Jim Wright is asking help for a friends.
"The larger problem has the potential to affect every writer. Disney’s argument is that they have purchased the rights but not the obligations of the contract. In other words, they believe they have the right to publish work, but are not obligated to pay the writer no matter what the contract says." This is a bullshit argument on Disney's end. That's not how contracts work.
"A satellite scheduled to launch from California later this month will measure sea level rise and provide other crucial data to scientists who study how global warming is affecting the Earth's oceans… Melting ice has already caused sea levels to rise by about 8 inches since 1880, and the trend is accelerating. The Earth's oceans have soaked up the vast majority of the extra heat, and about one quarter of the extra carbon dioxide, that humans have generated by burning fossil fuels."
"Then they processed these images to remove all known sources of visible light. Once they'd subtracted out the light from stars, plus scattered light from the Milky Way and any stray light that might be a result of camera quirks, they were left with light coming in from beyond our own galaxy… They then went a step further still, subtracting out light that they could attribute to all the galaxies thought to be out there. And it turns out, once that was done, there was still plenty of unexplained light."
"'More than 900 staff members across the Midwest Mayo Clinic system have been diagnosed with Covid-19 over the last 14 days, a spokesperson told CNN… 'Our staff are being infected mostly due to community spread (93% of staff infections), and this impacts our ability to care for patients,' Kelley Luckstein wrote to CNN in a Wednesday email.'"
"The Ohio Department of Health has yet to release the state’s full coronavirus numbers for the day (yesterday)… Throughout the state, some county and city health departments have had trouble keeping up with reporting as cases have skyrocketed."
"Ohio Governor Mike DeWine… stopped at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport to discuss the recent spike of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions throughout Ohio and locally… He was joined by Mercy Health Chief Clinical Officer Dr. James Kravec, who spoke of the challenges that the healthcare community is facing… 'If people do not stop gathering in large groups, our hospitals will be overwhelmed,' he said. 'I truly wish the general public could see the stress the staff is under.'"
"Geauga County Sheriff Scott Hildenbrand is addressing Ohio’s statewide curfew and the statewide mask order… On his Facebook page, Sheriff Hildenbrand wrote, 'There is no law to enforce, so please do not call us in regards to this… It is up to the business owners to enforce this as they do with the requirements to wear a shirt and shoes,' he says… On the curfew, Hildenbrand says it is simply a suggestion… 'We do not have the authority, the time, or the willingness to even attempt to enforce this,' he says." Sheriff Hildenbrand is wrong on this. These were issued as health department orders, which have the force of law. If someone opened an unregulated restaurant his officers would be required to close the business down. It's the same thing here. I appreciate that he doesn't want to respond to every report of someone in public without a mask, but when push comes to shove, his deputies will definitely be involved.
"Later today, the U.S. International Development Finance Corp, or DFC, is expected to announce that it has extended a $590 million loan to ApiJect Systems America, NPR has learned. The Connecticut company makes a disposable injection device that it says can be mass produced to deliver vaccines and medications around the world… The single-use, self-contained devices are designed to be an alternative to traditional vials and syringes. 'This is going to be, we believe, the next generation of safe injections worldwide,' ApiJect Systems Corp. Executive Chairman Jay Walker told NPR."
"In U.S. cities, the health effects of past housing discrimination are plain to see."
"The pace of workers filing for unemployment claims picked up last week and was a bit higher than Wall Street had been expecting… Jobless claims totaled 742,000 for the week, the Labor Department reported Thursday, ahead of the 710,000 estimate from economists surveyed by Dow Jones."
"About 12 million jobless workers around the U.S. will lose their unemployment benefits the day after Christmas, according to a new analysis. The benefits cutoff could push many households into poverty while creating headwinds for the economic recovery, experts say… Two key government programs authorized by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act expire on December 26."
"A coalition of native groups in Canada bought stake in Clearwater Seafoods last week in a groundbreaking acquisition for the indigenous communities whose livelihood has long been threatened by commercial fishing… Under the deal, worth nearly $765 million, two groups of the Mi'kmaq tribe — Miawpukek and Membertou First Nations — agreed to 50% ownership. Vancouver-based Premium Foods secured the other half."
"Former Army Green Beret Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins could spend the rest of his life in prison after pleading guilty to charges of espionage Wednesday… Debbins, a 45-year-old Virginia man with Minnesota roots, had an illustrious military career. He spent seven years on active duty, three of them serving in special forces, spying for Russia during that time and after he left the Army."
