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+ + + +Correlation of Antibody Response to COVID-19 Vaccination in Pregnant Woman and Transplacental Passage Into Cord Blood. - Conditions: Covid-19
Interventions: Diagnostic Test: COVID-19 Spike Protein IgG Quantitative Antibody (CMIA)
Sponsors: Vachira Phuket Hospital
Recruiting
UNAIR Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccine as Homologue Booster (Immunobridging Study) - Conditions: COVID-19 Pandemic; COVID-19 Vaccines; COVID-19 Virus Disease
Interventions: Biological: INAVAC (Vaksin Merah Putih - UA- SARS CoV-2 (Vero Cell Inactivated) 5 Ī¼g
Sponsors: Dr.Ā Soetomo General Hospital; Universitas Airlangga; Biotis Pharmaceuticals, Indonesia; Indonesia-MoH
Recruiting
Safety and Immunogenicity of a Sub-unit Protein CD40.RBDv Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccine, Adjuvanted or Not, as a Booster in Volunteers. - Conditions: COVID-19
Interventions: Drug: CD40.RBDv vaccin (SARS-Cov2 Vaccin)
Sponsors: ANRS, Emerging Infectious Diseases; LinKinVax; Vaccine Research Institute (VRI), France
Not yet recruiting
High-definition Transcranial Direct Current Ctimulation and Chlorella Pyrenoidosa to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk - Conditions: Cardiovascular Diseases; Long Covid19
Interventions: Other: High Definition-transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; Dietary Supplement: Chlorella Pyrenoidosa
Sponsors: Federal University of ParaĆba; City University of New York
Recruiting
SGB for COVID-induced Parosmia - Conditions: COVID-19-Induced Parosmia
Interventions: Drug: Stellate Ganglion Block; Drug: Placebo Sham Injection
Sponsors: Washington University School of Medicine
Recruiting
Investigating the Effectiveness of Vimida - Conditions: Long COVID; Post COVID-19 Condition
Interventions: Behavioral: vimida
Sponsors: Gaia AG; Medical School Hamburg; Institut Long-Covid Rostock
Not yet recruiting
Effects of Physiotherapy Via Video Calls in Patients With COVID-19 - Conditions: COVID-19; Long COVID-19; Cardiopulmonary Function; Physical Function
Interventions: Behavioral: Exercise training
Sponsors: Chulabhorn Hospital
Active, not recruiting
Acute Cardiovascular Responses to a Single Exercise Session in Patients With Post-COVID-19 Syndrome - Conditions: Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome
Interventions: Behavioral: Exercise session; Behavioral: Control session
Sponsors: University of Nove de Julho
Not yet recruiting
Reducing Respiratory Virus Transmission in Bangladeshi Classrooms - Conditions: SARS-CoV2 Infection; Influenza Viral Infections; Respiratory Viral Infection
Interventions: Device: Box Fan; Device: UV Germicidal Irradiation Lamp Unit; Device: Combined: Box Fan and UV Germicidal Irradiation Lamp Units
Sponsors: Stanford University; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
Not yet recruiting
Type-II IFN inhibits SARS-CoV-2 replication in human lung epithelial cells and ex vivo human lung tissues through indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase-mediated pathways - Interferons (IFNs) are critical for immune defense against pathogens. While type-I and -III IFNs have been reported to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication, the antiviral effect and mechanism of type-II IFN against SARS-CoV-2 remain largely unknown. Here, we evaluate the antiviral activity of type-II IFN (IFNĪ³) using human lung epithelial cells (Calu3) and ex vivo human lung tissues. In this study, we found that IFNĪ³ suppresses SARS-CoV-2 replication in both Calu3 cells and ex vivo human lung tissuesā¦.
Development of a quantitative ELISA for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate, NDV-HXP-S, with CpG 1018Ā® adjuvant - NDV-HXP-S is a Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vectored vaccine candidate which expresses the S-antigen of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This vaccine candidate is under evaluation in human clinical studies with and without cytosine phosphate guanine (CpG) 1018Ā® adjuvant. Existing potency methods for NDV-HXP-S do not allow for quantification of the S-antigen when the adjuvant is present. To support evaluation of NDV-HXP-S with CpG 1018Ā® adjuvant, an inhibitionā¦
Syringa reticulata potently inhibits the activity of SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease - The ongoing coronavirus infectious disease (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) still urgently requires effective treatments. The 3C-like (3CL) protease of SARS-CoV-2 is a highly conserved cysteine protease that plays an important role in the viral life cycle and host inflammation, providing an ideal target for developing broad-spectrum antiviral drugs. Herein, we describe the discovery of a large number of herbs mainly produced inā¦
A Case Report of Drug Interactions Between Nirmatrelvir/Ritonavir and Tacrolimus in a Patient With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus - Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir is a treatment for COVID-19 consisting of nirmatrelvir, which has anti-SARS-CoV-2 activity, and ritonavir, a booster to maintain blood levels. Ritonavir is known to be a potent inhibitor of cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A), and interactions with CYP3A-metabolized drugs, such as the immunosuppressant tacrolimus, can be problematic. Ritonavirās inhibition of CYP3A is irreversible due to covalent binding, and its inhibitory effects are expected to persist until replaced by newā¦
Second Boost of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 S1 Subunit Vaccine Induced Broad Humoral Immune Responses in Elderly Mice - Currently approved COVID-19 vaccines prevent symptomatic infection, hospitalization, and death from the disease. However, repeated homologous boosters, while considered a solution for severe forms of the disease caused by new SARS-CoV-2 variants in elderly individuals and immunocompromised patients, cannot provide complete protection against breakthrough infections. This highlights the need for alternative platforms for booster vaccines. In our previous study, we assessed the boost effect of theā¦
Preparation and characterization of a fluorogenic ddRFP-M biosensor as a specific SARS-CoV-2 main protease substrate - The conventional peptide substrates of SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro) are frequently associated with high cost, unstable kinetics, and multistep synthesis. Hence, there is an urgent need to design affordable and stable Mpro substrates for pharmacological research. Herein, we designed a functional Mpro substrate based on a dimerization-dependent red fluorescent protein (ddRFP) for the evaluation of Mpro inhibitors in vitro. The codon-optimized DNA fragment encoding RFP-A(1) domain, a polypeptideā¦
Neutralizing antibodies to block viral entry and for identification of entry inhibitors - Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) are naturally produced by our immune system to combat viral infections. Clinically, neutralizing antibodies with potent efficacy and high specificity have been extensively used to prevent and treat a wide variety of viral infections, including Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Dengue Virus (DENV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV). An overwhelmingly large subset of clinically effective NAbs operates byā¦
Interferon-stimulated gene PVRL4 broadly suppresses viral entry by inhibiting viral-cellular membrane fusion - CONCLUSION: Overall, our studies not only identify PVRL4 as an intrinsic broad-spectrum antiviral ISG, but also provide a candidate host-directed target for antiviral therapy against various viruses including SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in the future.
