their new report, "2024 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides In
Produce," that four out of five of the most frequently detected pesticides
found on the twelve most-contaminated produce items were fungicides that could
have serious health impacts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">"There's data to suggest that these fungicides can
disrupt the hormone function in our body," EWG senior scientist Alexa
Friedman told <i>Common Dreams</i>, adding that the chemicals had
"been linked to things like worse health outcomes" and "impacts
on the male reproductive system."<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;">The four fungicides detected on the Dirty Dozen produce
were fludioxonil, pyraclostrobin, boscalid, and pyrimethanil. Two of
these—fludioxonil and pyrimethanil—were also found in the highest
concentrations of any pesticide detected.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">The annual Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists are based on
a review of Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration data.
This year, EWG looked at results from 47,510 samples of 46 fruits and
vegetables.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; mso-ligatures: none;">2024's Dirty Dozen list is similar to previous years, with
strawberries, spinach, and a trio of hearty greens—kale, collard greens, and
mustard greens—once again <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/20/kale-strawberries-and-spinach-top-list-report-shows-nearly-70-us-produce-contain" target="_blank"><span style="color: #005dc7;">taking</span></a> the top
three spots. The full list is as follows:<span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/dirty-dozen-guide-shows-95-of-these.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-35180847383811629082024-03-26T09:00:00.000-04:002024-03-26T09:00:00.249-04:00Older people especially should get COVID vax this spring<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;">CDC says people ages 65 and up should get a shot this spring </span></b></span></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580030/original/file-20240305-30-xa43f3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7951%2C5297&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400"></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #990000; font-size: x-small; text-align: left;">Even if you got a COVID-19 shot last fall, the spring <br>shot is still essential for the 65 and up age group. <br><span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/old-asian-senior-couple-wearing-face-mask-virus-royalty-free-image/1332149015?phrase=covid-19+shots+and+seniors&adppopup=true">whyframestudio/iStock via Getty Images Plus</a></span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: inherit;">In my mind, the spring season will always be associated with COVID-19.</span>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In spring 2020, the federal government <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/03/18/2020-05794/declaring-a-national-emergency-concerning-the-novel-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-outbreak">declared a nationwide emergency</a>, and life drastically changed. Schools and businesses closed, and masks and social distancing were mandated across much of the nation. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In spring 2021, after the vaccine rollout, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said those who were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 could <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/13/health/cdc-mask-guidance-vaccinated/index.html">safely gather with others who were vaccinated</a> without masks or social distancing.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In spring 2022, with the increased rates of vaccination across the U.S., the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/26/world/covid-19-mandates-cases-vaccine#hawaii-lifts-its-indoor-mask-mandate-and-travel-restrictions-the-last-state-to-do-so">universal indoor mask mandate</a> came to an end. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">In spring 2023, the federal declaration of COVID-19 as a <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/05/09/fact-sheet-end-of-the-covid-19-public-health-emergency.html">public health emergency ended</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, as spring 2024 fast approaches, the CDC reminds Americans that even though the public health emergency is over, the risks associated with COVID-19 are not. But those risks are higher in some groups than others. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Therefore, the agency recommends that adults age 65 and older receive an <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2024/s-0228-covid.html">additional COVID-19 vaccine</a>, which is <a href="https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/updated-covid-vaccine-10-things-to-know">updated to protect against a recently dominant variant</a> and is effective against the current dominant strain.