Linkee-poo Thursday Sept 9

Michael Constantine, and so it goes.

"Tropical Depression Mindy was dropping heavy rain on southern Georgia and parts of South Carolina on Thursday morning and could produce scattered flash flooding and a few tornadoes as it pushes to the coast, forecasters said… Mindy, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday afternoon and made landfall over the Florida Panhandle's St. Vincent Island that night, had weakened to a tropical depression by the time it reached southern Georgia on Thursday morning."

"When Spanish bishop Xavier Novell resigned last month, the Roman Catholic Church cited strictly personal reasons without going into detail… It has now emerged in Spanish media that he fell in love with a woman who writes Satanic-tinged erotic fiction."

"Larrivee is one of countless members of Gen Z, a generation that roughly encompasses young people under 25, who are responding to the planet’s rapidly changing climate by committing their lives to finding a solution. Survey after survey shows young people are not just incorporating new climate-conscious behaviors into their day-to-day lives – they’re in it for the long haul." But it makes me wonder if these degrees will just be the "Humanities" or "Liberal Arts" degree of the future.

"Almost 60% of oil and gas reserves and 90% of coal must remain in the ground to keep global warming below 1.5C, scientists say… The forecast is based on close analysis of global energy supply and demand… It is a "bleak" but realistic assessment of 'what the science tells us is needed', the researchers say." The closer we get to 2030, the harder the change will become if we don't start now.

"Mexicans are sharing spectacular videos of bursts of blue lights seen streaking across the skies as a strong earthquake rocked the country's Pacific coast city of Acapulco on Wednesday."

"Smoke alarms went off at the Russian segment of the International Space Station in the early hours of Thursday, and the crew reported noticing smoke and the smell of burnt plastic… Russia's space agency Roscosmos said the incident took place in the Russian-built Zvezda module and occurred as the station's batteries were being recharged."

"The $10bn James Webb Space Telescope is expected to launch on 18 December… Yes, countless targeted lift-offs have come and gone in the past, but this one has a reality to it that the others didn't: the successor observatory to Hubble is now actually built."

"A monumental set of decisions is expected Thursday from the Food and Drug Administration that could reshape the tobacco industry for years to come by limiting, or altogether blocking, the sale of millions of electronic cigarette products." Good.

About that post on Oklahoma hospitals being overwhelmed… "'NHS Sequoyah has not treated any patients due to complications related to taking ivermectin. This includes not treating any patients for ivermectin overdose,' the statement read. 'All patients who have visited our emergency room have received medical attention as appropriate. Our hospital has not had to turn away any patients seeking emergency care. We want to reassure our community that our staff is working hard to provide quality healthcare to all patients. We appreciate the opportunity to clarify this issue and as always, we value our community's support.'" As I said, I wasn't seeing that in our hospitals.

"COVID Update: How big a problem will future variants be?" A twitter thread which lays out how the disease is progressing and the issues of mutations. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)

"Israel shot to an early lead in the race to vaccinate, inoculating almost 80 per cent of its citizens aged 12 and over by June, the vast majority with the Pfizer vaccine… With leaders confident they had conquered COVID-19 and the risk of it spreading, the country lifted virtually all movement restrictions and mask mandates… 'They completely dropped their guard,' said Kim Mulholland, a paediatrician at the University of Melbourne and member of the WHO's Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization."

"United Airlines’ employees who are granted exemptions to a company vaccinate mandate for religious reasons will be put on temporary unpaid leave starting next month, the airline told staff Wednesday, citing the recent rise in Covid cases."

A Florida judge ruled Wednesday that the state cannot enforce a ban on public schools mandating the use of masks to guard against the coronavirus, while an appeals court sorts out whether the ban is ultimately legal."

"Vaccine developer said on Wednesday it has initiated an early-stage study to test its combined flu and Covid-19 vaccine… The trial, to be conducted in Australia, will enroll 640 healthy adults between the ages of 50 and 70 years and who have either been previously infected with the coronavirus or given an authorized Covid-19 vaccine at least eight weeks prior to the study." Could have used this last year, this year not so much.

"At least 14 people have been killed in a fire at a makeshift hospital treating Covid-19 patients in North Macedonia… Footage shared on social media showed a building in flames and a thick cloud of black smoke billowing into the air near a main road in the city of Tetovo."

"The resurgence of Covid-19 is rapidly dominating Joe Biden’s administration, putting into question the future of his broader legislative agenda and increasingly steering Democrats into treacherous political territory… The president on Thursday is expected to lay out a detailed, six-point plan that’s aimed at staunching a loss in public confidence as the Delta variant sends hospitalizations, deaths and infection rates soaring. Democrats, anxious about the state of the presidency and the country, say Biden must use the moment to forcefully outline how he intends to combat this worsening stage of the pandemic." Wear the goddamn mask.

