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For a small slice of San Francisco’s homeless population that struggles with severe alcohol addiction, nurses offer treatment not in a pill, but in a shot of vodka or a glass of beer.
It may sound counterintuitive, experts say, but it helps keep people off the streets and out of emergency rooms, jails — or the morgue. San Francisco set up a “managed alcohol program” four years ago as a way to care for vulnerable homeless people who drank excessive amounts of alcohol and were among the city’s highest users of emergency services. Since its creation, the program, which started out with 10 beds, has served 55 clients, according to officials from the Department of Public Health. The now 20-bed program, which costs about $5 million per year, operates out of a former hotel in the heart of the Tenderloin. Nurses dispense regimented doses of vodka and beer to participants at certain times of day based on care plans. Such programs don’t focus on sobriety, experts say, but rather on improving participants’ overall health while decreasing hospital stays and calls to police. But the city’s efforts came under scrutiny this week, after the chair of the board of a local non-profit that pushes abstinence shared posts on social media accusing the city of wasting millions of taxpayer dollars on a program that gives booze to homeless people struggling with alcohol addiction. Adam Nathan, the CEO of an AI company and chair of the Salvation Army San Francisco’s advisory board, said on X that “providing free drugs to drug addicts doesn’t solve their problems. It just stretches them out. Where’s the recovery in all of this?” The social media skirmish was the latest flare-up in an increasingly tense debate about San Francisco’s use of harm reduction, which focuses on cutting negative health effects of alcohol and drug use rather than requiring people to stop using. As homelessness and overdose deaths have continued to plague the city, critics have excoriated San Francisco’s attempts at harm reduction, saying they only enable addiction and despair. Abstinence groups such as the Salvation Army have ridiculed the city for spending public funds on initiatives that provide drug users with overdose-reversing drugs, clean needles and foil for methamphetamine and fentanyl consumption. Even Mayor London Breed in February said that harm reduction was “not reducing the harm” but “making things far worse.” That stance puts her at odds with her own public health department, which staunchly stands by harm reduction as an integral part of the agency’s system of care. Breed recently tried to open abstinence-only housing for formerly homeless people near Chinatown but scrapped the proposal amid neighbourhood backlash. “Are we just going to manage people’s addictions with our taxpayer dollars in perpetuity forever? It seems like that’s basically what we’re saying,” said Tom Wolf, who is in recovery for heroin addiction. “I think we should be spending that money on detox and recovery.” But Shannon Smith-Bernardin, a professor at the UCSF School of Nursing who helped create the managed alcohol programs in San Francisco and Alameda County, explained that the goal is to stabilize participants’ alcohol use “so they’re not binge drinking or stopping drinking and having seizures and then … start figuring out what’s next.” The program also offers participants medications and therapy to reduce alcohol cravings. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Students from China and Hong Kong who are studying at European or North American universities may be far away from home, but they are also menacingly within reach of their home governments.
The message we get, Chinese student Rowan* told the human rights organization Amnesty International is: "You are being watched, and though we are on the other side of the planet, we can still reach you." Rowan is one of 32 students Amnesty interviewed for its report entitled "On My Campus, I Am Afraid." Researchers sought to document China's transnational repression at universities and spoke with Chinese students in eight countries: Belgium, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada and the United States. The real names of all individuals and universities have been withheld in order to protect their identities. Threats against families in China Rowan told Amnesty that she took part in a commemoration of the Tiananmen Square massacre that was held in the city where she studies. Commemorating the bloody suppression of the pro-democracy movement that took place in Beijing on June 4, 1989, is banned in China and Hong Kong. Only a few hours after the protest, Rowan's father contacted her from China, saying security officials had told him to keep his daughter from taking part in events that could damage China's reputation in the world. Rowan had not given her name to anyone and had not reported on her participation anywhere. Amnesty also spoke with Chinese students in Europe. Before Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Paris earlier this month, Yongzhe* told DW that Chinese authorities threatened those who planned to organize demonstrations and paid visits to their families in China. This kind of thing happens frequently, Yongzhe added. Amnesty International concluded that it's not only the students who are getting the message. "Exercising freedom of expression is not acceptable. No matter where you are, whether in Germany, France or elsewhere, there is no way to escape China's surveillance." The students' family members back in China are also being threatened, Theresa Bergmann told DW. She is an Asia expert with the German branch of Amnesty International. "For example, there have been threats to confiscate passports, terminate jobs and cut pensions or restrict educational opportunities if students continue their activities abroad," she said." These attempts at intimidation are coming from government officials in China," said Bergmann. Accounts of Chinese repression Many students from China and Hong Kong studying overseas live in fear of intimidation and surveillance, according to Amnesty International, with Chinese and Hong Kong authorities trying to prevent them from raising controversial issues. Authorities have targeted any show of solidarity with the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and the 2022 White Paper protests in China, in which people used blank sheets of white paper to protest against draconian measures to curb the COVID-19 measures imposed and against restrictions on freedom of expression. Bergmann said Amnesty has raised the allegations with authorities in China and Hong Kong. "We have not received any