text:
Thousands in Westminster hear the Dalai Lama's…
Thousands in Westminster hear the Dalai Lama's message of peace
Drupon Santen of San Diego spins s a prayer wheel while waiting several hours for the Dalai Lama in Westminster. Every turn sends a blessing he says. .
Monks try to shade themselves as they sit in the hot sun to listen to the Dalai Lama during his public appearance at the Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster.
Monks shade themselves from the brutal sun during the Dalai Lama's visit to Westminster.
People shield themselves from the sun during the Dalai Lama's visit to Westminister on Saturday.
Thousands attend the Dalai Lama's public talk Saturday morning at the Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster.
The 14th Dalai Lama visits the community of Little Saigon and speaks to thousands during a public talk Saturday morning at the Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster.
Colorful cloth provides shade for the Dalai Lama as security personnel keep an eye on the crowd. At one point the press was asked to move back but the Tibetan leader insisted they stay where they were in the shade.
The Dalai Lama offers compassion and a prayer to 10-year-old Hiram Mendoza who was brought onstage in a wheelchair with his mother Ismene Mendoza. Hiram suffers from a multiple of illnesses including epilepsy and cerebral palsy. His mom made the pilgramige from Mexico to meet the Tibetan leader who was in Westminister.
Ismene Mendoza gets a hug after the Dalai Lama blesses her 10-year-old Hiram Mendoza who was brought onstage in a wheelchair. Hiram suffers from a multiple of illnesses including epilepsy and cerebral palsy. His mom made the pilgrimage from Mexico to meet the Tibetan leader who was in Westminster.
The Daiai Lama tosses some candy into the crowd during his public visit to the Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster.
Photographers cram together as the 14th Dalai Lama arrives at the Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster to speak on Saturday.
Daniel Lappin tells official Dalai Lama greeters to put on a happy face before the Tibetan leader's public talk Saturday morning at the Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster.
Thousands of people queue up to see the Dalai Lama in Westminster on Saturday. The line began forming at 2 a.m.
Bomb squad dog Luna with Orange County Sheriff Deputy Dave Ray provide security at the Dalai Lama event.
A sign welcomes the Dalai Lama to Westminster where thousands come to hear him speak on Saturday.
Thup Ten Jugney originally from Inner Mongolia attends the Dalai Lama's Westminster visit to Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple dedication on Saturday.
The Dalai Lama appears in Westminster on Saturday.
The Daiai Lama is swarmed by admirers as security keeps things calm during the Tibetan leader's public talk Saturday morning at the Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster.
The Daiai Lamatoys with the press as he eats candy onstage and then tosses a few piecves their way during his public visit to the Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster.
The Dalai Lama keeps a jovial mood while talking about comassion uring his visit to the Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster.
Women with Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster wait to greet the Dalai Lama during his Visit on Saturday. After they waited along the red carpet the Tibetan leader surprised everyone and showed up on stage instead.
By Deepa Bharath | dbharath@scng.com | Orange County Register
WESTMINSTER – The Dalai Lama told thousands of people here on Saturday that kindness, compassion and religious harmony are essential at a time of violence and strife.
Speaking at the dedication of the new Chua Dieu Ngu Buddhist Temple in Westminster, the Tibetan leader called on the crowd to make a resolution to be kind and compassionate, "starting today."
"If we do that, there is hope that the later part of this century will be peaceful," he said. "Violence is not created by weapons, but it comes from in here, the heart. External disarmament can come only through internal disarmament."
The Dalai Lama was in Orange County for the second consecutive year. Last year, he celebrated his 80th birthday at the Honda Center and led a two-day Global Compassion Summit at UC Irvine.
State Sen. Janet Nguyen said the Dalai Lama's visit to Little Saigon, which is largely Buddhist, was as special as the Pope's visit would be to Catholics. He is scheduled to speak before the State Legislature Monday.
Spectators on Saturday got the chance to witness the monk's compassion. He called on those sitting in the oppressive heat to cover their heads with hats or towels. He stopped security personnel from pushing away those who wanted to get closer to him and snap photos on their cell phones. He even invited an elderly man with a walker to come up on stage to receive his blessings.
"As long as you don't create trouble or make noise, it's all good," he said, as he pointed his finger jovially at the crowd and broke into a guffaw.
The Dalai Lama talked about the responsibility everyone has to spread the message of religious harmony.
"All major religious traditions have their own philosophies and teachings," he said. "But the main practice is the same — love, forgiveness, tolerance and self-discipline. The teachings may be different, but the goals are the same."
He followed his speech about compassion with a traditional Buddhist teaching in Tibetan, which was translated to Vietnamese for the audience.
Garden Grove Mayor Bao Nguyen said he was struck the Dalai Lama's genuine love and compassion for people.
"I feel a sense of renewal for the path of peace and love," he said. "His is a universal teaching. He has so much humor, he's just so adorable. You can feel his compassion because he shows it."
Kathy Le of Westminster said she appreciated his advice to rise above everyday emotions such as hatred, competition and jealousy.
"We are all just so wrapped up in our everyday lives, our jobs and making money," she said. "His teaching that we should find happiness within ourselves is powerful. It's so humbling to be in his presence."
Eleven-year-old Tamy Van of Westminster sat with her friends in the shade.
"He is great," she said. "I just love everything he said."
Earlier in the day, thousands lined up outside the temple early as 2 a.m. to catch a glimpse of the 14th Dalai Lama.
People waited for up to five hours to clear security checks.
But, it would all be worth it, said Teri Chen of Fountain Valley, who took her pl;ace in the line at 5:30 this morning.
"I've seen (the Dalai Lama) many times," she said. "He has a special connecting power to connect with your heart. When you look at him you get a sense of peace and compassion. He's a living Buddha."
Alejandra Paez said she came all the way from Miami Beach, Fla., just to hear the Dalai Lama speak about compassion.
"My mother passed away just a week ago," said Paez, who is a Tibetan Buddhist. "I'm here so I can pray for her and get the Dalai Lama's blessings on her soul."
She said the Dalai Lama is a "human being who cares and has compassion for everyone, regardless of who they are and what their social status is."
Nhat My Thien, a member of the Westminster temple, said she was thrilled the Dalai Lama was here for the dedication of the temple where she prays and meditates.
The 20,000-square-foot, $6 million traditional temple building, built under the leadership of its abbot Thich Vien Ly, has pagodas, a red brick tile roof, a giant statue of Buddha gracing the temple front and living quarters for the monks.
Thien said the exiled Tibetan leader who rebelled against the communist Chinese regime is a symbol of hope and human rights for the Vietnamese community.
"We're just very, very happy he's here," she said.
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Contact the writer: 714-796-7909 or dbharath@ocregister.com
Deepa Bharath
Deepa Bharath covers religion for The Orange County Register and the Southern California Newspaper Group. Her work is focused on how religion, race and ethnicity shape our understanding of what it is to be American and how religion in particular helps influence public policies, laws and a region's culture. Deepa also writes about race, cultures and social justice issues. She has covered a number of other beats ranging from city government to breaking news for the Register since May 2006. She has received fellowships from the International Women's Media Foundation and the International Center for Journalists to report stories about reconciliation, counter-extremism and peace-building efforts around the world. When she is not working, she loves listening to Indian classical music and traveling with her husband and son.
Follow Deepa Bharath	@reporterdeepa


text:
Why Firestone Law
Business Partnership Agreements
Michael Firestone
In a business divorce – a breakup of a business entity's owners — we work with the owners of closely held enterprises to disentangle their interests from their partners' when they decide that working together in partnership is no longer possible. A business divorce can be just as complex and emotionally difficult as the end of a marriage, especially when friends or family members are involved. At Firestone Law, our objective is to protect your financial and business interests, while recognizing and dealing with the emotional issues involved.
When the business divorce cannot be handled privately, we are ready, willing and able to represent our clients in litigation or arbitration, if that proves necessary.
We help businesspeople deal with a wide range of issues involved in dissolution, including everything from temporary restraining orders and preliminary or permanent injunctions, to termination of employment of shareholders, to valuation proceedings and negotiated buyouts.
However we structure the business separation, and regardless of whether our client is the departing owner or the remaining owner, our aim is to reach an outcome that will achieve our client's business and personal objectives.
We have represented:
A party in the break-up of a business partnership that owned and developed multiple properties in Brooklyn for which we successfully negotiated resolution where each party divided buildings between them
A party in the break-up of a business partnership that owned multiple properties in Manhattan for which we successfully negotiated resolution whereby the client received multiple co-op units in return for his partnership interest
A party in a break-up of a business partnership that owned a film production company for which we successfully negotiated the buyout of the other side so our client was able to keep the business
A shareholder/employee in connection with his resignation from a family-owned manufacturing business and the subsequent purchase of his shares by the company
A majority owner of a corporation in connection with the buyout of a shareholder for which we successfully negotiated a purchase price and separation agreement
A 50% owner of a limited liability company in connection with her desire to divest her interest, for which we successfully negotiated her buyout and separation agreement
A 50% owner in a judicial proceeding to dissolve a limited liability company on the grounds that the company could not achieve its purpose and member deadlock
Copyright © 2021 Firestone Law PLLC. All rights reserved. This is considered Attorney Advertising by some Bar Associations. Prior results do not imply future similar results. Communication does not imply Attorney-Client relationship.
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text:
Finance Minister Hassink strikes back at Tuitt: "There wás no internal control department"
St. Maarten – Finance Minister Martin Hassink shot down claims by his predecessor Roland Tuitt that he closed down the ministry's internal control department when he took office this summer. "There was no internal control department," Hassink said at the weekly Council of Ministers press briefing where he offered an extensive explanation about his priorities for the organization – this time without the title of a pop song.
Earlier this week, Tuitt launched what felt like a politically motivated attack on Hassink.
Hassink said that the government organization, across all ministries, performs thousands of transactions. "They are recorded in a subsystem and ultimately they will result in information. We want that information to be reliable," he said.
The minister presented journalists with a schedule that shows how transactions flow through internal accounting control procedures, and several other control mechanisms, like the government Accountant Bureau Soab, the General audit Chamber, the Council of Ministers, the Financial supervisor Cft, the Council of Advice and the parliament.
All information must meet three criteria, Hassink said: "It must be there in a timely manner, it must be complete and it must be accurate. In terms of internal accountant procedures, there is still room for improvement. Too many people are signing off on the recording and registration of expenditures, while the revenue stream does not get enough attention."
Due to budget restraint, Hassink added, he is forced to make choices. "Right now we are using capacity and resources to get rid of the backlog and to put the basis for proper information in place. That is more important than a fully established audit department at the moment. And, by the way, there was no such department when I took office."
Once the backlog has been dealt with Hassink will use freefalling capacity for the internal audit department. "My focus is on strengthening the organization. That is my approach. It is not that I do not want an internal control department, or that I canceled it. I did not do that. There is still a lot of work to be done."
Finance Minister Hassink strikes back at Tuitt: "There wás no internal control department" by admin
Reader's Letter: Ashamed to be from Holland: Zwarte Piet is racism
deals deals deals on A candid chat with realtor Arun Jagtani "We need official real estate statistics"
Peggy Bryant on Timeshare-owner charged with $100,000 in maintenance fees
Amanda Blue on Timeshare-owner charged with $100,000 in maintenance fees
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Willem on Editorial: No Doubts (that investigation is imminent of Maria Buncamper – Molanus and Claudius)


