Category Archives: Freedom

TORONTO Ted Freeman-Atwood, 90, rolled out of his tall brick nursing home in his wheelchair, wearing a blue tweed jacket with a white handkerchief peaking from its breast pocket. This is the farthest Ive traveled since last year, he told the manager of his favorite restaurant two blocks away, who greeted him by name.

It was a beautiful day in June. The sky clear, the sun generous and Torontos streets alive. After eight months of near-constant, government-enforced closures, small storefronts flung open their doors to customers and restaurant patrons spilled out from sidewalk patios onto the road.

It was Mr. Freeman-Atwoods first real outing since August 2020; his second since the coronavirus pandemic began.

He ordered a glass of pinot grigio, explaining how he hadnt tasted that pleasure in almost a year because the joint I live in doesnt want drunk old men pawing girls after 5 p.m.

Toronto the city labeled the lockdown capital of North America by the national federation of small businesses was giddy with liberty and freedoms that many had considered chores back in February 2020.

Since December, gatherings in the city even outdoors had been banned, filling the city with a sense of loneliness. No one felt this more acutely than residents of Torontos nursing homes. Ground zero for the pandemics cruel ravages, they account for 59 percent of the countrys Covid-19 deaths. As a result, they also became the most fortified. Locked down since last March, most facilities refused all visitors for months.

For all but five weeks between March 2020 and June 2021, care home residents in Toronto were not permitted to leave their buildings for nonmedical reasons, not even a stroll. Many compared themselves to caged animals or prisoners. The lucky ones lived in residences with attached courtyards, where they could at least feel the sun on their faces.

Mr. Freeman-Atwood was not among the lucky ones.

Im bored to tears, he said in January, two weeks after hed received his first dose of the Moderna vaccine. I do virtually nothing. Today, nothing awful happened, nothing half-awful happened, nothing brilliant happened, nothing half-brilliant happened.

He added, Im in my room all day.

The child of a British army general and a mother from Newfoundland, Mr. Freeman-Atwood had lived a large, roaming life. He traveled around the world as a child and spent most of his adulthood in Rio de Janeiro, where he eventually became president of Brascan, a large Canadian firm that owned the biggest hydroelectric utility in the Southern Hemisphere, until he negotiated its sale to the Brazilian government.

In 2012, Mr. Freeman-Atwood moved into the Nisbet Lodge, a Christian nonprofit long-term care home in Torontos busy Greektown neighborhood. Hed suffered five aneurysms in 10 years, and had one leg removed because of bad circulation. After gangrene eventually set into the remaining leg, the doctors amputated that one, too.

His second wife had died from cancer, and hed stubbornly refused an offer from his only child, Samantha, to take him in.

Im too much of a bloody nuisance, he explained. Im in a wheelchair. I cant get up or downstairs. Why should I inflict that on her?

Before the pandemic, Mr. Freeman-Atwood regularly met Samantha, his son-in-law and two grandsons for lunch at nearby restaurants; he visited the bank and local cheese shop; and once a week, he wheeled his way to the liquor store for some wine, which he would smuggle back to his room.

Then, in March 2020, he lost what was left of his relatively independent lifestyle. He survived an outbreak in the home, during which 35 staff members and 53 residents tested positive. Four residents died. Mr. Freeman-Atwood tested positive, but experienced no symptoms.

He could no longer see his daughter, who found the trips to the building to drop off cookies and supplies for him heartbreaking.

On regular phone calls throughout the winter and spring, Mr. Freeman-Atwoods only complaint was boredom. Sometimes, the sound of his neighbor moaning in pain echoed hauntingly in the background.

I know it could be a hell of a lot worse, he said. Id love to go out. What if I picked it up and then came back?

During the pandemic, Canadian geriatricians sounded an alarm about confinement syndrome. Residents in nursing homes were losing weight, as well as cognitive and physical abilities because of social isolation concerning given that even in nonpandemic times most residents die within two years of arriving at a care home.

Mr. Freeman-Atwood tried to stay busy. He had three newspapers delivered on Saturdays, tabulated the tax returns for four people in the spring and completed 300 exercise repetitions each morning before getting out of bed.

A big day for him was a rare trip to the buildings dining room on the top floor, where he could speak to one young waitress in German, a language he had perfected in 1956 in Austria, when he worked doing the accounts of an aid group tending to Hungarian refugees.

He met his first wife, who was also working with refugees, in Vienna. We were young enough to think we were doing good, he said.

As the pandemic dragged on, Mr. Freeman-Atwood also revealed some vulnerable moments.

In late March, he was presiding over a second-floor meeting of the residents council, which he has led since moving in. Outside, the city was in early bloom, the forsythia bushes glowing an electric yellow of promise. In an instant, the sun spilled through the windows.

It was drawing us out, calling, Come out, come out, come out and play, said Mr. Freeman-Atwood. Youve had your two Moderna jabs, why cant you come out? The answer is, No, the rest of the world hasnt. And when will that be, nobody knows.

Canadas nursing homes were the first places to receive the countrys vaccines and by February, every resident of these homes in Ontario had been offered a first dose. Still, the restrictions did not change.

Government officials were so burned by poor performance, the last thing they wanted is to be that minister who allows more bad things to happen, said Dr. Samir Sinha, the director of geriatrics at Sinai Health System and University Health Network in Toronto. He was among those lobbying the government this past spring to relax its restrictions.

At this point, he said, the risks of loneliness and social isolation are far greater than dying from Covid in these homes.

Though the Delta variant has reached Ontario in recent months, it has not caused the damage or shutdowns as seen in other parts of the world, in part because of the high rate of vaccinations. Eighty-two percent of the provinces eligible population has received at least one vaccine dose, as of Aug. 11.

