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, December 10, 2020

Linkee-poo Thursday Dec 10

"Pharmaceutical company AvKare issued a recall on Wednesday for two different medications after pills were inadvertently mixed during bottling, according to a new report from the FDA. The generic drugs being recalled are sildenafil, used to treat erectile dysfunction, and trazodone, an antidepressant and sedative. Needless to say, you really don’t want to get those two mixed up." Oopsie.

"After years of slumber, a solar flare burst from the sun toward Earth is tempting a rare glimpse at the northern lights for areas farther south than normal and becoming the latest sign that the sun is 'waking up.'"

"A full-scale prototype of of SpaceX's futuristic Starship rocket blasted off from south Texas Wednesday in the program's most ambitious test flight to date, soaring to airliner altitudes before falling back to Earth and righting itself as planned for a tail-first landing attempt… However, the 160-foot-tall prototype hit the ground going faster than expected and exploded in a spectacular conflagration that destroyed the unpiloted test vehicle. But the successful climb to a planned altitude of about 41,000 feet, the rocket's active steering during descent and the dramatic flip from horizontal to vertical for landing marked a major milestone for SpaceX."

"The two allergic reactions reported by U.K. health-care workers vaccinated against Covid-19 will likely be scrutinized by the Food and Drug Administration as it decides whether to authorize Pfizer’s vaccine in the U.S. — though the incident shouldn’t be surprising, medical experts said on Wednesday."

"Falsehoods have multiplied and can be found anywhere from neighborhood chats to groups for pet owners, because so many people have questions about the COVID-19 vaccines. The hoaxes also have been propelled by groups opposed to lockdowns and mask wearing, and by proponents of Qanon, a fact-defying, pro-Trump conspiracy theory."

"Labs across the country have been facing dire shortages of supplies as the number of Covid-19 tests being processed has skyrocketed. But with so many supplies directed toward Covid-19 testing, it's increasingly becoming more difficult for patients to get an accurate diagnosis for sexually transmitted infections, common but serious illnesses like pneumonia and other potentially life-threatening infections." Best healthcare system in the world.

"With Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine poised for Food and Drug Administration authorization for emergency use, there's speculation about when the United States will buy another batch of doses — and whether the Trump administration already missed its chance… Although a Pfizer board member says the government declined to buy more doses beyond the initial 100 million agreed upon in July, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told PBS Newshour that this is inaccurate. The company never made a formal offer saying how many doses it would deliver and when — two things that are needed to sign an additional deal." Who had finger-pointing on their BINGO card? And then there was this… "'They refused to commit to any other production or delivery by a time certain,' (Azar) said, explaining that the initial doses will be delivered by March, and there is an option for the government to buy another 500 million after that." Back the bus up. March?

"The chairman of the House select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic is demanding more information from top officials in the administration after a career employee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testified about a political appointee's efforts to "alter or rescind" information considered damaging to President Donald Trump."

"The mother of Casey Goodson Jr., a 23-year-old Black man who was fatally shot by a sheriff's deputy in Ohio on Friday, is demanding answers about why her son was killed. Tamala Payne told CBS News that she believes Goodson 'was murdered in cold blood,' and said her family will continue to fight for an unbiased investigation into the deadly incident."

"The Minneapolis City Council passed a budget early Thursday that moves about $8 million from the Police Department to other services — but preserves its plan to hire more officers in future years."

"Congress has hit a wall again in efforts to send help to Americans during a coronavirus outbreak that has killed thousands of people a week and left millions waiting in food lines… After days of trying to reach a relief deal, lawmakers as of Wednesday afternoon had not resolved a range of issues preventing an agreement. A Congress that has failed for months to send aid to desperate people will now have to quickly resolve disputes to prevent millions of people from losing unemployment insurance or housing." It's not "brinksmanship" when the head you're hiding the gun to isn't in negotiations.

"'I don't know what I'm going to do financially,' she says. 'I'm applying to jobs and I've probably applied to over 100 at this point and I've had one interview.'… Some 12 million Americans could soon face a similar dilemma."

"The Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) announced that Kansans currently receiving unemployment benefits through two federally funded CARES Act programs, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs, would no longer be able to claim benefits after Dec. 26, 2020."

"The Labor Department said 853,000 people filed new claims for state unemployment benefits during the week that ended on Dec. 5 — a sharp increase of 137,000 from the previous week."

Tax the rich. "You probably think 2020 has turned out to be a pretty lousy year, what with the coronavirus pandemic, a global recession and unceasing partisan warfare in Washington… Then again, you're not Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk."

How goes Brexit? "Honda (HMC) has been forced to halt production at a major plant in England because parts deliveries have been delayed — an ominous sign ahead of January when the end of barrier-free trade with the European Union could snarl supply chains… The Japanese carmaker said in a statement that production was stopped at its plant in Swindon on Wednesday due to 'transport-related parts delays,' without elaborating on their cause."

