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<title>15 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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<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>The Vindication of Andrew Cuomo’s Accusers</strong> - Charlotte Bennett, Lindsey Boylan, and Ron Kim discuss their roles in bringing about the New York Governor’s reckoning. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-local-correspondents/the-vindication-of-andrew-cuomos-accusers">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>“Not Our Tragedy”: the Taliban Are Coming Back, and America Is Still Leaving</strong> - President Biden made it very clear this week that we’re out of Afghanistan, no matter what. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-bidens-washington/not-our-tragedy-the-taliban-are-coming-back-and-%20america-is-still-leaving">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>France’s Vaccination-Pass Experiment</strong> - An expert in French politics discusses Emmanuel Macron’s approach to vaccination policy and how the current wave of protests in France differs from the American anti-vaccine movement. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/frances-vaccination-pass-experiment">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Artist Behind TV’s Richly Emotional Comedies</strong> - Lisa Hanawalt’s anthropomorphic designs gave “BoJack Horseman” its absurdist twist. As the showrunner of “Tuca & Bertie,” she’s built a surreal, psychedelic world of her own. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/persons-of-interest/the-artist-behind-tvs-richly-emotional-comedies">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Return of the Taliban</strong> - Their comeback has taken twenty years, but it is a classic example of a successful guerrilla war of attrition. - <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/the-return-of-the-taliban">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>CDC approval of Covid booster shot offers help for some Americans</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="A woman with long brown hair is wearing a surgical face mask, a black long-sleeved blouse, and
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light-colored trousers. She is standing with her arms folded straight against her body in front of her." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hvmIl7wFE1TWN-YBqFRigUV7qes=/459x0:6507x4536/1310x983/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69726133/1262509236.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Oncology nurse Laura Griffith, who is immunocompromised, poses outside of UCSF Medical Center, where she works in San Francisco, CA. | Sarahbeth Maney/The San Francisco Chronicle via 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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However, fears are raised that a third shot may become the new marker of the pandemic’s inequality.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="t7ZBJj">
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U.S. health agencies gave the go-ahead for immunocompromised people to receive a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine late Thursday night, a high note amidst increasingly alarming news about the delta variant. The decision is a big deal since those who have weakened immune systems are still vulnerable to becoming severely ill from the coronavirus, even if they are fully vaccinated. However, there is still one hitch: immunocompromised people who received their previous shot from the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cdc-says-authorization-
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covid-19-vaccine-boosters-not-applicable-jj-shot-2021-08-13/">not be eligible</a> for a booster shot.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="IZyFwO">
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) both approved third booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines for people with weakened immune systems. The CDC’s green light came within 24 hours of the FDA’s recommendation.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ORNagp">
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“The FDA is especially cognizant that immunocompromised people are particularly at risk for severe disease,” said Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting FDA commissioner, in a statement related to the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-
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covid-19-update-fda-authorizes-additional-vaccine-dose-certain-immunocompromised">announcement</a>. “After a thorough review of the available data, the FDA determined that this small, vulnerable group may benefit from a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna Vaccines.”
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wATFgq">
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The decision was applauded by health officials and healthcare workers. “We are immediately pulling in those people, getting them the doses,” Dr. Marc Boom, who runs Houston Methodist Hospital which includes a large organ transplant program, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/health-
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shots/2021/08/14/1027597108/6-things-to-know-if-youre-immunocompromised-and-considering-a-3rd-shot">told</a> NPR. Even those on the right, where skepticism over the severity of the pandemic and dissenting voices against vaccinations have thrived, have softened their tune in light of the development regarding booster shots.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VF4WZX">
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“This move is a big step in the right direction especially given the increasing number of vaccine breakthrough infections from the delta variant,” <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/covid-boosters-marc-siegel">wrote</a> Dr. Marc Siegel, a frequent Fox News guest who has been criticized for spreading misinformation about the pandemic. Siegel applauded the booster shot approval but argued the policy should be expanded to other groups like essential workers and the elderly.
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</p>
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<div id="SAiVnC">
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
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my dad is a cancer survivor and just got his first covid vaccine <em>booster shot</em>—very relieved and hoping more can get the booster soon.
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</p>
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— justin block</blockquote></div></li>
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</ul>
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<ol class="example" type="1">
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<li><a href="https://twitter.com/JBlock49/status/1426549516145102852?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 14, 2021</a></li>
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</ol>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AUmHsQ">
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The Covid-19 booster shot approved by U.S. health agencies is not a new vaccine. It is simply a third dose of the vaccine that is given to a person who has already been fully vaccinated. As NPR reported, the CDC recommends that a person get the same vaccine they received for their first two doses. So, for example, if you received the Pfizer vaccine for your first two shots, then you should also get the Pfizer vaccine for your booster shot. If it is not possible to get the same vaccine for your booster shot, an additional dose of the other mRNA vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) is allowed.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8uNfBI">
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Covid-19 booster shots work in conjunction with how our bodies build protection against threats. Biologically, our bodies contain helper T-cells that stimulate other cells called B-cells, which are crucial in producing antibodies. Certain types of B-cells act as memory cells that store the instructions needed for our bodies to produce a particular antibody. However, these memory cells aren’t activated; they’re waiting for a signal that triggers them to produce antibodies. As Sigal Samuel <a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/22555898/covid-19-booster-shots">previously explained</a> for Vox:
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</p>
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<blockquote>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="iktFFS">
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When you get a booster shot, it gives your memory B-cells that crucial signal to reengage. This can be useful whether the booster contains the original vaccine recipe or something different. If it contains the original recipe, it’ll amplify the signal, increasing the number of antibodies produced. If it contains a tweaked recipe, it’ll retrain the cells to recognize new features of the virus and produce antibodies, should you be exposed to the variant.
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</p>
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</blockquote>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="MsD1m8">
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Studies have shown the initial two-dose regimen for the Covid-19 vaccination has lower efficacy in those with weakened immune systems, so another “boost” of the vaccine will likely help immunocompromised people build better protection against the coronavirus.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="q6J2bd">
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Currently, the Covid-19 booster shot is only recommended for “moderately to severely immunocompromised people.” While there are many kinds of people who may consider themselves at higher risk of serious illness from Covid-19, such as those<strong> </strong>having a pre-existing health condition, it is important to note that they are not necessarily the same as those who are immunocompromised.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vCOKQm">
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<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/recommendations/immuno.html">According to the CDC</a>, this category of people includes organ transplant recipients who are taking medicine to suppress the immune system, those undergoing cancer treatment, and people who are HIV positive, among other criteria. The New York Times reported that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/us/covid-vaccine-booster-pfizer-moderna.html">about 3 percent of Americans are estimated</a> to have weakened immune systems and studies show initial vaccine doses have been less effective for immunocompromised people. The vaccine efficacy rate for people with weakened immune systems is somewhere between 59% to 72%, which is much lower compared to those with a stronger immune<strong> </strong>system showing 90% to 94% efficacy. Further studies <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-11/third-moderna-shot-boosts-antibody-levels-
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in-transplant-patients">revealed</a> people who are immunocompromised benefitted immensely from receiving a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, which is why it’s so important for them to receive a booster shot.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="F6YGfT">
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Despite the good news, the FDA also said they were unable to extend the authorization for a booster shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine due to insufficient data. It is unclear whether immunocompromised people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be eligible in the near future.
