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Celerity
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Celerity's Journal
February 21, 2022
Label: Dischord Records – DIS64CD
Format:
CD, Compilation
Country: USA & Europe
Released: 1991
Genre: Rock
Style: Funk Metal, Hardcore, Punk
Tomas Squip - vocals
Fred Smith - guitar
Dug E. Bird - bass
Bruce Taylor - drums
Kenny Craun - drums
Beefeater - Plays For Lovers/House Burning Down [Full Album] (great DC 1984-86 post-hardcore/funk)
Beefeater was an American post-hardcore band from late 1984 until late 1986. Along with Embrace and Rites of Spring, they were one of the mainstay acts of the 1985 Revolution Summer movement which took place within the Washington, D.C. hardcore punk scene. They were pioneers of the post-hardcore genre in the mid-1980s with bands like Embrace, Rites of Spring, and Gray Matter, among others.
Label: Dischord Records – DIS64CD
Format:
CD, Compilation
Country: USA & Europe
Released: 1991
Genre: Rock
Style: Funk Metal, Hardcore, Punk
Tomas Squip - vocals
Fred Smith - guitar
Dug E. Bird - bass
Bruce Taylor - drums
Kenny Craun - drums
This CD features the Beefeater LPs Beefeater - Plays For Lovers and Beefeater - House Burning Down, plus two additional tracks (16 and 29).
"Plays for Lovers" (Songs 1-16) - Recorded February and April 1985 at Inner Ear Studios.
"House Burning Down" (Songs 17-29) - Recorded Spring 1986 at Innerear Studios. Track 16 originally released on "Alive and Kicking", a 7-inch.
Track 29 originally released on "The A.L.F. is watching you and there's no place to hide", a compilation LP against Animal Experimentation.
"Plays for Lovers" (Songs 1-16) - Recorded February and April 1985 at Inner Ear Studios.
"House Burning Down" (Songs 17-29) - Recorded Spring 1986 at Innerear Studios. Track 16 originally released on "Alive and Kicking", a 7-inch.
Track 29 originally released on "The A.L.F. is watching you and there's no place to hide", a compilation LP against Animal Experimentation.
February 21, 2022
PDF Download
When anti-democratic attitudes find great popular acclaim, it is time to sit up and take notice: people are turning away from the democratic system and no longer put their trust in the political and social rules and instances that organise and structure societal coexistence.
As a result, social cohesion and the acceptance of democratic decisions come under increasing pressure. And yet a stable democracy is particularly important at a time in which the "three Ds" - decarbonisation, digitalisation, demography - are challenging German society and triggering change. So how widespread are anti-democratic attitudes and how is the connection between social circumstances and democratic integration during times of announced and actual change processes? How do perceptions and experience resulting from gainful employment influence anti-democratic attitudes?
We have taken the evaluations of a representative public opinion poll to show that people in objectively precarious circumstances are denied access to opportunities for participation and for shaping their own lives also in view of external changes. Subjective perception also plays a role in anti-democratic attitudes: the lack of recognition is experienced as devaluation of one's own social and professional status. Anti-democratic attitudes are also closely linked to the fear and experience of getting left behind by social change processes such as digital or socioecological transformation.
Anti-democratic attitudes: The influence of work, digital transformation and climate change
https://www.boeckler.de/en/faust-detail.htm?sync_id=HBS-008228PDF Download
When anti-democratic attitudes find great popular acclaim, it is time to sit up and take notice: people are turning away from the democratic system and no longer put their trust in the political and social rules and instances that organise and structure societal coexistence.
As a result, social cohesion and the acceptance of democratic decisions come under increasing pressure. And yet a stable democracy is particularly important at a time in which the "three Ds" - decarbonisation, digitalisation, demography - are challenging German society and triggering change. So how widespread are anti-democratic attitudes and how is the connection between social circumstances and democratic integration during times of announced and actual change processes? How do perceptions and experience resulting from gainful employment influence anti-democratic attitudes?
We have taken the evaluations of a representative public opinion poll to show that people in objectively precarious circumstances are denied access to opportunities for participation and for shaping their own lives also in view of external changes. Subjective perception also plays a role in anti-democratic attitudes: the lack of recognition is experienced as devaluation of one's own social and professional status. Anti-democratic attitudes are also closely linked to the fear and experience of getting left behind by social change processes such as digital or socioecological transformation.