<span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/older-people-especially-should-get.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-83627057271543290582024-03-25T23:28:00.000-04:002024-03-25T23:28:00.146-04:00Trump Wants to Destroy Social Security, But Biden Plan Would Improve and Expand It<p><b style="color: #ffa400; font-size: xx-large;">Biden will lift the cap and tax the rich</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/author/robert-reich" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #222222; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in; text-transform: uppercase;">ROBERT REICH</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://robertreich.substack.com/"><span style="color: #005dc7;">Robertreich.Substack.Com</span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvt9SY8qTWK8kC1sMEP8oDF1KhYmkYHGrK2iJ9-MrQvj6_EMaJJhPk17WQDHfKTcomw2bQzHj0bnaCu-_0sdOcbFdLqasAHqzKeXZmm3vvLpTm6kIfsUC_wqkIJB5ruv2TdwBDRR1ROg_MYWqDOy1hsa1C7pXziQtUbKDPOTkeVW5f59SWx_v3ACcKFnc/s752/Screenshot_19-3-2024_152712_twitter.com.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="745" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvt9SY8qTWK8kC1sMEP8oDF1KhYmkYHGrK2iJ9-MrQvj6_EMaJJhPk17WQDHfKTcomw2bQzHj0bnaCu-_0sdOcbFdLqasAHqzKeXZmm3vvLpTm6kIfsUC_wqkIJB5ruv2TdwBDRR1ROg_MYWqDOy1hsa1C7pXziQtUbKDPOTkeVW5f59SWx_v3ACcKFnc/s320/Screenshot_19-3-2024_152712_twitter.com.jpeg" width="317"></a></div><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">During a typically rambling and incoherent
interview last week, Trump <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/social-security/mainstream-media-have-no-excuse-keep-falsely-saying-trump-opposes-cuts-social" target="_blank"><span style="color: #005dc7;">admitted</span></a> he would
cut Social Security and Medicare if reelected.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><blockquote><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>"There is a lot you can do in
terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting and in terms of also the theft and
the bad management of entitlements.”</i></span></span></blockquote><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Trump has tried to<br> walk back the remarks,
saying that when he used the word “cutting” he didn’t actually mean “cutting,”
and that Social Security has a lot of waste. </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In fact, Social Security is well
managed, and theft or fraud is <a href="https://www.crfb.org/press-releases/fact-sheet-how-much-waste-fraud-and-abuse-there-social-security" target="_blank"><span style="color: #005dc7;">rare</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">But there’s no question Trump and his
Republican allies want to cut Social Security and Medicare.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s why. At the heart of their economic
agenda — at least the portion they’re sharing with their super-wealthy backers
— is another giant tax cut for the super-wealthy and big corporations.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The problem is that this tax cut would
cause the federal budget deficit to explode — as did their last tax cut for the
wealthy — <i>unless </i>Social Security and Medicare are cut.
(Remember that as president, Trump repeatedly included cuts to Social Security
and Medicare in his official budget proposals.)<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span></span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/trump-wants-to-destroy-social-security.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-74543891833811406572024-03-25T20:00:00.001-04:002024-03-25T20:00:00.135-04:00Brains<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.ragingpencils.com/2024/3-21-24-anencephaly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="590" height="800" src="https://www.ragingpencils.com/2024/3-21-24-anencephaly.jpg" width="590" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-68167689385626513192024-03-25T18:08:00.001-04:002024-03-25T18:08:00.247-04:00Get your daily dose<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7cDlx1thd20PFOW_rGh1IpOqhk5R_yygDKhQDntYcQsQ-Z_iyeV6f3wh0Q8UQF6p4aP8_SoHVbHyNBD7txOlcgYCyakSdw3kKguKOMsx7i_Y-AnK1ATlOkvxQjTDWYaWMt2dxfosxA4v-6eAV0Ke6vswaYkrOrAcy6xWZL4HWTFy48Kv9SETh4utxY8/s599/Screenshot_13-3-2024_13480_www.tribel.com.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="599" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib7cDlx1thd20PFOW_rGh1IpOqhk5R_yygDKhQDntYcQsQ-Z_iyeV6f3wh0Q8UQF6p4aP8_SoHVbHyNBD7txOlcgYCyakSdw3kKguKOMsx7i_Y-AnK1ATlOkvxQjTDWYaWMt2dxfosxA4v-6eAV0Ke6vswaYkrOrAcy6xWZL4HWTFy48Kv9SETh4utxY8/s16000/Screenshot_13-3-2024_13480_www.tribel.com.jpeg" /></a></div><p></p>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-78169419694804127562024-03-25T16:06:00.000-04:002024-03-25T16:06:00.135-04:00Rhode Islanders invited to join ‘Homegrown National Park’ effort in Rhode Island<p><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: x-large;"><b>URI