FEOpti-ACVP: identification of novel anti-coronavirus peptide sequences based on feature engineering and optimization - Anti-coronavirus peptides (ACVPs) represent a relatively novel approach of inhibiting the adsorption and fusion of the virus with human cells. Several peptide-based inhibitors showed promise as potential therapeutic drug candidates. However, identifying such peptides in laboratory experiments is both costly and time consuming. Therefore, there is growing interest in using computational methods to predict ACVPs. Here, we describe a model for the prediction of ACVPs that is based on theā¦
Taming the cytokine storm: small molecule inhibitors targeting IL-6/IL-6Ī± receptor - Given the increasing effectiveness of immune-based therapies, management of their associated toxicities is of utmost importance. Cytokine release syndrome (CRS), characterized by elevated levels of cytokine, poses a significant challenge following the administration of antibodies and CAR-T cell therapies. CRS also contributes to multiple organ dysfunction in severe viral infections, notably in COVID-19. Given the pivotal role of IL-6 cytokine in initiating CRS, it has been considered a mostā¦
How can we promote vaccination of the mass population?-Lessons from the COVID-19 vaccination defaults - While vaccines are pivotal in combating COVID-19, concerns about side effects and complex procedures have hindered complete vaccination. Prior studies suggest that individuals defaulted to opt-out exhibit higher COVID-19 vaccination rates compared to those in opt-in systems. However, these studies were conducted in countries with a tolerant attitude towards vaccination and default changes, targeting specific age groups, and did not address potential deterrents like the increase in cancellationā¦
Nanobody engineering for SARS-CoV-2 neutralization and detection - In response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the quest for coronavirus inhibitors has inspired research on a variety of small proteins beyond conventional antibodies, including robust single-domain antibody fragments, i.e., ānanobodies.ā Here, we explore the potential of nanobody engineering in the development of antivirals and diagnostic tools. Through fusion of nanobody domains that target distinct binding sites, we engineered multimodular nanobody constructs that neutralize wild-typeā¦
Effect of rifampicin administration on CYP induction in a dermatomyositis patient with vasospastic angina attributable to nilmatrelvir/ritonavir-induced blood tacrolimus elevation: A case report - Ritonavir (RTV), which is used in combination with nilmatrelvir (NMV) to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), inhibits cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A, thereby increasing blood tacrolimus (TAC) levels through a drug-drug interaction (DDI). We experienced a case in which a DDI between the two drugs led to markedly increased blood TAC levels, resulting in vasospastic angina (VSA) and acute kidney injury (AKI). Rifampicin (RFP) was administered to induce CYP3A and promote TAC metabolism. Aā¦
SARS-CoV-2 spike protein receptor binding domain promotes IL-6 and IL-8 release via ATP/P2Y2 and ERK1/2 signaling pathways in human bronchial epithelia - The spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 as well as its receptor binding domain (RBD) has been demonstrated to be capable of activating the release of pro-inflammatory mediators in endothelial cells and immune cells such as monocytes. However, the effects of spike protein or its RBD on airway epithelial cells and mechanisms underlying these effects have not been adequately characterized. Here, we show that the RBD of spike protein alone can induce bronchial epithelial inflammation in a manner ofā¦
Targeting mevalonate pathway by zoledronate ameliorated pulmonary fibrosis in a rat model: Promising therapy against post-COVID-19 pulmonary fibrosis - CONCLUSION: ZA in a dose-dependent manner prevented the pathological effect of CCl4 in the lung by targeting mevalonate pathway. It could be promising therapy against PCPF.
The New Yorkerās Luke Mogelson and Masha Gessen Win Polk Awards - Mogelson received the Magazine Reporting prize for his work in the trenches in Ukraine, and Gessen was honored for their commentary on historical memory and the Israel-Hamas war. - link
Legal Weed in New York Was Going to Be a Revolution. What Happened? - Lawsuits. Unlicensed dispensaries. Corporations pushing to get in. The messy rollout of a law that has tried to deliver social justice with marijuana. - link
The Snake with the Emoji-Patterned Skin - In the wild, ball pythons are usually brown and tan. In America, breeding them to produce eye-catching offspring has become a lucrative, frenetic, andāfor someātroubling enterprise. - link
Matt Gaetzās Chaos Agenda - The Florida Republican is among the most brazen and controversial figures in Donald Trumpās G.O.P. Heās also among the most influential. - link
The Trials of Alejandro Mayorkas - The Secretary of Homeland Security has been forced to respond to an unprecedented flow of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border. Why are Republicans in Congress impeaching him for it? - link
+Worsened anxiety and depression is a predictable (and costly) effect of abortion bans. +
++The false idea that getting an abortion makes women irreparably depressed and anxious, that it causes a deep psychic wound, has for decades been used by anti-abortion activists to support abortion restrictions. +
++But the argument is entirely based on anecdotes, personal beliefs, and vibes. No good science has demonstrated this link. +
++Thatās not because nobodyās tried to answer the question of what the mental health impacts of abortion are on the women who obtain them. Itās because the answer to that question, over and over again, is: none. In study after study, researchers have consistently shown that getting an abortion does not cause mental health problems. +
++What does reliably worsen womenās mental health, however, is banning or restricting abortion access. +
++A wealth of research has shown that when people are forced to carry unwanted pregnancies, it negatively impacts their physical health and finances ā and mental health. In a survey conducted before the US Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion, women living in states with more abortion restrictions had higher rates of mental distress. In another study, states enforcing abortion restrictions between 1974 and 2016 had higher suicide rates in women of childbearing age in particular. +
++But when the court decided to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022, it wasnāt making a decision grounded in science. +
++Now weāre more than a year and a half into living with the consequences. And when it comes to womenās mental health, the fallout is following the exact pattern scientists predicted. +
++In a study published last month, researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that people living in states that banned abortion in the immediate wake of the Courtās decision have worse symptoms of anxiety and depression than those who live in states without bans. +
++Using data gathered as part of US Census Household Pulse surveys, the researchers looked at respondentsā self-reported anxiety and depression scores from about six months before and six months after the Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion. They compared scores on a scale of zero to 12 among people in states with and without trigger bans, abortion restrictions that went into effect as soon as the Supreme Court issued its ruling. +