This is an erect annual herb that can grow to a max height of around 2 meters tall. The leaves of the Amaranths can grow to about 9 centimeters long. The leaves on the upper part of the plant are lance shaped where as the lower leaves on the plant are diamond to oval in their shape.
The leaves are tasty and add a great addition to most dishes that require leafy greens. The young leaves can be eaten raw as they are a lot softer and tastier.
The older leaves can be cooked just like spinach.
The Seeds can be harvested and prepared just as you would store bought and either cooked as a grain or ground as a meal.
There are no known medicinal uses.


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June 07, 2013. Caria in her new leotard, first rehearsal in the leotard for the competition this week-end...even if she does not do perfect, she will look perfect in her leotard.


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Uckfield in East Sussex
(Traction Engine destroys bridge)
Location: 50.966414,0.095913
No translation found
Uckfield in East Sussex is a small town lying on the A22 Lewes to London main road. The name is derived from the river Uck which flows through the village i.e. the field on the river Uck . It was a small village until the advent of the railways in the 1850's since when it quickly grew into the small town it has now become. The village was originally located at the top of the high street near to the church, but the railway which was layed alongside the river attracted businesses, and the houses and shops now spread from one to the other.
The village was famous for its wool and agricultural trade for many years, lying on a river crossing. A proportion of the produce produced in the area was transported by barge down the Uck to the Ouse then to Lewes and finally the coast at Seaford and Newhaven .
On October 11th 1858 Uckfield station was opened with a connection to the county town of Lewes. The Lewes and Uckfield Railway Company ran the line for a further 6 years with no significant changes to the village. In 1864 the line was bought out by the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway Company, who then opened a line via Eridge to Tunbridge Wells in 1868. This gave access to London, and Uckfield then expanded much quicker than expected, to the detriment of villages in the surrounding area. In 1969 the railway to Lewes was finally closed, and Uckfield was left with road access and the railway to Croydon . However part of the old Lewes line can still be seen run by Lavender Line Preservation Society at nearby Isfield .
On July 4th 1903 the Sussex Express reported that 'The old cast-iron bridge which spans the Ouse as it flows through the town of Uckfield is no more'. One of the East Sussex County Council traction engines drove onto the bridge, and the cast iron span failed, the engine dropped into the river in an upright position, luckily no-one was killed. The damage cut Uckfield's link to Lewes, and traffic was redirected via Isfield . The railway brought in a steam crane, and a temporary bridge was constructed, which was in use the following day.
The A22 used to run through Uckfield, which made the town centre difficult to pass through, but a bypass has reduced the traffic, and it is now a much nicer place to walk around.
The River Uck has always flooded the land on either side, and in October 2000 the town had a major flood, which caused damage to many of the low lying houses and businesses.
This village is associated with the Sussex Bonfire Societies , who provide noisy processions, unbelievable outfits and fantastic firework displays throughout the month of November - a spectacle not to be missed.
Uckfield in East Sussex has an old part of the town by the church, which contains the older buildings and is quite attractive.
The wide range of shops spreads from the church to the river and is nice to walk down.
The river also has some nice walks alongside.
Uckfield in East Sussex has a wide range of services and is the local shopping centre for the villages surrounding.
It has a train link via Crowborough to Croydon and then London . Uckfield is a main route for busses which pass through the town both north to south and east to west.
Uckfield is shown as the red symbol on the map.
(click on symbol to see the village page)
Barcombe
(Village in three places) 4.96 miles
Blackboys
(Charcoal and Soot) 2.39 miles
(The first Iron Cannon in England) 2.26 miles
Cross in Hand
(The Crusaders Assembly) 5.62 miles
East Hoathly
(Another Sussex Cannibal?) 4.15 miles
Fairwarp
(Charcoal and the Army) 3.72 miles
Five Ashes
(Vast collection of rock plants) 5.99 miles
Fletching
(Simon de Montfort and Jack Cade) 3.27 miles
Framfield
(380 years without a church tower) 1.42 miles
Hadlow Down
(Wealden Cannons and Charcoal) 4.36 miles
(Ancient Slaughter) 3.11 miles
(Which Station do we get off at ?) 6.84 miles
Isfield
(Simon de Montfort and the Lavender Line) 2.58 miles
Maresfield
(Soldiers and Iron) 2.17 miles
(Killer Cricket and Dirk Bogarde) 3.60 miles
Piltdown
(The Piltdown Man hoax) 1.94 miles
Sheffield Park
(Capability Brown and the Bluebell Line) 4.58 miles
(Fullers Earth) 4.85 miles
Copyright Villagenet 1998-2019


A visit to an orthopedic specialist brought a slew of tests, which in turn brought what turned out to be just the start toward an accurate diagnosis: "They found I had carpal tunnel syndrome, and my nerve was being pinched," explains Valcourt. "The only option was surgery." During the operation the surgeon came out to tell Valcourt's mom that her daughter's "nerve was really jumpy," something that's typically seen in diabetics. In short, the nerve was continually firing, sending constant pain signals. Says Valcourt, "The surgery helped a little bit — I got a little more feeing back — and then I lost feeling again in my whole hand."What followed next were a seemingly endless array of tests at nearby Boston Children's Hospital — EMGs (electromyogram), MRIs, CAT scans, X-rays, and blood tests too numerous to count. "Finally, they're like, we're going to send you to the pain clinic," meaning the pediatric pain clinic affiliated by Boston Children's and run by the Mayo Clinic.
After a year, Valcourt finally had a solid diagnosis, too: Â Chronic regional pain syndrome type 2 (CRPS). According to MayoClinic.com, CPRS — which used to be called reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome — comes in two kinds: Type 1 happens after an illness or injury that did not damage the nerves where a person feels pain, while type 2 — the kind Valcourt has — follows from a clear injury to the nerves.
At the pain clinic, where Valcourt spent three weeks in the summer of 2011, she and other kids and teenagers got occupational therapy, physical therapy, and psychotherapy, learning or re-learning how to cope with a pain-filled life and get beyond it. Having tried outpatient treatment, Valcourt was ready for what the clinic had to offer. "I was so mad, because I didn't think I could do anything – I couldn't do sports or dance," both of which were passions. "I had no use of my right hand; I couldn't do my hair — my fingers were all curled," she remembers. And in spite of being on more than two dozen pills, the medication was doing little more than helping her to sleep a bit better. So she stopped taking them all.
The first week at the pain clinic was, says Valcourt, terrible. "I couldn't see the progress I was making. When I couldn't do something I'd get really frustrated. By the end of the second week I could move my wrist and I realized, this is really a good thing," By the third week, she says she saw how much her perseverance had paid off. "It wasn't helping the pain, but I realized I could do things again, and that helped my self-esteem. The more depressed and upset you are, the worse the pain is." That hard work had tangible results: Valcourt was able to do her hair and pick blueberries with her sister — and soon even started dancing again.
Next articleIs Chronic Pain Straining Your Friendships?


