Covid lockdowns had 'catastrophic effect' on the social fabric
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“There is a widening gap between those who are comfortable and an 'underclass' which is disproportionately affected by mental health issues and poverty, according to an inquiry by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) …
“… [During] lockdown, calls to a domestic abuse helpline rose 700 per cent.
“Mental ill health issues in young people went from one in nine to one in six and nearly a quarter amongst the oldest children.
“More kids were serially missing school, with severe absence jumping 134 per cent.
“1.2 million more people went on working-age benefits
“86 per cent more people sought help for addictions …
“[Prisoners] were locked up for 22.5 hours per day …
“Twenty years ago, just one in nine children were assessed as having a clinically recognisable mental health problem. That figure is now one in five, rising to nearly one in four for those aged 17-19 …
“There are likely to be 108 per cent more boys with mental health disorders by 2030 than there would have been if the lockdown had not happened …
“‘There are over 2.6 million people economically inactive because of long term sickness, an increase of nearly 500,000 since the Covid-19 [event].
“‘Over half of those signed off (53 per cent) reported depression, bad nerves or anxiety …’
“There has been a 63 per cent increase in deaths of people on methadone than before the Covid-19 [event] …
“'Before the Covid-19 [event] deaths from alcohol poisoning, which had been dropping, have now risen 15.4 per cent …”
“Half of Gaza’s population is now believed to be ‘starving’ as Israel’s attack on the besieged strip continues to escalate, a senior UN official warned.
“… Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme, took to X saying: ‘There’s not enough food. People are starving’ …
“Elaborating on the crisis unfolding on the streets of northern Gaza, he told reporters that ‘nine out of 10 are not eating every day’.
“Two in three people in the south were reporting the same, he said …”
Biden administration bypasses Congress to sell tank shells to Israel
“The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review …
“The state department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth $106.5m for immediate delivery to Israel …
“The shells are part of a bigger sale … that the Biden administration is asking the US Congress to approve.
“The larger package … includes 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks, regularly deployed in its offensive in Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians …
“… US officials say there are no plans to put conditions on military aid to Israel or to consider withholding some of it …
“The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that the tank shells must immediately be provided to Israel in the national security interests of the US …”
“President Biden’s political standing is at its weakest point of his presidency … with voters giving him his lowest job-performance marks and favoring Donald Trump for the first time in a head-to-head test of the likely 2024 presidential matchup.
“Biden lags behind Trump by 4 percentage points, 47% to 43%, on a hypothetical ballot with only those two candidates.
“Trump’s lead expands to 6 points, 37% to 31%, when five potential third-party and independent candidates are added to the mix …
“Unhappiness with Biden is pervasive …
“Only 23% of voters say Biden’s policies have helped them personally, while 53% say they have been hurt by the president’s agenda …
“Some 37% approve of Biden’s job performance … while 61% see his overall image in an unfavorable light …
“… [Two-thirds] say the economy has gotten worse in the past two years, during Biden’s time in office.
“… 48% say they don’t believe this generation will do better than the one that came before …”
Covid lockdowns had 'catastrophic effect' on the social fabric
ReplyDelete…
“There is a widening gap between those who are comfortable and an 'underclass' which is disproportionately affected by mental health issues and poverty, according to an inquiry by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) …
“… [During] lockdown, calls to a domestic abuse helpline rose 700 per cent.
“Mental ill health issues in young people went from one in nine to one in six and nearly a quarter amongst the oldest children.
“More kids were serially missing school, with severe absence jumping 134 per cent.
“1.2 million more people went on working-age benefits
“86 per cent more people sought help for addictions …
“[Prisoners] were locked up for 22.5 hours per day …
“Twenty years ago, just one in nine children were assessed as having a clinically recognisable mental health problem. That figure is now one in five, rising to nearly one in four for those aged 17-19 …
“There are likely to be 108 per cent more boys with mental health disorders by 2030 than there would have been if the lockdown had not happened …
“‘There are over 2.6 million people economically inactive because of long term sickness, an increase of nearly 500,000 since the Covid-19 [event].
“‘Over half of those signed off (53 per cent) reported depression, bad nerves or anxiety …’
“There has been a 63 per cent increase in deaths of people on methadone than before the Covid-19 [event] …
“'Before the Covid-19 [event] deaths from alcohol poisoning, which had been dropping, have now risen 15.4 per cent …”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12846381/UK-two-nation-state-Victorian-Covid-lockdowns-catastrophic-effect-social-fabric-report.html
UN says half of Gaza’s population is now starving
ReplyDelete“Half of Gaza’s population is now believed to be ‘starving’ as Israel’s attack on the besieged strip continues to escalate, a senior UN official warned.
“… Carl Skau, deputy executive director of the UN World Food Programme, took to X saying: ‘There’s not enough food. People are starving’ …
“Elaborating on the crisis unfolding on the streets of northern Gaza, he told reporters that ‘nine out of 10 are not eating every day’.
“Two in three people in the south were reporting the same, he said …”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-gaza-war-palestinians-starving-un-wfp-b2461488.html
Biden administration bypasses Congress to sell tank shells to Israel
ReplyDelete“The Biden administration has used an emergency authority to allow the sale of about 14,000 tank shells to Israel without congressional review …
“The state department on Friday used an Arms Export Control Act emergency declaration for the tank rounds worth $106.5m for immediate delivery to Israel …
“The shells are part of a bigger sale … that the Biden administration is asking the US Congress to approve.
“The larger package … includes 45,000 shells for Israel’s Merkava tanks, regularly deployed in its offensive in Gaza, which has killed thousands of civilians …
“… US officials say there are no plans to put conditions on military aid to Israel or to consider withholding some of it …
“The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, determined and provided detailed justification to Congress that the tank shells must immediately be provided to Israel in the national security interests of the US …”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/09/biden-administration-emergency-authority-tank-shells-israel
Biden approval hits new low
ReplyDelete“President Biden’s political standing is at its weakest point of his presidency … with voters giving him his lowest job-performance marks and favoring Donald Trump for the first time in a head-to-head test of the likely 2024 presidential matchup.
“Biden lags behind Trump by 4 percentage points, 47% to 43%, on a hypothetical ballot with only those two candidates.
“Trump’s lead expands to 6 points, 37% to 31%, when five potential third-party and independent candidates are added to the mix …
“Unhappiness with Biden is pervasive …
“Only 23% of voters say Biden’s policies have helped them personally, while 53% say they have been hurt by the president’s agenda …
“Some 37% approve of Biden’s job performance … while 61% see his overall image in an unfavorable light …
“… [Two-thirds] say the economy has gotten worse in the past two years, during Biden’s time in office.
“… 48% say they don’t believe this generation will do better than the one that came before …”
https://archive.is/GYe6e