COVID cases rise in children: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/covid-19-kids-september-worst-month-infections-experts-hopeful-vaccinations-213752505.html . So predictable, so dangerous.
DeMentis’ acting surgeon general already in hot water: https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-florida-b79b9e4308b9ce0b4335cdfa69436b1b . So DeMentis has found an anti-mask doctor to head the state’s health efforts. So predictable, so dangerous. The state senator leader, a Republican, sent out a memo saying the doctor’s behavior would not be tolerated. The doc refused to wear a mask in a state senator’s office when asked to do so.
Puerto Rico has highest US vaccination rate: https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/24/us/puerto-rico-covid-vaccination-rate/index.html . This does deserve more attention.
WSJ: Vaccines for 5 to 11-year-olds may be available in early November: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-vaccines-for-younger-children-could-be-available-in-early-november-fauci-says-11635094759 .
China locks down county to control another COVID outbreak: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/china-locks-down-thousands-in-north-to-contain-growing-outbreak/ar-AAPUNyW?li=BBnb7Kz . One wonders if the Chinese vaccines are insufficiently effective to suppress spreads.
Namibia suspends use of Russian Sputnik V vaccine over concerns about HIV susceptibility: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/namibia-suspends-use-russian-covid-vaccine-after-safrica-flags-hiv-concerns-2021-10-23/ .
New Zealand focuses on vaccination as COVID cases rise: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2021-10-24/new-zealand-reports-second-highest-daily-covid-19-cases-in-pandemic .
WSJ: COVID now endemic in Portugal: https://www.wsj.com/articles/endemic-covid-19-has-arrived-in-portugal-this-is-what-it-looks-like-11635073461. Note the extraordinarily high vaccination rates the country has achieved.
COVID surges across Eastern Europe: https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2021-10-24/as-outbreak-worsens-covid-19-cases-in-eastern-europe-near-20-million .
Another consequence of the pandemic: Rising STD rates: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/24/us-sti-rates-covid-sexually-transmitted-infections-funding . Geez, people, socially distance!
China’s challenges in rebalancing its economy: https://www.wsj.com/articles/covid-19-sets-back-chinas-plans-to-rebalance-its-economy-11635084000 . One eye-popping figure in this article is China’s average personal savings rate of 45.2%. The Chinese people understand personal economics much more clearly than the average American.
Fed chair Powell says supply chain bottlenecks could persist through next year: https://www.vox.com/2021/10/24/22743104/supply-chain-inflation-shortages-2022 . Translation: current “temporary” inflation is not so temporary. This could very well lead to a shift in fed policy toward inflation control. WSJ: The complexities of managing the supply chain: https://www.wsj.com/articles/shippers-find-new-supply-chain-hurdles-at-alternate-ports-11635076801 .
WSJ: US consumer sales companies say consumers are accepting price increases: https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-companies-bet-shoppers-will-keep-paying-higher-prices-11635067802 . Raising prices simply to raise profitability is a short term strategy, and in my view a very poor one. These companies need to focus on maintaining brand loyalty, not exploiting it.
Release of JFK assassination files delayed by White House: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jfk-assassination-files-release-delayed-white-house/ . For the whippersnappers, this was a national tragedy as big as 9/11, and I do not make that statement lightly. This murder sucked the hope out of the country, and it has never returned in the same form. More: https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/10/biden-delays-release-jfk-assassination-documents.html .
Assistant director on Baldwin film called out for previous unsafe sets: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/rust-assistant-director-had-history-unsafe-practices-prop-maker-says-n1282226 . WSJ: More: https://www.wsj.com/articles/prop-firearms-accidentally-discharged-on-rust-before-fatal-incident-11635120835 . Still more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/rust-director-crew-member-cite-uncertainty-over-safety-check-of-gun-11635133319 .
Sport teaches, once again: https://sports.yahoo.com/baffling-chaotic-blunder-costs-colorado-state-win-over-utah-state-143732749.html . So I have no interest in this game. The life lessons here are critical for any manager or parent. The first rule of coaching: Never put the blame on the players. You are in charge, you must accept responsibility. Second, and more importantly, you must actually own that responsibility. At best, there were insufficient procedures in place to prevent this error. Fess up to yourself, and take the steps with the team (as part of the team) to make sure it never happens again.
If you don’t do those things, you will never be a successful coach/manager/parent. It’s that simple, and that important. Simple certainly does not mean not hard, especially when you’re in the middle of the problem. But this is central to fairness, and maturity.
However, yesterday’s football games were riveting: First, Illinois upsets No. 7 Penn State in 9 overtimes: https://sports.yahoo.com/penn-state-illinois-overtime-win-big-ten-202043832.html . The new 2-point conversion rule made for scintillating, 2-play overtimes. Then, Oregon slipped by UCLA: https://www.oregonlive.com/sports/john_canzano/2021/10/canzano-oregon-ducks-win-over-ucla-cracks-up-as-a-statement-on-resilience.html . I still ache thinking of Oregon throwing away its victory over Stanford to idiotic clock management. Cristobal is a talented coach, and the players love him. But he’s thrown away games over clock management before. Learn something from the Colorado State game and commentary, Coach.