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Monreale is a small city in the province of Palermo, in Sicily Italy. It has about 30 000 inhabitants and is located 20 km south from Palermo. It is on mountains and has a marvelous city view over the capital, and it is also famous for its cathedral which comes from the 1200s.
always travel in pairs
mobile grocer
street vendor
cathedral entrance
More Photos of the Cathedral
side entrance to the cathedral
Two large basilicas are among the highpoints of this Sicilo-Byzantine flowering: the cathedral of Cefalù (c. 1148) and the church of Monreale, the last of the mosaic churches of Sicily (c. 1180–90).
My Photos from Cefalù
Demus has pointed out the extraordinary homogeneity of style and technique in the Monreale mosaics, which constitute the largest decoration of this kind in Italy. He has also shown that the Monreale mosaics are not executed in the refined and softly curved style that dominates in Cappella Palatina and at Cefalù. Monreale is infused with a more agitated and expressive style which, however, has nothing local or provincial about it. It was the late Comnenian style of Constantinople which had then reached Sicily—a testimony to the unbroken artistic contact that existed at this time between the Norman court and Byzantium.
a Comnenian style mosaic
More Photos of Comnenian Mosaics
the Norman tower of the cathedral


Kelli Frances has been teaching guitar, piano and voice for over 10 years, helping the beginner start. She has been studying guitar and piano for over 20 years and has had intensive operatic vocal and aural training under Dorothy Klotzman (Julliard) and Ann Bersgama (daughter of composer William Bergsma).
To create a individualized lesson plan for each student, based in theory, technique and student goals with an emphasis on creative expression and empowerment. Music is a language based on listening and creative expression.
Also there are sliding sliding scale scholarships available (income based) and loan guitars (if needed). For more details please contact kfcmusiclessons@gmail.com.
For group lessons, workshops and residencies, pricing varies on time and location. Lessons are available in the United States and abroad. Please contact directly for scheduling and rates outside of the Pacific Northwest area.
Online lessons via Skype/Facetime are available also. Please contact Daniela kfcmusiclessons@gmail.com for rates and times as they vary from below listing.


text:
"The Daily Show" details the absurdity of GOP obstructionism
Who knew it took so much legal wrangling to do absolutely nothing?
By Peter Finocchiaro
(Comedy Central)
Barack Obama's recess appointment of Richard Cordray isn't just the latest political controversy du jour. It's also the first time in a long while that the president hasn't been hamstrung by Republican obstructionism. The stakes of Obama's gambit seem clear enough: Rather than sit by while House Republicans quietly prevented the Consumer Financial Protection Board from ever becoming operational, he would take matters into his own hands. But how we got to this point, and how the political battle might play out from here, is a lot more complicated than it appears on the surface.
That's why Jon Stewart and "Daily Show" correspondent John Oliver hashed it out last night, diving into obscure items of constitutional and parliamentary arcana in order to lay out exactly how Congress has succeeded in doing nothing for so long.
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Commission: Impossible - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Chief Appointment
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text:
Q: Spark Generate A Lot Of Tasks Although Partition Number is 1 Pyspark My code:
df = self.sql_context.sql(f"select max(id) as id from {table}")
return df.collect()[0][0]

My table is partitioned by id - it has 100M records but only 3 distinct id's.
I expected this query to work with 1 task and scan just the partition column (id).
I don't understand how I have 691 tasks for the collect line with just 3 partitions
I guess the query is executing full scan on the table but I can't figure why it doesn't scan just the metadata

A: Your df contains the result of an aggregation on the entire table, it contains only one row (with only one field being the max(id)), this is why it has only 1 partition.
But the original table DataFrame may have many partitions (or only 1 partition but its computation needs ~600 stages, triggering 1 task per stage, which is not that common)
Without details on your parallelism configurations and input source type and transformations, it is not easy to help more !

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text:
SCYTHIAN MINING GROUP
TSK Exploration and Mining & Altyn Kokus
Kokkus Au Project
East Balkhash
Barry Davis
Barry Davis, BSc, MSc (Managing Director) has 34 years experience in the international mining industry, including 20 years in Central Asia. Mr Davis has held senior positions, and been involved in the listing process, with publicly listed companies on AIM and the ASX. A Competent Person under the JORC Code to produce independent reports and valuations for a variety of minerals including gold and copper. Has a demonstrated history of raising capital, negotiating agreements, and successfully bringing geological conceptual models to discoveries.
John Emmott
John Emmott, B.A., Ll.B. – admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales and the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Over 20 years experience in Central Asia representing investors in the resources sector
Andrew Paine
Andrew Paine (Non-Executive Director & Company Secretary) is Managing Director of Selmeston Capital Ltd, a private investment office and a Director of Eurasian Fertilizers Group PLC, a Central Asia and Middle East focused mining venture. He is also a Director of Batcombe International Holdings Ltd, a commodity trading company based in the Bahamas and the UK. Formerly, Andrew was a Managing Director and member of the Executive Committee of Al Rajhi Holdings group of companies based in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Switzerland. He has more than 30 years international banking, investment and operational experience. He is a non-executive director of Spring Capital funds, focused on Russian equities.
Ruslan Ibraev
Ruslan Ibraev, BL, MBA (General Director, Administration, Kazakhstan) has more than 10 years management experience in gold and copper exploration and mining in Kazakhstan. Extensive experience in the areas of government and public relations. Previous roles include acting as a Leading Specialist for the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources and as an Engineer for the Geophysical Observatory in Kazakhstan.
Steve Allnutt
Steve Allnutt, B.Sc Honours, MAusIMM, MAIG, (JORC Consultant) is an exploration and project development geologist with over 35 years experience in Australia and China, including roles with Century Zinc, CRA Exploration and the Department of Mines and Energy (Australia).
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Scythian Mining Group Ltd
160 Kemp House, City Road, London
EC1V 2NX, United Kingdom
info@smg-gold.com
Scythian Mining Group © 2020 . Разработка La-Roux-Studio.kz.


