Dr Fauci has announced that he will be stepping down from the posts of chief medical advisor to Biden, as well as the head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Disease(NIAID).

From Reagan to Biden, Dr Fauci has served 7 US Presidents in his 38-year tenure as the director of NSAID. He will be remembered for his contribution to contain the AIDS epidemic when the disease was the most rampant in the 80s. 

He has also been the face of the US during the COVID pandemic, even at times when the health mandates, such as lockdowns and mandatory masks-wearing, caused public anger. 

Healthy as ever at 81, he is a convincing health expert. Fauci says he is merely starting the next phase of his career, as he remains energetic and passionate in the field of medicine.

This is an improved version of the COVID vaccine originally offered by Moderna. 

This new version contains the genetic information needed to produce two different types of spike proteins, which are components of either the original coronavirus or its BA1 Omicron variant. In turn, relevant antibodies that fights both types of viral spike proteins are produced by our immune system. 

Although the bivalent vaccine offers better protection for Omicron variants, it is not yet approved in Canada and the US. So if you are in North America and in need of a booster, you have to think about whether you want to wait, or to get the older jab right away –  it’s a hard decision.

Currently, Pfizer is also in the process of developing an improved version, but AstraZeneca has no plans to do so yet.

I have been old-schooled in this regard, as I’ve always enjoyed taking a good book with me to a park or a local coffee shop for a half-hour read. Doing so makes me feel relaxed and peachy.

But that’s about to change: There’s a huge incentive to opt for ebooks now – namely the steep discount.

Can you imagine Michelle Obama’s memoir (ebook) for C$3.99? Not some obscure title that no one has heard about, but MICHELLE OBAMA’s ‘Becoming’, one of the bestselling memoirs ever!

It was a flash sale from Apple’s ebook store that didn’t last for long (ie, the ebook memoir is now back at $13.99), but it was enough of a perk to keep me checking online regularly, in hopes of catching similar deals. 

Same-sex marriage first became legal in Canada in 2003, and I applaud Chretien’s decision to propose its legalization. 

But I didn’t always feel this way. The analytical side of me was weighing the subject logically from various angles. 

Economists were bringing up the double income, zero expense argument ie, that same-sex couples had less financial stress in starting a family because they might have the tendency to postpone having children. Therefore, it followed that same-sex couples should not enjoy the same tax breaks offered to married couples. Their solution was to offer a civil-union option rather than the legalization of same-sex marriage.

In fact, when I was in Asia between 2003 and 2004, I expressed my doubts over Chretien’s proposal when an acquaintance asked me about Canada’s legalization of same-sex marriage. It was a casual lunch with a bunch of people, so we didn’t expand on the issue and I didn’t think much of it.

But some time after, this same acquaintance told me he was gay. Although he was open about his sexual orientation, he wasn’t an activist; he was merely living his life and minding his own business. So it dawned on me that perhaps when he asked me about the issue, he wasn’t looking to debate over a subject in an academic kind of way – maybe he was probing the option of marrying his loved one in Canada. 

And so I had the chance to think about this topic from a human-to-human perspective; if one wants to wed another, why can’t he or she? As I am able to enjoy the right to marry whomever I want as a heterosexual, I am in no position to point my finger at another human being and say that he or she should enjoy lesser right in this regard, at least not based on sexual orientation. On July 12, 2002, an Ontario court confirmed this for the first time, by ruling that the prohibition of gay marriages is unconstitutional and violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

This is the magic of human rights protection: It is so fundamental that it takes priority (and rightly so, to ensure that every human being enjoy the same, equal rights regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation etc.) over other conflicting legislation ie, tax laws etc.  One exception to the almost absolute protection from human rights is that one cannot be inflicting harm on another ie, one can marry whomever he or she chooses to, but one cannot marry a minor – to protect minors from the risk of being exploited.

That is also why the US court’s recent decision to overturn Roe vs Wade caused such an uproar; the ruling took away a woman’s federal, constitutional right to abortion.

In effect, individual US states can now decide for themselves whether or not to ban abortion. In a state-wide referendum on Wednesday, 60% of Kansan voters wanted the right to abortion to remain in their state’s constitution.

For about $100,000, you can get a four-hour ride; on board a submarine which will travel 2.5 miles DOWNWARD,  to the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. 

The final destination? The site where the sunken Titantic lies, to see what’s left of the ‘unsinkable’.

So far the expeditions have been safe: More than 100 dare-devils have done it, and have made it back alive to share their incredible experience ie, one traveler mentioned he was quite surprised to see catfishes swimming at such depth. 

