Blythe McKay

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Researchers discover a secret weapon that saves babies' lives. And it's not medical To save the lives of infants and small kids in lower resource countries, there are a handful of tools: anti-malarial drugs, bed nets and vaccines. A massive experiment in rural Kenya suggests another.

To save the lives of infants and small kids in lower resource countries, there are a handful of tools: anti-malarial drugs, bed nets and vaccines. A massive experiment in rural Kenya suggests another.

Not sure how accurate the map is - based on it our house shouldn’t have power but we do. Hope power comes back for others soon.

Here is my statement on the Ford government's decision to adjourn the Legislature until October 20.

#onpoli

Watched online. It was amazing! Really appreciated your discussion with Linda and hearing your answers to the audience’s questions. Will be heading to Perfect Books to buy Corporate Control soon.

The rise of end times fascism The governing ideology of the far right has become a monstrous, supremacist survivalism. Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them

THE RISE OF END TIMES FASCISM

My first major piece of the new Trump era, co-written with @astra.bsky.social.

The governing ideology of the far right has become a
monstrous, supremacist survivalism.

Our task is to build a movement strong enough to stop them. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

How a neurosurgeon used her entrepreneurial background to revamp a hospital’s brain-tumor program In the program’s first year, it has reduced delays for radiation treatment by 40 per cent and surgery volumes have more than doubled

How neurosurgeon Teresa Purzner used her entrepreneurial background to revamp a hospital’s brain-tumor program, reducing delays for radiation treatment by 40% and doubling surgery volumes, by @hannay.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/business/eco... via @theglobeandmail.com

This may be the most lead polluted place on Earth. Is there any hope? The U.N. has identified Kabwe, a city of almost 300,000 people in Zambia, as one of the most polluted places on the planet. Who is to blame? And can justice be done?

The U.N. has identified Kabwe, a city of almost 300,000 people in Zambia, as one of the most polluted places on the planet. Who is to blame? And can justice be done?

Beyond long COVID — how reinfections could be causing silent long-term organ damage | CBC Radio Scientific evidence is painting an unsettling picture: COVID infections, even if mild or asymptomatic, may be causing long-term cellular and organ damage, as well as increasing your risk of developing...

Beyond #LongCOVID — how reinfections could be causing silent long-term organ damage. Even if you think you're done with COVID, COVID might not be done with you, by Sonya Buyting www.cbc.ca/radio/quirks... via @cbcnews.ca
@thecovidinfoguy.bsky.social #COVID19

being an indie bookseller in the helltimes has felt both very stable and very stabilizing, and part of me wishes everyone could be on my side of the counter for a little while, because I think it would help some of you be a little less cynical and doomy right now. so here is my VERY anecdotal data:

On Writing the Hospital A nurse named Sylvia brought me into the operating room, where she introduced me to two more specialist nurses – I was too stressed to catch their names. They were going to thread a plastic line th…

Madeleine Wulfahrt considers Garth Greenwell’s Small Rain, the future of post-pandemic illness literature, and writing about hospitalization.

'Bloody Saturday' at Voice of America and other U.S.-funded networks Federal officials placed 1,000 employees at Voice of America on indefinite paid leave, while severing contracts with Radio Free Asia and other U.S.-funded networks.

JUST IN: Federal officials placed 1,000 employees at Voice of America on indefinite paid leave, while severing contracts with Radio Free Asia and other U.S.-funded networks.

Five years since COVID, Louisiana's readers are thriving. This is their secret. In 2019, Louisiana's fourth graders ranked 50th in the country for reading. Now, they're 16th. Here's how the state, and one rural district, pulled it off.

In 2019, Louisiana's fourth graders ranked 50th in the country for reading. Now, they're 16th. Here's how the state, and one rural district, pulled it off.

Oh Heather, so sorry to see your news. Sending hugs your way.

Passing On the Farm to My Daughter A record-breaking bull showed that my eighteen-year-old is ready to start taking my place.

“Just as an oak tree crowds out its own saplings from the light, making them stunted dwarf trees, so too can humans shrink their children’s spirits if they overshadow them and deny them experiences that allow them to grow.” @herdyshepherd.bsky.social

More than 90 per cent of U.S. aid programs abruptly cancelled, jeopardizing lives, humanitarian groups say In one country alone, South Africa, the cuts to HIV programs could trigger as many as 600,000 deaths over the next decade, say health groups

More than 90% of U.S. aid programs abruptly cancelled, jeopardizing lives, humanitarian groups say, by @geoffreyyork.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl... via @theglobeandmail.com #GlobalHealth

Doug Ford needs to cancel Ontario’s contract with Starlink now. Absolutely solidarity with Ukraine but also to avoid it being used as a bargaining chip by Musk and Trump against Canada. Right now, Premier Ford.

Beneath the promises of enhanced connectivity in Africa lies a complex narrative—a 21st-century iteration of colonial dynamics cloaked in the rhetoric of "connecting the unconnected"...

How to Write While Deeply Distracted (from an ADHDer to the rest of you)

"How to Write While Deeply Distracted" from @rebeccamakkai.bsky.social is the post of the year (the decade, maybe?) full of helpful, specific strategies. I'm off to lock myself in a closet now. substack.com/home/post/p-...

Love rats: Canadians get chance to feed rodents named after old flames to owls Program is meant to help the endangered northern spotted owl – and it’s only C$5! – but rat lovers are not amused

A Canadian endangered owl breeding program is fundraising by charging people $5 to name a rat after their ex. The rat is then fed to the owls. The fundraiser is called No regRATS.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/f...

"Stay sane, stay humane, and don't isolate... Staying connected, not isolating, and not allowing yourself to drown in fear or rage is not submitting in advance." This is a really good piece. 👇

This is just one of thousands of harrowing stories told about the U.S. Government abandoning Americans abroad in the USAID shutdown. This is Benghazi times a million. 1/

1,500 Lesotho health workers sent home after US aid suspended Trump blocking aid threatens vital health services

1,500 Lesotho health workers sent home after US aid suspended

Read groundup.org.za/article/abou... by Sechaba Mokheti

Alberta Minister stripped health agency of power to negotiate private surgical contracts, document shows Letter alleges government eroded ex-CEO’s authority to negotiate deals

SCOOP: AB Health Minister Adriana LaGrange stripped Alberta Health Services of power to negotiate after its then-CEO allegedly refused to sign pricey deals
www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alber... #abpoli #ableg

Wikipedia Prepares for 'Increase in Threats' to US Editors From Musk and His Allies The Wikimedia Foundation says it will likely roll out features previously used to protect editors in authoritarian countries more widely.

“Forward obtained a document created by the Heritage Foundation called ’Wikipedia Editor Targeting‘, which set a goal to ’identify and target Wikipedia editors ... by analyzing text patterns, usernames, and technical data through data breach analysis, fingerprinting, HUMINT and technical targeting‘”

Dear sceptics of patient engagement in research Dawn P Richards challenges some of the common objections to patient engagement in research I have been in a lot of spaces over the years where people were not convinced about patient engagement in re...

Dear sceptics of #PatientEngagement in research....by @dawnrichards.bsky.social www.bmj.com/content/388/... via @bmj.com

One of the many horrific examples in this article:

“Without regular injections… participants will not have enough cabotegravir to stop a new [HIV] infection, but there will be enough in their systems that, if they were to contract the virus, it could easily mutate to become drug-resistant”