Post by mhbruin on Apr 3, 2022 10:07:29 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 560 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
↓ 2.8% Cases, two-week change
↑ 17.4% Deaths, two-week change - I have no idea what is going on with NBC's data.
986,162 Total confirmed deaths
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California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday March 22)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
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This is the First Time Average Deaths Are Below 600 Since August 4, 2021.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
At Least They Bought Teslas and Not Gas-Guzzling Hummers. Environmentally-Conscious Scum, Stealing from those Who Needed the Money.
They bought Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Bentleys.
And Teslas, of course. Lots of Teslas.
Many who participated in what prosecutors are calling the largest fraud in U.S. history — the theft of hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money intended to help those harmed by the coronavirus pandemic — couldn’t resist purchasing luxury automobiles. Also mansions, private jet flights and swanky vacations.
They came into their riches by participating in what experts say is the theft of as much as $80 billion — or about 10 percent — of the $800 billion handed out in a Covid relief plan known as the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. That’s on top of the $90 billion to $400 billion believed to have been stolen from the $900 billion Covid unemployment relief program — at least half taken by international fraudsters — as NBC News reported last year. And another $80 billion potentially pilfered from a separate Covid disaster relief program.
The prevalence of Covid relief fraud has been known for some time, but the enormous scope and its disturbing implications are only now becoming clear.
Was Ginny the Power Behind the Throne? (I'll Bet Previous Guy Wanted a Throne.)
Ever since she became a welcome guest at Trump’s residences, Thomas—an influential and longtime conservative activist, and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas—had perfected a proven formula of enthralling and manipulating the president’s emotions and mood. On multiple occasions throughout the Trump era, Thomas would show up in the White House, sometimes for a private meeting or a luncheon with the president. She often came armed with written memos of who she and her allies believed Trump should hire for plum jobs—and who she thought Trump should promptly purge—that she distributed to Trump and other high-ranking government officials.
The fire lists were particularly problematic, as they were frequently based on pure conjecture, rumor, or score-settling, where even steadfastly MAGA aides were targeted for being part of the “Deep State” or some other supposedly anti-Trump coalition, according to people who saw them during the Trump administration. The hire lists were so often filled with infamous bigots and conspiracy theorists, woefully under-qualified names, and obvious close friends of Thomas that several senior Trump aides would laugh at them—that is, until Trump would force his staff to put certain names through the official vetting process, three sources familiar with the matter said.
This is Not Kosher
Court documents say Thomas Develin, 24, posted photos of himself posing with a semi-automatic handgun on March 11 while he was working as a private security guard for Columbus Torah Academy in east Columbus. The posts were found on the social media platform, Discord.
According to the court documents, Develin posted statements that said, "I'm at a Jewish school and about to make it everyone's problem," and, "The playground is about to turn into a self-defense situation."
They Aren't Even Bothering to Cover It Up
Ukrainian troops are finding brutalized bodies and widespread destruction in suburbs of the capital as Russian soldiers withdraw and Moscow focuses its attacks elsewhere, including missile strikes Sunday that targeted fuel and ammunition supplies in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Associated Press journalists in Bucha, a small city northwest of Kyiv, saw the bodies of at least nine people in civilian clothes who appeared to have been killed at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs. The AP also saw two bodies wrapped in plastic, bound with tape and thrown into a ditch.
Authorities said they were documenting evidence as Ukraine’s military reclaims territory and discovers indications of execution-style slayings to add to their case for for prosecuting Russian officials for war crimes.
The United States warned that Russia had kill-lists of people they wanted eradicated once they took control, and apparently it included even small town mayors. In one little settlement, the mayor was murdered along with her son and husband—the latter tossed into a sewer to bloat and decompose. It’s always dangerous to dehumanize an enemy, but you really do have to wonder what kind of people would report to this wanton cruelty. They didn’t even carry off their own dead, like the paratroopers rotting in Hostomel from the first days of the war. It’s unfathomable. Carting off war loot was more important to them.
