Bits 'n pieces from east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

A big splash: The recent climate report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, approved by 195 governments, and based on 14,000 studies, made it clear that climate change is already locked in and will become more intense over the next 30 years. But — with quick action — there is still a chance to prevent the worst. At 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming (the planet has heated up 1.1 degrees Celsius since the 19th century and that is accelerating) scientist say the planet will be hotter with more life-threatening heat waves, severe droughts and die-offs of coral reefs that sustain fisheries.

Inaction will result in global temperatures rising as high as 4 degrees Celsius, resulting in vicious floods and heat waves, worse drought and the collapse of existing ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica. The biggest greenhouse gas emitters are China, the U.S., the E.U., India, Russia, Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, Iran and Canada.

On proposals to tax only the super rich: As noted by Civic Action, the daily lifestyle of Elon Musk, the world’s second richest person (he’s worth $162 billion), would not change if he paid in taxes what the average American pays. Civic Action posits that those with wealth in other nations are taxed more than the wealthy in the U.S. A millionaire Danish entrepreneur told the Pitchfork Economics podcast that, on average, half his earnings go to the Danish tax system, but in a good year that can be as high as 70 percent. He remains an advocate of wealth taxes, and appreciates that in his country he doesn’t see people sleeping in the streets.

Two prominent COVID-19 vaccine opponents died recently from the disease, which is caused by the coronavirus: H Scott Apley, a Texas Republican party leader, who urged people to burn their masks, according to The Washington Post, and radio host Dick Farrell. Farrell died after three weeks in the hospital. Shortly before dying, Farrell texted that he wished he’d gotten the vaccine because “this virus is no joke.” He urged friends to get vaccinated.

The idea that COVID-19 usually spares children is no longer true. From July 31 to Aug. 6, 216 children per day were hospitalized for COVID-19, The New York Times reported. 20 percent of new cases are in children. The delta variant appears related to the increased hospitalization figures although vaccines are — so far — not recommended for children under the age of 12.

Symptoms for most children include congestion, runny noses, coughs or fevers. Doctors argue that it’s obvious the delta variant is causing the surge in childhood infections. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 80 percent of new COVID-19 cases are due to the delta variant.

Twelve people are responsible for most of the misleading and false information about COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Center for Countering Digital Hate. After that assessment was published, Facebook said it had taken down accounts operated by those individuals, NPR reported. Facebook’s actions also included labeling misleading posts and removing outright falsehoods.

A large study of the drug ivermectin for treating COVID-19 was withdrawn due to “ethical concerns,” The Guardian reported. Ivermectin is typically used to address parasites and head lice. The study, from Benha University in Egypt and published on Research Square last November, included plagiarized material, conflicting data, data that appeared to contradict study protocols, inaccuracies about ages and deaths of people studied, and repeats of data between patients. Jack Lawrence, the medical student in London who first noticed the study irregularities, commented that, “Thousands of highly educated scientists, doctors, pharmacists and at least four major medicines regulators missed a fraud so apparent that it might as well have come with a flashing neon sign. That this all happened amid an ongoing global health crisis of epic proportions is all the more terrifying.”

The University of Oxford is currently testing to see if giving ivermectin to people who have COVID-19 prevents them from being hospitalized.

Recent testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee by former acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen revealed that Donald Trump, while still president, and Jeffrey Clark, a political appointee to the Justice Department, had attempted to get Rosen to state that the 2020 election had been fraudulent. If Rosen would only do that, Trump said Rosen could “leave the rest to me and the Republican Congressmen.” Lacking evidence of fraud, Rosen said he did not participate in the scheme, even when Trump threatened to replace him with Clark. When top Justice Department attorneys threatened to resign if Trump installed Clark, Trump backed off. Sources: The New York Times, Washington Post and ABC News.

Blast from the past: Early in his career Richard Trumka said, “If corporations can impose their will on this country, we’ll see a future where oil and gas take preference over children, where education doesn’t matter as much as a dollar … that’s lost all social conscience.” Trumka, born in 1949, was an American attorney and organized labor leader. He died Aug. 5.