Post by mhbruin on Mar 21, 2022 10:34:52 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 557 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
First time we have been below 50,000 cases since July 22nd.
↓ 34.3% Cases, two-week change
↓ 61.6% Deaths, two-week change
976,269 Total confirmed deaths
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California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday March 8)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
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So What Did I Miss?
Seems like the Russian offensive is still stalled, Putin remains a narcissistic sociopath who wants to be Hitler, and the people of Ukraine continue to pay the price.
And I still believe Previous Guy killed more Americans by mishandling COVID than Putin has killed Ukrainians.
As one headline puts it: "Good news, Russia can't win! Bad news, neither can Ukraine"
Meanwhile, US COVID deaths are finally dropping significantly.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
7 Years Later and She Still Deserves Nomination
A U.S. judge ruled that a former county clerk from Kentucky knowingly violated the rights of same-sex couples by denying them marriage licenses in 2015, clearing the way for a jury trial seeking damages against her.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge David Bunning on Friday also denied a request for immunity from former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis.
Davis thrust herself into the center of the U.S. culture wars on the issue of LGBTQ rights by denying the licenses in 2015, citing her religious beliefs. She briefly went to jail for contempt of court over her refusal and a deputy clerk in the eastern Kentucky county issued the licenses.
Previous Guy: The Gift that Keeps Polluting
One of the nation’s largest utilities is once again turning its back on climate. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which serves nearly 10 million people, will replace many of its coal plants with natural gas plants instead of heeding the calls of advocacy groups and others to do the right thing and go with renewables. According to The New York Times, the TVA will soon be using enough natural gas to power almost 3 million homes by adding around 5,000 megawatts of capacity. That addition comes at a cost to the planet, especially given the fact that natural gas accounts for about a third of emissions in the U.S. annually. It only looks good that coal is being phased out because coal-fired plants, at their high end, produce almost double the amount of greenhouse gases compared with natural gas. Experts believe the TVA is headed in the wrong direction by keeping its customers reliant on fossil fuels for that much longer and, from an economic standpoint, it doesn’t make a lot of financial sense to keep polluters limping along when renewables generate power at a rate that costs that much less than fossil fuels.
So how did the TVA get here? By the sheer influence of the fossil fuel industry and the adoration its board and CEO have for massive polluters. Jeff W. Smith, who was nominated by Donald Trump to serve on the TVA board, mentioned nothing about climate change or emissions in his statement ahead of his confirmation. Yet another Trump nominee, A.D. Frazier, spent 24 years as director of what he boasts to be a “Fortune 500 oil and gas company.” And Chair William Kilbride, also a Trump nominee and even a donor, has been similarly quiet about climate change.
Did He Sleep Through Alimentary Schol? Not Even Florida Deserves This.
Dumbest Comment of the Day About Ukraine
It Was an Inside Job. No Wonder Meadows Doesn't Want to Testify
Donald Trump’s White House Chief of Staff and a national campaign spokesperson were involved in efforts to encourage the president’s supporters to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. That’s according to a person who says he overheard a key planning conversation between top Trump officials and the organizers of the Jan. 6 rally on the White House Ellipse — and has since testified to House investigators about the phone call...
Trump and his cronies wanted deniability for the insurrection, and all have mantained that the “rally’ was peaceful.
Scott Johnston — who worked on the team that helped plan the Ellipse rally — says that’s just not so. He claims that leading figures in the Trump administration and campaign deliberately planned to have crowds converge on the Capitol, where the 2020 election was being certified — and “make it look like they went down there on their own.”
Johnston, who says he described the phone call to House select committee investigators, detailed his allegations in a series of conversations with Rolling Stone. Johnston says he overheard Mark Meadows, then-former President Trump’s chief of staff, and Katrina Pierson, Trump’s national campaign spokesperson, talking with Kylie Kremer, the executive director of Women For America First, about plans for a march to the Capitol. Johnston said the conversation was clearly audible to him since it took place on a speakerphone as he drove Kremer between the group’s rallies in the final three days of 2020.
Could There Be More Bad News For Mark Meadows in One News Cycle? You Betcha'
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has opened a probe into potential voter fraud by former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows after a Republican Western North Carolina district attorney passed the case on to the state.
