Category Archives: Politically Incorrect

Grimeborn, the annual opera festival, has moved round North London's Latte Belt from Dalston to Hackney and pitches up at the grand old Empire with the second part of Richard Wagner's The Ring Cycle, Die Walkrie. It's a change of location that brings problems and opportunities, with an echo or two of those given to Brnnhilde in the work itself.

Sensing his doubts, she disobeys her father, Wotan, and spares Siegmund death as her heart is touched by his confessions of love for his sister, Sieglinde, whom he has recently found after years of separation. Wotan, as gods are wont to be if defied by women who think they know better, takes badly to this turn of events and does Brnnhilde's job for her, ensuring that Siegmund dies in his fight with Hunding, with whom he has been feuding. Things don't end well for Hunding either - it never pays to get too close to an angry Norse god.

Brnnhilde spirits Sieglinde away, telling her that her unborn child will be the greatest hero of them all (The Ring Cycle is a boxed set, remember) and seeks sanctuary with her fellow Valkyrie sisters, who, taking time off from selecting the dead warriors fit to enter Valhalla, rally to her side, but quail in the presence of Wotan, still dialling the bad temper to 11.

As punishment, Brnnhilde is made mortal and exiled to a mountain top (German Romanticism's ethos could hardly accept less) but, Wotan, remembering his love for his favourite, allows her request for a ring of fire to encircle her, Brnnhilde having calculated that the only prince who could traverse it and wake the sleeping beauty she will become is Siegfried, the hero yet to be born.

So, mash up Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings, and out pops this testosterone-fuelled epic, albeit one with strong female characters. As Grimeborn operas intend, this stripped back version by Jonathan Dove and Graham Vick, is certainly accessible, but I'd suggest that it's worth reading the synopsis in the programme or on Wikipedia before taking your seat.

Moving from the tight confines of The Arcola, home to Grimeborn and the excellent 2019 production of The Ring Cycle's first part, Das Rheingold, diminishes and enhances the unique pleasures of a boutique opera, the scaling up of the concept not wholly successful.

It's still a privilege to hear singing of this quality outside the big houses with their big prices - Mark Stone expressive as Wotan, Laure Meloy heartbreaking as Brnnhilde and soprano, Natasha Jouhi, sensational as Sieglinde - but it's a big house to fill and you do lose the almost atavistic impact of these voices giving it everything within touching distance, as they are in Dalston. Perhaps the aesthetic dimension is enhanced, as Stone's baritone resonates round the house, but the thrill is diluted.

The vast stage doesn't help matters, with Bettina John's set design looking like a backstage space at The Royal Opera House, with scaffolding poles a "neither here nor there" proxy for swords. The stakes seem less life and death and more "Who's going to fix the broom handle?" It's only when the three Valkyrie sisters (in leather tailoring no less) turn up on swings and accompanied by their impressive and familiar fanfare, that the stage looks filled - owned really - by the gods whose domain it is. Too often, the sparks have too much distance to cross to ignite the fires that roil beneath the surface.

We gain with the music. Peter Selwyn conducts the 18 strong Orpheus Sinfonia with such confidence, all the power and emotions of Wagner's score working its way into our souls. The surtitles may give us the English translation of the German libretto, but they're largely superfluous - the music is telling us everything we need to know. There are one or two occasions when the Donner und Blitzen overwhelms the voices, but not often, that balance (so crucial and so often overlooked) perfect from my seat in the stalls.

There will be more spectacular versions, maybe more intimate versions too, but director, Julia Burbach, gives us a Die Walkrie that has much to offer Wagner superfans (I suspect there might not be any other kind) and plenty too for those dipping a toe into a legendary (in every sense) work that can be intimidating as opera gets. Coming in at not much above three hours with an interval, you can look the unsmiling Saxon composer with the politically incorrect reputation in the eye and say (like Siegmund) "Let's do this." You won't be disappointed.

Die Walkre is at the Hackney Empire until 7 August and the Grimeborn Festival continues at The Arcola Theatre until 11 September.

Photo Alex Brenner.

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BWW Review: DIE WALKRE, Hackney Empire The Grimeborn Festival scales up for the second part of - Broadway World

Over the past year, I noticed several books written by giants in our field, people everyone knows, people I am honored to know personally. I was interested in what they wrote, and I thought their books would be of general interest to The Cancer Letter community.

Going beyond merely recommending the books, I set out to write in a book review format, providing critiques that would enable everyone to appreciate more of the details (and want to read the books).

Because of my interest (or because I know the subject matter and, in some cases, am acquainted with the authors), I included reflections on the aspects of the books I found interesting, adding perspective or insight when appropriate.

You will find a lot of interesting history and fascinating tidbits within these volumesincluding the personal human side of science and medicine. Perhaps I got a little carried away with the number of words, but I wanted to do these books justice. I know my colleagues will be eager to read every word. And maybe some will be inspired to do similar thingsmaybe we could start something new here.

Perhaps it was an unusual year for those types of books that I gravitated toward. Rather than sticking with my typical diet of sci-fi, social justice, history, and entertainment, I gravitated toward important and timely social and ethical issues in science and oncology.

I hope the reader gets all the way down to the bottom of the list (especially the book my daughter Julie is reading), and, finally, I wish there were more hours in the day.

The books reviewed here are:

Other books on my reading list are:

And a book my daughter, Julie, is reading:

When a Nobel Laureate like Paul Nurse stops to ask what it means to be alive or what defines life, one can be sure that something interesting and important will be learned.

The basic unit of matter is the atom. The basic unit of life (the first step), the cell varies widely in size, for example 3,000 bacteria add up to a mm, while a single nerve cell from the spine to the big toe can be a meter long. Virchow Omnis cellula e cellula, or all cells come from other cells, is pretty profound.

We all were single embryonic cells; life does not ordinarily arise from inert matter. At the core of cells are the genes, and their history dates back to before it was known what genes were. Gregor Mendel studied inheritance patterns in pea plants and referred to pairs of elements and specific patterns he observed were later understood to apply to all sexually reproducing species. Microscopy was used by Anton van Leeuwenhoek, and later by Matthias Schleiden and Theodore Schwann in the late 1830s to observe cells.

By the 1870s, Walther Flemming observed threads in cells that separated as cells divided, later called chromosomes, physical manifestations of genes, the heritable particles proposed by Mendel. While it became known that chromosomes contained deoxyribonucleic acids, work of Oswald Avery in the early 1940s, most biologists thought that DNA was too simple and boring a molecule to be responsible for such a complex phenomenon as heredity.

Nurse recounts how the structure of DNA was transformational as were its implications for heredity. The gene is the second step in understanding the biology of life. He got to know Watson and Crick and describes how they were and how they complemented each other.

The genetic code was broken in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Nurse describes Sydney Brenner as having interviewed him for a job he didnt get, during which he compared his colleagues to the crazed figures in Picassos painting Guernica, which hung on the wall of his office.

Genetically modified bacteria were developed by the late 1970s and instructed to produce insulin, while Fred Sanger worked out methods to sequence DNA, and the human genome was sequenced by 2003. Nurse goes into how the control of mitosis and the cell cycle to ensure faithful replication and cell division is what makes life possible for a cell. He recounts laborious work with yeast mutants that led him to identify the small wee mutants, at least 50 of them, and then the cdc2 mutant that unlocked a fundamental mechanism of cell division.

Nurse recounts a personal story about his own genetics with shocking revelations for him as he was moving to become president of Rockefeller University. Youll have to read his book for that information.

The book turns to evolution, natural selection as an important feature of life (the third step), ideas of Lamarck and (Charles) Darwin (and his grandfather Erasmus who was also a doctor and poet). He mentioned others before them and also described the influence of artificial selection used by humans, such as breeding pigeons or dogs, on directed evolution.

Even the error rate of DNA replication is subject to natural selection. Nurse describes life on our planet as all connected, and recounts an experience on a visit to Africa with a gorilla and then the amazing conservation in cell cycle control between yeast and human cells, at least as far as cdc2.

