Post by mhbruin on Feb 18, 2022 9:27:19 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 549 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
--------------
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday Feb 15)
January had NO rain or snow. February looks the same.
--------------
Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
The Church of Human "Wisdom". Does it Teach You to Hate They Neighbor As Thyself?
US actor Rockmond Dunbar is suing the makers of TV drama 9-1-1, saying he was fired after claiming exemption from having a Covid-19 vaccination.
Dunbar played Michael in seasons 1-5 of the police show.
He says he was denied medical and religious exemptions and faced racial (??) discrimination when 20th Television stipulated actors had to be vaccinated.
The Disney-owned company says it complied with its legal obligations and denied making decisions based on race.
Dunbar, who has appeared on the show since it began on the Fox network in 2018, requested exemptions based on his beliefs as a member of the Church of Universal Wisdom and an undisclosed disability, according to his legal case.
He Couldn't Even Get the Name of the "Church" Right
The Congregation of Universal Wisdom is a quack religious organization founded by chiropractor Walter P. Schilling (c. 1944[2]–). The group's beliefs are a hash of chiropractic philosophy and New Thought beliefs, with a strong dose of anti-vaccination bullshit tossed in.[3] There are no real chapels and no requirement for members to meet. Prospective ministers need only to submit a dissertation that is examined by five other ministers. An essay cited by the United States National Institutes of Health calls the organization a "sham religion" used by thousands of parents to avoid getting their children vaccinated.
The organization believes in a universal intelligence similar to New Thought Christianity, and they believe that the only way someone can be healed is through the manipulation of the spine. The primary purpose of the "congregation," however, is to allow members to claim a religious exemption from vaccination laws. They define vaccination as sacrilegious.
They Decided to Bomb For Islam. Now They Will Need Someone to Embalm.
A court in India has sentenced 38 people to death for their role in a series of bomb blasts in 2008 in the western state of Gujarat.
Fifty-seven people were killed and hundreds injured in the bombings, which took place in Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Gujarat.
The court in Ahmedabad also sentenced 11 other convicts to life in prison until death.
The accused can challenge their sentences in a higher court.
On 26 July 2008, around 20 bombs exploded in the space of an hour across residential areas, market places, public transport and hospitals in Ahmedabad. Several unexploded bombs were also found.
The Indian Mujahideen - then an unknown Islamic militant group - had claimed responsibility for the attacks in an email sent to some media outlets.
She Broke the First Two Rules of Russian Athletics. She Got Caught and She Didn't Win.
It was “chilling” to see the “tremendous coldness” Russian star Kamila Valieva received from her entourage after a mistake-filled routine on the ice in Beijing, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said Friday.
“Rather than giving her comfort, rather than to try to to help her, you could feel this chilling atmosphere,” he told reporters Friday. “If you were interpreting the body language of them it got even worse because this was even some kind of dismissive gestures.”
"I saw how she was received by her closest entourage with such, what appeared to be a tremendous coldness," he added. "It was chilling to see."
Hillary Clinton is News? That's News to Me.
Hillary Clinton nailed what’s going on here, including a little warning shot to Fox News.
“So now his accountants have fired [Trump] and investigations draw closer to him and right on cue, the noise machine gets turned up,” she said. “Fox leads the charge with accusations against me, counting on their audience to fall for it again. And as an aside, they're getting awfully close to actual malice.”
”Actual malice” is a legal standard by which even public figures can get libel judgments against the media.
Fox News personality Sean Hannity responded. “Malice, really? It's called news,” he said, stretching the bounds of the definition of “news” even by Fox standards. “Hillary, we invite you to bring it on.”
She probably won’t bother, but considering that Fox News is facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from voting machine maker Dominion—a lawsuit the network lost a bid to have dismissed in December—its lawyers might want to take a look at just what its public faces are saying when they mention Clinton 200 times in a day.
I Grew Up In West Philadelphia. It's a Creative Way of Saying "Chicago".
Isn't Diverting Campaign Funds a Crime?
Former President Donald Trump spent $375,000 raised from his followers for rent at his financially troubled Manhattan skyscraper last year ― even though his political committees have no presence in the building.
“It’s a huge scam,” said one former aide with direct knowledge of Trump’s political spending. “I can’t believe his base lets him get away with it.”
The ex-aide’s assertion was confirmed by a Trump Tower employee who screens traffic to offices above the floors that are open to visitors. When asked for permission to visit Trump’s political office recently, the employee told HuffPost that Save America and its related entities did not have offices there.
“It’s all being run out of Florida,” he said, declining to give his name.
He's Worse Than That.
A Manhattan judge Thursday called Donald Trump “just a bad guy” in a scathing rebuke to a lawyer arguing that the former president was being unfairly singled out for investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Rapper v Rudy
Note to Eric: Jesus was a Democrat. Moses was a Republican. You are Neither. (And Abraham was Filicidal)
He May be Honored. Others are Horrified
California State University Chancellor Joseph Castro has resigned effective immediately, the CSU Board of Trustees announced in a press release Thursday evening after a marathon closed-session meeting.
The announcement comes two weeks after a USA TODAY investigation revealed he mishandled years of sexual harassment, bullying and retaliation complaints against a senior administrator while he was president of CSU Fresno.
The investigation sparked immediate and widespread outcry from students, faculty, staff, lawmakers and others, many of whom called for Castro to resign or an independent investigation into his handling of the matter.
“I have been honored to serve the California State University for more than eight years, including as its eighth chancellor, and the decision to resign is the most difficult of my professional life,” Castro said in the press release. “While I disagree with many aspects of recent media reports and the ensuing commentary, it has become clear to me that resigning at this time is necessary so that the CSU can maintain its focus squarely on its educational mission and the impactful work yet to be done.”
Too Bad He Doesn't Drink. He Could Drink a Fifth, Then Take the Fifth
To plead the Fifth, or not to plead the Fifth?
That is the question Donald Trump may face after a New York judge ordered the former president to testify in a long-running state civil investigation into his business practices.