++What they found was, frankly, predictable: Before the Courtās decision, anxiety and depression scores were already higher in trigger states ā a population-wide average of 3.5 compared with 3.3 in non-trigger states. After the decision, that difference widened significantly, largely due to changes in the mental health of women 18 to 45, what the authors defined as childbearing age. Among this subgroup, anxiety and depression scores subtly ticked up in those living in trigger states (from 4.62 to 4.76) ā and dropped in those living in non-trigger states (from 4.57 to 4.49). There was no similar effect in older women, nor in men. +
++These differences were small but statistically meaningful, especially since they sampled the entire population, not just women considering an abortion. Moreover, they were consistent across trigger states, whether their policies and political battles around abortion had been high- or low-profile. Even when the researchers omitted data from states with particularly severe restrictions on womenās reproductive health (looking at you, Texas), the results held up. +
++Itās notable that the different levels of mental distress across states after Roe was overturned werenāt just a consequence of worsened anxiety and depression in states with trigger bans. Also contributing: an improvement in these symptoms in states without these bans. We canāt tell from the study exactly why that is, but it seems plausible that women living in states that protect their right to access necessary health care simply feel some relief. +
++In birdās-eye-view studies like this, it can be hard to pick apart the nuances behind a finding. For example, itās possible other social or cultural factors are more likely to disproportionately affect women in trigger states ā like variability in gender equity, interpartner violence, abortion stigma, and mental health care access. +
++Still, it should set off our alarm bells when high-quality research finds a causal relationship between big societal shifts and worsening depression and anxiety on a population-wide level. +
++People who sense limitations to their personal freedom and autonomy feel a sense of āviolation and powerlessness,ā says Benjamin Thornburg, a health economics PhD student who led the study. It stands to reason that the opposite of that, a sense of freedom and autonomy, would improve peopleās overall mental health. +
++Anxiety and depression rates are reaching record highs and are especially pronounced among young adults, and suicide deaths are ticking up. At the same time, Americans are living in an age of broadly unmet mental health care needs: 160 million Americans live in areas with provider shortages and insurance denials, and only one-third of people diagnosed with a behavioral health condition get the care they need. +
++Policymakers need to understand āthere could be an increase in the need for mental health services in states where these bans have happened,ā says Thornburg. +
++But itās not at all clear they do. +
++This story appeared originally in Today, Explained, Voxās flagship daily newsletter. Sign up here for future editions. +
+The conflict in Gaza has become āan era-defining catastrophe.ā Itās increasingly clear what ā and who ā is to blame. +
++At the end of November, Israeli reporter Yuval Abraham broke one of the most important stories of the war in Gaza to date ā an inside look at the disturbing reasoning that has led the Israeli military to kill so many civilians. +
++Citing conversations with āseven current and former members of Israelās intelligence community,ā Abraham reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had changed its doctrine to permit far greater civilian casualties than it would have tolerated in previous wars. IDF leadership was greenlighting strikes on civilian targets like apartment buildings and public infrastructure that they knew would kill scores of innocent Gazans. +
++āIn one case,ā Abraham reported, āthe Israeli military command knowingly approved the killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in an attempt to assassinate a single top Hamas military commander.ā +
++Abrahamās reporting showed, in granular detail, the ways that this war would not be like others: that Israel, so grievously wounded by Hamas on October 7, would go to extraordinarily violent lengths to destroy the group responsible for that dayās atrocities. In doing so, it would commit atrocities of its own. +
++At least 28,000 Palestinians are already confirmed dead, with more likely lying in the rubble. Around 70 percent of Gazaās homes have been damaged or destroyed; at least 85 percent of Gazaās population has been displaced. The indirect death toll from starvation and disease will likely be higher. One academic estimate suggested that nearly 500,000 Palestinians will die within a year unless the war is brought to a halt, reflecting both the physical damage to Gazaās infrastructure and the consequences of Israelās decision to besiege Gaza on day three of the war. (While the siege has been relaxed somewhat, limitations on aid flow remain strict.) +
++The Israeli government describes civilian death as a regrettable but inevitable consequence of waging a war to eliminate Hamas. But as of right now, that goal is still very far away ā and may ultimately prove to be impossible. +
++Thereās no doubt that the IDF has done significant damage to Hamasās infrastructure. Israel has killed or captured somewhere around one-third of Hamasās fighting force, destroyed at least half of its rocket stockpile, and demolished somewhere between 20 and 40 percent of its tunnel network under Gaza. The more the war goes on, the higher those numbers will become. +
++But as significant as these achievements are, ānone of them come close to eliminating Hamas,ā says Dan Byman, a professor at Georgetown who studies Israeli counterterrorism policy. +
++The group, he explains, has āvery deep roots in Gazaā ā ones that could only be permanently removed if Israel had a good plan for a postwar political arrangement in Gaza. Yet at present, Israel still has no plan at all. With support for Hamas rising in reaction to Israeli brutality, Israel runs a real risk of actually strengthening the terrorist groupās political position in the long run. +
++A world where hundreds of thousands of Gazans suffer and only Hamas benefits is the worst of all possible worlds. Yet it is increasingly looking like a likely one. +
++How did we get here? +
++The truth is that this nightmare was depressingly predictable. When I surveyed over a dozen experts about the war back in October, they warned that Israel had a dangerously loose understanding of what the war was about. The stated aim of ādestroying Hamasā was at once maximalist and open-ended: It wasnāt clear how it could be accomplished or what limit there might be on the means used in its pursuit. +
++Israelās conduct in the war so far has vindicated these fears. The embrace of an objective at once so massive and vague has dragged Israel down the moral nadir documented in Abrahamās reporting, with unclear and perhaps even self-defeating ends. It is a situation that Matt Duss, the executive vice president at the Center for International Policy, terms āan era-defining catastrophe.ā +
++Things did not have to be this way. After the horrific events of October 7, Israel had an obviously just claim to wage a defensive war against Hamas ā and the tactical and strategic capabilities to execute a smarter, more limited, and more humane war plan. +
