Writing today from a tent in upstate New York, where internet service is a bit iffy, I see that Afghanistan is in the news. The Al Jazeera headline is “Taliban accused of ‘massacring civilians’ in Afghan border town” while the BBC writes “Street fighting rages as Taliban attack key city.” Lashkar Gah in southern Helmand province is under heavy assault by the militants, despite U.S. and Afghan air strikes.
Fox News says “Afghan president blames swift US withdrawal for Taliban surge, with key cities under threat.” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the new refugee program for U.S.-affiliated Afghans poses “significant diplomatic, logistical, and bureaucratic challenges,” according to Reuters, while The Guardian says, “US ready to take in more Afghan refugees — but won’t help them leave.”
The State Department has expanded eligibility to include Afghans who worked with U.S.-based media organizations, non-governmental organizations, and projects funded by the U.S., but said they need to find their own way out of Afghanistan and support themselves during the lengthy adjudication process, which can take 12 to 14 months. The applicants cannot come directly to the United States, and will need referrals from current or former employers to achieve refugee status.
U.S. Achieves 70% Goal
As the number of new COVID-19 cases soar, previously hesitant people have decided to risk the possible side effects in order to gain immunity from the vaccines. Enough have done so to reach President Joe Biden’s July 1 goal of having 70 percent of adults vaccinated with at least one dose — one month after the president’s deadline.
Meanwhile, as the Delta variant of the coronavirus infects more people, including those previously vaccinated, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention released preliminary findings of a study that showed vaccinated people carried as much of the virus as the unvaccinated, and therefore continue to pose a risk of spreading the disease, even though they experience only mild symptoms, if any at at all. If true, it means that mask-wearing in crowded and enclosed spaces is still warranted.
Among those who contracted the disease after vaccination is Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. He said his symptoms would be far worse had he not already received the full dose of the vaccine.
In order to protect their employees and help to slow down or halt the spread of the disease, many businesses, as well as state and federal agencies, are requiring employees to show proof of vaccination before entering their places of work. The unvaccinated must still work remotely.
In New Hampshire, Bristol resident John Sellers has asked his state representatives to look into establishing a law that prevents anyone from being fired for refusing the vaccine. “We need a new bill to protect us in choosing between losing a job and taking an experimental drug or being vaccinated,” he wrote. “Please look into passing a bill to protect us from being fired and protect us so we can shop for critical items, i.e. food, meds, and others. Businesses should never have more rights than a human.”
Eviction Moratorium Ends
Everyone is speculating on what will happen to the millions of people facing eviction, now that the federal moratorium has expired. In communities without COVID protections in place, evictions could happen in a matter of days or weeks.
Tenants in homes financed by the federal government are protected until Sept. 30, and landlords still have to follow the rules as they were prior to the pandemic, so it gives tenants some time to prepare, but those who were in eviction hearings that got halted by the moratorium may face close evictions, as do those in adversarial relationships with landlords, who are looking to get rid of troublemakers or get higher rents.
The best advice is to try to work with a landlord to catch up on past rent. In a hot housing market, finding a new residence is likely to be difficult.
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