Post by mhbruin on Dec 3, 2021 9:09:19 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 466 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
CDC doesn't do a good job of reporting around holidays.
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Does Bail Reform Need to Be Reformed?
Fourteen people have been arrested over a series of smash-and-grab robberies at retail outlets in Los Angeles in recent weeks, police say.
Nearly $340,000 (£256,000) worth of goods were stolen between 18 and 28 November.
All of the suspects were released from custody pending trial.
Police and city officials called for an end to a bail relaxation policy for some defendants, introduced to prevent jail overcrowding during Covid-19.
Police chief Michel Moore said four robberies, six burglaries and one grand theft had been carried out, leading to $338,000 worth of goods being stolen and $40,000 of property damaged.
He said one of the suspects was a juvenile and the others had either been bailed or met no-bail criteria.
It usually took three to four months for suspects to be arraigned, and criminal elements were capitalising on this situation, the police chief added.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said that with Covid infection levels easing it was time for more room to be found in jails and for more judges to put more people in them.
"There are people who need to be behind bars," he told reporters on Thursday.
"How many times does someone have to steal a car - three, four, five times - before we realise?"
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COVID: A Repeat Offender? Mostly What We Don't Know.
The first real world data showing the coronavirus variant Omicron may evade some of our immunity has been reported by scientists in South Africa.
Scientists have detected a surge in the number of people catching Covid multiple times.
It is a rapid analysis and not definitive, but fits with concern about the mutations the variant possesses.
It is also not clear what this means for the protection given by vaccines.
.....
World Health Organization Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said on Friday that it’s too early to conclude whether the Omicron coronavirus variant leads to milder illnesses overall.
,,,,,
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, said on Friday that although it’s early, the Omicron variant appears to be very transmissible.
It MIGHT Lead to Repeat Infections, It MIGHT Evade Vaccines, It MIGHT Lead to Milder Illness, It MIGHT Be More Transmissible... But It MIGHT NOT. Still, This is Disturbing:
Gauteng is a Province in South Africa
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Death Sentence Want His Own Army? How Many Of Them Will Be Members of Right-Wing Militias?
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.
But in a nod to the growing tension between Republican states and the Biden administration over the National Guard, DeSantis also said this unit, called the Florida State Guard, would be "not encumbered by the federal government." He said this force would give him "the flexibility and the ability needed to respond to events in our state in the most effective way possible." DeSantis is proposing bringing it back with a volunteer force of 200 civilians, and he is seeking $3.5 million from the state legislature in startup costs to train and equip them.
Is This Starting to Sound Like Iraq?
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Isn't This a Crime?
The National Football League has suspended three players, including Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown, for three games without pay following a league investigation that determined the three violated Covid-19 protocols. Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards and free agent wide receiver John Franklin III, who has been on the Bucs' practice squad, were the other players suspended.
In a Thursday news release, the NFL said its review of recent allegations that the players had "misrepresented their vaccination status" had supported the claims.
On November 18, the NFL announced it was reviewing accusations that Brown had owned fake Covid-19 vaccination cards in an attempt to usurp NFL protocols. The accusations were made by Steven Ruiz, Brown's former at-home chef in a Tampa Bay Times exclusive report.
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Tell Me How a 14-Year-Old Can Have This Business Without His Mother Knowing
A 13-year-old boy who was manufacturing and selling so-called "ghost guns" has been arrested after he allegedly shot and killed his 14-year-old sister with one of his own homemade firearms, according to the Douglas County, Georgia, Sheriff's Office.
Two people had come to the family's home in Douglasville, about 20 miles west of Atlanta, on November 27 to purchase a gun that the 13-year-old made, Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds said in a news conference livestreamed by CNN affiliate WGCL Wednesday.
But instead of buying the firearm, the pair stole the gun from the 13-year-old and fled the scene, the sheriff told reporters. The boy then shot at them as they were leaving, Pounds said, but instead struck his 14-year-old sister, who was identified by the sheriff's office as Kyra Scott. Investigators believe the weapon he used was one that he had made.
