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513 lines
59 KiB
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<meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0, user-scalable=yes" name="viewport"/>
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<title>20 August, 2021</title>
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<title>Daily-Dose</title><meta content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0" name="viewport"/><link href="styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><link href="../styles/simple.css" rel="stylesheet"/><style>*{overflow-x:hidden;}</style><link href="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.css" rel="stylesheet"/><script src="https://unpkg.com/aos@2.3.1/dist/aos.js"></script></head>
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<body>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-down" id="daily-dose">Daily-Dose</h1>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" data-aos-anchor-placement="top-bottom" id="contents">Contents</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><a href="#from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-vox">From Vox</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</a></li>
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<li><a href="#from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</a></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-new-yorker">From New Yorker</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Trying—and Failing—to Save the Family of the Afghan Who Saved Me</strong> - Twelve years ago, Tahir Luddin helped us both escape after we were kidnapped by the Taliban. Now I am struggling to get his family out of Kabul. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/trying-and-failing-to-save-the-family-of-the-afghan-who-saved-me">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Pumpers, Dumpers, and Shills: The Skycoin Saga</strong> - The cryptocurrency promised to change the world and make its users rich in the process. Then it began to fall apart. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/pumpers-dumpers-and-shills-the-skycoin-saga">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Will the Next American War Be with China?</strong> - Elbridge Colby is leading a conservative effort to prepare Americans for a military conflict in Taiwan. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-inquiry/will-the-next-american-war-be-with-china">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>David Petraeus on American Mistakes in Afghanistan</strong> - The former general defends Afghan troops and blames the speed of the withdrawal for the government’s collapse. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/david-petraeus-on-american-mistakes-in-afghanistan">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Urgency of Assisting Afghan Partners</strong> - “There are tens of thousands of lives that we must and can still save,” Representative Jason Crow said. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/the-urgency-of-assisting-afghan-partners">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-vox">From Vox</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>What a weird summer it’s been at the movies!</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="A man and a woman lean in for a kiss." src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/thumbor/uI619Q2AqJA2mqAIP_mAmTR3fR8=/224x0:1909x1264/1310x983/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69752260/annette1.0.jpeg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard in <em>Annette.</em> | Amazon Studios
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The new movie-musical Annette caps off a summer of strange films.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MTWFO2">
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Have you noticed how <em>weird</em> the movies are this summer?
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="X0vvvi">
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I don’t mean the moviegoing experience, though if you’ve been inside a theater you know it’s unusual; I mean the movies themselves.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8toI5z">
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In <em>Pig</em>, for instance, <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/22570234/nic-cage-
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pig-movie-memes-nicolas">Nicolas Cage</a> plays a truffle hunter who goes after his stolen pig in what many expected would be a revenge thriller, but it turns out to be a quiet meditation on memory, loss, and … fine dining in Portland? <a href="https://www.vox.com/22585318/green-knight-explained-ending-spoilers-girdle-winifred-temptation"><em>The Green Knight</em></a> has been <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4222779905/">surprisingly successful</a> despite releasing only in theaters during a pandemic — and despite being deeply, almost off-puttingly <a href="https://www.vox.com/22585318/green-knight-explained-ending-spoilers-girdle-winifred-temptation">strange</a>. <a href="https://www.vox.com/22588761/old-shyamalan-review"><em>Old</em></a>, a peculiar family drama set on a <a href="https://www.pastemagazine.com/comedy/old/old-beach-tweets/">beach that makes you old</a>, has sold enough tickets to <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl2097710593/?ref_=bo_yld_table_14">triple its $18 million budget</a>. Even the standard big-budget blockbusters — <a href="https://www.vox.com/22536684/f9-review-fast-furious-
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spoilers"><em>F9</em></a>, <a href="https://www.vox.com/22555357/black-widow-review-marvel-natasha-romanoff-too-late-
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disney-plus"><em>Black Widow</em></a>, <em>Jungle Cruise, </em><a href="https://www.vox.com/22617231/free-guy-review-
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reynolds-truman-show"><em>Free Guy</em></a> — have had an air of oddness about them, with <a href="https://slate.com/culture/2021/06/fast-furious-9-space-car-astronaut-interview.html">flying space cars</a> and <a href="https://www.polygon.com/movies/22559604/florence-pugh-black-widow-involuntary-hysterectomy-red-room">discussions of ovaries</a> and <a href="https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/7/30/22600412/jungle-cruise-review-dwayne-johnson-
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disney">CGI depictions of the food chain</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/22617231/free-guy-review-reynolds-truman-
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show">video game characters gone rogue</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="6Q8cMd">
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As the summer careens to a close, cinema’s freaky vibes are palpable. And the freakiest of them all might be emanating from <em>Annette</em>, Leos Carax’s new musical about … uh. Well. It’s about a doomed romance, but it’s also about a lot of other stuff: art, opera, death, stand-up comedy, the danger of taking a small craft on the high seas, the many things a puppet can do surprisingly well, fatherhood, and the whole concept of watching a movie in a theater.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><img alt="Actors, singers,
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composers, and directors kneel in the Los Angeles street and sing." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6y5Ks-
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olFoHBRVdLDLlqJdtghlg=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22792198/annette3.jpg"/></p>
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<cite>Amazon Studios</cite>
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<figcaption>
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<em>Annette</em>’s cast and filmmakers sing to us at the beginning of the film.