When Mr. Freeman-Atwood finally emerged in June, it wasnt to go on a grand voyage. His dream outing was much simpler. He rolled into a dollar store a block from his building to peruse the cheap watches, since his had broken. Do you remember me? he asked the man behind the counter. He was like a shipwreck survivor, giddy from the joys of basic social interaction.

This is my first time outside in a year, he exclaimed.

The restaurant patio bubbled with noises, like an awakening orchestra. The music from speakers threaded with boisterous conversation. A toddler at a neighboring table screamed; her parents explained this was her first time at a patio.

Meals were savored, checks slow to arrive. Mr. Freeman-Atwood ordered two more glasses of wine.

This is more fun than Ive had in a year, he said.

On the way back to his building, he pushed past storefronts that hadnt survived the pandemic; For Sale signs posted in their dusty windows. The sky was turning a bruising purple; storm clouds were gathering.

Mr. Freeman-Atwood said he didnt know how long these freedoms would last, or whether wed pay for them. But he was already planning another outing.

Vjosa Isai contributed research.

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For Toronto Care Home Residents, Freedom After Nearly a Year in Lockdown - The New York Times

Seeing the scale of the imposing barbed wire wall bordering Palestine, covered in personal messages and pleas, is something Ill never forget. As are the bullet holes in Beiruts buildings, and meeting the people camping out on Skid Row in Los Angeles, a few miles from some of the most expensive real estate in the world.

The industry may be under attack, but accessible, inexpensive travel has taught me more about the world than my East London school or British university ever did.

In my early 20s, struggling to get a job, I took a gamble and went looking for work in Asia, where the pace of business was staggering and countless opportunities presented themselves. Back then, anyone with enough money for a flight could do the same. I lived in three regions across the globe for a decade, knowing I was still connected to home if I needed to, I could hop on a plane and visit my family.

I learned alternative versions of history, about tolerance, acceptance, inequality, wars, class and poverty. In cramped sprawling cities, with the same population as half of England, I learned that access to nature is fundamental for mental health. I learned how people suffer and thrive behind the Bamboo Curtain. I experienced high-taxation societies that worked like well-oiled machines and those that didnt. I experienced un-liveable countries where being female with blonde hair was an unshakable invitation for harassment and abuse. I learned the true value of state healthcare, having been treated in both a roadside shack and an American emergency room where I gave up my credit card before explaining my ailment.

Ive seen the determination, grit and resilience of communities without unemployment benefits and free education. The communities that rely solely on tourism, and have been devastated by the pandemic. Ive seen environmental disasters, been sick after surfing in polluted waters, and visited villages wrecked by industrialisation. Ive shared countless stories that, without travel, wouldnt have been heard.

The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report has cast a shadow over the travel industry. While its obvious cutting emissions is of critical importance, and I fully support doing so, the murmurings about legislating travel are deeply worrying. Weve just seen Australia enact laws as strict as North Korea on travel, due to fears over coronavirus. Australians now have to apply for permission to leave their own country. This draconian policy sets a dangerous precedent for worldwide movement.

Theres more at stake here than a cheap tan, we must think very carefully before we erode our freedom of movement, for the climate or otherwise.

One solution is to urgently invest in low and zero carbon aircraft technologies at the same speed as other green technologies, like the electric car industry. Higher aviation taxes have been mooted as a possible solution to cutting aviation emissions, but the only people who will suffer from higher fuel costs and other tariffs are the working classes those who could benefit from global opportunities the most. The privileged will simply pay more for their trips abroad reaping the benefits of access, opportunities and culture that travel provides.

Instead of flight shaming people into not travelling, we should be creating more sustainable, mind-broadening overseas alternatives. We shouldnt be closing ourselves off from the rest of the world, but engaging with those in need of climate support and helping the communities most reliant on travel. The antidote to an increasingly xenophobic Britain is more cultural exchange, more green travel, not less.

The effect of no travel will not just be felt abroad but at home too. The pandemic has urged me to stick to my zone-three London neighbourhood, but with more people vaccinated and the capitals big attractions back open, I recently took my son to a matinee in central London.

We travelled on an eerily empty tube during mid-morning to avoid rush hour and arrived in Piccadilly Circus. As any Londoner knows, this is tourist central. On a typical August day, the place would be buzzing with people snapping pictures of Regents Street, dozens of languages echoing through the air, people queuing for attractions and museums, and crowds of exchange students blocking the pavements. London welcomes diversity.

This area of the capital usually teams with life. But it was dead. Unnerving. Almost apocalyptic. After our half-full theatre show again, strange during the peak summer season with kids out of school and travellers normally in their droves we had lunch at an almost empty restaurant and began our journey home. There were two other passengers in our Tube carriage. London without tourists is a scary prospect, how are businesses going to survive?

Livelihoods are at stake, those living from paycheque to paycheque, or making nothing at all thanks to Covid, dont have the luxury of future planning. We need to stop attacking the industry and invest in green technologies now, because without travel we are all poorer.

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I learned more travelling than I did in school restricting the industry is a bad idea - The Independent

They are raring to vote, and to seize their Constitutional rights: to free speech, to education, to pursue their dreams, to marry a person of their choice. They are glad India has travelled so far, in girls rights, technology, economy; but worry over the divides hurting the countrys diversity, the rich-gap poor, the insecurity for women.

When India turns 75 next year, these 17-year-olds come of age, as voters, as citizens with questions and some very pointed answers. Here, they answer 1) What is freedom to them? 2) Which freedom do they value most? 3) Will they vote? 4) What do they want in a govt? 5) What makes them most proud of India, the least proud? Plus 6) How has India changed in 75 years?

