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

Thursday, August 13, 2020

Linkee-poo Thursday

"The evidence is now clear enough that it can be stated unequivocally: It would be worth freeing ourselves from fossil fuels even if global warming didn’t exist. Especially now that clean energy has gotten so cheap, the air quality benefits alone are enough to pay for the energy transition."

"Monday’s derecho across the Corn Belt and Midwest laid siege to more than 10 million acres of Iowa’s corn and soybean crop, devastating farmers and capping off what has already been a difficult few years of farming for many… Up to 43 percent of the state’s corn and soybean crop has suffered damage from the storms that brought winds exceeding 100 miles per hour at times, a severe blow to a $10 billion industry that’s central to the Hawkeye State’s economy. The magnitude of the battered vegetation was even visible on the same weather satellites used to track Monday’s violent thunderstorms." Dear Washington Post, that's not what "laid siege" means. You wanted "blitzkrieg".

It's all about privacy of the students… "After the images went viral, at least two students told BuzzFeed News they were suspended for posting them. According to an audio clip posted to Twitter, alleging to be an announcement from the principal of North Paulding High School, students were cautioned against sharing 'anything that’s going on social media that’s in a negative light without permission, that’s photography, that’s video,' and adding that 'there will be consequences for those students or anyone who sent out those pictures.'" Without permission. To say negative things. About the school and it's leadership. the kids got this one right.

"As the pandemic continues to sweep the US, Canadians are getting more and more concerned about what American visitors could be bringing with them over the border."

"New Zealand has reported 14 new Covid-19 cases a day after its biggest city, Auckland, went back into lockdown… The detection of four new infected family members earlier this week shocked a country that had recorded no locally transmitted cases for more than three months."

"Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte may be injected with Russia’s coronavirus vaccine as early as May 2021, a presidential spokesman reportedly said Thursday." Couldn't we move that up? Also, for an "approved" vaccine that won't have phase-3 trials until October, and won't be generally available until the end of the 1st quarter 2021, doesn't sound very "approved" to me.

"The Big 12 board of directors voted Tuesday night to allow their schools to go ahead with the 2020 fall season, the conference announced Wednesday. The conference also released its 2020 football schedule." And now we have a control for the experiment. Also note, this is just press jockeying, they've left themselves enough room to cancel the season. "(Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby) also said players who do test positive and recover will receive proper cardiac care, due to emerging evidence that even those with mild cases of COVID-19 may suffer from heart damage." And what happens after they're no longer a student? Does the care follow them for their lifetime?

"Heat Biologics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing first-in-class therapies to modulate the immune system, including multiple oncology product candidates and a novel COVID-19 vaccine, today reported preclinical data for Heat's gp96-based COVID-19. The data, generated at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, shows robust T cell mediated immune response directed against the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2." Again, note this is announced in the financial press, not the medical press.

"Protesters rallied to block Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials from detaining two men in Bend, Oregon. Immigration attorney Micaela Guthrie is working with the men and says they were detained Wednesday morning, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported… The two were taken to buses that were surrounded by activists for hours. Late Wednesday, it appeared that federal agents had emptied the buses and the crowd was dispersing."

"First-time claims for unemployment insurance last week fell below 1 million for the first time since March 21 in a sign that the labor market is continuing its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic… The total claims of 963,000 for the week ended Aug. 8 was well below the estimate of 1.1 million from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. That represented a decline of 228,000 from the previous week’s total." Throws confetti into the air until someone reminds us that 1) one week does not make a trend and 2) just 6 months ago a number over 200,000 would be considered "devastating".

"The International Energy Agency (IEA) cut its 2020 oil demand forecast on Thursday, warning that reduced air travel due to the coronavirus pandemic would lower global oil demand this year by 8.1 million barrels per day (bpd)."

"Seeing police brutality up close has shocked Belarusians, first during the street clashes with protesters and then as accounts spread of cruelty towards those taken to detention centres."

"The European Union will likely impose new sanctions on Belarus as soon as later this month, diplomats and officials said, after President Alexander Lukashenko cracked down on protests triggered by a disputed election."

"A group of armed individuals entered and searched the offices of Russian Internet-service company in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on Thursday, the fourth day of unrest sparked by the disputed reelection of President Alexander Lukashenko." Stay safe, my Russian friends.

