Just a short one before I run out the door for the rest of the week.
"A NASA spacecraft has officially 'touched' the sun, plunging through the unexplored solar atmosphere known as the corona."
"The Omicron coronavirus variant is spreading at a rate not seen with previous variants, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned, adding that the tendency to dismiss it as mild is concerning." I guess that answers the question, is Omicron more infectious than Delta.
"The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots… The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine, and thousands have either refused or sought an exemption. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Monday that these are the first airmen to be administratively discharged for reasons involving the vaccine." I'm not someone to argue about the merits of the different categories of discharge, and there are always extenuating circumstances, but I'm not sure "failure to obey the command of a superior officer" qualifies one for "Honorable Discharge." Also, the AF has over 300,000 enlisted and commissioned officers. One thousand isn't even a full percentage point.
"Americans dialed back their spending in November, new data from the Census Bureau showed Wednesday… US retail sales grew by 0.3% in November, a sharp decline from the previous month and less than economists had predicted… Even so, sales were 16.1% higher than in the same period last year." Release the Doom and Gloom reporters!
"A ransomware attack on one of the largest human resources companies may impact how many employees get paid and track their paid time off… Human resources management company Ultimate Kronos Group (known as Kronos) said it suffered a ransomware attack that may keep its systems offline for weeks." Fucking fabulous. We use Kronos at the hospital. And even when it's working it's a PIA, requires constant maintenance, and then add that to the generally onerous HR of hospitals. Also, we were slated for bonuses next week, which there was already grumbling about how late those were coming in the "season" they were meant to "help" us with.
"Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer who was convicted in April on state murder charges for killing George Floyd, pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges at a change of plea hearing Wednesday in US District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota."
"Republican Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona, one of Congress' most right-wing members, issued a press release yesterday, touting federal investment in a local airport thanks to the American Rescue Plan… The statement included a quote from the local mayor, thanking the congressman for his 'continued support.'… What the press statement neglected to mention is the inconvenient detail: Gosar opposed the American Rescue Plan. Under his preferred approach, the funding he now wants credit for wouldn't have passed, at least not when it did." Conservatives taking credit for somethign they didn't do or actively opposed? I guess that means it's Wednesday.
Oh look, actual voter fraud… "Three residents of The Villages have recently been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into voter fraud, court records show (casting ballots in person and by mail in other states)… All three are registered as Republicans in Florida, voter registration records show." Oh, it's republicans again. Never mind. (Grokked from John Scalzi)
"A day after lawmakers shared an explosive series of text messages sent to Mark Meadows during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the Democratic-led U.S. House voted to hold the former Trump White House chief of staff in criminal contempt of Congress."
Wednesday, December 15, 2021
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Linkee-poo Tuesday Dec 14
"The omicron variant appears to cause less severe disease than previous versions of the coronavirus, and the Pfizer vaccine seems to offer less defense against infection from it but still good protection from hospitalization, according to an analysis of data from South Africa, where the new variant is driving a surge in infections… While the findings are preliminary and have not been peer-reviewed — the gold standard in scientific research — they line up with other early data about omicron’s behavior, including that it seems to be more easily transmitted."
"As we mark one year of these vaccines, the world is fighting pandemic fatigue and the threats of new variants. But hundreds of thousands of people still are getting vaccinated each day in the US… Here's a look at Covid-19 vaccines, by the numbers…"
"The U.S. Supreme Court has turned away a challenge to New York state's vaccine mandate for health care workers — a mandate that provides no exceptions for religious objectors. The vote was 6-3… This was the second time the court has refused to block such a state vaccine mandate for health care workers. As in an earlier case from Maine, New York provides only one exemption from the mandate, and that is a narrow medical exemption for those who have suffered a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose of the vaccine or a component of the COVID-19 vaccine."
"As a catastrophic tornado approached this city Friday, employees of a candle factory — which would later be destroyed — heard the warning sirens and wanted to leave the building. But at least five workers said supervisors warned employees that they would be fired if they left their shifts early."
"Russia on Monday vetoed a first-of-its-kind U.N. Security Council resolution casting climate change as a threat to international peace and security, a vote that sank a years-long effort to make global warming a more central consideration for the U.N.’s most powerful body." Tell me again how Russia makes most of its hard currency?
"US secretary of state Antony Blinken has used a visit to Indo-Pacific to urge China to cease “aggressive actions” in the region, as Washington seeks to bolster alliances against Beijing… President Joe Biden’s administration is trying to reset relations and reassert its influence in Asia after the turbulence and unpredictability of the Donald Trump era."
"A Belarusian opposition leader who rallied mass protests against disputed leader Alexander Lukashenko has been jailed for 18 years… Sergei Tikhanovsky was convicted of organising riots among other charges following a trial condemned as a sham… He planned to challenge Mr Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election, but was detained before the vote."
"Scores of people were killed late Monday after a tanker transporting gasoline exploded in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second largest city, according to Haiti officials… The death toll currently stands at 59, according to the city's Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor, who also extended an appeal for blood donations and called the overall situation 'critical.'"
"During a crucial week for Joe Biden’s agenda that will likely feature a political showdown on his Build Back Better legislation in the Senate, voting rights activists are turning up the pressure in Washington… As the US president met with a key centrist Democrat who has acted as a roadblock to his plans – West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin - more than sixty demonstrators were arrested as they protested: singing songs and blocking traffic near the US Capitol."
"President Biden has moved to trim the governmental red tape that makes dealing with federal agencies and applying for benefits an often complex and frustrating experience."
"A powerful network of conservative election lawyers and groups with links to Donald Trump have spent millions of dollars promoting new and onerous voting laws that many key battleground states such as Georgia and Texas have enacted… The moves have prompted election and voting rights watchdogs in America to warn about the suppression of non-white voters aimed at providing Republicans an edge in coming elections."
"The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol on Monday unanimously voted to recommend contempt charges against former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for failing to comply with its subpoena."
"As we mark one year of these vaccines, the world is fighting pandemic fatigue and the threats of new variants. But hundreds of thousands of people still are getting vaccinated each day in the US… Here's a look at Covid-19 vaccines, by the numbers…"
"The U.S. Supreme Court has turned away a challenge to New York state's vaccine mandate for health care workers — a mandate that provides no exceptions for religious objectors. The vote was 6-3… This was the second time the court has refused to block such a state vaccine mandate for health care workers. As in an earlier case from Maine, New York provides only one exemption from the mandate, and that is a narrow medical exemption for those who have suffered a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose of the vaccine or a component of the COVID-19 vaccine."
"As a catastrophic tornado approached this city Friday, employees of a candle factory — which would later be destroyed — heard the warning sirens and wanted to leave the building. But at least five workers said supervisors warned employees that they would be fired if they left their shifts early."
"Russia on Monday vetoed a first-of-its-kind U.N. Security Council resolution casting climate change as a threat to international peace and security, a vote that sank a years-long effort to make global warming a more central consideration for the U.N.’s most powerful body." Tell me again how Russia makes most of its hard currency?
"US secretary of state Antony Blinken has used a visit to Indo-Pacific to urge China to cease “aggressive actions” in the region, as Washington seeks to bolster alliances against Beijing… President Joe Biden’s administration is trying to reset relations and reassert its influence in Asia after the turbulence and unpredictability of the Donald Trump era."
"A Belarusian opposition leader who rallied mass protests against disputed leader Alexander Lukashenko has been jailed for 18 years… Sergei Tikhanovsky was convicted of organising riots among other charges following a trial condemned as a sham… He planned to challenge Mr Lukashenko in the 2020 presidential election, but was detained before the vote."
"Scores of people were killed late Monday after a tanker transporting gasoline exploded in Cap-Haitien, Haiti's second largest city, according to Haiti officials… The death toll currently stands at 59, according to the city's Deputy Mayor Patrick Almonor, who also extended an appeal for blood donations and called the overall situation 'critical.'"
"During a crucial week for Joe Biden’s agenda that will likely feature a political showdown on his Build Back Better legislation in the Senate, voting rights activists are turning up the pressure in Washington… As the US president met with a key centrist Democrat who has acted as a roadblock to his plans – West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin - more than sixty demonstrators were arrested as they protested: singing songs and blocking traffic near the US Capitol."
"President Biden has moved to trim the governmental red tape that makes dealing with federal agencies and applying for benefits an often complex and frustrating experience."
"A powerful network of conservative election lawyers and groups with links to Donald Trump have spent millions of dollars promoting new and onerous voting laws that many key battleground states such as Georgia and Texas have enacted… The moves have prompted election and voting rights watchdogs in America to warn about the suppression of non-white voters aimed at providing Republicans an edge in coming elections."
"The House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol on Monday unanimously voted to recommend contempt charges against former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows for failing to comply with its subpoena."
Monday, December 13, 2021
Linkee-poo Mon Dec 13
"Rescuers continued to search for survivors Monday after deadly tornadoes tore through Kentucky and neighboring states over the weekend, decimating entire towns and leaving dozens dead… Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday that 64 people in the state were confirmed dead. He added that 105 people were unaccounted for, and at least 70 people were likely dead."
"This is further evidence that the black hole, with a mass of 4.1 million Suns, is not a sleeping monster but periodically hiccups as stars and gas clouds fall into it. Black holes draw some material into a swirling, orbiting accretion disk where some of the infalling material is swept up into outflowing jets that are collimated by the black hole’s powerful magnetic fields. The narrow “searchlight beams” are accompanied by a flood of deadly ionizing radiation."
"If you’re vaccinated and you get COVID-19, the chance you’ll need hospital care is still very rare. In Massachusetts, the rate of all vaccinated people who have been hospitalized is 0.05%… At major hospitals around the state, anywhere from 25% to 43% of patients tested positive this week for the coronavirus, according to daily numbers provided by the hospitals… It is also worth noting that the vast majority — in some cases 75% of COVID patients — reported that they are unvaccinated." And yet they still write the headlines as "Mass. hospitals see significant number of COVID breakthrough cases."
"Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400."
"Russian authorities on Monday backed away from introducing some of the restrictions for the unvaccinated that were announced a month ago and elicited public outrage all across the vast country where vaccine uptake remains low."
"There are many tips for beating the afternoon slump, such as eating healthy foods (no candy bars), drinking plenty of water, listening to music and even aromatherapy. But one of the most effective ways to stay alert and on task is to get moving. And the sooner, the better, said Tansy Rodgers, a functional nutritional therapy practitioner and founder of beU Complete coaching in Lititz, Pennsylvania."
"The White House has become increasingly concerned of migration being used as a weapon… U.S. officials have accused Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of being the latest to take advantage of desperate migrants. They say he helped bring migrants from war-torn nations to the Belarus border in order to create a humanitarian crisis and put political pressure on his European neighbors."
"Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers are committed in principle to education and jobs for girls and women, a marked departure from their previous time in power, and seek the world's "mercy and compassion" to help millions of Afghans in desperate need, a top Taliban leader said in a rare interview." My first response, because I'm an asshole, is "No." But we should help, and in providing that help move the Taliban to do better for their people. Because the alternative is to let them die or become indebted to others who wouldn't work for human rights for all. Show them the way to be better by how we act. And in a selfish mood, the Taliban are fighting a reconstructed ISIS. The enemy of my enemy is, if not my friend, at least someone we can work with.
"U.S. Coast Guard authorities have halted the search for a woman who went overboard on a cruise ship near Ensenada, Mexico… Authorities searched more than 31 hours for the woman before pausing the search on Sunday pending additional information, Petty Officer First Class Adam Stanton said Sunday."
"'Mr. Meadows sent an email to an individual about the events on January 6 and said that the National Guard would be present to "protect pro Trump people" and that many more would be available on standby,' it said." And now you know why Mark Meadows decided to stop cooperating, he has criminal liability.
"This is further evidence that the black hole, with a mass of 4.1 million Suns, is not a sleeping monster but periodically hiccups as stars and gas clouds fall into it. Black holes draw some material into a swirling, orbiting accretion disk where some of the infalling material is swept up into outflowing jets that are collimated by the black hole’s powerful magnetic fields. The narrow “searchlight beams” are accompanied by a flood of deadly ionizing radiation."
"If you’re vaccinated and you get COVID-19, the chance you’ll need hospital care is still very rare. In Massachusetts, the rate of all vaccinated people who have been hospitalized is 0.05%… At major hospitals around the state, anywhere from 25% to 43% of patients tested positive this week for the coronavirus, according to daily numbers provided by the hospitals… It is also worth noting that the vast majority — in some cases 75% of COVID patients — reported that they are unvaccinated." And yet they still write the headlines as "Mass. hospitals see significant number of COVID breakthrough cases."
"Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400."
"Russian authorities on Monday backed away from introducing some of the restrictions for the unvaccinated that were announced a month ago and elicited public outrage all across the vast country where vaccine uptake remains low."
"There are many tips for beating the afternoon slump, such as eating healthy foods (no candy bars), drinking plenty of water, listening to music and even aromatherapy. But one of the most effective ways to stay alert and on task is to get moving. And the sooner, the better, said Tansy Rodgers, a functional nutritional therapy practitioner and founder of beU Complete coaching in Lititz, Pennsylvania."
"The White House has become increasingly concerned of migration being used as a weapon… U.S. officials have accused Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko of being the latest to take advantage of desperate migrants. They say he helped bring migrants from war-torn nations to the Belarus border in order to create a humanitarian crisis and put political pressure on his European neighbors."
"Afghanistan's new Taliban rulers are committed in principle to education and jobs for girls and women, a marked departure from their previous time in power, and seek the world's "mercy and compassion" to help millions of Afghans in desperate need, a top Taliban leader said in a rare interview." My first response, because I'm an asshole, is "No." But we should help, and in providing that help move the Taliban to do better for their people. Because the alternative is to let them die or become indebted to others who wouldn't work for human rights for all. Show them the way to be better by how we act. And in a selfish mood, the Taliban are fighting a reconstructed ISIS. The enemy of my enemy is, if not my friend, at least someone we can work with.
"U.S. Coast Guard authorities have halted the search for a woman who went overboard on a cruise ship near Ensenada, Mexico… Authorities searched more than 31 hours for the woman before pausing the search on Sunday pending additional information, Petty Officer First Class Adam Stanton said Sunday."
"'Mr. Meadows sent an email to an individual about the events on January 6 and said that the National Guard would be present to "protect pro Trump people" and that many more would be available on standby,' it said." And now you know why Mark Meadows decided to stop cooperating, he has criminal liability.
Sunday, December 12, 2021
Linkee-poo Sunday Dec 12
Anne Rice, and so it goes.
"At least 100 people were feared dead in Kentucky after a swarm of tornadoes tore a 200-mile path through the U.S. Midwest and South, demolishing homes, levelling businesses and setting off a scramble to find survivors beneath the rubble, officials said Saturday."
"A Massachusetts cannabis company is celebrating National Brownie Day on Wednesday with what it believes is the 'largest THC-infused brownie ever made.'"
"Normally giving food to wild animals is considered off limits, but the dire situation in Florida with more than 1,000 manatees dying from starvation due to manmade pollution is leading officials to consider an unprecedented feeding plan."
"Every December we have a chance to see one of our favorite meteor showers – the Geminids. The shower is currently active until December 17 and will peak on the night of December 13 into the morning of December 14, making those hours the best time for viewing the meteor shower."
"NASA’s Perseverance rover just created a breath of fresh air on Mars. An experimental device on the rover split carbon dioxide molecules into their component parts, creating about 10 minutes’ worth of breathable oxygen. It was also enough oxygen to make tiny amounts of rocket fuel." From last April, but I missed it then. (Grokked from Marie Vibbert)
"Our lives have been transformed by this beast (metastatic breast cancer). But we still have lives. We're not dying of metastatic breast cancer, we're doing our best to live with it. However, statistics tell us many of us won't survive this illness. No one knows when they're going to die, whether they have cancer or not." Fuck cancer.
"Confirmed COVID cases showed up this week at an average rate of 120,000 per day, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ninety-nine percent of those new cases are from Delta variant, not Omicron."
"Dr. Kavita Patel wishes navigating the pandemic could work for her patients like it does across much of Europe, where take-home COVID-19 tests are free or virtually free, and so widely available that people can use them every day — before going to work, or a party."
"A creeping barrage of U.S. sanctions on top Central American officials has made China an attractive partner for governments resisting Washington's push to tackle corruption and democratic backsliding in the region, officials and analysts say."
"Voters in the French island territory of New Caledonia chose overwhelmingly Sunday to stay part of France, in a referendum boycotted by pro-independence forces and closely watched around the South Pacific."
"NPR has sued the U.S. Defense Department to make it release documents regarding possible civilian casualties during the October 2019 military raid in Syria that resulted in the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi."
"Demands for audits, accusations of satanism, 'kookiness' and back-stabbing: Over the last month, the country’s most prominent QAnon promoters and election fraud boosters have, perhaps inevitably, turned their rhetorical tools against each other. And it’s a big, public mess." Eventually the paranoia rats only have each other left to fall upon. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"The legal future is uncertain enough that abortion providers said they would likely continue to decline services to patients who are already past six weeks of pregnancy."
"California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday pledged to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in the state, citing the same authority claimed by conservative lawmakers in Texas to outlaw most abortions once a heartbeat is detected."
"First came passage of one of the nation’s most restrictive voting bills. Then came efforts to overhaul the number of elected offices in one of Georgia’s largest counties… Now, with the pending passage of a new congressional map, Republicans have taken another step toward dismantling the Atlanta-area engine that turned Georgia blue, powering President Joe Biden to victory in 2020 and flipping control of the Senate to Democrats."
"Veteran Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said Sunday that he is leaving the network after 18 years and was 'ready for a new adventure.'"
"At least 100 people were feared dead in Kentucky after a swarm of tornadoes tore a 200-mile path through the U.S. Midwest and South, demolishing homes, levelling businesses and setting off a scramble to find survivors beneath the rubble, officials said Saturday."
"A Massachusetts cannabis company is celebrating National Brownie Day on Wednesday with what it believes is the 'largest THC-infused brownie ever made.'"
"Normally giving food to wild animals is considered off limits, but the dire situation in Florida with more than 1,000 manatees dying from starvation due to manmade pollution is leading officials to consider an unprecedented feeding plan."
"Every December we have a chance to see one of our favorite meteor showers – the Geminids. The shower is currently active until December 17 and will peak on the night of December 13 into the morning of December 14, making those hours the best time for viewing the meteor shower."
"NASA’s Perseverance rover just created a breath of fresh air on Mars. An experimental device on the rover split carbon dioxide molecules into their component parts, creating about 10 minutes’ worth of breathable oxygen. It was also enough oxygen to make tiny amounts of rocket fuel." From last April, but I missed it then. (Grokked from Marie Vibbert)
"Our lives have been transformed by this beast (metastatic breast cancer). But we still have lives. We're not dying of metastatic breast cancer, we're doing our best to live with it. However, statistics tell us many of us won't survive this illness. No one knows when they're going to die, whether they have cancer or not." Fuck cancer.
"Confirmed COVID cases showed up this week at an average rate of 120,000 per day, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ninety-nine percent of those new cases are from Delta variant, not Omicron."
"Dr. Kavita Patel wishes navigating the pandemic could work for her patients like it does across much of Europe, where take-home COVID-19 tests are free or virtually free, and so widely available that people can use them every day — before going to work, or a party."
"A creeping barrage of U.S. sanctions on top Central American officials has made China an attractive partner for governments resisting Washington's push to tackle corruption and democratic backsliding in the region, officials and analysts say."
"Voters in the French island territory of New Caledonia chose overwhelmingly Sunday to stay part of France, in a referendum boycotted by pro-independence forces and closely watched around the South Pacific."