Siddhanth SanthoshPort Blair, Andaman and NicobarIn Class 12; wants to become an automobile engineer

1. Freedom is not only physical freedom. Everybody should be free to live their lives as they want, and that should be acceptable to all.

2. Freedom of expression, to express ourselves as per our wish, with others tolerant of ones views, is what I value the most.

3. Obviously I want to vote, to be part of choosing a leader who truly represents our thoughts and aspirations.

4. From the Centre, I have no expectations. In the pandemic, we should allow them to do what needs to be done, not criticise them at this juncture. As for the Island administration, I am worried about the rise in road accidents. The administration should also think about the environment.

5. I am grateful that I was born in India. I am least proud of the section who, after being educated here, leave the country. I am not proud either that a section is getting richer and others poorer.

6. I actually became aware of my surroundings about 10 to 11 years back. The country has seen all-around growth in the years since. Eight years back there was not a single shopping mall in Port Blair. Now there are supermarkets and malls. The beaches are more clean.

Visakhapatnam (Andhra)1st year law student; wants to become a public prosecutor

1. Freedom is the freedom to choose, irrespective of what someone else thinks, the right to justice; and to be able to express oneself freely, including to criticise authorities.

2. The freedom of speech is most important. Without it, no one would be able to question the policies, arbitrary rules and laws that affect the common man.

3. If we want change, our votes should be the change.

4. The government must ensure an efficient administration and provide law-abiding citizens like me an enabling environment to live with security and dignity. I also expect the government to provide job opportunities. Unemployment is our biggest problem.

5. I am proud of the freedoms provided by our Constitution and the technological advancements made by the country. I am least proud of the fact that people dont have equal access to resources and there is no proper infrastructure in rural areas.

6. In the years since Independence, India has emerged as a robust democracy and a rising economy. But there is a long list of unfinished tasks.

Rehanso BooMedo village (Lohit), Arunachal PradeshIn Class 12; wants to become an engineer

1. Freedom to me is the freedom to do anything we want to do whether read a book we want to, travel to a place we have dreamt of, even get a drivers licence.

2. I value the freedom to study and be what I want the most. My parents own a small clothes shop in the village but I want to do something that takes me out of Medo.

3. Yes I want to vote. Most candidates have limitations but at least voting gives me the right to choose someone whose ideals match mine.

4. I dont expect much from the government but it should at least ensure basic amenities. We have bad roads, poor health services and barely any phone network. This has proved so difficult during the pandemic, when we had online classes.

5. I am from the Northeast, so obviously its diversity makes me proud. Look at Arunachal we have so many tribes. I am not proud of the enmity between communities, and about Indias dirty towns and cities they are so crowded and chaotic. They should be more like our villages.

6. A lot has changed in India literacy rate, womens empowerment. My grandparents did not get the opportunity to go to school, and neither did my mother. But look at me. I am educated and no less than kids my age in cities like Delhi and Mumbai.

Ifza AkhtarDibrugarh, AssamIn Class 12; undecided about what she wants to do maybe a secure job

1. Freedom means being able to do what you want, without restrictions and judgment. The freedom to practise your own religion, and be yourself.

2. My mother trusts me and lets me do my own thing even if it means coming home a bit late. That is the freedom I value, which is close to my heart.

3. When we vote, we vote with expectations, but governments rarely deliver on promises. So I really dont like participating in anything political.

4. The Constitution says we are a democratic country, but lately India is no longer a true democracy. There is so much strife, hatred, discrimination. I want a government that promotes unity and brotherhood.

5. So many things about India make me proud recently it was seeing Neeraj Chopra win the gold, and Assams Lovlina Borgohain the bronze at the Olympics. Also, whenever the national anthem plays, I get goosebumps. I dont like the fact that India has become a very corrupt country.

6. India was progressing before, but now it seems we are stagnating I think as a country, we were more united before.

Chaharika UppalChandigarhIn Class 12; wants to become a journalist

1. Freedom is not something tangible, which can be limited to the confines of a Constitution; freedom is a feeling, a feeling to act, speak, express ones identity without any fear or any form of self-censorship. Only when you are free of fear can you act and express as you wish.

2. I value freedom from fear the most, as it is at the heart of all other liberties. Freedom from living in the shadow of someone elses hate, of being persecuted for saying the truth, of economic distress.

3. I will vote as it makes me feel like my voice matters. For any democracy to survive, all its citizens need to have control over their individual voices and realise they play an important part in the governments working.

4. I wish for a government that provides an environment of safety and security in all realms of public life, and shows greater appreciation for peoples voice.

5. I am most proud of Indias revolutionary spirit. At all times our people have fought for what they believe is true, since Independence. I am least proud of the country being divided over religion and ethnicity.

6. India is slowly making its way towards the level of freedom it aspired for when it was liberated. With each setback, we have learnt and will keep doing so.

Sheikh Mohammad AbdullahBara Hindu Rao, Old DelhiIn Class 11; wants to become an engineer

1. When I think of freedom, I think of the freedom of speech, to express what we want to without restrictions. Freedom also means we are all equals, and have the right to practise our religion in peace.

2. I value the right to equality the most, that we can all live in harmony. Whether someone is from a high or low caste, rich or poor, there should be no differentiation.

3. I know voting is important but Im not exactly excited about it. I think I dont yet know very much about these things and about political parties.

4. A government should works towards providing health, education, food to all. All basic essentials should be available to all.

5. I am proud that people of all religions and speakers of different languages can live in India together. But I think a lot of improvement is needed in basic services like transport and banking, which will also improve our overall economy.

6. Before Independence, Indians were not equal citizens of the country. That has changed since. People cant just be sent to jail without any reason now. We have a lot of security as citizens.

