Having read about Medium, the new venture of Blogger and Twitter founder Ev Williams, I signed up this past year.

Via this democratic (small “d”) venue, I’ve appreciated articles by figures ranging from Isis Anchalee, David Swan, and Ankita Rao to Sundar Pichai, Melinda Gates, Samantha Power, Hillary Clinton, and President Obama.

In addition, Medium has provided a platform to republish pieces that originally appeared elsewhere, including about immigration, refugees, India and the U.S., reproductive choice, early literacy – even college athletics.

As the UN Conference on Climate Change concludes two weeks in Paris, air pollution in Beijing has attracted attention.  Yet it’s even worse in New Delhi, reputed to have the worst air quality of any city in the world – among the 13 Indian cities listed among the 20 most polluted globally, according to the World Health Organization. 

The BBC’s Justin Rowlatt and Soutik Biswas have reported on Delhi’s air, as has Nida Najar of the New York Times.  Twitter trends include #airapocalypse. 

Environmental issues in Delhi were among the matters discussed in an April 2014 article, following my family’s third trip to Delhi – where my wife grew up – in a decade.

Happy Hanukah, a holiday that some members of my family celebrated growing up, and which my family now tries to join friends in marking one night in eight.

The horrific attacks in San Bernardino were more evidence of the ease of access to assault weaponry, for terrorist or other purposes.  Routine access to such highly lethal weaponry doesn’t serve our real security.