Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, seen last year. Lawmakers repealed his executive order declaring a coronavirus emergency. He issued a new one. Morry Gash/AP hide caption

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, seen last year. Lawmakers repealed his executive order declaring a coronavirus emergency. He issued a new one.

Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin approved a joint resolution Thursday overriding Gov. Tony Evers' most recent COVID-19 state of emergency, abolishing a state-wide mask mandate. In response, Evers declared a new state of emergency. Effective immediately, Wisconsinites must again wear masks in public places.

The legislature approved Joint Resolution 3 Thursday in a 52-42 vote in the Assembly, Wisconsin Public Radio reported. Democrats were joined by seven Republicans, but it wasn't enough. The resolution terminated Evers' Executive Order #104, calling the emergency declaration "unlawful."

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke, R-Kaukauna, told lawmakers to stand up against the governor. "I don't know when legislators became comfortable with delegating their authority to the executive branch, creating an office where he can do whatever he wants," Steineke said. "That's not how this was set up."

Steineke argued the pushback wasn't about masks, which were mandated in July by Evers' second public health emergency declaration. That said, Republicans also shot down an amendment introduced by Democratic lawmakers Thursday that would have implemented a statewide mask mandate, WPR reported.

Shortly afterward, Evers countered with Executive Order #105 and Emergency Order #1, complete with another mask mandate. In a statement released by the governor's office Thursday, Evers said his efforts to contain the coronavirus have been met with lawsuits and obstruction.

"Wearing a mask is the most basic thing we can do to keep each other safe," Evers said. "If the Legislature keeps playing politics and we don't keep wearing masks, we're going to see more preventable deaths, and it's going to take even longer to get our state and our economy back on track."

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One Emergency After Another: Wisconsin Governor And Legislators Battle Over COVID-19 - NPR

Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says President Biden told him from the outset: "We're going to make some mistakes along the way. We're going to stumble a bit. And when that happens, we're not going to blame anybody. We're just going to fix it." "Boy, was that refreshing," Fauci says. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

Infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci says President Biden told him from the outset: "We're going to make some mistakes along the way. We're going to stumble a bit. And when that happens, we're not going to blame anybody. We're just going to fix it." "Boy, was that refreshing," Fauci says.

Less than three weeks into the new Biden administration, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert who has headed up the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984, is encouraged by the new president's approach to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It was very clear what President Biden wanted ... and that is that science was going to rule," Fauci says. "That we were going to base whatever we do, our recommendations or guidelines ... on sound scientific evidence and sound scientific data."

But there was something else that Biden promised, which Fauci found equally reassuring: "He said, 'We're going to make some mistakes along the way. We're going to stumble a bit. And when that happens, we're not going to blame anybody. We're just going to fix it.' "

"Boy, was that refreshing," Fauci says.

Fauci has worked with seven presidents, from Ronald Reagan to Joe Biden. Much of his career has been devoted to researching viruses and the immune system. During the AIDS epidemic, he made major contributions to the understanding of how HIV affects the immune system and was instrumental in developing drugs that could prolong the lives of people with HIV.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fauci became something of a medical celebrity as a member of the former administration's coronavirus task force who publicly disagreed with President Donald Trump about COVID-19 treatment, the value of masks and about the timeline for reopening. In return, Trump called Fauci an "idiot" and tweeted about firing him.

"What I think happened is that the [Trump] White House, in general the president was looking for people who were saying things that were compatible with what his feeling was about, where he wanted to go," Fauci says.

Looking ahead, Fauci says the pandemic is far from over especially as the virus mutates and new strains emerge. He says controlling the spread of the virus will help tamp down mutations. The key is to vaccinate "as many people as quickly and as efficiently as you possibly can" and "to double down on the public health measures of uniform wearing of masks, physical distancing, avoiding congregate settings particularly indoors."

Fauci notes that any vaccination efforts should address the needs of the larger global population.

"You've got to be able to get with the help of the developed world the entire world vaccinated," he says. "As we allow this infection to exist to any degree in any part of the world, it will always be a threat. So we've got to approach this the way we approach smallpox, the way we approach polio, and the way we approach measles and other devastating global outbreaks."

On the major new mutations in the coronavirus and how that affects our strategy to fight it

I think people need to understand something that's very important: RNA viruses SARS-CoV-2 is an RNA virus will mutate, and the more the virus replicates, the more opportunity you give it to mutate. So when you have so much infection in the community, as we have had in the United States over the last few months, where you literally have hundreds of thousands of new infections per day we were up to between 300,000 to 400,000 [cases] a day. We're down now between 100,000 to 200,000 per day. But we still have 3,000 to 4,000 deaths per day. That means the virus has almost an open playing field to replicate, [which] means you give it an opportunity to mutate.

So even though this is a challenge, we should not be set back by this. We can meet the challenge and you meet the challenge by first getting a handle on the degree of mutations by doing good genomic surveillance, No. 1, but No. 2, by doing whatever you can to prevent the replication of the virus by vaccinating as many people as quickly and as efficiently as you possibly can.

And also to double down on the public health measures of uniform wearing of masks, physical distancing, avoiding congregate settings, particularly indoors.

One of the things that we do know is that the vaccines that we have, although they are less effective in preventing disease ... when you look at serious disease with hospitalizations and deaths, the vaccines still have a pretty important, positive effect even on the mutants.

But we don't want to get confident about that. We've got to be able to match future vaccines and upgrade them to be able to be directed specifically at these troublesome mutants that have evolved.

On the misleading idea that a good way to conquer COVID-19 might be to simply let more people get infected and gain immunity that way

[Trump] wanted to focus on things other than the pandemic. So anyone who would come in, like [coronavirus adviser] Dr. [Scott] Atlas, and say, "Just let people get infected, you'll get herd immunity and everything will be fine" was a welcome strategy or a welcome philosophy.

But as it turns out and we know right now very clearly that that was an incorrect strategy, if you actually pursued a strategy of "don't try and intervene. Don't wear a mask. Don't worry about congregate settings, just let the virus take its course and try and protect the vulnerable." ... We cannot effectively protect the vulnerable [that way], because they were such an important part of our population.

So if you look at the number of people right now who have died, it's close to 450,000 people. And if you look at the seroprevalence in the country how many people already will have gotten infected there are certain areas where it's high, 20-plus%. But as an average for the country, it's probably somewhere less than 20%, which means that if you wanted to get the 70 or 85% of the people that need to be infected to give you herd immunity, a lot more people will have died. We've already had 430,000 [to] 450,000 people who have died, and we aren't even anywhere close to herd immunity.

On the origin of the FDA's "emergency use authorization," which has been used to speed COVID-19 vaccines to market

To get a drug out as quickly as you possibly can, based on the fact that the benefit looks like it was better than the risk and you didn't have to fully show efficacy yet, originated way back during the years of HIV. Compassionate use of a drug even before you get an emergency use authorization originated way back in the days of HIV, because we didn't have compassionate use to any great extent until we got into the situation with HIV in the early and mid 1980s. So there's a very good connection between some of the things that we're doing now with interventions for COVID-19 that actually originated way back when we were doing HIV in its very early years.

On two things he learned from the AIDS epidemic that he's applying to the COVID-19 pandemic now

One of them is the importance of getting the community involved and dealing with the community and their special needs. ... We have a disparity here that is striking and needs to be addressed that if you look at the incidence of infection and the incidence of serious disease, including hospitalization and deaths, brown and Black people suffer disproportionately more than whites. ...

So I think that shines a bright light on what we probably should have done all along and certainly must do in the future, is to address those social determinants of health that actually lead to the great disparity of suffering in COVID-19 among brown and Black people. We had the same sort of thing with the disparities of infection in certain demographic groups with HIV. So from an epidemiological standpoint, there were similarities there.

We also learned the importance of fundamental basic science in getting solutions. ... Back in the early days, getting infected with HIV was a virtual death sentence for the overwhelming majority. ... It was the fundamental basic science of targeted drug development that allowed us to develop combinations of drugs first single drugs and then a couple at a time, and then triple and more combinations of drugs that ultimately completely transformed the lives of people living with HIV, to the point where you went from a virtual death sentence to being able to lead essentially a normal life, as well as not infecting anybody else. ...