Aarti JoshiDiu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and DiuIn Class 11; wants to join the civil services

1. Freedom to me means the freedom that keeps people together, the freedom to get an education of ones choice, and to practise the occupation one wants.

2. As a girl, the freedom to education is the most valuable for me. Women till a few generations ago could not exercise this freedom. It is also important to me that discrimination on the basis of the tone of ones skin, and prejudices attached to ones religion, gender or caste, end.

3. Voting is the most important cog in a democracy Development of the country depends on it. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we are fighting Covid-19, Section 370 has been repealed we have to think of all this while voting.

4. I expect the government to take decisions that will make the country Atmanirbhar. In the current situation, I would be happy if the government does something about price rise. Covid-19 and lockdowns have broken the backs of the people.

5. Almost everything about India makes me proud, at first thought. We got a gold medal at the Olympics, we are a big economy, have one of the worlds largest armies. Lives of people have improved. That said, the confidence of the poor has collapsed.

6. In the past 74 years, the opportunities for education, the way we are able to use social media suggest India has changed. But negatives like regressive societal norms persist.

Nympha FernandesBenaulim, GoaIn Class 12; wants to study history, become a singer, teacher

1. To me freedom is to do what one wants, with reasonable restrictions. Sometimes, there are more restrictions than there are freedoms.

2. I value all freedoms. It should not be that I have the freedom to choose my profession but not to change my religion. For example, I like to sing and I like history too. So I should be able to choose either or choose both.

3. There is no difference really whether I vote or not. Politicians make lofty promises and dont fulfill any. If you dont vote, you have no expectations.

4. The government should set aside a section for the visually impaired in movie halls and theatres; there should be audio-described movies. My family or sighted friends have to describe scenes to me and that can be irritating When a film releases, the government should make it compulsory for producers to also prepare an audio format. (Born pre-mature at 6 months, Nympha was kept in an incubator for a long time, and lost her eyesight after the hospital neglected to keep her eyes covered.)

5. I am most proud of our tradition of generosity. When I have little of something but I see that someone else needs it more, I give it to them. I am least proud of the lack of security in our country.

6. I am sure at the time of Independence the environment was much cleaner Nobody wants to spend time in nature any more. People are always with their mobiles and computers. This has led to mood swings and attitude problems.

Dip SosaNanavada village (Gir Somnath), GujaratJust cleared Class 12; wants to be an IT engineer

1. I dont know what to say about freedom. Currently, I am struggling to get enrolled in a university as my school is not giving me an LC (school leaving certificate) till I clear fees dues of Rs 50,000. I cant participate in IAF recruitment for the same reason despite having scored 88% in Class 12.

2. The fact that I am able to go to an educational institute and study is the biggest freedom for me. And we owe it to Babasaheb Ambedkar.

3. I absolutely want to vote. I want to exercise my franchise to elect leaders who would work for the country.

4. I have not thought much about what I want from the government, but corruption must be checked.

5. I am proud that the country has made big strides in education. Thanks to Babasaheb Ambedkar, SC students like me are getting scholarships, helping us pursue our dreams. Of late, recruitment drives by the Army, police have been regular.

But corruption is a big concern. Secondly, as a society, we can be more compassionate. Vivan Vadher (who died recently of a rare spinal muscular atrophy) should have been alive. If only a section of us had contributed even Rs 1 each, he would have been alive.

6. Many things have changed for good in the past 70 years. But for me, the fact remains that my father, a fisherman, is still in a Pakistan jail, and that my mother is struggling to ensure that my two elder sisters and I are not forced to stop studying. Maybe, she will mortgage our land.

Sneha SolankiJhajjar, HaryanaIn Class 12; wants to be a doctor

1. Freedom means the right to express our views, no restrictions on movement in any part of the country. But there should be checks too to avoid misuse of this freedom.

2. Girls should have the freedom to choose the profession they want, and their own life partners, thats the most important freedom. The scales are unequal even when it comes to clothes of our choice.

3. Yes, I want to vote so that we can be part of the election process, decide who is wrong and who is right.

4. I hope the government changes the system of reservation in educational institutions; meritorious students sometimes lose out. To help the children of backward communities, there should be scholarships, coaching facilities and monetary benefits in place of reservation. There should be more job opportunities in the public sector.

5. Unity in diversity is the most valuable asset of our country. There are people of different castes, religions and languages but still they live together. I am least proud of the reservation system for admission and government jobs.

6. New technology has come to India since Independence apart from a lot of development in terms of infrastructure, and job opportunities. Earlier, we used to import even foodgrains. Jammu and Kashmir has become an integral part of India after abrogation of Article 370. There is a change in the mindset of people too, like more and more women participating in sports.

Vanshika AhluwaliaNew Shimla, Himachal PradeshIn Class 12; wants to become an engineer

1. Freedom is the right to function as per ones will and to exercise ones rights as well as duties.

2. I value the right to education the most. It can help you shape your destiny and also light someone elses path.

3. Yes, I will vote. I believe one vote can make a difference.

4. Before expecting anything from the government, I believe it is our duty as citizens to exercise our rights. They say the government makes policies but the implementation is not that good. Why? Because we as citizens have to follow the norms.

5. India is unique. Its diversity is its most beautiful and important part. The thing that makes me least proud is that India is secular only in the pages of the Constitution. Islamophobia is spreading at the speed of light.

6. The way people perceive things has changed since Independence, there is a lot more stress on education, specially of the girl child. The government should provide free education till at least Class 12 to all students, regardless of economic status. That will make a big, big difference.

