CC™ VideoSpective
Tuesday
Monday
America Divided: Majority of Trump voters believe it's 'time to split the country' in two, poll finds
CC™ Politico News
By Madison Hall & Bryan Metzger
A majority of people who voted for former President Donald Trump are in favor of breaking up the country, a new poll from the University of Virginia Center for Politics has found.
UVA surveyed 2,012 voters - half of whom voted for Trump, the other half for President Joe Biden - in order to better understand the growing split between the Democratic and Republican Parties.
The results show a country at ideological war with itself: More than half of the surveyed Trump voters - approximately 52% - said the "situation is such that I would favor [Blue/Red] states seceding from the union to form their own separate country." Approximately 41% of Biden-voting respondents answered similarly.
Some Republicans have floated proposals to secede from the union, including former Texas GOP chair Allen West. After the Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit spearheaded by the Texas attorney general aimed at overturning the 2020 presidential election results, West said that "perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution."
The survey shows Republicans and Democrats heavily distrust one another, with 80% or more of respondents from each party saying the opposing side presents "a clear and present danger to American democracy." In addition, 80% or more of survey respondents said they're worried they or someone close to them will experience "personal loss or suffering due to the effects" of the opposing party's policies.
An overwhelming number Trump voters in the survey - about 83% - said that society needs to stop the many "radical" and "immoral people trying to ruin things" in the country, further noting that the US needs a "powerful leader in order to destroy the radical and immoral currents" prevalent in society.
Biden voters were less supportive of the same sentiments. For example, 62% of Biden voters at least somewhat agreed that the country needs a "powerful leader in order to destroy the radical and immoral currents" in the country, compared to 82% of Republicans who said the same.
"The divide between Trump and Biden voters is deep, wide, and dangerous," Larry Sabato, the director of UVA's Center for Politics, wrote. "The scope is unprecedented, and it will not be easily fixed."
Even if they can't agree with each other on policy or the direction of the country, around 80% of voters from each side said they preferred democracy over any other style of government.
While it wasn't captured in the survey, both parties also seem to agree on major priorities like modernizing and improving infrastructure, as evidenced by a bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed the Senate in August with 19 GOP votes.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Sunday
Regarding the adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines
By David Ibeleme, MD, MBBS; PG-Dip; MSc.; MPH
There have been a lot of reports of vaccine adverse affects on several platforms across the globe. This post serves to put some of the things into perspective based on what we know from the science regarding the COVID-19 vaccines at this time.
Before, I share my perspective I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the families of everyone who is reported to have passed as a result receiving any of the WHO approved COVID-19 vaccines.
I trust the Lord to comfort and strengthen them as they go through this season of bereavement.
It's always a sad time when anyone has an adverse reaction to a medication (in this case a vaccine) that is meant to make them feel better. It creates a sense of low confidence in the medical interventions and institutions and most certainly increases vaccine hesitancy.
For us as doctors and medical personnel who have taken an oath "to do no harm", it's always a major concern. We therefore always feel it for the individual(s) and their family, and our best wishes go to them for speedy recovery and in the case of fatalities our sincerest condolences are extended to their families.
There are currently over two hundred and thirty one million (>231M) recorded Covid-19 cases globally accounting for over four million seven hundred and thirty five thousand (>4.735M) deaths globally. Adding vaccine related adverse effects does not help the situation for us at all.
However, we must also note that everyone who takes a vaccine knows (or ought to be informed before the shot) that side effects generally ALWAYS follow.
These side effects are usually non-life threatening for the most parts and also indicate that the immune system is responding very well to the vaccine.
It must also be noted that every individual reacts differently to vaccines and even to medications generally (I have a cousin that developed a near fatal adverse reaction to Ibuprofen or Motrin).
My wife and I have had our vaccines (AstraZeneca COVID19 vaccine) already and we are doing well, along with a host of our friends and colleagues who have also had their vaccines.
Here in Trinidad and Tobago where I live, about 500,000 people have already had COVID19 vaccines and a phenomenally significant majority are doing very well. We have no officially confirmed vaccine related deaths to date and have less than ten (10) reported major adverse reactions, and these have all been resolved.
With respect to clotting issues in relation to the COVID19 vaccines; note that Clotting issues are way more common in the general population and in people who have had the COVID19 infection, than in people who have had the vaccine. That's the irrefutable fact.
Hence, the fact that one person develops (or some people develop) clotting, following vaccination should never negate the benefits of vaccines. Benefits that have been evident and undisputed for over two hundred (200) years.