++The blame for this failure lies with Israelās terrible wartime leadership: an extremist government headed by Benjamin āBibiā Netanyahu, a venal prime minister currently on trial for corruption who has placed his personal interests over his countryās even during wartime. +
++āYou couldnāt have had a worse government to respond to a worse moment,ā says Dov Waxman, the director of UCLAās Center for Israel Studies. āPeople like to separate the war from the government thatās running it, but I think you canāt.ā +
++Itās not too late for Israel to try something different. +
++While Netanyahu wonāt change course voluntarily, both Israeli voters and the Biden administration have significant leverage over their policies. Their combined pressure might produce either a change in policy or a change in government, pulling Israel away from the abyss. +
++And in the longer run, a postwar Israel might begin reckoning with the deeply mistaken assumptions behind its terrible policy ā and, in doing so, transform the future of the Israel-Palestine conflict. +
++Michael Walzer is the worldās greatest living military ethicist. His 1977 book Just and Unjust Wars is the seminal modern text in whatās called ājust war theory,ā the branch of political philosophy dedicated to examining when and how war can be waged ethically. Whether one agrees with it or not, his work is the baseline by which all other work in the field is judged and has influenced law and policy around the world. +
++On the American left, Walzer is also known as one of Israelās most famous defenders. In a 2017 essay, he describes Just and Unjust Wars as the outgrowth of his attempt to reconcile his opposition to the Vietnam War with his support for Israelās 1967 war against its Arab neighbors. After October 7, he has repeatedly defended Israelās right to defend itself and put the majority of the moral blame for human suffering on Hamas. āIsraelās military response to the atrocities of October 7th is a just and necessary war,ā he wrote in December. +
++Yet when we spoke in early February, Walzer was far more critical of Israelās war effort than I expected. +
++āIsrael has created new conditions on the ground [that] made it virtually impossible to continue the warā ethically, he told me. āI am hoping for a kind of ceasefire.ā +
++Walzer is referring to the geography of the fighting. When Israel began its ground offensive in Gaza, it concentrated the fighting in the northern Gaza Strip ā instructing Palestinian civilians to flee to the south to stay out of harmās way. But today, Israel is threatening a major ground offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where huge numbers of Palestinian civilians have fled with nowhere else to go. For Walzer, Israel cannot wage war justly when Gazan civilians truly cannot escape. +
++But Walzer also pointed to a deeper moral problem with Israelās seemingly impossible objective of destroying Hamas. +
++Generally, just war theorists believe that war cannot be ethically waged without having āreasonable prospects for success.ā The logic is intuitive: War inevitably involves a lot of killing, and killing can only be justified if it accomplishes a greater good. If the objective behind the killing is impossible (or extremely implausible), then there is no greater good to be won from the bloodshed. +
++Walzer believes that many Israelis, traumatized by the events of October 7, did not fully appreciate how intermingled Hamas ā the de facto government of Gaza ā was with Gazan society. Itās an organization made up of not only tens of thousands of fighters, but also many civilian functionaries and a vast physical infrastructure. Truly destroying such an entity cannot reasonably be accomplished through force of arms alone ā at least not without a yearslong military campaign and an unthinkable amount of civilian death. +
++Some Israelis are beginning to acknowledge this reality. In January, Gadi Eisenkot ā a senior minister in Israelās wartime Cabinet ā declared that āwhoever speaks of absolute defeat [of Hamas] is not speaking the truth,ā and that Israeli hostages in Gaza could only be brought home as part of a ceasefire deal. A classified Israeli military intelligence assessment, reported by Israelās Channel 12 news station, predicts that Hamas will persist as a terrorist organization even if Israel destroys much of its more conventional military capabilities. +
++āIt was when they grasped the extent of the embeddedness and the tunnel city that they realized that was not a possible goal and therefore not a just goal,ā Walzer says, speaking of his contacts in Israel. āThe goal as stated on October 8 wasnāt wrong because we [outside Gaza] were so ignorant of what Hamas had become.ā +
++Walzer may be judging Israelās leadership a bit too leniently. Hamasās deep entrenchment in Gaza was well-known prior to the war and was part of the reason previous Israeli governments had opted not to destroy the militant group. But Walzer is correct that the nature of the objective shapes the warās morality ā even down to the kinds of tactics Israel was willing to employ. +
++In previous wars with Hamas, Israelās primary objective had been degrading Hamasās military capabilities and deterring it from attacking Israel in the near future. These are relatively limited aims that can be accomplished through more discriminate military means. Israel didnāt need to destroy every Hamas rocket launcher or kill every commander ā but rather do just enough damage to buy itself some safety. +
++āIf your war aim is complete destruction of your adversary, then the military advantage of every strike increases because itās a greater contribution to that aim,ā says Adil Haque, a professor who studies the law and ethics of war at Rutgers University. āGiven the physical layout of Gaza, youāre already setting yourself on a path toward killing tens of thousands of civilians.ā +
++A significant level of civilian death is inevitable in urban warfare, and especially in Gaza given Hamasās despicable tactic of stationing military assets in and around schools and hospitals. The IDF is facing a profoundly challenging operating environment with few true historical parallels. +
++Yet this does not absolve Israel of its decision to adopt a maximalist war aim or the unusually brutal tactics that followed from it. These were choices Israeli leaders made ā and they were the wrong ones. +
++Lt. Col. Raphael Cohen is no oneās idea of a dove. As a US Army military intelligence officer, Cohen served two tours of combat duty in Iraq at the height of the anti-American insurgency. Now a reserve officer, he spends his days running a program on military strategy and doctrine at the RAND Institute. He has publicly argued that the reality on the ground in Gaza left Israel with little choice but to engage in the kind of war that itās currently waging. +
++Yet thereās one area where Cohenās review of Israelās conduct is quite harsh: its lack of planning for the day after the war. +
++āThey need to take the non-lethal side of the operation seriously,ā he told me in late January. āIf you donāt get the postwar planning right, whatever tactical gains you get are going to be fleeting.ā +
++In the outlines offered by Israeli leadership early in the war, ādestroying Hamasā could only be accomplished by replacing its regime in Gaza with something new and durable. In October, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said this explicitly ā that the war must end with the ācreation of a new security regime in the Gaza Strip [and] the removal of Israelās responsibility for day-to-day life in the Gaza Strip.ā +