Trump's lawyers are almost certain to appeal Judge Arthur Engoron's ruling Thursday that Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., have 21 days to comply with a subpoena seeking their testimony in a probe by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Barring a successful legal challenge, Trump would face a decision between answering questions under oath or remaining silent and invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination — a tactic he has equated with evidence of guilt.
“The mob takes the Fifth,” Trump told a campaign crowd in Iowa when running for president.
“If you are innocent, do not remain silent,” Trump tweeted in 2014, offering free advice as Bill Cosby faced a flurry of sexual assault accusations. “You look guilty as hell!”
Aside from any legal considerations, refusing to answer James' questions carries political risks.
“For a former president and potential candidate for the office to take the Fifth would really be remarkable,” said Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University. “The problem with appearing — at least as his lawyers will see it — is that Trump can’t be controlled and he’s likely to say things that will cause more trouble for him and his family.”
Rudy, Previous Guy, Cuomo: A New York Horror Show
ANew York State trooper is suing former Governor Andrew Cuomo, claiming discrimination on the basis of sex and retaliation, according to court documents filed on Thursday. The New York State Police and Cuomo's former top aide Melissa DeRosa are also named in the lawsuit, which alleges that the governor sexually harassed the trooper over several years.
In the lawsuit, the trooper says Cuomo requested she be a part of the Protective Service Unit — his security detail — after they had met for just a minute and despite the fact that she was under-qualified for the position.
He then allegedly harassed her, commenting on her appearance, steering their conversations towards sex, telling her not to inform her colleagues about the nature of their conversations and, in one instance, "asking her to find him a girlfriend who could 'handle pain.'" The trooper also claims that the former governor inappropriately touched her, running a finger down her spine and saying, "Hey you."
--------------
The Uckers Deserve Their Own Section Today
Do We Have to Go to Al Jazeera to Get the Truth About the Uckers?
Canada border blockades, protests ‘nothing to do with trucking’
As Canada strengthens its push to disperse so-called “Freedom Convoy” protesters after weeks in the capital Ottawa, trucker Lovepreet Singh Gill says he never had an interest in participating.
While the convoy was billed as a response to mandatory vaccinations for truck drivers crossing the border with the United States, Gill says there are “major issues” in the trucking industry, such as unpaid wages and exploitation of foreign workers, that warrant more attention.
“I wouldn’t call it a truckers’ protest,” Gill told Al Jazeera in a phone interview about the main rally in downtown Ottawa. “It has nothing to do with trucking.”
On January 29, a large group of Canadian truckers and their supporters, numbering in the thousands, rallied outside Parliament Hill in downtown Ottawa to demand the vaccine mandate be rescinded.
A few hundred vehicles have remained in the capital since then in what residents denounced as an “occupation” of the downtown core, with participants in the convoy insisting they would not budge until all COVID-19 curbs are lifted. Blockades also were erected at points along the border, disrupting traffic and commercial trade for days.
Most truckers are vaccinated.
While some Canadian truckers have indeed taken part in the protests across Canada, denouncing the vaccine mandate as an attack on their personal liberties, most Canadian truck drivers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Are They the Pooh Party? (Party of Obvious Hypocrisy)
In the wake of racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd, a wave of Republican lawmakers supported legislation to punish protesters who blocked roads. Now some of those same Republicans are supporting similar tactics from conservative trucker convoys protesting against vaccine mandates.
Last year, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, signed an anti-rioting law that stiffened penalties for protesters who blocked roads and even gave some legal protection to drivers who ran them over. It went so far that in September a federal judge struck down the law, ruling it unconstitutional.
Draft legislation from DeSantis – seen by many as the leading heir to Donald Trump – was even more draconian. He initially sought to extend “stand-your-ground” laws that would have granted legal immunity to drivers claiming to have unintentionally killed or injured protesters disrupting traffic.
Yet DeSantis has thrown his support behind conservative trucker convoys using similar tactics to protest against vaccine mandates that for weeks have blocked roads between Canada and the US, stalling trade between the two nations and leading to disruptions to the global supply chain. He also announced Florida’s attorney general would investigate GoFundMe after it dropped the page for donations to Canadian truckers.
More Pooh
Former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly called Black Lives Matter protesters “thugs” and “anarchists,” said there's “a lot of respect” for the overwhelmingly white truckers who blocked streets in the Canadian capital and shut down border crossings with the U.S. to oppose COVID-19 restrictions.
To Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, the truckers who parked bumper to bumper are “heroes” fighting for a righteous cause. Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity sent “solidarity, love and support” to the drivers, who also defied police orders to clear Ottawa’s streets and ignored a court order forbidding them from blaring their horns. GOP Sen. Rand Paul encouraged them to head south and “clog” streets in the U.S.
The embrace of the truckers by some of the nation's most prominent conservative voices has drawn new accusations of hypocrisy and allegations that GOP leaders apply a racist double standard to large protests, including the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol involving a mostly white crowd of Trump supporters.
Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee called the Jan. 6 attack “legitimate political discourse.” But only months before the insurrection, Trump, Cruz and other conservatives excoriated protests against police brutality and racial injustice that were largely peaceful, with some instances of looting and unrest.
What is "Counseling to Commit Mischief"?
Two key organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, have been arrested in Ottawa, CBC News has learned.
Lich was arrested Thursday evening and Barber earlier in the day by Ottawa police. Both remain in police custody and are expected to be charged criminally, according to sources.
The two have been described as key leaders of the protest in Ottawa, which has now hit the three-week mark.
Their arrests were among several made Thursday. Barber was seen a few blocks from Parliament Hill in handcuffs between two police officers.
Lich confirmed to The Canadian Press earlier Thursday that she was there when Barber, a trucker from Saskatchewan, was arrested and led away.
Lich said she was resigned to the fact that she was going to jail, adding her personal bank account had been frozen.
It's Freezing in Canada.
About half of support funds to these anti-democratic and hypocrite truckers in Canada is from the US. That number was in the CBC article that also contained these 4 article snippets about freezing assets (licenses even) of truckers and their supporters.