Indeed the benefits of vaccines have been proven over the years COVID19 or no COVID19. Hence, the advent of COVID-19 should not change that. This is why most, if not all of us have been vaccinated against diseases like polio, measles, mumps, rubella, tetanus, pertussis, yellow fever, hepatitis, HPV, etc.
We can all testify that countless numbers of deaths have been prevented through the use of vaccines. Vaccination remains the major tool in the fight against infectious diseases.
I am a polio survivor, however, I have been left with permanent paralysis in my right lower limb because I was not vaccinated on time, against the polio virus.
Vaccines are manufactured under strict protocols to ensure safety and efficacy, and the current COVID19 vaccines approved by the WHO have definitely gone through these rigorous measures. This is also why they are given emergency use authorization before full authorization. The emergency use authorization is to help protect the most vulnerable in a pandemic and also in determining how the vaccines perform in the general population. Emergency use authorizations are not just for vaccines but for medications in general and even for laboratory tests. Medications are often pulled or recalled and not granted full authorization if or when they are found to cause significantly adverse effects while they have emergency use authorization.
Some people have stated that these COVID-19 vaccines are not the same as the original vaccines we have been taking for years. Please permit me to clarify that a bit. Of the over twenty (20) Covid-19 vaccines that have been approved by at least one WHO recognized authority; there are only two (2) mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Modena, these are the newest technology vaccines); nine (9) killed inactivated vaccines which include Sinopharm, Sinovac, Coronavac and Covaxin (these have the same technology for injectable polio, rabies, hepatitis A and influenza); five (5) viral vector vaccines which include AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Sputnik V and Convidecia; four (4) protein subunit vaccines which are Abdala (from Cuba), Epivac-corona, RBD Dimer and Zivifax, one (1) conjugated vaccine, Soberana from Iran.
The technology for these vaccines have been with us for decades; mRNA for about thirty (30) years, conjugate and protein subunits for over forty (40) years, viral vector vaccines for about fifty (50) years and killed inactivated vaccines for over seventy (70) years.
To date over six (6) billion doses of COVID19 vaccines have been administered across two hundred and seventeen (217) countries globally. So far, over two and half billion (>2.5B) which accounts for over thirty three percent (33.2%) of the global population. It must also be noted that a very significant number of those vaccinated are doing very well and have significantly been protected against severe illness.
I must also indicate that correlation is not necessarily causation.
Hence, some reported fatalities following vaccinations have been clarified following autopsies as not being due to the vaccines, but due to some underlying condition that the deceased had which might not have been apparent to them or their relatives.
I encourage people who have had adverse effects and relatives of people who have died following vaccination to report them quickly and consistently to the relevant authorities. This will ensure that it can be properly investigated and also aid in the knowledge that we are acquiring regarding the vaccines. Remember that if it is not officially reported, then it cannot be officially confirmed and recorded.
Once again our sincere condolences go out to families whose relatives have had fatal adverse effects secondary to vaccine administrations or to any medications.
Let us continue to follow the recommended public health protocols and stay safe as we continue the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saturday
Crypto is the next step toward a cashless society
CC™ Financial News
Julian Hosp
It will take some time for consumers to warm up to crypto, but education is the key to its mass adoption.
From QR code payments to mobile banking apps, consumers worldwide are increasingly reliant on digital payment solutions, especially as mobile technology becomes more ubiquitous. Government-led efforts in driving cashless economies have been a key factor, with countries such as Singapore or the Philippines seeing their central banks driving the adoption of contactless payments during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, usage rates for digital payments platforms have recorded promising growth, even as high as 5,000% in the Philippines alone.
This unprecedented rise in cashless payments is also paving the way for the broader adoption of crypto, with the number of crypto users worldwide hitting around 106 million in January. While this marks an impressive 15% month-on-month growth, it is still just a drop in the ocean when compared to the 4.7 billion people who have access to the internet.
But as crypto continues to command headlines, what will it take for mass adoption to happen?
A new model of financial accessibility
Today, billions of people worldwide are unable to access even the most basic financial services via traditional means, and thus are unable to save or manage their money securely. In times of economic devastation, such as this past year in which global economies have been staggered by the impact of COVID-19, the vast gap between rich and poor has become abundantly clear. The global pandemic has only perpetuated the absence of inclusive financial infrastructure, which has led to approximately one-third of the global population having no financial safety net to fall back on.