District Attorney Ashley Welch asked the North Carolina Department of Justice to consider the matter after she was contacted by media outlets, including the Citizen Times, about the Macon County voter registration of Meadows, a former top staffer for President Donald Trump and WNC congressman.
Meadows, who was a key proponent of the court-rejected claims that widespread voter fraud cost Trump the election, registered and voted using the address of a single-wide Macon County mobile home where owners and neighbors say he never lived or visited.
Attorney General Josh Stein's office said March 17 he had asked the SBI to look into Meadows' voter registration after Welch's request, according to DOJ spokesperson Nazneen Ahmed.
"Local district attorney Ashley Welch has referred this matter to the Department of Justice's Special Prosecutions Section, and we have agreed to her request. We have asked the SBI to investigate and at the conclusion of the investigation, we'll review their findings," Ahmed said.
Where are the Democratic Supporters of Putin, Mitch? Rather Than Not Paying Attention, Maybe You Could Do Something.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday sharply dismissed lawmakers in his own party who are bashing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and supporting Russian leader Vladimir Putin, disparaging them as the “lonely” fringe.
“I wouldn’t pay much attention to them,” the Kentucky Republican said on “Face the Nation” in a jab at GOP Reps. Madison Cawthorn (N.C.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia).
“The vast majority of the Republican Party writ large, both in the Congress across the country, are totally behind the Ukrainians and urging the president to ... take these steps [to help Ukraine] quicker. Yeah, to be bolder. There may be a few lonely voices off the side. I wouldn’t pay much attention to them.”
McConnell was responding to a question from CBS host Margaret Brennan, who quizzed him about what Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) has called the “Putin wing of the Republican Party.”
Brennan asked: “Think she’s referring to Congressman Cawthorn, who called Zelenskyy a thug? Marjorie Taylor Greene said the U.S. should not fund a war the Ukrainians cannot possibly win.”
One Bubble Head Talks About Another
Rudy Giuliani said former President Donald Trump made an unusual threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin while he was in office.
Giuliani told Newsmax over the weekend that Trump had authorized him to share the details of a meeting with Putin where Ukraine came up in the conversation.
Trump “says, ‘Vladimir, you shouldn’t, like, attack Ukraine. I never liked those big, what are those things you got in Moscow, those big bubbles? Those big gold bubbles, I never liked those things, so I’m gonna have to blow them up,’” Giuliani said.
He was presumably referring to the Cathedral of the Annunciation, which is in the Kremlin and has gold onion domes.
“So Putin says, ‘They’re churches,’” Giuliani recounted. Trump said, “Oh, Vladimir, don’t tell me that about churches, c’mon. Churches? You can fool Bush, you can’t fool me. You care about churches?”
Giuliani also defended Trump’s praise of Putin as “smart.”
“That’s why he’s a genius,” Giuliani said. “Of course he says he’s smart: ‘Hey Vladimir, you’re really, really smart.’”
It's Easy to Forget Other Evil in the World
Violent repression of the largely Muslim Rohingya population in Myanmar amounts to genocide, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, a declaration intended to both generate international pressure and lay the groundwork for potential legal action.
Authorities made the determination based on confirmed accounts of mass atrocities on civilians by Myanmar's military in a widespread and systematic campaign against the ethnic minority, Blinken said in a speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
It is the eighth time since the Holocaust that the U.S. has concluded a genocide has occurred, the secretary of state said, noting the importance of calling attention to inhumanity even as horrific attacks occur elsewhere in the world, including Ukraine.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
Bicycle vs Semi. Bicycle Wins!
If TucKGBer Can Appear on Russian TV, Why Can't She Appear on American TV
Marina Ovsyannikova, the journalist who protested the invasion of Ukraine on a Russian state TV broadcast, stressed on Sunday that many Russian civilians are against President Vladimir Putin’s relentless war.
“You know, first of all, I want to say to everyone: The Russian people are really against the war,” she told host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week.” “It’s Putin’s war, not Russian people’s war.”
On March 14, Ovsyannikova rushed onto a live broadcast on Channel One ― a major state-run news outlet in the country ― with a poster that read: “Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.” An editor for the station, she was arrested, interrogated and fined before being released the next day.
“This protest, you know, was a spontaneous decision for me, to go out live on air. But the dissatisfaction with the current situation has been accumulating for many years,” she said through a live translator. “Because the propaganda on our state channels was becoming more and more distorted. And the pressure that has been applied in the Russian politics could not leave us indifferent.”
