The Rittenhouse trial or circus.

Miami, FL - At this point, I really don't know what's left to watch in the Rittenhouse trial: the judge making racial jokes or Rittenhouse attempt to a mockery tearless cry a-la-Hollywood style or the very accused reaching into a raffle drum and drew numbered slips that determined which of the 18 jurors who sat through the case would deliberate and which ones would be dismissed as alternates, which is a never-seen thing according not only to the general public but to specialized attorneys and journalists. All that before deliberations even started.

Today, 7 women, 5 men and 1 person of color will decide the future of Rittenhouse that, I hope for the well-being of the nation, the jury find him guilty because, he is. If you see the video, which is fully documented and even with different angles of vision, you can tell with no doubt that he not only started the whole situation, which is one of the most solid arguments of the prosecution: "You can't argue self-defense when you start the crisis", but you can clearly see that the accused doesn't have any respect for human life.

I'm not a lawyer, I'm not a specialist in legal matters, but I have common sense, criteria and know a thing or two about certain procedures related to what happened that night and I can state, confidently, that the accused is absolutely guilty of all the charges.

However, if he is acquitted or at least from the major charges, it will be a natural consequence of a racist-based criminal justice system, a systemic racism in the fabric of the American society and it will propel a social and civil unrest similar to the one caused by Floyd's death and to be honest, I think it will be totally fair because the accused deserves to be in prison for murdering to people and hurting a third one based only on his skin color and his racism, prejudice and utter ignorance of what morality, empathy and a peaceful society mean.

RM

16-year-old dies in police custody following pursuit that ended in Miami-Dade County

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating after a 16-year-old boy died Sunday night following a police chase that started in Hollywood and ended in Miami-Dade County.

According to Miami-Dade police, Hollywood police officers were chasing the teen, who was suspected of carjacking someone and then fleeing with the victim’s vehicle – a black 2018 Alfa Romeo.

Police said the Miami-Dade Police Department’s helicopter provided air support as the teen led officers into the Northside District, where he crashed the stolen car in the area of Northwest 27th Avenue and 62nd Street around 9:35 p.m.

Authorities said the teen was taken into custody by Hollywood police.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue crews also responded to the area and treated the teen at the scene, police said.

Authorities said the teen was handed over into the custody of Miami-Dade police, and at some point, he became unconscious.

Police said he was then transported by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue to Hialeah Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A cause of death has not been released.

The teen’s identity is also being withheld at this time.

Copyright 2021 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.

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Mental Health Issues

MIAMI - I was talking to a friend the other day about mental health issues and she told me about how sad were the circumstances under which the “crazy people” live in any given asylum; she also mentioned her friend’s son which is schizophrenic and another friend which is bipolar. For a minute, everything went fine into the conversation; however, my mind seemed to be heading to a different destination, because all of a sudden, I told her to clarify that I wasn’t referring to those particular mental health issues, which are very serious but not necessarily hidden or common in society, not as much as the ones I was referring to: depression and/or anxiety.

The fact that people in general don’t seem to see depression and/or anxiety as mental health issues is maybe the reason why there is such a large incidence of those issues in society today. And yes, they are mental health conditions that must be addressed as fast as possible and be treated by professionals in the medical field, medical practitioners specifically in that matter of mind issues, be a psychologist, psychiatrist or similar. Please, don’t even think about getting “medical advice” regarding mental health from people not only with no medical expertise in that delicate field but serious lack of any kind of training, much less professional training. I’m talking specifically of religious leaders such as pastors, priests, spiritual coaches and similar, let along charlatans of fairs such as card readers, astrologists or psychics.

It’s very important to understand how serious mental health issues are for our well-being and when I say mental health, I’m referring not only the "big problems" but specifically to those issues that nobody seems to care because their “normal” or “everybody have them” or “give it time to heal”.

People, depression and/or anxiety is serious business and we can’t let them slip into our lives because they can ruin it pretty bad and in the worst-case scenario, they can literally kill us.

RM

Dangers of pseudo-science

Pseudoscience is anything that is peddled as being scientifically-based but is, in fact, not. That’s a big, broad definition for a big, broad topic. Pseudoscience is often composed of people who want to feel like they have some semblance of control over a situation (often an emotionally fraught one) and those looking to make money by taking advantage of other people by using technical-sounding jargon. Let’s break down these two scenarios while also acknowledging that they are not mutually exclusive.

