Community

The phenomenon of social distancing following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus has badly affected the community gatherings and activities. Different community groups have, however, been coming up with new and novel ideas to keep themselves engaged. Qatar Natural History Group (QNHG) is one of the oldest community groups and has been active in the country for over 40 years.  With the lockdown starting in March and strict observance of physical distancing, the group could not carry out its usual weekly meetings. They, however, came up with new ideas of holding online session on different topics related to nature and history of Qatar. The QNHG recently concluded its special summer outings programme to discover the desert and heritage sites. With the phased lifting of the restrictions, the group has planned some special outdoor activities for its members. They took the members to different areas of the desert to observe the nature at the time of sunrise and sunset. Thierry Lesales, QNHG chairman, said: “Usually, our season runs from October to June, but because of the lockdown in March, we could no longer have our regular talks and rambles. We were only able to have our talks online, through the Zoom platform. We are very grateful to our speakers who have accepted to adapt to the change. Topics included the Covid-19 pandemic, the prehistoric population of Qatar, reptiles, sea turtles, and the global climate movement.” In August, outdoor gatherings were allowed with less than 30 people. QNHG took the opportunity to invite its members and the general public to discover the desert in the heart of the summer. The participants had to respect social distancing and wear face masks. “The outings were scheduled early in the morning, for the sunrise, or late in the afternoon, for the sunset. It’s a good way to beat the heat and observe some of the animals in the desert. The animals are also active when the temperatures are lower. They spent the rest of the day, hidden in their burrows or under the shade. “The desert is full of life. Qatar has some incredible ecosystems with organisms very well adapted to the harsh conditions. The end of August also marks the beginning of the bird migrations. Thousands of birds are passing through the peninsula, on their way down to their wintering grounds in Africa. “It’s an exciting time to observe new visitors, and another opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. Many of the new visitors can be seen in the public parks, for instance, the hoopoes, the wagtails, and the warblers,” Thierry noted.  He added: “We were very pleased with the response and positive feedback. People were happy to go out and reconnect to nature. It’s also a very good stress relieving pastime, and the temperatures were actually surprisingly very pleasant early in the morning and late afternoon. In the desert, we noticed, on average, 4C difference with the temperatures in the city. It’s doable. The sceneries and the colours are just fantastic.” The outdoor summer programme included; a visit to Dahl al Misfr Cave, Purple Island sunrise walk, some Rawdat sunrise and sunset walks, Perseids meteor shower stargazing evening, a birdwatching trip, and a tour of little known forts and abandoned villages.

Students of Ideal Indian School (IIS) excelled in the recently held competition titled ‘Hindi Hai Hum’ organised by Skill Bowl, an organisation under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Government of India. The competition was based on proverbs and idioms and it was an all-India-level contest.  Palakshi Sharma, student of Class-V secured third position. Other students namely; Fathima Minha Rayees, Aashika Menon, Vani Singh, Rahimeen, Laiba Qureshi also received certificate of appreciation. Syed Shoukath Ali, IIS principal, heads of different sections and departments along with teachers appreciated the students on their achievement.

NIA Hindi Toastmasters Club recently organised an online slogan writing contest as part of the club’s open house programme. More than 100 guests joined the online event from Qatar, India and Singapore.  During the contest, the guests were entertained by the poetry of well-known poet Amit Sharma, who joined from India as the chief guest.  Later, other artists like standup comedians Sumit Kakkar and Rahul Giridhar also joined from India to entertain the participants with their satire and jokes. The performance of comedian Mamta Babbar from Qatar was also very entertaining. More than 20 participants took part in the contest. The contest was conducted in two rounds – semi-final and final. In a tough competition, Poonam Tanwar secured the first position while Avaneesh Agarwal and Shalini Verma were declared winners for second and third positions respectively. The contest showcased the impromptu skills and talents of participants who were shown more than three posters to write the slogans. The contestants were evaluated by chief judges; Surya Narayanan, Sameer Moosa and Soniya Jadav along with a panel of anonymous judges. Thayaan, District 116 director; Ravi Shankar, district admin manager; and Riana Pinto, Division B director; graced the occasion. The event was anchored by Dr Meenu Parashar, the club president, and was supported by Kumaran C S, Area 7 director. The event was co-ordinated and supported by the club’s executive committee members namely; Komal Bhandari, Alka Chaudhary, Asha Sehgal, Nasreen Bano, Nahid Kausar and Latika Pant.

Since the advent of the blockbuster, Hollywood followed a rigid rule book for how to release movies to the public — put the film in as many theatres as possible, and give theatres full exclusivity before people can see it at home. But amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the old practices have given way to a free-for-all of experimentation. No-one knows that better than Bob Berney, the indie film veteran who runs Los Angeles-based production and distribution firm Picturehouse. He’d planned to give a faith-based drama a theatrical release buoyed by support from churches, but with the pandemic still raging, the company switched gears. Instead, Picturehouse put the movie out as a $20 video-on-demand release last Friday, the same day it was to be on about 215 cinema screens. “The film has an older audience,” Berney said. “If they can’t go to church, it’s difficult for church leaders to recommend they go to a movie.” In the coming weeks, studios will release multiple delayed films, even though eight of the top 20 theatrical markets in the US — including Los Angeles and New York — remain closed for indoor theatres. Walt Disney Co. stuck with a relatively traditional plan for 20th Century’s The New Mutants and Searchlight’s The Personal History of David Copperfield this weekend. However, the studio pulled Mulan from the theatrical release schedule and opted to put it on Disney+ as a $30 purchase. Warner Bros.’ Christopher Nolan movie Tenet is hitting international cinemas before it arrives in the US on September 3. Meanwhile, Universal is overhauling the traditional business with a deal with AMC Theatres that allows it to shrink the theatrical window to just 17 days. Each experiment reflects the diverging priorities of the various studios and filmmakers. Some analysts expect the business to eventually return to its normal playbook once there’s a widely available vaccine and patrons’ comfort levels increase. It remains to be seen if any of the new methods will be bring permanent changes. “I do think that the pandemic has unleashed all options,” Berney said. “It’s become a testing zone of every possible way of getting a film out there, and it’s going to take while before it gets set into some sort of pattern.” Tenet to the rescue? The $200-million Tenet has begun its long-awaited rollout — just not in the US. The film debuted last Wednesday in countries including Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, France and Britain, and will play in about 50 countries before its US launch during Labour Day weekend. It’s unusual, though not unheard of, for movies to go international before their domestic release. Still, to go forth when six states remain shuttered is risky, reflecting Nolan’s unflinching support of theatres. Tenet, a time-bending thriller has symbolic importance. Tom Cruise showed his enthusiasm with a video on social media, in which he attended a public screening of Tenet in London while wearing a face mask. How the film performs will send box office observers into overdrive to parse the figures. Warner Bros. decided to hold off reporting box office grosses for international territories, according to several people familiar with the matter who were not authorised to comment. Normally, studios release their figures day by day. The studio plans to do the same for domestic grosses, the sources said. The movie won’t be released in drive-ins in markets where indoor theatres can’t open (sorry, Los Angeles). Warner Bros. declined to comment. Mooky Greidinger, CEO of British exhibitor and Regal Cinemas parent Cineworld, said that going international first is a smart tactic for Tenet. “The international market is a huge market,” he said. “I don’t think the moviegoers in the US care if the movie opens internationally a week before the US”. The lack of competition should help. Distributors are looking at the recent release of Russell Crowe’s Unhinged, which generated $4 million in its first weekend, as a positive sign of pent-up demand. “This idea that all of a sudden no-one will go to movies, and theatres are dead, is laughably silly,” said Mark Gill, CEO of Solstice Studios, which released Unhinged. “The two dirtiest words in the dictionary right now are ‘my couch.’” Tenet’s opening weekend won’t be nearly as big as that of a blockbuster release in normal times, so the studio and theatres are hoping the movie plays for significantly longer than usual. “While there are risks … a release of this type continues to signal their commitment to the theatrical marketplace while also benefiting from being one of the few big new releases this summer,” said marketing and distribution executive Paul Davidson. Mulan breaks the window Multiple studios made their movies available for premium video on-demand while theatres were dormant, including Universal Pictures with Trolls World Tour and Warner Bros. with Scoob. Still, the release of Disney’s live-action version of Mulan is unique. The $30 price point is higher than the typical premium video-on-demand offering, which is about $20. Additionally, it’s only available to Disney+ subscribers, who already pay $7 a month. Mulan will be available to buyers for as long as they are Disney+ subscribers, whereas other premium videos-on demand (PVOD) are limited to viewing during a 48-hour rental period. Analysts are eagerly waiting to see how many families take Disney up on the offer. That will allow Disney to recoup some of the costs on its $200 million movie while driving subscribers to Disney+, which is a top priority. The service now has 60 million subscribers. Chief Executive Bob Chapek, on an August earnings call with analysts, described the Mulan plan as a one-off.  “(W)e find it very interesting to be able to take a new offering … to consumers at that $29.99 price and learn from it and see what happens,” Chapek said. Mulan’s move to streaming is a blow to theatres that were hoping for a one-two punch from Tenet and the long-awaited Disney remake. However, Cineworld’s Greidinger said there’s little chance of big-brand movies such as Black Widow or Warner Bros.’s Wonder Woman 1984 bypassing cinemas. “Under the circumstances, we need to remember that Disney is one of the studios that is a big ally of the theatrical experience,” Greidinger said. Mulan will only be released in theatres in countries where there are no current plans to launch Disney+, Chapek said. That means the movie will be released theatrically in China, which is the world’s second-largest box office market. Disney has already shown its willingness to experiment by showing its filmed version of Hamilton on Disney+ more than a year before it was expected to premiere in theatres. Disney+ releases could be lucrative for the company, allowing it to keep all revenue from selling Mulan online. Studios selling through other platforms such as iTunes and Amazon give up 20% of sales to the online retailers. “Disney is big enough and smart enough to be able to experiment,” said Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities. “They’re not wedded to any of these solutions.” AMC and Universal push a new model The move that triggered the most consternation was the deal between Universal Pictures and AMC Theatres, the world’s largest cinema operator, to dramatically shorten the theatrical window. The companies in late July announced an agreement that would allow the studio to put its movies on digital outlets after their first three weekends in theatres, a far cry from the typical 74-day gap between a movie’s cinematic debut and its availability for electronic purchase. Universal has to sell the PVOD titles for at least $19.99, and they will only be available as two-day rentals. Also, no-one expects giant franchises pictures such as F9 and Jurassic World: Dominion to truncate their multiplex runs. However, a movie like Universal’s next scheduled release, a Jordan Peele-produced reboot of horror flick Candyman, could be an ideal candidate for what AMC CEO Adam Aron called an “industry-changing” agreement. Theatres have long resisted premium video on-demand, fearing that it would undercut their business model. Some rivals saw AMC’s move as a desperate act by a heavily leveraged chain. Both AMC and Universal have argued the deal is forward-thinking and will keep the business healthy. “We are incentivised to make theatrical box office as big as possible,” said Jim Orr, president of domestic distribution for Universal. “We are very much leaning into the success of the theatrical model.” Under the deal, AMC will receive a share of the revenue from digital sales. “We think we made an attractive deal for AMC shareholders, and we know it’s an attractive deal for Universal,” Aron told analysts recently. Aron said he expects the model to become an “industry standard,” but it’s not clear how many other studios or exhibitors will follow AMC and Universal’s lead. Some theatre chains, like Landmark and Alamo Drafthouse, which have already been amenable to showing streaming movies on the big screen, may want to participate. But Cineworld’s Greidinger has already voiced opposition. “It is clearly the wrong move at the wrong time,” he said. “It is not something that makes any sense from an economic point of view, and I think the future will prove it.” Davidson, however, said studios will continue to experiment. “We’re entering a phase where the already-complicated window of film releases is going to get even more complicated for the consumer to understand,” Davidson said. “I think you’re going to see a pretty confusing cross-section of release patterns, exhibitor deals and outside-the-box thinking.”                   — Los Angeles Times/TNS