Kyiv Calling
Members of the British band Clash have given the go-ahead to Ukrainian musicians to turn their 1979 hit “London Calling” into a powerful resistance anthem.
The Clash title refers to BBC reports during the bleak days of World War II that began with the greeting: “London Calling.”
Now “Kyiv Calling,” which was recently recorded by the popular three-member Ukrainian punk band Beton near the front lines (and mixed in Los Angeles by producer Danny Saber, one of the last to work with Clash lead singer Joe Strummer before his 2002 death), is also a fundraiser.
Proceeds will go to the Free Ukraine Resistance Movement. Donations will help fund a shared communications system to alert Ukrainians to threats, and lobby for international support.
A gut-wrenching music video of the retooled Clash song shows devastating images of exploding bombs, beleaguered Ukrainians, suffering — and defiance and heroism.
Footage shot by the bandmates’ friends, family and volunteers shows Russian military attacks from Kharkiv to Kyiv, The Guardian reported.
“Kyiv calling to the faraway towns. Kyiv calling to the whole world,” say the rewritten lyrics. “Kyiv calling to the NATO zone. Forget it, brother, we can’t go it alone.”
Still: “Kyiv is rising. We live for resistance,” says the anthem.
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Invasions Have Consequences
Psst! Want to Buy Some Nice Russian Bonds at a Discount?
The Moscow stock exchange has partially reopened after a nearly month-long suspension over the war in Ukraine.
Only bonds issued by the Russian government can be traded as part of a phased re-opening of the market.
The exchange closed hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine on 24 February.
Andrei Braginsky, a spokesman for the Moscow Exchange, said he hoped that trading in stocks would be able to start again soon.
"Technically everything is ready, and we are hoping this will resume in the near future," he said.
The market reopened at 13:00 (10:00 GMT) but only for OFZ bonds - the Russian acronym for Federal Loan Obligations.
In pre-market trading, yields on those government bonds rose by almost 20% - the highest on record. A higher yield means the government will have to pay more to borrow and indicates the investment is more risky. The yield later settled close to 13% after trading began.
It's the Logistics, Stupid
One Russian General, Two Russian Generals...
Not That Putin Cares About Anyone Starving. He Can Still Get Burger King (Or Is It Burger Tsar?)
The war in Ukraine has delivered a shock to global energy markets. Now the planet is facing a deeper crisis: a shortage of food.
A crucial portion of the world’s wheat, corn and barley is trapped in Russia and Ukraine because of the war, while an even larger portion of the world’s fertilizers is stuck in Russia and Belarus. The result is that global food and fertilizer prices are soaring. Since the invasion last month, wheat prices have increased by 21 percent, barley by 33 percent and some fertilizers by 40 percent.
The upheaval is compounded by major challenges that were already increasing prices and squeezing supplies, including the pandemic, shipping constraints, high energy costs and recent droughts, floods and fires.
Now economists, aid organizations and government officials are warning of the repercussions: an increase in world hunger.
Let's See if the Europeans Have the Courage to Do This
Europe will consider joining a US-led embargo of Russian oil this week as the West looks for new ways to punish President Vladimir Putin for waging his devastating war in Ukraine.
At a series of meetings beginning Monday, EU leaders will discuss whether to dump by far the biggest supplier of oil to the region, having already committed to cutting Russian natural gas use by 66% this year. They'll be joined by US President Joe Biden at a summit on Thursday.
"We have to discuss how we can support Ukraine even further, politically, economically, with humanitarian aid, security wise, everything is on the table. So we can ensure that we will do what we can to stop Putin and his aggression against Ukraine," Denmark's foreign minister Jeppe Kofod told reporters. "It's important with economic sanctions to continue along that track."
Russia is the world's second biggest exporter of oil, behind Saudi Arabia, and despite the chilling effect of unprecedented Western financial sanctions and an embargo announced by the United States and the United Kingdom, it continues to earn hundreds of millions of dollars a day from energy exports.
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The Ace Predator is Back! No. It's Not Vlad the Invader
For only the second time in more than 60 years, the elusive Eastern indigo snake has slithered into Alabama.
The discovery of a wild-born Eastern indigo snake marks the success of an intensive program to reintroduce the reptiles to the state.