We know now that something we've called "treatment as prevention" [works] which means if you treat someone who's living with HIV and suppressed the level of virus to below detectable, you make it essentially impossible for that person to infect someone else. So we got there through basic science.

On being vilified by AIDS activists early on in the AIDS crisis, who believed the government should expand access to experimental medicines, and how that compares to being vilified during the COVID-19 pandemic by people who are anti-science and anti-mask

That really is a stark contrast. The [AIDS] activists were justified in their concerns that the government (even though they weren't doing it deliberately) were not actually giving them a seat at the table to be able to have their own input into things that would ultimately affect their lives. So, even though they were very theatrical, they were very iconoclastic, they seemed like they were threatening, ... never for a single moment did I ever feel myself threatened by the AIDS activist.

In fact, one particular situation, I think, was very telling. At a time when there was a lot of pushback against the government and not listening to the valid concerns of the activists, I was invited to go down and I went with just one of my staff at the time to go down essentially alone to the gay and lesbian community center in the middle of Greenwich Village to meet with what must have been anywhere from 50 to 100 activists in this meeting room. Just me and one of my staff. And they were angry with the federal government because they felt the federal government was not listening to them, and they were right I think they had a really good point.

Not for a second, did I feel physically threatened to go down there, not even close. I mean, that's not the nature of what the protest was. And I think one of the things about it was that not only were they not threatening at all in a violent way, but ultimately they were [also] on the right side of history.

On his early research into the AIDS epidemic, visiting gay bathhouses to gain a better understanding of the then-mysterious outbreak that was killing gay men

This was the very, very early years of the outbreak. In fact, it may even have been before we even discovered that HIV was the cause. And we were seeing these large numbers of mostly gay men who were formerly otherwise well, who were being devastated by this terrible, mysterious disease. And it was so concentrated in the gay community that I really wanted to get a feel for what was going on there that would lead to this explosion of a sexually transmitted disease. So I did. I went to the Castro District [of San Francisco]. I went down to Greenwich Village and I went into the bathhouses to essentially see what was going on.

And the epidemiologist in me went, "Oh, my goodness, this is a perfect setup for an explosion of a sexually transmitted disease!" And the same thing going to the gay bars and seeing what was going on. And it gave me a great insight into the explosiveness of the outbreak of a sexually transmitted disease. So I think it was important, because it gave me a really on-the-ground feel for what was actually dynamically going on.

On whether COVID-19 will be with us forever like influenza

I don't think we need to make that assumption. That certainly is a possibility that you would have enough virus floating around and changing from year to year, that you would have to treat it in some respects, the way we treat seasonal influenza, where you have to upgrade the vaccine almost every year.

There is a way, if done properly, to avoid that, and that is, for example, if we successfully vaccinate 70 to 85% of the people in the United States and dramatically diminish the level of infection if we were living in a vacuum in only the United States, then I don't think we'd have to worry about seasonal turnover and having to match. But we live in a global community and unless we get the rest of the world adequately vaccinated and unless we don't have the opportunity of this virus to mutate in a place that doesn't have access to vaccines, we will always be threatened.

Fresh Air's interview with Dr. Fauci was recorded as part of a WHYY Zoom event at which Fauci accepted WHYY's annual Lifelong Learning Award.

Sam Briger and Seth Kelley produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Deborah Franklin adapted it for the Web.

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Dr. Fauci On Vaccinations And Biden's 'Refreshing' Approach To COVID-19 - NPR

Disinfecting your hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer has been crucial in preventing the spread of the new coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.

Since the virus has been shown to survive from hours to days on surfaces, a huge deal has also been made about disinfecting your home and business.

But many people enter and exit vehicles throughout the day and dont adequately disinfect commonly touched surfaces where germs can be hiding out. If youre a driver for a rideshare or taxi company, its even more important to keep your vehicle clean to stop the virus from spreading.

Disinfecting a vehicle can be more difficult than cleaning a home because of the many types of surfaces and all of the crevices and openings. Vehicle surfaces are also not made to withstand a constant onslaught of harsh cleaning products and can wear down if cleaned too often.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the most effective products to kill the coronavirus are soap and water, and alcohol solutions that contain at least 70 percent isopropyl alcohol. These products are also safe for the interior of vehicles.

Products containing bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and ammonia are effective at killing coronaviruses, but can damage upholstery and leather, and may discolor fabrics. They may also cause skin and eye irritation, and burns. Cleaning with bleach could create indoor air pollutants, according to new research.

Natural products like vinegar, tea tree oil, and vodka havent been shown to be effective against the novel coronavirus, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Take care not to use aggressive cleaners on infotainment screens and other touch screens. You should use screen wipes or a soft cloth dampened with soap and water, and wipe dry. You can also place a wipeable cover on electronics to make cleaning and disinfecting easier and safer.

Isopropyl alcohol should contain at least 70 percent alcohol. Alcohol disrupts viral membranes and can kill coronaviruses on contact.

Soap and water alone are sufficient to disrupt this outer layer that the virus needs to cause infection. This requires friction, however, so youll need to really scrub the surface youre trying to disinfect.

When preparing to disinfect a vehicle interior, youll need to gather a few supplies in addition to the cleaning solution. These include:

While cleaning, keep the doors and windows open as some cleaning products can irritate the eyes or throat. Follow these steps to thoroughly sanitize your car:

Leather is a natural material and is vulnerable to dryness. If leather loses its natural oils, it may become less flexible and start to crack.

You should avoid bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and any other abrasive cleaner for leather seats.

When youre cleaning, use a microfiber cloth to keep from scratching the leather, and dont scrub too hard. Soap and water are best to clean and disinfect leather since alcohol can damage the leather over time by stripping its moisture. Try to avoid excess foam and water.

Its a good idea to apply a leather conditioner afterward to help preserve the leathers moisture, strength, durability, and appearance.

There are quite a few high-touch surfaces in the interior of a car. Here is a checklist to ensure that you dont miss anything while cleaning:

If someone in your household has COVID-19 or another infection, like the flu, then the need to disinfect and clean high-contact surfaces in your home and vehicles is especially important.

If this is the case, it may be a better idea to just have the car professionally cleaned and detailed.

Many professional detailing centers have updated their processes to disinfect the inside of your vehicle using a product registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to kill the coronavirus and other viruses and bacteria without damaging your car.

Just like washing your hands and cleaning the surfaces in your home or workplace, cleaning your car is an important way to stay safe and prevent the spread of viruses like the new coronavirus.

Soap and water and alcohol solutions like disinfectant wipes or sprays that contain at least 70-percent isopropyl alcohol are effective in killing the coronavirus, according to the CDC. Avoid bleach, hydrogen peroxide, and ammonia-based products in your car.

At a minimum, disinfect all high-touch surfaces like door handles, steering wheels, commonly used buttons and levers, seat belts, and armrests.

Soap is the safest way to clean fabrics and leather. Take extra care to avoid harsh cleaning products on any touch screens in the vehicle. If possible, use voice commands to help avoid touching these screens altogether.

Its also a great idea for you and your passengers to wash their hands before entering a vehicle. Having clean hands can keep your car clean for a longer amount of time.

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Disinfecting a Car to Protect Against Germs, Coronavirus - Healthline

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Ohios weekly coronavirus alert map, originally designed to educate the public on county-level concerns for spread based on a variety of seven criteria, has evolved into a single test for nearly every Ohio county - the number of new cases per capita in the last two weeks.

That explains why the same counties have been flagged as being under Level 3 red alert (with one exception) for the last seven weeks going back to before Christmas. The one exception is Hamilton County (Cincinnati), which for two weeks was at the higher concern level of purple.

Thursdays update mirrored the others - 84 red alert counties, with the same four being assigned a step lower for concern at orange alert. Those are Gallia, Hocking, Monroe and Vinton in Southeast Ohio.

Why has this occurred?

The simple answer is that new cases over the last two weeks, excluding incarcerated individuals, have in every county remained above 100 per 100,000 - a level considered by the Centers for Disease Control as high incidence.

