Vaccine uptakes in Europe

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Back last September France suspended 3,000 health workers without pay for refusing the Covid vaccine. Some staff at hospitals, retirement and care homes had refused Covid jabs despite warning by Macron. The health minister said “several dozen” had resigned rather than have the vaccine.

The French health authority, Santé Publique, estimated that fewer than 12% of hospital staff and about 6% of doctors in private practice had not been vaccinated last fall. Just under 47 million French people aged 12 and over were fully vaccinated, representing 81.4% of the population; 86.1% have received at least one jab. France has been one of the most vaccinated countries in the world. Compare that with the US where the percentage has yet to reach the 70% mark. (The Guardian, 16 September 2021)

My comment: To refuse vaccination is to be plain selfish and inconsiderate.
I realize that many such people are influenced by bogus claims on the internet (and maybe actually believe the propaganda). But those of us who respect science and scientists cannot imagine why refuseniks cannot think for themselves, and having attended church on Sunday, concluded that protecting others is an Epicurean – and a Christian – duty.

Words of wisdom

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“It is more fun to talk with someone who doesn’t use long, difficult words but rather short, easy words like “What about lunch?”. (A.A. Milne, quoted in The Economist).

My comment: Amen to that! I remember at school my English teacher firmly telling us that long words don’t necessarily denote a brainy fellow, more likely a pompous one. Wonderful writer was A. A. Milne – lucid and straightforward.

The heating oceans

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Extreme heat in the world’s oceans passed the “point of no return” in 2014 and has become the new normal, according to research.

Scientists analysed sea surface temperatures over the last 150 years, which have risen because of global heating. They found that extreme temperatures occurring just 2% of the time a century ago have occurred at least 50% of the time across the global ocean since 2014.

In some hotspots, extreme temperatures occur 90% of the time, severely affecting wildlife. More than 90% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases is absorbed by the ocean, which plays a critical role in maintaining a stable climate. (The Guardian 2 Feb 2022)

My comment: I suppose all this is still a hoax for the doozies among us and those with a vested interest in continuing to burn fossil fuels. I just hope someone out there is listing the names and whereabouts of the naysayers for posterity. The plinths of the slave-owners egocentric are being dismantled,
which is a pity. They could have ben used for the “climate change is a hoax” crowd.
What has this to do with Epicureanism? Peace of mind. I personally will be long gone when the worst starts to happen, but I am dry concerned about younger generations and feel deeply for them.

Russian dirty money

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“It has been two and a half years since the publication of parliament’s “Russia report”, which laid bare the extent of links between the Kremlin and Russian-backed financial interests – and the resulting flows of illicit cash through the City of London. The UK’s allies are beginning to take note of the intractability of the problem. A report from the Center for American Progress – a thinktank close to the Biden administration – stated last week that “uprooting Kremlin-linked oligarchs will be a challenge given the close ties between Russian money and the United Kingdom’s ruling Conservative party, the press, and its real estate and financial industry”. (The Guardian, 2 Feb 2022)

My comment: I am familiar with that part of London beloved by Russian oligarchs, who launder their money through the City and own a significant proportion of the fancy housing in Central London. It’s a scandal that this is allowed to continue, but then the ruling Conservative party is thought to be the beneficiary of corrupt cash floating around, in the process making Central London too expensive for many ordinary Brits. Bear this in mind when the subject of Putin and Ukraine comes up. One partner in NATO cannot be relied upon. Think “UK”. (Yes, this is politics, but clean politicians and a foreign policy untainted by corruption would help somewhat with one’s peace of mind, yes?)

“A deeply unpleasant place to work”

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“Following the disaster that was Jan. 6, an already-partisan Congress has grown almost entirely untenable, as working Republican and Democratic partnerships — particularly in the House — crumble in the face of the most serious attack on the U.S. Capitol since 1812.

“In interviews with more than four dozen lawmakers and congressional staffers, “people of all political stripes say the House has become a deeply unpleasant place to work, with simmering ill feeling and a series of ugly incidents fraying remaining bipartisan ties,” writes the Wall Street Journal.

“It’s as bad as I’ve seen it,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who has served in Congress since 1981, told the paper. “The toxic environment has been building for a long, long time before Jan. 6, but Jan. 6 just blew it up in flames.”

“It is the tensest it’s been,” added Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.), blaming Jan. 6, the resulting magnetometers that scan representatives for weapons as they enter the chamber, and the pandemic for the dysfunction.

“The “bad blood” even infiltrated one of the House’s “most prominent bipartisan groups,” the Problem Solvers Caucus, which recently helped with infrastructure and pandemic negotiations. “Some members were contemplating getting out,” Rep. Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) told the Journal.

“And in another example, Democratic Illinois Rep. Brad Schneider halted a legislative relationship with incendiary Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar after Gosar defended Captiol rioters and voted against certifying the 2020 election results. “If you can’t recognize the legitimacy of the election, the legitimacy of the new president and you’re unwilling to stop trafficking in the lies that led us to Jan. 6, then I’m not going to work with you,” Schneider said.

Gosar, for his part, insisted that Schneider was a “toxic individual” engaging in conspiracy theories.” (The Wall Street Journal)

My comment: Epicurus seems to have believed that all politics and most politicians were toxic in any case. But the current situation in the US is extremely worrying. The light is dimming on democracy.