Jon Paul was leery entering his first wildfire camp of the year late last month to fight three lightning-caused fires scorching parts of a Northern California forest that hadn’t burned in 40 years. The 54-year-old engine captain from southern Oregon knew from experience that these crowded, grimy camps can be breeding grounds for norovirus and a respiratory illness that firefighters call the “camp crud” in a normal year. He wondered what the coronavirus would do in the tent cities where hundreds of men and women eat, sleep, wash and spend their downtime between shifts. Paul thought about his immunocompromised wife and his 84-year-old mother back home. Then he joined the approximately 1,300 people spread across the Modoc National Forest who would provide a major test for the Covid-prevention measures that had been developed for wildland firefighters. “We’re still first responders and we have that responsibility to go and deal with these emergencies,” he said in a recent interview. “I don’t scare easy, but I’m very wary and concerned about my surroundings. I’m still going to work and do my job.” Paul is one of thousands of firefighters from across the US battling dozens of wildfires burning throughout the West. It’s an inherently dangerous job that now carries the additional risk of Covid-19 transmission. Any outbreak that ripples through a camp could easily sideline crews and spread the virus across multiple fires — and back to communities across the country — as personnel transfer in and out of “hot zones” and return home. Though most firefighters are young and fit, some will inevitably fall ill in these remote makeshift communities of shared showers and portable toilets, where medical care can be limited. The pollutants in the smoke they breathe daily also make them more susceptible to Covid-19 and can worsen the effects of the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Also, one suspected or positive case in a camp will mean many other firefighters will need to be quarantined, unable to work. The worst-case scenario is that multiple outbreaks could hamstring the nation’s ability to respond as wildfire season peaks in August, the hottest and driest month of the year in the western US. The number of acres burned so far this year is below the 10-year average, but the fire outlook for August is above average in nine states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Twenty-two large fires ignited last Monday alone after lightning storms passed through the Northwest. A study published this month by researchers at Colorado State University and the US Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station concluded that Covid-19 outbreaks “could be a serious threat to the firefighting mission” and urged vigilant social distancing and screening measures in the camps. “If simultaneous fires incurred outbreaks, the entire wildland response system could be stressed substantially, with a large portion of the workforce quarantined,” the study’s authors wrote. This spring, the National Wildfire Co-ordinating Group’s Fire Management Board wrote — and has since been updating — protocols to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in fire camps, based on CDC guidelines. Though they can be adapted by managers at different fires and even by individual team, they centre on some key recommendations: * Firefighters should be screened for fever and other Covid-19 symptoms when they arrive at camp. * Every crew should insulate itself as a “module of one” for the fire season and limit interactions with other crews. * Firefighters should maintain social distancing and wear face coverings when social distancing isn’t possible. Smaller satellite camps, known as spike camps, can be built to ensure enough space. * Shared areas should be regularly cleaned and disinfected, and sharing tools and radios should be minimised. The guidelines do not include routine testing of newly arrived firefighters — a practice used for athletes at training camps and students returning to college campuses. The Fire Management Board’s Wildland Fire Medical and Public Health Advisory Team wrote in a July 2 memo that it “does not recommend utilising universal Covid-19 laboratory testing as a stand-alone risk mitigation or screening measure among wildland firefighters.” Rather, the group recommends testing an individual and directly exposed co-workers, saying that approach is in line with CDC guidance. The lack of testing capacity and long turnaround times are factors, according to Forest Service spokesperson Dan Hottle. The exception is Alaska, where firefighters are tested upon arrival at the airport and are quarantined in a hotel while awaiting results, which come within 24 hours, Hottle said. Fire crews responding to early-season fires in the spring had some problems adjusting to the new protocols, according to assessments written by fire leaders and compiled by the Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center. Shawn Faiella, superintendent of the interagency “hotshot crew” — so named because they work the most challenging or “hottest” parts of wildfires — based at Montana’s Lolo National Forest, questioned the need to wear masks inside vehicles and the safety of bringing extra vehicles to space out firefighters travelling to a blaze. Parking extra vehicles at the scene of a fire is difficult in tight dirt roads — and would be dangerous if evacuations are necessary, he wrote. “It’s damn tough to take these practices to the fire line,” Faiella wrote after his team responded to a 40-acre Montana fire in April. One recommendation that fire managers say has been particularly effective is the “module of one” concept requiring crews to eat and sleep together in isolation for the entire fire season. “Whoever came up with it, it is working,” said Mike Goicoechea, the Montana-based incident commander for the Forest Service’s Northern Region Type 1 team, which manages the nation’s largest and most complex wildfires and natural disasters. “Somebody may test positive, and you end up having to take that module out of service for 14 days. But the nice part is you’re not taking out a whole camp. … It’s just that module.” The total number of positive Covid-19 cases among wildland firefighters among the various federal, state, local and tribal agencies is not being tracked. Each fire agency has its own system for tracking and reporting Covid-19, said Jessica Gardetto, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management and the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho. The largest wildland firefighting agency is the Agriculture Department’s Forest Service, with 10,000 firefighters. Another major agency is the Department of the Interior, which BLM is part of and which had more than 3,500 full-time fire employees last year. As of the first week of August, 111 Forest Service firefighters and 40 BLM firefighters (who work underneath the broader Interior Department agency) had tested positive for Covid-19, according to officials for the respective agencies. “Considering we’ve now been experiencing fire activity for several months, this number is surprisingly low if you think about the thousands of fire personnel who’ve been suppressing wildfires this summer,” Gardetto said. Goicoechea and his Montana team travelled north of Tucson, Arizona, on June 22 to manage a rapidly spreading fire in the Santa Catalina Mountains that required 1,200 responders at its peak. Within two days of the team’s arrival, his managers were overwhelmed by calls from firefighters worried or with questions about preventing the spread of Covid-19 or carrying the virus home to their families. In an unusual move, Goicoechea called upon Montana physician — and former National Park Service ranger with wildfire experience — Dr Harry Sibold to join the team. Physicians are rarely, if ever, part of a wildfire camp’s medical team, Goicoechea said. Sibold gave regular coronavirus updates during morning briefings, consulted with local health officials, soothed firefighters worried about bringing the virus home to their families and advised fire managers on how to handle scenarios that might come up. But Sibold said he wasn’t optimistic at the beginning about keeping the coronavirus in check in a large camp in Pima County, which has the second-highest number of confirmed cases in Arizona, at the time a national Covid-19 hot spot. “I quite firmly expected that we might have two or three outbreaks,” he said. There were no positive cases during the team’s two-week deployment, just three or four cases where a firefighter showed symptoms but tested negative for the virus. After the Montana team returned home, nine firefighters at the Arizona fire from other units tested positive, Goicoechea said. Contact tracers notified the Montana team, some of whom were tested. All tests returned negative. “I can’t say enough about having that doctor to help,” Goicoechea said, suggesting other teams might consider doing the same. “We’re not the experts in a pandemic. We’re the experts with fire.” That early success will be tested as the number of fires increases across the West, along with the number of firefighters responding to them. There were more than 15,000 firefighters and support personnel assigned to fires across the nation as of mid-August, and the success of those Covid-19 prevention protocols depend largely upon them. Paul, the Oregon firefighter, said that the guidelines were followed closely in camp, but less so out on the fire line. It also appeared to him that younger firefighters were less likely to follow the masking and social-distancing rules than the veterans like him. That worried him as he realised it wouldn’t take much to spark an outbreak that could sideline crews and cripple the ability to respond to a fire. “We’re outside, so it definitely helps with mitigation and makes it simpler to social-distance,” Paul said. “But I think if there’s a mistake made, it could happen.”                           — Kaiser Health News

The rise of Senator Kamala Harris could be a made-for-TV drama. Joe Biden’s newly minted running mate, the child of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, is now poised to become the first woman and first person of colour to hold the office of vice president. The historic moment lands in tandem with the anniversary of another breakthrough for women in American politics: the right to vote. The largest expansion of voting rights in US history happened 100 years ago this month, when the 19th Amendment was finally enshrined in the Constitution. The dramatic fight to cast a ballot of one’s own is a slice of history packed with the sorts of heroes, vigilantes and avengers that TV loves to resurrect and reinterpret for prime-time, prestige viewing. And what better time than a centennial anniversary to recall the best of cable’s action-packed dramas featuring Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, network classics depicting the fierce Susan B Anthony, or streaming’s irreverent suffragist superhero shows starring half of Hollywood as Alice Paul, Ida B Wells, Mary Church Terrell and Mabel Ping-Hua Lee. If only they existed. One hundred years and one Kamala Harris later, there are still very few TV series about first- (or second-) wave feminism in the vault. You can count on one fist in the air the number of major network series about suffrage. Throw in those about subsequent milestones in the fight for women’s rights and you’d be hard-pressed to put on a 24-hour marathon about the battles and victories that irrevocably changed our lives, the lives of our ancestors and the destiny of our daughters. Documentary series are the exception, of course. PBS has dedicated the summer to a slate of multiplatform content “honouring US women’s suffrage, the feminist movement and modern-day change makers.” The lineup includes American Experience’s The Vote, which chronicles the campaign waged by American women for the right to vote; And She Could Be Next, a POV miniseries following women of colour candidates and activists during the 2018 midterms; and a host of other, previously released docs about remarkable women such as Toni Morrison. Pop culture’s most recognisable suffragist is still the flighty Mrs. Winifred Banks, as played by Glynis Johns in the 1964 Disney classic Mary Poppins. Her participation in women’s marches and protests is a well-heeled hobby, and her silly feminist streak has rendered her a neglectful mother who needs a nanny to raise her kids. Thank goodness for Mary. So: Thanks to the rare television titles that tackle the fight for voting rights head-on. They include BBC’s 1974 Shoulder to Shoulder and HBO’s 2004 Iron Jawed Angels, and Timeless, Downton Abbey and Boardwalk Empire each featured characters and an episode or two with suffrage as a backdrop. And, of course, there’s Schoolhouse Rock’s 1976 classic, Sufferin’ Till Suffrage: “Susan B Anthony (yeah!) and Julia Howe, Lucretia Mott (and others!), they showed us how. They carried signs and marched in lines. Until at long last the law was passed.” The latter lesson was tucked inside a marketing effort to sell more Lucky Charms, but at least it was highlighting a chapter of history that other gatekeepers have mostly chosen to ignore. A handful of other productions over the years are worth rewatching too, such as Bletchley Circle, following Britain’s female codebreakers after World War II; Amazon Prime’s Good Girls Revolt, about pioneering female journalists at an American newsmagazine at the end of the 1960s; and AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire, which uses one of TV’s most indelible partnerships to explore the role of women in early tech. It’s hardly possible to produce a comprehensive picture of women’s history by connecting these dots, though — particularly if that history is to include women of colour and global movements for rights. But an interesting thing happened on the detour around her story and the industry’s long-standing fear of women who march and demand things other than sex from a male lead. Female creators and producers are telling those tales from myriad angles, and increasingly on their own terms. Dickinson showrunner Alena Smith is behind the award-winning Apple TV+ dramedy about the 19th century poet Emily Dickinson. “History is power, and the way we tell it is a form of how power is wielded,” Smith says. “What we are really doing is reclaiming and restaging history. We have to retell the narrative of who we are and how we got here. We have to put ourselves at the centre of it. We’re making a story that’s relevant to us.” The series, which premiered last year, opens up the stuffy parlour and imbues the writer and her female companions with some present-day freedoms, such as cursing and twerking. “With Dickinson we give (them) consciousness of a contemporary young woman, but they live in a reality where they’re not allowed to vote or own property,” says Smith, whose series has already been renewed for a second season. “That’s part of the whole experiment: We show that they weren’t any different from us but they lived under these brutally different circumstances. Whereas if you just had everybody talking in quaint period language, that point would not be driven home as effectively.” Dickinson is part of a nascent wave of current or recent TV programmes beginning to dig deeper into women’s fights for equality, reproductive rights and racial justice, though the long arc of those political movements is often reflected in fictional-future dramas such as Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale or biographies like Netflix’s Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker. In other series like Better Things, Fleabag, P-Valley, Vida and I May Destroy You, female writers, directors and stars have placed contemporary women’s lives front and centre — and at the forefront of the art form — even if their subject matter is not “political” in the electoral sense. FX’s recent Mrs. America is one of the few productions that dares to set its story at a critical juncture in modern feminism. The 1970s-era drama, starring Cate Blanchett, chronicles the failure of the Equal Rights Amendment, another major upheaval for American women that’s barely been represented onscreen, let alone in public school history books. The popular series exposed the rigours of tackling a movement that TV has generally left to late-night comedians. Even that Emmy-nominated limited series has elicited criticism for not telling the whole story: In a guest column for The Times, Eleanor Smeal and Gloria Steinem (the latter portrayed in the series by Rose Byrne) lamented the inaccuracy of the TV adaptation of their efforts to ratify the ERA. “Mrs. America has described deck chairs on the Titanic but lied about why the Titanic went down,” they wrote. “Instead, it has given us the Catfight Theory of History.” But as Dickinson’s Smith suggests, getting to the point of being criticised by feminist icons requires getting it made in the first place — and for too long the subject of women’s history in pop culture has been overlooked, neglected or rejected by men. “The reason why you couldn’t (successfully) pitch a suffragette story to Les Moonves is because he actively didn’t want to hear it,” Smith surmises, referring to the former chairman and CEO of CBS Corp., who resigned in 2018 after numerous allegations of sexual misconduct. “He actively didn’t see himself in it. And so that history gets suppressed. But a story that’s as dramatic, and matters as much, as women getting the right to vote? The fact that it has not been told a million times would indicate that somebody was not interested in hearing the story. That’s why we need better representation and diversity in the ranks of executives and people who make these decisions. People who greenlight. Women.” — Los Angeles Times/TNS