++Regime change is the only conceivable way Israel could deliver on its long-shot objective of destroying Hamas. Yet, shockingly, Israel has no clear plan for what comes next. Every source I spoke to with knowledge of Israeli planning confirmed this; so does a volume of publicly available reporting and some recent comments from Netanyahu spokesperson Avi Hyman. +
++āAll discussions about the day after Hamas will be had the day after Hamas,ā Hyman said during a press briefing. +
++For quite some time after the war began, Israel refused to even conceive of a postwar plan. Some sources told me that preparations are getting underway, but there are still no firm conclusions nor any clear route to them. Netanyahu has publicly rejected an American proposal to place the Palestinian Authority (PA), led by the moderate Fatah faction based in the West Bank, in charge of Gaza after the war. He has offered no alternative in its place. +
++Without a postwar plan, Israel risks something worse than failing to defeat Hamas: bolstering it. +
+ ++According to Devorah Margolin, an expert on Hamas at the center-right Washington Institute for Near East Policy, the entire point of the October 7 attack was to provoke a massive Israeli response. Handbooks and guidance sheets discovered on killed and captured Hamas fighters revealed instructions to be graphically, sadistically violent ā instructions we know were fully carried out. +
++āThe goal of that [ultraviolence] was to create a visceral response from Israel that would be seen as so disproportionate that the violence it carried out on October 7 was pushed to the side, and that Israel would be seen as the irrational actor,ā she tells me. āIn that sense, I think they actually succeeded.ā +
++In the long run, making Israel look like the depraved side serves two strategic goals for Hamas. First, it puts the Palestinian issue back at the top of the Arab and international political agenda. Second, it convinces Palestinians that Israel must be fought with arms ā and that Hamas, rather than the more peace-oriented Fatah, should be leading their struggle. Polling data both in Palestine and elsewhere suggest that they have made inroads on both fronts since October 7. +
++By inflicting mass suffering on Palestinians without a long-term plan for addressing the political consequences of their misery, Israel is playing right into Hamasās hands. The current Israeli approach is less likely to destroy the militant group than to strengthen it. +
++Natan Sachs is the director of the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution ā making him, more or less, the leading Israel expert at one of Washingtonās leading nonpartisan think tanks. Few people outside of Israel know the countryās politics better than he does. +
++When I spoke with Sachs in February, he told me that the mood in Israel āremains extremely grim and extremely vulnerable.ā Israelās war reflects a public that remains traumatized by October 7 and is convinced that they can only be protected by inflicting maximum destruction on Israelās enemies. +
++Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is intentionally stoking the fury. āResponsible leadership would not only channel the anger and the need for prevention in the future,ā he says. āIt would also try to shape public expectations about what the future might be.ā +
++This behavior is even worse than it sounds. Netanyahu is stoking war fervor without engaging in any serious planning for the postwar environment. Itās clear, both from speaking with knowledgeable observers and reading the Israeli press, that Netanyahuās government is at the heart of this essential gap. +
++āWhen you talk to the IDF folks, their issue is like any militaryās ā they follow the guidance theyāre given from politicians, and there is no clear guidance,ā Cohen tells me. āThey feel hamstrung because they canāt get out too far ahead of where the government is.ā +
++Discontent with Netanyahu from inside the military is starting to go public. In late January, Defense Minister Gallant warned that āpolitical indecision may harm the progress of the military operationā ā suggesting that the government is shirking its duty to ādiscuss the plan ā¦ and determine the goal.ā +
++Why is Netanyahu refusing to do his job? The most likely explanation is crass politics. +
++The prime ministerās ongoing corruption trial is very serious, with a conviction potentially leading to an extended stay behind bars. His primary motivation is staying in office and using that power to keep out of prison, which requires keeping his government together. As a result, his far-right coalition partners in the Religious Zionism faction ā who oppose any Palestinian political control over Gaza and want to rebuild Israeli settlements there ā have extraordinary influence over his decision-making. +
+ ++To avoid crossing the far right, Netanyahu wonāt allow for any serious planning for the warās end. The necessary parts of any plan ā adopting a concrete and achievable vision for victory and a realistic vision for a postwar order ā would necessarily infuriate Religious Zionists and likely cause them to quit the coalition, thus throwing the country to new elections that Netanyahu will likely lose. The prime minister is very literally putting his own interests above the nationās ā something that Sachs says āwouldnāt be the case with many other [Israeli] leaders.ā +
++āThis specific individual,ā he adds, āis a constant politician ā even in the worst of times.ā +
++Of course, pinpointing the roots of Israeli failures isnāt quite that simple. Israelis across the political spectrum immediately called for ādestroyingā Hamas in the wake of October 7, an understandable response to the dayās horror. Polling shows that the public is deeply divided on what the postwar political order in Gaza should look like, with no single option commanding majority support. Israelis are still traumatized and adrift, confident only that a return to the prewar status quo isnāt an option. +
++But, as Sachs pointed out, itās not a leaderās job to follow public opinion but rather to mold it. A moment when people are scared and uncertain, where the old security paradigm seems broken and no new one has emerged to replace it, is exactly the kind of time where leaders with vision can convince the public to follow them toward a better future. +
++āEvery question about Israelās response has to be considered in light of the members of this government, and particularly Netanyahuās dependence on the far right,ā says Waxman, the UCLA professor. +
++So if āBlame Bibiā is an oversimplification, itās not much of one. At its heart, the war has gone badly because the man leading it is not up to the task. So long as his government remains in power, the odds of Israel climbing out of its moral and strategic nadir are negligible. +
++Dana El Kurd is a senior nonresident fellow at the Arab Center Washington and a leading expert on Palestinian politics. When we talked about the scale of suffering in Gaza, the pain in her voice was palpable. āThereās not even words I can put to it,ā she told me. +
++Despite this, she managed to have some empathy for Israelis ā and warn that their current approach isnāt going to make anything better for them. Based on everything she knows about the internal political dynamics of Palestine, continued mass killing will only empower its violent radicals in the long run. +
++āI totally understand the shock of the October 7 moment, and what it might have meant to Israelis who thought they were immune,ā she tells me. But making [Gaza] uninhabitableā¦is not going to resolve the conflict.ā +
++The first step for things getting better is for Israel to take what El Kurd is saying seriously ā and fundamentally revise its war aims accordingly. +