...The order says that banks and other financial entities (like credit unions, co-ops, loan companies, trusts and cryptocurrency platforms) must stop "providing any financial or related services" to people associated with the protests — a move that will result in frozen accounts, stranded money and cancelled credit cards.
...The regulations define a "designated person" who can be cut off from financial services as someone who is "directly or indirectly" participating in a "public assembly that may reasonably be expected to lead to a breach of the peace," or a person engaging in "serious interference with trade" or "critical infrastructure."
...Because the organizers of this protest have been so public about their participation on social media, "banks won't have a hard time identifying who these people are," Davis said.
...Over the longer term, Davis said, it may be hard for some of the truckers participating to ever find work again because they could lack the necessary insurance to operate a big rig.
It's Not So Easy to Raise Bail When Your Assets Are Frozen
Canadian Police Start Arresting Trucker Protesters In Ottawa
Police began arresting protesters Friday in a bid to break the three-week siege of Canada’s capital by truckers angry over the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Some protesters surrendered and were taken into custody, police said. Some were seen being led away in handcuffs.
Police made their first move to take break up the traffic-snarling occupation late Thursday with the arrest of two protest leaders. They also sealed off much of the downtown area to outsiders to prevent them from coming to the aid of the self-styled Freedom Convoy protesters.
The capital represented the movement’s last stronghold after three weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the U.S., caused economic damage to both countries and created a political crisis for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Heart of Uckers? Jordan Klepper Does.
--------------
Brad Thought He Was in Bed With Angelina, Not a Russian Oligarch
Brad Pitt is suing his ex-wife Angelina Jolie for selling her stake in the French vineyard they bought together.
The couple purchased a controlling interest in Chateau Miraval in 2008 and got married there six years later.
Pitt says he and his former wife agreed not to sell their stakes in the venue without the permission of the other.
But Jolie sold her share to a spirits manufacturer owned by a by Russian oligarch, according to the lawsuit. Jolie has not yet commented.
--------------
Another Day, Another Tesla Problem
The US government is investigating reports of Tesla cars braking unexpectedly on motorways.
The so-called "phantom braking" problem is being looked at by US regulator the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
It received 354 complaints in the past nine months and its investigation will cover approximately 416,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from 2021-22.
Drivers say the issue occurs using the Autopilot driver assistance system.
Who Knows What Evil Lurks in Your Brakes? The Phantom Knows.
--------------
He Not Sweet and A Psycho
A Louisville mayoral candidate said Thursday that he was “traumatized” by the news that the man charged with drawing a gun and firing at him in an incident at his campaign office earlier this week had been placed on home incarceration.
Quintez Brown, 21, was arrested and charged with attempted murder shortly after Monday’s shooting in Louisville. The Democratic candidate, Craig Greenberg, was not hit by the gunfire but said a bullet grazed his sweater.
“Our criminal justice system is clearly broken. It is nearly impossible to believe that someone can attempt murder on Monday and walk out of jail on Wednesday,” Greenberg said in a statement. “If someone is struggling with a mental illness and is in custody, they should be evaluated and treated in custody. We must work together to fix this system.”
A group called the Louisville Community Bail Fund paid the $100,000 cash bond on Wednesday afternoon. Under the terms of home incarceration, Brown has been fitted with a GPS ankle monitor and is confined to his home.
Brown, a social justice activist running as an independent for Louisville’s metro council, has been charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment.
A judge has ordered Brown to have no contact with Greenberg or his campaign staff and said Brown cannot possess firearms. Brown’s lawyer said the man has “serious mental issues” and said he would undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
--------------
Based on a Robust Sample of 13 People, These Idiots Think They Are Learning Something
These Are the Issues Swing Voters Care About (And the Ones They Don’t)
Hint: It’s not what they talk about on cable news.
So what are the issues that will really affect the election? Try these:
COVID: There’s no better indicator of national mood these days than whether COVID case numbers are rising or falling. If swing voters feel the pandemic is finally behind us, and we’ve entered a manageable endemic state, that will help Democrats. In January, all 13 swing voters said we should pivot from a pandemic footing to endemic. If we’re still arguing over vaccines, masks, remote learning, and lockdowns in mid-autumn while numbers spike again, Republicans will romp.
Crime: Eleven of 12 February respondents said crime in their neighborhoods is worse now than before the pandemic. They blame the virus for making people bored at home and empowering them to think they can commit crimes with impunity. They also blame lax district attorneys and prosecutors and laws that don’t punish enough. But one key factor stands out: It’s governors, mayors, and people who hold elective judicial offices whose fates are tied to rising crime. It is unlikely to affect congressional midterms because members of Congress don’t directly govern their constituents.
Fully overturning Roe v. Wade: If this happens as a result of the Mississippi case before the Supreme Court, most respondents told me it will push them towards the Democrats running in congressional elections. But it will also push some social conservatives towards Republicans. On balance, it would likely help Democrats electorally.
Fully embracing Trump’s claims about 2020: Ten February respondents told me they fit into the category of willing to vote for a GOP congressional candidate, but would change their mind if the candidate suggests that the 2020 election was stolen. Significantly, a couple of respondents say it matters how a GOP candidate embraces the claim. If one does it in a Trumpian way—shouting it from the stump—they will be put off. But if one shows some finesse, and balances the claim with other issues that matter, then it’s a much easier pill for them to swallow.
--------------
We Don't Want to "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb. Bomb, Bomb Iran".
--------------
Are We Insulting a Freeway, When We Call It "THE 405"? Seriously, It's a Good Essay.
--------------
The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!
Shelling intensifies in Ukraine amid concern Russia is poised for invasion
Kyiv — Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russian separatists they're fighting in the country's east reported a second day of increased shelling on Friday, as the leaders of the rebels' self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics accused the Ukrainian government of planning an imminent attack. The rebel administrations in the two breakaway regions announced plans to evacuate thousands of civilians into neighboring Russia.
Western leaders say an escalation in the fighting in Ukraine's Donbas region — which has simmered for almost eight years — could be part of Russian efforts to create a "false-flag" pretext to invade.