February 21, 2022
When the prepared congressional testimony of a senior administration official was circulated inside the White House in recent weeks, it included a passage tying inflation to corporate consolidation and monopoly power.
That language was eventually taken out of the remarks before they were delivered. Members of the White House Council of Economic Advisers had raised objections to the idea that a spike in prices was due to corporate power, according to two people aware of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fears of professional reprisals.
The alteration of the testimony highlights the tensions within the administration over whether the White House should blame corporate consolidation and monopoly power for price hikes. Some officials in the White House National Economic Council believe the administration could more aggressively advance that argument, and Democratic pollsters have told the White House that a populist economic message on corporate greed and prices broadly resonates with voters.
But economists inside the administration, particularly at the CEA, are uncomfortable with the push. “It’s been the war of the ‘track changes’ inside the administration over how much the White House can lean in on the extent to which competition and greed are driving inflation,” said one person briefed on the internal dynamics, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fear of professional reprisals.
snip
related
More than half of retail businesses are using inflation to price gouge
https://digital.com/half-of-retail-businesses-using-inflation-to-price-gouge/
How Much Are You Willing to Pay for a Burrito?
The pandemic has led to the largest price spikes at fast-food restaurants in two decades.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/business/fast-food-prices-inflation.html
snip
“I would say that our ultimate goal, so this would be over the long term, maybe the medium term, is to fully protect our margins,” said Jack Hartung, the chief financial officer of Chipotle, on a call with Wall Street analysts last fall. “When you look at our pricing versus other restaurant companies’ for the quality of the food, the quantity of the food, and the quality and convenience of the experience, we offer great value. So we believe we have room to fully protect the margin.”
That doesn’t mean customers are thrilled about the extra costs. This month, Jacob Herlin, a data scientist in Lakewood, Colo., placed an order: a steak-and-guacamole burrito for $11.95, a Coca-Cola for $3, and chips and guacamole, which were free with a birthday coupon. The total was $14.95, before tax.
But when he clicked to have the food delivered, the price for the burrito jumped to $14.45 and the soda climbed to $3.65, bringing the total to $18.10 before tax, 21 percent more than if he had picked the food up himself.
There was more. Mr. Herlin was charged a delivery fee of $1 and another “service fee” of $2.32, bringing the total for the delivered meal to $23.20. He tipped the driver an additional $3.
snip
I never thought I would see the day where US prices for everyday quotidian food BLOW past what we pay for it here in Stockholm (a Big Mac, for instance, anywhere here in Stockholm costs 35kr, ie around $3.75 and sometimes it is buy one get one free), AND do not forget we have VAT and our low end workers are paid more (at least more than many US areas pay), so those are added into our costs. Earlier this evening I ordered 4 complete dinners (multicourse and drinks included) of killer (some of it was some of the best vegan fast food I have had in ages, and also some of it was meat/seafood, lamb and shrimp) Palestinian food, delivered, and it cost me 320kr, which is around $34 total, for 4 people.
White House economists push back against pressure to blame corporations for inflation
https://www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022/02/17/white-house-inflation-corporations/When the prepared congressional testimony of a senior administration official was circulated inside the White House in recent weeks, it included a passage tying inflation to corporate consolidation and monopoly power.
That language was eventually taken out of the remarks before they were delivered. Members of the White House Council of Economic Advisers had raised objections to the idea that a spike in prices was due to corporate power, according to two people aware of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fears of professional reprisals.
The alteration of the testimony highlights the tensions within the administration over whether the White House should blame corporate consolidation and monopoly power for price hikes. Some officials in the White House National Economic Council believe the administration could more aggressively advance that argument, and Democratic pollsters have told the White House that a populist economic message on corporate greed and prices broadly resonates with voters.
But economists inside the administration, particularly at the CEA, are uncomfortable with the push. “It’s been the war of the ‘track changes’ inside the administration over how much the White House can lean in on the extent to which competition and greed are driving inflation,” said one person briefed on the internal dynamics, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fear of professional reprisals.
snip
related
More than half of retail businesses are using inflation to price gouge
https://digital.com/half-of-retail-businesses-using-inflation-to-price-gouge/
How Much Are You Willing to Pay for a Burrito?