It is interesting to me, that four decades after its discovery, there has not been a description of a yeast p53 homologue or a cell cycle checkpoint mechanism like p53 activation of the mammalian CDK inhibitor p21(WAF1)/CDKN1A, one of my most favorite genes that mediates growth arrest to allow DNA repair in damaged or stressed cells.

Nurse gets into another (the fourth step) aspect of life through chemistry and chemical reactions. He describes insights by Pasteur that chemical reactions are expressions of the life of the cell. Metabolism is the chemistry of life is something that many cancer researchers in 2021 are focused on.

He points out that enzymes are catalysts that support life. The compartmentalization within cells is viewed as a way that a vast array of chemical and metabolic reactions can occur to sustain life. Life is also powered by ATP made in mitochondria. Finally, Nurse describes a key aspect of life (the fifth step) as information, sensing, responding and adapting, and posits that purposeful behavior is a defining feature of life.

The book discusses much more about the organization and regulation that makes life possible. Nurse includes a chapter about changing the world with new ideas and technologies, and how the world has changed as a result of all the progress that has been made through science. He ends the book with his approach to defining life by providing essential principles that build upon the five steps, recounts ideas of others, and offers some of his own speculation about the origin of life.

I read this book while in medical school, but became interested in it this past year, as I think it brings back a history of medicine and a kind of explorer who has been lost in the modern era.

If bureaucratic heads would roll in Washington, the answer from the FDA would have to be no as far as starting human studies with thymidine as a cancer therapeutic without preclinical evidence of safety.

Thus, Dr. Beppino Giovanella wrote a clinical protocol for himself, and took thymidine orally in increasing doses. He developed diarrhea and couldnt absorb enough to reach high blood levels. So, he injected himself with IV thymidine and went to the FDA with evidence of safety and they reversed their decision to allow clinical testing in patients with terminal cancer. But not all chemotherapy works

Dr. Horace Wells, a dentist and inventor in Hartford, CT, was successful but felt his profession was unpleasant because of the pain his patients had to endure. He observed a demonstration of the effect of laughing gas when a circus performer hurt himself and felt no pain. He set up a demonstration on himself of what would be a painless tooth extraction.

His demonstration in Boston to the Harvard surgeons didnt go smoothly because of his nervousness and their arrogant skepticism. He abandoned dentistry but was urged by his family to patent the nitrous oxide gas.

He wouldnt give his former student Morton, in Boston, the gas, and Morton eventually experimented with ether, also being talked about at the time, on his dog and goldfish. Morton eventually made a demonstration for the surgeons at Harvard and it went well for the removal of a neck tumor painlessly.

The story gets interesting with disputes in 1846 between Wells, Morton, and Jackson each claiming they made the invention. Desperation, anguish, and madness are part of this story and eventually credit for the discovery of anesthesia is settled but not before a human toll is taken. Read about it to find out what happened.

Several other guinea pig doctor stories are included about cholera, yellow fever, tubes inside the bodywhether its the heart or kidneys combined with X-rays, to push back the frontiers of medicine. One story I read in the 1980s is about Dr. William J. Harrington, who was chair of medicine at University of Miami, who was also head of hematology and on the faculty while I was a student there.

I met him at the end of my hematology rotation and remember, to this day, that when examined by a hematologist, one should always have in the back of their mind that the answer might be to do a bone marrow examination.

Dr. Harrington had met a young patient who was bleeding when he was a medical student in Boston. His patient had no platelets and died from surgery to remove her spleen. Later, as a hematology fellow at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, he would inject himself with a pint of blood from a patient with severe ITP who had not improved despite a splenectomy.

Bills own platelet count went down to zero for 5 days and he had bleeding around his ankles and in his stools. He had multiple blood and bone marrow examinations during the days that followed until his platelets recovered. His self-experimentation was the first example of a demonstration of autoimmune disease.

Interestingly, the book recounts that other staff members, secretaries, medical students and physicians in the summer and Fall of 1950 participated in similar experimentation with transfusions under more controlled settings. Dr. Harrington presented his paper at the 43rd annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.

It was quite a treat for me to read this book, as I had met Dr. [Suzanne] Koven during medicine house-staff training at Johns Hopkins, and in fact she was my chief resident (the third woman in the departments hundred-year history and the only married woman or woman with a baby to be selected for this honor.) during my senior medical resident year.

Dr. Koven, who was an English major in college, and had wanted to become a journalist, has an incredible talent for writing and flowery language. She recounts her journey with a special kind of humor. The only thing I remember from my introductory chemistry course is that Einstein calculated Avogadros number (6.022 x 1023) using grains of pollen. I never understood what Avogadros number was, but I enjoyed picturing the wild-haired genius with his loupe and tweezers painstakingly dissecting the sex organs of flowers.

The Letter she wrote to a young female physician is about what to expect in a male-dominated medical world, with many challenges from sexism, some infuriating, some merely annoying, serious and damaging discrimination, imposter syndrome and ends with recognition of a mature state of humility, and self-reflection for the benefit of her younger colleagues.

She quotes Sir William Osler: There are three classes of human beings: men, women, and women physicians.

Koven admits her complicity in a system that had so little regard for me, and states perhaps the reason I didnt rebel against the culture of my medical training was that I loved it.

Dr. Koven writes about her father who was an orthopedic surgeon with whom she spent time in the office after school.

What I wanted, I think, during those afternoons when I dipped x-rays into vats of sharp-smelling chemicals and held down limbs as the circular saw screeched through plaster casts, was to be close to my father, about whom I was endlessly curious.

On why she didnt become a psychiatrist, which she considered at one time, she mentioned a joke her father, the surgeon, told her The internist knows everything and does nothing, the surgeon knows nothing and does everything, the psychiatrist knows nothing and does nothing, and the pathologist knows everything and does everything a day too late.

She writes in a chapter entitled Things shameful to be spoken about: Ive always been a talker. Mrs. Sylvia Krensky wrote on my otherwise unblemished first-grade report card: Suzanne must learn to let the other children speak. I never did. To this day Im a chronic interrupter and conversation hog.

In her book, Dr. Koven shares much about her personal life through various transitions and some of what she went through, with wisdom, knowledge and poetry interspersed.

In her own words, she shares her tribulations, the idea that Id misdiagnosed my mother due to my incompetence was too painful for me to dwell on for too long. I quickly moved on to another theory: that my mothers diagnosis had eluded me for the same reason it had eluded her internist in Florida during the many months shed complained to him about fatigue and left-shoulder pain; she was a woman.

Dr. Koven recounts meeting a patient with leukemia during her clinical skills training as a medical student at Johns Hopkins. Her interview at that point captures when the patients illness became apparent, during an afternoon when he was coaching his grandsons baseball team and suddenly became light-headed.

He held on to the chain-link fence to keep from falling and as he looked at his fingers, wrapped tightly through the metal wire, he noticed how pale they were.

Months later, on an inpatient rotation when the patient was much sicker when she reviewed the notes from her earlier encounter I tossed my old note back in the folder with my essays on Black House and Mrs. Dalloway, having concluded that it was, like they were, useless.

Then, she wrote this sentence that resonates a bit in the modern era of sometimes fragmented and impersonal medicine (although probably not the intended takeaway): Then I wrote my new note as if Id never met Mr. Blake before, as if Id never heard his story.

Dr. Koven wrote a chapter about Mnemonics, that every medical student will appreciate. She tells her friend, another English major she had met at Yale: The pancreas! I cried. I dont understand the pancreas!

In a chapter entitled We Have a Body, Dr. Koven describes an experience with a patient with terminal ovarian cancer on a rotation at the old Baltimore City Hospital. Youll have to read the book, but Dr. Kovens compassion and the art of medicine come to mind as she looked into the patients social history (a good thing for any doctor to do to understand more about their patient as a person) and what she did to spend time at the bedside.

Dr. Kovens book has much more, and every medical student and doctor should read it. It recounts a history important for anyone interested in social justice in the medical field as well as addressing sexism in medicine.

She reflects on her first experience with death. It seems preposterous to me now, as a mother and as a doctor, that any responsible adult thought it was a good idea for our AP biology class to take a field trip to the Medical Examiners Office of the City of New York to witness the autopsy of a nursing student from the Bronx whod been stabbed to death the night before by her boyfriend.