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="M02tW0">
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Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, both bona fide movie stars, sing and wail and have some sex (sometimes all at the same time) in this aggressively non-accessible movie — which, depending on how you feel about that, is either a blast or a nightmare. It begins with the cast and filmmakers singing to the audience about how we’re about to start watching a movie. At the end, they sing to us about how the movie has ended and they hope you enjoyed it, and please tell your friends.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="eDTW9d">
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Driver plays Henry McHenry, a wildly popular and wildly confrontational stand-up comedian who bills himself “the ape of God” and openly mocks his audience from the stage. He has fallen in love with the waifish, wondrous opera singer Ann Defrasnoux, whose gut- wrenching performances draw staggering crowds. (In the world of <em>Annette</em>, opera singers are as beloved and tabloid-worthy as rockstars.)
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="lv9AIT">
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The pair live in Los Angeles, and they are madly in love, and they sing about it a lot in a recurring number entitled “We Love Each Other So Much.” <em>Annette</em>’s songs — penned by Ron and Russell Mael, a.k.a. the pop duo Sparks — are mostly very literal, with characters often describing what they are doing or what they are about to do or what they think they might do.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hdc5mT">
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<em>Annette</em>’s entire vibe is much more opera than musical; honestly, it might be best to go into the film with that expectation. (Much of the music is more <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/recitative">recitative</a> than pop ballad.) Do you love the bluster, pretension, and glorious goofiness of opera? The improbable stories and over-the-top madness? The songs that often repeat themselves, over and over, morphing into different keys as the mood of the story changes from delirious romance to devastating tragedy? The moments when key characters inform the audience of what’s going on by singing directly to them? The morally shaky but oddly compelling protagonists? If you don’t care for any of that, <em>Annette</em> will most likely be baffling. If you do, <em>Annette</em> is for you.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<pre><code> <img alt="Adam Driver lays on stone, looking at the figure of a young girl, who is singing up at a full moon. </code></pre>
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It’s very dramatically lit." src=“https://cdn.vox- cdn.com/thumbor/9YqQXBHqJ4ivP3c3kxAp13yOao0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox- cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22792199/annette2.jpeg” /> <cite>Amazon Studios</cite>
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<figcaption></figcaption></figure></li>
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</ul>
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<em>Annette</em>: Much more opera than musical.
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ThFaKD">
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Henry and Ann’s romance leads them on a tragic journey, made more tragic by the presence of Ann’s lovelorn accompanist (played, perhaps improbably, by <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/5/15/18623229/big-bang-theory-series-finale-explained-review-recap"><em>The Big Bang Theory</em></a>’s Simon Helberg). Henry and Ann have a baby, named Annette, portrayed in the film by a puppet. She can sing. One scene is set at the Super Bowl. It’s a strange film.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gb6PAF">
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<em>Annette</em> was the opening night film at the Cannes Film Festival in July, where it fit right in with the festival’s often bellicose offerings. After a modest two-week stopover in theaters, it’s now hitting Amazon Prime. So a lot of people have access to it, and it’s easy to imagine the confused reaction of audiences who hit play on the film because they’re excited to watch <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kylo_Ren">Kylo Ren</a> sing.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xF5fHR">
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For some, that unexpected turn may lead to disappointment — or it may lead to the kind of frustration that some Nic Cage fans may have felt upon seeing <em>Pig</em> or that some Dev Patel fans may have felt upon seeing <em>The Green Knight</em>. Whatever your expectations are, <em>Annette</em> and other summer offerings are something else.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xxhDFW">
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In our risk-averse movie industry — heavily reliant on franchise fare, sequels, reboots, and Netflix “originals” that feel very much like some other movie you saw not that long ago — this streak of oddball storytelling, this trend toward breaking convention, is refreshing. The truth is that the American film business hums along mainly by not rocking the boat, by not upsetting audiences, by trying to fulfill expectations but rarely challenge them. At best, that’s how you give people something that’s comforting and fun. More darkly, it’s how you rake in advance ticket sales and drum up free advertising, also known as fan buzz, and ensure your continued survival. Today, it’s often perilous to release a movie that people might find uncomfortable.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RtK3Cx">
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The truth remains that we live in the world <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_industry">the culture industry created</a>, where selling an entertainment product — that is “content” — is the priority, and taking a chance is rare. But a silver lining to this strange summer, in which some of the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2021/07/25/black-widow-struggles-space-jam-
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tumbles-weekend-box-
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office/#:~:text=Yes%2C%20Black%20Widow%20is%20absolutely,a%20not%2Dguaranteed%20China%20release.">biggest films flopped</a> or <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/suicide-squad-box-office-delta-variant-