Once upon a time, there were movies, television and theatre. And we all knew the difference between them. Movies were what you saw on a Saturday night with popcorn in your lap. Television was something you watched in your living room or bedroom, several nights a week. And theatre was human-to-human communication. You know, a live show with a costly ticket. For the most part, America’s dramatic entertainment industry has been organised around these divisions. Each had their own labour unions (SAG, AFTRA and Actors’ Equity) and awards shows (Oscars, Emmys and Tonys). Writers would specialise in one branch even if dreaming of another. And for decades the Chicago Tribune and other fine news organisations employed separate film, TV and theatre critics, presumably on the theory that the dramatic disciplines all required separate specialists. All of that has been tottering for a while. But the coronavirus crisis has blown those barriers to bits. Just consider the last few days. First off, Disney announced that it would release on September 4 its postponed and much-anticipated live-action version of Mulan, not to movie theatres but to its own streaming service, albeit for an additional $30 in rental fees. The decision is a terrible blow to reeling movie theatres, hastening the growing sense that those giant, barn-like multiplexes that dot cities and suburbs across America are never coming back at scale. Even after people are unafraid to go out. Why bother when the best and newest titles can be viewed on a device of your choice? That would mean, of course, that the food courts that depend on the theatres in malls are toast, too. And the restaurants outside. Sure, a few theatres will survive, especially those that offer a special experience. And one very smart Hollywood producer I know insists that three categories of films will still attract people to movie theatres because people will want to see them with other humans: horror, superheroes and musicals. But everything else? No different from television now. But what about theatre? Surely, live is live. Not so fast. Two bits of relevant news came out Tuesday and Wednesday. One was that Hamilton, a Broadway musical, attracted a massive audience when it was broadcast on Disney Plus, blowing out the Netflix competition to become the most-watched streaming show of July. This was not a movie but a Broadway show with a live audience. And a few cameras. Hamilton is its own beast, you might argue. Well, sure. Hamilton is Hamilton, backlash and all. But on Wednesday, the producers of Diana: A New Musical announced a truly singular plan for a show that saw its original spring opening nixed by the pandemic and the ongoing Broadway closure. Diana: A New Musical, a show based on the life of the late Princess Diana and penned by Joe DiPietro with music and lyrics by DiPietro and David Bryan, will now rehearse in an empty Broadway theatre (no shortage of those) and be recorded in a multi-camera shoot and then streamed on Netflix at some point before its new opening date in May of next year. In terms of standard operating procedure on Broadway, this is a true disrupter. For decades, musicals have been rolled out slowly — workshop to out-of-town tryout to Broadway theatre and a flashy series of press performances for a few powerful critics, celebrities and influencers who, crucially, will have attended the show before almost anyone else. Even weeks into the run of a hit Broadway musical, only a few thousand people will have actually seen what everybody seems to be talking about. And from the producers’ point of view, that drives demand for scarce tickets. Such is, or used to be, the bedrock of the Broadway economic model. Over time, that number of people exposed to the show increases. A musical might tour Asia or move to London or clone itself in Chicago or licence itself to local theatre, then amateur theatres and high schools. If it’s an iconic hit like Hairspray or Rent, it might get filmed or remade for television. But that always has been years down the line. All of that assumes the show is a hit. If it gets a thumbs down from those critics, celebrities and influencers, it can die in weeks. Or days. In that scenario, most people never get to see it at all. I haven’t yet seen Diana: A New Musical. It might be great. Sure hope so. But it’s fair to say, back before a certain virus took down everyone, that the Rialto was not expecting an artistic masterpiece from this particular attraction. But here’s the rub. Princess Diana is an iconic figure across the globe and this could be one of those shows that appeal more to the regular folks than the snobs on the aisle. It would not be the first in that category, but the perennial complaint of the people involved in such shows is that they started out tainted by the snubs of the Broadway elites. This is a clever hedge against that problem. Assuming the Netflix streaming reaches a large audience, there could be a groundswell of popular opinion mounting for the show in advance of its actual live opening night. In other words, the influence of critics might well be yet further reduced which may well transform the fortunes of the show — like a politician opening a window in a smoke-filled room. For the first time in Broadway history, a review of a new musical will land in an environment where hundreds of thousands of people already will have seen the show. Expect the knives to come out if opinions differ. But will these folks really have seen the show if they have only seen the Netflix stream? Not in my old-school view. But this is powerful evidence that Netflix, Disney and what we think of as live theatre have all begun to fuse. When have you ever before heard of a Broadway opening on your computer screen? You have now. And maybe not for the last time. — Chicago Tribune/TNS

Nasa’s newest Mars rover is called Perseverance, and it has already lived up to the name. Weighing in at just over a tonne and loaded with the most sophisticated instruments ever sent to the red planet, the six-wheeled vehicle has already survived a hurdle no previous rover has had to face: a global pandemic. After overcoming months of uncertainty, Perseverance is at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, awaiting the start of the 309-million-mile journey that will take it to an ancient lake bed that may contain evidence of extraterrestrial life. Despite the unprecedented challenges, the $2.4-billion space robot is expected to blast off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as early as today — right on schedule. The rover travelled across the US from its birthplace at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge in February. After its arrival, as many as 90 Nasa employees gathered in a cleanroom every day to reassemble, test and otherwise prepare the SUV-sized machine for the rigours of spaceflight. Even in the midst of a devastating health crisis that work cannot be done from home. “Everyone on the team did their part and kept themselves healthy,” said Luis Dominguez, deputy electrical lead for the mission at JPL, who has been based in Florida since February. “We were incredibly lucky.” Delaying the launch for even a few months was never an option. The orbits of Earth and Mars align only once every 26 months. In order to get to Mars in a reasonable period of time with a manageable amount of fuel, the rover has to launch within a period of 20 days or so relative to that closest approach. “If you miss a planetary window to Mars, you essentially have to wait two years for the next opportunity,” said Matt Wallace, Perseverance deputy project manager at JPL. “That’s why the other countries that are launching missions are launching them right now.” If everything goes according to plan, Perseverance will spend seven months flying through space before touching down in Jezero Crater in mid-February. Once there, it will quickly begin searching for conclusive evidence that life once flourished on Mars. “Every previous mission has seen in one way or another that Mars was once habitable” said Katie Stack Morgan, a geologist at JPL and deputy project scientist of the overall mission known as Mars 2020. “But with Perseverance we are taking the next step — looking for signs of life in the ancient rock record.” To do this, scientists on Earth will peer through Perseverance’s camera “eyes,” scouring Jezero for rocks that contain patterns, textures and the distribution of chemicals that can only be explained by biological activity. The rover will mostly hunt for stromatolites, rock structures that look similar to those created by microbial mats on Earth billions of years ago. But it will seek out other indicators of past life as well, including ones that could be unique to Mars. “Our search is firmly based on what we see in the early Earth rock record, but we will also open our minds to what signs of life might look like on another planet,” Stack Morgan said. While Perseverance is tasked with finding evidence of past life on Mars, it does not have the capability to prove that life actually existed. Instead, the rover will use a powerful drill at the end of its hinged arm to bore into promising rocks and collect core samples, each about the size of a marker pen. Those samples will be sealed inside 43 metal tubes in the rover’s belly. Filled tubes will likely be deposited in batches on the Martian surface and collected by another rover sometime in the future so they can be sent to Earth for further study. It’s a long and complicated process that could take more than a decade to complete, Nasa engineers said. But when it comes to declaring the past presence of extraterrestrial life, the bar is high. “To make the claim that you have found signs of life on another planet requires the full capability of the terrestrial science community,” Wallace said. “We can take maybe 100 pounds of instruments with us on the rover. In a single laboratory on Earth you can have a ton of equipment.” Perseverance will also test new technologies that could be used to support eventual crewed missions to Mars. These include an instrument the size of a small microwave oven that’s designed to make oxygen from the abundant carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere. The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment, or Moxie, relies on a process called electrolysis that uses an electrical charge to drive a chemical reaction. Generating oxygen on Mars is a necessity because it would be impractical for a crew to bring it with them from Earth, said Asad Aboobaker, a systems engineer and member of the science team for Moxie at JPL. If Moxie works as expected, it will generate 6 to 10 grams of oxygen an hour. That’s a small fraction of the 30 to 40 grams of oxygen per hour that Nasa budgets for each astronaut aboard the International Space Station, but Aboobaker said the technology is fairly easy to scale up. Even more importantly, an instrument like Moxie will likely be used to create the 30,000 kilograms of oxygen necessary to make the liquid propellant that would rocket future human explorers off Mars when they are ready to return to Earth. “We know how to land hundreds of kilograms of stuff on Mars, we don’t know how to land 30,000 kilograms of stuff on Mars,” Aboobaker said. The Mars 2020 mission also includes a 4-pound helicopter nicknamed Ingenuity that could be the very first vehicle to fly on Mars. If it works, future iterations could be used to create higher-resolution maps of the Martian surface and explore areas not suitable for wheeled rovers. Because the Martian atmosphere is so thin — about 1% the density of Earth’s atmosphere at its surface — scientists were not sure that flying on Mars was possible. “From the beginning there was a natural scepticism,” said Mimi Aung, an engineer and project manager for Ingenuity at JPL. “The question at first wasn’t how, but if.” Aung and her team determined that it is possible to fly in the thin Martian air if you have strong blades that can spin incredibly fast. So on Mars, Ingenuity’s blades will make 2400 revolutions per minute. The next challenge was designing a vehicle that had all the necessary sensors, computers and heaters to function on Mars, yet was still light enough to become airborne. “Just to get where we are now is already a significant milestone,” Aung said. After landing on Mars, Perseverance will place Ingenuity on the surface, then drive a safe distance away. The helicopter will have 30 martian days, or sols, to perform its experiments, including five planned test flights. The first flight will be very modest, with the helicopter rising just 10 feet, flying about three feet horizontally, then landing where it started. If everything goes well, subsequent flights will last longer, with the fifth one continuing for up to 90 seconds. “We see this as a pathfinder that will pave the way for future missions,” Aung said. “It will be the basis for building much larger vehicles capable of much longer flights.” The mission’s descent vehicle is equipped with terrain-relative navigation, a new system that will allow it to spot and avoid hazards when it’s time to land. During the descent, Perseverance will take pictures of the Martian surface and compare them to images stored in its onboard computer. If it recognises a dangerous spot, it can steer away. This technology will allow the rover to land at Nasa’s most high-risk site yet, an area about the size of Lake Tahoe that’s littered with potential threats like rocks, dunes and cliffs. Lake environments are a promising place to look for signs of past life, Stack Morgan said. They likely held standing water for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of years — long enough to give life plenty of opportunity to establish itself. And because they are relatively calm and peaceful environments, they allow sediments to settle gently on the bottom, creating well-preserved sequences of rock and, potentially, organic matter. “Every lake we have on Earth is inhabited, just dripping with life,” she said. “We are going there with the expectation that if life was on Mars, it should be there.” The primary mission will last one Martian year — just under two years on Earth — with a budget of $300 million. If the past is any guide, however, the rover will keep working long after that. (Curiosity has been roving for more than six years beyond its initial 23-month mission.) If Perseverance succeeds, it will be due in part to the accomplishments of JPL’s four previous rovers that have roamed the red planet since 1997. These include Sojourner, which proved that driving a robot on another planet is indeed possible; the twins Spirit and Opportunity, which discovered evidence that Mars was once flooded with water; and Curiosity, which found that the red planet once harboured the building blocks of life. With Perseverance, scientists hope to finally show that life on Mars did in fact exist.                   — Los Angeles Times/TNS

In each successive outing of the long-running Mission: Impossible franchise, star Tom Cruise and the rest of the creative team have looked for ever more daring ways to live up to the title, whether having Cruise’s superspy Ethan Hunt scale the world’s tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, in 2011’s Ghost Protocol or staging a death-defying helicopter chase in 2018’s Fallout. But of all the challenges the series has taken on, nothing quite tops a pandemic. In an interview from London, where he is in pre-production on the as-yet-untitled seventh instalment, writer-director Christopher McQuarrie said the film had been two days away from shooting in Venice, Italy, in March when the coronavirus outbreak forced the evacuation of the city. Still, despite the mother of all production snafus, McQuarrie said the Mission team has been pressing ahead. “We have a saying on this franchise that disaster is an opportunity to excel,” said McQuarrie, 51, who has helmed the last two entries in the series, 2015’s Rogue Nation and Fallout. “Any time we run into any sort of setback we immediately look for ways that we can improve based on whatever time that setback affords us. … Within 72 hours (of the shutdown) we had developed a new plan in terms of keeping pre-production going and keeping people employed and keeping the studio moving as much as we could.” McQuarrie joined film critic Justin Chang for a live virtual conversation about the critically acclaimed blockbuster Fallout. The highest-grossing film in the Mission series — and, for that matter, of Cruise’s entire career — Fallout earned $791 million worldwide. The film drew raves for its elaborately choreographed action sequences, including a motorcycle chase through the streets of Paris and a helicopter dogfight filmed in a remote and rugged part of New Zealand. But McQuarrie said that he and Cruise were ultimately less concerned with such eye-popping spectacle than with delivering emotional pyrotechnics. “People think we obsess about stunts and all of the showing off,” said McQuarrie, who made his breakthrough 25 years ago as the writer of the twisty 1995 crime thriller The Usual Suspects. “That’s the contract we signed with you. That’s the stuff we owe you when you show up to Mission: Impossible. But that’s actually not the stuff that we worry about. The stuff we worry about the most is: ‘Do I care about this character? Do I feel stakes in this situation? Am I invested in this journey?’” To that end, McQuarrie said, a great deal of care went into developing fully fleshed-out characters for Fallout, including casting Henry Cavill, best known for his turns as Superman in movies like Justice League, against type as the film’s baddie, CIA assassin August Walker. “I had met with Henry and had a really lovely lunch with him here in London and he’s got a phenomenal sense of humour,” McQuarrie recalled. “I knew that that sense of humour meant he’d be a great villain. People ask me, ‘What is the secret to a great villain?’ And I always say it’s casting.” McQuarrie, who is set to direct the next two instalments in the series, said that same level of thought and planning is now being applied to the challenge of mounting a big-budget action tentpole in the middle of a pandemic. “You have to put in place protocols so that the crew is working in smaller groups so that if someone gets sick … they can be taken out and not have to isolate the entire crew,” the director explained. “It’s masks on set, social distancing, frequent hand-washing, frequent Covid testing, everybody has their temperature checked before they come in and contact tracing. … We’ve been very fortunate so far.” With such measures in place, McQuarrie is hoping to ramp up production again “very soon,” though don’t try to pin him down to an exact date. “I’m only not saying when because my fingers are crossed,” he said. “I don’t want to jinx it.” Even as it has been beset by delays, Mission: Impossible 7 drew controversy recently over reports of plans to blow up a historic 1908 railway bridge over Lake Pilchowickie in southern Poland for one of the film’s action set pieces. Speaking to Chang, McQuarrie said the public backlash to the idea, which led to a petition defending the bridge being sent to Poland’s minister of Culture and National Heritage, was based on a misunderstanding. “There was never a plan for us to demolish a 111-year-old protected monument,” said McQuarrie, who issued a lengthy statement on the kerfuffle. “Very early in pre-production there was a rough concept of this sequence involving a bridge that would be partially demolished. We put out feelers globally in every territory we could think of … (asking) if they had a bridge that they wanted to get rid of. … The conversation took on a life of its own and became politicised and a lot of misinformation was published. “What was very clear was that it upset a lot of people in Poland. And we wanted to set the record straight. We really do take enormous care with the locations that we go to and the historical monuments we feature in our movies. So we just wanted everybody to know that there was no disrespect intended.” This being a Mission: Impossible film, more hurdles are certain to come. But with all of Hollywood currently grappling with how to move forward amid a pandemic that shows no sign of ending, McQuarrie said that he is doing his best to roll with whatever happens. “I had a very strong idea of what the beginning of this movie would be and I had a very strong idea of what the end of this movie would be, then a global pandemic came and that global pandemic has changed the way we make movies,” he said. “So I know now that whatever I thought the movie was is not the movie. That doesn’t panic me. That excites me. I go into it knowing every day I will be challenged.”                    — Los Angeles Times/TNS