"The EU has published contingency plans in case of the possible collapse of Brexit trade talks with the UK… The plans aim to ensure smooth UK-EU air and road travel, as well as allowing the possibility of fishing access to each other's waters."

"With new a deadline of Sunday to decide on the future of Brexit trade talks, analysts closely following the negotiations say the chances of an agreement are quickly diminishing… Mujtaba Rahman, managing director of Europe at Eurasia Group, said his team had reduced the probability of a deal from 60% to 55%."

"Barely a week has passed this year without new revelations of racism or far-right extremism plaguing Germany's police and security agencies. Whether it's officers participating in neo-Nazi chat groups or hoarding ammunition to prepare for a doomsday scenario, extremism remains a persistent problem among those who enforce the law in the country."

Ah, the West. Where you're free to be whom you want to be and to exercise all your freedoms. "'One of the women said to us, "Your kind is not welcome here. You are not welcome in Cody Country and you need to leave,’” Shannon recalled in an interview shortly after the October incident. 'She told Colin, "You pretend to be a man, and you need to leave."'"

"Still spinning their wheels on COVID-19 relief, lawmakers grabbed a one-week government funding extension on Wednesday that buys time for more talks — though there is considerable disagreement over who is supposed to be taking the lead from there."

"The Senate on Wednesday defeated a pair of Democrat-led measures to block the Trump administration’s proposed sale of advanced military weapons to the United Arab Emirates, a crucial victory for President Donald Trump as he seeks to solidify his foreign policy legacy."

"Michigan state Rep. Cynthia Johnson, a Black Democratic lawmaker who faced lynching threats and harassment following an Oversight Committee hearing last week where she leveled fierce criticism against President Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, has been punished by House Republican leaders for a video she posted to Facebook on Tuesday. Republicans say that's because in the video she appears to threaten supporters of the president."

"With Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court days before the 2020 presidential election, Sen. Mitch McConnell solidified the conservative majority he had been seeking for decades. FRONTLINE tells the inside story of McConnell’s hard-fought effort to transform the nation’s highest court in 'Supreme Revenge: Battle for the Court,' an updated version of our 2019 film." A video and audio story.

"President-elect Joe Biden’s son Hunter Biden revealed Wednesday that he is under investigation for his “tax affairs” by federal prosecutors in Delaware… Hunter Biden said in a statement, 'I learned yesterday for the first time that the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Delaware advised my legal counsel, also yesterday, that they are investigating my tax affairs.'"

"In addition to Delaware, the securities fraud unit in the Southern District of New York also scrutinized Hunter Biden’s finances, according to the person with direct knowledge of the investigation. The person said that, as of early last year, investigators in Delaware and Washington were also probing potential money laundering and Hunter Biden’s foreign ties. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the matter publicly."

"Georgia, currently the center of the American political universe, is so awash with misinformation that some supporters of President Donald Trump here believe that he did not lose the presidential election. Some are not sure if they will be able to trust the results of the state's runoff election next month that will decide which party controls the US Senate… Since Trump's loss here in November, the Peach state has become a key focus in a disinformation campaign pushed by the President and his allies and believed by some of his supporters in the state."

And they're still trying to take away your right to vote. "Georgia Republicans on Tuesday outlined a plan to restrict mail voting and roll back the election laws that contributed to the state's record-high turnout in the presidential election — unwinding rules the party itself put in place… The framework for legislation — which would eliminate no-excuse absentee voting, add a voter ID requirement to mail ballots for voters with an eligible excuse and eliminate drop boxes — appears designed to respond to President Donald Trump's repeated and false claims that mail voting is rife with fraud."

"Election experts scoffed this week when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced he would be filing a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against four key states in an attempt to block presidential electors from finalizing Joe Biden's election victory… But now President Trump and 17 states he carried are joining that effort… The lawsuit may be a typically adept Trump move to get attention, but election law experts said he has little chance of getting the Supreme Court to support his move."

"Seventeen states whose elections were won by President Donald Trump told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that they support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s bid to file a lawsuit that could effectively reverse President-elect Joe Biden’s projected Electoral College victory… The filing backing Paxton by those states came a day after he asked the Supreme Court for permission to sue Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all of which Biden won, over their voting processes."

"The Arizona Republican Party asked its Twitter followers this week if they would be 'willing' to die to overturn President Trump's election loss… On Monday, an activist associated with the 'Stop the Steal' movement, which promotes baseless arguments that Democrats "stole" the election, tweeted, 'I am willing to give my life for this fight.'… In response, the official account for the Arizona branch of the GOP quote tweeted the sentiment, adding, 'He is. Are you?'" It's all fun and games until it's your head rolling off the guillotine blade. They have this movie fantasy in their head of what this would be like, and the glory they would have, not to mention the fun while mowing down the neighbors they don't like.

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