++Israel could do this by committing to a version of the American proposal for the PA to take over Gaza, reorienting its strategy around laying the groundwork for PA entry. The PA has its flaws ā it is both demonstrably corrupt and authoritarian ā but it is at least credibly committed to peace. And there is no real alternative: An international occupation of Gaza is extremely unlikely, and an indefinite Israeli occupation would be a disaster for Israelis and Palestinians alike. +
++āThe big thing is that something needs to replace Hamas in Gaza, and I think the Biden administration pushing the PA is appropriate,ā Byman says. āGod help us all, but this is the best we got.ā +
++An alternative option is Israel abandoning its current hope for regime change in Gaza, instead seeking an indefinite ceasefire with Hamas in exchange for full release of the remaining Israeli hostages. This outcome would almost certainly leave Hamas in power. But it would stop a war thatās currently helping no one, allow for a flood of humanitarian aid to help Gazan civilians, and accomplish what a majority of Israelis now see as the primary war aim, bringing the hostages home. +
++These approaches have their problems, but both are much better than the status quo. Yet Netanyahu has ruled them out, believing that his right flank would abandon him were he to take either option. This means one of two things has to happen: Netanyahu needs to be forced to hold elections or somehow pressured into changing policy. +
++Part of the pressure will inevitably come domestically. Israeli frustration with the governmentās handling of the war, especially its inability to bring the hostages home, is rising. 2024 has seen some return to anti-government protests that were common before the war (though currently at a much smaller scale). +
+ ++Other forms of pressure should come from foreign powers ā which is also already happening. A group of Arab states are drafting a proposal in which they offer to normalize diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for a ceasefire and āirreversibleā moves toward a Palestinian state. The United States has issued a first-ever executive order sanctioning violent settlers in the West Bank ā an economic weapon that could easily be directed against the extremist ministers in Netanyahuās cabinet. +
++These efforts can and should be expanded, especially on the American side. President Bidenās early and loud support for Israel after October 7 has bought him extraordinary goodwill inside Israel, where he has a roughly 68 percent approval rating. His popularity vastly outstrips Netanyahuās, which means that the prime ministerās current antagonistic approach toward the White House may be a political miscalculation. +
++But even if Netanyahu can be forced to change course ā or simply forced out of power ā the underlying problem will not be resolved. What is needed is not just a temporary peace, but a means to start addressing the roots of the conflict to ensure that the fighting doesnāt start up again. +
++āThe main thing is that people arenāt trying to solve the conflict,ā el-Kurd insists. āThatās why the conflict is ongoing.ā +
++Any kind of real solution, then, aims at not just a temporary end to the fighting but resetting the fundamental dynamics of the conflict that brought us to such a terrible place. +
++āOut of a deal to secure the release of the hostages could become a lasting ceasefire. And out of a lasting ceasefire could become a political process leading to the creation of a Palestinian state,ā says Waxman. +
++This is hard to imagine in the midst of war, with Hamasās popularity among Palestinians surging and the two-state solution polling poorly among Israelis. But whatās true now may not continue to be true after the shooting stops. Aluf Benn, the editor of leading Israeli newspaper Haaretz, calls the period after October 7 āa turning pointā: a moment where the traditional contours of politics have been called into question and itās possible for things to go differently. +
++āIt is up to Israelis to decide what kind of turning point it will be,ā he writes in Foreign Affairs. +
++Benn is pessimistic that Israelis will take the opportunity to turn toward peace on their own. But there are also signs that the far rightās star is fading in Israel. And with the rest of the world renewing its attention to the conflict, new ideas are starting to emerge. The Arab statesā decision to tie future normalization to a Palestinian state, together with at least some American willingness to put pressure on Israel to change course, are signs that fundamental assumptions are being challenged. +
++āThe only silver lining of things being what they are is that, when they are so bad, people are actively thinking about making it better,ā says Mira Sucharov, a political scientist at Carleton University in Ottawa. +
++That this passes for optimism is a testament to the grim reality on the ground. So many innocent people have already died, and more will die every day until the war ends. Nothing can bring them back to life. +
++But holding out some hope, even amid the darkness, is better than a descent into nihilism: a belief that Palestinians are defined by Hamas or Israelis by Netanyahu. They are not. We outsiders owe them faith that their basic decency can triumph. +
+Art is for everyone. Hereās how to approach your next trip to a gallery or museum. +
++āIf you tried to reimagine your life without art ā¦ it would look radically different,ā says Karen K. Ho, a writer for ARTNews. āArt intersects with more things than people think.ā Itās not just the van Goghs and Monets that hang on museum walls. Itās in works like Anish Kapoorās innovative Cloud Gate (a.k.a. āThe Beanā) in Chicagoās Millennium Park, or the spiral architecture of the Guggenheim building in New York. Itās the murals along the bike path or on the side of the school. Art adorns movie posters and storefront signage. Artists influence the clothes you wear, the music you listen to, the products you consume. Simply put, art is everywhere. +
++If artās such a central tenet of our culture, though, why do so many of us feel like we just donāt get it? +
++In a YouGov survey released in 2023, nearly half of Americans said they didnāt consider themselves artistic. At 58 percent, even more respondents said they werenāt familiar with famous artistic movements or styles. For most of my life, that was me. I didnāt grow up surrounded by paintings or pottery. My elementary school art āclassroomā was a windowless utility closet between the boiler and the gym that smelled like dirty socks and doubled as a tornado shelter; we met there every other day to scratch stars into linoleum and glue strips of newspaper together in an attempt at making sculptures out of papier-mĆ¢chĆ©. That limited education didnāt teach me much about art, or how to understand it. +
++So when I arrived at the brutalist Kahler building housing Milwaukeeās lakefront art museum for the first time at 20, I had no idea what I was even looking at. I wanted to be a person who appreciated art, but to become an aficionado, I realized, I had to build a relationship with art. I not only had to take it in regularly ā akin to something the writer Julia Cameron calls āartistsā datesā in her book on creativity, The Artistās Way ā but I would also need to sit with it when I did. +
++As I began to build an art habit, visiting museums and galleries and fairs with regularity, I felt a lot like the child in the old Lynda Barry cartoon thatās been making its way around Instagram again. In the four-panel line drawing, a mother and child are standing in front of a framed sketch of another mother with a child on her lap. The childish viewer asks: āWhatās sposta happen?ā +