insect experts say home gardeners can help stem insect slide</b></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="media-name" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background: rgb(250, 250, 250); border: 1pt none windowtext; color: black; padding: 0in;"><a href="mailto:kristen.curry@uri.edu"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;">Kristen Curry</span></a></span></span><span style="background: rgb(250, 250, 250); color: black; font-family: inherit;"><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; float: none;"> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-bos5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/267510160_314694487177574_326706100265791340_n.png?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=RXcOGA9agvQAX-peIUy&_nc_ht=scontent-bos5-1.xx&oh=00_AfAIJ0iNt15iUuOQ1r1y8Lkwa-BaBQQLh0tKxrh1ilyQ6g&oe=660618C7" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="351" data-original-width="800" height="176" src="https://scontent-bos5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/267510160_314694487177574_326706100265791340_n.png?_nc_cat=101&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=RXcOGA9agvQAX-peIUy&_nc_ht=scontent-bos5-1.xx&oh=00_AfAIJ0iNt15iUuOQ1r1y8Lkwa-BaBQQLh0tKxrh1ilyQ6g&oe=660618C7" width="400"></a></div>Steven Alm and Casey
Johnson in the University of Rhode Island <a href="https://web.uri.edu/beelab/" style="font-family: inherit;"><span color="windowtext" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">Bee Lab</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> would
like you to think small. Alm and Johnson are working at scale, reminding us of
the importance of, as E.O. Wilson said, “the little things that run the world.”</span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Though tiny, the issues they are examining are anything
but trivial, bellwethers for larger issues and crises in our natural
environment.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A professor at URI and keeper of its historic Insect
Collection (which dates to the late 1800s), Alm is concerned about the insect
loss he’s witnessed in the course of his career, never mind the species that
now only exist in pinned specimen form, no longer in the wild.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">“We’re in trouble with the insects,” he says. Birds, fish
and other members of the food chain need insects — and their numbers are
dwindling.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;">They will be sharing their expertise at a symposium on
Transforming the Landscape sponsored by the Audubon Society this April.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/rhode-islanders-invited-to-join.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-41699706130902078032024-03-25T12:31:00.001-04:002024-03-25T12:31:00.160-04:00Natural Ingredient Found in Coffee Could Keep Your Muscles Young<p><b style="color: #b45f06; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">Another reason why coffee is good for you</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: black; padding: 0in;">By</span><span style="color: black; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: black; padding: 0in; text-transform: uppercase;">NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF
SINGAPORE, YONG LOO LIN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE</span><span style="color: black; text-transform: uppercase;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_s2-yJuheYbb1_bwJjSLluorl7oZM1KVi43tWnVvnfM_70glRlUiZ4t7FIA2b-l5bgUBp7U9QZdXSEoc2nXVYrwXV_sJwobju9gfiM24zgZcY993FCJSvfyeC4Ib6mOj1btwcaj9JUvjECP7IUDuWhQ-zk1Ufkvzq19-AiSrq-m06nSJujX7v0kr-oI/s480/giphy%20(1).webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="345" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_s2-yJuheYbb1_bwJjSLluorl7oZM1KVi43tWnVvnfM_70glRlUiZ4t7FIA2b-l5bgUBp7U9QZdXSEoc2nXVYrwXV_sJwobju9gfiM24zgZcY993FCJSvfyeC4Ib6mOj1btwcaj9JUvjECP7IUDuWhQ-zk1Ufkvzq19-AiSrq-m06nSJujX7v0kr-oI/w288-h400/giphy%20(1).webp" width="288"></a></span></span></div><span style="color: #454545;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A groundbreaking study found that
trigonelline, found in coffee and fenugreek, boosts muscle health in aging by
improving NAD+ levels and mitochondrial function, offering new strategies for
healthy aging and disease prevention.<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A research consortium led by Nestlé Research