"NPR has sued the U.S. Defense Department to make it release documents regarding possible civilian casualties during the October 2019 military raid in Syria that resulted in the death of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi."
"Demands for audits, accusations of satanism, 'kookiness' and back-stabbing: Over the last month, the country’s most prominent QAnon promoters and election fraud boosters have, perhaps inevitably, turned their rhetorical tools against each other. And it’s a big, public mess." Eventually the paranoia rats only have each other left to fall upon. (Grokked from Laura J Mixon)
"The legal future is uncertain enough that abortion providers said they would likely continue to decline services to patients who are already past six weeks of pregnancy."
"California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday pledged to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in the state, citing the same authority claimed by conservative lawmakers in Texas to outlaw most abortions once a heartbeat is detected."
"First came passage of one of the nation’s most restrictive voting bills. Then came efforts to overhaul the number of elected offices in one of Georgia’s largest counties… Now, with the pending passage of a new congressional map, Republicans have taken another step toward dismantling the Atlanta-area engine that turned Georgia blue, powering President Joe Biden to victory in 2020 and flipping control of the Senate to Democrats."
"Veteran Fox News anchor Chris Wallace said Sunday that he is leaving the network after 18 years and was 'ready for a new adventure.'"
Saturday, December 11, 2021
Linkee-poo Saturday Dec 11
Michael Nesmith, and so it goes.
"For years, Nichelle Nichols has been a major draw to various comic book and science-themed conventions, the most popular of them being those events sponsored by Comic-Con. Now, at the age of 88, the television pioneer and science advocate has decided to no longer make these types of appearances." Thank you, Miss Nichols. I wish you peace and grace. The world is a little dimmer without your light in it.
"The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) has captured an image of a planet orbiting b Centauri, a two-star system that can be seen with the naked eye. This is the hottest and most massive planet-hosting star system found to date, and the planet was spotted orbiting it at 100 times the distance Jupiter orbits the Sun. Some astronomers believed planets could not exist around stars this massive and this hot — until now." Directly imaging exoplanets, with telescopes on Earth. It's the fucking future. (Grokked from John)
"Dozens of people in the Midwest are believed to be dead after severe weather that caused multiple tornadoes struck late Friday night and early Saturday morning, tearing through several states including Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas." In other (so far unconfirmed) reports there might have been an F5 tornado in the outbreak. There shouldn't be enough energy in the atmosphere to drive storms like this at this time of year.
"Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sent letters to more than 30 school districts threatening legal action if they don't drop their mask and quarantine policies… Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has sent letters to more than 30 school districts across the state ordering them to cease and desist enforcing public health orders." Which side is politicizing this pandemic.
"But amid the hubbub and general air of merriment, an air of dread fills the air. Business owners who run holiday stands, stores and restaurants all worry whether there will be enough people coming out to shop and dine during this holiday season, especially with the emergence of the latest omicron variant." In lots of stories like these there is this fear of "the coming surge (of COVID)". I can tell you most assuredly, the surge is already here.
"Alphabet’s Google and the nation’s second largest automaker Ford Motor Co. are among those once again delaying their return-to-office plans, while other businesses whose employees have already returned are considering adding extra precautions like requiring masks. Officials in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway and Sweden also have asked people in recent days to work from home if they can because of concerns about the variant." Ta-fucking-da! And expert "noted that layered protection like masks, vaccinations and ventilation are highly effective at preventing virus spread in a workplace." Good luck with that. Hell, there's barely minimally effective lighting.
"Reddit users are flooding the Kellogg Company's job portal with fake applications after the company recently announced it will replace its striking union workers with new permanent employees. The spammers say they stand in solidarity with the strikers." Full disclosure, I do design work for the local BCTGM.
"The Supreme Court on Friday left in place Texas’ ban on most abortions, offering only a glimmer of daylight for clinics in the state to challenge the nation’s most restrictive abortion law."
"Alan Swinney wrote to Chauvin following the former police officer’s murder conviction, speculating both men would be broken out of custody during a coming 'civil war.'… Alan Swinney, the far-right extremist who was found guilty of 11 charges stemming from his participation in multiple violent rallies in August 2020, was sentenced Friday morning to 10 years in prison and three years of post prison supervision… He was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon, attempted assault, pointing a firearm at another, second degree unlawful use of mace, among other charges."
"The Potter County Republican Party plans to conduct its own election during the Texas primary on March 1, independent of the county election administration. People voting in Republican races on Election Day will cast hand-marked ballots that will be hand counted, which the party believes to be more secure. Experts say the move will introduce a higher risk of fraud, confuse voters, and likely result in legal challenges." Whackaloon quotient sky-high. When you deny reality, experts, and the law, the risks you take are extreme. Also, their county party leader here understands a lot of his party are upset at elections, but he never considers that they're all upset in very different ways. He believes they will all agree with him. Good luck with that. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
Also, not sure if I posted this one from Jim… "Republicans tried to overthrow democracy because they're mad."
"For years, Nichelle Nichols has been a major draw to various comic book and science-themed conventions, the most popular of them being those events sponsored by Comic-Con. Now, at the age of 88, the television pioneer and science advocate has decided to no longer make these types of appearances." Thank you, Miss Nichols. I wish you peace and grace. The world is a little dimmer without your light in it.
"The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (ESO’s VLT) has captured an image of a planet orbiting b Centauri, a two-star system that can be seen with the naked eye. This is the hottest and most massive planet-hosting star system found to date, and the planet was spotted orbiting it at 100 times the distance Jupiter orbits the Sun. Some astronomers believed planets could not exist around stars this massive and this hot — until now." Directly imaging exoplanets, with telescopes on Earth. It's the fucking future. (Grokked from John)
"Dozens of people in the Midwest are believed to be dead after severe weather that caused multiple tornadoes struck late Friday night and early Saturday morning, tearing through several states including Kentucky, Illinois and Arkansas." In other (so far unconfirmed) reports there might have been an F5 tornado in the outbreak. There shouldn't be enough energy in the atmosphere to drive storms like this at this time of year.
"Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt sent letters to more than 30 school districts threatening legal action if they don't drop their mask and quarantine policies… Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has sent letters to more than 30 school districts across the state ordering them to cease and desist enforcing public health orders." Which side is politicizing this pandemic.
"But amid the hubbub and general air of merriment, an air of dread fills the air. Business owners who run holiday stands, stores and restaurants all worry whether there will be enough people coming out to shop and dine during this holiday season, especially with the emergence of the latest omicron variant." In lots of stories like these there is this fear of "the coming surge (of COVID)". I can tell you most assuredly, the surge is already here.
"Alphabet’s Google and the nation’s second largest automaker Ford Motor Co. are among those once again delaying their return-to-office plans, while other businesses whose employees have already returned are considering adding extra precautions like requiring masks. Officials in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway and Sweden also have asked people in recent days to work from home if they can because of concerns about the variant." Ta-fucking-da! And expert "noted that layered protection like masks, vaccinations and ventilation are highly effective at preventing virus spread in a workplace." Good luck with that. Hell, there's barely minimally effective lighting.
"Reddit users are flooding the Kellogg Company's job portal with fake applications after the company recently announced it will replace its striking union workers with new permanent employees. The spammers say they stand in solidarity with the strikers." Full disclosure, I do design work for the local BCTGM.
"The Supreme Court on Friday left in place Texas’ ban on most abortions, offering only a glimmer of daylight for clinics in the state to challenge the nation’s most restrictive abortion law."
"Alan Swinney wrote to Chauvin following the former police officer’s murder conviction, speculating both men would be broken out of custody during a coming 'civil war.'… Alan Swinney, the far-right extremist who was found guilty of 11 charges stemming from his participation in multiple violent rallies in August 2020, was sentenced Friday morning to 10 years in prison and three years of post prison supervision… He was convicted of unlawful use of a weapon, attempted assault, pointing a firearm at another, second degree unlawful use of mace, among other charges."
"The Potter County Republican Party plans to conduct its own election during the Texas primary on March 1, independent of the county election administration. People voting in Republican races on Election Day will cast hand-marked ballots that will be hand counted, which the party believes to be more secure. Experts say the move will introduce a higher risk of fraud, confuse voters, and likely result in legal challenges." Whackaloon quotient sky-high. When you deny reality, experts, and the law, the risks you take are extreme. Also, their county party leader here understands a lot of his party are upset at elections, but he never considers that they're all upset in very different ways. He believes they will all agree with him. Good luck with that. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
Also, not sure if I posted this one from Jim… "Republicans tried to overthrow democracy because they're mad."
Friday, December 10, 2021
Linkee-poo Friday Dec 10
"In this Darwinian experiment, the scientists are trying to speed up coral's evolutionary clock to breed 'super corals' that can better withstand the impacts of global warming… For the past five years, the researchers have been conducting experiments to prove their theories would work. Now, they're getting ready to plant laboratory-raised corals in the ocean to see how they survive in Nature." Because nothing bad ever happened when we've tried to mess with evolution.
"But this week Michigan had more patients hospitalized for Covid-19 than ever before. Covid-19 hospitalizations jumped 88% in the past month, according to the Michigan Health & Hospital Association… 'We have more patients than we've ever had at any point, and we're seeing more people die at a rate we've never seen die before,' said Jim Dover, president and CEO of Sparrow Health System."
"The Senate voted Wednesday night to overturn the Biden administration's proposed rule that large private employers must require their workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested, or face losing their jobs… Before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was strongly opposed to the measure and attacked supporters of ending the requirement as anti-vaxxers, although several specifically made the point they believed in vaccines, but not mandates." This argument is making the rounds, "we really aren't anti-vax, we're just anti mandate." Oh really? Are you vaxxed and have you encouraged others to get vaccinated? No? Then you just are anti-vax. It's just the same bullshit, and they know they're losing. So they're moving the goal posts again.
"Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.8% in November compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, energy, housing, autos and clothing left Americans enduring their highest annual inflation rate in 39 years."