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covid-1235037074/">failed to generate buzz</a>, has been the opportunity to have robust conversations about films that don’t pander to their audience.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cnDOyw">
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My own mental measuring stick for a film’s greatness is the response it provokes. If audiences leave the theater (or turn off the TV) with an array of strong reactions — some love it, some despise it, some think it has merit but will vigorously argue over their reservations — then the movie they just watched was worth the investment of time and talent. It’s doing what art should do. If a film receives a “pretty good!” reaction across the board, I’m much less interested.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9pIz5o">
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Sure, the latter variety <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/31/16107948/rotten-tomatoes-score-get-their-ratings-top-critics-certified-
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fresh-aggregate-mean">will wind up with a higher Rotten Tomatoes score</a> than the former. Yet the one that makes me argue with friends and resists attempts to cram it into a box is the movie I want to watch. That this summer has served up more of those kinds of films than usual — <em>Annette</em> being only the latest example — is probably a fluke. It’s also a gift; for those of us who take movies seriously, it’s what we hope for all year.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MrfVBP">
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Annette <em>opened in theaters on August 6. It begins streaming on Amazon Prime on August 20.</em>
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>What we actually know about the vaccines and the delta variant</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69752137/GettyImages_1331527424_copy.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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We are finally starting to get some concrete answers about the Covid-19 vaccines and the delta variant. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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The Covid-19 vaccines still are effective in preventing hospitalization. But vaccinated people are now more likely to get sick than before.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="N6aCob">
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<a href="https://www.vox.com/coronavirus-covid19">The Covid-19 pandemic</a> has changed, and with it, so has the effectiveness of <a href="https://www.vox.com/covid-19-coronavirus-treatment-prevention-cure-vaccines">the vaccines</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EvC8OL">
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The bottom line remains the same: The mRNA vaccines from <a href="https://www.vox.com/22167841/fda-vaccine-approval-pfizer-biontech-covid-19-eua-coronavirus">Pfizer</a> and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/12/18/22188715/moderna-vaccine-covid-19-fda-emergency-use-authorization-
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coronavirus">Moderna</a> that are most prevalent in the US are still quite effective in preventing any illness from the novel coronavirus, and extremely effective in preventing the kind of severe illness that leads to hospitalization and death. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed those basic facts with its <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e1.htm?s_cid=mm7034e1_w">most robust data yet</a>.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="B3e6HJ">
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But the statistics that were widely publicized when those vaccines were first approved in December — the ones that showed vaccines were 95 percent effective in preventing all illness and 100 percent effective in stopping hospitalization or death — are now thoroughly out of date. The risk that a vaccinated person would experience symptoms if they contract Covid-19 is higher than it was back then, even if it is still significantly lower than if the person were unvaccinated. The now-dominant <a href="https://www.vox.com/22547537/delta-coronavirus-variant-covid-19-vaccines-
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masks-lockdown">delta variant</a> is likely to blame.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QhKiyW">
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So exactly how effective are the vaccines against this new, more dangerous iteration of the virus? And how long does immunity provided by the vaccines actually last?
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qYmxTt">
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We are finally starting to get some concrete answers to these questions. The vaccines did appear to lose some of their effectiveness in preventing any kind of illness as the delta variant became dominant, especially for people who are at highest risk from Covid-19. But the protection against severe illness held steady, according to the three CDC studies published this week.
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The number of breakthrough infections is “increasing as the delta wave proceeds,” Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, told me. “But still, protection versus hospitalizations and deaths is very solid.”
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|
</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ttrULd">
|
|||
|
|
With this new evidence of waning vaccine efficacy, the Biden administration <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/08/19/1028594715/covid-booster-shots-are-coming-heres-what-you-
|
|||
|
|
need-to-know">announced plans this week</a> to immediately make immunocompromised patients eligible for a booster shot and recommended that all vaccinated people get a third shot eight months after their second dose.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9Fqkr8">
|
|||
|
|
The new data and new guidance reflect this new chapter in the pandemic. Vaccinated people should still feel confident that they are protected against the worst outcomes from Covid-19. But the large number of unvaccinated Americans, and the delta variant’s potency, has contributed to surges in infections.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="hevoSx">
|
|||
|
|