Okay, I admit this is one activity I’ll never participate in, even if I had the money…likewise, I have never been much of a bungee jumper nor a parachuter. 

Skyrocketing inflation means that prices in every imaginable category have gone way up. My recent grocery bill has gone up by 30%: For the same items in a cart-load full of groceries, I now need to pay $130 instead of the previous cost of $100.

I figure that I can’t cut down on food items such as bread, eggs and meat. I also can’t do without essentials like Colgate and toilet paper. 

But I have managed to make a list of the things that I am able to cut back on. 

The first item to go is my Netflix subscription. Apparently many consumers also feel the same way, as Netflix have just reported a loss of one million subscribers this spring. Although the company’s stock has plummeted upon this news, Netflix is still the most popular streaming service on earth, and the company had previously gained 18 million subscribers because of the pandemic.

Next, I’ve limited my spendings at Starbucks: I’m only ordering my favourite summer beverage, the mocha cookie crumble frapp, once a week. For the other six days of the week, I have adjusted to drinking home-made coffee. For a couple of months now, my coffee budget has been reduced to $10 per week. 

Other examples include switching to the loonie cones at McD’s instead of the Italian gelato, or dinner dates at White Spot instead of The Keg (and skipping the finger food while we were there). Despite all the lifestyle adjustments, I still feel happy and grateful for the important things that money can’t buy, such as good health, and the support from family and friends! 

It’s been happening a lot these days: Frequent last-minute, flight cancellations by the airlines have resulted in travellers having to take alternate flights to get to their destination. And it would take several days before the airlines could adequately sort out, and redirect luggages to their proper owner.

Upon arrival to their destination, travellers without their luggages have had to purchase items such as clothes and shoes to meet their needs. Amidst the frustration and inconvenience, here’s some good news: In Canada, people can claim up to ~$2,200 in damages from delayed luggages.

Instead of going to the small claims court, Canadians may be able to seek damages via simpler avenues such as going to a tribunal ie, the Civil Resolutions Tribunal in your province. Just be mindful that you have retained all receipts and documentation in relation to your purchases. As long as you can justify the necessity of your spending, you will get your money back. 

In a letter to US President Biden, two-time Olympic medalist Brittney Griner has appealed for help. Griner, a US citizen, is being detained by Russia on one count of possession of cannabis oil. She has been imprisoned for more than 4 months, and could be jailed for up to ten years for the charge. Griner has written that she is ‘terrified that I might be (in Russian jail) forever’.

The media in the West have taken a low-key approach in reporting Griner’s ordeal. That’s understandable: The more we show that we care, the harder it will be to negotiate for her release.

But we really need to be in-the-know: We could be vaping cannabis oil for recreation anywhere in Canada and in many parts of the US, but we must not carry any pot with us when we travel to most places in Asia – imagine up to 10 years in a Russian prison! In 2015 Jacky Chan’s son, Jaycee Chan, was also jailed for 6 months in China for a marijuana offence. Jaycee’s career in show biz has been on a halt since then, as China is still banning his work from being aired.

The Supreme Court has ruled that a public school was wrong to punish its coach for praying on school grounds after sports games. The Constitutional right to religious expression has once again been upheld.

Once upon a time when I was in fifth grade (yep that was decade(s) ago), my homeroom teacher, a devoted Christian, used to have the entire class say a prayer every morning in school. In those days, no one had strong feelings on either side over this teacher’s action. But of course, nowadays such practice is no longer permitted because in recent decades, the courts have gradually imposed much limits on religious activities in public schools.

As for the individual, similar to the sports coach in this case, his or her right to religious expression should rightly be protected. I couldn’t agree more: People’s religious choice and its expression should always be respected. The only caveat is that the religion must pose no harm to others ie, that the religion preaches acts of kindness rather than acts of violence.

Lawmakers constantly come up with proposals to open up debate, and to discuss the pros and cons of putting policies into law: Some proposals make sense, some don’t.

Here’s one that makes sense: BC legislators are proposing to slow down vehicles on residential streets by changing the speed limit from the current 50 km/h to 30 km/h.

For safety’s sake, most drivers are already doing 30 km/h anyway. Space can be really tight in the narrow residential streets, especially when two vehicles are going in opposite directions. And everyone knows about the rule of the rolling ball: When one sees a ball rolling across the street, a running child will likely be coming after.

Yet here’s a proposal that doesn’t make much sense: The proposal requiring a warning not just on the package, but on each individual cigarette. I doubt this policy would make much of a difference. Smokers know full well what they are getting themselves into when they light and puff a cigarette. I don’t think people would be so enlightened by a warning on a cigarette that they’d quit smoking!