"Senators grilled the head of Instagram on Wednesday about the app's effects on children and teens, airing frustrations and attempting to extract various commitments from the company to make the platform a safer space for its youngest users… But over two and half hours, Adam Mosseri skirted key questions from the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security. Instead, he defended Instagram and its parent company Meta — formerly Facebook — touting existing safeguards and some the company plans to roll out soon." It's going to be better Real Soon Now (that's a joke).
"The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative supermajority seemed poised Wednesday to hand school-choice advocates a major victory, and potentially a large expansion of state programs required to fund religious education… The handwriting on the wall came during a nearly two-hour argument involving a challenge brought by two Maine families to the state's unusual way of providing public education."
"Americans don't feel the direct payments or expanded child tax credits doled out earlier this year helped them much, according to the latest NPR/Marist poll, and they don't see Democrats' signature legislation as addressing their top economic concern — inflation… Additionally, they're down on the job President Biden is doing, don't give him much credit for the direct payments or tax credits, and have soured on the direction of the country."
"Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited from the UK to the US, the High Court has ruled… The US won its appeal against a January UK court ruling that he could not be extradited due to concerns over his mental health."
"Krause is one of several Texas Republicans to have recently demanded information about school library books that they deem inappropriate as the highly politicized debate over critical race theory plays out in districts across the country." The culture wars are back on the menu.
"The parents of two Oxford High School students are suing school officials, claiming last week's fatal school shootings in Michigan were 'entirely preventable,' and that the defendants 'created and increased the dangers then-existing at Oxford High School.'"
"The North Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the state's March 2022 primary be delayed until May 17 so it can settle two lawsuits challenging Republican-drawn maps for Congress and the state's legislature." So much for "the courts can't intervene in elections."
"Georgia gubernatorial candidate and former Sen. David Perdue (R) said on Wednesday that he would not have certified Georgia's 2020 presidential election results." They aren't even hiding their intentions to steal the next election. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"Technically, the next attempt to overthrow a national election may not qualify as a coup. It will rely on subversion more than violence, although each will have its place. If the plot succeeds, the ballots cast by American voters will not decide the presidency in 2024. Thousands of votes will be thrown away, or millions, to produce the required effect. The winner will be declared the loser. The loser will be certified president-elect." A very long The Atlantic article on the subversion of Democracy happening before our eyes.
"The visitor, Trevian Kutti, gave her name but didn’t say she worked for (Kanye) West, a longtime billionaire friend of Trump. She said she was sent by a 'high-profile individual,' whom she didn’t identify, to give Freeman an urgent message: confess to Trump’s voter-fraud allegations, or people would come to her home in 48 hours, and she’d go to jail." (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"But this week Michigan had more patients hospitalized for Covid-19 than ever before. Covid-19 hospitalizations jumped 88% in the past month, according to the Michigan Health & Hospital Association… 'We have more patients than we've ever had at any point, and we're seeing more people die at a rate we've never seen die before,' said Jim Dover, president and CEO of Sparrow Health System."
"The Senate voted Wednesday night to overturn the Biden administration's proposed rule that large private employers must require their workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested, or face losing their jobs… Before the vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he was strongly opposed to the measure and attacked supporters of ending the requirement as anti-vaxxers, although several specifically made the point they believed in vaccines, but not mandates." This argument is making the rounds, "we really aren't anti-vax, we're just anti mandate." Oh really? Are you vaxxed and have you encouraged others to get vaccinated? No? Then you just are anti-vax. It's just the same bullshit, and they know they're losing. So they're moving the goal posts again.
"Prices for U.S. consumers jumped 6.8% in November compared with a year earlier as surging costs for food, energy, housing, autos and clothing left Americans enduring their highest annual inflation rate in 39 years."
"Senators grilled the head of Instagram on Wednesday about the app's effects on children and teens, airing frustrations and attempting to extract various commitments from the company to make the platform a safer space for its youngest users… But over two and half hours, Adam Mosseri skirted key questions from the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security. Instead, he defended Instagram and its parent company Meta — formerly Facebook — touting existing safeguards and some the company plans to roll out soon." It's going to be better Real Soon Now (that's a joke).
"The U.S. Supreme Court's conservative supermajority seemed poised Wednesday to hand school-choice advocates a major victory, and potentially a large expansion of state programs required to fund religious education… The handwriting on the wall came during a nearly two-hour argument involving a challenge brought by two Maine families to the state's unusual way of providing public education."
"Americans don't feel the direct payments or expanded child tax credits doled out earlier this year helped them much, according to the latest NPR/Marist poll, and they don't see Democrats' signature legislation as addressing their top economic concern — inflation… Additionally, they're down on the job President Biden is doing, don't give him much credit for the direct payments or tax credits, and have soured on the direction of the country."
"Wikileaks founder Julian Assange can be extradited from the UK to the US, the High Court has ruled… The US won its appeal against a January UK court ruling that he could not be extradited due to concerns over his mental health."
"Krause is one of several Texas Republicans to have recently demanded information about school library books that they deem inappropriate as the highly politicized debate over critical race theory plays out in districts across the country." The culture wars are back on the menu.
"The parents of two Oxford High School students are suing school officials, claiming last week's fatal school shootings in Michigan were 'entirely preventable,' and that the defendants 'created and increased the dangers then-existing at Oxford High School.'"
"The North Carolina Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the state's March 2022 primary be delayed until May 17 so it can settle two lawsuits challenging Republican-drawn maps for Congress and the state's legislature." So much for "the courts can't intervene in elections."
"Georgia gubernatorial candidate and former Sen. David Perdue (R) said on Wednesday that he would not have certified Georgia's 2020 presidential election results." They aren't even hiding their intentions to steal the next election. (Grokked from Jim Wright)
"Technically, the next attempt to overthrow a national election may not qualify as a coup. It will rely on subversion more than violence, although each will have its place. If the plot succeeds, the ballots cast by American voters will not decide the presidency in 2024. Thousands of votes will be thrown away, or millions, to produce the required effect. The winner will be declared the loser. The loser will be certified president-elect." A very long The Atlantic article on the subversion of Democracy happening before our eyes.
"The visitor, Trevian Kutti, gave her name but didn’t say she worked for (Kanye) West, a longtime billionaire friend of Trump. She said she was sent by a 'high-profile individual,' whom she didn’t identify, to give Freeman an urgent message: confess to Trump’s voter-fraud allegations, or people would come to her home in 48 hours, and she’d go to jail." (Grokked from Jim Wright)
Wednesday, December 8, 2021
Lijkee-poo Wednesday Dec 8
"An Atlas V rocket lit up the predawn sky over Florida early Tuesday (Dec. 7) to launch a novel NASA laser space communications satellite into orbit alongside a host of other payloads for the U.S. Space Force."
"Space.com pointed out that 'mystery hut' is used as a placeholder name based on its appearance — it is not literally a hut. The site also offered a possible explanation for the object's true origin: It could be a large boulder that was 'excavated by an impact event.'"
"In a wide-ranging conversation, (Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health) answers NPR's questions as to why — for all the taxpayer dollars going to NIH research — there haven't been more gains when it comes to Americans' overall health. He also talks about how tribalism in American culture has fueled vaccine hesitancy, and he advises his successor on how to persevere on research of politically charged topics — like guns and obesity and maternal health — even if powerful lobbies might want that research not to get done."
"Viagra could be a useful treatment against Alzheimer’s disease, according to a US study."
"Using Allegheny County data in the Pittsburgh area, the Black Equity researchers have found a sobering racial gap during the pandemic: Black residents of the county have seen disproportionate hospitalization rates — and have been more likely to land in the ICU or on a ventilator. Weekly hospitalization rates were higher during surges of infection in April, July and December 2020 and again in March and October 2021. Deaths, too, were disproportionate but fluctuated after December 2020… For much of the pandemic, death rates have been higher for African Americans than for other racial groups, the coalition says."
"Signs of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have been found in California's wastewater, officials said, as the number of cases associated with the new variant rose to double digits this week, including a newly confirmed infection in a Long Beach resident." Ta-da!
"Here is what scientists know: Vaccine-related myocarditis is extremely rare; estimates vary, but the highest figures suggest there have been fewer than 200 cases per million fully vaccinated males ages 12–15, the youngest age group for which such data currently exist. Only about 30 cases per million have been reported in vaccinated females of that age. Pfizer, whose mRNA vaccine was recently authorized for use in five- to 11-year olds, says it did not observe any myocarditis cases in its clinical trial for the latter age group… The risk of getting COVID itself is much greater." Medicine is sometimes playing the numbers. Most pharmaceuticals kill your liver or kidneys, but the effects they have in curing other diseases far outweigh the damage done in the majority of cases. Chemotherapy, when it started, could kill you and you literally had to be given an antidote at the exact time needed for you to survive. We've come a long way since those days, but chemo is still damn hard on the body. The hope is that it kills more of the cancer than of your healthy body tissue. Some people have a bad reaction to the flu vaccines, but the losses from that are far more rare than the potential losses from not vaccinating the population.
"A video obtained by ITV shows senior No 10 staff joking about holding a Christmas party - days after one was held there during lockdown… The PM's then-press secretary Allegra Stratton is asked by colleagues about reports of a party, as they rehearse a news conference in December last year… In jokey exchanges, she says: 'This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced.'"
"The so-called Great Resignation lost some steam in October, with the total number of workers leaving their jobs either due to dissatisfaction or better opportunities elsewhere declined, the Labor Department reported Wednesday… Job quitters declined by 4.7%, falling to 4.16 million from 4.36 million, the department said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The rate as a share of the workforce fell from 3% to 2.8%."
"The White House has declared that 'President Biden is committed to using every tool available in government to produce more affordable housing supply as quickly as possible.' Yet on Nov. 24, Biden's Commerce Department announced it was doubling duties on softwood lumber imported from Canada, from an average of 8.99% to 17.9%. Softwood lumber is a crucial material needed to build houses, and levying a large tax on imports only hurts the cause of expanding housing supply." Ugh.