“I believe that, in life, a person must understand himself. It is inevitable for a person who does not understand himself to make mistakes in his attitude to life. If no fuel is added to a burning stove, it must be extinguished.” Rashad Ismayilov, Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Qatar, believes that continuous self-learning is inevitable for success in life. In an interview with Community, the ambassador spoke at length regarding his professional life and experiences. Please share briefly your journey with us so far I was born in Baku and received my primary and secondary education there before graduating from two universities and studying law and finance. I have worked in different positions at different times, such as a project manager of Development Program on Poverty Reduction of UN Office in Azerbaijan, co-ordinator of National Social Protection System Development Program, and taking active part in the development of national employment strategy under the National Social Protection System Development project signed between Azerbaijan and UNDP. I was also the head of the Latvian-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce. In 2015, I was appointed Consul General of Azerbaijan in Batumi, Georgia. My appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Azerbaijan to Qatar was made in 2018.  How do you view Qatar-Azerbaijan relations? How many expats from your country are living here and what professions they are they in? Bilateral relations have always been strong and both the brotherly countries make continuous efforts to expand the scope of trusted ties in all spheres. The foundation for deeper co-operation in the future has already been established. Important decisions on further development of bilateral co-operation are taken in the regular meetings of the Intergovernmental Economic Commission. Besides, with a view to encourage mutual investments, a joint Investment Working Group was established. Meanwhile, two countries successfully co-operate within international and regional organisations. Taking this opportunity, I would also like to note that we highly appreciate the position of Qatar with regard to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan. As for future prospects, we see there is still untapped potential for effective collaboration in various fields attractive to business circles of both sides. Meanwhile, the embassy is always ready to further promote current and future bilateral ties within its competence. We have more than 300 Azerbaijani compatriots in Qatar and they operate mainly in the oil and gas industry, tourism, service sector, health, sports and so on. What is your take on the current level of bilateral trade? What are the potential areas for investment and in which areas can Qatar benefit from your country and vice versa? The figures show that bilateral trade has been developing since 2017. One of our main goals here is to achieve the diversification of goods and products currently in import and export operations between our countries. Establishment of reliable and sustainable investment cooperation between Azerbaijan and Qatar is also one of the main priorities. There are mutual investment opportunities in areas such as agriculture, tourism, transport, renewable energy sources, and information and communication technologies. Here we need to emphasise that in recent years Azerbaijan has initiated comprehensive economic, regulatory and administrative reforms aimed at creating more favourable investment climate in the country. We have significantly simplified and streamlined legal requirements and procedures regulating entrepreneurial activities. These reforms not only create favourable environment aiming to attract prospective foreign investors, but also guarantees their legal rights and interests. How would you best define diplomacy with all your experience? What are its basic tenets? There have been interstate relations since states were established. Therefore, diplomacy has historically been important as a means of building ties. In this sense, the history of diplomacy as a profession is ancient. At the same time, modern international relations and their core principles are very different from those of ancient times. In modern times, interstate relations are regulated not through force or threatening by resorting to it, but through dialogue and negotiations. This, of course, highlights the role of diplomacy. Thus, I think that modern diplomacy should not be a mean to cover up aggressive and greedy tendencies — to give it the appearance of legitimacy, or to create tension. On the contrary, it must be committed to peace, respectful of the sovereignty of other nations and friendship among nations. What has been your most challenging career assignment? What are the other highlights of your career? François de Callieres, a prominent French diplomat of the 16th and 17th centuries, wrote that it would be safer for a person who is not distinct with his/her intelligence to work within the state, because in this case his/her mistakes can be eliminated; however, mistakes made abroad are often irreparable. From this point of view, I can say that every assignment and every task is important and responsible in diplomatic activity. My main principle is to be loyal to my country and the policy created by the head of state.  What are your views on the way Qatar has been tackling the pandemic? The spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the world has created many problems and challenges. Qatar proved that it possesses a well-established and advanced health system that provides high-quality health care services. Therefore, during the past period, it managed to deal with the pandemic, and took many precautionary measures and serious steps. The financial support package devoted to supporting and developing private sector activity is commendable. And do not forget that the authorities provided various facilities and assistance to citizens and residents, as well as those who came to Qatar as tourists and were not able to return to their country due to the suspension of international flights, which received positive acceptance and appreciation by all. Therefore, we appreciate all these tremendous efforts, and we take this opportunity to express our deep gratitude to all competent authorities and health personnel in Qatar. On the other hand, since the early days, the embassy addressed Azerbaijanis living in Qatar with respect to the risk of coronavirus, and issued a statement for them recommending that precautionary measures be followed, and stressed the need for careful monitoring of information and full compliance with the instructions issued by the competent authorities in Qatar, as well as, the World Health Organization (WHO). What piece of advice you will give a budding diplomat? A diplomat must have all the qualities of his compatriots — successful businessmen, talented administrators and government officials. But beyond that, diplomacy is a type of activity that requires an understanding of many things — other countries, other cultures and societies, as well as their development mechanisms and life activities. Diplomats should love people and take a sincere interest in them. What do you do in your leisure? What kind of books do you read, films you watch, and music you listen to? The hours we work and spend all our lives are more than our leisure time. This is even more evident in the diplomatic profession. At the same time, at least we have weekends or other free time. In addition to resting during these hours, each of us tries to make it effective and useful for us. I can say that I like to play chess in my free time. According to some studies, chess strengthens memory, increases brain productivity and the ability to think analytically. Watching a movie is also one of my leisure activities. I think that tastes differ and everyone prefers to watch movies that suit their interests. I like to watch more real life movies. As for reading, I think we should make reading a natural need, like eating and drinking. The book nourishes our spirituality, which is more important than anything, and enriches our spirit. How would you describe your experience of living in Qatar? What places do you venture out the most? First of all, I would like to note that Qatar is experiencing a period of significant changes in the political, economic and cultural spheres. Relations between Azerbaijan and Qatar are developing successfully. The friendly relations between the President of Azerbaijan HE Ilham Aliyev and His Highness the Amir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani create conditions for further development of relations. I feel very comfortable in Qatar and consider Qatar as safe as Azerbaijan, which is proven by recent study carried out by a famous database where Qatar has been marked as the safest country in the world. I think it is a great success to achieve making people feel comfortable and at peace in a country. My family and I love to visit many places in Qatar, including the The Museum of Islamic Art, Souq Waqif, Katara Cultural Village, and others. What is that one lesson in life that has always held you in good stead? I believe that, in life, a person must understand himself. It is inevitable for a person who does not understand himself to make mistakes in his attitude to life. If no fuel is added to a burning stove, it must be extinguished, and no ability or enlightenment can be expected from those who are unable to comprehend themselves, who do not understand the causes of their inner feelings and passions, and who cannot control them. What are your future plans, especially after retirement? I think it is too early to talk about retirement. The main thing is to devote the God-given life decently to the state, people and family in order to receive a reward from God.

“Migration is an expression of the human aspiration for dignity, safety and a better future. It is part of the social fabric, part of our very make-up as a human family.” These words by Ban Ki-moon, former secretary-general of the United Nations, clearly portray significance of migration for a  better and securer future. Qatar has long been a desired destination for people from South Asia as they look to it for better prospects outside their countries. The life of Indian expatriate Syed Abdul Hye, who set his foot in Qatar 61 years ago, is a telling story about how migration can help people attain prosperity in life. Abdul Hye was only 18-year-old when he landed at the shores of Mesaieed in 1959. “It has been about 61 years since I first left my house in Karkala town near the city of Mangalore in Karnataka, southern state of India. Being the eldest son, I realised it very early that I had to provide a helping hand to my father to support the family. With the consent of my father, I decided, after completing matriculation, to leave for Qatar where my maternal uncle was already working. The uncle often used to support our large family. We were 14 siblings – 11 brothers and three sisters.” The young Abdul Hye came to Qatar by sea as there were no flights available those days. “One of our neighbours was a trader and he often used to go to Mumbai. He helped me reach the port city by sea. An uncle of mine was working in the Mumbai Port Trust. He helped me complete my travel documents, passport and the visa. I completed my voyage to Qatar in nine days. I remember, on our way to Qatar, our ship stopped near Gwadar, a port city of Pakistan. Some boys came close to our ship in small boats. They were very good swimmers. To show their agility, they would ask us to throw coins in the water and they would collect the money by taking deep dives into the sea water.” Upon reaching Qatar, he was received by his uncle at Mesaieed from where he reached his house in Rumailah. “At that time, the road to Doha was not paved. Oil was used as base material to make the road. Most of the houses in the area where I lived initially were made up of mud and stones. There was electricity available but not everywhere in Qatar. The road designs are same but some roads have been widened and expanded with the passage of time. “My first job was as an English language typist with a private company. After some years, I quit my job and set up a workshop in the Industrial Area and started having contract works with oil companies. This is still our family business and now my son looks after it. I am also a founder member of the Ideal Indian School. I have been associated with different community and literary organisations besides being an active Toastmaster in Doha.” Reflecting on his life in Qatar, Abdul Hye says that the country has given him everything.  “In Qur’an, Allah says that man cannot count His blessings. I mention this just to emphasise that I have collected countless blessings from this country. I have achieved a lot. I think my life would have been a lot different, if I had not come to Qatar. My children were born and brought up here. They got very good education here. I got very good business here. Now, my children are enjoying their lives in Qatar. I owe everything to this country. I have been able to pursue my two hobbies with passion. I have been an avid reader and a keen photographer. My shelves are full of books and photo albums. It has been a long but worthwhile journey so far.” The long-time-resident of Qatar is all praise for the country’s attention on health and education sectors. “When I came to Qatar, Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah al-Thani was the ruler of the country. He was known to be a pious and wise man. I have seen Qatar develop very fast. There have been three key sectors where the government has continuously been performing very well. These are; security, health and education. The country has been overwhelmingly peaceful and secure. The governments have been paying extraordinary attention on health and education for both the citizens and the residents. I think myself lucky to have spent so much time in Qatar.”