response from mainland China," she said, adding that "a sort of denial" had come from Hong Kong. Students are a particularly vulnerable group because of their residency status and financial situation, she explained. Amnesty's researchers cannot speak for all of the estimated 900,000 Chinese students living abroad, but the accounts of repression are similar across borders and match previously known cases. In 2023, the investigative platform Correctiv reported on how China tightly controls students who have received scholarships from the government's China Scholarship Council in Germany and prevents them from making any critical statements. WeChat used to spy on students online One student who took part in a protest and then took a selfie in front of the embassy reported that she was followed on her way from the embassy to the subway," said Bergmann, describing an account from a student in Germany. When students are followed or photographed at protests, it has not always been clear whether this was on behalf of the Chinese government. Online surveillance plays a very important role. There are many indications that the Chinese app WeChat provides data to the government in Beijing. "We have cases where WeChat accounts have been closed or content blocked because people have spoken out openly about protests," Amnesty states in its report, calling this the "Great Firewall." Students rely on state-approved apps like WeChat to communicate with relatives and friends in China, even though it may be monitored. Surveillance and intimidation are frightening Chinese and Hong Kong students studying abroad, Amnesty reported. This has resulted in emotional stress and even depression. "I sought support from the university's psychological counselling service after having psychological problems, but they had little understanding of the Chinese context and were unable to provide effective support," student Xing Dongzhe* said. Some students sever ties with their families in order to protect them, said Bergmann. Almost half of those interviewed are afraid to return home. Six said they wanted to apply for asylum in the country where they were studying The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Ukraine has never been in a position to get a favorable settlement to end the enduring conflict with Russia and so Washington has never actually encouraged Kiev to negotiate with Moscow, former US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and former acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland has claimed.
The ex-official and one of the key proponents of supporting Ukraine through military means made the remark in an interview with Politico published on Saturday. A vast part of the interview revolved around the Ukrainian conflict, with Nuland producing a typical mainstream American assessment of it. “Let’s start with the fact that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has already failed in his objective. He wanted to flatten Ukraine. He wanted to ensure that they had no sovereignty, independence, agency, no democratic future – because a democratic Ukraine, a European Ukraine, is a threat to his model for Russia, among other things, and because it’s the first building block for his larger territorial ambitions,” Nuland asserted, without providing any supporting evidence. The official insisted that Kiev can still “succeed” in the conflict, though she dodged the question of whether she believes Ukraine could seize its former territories from Russia, including the Crimean Peninsula, which broke away from Kiev in the aftermath of the 2014 Maidan coup and joined Moscow after a referendum. It can definitely get to a place where it’s strong enough, I believe, and where Putin is stymied enough to go to the negotiating table from a position of strength. It’ll be up to the Ukrainian people what their territorial ambitions should be,” she said, adding that “whatever is decided on Crimea, it can’t be remilitarized such that it’s a dagger at the heart of the center of Ukraine.” The former official revealed Washington has never actually pressed Kiev into negotiations with Moscow, claiming its “negotiating position” was never actually strong enough, including in late 2022. “They were not in a strong enough position then. They’re not in a strong enough position now. The only deal Putin would have cut then, the only deal that he would cut today, at least before he sees what happens in our election, is a deal in which he says, ‘What’s mine is mine, and what’s yours is negotiable.’ And that’s not sustainable,” she claimed. Victoria Nuland has been widely perceived as one of the key figures behind the whole Ukrainian crisis that started with the Maidan events, which ultimately brought down Ukraine’s democratically-elected president, Viktor Yanukovich, in 2014. The diplomat, who at the time was Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, infamously showed up among Maidan activists, handing out pastries. The affair became widely known as “Nuland’s cookies,” serving as a textbook example of direct US involvement in the coup. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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We’ve been seeing more fuzz boxes released than any other kind of pedal lately, several with a claim to having special characteristics. The latest from Walrus Audio is no exception, but its special characteristic is plain for all to see: a tube lit up in a front-panel window. The idea behind the pedal was to create a fuzz with the rich, harmonically complex texture that a real valve can provide, so Walrus Audio teamed up with valve expert Jim Hagerman to develop this design based around an ECC82/12AU7 preamp tube. It’s a tidy-sized fuzz pedal, with sounds dialled in by three knobs and a three-way toggle switch, and it sports an extra foot switched Harmonic mode for some octave action. Starting with the Gain knob at zero we get a nice crunchy drive tone, and with unity gain around noon, there’s plenty of scope for delivering a boost with the Volume knob. The Tone knob, post-fuzz, is a tilt EQ that’s basically flat in the centre, cutting highs and boosting lows to the left, and boosting top while rolling off lows clockwise. Small deviations either side of centre work great for matching the tone to various amps, but there’s plenty of range if you want to get more extreme, especially if combined with the three-way contour switch that, besides a flat setting, offers either a high-pass or a low-pass filter to tweak the tone before it hits the fuzz stage. Extreme sounds aside, the Contour switch’s attenuation of bottom- or top-end is a practical asset in compensating for different pickups.