She says this, among other things about her experience in anatomy. At the end of the course there was no memorial service, there were no candles, no songs, and no prayers of gratitude, as there often are in medical schools today, to honor the people our bodies had once been.

Dr. Koven also addresses racism drawn from her experiences at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Taussig pointed to the blood bank and stated aloud what everyone knew: that the blood of Black people and the blood of white people were stored separately there. She then asked Henry (one of Dr. Kovens mentors who told her the story): Doesnt this strike you as very wrong?

Pediatric cardiologist Dr. Helen Taussig invented the blue baby operation known as the Blalock-Taussig, shunt and which should really be called the Blalock-Thomas-Taussig shunt in recognition of Blalocks lab technician, a black man named Vivien Thomas, the grandson of a slave, who played a key role in perfecting the procedure.

Reading further about Dr. Kovens experiences and reflections, I thought she would have made an exceptionally great oncologist incorporating extensive clinical expertise and perhaps her own special impact on the field of palliative care to help patients. Who knows, maybe there would have even been a Kovens syndrome.

In a chapter about Lineage, Dr. Koven says My true lineage, I now think, included Blackwell and Haseltinenot to mention Oprah, and my motherat least as much as Osler. The House of God comes up a few times, along with a novel called Woman Doctor written by Dr. Florence Haseltine with English professor Yvonne Yaw, at around the same time as Samuel Shems bestseller.

Unlike The House of God, though, no ones heard of Woman Doctor. Its out of print. My copy has a tacky 70s cover featuring a grainy photograph of a glamorous, dark-eyed, long-lashed woman in full surgical garb who looks nothing like Dr. Haseltine as she appears in her author photo.

I was able to find a copy of Woman Doctor that I bought on Amazon, $6.55 Hardcover (for some reason, the paperback is listed from $38.50 and Mass Market Paperback $902.81).

Dr. Kovens book has much more, and every medical student and doctor should read it. It recounts a history important for anyone interested in social justice in the medical field as well as addressing sexism in medicine. It is a classic by a masterful author who is a complex individual with very important messages and legacy. Her Letter to a Young Female Physician book is already a best seller.

On a personal note, by 1989, when Dr. Koven was my chief resident, she had encyclopedic knowledge of medicine, the poise and equanimity that the Osler Marines aspire to and never appeared as an imposter per personal observations.

It is hard to know why we remember certain things, but I do recall a scene one morning on our Osler rounds where our team had an admission on Halstead 5, the famous step-down cardiology floor at Johns Hopkins.

As we were outside a patients room discussing the case, the patients heart stopped and they needed immediate resuscitation. Dr. Koven, chief resident and medical attending of record, very calmly picked up the paddles, and then passed them on to another team member to perform the electrical cardioversion. This was when she was fairly late in her pregnancy but functioning very admirably as our leader. As she handed the paddles off she had a smile or more of a smirk that all who know her would recognize, and then she said perhaps someone else should do this.

This was an intense time during residency training in an era without work-hour rules, or balance between learning and service. There were other memories and even conflicts, mostly suppressed but not all forgotten.

My colleague, John Marshall, who leads the Division of Hematology-Oncology, is a leader in our field, articulate, and well-known for his sense of humor. He directs the Otto Ruesch Center for the Cure of GI Cancer along with his wife Liza, who is a survivor of breast cancer. In this book, published in 2021, John and Liza share personal storiesand we can be grateful they shared them.

John begins the first part of the book entitled Hail to the Queen (referring to breast cancer as the queen of all cancers) by giving his perspective early in his career I quickly came to see the ubiquitous pink ribbons as the enemy, a symbol of unfair focus in our field. Breast cancer comes first, and the rest of us get the leftoversI preached my gospel of resentment and jealousy of breast cancer to anyone who would listen.

He would say things in lectures such as what color is the colon cancer ribbon? Come on, you in front? Brown? God, I wish it were a brown ribbon (and the comments went downhill from there, not to be repeated here).

He reminds the readers about how the Department of Defense came to fund breast cancer research, and how politically incorrect it would be to cut it even though it doesnt kill most of those in the military. He felt an injustice towards the high mortality of some of the many patients he saw, including young people, with advanced GI cancers.

He says other funny things, like, hematologists are full of themselves, a bit like peacocks or GI oncologists are the Gryffindors of the cancer world. We are by far the best humans God ever created His resentment was not helped when Georgetown recruited Marc Lippman as Cancer Center Director, and where breast cancer ruled.

Some chapters are written by John, and others by Liza. Liza found out she had breast cancer when a colleague of Johns walked into his office to share results of Lizas breast tissue pathology that showed cancer cells in the lymph system, and Liza was on the phone speaking with him.

This was no joke. Lizas previous experience with a close friend Holly in her mid-40s had shown the aggressiveness and deadliness of breast cancer a few years earlier. For Liza, John intervened to help her get scans quickly and even chipped in by showing up to a school activity so she could get away.

John had a difficult time in his teenage years with his mothers cancer and familys financial downturn. As he excelled in school, he would often hear from his dad, If a boy like you doesnt succeed, who will?

He recounts his spiritual life as a Baptist, and how with singing in the choir and other public speaking opportunities, he discovered his love of an audience and entertaining others. He lost his mom from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma before she was 40, when he was 13.

His father remarried, he went to boarding school and then to Duke University. Without much structure, he faced a low point in his life until he met Liza, then went to med school while she went to law school.

Liza recounts the testing she had with scans and how she and John handled telling their family, especially their children and other friends about the breast cancer diagnosis. Liza had to deal with hearing the diagnosis of triple negative breast cancer, and that while cancer was seen in the lymphatic system in a core needle biopsy, the doctors didnt know where the primary tumor was and couldnt see it on her scans.

Liza would hear about the need for mastectomy surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, prosthetic breast, and the prospects of lymphedema. There were many options that were overwhelming, and some options that werent discussed with Liza that she wished were discussed. The existing friendships made the doctor-patient relationships more complicated. John recounts what he observed, knew, wished he could say but didnt, how he remembers telling Liza, and his transition from physician to caregiver for Liza.

He says other funny things, like, hematologists are full of themselves, a bit like peacocks or GI oncologists are the Gryffindors of the cancer world. We are by far the best humans God ever created

John lectures about cancer and how it develops. He included a lecture from 2010 where he spoke about cancer vaccines as an area of interest, including combining vaccines and how NIH grant reviewers rejected his grant three times suggesting nothing would come of the research. In his lecture he said Our microbiome is part of usit might actually be the location of our souls. Profound statement, and then he suggested in 2010 that if NCI wouldnt fund vaccine research, they certainly wouldnt fund research on poop. He discusses diet and cancer and the why me question in his lecture.

It is interesting to read what John says: Wherever two or more are gathered, I cannot keep my mouth shut. If an idea pops into my head, I express it. I have gotten better at not stepping in when others are talking, but Im not perfect even with significant effort.

Here, he was referring to experiences with Lizas doctors. For those of us who know and work with John in national oncology activities, he is actually a great leader and expert moderator of discussion; one of the best Ive seen (and not mansplaining despite what he says).

He says it is easier for him to make decisions about whats best for him than whats best for someone else. Maybe, although it is easier to be objective when trying to help others. In academia, Ive found it much easier to help others with their grants than to help myself.

For medical decisions, it can be very difficult in the middle of the storm to know whats best, and the input of others can be incredibly helpful. At the time Liza needed to make her decisions in 2006, less was known about triple negative breast cancer, and while a clinical trial of neoadjuvant therapy (chemotherapy before surgery, now standard of care for her case) was available, there was concern about waitingand so she went ahead with surgery because surgery would happen either way. Within the chapters, both John and Liza discuss issues of intimacy and sexuality in the setting of mastectomy and breast cancer.

Liza recounts her surgery, more revelations about her diagnosis, and the experience of being at a teaching hospital, her admiration of George Clooney, more about the post-op period and their life together.

John writes about some of what happens to people in real life as cancer gets diagnosed at inopportune moments. He goes into oncology healthcare delivery, successes as a physician, realities and disappointments in medicine, competitiveness and the business of medicine, among other topics.