text:
Explore over 40 years of interviews with the voices that shape our world
Search the Fresh Air Archive
Fighting COVID-19 Is Like 'Whack-A-Mole,' Says Writer Who Warned Of A Pandemic
Two years ago, science writer Ed Yong wrote an article for The Atlantic in which he warned that a new global pandemic was inevitable — and that the world would be unprepared for it when it arrived. Now, with the outbreak of COVID-19, much of what Yong warned about in his reporting has come true.
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Ed Yong
Medical personnel--Supply and demand
This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross.
My guest Ed Yong has been covering the pandemic for The Atlantic magazine, where he's a science writer. Two years ago, he wrote an article about why a new plague was inevitable and why we would be unprepared. Now that so much of what he warned about in his reporting has come true, he's been covering how and why we failed to stop the spread of COVID-19, why this virus has been so successful in spreading, how the pandemic might end, what the aftermath might be and why this is a truly modern pandemic. He's also keeping up with the latest on how to stay safe. Ed Yong is speaking to us by Skype from Washington, D.C.
Ed Yong, welcome back to FRESH AIR. So since as we speak, you are writing an article about how airborne is this virus, do we need to wear masks - so let me just ask you about that first because we're also concerned about how do we stay safe. So what is the latest you've learned about how the virus travels through the air and how susceptible we are to inhaling it?
ED YONG: So when people who are infected with respiratory viruses talk or breathe or cough, they're releasing viral particles and little globs of fluid. And if those globs are very small, then they evaporate quickly, and the dried-out viruses drift over longer distances and linger in the air. That's called aerosols. If the globs are very big, then they splash down close to the person before they can evaporate, and those are called droplets. When people talk about a virus being airborne, they're really talking about aerosols, those far-drifting, long-lasting viral specks in the air.
When the World Health Organization asserts that the coronavirus is not airborne, it's really talking about those droplets which land close to a person and which either have to land directly on your face to start an infection or to be carried over by unwashed hands that touch contaminated surfaces. You know, in both cases, the viruses are moving through the air, but what really matters is how far they move and their likelihood of getting into your own respiratory tract.
Now, there is some evidence that - there is some growing evidence that those - that aerosol transmission, what people would traditionally describe as being airborne, does apply to some extent to the new coronavirus. For example, there was one study that just shot virus-laden fluids into a rotating cylinder to create a cloud of aerosols. And they found that within that cloud, the virus remained stable for several hours, which suggests that it can at least survive in the air around us. Now, that's a pretty artificial set up. That's probably closer to a medically invasive procedure, like intubation, rather than, you know, someone just breathing when they're walking down the street or sitting in a room. So it's hard to know what to make of that outside the health care setting.
But there are other studies that suggest that the coronavirus can be released into the air in less dramatic ways. For example, a new one released by the University of Nebraska Medical Center looked at - looked for traces of the virus' genetic material in the rooms of several patients who had COVID-19, many of whom only had mild symptoms. So they found traces of that genetic material on lots of different surfaces, including hard-to-reach spots like ventilation grates and the floors beneath beds. That's consistent with the idea that the virus is moving through the air, over distances longer than a droplet might land.
What we don't know is whether there are actually live infectious viral particles in the air. The presence of genetic material doesn't indicate that. It's like finding a fingerprint in a crime scene; it means that the culprit was once there, but they might have long gone. So that's the crucial thing to know - are their live infectious viruses in air samples where infected people have been? And then really crucially, are there enough of those viral particles to actually start an infection? We don't know the answer to that yet, and that's a really crucial piece of the puzzle.
GROSS: It seems like the advice about masks is starting to shift. Initially, it was you don't need a mask. Then it was, like, you should wear a mask because you might infect somebody if you sneeze or cough. And now it's - I've been starting to see, you should just wear a mask. And I have no idea and I'm sure a lot of our listeners have no idea which of these alternatives is the most accurate one, the most reliable one.
YONG: Yeah. And, you know, what I'd say to that is confusion is completely understandable because even among the experts who I've spoken to, including people who've studied airborne transmission and its possibility, opinion is divided on the role of masks and how much protection they can provide. There's just a mess of data on whether masks worn by the general population will provide protection against respiratory illnesses in general.
Whether masks prevent you, if you are infected, from infecting other people, I think that's a little clearer both from the evidence and just through common sense. And that might matter a lot for a disease like COVID-19. We know that the virus behind it can spread from one person to another before they show symptoms, and that is perhaps the strongest argument for widespread usage of masks, even if you aren't currently coughing or sneezing or breaking into a fever. You might not know that you have a virus, and wearing a mask might stop you from spreading that virus to someone else.
One of the reasons why some people are still on the fence about recommending widespread mask usage is this idea that people who wear masks and aren't used to them kind of futz around with them. You know, they fidget with the masks. They touch their faces. There's not a huge amount of data on this, actually. There are not a ton of studies that actually back this up. But almost everyone I've spoken to who has experience of actually using the masks properly, whenever they've seen people use them in more casual ways, people almost always get them - get it wrong. They pull the mask down over their chin, wipe their faces. They touch the masks constantly. They're always adjusting it. And that carries a risk. And maybe the risk is that you lure yourself into a false sense of security, thinking you're safe but in a situation when you're actually increasing the likelihood of infection.
But I think that there is a lot of movement towards recommending widespread mask usage from different countries. The CDC appears to be considering it. Health experts I've spoken to who were once dismissive about mask use are now edging towards recommending it. The one caveat to all of this is that this would be an easier debate in an ideal world in which masks were in plentiful supply, and this is not that world. We're currently in a situation where masks are already running out in hospital settings and for health care workers who are the people who need them the most. So any masks, any protective equipment should go to health care workers as a matter of priority, and only then should we think about whether the general population should be considering wearing masks.
GROSS: You know, I want to just get to a point that you raised that I thought was very interesting, which is that after 9/11, Americans learned to be proud of carrying on as normally as possible in spite of their fear because if we stopped behaving normally, the terrorists would have won. But a virus is completely different. With a virus, you really have to change your behavior. You have to be super cautious. And I really think that's such an interesting mind shift that I hadn't quite heard expressed before.
YONG: Yeah. You know, like I said in the piece, that SARS-CoV-2 has no interest in people's terror, only their cells. It just wants hosts to infect and doesn't care whether you're feeling brave or not.
And I think that some aspects of America's national character do seem to have made it harder for people to take the necessary measures to slow the spread of the pandemic and not just this sense of - you know, of resilience, of being brave in the face of fearful threats, but also the sense of individualism and exceptionalism, this idea that I will do - I have the freedom to do what I want to do, which stops people from just staying indoors and heeding advice about isolating yourselves when it's necessary. And I think that the country's famed exceptionalism, the idea that this is the greatest country in the world, that it's - you know, and that, I think, contributed to a delay in the nation's response.
COVID-19 was taking off in China for at least a month before it first reached U.S. shores, and during that month, not much actually happened. A lot of preparedness measures could have been launched. The country could have sprung into action, ready for this - for the virus to eventually reach it. But if anything, America more or less sat idle. It was sluggish. And I do wonder if that propensity to think of itself as being truly exceptional, that slight hubris, left it more unprepared than it needed to be.
And I think that even though many people had warned about this for a long time, the underwhelming nature of America's response to this threat has really surprised even people who had been warning, who have been issuing alarms. There is a thing called the Global Health Security Index, which ranks different countries according to their levels of preparedness for pandemics, according to 140 different criteria based on regulations from the World Health Organization. And out of all the countries that were assessed, the United States has the highest score - 83.5, a solid B. But if you look at how the country has actually reacted to the pandemic, I think we probably get something like an F.
This nation that was meant to be the most prepared of all has really flubbed its response and I think in - to a degree that has shocked even the most alarmed or pessimistic people who I'd spoken to before in my earlier reporting.
GROSS: Let me reintroduce you. If you're just joining us, my guest is Ed Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic who's been writing about COVID-19. We'll be right back after we take a short break. This is FRESH AIR.
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GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Let's get back to my interview with Ed Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic who's been writing about COVID-19. Two years ago in an article titled "Is America Ready For The Coming Plague," he more or less predicted the current epidemic, the reasons why it was inevitable and why we would not be prepared. One of his recent articles is about possible scenarios for how the pandemic might end and what the aftermath might be.
One of the problems we're facing is that there aren't enough masks. There's not enough protective equipment in general for doctors and nurses. There aren't masks for citizens who, you know, want to use them. There aren't enough respirators. There are shortages of other things. And you say that part of the reason why is the Byzantine global supply chain. What are some of the things that have gone wrong in the supply chain or that just, like, don't work about the supply chain in a time of a pandemic like this?
YONG: Yeah, so the medical system runs on a just-in-time economy, much like the rest of the world. And products are made to order, and they depend on these very long international supply chains, many of which have fractured in this pandemic. So for example, Hubei province, where the pandemic first took off in China, is also one of the world's leading centers for manufacturing medical masks. So the fact that the pandemic hit that region first and hardest really led - really exacerbated the shortage of medical supplies. So there's also now a shortage of the swabs that people use to collect viral samples as the very first step of testing. And one of the companies that manufactures the - that leads the manufacture of those swabs is based in northern Italy, which is one of the centers of the pandemic in Europe.
These problems are certainly unfortunate. It's really bad luck that both of those regions were particularly hit. But you could envisage the same problems for all sorts of other areas. I think this is what happens when you rely on a medical system that depends on these large international chains and that really don't have a lot of capacity to flex and surge in the event of a crisis. And that's especially bad now because the pandemic has spread so quickly that the entire world is facing down the same problem at the same time and is after the same supplies at the same time, which really have stretched many of these supply chains to breaking point. Everyone is after the same supplies, and there aren't enough of those supplies to go around. Everyone is being - is competing with each other instead of cooperating because the crisis has spread so quickly.
GROSS: What is the alternative to a decentralized hospital system?
YONG: I think what we need now is better centralized coordination at the federal level. So one possible way of doing that is to tap in a large logistics agency that is capable of coordinating the nationwide deployment of tests and supplies that is currently needed. One option is the Defense Logistics Agency, which coordinates military operations overseas. They're very experienced in logistics, and they have helped in previous crises like the - like America's response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak. I mean, it doesn't have to be them, but there definitely does need to be some kind of centralized coordinated leadership to ensure that supplies and testing kits are manufactured to the level we need them and that they are distributed equally and equitably across the country.
GROSS: You've written about why creating a vaccine for this virus is so difficult and that vaccines in general, like flu vaccines, viral vaccines in general, have not been considered very profitable for pharmaceutical companies. Why aren't they considered profitable when the flu comes around every year and so many people get flu shots?
YONG: So the flu is actually an interesting exception in that there is a consistent annual market for that and a large industry that knows how to make flu vaccines. If this were a flu pandemic, we would actually be in better stead because current vaccine infrastructure could easily be repurposed to dealing with whatever new strain was circulating around the world. As it is, it's not a flu vaccine; it's a coronavirus. There are no existing vaccines for that because such viruses were either deemed to be very mild. There are several that cause common cold-like conditions or to be very rare, as in the case with the original SARS virus or MERS.
So there wasn't a ton of impetus to create new vaccines, which means that currently we have to start from scratch. And the process of vaccine development is very long. The first steps so far have actually been encouragingly quick. A vaccine candidate has already entered early safety trials after a record-breakingly (ph) short time from actually identifying and sequencing the genome of this new virus. But this - the journey from these first trials to actually having a product that you can shoot into people's arms is very long and hard to shortcut. You need to know whether the vaccine is safe, whether it triggers an immune reaction. Then you need to know whether it's actually effective at preventing infections. You need to know what dose to use, how many doses to use, whether it also works in elderly people who are more at risk.
All of these steps take time, and if you don't go through them, you might run the risk of a product - of creating a product that has really severe side effects or that is rolled out widely but just doesn't work. So the experts I've spoken to feel that it will probably take between 12 and 18 months to even develop a working vaccine, let alone then to create the manufacturing capacity to create enough doses and then to distribute those doses and to actually inject them into people. This is not going to be a fast process. And until that process is complete, COVID-19 is going to be a part of our lives.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Ed Yong. He's a science writer for The Atlantic who has been writing about COVID-19. We're going to take a short break, and then we'll be right back. I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR.