--------------
The Seawater is Coming! The Seawater is Coming!
Think of an ice shelf as a cork that’s keeping the rest of the glacier, that ice sheet, from sliding into the ocean. The Florida-sized Thwaites Glacier, for instance, is known as the “Doomsday Glacier” for good reason: It’s attached to a seamount off the coast and is holding back ice that would raise global sea levels by two feet if it all melted. Last month, scientists reported that Thwaites’ ice shelf could crumble in three to five years.
But current glacier melt models don’t account for a phenomenon called tidal pumping. Whenever the tide rises, it heaves Thwaites’ ice sheet upward, allowing relatively warm seawater to rush farther upstream underneath the glacier. That drives melting along its belly, making the ice sheet more prone to fracture. “It means that warm water that is at the bottom of the glacier can infiltrate up to several kilometers upstream,” says University of Houston physicist Pietro Milillo, who is studying Antarctic glaciers. “And all of a sudden you start realizing, ‘Wait a minute! The models that actually predict the future state of the glaciers do not have these kinds of phenomena. They basically have a grounding line that is fixed.’”
The measurements are dire. In 2017, Pope’s grounding line fell back over two miles in just three and a half months. Between 2016 and 2018, Smith logged a mile and a quarter retreat a year, while Kohler pulled back three quarters of a mile. And when that grounding line starts retreating, it initiates a cascade of catastrophes: The more of the glacier’s underside that’s exposed to seawater, the more melting. “Once you trigger a subtle retreat, they're going to just keep retreating and retreating, which means that they're going to keep speeding up,” says Milillo. “Speeding up the glacier acts like a chewing gum: The glacier thins, and by thinning also you have a speed-up, because while not in contact with the bed, there is less resistance to the flow. Which means the glacier [movement] will accelerate and in turn will inject more ice into the ocean.”
--------------
Liar, Liar, Lease on Fire
The House Oversight and Reform Committee on Thursday asked a federal agency to consider terminating Donald Trump’s lease of the taxpayer-owned building housing Trump International Hotel in Washington because of new suspicions about Trump Organization financial statements.
Trump’s company reached a deal last year to sell the rights of the money-losing hotel to Miami investment firm CGI Merchant Group for $375 million, which could net him a $100 million profit, according to reports.
The House committee is calling for Trump’s lease to be terminated before the sale amid new questions about the accuracy of the Trump Organization’s financial statements. Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, severed ties with Trump earlier this week, disavowing 10 years of financial statements based on records provided by Trump and his company.
That announcement raised concerns about the accuracy of financial statements the Trump Organization submitted in 2010, when it applied for the hotel lease, and in 2013, when it applied for a construction loan.
--------------
California Leads the Way, Again.
California’s governor announced a milestone Thursday, saying his state would become the first in the nation to treat the coronavirus as a manageable, endemic risk. His decision marks a significant new phase in the state’s covid response and could be a bellwether as officials elsewhere in the country look to resume a level of normalcy.
“We are moving past the crisis phase into a phase where we will work to live with this virus,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said at a news conference.
“People are looking forward to turning the page,” he added. “They also need to know we have their back, we’re going to keep them safe, and we’re going to stay on top of this.”
California’s plan, he said, shifts from a “crisis mentality” to emphasize prevention and adaptability, allowing officials to step up measures to detect and contain fresh outbreaks, as well as to look out for new variants. It also includes more public campaigns against misinformation and the stockpiling of tests and equipment rather than mask mandates and business shutdowns.
Is He Going to Celebrate This at His Favorite Napa Restaurant?
--------------
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 2 or More Doses | New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Feb 18 | 491,120 | 252,650,507 | 214,602,856 | ||
| Feb 17 | 493,892 | 252,539,755 | 214,474,721 | 112,653 | 1,998 |
| Feb 16 | 516,988 | 252,400,057 | 214,218,580 | 121,664 | 2,020 |
| Feb 15 | 544,184 | 252,277,758 | 214,104,148 | 134,468 | 2,100 |
| Feb 14 | 546,667 | 252,144,326 | 213,962,983 | 146,921 | 2,208 |
| Feb 13 | 555,669 | 252,054,215 | 213,869,678 | 161,197 | 2,196 |
| Feb 12 | 486,374 | 251,926,344 | 213,734,419 | 168,881 | 2,197 |
| Feb 11 | 568,820 | 251,755,851 | 213,563,173 | 175,395 | 2,241 |
| Feb 10 | 580,896 | 251,655,172 | 213,430,434 | 190,401 | 2,305 |
| Feb 9 | 591,786 | 251,467,303 | 213,246,140 | 215,418 | 2,313 |
| Feb 8 | 602,606 | 251,312,470 | 213,061,117 | 230,602 | 2,303 |
| Feb 7 | 611,742 | 251,176,199 | 212,920,278 | 247,319 | 2,404 |
| Feb 6 | 627,161 | 251,070,439 | 212,806,521 | 291,471 | 2,294 |
| Feb 5 | 655,591 | 250,915,858 | 212,657,682 | 298,890 | 2,331 |
| Feb 4 | 680,135 | 250,731,754 | 212,481,465 | 313,117 | 2,404 |
| Feb 3 | 719,986 | 250,593,665 | 212,336,183 | 343,563 | 2,371 |
| Feb 2 | 494,092 | 250,378,993 | 212,130,684 | 378,015 | 2,403 |
| Feb 1 | 510,477 | 250,184,240 | 211,954,555 | 415,552 | 2,369 |
| Jan 31 | 575,732 | 250,029,773 | 211,818,885 | 446,355 | 2,287 |
| Jan 30 | 603,030 | 249,892,470 | 211,695,131 | 497,296 | 2,234 |
| Jan 29 | 595,871 | 249,695,301 | 211,533,229 | 522,626 | 2,261 |
| Jan 28 | 626,946 | 249,473,925 | 211,343,818 | 543,016 | 2,265 |
| Jan 27 | 643,725 | 249,267,851 (I don't know why) | 211,162,083 | 577,748 | 2,300 |
| Jan 26 | 962,958 | 251,518,114 | 210,850,212 | 596,859 | 2,288 |
| Jan 25 | 1,011,603 | 251,289,667 | 210,682,471 | 627,294 | 2,246 |
| Jan 24 | 1,201,186 | 250,964,433 | 210,459,963 | 692,359 | 2,166 |
| Jan 23 | 1,101,405 | 250,763,600 | 210,358,008 | 663,908 | 1,936 |
| Jan 22 | 1,002,322 | 250,568,431 | 210,229,586 | 686,715 | 1,939 |
| Jan 21 | 1,035,111 | 250,262,153 | 210,021,766 | 716,829 | 1,974 |
| Jan 20 | 1,094,988 | 250,028,635 | 209,842,610 | 726,870 | 1,843 |
| Jan 19 | 1,135,453 | 249,702,939 | 209,509,297 | 744,615 | 1,749 |
| Jan 18 | 1,158,537 | 249,393,487 | 209,312,770 | 755,095 | 1,669 |
| Feb 16, 2021 | 1,716,311 | 39,670,551 | 15,015,434 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | % of Vaccinated W/ Boosters | |
| % of Total Population | 76.1% | 64.6% | 43.1% |
| % of Population 5+ | 80.9% | 68.7% | |
| % of Population 12+ | 85.8% | 73.2% | 44.6% |
| % of Population 18+ | 87.6% | 74.7% | 46.5% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 88.6% | 65.8% |
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday Feb 15)
January had NO rain or snow. February looks the same.