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</p>
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<h3 id="kCEGRY">
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<strong>Does this mean we are closer to booster shots for everyone? </strong>
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</h3>
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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="A close-up of the hand of a masked
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health worker as she inserts a needle into a vial of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine to prepare a dose for use." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/KS1YISWbUZd0-Z2MS7XFvZnwpD0=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22782675/1234650437.jpg"/> <cite>Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images</cite></p>
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<figcaption>
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An Israeli health worker prepares a dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine on August 13, 2021, at the Maccabi Health Service in the Israeli town of Rishon Lezion.
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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="b3YnZC">
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In her statement last week, Dr. Woodcock reiterated that people who are not immunocompromised and are fully vaccinated are considered “adequately protected” and, as such, will not need a booster shot at this time. However, she emphasized that her team was continuing to work with agency partners to determine whether an additional dose for the general public is needed in the future.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jUSnJc">
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But FDA and CDC approval on booster shots for immunocompromised people has reasonably spurred questions over whether we will soon get the go-ahead for booster shots to the general public, especially as Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/live-updates/covid-delta-
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variant-surge/?id=79058271">surge nationwide</a> due to the much more contagious<strong> </strong>delta variant.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mvIflF">
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Most concerning are reports that the delta variant may be more successful against the Covid-19 vaccines, causing “breakthrough infections” or infections in people who are fully vaccinated. For these people, getting infected after being vaccinated can be overwhelmingly emotional.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Md92SH">
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“I was pretty shocked to learn I’d tested positive,” Daniele Selby, a writer based in New York City, <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/8/11/22611272/what-
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breakthrough-covid-19-feels-like">told</a> Vox. “I am fully vaccinated and have continued to wear masks … so to do all that and still get Covid-19 and feel ill has been pretty upsetting.” Others who have suffered breakthrough infections have had their circumstance politicized, like André Gonzales, who traveled between states for a funeral in early June after being fully vaccinated, and tested positive. “There have definitely been some that have tried to use [my] experience to discount the efficacy of the vaccines or to push unfounded cures on social media,” Gonzales said.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3PcvSd">
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There is still much to be learned about Covid-19 breakthrough infections but preliminary studies suggest there may be varying levels of risk to re-infection based on different vaccines. A <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/12/mayo-clinic-covid-breakthrough-risk-may-be-much-lower-with-moderna-vaccine-than-
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pfizer.html">recent study</a> by Mayo Clinic suggests people who received the Moderna vaccine may be at a much lower risk of contracting a breakthrough Covid-19 infection than those who received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The study, however, has yet to go through a full review. It’s important to remember that breakthrough cases among people who are fully vaccinated are still uncommon, and even when they are infected data shows that these infections are at low risk of resulting in severe illness and/or hospitalization, underlining the benefits of getting vaccinated in spite of risks of re-infection.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fQQrlR">
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With upticks in Covid-19 cases across the globe due to the more aggressive delta variant, experts say we may have to learn to live with the virus. The closest comparison is the flu disease, which continues to cause tens of thousands of deaths each year in the U.S. alone. But, over time, our society has largely managed to adapt to a world with the flu, thanks to the existence of an effective flu vaccine.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EUduIF">
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As German Lopez <a href="https://www.vox.com/22621760/covid-19-risk-delta-vaccines-provincetown-study">wrote</a> for Vox:
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</p>
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<blockquote>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="mPPw6U">
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While we still have to get more people vaccinated, at a certain point we’ll have to acknowledge we’ve done what we can. It might not be ideal, but we can learn to live with a vaccine-weakened version of Covid-19 — hopefully not too unlike how we’ve long dealt with the flu.
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</p>
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</blockquote>
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<h3 id="lca6Wx">
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<strong>Booster shot policies have exposed the world’s ongoing vaccine inequities</strong>
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</h3>
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<figure class="e-image">
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<img alt="WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a suit and tie speaking behind a podium desk with his hands in
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motion." src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/610EbGbFzteOQskTDrIzsECu94g=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22782684/1234272551.jpg"/> <cite>Jaber Abdulkhaleg/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</cite>
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<figcaption>
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WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a joint press conference in Kuwait City, Kuwait, on July 28, 2021.
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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="wK0NdB">
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Globally, the United States is the latest country to allow booster shots for people with weakened immune systems, following countries like France, Germany, and Hungary. Some countries have already begun announcing plans to expand their booster shot policies beyond those with weakened immune systems. The U.K., France, and Germany have announced they will begin administering third Covid-19 doses to the elderly as soon as next month. Israel, which has also approved booster shots for those above 60 years old, has gone a step further, reportedly <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/israel-80-vaccinated-suffers-another-
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covid-19-surge-11628769603">making plans</a> to offer it to younger people, too. Israel was among the first to open up after lockdowns thanks to a strong vaccination program early on, but it is now experiencing another wave of Covid-19 infections, despite the country’s high vaccination rates.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="PIyYTf">
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The move to expand additional Covid-19 shots to the wider public in some countries has <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-president-macron-
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third-covid-vaccine-doses-likely-elderly-vulnerable-2021-08-05/">sparked criticism</a> from World Health Organization officials since the vast majority of poorer countries are still struggling to get residents vaccinated, even with first shots.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="z9EcwR">
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“I understand the concern of all governments to protect their people from the Delta variant. But we cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He urged governments to hold off on expanding booster shot programs until the end of September.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rC3C8U">
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Officials from countries preparing to administer additional Covid-19 shots to the wider public have pushed back at the WHO’s criticism. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett argued that the results of the country’s distribution of booster doses among the elderly could be useful data for future booster programs across the world.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="r545xE">
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In any case, many countries are still lagging in vaccinations, partly due to a lack of access to vaccine supplies and because of poor infrastructure to distribute them quickly. According to Reuters’s <a href="https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/vaccination-rollout-and-access/">world Covid-19 vaccination tracker</a>, which uses data only from countries that report their vaccination figures, about 40% of people who have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine were from high-income countries. Moreover, at least 34% of these vaccine recipients were from Europe and North America.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EqSrdL">
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As some wealthier countries begin moving toward distributing additional Covid-19 vaccine doses to their populations while other poorer nations still lag behind, and governments struggle to determine the best health protocols to keep people safe, the likelihood of disparities will continue.