Some caution — continuing to wear masks and avoiding large indoor gatherings, for example — can help protect against the high level of spread currently in the US, experts said. Even with the powerful protection of vaccines, it’s possible to get sick after a coronavirus exposure.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="Ppy2Cr">
|
|||
|
|
We now know more than ever about Covid-19 vaccines and the delta variant
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="QKj1d3">
|
|||
|
|
The Covid-19 vaccines were initially tested against the “alpha” variant of the coronavirus, and they performed incredibly well. But delta has proven somewhat more capable of evading the vaccines and may cause more severe illness than its predecessors, based on <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)01358-1/fulltext">early research out of the United Kingdom</a>, one of the first places where delta took hold. The new CDC data is a big step forward because it brings our understanding of the vaccines closer to the present.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2Q9Fef">
|
|||
|
|
One of this week’s CDC studies tracked new cases and hospitalizations from early May to late July in New York. The study period covers the transition from alpha to delta, which became dominant by the start of July, but only includes part of the recent surge in reported cases.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wlX6gO">
|
|||
|
|
The vaccines grew less effective in preventing all illness as the delta variant took over, CDC researchers found. In May, vaccines had an estimated 90 percent effectiveness at preventing new cases. By mid-July, the estimated effectiveness had dropped to just under 80 percent. By that point, vaccinated people were more likely to get infected and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/11/22611272/what-breakthrough-covid-19-feels-like">actually feel sick</a>. Breakthrough infections became more common.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VipEa6">
|
|||
|
|
But the vaccines have remained resilient against severe symptoms, with the estimated effectiveness against hospitalization holding steady around 95 percent from the start to the end of the study period.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-float-right c-float-hang">
|
|||
|
|
<aside id="WXN7sK">
|
|||
|
|
<q>Vaccinated people should still feel confident that they are protected against the worst outcomes from Covid-19</q>
|
|||
|
|
</aside>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r0dwbw">
|
|||
|
|
“There was a reduction in vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 infection, but not against hospitalization,” Dr. Celine Gounder, clinical assistant professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the <a href="https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/celine-r-gounder">NYU School of Medicine</a>, told me. “The vaccines remain highly protective against hospitalization in all age groups.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fVXdEi">
|
|||
|
|
It’s important to remember that “severe” illness is a clinical term that might not align with the common parlance. A vaccinated person who becomes ill with Covid-19 might still feel very sick.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Yl8rck">
|
|||
|
|
“Severe disease isn’t that you feel sick like a dog and are laid up in bed,” Gounder said. “Severe disease means your lungs are failing, your oxygen levels are dropping, and you need to be in the hospital.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="UVP7v4">
|
|||
|
|
In other words, the vaccines have gotten less effective at stopping Covid-19 in its tracks but are still extremely good at protecting people from the kind of severe cases that need hospital beds or ventilators. Many patients with breakthrough infections can recover at home.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z57DyX">
|
|||
|
|
How the vaccines affect long Covid remains an open question. Preliminary evidence <a href="https://slate.com/technology/2021/08/long-covid-breakthrough-infection-vaccinated.html">seems to suggest</a> that they help alleviate (but not always eliminate) those long-term symptoms.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="DI5rYv">
|
|||
|
|
Why are vaccines somewhat less effective against infection than before?
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2gM49D">
|
|||
|
|
The CDC researchers were careful to say the reasons for diminishing vaccine effectiveness are uncertain, but there are some things they’re confident about. The delta variant causes a substantially higher viral load than its predecessors — there is more of the virus when a person gets infected — and the sheer amount of the virus a person contracts may play a role. At the same time, people are now taking fewer precautions against Covid-19 than they were last fall and winter, the researchers said, making it more likely that they’ll be exposed to a high viral load.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SBPYc2">
|
|||
|
|
Or to think of it another way: The rapid spread of delta in the unvaccinated population means vaccinated people are getting exposed to the virus more often, and being exposed to more of it than they were before.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Om0Hu2">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://twitter.com/EricTopol/status/1428346743846887425">Data from other countries</a> shows a wide range of vaccine effectiveness against infection with the delta variant, but studies have generally found the protection is less robust than it was against the alpha variant. Still, in all cases, the vaccines available in the US continue to impress in their ability to prevent the worst outcomes.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cri3Qm">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e2.htm?s_cid=mm7034e2_w">A second CDC study</a> examined national data to determine whether the vaccines are becoming less effective at stopping severe illness over time. Like the New York study, it found that vaccines are extremely effective — about 90 percent at preventing hospitalization due to Covid-19.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<figure class="e-image">
|
|||
|
|
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/thumbor/vPzJ52IlyC8k2wBJ6_w2oLMq8lA=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22793271/GettyImages_1234738106_copy.jpg"/> <cite>SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</cite>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
A mobile vaccination site in Orlando. With this new evidence of waning vaccine efficacy, the Biden administration announced plans this week to immediately make immunocompromised patients eligible for a booster shot.