Kalpana TamangJammuIn Class 12; wants to become an IAS officer

1. Freedom to me is the ability to do what I want to. There should be no restrictions, as only then is one free.

2. Being a girl, the most important freedom to me is being able to walk alone at night.

3. I will vote, it is my right to choose my government.

4. I am a Taekwondo player. I want the government to support athletes financially, socially and emotionally so that they can bring laurels for the country.

5. Our society is a fine example of unity in diversity. Despite so many religions, cultures, languages and opinions, we live together and stand united. I am least proud about girls being unsafe in the country.

6. There was a time when people used to study under a lamp. Now we are studying on a mobile phone. Technology has changed a lot in 70 years. The spread of education has meant people have a modern outlook towards things like boys and girls studying together, interacting with each other.

Juvairiya T AKochi, KeralaJust finished Class 12; wants to become a schoolteacher

1. The freedom we enjoy today is the result of so many sacrifices, but there are a lot of people who misuse that freedom. Also, women still face difficulties in moving about, especially at night.

2. The freedom of speech and expression, that allows us to express our ideas and opinions, is the most important to me.

3. Yes I will vote. It allows us the right to engage politically and elect the people who we think should govern us.

4. I expect the government to build schools across the country so that more children get access to education and can contribute to the countrys growth.

5. Given that such a large majority derives some form of income from agriculture, I am very proud of the vast strides India has made in the farming sector. I am least proud of the treatment of women in India.

6. India has developed a lot in the past 75 years, there are so many industries where millions have jobs. Thats progress.

Stanzin YangdolLeh, LadakhStudying commerce; wants to become a good human being

1. Freedom to me means being true to myself and living by my own principles.

2. Freedom of speech is what I value the most, apart from freedom of choice.

3. Yes I am looking forward to voting because the freedom to choose our leaders reflects the kind of future we want to live in.

4. I want the government to focus on removing poverty and social inequality, as well as taking quick and decisive decisions for the soldiers at the border.

5. I am proud that even though India has a lot of diversity, at the end we all stand together for our country. I feel least proud of the patriarchy that exists and that injustice is done to women every single day.

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Citizens Z: What Is Freedom To Me - The Indian Express

Avirus is ravaging our country and our world. In spite of the overwhelming evidence that masks and vaccines work to limit sickness and death, there are people who endanger themselves and others, claiming rights under the banner of personal freedom. The U.S. Constitution, does not grant us so much personal freedom that we can disregard the rights and wellbeing of those around us.

Even scripture indicates that it is the Lords will that we look out for one another. In fact, Jesus said that if we would follow him, we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him. Following him means that we learn to becomeservants to one another. Democracy itself cannot endure if those who are part of it will not limit their own freedoms when necessary to safeguard the welfare of others.

We all delight in the lifestyle to which we have become accustomed, but as far back as the very early 1900's there were a few who were warning that all we were putting into the air would bring about significant climate change. Well today, we are beginning to suffer the consequences of what we have done, with more dire consequences to come. The lure of wealth, and the greed for more and more comfortable lifestyles have caused many to disregard or deny the warnings for decades.

The people living in the developed and developing countries today have to decide whether we will condemn much of the natural world to death, and create intense trouble and suffering for future generations, or whether we will make the necessary sacrifices to reverse our course. It appears that in our lifetime, we cannot undo all the damage we have already done. The question is whether we will do what we can to begin reversing the damage, or at least limit future damage. God has blessed us with people who have some knowledge of what we will have to do to achieve this.

I do not buy the copout that it is all in God's hands, and if the virus strikes me, it is God's will; or if climate change creates hell on earth, it is God's will. It is not God's will. God has warned us against idolatry. Idolatry is what leads us to put ourselves above others, and to put our needs above the needs of future generations. It reminds me of the time in Revelation when people were suffering the consequences of their actions, as God had warned that they would, and still, they would not repent.

Truly, many of us were unaware of our sin, of the damage we were doing to the world and to others, but that does not excuse us. The consequences are just as real. We are responsible for the harm we do, not God. And God loves us so much that he grieves when we harm ourselves and others. Will we earnestly repent, and call on God to help us choose a better path to the future? Or will everyone's responsibility become no one's responsibility, while we blindly continue down the road to destruction? God has put the choice in our hands.

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easythat leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it."

Doug StokesAyden, NC 28513

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Letter to the editor: We have freedom, but also great responsibility Neuse News - Neuse News

An archival exhibition on the freedom struggle in Delhi was inaugurated at the Secretariat as part of programmes to celebrate Indias 75th year of Independence.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia inaugurated the exhibition, which has been put together by the General Administration Department in collaboration with the Department of Delhi Archives, Govt. of NCT of Delhi. He said: The exhibition is a showcase of the vibrant history Delhi has, and the great fight put up by our freedom fighters for an independent India. The path to peace and non-violence enshrined by Mahatma Gandhi will continue to be a great learning for all of us for years on.

The exhibition showcased events of Indias freedom struggle in Delhi starting from the first war of Independence in 1857 up to 1947. The displays take visitors on a journey from the genesis of the freedom struggle in Delhi and the rising dislike for the East India Companys rule. The exhibition displays the history of Delhi, showcasing the works of freedom fighters, especially Mahatma Gandhis struggle for peace and non-violence.

The visuals showcase the role played by teachers, students and women from Delhi in the freedom struggle and the religious unity during the period. It also showcases how students from St. Stephens College, Hindu College and Indraprastha Girls College were a part of the struggle.

Originally posted here:

Sisodia inaugurates archival exhibition on freedom struggle - The Hindu

Ahead of the imminent fall of the Afghanistan government making way for an interim set up, the Taliban which had set an example of a horrifying reign between 1996 and 2001, on Saturday said they respect women's rights. Women will be allowed to leave homes alone and they will have access to education and work, but they will have to wear the hijab, a Taliban spokesperson told Reuters. Whipping, stoning were common forms of Taliban punishment in the earlier regime, but as Reuters reported, the spokesperson said that policy on punishments will depend on courts. Media will be allowed to criticise anyone, but they should not indulge in character assassination, the spokesperson said.