in Switzerland and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of
Singapore (NUS Medicine) made a recent discovery that the natural molecule
trigonelline present in coffee, fenugreek, and also in the human body, can help
to improve muscle health and function.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In an international collaboration among the
University of Southampton, University of Melbourne, University of Tehran,
University of South Alabama, University of Toyama, and University of
Copenhagen, the work builds on a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13694-1"><b><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #005a8c; padding: 0in; text-decoration: none;">previous collaborative study</span></b></a> that described novel
mechanisms of human sarcopenia.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Sarcopenia is a condition where cellular
changes that happen during aging gradually weaken the muscles in the body and
lead to accelerated loss of muscle mass, strength and reduced physical
independence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span></span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/natural-ingredient-found-in-coffee.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-85873009416347302892024-03-25T09:00:00.001-04:002024-03-25T09:00:00.146-04:00Tesla, Ford, Netflix, and T-Mobile are among scores of profitable U.S. firms that pay their top executives more than they pay in federal taxes. <p><span style="color: #800180; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>Make a jillion dollars and pay no taxes</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; padding: 0in;">By <a href="https://otherwords.org/authors/sarah-anderson/"><span color="windowtext">Sarah
Anderson</span></a></span><span style="mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">, <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><a href="https://otherwords.org/authors/william-rice/"><span color="windowtext">William
Rice</span></a></span>, <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;"><a href="https://otherwords.org/authors/zachary-tashman/"><span color="windowtext">Zachary
Tashman</span></a></span> | March 13, 2024</span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><a href="https://www.occupy.com/sites/default/files/styles/slide_narrow/public/field/image/logos-article_0.jpg?itok=O4o0j11P" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="640" height="225" src="https://www.occupy.com/sites/default/files/styles/slide_narrow/public/field/image/logos-article_0.jpg?itok=O4o0j11P" width="400"></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">In his State of the Union address, President Biden called
out “massive executive pay” and vowed to “make big corporations and the very
wealthy finally pay their share” of taxes.<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Corporate tax dodging and CEO pay have gotten so out of
control that many major U.S. companies are paying their top executives more
than they’re paying Uncle Sam.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Tesla is perhaps the most dramatic example. Over the
period 2018-2022, the electric car maker raked in $4.4 billion in profits but
paid <i><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">no </span></i>federal income taxes. Meanwhile, Tesla CEO Elon
Musk became one of the world’s richest men.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">When it comes to fleecing taxpayers while overpaying
executives, Tesla is hardly alone. A <a href="https://ips-dc.org/report-corporations-that-pay-their-executives-more-than-uncle-sam"><span color="windowtext" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">new report</span></a> we co-authored for the Institute for
Policy Studies and Americans for Tax Fairness analyzes executive pay data for
some of the country’s most notorious corporate tax dodgers.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">What did we find? In addition to Tesla, 34 other large
and profitable U.S. firms — including household names like Ford, Netflix, and
T-Mobile — paid less in federal income taxes between 2018 and 2022 than they
paid their top five executives.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Another 29 profitable corporations paid their top
executives more than they paid Uncle Sam in at least two of the five years of
the study period.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">One company on our list stands out for the <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/personal-finance/what-happened-to-aig"><span color="windowtext" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">infamous role</span></a> its executives played in the 2008
financial crisis: American International Group. Back then, the insurance giant