"It's so sad because the mother's losing two kids at one time," Pounds said, telling reporters the boy had been making weapons from "start to finish."
"He's selling those weapons on the streets of Douglas County, Carroll County, Atlanta -- everywhere," the sheriff said.
Momma, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Gun Dealers.
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"Enough is enough! I have had it with these Motherf*cking Tarantuals, Cockroaches, and Scorpions on this Motherf*cking Plane!
Hundreds of wild spiders and insects were seized by Colombian authorities on Thursday as they foiled an alleged attempt to smuggle the bugs to Europe, officials said.
A statement from Bogota's environmental authority said at least 232 tarantulas, 67 cockroaches, nine spider eggs, and a scorpion with seven of its young were confiscated at the capital's El Dorado airport.
The bugs were kept in more than 200 plastic containers hidden in a suitcase, the statement said.
Two German citizens were detained and will be prosecuted, officials said. They said they were taking the animals to Germany for academic purposes, but lacked the permits to collect and transport them.
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The Best Way to Protect From New Variants
The Biden administration will announce plans on Friday to ship 9 million Covid vaccines to Africa amid growing concerns about the omicron variant, a White House official said.
The new shipment brings the U.S.'s total donations to Africa to 100 million vaccines, according to the official. An additional two million vaccines will be sent elsewhere in the world, the official added.
The shipment is part of President Joe Biden's Thursday pledge to send more than 200 million vaccines abroad in 100 days.
Apparently We Are Not Sending Tarantulas or With the Vaccine.
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Psst! Don't Tell Anyone, But Masks Save Lives
At the request of Gov. Mike Parson, the Missouri Department of Health conducted an analysis of COVID-19 infections and deaths in those cities and counties that implemented mask mandates compared to the rest of the state. As The Missouri Independent reports, the results of that analysis were clear: During every part of the pandemic, mask mandates worked to reduce rates of infections and prevent deaths.
The department then sent an email to Parson’s office reporting that the mandates worked, complete with a pair of graphs showing the results of their analysis. From of April through October, areas with mask mandates averaged 15.8 cases per day for every 100,000 residents. Those areas without a mask mandate had 21.7 cases per day over the same period. The difference in the rate of deaths is even more stark. Deaths in areas without mask mandates occurred at a rate three times higher than in those areas with masks.
The difference between the results is consistent over the course of the entire pandemic, through both peaks and valleys of infection in the state. The mask-gap is there before vaccines become available, after vaccines become available, and right through the period in which delta becomes dominant. At the very end of the study period, mandates are saving lives more effectively than ever, with a death rate in masked areas that’s literally fifteen times lower than in unmasked areas.
So naturally, Parsons did what any good Republican governor would do when confronted with information that could save thousands of lives in his state—he buried it.
Despite being instructed to collect this information the results were not made public. It took a Sunshine Law request from the Independent and the Documenting COVID-19 project to obtain charts and emails connected to the analysis.
Another "Pro-Life" QOPer Proves He Is Anti-Life.
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What's More Disgusting Than Horse Paste?
Put more simply, the product is dirt—four-and-a-half ounces of it, sealed in a sleek black plastic baggie and sold for $110 plus shipping. Visitors to the Black Oxygen Organics website, recently taken offline, were greeted with a pair of white hands cradling cups of dirt like an offering. “A gift from the Ground,” it reads. “Drink it. Wear it. Bathe in it.”
BOO, which “can be taken by anyone at any age, as well as animals,” according to the company, claims many benefits and uses, including improved brain function and heart health, and ridding the body of so-called toxins that include heavy metals, pesticides, and parasites.
Teams of sellers in these private Facebook groups claim that, beyond cosmetic applications, BOO can cure everything from autism to cancer to Alzheimer’s disease. Conveniently in these times, BOO proponents say it also protects against and treats Covid-19, and can be used to “detox” the newly vaccinated, according to posts viewed by NBC News.
The Worst Way to Protect From Variants
As the Joe Biden administration moves to impose vaccine mandates on workers at large businesses, a new poll shows that one in four Republicans do not ever intend to get the shot.