This level is exceeded for all 88 counties.

Why are four orange and 84 red?

Once a county reaches Level 3 red by at some point being flagged for concern in at least four of the seven areas - ranging from new cases to things like doctor and ER visits - it isnt dropped down to the lower levels of orange or yellow unless its case rate also drops below 100 per 100,000, the Ohio Department of Health confirmed.

This doesnt mean, however, that current conditions in all the red counties are worse than in the four orange counties. In fact, this week as an example, red Cuyahoga County was flagged for meeting concern criteria in two of the seven areas tracked. But orange counties Hocking and Vinton each met three areas of concern.

And in the key indicator of new cases per 100,000 orange counties, several red counties had lower rates than the four orange counties. For the orange counties, Monroe had the 29th highest rate among Ohios 88 counties (468.7 per 100,000), Gallia 61st (361.2), Hocking 69th (329) and Vinton 82nd (275.1).

As for red alert Cuyahoga, it was the middle statewide at 42nd with 415 cases per 100,000.

The lowest rates are for Harrison County (232.7), Shelby (226.4), Holmes (209.3) and Noble (173.3) - all labeled as red alert counties. The highest rates are for Brown (812.8), Muskingum (665.8) and Pickaway (653.5).

Elsewhere in Greater Cleveland: Geauga County (551 cases per 100,000), Portage (514), Lorain (500.3), Lake (469.7), Medina (409.5), Summit (396.5),

Heres a closer look at the advisory system Gov. Mike DeWine introduced in early July.

* 1. New cases - Alert triggered when there are 50 new cases per cases 100,000 residents over the last two weeks.

* 2. Increase in new cases - Alert triggered by an increase in cases for five straight days at any point over the last three weeks. This is based on the date of onset of symptoms, not when the cases are reported.

* 3. Non-congregate living cases - Alert triggered when at least 50% of the new cases in one of the last three weeks have occurred in outside congregate living spaces such as nursing homes and prisons.

* 4. Emergency rooms - Alert triggered when there is an increase in visits for COVID-like symptoms or a diagnosis for five straight days at any point in the last three weeks.

* 5. Doctor visits - Alert triggered when there is an increase in out-patient visits resulting in confirmed cases or suspected diagnosis for COVID-19 for five straight days at any point in the last three weeks.

* 6. Hospitalizations - Alert triggered when there is an increase in new COVID-19 patients for five straight days at any point over the last three weeks. This is based on the county or residence, not the location of the hospital.

* 7. Intensive Care Unit occupancy - Alert triggered when ICU occupancy in a region exceeds 80% of total ICU beds and at least 20% of the beds are being used for coronavirus patients for at least three days in the last week.

Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See other data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral.

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See new coronavirus case counts for every ZIP code in Ohio

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Why same 84 Ohio counties are on coronavirus red alert again this week, though orange counties arent at bott - cleveland.com

I

dont remember much between the hours of 3pm and 7pm on Saturday afternoon, so Ive had to rely on source materials. Specifically, the WhatsApps I sent to my boyfriend as I was (apparently) en route to meet him on the South Bank.

On be there in. Sec!, reads an early, optimistic text, though close analysis of the timeline suggests that On (I) in fact arrived 40 minutes later. I just drink London! proclaims another hyperbolic message from around the same time, though more ominous is the missive sent at circa 6pm, stating: I have died.

Rumours of my death were greatly exaggerated (by me), though the incoherency gives a clear indication of my mental and physical state during my first post-lockdown Saturday out. How had I managed this under Tier 2s restrictions? Search me. By the time of my death, my excesses included as far as I can establish a few glasses of wine and a pizza with three friends on a rooftop in Peckham, later followed by another substantial meal and drinks, at which point my memory kicks back in, and bed by 11.30pm. Pretty tame, yet apparently enough hedonism to leave me immobilised on Sunday: face down on my bed; drooling; moving only to swipe at the continue watching button on Netflix or to claw at my own tongue to get the taste of sock out of my mouth. My own ghost of Christmas past would be horrified. In fact, this lamentable display is the antithesis of the stamina on which I have previously prided myself in December managing night-after-night-out; still getting up for my 6am alarm; sneaking in the odd lunchtime spin class to preclude the creep of a mulled cider paunch. This year, with limited days to go before I bubble up with my family for Christmas, I am desperate to make the most of them: how cruel of my stamina to forsake me now!

To think, last week I claimed (in print) to miss hangovers. Obviously, this year has been exhausting, and I did turn 30 in the first lockdown, but I dont think my increasing state of decrepitude is to blame. Nor can it be that Ive become a lightweight: Ive hardly treated this year as a detox. No, I think the problem is something uniquely 2020: this December is total sensory overload for Londons army of lockdown zombies. Months of texting in front of ambient TV requiring little to no brain engagement have been replaced by proper stimuli. Menus! People! Working out how to get from A to B! It is hard to adapt to structure after shapelessness: its a big gear shift to go from nought to hedonism overnight (who knew?!). My will is strong I want a party desperately! but the flesh is weak. And does anyone know how I got to the South Bank?

The online backlash was swift for Cardi B, who has been accused of insensitivity by fans after she asked Twitter to help her decide whether or not to drop the cash on a $88,000 purse. She countered the vitriol by pointing out that shes given $1 million to coronavirus relief charities fair, but thats not really the point, is it? We all know celebrities have had better pandemics than us, because they have better lives than us. Saying that, these lives have affected their grasp on reality making them prone to acts that can ring rather tone deaf. From Cardi B dropping 90k on a place to put her chewing gum; to Rita Oras lockdown lock-in; to Kim Ks massive 40th on a private island; even Kay Burleys birthday weve seen clangers committed by people whose jobs are, to some extent, about curating their image. Think before you tweet...

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The shift from nought to hedonism overnight was too much for this lockdown zombie - Evening Standard

PERSONNEL-HEAVY English folk band Bellowhead walked away decisively from live performances in 2016 with a sell-out show at the London Palladium so they were keen to portray this global concert stream as nothing more than a one-off reunion, organised to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their successful third album, Hedonism.

Operating together under strict Covid-safe conditionsin Stabal Mansion near Epping Forest, their hour-long, 15-song set was, naturally, based around songs from Hedonism, although there were excursions into other albums.

While the feel and subject matter of their roustabout material makes their recorded work rather samey, when it comes to the live experience theres no doubting they know how to hit the spot.

Benefiting from slick production and an excellent sound, they were clearly well-rehearsed and glad to be back. Even watching on a laptop, its possible to get a sense of the energy the band generates in a live situation.

With self-assured, theatrical frontman Jon Boden looking fresh and happy and the 10 other members of the band equally charged up, even without an audience the atmosphere was fun and animated.

There were six of Hedonisms 11 tracks, led by the two highlights of the performance,Captain Wedderburn and Cold Blows the Wind, plus plenty from other sources too, including the opener Roll Alabama, the jaunty, fiddle-based March Past (which has not actually appeared on a studio album) and a finale of London Town.

All very tight, all thoroughly enjoyable wrapped up in an impressive, multi-layered combination of players and instruments, with oboe and horns especially effective.

Around 8,500 tickets were sold for the initial showing, but the concert can be viewed online for some time yet. If this was really a one-off, then its worth watching; if not, then its certainly whetted the appetite for more.

View at: https://stabal.com/stabal_media/bellowhead-on-sale

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An impressive, multi-layered combination of players and instruments - Morning Star Online

LONDON (Reuters) - One woman waved purple burlesque feather fans while dozens cheered with beers and some sang Karaoke in the streets for one last gasp of revelry in Londons partyland before the capital went into the strictest level of COVID restrictions.

For much of 2020, the pubs of Londons West End and the hedonistic nightclubs of Shoreditch have lain silent - devoid of the fun that has, over the centuries, attracted drunken poets, louche musicians and the lonely seeking a liaison.

As tougher restrictions loomed at the stroke of midnight, a few hundred revellers brushed away the COVID-19 doom and gloom in Soho by partying on the streets, mostly without masks.