The return of the Taliban is a nightmare for Afghan women, and as apprehended, the Taliban insurgents in Kandahar have walked into the offices of Azizi Bank and ordered nine women working there to leave, Reuters reported. Male relatives can take their place, the Taliban said.

Former interior minister Ali Ahmad Jalali may head interim Afghan govt: Reports

The insurgent group told Reuters that n Taliban fighter was allowed to conduct celebratory gunfire right now as the negotiation for peaceful power transfer is still going on. Foreigners in the city can leave if they wish, the Taliban said. But if they continue to stay, then they will have to register their presence with Taliban administrators, the spokesperson said.

Watch: Taliban surround Kabul, in talks with Ashraf Ghani govt for power transition

Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani is expected to step down within the next few hours, Russian news agency Sputnik reported. With Afghanistan's former interior minister Ali Ahmad Jalali likely to be roped in to head the interim government, the Taliban are expecting the power transfer peacefully in the next few hours.

In just over a week, the Taliban have seized nearly all of Afghanistan raising questions over the monumental failure of the Afghan army. The warlords on whom Ashraf Ghani was banking for remobilising the army surrendered to the Taliban in the last few days apparently leaving no option in front of the Afghan government. The talks in Doha too didn't result in any breakthrough.

(With agency inputs)

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Women will have freedom, foreigners can leave: Taliban on possible new regime - Hindustan Times

It was the 1920s. India had been long subjected to colonialism. But the soul of the masses was stirring. Gandhi had arrived from South Africa. He crafted a political vocabulary that had no precedent in history. He put the Congress party on notice. It had to become a mass organisation, with a common touch and vernacular cadence. Even the elites, who privately grumbled about his simplicity and moralism, had to concede to his authority. After all, Gandhi had, as one leader put it, lifted the pall of fear. The intellectual ambitions of Indias new leaders were not modest. It was to create an alternative universality; position India as a vishwaguru on the dint of its values and the power of its example, not on the barrel of the gun. Human rights and development as the West understood them were cloaks for a false universalism. They came with imperialism and exploitation.

This vision was not uncontested. Ambedkar rightly pointed out that a civilisation that had perfected an oppressive social hierarchy was hardly in a position to occupy the high moral ground. But this vision also stood on the ground of values and an ambitious universality: The idea of human dignity at the front and centre of everything. He was cynical about the motives of his colleagues, but never about values, and he crafted the principles of a new social contract capable of being a lodestar for the ages. There were other leaders of other persuasions as well, some more conservative, some more liberal, some revolutionary, but all fully conscious of the monumental task of bringing back a long subjugated country to its freedom, its moral centre and civilisational creativity.

And creativity that generation saw in abundance. What had begun as a sort of renaissance in Bengal became a national creed. Poets and writers created new songs and stories for this new stirring nation in more languages than one can list. Its scholars were rediscovering the deepest recesses of its traditions, even as its scientists were beginning to win Nobel Prizes under difficult circumstances. New universities were created. New art forms flourished. Fierce political debate flourished over the ends of politics and the means appropriate to it. All kinds of futures were being imagined for India, from the industrial to the pastoral. But all committed to freedom. The arguments were sometimes bitter. But they were chastened by a consciousness that Gandhi reminded us of that our besetting sin is not our differences, it is our littleness.

But under the surface of this brilliance and glitter of this golden generation that would lay the foundations of independent India, a poison was brewing. Limited democracy came in the form of the 1935 Act. Petty squabbles over power operated under the shadow of this greatness. But the deeper poison was the poison of communalism, with its same dreary murderous templates. There were fights over conversion and reconversion, sacred cows and prohibited pigs, which pamphlets were offensive to which community, who gets patronage from the state, threats of intermarriage, and the writing of history. There was sheer prejudice as well, those reservoirs of hate that cloak themselves under the garb of a higher purpose.

The social and intellectual partitions between Hindus and Muslims acquired new force. Rioting gained momentum, mutual recrimination became the new flavour. A nation looking at freedom was now contemplating division. In a few years, the energies of an authentic universality, spiritual regeneration, creative excellence, productive political debates were replaced by horrendous violence, a fearful nationalism, community narcissism and the strategic unity of the Subcontinent in ruins. This golden generation were no fools of history; but even they were certainly fooled by it. Once the poison took hold, the best and the brightest were powerless to stop it: A few drops of poison could overpower the sweetest of nectars.

Two new nations were born. India was born amidst the failure of its nationalist project. Nineteen forty-seven was both Partition and freedom; self-determination and slaughter. Pakistan decided to continue with the Partition project; it homogenised its territory, set religious benchmarks for identity. India in an act of creative resetting decided to make a fresh start. We embraced our tryst with destiny, even in this truncated form. We tried to let the legacy of freedom define India more than the obsession with Partition. In that audacious commitment was born a grand experiment: The largest democracy in the world, committed, with various imperfections, to liberal ideals, and a new hope. Our tryst with destiny collided with quotidian realities. We did not lift people out of poverty fast enough. Social democracy was often held hostage by plutocracy, bureaucracy and caste hierarchy. But we still said, to use Aurobindos words, we do not belong to the past dawns, but to the noons of the future.