In a survey by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) looking at attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccines that was published on Thursday, it was found that 26 percent of Republicans said they would "definitely not" get the vaccine. The found also found that four in 10 Republicans remain unvaccinated. As well as Republicans, uninsured adults and white evangelicals were less likely to want to get the vaccine than other groups.
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Can: Meet Foot.
Abill to fund the US government through mid-February gained the support of enough members of the Senate late on Thursday to win passage and prevent a partial shutdown of federal agencies at the end of this week after leaders defused a partisan standoff over federal vaccine mandates.
The measure, which was approved by lawmakers in the House earlier in the day, will keep the federal government funded for the next two and a half months.
I Can't Wait For February's Fake Drama
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July??
Nevada will be the first state to charge state workers enrolled in public employee health insurance plans a surcharge if they aren't vaccinated.
The state Public Employees' Benefit Program Board voted on Thursday to charge unvaccinated workers up to $55 per month to offset the costs of testing those who haven't gotten shots are required to undergo in certain workplaces.
“This is pandemic has been shouldered on the burden of everyone. And now this particular burden — the testing — should be shouldered on the burden of those who refuse to (be vaccinated),” said DuAne Young, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s policy director.
Surcharges for state workers and adult dependents on their plans will go into effect in July 2022.
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What Does He Have to Do That Is More Important Than Saving Democracy?
Leading voting rights activists came away frustrated and alarmed from what they hoped would be a breakthrough meeting last month at the White House to discuss a strategy to pass federal voting rights legislation.
There were high hopes for the 15 November teleconference between the White House and the leaders of the hundreds of groups that comprise the Declaration for American Democracy (Dfad), many of which have been campaigning hard for federal voting rights legislation. Kamala Harris had agreed to stop by the meeting.
After Joe Biden gave a strong endorsement in late October of altering the Senate filibuster rule for voting rights legislation, the activists hoped that the White House would lay out a course for getting the stalled bills through the US Senate.
Instead, multiple people who attended the meeting said they didn’t hear any kind of plan from the White House.
The vice-president, who is leading the White House’s voting rights effort, arrived midway through the meeting and read just over six minutes of prepared remarks and then left without taking any questions, according to people who attended.
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They Aren't Eating Dirt, But They Are Living on Trash
Coastal marine species carried out to sea on debris are not only surviving, they’re colonizing the high seas and making new communities on the floating plastic detritus that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Scientists, writing in the journal Nature Communications, report coastal plants and animals are sustaining themselves and even reproducing in the patch, an accumulation of trash stuck in ocean currents that’s estimated to be about twice the size of Texas.
Scientists have documented more than 40 coastal species clinging to plastic trash, including mussels, barnacles and shrimp-like amphipods, said Greg Ruiz, a senior scientist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and an author of the report.
Scientists have known that coastal species could catch rides out to sea on logs and seawood in the past. But those materials would quickly disintegrate and become a one-way ticket to nowhere.
Researchers were shocked to find that plastic debris now is allowing plants and animals to take up residence in the middle of nowhere and that the open ocean provides enough food to sustain them.
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The War Is Over For Everyone Except This Guy
Abu Zubaydah, the Guantánamo detainee who was tortured close to death by the CIA and who has been held without charge by the US for nearly 20 years, has petitioned a federal court for his release on grounds that America’s wars in Afghanistan and with al-Qaida are over.
In a filing with the US district court in Washington DC, Zubaydah’s lawyers argue that recent White House declarations that the armed conflict in Afghanistan is over – combined with the complete destruction of the original al-Qaida group that carried out 9/11 – have removed any remaining legal justification for keeping him captive. The motion calls for his immediate release, describing Zubaydah’s treatment over the past two decades as a “parade of horribles”.
The ‘Camp Six’ detention facility at the US Naval Station in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in 2012. Abu Zubaydah remains at the camp without charge.
