The German biotech firm that has partnered with Pfizer Inc. to develop a coronavirus vaccine is confident it will be ready to seek regulatory approval by the end of the year, according to its chief executive.

BioNTech, originally a cancer-treatment biotech company, is one of 17 firms world-wide that have started human trials on a vaccine against Covid-19. The company, based in the city of Mainz and listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, was founded in 2008 by Dr. Sahin and his wife, Dr. Özlem Türeci, both the children of Turkish immigrants.

This does not mean that everything is fine now. You still need to follow health protocols to stay safe. Even if BioNTech makes a vaccine, it can take months to make it available worldwide.

Please wash your hands regularly, wear mask and gloves and keep your social distance. Also, don’t get out of your house unless it’s an emergency. Quarantine is for your own safety.

Yesterday, Chris “Muesli” asked an interesting question that I thought can be a good blog post. If we were in power, what rules would be write?

You are to be born in 24 hours. You are also to write all the rules that will govern the society in which you will live. However, you do not know if you will be born bright or retarded, black or white, male or female, rich or poor, able or disabled.

How would you write the rules?

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Lately, I see many people argue with each other about how people had different opinions in the past and now they have changed. Some people think that because some people had different opinions in the past, they do not have the right to comment on current issues or on the subjects they have changed their ideas about.

This is wrong. People change and that’s a good thing. In fact, if our ideas don’t change then we should check them. It wasn’t long ago that some racist people protested against a black child going to an all-white school. If one of those people comes to a Black Lives Matter protest and fights for black people, should we stop it?

Of course not. People change their opinions. It’s the beauty of an independent person and mind. Of course I believe people should be punished for wrongs they did but that doesn’t mean goods they do are worthless.

A lot of people around the world are under the influence of propaganda and false/fake news. Many still think borders, sexuality, race, skin color, etc. can separate us. It’s not people’s fault as it’s the governments/regimes that do this. What we should fight is propaganda itself. Governments have benefits in separating people and that’s exactly what we should fight.

If they kill us they won’t have any power over us. What they are afraid of is our belief and independence of thoughts. They separate us because they know if we share this independent thoughts, they won’t survive. They separate us because they know together we’re stronger.

I know a lot of hackers. I, myself, am a hacker but being a hacker doesn’t just mean infiltrating other people’s systems. If you do hacks, you’re a hacker.

For example, few years ago when I was backpacking I had trouble opening a glass of pickles. What I did was to use a spoon to lower the pressure between the lid and the glass and when the compressed air was released, I opened it.

That was a hack. A simple hack to open a glass. Hacking doesn’t just mean sabotaging or entering security holes.

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