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Stt3VW">
|
|||
|
|
Reassuringly, there was not a meaningful difference in the vaccine’s ability to stop hospitalization as time wore on. The researchers estimated the vaccine’s effectiveness against hospitalization in two time periods: two to 12 weeks after patients received a second dose, and 13 to 24 weeks after that second dose.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HQPWIG">
|
|||
|
|
They did not find a meaningful decline almost six months after patients received a second dose of the vaccine — which is very good news.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rSyBqv">
|
|||
|
|
“There was no reduction in vaccine effectiveness over time,” Gounder said, “which demonstrates that protection against hospitalization did not drop over time or after the emergence of the delta variant.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="F7a7xw">
|
|||
|
|
The best protection for the most vulnerable is everybody getting vaccinated
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cg1FMa">
|
|||
|
|
While the vaccines have generally held up well against the delta variant, some of the people most vulnerable to Covid-19 do not receive the same level of protection.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="utA7pa">
|
|||
|
|
For people with compromised immune systems, the CDC researchers found that the vaccines were less effective at preventing hospitalization. That finding supported <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/13/covid-booster-shots-fda-
|
|||
|
|
permits-third-dose-for-the-immune-deficient.html">the Biden administration’s plan</a> to make those people immediately eligible for a third booster shot, experts said.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Qxfg7q">
|
|||
|
|
For immunocompromised individuals, it’s also possible that immunity may wane more over time — but that didn’t happen, according to this research. Their level of protection appeared to be constant during the six-month period covered by the study.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<div class="c-float-right c-float-hang">
|
|||
|
|
<aside id="S9c2Sh">
|
|||
|
|
<q>Vaccines have gotten less effective at stopping Covid-19 in its tracks but are still extremely good at protecting people</q>
|
|||
|
|
</aside>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="BKRX6V">
|
|||
|
|
<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7034e3.htm?s_cid=mm7034e3_w">The third CDC study</a> evaluated vaccine effectiveness for nursing home residents, a population particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 and one of the first groups to get vaccinated at the beginning of this year. That study did find declining effectiveness over time against any illness for those Americans, from 75 percent pre-delta to about 50 percent post-delta.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KE3Kfz">
|
|||
|
|
That drop-off may partly reflect the nature of this population. Older people’s immune systems are not as strong as younger people’s; older adults already experienced a lower baseline vaccine effectiveness rate than the general population before delta took over (75 percent versus 90 percent). The decline also probably reflects the basic fact that the delta variant is better at evading the vaccines than the alpha variant was.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b1RIq8">
|
|||
|
|
“It makes sense to give an extra dose of vaccine to vaccinated nursing home residents,” Gounder said. “But what will have an even bigger impact on protecting those nursing home residents is to vaccinate their caregivers.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IaKM3E">
|
|||
|
|
As of late July, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-government-and-politics-coronavirus-
|
|||
|
|
pandemic-3f4435167823b02812adfb668ae32bb0">about 60 percent of nursing home workers</a> had been vaccinated, substantially lower than the 80 percent rate among residents. The Biden administration <a href="https://twitter.com/AP/status/1428065924737818625">announced</a> on Wednesday that it would require nursing homes to mandate all their workers be vaccinated if the facilities want to receive federal health care funding.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="akemjY">
|
|||
|
|
Over the long run, so long as a substantial portion of the US population remains unvaccinated, there will be risks to everybody. Currently, 72 percent of the 18-and-over population and 60 percent of the entire US population are vaccinated, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html">the New York Times tracker</a>. That leaves millions of people without protection against the virus. Some of them are children not yet eligible for the vaccine, but millions of people who are currently eligible and could receive the vaccine for free still haven’t done so.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZHE8GE">
|
|||
|
|
“Your risk depends on your vaccination status <em>and </em>what’s happening in your community,” Gounder told me. “Vaccines aren’t an immunity on/off switch for individuals. Vaccines work additively and synergistically across populations.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qvLyCU">
|
|||
|
|
Gounder deployed some hypothetical math to explain how risk works under different vaccination scenarios. If a country has a baseline of 1 million “units” of risk for each person, because the virus is very widespread, a 95 percent effective vaccine would reduce that risk to 50,000.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="n6kqOt">
|
|||
|
|
But if the baseline risk is 100, because the country contains the virus through vaccinations and mitigation measures, the vaccinated person faces just 5 units of risk. That huge difference in risk depends on how rampantly the virus is spreading in the overall population.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="madvW2">
|
|||
|
|
“This isn’t about individualism, individual rights, individual responsibility, and individual protection,” Gounder said. “This is about community immunity.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1b5dJF">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5hBcvv">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8Rli1C">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="cnx6jA">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FB9yeE">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SK4IL9">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8zYiZS">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="CcwCc3">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="luqeO2">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2VKK52">
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>School boards are in open revolt against Ron DeSantis’s anti-mask crusade</strong> -
|
|||
|
|
<figure>
|
|||
|
|
<img alt="Governor DeSantis Holds Press Briefing" src="https://cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/thumbor/ua48cCRnlBAqcxJnU1nj2AUqgaw=/340x0:5780x4080/1310x983/cdn.vox-
|
|||
|
|
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69752004/1234749243.0.jpg"/>
|
|||
|
|
<figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) | Getty Images
|
|||
|
|
</figcaption>
|
|||
|
|
</figure>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Some of Florida’s most populous counties don’t want their children to get Covid-19.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="9BgmXg">
|
|||
|
|
On Wednesday, three Florida county school boards voted to require nearly all of their students to wear masks at school. Now at least five school boards, some in the state’s most populous areas, have mask mandates that openly defy an <a href="https://www.flgov.com/2021/07/30/governor-desantis-issues-an-executive-order-