There is a lot of uncertainty in the health care realm. We know so much while still understanding so little. We quickly reach the limitations of our medical knowledge in discussion about disease, how the body reacts to disease and injury, nutrition, etc. Additionally, our knowledge is constantly changing as we learn more. At some point in life, every single person will feel powerless over what is happening to their body, and that’s not a good feeling. It’s scary. The natural reaction is to look for a way to feel more in control of the situation. It’s an unsettling truth that we don’t have all of the answers and that sometimes the old adage “time will tell” is the best we have or “I don’t know, but maybe” is the best we can do. This place of vulnerability and despair is easy to take advantage of. Often, if someone simply says “Oh, they just don’t know but this thing WORKS,” those who are desperate will easily cling to whatever that thing is, regardless of plausibility. This is where pseudoscience comes in. It’s easy to take advantage of an emotionally fraught situation. People grappling with death or health challenges are looking for any advantage they can to hold on to every last second out of their lives. Enter, pseudoscience.

Pseudoscience can be difficult to pick out because one of its hallmarks is to use technical-sounding language to lend an air of legitimacy to whatever the thing is (e.g., vaginal steaming, homeopathy, acupuncture, etc.). Oftentimes, it’s created as a way to make fast cash—think essential oils and COVID-19. Sometimes it’s created out of a desire for an easy answer. Sometimes, it’s all of these things. Whatever the reason, pseudoscience is a big problem.

Let’s walk through an example of pseudoscience during this pandemic. In the desperation for a cure and a prevention (other than physically distancing, hand-washing, and mask-wearing, that is) the internet was alight with a myriad of suggestions. In a world shrouded in uncertainty and desperation, people were and still are willing to cling to any number of those suggestions, one of which was colloidal silver. Collodial silver has no real medical use. It can and does have serious side effects including turning your body blue, kidney damage, seizures, and possible detrimental interactions with other drugs that you might be taking. With these potential side effects in mind and the fact that colloidal silver doesn’t have any documented medical benefit, this isn’t something that should be taken thoughtlessly or “just in case.” It can, does, and has had, serious consequences. Also, it’s a waste of money, which is something few people can afford right now.

With 5 Short Words, the CEO of McDonald's Just Displayed a Complete Lack of Emotional Intelligence

It's impressive, actually: managing to break all the basic rules of emotional intelligence at once.

This is a story about McDonald’s, emotional intelligence -- and what happens when someone displays almost no emotional intelligence at all.

Here's the background. It starts with two tragedies in Chicago earlier this year:

First, a 13-year-old named Adam Toledo was shot and killed by Chicago police.

Then, a 7-year-old girl named Jaslyn Adams was killed while sitting in a Chicago McDonald's drive-through.

The day after the shooting that took Adams's life, Mayor Lori Lightfoot visited McDonald's headquarters in Chicago. She spoke with CEO Chris Kempczinski, and then Kempczinski texted Mayor Lightfoot.

Activists eventually used a Freedom of Information Act request to learn what he said to her. In what turned out to be the most important part, Kempczinski's texts read like this:

"p.s. tragic shootings in last week, both at our restaurant yesterday and with Adam Toldeo. With both, the parents failed those kids which I know is something you can't say. Even harder to fix."

I've highlighted the five key words: "the parents failed those kids."

Protests ensued, blasting Kempczinski for blaming the parents. In an open letter, some McDonald's workers and community groups called Kempczinski's message: "ignorant, racist and unacceptable."

The mayor's spokesperson commented: "Victim shaming has no place in this conversation."

Rank-and-file workers were upset, too. As one McDonald's employee told Chicago’s WBEZ:

"He doesn't know the circumstances of these parents. [He's] putting the blame on parents for the violence in the streets. He can't relate because he is wealthy, and we are not, and he doesn't understand our struggle."

After the backlash, Kempczinski wrote to all McDonald's corporate employees in the U.S. this week explain the genesis of his text to Lightfood, and maybe to apologize -- although he never actually used that word.

I've had the chance to review what he wrote, and if I can summarize, it really comes down to a simple proposition: a violation of all of the most basic rules of how emotionally intelligent people think through important conversations.

Let's break it all down, using Kempczinski's "quasi-mea-culpa" as a guide:

Rule #1: Imagine yourself in your audience's position.

Emotionally intelligent people realize that almost nobody else sees the world from exactly their perspective.

Sometimes that's fine, but other times -- say, for example, when you're the $10 million-a-year CEO of one of the world's largest corporations -- it's up to you to make the extra effort.

Kempczinski admits right upfront that he didn't do that here:

"I was thinking through my lens as a parent and reacted viscerally. But I have not walked in the shoes of Adam's or Jaslyn's family and so many others who are facing a very different reality."