The pandemic has led to the largest price spikes at fast-food restaurants in two decades.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/21/business/fast-food-prices-inflation.html
snip
“I would say that our ultimate goal, so this would be over the long term, maybe the medium term, is to fully protect our margins,” said Jack Hartung, the chief financial officer of Chipotle, on a call with Wall Street analysts last fall. “When you look at our pricing versus other restaurant companies’ for the quality of the food, the quantity of the food, and the quality and convenience of the experience, we offer great value. So we believe we have room to fully protect the margin.”
That doesn’t mean customers are thrilled about the extra costs. This month, Jacob Herlin, a data scientist in Lakewood, Colo., placed an order: a steak-and-guacamole burrito for $11.95, a Coca-Cola for $3, and chips and guacamole, which were free with a birthday coupon. The total was $14.95, before tax.
But when he clicked to have the food delivered, the price for the burrito jumped to $14.45 and the soda climbed to $3.65, bringing the total to $18.10 before tax, 21 percent more than if he had picked the food up himself.
There was more. Mr. Herlin was charged a delivery fee of $1 and another “service fee” of $2.32, bringing the total for the delivered meal to $23.20. He tipped the driver an additional $3.
snip
I never thought I would see the day where US prices for everyday quotidian food BLOW past what we pay for it here in Stockholm (a Big Mac, for instance, anywhere here in Stockholm costs 35kr, ie around $3.75 and sometimes it is buy one get one free), AND do not forget we have VAT and our low end workers are paid more (at least more than many US areas pay), so those are added into our costs. Earlier this evening I ordered 4 complete dinners (multicourse and drinks included) of killer (some of it was some of the best vegan fast food I have had in ages, and also some of it was meat/seafood, lamb and shrimp) Palestinian food, delivered, and it cost me 320kr, which is around $34 total, for 4 people.
February 20, 2022
Label: Riverside Records – RLP 9399
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1962
Genre: Jazz
Style: Post Bop, Modal
Recorded 'live' at The Village Vanguard; New York; June 25, 1961.
Mastered By Plaza Sound Studios.
Produced By Bill Grauer Productions, Inc.
This Recording Is Available In Both Stereophonic (RLP 9399) And Monaural (RLP 399) Form.
Recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1961, shortly before Scott LaFaro's death, Waltz for Debby is the second album issued from that historic session, and the final one from that legendary trio that also contained drummer Paul Motian.
While the Sunday at the Village Vanguard album focused on material where LaFaro soloed prominently, this is far more a portrait of the trio on those dates. Evans chose the material here, and, possibly, in some unconscious way, revealed on these sessions -- and the two following LaFaro's death (Moonbeams and How My Heart Sings!) -- a different side of his musical personality that had never been displayed on his earlier solo recordings or during his tenures with Miles Davis and George Russell: Evans was an intensely romantic player, flagrantly emotional, and that is revealed here in spades on tunes such as "My Foolish Heart" and "Detour Ahead."
There is a kind of impressionistic construction to his harmonic architecture that plays off the middle registers and goes deeper into its sonances in order to set into motion numerous melodic fragments simultaneously. The rhythmic intensity that he displayed as a sideman is evident here in "Milestones," with its muscular shifting time signature and those large, flatted ninths with the right hand. The trio's most impressive interplay is in "My Romance," after Evans' opening moments introducing the changes. Here Motian's brushwork is delicate, flighty and elegant, and LaFaro controls the dynamic of the tune with his light as a feather pizzicato work and makes Evans' deeply emotional statements swing effortlessly.
Of the many recordings Evans issued, the two Vanguard dates and Explorations are the ultimate expressions of his legendary trio.
Bill Evans Trio - Waltz for Debby (Full Album)
Label: Riverside Records – RLP 9399
Format:
Vinyl, LP, Album, Stereo
Country: Netherlands
Released: 1962
Genre: Jazz
Style: Post Bop, Modal
Recorded 'live' at The Village Vanguard; New York; June 25, 1961.
Mastered By Plaza Sound Studios.
Produced By Bill Grauer Productions, Inc.
This Recording Is Available In Both Stereophonic (RLP 9399) And Monaural (RLP 399) Form.
Recorded at the Village Vanguard in 1961, shortly before Scott LaFaro's death, Waltz for Debby is the second album issued from that historic session, and the final one from that legendary trio that also contained drummer Paul Motian.