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</p>
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<ul>
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<li><strong>The Texas GOP’s war on governing</strong> -
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<figure>
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/thumbor/wXml21Ji2GJVtNnAmGPZSEiyk3U=/0x0:2440x1830/1310x983/cdn.vox-
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cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69724991/AP21194738860626_copy.0.jpg"/>
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<figcaption>
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Rep. Jim Murphy (R-Houston), center, stands alongside other members of the Republican caucus during a news conference in Austin, Texas on July 13. | Eric Gay/AP
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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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Republican lawmakers in Texas have put political ambition above public good amid statewide crises.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wzTcYK">
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Republicans in Texas are on a warpath.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="aToVhQ">
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They’re fighting to fortify their trifecta control of state government despite a <a href="https://www.statesman.com/news/20190414/why-texas-legislature-doesnt-reflect-states-growing-diversity">rapidly diversifying electorate</a>, and to establish themselves as the bastion of arch-conservatism in the United States. Victory seems imminent, at least in the upcoming election cycle, if not in the years thereafter. But the people of Texas — Republican, independent, and Democrat — have become collateral damage. Because in having dedicated themselves to battle, Texas Republicans have forgotten how to govern.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5gKJfY">
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This is certainly the case for the Texas legislature, whose GOP majority has just led it through its most conservative session in decades.<strong> </strong>During that session, GOP lawmakers failed to pass much-needed structural reforms to the state’s electrical grid after it collapsed during a catastrophic winter storm earlier this year, as well as a <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/04/22/texas-house-medicaid-expansion-uninsured/">federal Medicaid expansion program</a> that would have given health care coverage to <a href="https://files.kff.org/attachment/fact-sheet-medicaid-
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expansion-TX">1.4 million uninsured Texans </a>amid a raging pandemic. Instead, the legislature has prioritized bills that allow any adult in the state to carry a handgun without a license or permit and that ban abortions after six weeks.
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</p>
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<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/9YtTLIMV86QZkgYdmO_FGTD0l1M=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22781206/AP21198714461243_copy.jpg"/> <cite>Eric Gay/AP</cite></figure></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Empty seats are seen in the House Chamber at the Texas Capitol in Austin on July 13 as Texas Democrats left the state to block sweeping new election laws.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="HexCvG">
|
||
It is now <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/11/texas-voting-bill-
|
||
filibuster/?utm_source=Texas+Tribune+Newsletters&utm_campaign=84416601c3-trib-newsletters-breaking-
|
||
alert&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_d9a68d8efc-84416601c3-102627369&mc_cid=84416601c3&mc_eid=ce79b4cb9b">on track to enact</a> one of the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/7/13/22573680/democrats-texas-flee-greg-abbott-voting-
|
||
election-special-session-quorum">most restrictive voting laws</a> in the country after an effort that has literally rendered the legislature unable to govern: Democrats fled the state to deprive the legislature of the quorum it needs to operate to protest the bill, leaving Texans without a representative governing body. In response, the Republican House speaker did not offer to negotiate a policy compromise, but has tried to arrest the Democrats who fled.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VNIxnJ">
|
||
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, meanwhile, has become a prominent national right-wing figure on both immigration and the pandemic.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="jO8o1v">
|
||
He has waded into battles with the Biden administration over the US- Mexico border, setting off on a misleading quest to <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-
|
||
politics/2021/8/4/22605595/biden-immigration-border-title-42-deportation-mexico">construct a wall on his own</a> (the taxpayer funds he’ll use for the effort are enough for only a few miles of wall, at most) and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/08/10/1026178171/republicans-migrants-covid-19-surges">falsely claiming</a> that migrants are behind Covid-19 surges. And as the delta variant is infecting <a href="https://txdshs.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/ed483ecd702b4298ab01e8b9cafc8b83">almost 12,000</a> Texans a day in reported tests, he has also refused to reinstate mask mandates at the state level, banned local governments from doing so, and <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dallas-texas-mask-mandate-legal-challenge-greg-abbott-ken-paxton/">sued those that defy him</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/6Zgm-02kzXr6Mn5f7l697trV7mE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22781210/GettyImages_1233910101_copy.jpg"/> <cite>Tamir Kalifa/Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott holds a border security briefing with sheriffs from border communities in Austin on July 10.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="372HTq">
|
||
It’s all a bid to keep the GOP base happy in the lead-up to next year’s midterm elections, as Republicans in the state are more concerned about potential primary challenges from the right than any serious offensive from Democrats. But with their focus on raising their political profiles and defeating potential rivals, they have forgotten to actually govern amid several statewide crises in recent months: the winter storm that left tens of thousands without power and in the cold, the arrival of increasing numbers of migrants at the border, and the recent resurgence of Covid-19 cases due to the delta variant.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float- right">
|
||
<div id="11pwNg">
|
||
<div>
|
||
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ypYmgp">
|
||
According to Brendan Steinhauser, a GOP strategist based in Austin who ran Texas Sen. John Cornyn’s 2014 reelection campaign, Republicans are just doing their job by responding to what Texas Republican voters want: “The voters are driving Republican policies,” Steinhauser said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="35hZJZ">
|
||
But at some point, elected officials have a responsibility to protect the health and safety of their constituents and the basic human rights of anyone who passes through their state, even if it’s not what their base wants. Few Texas Republicans have embraced that sense of duty; state Rep. Lyle Larson, a Republican from San Antonio, has been a <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/25/lyle-larson-texas-tribune-podcast/">lone dissenting voice</a> calling on his colleagues to “<a href="https://twitter.com/RepLyleLarson?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">do the right thing</a> with no expectation of getting re-elected” on issues like Covid-19, Medicaid expansion, and election law.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VMlA13">
|
||
“We’ve come to a point where Republican elected officials in Texas treat their jobs like they’re Fox News contributors as opposed to people with responsibilities to their constituents,” said Zack Malitz, co-founder of the progressive <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Real_Justice_PAC">Real Justice PAC</a> and a former adviser on Democrat Beto O’Rourke’s 2018 Texas Senate campaign.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EV6G6X">
|
||
Malitz’s view reflects the general frustration of Democrats. But there is a limited amount they — or anyone concerned about Texas government — can do. The reality of how districts are drawn, as well as Texas Republicans’ push to restrict voting, means many of those GOP lawmakers with little interest in lawmaking are likely to hang on to their seats next year. And that means the problems Texans have faced due to their government’s neglect are likely to continue.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="hEVnHa">
|
||
The Texas legislature is scoring political points at the expense of addressing the most pressing issues
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Hf8rf1">
|
||
For a while after the 2018 elections, Texas Republicans were focused on bread and butter issues like property taxes and school finance that wouldn’t offend many independents and Democrats. Democrats made some major inroads that year, not just retaking the US House, but also picking up 12 seats in the Texas House and two in the Texas Senate. That shook Republicans’ confidence a bit, and left them looking to play it safe.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="G12x2F">