ignited a firestorm by pocketing a <a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-ac2a3cf7f59d485e961d9208c9a28a32"><span color="windowtext" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">$180 billion</span></a> taxpayer bailout and then announcing
plans to hand out <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15AIG.html"><span color="windowtext" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">$165 million</span></a> in bonuses to the very same
executives responsible for pushing the company — and the nation — to the brink
of collapse.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Today, AIG is playing the same greedy game of overpaying
its top brass and sticking taxpayers with the bill. Between 2018 and 2022, the
company paid its top five executives more than it paid in federal income taxes,
despite collecting $17.7 billion in U.S. profits. In 2022, CEO Peter Zaffino
alone made $75 million.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Lavish executive compensation packages and skimpy
corporate tax payments are not unrelated. Executives have a huge personal
incentive to hire armies of lobbyists to push for corporate tax cuts because
the windfalls from these cuts often wind up in their own pockets.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">The 2017 Republican tax law slashed the corporate tax
rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and failed to close loopholes that whittle
down IRS bills even further. Many large, profitable corporations ended up
paying <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/trump-corporate-tax-avoidance"><span color="windowtext" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">no federal taxes at all</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/tesla-ford-netflix-and-t-mobile-are.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-18900353465815924642024-03-24T23:34:00.001-04:002024-03-24T23:34:00.242-04:00We're awake, thank you very much<p><span style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><b>The end of anti-woke politics?</b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; font-family: inherit; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; padding: 0in;">By <a href="https://otherwords.org/authors/jim-hightower/"><span color="windowtext">Jim
Hightower</span></a></span><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jf6CKyCbvQyb9ZIRuyQ5ABlfb_jqyO-9rOtgXixv9Jn_J1TmaTfheVRPOkxPSYJXI-Kwhgxjr_nT2YCwjjxjttflCQXmWJYK7o0Cq1yKvuqi6V-CUlDHReeOYEmLMjtctnkkX_Mply2U2STElYQyPCgAX-Lpw8W49GVtvr_2TVxsRfm8ouTGFXa4UkQ/s480/giphy%20(7).webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5jf6CKyCbvQyb9ZIRuyQ5ABlfb_jqyO-9rOtgXixv9Jn_J1TmaTfheVRPOkxPSYJXI-Kwhgxjr_nT2YCwjjxjttflCQXmWJYK7o0Cq1yKvuqi6V-CUlDHReeOYEmLMjtctnkkX_Mply2U2STElYQyPCgAX-Lpw8W49GVtvr_2TVxsRfm8ouTGFXa4UkQ/s320/giphy%20(7).webp" width="320"></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Well, well, well — look who’s waking up and raring to go:
Mr. and Ms. Woke!<o:p></o:p></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">We so-called “woke” people have been the target of
far-right politicos and front groups that are frantically trying to ban us and
our ideas from America’s political discourse. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">In the past few years, such
thuggish gubernatorial demagogues as Ron DeSantis have perverted the power of
Big Government to attack teachers, librarians, public agencies, and even beer.
Beer!<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Why? Because such people and organizations make
educational efforts to reduce bigotry, hatred, and exclusiveness in our
society. “That’s woke,” screech the ultra-rightists, demanding that any talk
about racism, sexism, gender discrimination, or other ugly realities in America
must be suppressed.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Like the witch hunters of old, today’s pious puritans of
ideological conformity have demonized such basic values as diversity and
equity, calling them “toxic.” </span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/were-awake-thank-you-very-much.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-4831887667281541292024-03-24T20:05:00.001-04:002024-03-24T20:05:00.256-04:00Old and confused<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.usnews.com/object/image/0000018e-14d0-d2cc-a79e-5fd8997a0000/20240305ednac-a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="800" height="512" src="https://www.usnews.com/object/image/0000018e-14d0-d2cc-a79e-5fd8997a0000/20240305ednac-a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-81289239460857931132024-03-24T17:59:00.001-04:002024-03-24T17:59:00.140-04:00The right priorities<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTvLN_bS3nwZpuDgPlaVD3OKZxtlp25rEPaWTgLlhfTltwEjqMvaaJTTkA5eLRR-w2bQuSOU9ZikAJpqAL6YgjrmoyGDmFZc5scMKsHJGNzRikxLEImcR4U195jpyo5C23o5ku-PQxTe4XVZeUGnTT8JRqxgjCF5G18G16yJnjPQMcIZusQMGRMiFg5g/s660/Screenshot_13-3-2024_135859_www.tribel.com.