While the Sunday at the Village Vanguard album focused on material where LaFaro soloed prominently, this is far more a portrait of the trio on those dates. Evans chose the material here, and, possibly, in some unconscious way, revealed on these sessions -- and the two following LaFaro's death (Moonbeams and How My Heart Sings!) -- a different side of his musical personality that had never been displayed on his earlier solo recordings or during his tenures with Miles Davis and George Russell: Evans was an intensely romantic player, flagrantly emotional, and that is revealed here in spades on tunes such as "My Foolish Heart" and "Detour Ahead."
There is a kind of impressionistic construction to his harmonic architecture that plays off the middle registers and goes deeper into its sonances in order to set into motion numerous melodic fragments simultaneously. The rhythmic intensity that he displayed as a sideman is evident here in "Milestones," with its muscular shifting time signature and those large, flatted ninths with the right hand. The trio's most impressive interplay is in "My Romance," after Evans' opening moments introducing the changes. Here Motian's brushwork is delicate, flighty and elegant, and LaFaro controls the dynamic of the tune with his light as a feather pizzicato work and makes Evans' deeply emotional statements swing effortlessly.
Of the many recordings Evans issued, the two Vanguard dates and Explorations are the ultimate expressions of his legendary trio.
February 18, 2022
Senator Joe Manchin said he remains undecided on President Joe Biden’s nominees for the Federal Reserve, including Sarah Bloom Raskin, the embattled pick for vice chair for supervision.
“We had a conversation and we will have more conversations,” the West Virginia Democrat said of Raskin, who he met with earlier this week. “I made no decisions on anybody.”
Manchin’s vote in the 50-50 Senate will be particularly crucial for Raskin, who is facing stiff Republican opposition, including a GOP boycott of a Senate Banking Committee vote on the nominees earlier this week.
Manchin, who for months has been the sharpest Democratic critic of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy amid soaring inflation, said he’s still reviewing the nominees. “We’re just basically looking and reviewing everything and talking to my good friends here about all the different concerns people have,” he said, when asked about Republican opposition to Raskin.
snip
Joe Manchin Remains Undecided on Biden's Fed Nominees, 'No Decision' Stand Keeps Doubts Swirling
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-17/manchin-says-he-s-undecided-on-raskin-and-other-biden-fed-picksSenator Joe Manchin said he remains undecided on President Joe Biden’s nominees for the Federal Reserve, including Sarah Bloom Raskin, the embattled pick for vice chair for supervision.
“We had a conversation and we will have more conversations,” the West Virginia Democrat said of Raskin, who he met with earlier this week. “I made no decisions on anybody.”
Manchin’s vote in the 50-50 Senate will be particularly crucial for Raskin, who is facing stiff Republican opposition, including a GOP boycott of a Senate Banking Committee vote on the nominees earlier this week.
Manchin, who for months has been the sharpest Democratic critic of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy amid soaring inflation, said he’s still reviewing the nominees. “We’re just basically looking and reviewing everything and talking to my good friends here about all the different concerns people have,” he said, when asked about Republican opposition to Raskin.
snip
February 18, 2022
Storm Eunice: at least four die as winds of up to 122mph batter UK and Ireland
Woman in her 30s dies in London; man in his 50s killed on Merseyside; man killed in County Wexford; man in Hampshire killed in collision
Record-breaking gusts bring chaos to millions across UK
Storm Eunice wreaks UK travel chaos as roads closed and trains curtailed
What is a ‘sting jet’? Scientists warn of 1987 phenomenon
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2022/feb/18/storm-eunice-london-added-to-red-weather-warning-as-met-office-urges-millions-to-stay-indoors-live-news-updates
Summary: four deaths confirmed from Storm Eunice
Three people in England and one in Ireland has died from Storm Eunice. A man in his 20s died after a collision between a car he was travelling in and a tree in Alton, Hampshire. One man is in hospital with “serious injuries”.
A woman in her 30s has died after a tree fell on a car in Haringey, north London, on Friday afternoon, the Metropolitan police said.
Merseyside police said a man in his 50s died in Netherton, Merseyside, after debris struck the windscreen of a vehicle he was travelling in, .
Earlier, a council worker in his 60s was killed by a falling tree while clearing storm debris in County Wexford, Ireland.