In the 72 years that television has covered national elections, there has been one constant on the screen — wall-to-wall people. Jammed nominating convention halls and flesh-pressing rallies are the signature images of every presidential campaign. Election night — the Super Bowl for TV news organisations — is a marathon vote-counting jam session where anchors, reporters and commentators flow through the studios into the wee hours.  But those scenes familiar to political junkies will be obliterated by the coronavirus crisis that has upended every aspect of American life. Social distancing has already changed the look of TV news, as many journalists have been broadcasting from their homes since mid-March, and it will drastically alter how viewers experience coverage of the 2020 race for the White House as it heads into the home stretch. “It’s all going to look a lot different without us even knowing what different is going to look like,” said Rick Klein, political director for ABC News. Calibrating the number of personnel needed to cover events while being mindful of health protocols has become the focus of TV news executives as they try to plan for what they consider the most consequential presidential election in decades. “This was already going to be a fascinating and complicated election in all sorts of ways,” said Sam Feist, Washington bureau chief for CNN. “But Covid is what really changed it.” The parties have scaled back their nominating conventions, which provide cable news outlets with some of their largest audiences of the year. The Republican National Committee canceled its plans to have President Donald Trump accept his nomination in Jacksonville, Florida, on Aug. 27. On Saturday, some outlets reported the press would be banned from the convention, but a convention official said Sunday no final decision has been made. While some party meetings will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, networks still don’t have a schedule for the week’s events or a location for the nominee’s traditional Thursday night speech — though Trump has suggested he could deliver it from the Oval Office. Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden will speak from Milwaukee on Aug. 20 as planned, but most of the other speakers during the three preceding days will be seen from remote locations. If there is any confetti, balloons or signs, they will likely show up in Zoom or WebEx meeting boxes on the screen. Networks typically send as many as 300 staffers to cover a convention, with anchors, reporters, technical crews, makeup artists and other support teams descending on the designated city. Those numbers will be significantly lower this time around. Remote trucks with control rooms that usually line up outside of an arena will be missing as most news operations produce their coverage from their headquarters in New York or Washington. Cherie Grzech, vice president of the Washington bureau and politics for Fox News, said she is likely to have three or four reporter-producer teams on the ground, compared with as many as nine for a typical convention. “I think we have to find the balancing moment of being there and giving a firsthand account while at the same time keeping our staff safe,” Grzech said. While convention plans are still being formulated by the political parties — the Democrats are scheduled for Aug. 17 -20 while the Republicans convene the following week — journalists assigned to cover the gatherings can only prepare to deal with the unknown. But they know they won’t be in the scrums of conventions past. CBS News political correspondent Ed O’Keefe had imagined himself in the footsteps of the network’s broadcast legends Bob Schieffer and Ed Bradley. “It’s bittersweet because I wanted to be one of those guys with a headset and a long microphone running around the floor of a basketball arena,” he said. “The sweet part is no matter what it looks like, it’s going to be historic.” The look of election night on Nov. 3 promises to be even more of mystery as every TV news organization believes the increase in mail-in voting that is expected due to the pandemic will make the process of tabulating results and calling state-by-state winners to reach 270 electoral votes a slow and laborious process. Anchors and reporters are already referring to it as “election week.” Only twice in the 12 presidential elections since 1972 have viewers gone to bed without knowing the winner of a presidential race. In 2020, it’s almost a certainty to happen again. “I have told my wife, my family and my friends that election night might be the beginning of a days- or weekslong saga, potentially,” O’Keefe said. “I think Americans have to prepare mentally and emotionally for that.” Every major TV news organisation has a “decision desk,” where statisticians and political analysts look at historical voting trends, polling data and the actual vote count as it comes in before calling a winner in each state. During election coverage, the dozen or more members of decision desk teams are typically packed into a conference room where they can quickly deliberate and make calls based on the data they have. Social distancing will break up the traditional cluster of number crunchers. Network news executives say they are now rethinking the decision desk set-up, with at least one planning to move the personnel involved to a larger facility where they can still be on site together rather than risk having the whims of technology slow down the process of calling races. They may have to work in shifts as well. “It’s not ‘What hour of the night do we need you to stay around?’” Grzech said. “It’s ‘Let’s plan for staying for the full week and what we’re going to do at certain hours when people have to sleep.’” There are also scenarios where viewers will have to endure prolonged legal battles similar to the monthlong struggle that occurred in 2000, when the razor-thin margin of the vote in Florida led to a recount in the race between George W. Bush and former Vice President Al Gore. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately settled the dispute over the recount in favor of Bush, five weeks after votes were cast. “You could have hanging chads all over the country,” said CBS News President Susan Zirinsky, referring to the iconic image of the Florida recount. Network news executives know they may be in for an endurance test. Zirinsky said Norah O’Donnell will anchor the “CBS Evening News” from the network’s election night set in Washington until a winner is declared. CNN’s Feist expects to have relief ready for John King, who stands before the network’s “magic wall” that shows the distribution of electoral votes throughout the count until a candidate reaches 270. “I don’t think there is a person alive here who knows how election night will play out,” Feist said. “We always have plans for every eventuality.” President Donald Trump has already publicly tried to raise the potential for fraud through mail-in voting, although the number of such confirmed cases is infinitesimal. It’s why networks are also gearing up to track the potential legal challenges that could come after the vote. NBC News has assembled a team named Vote Watch, made up of investigative correspondents and legal experts who specialise in election law and voting rights. “We had a version of this team in the last election cycle, and we’ve dramatically expanded it and gotten into work early this cycle because we believe that these issues will be central to the outcome,” said NBC News President Noah Oppenheim. The pandemic has also presented unexpected challenges for correspondents covering Biden. While Trump has the forum of the White House to connect with the press every day if he wants, Biden has limited his travel, doing most of his campaign events remotely from his Delaware home with occasional trips to Pennsylvania. Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy wore out a suitcase with a lifetime guarantee as he tailed Biden all over the country during the primary campaign in 2019 and the pre-pandemic months of this year where he was able to regularly lob questions at the candidate. But his replacement luggage is sitting in the closet of his Washington apartment, barely used. “It’s a lot different than what we became accustomed to,” Doocy said. “When the primary started there were so many candidates and everybody was so eager to talk in order to stand out. Now there’s just one and it is difficult to get close enough to get his attention.” The lack of public events for Biden makes it more difficult to gauge voter enthusiasm. “It’s impossible to know in real time what people think about what he is saying as opposed to pre-pandemic, where you can just turn around and there were a couple of dozen people there,” Doocy said. “Now it’s an empty parking lot.” Networks were criticized for devoting so much time to Trump’s 2016 campaign and the carnival atmosphere it created. A study by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University found that during the period from August to November 2016, Trump received 15% more coverage than his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. Avoiding a similar imbalance in 2020 could be a challenge, as correspondents say there is a paucity of opportunities to question Biden as the public health crisis has limited his public appearances. “I do know if Biden was doing more in-person events we would be taking more of them live,” Doocy said. “It would certainly make it a lot easier around deadline. We definitely don’t have as much to work with as cycles past.”                   — Los Angeles Times/TNS

High up near the ceiling, in the dining room of his Seattle-area restaurant, Musa Firat recently installed a “killing zone” — a place where swaths of invisible electromagnetic energy penetrate the air, ready to disarm the coronavirus and other dangerous pathogens that drift upward in tiny, airborne particles. Firat’s new system draws on a century-old technology for fending off infectious diseases: Energetic waves of ultraviolet light — known as germicidal UV, or GUV — are delivered in the right dose to wipe out viruses, bacteria and other microorganisms. Research already shows that germicidal UV can effectively inactivate airborne microbes that transmit measles, tuberculosis and Sars-CoV-1, a close relative of the novel coronavirus. Now, with concern mounting that the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 may be easily transmitted through microscopic floating particles known as aerosols, some researchers and physicians hope the technology can be recruited yet again to help disinfect high-risk indoor settings. “I thought it was a great idea, and I want my customers to be safe,” said Firat whose casual eatery, Marlaina’s Mediterranean Kitchen, is 20 minutes south of downtown Seattle. As the US grapples with how to interrupt the spread of the highly infectious virus, UV is being used to decontaminate surfaces on public transit and in hospitals where infectious droplets may have landed, as well as to disinfect N95 masks for reuse. But so far using this technology to provide continuous air disinfection has remained outside of most mainstream, policy-setting conversations about the coronavirus. Experts attribute this to a combination of factors: misconceptions about UV’s safety, a lack of public awareness and technical know-how, concerns about the costs of installing the technology, and a general reluctance to consider the role of aerosols in the spread of the coronavirus. Aerosols are microdroplets expelled when someone exhales, speaks or coughs. Unlike the larger and heavier respiratory droplets that fall quickly to the ground, aerosols can linger in the air a long time and travel through indoor spaces. When someone catches a virus this way, the process is called “airborne transmission.” It’s already recognised that the coronavirus can spread by means of aerosols during medical procedures, which is why health care workers are advised to wear respirators, such as N95 masks, that filter out these tiny particles. Yet there is still considerable debate over how likely the virus is to spread in other settings via aerosols. Recently, the question of airborne transmission gained new urgency when a group of 239 scientists called on the World Health Organisation to take the threat of infectious aerosols more seriously, arguing that the “lack of clear recommendations on the control measures against the airborne virus will have significant consequences.” WHO officials conceded that more research is needed but maintained that most infections do not happen this way. As the science continues to evolve, UV could emerge as an attractive safeguard against airborne transmission — one with a track record against pathogens — that can be deployed to reduce the risk of infectious aerosols accumulating in indoor settings such as schools and businesses. At Marlaina’s restaurant, there are just two visible clues of the new UV disinfection system — a subtle glow of blue light above the black grates of the drop ceiling, and a hand-chalked sign at the door, proudly announcing to diners: “Coronavirus Disinfected Here!” The system was installed while the restaurant was closed during Washington state’s lockdown. The setup is known as “upper-room germicidal UV” because the UV fixtures are mounted high and angled away from humans below. Ceiling fans circulate the air, eventually pushing any suspended viral particles that have accumulated in the dining space through the grated drop ceiling, to the area where UV lights, positioned horizontally, blast them with radiant energy. The inspiration and technical assistance for Marlaina’s owner came from customer Bruce Davidson, a pulmonary physician who was Philadelphia’s “tuberculosis czar” in the mid-’90s. Back then, the US was grappling with a new outbreak of TB that included strains resistant to existing drugs. “Preventing transmission was the most important part, because we had no drugs, no vaccine,” recalled Davidson, who now lives outside Seattle. UV light proved to be a key strategy back then, and Davidson thinks it can help again: “It really ought to be in most indoor public spaces now.” To demonstrate the concept, Davidson lit a cigar inside Marlaina’s and showed how the smoke danced upward, collecting in the ceiling space with the UV fixtures. “If somebody has undetected coronavirus and doesn’t eat with a mask and is talking and so on, the vast majority of their particles are going to get pulled up there into the killing zone and circulate and bounce around,” Davidson said. “Statistically, the risk to other people is going to be very low.” Research shows close to 90% of airborne particles from a previous coronavirus (Sars-CoV-1) can be inactivated in about 16 seconds when exposed to the same strength of UV as in the restaurant’s ceiling. Other viruses, such as the adenovirus, are more resistant and require a higher dose of UV. “Although it’s not perfect, it probably offers the best solution for direct air disinfection” in the current pandemic, said David Sliney, a faculty member at Johns Hopkins University and longtime researcher on germicidal UV. When used with proper ventilation, upper-room GUV is about 80% effective against the spread of airborne tuberculosis, according to several studies. This is equivalent to replacing the air in a room up to 24 times an hour. But widespread adoption of UV systems could be an uphill battle, Sliney said, because in the US, interest in using UV for air disinfection has waned in recent decades as scientists focused their attention on powerful vaccines and drugs to deal with infectious diseases. UV can be a powerful weapon against an airborne virus, but it can go only so far toward preventing infection. People can still get sick from the larger, heavier droplets ejected via coughs and sneezes. They can directly inhale those droplets or touch a surface contaminated with them, and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth. UV also does not prevent someone from being exposed to infectious aerosols that have just emerged from an infected person — and are lingering quite near his or her body — what researcher Richard Corsi called the “near field.” “In that scenario, you’re inhaling a very concentrated cloud of these tiny particles that you can’t see,” said Corsi, dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science at Portland State University. “You’re getting a pretty significant dose in your respiratory system.” So, even if there is upper-room UV in a building, Corsi said, face masks and social distancing are still necessary to block larger respiratory droplets and remove some of the aerosols in the near field. But Corsi said there’s now enough evidence to show that coronavirus aerosols can hang in the air and spread throughout a room (“the far field”), and it’s time to take that airborne spread seriously. One example of far-field transmission is documented in a study of a restaurant in China at which some diners seated at neighbouring tables contracted the Covid-19 virus despite never coming into close contact with the “index case-patient.” Another piece of evidence came from a March 10 choir practice in Mount Vernon, Washington, after which the majority of singers contracted the coronavirus, even though members of the group took precautions to use hand sanitiser and avoid hugs and handshakes. In their letter to WHO, scientists note that the coronavirus that causes MERS can spread through aerosols, and “there is every reason to expect that (the Covid virus) behaves similarly.” Germicidal UV harnesses a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that contains short waves of radiant energy, called UV-C. This wavelength is further away from the visible spectrum than other forms of UV light. Think of it as giving the virus a lethal sunburn. “We have very little practical experience to show how effective it can be (in a pandemic) since it’s been out of use in this country and in Western Europe,” said Sliney of Johns Hopkins, who chairs a committee with the Illuminating Engineering Society, which recently released new guidance on GUV. Sliney recommends installing UV in big-box stores, restaurants and grocery stores, which typically have high ceilings. “There needs to be vertical air exchange,” he said, as with ceiling fans, so “it’s not just sterilising the air in the upper space of the room.” “No-one doubts the efficacy of germicidal UV in killing small microorganisms and pathogens. I think the bigger controversy, if there is any, is misperceptions around safety,” said Dr Edward Nardell, a professor at Harvard Medical School who researches GUV. Low-dose germicidal UV can damage the eyes and skin, but Nardell said those risks can be avoided by following the appropriate guidelines. While international guidelines warn against directly exposing humans to UV-C, the risks of skin cancer are considered negligible, especially compared with longer wavelengths of UV that can penetrate more deeply. With interest in UV climbing, there is concern about shoddy products on the market and exaggerated claims about their effectiveness against the virus, said Jim Malley, a professor at the University of New Hampshire who studies public health and disinfection. Consumers should be wary of marketing claims about “UV wands” that can be waved quickly over surfaces or special “portals” that people walk through, he said, because those are probably not correctly calibrated to inactivate the virus and could be dangerous. Malley said he does not think there’s much of a viable market for upper-room GUV outside health care settings, but he supports installing the technology in the most high-risk settings, such as meatpacking plants and nursing facilities. “My gut feeling is we should do anything we can in those places, because we have a horrendous fatality record” with the coronavirus, he said.                            — Kaiser Health News