++For a long time, I shared that sentiment, asking, āWhat does this even mean?ā Using audio guides or listening to artistsā talks sometimes helped clarify a workās history but it didnāt always help me connect with the art. It wasnāt until I landed in front of a Monet at Zurichās Kunsthaus that I understood that deciphering the meaning of a work demands looking past its physicality. Looking at a painting of a Parisian pond with water lilies is only the first step to engaging with it. The strong response I had to the turn-of-the-century waterscape arose not because of its artistic qualities, but as a result of a memory it triggered ā that of an art teacher who regularly insulted her students with the suggestion we would never understand the beauty of Monet. +
++Connecting a work of art to other cultural artifacts while also relaying my own life experiences onto it follows the Surrealist belief that meaning is derived from the triangulation of the work itself, the artistās intention, and the viewerās response to it. Artās meaning stems from the interaction between the viewer and the artist; what the viewer brings to the piece is important regardless of the artistās intent. From that perspective, āgettingā art should feel less intimidating, as there are no right or wrong ways of reading a piece ā only ideas that can be expanded or guided by the artist. +
++āI donāt need the viewer of my paintings to know exactly what I meant, but I would like to have a handshake,ā Molly Ovenden, an artist, poet, and creative coach in Duluth, Minnesota, said in an interview. āItās more about an openness to a conversation ā¦ or an invitation to an experience.ā +
++In that regard, considering your visit to a museum or gallery as an active, not passive, undertaking might help to solidify a relationship to art. Even in the days before mobile phones became such a central part of our lives, most of us were sparing just a short amount of time to engage with individual works. A 20-year-old study reaffirmed in 2017 revealed that on average, we only look at a work of art in a museum, including its title and accompanying information, for around 27 seconds. +
++āThereās an effort to create work that you donāt have to spend a lot of time thinking about,ā the multidisciplinary artist Gregg Deal told me. Yet he believes that critical thinking is vital to any art, on the part of both the artist and the viewer. +
++āIn school, we learn how to interact with poetry or art in a similar way that we learn to dissect frogs. We identify all of the pieces and we take them apart,ā Ovenden says. In her work as a coach, she tries to get people to consider what comes after that dissection. āWe donāt learn what we do once itās all pulled apart. We kind of just move on.ā Itās in the process of putting the world back together that Ovenden believes the relationship between a viewer and a work is formed. +
++If art is a process of imagination that makes āreality conceivable, memorable, sometimes even predictable,ā as culture philosopher Susanne K. Langer writes, such engagement can go even further, as it gives rise to feelings we arenāt in touch with every day, like disgust and awe. In viewing Dealās works, I experienced that firsthand. Several of his pieces inspire humor as they remix Western cowboy tropes, while others depicting the Indigenous experience give rise to feelings of shame because the humanity portrayed reveals a disturbing truth about American conquest. +
++āIām not trying to make work and think that people are going to like it,ā Deal told me, noting that his role as an artist is to convey his ideas with honesty. And truthful art can make people wildly uncomfortable. āBut that discomfort is such an important part of the work,ā Deal says. +
++In this case, part of not getting the art could stem from a reluctance to confront that discomfort. As Langer writes, teaching art is an education in feeling; when art gives rise to emotions that we do not always have access to, it can feel too tough to manage. Yet it is in grappling with those emotions that the connection to art ā and, ultimately, understanding it ā is forged. +
++āHow do you teach a willingness to be uncomfortable?ā asks Ovenden. Even as an avid lover of art, she finds the emotional response doesnāt always come easy. āIt can be really overwhelming.ā +
++Perhaps that overwhelm is a positive sign, as it reveals an authenticity that we donāt confront in much of our daily lives. +
++In an interview with the Paris Review, the cartoonist Barry said that she saw the way we relate to art as proof of catharsis. āThatās what the arts do. In the course of human life we have a million phantom-limb pains ā losing a parent when youāre little, being in a war, even something as dumb as having a mean teacher ā and seeing it somehow reflected, whether itās in our own work or listening to a song, is a way to deal with it.ā +
++That relatability could also serve to explain why Barryās cartoon has remained so popular after being in circulation for years: it depicts the process of revelation the art onlooker experiences. After the mother lifts her child up to view the artwork more closely, they cuddle in a move that mirrors the model in the painting. Mom sees herself reflected in the painting and ā epiphany! Itās a meta response to seeing ourselves in a cartoon depicting us seeing ourselves. +
++Or, as Karen K. Ho told me, if you start to think about the arts as a way of transforming time or transforming your experience ā if you move beyond the surface response of āthis is a nice pictureā or āthis is a picture that sucksā ā then looking at art can be a really interesting endeavor. She refers to the Vermeer exhibition at Amsterdamās Rijksmuseum in 2023, a show that sold out almost immediately and drew visitors from around the world. While you might believe that your life bears little relevance to that of 17th-century Dutch aristocrats, she says that in portraying the beauty of everyday moments, Vermeer inspires you to look at your life anew. āHopefully when you think about doing those things, you understand there can be beauty in that moment, too.ā +
Vyasa, Magnetic, Rise And Reign, Elfin Knight and Tesorino catch the eye -
Geographique and Dexa please -
Ranji Trophy | Passive Kerala failed to seize chances - KCA secretary Vinod says that it will seek a report from the teamĀ management on the performance; coach Venkataramana adds that the team has tremendous potential with certain gaps to be improved upon
England coach McCullum backs struggling Bairstow to come good - McCullum acknowledged that Bairstow had underperformed during the series but said he deserved some time to get back on track
After fallout in China, Messi insists politics had nothing to do with Hong Kong no-show - Chinaās state-run newspaper had published an editorial highlighting a ātheoryā that suggested Messiās actions had āpolitical motivesā and that āexternal forcesā wished to embarrass Hong Kong
Seven students from top institutes caught cheating on Duolingo English Test in Hyderabad - Four students instead of appearing for the exam had reportedly hired the services of another student to write on their behalf
Cultural, protest events to mark 151 years of Kolkata tram - During the peak of its popularity, in the 1970s, this non-polluting mode of transport boasted over 50 routes across the city
Here are the big stories from Karnataka today - Welcome to the Karnataka Today newsletter, your guide from The Hindu on the major news stories to follow today. Curated and written byĀ Nalme Nachiyar.