|
|||
|
|
ensuring-parents-freedom-to-choose/">order from Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis</a> seeking to make masks optional in schools.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MCVeqp">
|
|||
|
|
“<a href="https://miami.cbslocal.com/2021/08/18/miami-dade-school-issue-mask-mandate-defy-
|
|||
|
|
desantis-order/">If the consequence is ultimately my job</a>, my salary, I’m willing to accept that, but I’m not willing to bend on my conviction,” Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said about prioritizing students’ health over DeSantis’s order.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wy3LZP">
|
|||
|
|
It’s not yet clear how far the governor and his allies will go in retaliating against pro-mask officials like Carvalho, but pro-mask counties like Miami-Dade also have a powerful ally on their side: President Joe Biden.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="qTigtt">
|
|||
|
|
After state-level officials threatened to withhold funding from counties with masking requirements — in a particularly snarky move, state Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran suggested withholding an amount of funding <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/miami-dade-votes-to-mandate-masks-in-
|
|||
|
|
schools-setting-up-fight-with-desantis-11629332377">equal to the salaries of the county superintendent and its school board members</a> — the White House announced that <a href="https://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2021/08/10/white-house-says-covid-19-relief-funds-will-cover-florida-
|
|||
|
|
schools-punished-by-gov-ron-desantis-over-mask-mandates">federal funds could be used to make school districts whole</a> if they are punished for requiring masks.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OT2LAk">
|
|||
|
|
“Our priority must be the safety of students, families, educators, and staff in our school communities,” Biden said in a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-
|
|||
|
|
room/presidential-actions/2021/08/18/ensuring-a-safe-return-to-in-person-school-for-the-nations-children/">memo to the Department of Education</a>, which directs Secretary Miguel Cardona to “assess all available tools” that can prevent governors from interfering with student health.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FxAMV2">
|
|||
|
|
Because children under 12 are not yet eligible for vaccination, masks are one of the most effective tools that can slow the spread of Covid in schools. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, multi-layer cloth masks can <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/masking-science-sars-cov2.html">block up to 50-70 percent</a> of fine droplets known to spread the virus.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="nObh5D">
|
|||
|
|
It’s a high-stakes fight concerning who gets to decide whether to protect children’s health. As the Atlantic’s Ron Brownstein notes, the fight between DeSantis and several of Florida’s urban counties is a fight about “<a href="https://twitter.com/RonBrownstein/status/1428114648130232325">red state preemption</a>” — a common practice in which Republican-led states invalidate progressive policies in cities and other localities led by Democrats. And this fight is all the more complicated because the federal government is willing to spend its own funds to undermine DeSantis’s attack on public health.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="FLYHsO">
|
|||
|
|
If the pro-mask counties prevail, moreover, that’s likely to embolden school boards in other states that forbid mask mandates. At least <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/08/18/biden-education-governors-state-mask-bans-506070">seven other states</a> — Texas, Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Utah — have state-level policies forbidding masking requirements in schools. School districts in at least some of these states have started to resist anti-masking policies as well — a district in Texas, for example, attempted to require masks by <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/back-to-
|
|||
|
|
school-live-updates/2021/08/18/1028760318/paris-texas-school-district-mandate-masks-dress-code-gov-abbott-ban">making them part of a dress code</a>. (On Thursday, Texas temporarily dropped enforcement of its ban on mask mandates, after a state supreme court ruling.)
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="GcwSOt">
|
|||
|
|
This is a fight with very high stakes — the health and lives of children. Although severe cases are uncommon among children, they are not unheard of. And a very small percentage of children infected with Covid-19 <a href="https://www.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-
|
|||
|
|
covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/">die from the disease</a>.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="5ragqU">
|
|||
|
|
How did Florida get to this point?
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rTmFCF">
|
|||
|
|
Ron DeSantis is a frequent guest on Fox News, and a close ally of former President Donald Trump. DeSantis is also widely perceived to have presidential ambitions, garnering a national profile, and far-right support, as an <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/13/22622168/ron-desantis-florida-covid-
|
|||
|
|
response-failures">outspoken opponent of many public health measures</a> intended to slow the spread of Covid-19.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="g9j6ZZ">
|
|||
|
|
His resistance to public health measures has been disastrous for the state of Florida, however. Florida currently has the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/us/covid-cases.html">second-highest per capita rate of Covid infections</a> in the United States, falling just behind Mississippi. Over 16,000 people in Florida are hospitalized with Covid, as of Wednesday. The state is close to running out of hospital beds. One Florida paramedic told BuzzFeed News that “<a href="https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/amberjamieson/florida-covid-delta-variant-
|
|||
|
|
surge">we’re stacking patients in the hallways, stacking patients in the waiting room.</a>”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Y05dSZ">
|
|||
|
|
DeSantis, meanwhile, has largely framed his opposition to school mask mandates as an issue of parental rights. In late June, DeSantis signed a <a href="https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h0241er.docx&DocumentType=Bill&BillNumber=0241&Session=2021">“Parents’ Bill of Rights”</a> into law, which limits state and local governments’ power to “infringe on the fundamental rights of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of his or her minor child.” A month later, DeSantis cited that law in an <a href="https://www.flgov.com/2021/07/30/governor-desantis-issues-an-executive-order-
|
|||
|
|
ensuring-parents-freedom-to-choose/">executive order</a> purporting to ensure “parents’ freedom to choose” whether their child should wear a mask at school.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fCzeMn">
|
|||
|
|
Although DeSantis’s July 30 order does not forbid children from wearing masks, it instructs the Florida Health and Education Departments to impose rules preventing school districts from “violat[ing] parents’ right under Florida law to make health care decisions for their minor children” — such as the decision to not wear a mask.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SSwumI">
|
|||
|
|
