Just an FYI, with the holidays there will be disruptions of the linkee-poos. If you celebrate Christmas, happy holidays. Joyous Solstice (although that was last week). Happy Hanukkah (which again has already started). Good Kwanza. Great Boxing Day. Whatever you like. And may the New Year close on a much brighter future than this past year.
The year without a Santa Claus. "Throughout Europe and North America, throngs of Santa impersonators like Zander have been busy preparing children for Christmas. But in Germany, the number of people willing to play Santa Claus has dropped precipitously, after a student union that traditionally supplied candidates stopped doing so last year out of a lack of interest among students. It was a code-red Santa emergency."
"Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft safely returned from orbit on Sunday morning, landing at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico before sunrise. The capsule very nearly hit its bullseye, and initial reports from astronauts on the scene say the vehicle came through in 'pristine' condition… The question is whether this will be good enough for NASA to proceed with a human test flight of Starliner without a second uncrewed test to determine the capsule's capability to dock to the space station." Yeah, that might be a good thing to test first. You know, before people real people inside.
"The Ohio River Valley has seen some of the largest jumps in mortality rates among people in midlife — those between ages 25 and 64 — in recent years. Appalachia has been hit especially hard by the opioid epidemic, and Ohio and West Virginia have suffered the worst, with the highest rates of overdose deaths." Another year in the opioid (or recreational drug use) epidemic. Oh, and… "'Right now, methamphetamine is the drug of choice,' says detective sergeant Stewart. 'It's probably topped the charts around here.'" This is not just about opioid abuse and the pharma industry involvement. That doesn't mean they're not culpable for what they did, but they didn't start the fire, they just stoked it.
How bad is our fucked up retirement system in the US? "When Jeanne Souron-Mathers died in November, police in Tooele, Utah, were startled to find the body of her husband Paul in a chest freezer… Police also discovered a notarized letter from Paul stating that his wife was not responsible for his death… Investigators now believe that Paul Mathers died a decade ago and are investigating the possibility that monthly payments to him from Veterans Affairs and Social Security kept coming in after his death." Also, he was being treated at the VA for a terminal illness… that he stopped going for treatments 10 years ago.
"Kasdan visited her primary care physician, Roya Fathollahi, at Manhattan Specialty Care, just off Park Avenue South and not far from tony Gramercy Park… Then the bill came." The problem here isn't so much the amount of the out-of-network testing ($28,395.50), but that the majority of these tests were not necessary, yet the insurance company was going to pay $25,865.24 of that bill. Considering we see people who need diagnostic imaging to accurately diagnose/stage their cancer get denied because it's "not medically necessary", how the fuck were these tests not flagged? Of course the answer is, "automation" (and updated form of "the computer did it"). The billing and the process conformed to the rules and so was paid. And that's how it's done.
Another weekend in America. "Across three states, at least 28 people were shot in three separate incidents over the weekend."
"More than 60 vehicles have been involved in a pile-up in foggy conditions on a motorway in the US state of Virginia… There were no reports of fatalities in the crash on Interstate 64 near Williamsburg but more than 50 people were injured, two critically."
"A United States soldier has been killed in action in an attack claimed by the Taliban group in northern Afghanistan."
"As a girl, Milgrom says her maternal grandmother taught her some of the family's food customs. Many years later, she realized they revealed their secret Jewish roots." For me it wasn't recipes, but the way we celebrated, what parts were emphasized and what parts were overly done.
How go the Trade Wars? "China will reduce import tariffs on hundreds of goods next week as it tries to boost trade, shore up its slowing economy and soften the impact of a devastating swine fever epidemic."
"It is 'more important than anything' to keep up the momentum for talks between the United States and North Korea, South Korean President Moon Jae-in told Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday."
"Former White House national security adviser John Bolton said that he doesn't believe that President Donald Trump 'really means it' when he says that he is determined to stop North Korea developing nuclear missiles that could be used to target the US."
"A new satellite image of a factory where North Korea makes military equipment used to launch long-range missiles shows the construction of a new structure." Oh, he's going to send us a present for Xmas after all. Or maybe it's an anti-missile battery and they're going to shot down Santa Claus.
"A top reelection adviser to President Donald Trump told a group of influential Republicans in Wisconsin that voter suppression is 'traditionally' part of the Republican Party’s strategy to compete in battleground states, according to audio obtained by the Associated Press. When asked about it, though, he said his remarks were being misinterpreted and he was referring to the frequent accusations that Republicans take part in such tactics. A liberal advocacy group provided the roughly 20-minute audio of Justin Clark’s remarks at the Republican National Lawyers Association’s Wisconsin chapter to the Associated Press." Which, you know, he says this is taking his comments totally out of context.
The state of civics education in America… "'Minnesota’s thirteen million dollar taxpayer-funded presidential primary ballot is spoiled by an unconstitutional system allowing political party chairs to choose their respective candidates.' Kaardal said. 'Fortunately, the Minnesota Constitution prohibits the state legislature from granting such powers to an individual, association or corporation.'" A person is suing the state of Minnesota because only Donald Trump will appear on the Republican primary ballot. Dude, you should be able to write in the candidate of your choice, and people only have their names on ballots when they file for election and meet the minimum requirement (usually a certain number of valid signatures). And presidential primary ballots are run by the parties. Here in Ohio I'll note that Joe Walsh did not file an application to appear on the ballot (again, Joe Walsh's run is more about his ratings and book sales than being a serious contender). This is also about the lamentable state of political (or any) reporting in the US. Sure, it's The Hill, but seriously, "we reached out for comment" and then they don't do the basics of explaining the actual goddamn rules for primary ballots.
"The White House is considering making the argument that President Trump has not officially been impeached, given that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not transmitted the articles of impeachment to the Senate, two sources involved in the president's impeachment defense told CBS News." Uh, yeah, Bob. (Grokked form Jim Wright)
"Democrats Sunday issued new demands for Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to call witnesses that the President refused to provide for the House investigation… They seized on fresh ammunition for their case after the release of emails that show Trump's budget office ordered a freeze in security funding for Ukraine 90 minutes after Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on July 25."
"'I'm trying to see if the dots get connected. If that is the case, then I think it's a serious matter. I think it's an impeachable matter,' (Sen. Doug Jones of Alabama) said. 'But if these dots aren't connected and there are other explanations that I think are consistent with innocence, I will go that way too… What I really want to see, though, is to fill in the gaps,' he said. 'There are gaps.'" I will go that way too… uh, you gotta make a choice, Doug. This isn't the Scarecrow telling Dorothy how to get to the Emerald City.
"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was scheduled to visit Ukraine in November following his trip to Germany to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Berlin Wall falling. But President Donald Trump, in coordination with the State Department, cut the Kyiv trip from Pompeo’s schedule at the last minute amid the impeachment inquiry, according to a U.S. official and two other individuals familiar with the matter." That doesn't sound like someone who has nothing to hide.
No comments:
Post a Comment