"'If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,' Garg said on a one-way webinar last Wednesday, which lasted three minutes. Garg started immediately and did not wait for workers to trickle into the meeting. 'Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.'" Fired over Zoom.
"The United Arab Emirates will move its weekend to Saturday and Sunday starting next year, the UAE media office said in a tweet on Tuesday… The shift is significant, given Friday has long been a sacred day for worshippers of Islam. Most countries in the Gulf have Friday to Saturday weekends." Money speaks.
"The prosecutor overseeing the case against the student accused in last week's deadly Michigan school shooting and who took the rare step of charging his parents left open the possibility Monday that school officials could also face charges, saying 'in this case, a lot could have been done different.'"
"Ukrainian and Western officials are worried that a Russian military buildup near Ukraine could signal plans by Moscow to invade its ex-Soviet neighbor… The Kremlin insists it has no such intention and has accused Ukraine and its Western backers of making the claims to cover up their own allegedly aggressive designs."
"Far more voters say they want the Supreme Court to leave Roe v. Wade in place than not, but the issue isn't a key motivator heading into the midterm elections, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll… Justices by next June are expected to decide whether to scrap the half-century-old decision underpinning abortion rights and let states chose if they want to ban the procedure early in pregnancy. Already, activists on both sides of the issue are framing the stakes for voters and pouring millions of dollars into ads, voter mobilization efforts and direct campaign donations." That's because the majority of people don't think anything will really happen… to them, at least.
"The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court is to vote Tuesday on its final report and recommendations, but the panel steers clear of taking a position on many of the most controversial suggestions for changing the court."
"An effort to get back onto the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors by former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and ex-Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought has hit a roadblock after a federal judge blocked the two men's request for immediate reinstatement." Should have gone for the Fox News gig, fellas.
"In some ways, President Joe Biden’s long-promised Summit for Democracy could not be better timed… The virtual gathering, set for Thursday and Friday, comes as people from Cuba to Belarus have hit the streets in recent years to demand a say in their governance — or, at least, some accountability from their leaders. And it comes as Western leaders have grown increasingly wary of the tactics and intentions of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and alarmed about renewed Russian aggression toward Ukraine."
"Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., an ally of former President Donald Trump, is resigning from his congressional seat to become CEO of Trump's new media company that aims to launch its own social media platform." It's hilarious because Jim Jordan, who ignored sexual abuse of his student wrestlers when he was a coach at Ohio State, then states that Nunes won against the "DC Swamp." Nunes is leaving because he's been picked to run a social media company for a political operator. That is the very definition of the DC Swamp.
And then… "A planned merger between former President Donald Trump's social media startup and a shell company is being investigated by regulators."
"The Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday sided with Vladimir Putin over Russia's military activity near Ukraine, saying the Russian president 'just wants to keep his western borders secure.'… Russia has denied plans to invade and has said it was just responding to Ukrainian and NATO aggression." Tucker goes full Tokyo Rose.
"Space.com pointed out that 'mystery hut' is used as a placeholder name based on its appearance — it is not literally a hut. The site also offered a possible explanation for the object's true origin: It could be a large boulder that was 'excavated by an impact event.'"
"In a wide-ranging conversation, (Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health) answers NPR's questions as to why — for all the taxpayer dollars going to NIH research — there haven't been more gains when it comes to Americans' overall health. He also talks about how tribalism in American culture has fueled vaccine hesitancy, and he advises his successor on how to persevere on research of politically charged topics — like guns and obesity and maternal health — even if powerful lobbies might want that research not to get done."
"Viagra could be a useful treatment against Alzheimer’s disease, according to a US study."
"Using Allegheny County data in the Pittsburgh area, the Black Equity researchers have found a sobering racial gap during the pandemic: Black residents of the county have seen disproportionate hospitalization rates — and have been more likely to land in the ICU or on a ventilator. Weekly hospitalization rates were higher during surges of infection in April, July and December 2020 and again in March and October 2021. Deaths, too, were disproportionate but fluctuated after December 2020… For much of the pandemic, death rates have been higher for African Americans than for other racial groups, the coalition says."
"Signs of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus have been found in California's wastewater, officials said, as the number of cases associated with the new variant rose to double digits this week, including a newly confirmed infection in a Long Beach resident." Ta-da!
"Here is what scientists know: Vaccine-related myocarditis is extremely rare; estimates vary, but the highest figures suggest there have been fewer than 200 cases per million fully vaccinated males ages 12–15, the youngest age group for which such data currently exist. Only about 30 cases per million have been reported in vaccinated females of that age. Pfizer, whose mRNA vaccine was recently authorized for use in five- to 11-year olds, says it did not observe any myocarditis cases in its clinical trial for the latter age group… The risk of getting COVID itself is much greater." Medicine is sometimes playing the numbers. Most pharmaceuticals kill your liver or kidneys, but the effects they have in curing other diseases far outweigh the damage done in the majority of cases. Chemotherapy, when it started, could kill you and you literally had to be given an antidote at the exact time needed for you to survive. We've come a long way since those days, but chemo is still damn hard on the body. The hope is that it kills more of the cancer than of your healthy body tissue. Some people have a bad reaction to the flu vaccines, but the losses from that are far more rare than the potential losses from not vaccinating the population.
"A video obtained by ITV shows senior No 10 staff joking about holding a Christmas party - days after one was held there during lockdown… The PM's then-press secretary Allegra Stratton is asked by colleagues about reports of a party, as they rehearse a news conference in December last year… In jokey exchanges, she says: 'This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced.'"
"The so-called Great Resignation lost some steam in October, with the total number of workers leaving their jobs either due to dissatisfaction or better opportunities elsewhere declined, the Labor Department reported Wednesday… Job quitters declined by 4.7%, falling to 4.16 million from 4.36 million, the department said in its Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The rate as a share of the workforce fell from 3% to 2.8%."
"The White House has declared that 'President Biden is committed to using every tool available in government to produce more affordable housing supply as quickly as possible.' Yet on Nov. 24, Biden's Commerce Department announced it was doubling duties on softwood lumber imported from Canada, from an average of 8.99% to 17.9%. Softwood lumber is a crucial material needed to build houses, and levying a large tax on imports only hurts the cause of expanding housing supply." Ugh.
"'If you're on this call, you are part of the unlucky group that is being laid off,' Garg said on a one-way webinar last Wednesday, which lasted three minutes. Garg started immediately and did not wait for workers to trickle into the meeting. 'Your employment here is terminated effective immediately.'" Fired over Zoom.
"The United Arab Emirates will move its weekend to Saturday and Sunday starting next year, the UAE media office said in a tweet on Tuesday… The shift is significant, given Friday has long been a sacred day for worshippers of Islam. Most countries in the Gulf have Friday to Saturday weekends." Money speaks.
"The prosecutor overseeing the case against the student accused in last week's deadly Michigan school shooting and who took the rare step of charging his parents left open the possibility Monday that school officials could also face charges, saying 'in this case, a lot could have been done different.'"
"Ukrainian and Western officials are worried that a Russian military buildup near Ukraine could signal plans by Moscow to invade its ex-Soviet neighbor… The Kremlin insists it has no such intention and has accused Ukraine and its Western backers of making the claims to cover up their own allegedly aggressive designs."
"Far more voters say they want the Supreme Court to leave Roe v. Wade in place than not, but the issue isn't a key motivator heading into the midterm elections, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll… Justices by next June are expected to decide whether to scrap the half-century-old decision underpinning abortion rights and let states chose if they want to ban the procedure early in pregnancy. Already, activists on both sides of the issue are framing the stakes for voters and pouring millions of dollars into ads, voter mobilization efforts and direct campaign donations." That's because the majority of people don't think anything will really happen… to them, at least.
"The Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court is to vote Tuesday on its final report and recommendations, but the panel steers clear of taking a position on many of the most controversial suggestions for changing the court."
"An effort to get back onto the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors by former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and ex-Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought has hit a roadblock after a federal judge blocked the two men's request for immediate reinstatement." Should have gone for the Fox News gig, fellas.
"In some ways, President Joe Biden’s long-promised Summit for Democracy could not be better timed… The virtual gathering, set for Thursday and Friday, comes as people from Cuba to Belarus have hit the streets in recent years to demand a say in their governance — or, at least, some accountability from their leaders. And it comes as Western leaders have grown increasingly wary of the tactics and intentions of the ruling Chinese Communist Party and alarmed about renewed Russian aggression toward Ukraine."
"Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., an ally of former President Donald Trump, is resigning from his congressional seat to become CEO of Trump's new media company that aims to launch its own social media platform." It's hilarious because Jim Jordan, who ignored sexual abuse of his student wrestlers when he was a coach at Ohio State, then states that Nunes won against the "DC Swamp." Nunes is leaving because he's been picked to run a social media company for a political operator. That is the very definition of the DC Swamp.
And then… "A planned merger between former President Donald Trump's social media startup and a shell company is being investigated by regulators."
"The Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Tuesday sided with Vladimir Putin over Russia's military activity near Ukraine, saying the Russian president 'just wants to keep his western borders secure.'… Russia has denied plans to invade and has said it was just responding to Ukrainian and NATO aggression." Tucker goes full Tokyo Rose.
Monday, December 6, 2021
Linkee-poo Monday Dec 6
Bob Dole, and so it goes.
"(Laser Communications Relay Demonstration) will help NASA learn about possible effects to manage, ranging from atmospheric turbulence to cloud deflection, Mitchell noted. The timing is crucial as NASA and its international partners expand its exploration focus over the coming decades… Newly announced private space stations will only expand the need for fast information flowing to and from Earth. Meanwhile, astronauts on the moon and a sample return mission on Mars could benefit from faster communications speeds 10 to 100 times faster than current-day radio." Note that it's not really communications speed, but bandwidth.