"Lebanon's parliament has approved a state of emergency that grants sweeping powers to the army, citing the exceptional circumstances in the country following a massive explosion in Beirut last week." The Lebanon military is somewhat well respected by the people (IIRC), but still not a good sign (see: Egypt).

"Everdell and Cohen also argued that Maxwell can’t receive a fair trial unless the government discloses the names of the three Epstein victims who accused her of facilitating his abuse. Otherwise, they said, they’ll have to speculate about which three of the 'dozens, if not hundreds,' of Epstein’s alleged victims are in the indictment." Isn't that, like, part of the reason she's in jail? But yes, discovery is important.

"U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said President Donald Trump’s executive orders against TikTok and WeChat could be 'broader' than just those two apps." Well of course, who wants to sign orders every time something pisses them off. That's just not productive. It's better to just "extend" existing orders.

"White House officials and top Democratic leaders signaled on Wednesday that they can’t agree on what they said to each other, much less forge a compromise, on a Covid-19 relief bill to help the battered U.S. economy or tens of millions of Americans facing financial hardship… The high-stakes stalemate now appears likely to drag on for weeks, or even into September, according to lawmakers and aides in both parties." It's the August recess, of course it's going to drag into September.

"With coronavirus relief negotiations in Congress at an impasse, Democratic lawmakers have a significantly higher favorability than their Republican counterparts, new polling shows." Granted, they're still pretty dismal numbers, but the public sees the Democrats as at least trying.

"The extra $400 in weekly unemployment insurance benefits President Donald Trump has authorized may not provide as much of a financial lift as millions of jobless Americans might hope. Although his executive order would extend the payments through December 6, federal funding for the claims is likely to run out far sooner."

"If Joe Biden wins the presidency, his Justice Department will face a decision with huge legal and political implications: whether to investigate and prosecute President Trump… But he hastened to add that an administration pursuing criminal charges against its predecessor would be 'a very, very unusual thing and probably not very, how can I say it? good for democracy — to be talking about prosecuting former presidents.'" Hey Joe, everything else about the Trump presidency has been "unprecedented", let's add one more, okay?

"At the start of the 2020 election cycle -- way back in December 2018 -- the conventional wisdom was that while Democrats might be able to retake the Senate majority, it was a long shot… It's a very long way from that assumption to this headline from the Cook Political Report, a non-partisan campaign handicapping site, late last month: 'Almost 100 Days Out, Democrats Are Favored to Take Back the Senate.'"

"A former top official at the United States Postal Service (USPS) has warned that recent changes at the agency, now led by a Trump ally, could 'disenfranchise' voters as they are implemented just months ahead of an election in which a record number of Americans are expected to vote by mail."

"Mail sorting equipment is being removed from U.S. Postal Service (USPS) offices amid a slew of operational changes implemented by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, according to the head of the Iowa Postal Workers Union." I worked at a major branch of the post office when I was in college (2 tours as a "90 day wonder", or causal employee). Without automated sorting equipment backed up by human staffed sorting machines (for mail that can't be read by machines, humans read it, encode the address, and a bar code is printed on the mail to allow automated sorting at the next post stop) the mail will come to a halt. There is simply too much that needs sorting to be done manually.

"Postmaster General Louis DeJoy continues to hold a multimillion-dollar stake in his former company XPO Logistics, a United States Postal Service contractor, likely creating a major conflict of interest, according to newly obtained financial disclosures and ethics experts… Outside experts who spoke to CNN were shocked that ethics officials at the postal service approved this arrangement, which allows DeJoy to keep at least $30 million in XPO holdings." These days that seems like a minor infringement, but for past administrations this alone would be a major scandal lasting months.

Saying the quiet part out loud in an offhand way, on Bullshit Mountain where they feel they can say the truth. "President Trump on Thursday blamed Democrats’ push for funding for universal mail-in ballots as one of the reasons for a delay in negotiations on Capitol Hill over a fourth coronavirus stimulus package, claiming the practice in the 2020 election would cause 'the greatest fraud in history.'" Mail in ballots are more secure than in-person voting. Also, the president is delusional and just throwing words together in non-sense fear mongering. "Meanwhile, the president went on to further slam Democrats, like freshman progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who he predicted would eventually challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and said she would win." Until she wins a Senate seat, that would be impossible.

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