One woman, dressed in white shorts on a December night, waved purple feather fans while another flapped giant white wings bejeweled with fairy lights. Around them, partygoers sang songs, drank and danced.

Police were booed when they told people to disperse. There were no arrests seen by Reuters.

Some pubs and bars - one displaying a sign Save Soho to help save livelihoods - put on cut price drinks with pints of beer going for as little as 2 pounds ($2.70) to shift stock before they closed. From Wednesday they will only be allowed to serve takeaways.

The coronavirus lockdown has left many bars and restaurants across the world facing an unprecedented cash crunch: large rents, often high debt and zero income.

($1 = 0.7405 pounds)

Reporting by Henry Nicholls; writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Paul Sandle

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Londoners party on eve of tougher COVID restrictions - Reuters UK

All that information in reality would expose how biased his investigation was, Rodriguez said.

But the defense was thwarted by Judge Mary Staley Clark, who sustained repeated state objections that served to protect Persinger. Harris was ultimately found guilty of maliciously killing his son and is serving a life sentence plus 32 years in prison.

His hearing for a new trial concluded Tuesday.

It wasnt just the experts like Persinger who found safe haven in Staley Clarks rulings, the defense alleges. There were also the Cobb County police investigators who, according to Harris defense, provided false testimony to secure search warrants.

Everything was biased in their minds and continued to get worse, as I saw it, defense co-counsel Bryan Lumpkin testified. We werent allowed to put up the evidence that bore that out.

With Staley Clark presiding, Harris appellate lawyer, Mitch Durham, argued Tuesday that Staley Clarks decisions in the 2016 murder trial made it impossible for his client to receive a fair shake. While Staley Clark is not expected to rule against herself, testimony from this weeks hearing will inform the appeal likely to follow in the Georgia Supreme Court.

Persinger, for example, made several nefarious insinuations about the time Harris spent on a psychologists website right before Coopers death. It was clear, Rodriguez testified Tuesday, that Persinger either did not know Harris had contracted with the psychologist to develop his site or prosecutors were trying to pull a fast one on me.

I wanted to confront him with all the easily available, easily discoverable information that wouldve made it clear to him (that Harris) wasnt involved in some kind of conniving plan to prepare for a criminal trial, Rodriguez said. All that information in reality would expose how biased his investigation was.

But he didnt get the chance.

You cant impeach someone with evidence they didnt know, Cobb Assistant District Attorney Linda Dunikoski said Tuesday, explaining the states position in the 2016 trial. Staley Clark sided with the state back then. It remains to be seen whether shes changed her mind.

Dunikoski fought back against defense claims that the judge prevented them from thoroughly challenging state witnesses.

Quoting lead defense counsel Maddox Kilgore, In his opinion, they did a great job of destroying law enforcement, Dunikoski said.

There was additional unfounded testimony about Harris from state witnesses, according to the defense. He never created a Whisper post saying I hate being married with kids, nor did he search for information about how long it takes for a child to die in a hot car, Rodriguez said.

Whether those factors amount to substantial harm requiring a new trial will be up to Judge Staley Clark, whose ruling will come sometime in the new year.

Harris, who appeared via Zoom at the virtual hearing, remains incarcerated at Macon State Prison in south central Georgia.

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Judge to decide whether her rulings deprived Ross Harris of fair trial - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Irmgard Keun (1905-1982) produced a series of fresh, wry, acutely perceptive novels that gave voice and agency to young, modern, single-minded German women in the feverish climate between the wars. Gilgi, the ambitious yet misguided title character of Keun's 1931 debut, leaves her family home in Cologne to be with a man living beyond his means. Doris, the aspiring starlet of "The Artificial Silk Girl" (1932), sinks and swims in hedonistic Weimar-era Berlin.

Sanna in "After Midnight" (1937) attempts to keep her head amid increased restrictions in 1930s Frankfurt. And Keun's youngest protagonist, Kully, in her 1938 masterpiece "Child of All Nations," drifts around Europe with her parents seeking sanctuary in any place other than her Nazi-run homeland.

Keun also fled the Nazis after they branded her heroines "immoral" and burned her books. She fell into obscurity but was rescued by a new generation of German readers in the 1970s. Recent years have seen more of this marvelous writer's back catalog becoming available to Anglophone audiences. The latest book to appear is Keun's final work from 1950.

"Ferdinand, the Man With the Kind Heart" marks a departure of sorts. Its main character is male and its setting is Germany in a time not of interwar abandon or prewar anxiety but postwar confusion. Despite the differences, the novel is vintage Keun, infused with her trademark wit, candor and emotional intensity.

Ferdinand Timpe is a recently released prisoner of war trying to adjust to civilian life in bomb-ravaged Cologne. He has a makeshift room in a dilapidated lodging house, dwindling funds, and no inspiration for a journalistic assignment. As he wanders the city, taking stock of societal chaos and transformations, he encounters one colorful contact after another. There is his doughty landlady, Frau Stabhorn, and her dubious black-market schemes; his unlucky-in-love cousin Johanna and her failed entanglements with everyone from an American GI to a German lion tamer; and good friend Liebezahl, who gives guidance to lost, credulous souls through clairvoyance, astrology, graphology and other "gaudy deceits."

Then there is Luise, Ferdinand's fiance. He got engaged to her in haste during the war and now wants rid of her. No callous heartbreaker, he has decided he will find her a worthier husband. In addition he must settle into a new job and reconnect with his mother and various siblings. The country is emerging from the rubble and forging ahead; can this "man for abnormal times" get his act together in this era of peace and prosperity and also move forward?

Keun's narrative comprises a series of tightly packed vignettes and quietly captivating portraits. Some characters are fleeting cameos but others are forceful presences. Thanks to Michael Hofmann's translation, the prose has bite and charm. This may have been Keun's last book, but for those yet to discover her, it is as good a place as any to begin.

Malcolm Forbes has written for the Times Literary Supplement, the Economist and the New Republic. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

By: Irmgard Keun, translated from the German by Michael Hofmann.Publisher: Other Press, 256 pages, $17.99.

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Review: 'Ferdinand, the Man With the Kind Heart,' by Irmgard Keun - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Photo credit: Jos Mara Mateos, via Flickr (cropped).

If anyone is having a hard time right now wondering if there is a Creator, that science erases him and proves that he isnt real You are not alone. I was there once I was in that dark abyss. I was one who once was convinced that there was no God, ridiculed others and belittled them.

These words come from Bryan, a young man who recently posted his story in response to one of our YouTube videos. Bryan began to lose his faith in God after reading books by Darwinian biologist Richard Dawkins and others. By college, he was convinced there was no God and that blind evolution explained everything.

Then he stumbled across a book by biologist Michael Denton, a Senior Fellow with Discovery Institutes Center for Science & Culture (CSC), which sponsors this website. That led him to more books and videos produced by the CSC. He says he cried and hugged Michael Behes bookDarwins Black Box,and he also cried after readingSignature in the Cellby Steve Meyer.

Vincent has a similar story. A few weeks ago, he posted this message to YouTube:

Discovery Institute made me love science again. When I was a materialist, listening to the likes of Dawkins and Dennett I became viciously nihilistic and hedonistic. Why should I learn any more science? I am hurtling towards death with no purpose quick, play all the video games and watch all the immoral videos I can! Oh how thankful I am that I dont feel that that is all I can get from life anymore.

Bryan and Vincent are just two lives changed by the work of the CSC.Will you help us change millions of additional lives in 2021 by makingan end-of-year donation?

The need for beacons of light and hope in the current darkness is critical.COVID-19 isnt our only pandemic. There is also a pandemic of loneliness and despair.

At the end of our Summer Seminars this year, a college student couldnt hold back his tears as he told us how difficult his time at a secular university has been how alone he has felt, how his professors have pushed him toward meaninglessness. You made it possible for this young man to hear a different view, and the experience transformed him.

Sometimes when the night seems the darkest, people are the most open to turning to the light. Thats why you and I have a tremendous opportunity to make such a difference in peoples lives next year, which happens to be the 25th anniversary year for the Center for Science & Culture.