Peray Ahmet, leader of Haringey Council in north London, said: “I was deeply saddened to receive the news that a member of the public has died after a tree fell on a car in Highgate. “On behalf of everyone at Haringey Council I express my deepest sympathies to her family at this incredibly difficult time. “Our teams are working tirelessly to clear fallen trees and debris and to secure any structures that pose a risk to the public. “I urge all residents to follow official advice and be alert to the dangers that come with the extreme weather that continues to affect the borough.”
snip
February 18, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/jenna-ryan-released-from-capitol-riot-prison-sentence-immediately-gets-back-to-tweeting-conspiracies
The infamous Capitol rioter who boasted that she would never be jailed because she’s white and blonde has immediately returned to tweeting MAGA conspiracy theories hours after her release from prison.
Texas real-estate agent Jenna Ryan served 60 days in jail for her role in the Jan. 6 attack before being released on Thursday—and it appears she couldn’t wait to get back to the kind of conspiracy-peddling that got her into trouble in the first place.
Her first tweet back read: “Best. Birthday. Ever!!!” Then, she started sharing Hillary Clinton conspiracies from the likes of Donald Trump Jr. and pandemic misinformation specialist Clay Travis.
Before she went to prison, Ryan said she hoped to lose some weight while incarcerated. The Dallas Observer reported: “There’s no word yet on whether she dropped the 30 pounds she’d hoped to shed or how much yoga she did.”
snip
Read it at Dallas Observer
Infamous 'White and Blonde' Capitol Rioter Released, Immediately Back to Tweeting MAGA Conspiracies
Earlier she had claimed she was being scapegoated like ‘the Jews in Germany’https://www.thedailybeast.com/jenna-ryan-released-from-capitol-riot-prison-sentence-immediately-gets-back-to-tweeting-conspiracies
The infamous Capitol rioter who boasted that she would never be jailed because she’s white and blonde has immediately returned to tweeting MAGA conspiracy theories hours after her release from prison.
Texas real-estate agent Jenna Ryan served 60 days in jail for her role in the Jan. 6 attack before being released on Thursday—and it appears she couldn’t wait to get back to the kind of conspiracy-peddling that got her into trouble in the first place.
Her first tweet back read: “Best. Birthday. Ever!!!” Then, she started sharing Hillary Clinton conspiracies from the likes of Donald Trump Jr. and pandemic misinformation specialist Clay Travis.
Before she went to prison, Ryan said she hoped to lose some weight while incarcerated. The Dallas Observer reported: “There’s no word yet on whether she dropped the 30 pounds she’d hoped to shed or how much yoga she did.”
snip
Read it at Dallas Observer
February 18, 2022
https://www.thedailybeast.com/amir-locke-grieved-mark-hannemans-history-comes-into-focus-before-funeral-in-minneapolis-police-killing
Hundreds of community members gathered Thursday for the funeral of Amir Rahkare Locke, the 22-year-old Black man who was fatally shot within seconds of Minneapolis police entering an apartment with a no-knock warrant for a case that had nothing to do with him. Meanwhile, even as family, friends, and locals mourned, new details were emerging about the white cop who fired the shots that killed Locke.
Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a eulogy while surrounded by Locke’s family at the Shiloh Temple International Ministries, just two miles from the Feb. 2 disaster. The grim occasion attended by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is hardly a novel spectacle in Minneapolis, a metropolitan area stained by high-profile killings of Black men at the hands of law enforcement in recent years. “Amir was not guilty of anything other than being young and Black in America,” Sharpton said.
This week alone is seeing movement in at least two of those cases: On Friday, a judge is set to sentence former Brooklyn police officer Kim Potter for killing Daunte Wright in the suburb of Brooklyn Center last year, while three former Minneapolis police officers continue to face a federal trial for the murder of George Floyd in 2020. “That’s why George Floyd’s family and Botham Jean’s sister is here, cause we’re strong enough, and we’ll keep coming back,” Sharpton said.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Locke family, touched upon the endless cycle of police brutality in Minneapolis—and the rest of the country—during his speech at the funeral. “Amir Locke was just sleeping on the couch while Black and the police shot and killed him. What can we do to make sure our children don’t become a hashtag?” Crump said, earning cheers from the crowd. “We have to stand up, we have to speak up and we have to fight for our children. Their lives depend on it.”
snip
https://twitter.com/TheRevAl/status/1494388388497170432
Killer Cop's Ugly Past Revealed as Amir Locke Funeral Begins in Minneapolis
Officer Mark Hanneman has not been charged with a crime, but a community in mourning was freshly enraged on Thursday.https://www.thedailybeast.com/amir-locke-grieved-mark-hannemans-history-comes-into-focus-before-funeral-in-minneapolis-police-killing
Hundreds of community members gathered Thursday for the funeral of Amir Rahkare Locke, the 22-year-old Black man who was fatally shot within seconds of Minneapolis police entering an apartment with a no-knock warrant for a case that had nothing to do with him. Meanwhile, even as family, friends, and locals mourned, new details were emerging about the white cop who fired the shots that killed Locke.