At the heart of the new habeas corpus push for the detainee’s freedom is Zubaydah’s status as a so-called “enemy combatant”. Under the 2001 Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF), passed by Congress days after 9/11, the then president, George W Bush, was given the power to pursue those behind the terrorist attacks as part of the war on terror.
But as the new filing points out, Zubaydah has never been charged with involvement in 9/11 and he was not even a member of al-Qaida, as the US government has conceded. Rather, he was accused of offenses that took place in Afghanistan as part of a war that has now officially been concluded.
Which Is Worse, Life in Afghanistan or In Guantánamo?
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The Sins of Sidney
A federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s former attorney Sidney Powell has uncovered evidence that Powell filed false incorporation papers with the state of Texas for a non-profit she heads, Defending the Republic, according to sources close to the investigation.
In the incorporation papers, Powell – who filed lawsuits across the US questioning the 2020 election result which Trump lost to Joe Biden – listed two men who she said served with her on the organization’s board of directors, even though neither one of them gave Powell permission to do so.
The broader federal criminal inquiry into Powell, led by the United States attorney for the District of Columbia, has since last fall been examining allegations of fundraising and financial fraud by Powell in the running of the group, according to documents reviewed by the Guardian.
Incorporation papers Powell filed with the Texas secretary of state on 1 December 2020 for Defending of the Republic (DTR), listed only three people as comprising the group’s initial board: Powell herself, the Georgia attorney Linn Wood; and Brannon Castleberry, a Beverly Hills-based businessman and consultant.
The federal grand jury has reviewed extensive documentation that neither Wood nor Castleberry ever consented to serve on DTR’s board. One of the two men has said he wasn’t even notified at all, even after the fact, that Powell had named him as a board member. The grand jury is investigating whether Powell misrepresented the makeup of her board in an effort to attract more donors.
The federal investigators are also trying to determine whether Powell diverted money from DTR for her own personal use.
DTR? Is She Defaming Our Quarterback?
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CDC doesn't do a good job of reporting around holidays.
Doses Administered 7-Day Average | Number of People Receiving 1 or More Doses | Number of People Fully Vaccinated | New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Dec 3 | 1,700,056 | 234,743,864 | 198,211,641 | ||
| Dec 2 | 1,428,263 | 234,269,053 | 197,838,728 | 96,425 | 975 |
| Dec 1 | 1,116,587 | 233,590,555 | 197,363,116 | 86,412 | 859 |
| Nov 30 | 1,152,647 | 233,207,582 | 197,058,988 | 82,846 | 816 |
| Nov 29 | 937,113 | 232,792,508 | 196,806,194 | 80,178 | 804 |
| Nov 28 | No Data | 72,008 | 719 | ||
| Nov 27 | No Data | 72,139 | 721 | ||
| Nov 26 | No Data | 73,962 | 742 | ||
| Nov 25 | No Data | 82,440 | 887 | ||
| Nov 24 | 898,833 | 231,367,686 | 196,168,756 | 93,931 | 989 |
| Nov 23 | 1,126,545 | 230,669,289 | 195,973,992 | 94,266 | 982 |
| Nov 22 | 1,521,815 | 230,732,565 | 196,398,948 | 93,668 | 1,009 |
| Nov 21 | 1,774,196 | 230,298,744 | 196,284,442 | 91,021 | 985 |
| Nov 20 | 2,136,513 | 229,837,421 | 196,128,496 | 90,823 | 996 |
| Nov 19 | 1,952,717 | 229,291,004 | 195,920,566 | 92,852 | 1,047 |
| Nov 18 | 1,870,564 | 228,570,531 | 195,713,107 | 94,260 | 1,069 |
| Nov 17 | 1,811,047 | 228,175,638 | 195,612,365 | 88,482 | 1,032 |
| Nov 16 | 1,608,906 | 227,691,941 | 195,435,688 | 85,944 | 1,028 |
| Nov 15 | 1,582,519 | 227,133,617 | 195,275,904 | 83,671 | 1,029 |