Advancing the Gain knob takes you through various shades of distortion to fat fuzz, always with harmonic richness, decent string articulation and volume knob clean-up. There are some excellent sounds to be had here in standard nine-volt operation, but running the pedal at 12 volts squeezes out extra gain. Switching into Harmonic mode gives you another voice as a frequency doubler before the drive transforms the sound, adding throaty octave harmonic overtones. This thickens up dirty chordal work and delivers a distinctive tone for single-note leads – rich and gnarly with a hint of ring modulation.
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US plays down Rafah assault5/8/2024 The United States has played down the deadly Israeli assault on Rafah, saying the offensive appears to be “limited” despite concerns over the fate of the more than 1.5 million Palestinians sheltering in the southern Gaza city.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters on Tuesday that the US still opposes a major Israeli offensive against Rafah. Israel had stepped up its bombardment of Rafah on Monday, killing dozens of people after ordering about 100,000 residents in its eastern areas to evacuate. Israeli troops also stormed the Palestinian side of the Rafah border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, which serves as a major gateway for humanitarian aid. “This military operation that they launched last night was targeted just to Rafah gate,” Miller said on Tuesday. “It wasn’t an operation in the civilian areas that they had ordered to be evacuated. So we will continue to make clear that we oppose a major military operation in Rafah.” Still, Miller acknowledged that the attack on the crossing “does look like the prelude” to a larger offensive. The Israeli attack closed the Rafah crossing, further straining the already inadequate flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Since October 9, Israel has intensified its existing blockade on the territory, bringing the Palestinian enclave to the verge of famine. The Rafah crossing also serves as an entry point for humanitarian workers going into Gaza, and critically sick and injured people use it to leave the territory and receive treatment abroad. The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said 120 patients who were set to cross from Gaza to Egypt for treatment were prevented from leaving on Tuesday. Shutting down the crossing also has blocked medical supplies and fuel needed to operate the remaining medical centres in the territory, the ministry said. “The situation of patients in Gaza hospitals has been very difficult since the beginning of the war due to the loss of medical equipment and the total collapse of the health system,” the ministry said in a statement. “We have travel lists for sick and injured people in the thousands. And now they are prevented from leaving.” At the US State Department, Miller called for reopening the crossing, but he also appeared to justify the Israeli attack that closed it. “Hamas did control the Gaza side of Rafah crossing, and Hamas was continuing to collect revenue from that crossing being open,” he told reporters. “So it is a legitimate goal to try and deprive Hamas from revenue, money that they could use to continue to finance their terrorist activities. That said, we want to see the crossing open, and we’re gonna work to try to get it back open.” On Saturday, Israel also closed the Karem Abu Salem border crossing, also known as Kerem Shalom, barring aid trucks after Hamas launched a rocket attack on Israeli troops nearby, killing four soldiers. On Tuesday, Miller falsely said the crossing between Gaza and Israel was “bombed” by Hamas when the crossing itself was not targeted. When pressed about his assertion, Miller said: “You could make that argument it was that strike at Kerem Shalom that precipitated its closure.” “But that said, you should be very clear about what our position is: We want to see it open. We want to see it open as soon as possible. They said that they’ll open it tomorrow. We’re going to work to see that that happens.” The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Constructor Standings
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FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2024 - Top 10 Sprint Qualifying Results
FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2024 - Sprint Race Results
FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2024 - Top 10 Qualifying Results
FORMULA 1 CRYPTO.COM MIAMI GRAND PRIX 2024 - Race Results
2024 Formula 1 World Championship Drivers' Standings
2024 FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS
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It is doubtful there has been a more popular winner of a Formula One race in recent years than McLaren’s Lando Norris, who was celebrated by everyone from Max Verstappen to Donald Trump after his victory at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday.