|
||
But after Democrats’ predictions that they would<a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/21417460/texas-blue-democrat-biden-beto-2020-election"> turn Texas blue in 2020</a> failed to come to fruition, Republicans felt that they were given a mandate, marking the return of culture war-type issues that most energize their base in the Texas legislature.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="3VeuAC">
|
||
“In Texas, Republicans still win statewide and have done so in the last couple of election cycles, even though we had some narrower races in 2018,” Steinhauser said. “If you’re a Republican running statewide, you still have to speak to the Republican Party first, not only to get the nomination, but to turn them out and win in November.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1mi1VB">
|
||
That pressure has manifested in what Steinhauser described as the most conservative session of the state legislature in his memory. The governor has already signed legislation that <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/06/16/texas-constitutional-carry-greg-
|
||
abbott/">removed permit requirements</a> to carry a handgun and also established an<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/10/texas-abortion-law-fetal-heartbeat/"> effective ban on abortion</a> that is currently facing <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/07/13/texas-heartbeat-bill-lawsuit/">legal challenges</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="H1kC0L">
|
||
But there is also a <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-
|
||
announces-second-special-session-date-agenda">special session</a> of the state legislature underway where lawmakers are supposed to work on legislation that would prevent schools from teaching critical race theory or mandating masks or Covid-19 vaccines, and to provide funding for border security, among other Republican causes.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="fxRpNx">
|
||
All the while, the failure of the Texas power grid during the winter storm — a statewide crisis that impacted Texans regardless of political party — has been glossed over. Though the governor <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/06/08/greg-
|
||
abbott-texas-power-grid-ercot/">signed laws</a> to prepare the electrical grid to withstand future extreme weather events, the legislature hasn’t passed any bills delivering direct relief for consumers who were <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/25/electricity-market-financing-winter-storm/">slammed</a> with huge electricity bills as a result of the blackouts or making the kind of forward-looking structural changes to Texas’s electricity market that many experts have called for.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-wide-block">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<pre><code> <img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-</code></pre>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">cdn.com/thumbor/0FnAMTtHJMrvrNGBrtlaK-n3y-8=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox- cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22781221/AP21194749783455_copy.jpg" /> <cite>Eric Gay/AP</cite></p>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Wendy Rodriguez (right) joins a rally to protest proposed voting bills on the steps of the Texas state Capitol on July 13.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/ZBDW_eyiwWxdLOdh_VL4w9Zl2uI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22781229/GettyImages_1234359341_copy.jpg"/> <cite>Mark Felix/Bloomberg via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke (right) marches with Luci Baines Johnson (center), the daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson, during a voting rights rally near the Texas State Capitol on July 31.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YKldUQ">
|
||
Nor did the legislature, in either their regular or special sessions, find time to address many other pressing concerns in Texas, like Medicaid expansion and <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/25/texas-george-floyd-police-reform-legislation/">police reforms </a>that were proposed in the aftermath of former Houston resident George Floyd’s death.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Q2JUu0">
|
||
“These cultural war issues get people to hunker down in the trenches that they’re used to being in around elections and refocus voters’ attention on how much they hate the other side,” Malitz said. “These issues are being deliberately used as a distraction from really widely felt stuff in Texas right now: Covid, economic recovery, the blackouts, baseline bad governance.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="pZqflM">
|
||
Republicans are also trying to strip Texans of the only tool they have to demand good governance with a bill that would make the state’s already very restrictive voting laws even more so. It passed the state Senate on Thursday despite a more than<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/11/texas-voting-bill-
|
||
filibuster/"> 15-hour filibuster</a> from an Austin Democrat, but still needs to pass the House and be signed by the governor.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="evzT0c">
|
||
As my colleague <a href="https://www.vox.com/2021/7/13/22573680/democrats-texas-flee-greg-
|
||
abbott-voting-election-special-session-quorum">Ian Millhiser notes</a>, the bill would strengthen constraints on absentee voting; ban drive-through polling sites; introduce new limitations and paperwork requirements on people who help disabled voters and non-English speakers cast a ballot; make it harder to remove partisan poll watchers who harass voters or otherwise disrupt an election; and impose harsh new penalties on people who commit even minor violations of Texas election law.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="RyaaDq">
|
||
Steinhauser said that Texas Republicans are more unified behind that agenda than they have been in a long time.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float-right">
|
||
<aside id="pO5IzD">
|
||
<q>“If you’re a Republican running statewide, you still have to speak to the Republican Party first”</q>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TLqJ3f">
|
||
“Part of that is probably the party being out of power nationally and having a common political enemy, if you will — to have the White House and Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer to point to,” he said. “Also having Trump be a little less front and center in the party has allowed them to focus their critiques on national Democrats.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XcVGMN">
|
||
But for Texas Democrats, there isn’t room for compromise on the Republican agenda. House Democrats had fled the state en masse last month in an effort to prevent votes on the voting bill in particular. But after Republican Speaker Dade Phelan signed <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/08/10/1026573381/texas-democrats-can-bec-lawmakers-can-be-arrested-for-evading-
|
||
votes">civil arrest warrants </a>for absent Democrats on Tuesday night with a green light from the Texas Supreme Court, nearly enough of them have returned to form a quorum, a two-thirds majority of the chamber required to conduct business, giving the Republican majority a chance to move forward with their agenda.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="vei4LX">
|
||
Though Republicans have decried Democrats’ actions as <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/09/texas-democrats-legislature-
|
||
relationships/">breaking relationships</a> in a chamber that has historically sought to give the minority party a seat at the table, Republicans had already drawn battle lines with a legislative agenda designed to exploit partisan divisions.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="VP5MRv">
|
||
Gov. Abbott has tried to pass off his failures on the Covid-19 resurgence on migrants
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="VYyDIQ">
|
||
Beyond the problems with the legislature, Texas is in the middle of another statewide crisis: a third wave of Covid-19, this time brought on by the highly contagious delta variant. It has left hospitals with <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/10/coronavirus-texas-hospitals-icu-beds/">dwindling numbers of ICU beds</a> and delaying <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/09/texas-hospitals-elective-procedures-covid-greg-
|
||
abbott/">non-emergency medical procedures</a> while the governor calls in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-
|
||
health-education-coronavirus-pandemic-368eb9eb57b1d3b1a473d4414c42a522">out-of-state medical staff</a> to come to the rescue.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="t5CPXQ">
|
||
Nevertheless, Abbott hasn’t budged in refusing to use his gubernatorial powers to try to get rising case — and death — numbers under control. He could, for instance, implement statewide mask or vaccine mandates, but will not, saying that curbing the epidemic now comes down to “<a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-
|
||
abbott-attorney-general-paxton-aligned-in-defense-of-executive-order-prohibiting-mask-mandates">personal responsibility</a>.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="KXaj18">
|
||