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GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Let's get back to my interview with Ed Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic. He's been writing about COVID-19, including why we were so unprepared, why it's so difficult to create a vaccine, ways the pandemic might end and what the aftermath might be. When we left off, he was talking about a vaccine candidate that has entered trials in record-breaking short time, but the journey to actually having a product is long and hard to shortcut.
So the vaccine that you're referring to that's a candidate that's being tested now, that vaccine is taking a different approach than existing vaccines. What's the difference?
YONG: So most existing vaccines use a dead or weakened virus or a fragment of that virus. So the idea is you show that to the immune system, the immune system can prepare defenses ahead of time. This new vaccine works in a slightly different way. It uses a piece of the virus' genetic material, its RNA. You inject that into a person in the hope that that person then can build their own fragments of the virus using the instructions in that genetic material and that those sort of homegrown fragments can then train the immune system.
These RNA vaccines are a new technology. They have the potential to be really important and to be much faster, but the caveat is that no such vaccines have ever been taken to the market before. So we're sort of treading - we're breaking new ground. And there aren't facilities already available that can manufacture such vaccines in the quantities that are needed. By contrast, other teams are using more traditional approaches. For example, there's one group in France that is trying to repurpose the existing measles vaccine to instead target the new coronavirus. That might take a longer time at the front end, but on the plus side, if that actually works, then there are all - the world knows how to make measles vaccines in large quantities.
So it's unclear which of these solutions will end up being quickest, but it's certainly reassuring that a lot of different options are being tried, not just these two but many others. And we'll just have to wait and see which gets to the finish line soonest.
GROSS: Let's talk about some of the endgame scenarios you've written about, ways in which this pandemic might end. A lot of people are hoping that, like the flu, this virus will subside in the summer, and even if it comes back in the fall, the way the 1918 flu pandemic did, it will give us time to prepare better, to get more resources, to get more PPEs. Why might a virus like this subside in the summer? What is it about summer?
YONG: So traditionally, coronaviruses and a lot of other respiratory viruses, like flu, do go away in the summer and that - there are many possible reasons for that. Certainly, humidity and heat makes it easier for the cells of our airways to clear out a virus, and some of the immune response to these respiratory viruses appear to be stronger under those climatic conditions.
Now, is this new coronavirus going to behave in the same way? Possibly. Is that going to make a difference for the pandemic? I'm not sure. And the reason for that is that the virus is circulating through a global population that is completely immunologically naive to it. Our immune systems are not ready to deal with something like this, and so the virus has a large proportion of hosts among whom it can easily spread. To hope that the summer is going to downplay those dynamics far enough to contain the pandemic is, I think, wishful thinking.
GROSS: So it's already summer in the Southern Hemisphere. What are we seeing there?
YONG: So we're seeing transmission in places like Australia, which is just coming out of its summer, or Singapore, which is hot and humid in the tropics. And what that tells us is that it's probably wishful thinking to hope for heat and humidity to be the things that contain this virus. They may help, but only if we can slow its spread in other ways, such as through social distancing.
GROSS: So in terms of the endgame, one scenario is that the virus subsides for periods because of social distancing or because of summer and then it comes back again. So we have to be prepared - even if it seems like the virus is receding, we have to be prepared for it coming back again. Do you think that's a very likely scenario?
YONG: I think that's very likely. I think most experts would expect some kind of resurgence once current social distancing measures are released. That's sort of in the nature of these viruses. It's definitely likely because the pandemic is now so widespread that unless the entire world simultaneously brings the virus to heel, there are always going to be pockets where outbreaks are still ongoing and that can seed - that can reignite sparks of infection in places where outbreaks had already been extinguished.
So we are in for this long, protracted game of whack-a-mole with the virus, where different places will stamp it out at different times. It will surge back. It will need to be controlled again. And so we're likely looking at multiple rounds of social distancing, multiple bouts of social upheaval. Now, it's possible, if we get our act together and if we do well in this first wave, that those subsequent bouts will be less dramatic and less uprooting than this current period of time has been. And that may well just be because of that uneven spread.
So currently, the virus is everywhere. It's hitting everywhere at more or less the same time. If different places can get it under control, there might be less potential for that sort of explosive worldwide spread. And then over time, one would hope that surveillance measures would be better. We would become better at testing for the virus, at working out who is immune to it, at building up the necessary supplies to protect health care workers. All of those measures might mean that we can get a little bit more sophisticated in where social distancing is being rolled out and the nature of those measures. But I think it's very clear that that is going to be a long game.
GROSS: So there are hopes for a test that tests people's immunity to the virus. How does a test like that figure into the larger scenario of how this epidemic might end?
YONG: So this is really important. When people are exposed to the virus, they develop antibodies that recognize it and that provide them, hopefully, with some degree of protection, of immunity to the disease. Now, a test that looks for those antibodies, a so-called serological test would first give us a greater sense of how many people actually have been infected, which is something we still don't know. But also, it would give us a sense of who might be protected from the virus going forward. That's still something that I think scientists need to confirm. They need to confirm that someone with antibodies genuinely is immune, that they can - that they won't be infected by the virus again and especially that they can't transmit the virus to someone else.
But if all that pans out, then these kinds of tests will be a really important part of our arsenal against COVID-19. They might allow, for example, people who know that they're immune to return to the workforce or to care for sick people or to sort of help keep society and the economy running during periods of social distancing. One of the big unanswered questions, however, is how long immunity would last. So against the milder coronaviruses that cause common colds, immunity only lasts for less than a year. Against the most severe ones like SARS, it lasts for much longer, and it might be reasonable to expect that for SARS-CoV-2, the new coronavirus, the immunity would be somewhere in the middle.
So it's unlikely that people would get lifelong protection like they would against, say, measles or chicken pox. But if they can retain immunity for a couple of years, that would certainly make a difference. It might mean that they might need to get revaccinated every couple of years. It might mean that COVID-19 epidemics might be a recurring feature, if not an annual one. But having that information will certainly allow us to plan for the future.
GROSS: Let me reintroduce you here. If you're just joining us, my guest is Ed Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic who's been writing about COVID-19. We'll be back after a short break. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF LOS SUPER SEVEN'S "CALLE DIECISEIS")
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. Let's get back to my interview with Ed Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic who's been writing about COVID-19.
You've also written about the aftermath of this pandemic. So let's talk about that a little bit. You see society likely changing in several ways as a result of this pandemic. And of course, economically, health care - you see inequality increasing economically and in health care because of the virus.
YONG: Yeah, absolutely. Clearly, the economic implications of this are going to be profound. And I think, as with many disasters, it's going to hit people in different ways that are magnified by an - by existing inequalities. People from low-income groups, people from marginalized groups are going to feel the effects of this far more. Pandemics often expose existing fault lines in societies, and they reveal whom a society cares about and whom it often ignores.
So people like - the people who are still having to serve on the front lines of society while everyone else is sheltering indoors - people like grocery store workers, janitors - they are currently risking their lives because many of them don't have a choice. The elderly, who have often been marginalized in the fringes of society, are now asking to isolate themselves even more, deepening the loneliness that many of them have already felt. People with mental health disorders, people with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder who have long been grappling with worries about infection and cleanliness are now seeing some of their worst nightmares playing out around them and are struggling in a context where they don't have access to their usual support networks or therapists.
So a lot of societal dynamics which were already being overlooked and which were already fraying are going to fray even more. I think it's important to be wary of them and to look out for the people who are most going to need help. A pandemic causes a wave of physical suffering, but following that, there's also economic suffering, mental suffering, emotional suffering. We will need to be wary of all of those things when society rebuilds in the wake of this crisis.
GROSS: I know you've been thinking a lot about children who are growing up in this pandemic.
YONG: Yeah. My colleague Vann Newkirk wrote an incredible piece for The Atlantic about the costs to children. People - you know, children, I think we think of them as being incredibly resilient. And to an extent, they are, but they are also vulnerable to large changes in the world. They're sensitive to those changes. And people who grow up at a time of emotional trauma and great societal upheaval might bear the scars of those changes well into adulthood. And it is important to be mindful and wary of that.
GROSS: You also see the potential for some things changing for the better when the pandemic ends.
YONG: Absolutely. You know, I think that this is the time to be imagining what a better world might look like and to start actively working towards it. These periods of great social upheaval carry with them great risk and tragedy but also great potential. So on a very simple level, after HIV spread throughout the world in the '80s, it led to better awareness of sexual health. It led to mainstreaming of condom use, of STI testing.
And perhaps the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to a normalization of health behaviors that have been quite difficult to get people to take up, like regular hand-washing for 20 seconds, sometimes a rarity even in hospital settings, let alone in homes. And now all of us - well, many of us are hopefully washing our hands on a regular basis every day. Hopefully, that will become a normal part of our culture in the future.
I also really hope that a lot of the ethic of cooperation that we're starting to see, of people in communities looking out for each other, of coming together at a moment of crisis will continue through the rest of this long-haul pandemic and beyond. I think we're going to need that if we're going to be better prepared for what's to come. We need that sense of cooperation between neighbors and a community, between states and a country and between countries and an international community.
GROSS: You're British, and I don't know how much attention you've been paying to the news out of England. But before Boris Johnson contracted the virus himself, he made quite a show of shaking hands with a lot of people, you know, to demonstrate his lack of fear. And then he got the virus. And do you know what impact that's had on people in England, seeing that happen? And I also - I haven't heard anything about how his health is since contracting the virus.
YONG: I haven't, either. And I think the biggest problem with the U.K.'s response to this pandemic has been - I think some of it's communication. Early on, some of its experts were talking about pursuing herd immunity as a strategy, which led to people rightly worrying that lives were going to be sacrificed in kind of a cavalier way as the government was going to pursue this bizarre strategy of allowing people to get infected. They then turned back on that and argued that that wasn't what they were going for, even though the messaging was incredibly confusing. They initially went for a softly-softly approach to social distancing and then eventually put in much stronger measures as some of the scientists that they were consulting updated their models and came to more dire conclusions.
It harkens back to what we talked about with the U.S. at the start of this interview, that a lot of the world's great powers seem to have been caught unawares in their response to this virus in ways that sort of reek of arrogance and hubris, of thinking themselves better able and being sort of smarter and readier than other countries. And if you look at places that have done really well in this pandemic, places like Hong Kong and Taiwan and Singapore, one of the things that unites them is that they've had experience with similar diseases, like the original SARS back in 2003. And I think that led to a sort of public consciousness about what these kinds of viruses can do to a society, and that better prepared them for leaping into action now. And countries that didn't have that experience, like the U.S. and the U.K., just sort of lacked that imagination.
And that's not going to be a problem going forward, I think, and maybe that's one of the more positive outcomes that will lead us to be better prepared in the future - a sense of collective humility in the face of what these diseases are capable of.
GROSS: Let me reintroduce you here. My guest is Ed Yong. He's a science writer for The Atlantic who's been writing about COVID-19. We'll be right back after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROBBEN FORD & BILL EVANS' "PIXIES")
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. And if you're just joining us, my guest is Ed Yong, a science writer for The Atlantic who's been writing about the pandemic.
As a science writer, somebody who, like, studies science and talks to the science experts, you're not a political writer; you're a science writer. But politics has driven in so many ways how we have dealt with the epidemic - for example, when President Trump and other people on the right were calling this a liberal hoax; when Trump thought, like, hey, you know, I did what I needed to do. I'll close the door to China. That was great. We're kind of done. He's in combat with the press, who we're all relying on to give us good information. As a science writer looking at how politics has been driving some of the response in the U.S., what does it make you think about?
YONG: I think science and politics are inextricable when it comes to being prepared for something like this. We need the best possible information. We need clear, evidence-based thinking from our leaders in order to cope with a crisis like this. And I think, sadly, we are not getting it.