It was a long overdue triumph for Norris, who held the record for most podiums without a win (15), including an agonising eight runner-up finishes, in 110 grands prix, making the likable Briton easy to root for. Even Verstappen, Red Bull’s triple world champion who hates to lose and was denied a hat-trick of Miami wins by the McLaren driver, was among the first to congratulate Norris, who was mobbed by his team, crowd surfed along pit land and drenched in a shower of champagne. “It was a long time coming, and I’m very happy to be beaten by Lando today,” smiled a genuinely pleased Verstappen. “He definitely deserved it. “It’s great winning your first race. It’s always quite emotional. It brings you back to all the days that you worked towards your dream of being on the podium.” Former US president Donald Trump, who visited the McLaren garage before the race, was delighted to back a winner, telling Norris later he was his lucky charm. “He saw me after, and he came to congratulate me,” said Norris, who had told his grandmother before coming to Miami that he was going to win a race. “He [Trump] said he was my lucky charm because it was my win, but I don’t know if he’s going to come to more races.” Norris’ mother and father were ecstatic, though they were not in Miami to witness the moment. “The cider’s flowing in Somerset! A big celebration,” Adam Norris told Sky Sports. “I was working out, it’s probably about 900 races I’ve been to over the last 16 years. “It’s interesting knowing as a parent how many hours you put in, supporting them. “I counted out 350 weekends away and all the races on different weekends. “It’s brilliant. So happy for him.” Anthony Hamilton, another father instrumental in the success of his son — seven-times world champion Lewis — also texted Norris with congratulations. While Norris was long overdue for a maiden win his wait was not the longest. World champions Jenson Button needed 113 races before his first win and Nico Rosberg 111. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez holds the record of 190 races before his visit to the top of the podium and it took Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz 150 and Mark Webber 130. Norris was still finalising plans on how he was going to celebrate his maiden victory, but he was already thinking about a second win. “This only happens once when you take your first win. Tonight is going to be a good night,” said Norris, confirming team boss Zak Brown had delayed the flight home until Monday so there would be a proper celebration. “I would like to say it's the start, and now we’re really hungry for more. We'll keep our heads down and keep pushing.” The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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Cancer ‘is our new Covid’5/6/2024 American drug manufacturer Pfizer has its sights set on the cancer treatment market now that the Covid-19 pandemic is over and global demand for its vaccines and Covid-19 drugs is falling, CEO Albert Bourla told Fox Business on May 1.
The company expects to score big on “blockbuster” cancer drugs, Bourla said, as the pharma giant seeks to reverse its post-Covid business decline. The pandemic brought record revenue to the company. In 2022 alone, Pfizer’s total sales amounted to $157 billion, with its Covid vaccine accounting for $37.8 billion and its antiviral treatment pill, Paxlovid, bringing in another $18.9 billion. In 2023, sales were down by more than half and accounted for $71 billion. The company’s shares have also fallen by 42% since the end of 2022, amid the rapid decline in demand for its Covid-related products. This forced it to launch a major cost-cutting campaign, including hundreds of layoffs at its UK, US, and Irish facilities. In his interview with Fox Business, Bourla praised the measures as a “very good cost containment” campaign, crediting it for the “very good results” his company showed in early 2024. Pfizer is also on the verge of striking gold again with its new strategy, he said. “Oncology, it is our new Covid,” the Pfizer CEO said. “We did what we did with Covid. We are very proud to have saved the world but it is behind us now. We want to do [it] once more and I think oncology is our best chance to do it.” In late 2023, the US drug manufacturer completed a $43 billion acquisition of Seagen (formerly, Seattle Genetics, Inc.) – a biotechnology company specializing in monoclonal antibody-based drugs, also known as antibody-drug conjugates, or ADCs. They are designed to kill tumor cells while leaving healthy tissues relatively unaffected. Seagen was previously known for its flagship product Adcetris, which is used to treat lymphoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma. According to drugs.com, the medicine costs around $11.910 for a 50-mg dose. Another drug in the company’s portfolio that demonstrated “phenomenal performance” in Pfizer’s hands was Padcev, according to Bourla. Padcev is used to treat bladder cancer, and its sales “had a growth of 164%” since the US pharma giant got its hands on the drug, he said. The average price for Padcev is $4,446 per 30-mg dose, according to drugs.com. “That demonstrates how well we’ve invested the money,” Bourla said, commenting on Padcev’s performance. He also promised blockbuster drugs in the future that “will have a significant impact on cancer patients.” Pfizer announced its shift toward cancer treatment in late 2023. “Nothing scares people all over the world more than cancer, because it affects everyone,” Bourla said at the time. “I hope we will be successful in our mission. I am optimistic that in the next 10 years, we will see significant advancement,” he added. In January 2024, the company said it plans to have at least eight blockbuster cancer treatment drugs by 2030 and double the number of patients treated with its innovative medicines, up from 2.3 million in 2023. The Blog Tags Widget will appear here on the published site.
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