I'd take that a step further: He wasn't just not thinking about the parents--obviously that was crucial--but he also wasn't thinking about how his words would be perceived by the mayor, and McDonald's employees, and the city writ large.

A little bit of empathy goes a long way, but apparently a lack of empathy can go even further.

Rule #2: Stop and think before you act.

There might be some times when acting quickly, without thinking, is better than deliberative action.

But those times are the exception to the rule. And, texting to the mayor of the third-largest U.S. city (knowing, as the CEO of McDonald's certainly should, that there is no expectation of privacy in that kind of communication), is definitely not an exception to that rule.

Kempczinski knows it was a mistake not to take the time to think through what he was saying.

"Not taking the time to think about this from their viewpoint was wrong," he wrote, "and lacked the empathy and compassion I feel for these families."

Lesson learned -- albeit one I'll bet he wishes he'd learned earlier.

Rule #3: Show strategic kindness.

Kindness and empathy are side-products of emotional intelligence, not the goals. Instead, emotional intelligence is about being aware of emotions and leveraging them to make it more likely that you can achieve your goals.

That said, kindness can be a goal in and of itself--and demonstrating kindness can lead people to be more receptive to what you have to say.

With that backdrop, it was very unkind, just days after the horrific shooting deaths of a 13-year-old and a 7-year-old, to suggest that the parents were to blame.

This would be true even if Kempczinski somehow thought he could back up his claim. (I'm not saying I think he could; I'm just surmising that he probably thought he could, if he thought to say it.)

Regardless, human decency practically begs that you hold your fire in that situation. Much better to remain silent, than to play armchair detective in a way that says those who likely grieve the most should shoulder the burden.

Live and learn

There is an irony in writing about this situation in that I feel compelled to try to write with emotional intelligence: to pause, to put myself in the shoes of others, to write with kindness where I can.

And there's a temptation to express sympathy for Kempczinski: Who among us hasn't said something he or she later regretted, and even cringed to read?

The difference is that Kempczinski isn't just writing for himself; he's writing as the CEO of one of the world's most iconic companies, who was paid more than $10 million last year (a low year, in fact, due to Covid), and who has much more responsibility than most of us have.

I don't know if he's sincere in describing the lessons he's learned, or if he truly wants to craft better messages, or if he cares a whit about leading with emotional intelligence.

Even if Kempczinski apparently hasn't read it, I think you'll find it useful. And maybe reading it will make it just a little bet less likely you'll have to write a "quasi-mea-cupla" someday like he did, too.

I'd take that a step further: He wasn't just not thinking about the parents--obviously that was crucial--but he also wasn't thinking about how his words would be perceived by the mayor, and McDonald's employees, and the city writ large.

A little bit of empathy goes a long way, but apparently a lack of empathy can go even further.

A doctor spread COVID misinformation and renewed her license with a mouse click

For much of the pandemic, Dr. Lee Merritt has appeared on talk shows and in lecture halls to spread false information about COVID-19.

Among her claims: that the SARS-CoV2 virus is a genetically engineered bioweapon (the U.S. intelligence community says it's not). And that vaccination dramatically increases the risk of death from COVID (data show an enormous drop in risk for those who take the vaccine). The entire pandemic, she says in public lectures, is a vast global conspiracy to exert social control.

And yet, in October, she was able to renew her medical license in the state of Nebraska. Documents obtained through a public records request by NPR showed it took just a few clicks: 12 yes-or-no questions answered online allowed her to extend her license for another year.

Critics say that Merritt's renewal is another example of how the nation's state medical boards are failing to protect the public from a small minority of doctors spreading COVID falsehoods.

"State medical boards, for the main part, have been cozy clubs of people who feel their job is to protect the profession," says Imran Ahmed, the CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a group that tracks vaccine misinformation online.

In the past, that's meant a slow process that provided physicians every opportunity to defend themselves against a complaint, he claims. But in the current pandemic, Ahmed argues, medical boards need to move faster and with more force. "Speeches aren't enough, letters aren't enough, we need action now," he says.

A dangerous message

Few people have been more influential over the course of the pandemic than doctors. They have been at the front lines, battling COVID and facilitating the vaccine rollout. Public health officials also see doctors as a major tool in fighting misinformation. Officials encourage vaccine-hesitant individuals to talk to their physician, as a way of combatting the vortex of false claims and conspiracy theories online.

But a handful of doctors like Dr. Merritt have worked contrary to these efforts: spreading bad information about COVID-19. Their qualifications make their message especially dangerous, says Nick Sawyer, an emergency room doctor who headsNo License For Disinformation, a group seeking action against doctors who spread falsehoods.

