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

Monday, January 31, 2022

Linkee-poo Monday Jan 31

"The Northeast continues to face dangerous cold Monday as it digs out of record snow from a bomb cyclone storm that sapped power to more 100,000 customers in Massachusetts alone and canceled some 5,000 US flights."

"The National Weather Service Miami-South Florida warned the public on Sunday that immobilized iguanas could fall out of trees due to unusually cold temperatures across the region… 'Iguanas are cold-blooded. They slow down or become immobile when temps drop into the 40s (4-9 Celsius). They may fall from trees, but they are not dead,' the service said on Twitter."

"More than 100,000 Americans died from diabetes in 2021, marking the second consecutive year for that grim milestone and spurring a call for a federal mobilization similar to the fight against HIV/AIDS."

"New cases are falling significantly nationwide as the omicron loses steam, but hospitalizations are still near pandemic highs… New infections have fallen more than 30% since mid-January, but Aubrey says it's still a "pretty intense scene" in the places that are just now experiencing their peak… Nearly 18,000 people with COVID-19 are being admitted to hospitals every day, and about 2,300 people are dying a day nationwide."

"More than a year after a bout with COVID-19, Rebekah Hogan still suffers from severe brain fog, pain and fatigue that leave her unable to do her nursing job or handle household activities… Long COVID has her questioning her worth as a wife and mother."

"An Upstate man has been declared inactive on a kidney transplant list after he said he has no plans to receive the COVID-19 vaccine… Jason Wilson, of Easley, has had kidney failure since he was 10 years old."

How it's playing in the conservative media (in this case, Fox News)… "A North Carolina man who said a hospital refused to carry out a kidney transplant because he's unvaccinated against COVID-19 is willing to 'die free' rather than comply with the vaccine requirement."

"Cheslie Kryst, the 2019 winner of the Miss USA pageant and a correspondent for the entertainment news program 'Extra' has died at age 30… Police said Kryst jumped from a Manhattan apartment building and was pronounced dead at the scene Sunday morning."

"We’re in the midst of an energy transition. Renewable power and electric vehicles are getting cheaper, the grid is getting greener, and oil and gas companies are getting nervous… That’s why the fossil fuel giants are looking towards petrochemicals, and plastics in particular, as their next major growth market."

"Prosecutors in the federal hate crime case against the men who murdered Ahmaud Arbery filed notices Sunday that they've made plea deals with two of the three men convicted in the case… Any such agreement would have to be approved by the court, and Arbery's parents would most likely have influence. Prosecutors did not reveal details of the plan, they only served notice that a deal was ready for the U.S. District Court in Brunswick, Georgia, to hear." Dear prosecutors, you have a conviction in the lower court's criminal case. There is no need to work on a plea deal for the federal hate crimes charges unless it's to change their pleas to guilty and to accept the maximum punishment (in that case, the plea deal just saves us the cost of the trial).

"Locals in the city called either Londonderry or Derry, Northern Ireland, are marking 50 years since Bloody Sunday, in which British soldiers fired upon a crowd of protesters in what's now considered one of the most pivotal events of The Troubles."

"The interim findings of an investigation into Covid-19 lockdown-breaking parties at Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office and residence have sharply criticized the culture in Downing Street… The 12-page interim report, published in a redacted form on the government’s website on Monday, makes clear that lockdown parties 'should not have been allowed to take place,' while others 'should not have been allowed to develop as they did.'"

"Russia is willing to risk 'real financial harm' and all-out war to achieve its political objectives in Ukraine, defense analysts have said… Moscow has denied that it plans to invade neighboring Ukraine, a former part of the Soviet Union, despite having assembled around 100,000 troops at the border." Brinksmanship was stupid in the 80s, it's even dumber in the 2020's.

"A Cincinnati-area venue has booted a scheduled rally featuring far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) following a surge of complaints, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Saturday… As for Vance, he has pulled off a transformation, morphing into an avid supporter of Trump, whom he once bashed as 'noxious,' 'reprehensible' and an 'idiot.'" This timeline just keeps getting dumber and dumber.

"Former President Donald Trump on Saturday warned of 'the biggest protest we have ever had' in the United States if prosecutors 'do anything illegal' in their investigations into him and his businesses… Speaking at a rally in Conroe, Texas, on Saturday, Trump spoke about the local and federal probes targeting his businesses and political activities, including lawmakers investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol."

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