| Nov 14 | 1,375,998 | 226,607,653 | 195,120,470 | 80,823 | 1,043 |
| Nov 13 | 1,370,279 | 226,157,226 | 194,951,106 | 80,590 | 1,049 |
| Nov 12 | 1,335,066 | 225,606,197 | 194,747,839 | 78,552 | 1,038 |
| Nov 11 | No Data | 73,218 | 999 | ||
| Nov 10 | 1,316,294 | 224,660,453 | 194,382,921 | 76,458 | 1,051 |
| Nov 9 | 1,316,228 | 224,257,467 | 194,168,611 | 74,584 | 1,078 |
| Nov 8 | 1,300,925 | 223,944,369 | 194,001,108 | 73,312 | 1,078 |
| Nov 7 | 1,265,361 | 223,629,671 | 193,832,584 | 71,867 | 1,068 |
| Nov 6 | 1,254,975 | 223,245,121 | 193,627,929 | 71,327 | 1,079 |
| Nov 5 | 1,283,684 | 222,902,939 | 193,425,862 | 71,517 | 1,071 |
| Nov 4 | 1,188,564 | 222,591,394 | 193,227,813 | 71,241 | 1,102 |
| Nov 3 | 1,068,184 | 222,268,786 | 192,931,486 | 70,431 | 1,109 |
| Nov 2 | 1,112,624 | 221,961,370 | 192,726,406 | 71,029 | 1,130 |
| Nov 1 | 1,243,313 | 221,760,691 | 192,586,927 | 74,798 | 1,190 |
| Oct 31 | 1,203,517 | 221,520,153 | 192,453,500 | 71,207 | 1,151 |
| Oct 30 | 1,114,502 | 221,221,467 | 192,244,927 | 71,690 | 1,156 |
| Feb 16 | 1,716,311 | 39,670,551 | 15,015,434 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | |
| % of Total Population | 70.7% | 59.7% |
| % of Population 12+ | 81.2% | 69.6% |
| % of Population 18+ | 83.1% | 71.4% |
| % of Population 65+ | 99.9% | 86.5% |
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Does Bail Reform Need to Be Reformed?
Fourteen people have been arrested over a series of smash-and-grab robberies at retail outlets in Los Angeles in recent weeks, police say.
Nearly $340,000 (£256,000) worth of goods were stolen between 18 and 28 November.
All of the suspects were released from custody pending trial.
Police and city officials called for an end to a bail relaxation policy for some defendants, introduced to prevent jail overcrowding during Covid-19.
Police chief Michel Moore said four robberies, six burglaries and one grand theft had been carried out, leading to $338,000 worth of goods being stolen and $40,000 of property damaged.
He said one of the suspects was a juvenile and the others had either been bailed or met no-bail criteria.
It usually took three to four months for suspects to be arraigned, and criminal elements were capitalising on this situation, the police chief added.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said that with Covid infection levels easing it was time for more room to be found in jails and for more judges to put more people in them.
"There are people who need to be behind bars," he told reporters on Thursday.
"How many times does someone have to steal a car - three, four, five times - before we realise?"
--------------
COVID: A Repeat Offender? Mostly What We Don't Know.
The first real world data showing the coronavirus variant Omicron may evade some of our immunity has been reported by scientists in South Africa.
Scientists have detected a surge in the number of people catching Covid multiple times.
It is a rapid analysis and not definitive, but fits with concern about the mutations the variant possesses.
It is also not clear what this means for the protection given by vaccines.
.....
World Health Organization Chief Scientist Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said on Friday that it’s too early to conclude whether the Omicron coronavirus variant leads to milder illnesses overall.
,,,,,
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the World Health Organization’s chief scientist, said on Friday that although it’s early, the Omicron variant appears to be very transmissible.
It MIGHT Lead to Repeat Infections, It MIGHT Evade Vaccines, It MIGHT Lead to Milder Illness, It MIGHT Be More Transmissible... But It MIGHT NOT. Still, This is Disturbing:
Gauteng is a Province in South Africa
--------------
Death Sentence Want His Own Army? How Many Of Them Will Be Members of Right-Wing Militias?