By partnering with us during our 25th anniversary year, you can reach millions of people with positive evidence of a purposeful universe and human uniqueness. You can do so by supporting our key initiatives:

Unlike colleges, we dont have an endowment. We dont receive taxpayer funds. We rely instead on faithful partners like you. Together we can make our 25th anniversary year our most effective and important year ever.

Just for donating, you will receive a free 39-page digital monograph,Darwins Three Big Ideas that Impacted Humanity. Please donate now.

More:

Blind Evolution Explained Everything - Discovery Institute

In his book, "Obliquity," John Kay argues that goals are often best achieved indirectly. He is probably on to something.

Directly pursuing happiness, for example, inevitably produces frustration. Hedonists whose chief pursuit is pleasure are often miserable people.

As British philosopher John Stuart Mill noted in his autobiography:

"Those only are happy who have their minds fixed on some object other than their own happiness: on the happiness of others, on the improvement of mankind, or on some art or pursuit, followed not as a means, but as itself an ideal end. Aiming at something else, they find happiness by the way."

Seeking happiness directly is terrible strategy for individuals seeking a good personal life. And governmental goals, too, can sometimes best be pursued indirectly.

Imagine government seeks to prevent people from discarding empty bottles along the highways. It could threaten to fine people who litter. But fines won't work when there is little danger of being caught. There is no way to observe the millions of times people throw bottles out of their cars in widely dispersed places.

Some states therefore take an indirect approach. They threaten fines, not against a large number of hard-to-catch litterbugs, but against stores selling bottled or canned drinks without collecting small refundable deposits. Policing a few stores, whose proprietors have little interest in resisting the law, makes enforcement manageable. And the refundable deposits give motorists an incentive not to litter throwing away money! while encouraging gleaners to pick up and redeem bottles that do get thrown out.

Governments trying to get people to wear anti-COVID masks have a similar option. Instead of directly threatening to fine maskless individuals, government can threaten to fine or close establishments that do not require masks for employees and customers. Of course government must impose severe sanctions for maskless customers who refuse to leave or who threaten employees enforcing such rules.

Likewise, there are two different ways a government can try to improve the economic welfare of people of color. It can adopt measures focusing directly on that goal. Or it can approach that goal indirectly with programs benefiting the whole population but that will be particularly helpful to people who are disadvantaged.

Paying cash reparations to descendants of slaves would be a direct approach. But taxes to support reparations are unlikely to get political support, while figuring out which individuals are eligible for reparations would be an administrative nightmare.

The indirect approach is more promising politically: enacting programs that benefit everybody but are particularly beneficial to disadvantaged people. An existing example would be Social Security, which pays a higher percentage of average past earnings to lower income retirees.

A future Medicare For All would be a general program that is exceptionally beneficial to disadvantaged people. Everybody would benefit from insurance that remains in effect when a job is lost. Everyone would benefit from its administrative efficiency. Doctors would only need to deal with one insurance program instead employing costly staffs to cope with dozens of incompatible insurers. (Patients ultimately pay for those costly staffs, directly, through increased insurance costs and co-pays, or indirectly through reduced salaries enabling their employers to supply insurance.)

But people of color, whose average health is precarious and who are especially vulnerable to the current pandemic, would find Medicare For All particularly valuable. And better medical care, which would increase their average lifespans, would increase the total Social Security benefits received by the average minority person during his or her lifetime.

In politics, good intentions with which the road to hell is supposedly paved are welcome but never enough. What really counts is good results, and these cannot always be attained by pursuing them directly.

Paul F. deLespinasse is professor emeritus of political science and computer science at Adrian College. He can be reached at pdeles@proaxis.com.

This first appeared at http://www.newsmax.com.

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Government take heed: Some goals are best achieved indirectly - The Daily Telegram

R&B Crooner Sainvil releases the new hedonistic visual to his moody single, HBK featuring Harlems own Melii today!

Directed by MARZ, the visual brings the songs seductive lyrics to life! We see Sainvil & Melii both do their best to restrain the tension between the two. But in the end, they cant help but to let their inhibitions go. HBK stands for Heartbreak Kid, which is a reference to the famous professional wrestler Shawn Michaels. Sainvil said its a metaphor for the guy who desperately wants to be emotionally unattached as well as belong to the streets, but in actuality, he is a one-woman man!

HBK is quickly becoming Miami natives most popular song and is featured on his sophomore EP, 2020 Was Hijacked. Released last month, the EP acts as a period piece that truly captures the essence of this historic year and will be an important body of work to look back and reflect on in the years to come! While relatively new to the music industry, Alamo Records first R&B signing was able to work with big-name producers like Mike Hector (Kendrick Lamar, Denzel Curry, SiR), Morgan OConnor (Juice WRLD, Gunna, Lil Durk), and AR (The Weeknd, Bryson Tiller).

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1cvfFBxyYw&%3Bfeature=youtu.beVevo announces French Montana as the next artist in theirCtrl.At.Home series with a performance of FTMU premiering today. VevosCtrlseries highlights

GRAMMY Award-winnerChance the Rapper today announced his virtual holiday concert filmChi-Town Christmaswill be released on YouTube and Instagram on Friday,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwH5bUm9ChU&src=Linkfire&lId=d8a72972-b092-4822-8391-cf90525e0ea1&cId=d3d58fd7-4c47-11e6-9fd0-066c3e7a8751San Francisco rapper and singer 24kGoldn has returned with a wintry video for his latest single "Coco" featuring Charlotte, NC

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Melii And Sainvil Bubble With Tension In New Visual For HBK - RESPECT.

Pandemic party wear is our new favourite thing. Throw caution to the wind, dress up like your life depends on it, and get ready to dance like no ones watching. Were thinking hedonistic, glamorous and decadent excess is the perfect antidote to this year

If we could click our fingers and summon the mother of all parties something out of Baz Luhrmanns imagination is where wed like to be. But well try not to dwell on that. Despite going out outbeing, well, out of the question, you can still go all out where your wardrobe is concerned. After all, that backyard boogie for six deserves just as much attention.

From super luxe designer pieces, to the most expensive looking buys on the high street, pandemic party wear is our new therapy. And from full-blown sequins to sparkle your way through the Zoom office party in, to sumptuous velvets worthy of an intimate Christmas Day lunch, weve got this.

Here weve rounded up all the best dresses to see you through Christmas and well into the New Year

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The Weekend Edit: Party Like It's 2021! - The Handbook

When Aristotle thought about what the greatest good was, he determined that it was for humans to achieve eudaimonia. Eudaimonia is basically the ancient Greek way of saying human flourishing, or living well or to put it simply, the good life. Now, Aristotle was not the first or the only philosopher to advocate for eudaimonia being the greatest good of human life. Many philosophers and philosophies, in fact, almost all of philosophy, advocates some system that will allow people to achieve eudaimonia. Aristotle thought it had something to do with virtue, but not entirely. The Stoics from which we get the word stoic thought that achieving eudaimonia came when you stopped striving against the universe and accepted life with all its ups and downs as it comes essentially narcotizing emotion and trying to live above the fray. The Epicureans and Hedonists thought you could get eudaimonia through pleasure. And there have been infinite variations of this, coming down to the day in which we live.

Why? Why are philosophers and thinkers so concerned with how to not only live, but experience the good life? Well, pretty obviously, because people want to live a good life. People, being fundamentally self-centered and self-interested, want to flourish. And the thing is that most of the great philosophies kinda get it right well, they get parts right.

But the thing that they get most right, the thing that all philosophies rightly recognize is that people want to flourish they want the good life. Aye, theres the rub: How to get it?

Well, lets look at SCIENCE and DATA and FACTS! I know that those are things that people talk about with hushed and holy voices when they arent shouting them at their political opponents. Well, a recent poll from Gallup demonstrates that in the year 2020, all classes of Americans had fewer members who rated their mental well-being as excellent. In fact, Americans self-diagnosis of mental health took significant hits. All groups are doing worse.

