There's battle lines being drawn.
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong.
Young people speaking their minds
getting so much resistance from behind

Friday, February 18, 2022

Linkee-poo Thursday Feb 18

"U.S. military pilot Gail S. Halvorsen — known as the 'Candy Bomber' for his candy airdrops during the Berlin airlift after World War II ended — has died at age 101." Stands and salutes.

"Millions of people have been told to stay at home as Storm Eunice brings disruption and record gusts to the UK… High winds have led to power cuts, flights cancellations, hundreds of schools closures, and blanket travel warnings across the country."

"George Takei dedicated the money he received from the federal government to the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. Now, he's a passionate supporter of redress for descendants of enslaved people in the U.S."

"The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that tests have confirmed highly pathogenic avian flu in poultry in two more states, involving a commercial broiler farm in Kentucky and a backyard facility in Virginia."

"The Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday that it is investigating certain powdered infant formula following four customer reports of children contracting serious infections… In a news release, the FDA said infections stemming from the bacterium Cronobacter sakazakii and the strain Salmonella Newport have been linked to powdered infant formula produced in Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan, facility."

"Malawi has declared an outbreak of polio after a young child in the country’s capital, Lilongwe, developed the disease in the first case of the wild polio virus in Africa in more than five years."

"Six African countries – Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia – will be the first on the continent to receive the technology needed to produce their own mRNA vaccines from a scheme headed by the World Health Organization."

"Amazon workers in New York will vote on unionization next month, as the company now faces two potentially groundbreaking union elections at once."

"Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, the automaker’s bold bet to lead its transformation into selling more electric vehicles, replaced the Tesla Model 3 as Consumer Reports’ 'Top Pick' for an electric vehicle in 2022… The designation is further validation of CEO Jim Farley’s belief Ford can not only compete with Tesla but also beat Elon Musk when it comes to EVs."

"A ship carrying cars from Germany to the United States caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday, forcing the crew's 22 members to abandon the vessel and leave it burning and adrift."

"Police began arresting protesters Friday in a bid to break the three-week siege of Canada’s capital by truckers angry over the country’s Covid-19 restrictions… Some protesters surrendered and were taken into custody, police said. Some were seen being led away in handcuffs."

"Police arrested organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber around Parliament Hill, but officers were not moving in force on the demonstrators. Police took Lich into custody late Thursday."

"Spiking tensions in eastern Ukraine on Friday aggravated Western fears of a Russian invasion and a new war on the edge of Europe, with a humanitarian convoy hit by shelling and pro-Russian rebels ordering the evacuation of civilians from the conflict zone."

"With 150,000 Russian troops circling Ukraine's borders and U.S. officials warning that a major invasion could take place any day, President Biden has signaled to the American public that it, too, may feel effects if Russia chooses to invade Ukraine."

"A Texas grand jury indicted 19 Austin police officers on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for their actions during 2020 protests over racial injustice that spread nationwide following the killing of George Floyd, according to people familiar with the matter."

You're going on the list! "The U.S. added Chinese messaging platform WeChat and online marketplace AliExpress to its list of notorious markets for counterfeiting and piracy, an annual compilation of the worst intellectual-property abusers and counterfeiters."

"The Senate voted 65-27 Thursday evening to approve a stop-gap spending bill to fund the government through March 11… The short-term punt is intended to buy lawmakers time to work out a more all-encompassing spending agreement that would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. Top negotiators on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees say they have reached an agreement on a spending framework that will need broader approval in the coming weeks."

"'Donald Trump doesn’t fit that model,' (NY Supreme Court Judge Arthur) Engoron flatly declared. 'He’s not being discriminated against based on race, is he? Or religion, is he? He’s not a protected class,' the judge added… 'If Ms. James has a thing against him, OK, that’s not in my understanding [of] unlawful discrimination. He’s just a bad guy she should go after as the chief law enforcement officer of the state.'" The judge is having none of it.

"Trump’s lawyers are almost certain to appeal Judge Arthur Engoron’s ruling Thursday that Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., have 21 days to comply with a subpoena seeking their testimony in a probe by New York Attorney General Letitia James… Barring a successful legal challenge, Trump would face a decision between answering questions under oath or remaining silent and invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination — a tactic he has equated with evidence of guilt."

"Former President Donald Trump's attorney Alina Habba asked a lawyer from New York Attorney General Tish James' office whether they would 'go after Hillary Clinton' in a hearing about whether the former president should be forced to sit for a deposition about his company's finances." Seriously bad lawyering.

"The House Oversight Committee is asking the General Services Administration to consider terminating the lease for the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, before the former president's business can sell it, in light of allegations that the Trump Organization submitted false financial statements to the federal government." That's gonna leave a mark.

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