John declined the special invitation to attend the breast tumor board when Lizas case was being discussed. He spoke about how he started looking at patients differently when he sees them in the hospital every day, and how the experiences have affected how he does his job.

Liza describes learning about the pathology from her surgery, what others knew it meant, and complicated options in clinical trials for what would happen next. She goes into how and why John, who certainly knew much more, didnt necessarily say much beyond answering all her questions.

John recounts his struggles and reactions to Lizas illness as he became caregiver. For reasons he couldnt explain, he found himself not looking into details of the SWOG trial, the scans and pathology reports, asking a lot of questions, or attending lectures on TNBC even if pizza was served!

John presented a lecture about finding value in cancer care, where he discussed healthcare economics and drug company profits from U.S. taxpayer funded research. He discussed red cell growth factors that he administered to Liza and information from trials that showed adverse outcomes.

He goes into dilemmas of being in the middle of an illness where you want to do everything no matter the cost, and value in healthcare, where ultimately, we as a society all pay the bills. The book goes into issues important for patients with breast cancer and their caregivers. The impact of a cancer diagnosis, especially one with a poor prognosis, and how it affects a family are discussed. Giving a shot of Neulasta even for an experienced physician is complicated if you dont let it warm to room temperature, dont give the shot slowly, and dont read the instructions.

One chapter I particularly appreciated was one John wrote about his perspective on funerals as an oncologist, and how he handles communications with family and caregivers after the death of a patient.

He tells a story at Hollys funeral, where an elderly U.S. senator passed out (how he dealt with it, and how the balance of power in the U.S. Senate was changed for a moment) and recounts his first experience with a cancer funeral at the age of 13 when his mother died.

He speaks about how he personally handles the loss when a patient dies. John writes about how oncologists maintain hope, spin their message, think about quality of life, statistics, and clinical trials. He speaks about his interactions with colleagues after going public. He goes into a cryptic message from Marc Lipmann (who had left Georgetown for the University of Michigan at that time) your wife needs a platinum, Marc, and other discourse with Neil Love.

This is followed by a chapter entitled Platinum, but not the pretty kind. Liza thinks Marc Lippmans message may have saved her life. There is more so take time to read, enjoy, and learn from this book.

I was excited to see this book about the CRISPR revolution written by Kevin Davies. I first heard of Kevin Davies in 1992 during my postdoctoral fellowship, as he was the founding editor of a new journal called Nature Genetics.

I will always be grateful to Kevin and that journal for accepting my first paper from the Vogelstein lab on defining the DNA-binding consensus sequence for the tumor suppressor protein p53. Nature Genetics published it on page 45 of that first issue, after Nature rejected it, and it has stood the test of time.

The book begins by describing Kevins arrival to Hong Kong on Monday November 18, 2018, to attend a conference on CRISPR when news broke on Twitter that babies genetically altered by CRISPR might have already been born#CRISPRbabies was trending, and news of YouTube videos made by 34 year old Chinese Scientist He Jiankiu described what he had done and that two beautiful little Chinese girls, named Lulu and Nana, came crying into this world a few weeks ago.

Kevin had a front row seat to He Jiankius presentation and questioning at the conference that was seen by many around the world. Unlike what someone said on social media that Jiankiu was being inappropriately celebrated, Kevin felt we were watching a dead man walking.

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Books that mattered to me this year - The Cancer Letter

The Young Americans for Liberty (YAL), NMU Chapter, is taking a unique approach to promoting freedom of speech on college campuses.

As part of its effort to engage more students in freely sharing and accepting opinions, the group plans to roll a giant beach ball around campus and students will be able to write anything they want on it. This free speech ball will not be the first of its kind as YAL chapters at Duke University last week and and Lock Haven University in March have conducted similar events on their campuses.

Even though not all forms of speech are favorable to hear by disadvantaged groups or campus administration, student members of YAL believe that by generating more outspokenness, regardless of sensitive language, students will gain more from their college experience, Jeremy Donohue, president of YAL said.

There might be a safe space in school where inflammatory statements or possibly offensive remarks arent tolerated but thats not how the real world is, Donohue said. We think it actually helps the students if they have to face offensive and inflammatory differences in opinion.

The free speech ball event is expected to be held on Wednesday, April 20, 2016 and will start at or near the buildings of Jamrich and the LRC, according to Donohue.

We think that it prepares students better to go into the world having to deal with differences in opinion as opposed to shielding them from differences in opinion, Donohue said.

Amidst the controversy surrounding the 2016 presidential election in regards to speech policy on college campuses, organizations like YAL are encouraging fellow students to limitlessly exercise their right to free speech. After incidences like the one at the University of IllinoisChicago where nearly 50,000 people signed a petition that didnt allow Trump to speak on their campus, issues with free speech zones on universities have become more prevalent.

Having a serious notion but also bringing humor to ease the tension, I feel thats kind of a huge thing that people are forgetting about, Mac Phelan, vice president of YAL, said in regards to the material of free speech that is permitted on campuses.

The YAL organization will also host a screening of the movie titled Can We Take a Joke? in correlation with its promotion of free speech. This 2015 documentary explores the very thin line between comedy and outrage and will be held at 7:30 p.m. on April 13 in 1318 Jamrich. The movie also touches on issues of hypersensitivity and political correctness in higher education.

Donohue said the idea for the large beach ball is to collect unpopular opinions and promote the idea of voicing ideas that arent politically correct. He also said the efforts by YAL are a part of a nationwide push going across 200 different college campuses for free speech.

This is just a reaction to the rise of politically correct safe-space culture on college campuses, he said.

Free-speech zones, formerly known as buffer zones, are areas that are designated for public speakers to talk void of protesters and rebuttal. These free speech zones have become even more common than they were prior to the 2016 election.

Donohue also said there are concerns and skepticism about the kinds of speech that will be allowed to go on the ball by many staff and students who already know about the event.

Were hoping its going to go pretty smoothly but were anticipating some backlash, said Donohue. We can definitely see students coming out, being against it, but were mostly fearing the administration stepping in and saying, this is too much.

The YAL organization has more than 600 chapter locations and 204,000 youth activists nationwide. The group first came to NMU in the spring of 2015 and the chapter is now made up of 12-15 members who meet regularly Wednesday nights on the first floor in the Learning Resource Center. Any student is free to stop in on one of the meetings regardless of their political affiliation, Donohue said.

Go here to see the original:
Politically-incorrect beach ball coming to campus The North Wind - North Wind Online

Currently expanding her vistas on multiple digital platforms, actor and talk show host Lakshmi Manchu takes stock of her multi-faceted journey and going against patriarchal conventions

Actor, producer and talk show host Lakshmi Manchu launched her YouTube channel on Sunday, through which she intends to explore topics she hasnt covered on other mediums, television or cinema. She is also hosting the culinary show Aha Bhojanambu for the Telugu streaming platform Aha: I am comfortable wearing specific hats for each platform, she says, talking about her multifaceted journey.

Also Read | Get First Day First Show, our weekly newsletter from the world of cinema, in your inbox. You can subscribe for free here

In the introduction video to her YouTube channel, she invites viewers to share ideas for content. Responding to comments requesting home tour videos, she shrugs, I dont know why so many people want house tours. She plans to keep the first few episodes personal, offering insights into her space and her career, before she dives into other topics.

Pandemic conversations

Meanwhile, season one of Aha Bhojanambu is underway, with a new episode streaming every Friday. The first two episodes featured actor-director Vishwak Sen and actor Rakul Preet Singh. The easy, fun banter is the highlight of the show that tries to unravel the lesser known side of a celebrity: The show isnt about just sharing recipes, but finding the guests connection with food. Food is always personal. At home, she loves to treat friends to good food: I can make dosas simultaneously on two pans at home.

The first time she was a host was in 2008, for the Lakshmi Talk Show on television. Prematho Mee Lakshmi and Memusaitham are among the other shows she has hosted since then.

She has tweaked her approach for OTT and reckons that she can be herself in the digital space: On television if I said something [politically incorrect], I would be requested to re-word it. Here people can see that I have a potty mouth and I dont bother to be correct all the time.