"Across the U.S., the weather is simply weird: The highest peaks of Hawaii spent the weekend under a blizzard warning, while record rainfall drenched the Pacific Northwest, unseasonably warm temperatures stretched across the Midwest and South, and a major snow drought in the Rockies means Denver has still not seen its first snowfall of the season."
"More than 20 people in at least 12 U.S. states have tested positive for the omicron variant of the virus that causes Covid-19. The patients range in age, vaccination status and travel history, but none of them have developed severe disease so far… While some patients had recently traveled in southern Africa, where the variant was first detected, others had no travel history, indicating that community transmission is underway in the U.S." Again, South Africa (like Wuhan) is just where it was identified.
"Since May 2021, people living in counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump during the last presidential election have been nearly three times as likely to die from COVID-19 as those who live in areas that went for now-President Biden. That's according to a new analysis by NPR that examines how political polarization and misinformation are driving a significant share of the deaths in the pandemic." Who made this disease a political football and litmus test?
"In other words, don't panic, but do be thoughtful about what risks you want to take… We spoke to several infectious disease experts for advice on living in the age of omicron. But remember: Things are changing quickly, so stay alert. Public health advice may change as we learn more." Get vaccinated, wear a mask.
"The analysis, presented at a scientific conference Friday, suggests the omicron variant is highly transmissible and also more capable of evading the immune system than delta… On Thursday, Pulliam and her colleagues also published a study online showing that reinfections are more likely with omicron than with the delta or the beta variants. The study couldn't estimate the magnitude of this change — that is, how much more likely reinfections will be — but it shows quite strongly that this new variant is more capable of bypassing antibodies generated by a prior infection than previous variants." Also again, if Omicron is more contagious and can out compete Delta, but causes a milder form of COVID-19, this is a Good Thing™. It becomes more likely that SARS-CoV2 may fade into the cloud of viruses that cause colds. Of course, it's already done a huge amount of damage before getting here, and will continue to cause a lot of damage until it fades.
"It's the sort of fringe views that kept political figures away from this conference in the past. But as America heads into midterm elections next year, the political right and the anti-vaccine movement are drawing ever-closer together. It's an alliance that promises to give both sides more power, but the cost is potentially thousands of American lives." Well, yes, they're mostly the same voter stock, the same disregard for science and education, and the susceptibility to Russian disinformation campaigns.
"Criminal groups have been sending threatening messages in the past couple of months to companies that manage broadband phone services all over the world, promising they'll flood the digital phone lines with traffic and take them offline unless victims pay a ransom… What those extortionists have discovered is that the number of phone calls that take place at least partially over the internet has quietly and dramatically increased over recent years — and there's a lot at stake when major providers go down."
"The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that no US government officials will attend the 2022 Beijing Olympics, implementing a diplomatic boycott of the games, according to several sources… The move would allow the US to send a message on the world stage to China without preventing US athletes from competing. The National Security Council, which has been privately discussing the boycott, declined to comment."
"A judge imposed a combined $1 million bond Saturday for the parents of the Michigan teen charged with killing four students at Oxford High School, hours after police said they were caught hiding in a Detroit commercial building." This story isn't adding up yet.
"More than 20 countries, including the United States, issued a joint statement Saturday expressing deep concern over allegations of extra-judicial killings and disappearances of former member of former security forces in Afghanistan… The statement comes after a report was released by Human Rights Watch on Tuesday alleging more than a hundred former Afghan security forces had been killed or forcibly disappeared by the Taliban since their surrender in late summer."
"Thomas Gavin may be one of the most prolific artifact thieves in U.S. history… But Gavin had been on a tear in the '60s and '70s, hitting nearly a dozen museums on the east coast. He mostly stole antique firearms and stashed them in his hideout — a cluttered, non-descript barn in rural Pennsylvania."
"Many in Eastern Europe have concluded that Western liberalism is not a good fit… Orbán and his Fidesz party (in Hungary) have become the flag-bearers of this mindset during their decade in power. The Hungarian government has repeatedly clashed with Brussels over migration, multiculturalism, press freedom and, most recently, LGBTQ rights." Democracy is hard, you have to really want it. Authoritarians (a philosophy which has done more to divide America and the rest of the world as conservatives go at it hard) are never the answer.
"Former Sen. David Perdue has launched a primary challenge against Gov. Brian Kemp, the latest escalation in former President Donald Trump's attack on Republicans that failed to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election… The news of Perdue's re-entry into politics, first reported by Politico, comes less than a week after Democratic rising star Stacey Abrams announced her own campaign for governor, seeking a potential rematch after losing to Kemp by about 55,000 votes in 2018."
"(Laser Communications Relay Demonstration) will help NASA learn about possible effects to manage, ranging from atmospheric turbulence to cloud deflection, Mitchell noted. The timing is crucial as NASA and its international partners expand its exploration focus over the coming decades… Newly announced private space stations will only expand the need for fast information flowing to and from Earth. Meanwhile, astronauts on the moon and a sample return mission on Mars could benefit from faster communications speeds 10 to 100 times faster than current-day radio." Note that it's not really communications speed, but bandwidth.
"Across the U.S., the weather is simply weird: The highest peaks of Hawaii spent the weekend under a blizzard warning, while record rainfall drenched the Pacific Northwest, unseasonably warm temperatures stretched across the Midwest and South, and a major snow drought in the Rockies means Denver has still not seen its first snowfall of the season."
"More than 20 people in at least 12 U.S. states have tested positive for the omicron variant of the virus that causes Covid-19. The patients range in age, vaccination status and travel history, but none of them have developed severe disease so far… While some patients had recently traveled in southern Africa, where the variant was first detected, others had no travel history, indicating that community transmission is underway in the U.S." Again, South Africa (like Wuhan) is just where it was identified.
"Since May 2021, people living in counties that voted heavily for Donald Trump during the last presidential election have been nearly three times as likely to die from COVID-19 as those who live in areas that went for now-President Biden. That's according to a new analysis by NPR that examines how political polarization and misinformation are driving a significant share of the deaths in the pandemic." Who made this disease a political football and litmus test?
"In other words, don't panic, but do be thoughtful about what risks you want to take… We spoke to several infectious disease experts for advice on living in the age of omicron. But remember: Things are changing quickly, so stay alert. Public health advice may change as we learn more." Get vaccinated, wear a mask.
"The analysis, presented at a scientific conference Friday, suggests the omicron variant is highly transmissible and also more capable of evading the immune system than delta… On Thursday, Pulliam and her colleagues also published a study online showing that reinfections are more likely with omicron than with the delta or the beta variants. The study couldn't estimate the magnitude of this change — that is, how much more likely reinfections will be — but it shows quite strongly that this new variant is more capable of bypassing antibodies generated by a prior infection than previous variants." Also again, if Omicron is more contagious and can out compete Delta, but causes a milder form of COVID-19, this is a Good Thing™. It becomes more likely that SARS-CoV2 may fade into the cloud of viruses that cause colds. Of course, it's already done a huge amount of damage before getting here, and will continue to cause a lot of damage until it fades.
"It's the sort of fringe views that kept political figures away from this conference in the past. But as America heads into midterm elections next year, the political right and the anti-vaccine movement are drawing ever-closer together. It's an alliance that promises to give both sides more power, but the cost is potentially thousands of American lives." Well, yes, they're mostly the same voter stock, the same disregard for science and education, and the susceptibility to Russian disinformation campaigns.
"Criminal groups have been sending threatening messages in the past couple of months to companies that manage broadband phone services all over the world, promising they'll flood the digital phone lines with traffic and take them offline unless victims pay a ransom… What those extortionists have discovered is that the number of phone calls that take place at least partially over the internet has quietly and dramatically increased over recent years — and there's a lot at stake when major providers go down."
"The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that no US government officials will attend the 2022 Beijing Olympics, implementing a diplomatic boycott of the games, according to several sources… The move would allow the US to send a message on the world stage to China without preventing US athletes from competing. The National Security Council, which has been privately discussing the boycott, declined to comment."
"A judge imposed a combined $1 million bond Saturday for the parents of the Michigan teen charged with killing four students at Oxford High School, hours after police said they were caught hiding in a Detroit commercial building." This story isn't adding up yet.
"More than 20 countries, including the United States, issued a joint statement Saturday expressing deep concern over allegations of extra-judicial killings and disappearances of former member of former security forces in Afghanistan… The statement comes after a report was released by Human Rights Watch on Tuesday alleging more than a hundred former Afghan security forces had been killed or forcibly disappeared by the Taliban since their surrender in late summer."
"Thomas Gavin may be one of the most prolific artifact thieves in U.S. history… But Gavin had been on a tear in the '60s and '70s, hitting nearly a dozen museums on the east coast. He mostly stole antique firearms and stashed them in his hideout — a cluttered, non-descript barn in rural Pennsylvania."
"Many in Eastern Europe have concluded that Western liberalism is not a good fit… Orbán and his Fidesz party (in Hungary) have become the flag-bearers of this mindset during their decade in power. The Hungarian government has repeatedly clashed with Brussels over migration, multiculturalism, press freedom and, most recently, LGBTQ rights." Democracy is hard, you have to really want it. Authoritarians (a philosophy which has done more to divide America and the rest of the world as conservatives go at it hard) are never the answer.
"Former Sen. David Perdue has launched a primary challenge against Gov. Brian Kemp, the latest escalation in former President Donald Trump's attack on Republicans that failed to overturn his defeat in the 2020 election… The news of Perdue's re-entry into politics, first reported by Politico, comes less than a week after Democratic rising star Stacey Abrams announced her own campaign for governor, seeking a potential rematch after losing to Kemp by about 55,000 votes in 2018."
Friday, December 3, 2021
Linkee-poo looks down in my Redshirt
"An iron-rich planet spotted in a nearby solar system could help scientists understand the mystery of how the planet Mercury formed in our own neighborhood… The newly-described planet is about 31 light years away, according to a report in the journal Science. Astronomers haven't seen it directly, but they've been able to estimate its size and mass by watching its effects on the star that it orbits. It appears that this planet is largely made of iron."