He has instead actively worked against the interests of public health, issuing an executive order that prohibits any government entity from issuing its own mask mandates, effectively hamstringing local governments that are bearing the brunt of Covid-19 surge in keeping Texans safe. Several counties have gone ahead and <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/11/texas-mask-mandates-covid-19-greg-abbott/">implemented mask mandates anyway</a>, but Abbott is going to court in an effort to reverse them.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Zwf2mc">
|
||
Though he has praised the vaccine and has gotten the jab himself, Abbott is focused on protecting the rights of the unvaccinated.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/OGHPOkLnpuIai2qFRbTmrjUr47o=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22781271/GettyImages_1234463888_copy.jpg"/> <cite>Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
A Coivd-19 test drive-thru testing site in Houston, Texas. Gov. Abbott issued an executive order prohibiting any government entity from issuing mask mandates.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TPBYle">
|
||
“They have the individual right and responsibility to decide for themselves and their children whether they will wear masks, open their businesses and engage in leisure activities,” Abbott told the <a href="https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2021/07/29/texas-gov-greg-abbott-issues-broad-covid-19-order-that-touts-
|
||
personal-responsibility-not-edicts/">Dallas Morning News</a>. “Vaccines, which remain in abundant supply, are the most effective defense against the virus, and they will always remain voluntary — never forced — in the State of Texas.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JB1XUc">
|
||
Steinhauser said that Abbott is trying to balance the desire of millions of Texans not to return to the shutdowns of last year with the real immediate need to get millions more Texans vaccinated. Democrats, however, see it as an abdication of the governor’s responsibility to protect public health.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="uuW4QX">
|
||
“This is beyond inaction — this is the governor tying the hands of health experts who are trying to keep Texans healthy as cases and hospitalizations increase,” Texas state Rep. Donna Howard, a former critical care nurse, said in a <a href="https://texashousedems.com/statement-rep-donna-howard-responds-to-governors-covid-19-executive-
|
||
order/">statement</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Cbx2HR">
|
||
What’s more, Abbott has sought to blame the recent delta surge on migrants arriving on the southern border — playing into a false, nativist, and damaging right-wing narrative that might be particularly attractive to Republican voters in the state, who have long identified immigration and border security as <a href="https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/set/most-important-issue-facing-texas-june-2021#party-id">top priorities</a> in public opinion polling.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ETa0Op">
|
||
At a national level, a recent <a href="https://immigrationforum.lt.acemlnb.com/Prod/link-
|
||
tracker?redirectUrl=aHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuYXhpb3MuY29tJTJGYXhpb3MtaXBzb3MtcG9sbC1ibGFtZS1nYW1lLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLTQ3ZGZhMDYyLWMyYzUtNGU2Ni1iNzBiLTMwY2M5NDM2MWQ5Mi5odG1sJTNGdXRtX3NvdXJjZSUzRG5ld3NsZXR0ZXIlMjZ1dG1fbWVkaXVtJTNEZW1haWwlMjZ1dG1fY2FtcGFpZ24lM0RuZXdzbGV0dGVyX2F4aW9zYW0lMjZzdHJlYW0lM0R0b3A=&a=26236480&account=immigrationforum%2Eactivehosted%2Ecom&email=hu6B9F%2F5%2BMqDdHMocBLWR%2BLxSsT2%2BS3NdHXUV2aLA0U%3D&s=66a4b25f8b3106061c6bdbd1ec8cb296&i=788A955A24A20131">Axios</a> poll found that nearly 37 percent of unvaccinated Americans blame “foreign travelers in the US” for the rise in Covid-19 cases. Abbott has played no small part in creating that perception.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="SvqmdO">
|
||
They’re “allowing free pass into the United States of people with a high probability of Covid, and then spreading that Covid in our communities,” he said in <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/texas-abbott-executive-order-biden-covid">an interview</a> last month on Fox News.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="5Mqipm">
|
||
But available data hasn’t shown migrants on the border to be any more likely to test positive for Covid-19. In March, the acting head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) told Congress that <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-immigration-migrants-mexico-border/">less than 6 percent</a> of migrants at the border had tested positive for Covid-19, a lower percentage than the Texas positivity rate at that time.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="i6MyL9">
|
||
Scapegoating migrants serves two purposes for Abbott: It obscures his role in failing to prevent the current Covid-19 surge and provides him with an excuse to pursue the kind of restrictive immigration policies that former President Donald Trump both popularized and made a priority.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-wide- block">
|
||
<figure class="e-image">
|
||
<img alt=" " src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/6XBrXVOdVctT--
|
||
t5xi-3tsc0MsI=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22781273/GettyImages_1233738317_copy.jpg"/> <cite>Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images</cite>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Former President Trump is joined by Gov. Greg Abbott, during a visit to the border wall near Pharr, Texas, on June 30, 2021.
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="buS7zc">
|
||
He recently issued an <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/28/abbott-immigrant-travel-501378">executive order</a> allowing public safety officers to stop and reroute vehicles suspected of transporting migrants with Covid-19, though the measure has been <a href="https://twitter.com/valontheborder/status/1422687122381852678?s=21">blocked in federal court</a> for now.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8Cexzw">
|
||
He has told Texas child care regulators to <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/06/08/migrant-
|
||
children-biden-lawsuit/">revoke the licenses</a> of facilities that house migrant children and state troopers to <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/07/30/texas-greg-abbott-border-security/">jail migrants </a>for state crimes, such as trespassing on private property when they cross the border.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="EmTl9E">
|
||
And he is trying to <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2021/7/9/22566733/texas-border-wall-abbott-trump-immigration">finish the wall</a> along the Texas border, putting forth a $250 million “down payment” drawn from state disaster relief funds — money that could have gone to the aid of those still recovering from last winter’s storms, or those struggling under the burden of the pandemic — and crowdfunding <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/poll-shows-just-12-texans-definitely-plan-
|
||
donate-construct-mexico-border-wall-1606945">almost another $500,000</a> as of June 23. That’s still a drop in the bucket of what he might need to finish the project, which the federal government estimated could cost as much as <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2021/06/11/fact-sheet-department-of-defense-and-department-of-
|
||
homeland-security-plans-for-border-wall-funds/">$46 million per mile</a> in some sectors of the border.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oQrSKr">
|
||
But it doesn’t really matter if Abbott finishes the wall or whether his executive order is ever allowed to go into effect. The policies have generated news cycles that boost his profile nationally, which will be important if he pursues a <a href="https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/is-abbott-setting-the-stage-for-a-2024-presidential-run-if-so-
|
||
he-needs-to-win-reelection-first/">2024 presidential bid</a> as rumored.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OARcGJ">
|
||
“It’s a fantastic talking point for his primary electorate, both next year and in 2024,” Malitz said. “It’s government by theater. The things that they are doing with government in Texas are, by and large, for the purpose of introducing a message into the right wing media machine with obviously catastrophic humanitarian results.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rL1Jdn">
|
||
Abbott and his fellow Texas Republicans have been very successful at controlling messaging, and have had many wins in energizing state conservatives. Their party is poised to retain control of Texas. But these victories have come at a great cost, carried by the people of Texas.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<ul>
|
||
<li><strong>Apple would like to clear a few things up</strong> -
|
||
<figure>
|
||
<img alt="VPNE Parking Solution lot with an Apple iPhone billboard regarding privacy on Broad Street in
|
||
Boston on October 7, 2020." src="https://cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/thumbor/V7MWrP6Pd7NR0-DI0NoprdVqBko=/279x0:4728x3337/1310x983/cdn.vox-
|
||
cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69704538/GettyImages_1230252505.0.jpg"/>
|
||
<figcaption>
|
||
Apple’s advertising focuses on user privacy, but a recent move to check iPhone photos for child abuse has privacy advocates concerned. | Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe/Getty Images
|
||
</figcaption>
|
||
</figure>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
|
||
The privacy-first company’s invasive approach isn’t going over well with many.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oOFMNi">
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="JDd35F">