The confidence to be herself also stems from having proved herself over the years: People used to ask why I bother to act or produce when I have a legendary father [actor-producer Mohan Babu]. My naysayers advised me to stay home. A decade later they tell me that I inspire women to be strong and that I have made my father proud.

Has success changed the way she is perceived? It has, but I dont measure success in terms of money. That will come. I dont earn 20 crore for a film, but I live my life to the fullest. For me, success is about waking up each day with excitement about what I am doing as an artiste. We live in a patriarchal society where women are judged by when they get married, how many children they have and when they have. I am married and have a daughter, yes, but I live life on my terms.

In February 2021, Lakshmi was one of the talking points when she essayed Swarnakka, a shrewd Telangana politician, in director Tharun Bhasckers Ramula story for the Netflix Telugu anthology Pitta Kathalu: I still get asked why I portrayed what is perceived to be a negative character. I didnt look at it that way. Swarna was upfront about her intentions from the beginning.

She remembers when Tharun narrated the story to her: He was nervous. When he finished narrating, I asked when do we begin work; he asked madam, nachinda (did you like the character?). If I cannot put myself into a story and character that a brilliant director has for me, then whats the point?

Post Pitta Kathalu, Lakshmi was confident of getting interesting characters that she could take up for cinema and the digital space. However, she admits that well written characters for women are hard to come by: I hate to sound elitist, but I am desperate for good scripts. I need to feel motivated to take up a project.

On the work front, unpredictability has become the norm. There are good days when she gets work done on set, there are bad days when shoots get cancelled if someone on set tests positive for COVID-19: We all adapt. The sooner we understand that we may not have the pre-pandemic freedom to do things the way we wanted to, life will get easier.

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Lakshmi Manchu: My naysayers advised me to stay home - The Hindu

Ifyoure based in Britain or enjoy easy access to it you dont know how lucky you were in July 2021. Credit where its due; when in the right mood, Blighty knows how to put on a show, and over three epic July weekends the UK staged three of the greatest shows on earth. These were the glorious Goodwood Festival of Speed, the born-again British Grand Prix, and the lively London E-Prix. Think of them as quintessentially British, world-class occasions for petrol-heads, hybrid-heads, and electric-heads. In that order.

But can this trio continue to perform annually on the world stage thats watched by untold millions? In the short to medium term, yes. But predicting further ahead, I fear one member of the threesome may be in danger of disappearing up its own you-know-what.

At first glance, the most likely to fall offstage is Goodwood; it has a politically incorrect and huge appetite for old-fashioned petrol, diesel and oil. Wrongly, these old-school products are almost being dumped in the same league of shame thats rightly occupied by true evils such as illegal drugs. But all the while the 11th Duke of Richmond and his family are committed custodians of Goodwood and its Festival, the event is secure. Its unique. And its more about old petrol cars than the new petrol versions soon be banned from our showrooms. Thats why FoS is safe.

Formula E and its future E-Prix meetings I also have confidence in. Theyre coming from a comparatively low starting point, and have much room to grow as EVs eventually become the norm. Within a decade FE will have carved out an important niche as being to the growing army of pure-EV owners what Formula 1 is today to the shrinking, retreating platoons of bruised and bloodied drivers of petrol models. Why are they so brutally bludgeoned and beaten? Because theyve lost the good fight. From 2030, theyll be robbed of their right to buy new cars running on unleaded.

So where will that leave the annual British GP and other F1 events? Not quite up the creek without a paddle, but the F1 industry is traditionally petroleum (more lately petrol-electric hybrid) based and is therefore in uncertain waters. The leading teams and suppliers such as Mercedes, Honda, McLaren, Ferrari and Renault/Alpine have their long-term futures in road cars that are 100 per cent electric, so surely its almost inevitable that their F1 cars will eventually have to be fuelled solely by electricity?

Guess theyll need to turn F1 into F1E, or something equally contentious. The FE boys wont be happy, because they got in first with pure-electric race cars from the likes of Audi and Jaguar, who happen to make more and more pure-electric road cars. So the logic and consistency are there. At this early stage it looks as though F1 hasnt won, while FE could be on course for victory. FE has already established itself at the right and proper time as the worlds No.1 electric-car racing series. Therefore F1/F1E could become superfluous, and fade away into a shadow of its former self. Just like the once colossal World Rally Championship did. Sadly, if WRC can go backwards in such a dramatic fashion, so might F1.

What do you think to the future of Formula E and Formula One? Let us know in the comments...

See the article here:
'Formula E could be on course for victory in its battle with F1' - AutoExpress

Do I have a problem with changing the official name to Aotearoa, New Zealand? No. Go ahead.

It ticks all the boxes. It's inclusive, and it recognises the Treaty partnership that kicked this country off.

But it would be a giant fraud to suggest that Aotearoa as a stand-alone name was somehow the Mori-created name for all of New Zealand.

It never was. And only in modern times have Mori adopted it as the Mori name for the country.

My approach will be poo-pooed as politically incorrect by the treaty rent-a-crowd gate-crashers.

But I'm at this party too, along with every other New Zealander.

So here are some facts to dampen their breathless activist rants.

The word Aotearoa was selected and popularised as the Mori name for New Zealand by - wait for this - Pakeha writers William Pember Reeves and Stephenson Percy Smith.

Next, it was used in the Education Department's school journal.

It flourished from there.

Aotearoa was never used by early Mori to describe New Zealand...

Mori were a collection of tribes and did not have a need for or concept of 'nation'.

It wasn't a country with a name, it was a collection of tribes across islands.

If anything, later on, there are claims that Aotearoa was used by Mori as a name for the North Island, which is still currently disputed.

Mori traditionally adopted the name Niu Tireni, a transliteration of New Zealand, which came from the Declaration of Independence of New Zealand in 1831.

I'm sorry to spoil the party for the activists who somehow think Aotearoa is the answer to a problem that quite frankly doesn't even exist.

Call us New Zealand, yes. Call us Aotearoa, New Zealand, yes. Call us just Aotearoa? No.

It's total bollocks to suggest this meant anything to pre-European Mori.

We have perpetuated this myth that Aotearoa goes way back. It doesn't. It's largely European in its roots. How could the activists accept that?

Duncan Garner is the host of The AM Show.

More here:
Duncan Garner: Should we change the name of New Zealand to Aotearoa? No - and here's why - Newshub

Before last summer, the 13 Michigan residents randomly picked to serve on the states first independent, citizen-led redistricting commission were leading ordinary lives.

Now, the decisions they make about how to divvy up Michigans congressional and legislative districts will have implications for decades to come.

The commission is made up of six men and seven women. Two are Black, one is Middle Eastern and the rest are white. Their ages range between 28 and 74 only one is under 30.

Related: Students, retirees and a shop rat are drawing Michigans next political maps

A majority of the commission seven members live in Southeast Michigan. Two live in the northern Lower Peninsula, two live in or near Lansing, one lives in Battle Creek and one lives in Saginaw.

They were chosen randomly in 2020 from roughly 10,000 applicants as part of a system enacted via ballot initiative to put the public in charge of redistricting instead of politicians and party officials with a stake in the outcome.

In their applications and in interviews, all of the commissioners expressed a common theme they see their work as a civic duty that, if done correctly, could help change the states redistricting process for the better.

Commissioner Douglas Clark stands for a portrait before a commissioner meeting on Thursday July 1, 2021 in Grand Rapids. Nicole Hester/ MLIVE.com

Doug Clark, Jr. - Republican

Rochester Hills resident Doug Clark, 74, is one of four Republicans serving on the commission. He is a retired operations and development manager and also served as a captain in the U.S. Army.

Clark said he applied to serve because hes long been interested in getting involved in the civic process, calling the commission the perfect opportunity to do so.

From an expectations standpoint, Clark said learning the ropes and preparing to draw the lines has been a lot more work than I thought it was going to be, but expressed confidence in the vendors and legal experts retained by the commission to assist in the process, as well as the commissions ability to reach bipartisan consensus on drawing the lines.