Some of the misinformation is incredibly basic. Trump has said in the press room that this could be flu, that we don't really know what it is. In fact, that's one of the only things we absolutely know. We know that this is a coronavirus, and we know that it is not the flu. You know, he has touted unproven medications that have caused people to, you know, pursue their own treatments, sometimes with devastating consequences. He has repeatedly - in the early stages of the pandemic, he repeatedly downplayed the possibility that this could be a problem for the U.S., even as the virus was spreading and even as case numbers were growing.
This is not helpful behavior. Regardless of your political leanings, I think we can all agree that we want our leaders to be on top of this, and we want them to - you know, I am rooting for the country to succeed. I want the federal government to get its act together and to provide information that people can rely on. I am not American, but my friends and family are here, and they depend on that response. And it's too chaotic. It is too often misleading, and that absolutely needs to change.
The worrying thing to me is that red and blue America are getting very different views of this pandemic. People who support the president are more likely to take this less seriously, more - less likely to adhere to social distancing measures, and I think that is going to cost not only the country but them specifically, and I think that's a huge tragedy. We need everyone to be banding together at this moment and not being divided. And I think, uniquely, this is a situation where the line between mistruth and misinformation and its consequences is going to be very, very short.
You know, someone can get up in the press room and make bold claims about jobs, the economy, and the truth of those statements might not be known for months and might even then be hard to pass. But if you get up there and you say, everyone can get testing - which the administration has said - and then the next day everyone cannot get testing because it's not available, it becomes very obvious that you've said something that's not true. If you tell people that this isn't a problem or that this is a hoax and their friends and family fall sick, it's obvious that you've not said something right.
And a pandemic is a very democratizing thing. You know, people whose power and privilege would once have shielded them from the consequences of bad policy are now suffering from lung failure. You know, senators are getting sick. And I wonder if that immediacy and the powerful widespread nature of this disease might be a factor that eventually breaks down that partisan divide and actually shows everyone the reality of what is happening. And I hope that that doesn't come too late.
GROSS: Ed Yong, thank you so much for talking with us. Thank you for your reporting. I wish you and your family good health.
YONG: Thank you so much. I hope you stay safe, too.
GROSS: Ed Yong is a science writer for The Atlantic. Tomorrow on FRESH AIR, our postponed interview with Dr. David Nott, a world-renowned trauma surgeon who's worked in war zones around the globe and is now battling the pandemic, treating patients with COVID-19 in his home country, England. He's applying some of what he learned working in other people's wars and disasters. Nott has written a new memoir called "War Doctor." I hope you'll join us.
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GROSS: FRESH AIR's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salit, Phyllis Myers, Sam Briger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Therese Madden, Mooj Zadie, Thea Chaloner and Seth Kelley. Our associate producer of digital media is Molly Seavy-Nesper. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Roberta Shorrock directs the show. I'm Terry Gross.
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text:
Relations with the Russian Federation
Azerbaijan has always been of significant interest for the Kremlin because of its geopolitical location, and because of Russia's desire to "monopolise all energy and transit routes to and from Europe."[1] Azerbaijan was part of the Soviet Union until 1991, when it gained independence follwoing the USSR's collapse. There are still memories of the violence which proceeded their independence, including "Black January," in which hundreds were killed or injured in Baku.[2] This, along with the fact that Russia signed military agreements with Armenia—a country stil in conflict with Azerbaijan— contributes to distrust towards Russia in Azerbaijani society.[3] Russia has often acted as the "main arbitrator for the territorial dispute between Armenians and Azerbaijanis over the Nagorno-Karabakh region."[4] Despite Russia's role in this conflict, it has been noted that it is far from impartial, as "instead of advancing the peace negotiation Russia continues to sells firearms and ammunition to both sides."[5] Russia was seen as supporting Armenia even before the actual collapse of the Soviet Union, and its continual role in the "frozen conflict" has been described as a way in which it continues to exert its influence in the region.[6]
The Caucasus Barometer surveys conducted in 2007 and 2009 showed that "the number of people approving of friendship with Russia dropped significantly, from 80% to 54%" whilst "the number of people disapproving of friendship grew from 20% to 46%."[7] It is notable that the 2008 war with Georgia happened in between these two surveys. This conflict supported the notion that Russia played an aggressive role in the region, again illustrating that it is not an impartial arbiter when it comes to problems in the South Caucasus. More recently, the 2013 survey showed that 95% of people disapproved of women marrying Russians,[8] and that only 1% of people considered Russia as country's main ally,[9] whilst 7% of people considered Russia as the country's main enemy, ranked only behind Armenia.[10] Moreover, 85% of people said that they would never accept Abkhazia as a formal part of Russia.[11] Despite these statistics, there remains high approval for conducting business with Russians, which in 2013 stood at 86%, while only 13% of people disapproved.[12] This is likely due to the fact that Russia is a "vital" economic partner of Azerbaijan, and is the major importer of Azerbaijani non-oil products.[13]
Furthermore, 16% of respondents thought that Russian should be mandatory in schools,[14] and 72% had at least a introductory-level knowledge of Russian.[15] Since foreign ownership and funding in Azerbaijan is strictly controlled, the reason for the Russian language's prominence cannot be considered as a direct Russian foreign policy tool. Nonetheless, the Russian language's wide reach can be used to their advantage, and it has been noted that whilst previously "Russia's main pressure tools for Azerbaijan were political issues such as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," this is no longer the case, as "after 2012, Moscow's strategy changed, and Russia's language and educational tools, as well as information tools, were seen as essential."[16] Russian remains a lingua franca for several groups in Azerbaijan, "including members of the local political, economic and cultural elite."[17]
In a different survey, it was shown that only 16% of the Azerbaijani population supported their integration into the Russia-led EEU, whilst accession to the EU and NATO was supported by 72% of respondents. It also showed a higher levels of trust towards NATO and the EU compared to the EEU.[18]
Azerbaijan has a Russian minority of over 100,000 people. According to Minority Rights Group International, "Russians are the third largest minority group" in Azerbaijan, and "they live mostly in the industrial cities and speak Russian."[19] Nonetheless, this group remains less than 2% of the Azerbaijani population. The community has been identified as a group vulnerable to Russian propaganda and influence.[20]
Political acknowledgment
There is little political acknowledgement of the Russian threat, and Azerbaijan's leaders have instead consistently moved to create closer relations with Russia. In 2004, President Ilham Aliyev, who is still Azerbaijan's current President, signed a Declaration of Principles with Russia, which outlined their bilateral relations and reaffirmed "the Azerbaijani leadership's loyalty to its strategic partnership with Russia."[21] That same year, Aliyev met with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov to discussthe "the expansion of military and military technical cooperation of the two countries."[22] In 2007, Aliyev reaffirmed Azerbaijan's strategic partnership with Russia, their growing cooperation, and their mutual respect.[23] In 2017 Aliyev stated that "the close ties between our peoples are successfully developing today. Just last night, at a regular meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin we reviewed our bilateral relations agenda and found that there are no issues that need to be resolved."[24] Similar statements have also been made regarding Azerbaijan's relations with the EU and the US.
Aliyev was also awarded the Order of Glory and Honour from His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, the highest decoration in the Russian Orthodox Church.[25] In 2016, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Russia committed to closer ties in a collaborative effort against terrorism and organised crime, as well as regional economic cooperation projects.[26] However, there is evidence that the relations between these countries are nuanced. In 2017, for instance, Azerbaijan rejected Russia's choice of ambassador to the country.[27] Moreover, Azerbaijan has been particularly unhappy with Russia's attitude towards Armenia, and it has been reported that "although Russia sells weapons to both sides in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it is clear that Moscow's sympathies lie with Armenia," which is a source of anger for Azerbaijan.[28]
Nonetheless, experts on national security have begun to recognise that Azerbaijan may face a threat—especially in the area of cybersecurity—from Russia, Iran and Armenia.[29] Thus, whilst "Azerbaijan has passed a cyber-act in order to deter the domestic intruders […] the actual threat comes from foreign hackers who conduct clandestine operations."[30] Despite this recognition, little is being done to formally acknowledge the cyberthreat, or to develop a holistic defence on a national scale in response.
Governmental countermeasures
Azerbaijan is a proponent of cyber laws, although it does not yet have a national cyber security strategy. In 2008, Azerbaijan's campaign to promote cyber laws "was appreciated by the Council of Europe when it joined the Convention on Cybercrime."[31] Azerbaijan joined the European multilateral alliance which combats cybercrimes, and is an active participant against "unethical and immoral usages of internet and cyber-space."[32] In 2011, Azerbaijan joined the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime.[33]
It appears that some of Azerbaijan's efforts in countering cyberwarfare have been successful, and in 2012, over 9,000 interventions to the hosting system of the Special Security Service were prevented.[34] Nonetheless, the country seems to be plagued with numerous cyberattacks, particularly due to their ongoing conflict with Armenia.[35] Several cyberattacks have also come from Iran.[36]
The Ministry Of Transport, Communication And Major Technologies has a website on the "Electronic Safety Service," with warnings, information, advice, and a direct contact line, which is a useful service and educational tool for citizens.[37] Furthermore, each year a conference about internet safety is held, and participants include members of higher education institutions, governmental representatives, NGOs, and information security specialists.[38] Additionally, in 2017, it was announced that Kaspersky Lab would organize cybersecurity training for oil and gas personnel in Azerbaijani companies.[39] However, Kaspersky Lab, a multinational cyber security company headquartered in Moscow,[40] has faced allegations of having ties with the Russian government.[41]
Despite these services, major development is needed in this area, especially since there is no national strategy or holistic approach to counter cyberthreats, which are not yet formally acknowledged as a major security threat. It is recommended that Azerbaijan develops "a comprehensive information warfare strategy designed to counter Kremlin-led messages and narratives." Overall, Azerbaijan was ranked 48th in the global index on cybersecurity in 2017.[42]
Publicly known intelligence activities
The Azerbaijan Ministry of National Security (MNS) was an intelligence agency within the cabinet of Azerbaijan. It was dissolved in December 2015 and replaced by The State Security Service and Foreign Intelligence Service. These agencies have not publicly expelled Russian agents or made statements about the Russian threat. However, it should be noted that the agencies had not made critical statements about many other countries either.
NGO activities
There are few NGO activities in Azerbaijan which focus on counteracting the Russian threat. This may stem from the Azerbaijan's government severe restrictions on the country's civil society sector, in particular regarding foreign funding, which has resulted in the closure of several NGOs.[43] The government claims that this is in order to "to protect Azerbaijan from potential foreign influence and threats."[44] In reality, it means that NGOs have very little influence in Azerbaijan, and now most organisations are grassroots or volunteer based. An example of the latter is a hacker group called the "Pirates Crew." This group has fought against cyberattacks directed towards Azerbaijan, such as in 2012, when they "crashed over 20 Iranian websites."[45]
In 2016, StopFake members provided a two-day training for young politicians, looking at fact-checking, political propaganda, and digital debunking.[46] In 2017, the US Embassy granted scholarships to Azerbaijani journalists, allowing them to take a course aimed at improving their skills in recognising fake news and disinformation.[47] Nonetheless, the professionalism of journalists, the cooperation between the media and state agencies, and the difficult social situations of media workers—who can as a result be influenced by foreign groups—remain significant problems in Azerbaijan.[48]
[1] http://prismua.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DRI_CEE_2018.pdf
[2] https://www.azernews.az/nation/125070.html
[3] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-18270325
[4] https://intpolicydigest.org/2017/09/13/armenia-and-azerbaijan-are-stuck-with-russia-and-the-u-s/
[6] http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/05/28/why-the-west-needs-azerbaijan/
[7] https://web.archive.org/web/20111117140322/http://ada.edu.az/uploads/file/Neither%20Friend%20nor%20Foe.pdf
[8] http://caucasusbarometer.org/en/cb2013az/MARWRUS/
[9] http://caucasusbarometer.org/en/cb2013az/MAINFRN/
[10] http://caucasusbarometer.org/en/cb2013az/MAINENEM/ second to Armenia, which had 90%.
[11] http://caucasusbarometer.org/en/cb2013az/RC6_5/
[12] http://caucasusbarometer.org/en/cb2013az/BUSINRUS/
[13] http://prismua.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DRI_CEE_2018.pdf
[14] http://caucasusbarometer.org/en/cb2013az/FLMANDSC/
[15] 37% beginner, 28% intermediate, 7% advanced knowledge of Russian. http://caucasusbarometer.org/en/cb2013az/KNOWRUS/
[16] https://ge.boell.org/en/2017/10/16/betwixt-and-between-reality-russian-soft-power-azerbaijan
[19] http://minorityrights.org/country/azerbaijan/
[21] https://www.rferl.org/a/1051467.html
[23] http://archive.president.az/articles.php?item_id=20070811102231315&sec_id=14
[24] https://en.president.az/articles/25667
[25] https://mospat.ru/en/2010/04/24/news17270/
[26] http://www.timesofisrael.com/leaders-of-russia-iran-azerbaijan-discuss-closer-ties/
[27] https://eurasianet.org/s/azerbaijan-blocks-russian-choice-for-new-ambassador
[28] http://foreignpolicy.com/2018/05/28/why-the-west-needs-azerbaijan/
[29] http://sam.az/uploads/PDF/SAM%20comments%20and%20review%20publications/Cyber%20Security%20objective%20Azerbaijan%20in%20the%20digitalized%20world.pdf
[33] https://news.az/articles/politics/46075
[34] https://news.az/articles/tech/53106
[35] https://www.azernews.az/nation/73378.html
[36] http://www.eastbook.eu/en/2012/01/18/azerbaijan-cyber-wars/
[37] https://www.cert.az/
[38] https://www.cert.az/news/2018/tehlukesizinternetgunu
[39] https://www.azernews.az/business/123772.html
[41] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspersky_Lab#Bans_and_allegations_of_Russian_government_ties
[42] https://www.azernews.az/nation/114987.html
[43] https://eurasianet.org/s/azerbaijan-an-activist-defies-ngo-stereotypes