Rev. Al Sharpton delivered a eulogy while surrounded by Locke’s family at the Shiloh Temple International Ministries, just two miles from the Feb. 2 disaster. The grim occasion attended by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is hardly a novel spectacle in Minneapolis, a metropolitan area stained by high-profile killings of Black men at the hands of law enforcement in recent years. “Amir was not guilty of anything other than being young and Black in America,” Sharpton said.
This week alone is seeing movement in at least two of those cases: On Friday, a judge is set to sentence former Brooklyn police officer Kim Potter for killing Daunte Wright in the suburb of Brooklyn Center last year, while three former Minneapolis police officers continue to face a federal trial for the murder of George Floyd in 2020. “That’s why George Floyd’s family and Botham Jean’s sister is here, cause we’re strong enough, and we’ll keep coming back,” Sharpton said.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Locke family, touched upon the endless cycle of police brutality in Minneapolis—and the rest of the country—during his speech at the funeral. “Amir Locke was just sleeping on the couch while Black and the police shot and killed him. What can we do to make sure our children don’t become a hashtag?” Crump said, earning cheers from the crowd. “We have to stand up, we have to speak up and we have to fight for our children. Their lives depend on it.”
snip
https://twitter.com/TheRevAl/status/1494388388497170432
February 18, 2022
https://www.thelocal.se/20220218/swedish-government-wants-to-ban-mobile-phones-in-classrooms/
Sweden's Schools Minister Lina Axelsson Kihlblom. Photo: Lars Schröder/TT
“There should be order in each and every classroom,” Schools Minister Lina Axelsson Kihlbom told a press conference as she presented the new proposal on Friday morning. The bill would ban the use of mobile phones during lessons, unless the teacher specifically instructs the students to use them for learning purposes.
Today, teachers do not have the right to pre-emptively make students give up their mobile phones unless they are actively being used in a way that disrupts teaching. Many schools in Sweden, however, have policies in place where students are able to voluntarily hand over their mobile phone when they enter the classroom.
“Teachers shouldn’t spend their time debating whether or not a mobile phone should be put to the side,” said Axelsson Kihlbom. The government also wants the law to make it clearer that teachers may physically intervene if, for example, a disruptive student refuses to leave the classroom.
The bill follows a series of other bids to revamp Swedish education. The government also recently proposed that municipalities should be able to cut free school funding, and that free schools should not be able to use queue time as a selection criteria. According to the TT news agency, it is unclear whether there’s enough support in parliament for the latter two proposals, but Friday’s bill may get the backing it needs. If approved, it would come into force on August 1st.
snip
Btw, 'free schools' (friskola) are private, tuition-free (due to government subsidies) schools.
These publicly funded non-municipal schools are called friskola to differentiate them from tuition-based private schools (of which there are only a handful left in Sweden).
Swedish government wants to ban mobile phones in classrooms
Should there be a blanket ban on mobile phones in classrooms? That’s what the Swedish government would like to see, according to a new bill by the education ministry.https://www.thelocal.se/20220218/swedish-government-wants-to-ban-mobile-phones-in-classrooms/
Sweden's Schools Minister Lina Axelsson Kihlblom. Photo: Lars Schröder/TT
“There should be order in each and every classroom,” Schools Minister Lina Axelsson Kihlbom told a press conference as she presented the new proposal on Friday morning. The bill would ban the use of mobile phones during lessons, unless the teacher specifically instructs the students to use them for learning purposes.
Today, teachers do not have the right to pre-emptively make students give up their mobile phones unless they are actively being used in a way that disrupts teaching. Many schools in Sweden, however, have policies in place where students are able to voluntarily hand over their mobile phone when they enter the classroom.