Theres nothing political that Ive seen yet about this group, he said. Theres no discussion of, Republicans this way, Democrats this way none of that. Were all working toward a common goal of what the people want and not what the parties want.

So I think it will work. At least with this group, I think its going to work.

Juanita Curry takes notes before a commissioner meeting on Thursday July 1, 2021 in Grand Rapids. Nicole Hester/ MLIVE.com

Juanita Curry - Democrat

Juanita Curry, a 73-year-old Detroit resident, serves as one of the commissions four Democrats.

Curry is now retired, but worked as a specialized foster care worker. She described herself as a people person whos always worked to help inform her community on matters of import, so she felt applying to the commission made sense.

My main goal is to at least give people some contentment that weve done better, weve brought them to a better situation, she said. That would make me feel really like that I achieved something...We cant please everybody, but pleasing most everyone, or pleasing a majority of people.

Curry said getting up to speed on the intricacies of redistricting has been a learning curve, and the prospect of divvying up districts is daunting. But she stressed that she and other commissioners are committed to keeping things as fair and transparent and honest as we can.

This is a very extraordinary experience, Curry said. Its really changing the world were changing things, and its a good thing.

Anthony Eid speaks during a commissioner meeting on Thursday July 1, 2021 in Grand Rapids. Nicole Hester/ MLIVE.com

Anthony Eid - Independent

Anthony Eid, of Orchard Lake, is a medical student and is one of the five independents serving on the commission. At 28, Eid is the youngest member serving on the panel.

Eid previously served as Wayne State Universitys student body president during his undergraduate studies. He voted for the commissions creation in 2018 and applied himself because he wanted to ensure there was a diversity of age, ideas and cultures represented.

Once the commission begins drawing maps, Eid said he plans on drawing from his science background to evaluate Census data and other evidence available to assist with his decision-making. But he believes the amount and variety of input received from other Michigan residents will be a key factor in how the maps turn out.

Getting more of a diversity of ideas is going to end up with the commission making a better product thats more representative of all of those different ideas, Eid said.

Eid said he considers the independent commission a form of public advocacy, a way to look out for people who arent politically involved or may not understand the intricacies of the redistricting process.

This whole process is about community, its about having maps reflect community values, he said. So we really need the community to come out and let us know their boundaries because different communities have different values, different expectations and different lifestyles.

Commissioner Rhonda Lange (photo courtesy Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission)

Rhonda Lange - Republican

Reed City resident Rhonda Lange, 48, is a real estate agent and serves as one of the commissions four Republicans.

Lange applied for the commission because it would be a way to serve her community and the state, according to her initial application.

During commission meetings, Lange has been a vocal advocate for ensuring small, rural communities get a voice in the redistricting process.

Lange is one of two commissioners who have been attending meetings and public hearings remotely.

Steven Lett stands for a portrait before a commissioner meeting on Thursday July 1, 2021 in Grand Rapids. Nicole Hester/ MLIVE.com

Steven T. Lett - Independent

74-year-old Interlochen resident Steven T. Lett, a semi-retired attorney, serves as one of the commissions five independent members.

Hes also the one who lives the furthest north none of the randomly selected commissioners hail from Michigans Upper Peninsula, so hes taken on a de facto liaison role for much of northern Michigan.

Lett said that while he and other commissioners havent agreed on everything, we have maintained our unanimity on drawing fair lines.

Listening to people and what everybody wants their district to be is a wide variety of things that we have to try to resolve in the end, he said.

Commissioner Brittni Kellom speaks during the first independent redistricting commission public hearing on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 in Jackson. Nicole Hester/ MLive.com

Brittni Kellom - Democrat

Detroit resident Brittni Kellom, 34, serves as the commissions chair and is one of four Democrats serving on the panel. She is an entrepreneur and trauma practitioner and is one of two Black women on the commission.

According to her biography, Kellom applied to the commission to affect change by giving agency to everyday citizens, value the voices and perspectives of people in underserved communities and doing her part to shift the experience of voting to a place of empowerment, education, and justice for every human being.

I believe in the power of everyday citizens to effect change in the places in which they live, Kellom wrote in her initial application. I believe in the type of innovation that comes from both collaboration and holding space for others.

Cynthia Orton stands for a portrait before a commissioner meeting on Thursday July 1, 2021 in Grand Rapids. Nicole Hester/ MLIVE.com

Cynthia Orton - Republican

Battle Creek resident Cynthia Orton serves as one of the commissions four Republicans.

Orton, 55, was a stay-at-home mom while her kids were growing up. When they left for college, she decided to go back to school, too. She said some of the classes shes taken recently, such as communications and business courses, have helped her with the commissions work but she thinks the most important skill a commissioner can bring to the process is common sense.

I think a lot of us on the commission just have common sense, and were here to do our job, she said.

Orton said she was motivated to apply because she thought it would be a good way to be civically involved and help the state move forward in a positive direction. Despite the many unprecedented hurdles the commission has faced already, she said shes encouraged by how well the commission has been working together and believes they can come to a compromise.

When we all applied for this or voted for this, even, we could not have seen what it would be like now we werent expecting this, but here we are, she said. It has never happened before in Michigan, so we dont know what that will look like. So that is our next purpose.

Commissioner M.C. Rothhorn stands on stage for a portrait before a commissioner meeting on Thursday July 1, 2021 in Grand Rapids. Nicole Hester/ MLIVE.com

MC Rothhorn - Democrat

MC Rothhorn, 49, is a financial cooperator from Lansing who serves as one of the commissions four Democrats.

Rothhorn said he applied in part because he feels the democratic process is fragile, noting its important for citizens to engage in it and protect it. He said his experience living in a cooperative an environment that necessitates facilitation, group consensus and listening to others makes him a good fit for the commission.

In many ways, this is the best jury duty ever, Rothhorn said. I like being part of this democracy...jury duty was, at one point, the only way that I felt like I could actually do that. And I was never called, and now Ive been called to the best case ever.

Rothhorn said being on the commission has exceeded his expectations so far, and said hes appreciated the openness and honest discussion the public hearings have inspired.

Theyre being vulnerable theyre giving us what they think we should be taking into consideration as we draw the maps...and why that really matters to them, he said. Im humbled, right, that people would share that.

Commissioner Rebecca Szetela listens during public comment at the first independent redistricting commission public hearing on Tuesday, May 11, 2021 in Jackson. Nicole Hester/ MLive.com

Rebecca Szetela - Independent

Canton resident Rebecca Szetela, 48, was a later addition to the commission she was randomly picked to replace another commissioner who resigned in October. She now serves as the commissions vice-chair.

A business attorney, Szetela said she believes her experience with negotiating contracts and other disputes will help her as the commission begins piecing together draft maps. She sees the task before the commission as a good challenge and is confident the commission will be able to come to a nonpartisan consensus on final drafts.

I feel like Ive had good success as an attorney in helping people bridge those divides and come together, and I feel like we can do that here, she said. I feel like it is possible to maybe not satisfy everybody, but to satisfy most people and have most people walk away and say, OK, this process was fair and that they did their best.

Szetela said she appreciates the camaraderie the commission has been able to build over the last several months and hopes that by being as transparent as possible, they can alleviate any concerns or trepidations in the new process.

People are afraid that this process is going to disadvantage them and that theyre not going to be treated fairly, and Im hoping that we can satisfy everybody that that feeling is incorrect, she said. We are listening to them...Our goal is to come up with fair maps.

Janice Vallette speaks during a commissioner meeting on Thursday July 1, 2021 in Grand Rapids. Nicole Hester/ MLIVE.com

Janice Vallette - Independent

Highland Township resident Janice Vallette, 69, is a retired banker and is one of the commissions five Independent members.

She said she voted for the commissions creation in 2018 and decided to apply when she received an application in the mail from the Secretary of State. Vallette said she felt she had the time needed to commit to drawing the maps and thought it was important to get involved.

I just thought it was a way for me to give back, she said. And I do think its really important that as a citizen, a voting person, you get to pick the people that you vote for not them manipulating the district so that they have an advantage.