Well, not ALL groups. Some groups are actually doing better. Well, one group. One group is doing better. People who go to religious services EVERY WEEK are actually doing better. While other groups are losing 8-10% of their population from the excellent category seriously religious people are actually UP 4%!

Does this mean that becoming religious will make you happy? No. Does this prove the claims of Christianity? No. But it does seem to demonstrate what Christians have said for a long time since always we were made to worship God. We can only achieve our telos our purpose by worshipping the one true God. Real fulfillment in life comes from a life of worship, a life dedicated to Christ.

If you really want the good life, if you really want eudaimonia, then fulfill the purpose for which you were created: Live for Christ! Nothing else is worth dying for; nothing else is worth living for nothing else is really worth anything.

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How to be happy | | bryantimes.com - The Bryan Times

Ma Raineys Black Bottom is set during a heady bygone era, conjuring up 1927 Chicago at the tumultuous height of blues and jazz, but it is far from a nostalgia trip.

An experienced blues accompaniment band working with the legendary Mother of Blues, Ma Rainey (Viola Davis), find themselves scuppered at every turn both by her battles with weaselly white music management, and by bristling internal tensions with an arrogant new horn player, Levee (Chadwick Boseman).

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Based on August Wilsons 1984 stage play of the same name, the film mainly takes place inside the recording studio, as the principals bicker, philosophise and grow frustrated with one another.

Davis is imposing and fascinating as Ma, who suffers no fools and proves difficult for all the right reasons: she has every good motive to be suspicious of her white management and refuses to give an inch, knowing that they will tolerate her attitude only for as long as it takes them to get her voice trapped in their little boxes.

Sweat pours down her face and bosom and, finely dressed and heavily made-up though she is, she reeks of world-weariness; her money seems to mean little on her way to record as she is stared down by notably lighter-skinned well-off black Chicagoans.

The film might suffer slightly from its theatrical origins, with its starchy old-time costumes and its confined feel. But for fans of the storied a bunch of people arguing in one room genre of movies, this shouldnt be too much of an issue, especially with such cracklingperformances.

The clash of personalities keeps things dynamic; old-time blues man Toledo (Glynn Turman) tells the classic yarn of the man who sold his soul to the Devil; weary bandleader Cutler (the stalwart Colman Domingo), is level-headed until religion enters the conversation. But Levee is the cat among the pigeons, cajoling and taunting.

The late Chadwick Bosemans final performance is one of searching intensity and live wire unpredictability as a spitfire of a young musician who doesnt grasp that what Ma Rainey says goes.

The anguish of his role is haunting, and in the limited space of that warehouse-style studio, each character brings with them a sense of the jumping, hedonistic world outside, where modernity clashes with the deep and long-festering racism of old. As Levees awful backstory is slowly revealed, we see the loose, conversational air of the film give way to an undercurrent of deep despair.

In a tragic, final-act turn, Mas conviction that white folk cant really understand the blues is expressed in deed as well as word. The poignant conclusion is as bitter as it is heartbreaking, because, fictional though it is, its story of racism, rage and lost promise shows an essential truth.

In cinemas and on Netflix now

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Chadwick Bosemans final performance in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is one of searching intensity - iNews

Speaking to Commons, Matt Hancock praised areas under Tier 3 restrictions for their efforts in lowering coronavirus rates.

He praised people in areas under Tier 3 restrictions for their efforts in reducing coronavirus rates, but said we are "For the vast majority of places in Tier 3 were not making a change today."

Only, Bristol and North Somerset will move from Tier 3 to Tier 2.

This means Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield will remain in Tier 3.

Hospitality settings will only be permitted to continue sales by takeaway, click-and-collect, drive-through or delivery services.

This means that there is no change to the rules already in place for hospitality across Leeds.

Settings include those such as pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes.

--> Why Leeds is staying in Tier 3Bruce Lerman, co-owner of Hedonist Bar on Briggate in Leeds, said: "I knew it was coming, I didn't expect anything less.

"And to be honest, we weren't going to open anyway because it's safer for our staff to stay on furlough than for us to risk opening over Christmas and not have any trade.

"We're a wet venue so it would have been too risky."

Martin Greenhow is the owner of Mojo bars across the country including one on Merrion street in Leeds.

He said: "My position is that even with my bar open in Tier 2 in Harrogate, it's far from ideal and that's an understatement.

"Even if Leeds had gone into Tier 2 the restrictions make it unviable to open and it's a game of calculating whether we lose less for being open or closed as opposed to actually being able to break even or make a profit.

"We would be foregoing grants and furlough to open and actually it's not worth the effort.

"We sit and we wait until we go again."

Jonathan Simons is the owner of Distrikt Bar on Duncan Street in Leeds.

He said: "The news is disastrous I'm afraid to say.

"We were so excited about re-opening and we had spent a lot of money getting everything implemented for opening.

It feels like the government is suffocating hospitality and bars are really suffering."

Tier 3 is the highest alert level to be in place across England and the whole of West Yorkshire will stay under the strict Very High restrictions.

Pubs and bars in the city have now not been able to open since before the national lockdown which came in on November 5.

Tom Riordan, CEO of Leeds Council, said: "We put a strong and balanced case forward about whether Leeds could go into Tier 2.

"We are disappointed but maybe not surprised but we know this is no consolation for those in hospitality who have worked so hard to be ready to reopen."

Adam Jones, founder of Tattu Restaurant in Leeds, said: If we must remain closed in the interest of public health, businesses that cannot operate within the current restrictions need to see proportionate support.

"The misconceptions around the support provided to hospitality to date simply dont paint a clear picture of the reality for businesses in Tier 3.

"Current local restrictions grants are wholly inadequate to help with the mounting ongoing costs of forced closure, which for Tattu have grown to more than 700,000 since March.

Without specific sector evidence, theres a common perception that our industry is being unfairly targeted whilst other sectors have been allowed to reopen unchecked. Especially given the huge investment into Covid secure compliance systems that operators at all levels made to ensure our venues were as safe as possible.

We need to see evidence of long-term solutions. The current VAT cuts and rates relief are wholly insufficient if more than half of the sector cant benefit from them due to forced closure. Business rates holidays are essential for hospitality in 2021, with more targeted support for disproportionately disadvantaged businesses.

"The Furlough Retention Bonus was an important lifeline that many businesses had built into their cashflow.

"Its reintroduction would help offset the costs of holiday accruals, national insurance contributions and processing costs of keeping staff employed throughout the crisis.

Above all, we need to see better communication with our industry and in our regions.

"There has been a dangerous impact on the mental health of those learning the fate of their business through leaks to press before official announcements are made.

"This irresponsible governance of our livelihoods has been equally as torturous as the restrictions themselves, and yet it is completely avoidable.

The leader of Leeds City Council, Judith Blake, said: "As Leeds remains in Tier 3, individuals, businesses and organisations in the city continue to feel the negative impact of this pandemic.

"Many people are really struggling with worries about their health and finances.

"During this next phase, lets be kind to each other, help each other stay safe and support those who need our help."

The current rate in Leeds as of Thursday is 138.2 and the over 60s rate has gone down by 14 per cent over the last week.

Other restrictions include:- You must not meet socially indoors or in most outdoor places with anybody you do not live with, or who is not in your support bubble, this includes in any private garden or at most outdoor venues

- You must not socialise in a group of more than six in some other outdoor public spaces, including parks, beaches, countryside accessible to the public, a public garden, grounds of a heritage site or castle, or a sports facility this is called the rule of six

- People can leave their homes for any purpose and can socialise in outdoor places, subject to the rule of six

- Collective worship and weddings can continue

- Shops and wider leisure facilities including gyms can stay open

- Hairdressers and beauty salons can stay open

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Leeds pubs and bars react as Tier 3 rule remains meaning they can't open to customers at Christmas - Yorkshire Evening Post

Speak the words top-ten list and another word, gimmick, floats to mind. Gratitude, the kind that one feels for a book that resides temporarily in ones body, is an awfully personal feeling to try to pass off as a public judgment. Add a pandemic and the act gets even trickier. Ive wondered how art might best meet this moment: with gentleness or rudeness, distraction or challenge. Ive thought, too, about what Ive asked of literature recently. Sometimes, when the world is dumb, its mental stimulation that Im hungry for, or, when the world is ugly, beauty, or, when its exhausting, refreshment. As consumers of fiction, we have needs both diverse and inconstant; meanwhile, the best of lists gallop on, kicking up clouds of strained comparisons. This years pronouncements arrive shadowed by melancholy and, even more than usual, a vague illegitimacy.