| Percent of Average for this Date | Last Week | 2 Weeks ago | 3 Weeks ago | 7 Weeks ago | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 99% (59%) | 105% (59% of average for full season) | 113% | 124% | 170% |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 86% (51%) | 92% (51%) | 99% | 110% | 170% |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 79% (46%) | 84% (46%) | 91% | 101% | 151% |
| Snow Water Content - North | 68% (53%) | 80% (58%) | 89% | 134% | |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 75% (57%) | 80% (57%) | 89% | 148% | |
| Snow Water Content - South | 74% (54%) | 81% (57%) | 92% | 158% |
--------------
Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
The Church of Human "Wisdom". Does it Teach You to Hate They Neighbor As Thyself?
US actor Rockmond Dunbar is suing the makers of TV drama 9-1-1, saying he was fired after claiming exemption from having a Covid-19 vaccination.
Dunbar played Michael in seasons 1-5 of the police show.
He says he was denied medical and religious exemptions and faced racial (??) discrimination when 20th Television stipulated actors had to be vaccinated.
The Disney-owned company says it complied with its legal obligations and denied making decisions based on race.
Dunbar, who has appeared on the show since it began on the Fox network in 2018, requested exemptions based on his beliefs as a member of the Church of Universal Wisdom and an undisclosed disability, according to his legal case.
He Couldn't Even Get the Name of the "Church" Right
The Congregation of Universal Wisdom is a quack religious organization founded by chiropractor Walter P. Schilling (c. 1944[2]–). The group's beliefs are a hash of chiropractic philosophy and New Thought beliefs, with a strong dose of anti-vaccination bullshit tossed in.[3] There are no real chapels and no requirement for members to meet. Prospective ministers need only to submit a dissertation that is examined by five other ministers. An essay cited by the United States National Institutes of Health calls the organization a "sham religion" used by thousands of parents to avoid getting their children vaccinated.
The organization believes in a universal intelligence similar to New Thought Christianity, and they believe that the only way someone can be healed is through the manipulation of the spine. The primary purpose of the "congregation," however, is to allow members to claim a religious exemption from vaccination laws. They define vaccination as sacrilegious.
They Decided to Bomb For Islam. Now They Will Need Someone to Embalm.
A court in India has sentenced 38 people to death for their role in a series of bomb blasts in 2008 in the western state of Gujarat.
Fifty-seven people were killed and hundreds injured in the bombings, which took place in Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Gujarat.
The court in Ahmedabad also sentenced 11 other convicts to life in prison until death.
The accused can challenge their sentences in a higher court.
On 26 July 2008, around 20 bombs exploded in the space of an hour across residential areas, market places, public transport and hospitals in Ahmedabad. Several unexploded bombs were also found.
The Indian Mujahideen - then an unknown Islamic militant group - had claimed responsibility for the attacks in an email sent to some media outlets.
She Broke the First Two Rules of Russian Athletics. She Got Caught and She Didn't Win.
It was “chilling” to see the “tremendous coldness” Russian star Kamila Valieva received from her entourage after a mistake-filled routine on the ice in Beijing, International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said Friday.
“Rather than giving her comfort, rather than to try to to help her, you could feel this chilling atmosphere,” he told reporters Friday. “If you were interpreting the body language of them it got even worse because this was even some kind of dismissive gestures.”
"I saw how she was received by her closest entourage with such, what appeared to be a tremendous coldness," he added. "It was chilling to see."
Hillary Clinton is News? That's News to Me.
Hillary Clinton nailed what’s going on here, including a little warning shot to Fox News.
“So now his accountants have fired [Trump] and investigations draw closer to him and right on cue, the noise machine gets turned up,” she said. “Fox leads the charge with accusations against me, counting on their audience to fall for it again. And as an aside, they're getting awfully close to actual malice.”
”Actual malice” is a legal standard by which even public figures can get libel judgments against the media.
Fox News personality Sean Hannity responded. “Malice, really? It's called news,” he said, stretching the bounds of the definition of “news” even by Fox standards. “Hillary, we invite you to bring it on.”
She probably won’t bother, but considering that Fox News is facing a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit from voting machine maker Dominion—a lawsuit the network lost a bid to have dismissed in December—its lawyers might want to take a look at just what its public faces are saying when they mention Clinton 200 times in a day.
I Grew Up In West Philadelphia. It's a Creative Way of Saying "Chicago".
Isn't Diverting Campaign Funds a Crime?