Vallette has appreciated the input from Michigan residents throughout the public hearing process and encouraged people to continue uploading comments and map suggestions to the website. Of all the people shes spoken with throughout the state, she said the vast majority of them are supportive of the commissions work.

They just really love their communities, she said.

Commissioner Erin Wagner. (Photo courtesy of the Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission)

Erin Wagner - Republican

Charlotte resident Erin Wagner, 55, is one of the commissions four Republican members.

Wagner is a mom to six and applied to the commission in part because she wanted to ensure gerrymandering wasnt a part of her childrens future, according to her commission biography.

In her initial application, Wagner wrote that she opted to apply because she believes in the process and would like to make sure that the districts are drawn in such a way as to be representative of those who live in those districts.

Wagner is one of two commissioners who have been attending meetings and public hearings remotely.

Richard Weiss stands for a portrait before a commissioner meeting on Thursday July 1, 2021 in Grand Rapids. Nicole Hester/ MLIVE.com

Richard Weiss - Independent

Saginaw resident Richard Weiss, 74, is one of the commissions five Independent members.

A retired autoworker, Weiss said he filled out an application for the same reasons he served on a jury several years ago, even though he could have gotten an exemption.

I dont have to do it, but I figure Im old enough, I have some ideas, I have some experience, he said. I thought, Hey, Im able, Im willing, still havent forgot who I am yet go make a difference.

Theres more to the redistricting process than Weiss initially expected. He quipped that initially he thought, give me a map, a ruler and a pen, Ill have it done in five minutes, but he quickly realized it wouldnt be quite that easy.

Weiss said the diversity of opinions and backgrounds on the commission will help the group reach a consensus that wont necessarily make everyone happy, but will meet the Constitutional requirements.

Dustin Witjes stands for a portrait before a commissioner meeting on Thursday July 1, 2021 in Grand Rapids. Nicole Hester/ MLIVE.com

Dustin Witjes - Democrat

Dustin Witjes, 32, hails from Ypsilanti and is one of the four Democrats serving on the commission.

Witjes was working as a payroll specialist prior to his current role but quit to focus on the commission full-time. He said ultimately plans to return to school to get a masters degree in mathematics.

Witjes enjoys analyzing data and said hes wanted to support the commission ever since he voted for it. He takes the role of laying a solid groundwork for future redistricting commissions seriously, whether they ultimately choose to follow what the current commission does this year to the letter or strike out their own path.

We took bits and pieces from states that have been doing this for a while to get our processes down, and I would imagine that (future commissions) would do the same thing, he said.

Although he wishes more people would participate in public comment, Witjes said he believes the independent redistricting process is currently going as well as it could be, considering the circumstances.

I just want everybody to know that we are going to be putting weight into what everyone has been saying and doing something that I hope all of Michigan will be proud of, Witjes said.

Learn more about the commissions work:

How to weigh in:

The commission took public input during 16 hearings over the last several weeks and will continue to consider public comments submitted to an online portal where residents can upload comments and their own suggested district maps.

After the commission comes up with a set of draft maps, members will tour the state once more to hear from citizens about their specific proposals before voting on a final product.

For more information, Michiganders are encouraged to check out the commissions website or call 833-968-3729, although formal comments on the redistricting process cannot be taken over the phone.

Read this article:
These 13: Meet the ordinary people tasked with drawing Michigans political maps - MLive.com

The US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on July 15 introduced the Ensuring American Global Leadership and Engagement (EAGLE) Act.

The act, if passed by the US Congress, would provide powerful support for Taiwan, including a requirement that the US secretary of state enter negotiations with the Taiwan Council for US Affairs to rename the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington to the Taiwan Representative Office.

The effort to rename Taiwans representative office in Washington has long been a priority for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) US diplomats. Taiwanese based in the US, as well as Taiwanese lobbying groups, have expended a great deal of money and effort over the years, diligently working toward this goal.

With the relationship between Taiwan and the US riding high, this presents a golden opportunity for advocates in Washington and Taipei to seize the initiative and rename Taiwans representative office.

Washington breaking off formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979 marked Taiwans lowest point on the international stage. At the time, I had just taken the national civil service exam and entered MOFAs ranks as a fresh recruit with the Department for US Affairs. The Taiwan Relations Act, passed by the US Senate in April that year, established the American Institute in Taiwan.

The Executive Yuan reciprocated by establishing the Coordination Council for North American Affairs to handle non-official relations with its estranged ally.

However, many Taiwanese were confused by its name and could not comprehend the role or function of this new organization.

In 1994, the administration of US president Bill Clinton carried out a review of policy regarding Taiwan. One of the requirements stemming from the review was that Taiwans representative office in Washington change its name to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, which is still in use to this day.

However, the Taipei headquarters continued to be called the Coordination Council for North American Affairs up until August 2019, when it was renamed the Taiwan Council for US Affairs. Following four decades of glacial progress, a few tentative steps were taken toward reflecting reality.

It is yet to be seen whether the EAGLE Act, the latest in a line of Taiwan-friendly legislation proposed by the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, becomes law, but it is undoubtedly a reflection of continued universal cross-party congressional support for Taiwan.

This precious support, which began with the administration of former US president Donald Trump and has continued under US President Joe Biden, is founded upon several facets: the US Indo-Pacific geopolitical strategy, core trust, economic cooperation and high-tech supply chains. Deepening trust and solidifying the rock solid relationship between the two countries requires consistency, continuity and predictability. Taiwan should take advantage of the warming relationship to push for the renaming of its representative offices.

Among high-level officials in the Biden administration responsible for setting the US Taiwan policy whether working for the White House, National Security Council, Department of State or other government departments there is no shortage of sober and rational people who, if not pro-Taiwan, then at least have an intimate understanding of Taiwan and its geostrategic importance.

While such people take the US national interest as a starting point, they are familiar with the Indo-Pacific region and the complex triangular relationship between Taiwan, China, and the US. For this reason, they do not engage in wishful thinking nor make emotional judgments.

Renaming Taiwans representative office in Washington would not only reflect reality and the current state of affairs, recognizing the significant relaxation of contact restrictions, it would also reflect the greater decisionmaking space in Washington and the increased appetite for resisting pressure from Beijing. Additionally, cross-party support in Congress bolsters the argument for renaming the representative office.

In 1995, I took over as director of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Atlanta. We sent out invitations, written in English, for the traditional Double Ten National Day banquet with Taiwan appended to Republic of China (ROC). This caused a sensation back home. I received a severe dressing down from my superiors and was promptly transferred to another post. This was the only time I received disciplinary action during my four decades in Taiwans diplomatic corps. To this day, I have a clear conscience and bear no grudge.

At the time, I was criticized for causing a diplomatic incident, using verbal sophistry and twisted logic, and for being unrepentant.

A general order was issued to all of Taiwans representative offices around the world, which stated that if important dignitaries or other local individuals are uncertain about the distinction between the ROC and the Peoples Republic of China, and require the addition of Taiwan to clarify that this China is not the other China, the representative office need not have dealings with such ill-informed people or invite them to representative office functions in the future.

For the past quarter of a century, the argument has been made that the time is not right or that it would be politically incorrect to rename Taiwans representative office in Washington.

My intention regarding the Double Ten National Day banquets was merely to highlight Taiwans view. Today, all of Taiwans representative offices and civic organizations enthusiastically employ creative methods to promote Taiwan as a democratic partner, charitable nation and force for good around the world.

Taiwan is an independent and sovereign nation whose official name, according to the Constitution, is the Republic of China. As the nation navigates the international stage and strives to elevate its status among countries with whom Taiwan does not have a formal diplomatic relationship of which the US is the most important barometer the time is right, after more than 40 years, to respect the dignity of our distinct identity and rename our representative office in Washington the Taiwan Representative Office.

Stanley Kao was Taiwans representative to the US from 2016 to 2020.

Translated by Edward Jones

Comments will be moderated. Keep comments relevant to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, personal attacks of any kind or promotion will be removed and the user banned. Final decision will be at the discretion of the Taipei Times.

Here is the original post:
Taiwan's reality is dawning in US -

The QAnon conspiracy web hinges on the belief that former President Donald Trump was sent to expose a secret network of satanic cannibal pedophiles secretly controlling the United States government.