Foreign Object Damage (FOD) is any article or substance, object, particle, substance, debris or agent alien to an aircraft or system especially on the runway during the take-off or landing of the plane, which could potentially cause damage. External FOD hazards include bird strikes, hail, ice, sandstorms, ash-clouds or any other object left on the runway. Where the old days of aviation were rough and ready with pilots landing on grassy runways, dirt or gravel — the risks of being damaged by debris of all sorts were high. However, today’s aviation industry has made great leaps forward in terms of the technology it can bring to all facets of the operations and safety of the airplane and its passengers.  While there has been increasing awareness of dangers faced by FOD, there has been solid effort put together by the airports to take effective measures. The solution lies in continuous, 24 hour remote scanning of runways, using precision millimetre radar, combined with advanced day/night optical technology, and instant FOD alerting to airport operators. Bayanat Engineering Qatar is currently working with Xsight Europe in order to implement the FOD detection system for the safe runway of Hamad International Airport, in order to ensure the safety of the passengers, crew and planes. Runway Debris Monitoring System (RDMS) by European company Xsight at Hamad International Airport is the part of the airport’s plan to elevate its safety measures and acquire the latest and most advanced runway technologies. RunWize, the Intelligent Hybrid Dual Sensor based Ruway Surveillance and FOD Detection System, has been implemented on the airport’s two parallel runways, one of them being one of the longest in the world at 4,850 meters in length. The device uses both a camera and a radar, and is installed adjacent to runway edge lights. When it spots debris, it uses a laser pointer to guide an airport worker to its location. In contrast, pilots often report runway debris to the tower, but their description of the location is less reliable, because it is often given as they speed down the runway at over 100 miles an hour. The proposed Xsight sensors are designed to be very similar to edge light in how it is installed and maintained. No special runway closures are required to install and maintain the system. System installation and maintenance can be performed during the standard runway maintenance window provided by HIA. Hasan Ezzeddine, General Manager at BEQ, said “As one of the prime partners for HIA, we supply latest advanced technologies and the installation and maintenance to upgrade existing capabilities of the aviation sector towards achieving the supreme operation performance. We ensure the availability of the leading product for our customer with outstanding end-to-end execution. Our commitment is to the deliver the outstanding service to provide and improve leading safety standards.” Talking to Community about the international airports that have already employed this technology, Sajeev Rajedran, Project Manager at BEQ, said, “Airports including Boston Logan international Airport, Suvarnabhumi International Airport Bangkok, Seatlle-Tacoma International Airport, Beijing Capital International Airport and now Hamad International Airport have implemented this technology. It is imperative to highlight that Runwize is the only automated FOD detection system that has been commercially installed in a US Aiport.” Explaining about its working and how crucial this system be for the safety of the airplanes, he adds, “If there’s anything on the runway that even about 5cm, these can detect. It’s a dual function and it can turn 180 degree and cover quite a surface. There are two runways — so it cover 100% of the runway and the taxiways. It’s very efficiently installed on the edge lights, so technically we don’t need a huge infrastructure to place it on the runway.” The project has been underway since January. “Because of the Covid-19, now since the runway is not being used so frequently, it has given us space and time for implementation and upgradation,” says Sajeev.  Since it’s a new technology, for the first time being implemented in the Middle East, does it require an additional manpower to monitor and check? Sajeev responds, “No, one of the advantages of this is that it doesn’t require any additional monitoring team. It’s linked to the airport’s traffic control and maintenance tower and whenever it spots a debris it just notifies the team there. There are ten work stations and the radars pops up the information at the work station if there’s anything worth reporting, with an image of what has been spotted and at which location. At night, because visibility might be low — these radars use a laser to help find and spot the debris on the runway. It also has a mobile application and tab that makes it convenience to notify the concerned people regarding runway,” he adds, “We have placed around 340 sensors on two runways which provide like maximum coverage. When the airport expands, we’ll expand as well. The radar offers four systems, including FODetect, ViewWize, SnowWize and BirdWize. So, if there are birds on the runway and you select BirdWize option, the radar creates a sound itself to scare off the birds from the runway. So, nobody needs to go and manually do something. It is interfaced with all the current data and system of the flights and report. Flight numbers along with the record of flight is also recorded, which is good not just for the runway or the airport but the plane as well.”

After years of searching the Arctic, Southern Methodist University scientists have discovered the fragment of a baby dinosaur’s tiny jawbone, providing what they believe is a significant clue to the behaviour of certain dinosaurs. The theory: Some meat-eating dinosaurs, called dromaeosaurs, lived year-round in the Arctic. Decades ago, scientists realised that birds might share a common ancestor with dromaeosaurs. So they thought that some dinosaurs migrated south with the changing seasons in search of food like modern-day birds. Today, most researchers assume that polar dromaeosaurs made the Arctic their home year-round, because their relatively small sizes would make migration difficult. Dr Anthony Fiorillo and his team recently published their findings in PLOS One. The presence of this baby dinosaur also suggests that during the Cretaceous Period, the Arctic was rich in prey to support families of these meat-eating dinosaurs. There would have been enough food available in the harsh Arctic environment to sustain a population of carnivorous dinosaurs, said Fiorillo. “To me, this specimen suggests that dromaeosaurs were thriving in an environment because their prey, the herbivorous dinosaurs, had also successfully adapted to an extreme environment,” he said. More information on the lives of different polar dinosaurs can help scientists better understand how they adapted to live year-round in these colder, darker regions. The discovery of this juvenile jawbone could also help in understanding the diversity of animals that lived in the ancient Arctic, said Dr Patrick Druckenmiller, a palaeontologist at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. During the Cretaceous Period, which occurred between about 66 million and 145 million years ago, the Prince Creek Formation of northern Alaska was an open woodland filled with conifer trees and flowering plants. The ancient Arctic was probably a little warmer than it is today, but there would have been mountains, with peaks both high and cold enough to be topped with fields of snow. The area was once part of “Beringia,” the land bridge that stretched between present-day Asia and North America, allowing dinosaurs to move freely between the two continents. Dinosaurs likely passed through parts of modern-day northern Alaska in their travels back and forth. For a while, this land was thought of as a “dinosaur highway.” In the 1970s and 1980s, palaeontologists found similar species of large dinosaurs in both northern Alaska and southern Alberta. Since the dinosaur fossils were found thousands of miles apart, some scientists thought that the dinosaurs might have migrated south from the Arctic in search of food when the weather became colder. “People thought big dinosaurs used to migrate when we re-envisioned dinosaurs not as lumbering lizards but these dynamic ancestors of birds,” said Druckenmiller. But dinosaurs would have had to travel 1,000 miles in order to migrate from northern Alaska to Alberta or Montana, both south of the Arctic Circle. That would be a longer distance than any living vertebrate, or an animal with a backbone, can migrate on land. The current migration record for vertebrates on land is held by caribou, which travel in herds about 400 miles every year. For these reasons, other scientists believed that large dinosaurs might have lived in the Arctic year-round. But experts say they never thought that smaller dinosaurs such as the dromaeosaurs migrated south from the Arctic. Adult dromaeosaurs are only 6- to 8-feet long, and it would be hard for their small bodies to trek thousands of miles without running out of energy. For 22 years, Fiorillo has travelled from his office at SMU to Alaska, including his field site at Alaska’s Prince Creek Formation. Fiorillo was in search of fossils to support the theory that dromaeosaurs lived north of the Arctic Circle. He and his team of scientists would assemble inflatable boats and travel up and down the windy Colville River examining the bluffs for fossils. The researchers thought they found evidence of fossils from the Cretaceous Period at a nearly vertical bluff. As the sun rose during the day, the researchers worked to collect the rocks from the frozen ground and routinely had to dodge falling rocks from the melting ice. While searching the cliff face in 2007, Fiorillo’s team found the 14-millimetre dinosaur jawbone with pointy teeth. It is most likely from a young dromaeosaur that was the size of a small puppy, said Fiorillo. Experts agree that the bone suggests some small meat-eating dinosaurs lived north of the Arctic Circle. “To have such a young individual from this group of dinosaurs means it is likely that it probably lived somewhere nearby, even, if not exactly at the fossil locality,” said Jack Tseng, a palaeontologist at the University of California, Berkeley. But Druckenmiller is sceptical about whether the jaw fragment is from a dromaeosaur. “Those teeth look quite a bit different from the dromaeosaur teeth I’ve seen, and I am not sure about the identity of them,” he said. Druckenmiller, along with Dr Jaelyn Eberle, a palaeontologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder, argues that the jaw fragment doesn’t reveal anything new about the role of Beringia as a home for dromaeosaurs. At the 2019 Annual Meeting for the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Druckenmiller’s team reported in a conference abstract that they found teeth from even smaller dromaeosaurs near the Prince Creek Formation. Fiorillo says that the baby jaw fragment his team found is the first physical evidence that really indicates dromaeosaurs used the Arctic as a place to live. “When I make that claim,” he said, “I go by what is in the published literature, and conference abstracts are generally not considered part of the published literature because they’re opinion pieces that haven’t gone through peer review.”           — The Dallas Morning News Polar bears ‘could be extinct by century-end’ The heating of the planet is pushing Earth’s polar bear population to its limit, and according to a new study, they could have fewer than 100 years left before extinction. The carnivorous bears live by hunting seals in the Arctic Ocean, but as more and more ice melts in that region, their habitat continues to shrink. Since amounts began to be measured at the end of the 1970s, sea ice that lasts for more than a year in the Arctic has decreased at a rate of 13% per decade. Studies have long shown that declining sea ice will lead to a decline in polar bears, but new research published in Nature Climate Change models a specific doomsday timeline. Polar bears will be unable to endure the effects of climate change over the next several decades, the scientists believe, and will be wiped out by 2100. “What we’ve shown is that, first, we’ll lose the survival of cubs, so cubs will be born but the females won’t have enough body fat to produce milk to bring them along through the ice-free season,” said Dr Steven Amstrup, chief scientist of Polar Bears International, to the BBC. “Any of us know that we can only go without food for so long. That’s a biological reality for all species.” The study estimated that, even in a situation where countries achieve a moderate reduction in greenhouse gases, several populations of polar bears will disappear. But Amstrup emphasised that the animal can still persist if climate change does not continue unabated. “Showing how imminent the threat is for different polar bear populations is another reminder that we must act now to head off the worst of future problems faced by us all,” he said. “The trajectory we’re on now is not a good one, but if society gets its act together, we have time to save polar bears. And if we do, we will benefit the rest of life on Earth, including ourselves.”   — New York Daily News

Gardening as a hobby is fast growing in Qatar. From large farmers and community gardening to home gardening, growing plants, herbs and vegetable scontinues to gain momentum. It, however, comes with a price as the hot and humid weather often badly affects outdoor plants here, and home gardeners in particular need more knowledge and skill to take good care of their plants during harsh weather. Vicky Damalou, a Greek agronomist based in Qatar, has long been a part of different projects related to agriculture and gardening. She believes that in a country like Qatar, where the weather is great for outdoor gardening eight months a year, gardening can offer many benefits, both mental and physical. “Activities such as carrying soil, digging, bending over the plants and walking around the garden offer an opportunity for a workout. For the outdoor gardeners another benefit is the boost of Vitamin D. “The mental benefits include a sense of achievement. Nothing feels better than knowing that what you see, or, even better, what you eat, was grown by you. Instant availability of organic food is another advantage. You can grow your own organic fruits and vegetables at home by skipping the chemical fertilisers and pesticides.” The weather in Qatar in the summer can get really hot for the plants, just like for humans. “The soil dries out really fast and the plants lose a lot of water from respiration. This leads to increased water needs. The sun is also very strong and a plant located in a sunny spot will suffer during the summer, so it is better to place younger and more sensitive plants in shaded spaces and only leave established trees and shrubs under full sun exposure,” the agronomist underlines.  According to the expert, lots of plants might suffer during the summer, but people should not be discouraged by that, as in colder climates plants also suffer from low temperatures. Sharing her piece of advice on how the plants can be protected from harsh weather, Vicky said: “When you start, you need to choose the right plants. I always suggest to start with cheap plants and the plants that are hard to kill. As the possibility for a beginner to kill their plants is always high, it is wiser to choose seasonal plants, aromatic plants, vegetables or indoor plants like Zamioculcas or Sansevieria, and experiment on them. “The second step is to read about your plants. Learn about them and their needs for light, water, soil, and temperature. Some plants like more light, some do not like wind. Some others need acidic soil. Most of the indoor plants need very little water.” She further said: “People need to know if the space is very sunny, dark and if it is protected from the wind. We need to place the plants in a suitable spot. “Watch your plants regularly and continue with their maintenance, which includes watering, fertilising, repotting, pruning and much more. These are few steps that will always help people take care of their plants during summer.” Vicky also underlines the importance of consulting some experts to take good care of home plants. “Finding proper gardening advice online can be really confusing, especially when someone lives in the desert, and has to deal with extremely hot weather conditions. Consulting an expert when someone starts their gardening trip will definitely shorten the learning curve and save money from products that are unsuitable for the condition of your plants or, even worse, from killing plants. “Most people might reach out for experts’ advice when the plants already show signs that there is a problem, but sometimes it is late by then. It is much better to learn the basics about gardening and the plants before actually bringing the plants in your house. An expert’s advice will give a good start for your plants in your home and save you a lot of time from worrying about them. Correct plantation and correct location of a plant in your space can save plants’ parents from many issues that might come up as a result from using the wrong soil or pot, or placing the plant in an unsuitable location in terms of light or wind.” All of Vicky’s gardening workshops and consultations can be booked through www.hadiqaa.com 