All of these are from Ray Kurzweil's The Age of Spiritual Machines (1999), specifically its list of predictions for 2009.
The most insightful-in-retrospect predictions I recall were from Larry Gonick's Cartoon Guide to (Non)Communication (1993), but that book was about honest errors and confusion, not venom and spite. Surely someone speculated about the Net enabling new ways of making people's lives miserable, but I'm having a hard time recalling examples which are really pertinent. I can't help thinking that the downsides which people had in mind weren't the ones we face now.


Dr. Rains has a PhD in Agricultural Engineering from Virginia Tech. His primary area of research is the application of engineering science to develop sensor technologies and strategies for applications in pest and pathogen detection and management.


text:
Q: discord.py and mongodb removing a document with _id or all the documents with user id So I've been making a warning system in d.py and I'm finally on my last command is a clearwarn command which will.. Clear a warn of a user. However I want to be able to delete the document with the mongodb document's _id or if none is provided, then it'll delete all the warns that matches the user's id
@client.hybrid_command(name = "clearwarn", with_app_command=True, description="Delete a warn or all warns of a member", aliases=["clearwarns"])
@commands.guild_only()
@commands.has_permissions(moderate_members=True)
async def clearwarn(ctx, member: discord.Member = None, caseid = None):
    if member == None:
        await ctx.reply("A member is required")
    else:
        if caseid == None:
            check = list(warndb.warn_logs.deleteMany({"user_id": member.id}))
            if check is None:
                await ctx.reply("This user doesn't have any warns to clear")
            else:
                await ctx.reply(f"Removed all warnings from **{member.name}**")
                return
        else:
            try:
                warndb.warn_logs.deleteOne({_id:ObjectId(caseid)}, True)
                await ctx.reply(f"Removed 1 warning from **{member.name}**")
                return
            except:
                await ctx.reply("The case id you provided is invalid")
                return

caseid would be the _id from mongodb, I also don't know how to delete a document.
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/home/container/.local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/discord/ext/commands/core.py", line 190, in wrapped
    ret = await coro(*args, **kwargs)
  File "/home/container/main.py", line 418, in clearwarn
    check = list(warndb.warn_logs.deleteMany({"user_id": member.id}))
  File "/home/container/.local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pymongo/collection.py", line 3213, in __call__
    raise TypeError(
TypeError: 'Collection' object is not callable. If you meant to call the 'deleteMany' method on a 'Collection' object it is failing because no such method exists.


text:
Comprehensive Wealth Advisory
The Fed and How It Got That Way
Here is a quick history of the Federal Reserve and an overview of what it does.
Earnings for All Seasons
Earnings season can move markets. What is it and why is it important?
At certain places on our website we offer direct access or 'links' to other Internet websites. These sites contain information that has been created, published, maintained or otherwise posted by institutions or organizations independent of Ryan Financial Advisors. Ryan Financial Advisors does not endorse, approve, certify or control these websites and does not assume responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the information located there. Visitors to these websites should not use or rely on the information contained therein until consulting with an independent finance professional. Ryan Financial Advisors does not necessarily endorse or recommend any commercial product or service described at these websites.
Ryan Financial Advisors, Inc. is registered with and subject to the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ryan Financial, Inc. is a broker-dealer registered with FINRA, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB). The SEC publishes websites containing information and resources designed to educate investors. In addition to educational materials about the municipal securities market and municipal securities market data, the MSRB website includes an investor brochure describing protections that may be provided by MSRB rules, including how to file a complaint with the appropriate regulatory authority. For more information, visit www.sec.gov and www.msrb.org.
© Copyright 2010, Ryan Financial
Ryan Financial Inc. is a broker dealer and member of SIPC.
Ryan Financial Advisors, Inc. is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor.
Ryan Financial Advisors, Inc.
wkryan@ryanfinancial.com


text:
Dick Hillenius (* 29. Mai 1927 in Amsterdam; † 4. Mai 1987 ebenda), auch als Dirk Hillenius bekannt, war ein niederländischer Dichter, Essayist und Herpetologe. Sein Forschungsschwerpunkt waren Chamäleons.