"A massive voluntary recall suddenly took many sleep aid devices off the market without offering a replacement… Now, newly released documents are raising questions over whether the company at the center of that recall knew of the problems and risks with its devices for years, but did not immediately act." I'm still waiting on my recall to be processed.
"Their family is among hundreds of military families living near Pearl Harbor with similar complaints after the Navy's water system somehow became contaminated by petroleum. The problems have afflicted one of the most important Navy bases in the world, home to submarines, ships and the commander of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region. The issues may even threaten one of Honolulu's most important aquifers and water sources." Oopsie.
"The World Health Organization's chief scientist told the Reuters Next conference on Friday the Omicron variant could become dominant because it is highly transmissible, but that a different vaccine may not be needed… She said the WHO could not at this stage say that Omicron was a mild variant, even if many infections so far have been associated with less severe symptoms or no symptoms at all… There is not yet conclusive evidence about Omicron's impact on the effectiveness of antibodies." If it is more transmissible than Delta, but causes a milder form of COVID-19, that's Good News™. Also note the part about how we don't really know where it emerged, and punishing South Africa because they sequence more of their samples than most Western countries (coughUSAcough) is not helpful.
"At least five U.S. states have now confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the virus that causes Covid-19, as scientists investigate whether the heavily mutated strain is more infectious and virulent." Again, it's too late to try and stop this. Mostly because we don't test a lot of samples here in the west.
"A past coronavirus infection appears to give little immunity to the new omicron variant rippling across the globe, South African scientists warned Thursday, potentially tearing away one layer of defense that humanity has won slowly and at immense cost." Insert dramatic music here.
"German lawmakers have implemented new curbs for the unvaccinated and made plans to vote on making Covid vaccines mandatory… National and regional leaders agreed on Thursday to ban Germany’s unvaccinated population from all non-essential businesses, such as bars, restaurants and movie theaters in a bid to encourage vaccine uptake."
"New York City is extending a COVID-19 vaccine mandate to teachers and staff of private and religious schools, a plan that would affect approximately 56,000 employees at 938 schools across New York City. The move sets up a potential clash with some religious leaders who have opposed mandates for their communities."
"The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in November, in a sign that hiring started to slow even ahead of the new Covid threat, the Labor Department reported Friday… Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 210,000 for the month, though the unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.2% from 4.6%, even though the labor force participation rate increased for the month to 61.8%, its highest level since March 2020."
"Employers added just 210,000 jobs in November, according to a monthly snapshot from the Labor Department. Job growth appeared to lose momentum after stronger hiring in September and October. Hiring figures for those months were revised upwards."
"A South Florida teenager has been arrested after investigators learned he made a threat against Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of a mass shooting that killed 17 people on Valentine's Day in 2018."
"A 14-year-old Georgia girl was killed when her younger brother was trying to sell a homemade gun, and he fired a shot at people who took the weapon without paying, a sheriff said."
"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to reestablish a World War II-era civilian military force that he, not the Pentagon, would control… DeSantis pitched the idea Thursday as a way to further support the Florida National Guard during emergencies, like hurricanes. The Florida National Guard has also played a vital role during the pandemic in administering Covid-19 tests and distributing vaccines." Well, that could be interesting. How I read it is a grift, some way to reward loyalists with a "job" and state pension, not really a "stazi" type organization. But it's interesting that a conservative wants to spend more money on duplicating what they already have (in the National Guard).
"Arrogantly self-righteous. Violently xenophobic. Confidently uneducated. Inordinately proud of their own miserable ignorance. Wrapped in the flag of dogmatic nationalism, mindless patriotism, and self-righteous piety. Waving a gun and their Bible… This is what the Republican Party has become: Lauren Boebert." Jim Wright on the current state of conservative politics. There have always been mind-mumblingly ignorant elected officials. But on the conservative side this has become a virtue instead of a liability.
"A group of lawyers aligned with former President Donald Trump -- including Sidney Powell and Lin Wood -- were ordered Thursday by a federal judge to collectively pay more than $175,000 in sanctions-related fees stemming from a bogus election fraud lawsuit they filed last year… US District Judge Linda Parker ordered that the lawyers pay the $21,964.75 in attorneys' fees for the Michigan state officials they sued in the lawsuit. She also ordered that the lawyers pay $153,285.62 in attorneys' fees for the city of Detroit, which was also a defendant in the election reversal lawsuit filed last year."
"A massive voluntary recall suddenly took many sleep aid devices off the market without offering a replacement… Now, newly released documents are raising questions over whether the company at the center of that recall knew of the problems and risks with its devices for years, but did not immediately act." I'm still waiting on my recall to be processed.
"Their family is among hundreds of military families living near Pearl Harbor with similar complaints after the Navy's water system somehow became contaminated by petroleum. The problems have afflicted one of the most important Navy bases in the world, home to submarines, ships and the commander of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region. The issues may even threaten one of Honolulu's most important aquifers and water sources." Oopsie.
"The World Health Organization's chief scientist told the Reuters Next conference on Friday the Omicron variant could become dominant because it is highly transmissible, but that a different vaccine may not be needed… She said the WHO could not at this stage say that Omicron was a mild variant, even if many infections so far have been associated with less severe symptoms or no symptoms at all… There is not yet conclusive evidence about Omicron's impact on the effectiveness of antibodies." If it is more transmissible than Delta, but causes a milder form of COVID-19, that's Good News™. Also note the part about how we don't really know where it emerged, and punishing South Africa because they sequence more of their samples than most Western countries (coughUSAcough) is not helpful.
"At least five U.S. states have now confirmed cases of the omicron variant of the virus that causes Covid-19, as scientists investigate whether the heavily mutated strain is more infectious and virulent." Again, it's too late to try and stop this. Mostly because we don't test a lot of samples here in the west.
"A past coronavirus infection appears to give little immunity to the new omicron variant rippling across the globe, South African scientists warned Thursday, potentially tearing away one layer of defense that humanity has won slowly and at immense cost." Insert dramatic music here.
"German lawmakers have implemented new curbs for the unvaccinated and made plans to vote on making Covid vaccines mandatory… National and regional leaders agreed on Thursday to ban Germany’s unvaccinated population from all non-essential businesses, such as bars, restaurants and movie theaters in a bid to encourage vaccine uptake."
"New York City is extending a COVID-19 vaccine mandate to teachers and staff of private and religious schools, a plan that would affect approximately 56,000 employees at 938 schools across New York City. The move sets up a potential clash with some religious leaders who have opposed mandates for their communities."
"The U.S. economy created far fewer jobs than expected in November, in a sign that hiring started to slow even ahead of the new Covid threat, the Labor Department reported Friday… Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 210,000 for the month, though the unemployment rate fell sharply to 4.2% from 4.6%, even though the labor force participation rate increased for the month to 61.8%, its highest level since March 2020."
"Employers added just 210,000 jobs in November, according to a monthly snapshot from the Labor Department. Job growth appeared to lose momentum after stronger hiring in September and October. Hiring figures for those months were revised upwards."
"A South Florida teenager has been arrested after investigators learned he made a threat against Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the site of a mass shooting that killed 17 people on Valentine's Day in 2018."
"A 14-year-old Georgia girl was killed when her younger brother was trying to sell a homemade gun, and he fired a shot at people who took the weapon without paying, a sheriff said."
"Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to reestablish a World War II-era civilian military force that he, not the Pentagon, would control… DeSantis pitched the idea Thursday as a way to further support the Florida National Guard during emergencies, like hurricanes. The Florida National Guard has also played a vital role during the pandemic in administering Covid-19 tests and distributing vaccines." Well, that could be interesting. How I read it is a grift, some way to reward loyalists with a "job" and state pension, not really a "stazi" type organization. But it's interesting that a conservative wants to spend more money on duplicating what they already have (in the National Guard).
"Arrogantly self-righteous. Violently xenophobic. Confidently uneducated. Inordinately proud of their own miserable ignorance. Wrapped in the flag of dogmatic nationalism, mindless patriotism, and self-righteous piety. Waving a gun and their Bible… This is what the Republican Party has become: Lauren Boebert." Jim Wright on the current state of conservative politics. There have always been mind-mumblingly ignorant elected officials. But on the conservative side this has become a virtue instead of a liability.
"A group of lawyers aligned with former President Donald Trump -- including Sidney Powell and Lin Wood -- were ordered Thursday by a federal judge to collectively pay more than $175,000 in sanctions-related fees stemming from a bogus election fraud lawsuit they filed last year… US District Judge Linda Parker ordered that the lawyers pay the $21,964.75 in attorneys' fees for the Michigan state officials they sued in the lawsuit. She also ordered that the lawyers pay $153,285.62 in attorneys' fees for the city of Detroit, which was also a defendant in the election reversal lawsuit filed last year."
Thursday, December 2, 2021
Happy Holidays
It's been years since I've posted holiday music, and I doubt I'll do so many again, but I wanted to share one of my recent favorites.
Robert Earl Keen - Merry Christmas From The Family.
Robert Earl Keen - Merry Christmas From The Family.
Linkee-poo Thursday Dec 2
"It's the most wonderful time of the year, and while the holiday season may have snuck up on some of us, that doesn't mean your last-minute shipping woes need to sneak up on you as well… Retailers across the U.S. are urging customers to finish their holiday shopping early this year, as supply chain issues and other shortages are posing a concern for many hot products on this year's shopping lists."
"However, the Laetoli site G footprints weren't the only ancient trackways researchers came across at that time. A set of footprints a mile away, at a place called Laetoli site A, were attributed to a young bear walking upright on its hind legs because they were so different from the tracks left by Australopithecus afarensis… Researchers now believe the Laetoli site A footprints may belong to a different early human ancestor that also walked on two legs, a revelation that could rewrite this chapter of the human story."