One of the finest movies I’ve seen this year is an exquisitely melancholy German film called I Was at Home, But …  That’s a title that almost sounds tailor-made for these anxious days of lockdown — a time when many (if not nearly enough) of us are staying home and a trailing-off ellipsis might be the most optimistic way to describe the future. In fact, the movie, a deeply personal and ruminative work from writer-director Angela Schanelec, was finished months before the Covid-19 pandemic. Cinephiles will recognise the title as a sly riff on I Was Born, But …, a 1932 silent classic from the Japanese master Yasujiro Ozu. I Was at Home, But … isn’t silent, but it is something of a quiet enigma — the kind of story that holds its meanings close and is in no hurry to relinquish them. Like Ozu, but at the same time not like him at all, Schanelec takes a family’s heartache as her subject, and she invites you to puzzle over her findings along with her. She lets emotion and understanding accrue gradually, and she likes to tease out backstory details rather than announcing them upfront. She knows that few families are quick to give up their secrets, even in the presence of a camera as sensitive and unobtrusive as hers. The initial reception to I Was at Home, But … followed a familiar enough trajectory for movies of a certain emotionally reserved, structurally tricky, non-English-language type. I first saw it at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival, as part of a jury that awarded Schanelec the prize for best director. The movie went on to play the Toronto, New York and San Sebastián festivals, among others, and began a quiet rollout in US theatres in February through its distributor, the Cinema Guild, enjoying a measure of critical attention before sliding quickly into commercial oblivion. That slide was hastened, in this case, by the pandemic. In mid-March, growing concern over the virus’ spread forced theatres to close — a necessary measure that further limited the impact of an art-house movie, and many others, that were destined for limited impact to begin with. One of the sadder jokes circulating among critics and publicists lately is that theatres could actually show a lot of these movies without violating calls for social distancing and reduced capacity, given how poorly attended most of them usually are by an indifferent public. Audiences in Los Angeles did at least have a chance to see I Was at Home, But … before the shutdown began. The movie opened February 28 at the Laemmle Royal, where it played for just one week — a tiny if typical allotment of time and space for a non-English-language release. A couple of days after my review ran in The Times, a reader e-mailed to let me know that he had loved the film, and also that he had been one of only six people in the theatre for an opening-night showing: “It should have been sold out,” he wrote, with genuinely touching optimism, before going on to ask me if I thought a “philistine attitude” had kept everyone away. Whether you blanch, laugh or nod vigorously at that question, it was a nice departure from some of the friendly feedback I’ve gotten from Laemmle regulars, some of whom were appalled by my raves for movies as “tedious” and “pretentious” as Lucrecia Martel’s Zama or Claire Denis’ Let the Sunshine In. Charges of pretension have existed for as long as art has existed, especially art that doesn’t follow the usual formal, structural and narrative logic. Charges of philistinism have been a handy critical rejoinder for nearly as long, though as a critic who reflexively assumes his readers are smarter than he is, I generally consider those charges to be equally rooted in bad faith. The appreciation for a certain strain of art cinema — the kind that journalists like to describe using words such as “rarefied,” “difficult” or “impenetrable,” depending on their persuasion — has never been a function of superior intelligence. As with any level of appreciation in any artistic medium, it’s primarily a matter of taste, exposure, patience, knowledge, adventurousness and appetite. It’s also a matter of, yes, trusting critics who might steer you toward something off the beaten multiplex path — something that doesn’t necessarily boast an emotionally accessible protagonist, a three-act structure or any of the other usual narrative footholds. Tastes can be acquired; appetites can too. Dim the lights and watch The question now is whether those tastes and appetites can be nurtured, and satisfied, during a health crisis that has temporarily removed theatres and film festivals from the equation. It’s about the fate of cinema that exists as something other than a Netflix-branded narrative delivery machine, and that — in a time of ever more scattered and fragmentary home-viewing habits — requires the light of an enormous screen, the hush of a darkened auditorium and the investment of a fully attentive audience in order to cast its spell. I Was at Home, But … is one recent example. Vitalina Varela, the latest from Portugal’s Pedro Costa, is another: a mesmerising weave of drama and documentary that sometimes inches closer to still portraiture. It tells the story of a Cape Verdean woman who travels to Lisbon to pay her respects to the husband who abandoned her years earlier. I had the good fortune to see it at Sundance in January, a couple of months before its originally scheduled late-March run at the Lumiere Music Hall in Beverly Hills. (It was ultimately released virtually via distributor Grasshopper Film, in partnership with art-house theatres nationwide.) When I reviewed Vitalina Varela, I urged readers to turn off their lights and give it a try. There are admittedly not many home-viewing environments that could do justice to the shadow beauty of cinematographer Leonardo Simões’ images, most of them shot at the edge of visibility. Which doesn’t mean it isn’t worth the effort. Even under less-than-ideal circumstances, few movies this year are more worth the effort. I’ve been thinking intently about Vitalina Varela for months — and not just about its aesthetic rigour but also about what it says about betrayal, forgiveness and responsibility, and specifically what it reveals about the lives of impoverished Black immigrants in a country that isn’t our own. It reveals this not through explication or narrative contrivance but by forcing you to look closely at the faces of its subjects, to inhabit the spaces that they inhabit, to let them tell their stories in their own time and at their own pace. Yes, it’s difficult — and the difficulty is (partly) the point. We hear a lot of glib talk about cinema as a tool for empathy, but Costa’s movie opens up a space where we can ponder what that really means, what the condition of empathy actually requires. The most meaningful expressions of human understanding, it suggests, are seldom the easiest. Beautifully repellent surrender Empathy is an even trickier proposition when it comes to the recent IFC Films release The Painted Bird, a brutally bleak Holocaust drama from Czech director Václav Marhoul, and a movie that withholds compassion almost entirely in hopes of stimulating our own. Like Vitalina Varela, the film prompted more than a few walkouts when it was shown on the festival circuit last fall. In this case, however, they were motivated not by impatience or boredom but by visceral (and perhaps mildly performative) disgust at the horrors that are endured and witnessed by the film’s protagonist, a young boy separated from his family during World War II. I don’t know how much I can recommend The Painted Bird, mainly because its nearly three-hour wallow in abjection strikes me as more ritualistic than fully felt. Still, I can’t help wondering if I would have liked it more (or less) if I’d seen it in a theatre, as it was clearly meant to be seen, with its immaculate black-and-white cinematography and dreadfully absorbing narrative: This is a beautifully repellent film that pulls you in and pushes you out with equal insistence. “Any sane person will find themselves thinking, ‘Stop the ride, I want to get off,’” critic Charles Bramesco wrote in a piece for InsideHook. “That the film keeps happening even when we wish it wouldn’t faintly approximates the helplessness our boy feels, a safe and culturally sanctioned taste of torment.” “A film that keeps happening even when we wish it wouldn’t” is a wonderfully apt phrase, and one that isn’t limited to unyielding Holocaust dramas; it could apply to any film that, whether by venturing into uncomfortably dark territory or messing with your internal rhythms, makes you feel like a captive in your seat. And if that seat happens to be in a theatre, rather than in your living room, you are naturally far more likely to surrender yourself to the film, to give it the attention it demands and maybe even deserves. We haven’t heard enough about these kinds of movies since theatres closed back in March. We heard a lot about the casualties the pandemic would inflict on the summer box office and the fall awards season. We heard about expensive family-friendly trifles like Trolls: World Tour, which largely bypassed theatres for streaming platforms, and hotly anticipated blockbusters like the James Bond caper No Time to Die and the Marvel spinoff Black Widow, which were pushed back from their spring and summer release dates. In recent weeks, the studios behind Tenet and Mulan have announced one last-minute postponement after another, turning a multimillion-dollar quandary into a Beckettian comedy of delayed gratification. With pandemic uncertainty escalating by the day, I have no idea when we’ll get to see any of these blockbusters. I’m looking forward to them as much as anyone, but I’m not particularly worried about any of them, and it’s a shame if hardly a surprise that they’ve continued to dominate headlines. I’m also not worried about Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch or Pete Docter’s Soul, the two highest-profile titles that were scheduled to premiere in May at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which, like so many other festivals this year, was cancelled. Cannes, being the most famous such festival in the world, will survive the disappointment of a suspended season. (So, too, I suspect will Telluride, which recently cancelled its annual Labour Day weekend event; other major fall festivals, like Venice, Toronto and New York, are still on track.) But there will be real setbacks for the kind of serious-minded art cinema that Cannes reliably supports and feeds annually into the festival pipeline. I was reminded of this while watching a recent video conversation between the Chilean director Pablo Larraín (Jackie, No) and Efe Cakarel, the Turkish entrepreneur and founder-CEO of the art-house streaming platform Mubi. (The conversation was sponsored by the Marché du Film, the film market that operates alongside Cannes every year.) Both men acknowledged that the pandemic had actually had some favourable effects on the home consumption of independent and non-English-language cinema in the US, as indicated by everything from the increased interest in the back catalogues of certain established directors (like Larraín himself) to the growing popularity of international series on Netflix. But Larraín also pointed out the ways in which the pandemic had exposed the fragility of cinema as both a business and an artistic pursuit, and he expressed concern for the kinds of movies that don’t fall into easily bankable categories and that depend on festivals for their exposure: “What happens to those movies that aren’t bought by the streamers? Where do they go? It’s like a cemetery of cinema,” he said. “I’m worried about those movies that don’t have a place. They deserve to exist.” He went on to offer as neat an explanation of the importance of theatrical moviegoing, and the unique quality of that experience, as I’ve heard any filmmaker, critic or academic give: “I think that there’s something very important, which is the reflection — to be able to reflect on the movies that you’ve seen. Some movies can change your life, can really affect you … in such beautiful ways,” he said. “That’s why the cinema experience is so interesting. You go to a place, you see something, then you walk out, (get) some fresh air, everything’s new, and you can absorb that movie and digest it.”                       — Los Angeles Times/TNS

