Linkee-poo Thursday Feb 3

It's that time of year, again, to vote for the Rock Hall nominees. Damn good list. (Grokked from Dan)

"Dust off your pink, tiger-print jacket -- it's time to celebrate the Lunar New Year… Saying goodbye to the Ox, we enter(ed) the Year of the Tiger on February 1, 2022."

"Residents in the area near a North Carolina fertilizer plant that caught fire Monday night are urged to stay away from their homes for an 'undetermined' amount of time, as a massive amount of ammonium nitrate within the burning facility is at risk of an explosion, officials said Wednesday."

"Thousands of flights have been canceled and more than 63,000 customers in Texas have been left without power in the midst of a fierce winter storm that has put around 108 million people from New Mexico to Maine under winter and flood alerts early Thursday."

"A major winter storm with millions of Americans in its path brought a mix of rain, freezing rain and snow to the central U.S. as airlines canceled thousands of flights, officials urged residents to stay off roads and schools closed campuses."

"With salmon on the brink of extinction in the Pacific Northwest, a team of scientists (launched) an international expedition Tuesday into the remote Pacific Ocean (the Bering straight) which they hope will hold clues to the fish's survival."

"Growing up, my family often relied on tarot when working through tough decisions – we'd draw cards to talk through my brother's breakup, or whether I should drop out of school… I didn't always listen to the readings, but the rituals provided me a space to ruminate on and figure out my own answers to the question that's being asked of the cards. Years later, along with many others, I've returned to the practice as a way of staying grounded during this time of indecision and overwhelm." I Ching, Tarot, the finger bones of your enemies, whatever.

"Two people with leukemia achieved remission over a decade after being infused with CAR-T cells, immune cells that had been modified in a lab, according to a new study. The findings suggest that this approach could be a long-term therapy for leukemia -- and some researchers describe it as a possible cure."

"Taylor's struggles to get a benefit she was in fact qualified for are not uncommon in Missouri or nationally. They stem from extremely outdated technology used by a humongous web of government agencies, from local public health to state-run benefits programs. Matt Salo, the National Association of State Medicaid Directors executive director, calls the need for technology upgrades 'the next great challenge that government has to solve.'" In healthcare, our immediate backup technology is based on the fax machine. And sometimes the fax is used as the frontline technology.

"More than 1.2 million additional people across North America are expected to die of opioid overdoses by 2029 if dramatic interventions are not taken to prevent it, according to a new study published in the Lancet… Overdose deaths from all drugs, including opioids, have increased dramatically in the US and Canada during the Covid-19 pandemic."

"President Biden announced on Wednesday that he is reigniting "Cancer Moonshot," the project he spearheaded as vice president during the Obama administration."

"The White House is ready to 'hit the ground running' to vaccinate children aged six months to 5 years old as soon as Pfizer/BioNTech receives emergency use authorization for its Covid-19 vaccine for that age group."

"Teachers are picking up slack for absent colleagues. They're covering for unfilled positions. And 55% of them say they will leave teaching sooner than they had originally planned, according to a poll of its members by the nation's largest teachers union."

"The Omicron variant put a massive speed bump in the road to America's recovery this winter. The first signs of trouble could show up in the January jobs report Friday… The White House on Monday prepared Americans for disappointment about the jobs numbers: Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told CNN the number of jobs added at the start of 2022 could be "unusually low" because of Omicron."

"Initial filings for unemployment claims totaled a bit fewer than expected last week as companies looked to overcome the impact of the omicron spread… Claims for the week ended Jan. 29 were 238,000, a touch lower than the 245,000 Dow Jones estimate, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was also a decline from the previous week’s upwardly revised 261,000."

"The Bank of England on Thursday imposed back-to-back interest rate hikes for the first time since 2004 and began the process of quantitative tightening."