Money laundering case | ED tells Bombay HC it wonāt arrest Sameer Wankhede till March 1 -
Sandeshkhali: IPS officer slams BJP workers for calling him āKhalistaniā, saffron camp denies charge - The BJP, however, denied the charge and accused the police officer of not performing his duty as per the Constitution.
Russian pilot who defected to Ukraine āshot deadā - Maxim Kuzminov - who fled Russia on a military helicopter - was found dead in Spain, according to reports.
Navalnyās body āto be held for two weeksā - The wife of the dead Putin critic says Russian authorities are waiting until nerve agent traces disappear.
Poland spyware inquiry to quiz former ministers - Lawmakers are set to investigate claims the former government snooped on the phones of its opponents.
Navalnyās widow faces daunting challenge - Yulia Navalnaya has made a dramatic and deliberate move to the forefront of Russian opposition politics.
How Russia has rebranded Wagner in Africa - Russia has taken the mercenary group into its intelligence services, using it to destabilise Africa.
Measles erupts in Florida school where 11% of kids are unvaccinated - Over 100 children at the school are susceptible to virus. - link
New compact facial-recognition system passes test on Michelangeloās David - Flatter, simpler prototype system uses 5-10 times less power than smartphone tech. - link
Reddit sells training data to unnamed AI company ahead of IPO - If youāve posted on Reddit, youāre likely feeding the future of AI. - link
āSo violatedā: Wyze cameras leak footage to strangers for 2nd time in 5 months - āIn some cases an Event Video was able to be viewed.ā - link
International Nest Aware subscriptions jump in price, as much as 100% - Modern plans get a 25 percent increase, while older plans double in price. - link
I got this uncle whoās really rich. But heās also a miser, a real skin flint if you will -
++You know howard hughes? How he would wear empty boxes on his feet instead of buying shoes? Thatās my uncle, the only difference is he wouldnāt even use boxes. He would just go barefoot. Thats how much of a tight bastard he was,may god rest his soul. +
++I tell ya, He was a miserable man, his only joy in life is fly fishing. Every year he would traverse to this same cabin out in the middle of no where where the fishing was good. +
++And every year for 20 years he had the same taxi driver pick him up at the airport and drive him to this same god forsaken cabin. this cabin was at the bottom of this huge ravine, a canyon you might call it, with a long snakey road to drive down to it. +
++Nigh on 20 years without incident until one year my uncle made his annual trip, and then on this fateful day a deer jumps out in front of the taxi and the driver swerves to miss it right? And runs right off the road. So they go off barreling ass over elbows down this canyon, the taxi doing flip after flip nearly killing them until by the good lords grace the pandemonium stops and they find themselves amidst the wreckage the near the cabin. My uncle starts to wale the tar out of this poor taxi driver with his umbrella, he always carried an umbrella you know, even when it wasnāt raining, so heās hitting him left and right and up the side and says +
++ā all these years you knew a shortcut and were over charging me?!ā +
++He would rather go through a horrible accident than pay a few more dollars +
+ submitted by /u/an_ol_chunk_of_coal
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A gynecologist decides to change careersā¦ -
++A gynecologist is hitting his midlife crisis, and realises that heās miserable in his career. He never really wanted to be a doctor, he just gave into pressure from his parents, and heās made his money, paid off the house, seen the kids through college and decided āstuff itā heās going to go back and retrain. +
++He thinks of all the things he likes and what would make him happy, and decides to retrain as a mechanic. He goes to trade school, studies hard, and reaches the final exam. +
++The final exam is having to strip down an engine to its individual components, then rebuilding it. He disassembles it, and then puts it all back together. Heās pretty confident heās passed with flying colours. +
++A couple weeks later the results come out, and heās got 150% on the final exam! Heās confused, so he reaches out to the teacher. +
++The teacher explains āwell, the first 50% of the exam was for disassembling it, and you did that perfectly. The second 50% of the exam was for rebuilding it, and you did that perfectly, tooā +
++āOKā says the now-former-gynecologist, ābut what about the extra 50%?ā +
++āWellā, says the teacher, āitās the first time weāve ever seen that done entirely through the exhaust port.ā +
+ submitted by /u/BellaSantiago1975
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Whatās the difference between a casual dinner party and a pirate orgy. -
++The dinner party you come as you are, the orgy you arrr as you cum. +
+ submitted by /u/Process_M
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The Boyfriend -
++A teenager brings home her new boyfriend to meet her parents. Theyāre disgusted by his haircut, tattoos & piercings. Later, the girlās mom says, āHoney, he doesnāt seem to be a very nice boy.ā āOh come on Momā says the daughter. āIf he wasnāt nice, would he be doing 500 hours of community service?ā +
+ submitted by /u/IFullerBucheet
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Woman and the green spot -
++This woman noticed every time she had sex with her boyfriend, a green spot would develop on the inside of her inner thigh. It would stay there a couple days, then disappear. She got very concerned and made an appt with the Doctor. +
++She goes to the Doctor, explains her issue. The Doctor asks her a few questions about it and looks at it. The Doctor is stumped and said he will run some blood tests to see if he can get to the cause of the green spot. +
++The following week, the woman gets a call from the Doctor, asking her to come in and bring her boyfriend. +
++At the appt, the Doctor said, āI have good news and bad news.ā āThe good news is, you are perfectly fine, nothing is wrong with you.ā The boyfriend then asks, what is the bad news??? +
++The Doctor looked at the boyfriend and said, āThat earing in your left ear is fake, not real gold.ā +
+ submitted by /u/hyflyinthesky
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