With crypto wallets, however, anyone can transfer their crypto internationally without needing to maintain a minimum balance in their account, as long as they have an internet connection. As crypto applications are built on decentralized blockchains, transactions are performed on a peer-to-peer basis in the absence of traditional intermediaries such as bankers or brokerage houses. This results in significant savings in transaction costs, as traditional cross-border remittance fees for small amounts can be as high as 7% after taking into account intermediaries’ fees on both the sender and recipient side. Meanwhile, the same fees for cryptocurrencies are often less than 1 percent — regardless of transaction amount.
Furthermore, highly decentralized platforms are permissionless, meaning that anyone with a crypto wallet and internet connection can lend, remit or trade their crypto without validation by a central authority or intermediary. Instead, transactions are executed by smart contracts, which automate them as long as pre-encoded conditions are met. Beyond the cost savings, consider the time savings as well. Remittance transactions can take several days to be processed, whereas cryptocurrencies can be transferred in mere minutes.
However, most crypto platforms still ask for some form of formal identification as part of their identity verification and Know Your Customer (KYC) process. This can range from a phone number to photo ID to proof of residential address. Some platforms adopt a multi-tier approach in which the more information that users provide, the more services they can access. While necessary for KYC and Anti-Money Laundering compliance, this poses barriers to users who do not own any formal identification documents.
Having said that, some decentralized exchanges, or DEXs, still honour the principles of anonymity and trustless working by not enforcing KYC on their users. The elimination of account verification and waiting time for approval has drawn many towards these types of DEXs — such as PancakeSwap, Uniswap and DeFiChain’s DEX — and has made finance truly accessible and inclusive for all.
Beyond simple transactions, recent innovations in the crypto space promise a much more equitable financial system where the unbanked and underbanked can access more means to build wealth. While DeFi products, such as token holding and staking on a DEX, might be a little too advanced for this group of users at the moment, simplified centralized decentralized finance (CeDeFi) services and improvements in financial literacy over time will help to open the door to these inclusive wealth creation opportunities.
Education is key to crypto adoption at scale
Widespread adoption of digital payment technologies, such as QR codes and biometrics, is definitely a promising sign that consumers have become more digitally savvy than ever before. In the Asia Pacific, more than 90% of surveyed respondents said they would consider at least one new payment method in the next year.
In addition to new payment technologies, the proliferation of retail investing has led to a paradigm shift in the investment landscape, with trading activities doubling over the past year. User-friendly platforms such as Robinhood and their well-known crypto counterparts — such as Coinbase — have made investing much more accessible to non-institutional investors.
This historic rise in cashless payments and retail investing saw the public gain more exposure to different asset types. However, in the United States, a staggering 84% of adults are either uninterested in cryptocurrencies or have never heard of them. While this could be attributable to the seemingly intimidating technicalities involved, we are now in a good place to gradually transition towards a more crypto-forward society.
For now, there’s much more to be done to help mainstream consumers gain a better understanding of crypto. Crypto projects, for one, would do well to invest more resources towards creating educational content to bridge the knowledge gap — whether through guides or detailed explainers. Meanwhile, taking on a more transparency-focused approach that looks to debunk misconceptions and ensure that users are aware of the risks associated with crypto, will enable those users to navigate their entry into the space with greater ease and confidence.
Crypto is the MVP in the cashless drive
As conversations on cryptocurrencies evolve, governments are taking note. While cash will not be eliminated any time soon, as many as 86% of central banks around the world are looking into central bank digital currencies in their quest to go cashless. The world’s first central bank digital currency (CBDC) — the Sand Dollar — was announced by the Central Bank of the Bahamas way back in 2018 and officially launched in October last year. The technology team behind this project was led by U-Zyn Chua, who went on to co-found DeFiChain.
Although CBDCs will be regulated by a central authority, their adoption will send a profound message to market participants on the legitimacy of digital currencies. The introduction of CBDCs is thus a much-needed springboard to catalyze large-scale crypto adoption.
In the short term, crypto is not going to replace the existing financial system, but will instead carve out its own ecosystem that is fit for a new generation of digital-first, financially savvy users. While it will take some time for consumers to warm up to crypto, the nascent technology will prove its worth in due time by offering cheaper, safer and more inclusive financial services for all.
Julian Hosp is the CEO and a co-founder of Cake DeFi, a platform dedicated to providing access to decentralized financial services and applications. He is also the chairman of DeFiChain, a DeFi platform built on the Bitcoin network. Julian is an active speaker for the Washington Speakers Bureau and an adviser for the EU’s blockchain groups. Julian graduated from Medizinische Universitat Innsbruck with a Doctor of Medicine in human medicine.
COINTELEGRAPH
Friday
Thursday
Monday
Sunday
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