The seditious movement was born in 2017, when an anonymous user named "Q" on 4Chan's Politically Incorrect board, claiming to have Q level clearance, posted a message titled "Calm Before the Storm." There, the user claimed to have evidence of the pedophile ring and emphasized their devotion to Trump's mission to expose them.

The quixotic "storm" referred to by QAnon and its followers is the violent moment when Trump will supposedly provide irrefutable proof of lawmakers' evil deeds, resulting in mass arrests and freedom from the "cabal," when all of Trump's lies will be vindicated and when their Democratic enemies will face mass executions.

This fantasy congealed into one of the QAnon movement's most repeated slogans:

Though its beliefs are absurd to most, the mass delusion has expanded from obscure internet chatter to an unignorable faction of the GOP's voters.

These flames have been fanned by Republican elected officials. Infamous far-right Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia expressed support for the belief ahead of her election. Her colleague, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, suggested there would be mass resignations of elected officials, citing an unnamed source at the Justice Department.

Even then-President Donald Trump, when asked, repeatedly refused to denounce the conspiracy theory, saying they were "people that love our country."

Now, people think House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy may be the latest to join their ranks, citing comments he made on Thursday while railing against the House's recently revived mask mandate.

Watch below.

If I was Kevin McCarthy I would simply not use QAnon dogwhistles during press conferences https://t.co/pnhopk4s7t

McCarthy said:

While some may think it's just a coincidences, QAnon's followers have been trained to see conspiracies in coincidences, scouring thousands of Q's post to see which could possibly align with Trump's recent comments or with day-to-day political developments.

Some thought McCarthy was deliberately baiting QAnon believers.

He wants those votes. https://t.co/zd4rOGQae0

Total Q dog whistle!! McCarthy whipping up the conspirators! This tool does not belong in government!! https://t.co/0nSOKqX9VZ

Is @GOPLeader worried that some members of Q won't vote Republican this cycle? https://t.co/Si9AGklX8P

Kevin McCarthy knows the only people who could possibly still believe in him are the same who would believe in some https://t.co/b0C04esfO2

The party of Q. https://t.co/rOSFCDVtIB

Last year, McCarthy warned that there was "no place for QAnon in the Republican Party." Months later, after he faced backlash from QAnoners and other Republicans for condemning Trump's role in the deadly failed insurrection against the United States Capitol, McCarthy claimed not to know what QAnon was.

What's more, people pointed out the holes in his logic regarding his dismissal of the virus that's killed over 600 thousand Americans.

That dog whistle aside, it's always been about hospital CAPACITY. It's not whether the vaccinated will be hospita https://t.co/ujTuBtHcPP

Kevin McCarthy deliberately forgets to mention that the vaccinated people that catch a mild dose of covid because t https://t.co/HENw49Ufxu

WOW!!!! I had no idea. Did 600,000 people die and were millions hospitalized from lighting strikes last year? https://t.co/FhUtnbRZxG

Q hasn't posted in months, but followers of the conspiracy theory are beginning to run for local offices and school boards around the country.

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Kevin McCarthy Repeats QAnon's 'Storm Is Coming' Slogan - Second Nexus

Formative Fears is a column that focuses on horror movies revolving around young people or adults reliving something that scared them at a young age. There is no age limit on fears like death, monsters, and the unknown. Overall, this series expresses what it felt like to be a frightened child and what still scares us well into adulthood.

The namesake of George Ratliffes movie Joshua follows in the footsteps of other cinematic bad seeds. This child is only a demon in the metaphorical sense; he has no preternatural abilities to help him dismantle his unsuspecting family. In contrast, Joshua Cairns (Jacob Kogan) success hinges on his precocity and his parents obliviousness. By the time Brad (Sam Rockwell) and Abby (Vera Farmiga) figure it out for themselves, their falsely picture-perfect life has already come undone at the hands of a nine-year-old boy.

As everyone else dotes on his baby sister Lily, Joshua contemplates his place in the family like any other former only child might. Second-pregnancy fears extend to the firstborn as much as they do to parents, but Brad and Abby fail to see their sons insecurities. Early on, Joshuas grabs for attention are innocuous; he entertains everyone with the piano and tells his father he wants to quit soccer. Neither parent hears their sons whispered cries for consideration and support, though. Abby instead asks Joshua to keep it quiet for the baby, and Brads lack of argument is misread as disinterest in his sons life.

Joshuas disturbing behavior is triggered by a home video; the recording shows what his father meant when he said Joshua had a lot of spirit at Lilys age. Most importantly, the eerie footage captures Abbys first bout of postpartum depression. Joshua may be smarter than other kids, but even he is still too young to understand Abbys emotional state is a symptom as opposed to a reflection of how she truly feels about her children. Even so, the anguished person seen in the video is nothing like the seemingly delighted mother Joshua sees today with Lily. Abby has assured her brother Ned (Dallas Roberts) everything is going to be different this time around, but as soon as Lily starts to cry incessantly, her tune changes. Abbys resolve melts away, and Brads pious mother Hazel (Celia Weston) is brought in to help.

Beneath Joshuas kempt exterior and sophisticated demeanor is a predator. He typically refrains from full-on, physical violence in favor of manipulation and mind games. Joshua also has an uncanny knack for recognizing peoples flaws and weaknesses. With his mother, the boy sets off her paranoia and anxiety by spoiling the bliss she feels with Lily and tampering with her meds. The doubt he plants in her head is manifested by the pounding construction noises from the unit above the Cairns. Meanwhile, Brad is more difficult to crack. He openly admits to a teacher had he known a kid like Joshua when he was younger, he probably would have bullied him. Now having a son as intelligent as Joshua, Brad feels exposed for who he is and never will be. His brand of fatherhood consists mainly of high fives and phoned-in courtesies, but Brad can no longer coast on charm or irksome optimism in this precarious relationship. None of that has any effect on someone as capable and vicious as Joshua.

Deconstructing Joshua is no easy feat. He is not the work of satanic meddling or villainous teachings, and his dramatic transformation from mere prodigy to enfant terrible almost comes out of nowhere. Of course, there are armchair diagnoses that work in a pinch; sociopathy is the go-to answer in these sorts of movies. Something else to consider is maybe Joshua is really testing the bounds of love. The aforementioned videotape stirs up questions about the mother-child bond, whereas with Brad, Joshua outright asks him if he loves his weird son. He hesitates, then quickly delivers the answer any parent would or should in these formative moments: Ill always love you, no matter what. Joshua is so convinced by his own perceived otherness, he accepts skewed interpretations of his parents words and actions rather than what is plainly communicated or displayed. Add in his darker instincts, and Joshua goes to extremes when challenging his mother and fathers love.

To no surprise, Joshuas malefic change coincides with Lilys arrival; he is celebrating his own sort of birth. With Brad and Abby so focused on the new baby, Joshua can peel off the veneer cultivated by his parents and society. He can play the wrong notes, study the loss of childhood innocence through Alice in Wonderland, and most of all, he can decide who raises him from this point onward. To Joshua, growing and improving means getting rid of what holds him back.

Ratliffe conveys domestic disquietude with a fair amount of vagueness. There is no mistaking the goings-on in the Cairn home as anything but the work of a juvenile antagonist whose every move is deliberate and never squandered. However, the director and co-writer David Gilbert frame the story so Joshuas twisted behavior is understood even if not certain. The most substantial clarity comes in the form of a song. Upon closer inspection of Joshuas original composition at the end a haunting track called The Fly, composed and written by Dave Matthews missing pieces of the puzzle fall in place. An air of ambiguity still surrounds earlier events, but the confessional lyrics are as insightful as they are chilling. That persistent speculation, along with stacked performances and reams of dread, is exactly why Joshua sticks to the ribs.

William Marchs 1954 novel The Bad Seed has inspired countless stories of wicked children as well as stoked the argument of nature versus nurture. The horror genre has exploited both sides of the discourse; evil is either inborn or taught. And while the Damien Thorns and Rosemarys babies make many adults nervous, there is something profoundly more upsetting about children like Joshua, whose malevolence has no ready explanation or unnatural origin.

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