"First-time filings for unemployment claims in the U.S. dropped to 310,000 last week, easily the lowest of the Covid era and a significant step toward the pre-pandemic normal, the Labor Department reported Thursday… Claims had been expected to total 335,000 for the week ended Sept. 4, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones."

Meanwhile, on Bullshit Mountain, this is bad news… "Stocks were little changed Thursday as investors continued to assess the strength of the U.S. economy… The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 36 points, or 0.1%, while the SnP 500 index declined 0.06% and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.04%. Both the Dow and the SnP 500 have lost ground in each of the last three sessions, falling Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, a survey of business conditions across the U.S, said economic activity slowed over the summer as the COVID-19 delta variant spread across the country."

"The number of people employed in nontraditional ways in the US rose to a record 51 million this year, an unprecedented 34 percent jump compared to 2020, according to new data from MBO Partners, a company that provides business solutions to the independent workforce and has conducted a long-running study of the group. These types of workers — which include contract workers, people who are self-employed, temporary and on-call workers, and those who get short-term jobs through online apps or marketplaces — are now equivalent to a third of US employment." Also, I'm going to call bullshit on the "perks" part of gig work.

"The Los Angeles police department (LAPD) has directed its officers to collect the social media information of every civilian they interview, including individuals who are not arrested or accused of a crime, according to records shared with the Guardian." My twitter handle? It's "@eatshitpiggos" no spaces, all lowercase, two "g"s. (Grokked from John Scalzi)

"Boats carrying migrants across the English Channel could be turned back from the UK, if personally approved by Home Secretary Priti Patel… The government has authorised Border Force officials to use the new tactic - but only in limited circumstances… However France is strongly against the plan, saying it breaks maritime law and accusing the UK of blackmail."

"Weeks before an era-defining national election, Germans are missing Chancellor Angela Merkel already, praising her calm and stabilising influence as they prepare with a mix of hope and trepidation for life under a new leader for the first time in 16 years."

"A commercial flight took off from Kabul airport on Thursday for the first time since the Taliban seized Afghanistan, hours after the militants cleared a group of Americans and other foreign nationals to leave the country… It is unclear at this stage whether or how many Americans were on board the Qatar Airways flight, reported earlier to be bound for Doha, or the nationalities of the other passengers."

"The US Supreme Court has stayed the execution of Texas inmate John Henry Ramirez, who requested the right to have his pastor hold him as he died… In an order on Wednesday, the top court said the justices would take up the appeal in October or November."

"The Biden administration has told 11 officials appointed to military service academy advisory boards by former President Donald Trump to resign or be dismissed, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN's KFile… The officials asked to resign include prominent former Trump officials like former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, former senior counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and former national security adviser H.R. McMaster. They were appointed to the advisory boards of the Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and West Point respectively." You serve at the pleasure of the president. This president does not require your service. You resign.

"The White House on Thursday defended its move to purge a slew of Trump allies and former administration officials from their roles on various military advisory boards — invoking former President Donald Trump’s incitement of the Jan. 6 insurrection as a reason why those appointees should no longer serve on the government panels."

"The West Virginia Democrat and his staff have been engaged for weeks in intensive negotiations with the chairs of key Senate committees ahead of his party's release of a sprawling bill to expand the social safety net, laying down his demands on a wide-range of issues: health care, education, child care and taxes, according to multiple sources familiar with the talks."

But… "Chuck Schumer is brushing off Joe Manchin’s call for a 'strategic pause' on Democrats’ spending agenda, vowing that the party will not slow its pursuit of a $3.5 trillion bill tackling climate change, tax policy and beefing up social programs."

"The FBI released new information on Wednesday on the person who left pipe bombs in Capitol Hill the night before hundreds of people stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6… The new information includes a virtual map and clear surveillance video that shows the route the bomber walked while placing the two devices on Jan. 5."

Remember that lawyer defining a lot of Jan 6 traitors? "Then, on Sept. 7, Pierce reappeared. He said he had been released from a hospital in the Los Angeles area after a 12-day stay but declined to discuss exactly what led to his hospitalization… 'I will not be elaborating further on my personal medical issues,' he told NPR in an email. (He did say in his statement, 'I have not taken any vaccination for COVID-19, nor do I plan to do so.')"

"Former president Donald Trump on Tuesday night claimed he was pulled to safety by 'two big firemen' after 9/11 when he 'heard creaks' at Ground Zero and predicted a nearby building would collapse — which it never did." They didn't have "tears in their eyes" or begged him, "Please, Mr. President, come with us"? Yeah, not buying it.