"US Special Forces killed ISIS leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi in a counterterrorism mission in northwest Syria Wednesday evening, President Joe Biden announced Thursday morning… Sources on the ground reported multiple fatalities. At least 13 people were killed in clashes that took place during and after the raid -- including six children and four women -- according to the Syrian civil defense group, the White Helmets."

"Boris Johnson's head of policy has resigned over the PM's false claim that Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute serial sex offender Jimmy Savile when he was director of public prosecutions… Mr Johnson made the widely debunked accusation on Monday, sparking anger from MPs - including in his own party… The PM backed down on Thursday, saying the Labour leader 'had nothing to do personally with those decisions'."

"Duane Smith and his 11-year-old grandson, Allen Cadwalader, were out on a magnet fishing trip on January 30 in Homestead, a suburb of Miami, Florida, when within five minutes of their arrival, Cadwalader reeled in two sniper rifle receivers and bolt carrier groups wrapped in shrink wrap, Smith told CNN."

"Denounce the Nazi demonstrators in Orlando, Gov. Ron DeSantis. It’s that simple. Say they are abhorrent. Say they are despicable. Say they have no part in this society or this state. But no. Instead, our governor attacked Democrats during a press conference in Palm Beach County on Monday. Dragged in issues like immigration and inflation and crime. Accused unnamed people — Democrats, of course — of trying to 'smear' him. Said he wouldn’t 'play their game.'" This is covered in Public Relations 101. You say you abhor Nazis, but we have free speech. As long as they don't commit a crime, the government must respect the 1st Amendment, no matter how much we disagree with that speech. It's real easy, unless you're a fucking Nazi.(Grokked from Jim Wright)

"The NYPD had informed the CCRB that it was invoking its authority to unilaterally end the cases against most of the officers the civilian agency had charged with misconduct. No disciplinary charges would be brought against them." Dear police, want us to trust you? Stop this shit.

"The butterflies will fly no more — or not in public view, anyway… The National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, has announced that it's closing its doors "for the immediate future" after ongoing harassment directed at employees and the center itself."

"An Oregon church has sued the town where it's located over a new local ordinance that restricts the number of times the church can dole out free meals each week to those in need… St. Timothy's Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon say in a federal lawsuit against the city of Brookings that the ordinance limiting them to two free meal giveaways per week violates their constitutional right to free religious expression."

"'There is no American history without African American history,' said Sara Clarke Kaplan, executive director of the Antiracist Research & Policy Center at American University in Washington, D.C. The Black experience, she said, is embedded in 'everything we think of as "American history."'"

"The threat to the West from the Chinese government is 'more brazen' and damaging than ever before, FBI Director Christopher Wray said Monday night in accusing Beijing of stealing American ideas and innovation and launching massive hacking operations."

"Last summer, when he retired at 50 from the FBI, Scott left the bureau as one of the most storied agents since Joe Pistone, the real-life Donnie Brasco. For two-plus decades, he cracked landmark cases and won every laurel they give to undercovers. Months out of the game, though, he can’t stop brooding over the threat he left behind. He knows better than anyone that it’s later than we think, and that each day brings us closer to the next 9/11 — this one launched by our own children."

"Trump alleged during a rally in Texas over the weekend that Black prosecutors investigating him are 'racist,' and he is again flirting with mob violence, calling for mass protests if they do anything he deems to be 'wrong or illegal.'" Trump says the quiet parts out loud. And in case you're wondering, yes, there are even deeper levels of filth he can descend to.

"'I didn’t do anything, but they changed the party,' Salazar said, adding he noticed, 'when they sent me the new registration.'… He wasn’t the only elderly resident at the public housing to come forward and say the same thing happened to them." I don't understand the logic of this action except for media news releases (which don't mean shit except for bragging) or an attempt to convince the larger donors to give more money because "you're winning." There are some long term hijinks that could be played (getting a ghost candidate nominated on the Democratic side). I don't know, does Florida offer a slate ballot that is tied to your voter registration party preference? (Grokked from Joy Reid)