Additionally, the order instructs Education Commissioner Corcoran to withhold “state funds from noncompliant school boards.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="4uSQbZ">
|
|||
|
|
These policies are unpopular. According to an early August poll of likely Florida voters, 62 percent believe that “<a href="https://floridapolitics.com/wp-
|
|||
|
|
content/uploads/2021/08/StPetePolls_2021_State_August3_P7F9W.pdf">masks should be required for all children</a>.” Less than a third of voters agreed with DeSantis that masks should not be mandated.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V9YWjj">
|
|||
|
|
DeSantis’s order also had predictable results. Before Hillsborough County implemented its mask requirement, more than <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/08/17/florida-students-covid-quarantine-hillsborough/">8,000 of its students</a> were in quarantine or isolation due to possible exposure to Covid (although some of these exposures occurred off campus). At the school board meeting instituting the mask mandate in Hillsborough, health providers warned that a mandate is needed because emergency rooms are “<a href="https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-
|
|||
|
|
hillsborough/hillsborough-county-school-board-holding-emergency-meeting-wednesday-as-covid-cases-soar">drowning in patients</a>.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="d6TGYW">
|
|||
|
|
Though some parents at the Hillsborough meeting echoed DeSantis’s rhetoric about parental rights — one anti-mask parent claimed that they “know what’s best for my children” — others demanded that the school board protect their children.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HxlwQn">
|
|||
|
|
“I was in a hospital room,” said one mother who had lost a child to a disease other than Covid, and who didn’t want other children to die. “I had doctors tell me we did everything we can. <a href="https://tampa.cbslocal.com/2021/08/18/hillsborough-county-school-board-passes-stricter-mask-mandate-
|
|||
|
|
with-opt-out-option-1/">I’ve been with a dead child before</a>. We can save these children.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VALeyy">
|
|||
|
|
Even before students started returning to school, moreover, Florida had some of the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/article253250073.html">highest rates of child Covid infections in the country</a>. As of Thursday morning, <a href="https://www.broward.org/CoronaVirus/Documents/hospital-report--latest.pdf">only two pediatric ICU beds are available</a> in all of Broward County.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<h3 id="0GZaAW">
|
|||
|
|
Can DeSantis be stopped?
|
|||
|
|
</h3>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="0KKBMo">
|
|||
|
|
The federal government recently suggested that it may take legal action against states that block mask requirements in schools. In a <a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/08/21-006970-Letter-from-Secretary-Cardona-
|
|||
|
|
Arizona-final-signed.pdf">letter</a> sent to several state governors, US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona argued that school districts that accepted certain federal funds are legally obligated to require masks.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="w64jk8">
|
|||
|
|
“The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” Cardona writes, requires all school districts that received federal pandemic aid under that act “to adopt a plan for the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YBLS2S">
|
|||
|
|
The federal Education Department’s policies clarify that these plans must “maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff” and include “a description of any such policies, on” each of several safety requirements laid out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. One of those safety requirements is “<a href="https://oese.ed.gov/files/2021/08/21-006970-Letter-from-Secretary-Cardona-Arizona-final-signed.pdf">universal and correct wearing of masks</a>.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="O2W3dg">
|
|||
|
|
It is well established that the federal government may <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/483/203">impose conditions on state and local governments</a> that accept federal funding — although there are some constitutional limits on this authority and any lawsuit seeking to enforce such conditions would be heard by a federal judiciary dominated by conservatives. States may also be able to evade such conditions by returning the relevant funding that they received under the American Rescue Plan.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rgw0GG">
|
|||
|
|
The bottom line is that, while the Biden administration is hinting at legal action against states with anti- masking policies, it<strong> </strong>could face a long and uncertain legal fight if it wants to ensure that children throughout the country wear masks to school. Meanwhile, the delta variant will continue to spread throughout the nation — potentially infecting thousands of schoolchildren.
|
|||
|
|
</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-sports">From The Hindu: Sports</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Kohli, BCCI brass ‘informally’ chat over roadmap for T20 World Cup</strong> - With India playing the Test series till September 14 and then the players being busy with their respective IPL franchises, time is of the essence</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Striking Distance, Royal Symphony and Regal Kid work well</strong> - Striking Distance, Royal Symphony and Regal Kid worked well when the horses were exercised here on Friday (Aug. 20).Inner sand:600m: Treasure Delight</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Anju’s protege Shaili Singh tops qualification, makes long jump final in U-20 World Championships</strong> - Shaili Singh is the current U-18 World No. 2 and U-20 national record holder</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Nadal out of US Open, ends 2021 season to heal injured foot</strong> - The 35-year-old Spanish star added that he is “completely motivated and prepared to do what it takes to get back in the best form possible”</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>With technology and improved athletic physique, has the value of pro sports diminished?</strong> - It is the unpredictability of success or failure that is instantly gratifying to spectators</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Congress expels senior leader in Alappuzha</strong> - Former municipal chairperson ‘tried to defeat UDF nominee in Assembly polls’</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Maharashtra government’s Rajiv Gandhi IT award to be given to companies in five categories</strong> - Maharashtra Minister of State for IT Satej Patil made the announcement.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>2 female elephants electrocuted in Assam</strong> - Third case of death due to illegal electrical fencing this year</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Union Minister offers job, land to family of soldier he thought was martyred</strong> - He reportedly took local BJP leaders to task for providing wrong information</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>CBI seeks details of murder, rape cases reported during 2021 post-poll violence in West Bengal</strong> - The agency sought the details of such cases from the DGP in line with a Calcutta High Court Thursday order directing the CBI to take over cases related to post-poll violence against women.