|
||
Apple, the company that proudly touted its user privacy bona fides in its recent <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/6/7/22522994/apple-ios15-privacy-
|
||
icloud">iOS 15 preview</a>, recently introduced a feature that seems to run counter to its privacy-first ethos: the ability to scan iPhone photos and alert the authorities if any of them contain child sexual abuse material (CSAM). While fighting against child sexual abuse is objectively a good thing, privacy experts aren’t thrilled about how Apple is choosing to do it.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="oaIFot">
|
||
The new scanning feature has also confused a lot of Apple’s customers and, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-apples-child-protection-features-spark-concern-within-its-own-
|
||
ranks-2021-08-12/">reportedly</a>, upset many of its employees. Some say it builds a back door into Apple devices, something the company swore it would never do. So Apple has been doing a bit of a damage control tour over the past week, admitting that its initial messaging wasn’t great while defending and trying to better explain its technology — which it insists is not a back door but in fact better for users’ privacy than the methods other companies use to look for CSAM.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="w5njkE">
|
||
Apple’s new “expanded protections for children” might not be as bad as it seems if the company keeps its promises. But it’s also yet another reminder that <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2021/6/23/22545534/peloton-tread-membership-now-required-recall">we don’t own our data or devices</a>, even the ones we physically possess. You can buy an iPhone for a considerable sum, take a photo with it, and put it in your pocket. And then Apple can figuratively reach into that pocket and into that iPhone to make sure your photo is legal.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="VqBW7X">
|
||
Apple’s child protection measures, explained
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="WQlbUu">
|
||
In early August, Apple <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fchild-
|
||
safety%2F&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Frecode%2F2021%2F8%2F10%2F22617196%2Fapple-
|
||
ios15-photo-messages-scanned" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">announced</a> that the new technology to scan photos for CSAM will be installed on users’ devices with the upcoming iOS 15 and macOS Monterey updates. Scanning images for CSAM <a href="https://blog.chron.com/techblog/2014/08/google-microsoft-others-scan-your-data-looking-for-
|
||
child-porn/">isn’t a new thing</a> — Facebook and <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/5/5970141/how-google-scans-
|
||
your-gmail-for-child-porn">Google</a> have been scanning images uploaded to their platforms for years — and Apple is already able to access photos uploaded to iCloud accounts. Scanning photos uploaded to iCloud in order to spot CSAM would make sense and be consistent with Apple’s competitors.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="YAmwa3">
|
||
But Apple is doing something a bit different, something that feels more invasive, even though the company says it’s meant to be less so. The image scans will take place on the devices themselves, not on the servers to which you upload your photos. Apple also says it will use new tools in the Message app that scan photos sent to or from children for sexual imagery, with an option to tell the parents of children ages 12 and under if they viewed those images. Parents can opt in to those features, and all the scanning happens on the devices.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="OEj4yE">
|
||
In effect, a company that took <a href="https://www.vox.com/2016/2/25/11588232/apple-files-its-motion-to-throw-out-court-order-to-hack-san">not one</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/5/18/21262731/fbi-apple-unlock-iphone-encryption-bill-barr-alshamrani">but two</a> widely publicized stances against the FBI’s demands that it create a back door into suspected terrorists’ phones <a href="https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2021/08/apple-adds-a-backdoor-to-imesssage-and-icloud-storage.html">has seemingly created a back door</a>. It’s not immediately clear why Apple is making this move this way at this time, but it could have something to do with pending laws abroad and potential ones in the US. Currently, companies can be fined up to $300,000 if they find CSAM but do not report it to authorities, though <a href="https://stratechery.com/2021/apples-mistake/">they’re not required to look for CSAM</a>.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="kVBroh">
|
||
Following backlash after its initial announcement of the new features, Apple on Sunday <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fchild-
|
||
safety%2Fpdf%2FExpanded_Protections_for_Children_Frequently_Asked_Questions.pdf&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Frecode%2F2021%2F8%2F10%2F22617196%2Fapple-
|
||
ios15-photo-messages-scanned" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">released an FAQ</a> with a few clarifying details about how its on-device scanning tech works. Basically, Apple will download a database of known CSAM images from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) to all of its devices. The CSAM has been <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fchild-
|
||
safety%2Fpdf%2FExpanded_Protections_for_Children_Technology_Summary.pdf&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Frecode%2F2021%2F8%2F10%2F22617196%2Fapple-
|
||
ios15-photo-messages-scanned" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">converted into strings of numbers</a>, so the images aren’t being downloaded onto your device. Apple’s technology scans photos in your iCloud photo library and compares them to the database. If it finds a certain number of matches (Apple has not specified what that number is), a human will review it and then report it to NCMEC, which will take it from there. It isn’t analyzing the photos to look for signs that they might contain CSAM, like the Messages tool appears to do; it’s just looking for matches to known CSAM.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div class="c-float-right">
|
||
<aside id="xKwxjr">
|
||
<q>“A thoroughly documented, carefully thought-out, and narrowly-scoped backdoor is still a backdoor”</q>
|
||
</aside>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="V9BfR0">
|
||
Additionally, Apple says that only photos you choose to upload to iCloud Photos are scanned. If you disable iCloud Photos, then your pictures won’t be scanned. Back in 2018, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/11/apple-could-sell-icloud-for-the-enterprise-barclays-
|
||
says.html">CNBC reported</a> that there were roughly 850 million iCloud users, with 170 million of them paying for the extra storage capacity (Apple offers all iPhone users 5 GB cloud storage free). So a lot of people could be affected here.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="XRLQzQ">
|
||
Apple says this method has “significant privacy benefits” over simply scanning photos after they’ve been uploaded to iCloud. Nothing leaves the device or is seen by Apple unless there’s a match. Apple also maintains that it will only use a CSAM database and refuse any government requests to add any other types of content to it.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="FOIry2">
|
||
Why some privacy and security experts aren’t thrilled
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="Bu03ZM">
|
||
But privacy advocates think the new feature will open the door to abuses. Now that Apple has established that it can do this for some images, it’s almost certainly going to be asked to do it for other ones. The Electronic Frontier Foundation <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/08/apples-plan-think-different-about-encryption-opens-backdoor-your-private-
|
||
life">easily sees</a> a future where governments pressure Apple to scan user devices for content that their countries outlaw, both in on-device iCloud photo libraries and in users’ messages.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AX5TLS">
|
||
“That’s not a slippery slope; that’s a fully built system just waiting for external pressure to make the slightest change,” the EFF said. “At the end of the day, even a thoroughly documented, carefully thought-out, and narrowly-scoped backdoor is still a backdoor.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="b4tkBS">
|
||
The Center for Democracy and Technology said in a statement to Recode that Apple’s new tools were deeply concerning and represented an alarming change from the company’s previous privacy stance. It hoped Apple would reconsider the decision.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="rYccsf">
|
||
“Apple will no longer be offering fully end-to-end encrypted messaging through iMessage and will be undermining the privacy previously offered for the storage of iPhone users’ photos,” CDT said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="8fEH5v">
|
||
Will Cathcart, head of Facebook’s encrypted messaging service WhatsApp, blasted Apple’s new measures in a Twitter thread:
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div id="FPYgUO">
|
||
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="en">
|
||
Instead of focusing on making it easy for people to report content that’s shared with them, Apple has built software that can scan all the private photos on your phone – even photos you haven’t shared with anyone. That’s not privacy.