"A shocking Australian military report into war crimes has found evidence that elite Australian troops unlawfully killed 39 Afghan prisoners, farmers and civilians… Australian Defence Force Chief Gen. Angus Campbell said Thursday the shameful record included alleged instances in which new patrol members would shoot a prisoner in order to achieve their first kill in a practice known as 'blooding.' He said the soldiers would then plant weapons and radios to support false claims the prisoners were enemies killed in action."
"The head of the U.N. watchdog responsible for inspecting Iran’s nuclear program has warned against launching a military strike on Iran."
"Thailand's prime minister has vowed to use all available laws to quash protests calling for his ouster, after parliament rejected key demands of the demonstrators by rejecting a motion to revamp the country's constitution and overhaul the monarchy."
"Ultimately the fact that Election Day came and went without serious cybersecurity or foreign disinformation campaigns suggests that the lessons of 2016 were learned — because the threats to this election were real."
"Monica Palmer, chair of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers, and William Hartmann, one of two Republicans on the Board, filed signed affidavits Wednesday night demanding to rescind their 'yes' certification votes." Here's my advice to anyone in positions of power, always vote your conscience. You can repair almost anything else, but your self-worth. I voted against my conscience once (it was a trivial matter and at the time I felt showing solid support was more important). I still regret that vote. What I see here are two people who don't know which way the wind is blowing and they don't have the intestinal fortitude to do what they think is right. Instead, they're trying to straddle the middle and they don't release that by trying for that center ground, there will be no peace (and that is what they want). Either side will vilify them, any position in the GOP will be denied them (county canvassers are not a stepping stone to part power in the first place, they're some place to park and placate trouble children), and the Democrats won't take them in. There's word that Trump personally called both of them. It's a hail Mary play.
"Getting nowhere in the courts, President Donald Trump’s scattershot effort to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory is shifting toward obscure election boards that certify the vote as Trump and his allies seek to upend the electoral process, sow chaos and perpetuate unsubstantiated doubts about the count."
"But after Trump lost Georgia to Joe Biden by around 13,000 votes, Raffensperger has emerged as one of the few Republican officials across the US who has aggressively disputed Trump’s baseless claims that fraud tainted the election result in the state. Trump, who endorsed Raffensperger in 2018, is now directing his ire at the secretary of state, and Georgia’s two Republican senators, both locked in separate runoff contests against Democrats, have called on Raffensperger to resign."
"Georgia election officials expect to release the results of a statewide audit by noon Thursday, as a handful of counties finish data entry from a full hand recount of 5 million presidential votes… Gabriel Sterling with the secretary of state's office said Wednesday afternoon that at least 21 of 159 counties show their risk-limiting audit is still in process, including some of the large jurisdictions in metro Atlanta. The deadline for the audit is 11:59 p.m. Wednesday."
"Trump made it okay to be a racist, a bigot, a sexist. Trump made it so they didn't have to hide who they really are, down there underneath the thin veneer of civilization. Trump let them wave the Nazi flag and said they were good people. The Klan, the Confederates, the Proud Boys, the Incels, and the raggedy-ass militia just spoiling for a limpieza social of their own, Trump was their Jesus -- a white Republican Jesus, who didn't tell them to be better, but instead gave them permission to be who they already were." Jim Wright does it again.
"A handful of current Trump administration officials, as well as some political appointees who left in recent months, have quietly started to reach out to members of President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, according to people briefed on the matter." While I applaud them for reaching out (as long as it's to help the smooth transfer of power), what they really should do is pressure Trump to concede so they can do this officially. To not do so is to be cowardly. They know Trump is a bully, and has empowered bullies, and I don't think they're wrong to be afraid.
"President-elect Joe Biden acknowledged in a private video call with supporters on Wednesday that he will face 'real brick walls' in the Senate if Republicans maintain their majority but said he thinks he can overcome the political divides that may exist… 'We're going to run into some real brick walls initially in the Senate, unless we're able to turn around Georgia and pick up those two seats, but even then it's going to be hard,' Biden said, referring to the two Senate runoffs underway in Georgia, which won't be settled until January. 'But I believe I know the place. I believe we can ultimately bring it together.'"
"Congress will be more likely to negotiate over a second coronavirus relief after President Trump leaves office in January, president-elect Joe Biden said Wednesday." Too late.
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