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Coronavirus Tidbits #178 2/6/22
Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don’t be shy about that. New posts: COVID and the Holocaust (sadly, submitted before I heard Rabbi Paskoff’s sermon, below) https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/967498 ~ ~ ~ Mosquito Nets Do Prevent Malaria, Longitudinal Study Confirms https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/967803 News Omicron news: US COVID-19 cases continue steep decline Cases of COVID-19 continue to drop…
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Holocaust Remembrance Day, Maus, and Growing Antisemitism
I was outraged by the juxtaposition of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the book Maus being banned, and a special national security training for synagogues. I had, in fact, just submitted a post to Medscape, which will be published on 2/1. Friday’s Shabbat evening service carried this resonant, moving sermon by Rabbi Jack Paskoff. He kindly is allowing me to post it here. So yesterday was kind of a strange day for me. Not for me personally but for me in terms of looking at Jewish life, looking at history, contemplating current events. Earlier, I guess towards the end of last week, I received an email from Congressman Smucker’s office and he…
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Coronavirus Tidbits #79 9/3/20
Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that. News Trump says we won’t join WHO-linked effort to develop, distribute coronavirus vaccine This unilateralism will come back to bite us in the ass. If our vax doesn't work, no one will want to share theirs. And if it does, turning our backs…
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Coronavirus Tidbits #77 8/27/20
Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I'm getting. Happy to continue to answer your questions/concerns as best I can, so don't be shy about that. NEW post on Forbes: Mouthwashes Are A Cheap Tool In The Fight Against Coronavirus http://www.forbes.com/sites/judystone/2020/08/27/mouthwashes-are-a-cheap-tool-in-the-fight-against-coronavirus/ News ALERT: Multiple alarms for decisions at the FDA and CDC @CDCgov now says people exposed to COVID-19 do not need to get tested. -They also said people…
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Coronavirus Tidbits #36 4/20/20
Quick links News Diagnostics Drugs Devices Epidemiology/Infection control Tips Politics Feel good du jour Comic relief Perspective/Poem Bits of beauty Announcements: First, there is now a Resources Page here for the most commonly asked questions I’m getting. Tidbits will likely be a bit shorter and a little less frequent for the next little bit. I have been immersed in it and I need to spend a little more time on self-care, which for me means seeing the spring flowers emerge and digging in the dirt. Pesach is always a bit rough anyway, so I will turn to…
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Kristallnacht
November 9-10 is the anniversary of Kristallnacht, the night in 1938 when violence broke out against Jews throughout Germany. While designed to appear spontaneous, the demonstrations had been carefully orchestrated by the Nazis. In response to an assassination, Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, orchestrated a “spontaneous” reaction, and sent a teletype with explicit instructions to police and secret service. In two days, over 250 synagogues were burned, over 7,000 Jewish businesses were trashed and looted. Almost 100 were murdered. The morning after the pogroms, 30,000 German Jewish men were arrested for the “crime” of being a Jew and sent to concentration camps, where many of them perished. I fear…
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Another Bad Week for People of Color
In Minneapolis on October 11, Trump again escalated his anti-immigrant rhetoric. He deliberately chose to go on an ugly offensive, holding his rally in Rep. Ilhan Omar’s backyard. In a city with a large Somali population, he chose to call Omar “a disgrace to our country.” At his rally just now, Trump called me an “America-hating socialist” and a “disgrace.” He shouted xenophobic conspiracy theories about me. He scolded my district for voting for me. His hate is no match for our movement. Stand with me by donating now: https://t.co/QdUrT9zJsr pic.twitter.com/Ik8I9zlRTf — Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) October 11, 2019 Can you imagine being Somali-American and watching this? This is the kind…
- Holocaust, Legacies - News and Commentary, Social justice, Strategies to teach tolerance, Uncategorized
“Our Stories Must Be Told” – Now More Than Ever
I visited this #Holocaust exhibit in August #Maine recently, at the Holocaust & Human Rights Center of Maine (HHRC). In Augusta, Maine (@HHRCMe). “Our Stories Must Be Told” is a very moving exhibit, which I highly recommend. If you haven’t yet, come check out our latest exhibit, Our Stories Must Be Told, at the Michael Klahr Center on the UMaine–Augusta campus. The exhibit features artifacts from the Holocaust. pic.twitter.com/lxmsH6JiI8 — Holocaust & Human Rights Center of Maine (HHRC) (@HHRCMe) June 12, 2019 Their staff couldn’t have been more welcoming despite my having given them such short notice of my visit, and I was able to meet with Phil Fishman, Office…
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Days of Remembrance – Holocaust Commemoration 2019
This year, Days of Remembrance week was observed April 28 – May 5. The latest synagogue shooting, a hate-filled attack on the last day of Passover, and on the anniversary of the Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue shooting, is a stark reminder of why educating about the Holocaust is more important than ever. In this part of the Legacies of the Holocaust, I’ll share brief vignettes about my family. Some survived the Holocaust in Hungary, others did not. Dismayed by the growing antisemitism and racism in the past two years, I immersed myself in Holocaust studies. I promised myself to work on educating about the Holocaust and genocides. During this…
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Holocaust Survivors and Liberators Speak Out
Since Holocaust Remembrance Week, there has been a variety of news, some good, more not. My aunt Kati (now Kitty Williams) is an Auschwitz survivor. Each year, she has spoken throughout the Omaha region and reached thousands of students with her messages of tolerance and hope. KETV interviewed her and shared this article and clip: KETV didn’t get the title of their article quite right. Kati wasn’t just warning about the rise in antisemitism, but also of the increase in othering and hate crimes in the current political climate. She spoke of the rising tide of hate crimes, and then of her hope that the students will learn from…