"The snake found yesterday indicates the project is resulting in some thriving and reproducing indigos, just what we wanted!" the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division said Thursday on Facebook. "Reintroducing a species to its native range is a daunting task, and we celebrate each step of its success!"
The reptile, which is the largest snake native to the US, used to be found throughout Alabama. But they went extinct in the state in the 1950s, largely due to habitat loss, according to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The snakes, however, are a crucial element of the ecosystem. Jim Godwin, an animal biologist with the Alabama Natural Heritage Program administered by the Auburn University Museum of Natural History, told CNN that Eastern indigo snakes were historically the "apex predator" in the longleaf pine forests where they live. A decline in the snake's population, therefore, has a "domino effect" on other species in the ecosystem.
Just What I Want to See in My Yard
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If Baylor Played Arkansas
cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/220320181943-02-rare-snake-alabama-handout-exlarge-169.jpg
The Heavy Favorite Is Upset in this Round, and I Mean Heavy
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Give Me a Break. You Are Playing a Part in a Movie, Not Representing Latinas.
Ariana DeBose exudes confidence while performing, but the 31-year-old actor is opening up about her insecurities as a Latina. In a conversation with good friend and former colleague Lin-Manuel Miranda, the “West Side Story” star explained that she didn’t feel like she could represent Latinas because she’s not a fluent Spanish speaker.
No One Elected Her to Represent Anyone
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They Hate Vaccinations, But They Love Murdering Babies? Huh?
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It May Not Be Over
This is the calm before another #COVID storm in the U.S., which will be worse than it should be due to short-term and hopeful thinking. The #BA.2 cycle has already started here and will be in full bloom in ~2-3 weeks with a much bigger surge than anyone saw coming.
There are many differences between UK/Europe and the US, but almost all differences weigh against the US avoiding the impact of #BA.2
- Lower vax/booster rate
- Less testing
- Fewer COVID restrictions
- Longer period of waning immunity
Full Thread
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She May Be an Understudy, But She Handled This Like a Pro
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It's a Win-Win. Maybe the QOP Will Notice That Immigration is a Good Thing, But Don't Hold Your Breath
German companies are touting thousands of jobs for Ukrainian refugees. Portuguese firms promise language training for Ukrainians looking for work. In Lithuania, businesses are providing on-site child care to help Ukrainian women move seamlessly into the workplace.
As the wartime exodus from Ukraine grows larger, companies are rushing forward with offers of employment, from high-level engineering jobs to retail and factory work, to help those displaced by the fighting settle quickly — as well as to fill their own labor shortages.
The outreach is happening with a speed and scope that is rare for the European Union. Unlike refugees who have flooded Europe from wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, the three million Ukrainians fleeing Russian bombs are being placed on a fast track for protection and employment, as governments waive visa requirements and provide almost instant access to labor markets and education.
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Hardly Seems Like a Fair Fight
Peacock
Boilermaker
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First time we have been below 50,000 cases since July 22nd.
↓ 34.3% Cases, two-week change
↓ 61.6% Deaths, two-week change
976,269 Total confirmed deaths
New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Mar 20 | 27,786 | 901 |
| Mar 19 | 27,747 | 909 |
| Mar 18 | 28,274 | 972 |
| Mar 17 | 29,317 | 1,035 |
| Mar 16 | 30,040 | 1,052 |
| Mar 15 | 30,934 | 1,107 |
| Mar 14 | 32,458 | 1,186 |
| Mar 13 | 34,113 | 1,187 |
| Mar 12 | 34,253 | 1,210 |
| Mar 11 | 34,805 | 1,198 |
| Mar 10 | 35,269 | 1,197 |
| Mar 9 | 37,146 | 1,179 |
| Mar 8 | 37,879 | 1,161 |
| Mar 7 | 40,433 | 1,208 |
| Mar 6 | 42,204 | 1,259 |
| Mar 5 | 43,665 | 1,281 |
| Mar 4 | 45,555 | 1,319 |
| Mar 3 | 49,888 | 1,413 |
| Mar 2 | 53,016 | 1,558 |
| Mar 1 | 56,253 | 1,674 |
| Feb 28 | 68,480 | 1,832 |