For instance, I am writing this list from the kitchen table of a woman who says that, in 2020, she could abide only cozy mysteries or escapist fantasies. But Ive found that, for me, literatures draws finally exist independently of plagues or coups. Whats changed for many of us is perhaps our relationship to other types of fictions, which dont necessarily come from novels. Narratives of American innocence, competence, and fellowship have eroded in the time of Trumps Presidency, COVID-19, and the George Floyd protests. Letting go of these stories might cause one to crave tidy whodunnits, or it might simply make one stubborn, intolerant of pretense. Having found myself in the second category (stubborn), I regret to announce that I will not be declaring the ten best fiction books of the year. Such lists are malarkey. Id be delighted to boss you aroundI assume thats why youre here, to receive direction or fightbut please just think of the titles below as ten worthwhile books, milestones of a sort, published in this Very Weird Year. And then read them.

The Glass Hotel, by Emily St. John Mandel

You should read this book because it is an intensely satisfying novel of ideas, which suggests that our identities are as fragile as our circumstances. Vincent is a bartender whose relationship with a white-collar criminal wafts her into a charmed existence; when her boyfriends Ponzi scheme collapses, she signs up to be a cook on a cargo ship. Her neer-do-well half brother, Paul, also craves a fresh start. Mandel expertly threads these and other story lines together, focussing on the ease with which a person can slip out of one life and into another; the novel is translucent with ghosts. We move through this world so lightly, one woman observes, like a voice from Beyondshe sounds amazed, dismayed, and a little relieved.

Leave the World Behind, by Rumaan Alam

You should read this book because it makes your skin tingle, like stepping into a deep, dark pool of present-day anxieties. Amanda, an advertising executive, and her professor husband, Clay, take their teen-age son and daughter to an Airbnb in a picturesque recess of Long Island. Their vacation is interrupted when an older couple, Ruth and G.H. Washington, arrive at the door, claiming to be the houses owners and warning of a power outage in Manhattan. From there, the text veers between two novels: a sharply drawn social satire, replete with love-to-hate bourgeois accentsincluding the most critically acclaimed grocery list of 2020and a disaster tale, with the texture of a nightmare. There are spiders and blood; the imagery of repressed horror, when it erupts, is shocking. Still, Alam maintains an arch tone through his omniscient narrator, who describes omens of ecological ruin with the same chilly detachment that he brings to Amandas polite racism. (The Washingtons are Black.) Such dryness differentiates Alam from Mandel, whose visions of disaster have a more sorrowful resonance, and yet the two authors are charting similar territory: the place where realism and surrealism meet, and life as we know it dissipates into life as weve never imagined it could be.

Where the Wild Ladies Are, by Aoko Matsuda

You should read this book because it pairs the delicate eeriness of traditional Japanese folklore with a kooky, contemporary sensibility. Each of Matsudas stories updates an old tale about the ghosts and fox spirits known, in Japan, as yokai. Here, though, the yokai work alongside the living at a mysterious incense company. Matsudas agenda is mischievously feminist. She likens womens potential to an otherworldly forceshape-shifting project managers complain about Japans glass ceilingand her male characters tend to come off looking ridiculous. (I dont have any exceptional talents, one helpfully says.) There is, too, an undertow of late-capitalist weariness: the workday, which makes spectres of the living, does not pause for the dead. The cheerful oddity of these tales reminded me of the writer Sianne Ngais theory of the zany. Zany art, Ngai suggests, blurs the line between play and labor, arousing feelings of suspicion, attraction, and exhaustion. But Matsudas book also possesses a simpler appeal: her yokai say things like Okay, thats cool, and, sometimes, they lose their tempers. Ghosts: theyre just like us!

The Office of Historical Corrections, by Danielle Evans

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My Favorite Fiction of 2020 - The New Yorker

There is no better timing for the celebration of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, than the current period when the world is characterized by divisiveness and light is so much needed. Humanity now faces the impact of a global virus that has basically penetrated every corner of the planet while the pandemic of hatred and separation continues to spread worldwide. It is precisely the Jewish nation that has the power to ignite love above hatred and light above darkness.

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The word Hanukkah, from Hebrew Hanu-Koh, or park here, actually refers to a spiritual process. It represents the first stage of spiritual development in which we start correcting the desire for selfish enjoyment and invert it into a desire to bestow upon others, a state that liberates us from the darkness of separation, conflicts, arguments, ruthless competitiveness, and the drive to exploit and dominate others.

The holiday symbolizes our inner struggle to overcome our egoistic nature called the War of the Maccabees against the Greeks. The Greeks personify the hedonistic characteristics that yearn to control everything around us, in other words, for our egoistic attributes of self-indulgence to dominate. There is nothing wrong with wanting to enjoy. In fact, our very nature is a desire to receive pleasure. What is problematic is using our skills and talents in a self-centered way, for our self-aggrandizement rather than for the common good.

We see this in the way the Greeks adored competition and admired winners. The Jews, on the other hand, cultivated love your neighbor as yourself as the highest ideal. That principle has become lost in our endless quest for success at the expense of others, yet it is precisely what we need to reclaim and implement in order to raise the whole world to a positive state.

Therefore, the war described in the story of Hanukkah refers to an internal struggle that we have fought throughout generations. Even when we do not have an apparent enemy, our inner enemy always rebels within us, again and again pulling us toward worshiping various idols like power, fame, and control. We are still drawn to them, but we understand they are temporary and harmful and bring no good results.

The victory over the Greeks is the first step of every persons progress up the spiritual ladder. When we can rejoice in each others successes and share our concerns in mutual connection, we will realize what nature tries to teach us: that we belong to one single body. But today, the opposite happens and the Jewish nation is more separated than ever. Thus, these challenging times are an opportunity to realize that our most urgent call to action is to unite and become a positive example of connection like modern-day Maccabees who win the war over our egoistic inclinations. If we take just the tiniest step in this direction, we will see miracles along the way. We will see how a small lamp, the smallest jar of oil, will kindle a strong and warm fire that illuminates the life of every person.

The holiday of Hanukkah signifies the victory of light over darkness, unity over division. Indeed, such a victory requires no less than a miracle, but it is one within our grasp. We need only know how to light the candle to make it happen. Through our connection, we strike a match against the darkness and ignite the light in our lives. This is the brilliance of Hanukkah. Like with a match, a little friction transforms into a bright flame.

Happy Hanukkah!

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This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content are presented solely by the author, and JewishBoston assumes no responsibility for them. Want to add your voice to the conversation? Publish your own post here.MORE

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The Hanukkah Menorah to Light Up the World - jewishboston.com

COVID has changed our world. In most regards, it has caused great harm, including economic devastation and death not seen since the Second World War.

But perhaps surprisingly, it has also provided the valuable opportunity to examine many old assumptions and practices governing the way we work, travel and relate to others.

And to ourselves.

Not for nothing has much attention turned to the dangerous and still weakly documented health effects of social distancing, of isolation and of loneliness. Ahead of the curve in this area, Great Britain appointed a federal Minister for Loneliness after their National Health Service documented and quantified the very devastating cost of loneliness for personal health, and for the national budget.

In many quarters, including our Atlantic provinces' daily papers, we are now seeing a renewed interest in the mental health effects of social isolation. Progressive public health researchers have known for many decades that the chief determinants of a person's health and of the well-being of the general population have relatively little to do with the chemical concoctions heavily promoted by Big Pharma.

In fact, our health normally depends very greatly on the quality and quantity of our human connections, on the safety and satisfaction of our work, on the quality of our food and the quantity of our exercise, recreation and hobby activities. (In emergencies like the current COVID epidemic, nothing replaces an effective vaccine!)

