There's battle lines being drawn.
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Young people speaking their minds
getting so much resistance from behind

Monday, June 29, 2020

Linkee-poo Monday

"Locus Magazine has announced the winners of the 2020 Locus Awards during its virtual Locus Awards Weekend. The event took place on June 27th, 2020, with Connie Willis acting as MC for the evening."

"Texas Medical Center hospitals have stopped reporting key metrics… The change came one day after the hospitals reported their base intensive care capacity had hit 100 percent for the first time during the pandemic, with projections… on pace to exceed their 'unsustainable surge capacity' by July 6." I'm sure they have done the same thing my hospital has, repurposing several non-ICU beds as ICU-surge beds.

"Even if someone is infected by the novel coronavirus and remains asymptomatic — free of coughing, fever, fatigue and other common signs of infection, that doesn't mean the coronavirus isn't taking a toll. The virus can still be causing mild — although likely reversible — harm to their lungs."

"Coronavirus patients are showing up in emergency rooms after calling 911 from the US-Mexico border… 'They'll literally come to the border and call an ambulance,' says Van Gorder, president and CEO of Scripps Health, a hospital system in southern California." To be clear, these are mostly US citizens who live in Mexico.

"Its single-day totals, which exceeded 8,500 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, were higher than those reported by almost every other U.S. state since the start of the virus pandemic. Only New York, once the epicenter of the nation's outbreak, has confirmed more than 8,500 cases on a single day. During the peak of New York's virus curve, the state reported more than 8,500 positive tests on at least 12 separate days. Health officials confirmed New York's highest single-day jump in cases on April 4, with more than 12,200 diagnoses."

"The spread of coronavirus infections has taken a 'swift and very dangerous turn' in the US state of Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has warned… Several southern and western states have recorded a surge in cases after lockdown restrictions were eased." That should be a "record surge".

"Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the nation's leading experts on infectious diseases, warned Sunday that it's "unlikely" the U.S. will achieve herd immunity to the coronavirus if a portion of the population refuses to get a coronavirus vaccine."

"The Mississippi state legislature voted on Sunday to replace its state flag, the last in the nation to display the Confederate battle emblem. The removal of the flag marks the latest Confederate symbol to topple in the weeks following George Floyd's death as activists have called for a reexamination of the racism that exists in all corners of society… The bill passed by a vote of 91-23 in the House and 37-14 in the Senate."

"President Donald Trump promoted a video on Twitter Sunday morning showing a man in a golf cart with Trump campaign gear shouting 'white power.'… The tweet was removed from his feed hours later." Funny how the president keeps retweeting racists.

"Donald Trump courted controversy on Monday – and perhaps sought to deflect attention from reports about Russia placing bounties on US soldiers in Afghanistan – by retweeting news footage of a white couple in St Louis, Missouri who pointed guns at protesters marching for police reform." It's called "menacing" and it's a felony crime even if people are on your property (they weren't).

"2 Brook Park, Ohio Little Caesars workers fired after putting swastika sign on couple’s pizza." And they didn't even do it correctly.

"Authorities in Louisville, Ky., have identified the victim in a fatal Saturday night shooting in a park where demonstrators gathered to protest the police killing of Breonna Taylor… Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said Sunday that 27-year-old Tyler Gerth died shortly after a shooter opened fire into a group of protesters in Jefferson Square Park."

"A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday stood by its most recent abortion precedent. Chief Justice John Roberts joined the court's four liberals, citing the Supreme Court's adherence to precedent, to invalidate a Louisiana law that required doctors at clinics that perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital."

"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that the president can fire at will the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau but left intact the rest of the statute that created the agency. Congress created the independent agency in 2010 to protect consumers from abuses in the banking and financial services industry that led to the 2008 financial meltdown." Legislating from the bench.

How goes Brexit? "Britain’s most senior civil servant, Mark Sedwill, told Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday he would stand down as cabinet secretary and national security adviser."

"Facebook shares lost more than $55 billion in value Friday after brand giant Unilever said it would pause ad spending on the platform for the rest of the year, and the losses look to continue as more than 150 companies join an effort to contain hate speech and misinformation on social media."

"The Israeli government faces calls from campaigners to declare sovereignty over ancient Jewish ruins on land in the occupied West Bank that Israel does not plan to annex under U.S. President Donald Trump’s peace blueprint." More more more.

"President Trump said late Sunday that he was not told of intelligence that a Russian military spy unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants to attack coalition forces in Afghanistan, including U.S. troops, because U.S. intelligence officials did not find it credible." Sure, sure.

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