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.
But in a nod to the growing tension between Republican states and the Biden administration over the National Guard, DeSantis also said this unit, called the Florida State Guard, would be "not encumbered by the federal government." He said this force would give him "the flexibility and the ability needed to respond to events in our state in the most effective way possible." DeSantis is proposing bringing it back with a volunteer force of 200 civilians, and he is seeking $3.5 million from the state legislature in startup costs to train and equip them.
Is This Starting to Sound Like Iraq?
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Isn't This a Crime?
The National Football League has suspended three players, including Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown, for three games without pay following a league investigation that determined the three violated Covid-19 protocols. Buccaneers safety Mike Edwards and free agent wide receiver John Franklin III, who has been on the Bucs' practice squad, were the other players suspended.
In a Thursday news release, the NFL said its review of recent allegations that the players had "misrepresented their vaccination status" had supported the claims.
On November 18, the NFL announced it was reviewing accusations that Brown had owned fake Covid-19 vaccination cards in an attempt to usurp NFL protocols. The accusations were made by Steven Ruiz, Brown's former at-home chef in a Tampa Bay Times exclusive report.
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Tell Me How a 14-Year-Old Can Have This Business Without His Mother Knowing
A 13-year-old boy who was manufacturing and selling so-called "ghost guns" has been arrested after he allegedly shot and killed his 14-year-old sister with one of his own homemade firearms, according to the Douglas County, Georgia, Sheriff's Office.
Two people had come to the family's home in Douglasville, about 20 miles west of Atlanta, on November 27 to purchase a gun that the 13-year-old made, Douglas County Sheriff Tim Pounds said in a news conference livestreamed by CNN affiliate WGCL Wednesday.
But instead of buying the firearm, the pair stole the gun from the 13-year-old and fled the scene, the sheriff told reporters. The boy then shot at them as they were leaving, Pounds said, but instead struck his 14-year-old sister, who was identified by the sheriff's office as Kyra Scott. Investigators believe the weapon he used was one that he had made.
"It's so sad because the mother's losing two kids at one time," Pounds said, telling reporters the boy had been making weapons from "start to finish."
"He's selling those weapons on the streets of Douglas County, Carroll County, Atlanta -- everywhere," the sheriff said.
Momma, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Gun Dealers.
--------------
"Enough is enough! I have had it with these Motherf*cking Tarantuals, Cockroaches, and Scorpions on this Motherf*cking Plane!
Hundreds of wild spiders and insects were seized by Colombian authorities on Thursday as they foiled an alleged attempt to smuggle the bugs to Europe, officials said.
A statement from Bogota's environmental authority said at least 232 tarantulas, 67 cockroaches, nine spider eggs, and a scorpion with seven of its young were confiscated at the capital's El Dorado airport.
The bugs were kept in more than 200 plastic containers hidden in a suitcase, the statement said.
Two German citizens were detained and will be prosecuted, officials said. They said they were taking the animals to Germany for academic purposes, but lacked the permits to collect and transport them.
--------------
The Best Way to Protect From New Variants
The Biden administration will announce plans on Friday to ship 9 million Covid vaccines to Africa amid growing concerns about the omicron variant, a White House official said.
The new shipment brings the U.S.'s total donations to Africa to 100 million vaccines, according to the official. An additional two million vaccines will be sent elsewhere in the world, the official added.
The shipment is part of President Joe Biden's Thursday pledge to send more than 200 million vaccines abroad in 100 days.
Apparently We Are Not Sending Tarantulas or With the Vaccine.
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Psst! Don't Tell Anyone, But Masks Save Lives
At the request of Gov. Mike Parson, the Missouri Department of Health conducted an analysis of COVID-19 infections and deaths in those cities and counties that implemented mask mandates compared to the rest of the state. As The Missouri Independent reports, the results of that analysis were clear: During every part of the pandemic, mask mandates worked to reduce rates of infections and prevent deaths.