Former President Donald Trump spent $375,000 raised from his followers for rent at his financially troubled Manhattan skyscraper last year ― even though his political committees have no presence in the building.
“It’s a huge scam,” said one former aide with direct knowledge of Trump’s political spending. “I can’t believe his base lets him get away with it.”
The ex-aide’s assertion was confirmed by a Trump Tower employee who screens traffic to offices above the floors that are open to visitors. When asked for permission to visit Trump’s political office recently, the employee told HuffPost that Save America and its related entities did not have offices there.
“It’s all being run out of Florida,” he said, declining to give his name.
He's Worse Than That.
A Manhattan judge Thursday called Donald Trump “just a bad guy” in a scathing rebuke to a lawyer arguing that the former president was being unfairly singled out for investigation by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Rapper v Rudy
Note to Eric: Jesus was a Democrat. Moses was a Republican. You are Neither. (And Abraham was Filicidal)
He May be Honored. Others are Horrified
California State University Chancellor Joseph Castro has resigned effective immediately, the CSU Board of Trustees announced in a press release Thursday evening after a marathon closed-session meeting.
The announcement comes two weeks after a USA TODAY investigation revealed he mishandled years of sexual harassment, bullying and retaliation complaints against a senior administrator while he was president of CSU Fresno.
The investigation sparked immediate and widespread outcry from students, faculty, staff, lawmakers and others, many of whom called for Castro to resign or an independent investigation into his handling of the matter.
“I have been honored to serve the California State University for more than eight years, including as its eighth chancellor, and the decision to resign is the most difficult of my professional life,” Castro said in the press release. “While I disagree with many aspects of recent media reports and the ensuing commentary, it has become clear to me that resigning at this time is necessary so that the CSU can maintain its focus squarely on its educational mission and the impactful work yet to be done.”
Too Bad He Doesn't Drink. He Could Drink a Fifth, Then Take the Fifth
To plead the Fifth, or not to plead the Fifth?
That is the question Donald Trump may face after a New York judge ordered the former president to testify in a long-running state civil investigation into his business practices.
Trump's lawyers are almost certain to appeal Judge Arthur Engoron's ruling Thursday that Trump and his two eldest children, Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr., have 21 days to comply with a subpoena seeking their testimony in a probe by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Barring a successful legal challenge, Trump would face a decision between answering questions under oath or remaining silent and invoking his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination — a tactic he has equated with evidence of guilt.
“The mob takes the Fifth,” Trump told a campaign crowd in Iowa when running for president.
“If you are innocent, do not remain silent,” Trump tweeted in 2014, offering free advice as Bill Cosby faced a flurry of sexual assault accusations. “You look guilty as hell!”
Aside from any legal considerations, refusing to answer James' questions carries political risks.
“For a former president and potential candidate for the office to take the Fifth would really be remarkable,” said Stephen Gillers, a law professor at New York University. “The problem with appearing — at least as his lawyers will see it — is that Trump can’t be controlled and he’s likely to say things that will cause more trouble for him and his family.”
Rudy, Previous Guy, Cuomo: A New York Horror Show
ANew York State trooper is suing former Governor Andrew Cuomo, claiming discrimination on the basis of sex and retaliation, according to court documents filed on Thursday. The New York State Police and Cuomo's former top aide Melissa DeRosa are also named in the lawsuit, which alleges that the governor sexually harassed the trooper over several years.
In the lawsuit, the trooper says Cuomo requested she be a part of the Protective Service Unit — his security detail — after they had met for just a minute and despite the fact that she was under-qualified for the position.
He then allegedly harassed her, commenting on her appearance, steering their conversations towards sex, telling her not to inform her colleagues about the nature of their conversations and, in one instance, "asking her to find him a girlfriend who could 'handle pain.'" The trooper also claims that the former governor inappropriately touched her, running a finger down her spine and saying, "Hey you."
--------------
The Uckers Deserve Their Own Section Today
Do We Have to Go to Al Jazeera to Get the Truth About the Uckers?
Canada border blockades, protests ‘nothing to do with trucking’
As Canada strengthens its push to disperse so-called “Freedom Convoy” protesters after weeks in the capital Ottawa, trucker Lovepreet Singh Gill says he never had an interest in participating.
While the convoy was billed as a response to mandatory vaccinations for truck drivers crossing the border with the United States, Gill says there are “major issues” in the trucking industry, such as unpaid wages and exploitation of foreign workers, that warrant more attention.
“I wouldn’t call it a truckers’ protest,” Gill told Al Jazeera in a phone interview about the main rally in downtown Ottawa. “It has nothing to do with trucking.”
On January 29, a large group of Canadian truckers and their supporters, numbering in the thousands, rallied outside Parliament Hill in downtown Ottawa to demand the vaccine mandate be rescinded.
A few hundred vehicles have remained in the capital since then in what residents denounced as an “occupation” of the downtown core, with participants in the convoy insisting they would not budge until all COVID-19 curbs are lifted. Blockades also were erected at points along the border, disrupting traffic and commercial trade for days.
Most truckers are vaccinated.
While some Canadian truckers have indeed taken part in the protests across Canada, denouncing the vaccine mandate as an attack on their personal liberties, most Canadian truck drivers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Are They the Pooh Party? (Party of Obvious Hypocrisy)
In the wake of racial justice protests following the murder of George Floyd, a wave of Republican lawmakers supported legislation to punish protesters who blocked roads. Now some of those same Republicans are supporting similar tactics from conservative trucker convoys protesting against vaccine mandates.
Last year, the Florida governor, Ron DeSantis, signed an anti-rioting law that stiffened penalties for protesters who blocked roads and even gave some legal protection to drivers who ran them over. It went so far that in September a federal judge struck down the law, ruling it unconstitutional.
Draft legislation from DeSantis – seen by many as the leading heir to Donald Trump – was even more draconian. He initially sought to extend “stand-your-ground” laws that would have granted legal immunity to drivers claiming to have unintentionally killed or injured protesters disrupting traffic.