An intense artist, keen children story writer and experienced teacher, the versatile Lina al-Aali has been associated with different public and private organisations for educational and social works. For the Qatari, who has taken part in numerous exhibitions and penned some story books, art is an expression of one’s inner self. She predominantly expresses womanhood. As a story writer, she feels she still is a child from within. To have more insight about her journey, work and accomplishments, Community recently interviewed the artist at length.  With a bachelor’s degree in Art Education from Qatar University, Lina has been associated with the field of education for about 21 years. “I am a mother and wife but also I am an artist, writer and certified trainer in arts and crafts. I am a member of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Society of Fine Arts; member of the International Society of Arts in Doha; visual arts co-ordinator at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education; member of the jury of the primary book for the future children’s writer; member of the Qatar Authors Forum; and former member of the theatrical season evaluation committee 2018.” Like many other creative individuals, Lina also has been expressing her love for art and creativity since her early childhood. Once she realised how strong her inclination toward the art is, she decided to go on and obtain professional education in art. “I loved art from a young age, and used to go and attend a free studio at the time. I also loved art classes at my school after I realised that I have a passion for creativity.” With the passage of time, Lina has developed her signature style in paintings. She prefers acrylic colours but sometimes uses lead or charcoal also. The artist has taken part in numerous national and international exhibitions representing Qatar. “I primarily rely on works using acrylic colours but sometimes I also use charcoal or lead. What distinguishes my artistic line is the expression of the woman in my own style. It is within me and it is an expression. “The exhibitions I have so far attended are: art exhibition ‘Zhou’ in April 2016; a joint exhibition ‘Female Features’ 2017; Exhibition in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan 2019; Qatar National Exhibition 2014 – 2015; the Ardu 2015; the ‘Metro Art’ 2016, International Art Exhibition ‘Mushroom’ 2017; Al Khalabi Creativity Forum 2016; Qatar Through Your Eyes Exhibition 2016; Bahrain Art Forum (Hind Gallery) 2017; Katara Murals 2017; Creative Art Exhibition in Fire Department 2017; International Women’s Day Exhibition at Hamad Bin Khalifa University 2017; International Artists Exhibition, Dubai April 2017; ‘Loving the Nation’ in Gulf Mall; ‘House of Wisdom’ exhibition at the Ministry of Culture 2017; 50F50 exhibition in Markhiya Gallery; International Art Society exhibition in Doha 2018; Kuwait Symposium 2018; The Arab Artists Symposium in China 2018; Al-Othman House Museum, Kuwait 2019;  Qatar Society of Fine Arts Exhibition 2019; ‘Feelings’ exhibition Jordan 2019; and Gallery 50 in 50, Al Markhiya Gallery 2020.” Talking about her interest in writing stories for children and the nature of those stories, Lina said: “I always feel that still there is a child inside me. The child loves to write for herself. Since my childhood, I have loved reading the stories of Mickey Mouse and then I moved to the stories of Agatha Christie [English writer] and Anis Mansour [Egyptian writer]. I started writing for the kids to participate in the Children’s Literature Award and then released two books with Rosa Publishing House, and currently I have three stories with Hamad Bin Khalifa publishing house. “My books are namely; Adeedah Hababa, The Book with Legs, Desert Rose, and Al Yarawa. A new book is coming up with six historical stories that will be published by Hamad bin Khalifa publishing house.” Lina has received awards for her writings. She has also taken an initiative regarding literature for children. The writer also does some volunteering work as well. “I have won third place for the best theatrical text for dolls in the Center for Theatre Affairs, Ministry of Culture and Sports. I took the initiative for children’s literature with the Qatar Forum for Authors 2020. I have also been volunteering my services for Qatar Cancer Society in the field of child literature.” For the artist, art is simply a medium of expression. One can improve one’s art with continuous learning and practice. “Art is an expression of what is inside us, and without continuous practice we do not live up to the best. So, if you want to specialise, you must continue educating yourself.” The recent months no doubt have been tough for people at large owing to the social isolation and physical distancing caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Staying at home, however, has provided an opportunity to the creative minds as they got some free time for themselves. Lina however, thinks it made not much of a difference for her as she has already been spending much of her time painting and writing. “We, as writers or artists, dedicate ourselves to writing, drawing and home reservations. For me, the only change was having little more time for writing and painting.” When asked for her opinion about the works of young artists, she said: “First, they should adopt a style that is specific to them. They must not follow a style adapted from others. They should try all methods to find a way to convince themselves about their own style. If you are not convinced yourself, you will not be able to convince other people.” Lina is all praise for artists in Qatar as they continue pouring love for the country and the leadership during the blockade time. “Qatar is like a mother for us. We all belong to it. As an artist, I continue to spread a positive message among the community by painting to show how Qatar is avoiding the bad words used against it by the blockading countries. We are not responding to the bad words on social media. Our response has been that we love Qatar and the Amir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani more.”

The camp chair brigade turned out in force. Deep in the Snoqualmie Valley, roughly 130 cars drove down a winding dirt road recently, past the “Danger Farm Operations” sign and into a grassy clearing for one of Washington’s first drive-in concerts. The more industrious fans loaded up coolers and set up in truck beds or perched atop vans to get a better view of the rusty stage over the rows of cars in front of them. One RV-driving crew kept warm by a portable fire pit as the sun went down. Light projections danced across a weathered barn beside the stage as local jam-funk rippers Cytrus blazed through a set of disco-kissed party-starters under the stars, fans listening through their car radios like a drive-in movie. It felt like someone plopped a stage into a festival parking lot, with a BYOEverything policy supplanting overpriced concessions. A crew of a dozen or so volunteers and hired security sanitised portable toilets between every use and ensured that fans, for the most part, kept to the immediate area around their vehicles. Welcome to the state of the concert industry in the age of Covid-19. As the novelty of the livestream concert has faded, a number of bands and promoters have begun exploring drive-in concerts as a socially distanced answer to the statewide moratorium on club shows. Count Ashley Haight as a fan. Car stocked with chips and Gatorade, the 26-year-old and her husband drove an hour and a half to attend the so-called Field of Dreams concert on a private farm in Carnation. “You still get live music and the experience of the concert, but even in these weird times, you feel good about it,” said Haight, a friend of the band. “Everybody wants to leave their friggin’ house.” Cytrus and co-promoter Morgan Henley started talking about doing a drive-in show after a similar event in Denmark made international headlines. Henley began scouting locations after seeing video from a silent disco-style drive-in that local rapper Raz Simone held this spring, landing upon the Carnation farm where he’d thrown a handful of small festivals in the past. A roughly 20-yard buffer was fenced off between the stage and the first row of cars, ensuring people wouldn’t crowd the stage when the bands fired up. Broadcasting the music through FM radio instead of speakers facing the crowd was also designed to keep fans tethered to their cars, organisers said. “My hope is that moving forward with drive-ins, fans understand how crucial their role is in these continuing to be a thing,” Cytrus guitarist Jared Squires said days before the show. Even if every fan plays by the rules, the extent to which drive-in concerts will proliferate remains to be seen. Seattle musicians Los Felipe and Marina Christopher are hosting a July 19 performance in a Ballard parking lot and a drive-in concert series at the Skagit County Fairgrounds is set for three weekends in August. But last Monday, the Washington State Fair cancelled what would have been the state’s most prominent drive-in series, citing challenges of complying with state guidelines in Pierce County’s current reopening phase, among other reasons. Drive-in movies and concerts are allowed under Phase 2 of Governor Jay Inslee’s reopening plan, his spokesperson Mike Faulk confirmed, provided performers are socially distanced and “wear appropriate PPE.” Fans are required to remain in their vehicles unless going to the restroom or concession areas. Previously, fair organisers hoped to allow fans to sit in lawn chairs or the beds of their trucks during the series led by rising country artist Jimmie Allen. “We were getting a lot of feedback from people saying it could be too hot and the mandate also requires cars to be shut off, therefore no air conditioning,” Van Horne wrote in an email. But the week before the cancellation, the fair’s country music series downsized, scrapping a Thursday night concert and a Sunday matinee. Some of the acts were added to other shows, others were not. Van Horne framed the move as creating “more value for our guests,” but Thursday night headliner Aaron Crawford said he was told ticket sales were low across the board. It was yet another lost gig for the Enumclaw country singer, who estimates he’s missed out on around $40,000 worth of cancelled dates since the coronavirus hit. Crawford’s now set to play his first real drive-in shows at the Skagit County Fairgrounds with The Lowdown Drifters on August 14-15. Unlike the Cytrus concert, the music will be amplified, he said. He’s also looking at throwing his own drive-in show in September to make up for a May album release party that was axed. “I just think people have been wanting to go to a show for a long time with a rocking band,” he said. “People love tailgating anyway — think about tailgating for (Washington) Huskies games. I think it’s going to be a similar vibe.” Haight, the Cytrus fan, and others we spoke with at the Carnation show said they would readily attend future drive-in concerts and that they felt comfortable with the precautions in place. Seattle’s Tina Lugo hailed it as a creative way to bring people together and support artists during these unprecedented circumstances. “It’s definitely different, but I still feel that there’s a community aspect to it,” said Lugo, who came with her quarantine group. “I feel like everyone’s showing up for each other and acknowledging each other and being kind. I’m pretty stoked to be around other people and I’m feeling that from others as well.” While a return to live music, in some form, is a welcome taste of life before lockdown, the event — which charged $50 per vehicle — wasn’t without its quirks. Though the radio frequency was clear, the sound quality was only as good as your car stereo (or your neighbours’) and sightlines could be tricky depending on your spot. From our vantage point in the back, it was tough to see the stage when seated inside our SUV, and outside, the sound delay coming off the stage clashed with the radio broadcast. For opener Brett Benton, last week’s drive-in concert was the first time he’d played with his band since February. After logging nearly 190 shows last year, the Southern-fried bluesman has turned to work in the cannabis industry since the pandemic cleared his spring and summer calendar. Standing out in the crowd as Cytrus took the stage, Benton said being at the show put him in “one of the best moods I’ve been in a long time.” “Music is made for all of us to feed off the energy of each other,” Benton said. “I knew the energy was there to an extent because everybody’s honking their horns and flashing their lights and everything, or you hear people screaming. But it’s not the same as having a big crowd of people in front of you.” Still, it’s something. Before the show, Henley, the promoter, said the industry needs to keep thinking creatively about ways to connect fans with live music. If all went well, he said he’d look at putting on more drive-ins this summer. “I mean, we gotta do something, you know?” Henley said. “The way that society’s going right now, live music could definitely give us a little bit of positivity, remind us of the good things in life that we strive to be a part of.”                    — The Seattle Times/TNS

More than four months into the coronavirus pandemic, how close are the US and the world to a safe and effective vaccine? Scientists say they see steady progress and are expressing cautious optimism that a vaccine could be ready by spring. As of early July, roughly 160 vaccine projects were underway worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Generally, a vaccine trial has several phases. In an initial phase, the vaccine is given to 20 to 100 healthy volunteers. The focus in this phase is to make sure the vaccine is safe, and to note any side effects. In the second phase, there are hundreds of volunteers. In addition to monitoring safety, researchers try to determine whether shots produce an immune-system response. The third phase involves thousands of patients. This phase continues the goals of the first two, but adds a focus on how effective the vaccine is in protecting people exposed to the pathogen, in this case the coronavirus. This phase also collects data on more unusual negative side effects. In ordinary circumstances, these phases take years to complete. But for the coronavirus, the timeline is being shortened. This has spurred more public-private partnerships and significantly increased funding. Here’s a rundown of the vaccine candidates that are furthest along in the clinical phases: Coronavirus vaccines that are the furthest along The three vaccine candidates that are furthest along are in phase 3. One is being developed by researchers at Oxford University in the UK. It uses a weakened version of a virus that causes common colds in chimpanzees. Researchers then added proteins, known as antigens, from the novel coronavirus, in the hope that these could prime the human immune system to fight the virus once it encounters it. Another candidate in a phase 3 trial is being developed in China. It uses a killed, and thus safe, version of the novel coronavirus to spur an immune reaction. And on July 15, the biotech company Moderna, which is partnering with the National Institutes of Health, announced that it would be moving to phase 3 within two weeks. Two others have made it as far as phase 2, while eight others are finishing their phase 1 trials while also beginning phase 2 trials. These candidates are being developed by a mix of corporations and institutions in several countries. These efforts seek to leverage a range of technologies. One uses RNA material that provides the instructions for a body to produce the needed antigens itself. This is a relatively untested approach to vaccination, but if it works, it has aspects that could make it easier to manufacture. Another approach is similar, but uses DNA instead of RNA. One US biotech firm, Novavax, is receiving federal funding to produce a vaccine that uses a lab-made protein to inspire an immune response. Beyond these, another 10 vaccine candidates are in phase 1 clinical trials, while 140 haven’t reached the clinical phase yet. Having so many potential vaccines this far along is impressive, experts say, given the short time scientists have known about the novel coronavirus. “Overall, the pace of development and advancement to phase 3 trials is impressive,” said Matthew B Laurens, associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health. “The public-private partnerships have been highly successful and are achieving goals for rapid vaccine development.” In addition, the fact that several types of vaccine approaches are being tested means we aren’t putting all of our eggs in one basket. “We will need several candidates should any one of these experience difficulties in manufacturing or show a safety signal when implemented in larger numbers of people,” Laurens said. Meanwhile, at a time of rising public scepticism of government and vaccines, the Food and Drug Administration recently released additional guidelines on vaccine effectiveness. The new guidance requires vaccines to prevent or decrease the severity of the disease at least 50% of the time if they are to win the agency’s approval. The FDA guidelines “reaffirmed the very rigorous FDA process for approving any vaccine. That gives a great deal of reassurance that this was going to be handled by the book,” said William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “The more we talk about doing things fast, the more the public thinks, ‘They’re probably cutting corners.’” How fast will we have access to a workable vaccine? In early April, Kathleen M Neuzil, Director of the University of Maryland’s vaccine centre, told PolitiFact that if all went well, there might be five or six vaccines in trials within six months. Now, 3 1/2 months later, there are two to three times that number. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and other officials have remained consistent in their estimation of the timeline: 12 to 18 months from the start of the pandemic, or roughly the late spring of 2021. Schaffner told PolitiFact that he continues to see the first quarter of 2021 as a reasonable target. “I think that’s where the needle is pointing,” he said. It remains to be seen how fast vaccines can be manufactured and distributed once approved for general use. Officials are also grappling with which Americans will get access first. So it’s unclear how long a person would have to wait to get vaccinated. Laurens said he is not overly concerned about the distribution, because that is something that officials have long experience with. “Well-established programmes exist for vaccine distribution, including for seasonal vaccination of large numbers of individuals,” he said. Another hopeful sign, Schaffner said, is that the coronavirus itself seems to be relatively stable. There had been concern that the novel coronavirus, like many other viruses, is mutating over time. If the virus changes enough, that could become a problem that bedevils vaccine researchers. But so far, that hasn’t happened. Even if evidence emerges that mutations are making the virus more transmissible, or that a new variant is making people sicker, that shouldn’t affect the vaccine process. “The central core of the virus would remain the same,” Schaffner said. During the past month, there has been relatively little news about how much progress is being made on particular vaccines. Schaffner is not worried by the relative quiet. “In a vaccine trial, if there’s an adverse safety finding, the guillotine comes down and that trial is stopped,” he said. “So quiet is good, because we’d know if something bad happens.” — Kaiser Health News/TNS