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="660" height="638" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrTvLN_bS3nwZpuDgPlaVD3OKZxtlp25rEPaWTgLlhfTltwEjqMvaaJTTkA5eLRR-w2bQuSOU9ZikAJpqAL6YgjrmoyGDmFZc5scMKsHJGNzRikxLEImcR4U195jpyo5C23o5ku-PQxTe4XVZeUGnTT8JRqxgjCF5G18G16yJnjPQMcIZusQMGRMiFg5g/w640-h638/Screenshot_13-3-2024_135859_www.tribel.com.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><p></p>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-11278384882731379082024-03-24T16:03:00.000-04:002024-03-24T16:03:00.141-04:00Breathe, don't vent: Turning down the heat is key to managing anger<p><b style="color: red; font-family: inherit; font-size: xx-large;">Study finds increasing
physiological arousal fuels the fire of rage</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ohio State University<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTjsW8eGldztkUrAV1Yo7X2ntu9ZuK4eAx05ksNwh85f_RaGCMKeNy4ySgdHqqoyTL-OLnbKJYX916w2nkvQm-1n6vvyJmtUlD4N7MwSuxlaAZkJjocpMXAeIOyTh73L9bzAOCimj7kPhYEkToKvXzbLAPxtXV_wOrZNc6WpS6DNk0dAupg-Q9SuWuic/s480/giphy.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPTjsW8eGldztkUrAV1Yo7X2ntu9ZuK4eAx05ksNwh85f_RaGCMKeNy4ySgdHqqoyTL-OLnbKJYX916w2nkvQm-1n6vvyJmtUlD4N7MwSuxlaAZkJjocpMXAeIOyTh73L9bzAOCimj7kPhYEkToKvXzbLAPxtXV_wOrZNc6WpS6DNk0dAupg-Q9SuWuic/s320/giphy.webp" width="320"></a></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Venting about a source
of anger might feel good in the moment, but it's not effective at reducing the
rage, new research suggests.<o:p></o:p></span></span><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Instead, techniques
often used to address stress -- deep breathing, mindfulness, meditation, yoga
or even counting to 10 -- have been shown to be more effective at decreasing
anger and aggression.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Researchers analyzed
over 150 studies involving more than 10,000 participants and found that what
really works to reduce anger is lowering physiological arousal -- in other
words, turning down the heat. Activities that increased arousal overall had no
effect on anger, and some activities made it worse -- particularly jogging.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span></span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/breathe-dont-vent-turning-down-heat-is.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-82577402004780501572024-03-24T12:33:00.001-04:002024-03-24T12:33:00.131-04:00Is culinary school worth it?<p><span style="color: #351c75; font-size: x-large;"><b>Not if you run up a lot of debt</b></span></p><div><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/ellen-t-meiser-1436274">Ellen T. Meiser</a>, <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-hawaii-at-hilo-5880">University of Hawaii at Hilo</a></em></div><p><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZZhoIRE_rGni_bd3eNVPMqMcl25yRTRoRcwEM58NsUhjiASgNWrfyrruil17R2g4Ps1Co84P-muIYZcSpox0qt63HENgDDnrELIcZ9080v1HeSM6NAvUVkC38mN4URXsKQGzNFJMEb8elcEMxkVHHdvXuxedsnUmevsUGulOe9e9mdGdJIG2vF-Lkyc/s356/200.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="356" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyZZhoIRE_rGni_bd3eNVPMqMcl25yRTRoRcwEM58NsUhjiASgNWrfyrruil17R2g4Ps1Co84P-muIYZcSpox0qt63HENgDDnrELIcZ9080v1HeSM6NAvUVkC38mN4URXsKQGzNFJMEb8elcEMxkVHHdvXuxedsnUmevsUGulOe9e9mdGdJIG2vF-Lkyc/s320/200.webp" width="320"></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">America’s culinary schools are feeling the heat. </span><p></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">When chef Gordon Ramsay appeared on an episode of the YouTube series “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENhfIeZF_AY">Last Meal</a>” in January 2024, he described U.S. culinary schools as “depressing” places that “sandbag” students with tens of thousands of dollars in student loan debt before releasing them <a href="https://www.bls.gov/ooh/food-preparation-and-serving/chefs-and-head-cooks.htm">into a low-wage industry</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">He added that graduates are pressured to select jobs that will put them in the best position to pay off their loans, rather than ones that will give them opportunities to learn and grow as chefs. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ramsay singled out the Culinary Institute of America, one of the most prestigious cooking schools in the country, as it sets students at its New York campus back <a href="https://www.ciachef.edu/cia-tuition/">US$52,090</a> per academic year. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then, at the end of February, The New York Times published <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/27/dining/chefs-state-of-the-restaurant-industry.html">a compilation of interviews from 30 chefs around the U.S</a>. They chimed in on a range of topics, but they were pretty much in lockstep when it came to culinary degrees: </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">“People ask me, ‘What’s a good culinary school to go to?’” chef Justin Pioche said. “And I always tell them: Don’t go.” </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Chef Robynne Maii added, “I always sing the praises of culinary school, but in community colleges only. All the for-profit schools need to go away. They’re completely unnecessary and they’re predatory.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">These sentiments are not unique to culinary schools. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Trade, technical and for-profit schools are routinely criticized for their lopsided cost-to-benefit ratio, with scholars such as <a href="https://thenewpress.com/books/lower-ed">Tressie McMillan Cottom</a> and <a href="https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/11594/diploma-mills">A.J. Angulo</a> arguing that many of them have predatory financial processes baked into their business models. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">There has been a similar critique – often tinged with political undercurrents – over <a href="https://slate.com/business/2021/07/masters-degrees-debt-loans-worth-it.html">graduate degrees in the humanities, arts and social sciences</a>, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/financially-hobbled-for-life-the-elite-masters-degrees-that-dont-pay-off-11625752773">described by the Wall Street Journal</a> as “elite master’s degrees that don’t pay off.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">Yet thousands of aspiring chefs continue to enroll in expensive culinary schools, rather than learn on the job while being paid. And in <a href="https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/making-it/9781978840126/#generate-pdf">the research for my book on notions of success in the culinary industry</a>, I found that many graduates from these institutions actually feel their experiences were worth the price of admission. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: inherit;">What might explain this paradox?</span></p>
<h2><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span></span></span></h2><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/is-culinary-school-worth-it.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5783158733584732706.post-22999978587266246112024-03-24T09:00:00.001-04:002024-03-24T09:00:00.247-04:00COVID-19 Virus Can Stay in the Body More Than a Year After Infection<p><span style="color: #990000; font-size: x-large;"><b>Some diseases just won't go away</b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-font-kerning: 0pt; padding: 0in;">By</span><span style="mso-font-kerning: 0pt; text-transform: uppercase;"> <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA - SAN
FRANCISCO</span> <o:p></o:p></span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://i0.wp.com/politicalcharge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image-2.png?w=680&ssl=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="680" height="301" src="https://i0.wp.com/politicalcharge.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/image-2.png?w=680&ssl=1" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #fcfcfc; color: #0a0909; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;">By Lalo Alcaraz</span></td></tr></tbody></table>The <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">COVID-19</span> <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">virus</span> can persist in the blood and tissue of patients
for more than a year after the acute phase of the illness has ended, according
to new research from UC San Francisco that offers potential clues to why some
people develop long COVID.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">The scientists found pieces of <span style="border: 1pt none windowtext; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; padding: 0in;">SARS-CoV-2</span>, referred to as COVID antigens, lingering in the
blood up to 14 months after infection and for more than two years in tissue
samples from people who had COVID.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">“These two studies provide some of the strongest evidence
so far that COVID antigens can persist in some people, even though we think
they have normal immune responses,” said Michael Peluso, MD, an infectious
disease researcher in the UCSF School of Medicine, who led both studies.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span></span></span></p><a href="https://www.progressive-charlestown.com/2024/03/covid-19-virus-can-stay-in-body-more.html#more">Click Here to Read More >></a>Progressive Charlestownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10616626646140586292noreply@blogger.com