In the new century, it looked as if Indias economic promise would finally gain momentum. India had much to build on. But then we rolled the clock back. Our battles are like a rerun of the 1930s cow protection, love jihad, new excuses to hate. We will now complete the logic of Partition, we said deepen the divisions, define ourselves by those same violent templates, the sense of victimhood and bigotry that tore apart the soul of India. In the 1930s, it happened to a certain extent despite the leaders; now our leaders are leading the charge. So long as we are completing the project of Partition, we said, we will put up with anything, even authoritarianism. Fundamentalism in Pakistan, open calls for violence in Delhi, all now wearing the garb of some higher national purpose. In a strange alchemy, embracing this death wish seems to make us feel more alive as a nation.

The moral of the 1930s was clear. Once unleashed, communalism always breaks nations. It took the sheen off Indias renaissance in the 1930s; it will again corrode new Indias energies. It has momentum that we can only pretend to control. The logic of Partition and the logic of freedom are fundamentally incompatible. One traps us in compulsory identities, the other lets us define ourselves. One sees fellow citizens as a potential threat, the other as a resource to build something special. One wallows in the past, the other is oriented to the future. One concentrates on the true foundation of national greatness, the other creates an impostor-like substitute. One is premised on fear, the other on hope. One on violence, the other solidarity. Which logic will we embrace freedom or Partition? A question for both India and Pakistan. And alas, the answer is looking depressingly clear.

This column first appeared in the print edition on August 14, 2021 under the title The 1947 we choose. The writer is contributing editor, The Indian Express.

Read more:

At 75, will India embrace the logic of freedom or Partition? - The Indian Express

Sure, we are all tired of this masks-on, masks-off; its safe; no, its not safe! Business leaders, who are largely driven by corporate self-interest and profit, are now seeing the best path forward is to make sure their workforces and in some cases, their customers are vaccinated.

Exactly one year ago, as cases in Georgia were spiking, I spoke with Harry Heiman, a professor at Georgia State Universitys School of Public Health. We talked about mask mandates and where the science was going on this new virus.

In August 2021, we now know that people should be vaccinated, he said this week. Mandatory vaccines for employees are a critical tool. (Business leaders) recognize that we have to take responsibility for what we are responsible for.

Moderna COVID-19 vaccines sit on a tray as they are prepared to be administered to health care workers at the DeKalb County COVID-19 BrandsMart USA drive-thru testing site on Jan. 7, 2021, in Doraville. (Curtis Compton / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

He noted that last year there was debate over what course should take precedence. At the time, public health measures were pitted against taking steps to open up the economy. It was the dilemma Gov. Brian Kemp faced when he moved to open up barber shops and nail salons and then took heat from President Donald Trump who, as it turns out, was just getting warmed up against his Georgia ex-buddy.

Now, says Heiman, the economy and public health are intrinsically tied together. It wasnt either/or, it was both.

He noted theres a segment of the unvaccinated population (more than 47% of Georgians have had at least one shot) who say they wont get it until theyre required to. A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that about a quarter of the unvaccinated said theyd do so if forced.

Its kind of like seat belts. Decades ago, everyone knew they were safe but hardly anyone used them. Then cops started handing out tickets and almost everyone now buckles up.

The list of corporations that have told some or all employees that getting vaccinated is a condition of employment grows by the day: Walmart, Tyson Foods, Google, Microsoft, United Airlines, The Walt Disney Co.

In Georgia, Emory Healthcare, Invesco and even Cox Enterprises, which writes my paychecks, are requiring workers coming to the company headquarters to be vaccinated.

I called Jon Chally, a commercial litigator from Atlanta who says he has advised clients how to navigate the pandemic.

The reason for the increasing number of vaccine mandates is simple, he said: Theres a genuine desire with businesses to be safe for their employees and customers. And they also want to get moving. Theres been a certain frustration: What do we need to do to get over this? The science is to the point that the vaccine is what we need to get over this.

I asked if big businesses will be the ones to forge the path for smaller businesses to follow. No, itll be case by case, he said. Big businesses have to make decisions on all sorts of locations with different clientele and mindsets.

Maddie Nichols, 8, sits in the car as her mother Blythe Nichols (not pictured) decorates it with signs before they participate in a drive-by protest against Gov. Brian Kemps decision to reopen some Georgia businesses on April 24, 2020. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

The simple answer is that more will do it, but science will drive it, Chally said. I suppose there is safety in numbers. But in the business world, its more what is best for our employees and customers and, ultimately, to the business.

Now, thats not to say any of that will be done without pushback. First, the anti-vax crowd is full-throated, often verging on rabid, and is quick to tell politicians or anyone else on social media what is percolating in their noodles. And politicians, by nature, are a reactive lot.

State Sen. Brandon Beach, an aspiring Republican from Alpharetta, announced this week hes filing legislation to prohibit a COVID-19 vaccination from being used as a condition of employment, admittance to a business, or to attend a public school.

It should not be the place of any government or business to institute mandates that their employees or customers receive a COVID-19 vaccine or to provide proof of vaccination in order to receive a service, said Beach, who has always been a big pro-bidness guy. He used to run the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce and now heads the North Fulton Community Improvement District (CID). He also jumped on the Stop The Steal bandwagon in a big way.

Now, businesses absolutely hate to be in the middle of a political fight. They prefer simply to focus on the business of doing business. And with a tight labor market, companies may get squeamish about irking those who remain resolutely unvaccinated. They may quit and need to be replaced.

In Florida, the Legislature and that states ambitious governor, Ron DeSantis, passed legislation vaguely similar to Beachs, prohibiting businesses from requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination. Its a personal choice issue, they say you know, the choice for citizens to catch a deadly disease if they want and then let it mutate.

But a federal judge this week ruled in favor of a cruise line, which wanted its crew and passengers to show proof of vaccination. Cruise lines have forever been known as floating petri dishes, and COVID has decimated that business. This is an attempt to right the ship.