"Scientists say they've witnessed a never-before-seen type of replication in organic robots created in the lab using frog cells. Among other things, the findings could have implications for regenerative medicine… The discovery involves a xenobot – a simple, 'programmable' organism that is created by assembling stem cells in a Petri dish — and is described by a team of researchers from Tufts University, Harvard University and the University of Vermont in a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
"Robert Lunsford with the American Meteor Society told USA TODAY the comet won't be the most spectacular one ever but will be 'the brightest comet this year.' With the help of binoculars and telescopes, people across the country can already begin to spot it in the sky, and it won't be long before people can view the comet with the naked eye for this once-in-a-lifetime event."
"President Biden is set to announce on Thursday that private health insurance plans will soon reimburse people who buy over-the-counter at-home rapid tests for COVID-19 — one of a series of steps the White House is planning to encourage better detection and prevention of COVID this winter."
"A new kind of COVID-19 vaccine is about to roll out around the world. Although it won't replace the highly successful vaccines currently available, it could make a difference in the course of the pandemic, especially in lower resourced countriesæ These new vaccines are what's called protein subunit vaccines. They work by injecting people with a tiny portion of the virus. In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, that tiny portion is the so-called spike protein critical for the virus to enter cells." So using the actual spike, instead of the mRNA code for the spike.
Remember the consternation over COVID precautions in the last election? "Former President Donald Trump tested positive for Covid-19 three days before his first presidential debate against Joe Biden, with a subsequent pre-debate test coming back negative, three sources familiar with the matter confirmed Wednesday." In my experience, the tests have a higher chance for a false negative than a false positive.
"With the first case of omicron confirmed in California and more cases expected across the U.S., public health officials who know the difference between good and bad crisis communication say they can't afford to be quiet and wait until scientists know how risky the new variant is before they speak out."
"Marcus Lamb, CEO and founder of the conservative Christian Daystar Television Network who was outspoken against COVID-19 vaccines, has died at age 64 after contracting the virus… Daystar confirmed his death Tuesday." I don't feel bad for them, but I do for all the people they hoodwinked and potentially exposed to this virus.
"As Major League Baseball's players and owners begin in the league's first work stoppage since the mid-1990s, a new published report has accused the league of secretly using two different baseballs during the 2021 season, potentially affecting players' performance and game outcomes… The current collective bargaining agreement between players and owners expired Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET. The two sides are not close to an agreement, according to reports." Oh look, a distraction.
"OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, an influential group known as OPEC+, decided on Thursday to stick to a previously agreed upon plan of hiking output by 400,000 barrels per day in January… However the alliance said in a statement that 'the meeting remains in session,' meaning they can “make immediate adjustments” should the current market conditions shift."
"The report by the environmental groups Stand.earth and Amazon Watch found that on average 1 in every 7 tanks of gas, diesel or jet fuel pumped in southern California last year came from the Amazon rainforest. Among the top 25 largest corporate consumers are companies such as Costco, PepsiCo and Amazon, according to the report." The smarminess and "ha ha, caught you smug bastards" just drips from this article. Oil is international. Yes, oil produced in Ecuador (and the West cost of Central and South America) and shipped to the US would come in through California, and be processed there.
"A 15-year-old boy was charged Wednesday with murder, terrorism and other crimes for a shooting that killed four fellow students and injured others at a Michigan high school."
"The parents of a teenager accused of killing four students and wounding seven others at a high school in Michigan this week could themselves face charges… Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said she is considering charges against the parents of 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, the suspect in Tuesday's mass shooting at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit."
"Alec Baldwin says he never pulled the trigger on a prop firearm that discharged on the 'Rust' movie set. The October 21 shooting in Santa Fe killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza." Enter Miss Marple, stage left.
"The future of abortion rights faced its most consequential test in nearly 30 years Wednesday when the Supreme Court convened to hear a high-stakes showdown taking aim at early five decades of precedent, with the conservative justices appearing inclined to let stand a Mississippi law at the heart of the case and pave the way for states to impose more stringent limits on abortion."
"Leading Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate scrambled on Wednesday to head off the threat of a partial federal government shutdown posed by Republicans opposed to President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandates… Congress has until midnight on Friday to pass a measure that would continue funding federal government operations during the pandemic, amid concerns about a new rise in COVID-19 cases and the arrival of the Omicron variant in the United States."
"The House reached a deal Thursday on a short-term government funding bill that would prevent a shutdown before a Friday deadline… The measure would fund the government at current levels through Feb. 18, House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement. The House could vote on the legislation Thursday." Kicking the can again. Thanks, Republicans.
"Democrat Stacey Abrams announced Wednesday she's running for governor of Georgia in 2022, setting the stage for a possible rematch against the current governor, Republican Brian Kemp, who narrowly beat Abrams in 2018."
"However, the Laetoli site G footprints weren't the only ancient trackways researchers came across at that time. A set of footprints a mile away, at a place called Laetoli site A, were attributed to a young bear walking upright on its hind legs because they were so different from the tracks left by Australopithecus afarensis… Researchers now believe the Laetoli site A footprints may belong to a different early human ancestor that also walked on two legs, a revelation that could rewrite this chapter of the human story."
"Scientists say they've witnessed a never-before-seen type of replication in organic robots created in the lab using frog cells. Among other things, the findings could have implications for regenerative medicine… The discovery involves a xenobot – a simple, 'programmable' organism that is created by assembling stem cells in a Petri dish — and is described by a team of researchers from Tufts University, Harvard University and the University of Vermont in a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
"Robert Lunsford with the American Meteor Society told USA TODAY the comet won't be the most spectacular one ever but will be 'the brightest comet this year.' With the help of binoculars and telescopes, people across the country can already begin to spot it in the sky, and it won't be long before people can view the comet with the naked eye for this once-in-a-lifetime event."
"President Biden is set to announce on Thursday that private health insurance plans will soon reimburse people who buy over-the-counter at-home rapid tests for COVID-19 — one of a series of steps the White House is planning to encourage better detection and prevention of COVID this winter."
"A new kind of COVID-19 vaccine is about to roll out around the world. Although it won't replace the highly successful vaccines currently available, it could make a difference in the course of the pandemic, especially in lower resourced countriesæ These new vaccines are what's called protein subunit vaccines. They work by injecting people with a tiny portion of the virus. In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, that tiny portion is the so-called spike protein critical for the virus to enter cells." So using the actual spike, instead of the mRNA code for the spike.
Remember the consternation over COVID precautions in the last election? "Former President Donald Trump tested positive for Covid-19 three days before his first presidential debate against Joe Biden, with a subsequent pre-debate test coming back negative, three sources familiar with the matter confirmed Wednesday." In my experience, the tests have a higher chance for a false negative than a false positive.
"With the first case of omicron confirmed in California and more cases expected across the U.S., public health officials who know the difference between good and bad crisis communication say they can't afford to be quiet and wait until scientists know how risky the new variant is before they speak out."
"Marcus Lamb, CEO and founder of the conservative Christian Daystar Television Network who was outspoken against COVID-19 vaccines, has died at age 64 after contracting the virus… Daystar confirmed his death Tuesday." I don't feel bad for them, but I do for all the people they hoodwinked and potentially exposed to this virus.
"As Major League Baseball's players and owners begin in the league's first work stoppage since the mid-1990s, a new published report has accused the league of secretly using two different baseballs during the 2021 season, potentially affecting players' performance and game outcomes… The current collective bargaining agreement between players and owners expired Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. ET. The two sides are not close to an agreement, according to reports." Oh look, a distraction.
"OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers, an influential group known as OPEC+, decided on Thursday to stick to a previously agreed upon plan of hiking output by 400,000 barrels per day in January… However the alliance said in a statement that 'the meeting remains in session,' meaning they can “make immediate adjustments” should the current market conditions shift."
"The report by the environmental groups Stand.earth and Amazon Watch found that on average 1 in every 7 tanks of gas, diesel or jet fuel pumped in southern California last year came from the Amazon rainforest. Among the top 25 largest corporate consumers are companies such as Costco, PepsiCo and Amazon, according to the report." The smarminess and "ha ha, caught you smug bastards" just drips from this article. Oil is international. Yes, oil produced in Ecuador (and the West cost of Central and South America) and shipped to the US would come in through California, and be processed there.
"A 15-year-old boy was charged Wednesday with murder, terrorism and other crimes for a shooting that killed four fellow students and injured others at a Michigan high school."
"The parents of a teenager accused of killing four students and wounding seven others at a high school in Michigan this week could themselves face charges… Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said she is considering charges against the parents of 15-year-old Ethan Crumbley, the suspect in Tuesday's mass shooting at Oxford High School in suburban Detroit."
"Alec Baldwin says he never pulled the trigger on a prop firearm that discharged on the 'Rust' movie set. The October 21 shooting in Santa Fe killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and wounded director Joel Souza." Enter Miss Marple, stage left.
"The future of abortion rights faced its most consequential test in nearly 30 years Wednesday when the Supreme Court convened to hear a high-stakes showdown taking aim at early five decades of precedent, with the conservative justices appearing inclined to let stand a Mississippi law at the heart of the case and pave the way for states to impose more stringent limits on abortion."
"Leading Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate scrambled on Wednesday to head off the threat of a partial federal government shutdown posed by Republicans opposed to President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandates… Congress has until midnight on Friday to pass a measure that would continue funding federal government operations during the pandemic, amid concerns about a new rise in COVID-19 cases and the arrival of the Omicron variant in the United States."
"The House reached a deal Thursday on a short-term government funding bill that would prevent a shutdown before a Friday deadline… The measure would fund the government at current levels through Feb. 18, House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., said in a statement. The House could vote on the legislation Thursday." Kicking the can again. Thanks, Republicans.
"Democrat Stacey Abrams announced Wednesday she's running for governor of Georgia in 2022, setting the stage for a possible rematch against the current governor, Republican Brian Kemp, who narrowly beat Abrams in 2018."
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