| Feb 27 | 62,556 | 1,686 |
| Feb 26 | 66,053 | 1,719 |
| Feb 25 | 69,203 | 1,751 |
| Feb 24 | 72,111 | 1,720 |
| Feb 23 | 75,208 | 1,674 |
| Feb 22 | 79,539 | 1,602 |
| Feb 21 | 78,306 | 1,872 |
| Feb 20 | 98,012 | 1,872 |
| Feb 19 | 100,129 | 1,890 |
| Feb 18 | 103,462 | 1,920 |
| Feb 17 | 112,653 | 1,998 |
| Feb 16 | 121,664 | 2,020 |
| Feb 15 | 134,468 | 2,100 |
| Feb 14 | 146,921 | 2,208 |
| Feb 16, 2021 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | % of Vaccinated W/ Boosters | |
| % of Total Population | 76.6% | 65.2% | 44.2% |
| % of Population 5+ | 81.4% | 69.3% | |
| % of Population 12+ | 86.3% | 73.6% | 45.8% |
| % of Population 18+ | 88.1% | 75.2% | 47.6% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 88.9% | 66.7% |
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday March 8)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
| Percent of Average for this Date | Last Week | 2 Weeks ago | 3 Weeks ago | 9 Weeks ago | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 84% (61% of full season average) | 87% (60%) | 93% (60%) | 99% (59%) | 170% |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 74% (53%) | 76% (51%) | 80% (51%) | 86% (51%) | 170% |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 71% (51%) | 70% (48%) | 75% (47%) | 79% (46%) | 151% |
| Snow Water Content - North | 55% (52%) | 59% (53%) | 61% (52%) | 68% (53%) | 134% |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 59% (64%) | 58% (66%) | 71% (59%) | 75% (57%) | 148% |
| Snow Water Content - South | 60% (66%) | 54% (63%) | 67% (54%) | 74% (54%) | 158% |
So What Did I Miss?
Seems like the Russian offensive is still stalled, Putin remains a narcissistic sociopath who wants to be Hitler, and the people of Ukraine continue to pay the price.
And I still believe Previous Guy killed more Americans by mishandling COVID than Putin has killed Ukrainians.
As one headline puts it: "Good news, Russia can't win! Bad news, neither can Ukraine"
Meanwhile, US COVID deaths are finally dropping significantly.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
7 Years Later and She Still Deserves Nomination
A U.S. judge ruled that a former county clerk from Kentucky knowingly violated the rights of same-sex couples by denying them marriage licenses in 2015, clearing the way for a jury trial seeking damages against her.
The ruling from U.S. District Judge David Bunning on Friday also denied a request for immunity from former Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis.
Davis thrust herself into the center of the U.S. culture wars on the issue of LGBTQ rights by denying the licenses in 2015, citing her religious beliefs. She briefly went to jail for contempt of court over her refusal and a deputy clerk in the eastern Kentucky county issued the licenses.
Previous Guy: The Gift that Keeps Polluting
One of the nation’s largest utilities is once again turning its back on climate. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), which serves nearly 10 million people, will replace many of its coal plants with natural gas plants instead of heeding the calls of advocacy groups and others to do the right thing and go with renewables. According to The New York Times, the TVA will soon be using enough natural gas to power almost 3 million homes by adding around 5,000 megawatts of capacity. That addition comes at a cost to the planet, especially given the fact that natural gas accounts for about a third of emissions in the U.S. annually. It only looks good that coal is being phased out because coal-fired plants, at their high end, produce almost double the amount of greenhouse gases compared with natural gas. Experts believe the TVA is headed in the wrong direction by keeping its customers reliant on fossil fuels for that much longer and, from an economic standpoint, it doesn’t make a lot of financial sense to keep polluters limping along when renewables generate power at a rate that costs that much less than fossil fuels.
So how did the TVA get here? By the sheer influence of the fossil fuel industry and the adoration its board and CEO have for massive polluters. Jeff W. Smith, who was nominated by Donald Trump to serve on the TVA board, mentioned nothing about climate change or emissions in his statement ahead of his confirmation. Yet another Trump nominee, A.D. Frazier, spent 24 years as director of what he boasts to be a “Fortune 500 oil and gas company.” And Chair William Kilbride, also a Trump nominee and even a donor, has been similarly quiet about climate change.
Did He Sleep Through Alimentary Schol? Not Even Florida Deserves This.