Yet DeSantis has thrown his support behind conservative trucker convoys using similar tactics to protest against vaccine mandates that for weeks have blocked roads between Canada and the US, stalling trade between the two nations and leading to disruptions to the global supply chain. He also announced Florida’s attorney general would investigate GoFundMe after it dropped the page for donations to Canadian truckers.
More Pooh
Former President Donald Trump, who repeatedly called Black Lives Matter protesters “thugs” and “anarchists,” said there's “a lot of respect” for the overwhelmingly white truckers who blocked streets in the Canadian capital and shut down border crossings with the U.S. to oppose COVID-19 restrictions.
To Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, the truckers who parked bumper to bumper are “heroes” fighting for a righteous cause. Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity sent “solidarity, love and support” to the drivers, who also defied police orders to clear Ottawa’s streets and ignored a court order forbidding them from blaring their horns. GOP Sen. Rand Paul encouraged them to head south and “clog” streets in the U.S.
The embrace of the truckers by some of the nation's most prominent conservative voices has drawn new accusations of hypocrisy and allegations that GOP leaders apply a racist double standard to large protests, including the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol involving a mostly white crowd of Trump supporters.
Earlier this month, the Republican National Committee called the Jan. 6 attack “legitimate political discourse.” But only months before the insurrection, Trump, Cruz and other conservatives excoriated protests against police brutality and racial injustice that were largely peaceful, with some instances of looting and unrest.
What is "Counseling to Commit Mischief"?
Two key organizers of the so-called Freedom Convoy, Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, have been arrested in Ottawa, CBC News has learned.
Lich was arrested Thursday evening and Barber earlier in the day by Ottawa police. Both remain in police custody and are expected to be charged criminally, according to sources.
The two have been described as key leaders of the protest in Ottawa, which has now hit the three-week mark.
Their arrests were among several made Thursday. Barber was seen a few blocks from Parliament Hill in handcuffs between two police officers.
Lich confirmed to The Canadian Press earlier Thursday that she was there when Barber, a trucker from Saskatchewan, was arrested and led away.
Lich said she was resigned to the fact that she was going to jail, adding her personal bank account had been frozen.
It's Freezing in Canada.
About half of support funds to these anti-democratic and hypocrite truckers in Canada is from the US. That number was in the CBC article that also contained these 4 article snippets about freezing assets (licenses even) of truckers and their supporters.
...The order says that banks and other financial entities (like credit unions, co-ops, loan companies, trusts and cryptocurrency platforms) must stop "providing any financial or related services" to people associated with the protests — a move that will result in frozen accounts, stranded money and cancelled credit cards.
...The regulations define a "designated person" who can be cut off from financial services as someone who is "directly or indirectly" participating in a "public assembly that may reasonably be expected to lead to a breach of the peace," or a person engaging in "serious interference with trade" or "critical infrastructure."
...Because the organizers of this protest have been so public about their participation on social media, "banks won't have a hard time identifying who these people are," Davis said.
...Over the longer term, Davis said, it may be hard for some of the truckers participating to ever find work again because they could lack the necessary insurance to operate a big rig.
It's Not So Easy to Raise Bail When Your Assets Are Frozen
Canadian Police Start Arresting Trucker Protesters In Ottawa
Police began arresting protesters Friday in a bid to break the three-week siege of Canada’s capital by truckers angry over the country’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Some protesters surrendered and were taken into custody, police said. Some were seen being led away in handcuffs.
Police made their first move to take break up the traffic-snarling occupation late Thursday with the arrest of two protest leaders. They also sealed off much of the downtown area to outsiders to prevent them from coming to the aid of the self-styled Freedom Convoy protesters.
The capital represented the movement’s last stronghold after three weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the U.S., caused economic damage to both countries and created a political crisis for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Who Knows What Evil Lurks in the Heart of Uckers? Jordan Klepper Does.
--------------
Brad Thought He Was in Bed With Angelina, Not a Russian Oligarch
Brad Pitt is suing his ex-wife Angelina Jolie for selling her stake in the French vineyard they bought together.
The couple purchased a controlling interest in Chateau Miraval in 2008 and got married there six years later.
Pitt says he and his former wife agreed not to sell their stakes in the venue without the permission of the other.
But Jolie sold her share to a spirits manufacturer owned by a by Russian oligarch, according to the lawsuit. Jolie has not yet commented.
--------------
Another Day, Another Tesla Problem
The US government is investigating reports of Tesla cars braking unexpectedly on motorways.
The so-called "phantom braking" problem is being looked at by US regulator the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
It received 354 complaints in the past nine months and its investigation will cover approximately 416,000 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles from 2021-22.
Drivers say the issue occurs using the Autopilot driver assistance system.
Who Knows What Evil Lurks in Your Brakes? The Phantom Knows.
--------------
He Not Sweet and A Psycho
A Louisville mayoral candidate said Thursday that he was “traumatized” by the news that the man charged with drawing a gun and firing at him in an incident at his campaign office earlier this week had been placed on home incarceration.
Quintez Brown, 21, was arrested and charged with attempted murder shortly after Monday’s shooting in Louisville. The Democratic candidate, Craig Greenberg, was not hit by the gunfire but said a bullet grazed his sweater.
“Our criminal justice system is clearly broken. It is nearly impossible to believe that someone can attempt murder on Monday and walk out of jail on Wednesday,” Greenberg said in a statement. “If someone is struggling with a mental illness and is in custody, they should be evaluated and treated in custody. We must work together to fix this system.”
A group called the Louisville Community Bail Fund paid the $100,000 cash bond on Wednesday afternoon. Under the terms of home incarceration, Brown has been fitted with a GPS ankle monitor and is confined to his home.
Brown, a social justice activist running as an independent for Louisville’s metro council, has been charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment.
A judge has ordered Brown to have no contact with Greenberg or his campaign staff and said Brown cannot possess firearms. Brown’s lawyer said the man has “serious mental issues” and said he would undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
--------------
Based on a Robust Sample of 13 People, These Idiots Think They Are Learning Something
These Are the Issues Swing Voters Care About (And the Ones They Don’t)
Hint: It’s not what they talk about on cable news.