The department then sent an email to Parson’s office reporting that the mandates worked, complete with a pair of graphs showing the results of their analysis. From of April through October, areas with mask mandates averaged 15.8 cases per day for every 100,000 residents. Those areas without a mask mandate had 21.7 cases per day over the same period. The difference in the rate of deaths is even more stark. Deaths in areas without mask mandates occurred at a rate three times higher than in those areas with masks.
The difference between the results is consistent over the course of the entire pandemic, through both peaks and valleys of infection in the state. The mask-gap is there before vaccines become available, after vaccines become available, and right through the period in which delta becomes dominant. At the very end of the study period, mandates are saving lives more effectively than ever, with a death rate in masked areas that’s literally fifteen times lower than in unmasked areas.
So naturally, Parsons did what any good Republican governor would do when confronted with information that could save thousands of lives in his state—he buried it.
Despite being instructed to collect this information the results were not made public. It took a Sunshine Law request from the Independent and the Documenting COVID-19 project to obtain charts and emails connected to the analysis.
Another "Pro-Life" QOPer Proves He Is Anti-Life.
--------------
What's More Disgusting Than Horse Paste?
Put more simply, the product is dirt—four-and-a-half ounces of it, sealed in a sleek black plastic baggie and sold for $110 plus shipping. Visitors to the Black Oxygen Organics website, recently taken offline, were greeted with a pair of white hands cradling cups of dirt like an offering. “A gift from the Ground,” it reads. “Drink it. Wear it. Bathe in it.”
BOO, which “can be taken by anyone at any age, as well as animals,” according to the company, claims many benefits and uses, including improved brain function and heart health, and ridding the body of so-called toxins that include heavy metals, pesticides, and parasites.
Teams of sellers in these private Facebook groups claim that, beyond cosmetic applications, BOO can cure everything from autism to cancer to Alzheimer’s disease. Conveniently in these times, BOO proponents say it also protects against and treats Covid-19, and can be used to “detox” the newly vaccinated, according to posts viewed by NBC News.
The Worst Way to Protect From Variants
As the Joe Biden administration moves to impose vaccine mandates on workers at large businesses, a new poll shows that one in four Republicans do not ever intend to get the shot.
In a survey by the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) looking at attitudes towards the COVID-19 vaccines that was published on Thursday, it was found that 26 percent of Republicans said they would "definitely not" get the vaccine. The found also found that four in 10 Republicans remain unvaccinated. As well as Republicans, uninsured adults and white evangelicals were less likely to want to get the vaccine than other groups.
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Can: Meet Foot.
Abill to fund the US government through mid-February gained the support of enough members of the Senate late on Thursday to win passage and prevent a partial shutdown of federal agencies at the end of this week after leaders defused a partisan standoff over federal vaccine mandates.
The measure, which was approved by lawmakers in the House earlier in the day, will keep the federal government funded for the next two and a half months.
I Can't Wait For February's Fake Drama
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July??
Nevada will be the first state to charge state workers enrolled in public employee health insurance plans a surcharge if they aren't vaccinated.
The state Public Employees' Benefit Program Board voted on Thursday to charge unvaccinated workers up to $55 per month to offset the costs of testing those who haven't gotten shots are required to undergo in certain workplaces.
“This is pandemic has been shouldered on the burden of everyone. And now this particular burden — the testing — should be shouldered on the burden of those who refuse to (be vaccinated),” said DuAne Young, Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s policy director.
Surcharges for state workers and adult dependents on their plans will go into effect in July 2022.
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What Does He Have to Do That Is More Important Than Saving Democracy?
Leading voting rights activists came away frustrated and alarmed from what they hoped would be a breakthrough meeting last month at the White House to discuss a strategy to pass federal voting rights legislation.
There were high hopes for the 15 November teleconference between the White House and the leaders of the hundreds of groups that comprise the Declaration for American Democracy (Dfad), many of which have been campaigning hard for federal voting rights legislation. Kamala Harris had agreed to stop by the meeting.
After Joe Biden gave a strong endorsement in late October of altering the Senate filibuster rule for voting rights legislation, the activists hoped that the White House would lay out a course for getting the stalled bills through the US Senate.