Dumbest Comment of the Day About Ukraine
It Was an Inside Job. No Wonder Meadows Doesn't Want to Testify
Donald Trump’s White House Chief of Staff and a national campaign spokesperson were involved in efforts to encourage the president’s supporters to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. That’s according to a person who says he overheard a key planning conversation between top Trump officials and the organizers of the Jan. 6 rally on the White House Ellipse — and has since testified to House investigators about the phone call...
Trump and his cronies wanted deniability for the insurrection, and all have mantained that the “rally’ was peaceful.
Scott Johnston — who worked on the team that helped plan the Ellipse rally — says that’s just not so. He claims that leading figures in the Trump administration and campaign deliberately planned to have crowds converge on the Capitol, where the 2020 election was being certified — and “make it look like they went down there on their own.”
Johnston, who says he described the phone call to House select committee investigators, detailed his allegations in a series of conversations with Rolling Stone. Johnston says he overheard Mark Meadows, then-former President Trump’s chief of staff, and Katrina Pierson, Trump’s national campaign spokesperson, talking with Kylie Kremer, the executive director of Women For America First, about plans for a march to the Capitol. Johnston said the conversation was clearly audible to him since it took place on a speakerphone as he drove Kremer between the group’s rallies in the final three days of 2020.
Could There Be More Bad News For Mark Meadows in One News Cycle? You Betcha'
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has opened a probe into potential voter fraud by former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows after a Republican Western North Carolina district attorney passed the case on to the state.
District Attorney Ashley Welch asked the North Carolina Department of Justice to consider the matter after she was contacted by media outlets, including the Citizen Times, about the Macon County voter registration of Meadows, a former top staffer for President Donald Trump and WNC congressman.
Meadows, who was a key proponent of the court-rejected claims that widespread voter fraud cost Trump the election, registered and voted using the address of a single-wide Macon County mobile home where owners and neighbors say he never lived or visited.
Attorney General Josh Stein's office said March 17 he had asked the SBI to look into Meadows' voter registration after Welch's request, according to DOJ spokesperson Nazneen Ahmed.
"Local district attorney Ashley Welch has referred this matter to the Department of Justice's Special Prosecutions Section, and we have agreed to her request. We have asked the SBI to investigate and at the conclusion of the investigation, we'll review their findings," Ahmed said.
Where are the Democratic Supporters of Putin, Mitch? Rather Than Not Paying Attention, Maybe You Could Do Something.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Sunday sharply dismissed lawmakers in his own party who are bashing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and supporting Russian leader Vladimir Putin, disparaging them as the “lonely” fringe.
“I wouldn’t pay much attention to them,” the Kentucky Republican said on “Face the Nation” in a jab at GOP Reps. Madison Cawthorn (N.C.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia).
“The vast majority of the Republican Party writ large, both in the Congress across the country, are totally behind the Ukrainians and urging the president to ... take these steps [to help Ukraine] quicker. Yeah, to be bolder. There may be a few lonely voices off the side. I wouldn’t pay much attention to them.”
McConnell was responding to a question from CBS host Margaret Brennan, who quizzed him about what Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) has called the “Putin wing of the Republican Party.”
Brennan asked: “Think she’s referring to Congressman Cawthorn, who called Zelenskyy a thug? Marjorie Taylor Greene said the U.S. should not fund a war the Ukrainians cannot possibly win.”
One Bubble Head Talks About Another
Rudy Giuliani said former President Donald Trump made an unusual threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin while he was in office.
Giuliani told Newsmax over the weekend that Trump had authorized him to share the details of a meeting with Putin where Ukraine came up in the conversation.
Trump “says, ‘Vladimir, you shouldn’t, like, attack Ukraine. I never liked those big, what are those things you got in Moscow, those big bubbles? Those big gold bubbles, I never liked those things, so I’m gonna have to blow them up,’” Giuliani said.
He was presumably referring to the Cathedral of the Annunciation, which is in the Kremlin and has gold onion domes.
“So Putin says, ‘They’re churches,’” Giuliani recounted. Trump said, “Oh, Vladimir, don’t tell me that about churches, c’mon. Churches? You can fool Bush, you can’t fool me. You care about churches?”
Giuliani also defended Trump’s praise of Putin as “smart.”
“That’s why he’s a genius,” Giuliani said. “Of course he says he’s smart: ‘Hey Vladimir, you’re really, really smart.’”
