I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
And so the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same
And these children that you spit on
As they try to change their worlds
Are immune to your consultations
They're quite aware of what they're goin' through

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Linkee-poo Weekend

"Implying that organized outsiders, perhaps including anarchists, white supremacists and drug cartel agents from outside Minnesota, were contributing to the chaos, Walz said, 'The sheer number of rioters has made it impossible to make coherent arrests. ... The capacity to be able to do offensive action was greatly diminished' by the sheer scope and seemingly organized nature of the assaults… 'The terrifying thing is that this resembles more a military operation now as you observe ringleaders moving from place to place,' he said."

"Shots were fired at law enforcement officers in Minneapolis early Saturday morning near the police department's Fifth Precinct, according to Minnesota State Police. No officers are believed to have been hit."

"Minnesota's governor has fully mobilized the state's National Guard, and the Pentagon has put military police on alert to go to Minneapolis. The units are on notice to return to their bases within 30 minutes, which is the last alert stage before actually receiving an order, CBS News' David Martin reports."

"Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Friday evening denounced vandalism in her city as 'chaos' after demonstrations over the death of George Floyd while in in the custody of Minneapolis police turned violent."

"SpaceX had just conducted yet another static fire test of the Raptor engine in its Starship SN4 prototype launch vehicle on Friday when the test vehicle exploded on the test stand in Boca Chica, Texas. This was the fourth static fire test of this engine on this prototype, so it's unclear what went wrong versus other static fire attempts."

"Making America great again just wasn’t enough. 'President Trump is making space great again,' the Republican National Committee declared this week… Donald Trump returns to Cape Canaveral in Florida on Saturday to witness the rescheduled launch of a SpaceX rocket carrying Nasa astronauts that was delayed by weather three days earlier." Eye-roll.

"The Ohio Department of Health is now estimating a January onset of coronavirus symptoms for at least 13 cases in eight counties, evidence that the virus arrived earlier and more widely than originally could be confirmed." Ta-da!

"The warning about singing was part of new guidance for leaders of faith-based organizations that the CDC posted to its website last Friday. But the guidance disappeared over the weekend, apparently because the White House had not approved it."

"On March 15, Lin shared on Facebook the text of a letter he had sent to the hospital's chief medical officer, pointing out the infection risks of how the hospital was testing for the coronavirus, and suggesting changes he thought the hospital should make, including checking the temperature of staff at the beginning of shifts and triaging patients outside the emergency room, in the parking lot." And then they fired him. Hospital management is where business consulting ideas go to die.

"This weekend, such temporary pay bumps are ending at companies including Amazon and Molson Coors. They already ended at Rite Aid and Kroger. Some companies, like Walmart and CVS, paid one-time bonuses instead. Some had no hazard pay altogether. Target and Kraft Heinz told NPR they're extending their temporary extra pay a bit longer… Meanwhile, particularly at stores, new hazards arise, as workers who signed up to stock shelves and run registers take on new roles as enforcers of social distancing and mask wearing. For many, their pay — for being essential, with hazard pay — is lower than what the federal government is paying in unemployment relief."

"Two U.S. senators are expected to introduce next week sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline that Russia is trying to finish, but which Washington has opposed since the Obama era, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday." (Grokked from Xeni Jardin)

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) panned President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO), calling the move 'senseless.'"

"A German government spokesman has confirmed that Chancellor Angela Merkel will not attend an in-person summit of world leaders that President Donald Trump has suggested he will host in the United States despite concerns over the coronavirus."

"The history behind 'When the looting starts, the shooting starts'." Racist president says what now?

"Taylor Swift lashed out at President Donald Trump on Friday for his late-night tweet threatening violence against protesters in Minnesota, tweeting that the President has been 'stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism (his) entire presidency.'"

"In an effort to keep voters safe, states of all political complexions are finding ways to expand access to mail-in ballots as a result of the coronavirus pandemic… Then there's Texas."

"White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany thought she had scored a direct hit on the media's credibility during Thursday's press briefing."

"Incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn told Russia’s ambassador to Washington in late 2016 to take 'reciprocal' actions in response to Obama administration sanctions for election interference, rather than escalating the situation into a 'tit for tat.'" Flynn testified he did not discuss sanctions with Kislyak before the inauguration. Also, with all of the transcripts, several people in the known see Kislyak grooming Flynn and Flynn responding in a way that indicates he was cooperating. Kislyak, besides being the Russian ambassador to the US, was also considered the main Russian spymaster and recruiter in the US. Kislyak was also granted a private tour of the White House by president Trump less than a week after the inauguration.

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