|
||
</p>
|
||
— Will Cathcart (<span class="citation" data-cites="wcathcart">@wcathcart</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/wcathcart/status/1423701477705404418?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2021</a>
|
||
</blockquote></div></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="TcG6dn">
|
||
(Facebook and Apple <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22254815/facebook-apple-privacy-
|
||
ios-14-lawsuit">have been at odds</a> since Apple introduced its anti-tracking feature to its mobile operating system, which Apple framed as a way to protect its users’ privacy from companies that track their activity across apps, particularly Facebook. So you can imagine that a Facebook executive was quite happy for a chance to weigh in on Apple’s own privacy issues.)
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="G7qbMu">
|
||
And Edward Snowden expressed his thoughts in meme form:
|
||
</p>
|
||
<div id="YwCGaA">
|
||
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" dir="ltr" lang="und">
|
||
<a href="https://t.co/yN9DcTsBNT">pic.twitter.com/yN9DcTsBNT</a>
|
||
</p>
|
||
— Edward Snowden (<span class="citation" data-cites="Snowden">@Snowden</span>) <a href="https://twitter.com/Snowden/status/1423482640791969793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 6, 2021</a>
|
||
</blockquote>
|
||
</div>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="1AMLUp">
|
||
Some experts think Apple’s move could be a good one — or at least, not as bad as it’s been made to seem. Tech blogger John Gruber <a href="https://daringfireball.net/2021/08/apple_child_safety_initiatives_slippery_slope">wondered</a> if this could give Apple a way to fully encrypt iCloud backups from <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22565926/police-law-enforcement-
|
||
data-warrant">government surveillance</a> while also being able to say it is monitoring its users’ content for CSAM.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="K6QARG">
|
||
“If these features work as described and <em>only</em> as described, there’s almost no cause for concern,” Gruber wrote, acknowledging that there are still “completely legitimate concerns from trustworthy experts about how the features could be abused or misused in the future.”
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="gmrujr">
|
||
Ben Thompson of Stratechery <a href="https://stratechery.com/2021/apples-mistake/">pointed out</a> that this could be Apple’s way of getting out ahead of potential laws in Europe requiring internet service providers to look for CSAM on their platforms. Stateside, American lawmakers have <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/12/2020-congress-threatened-our-speech-and-security-
|
||
earn-it-act">tried to pass</a> their own legislation that would supposedly require internet services to monitor their platforms for CSAM or else lose their <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/5/28/21273241/section-230-explained-
|
||
trump-social-media-twitter-facebook">Section 230 protections</a>. It’s not inconceivable that they’ll reintroduce that bill or something similar this Congress.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="7y8Yrn">
|
||
Or maybe Apple’s motives are simpler. Two years ago, the New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/11/09/us/internet-child-sex-abuse.html">criticized</a> Apple, along with several other tech companies, for not doing as much as they could to scan their services for CSAM and for implementing measures, such as encryption, that made such scans impossible and CSAM harder to detect. The internet was now “overrun” with CSAM, the Times said.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<h3 id="CuzT1u">
|
||
Apple’s attempt to re-explain its child protection measures
|
||
</h3>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ez0SIo">
|
||
On Friday, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/exclusive-apples-child-protection-
|
||
features-spark-concern-within-its-own-ranks-2021-08-12/">Reuters reported</a> that Apple’s internal Slack had hundreds of messages from Apple employees who were concerned that the CSAM scanner could be exploited by other governments as well as how its reputation for privacy was being damaged. A new PR push from Apple followed. Craig Federighi, Apple’s chief of software engineering, talked to the Wall Street Journal in a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/series/joanna-
|
||
stern-personal-technology/apples-software-chief-explains-misunderstood-iphone-child-protection-features-
|
||
exclusive/573D76B3-5ACF-4C87-ACE1-E99CECEFA82C?mod=hp_lead_pos7">slickly produced video</a>, and then Apple <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516588&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fchild-
|
||
safety%2Fpdf%2FSecurity_Threat_Model_Review_of_Apple_Child_Safety_Features.pdf&referrer=vox.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vox.com%2Frecode%2F2021%2F8%2F10%2F22617196%2Fapple-
|
||
ios15-photo-messages-scanned" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">released</a> a security threat model review of its child safety features that included some new details about the process and how Apple was ensuring it would only be used for its intended purpose.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="ZjS9Ks">
|
||
So here we go: The databases will be provided by at least two separate, non-government child safety agencies to prevent governments from inserting images that are not CSAM but that they might want to scan their citizens’ phones for. Apple thinks that this, combined with its refusal to abide by any government’s demands that this system be used for anything except CSAM as well as the fact that matches will be reviewed by an Apple employee before being reported to anyone else, will be sufficient protection against users being scanned and punished for anything but CSAM.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="xzvf19">
|
||
Apple also wanted to make clear there will be a public list of the database hashes, or strings of numbers, that device owners can check to make sure those are the databases placed on their devices if they’re concerned a bad actor has planted a different database on their phone. That will let independent third parties audit the database hashes as well. As for the source of the databases, Apple says the database must be provided by two separate child safety organizations that are in two separate sovereign jurisdictions, and only the images that both agencies have will go into the database. This, it believes, will prevent one child safety organization from supplying non-CSAM images.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="wbhBkX">
|
||
Apple has not yet said exactly when the CSAM feature will be released, so it’s not on your device yet. As for how many CSAM matches its technology will make before passing that along to a human reviewer (the “threshold”), the company is pretty sure that will be 30, but this number could still change.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="2g9TL5">
|
||
This all seems reassuring, and Apple seems to have thought out the ways that on-device photo scans could be abused and ways to prevent them. It’s just too bad the company didn’t better anticipate how its initial announcement would be received.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="09axQC">
|
||
But the one thing Apple still hasn’t addressed — probably because it can’t — is that a lot of people simply are not comfortable with the idea that a company can decide, one day, to just insert technology into their devices that scans data they consider to be private and sensitive. Yes, other services scan their users’ photos for CSAM, too, but doing it on the device is a line that a lot of customers didn’t want or expect Apple to cross. After all, Apple spent years convincing them that it never would.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="crdin8">
|
||
<strong>Update, August 13, 4:55 pm: </strong>Updated to include new information about Apple’s messaging around its CSAM scanning technology.