It's Easy to Forget Other Evil in the World
Violent repression of the largely Muslim Rohingya population in Myanmar amounts to genocide, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, a declaration intended to both generate international pressure and lay the groundwork for potential legal action.
Authorities made the determination based on confirmed accounts of mass atrocities on civilians by Myanmar's military in a widespread and systematic campaign against the ethnic minority, Blinken said in a speech at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum.
It is the eighth time since the Holocaust that the U.S. has concluded a genocide has occurred, the secretary of state said, noting the importance of calling attention to inhumanity even as horrific attacks occur elsewhere in the world, including Ukraine.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
Bicycle vs Semi. Bicycle Wins!
If TucKGBer Can Appear on Russian TV, Why Can't She Appear on American TV
Marina Ovsyannikova, the journalist who protested the invasion of Ukraine on a Russian state TV broadcast, stressed on Sunday that many Russian civilians are against President Vladimir Putin’s relentless war.
“You know, first of all, I want to say to everyone: The Russian people are really against the war,” she told host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week.” “It’s Putin’s war, not Russian people’s war.”
On March 14, Ovsyannikova rushed onto a live broadcast on Channel One ― a major state-run news outlet in the country ― with a poster that read: “Stop the war, don’t believe the propaganda, they are lying to you here.” An editor for the station, she was arrested, interrogated and fined before being released the next day.
“This protest, you know, was a spontaneous decision for me, to go out live on air. But the dissatisfaction with the current situation has been accumulating for many years,” she said through a live translator. “Because the propaganda on our state channels was becoming more and more distorted. And the pressure that has been applied in the Russian politics could not leave us indifferent.”
Kyiv Calling
Members of the British band Clash have given the go-ahead to Ukrainian musicians to turn their 1979 hit “London Calling” into a powerful resistance anthem.
The Clash title refers to BBC reports during the bleak days of World War II that began with the greeting: “London Calling.”
Now “Kyiv Calling,” which was recently recorded by the popular three-member Ukrainian punk band Beton near the front lines (and mixed in Los Angeles by producer Danny Saber, one of the last to work with Clash lead singer Joe Strummer before his 2002 death), is also a fundraiser.
Proceeds will go to the Free Ukraine Resistance Movement. Donations will help fund a shared communications system to alert Ukrainians to threats, and lobby for international support.
A gut-wrenching music video of the retooled Clash song shows devastating images of exploding bombs, beleaguered Ukrainians, suffering — and defiance and heroism.
Footage shot by the bandmates’ friends, family and volunteers shows Russian military attacks from Kharkiv to Kyiv, The Guardian reported.
“Kyiv calling to the faraway towns. Kyiv calling to the whole world,” say the rewritten lyrics. “Kyiv calling to the NATO zone. Forget it, brother, we can’t go it alone.”
Still: “Kyiv is rising. We live for resistance,” says the anthem.
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Invasions Have Consequences
Psst! Want to Buy Some Nice Russian Bonds at a Discount?
The Moscow stock exchange has partially reopened after a nearly month-long suspension over the war in Ukraine.
Only bonds issued by the Russian government can be traded as part of a phased re-opening of the market.
The exchange closed hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent thousands of troops into Ukraine on 24 February.
Andrei Braginsky, a spokesman for the Moscow Exchange, said he hoped that trading in stocks would be able to start again soon.
"Technically everything is ready, and we are hoping this will resume in the near future," he said.
The market reopened at 13:00 (10:00 GMT) but only for OFZ bonds - the Russian acronym for Federal Loan Obligations.
In pre-market trading, yields on those government bonds rose by almost 20% - the highest on record. A higher yield means the government will have to pay more to borrow and indicates the investment is more risky. The yield later settled close to 13% after trading began.
It's the Logistics, Stupid
One Russian General, Two Russian Generals...
Not That Putin Cares About Anyone Starving. He Can Still Get Burger King (Or Is It Burger Tsar?)
The war in Ukraine has delivered a shock to global energy markets. Now the planet is facing a deeper crisis: a shortage of food.
A crucial portion of the world’s wheat, corn and barley is trapped in Russia and Ukraine because of the war, while an even larger portion of the world’s fertilizers is stuck in Russia and Belarus. The result is that global food and fertilizer prices are soaring. Since the invasion last month, wheat prices have increased by 21 percent, barley by 33 percent and some fertilizers by 40 percent.