Instead, multiple people who attended the meeting said they didn’t hear any kind of plan from the White House.
The vice-president, who is leading the White House’s voting rights effort, arrived midway through the meeting and read just over six minutes of prepared remarks and then left without taking any questions, according to people who attended.
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They Aren't Eating Dirt, But They Are Living on Trash
Coastal marine species carried out to sea on debris are not only surviving, they’re colonizing the high seas and making new communities on the floating plastic detritus that make up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.
Scientists, writing in the journal Nature Communications, report coastal plants and animals are sustaining themselves and even reproducing in the patch, an accumulation of trash stuck in ocean currents that’s estimated to be about twice the size of Texas.
Scientists have documented more than 40 coastal species clinging to plastic trash, including mussels, barnacles and shrimp-like amphipods, said Greg Ruiz, a senior scientist with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and an author of the report.
Scientists have known that coastal species could catch rides out to sea on logs and seawood in the past. But those materials would quickly disintegrate and become a one-way ticket to nowhere.
Researchers were shocked to find that plastic debris now is allowing plants and animals to take up residence in the middle of nowhere and that the open ocean provides enough food to sustain them.
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The War Is Over For Everyone Except This Guy
Abu Zubaydah, the Guantánamo detainee who was tortured close to death by the CIA and who has been held without charge by the US for nearly 20 years, has petitioned a federal court for his release on grounds that America’s wars in Afghanistan and with al-Qaida are over.
In a filing with the US district court in Washington DC, Zubaydah’s lawyers argue that recent White House declarations that the armed conflict in Afghanistan is over – combined with the complete destruction of the original al-Qaida group that carried out 9/11 – have removed any remaining legal justification for keeping him captive. The motion calls for his immediate release, describing Zubaydah’s treatment over the past two decades as a “parade of horribles”.
The ‘Camp Six’ detention facility at the US Naval Station in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in 2012. Abu Zubaydah remains at the camp without charge.
At the heart of the new habeas corpus push for the detainee’s freedom is Zubaydah’s status as a so-called “enemy combatant”. Under the 2001 Authorisation for Use of Military Force (AUMF), passed by Congress days after 9/11, the then president, George W Bush, was given the power to pursue those behind the terrorist attacks as part of the war on terror.
But as the new filing points out, Zubaydah has never been charged with involvement in 9/11 and he was not even a member of al-Qaida, as the US government has conceded. Rather, he was accused of offenses that took place in Afghanistan as part of a war that has now officially been concluded.
Which Is Worse, Life in Afghanistan or In Guantánamo?
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The Sins of Sidney
A federal grand jury investigating Donald Trump’s former attorney Sidney Powell has uncovered evidence that Powell filed false incorporation papers with the state of Texas for a non-profit she heads, Defending the Republic, according to sources close to the investigation.
In the incorporation papers, Powell – who filed lawsuits across the US questioning the 2020 election result which Trump lost to Joe Biden – listed two men who she said served with her on the organization’s board of directors, even though neither one of them gave Powell permission to do so.
The broader federal criminal inquiry into Powell, led by the United States attorney for the District of Columbia, has since last fall been examining allegations of fundraising and financial fraud by Powell in the running of the group, according to documents reviewed by the Guardian.
Incorporation papers Powell filed with the Texas secretary of state on 1 December 2020 for Defending of the Republic (DTR), listed only three people as comprising the group’s initial board: Powell herself, the Georgia attorney Linn Wood; and Brannon Castleberry, a Beverly Hills-based businessman and consultant.
The federal grand jury has reviewed extensive documentation that neither Wood nor Castleberry ever consented to serve on DTR’s board. One of the two men has said he wasn’t even notified at all, even after the fact, that Powell had named him as a board member. The grand jury is investigating whether Powell misrepresented the makeup of her board in an effort to attract more donors.
The federal investigators are also trying to determine whether Powell diverted money from DTR for her own personal use.
DTR? Is She Defaming Our Quarterback?
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