“Teachers shouldn’t spend their time debating whether or not a mobile phone should be put to the side,” said Axelsson Kihlbom. The government also wants the law to make it clearer that teachers may physically intervene if, for example, a disruptive student refuses to leave the classroom.
The bill follows a series of other bids to revamp Swedish education. The government also recently proposed that municipalities should be able to cut free school funding, and that free schools should not be able to use queue time as a selection criteria. According to the TT news agency, it is unclear whether there’s enough support in parliament for the latter two proposals, but Friday’s bill may get the backing it needs. If approved, it would come into force on August 1st.
snip
Btw, 'free schools' (friskola) are private, tuition-free (due to government subsidies) schools.
These publicly funded non-municipal schools are called friskola to differentiate them from tuition-based private schools (of which there are only a handful left in Sweden).
February 18, 2022
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-16/study-shows-omicron-sub-variant-no-more-severe-than-first-strain
The rapidly spreading omicron BA.2 subvariant doesn’t cause significantly more severe disease than the original version, according to a South African study that appears to allay fears it causes harsher illness. Patients infected with the new subvariant suffered from similar rates of severe disease and hospitalization as those with the original omicron strain, according to researchers from the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases that analysed data from a large hospital group and the government laboratory service, looking at almost 100,000 cases.
The emergence of BA.2 has caused widespread concern as it appears to be even more transmissible than the original omicron strain that was first identified in South Africa and has since spread around the world, leading to waves of infections in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. The study indicates that, like the original version, BA.2 is relatively mild in comparison with earlier dominant strains, such as delta. “These data are reassuring,” the researchers said, suggesting that despite BA.2’s competitive advantage, “the clinical profile of illness remains similar.”
Still, the researchers cautioned, South Africa may differ from other locations as most immunity in the country comes from prior Covid infection rather than vaccination. As much as 80% of the population is thought to have been infected, while just 29% of the population has had a full vaccination course and only 1.3% have received a booster. About 72% of the European Union population and 63% in the U.S. have received initial immunizations, and 47% and 27% have gotten boosters, respectively.
The study analysed cases that occurred as BA.2 rapidly swept through South Africa. At the end of January, 80% of infections in the country were due to the omicron subvariant, up from just 5% in early December. Among 95,470 infections analysed by the national laboratory, 3.6% of those with BA.2 were hospitalized, compared with 3.4% of those with the original strain. Among 3,058 hospitalized patients, 30.5% of those infected with BA.2 developed severe disease compared with 33.5% of those with the original omicron version.
snip
Study Calms Fears of Harsher New Version of Omicron Variant
Hospitalization risk from BA.2 is similar to initial strain Subvariant studied in South Africa, where it dominateshttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-16/study-shows-omicron-sub-variant-no-more-severe-than-first-strain
The rapidly spreading omicron BA.2 subvariant doesn’t cause significantly more severe disease than the original version, according to a South African study that appears to allay fears it causes harsher illness. Patients infected with the new subvariant suffered from similar rates of severe disease and hospitalization as those with the original omicron strain, according to researchers from the country’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases that analysed data from a large hospital group and the government laboratory service, looking at almost 100,000 cases.
The emergence of BA.2 has caused widespread concern as it appears to be even more transmissible than the original omicron strain that was first identified in South Africa and has since spread around the world, leading to waves of infections in the U.S., Europe and elsewhere. The study indicates that, like the original version, BA.2 is relatively mild in comparison with earlier dominant strains, such as delta. “These data are reassuring,” the researchers said, suggesting that despite BA.2’s competitive advantage, “the clinical profile of illness remains similar.”
Still, the researchers cautioned, South Africa may differ from other locations as most immunity in the country comes from prior Covid infection rather than vaccination. As much as 80% of the population is thought to have been infected, while just 29% of the population has had a full vaccination course and only 1.3% have received a booster. About 72% of the European Union population and 63% in the U.S. have received initial immunizations, and 47% and 27% have gotten boosters, respectively.
The study analysed cases that occurred as BA.2 rapidly swept through South Africa. At the end of January, 80% of infections in the country were due to the omicron subvariant, up from just 5% in early December. Among 95,470 infections analysed by the national laboratory, 3.6% of those with BA.2 were hospitalized, compared with 3.4% of those with the original strain. Among 3,058 hospitalized patients, 30.5% of those infected with BA.2 developed severe disease compared with 33.5% of those with the original omicron version.
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