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Spain migrants: Sole survivor rescued in dinghy in Atlantic</strong> - The woman, who was spotted clinging to an upturned boat, says at least 52 other people died.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Belgium stabbing suspect won’t be charged over unborn baby’s death</strong> - A man in Belgium is charged with allegedly stabbing his partner, but not her unborn baby’s death.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Russia names Golos monitor as ‘foreign agent’ ahead of election</strong> - Golos has vowed to continue its work ahead of parliamentary elections in a month’s time.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Trabzonspor 1-2 Roma: Jose Mourinho reign starts with European win</strong> - Jose Mourinho’s spell as Roma boss starts with a win at Turkish side Trabzonspor in the Europa Conference League play- off.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Irish government to evacuate 36 citizens from Afghanistan</strong> - Three Irish citizens have been evacuated from the country so far, Ireland’s foreign minister says.</p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Point-to-point Wi-Fi bridging between buildings—the cheap and easy way</strong> - It cost us ~$100 to wirelessly connect two buildings across a small wooded area. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1787619">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Rocket Report: Firefly completes static fire, Blue Origin gets HLS stay</strong> - “This requirement is in alignment with our US government customer.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1788654">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Intel provides more details on its Arc GPUs, which will be made by TSMC</strong> - Still light on details, but the Arc GPUs will be a big step up from integrated. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1788686">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Quake “enhanced” re-release out before it’s announced (with Quake 64, too)</strong> - Rumored last week, an updated version of <em>Quake</em> appeared on PC and console stores today. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1788552">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Stunning official trailer for Foundation whets the appetite for more</strong> - “We can murder the man, but what about the movement?” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1788601">link</a></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
</ul>
|
|||
|
|
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
|
|||
|
|
<ul>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>OnlyFans just announced that they will be getting rid of all porn on their platform on October 1st…</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
On October 2nd they will announce that they’ll be changing their name to “NoMore Fans”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/Yeetaway987"> /u/Yeetaway987 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p7q5fk/onlyfans_just_announced_that_they_will_be_getting/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p7q5fk/onlyfans_just_announced_that_they_will_be_getting/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>A blonde, a brunette, and a redhead are all friends</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Naturally, their mothers are blonde, brunette, and redheaded as well, and the ladies are chatting while their teenage daughters are hanging out in the other room.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The brunette says with a devilish grin, “Hey, let’s look through the girls’ purses and see what they’re hiding from us.” She grabs her daughter’s purse, rifles through it for a moment, and pulls out a lighter. “Wow,” she says. “Looks like my Beth has been smoking cigarettes behind my back.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
Her curiosity piqued, the redhead pulls her daughter’s purse onto her lap, digs through the items and reveals a bottle opener. “For crying out loud,” she blurts, disappointed. “Sue has been drinking, just like her good for nothing daddy!”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
The blonde mother, feeling obliged to follow suit, picks up her daughter’s purse, thrusts her hand in and fishes out a box of condoms. “Oh my God,” she utters with a blank expression followed by a breathless pause. “Debbie has a penis!”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!--
|
|||
|
|
SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/motsanciens"> /u/motsanciens </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p7tpl7/a_blonde_a_brunette_and_a_redhead_are_all_friends/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p7tpl7/a_blonde_a_brunette_and_a_redhead_are_all_friends/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>A man’s walking home late at night when he sees a woman in the shadows. “Twenty bucks,” she says. He’s never been with a prostitute before, but he decides what the hell.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
|
<div class="md">
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
They are going at it for a minute when all of a sudden a light flashes on them—it’s a policeman.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“What’s going on here, people?” asks the officer.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“I’m making love to my wife,” the man answers indignantly.
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“Oh, I’m sorry,” says the cop, “I didn’t know.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
|||
|
|
“Well,” said the man, “to tell the truth neither did I until you flashed that light on her face.”
|
|||
|
|
</p>
|
|||
|
|
</div>
|
|||
|
|
<!-- SC_ON -->
|
|||
|
|
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/mgs_123"> /u/mgs_123 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p82cmw/a_mans_walking_home_late_at_night_when_he_sees_a/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p82cmw/a_mans_walking_home_late_at_night_when_he_sees_a/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
|||
|
|
<li><strong>OnlyFans has just announced that it is removing all pornography on october 1st.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
|
|||
|
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<div class="md">
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I suggested they change their name to LonelyFans, but i dunno
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/finleyappp07"> /u/finleyappp07 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p7ryj1/onlyfans_has_just_announced_that_it_is_removing/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p7ryj1/onlyfans_has_just_announced_that_it_is_removing/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><strong>Spelling bee judge: “Your word is ‘seaward’.”</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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Contestant: “C-U-N…”
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</p>
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Judge: “DEAR GOD PLEASE STOP.”
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</p>
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</div>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"> submitted by <a href="https://www.reddit.com/user/JoeFas"> /u/JoeFas </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p7i9v8/spelling_bee_judge_your_word_is_seaward/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p7i9v8/spelling_bee_judge_your_word_is_seaward/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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</ul>
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