The upheaval is compounded by major challenges that were already increasing prices and squeezing supplies, including the pandemic, shipping constraints, high energy costs and recent droughts, floods and fires.
Now economists, aid organizations and government officials are warning of the repercussions: an increase in world hunger.
Let's See if the Europeans Have the Courage to Do This
Europe will consider joining a US-led embargo of Russian oil this week as the West looks for new ways to punish President Vladimir Putin for waging his devastating war in Ukraine.
At a series of meetings beginning Monday, EU leaders will discuss whether to dump by far the biggest supplier of oil to the region, having already committed to cutting Russian natural gas use by 66% this year. They'll be joined by US President Joe Biden at a summit on Thursday.
"We have to discuss how we can support Ukraine even further, politically, economically, with humanitarian aid, security wise, everything is on the table. So we can ensure that we will do what we can to stop Putin and his aggression against Ukraine," Denmark's foreign minister Jeppe Kofod told reporters. "It's important with economic sanctions to continue along that track."
Russia is the world's second biggest exporter of oil, behind Saudi Arabia, and despite the chilling effect of unprecedented Western financial sanctions and an embargo announced by the United States and the United Kingdom, it continues to earn hundreds of millions of dollars a day from energy exports.
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The Ace Predator is Back! No. It's Not Vlad the Invader
For only the second time in more than 60 years, the elusive Eastern indigo snake has slithered into Alabama.
The discovery of a wild-born Eastern indigo snake marks the success of an intensive program to reintroduce the reptiles to the state.
"The snake found yesterday indicates the project is resulting in some thriving and reproducing indigos, just what we wanted!" the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division said Thursday on Facebook. "Reintroducing a species to its native range is a daunting task, and we celebrate each step of its success!"
The reptile, which is the largest snake native to the US, used to be found throughout Alabama. But they went extinct in the state in the 1950s, largely due to habitat loss, according to the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The snakes, however, are a crucial element of the ecosystem. Jim Godwin, an animal biologist with the Alabama Natural Heritage Program administered by the Auburn University Museum of Natural History, told CNN that Eastern indigo snakes were historically the "apex predator" in the longleaf pine forests where they live. A decline in the snake's population, therefore, has a "domino effect" on other species in the ecosystem.
Just What I Want to See in My Yard
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If Baylor Played Arkansas
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The Heavy Favorite Is Upset in this Round, and I Mean Heavy
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Give Me a Break. You Are Playing a Part in a Movie, Not Representing Latinas.
Ariana DeBose exudes confidence while performing, but the 31-year-old actor is opening up about her insecurities as a Latina. In a conversation with good friend and former colleague Lin-Manuel Miranda, the “West Side Story” star explained that she didn’t feel like she could represent Latinas because she’s not a fluent Spanish speaker.
No One Elected Her to Represent Anyone
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They Hate Vaccinations, But They Love Murdering Babies? Huh?
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It May Not Be Over
This is the calm before another #COVID storm in the U.S., which will be worse than it should be due to short-term and hopeful thinking. The #BA.2 cycle has already started here and will be in full bloom in ~2-3 weeks with a much bigger surge than anyone saw coming.
There are many differences between UK/Europe and the US, but almost all differences weigh against the US avoiding the impact of #BA.2
- Lower vax/booster rate
- Less testing
- Fewer COVID restrictions
- Longer period of waning immunity
Full Thread
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She May Be an Understudy, But She Handled This Like a Pro
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It's a Win-Win. Maybe the QOP Will Notice That Immigration is a Good Thing, But Don't Hold Your Breath
German companies are touting thousands of jobs for Ukrainian refugees. Portuguese firms promise language training for Ukrainians looking for work. In Lithuania, businesses are providing on-site child care to help Ukrainian women move seamlessly into the workplace.
As the wartime exodus from Ukraine grows larger, companies are rushing forward with offers of employment, from high-level engineering jobs to retail and factory work, to help those displaced by the fighting settle quickly — as well as to fill their own labor shortages.
The outreach is happening with a speed and scope that is rare for the European Union. Unlike refugees who have flooded Europe from wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, the three million Ukrainians fleeing Russian bombs are being placed on a fast track for protection and employment, as governments waive visa requirements and provide almost instant access to labor markets and education.
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Hardly Seems Like a Fair Fight
Peacock
Boilermaker
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