|
||
</p>
|
||
<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom" id="AQBJyD">
|
||
</p>
|
||
<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>German and Bayern Munich great Gerd Mueller passes away</strong> - Gerd Mueller widely regarded as one of the game’s greatest goalscorers and nicknamed “Bomber der Nation”</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>Medallists at Tokyo Olympics add sheen to Independence Day celebrations</strong> - As an athlete and a soldier, my heart is full of emotion when I see the national flag flying high. Jai Hind: Neeraj Chopra</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>AFC Cup | BFC takes on Club Eagles</strong> - Sunil Chhetri-led Bengaluru FC will face Club Eagles of Maldives in a play-off match of the AFC Cup here on Sunday. The winner of the playoff, schedu</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>Explained | Why was Messi forced to leave Barça?</strong> - What are LaLiga’s financial fair play rules? How could PSG pick the star player?</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>Eng vs Ind | My finger on lips celebration is for haters: Siraj</strong> - ‘I will only let the ball do the talking’</p></li>
|
||
</ul>
|
||
<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-the-hindu-national-news">From The Hindu: National News</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sonia hoists tricolour, reclaims centre stage</strong> - Amid efforts at Opposition unity, Congress chief seen as asserting leadership</p></li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>DRM lauds officials for their performance despite pandemic situation</strong> - ‘The first oxygen express was run by Waltair Division’</p></li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>We have contingency plans, says govt. sources on evacuation of Indian staff from embassy in Kabul</strong> - On August 15, Taliban militants entered the city of Kabul demanding a transition of power</p></li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Government committed to establishing three capitals, says Kannababu</strong> - ‘Visakhapatnam will be developed and made the Executive capital of the State’</p></li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Strengthen voices against all forces that try to stifle freedom: Mamata</strong> - TMC national general secretary, Abhishek Banerjee, also tweeted about preserving the ‘nation’s sanctity’</p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-bbc-europe">From BBC: Europe</h1>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Polish law on property stolen by Nazis angers Israel</strong> - A new law will make it harder for people to recover property lost in World War Two.</p></li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Turkey floods: Death toll near Black Sea rises to at least 40</strong> - Flash floods in northern Turkey are the country’s second natural disaster this month.</p></li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>‘My night in notorious Nazi collaborator Quisling’s cabin’</strong> - When Ben McPherson realised he could rent Vidkun Quisling’s cabin, it struck him as weird. His Norwegian wife disagreed.</p></li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Sarah Rainsford on Russia: ‘I’ve been told I can’t come back - ever’</strong> - The BBC’s Sarah Rainsford, devastated after being told she could not return to Russia, ever.</p></li>
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<li data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Channel migrant crossings reach record high as man dies</strong> - The UK deals with 592 people crossing the Channel on the day a migrant makes a fatal leap into the sea.</p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-ars-technica">From Ars Technica</h1>
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<ul>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Strawberry Mansion: A great sci-fi premise with trippy, arthouse execution</strong> - In this film, society can track dreams, so <em>of course</em> someone’s out to monetize ’em. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1786242">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Samsung has its own AI-designed chip. Soon, others will too</strong> - Semiconductor software-design maker Synopsys is adding AI to its arsenal. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1787115">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The weekend’s best tech deals: AirPods Pro, Jackbox games, and more</strong> - Dealmaster also has deals on the iPad Air, Switch Pro Controller, and storage. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1786382">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>Review: Androids is a developer commentary track for the Android 1.0 era</strong> - A new book by Googler Chet Haase offers an inside look at Android development. - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1786567">link</a></p></li>
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<li><p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom"><strong>The Perl Foundation is fragmenting over Code of Conduct enforcement</strong> - “I’m fresh out of ideas with regards to handling toxicity in the Perl community.” - <a href="https://arstechnica.com/?p=1787157">link</a></p></li>
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</ul>
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<h1 data-aos="fade-right" id="from-jokes-subreddit">From Jokes Subreddit</h1>
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<li><strong>Day 317 without sex</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Went jogging in flipflops just to remember the sound.
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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/Golden_Was_Taken"> /u/Golden_Was_Taken </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p4hzk4/day_317_without_sex/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p4hzk4/day_317_without_sex/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><strong>Accordion to a recent survey, 7 out of 10 people don’t notice when a word in a sentence is replaced</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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by a musical instrument.
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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/paulyozz"> /u/paulyozz </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p4gy22/accordion_to_a_recent_survey_7_out_of_10_people/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p4gy22/accordion_to_a_recent_survey_7_out_of_10_people/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><strong>What do Incel and Excel have in common?</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Misinterpreting something as a date.
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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/SpLi0"> /u/SpLi0 </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p4q44k/what_do_incel_and_excel_have_in_common/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p4q44k/what_do_incel_and_excel_have_in_common/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><strong>A Psychic buying clothes</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Employee: How about this one?
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Psychic: That shirt is too small.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Employee: You didn’t even try it on.
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</p>
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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Psychic: I’m a medium.
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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/ClannadFeels"> /u/ClannadFeels </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p4rs7b/a_psychic_buying_clothes/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p4rs7b/a_psychic_buying_clothes/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
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<li><strong>Dr. Seuss cheated on his wife for 13 years while she was battling cancer and then married his mistress after she died.</strong> - <!-- SC_OFF -->
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<div class="md">
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<p data-aos="fade-left" data-aos-anchor-placement="bottom-bottom">
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He really said “One bitch, two bitch, dead bitch, new bitch”.
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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/Golden_Was_Taken"> /u/Golden_Was_Taken </a> <br/> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p4hpyq/dr_seuss_cheated_on_his_wife_for_13_years_while/">[link]</a></span> <span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Jokes/comments/p4hpyq/dr_seuss_cheated_on_his_wife_for_13_years_while/">[comments]</a></span></p></li>
|
||
</ul>
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