"Physicians should be held to a higher standard because people are entrusting us with their lives," he says.

The licensing of physicians in the United States varies from state to state. Medical boards are typically set up under state law and populated with a mix of doctors, lawyers and citizens. The boards can receive complaints from any member of the public. They then investigate and carry out disciplinary action according to their own rules and the laws of the state.

License renewals are often automatic, and Sawyer says he wants that process to be as smooth as possible. But he is also frustrated by the lack of disciplinary action: "If you're a physician in good standing, then you should be able to continue your practice without having to jump through a bunch of hoops," he says. "But that is also assuming that the medical board is doing its job."

Spread of misinformation is not censured

So far, it appears that many physicians spreading bad information have escaped censure. In September, NPR looked at 16 doctors who have spread false claims about COVID, including Merritt. Records show that none have been disciplined, and all but one continue to hold an active medical license. And Dr. Merritt was not the only one who obtained a renewal.

Public records obtained by NPR show that Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, another prominent anti-vaccine physician who claims — among other things — that vaccines make people magnetic, renewed her license online. The Ohio Capitol Journal first reported Tenpenny's renewal in September.

Neither Dr. Merritt nor Nebraska's Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees its medical board, responded to NPR's request for comment. But Dr. Humayun Chaudhry, the president of the Federation of State Medical Boards, an umbrella group, says medical license renewals are designed to be simple for doctors.

"It's a procedural step that is usually automatic and not even deliberated upon by the board," he says. He says boards simply don't have the capacity to review many hundreds or thousands of renewals that come up each year, and that a failure to renew would be equivalent to a license suspension, which cannot be done without due process. But he also says the renewals do not prevent boards from taking action.

"A medical license that's automatically renewed does not mean that an investigation isn't ongoing, nor does it prevent a board from taking a disciplinary action against that licensee," he says.

In fact Chaudhry says a recent survey by the federation found that over half of the nation's medical boards have seen an increase in complaints about doctors disseminating false information about COVID-19. Among those who responded to the FSMB survey, he says 21% have already taken some kind of disciplinary action. Many others are now quietly investigating complaints, Chaudhry says. They just need more time to act.

In the meantime, Lee Merritt continues to travel the country, giving speeches filled with junk science.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit NPR.

The COVID-19 pandemic has now killed 5 million people around the world

Global deaths from COVID-19 have now surpassed 5 million, according to the data released Monday from Johns Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker.

The U.S. leads the world in the number of confirmed deaths from the virus with more than 745,800 people dead from COVID-19. Brazil (with more than 607,000 deaths) and India (with more than 450,000 deaths) follow the U.S. in the number of lives lost since the start of the pandemic.

Yet another tragic milestone of the pandemic comes just as the U.S. prepares to start vaccinating children between the ages of 5 and 11.

But in other parts of the world, health officials are seeing worrying signs of a coronavirus surge — just as some nations are relaxing measures to international travelers.

This official global tally only accounts for confirmed cases around the world, according to Amber D'Souza, professor of epidemiology at the university's Bloomberg School of Public Health, who spoke to National Geographic.

Prior to Johns Hopkins releasing the latest global data on Monday D'Souza told the outlet: "It's quite possible that the number of deaths is double what we see. But 5 million is such a staggering number on its own. No country has been able to escape it."

Europe and Southeast Asia report a surge in cases The World Health Organization recently reported a rise in cases in Europe during October.

As of Oct. 26, the European region experienced an 18% surge in new COVID-19 cases. Southeast Asia, a region experiencing a similar rise in new COVID cases, also reported a 13% increase in new COVID-19 deaths.

Globally, as of Oct. 26, the health organization reported more than 2.9 million cases and more than 49, 000 new deaths, a 4% and 5% increase respectively.

Last month, Russian officials registered the highest death toll in Europe: more than 235,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Due to skyrocketing infections from the delta strain, officials there launched a temporary lockdown in an attempt to defeat the virus.

But there is skepticism over whether the numbers being shared in Russia are actually the official count. Some believe the numbers may be higher.

On Friday, Reuters reported that Poland's total number of COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic passed 3 million. Daily cases are quickly gaining pace as the country is in the middle of the fourth wave of the virus.

In Singapore, where officials have decided to coexist with the coronavirus and cease lockdown measures, a jump in cases has been reported there, too.

More than 80% of Singapore's population has been immunized against COVID-19. Yet as of Oct. 30, cases jumped to well over 3,000 cases a day in about two months.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit NPR.