Leben und Wirken
Hillenius war der Bruder des Kunstmalers und Grafikers Jaap Hillenius (1934–1999). Als Kind war er an Biologie und Musik interessiert. Er besuchte die Universität Amsterdam und 1951 wurde er Leiter der öffentlichen Ausstellungen des Zoölogisch Museum Amsterdam (ZMA). 1954 wurde er Kurator an der herpetologischen Abteilung. Während dieser Zeit begann seine Forschung für seine Doktorarbeit über die Differenzierung innerhalb der Chamäleongattung Chamaeleo, mit der er 1959 unter der Leitung von Hendrik Engel (1898–1981) zum Ph.D. promoviert wurde.

Obwohl Chamäleons das bevorzugte Interessensfeld von Hillenius waren, veröffentlichte er auch Essays und Dichtungen, beginnend 1961 mit dem Werk Tegen het vegetarisme. Weitere Titel waren Het romantische mechaniek (1969) und Een klein apparaat tegen rechtlijnigheid (1975). Hillenius bestach durch einen mitreißenden Enthusiasmus, der sein Werk bei einem breiten niederländischen Publikum populär machte. Er schrieb häufig Titel, in denen Reptilien und Amphibien auftauchen, insbesondere Chamäleons, Kröten und Frösche. Auch mit der Darwinschen Theorie ging er scherzhaft um. Hillenius war ein häufiger und populärer Gast im niederländischen Fernsehen. Ferner wirkte er am Dokumentarfilm Fressen und gefressen werden von Bert Haanstra mit.

Werke (Auswahl)
 1956 – Inleiding tot het denken van Darwin, Assen, Born
 1959 – The differentiation within the genus Chamaeleo laurenti (Dissertation)
 1961 – Tegen het vegetarisme, Amsterdam, Van Oorschot
 1965 – Oefeningen voor een derde oog, Amsterdam, De Arbeiderspers
 1966 – Prikkels en de zwarte regenten
 1966 – Uit groeiende onwil om ooit nog ergens in veiligheid aan te komen, Amsterdam, De Arbeiderspers
 1967 – De vreemde eilandbewoner
 1969 – De beestachtige bronnen van het geweld, Amsterdam, Thomas Rap
 1969 – Het romantische mechaniek, Amsterdam, De Arbeiderspers
 1971 – De mens is een ondier, Akademie voor Beeldende Kunsten
 1972 – Plaatselijke godjes, Amsterdam, Erven Thomas Rap
 1974 – Sprekend een dier, Amsterdam, De Arbeiderspers
 1975 – Een klein apparaat tegen rechtlijnigheid, Amsterdam, De Arbeiderspers
 1976 – Dieren en dierentuinen
 1978 – Het principe van de nieuwsgierigheid, Amsterdam, De Arbeiderspers
 1978 – Waarom is de ijsbeer wit?, Wormerveer, Inmerc
 1978 – Wat is natuur nog (mit Marinus Adrianus Koekkoek), Alphen aan den Rijn, Sijthoff
 1981 – De onrust bewaren, Haarlem, Carlinapers
 1981 – Koning in een wijd landschap, Terhorst, Ser J.L. Prop
 1982 – De onrust bewaren, Amsterdam, De Arbeiderspers
 1983 – In de ban van de elite, of de elite in de ban? (mit A.C. Zijderveld), Kampen, Kok
 1985 – Keren van de wind, Wijhe, Elferink
 1986 – De hersens een eierzeef, Leiden, Martinus Nijhoff
 1986 – De psychobiologie van het feestvieren, Middelburg, Zeeuws Kunstenaars Centrum
 1986 – Verre plekken die herinnerd blijven (mit Henri Plaat), Baarn, Atalanta Pers
 1986 – Verzamelde gedichten, Amsterdam, Van Oorschot
 1986 – Wat kunnen wij van rijke mensen leren, Amsterdam, Van Oorschot
 1988 – Eilanden bestaan niet meer, in, Kaos budgetboeken, Amsterdam, Knippenberg
 1996 – De hand van de slordige tuinman, Amsterdam, Van Oorschot

Literatur
 Kraig Adler: Contributions to the History of Herpetology. Band 2. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, St. Louis 2007, ISBN 978-0-916984-71-7, S. 242–243.
 Biografischer Eintrag im Biografisch Woordenboek van Nederland, Band 6 (online, niederländisch)

Weblinks

 Schrijvers en dichters (dbnl biografieënproject I) (niederländisch)

Lyrik
Essay
Autor
Schriftsteller (Amsterdam)
Literatur (20. Jahrhundert)
Literatur (Niederländisch)
Herpetologe
Kurator einer naturwissenschaftlichen Sammlung
Niederländer
Geboren 1927
Gestorben 1987
Mann

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Шавгулі́дзе ( — грузинське прізвище.

Персоналії
 Георгій Шавгулідзе (1910—1959) — грузинський актор театру і кіно.
 Шота Шавгулідзе (1915—1963) — грузинський футболіст.

Грузинські прізвища


text:
Q: How to simultaneously implement Session and Transaction Flow in WCF? While attempting to answer a question, it became apparant that the neither myself or the OP could simultaneously build a WCF service which was both Session and TransactionFlow enabled - the only solution I could offer was to remove TransactionFlow in order to get the WCF Session instancing working.
Although logically Session durations could conceivably outlive Transactions (bearing in mind that TransactionFlow could mean that transactions are holding precious server resources like Database locks, Messaging Queues and transactional file systems), I can't find a definitive reference either way confirming or rejecting the possiblility to concurrently implementing both features.
So my question is : How can I get both InstanceContextMode=InstanceContextMode.PerSession and TransactionFlow working concurrently in WCF?
What was tried:
ITransactionService.cs
[ServiceContract(SessionMode = SessionMode.Required)]
public interface ITransactionService
{
    [OperationContract(IsInitiating = true, IsTerminating = false)]
    [TransactionFlow(TransactionFlowOption.Mandatory)]
    int Start(int userId);

    [OperationContract(IsInitiating = false, IsTerminating = true)]
    [TransactionFlow(TransactionFlowOption.Mandatory)]
    int Finish(int userId);
}

TransactionService.svc.cs
[ServiceBehavior(InstanceContextMode=InstanceContextMode.PerSession)]
public class TransactionService : ITransactionService
{
    public int count = 0;

    [OperationBehavior(TransactionScopeRequired = true)]
    public int Start(int userId)
    {
        Debug.Assert(Transaction.Current != null, "No Transaction!");
        count = count + 1;
        return count;
    }

    [OperationBehavior(TransactionScopeRequired = true)]
    public int Finish(int userId)
    {
        Debug.Assert(Transaction.Current != null, "No Transaction!");
        Debug.Assert(count > 0, "No Session!");
        return count;
    }

Client.cs
  using (var ts = new TransactionScope())
  using (var svc = new TransactionServiceClient())
  {
      svc.Start(0);
      svc.Finish(0);
      ts.Complete();
  }

Service web.config
  <services>
      <service name="WcfLibrary1.TransactionService">
          <endpoint address="" binding="wsHttpBinding"
          contract="WcfLibrary1.ITransactionService">
              <identity>
                  <dns value="localhost" />
              </identity>
          </endpoint>
      </service>
  </services>
   <bindings>
       <wsHttpBinding>
           <binding transactionFlow="true"/>
       </wsHttpBinding>
   </bindings>
   <protocolMapping>
       <remove scheme="http" />
       <add scheme="http" binding="wsHttpBinding" bindingConfiguration="transactionFlowEnabled"/>
   </protocolMapping>

Client web.config
<bindings>
    <wsHttpBinding>
        <binding name="WSHttpBinding_ITransactionService" transactionFlow="true" />
    </wsHttpBinding>
</bindings>
<client>
    <endpoint address="http://localhost:65171/TransactionService.svc"
        binding="wsHttpBinding" bindingConfiguration="WSHttpBinding_ITransactionService"
        contract="TransactionService.ITransactionService" name="WSHttpBinding_ITransactionService">
        <identity>
            <dns value="localhost" />
        </identity>
    </endpoint>
</client>

A: After some trial and error, it seems it is possible. The issue appears to be that the default behaviour of TransactionFlow applies the following default settings:

*

*On the class' ServiceBehavior attributes  - ReleaseServiceInstanceOnTransactionComplete = true

*On the methods' OperationContract attributes - TransactionAutoComplete = true
Which when used in conjunction with each other, will cause the instance of the service to be released, thus destroying any state retained in an existing Session.
Disabling either of these options will keep the Service instance alive for the duration of the Session, and so allowing TransactionFlow and Session to be used simultaneously:
i.e. on the ServiceContract:
[ServiceContract(SessionMode = SessionMode.Required)]
public interface ITransactionService
{
    [OperationContract(IsInitiating = true, IsTerminating = false)]
    [TransactionFlow(TransactionFlowOption.Mandatory)]
    int Start(int userId);

    [OperationContract(IsInitiating = false, IsTerminating = true)]
    [TransactionFlow(TransactionFlowOption.Mandatory)]
    int Finish(int userId);
}

Either change to this on the Service class:
[ServiceBehavior(InstanceContextMode = InstanceContextMode.PerSession,
                 ReleaseServiceInstanceOnTransactionComplete = false)]
public class TransactionService : ITransactionService
{

Or, on the Operation:
    [OperationBehavior(TransactionScopeRequired = true,
                       TransactionAutoComplete = false)]
    public int Start(int userId)
    {