Norwegian Cruise Line argued that DeSantis and Co.s stand was an anomalous, misguided intrusion (that) threatens to spoil (the companys) careful planning and force it to cancel or hobble upcoming cruises, thereby imperiling and impairing passengers experiences and inflicting irreparable harm of vast dimensions.

Republicans have long argued that government should get out of the way of business. In this case, the judge said government cant get in the way of a business trying to keep its people safe.

I know, I know, some people are arguing these vaccination mandates are kind of like civil rights cases and are discriminatory. But my Google Law degree says that unvaccinated, feverish people are not a protected class.

Were sure to see more of these sideshows in front of judges as the nation tries to figure out a path forward.

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OPINION: Take the Freedom Vaccine then head to work - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Dear

Thank you for your email.

We have carefully reviewed clinical trial data for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in over 2000 children aged 12 to 15 years of age and have concluded that that the benefits of this vaccine outweigh any risk and that it is effective and acceptably safe in this age group. This data has also been reviewed by the independent Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), its COVID-19 vaccine benefit-risk expert working group, as well as the Paediatric Medicines Expert Advisory Group.

No new side effects were identified and the safety data in children was comparable with that seen in young adults. As in the young adult age group, the majority of adverse events were mild to moderate, relating to reactogenicity (e.g. sore arm and tiredness.)

The Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) met on 27 May 2021 to discuss the request to vary the existing authorisation to extend the approval to apply to children aged 12 15 years old.

The CHM considered the results of randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trials in over 2000 children aged 12 15 years.

The immunogenicity results (showing how well the vaccine works), studied in approximately 200 children, demonstrated similar neutralising antibody levels in adolescents aged 12-15 years compared with the levels in young adults aged 16-25 years.

These results are supported by a very high level of short-term efficacy data in adolescents against symptomatic disease after 2 doses of vaccine 21 days apart.

In participants with no prior evidence of infection there were no cases of COVID-19 in the vaccinated group from 7 days after the second dose compared with 16 cases in the placebo group.

Consistent with what was seen in adults there was evidence that the vaccine provides protection even before the administration of dose 2. There were no cases seen in the vaccine group from 11 days after dose 1 compared to 31 in the placebo group. Prior to day 11 there were 3 cases in the vaccine group and 4 on placebo.

Safety data in children aged 12-15 years is available from one clinical trial. This safety data is supported by the safety data from the clinical trials in individuals aged 16 years and over, together with a large amount of real-world data on the safety of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in individuals aged 16 years and over. This has been closely monitored as the vaccine has been rolled out both in the UK and internationally. This experience has reinforced the conclusion that the benefits of the Pfizer/BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine continue to outweigh any possible side effects.

The Public Assessment Report (Regulatory approval of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) will be updated to include the data which the CHM looked at to approve this vaccine, this will be available in due course.

As you may already be aware, other regulatory authorities around the world, including the European Medicines Agency (EMA), US FDA and Health Canada, have also approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, including its use in 12 15 year olds.

If you have a query about the information provided, please reply to this email

If you are dissatisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to ask for an internal review. Internal review requests should be submitted within two months of the date you receive this response and addressed to: info@mhra.gov.uk

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 situation, we are not able to accept delivery of any documents or correspondence by post or courier to any of our offices

Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you were to remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you would have the right to apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Please bear in mind that the Information Commissioner will not normally review our handling of your request unless you have first contacted us to conduct an internal review. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioners OfficeWycliffe HouseWater LaneWilmslowCheshireSK9 5AF

Yours sincerely

MHRA Customer Service Centre

Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 4PU

Read more here:

Freedom of Information request on the effects of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine on 12-15-year olds (FOI 21-646) - GOV.UK

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Anti-vaxxers should reject COVID-19 care

In response to the 200 demonstrators who view the vaccine-or-test mandate as an infringement on personal freedom (Vaccine-or-test mandates in Hawaii spur protest rally, Star-Advertiser, Aug. 10): I love your rally cry, Its our body, Its our choice, and especially, Live free or die.

So when you contract the COVID-19 delta variant, please do just that. Stay home and gasp for air. Embrace your freedom. Do not go to the hospital, burden our health care system or become a slave to the pharmaceutical industry that could save your life. You want natural immunity? Looks like you prefer natural selection.

Deborah Luckett

Waialae-Kahala

Governors hypocritical on freedom of choice

When anti-vaxxers claim, My body, my choice, how many also would ban birth control and abortions? Those people only expose their hypocrisy.

We see this on the national scale when governors say they wont force vaccinations and masking to preserve freedom of choice, but are willing to ban masking and vaccinations using the same reason. This is insanity.

Cyrus Won

Wilhelmina Rise

Trim weeds near canal along Kalakaua Avenue

With hurricane season here, its sad to see the neglect on cutting the grass and weeds along the canal that runs parallel to Kalakaua Avenue between King and Philip streets.

Years ago that canal overflowed when it rained for more than 30 days, and the grass was low. Today it is the same height as the sidewalk and you cant see the riverbed. Can that be cleared before a disaster arises and floods those living next to it?

Kekoa McGuire

McCully-Moiliili

Crowds at Lanikai Beach driving out the locals

Build another road in and out and a parking lot in Lanikai (Protect access to Hawaiis trails, beaches, Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, Aug. 4)?

Already Lanikai Beach is so full of tourist groups that some residents dont even swim there when the water gets too murky.

These reckless suggestions are beyond ridiculous. We need to control access to that beach, not encourage it.

Marcia Del Mar

Kailua

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Letters: Anti-vaxxers should reject COVID-19 care; Governors hypocritical on freedom of choice; Crowds at L... - Honolulu Star-Advertiser