With the approaching Christmas season now threatening to be something of a Scrooge's delight on the socializing front, attention has rightly been turning to alternative ways to make merry. And here a little big-picture history might assist us.

It has taken about 500 years for many northern countries in the West to work through the general prohibition on pleasure that was a central aspect of the well-intentioned Reformers of the 16th century in Switzerland, Germany, Scotland and elsewhere.

At that time, live theatre, visual arts, recreational games, popular music and dancing were widely prohibited.

Thus, anthropologists and sociologists have never been tempted to label the strongest preserves of Reformer Puritanism, as hotspots of hedonism, pleasure or party fun. One of my Harvard professors wryly defined Puritanism as the lingering suspicion that somebody, somewhere might be having a good time! Indeed, we have to go all the way back to Englishman Thomas More in the 15th century to rediscover the kind of wholesome enjoyment of sensual pleasure that was for a very long time strongly discouraged as a result of the changes brought by the Reformation to Europe.

Now, in the bleak circumstances of our own day, it is truly time to rediscover the joy of pleasure, and the importance of pleasure for our mental and physical health.

With COVID threatening to be the Grinch that stole Christmas, we need to fight back against the gloom of these short, dark days and the widespread distress and death from the virus by finding new joys and renewing old ones.

Many will find themselves separated from loved ones this Christmas against their will. Here, the new means of communication such as FaceTime, Facebook, Zoom and Skype may help, if available. But perhaps nothing beats the low-tech telephone call. The sound of the human voice can work wonders. And what better time to reach out to family, friends, lost contacts, or schoolmates?

Now, everyone has an excuse, if needed: I was thinking about you and just wanted to check how youre doing with all this COVID stuff that's happening. These phone calls are especially important for our seniors living in painful isolation in long-term care homes.

Mother Nature has wired our bodies with many sensors to detect pain and pleasure. And at a very basic level, the best antidote to distress and pain is pleasure. They need not be expensive or large pleasures, but hopefully they can be safe pleasures.

There will be very few trips to Florida this year or cruises south, even for those able to afford them. But almost everyone has a favourite sweet treat! Even my most reserved friends will confess to liking some form of chocolate. (The medicinal effects of chocolate cry out for more research!)

New artistic pursuits, new languages, or new musical instruments are great candidates for joy and pleasure, even in isolation or quarantine. A good book, a good movie, a good online connection also have great therapeutic values.

For many Atlantic Canadians on the COVID frontlines in hospitals, schools and grocery stores, physical rest itself may be one of the seasons sweetest pleasures. For those with a traditional religious faith, few things have a more powerful beneficial effect than prayer. When we feel joy, our cells smile, and our endocrine system shouts ALLELUIA!

And for those looking for other fulfilling pleasures, they may find the advice for safe sex given by the New York City Department of Public Health at the height of the epidemic of interest, amusement or assistance. (The guidance offered New Yorkers by their Department of Public Health for safe sex during the worst ravages of the epidemic may be found here.)

Wherever the search for pleasure takes us, if safely done, it can be an adventure in rediscovering the natural ability of our bodies to refresh our spirits, bring a smile and create wellness and joy. Enjoying safe pleasure is a wisdom of the body that for too long has been repressed in the harried lifestyle of an urbanized, industrialized and the still somewhat Puritan culture of the West.

This year, perhaps more than at any time since the war years or the Great Depression of the 1930s, we need and deserve, a fulsome and wholesome immersion in healthy pleasures, large and small!

May the old carol ring true in your hearts this Christmas: God rest ye Merry Gentlemen ( and Gentlewomen!)

Heres wishing you and yours a safe and joy-filled holiday season!

Brian Joseph, a graduate of St. Francis Xavier University and Harvard, pursues safe pleasures in North Sydney where he continues his lifelong sociological studies of Western culture.

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BRIAN JOSEPH: On the joy and importance of small pleasures during COVID - TheChronicleHerald.ca

Among the greatest bores right now are those friends who insist on telling you, usually as if its some kind of state secret, that COVID lockdown hasnt changed their lives very much. They work from home, anyway, you see. They were practicing social distancing before it was cool! Theyre not terribly social at the best of times. How lovely not to have to endure another dinner seated next to some tedious stranger or, worse, a drunken office party at this time of year. And I have to confess that I am one of those bores. Yes, I miss people a bit, or at least being around lots of people. But an excuse to be without them for days on end? I have every intention of taking full advantage of it until the vaccine.

But the real joy is COVIDs effective cancellation of Christmas. Were being given permission to cancel the most intense socializing of the year! For ornery types like me, whats not to like? No forced smiles, no mandatory cheer, no terrible gifts, no crackers and bad TV, and no totalitarian imposition on my bloody mood, thank you. I have, to be honest, been doing it for years. I havent been home for the holidays in decades, and Im not starting now. I send no cards; I give and accept no presents; I have no tree. My only regret at the effective abolition of this years plaguey Yuletide is that I cant travel, as I usually do, to some sunny and warm clime, where there is no snow, no evergreens, no holly, no ivy and no Christmas bloody pudding. I may try a flight to Miami, if I can get a really good mask for the plane. I went to Casablanca last year; Santo Domingo the year before. You should try it some time.

Its not entirely misanthropy, mind you. Im one of those with Christmas trauma, a function of a series of truly wretched Christmases in my troubled childhood, when my parents were in a constant state of verbal and physical warfare. Ive tried to get past it with therapy. I stuck it out with my in-laws in Detroit one year and they had seven, yes, seven, trees throughout the house. I bought a tinsel-tree in a store once, in a kind of cognitive behavioral therapy gambit. It didnt work. The echoes of screaming and yelling, burnt turkeys and slammed doors, cigarette smoke so thick you could barely see through it and awkward, glowering silences as my parents sullenly ate still ring in my ears. One Christmas Day, my mother lost it entirely and simply walked out into the snow in her nightie, to be picked up later and taken to a psychiatric ward, as a clinical depression struck her down.

You can try to forget these things. But some part of you never does. Im not the only one felled by this kind of memory at this time of year. The dread rises as the days shorten. But if theres one solace at the end of this awful year, it is that Ill finally have the best excuse of my life to be unmerry in peace.

I miss lesbians. It is true that most homosexual men dont have too many integrated in our lives, but most of us have a few. And we need them. They check our sometimes tenuous grasp of reality, they roll their eyes at our hedonism, they show us how marriages can last, and take care of us when we get sick. I generalize, of course. Many lesbians have little or nothing to do with men, including gay men. But there is a special chemistry between the men and women in the gay and lesbian worlds that its sad to see dissipate. Same-sex worlds can get unbalanced fast. We both need a bit of ballast from each other.

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I used to marvel at lesbians capacity to subvert what it means to be a woman from the rigorous academics who always seemed to go by their initials to the dykes on bikes who were once the vanguard of gay pride celebrations. We had the lipstick lesbians, in their little black dresses, and their butch partners, often strapped into a bad tuxedo on social occasions. We had the baby dykes, who looked like members of various boy bands, and who could get into brawls after a few beers; and the quiet proper librarian types, always on the verge of shushing you, who could instantly command a room. And yes, we did have the familiar dreary groupthink but the exceptions sparkled all the brighter. Camille Paglia and Fran Lebowitz are pretty close to national treasures.

I miss lesbians these days because so many are now becoming men. Many of the sudden hordes of youngsters seeking a testosteroned transition to maleness today would once have been teen lesbians happy to expand the realm of femaleness to the most tomboyish of tomboys. But now, under the influence of queer theory and peer pressure, the tomboy is being told that whatever obstacles she may encounter, they can be resolved through male hormones.

That subversive, uniquely dykey, all-female space is narrowing. The social justice revolution has space for countless consonants, dozens of pronouns, but not so much leeway for women who love women and not men. Its too binary for a deconstructed non-binary world. In the 1980s, there were around 200 lesbian bars in the US. Now there are 15. As my friend the lesbian writer Katie Herzog puts it: Great. Well each get our own.

This article was originally published inThe SpectatorsUK magazine.Subscribe to the US edition here.

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The joy of a canceled Christmas - The Spectator US