So what are the issues that will really affect the election? Try these:
COVID: There’s no better indicator of national mood these days than whether COVID case numbers are rising or falling. If swing voters feel the pandemic is finally behind us, and we’ve entered a manageable endemic state, that will help Democrats. In January, all 13 swing voters said we should pivot from a pandemic footing to endemic. If we’re still arguing over vaccines, masks, remote learning, and lockdowns in mid-autumn while numbers spike again, Republicans will romp.
Crime: Eleven of 12 February respondents said crime in their neighborhoods is worse now than before the pandemic. They blame the virus for making people bored at home and empowering them to think they can commit crimes with impunity. They also blame lax district attorneys and prosecutors and laws that don’t punish enough. But one key factor stands out: It’s governors, mayors, and people who hold elective judicial offices whose fates are tied to rising crime. It is unlikely to affect congressional midterms because members of Congress don’t directly govern their constituents.
Fully overturning Roe v. Wade: If this happens as a result of the Mississippi case before the Supreme Court, most respondents told me it will push them towards the Democrats running in congressional elections. But it will also push some social conservatives towards Republicans. On balance, it would likely help Democrats electorally.
Fully embracing Trump’s claims about 2020: Ten February respondents told me they fit into the category of willing to vote for a GOP congressional candidate, but would change their mind if the candidate suggests that the 2020 election was stolen. Significantly, a couple of respondents say it matters how a GOP candidate embraces the claim. If one does it in a Trumpian way—shouting it from the stump—they will be put off. But if one shows some finesse, and balances the claim with other issues that matter, then it’s a much easier pill for them to swallow.
--------------
We Don't Want to "Bomb, Bomb, Bomb. Bomb, Bomb Iran".
--------------
Are We Insulting a Freeway, When We Call It "THE 405"? Seriously, It's a Good Essay.
--------------
The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!
Shelling intensifies in Ukraine amid concern Russia is poised for invasion
Kyiv — Ukrainian forces and the pro-Russian separatists they're fighting in the country's east reported a second day of increased shelling on Friday, as the leaders of the rebels' self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics accused the Ukrainian government of planning an imminent attack. The rebel administrations in the two breakaway regions announced plans to evacuate thousands of civilians into neighboring Russia.
Western leaders say an escalation in the fighting in Ukraine's Donbas region — which has simmered for almost eight years — could be part of Russian efforts to create a "false-flag" pretext to invade.
--------------
The Seawater is Coming! The Seawater is Coming!
Think of an ice shelf as a cork that’s keeping the rest of the glacier, that ice sheet, from sliding into the ocean. The Florida-sized Thwaites Glacier, for instance, is known as the “Doomsday Glacier” for good reason: It’s attached to a seamount off the coast and is holding back ice that would raise global sea levels by two feet if it all melted. Last month, scientists reported that Thwaites’ ice shelf could crumble in three to five years.
But current glacier melt models don’t account for a phenomenon called tidal pumping. Whenever the tide rises, it heaves Thwaites’ ice sheet upward, allowing relatively warm seawater to rush farther upstream underneath the glacier. That drives melting along its belly, making the ice sheet more prone to fracture. “It means that warm water that is at the bottom of the glacier can infiltrate up to several kilometers upstream,” says University of Houston physicist Pietro Milillo, who is studying Antarctic glaciers. “And all of a sudden you start realizing, ‘Wait a minute! The models that actually predict the future state of the glaciers do not have these kinds of phenomena. They basically have a grounding line that is fixed.’”
The measurements are dire. In 2017, Pope’s grounding line fell back over two miles in just three and a half months. Between 2016 and 2018, Smith logged a mile and a quarter retreat a year, while Kohler pulled back three quarters of a mile. And when that grounding line starts retreating, it initiates a cascade of catastrophes: The more of the glacier’s underside that’s exposed to seawater, the more melting. “Once you trigger a subtle retreat, they're going to just keep retreating and retreating, which means that they're going to keep speeding up,” says Milillo. “Speeding up the glacier acts like a chewing gum: The glacier thins, and by thinning also you have a speed-up, because while not in contact with the bed, there is less resistance to the flow. Which means the glacier [movement] will accelerate and in turn will inject more ice into the ocean.”
--------------
Liar, Liar, Lease on Fire
The House Oversight and Reform Committee on Thursday asked a federal agency to consider terminating Donald Trump’s lease of the taxpayer-owned building housing Trump International Hotel in Washington because of new suspicions about Trump Organization financial statements.
Trump’s company reached a deal last year to sell the rights of the money-losing hotel to Miami investment firm CGI Merchant Group for $375 million, which could net him a $100 million profit, according to reports.
The House committee is calling for Trump’s lease to be terminated before the sale amid new questions about the accuracy of the Trump Organization’s financial statements. Trump’s accounting firm, Mazars USA, severed ties with Trump earlier this week, disavowing 10 years of financial statements based on records provided by Trump and his company.
That announcement raised concerns about the accuracy of financial statements the Trump Organization submitted in 2010, when it applied for the hotel lease, and in 2013, when it applied for a construction loan.
--------------
California Leads the Way, Again.
California’s governor announced a milestone Thursday, saying his state would become the first in the nation to treat the coronavirus as a manageable, endemic risk. His decision marks a significant new phase in the state’s covid response and could be a bellwether as officials elsewhere in the country look to resume a level of normalcy.
“We are moving past the crisis phase into a phase where we will work to live with this virus,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said at a news conference.
“People are looking forward to turning the page,” he added. “They also need to know we have their back, we’re going to keep them safe, and we’re going to stay on top of this.”
California’s plan, he said, shifts from a “crisis mentality” to emphasize prevention and adaptability, allowing officials to step up measures to detect and contain fresh outbreaks, as well as to look out for new variants. It also includes more public campaigns against misinformation and the stockpiling of tests and equipment rather than mask mandates and business shutdowns.
Is He Going to Celebrate This at His Favorite Napa Restaurant?
--------------