Items

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  2020-10-10

  Disney During The Pandemic's Lost Year - A Glimmer of Fun in Chaos

  Half full fights, social distancing and Disneyworld
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  2022-04-20

  'More fearful than I was': At-risk immunocompromised Americans decry lifting of travel mask mandate

  This is a news story from USA Today by Ella Lee. This is about pushback against the lifting of the mask mandate, as it has made immunocompromised people afraid. "Being immunocompromised, it's already a huge risk getting on a plane with everybody masked," said Derek Schmitz, 17, of Oxford, Alabama, who takes immune-suppressing arthritis medication and has to fly for work as a disability advocate. "Now, knowing that I most likely will be one of the only people on a plane with a mask is petrifying." After the lift of the mandate for planes and other public transportation was voided, ride share companies like Uber and Lyft have followed suit in removing their own mandates. "I was angry and felt hopeless," said Erin Masengale, 33, who has multiple autoimmune diseases treated by immunosuppressants. "I just want people to realize that when they cheer for the ending of protections, they’re cheering for the ending of access to everything for people like me." Under the strict definition of immunocompromised, only about 3% of Americans fit that definition. Though, the author mentions that disabled and chronically ill people, a much larger population, also face risk with the lifted mandates. The question I have for people that read this is: is it worth it to keep the mandate even though it caters to a relatively small population? Would it be wiser for people already with these ailments to mask on their own instead of mandating it for everyone else, especially if overall cases and hospitalizations are lower? These are the questions I have after reading this article. I am not against people masking when they see fit, but it is clear that these mandates have worn many people out.
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  2020

  'Grounded' Podcast Series - Australian Aviation and Covid-19

  ‘Grounded’ is a series of podcast interviews (created in the first three months of the pandemic) with aviation industry participants regarding the impacts and issues that the Covid-19 pandemic creates for the General Aviation industry in Australia. This is important because General Aviation is often forgotten about in the discourse. What is generally talked about in the media is the AIRLINES - not the small, family run General Aviation businesses and pilots). In these podcasts, I interview the smaller players in the industry - a small tourist charter operation manager, an airshow organiser, a flight school operator, the chairman of Recreational Aviation Australia, a light aircraft manufacturer, a maintenance facility operator, and even the editor of a general aviation aircraft trading magazine. All interview participants of the podcasts provide significant personal insights into the impacts of Covid-19 on their industry that are not generally part of mainstream media discussion. I have submitted this artefact as it provides a unique insight into the lesser-known parts of the aviation industry in those first three months of the pandemic.
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  2020-06-28

  2020 is like being careful but getting hit by an airplane

  This is a funny meme describing our lives in 2020. Despite being careful and "looking both ways before crossing the street," we will still get hit by an airplane.