I Guess He Cannot Imagine Hiring a Woman For Her Brain.
People Go to Rallies to Listen to this Drivel?
Previous Guy Stiffs Another Worker
Former President Donald Trump helped himself to photos taken by his administration’s White House photographer to publish his own book of the images currently selling for as much as $230, The New York Times reported.
Initially, photographer Shealah Craighead had planned to publish her own book of her own work — as has been the case after the end of every administration since Ronald Reagan left the White House. In what appears to be a first for former presidents, Trump demanded a portion of the advance for Craighead’s book in exchange for promoting it, according to the Times.
Then, he decided to go ahead with his own project to publish a book of Craighead’s and other White House photographers’ photos.
Trump’s 317-page book, published in December and titled “Our Journey Together,” doesn’t include a single photo credit for any of the images, the Times noted, which would be highly unusual for any book, and particularly for one by a former president.
Instead, at the end of the book in a blanket acknowledgement, Trump thanks “all the phenomenal White House photographers,” and lists them by name, including Craighead, even though her photos make up most of the book (though readers would have to guess which ones).
Craighead has now opted to drop her own book plans and has declined to discuss her decision or her relationship with Trump throughout the book journey.
I Wonder If His Defense Will Be, "I Was Proving the Vaccines Are Safe"
A 60-year-old man allegedly had himself vaccinated against COVID-19 dozens of times in Germany in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers to people not wanting to get vaccinated themselves.
The man from the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released in line with German privacy rules, is said to have received up to 90 shots against COVID-19 at vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months until criminal police caught him earlier this month, the German news agency dpa reported Sunday.
The suspect was not detained but is under investigation for unauthorized issuance of vaccination cards and document forgery, dpa reported.
He was caught at a vaccination center in Eilenburg in Saxony when he showed up for a COVID-19 shot for the second day in a row. Police confiscated several blank vaccination cards from him and initiated criminal proceedings.
It was not immediately clear what kind of impact the approximately 90 shots of COVID-19 vaccines, which were from different brands, had on the man's personal health.
Sununu News, Isn't New News. (Try Saying That 5 Times)
GOP Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire said Donald Trump is “crazy” and joked that if the former Republican president was admitted to a mental hospital, “he’s not getting out.”
Sununu skewered Trump during the Gridiron Club’s spring dinner Saturday night, an annual Washington gathering featuring skits and speeches from Democrats, Republicans and journalists that are expected to “singe” but “not burn” the capital's political elite.
“He’s (expletive) crazy!” Sununu said.
Sununu also spoke of being left astonished by an encounter with Trump when the former president was visiting New Hampshire for a political rally.
After greeting Trump at the airport, Sununu said Trump insisted he ride with him to the venue. Sununu said that Trump spent most of the ride obsessing over his polling numbers, but at one point broke his train of thought to point out that all the people holding American flags along the motorcade route were his fans.
Trump pointed to one man with a flag and sign before Trump returned to the topic of polling, Sununu recalled.
“I can’t help but notice the guy he pointed at, the sign he’s holding says, '(F---, Trump!),” Sununu joked.
Maybe the Russians Think the Red Cross Are a Bunch of Nazis, and Russia Is Protecting Ukrainians
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday said the operation to help people leave the besieged city of Mariupol was continuing, hours after Russia said it had failed and blamed the organization.
Russia's defence ministry said aid convoys had not been able to reach Mariupol on Friday or Saturday and blamed "destructive actions" by the ICRC, Interfax news agency said.
A Red Cross convoy traveling to the Ukrainian port turned around on Friday because it had become impossible to proceed with its mission to begin evacuating civilians, the ICRC said.
"The humanitarian operation to facilitate the safe passage of civilians out of Mariupol is ongoing. The situation on the ground is volatile and subject to rapid changes," an ICRC spokesperson said by email.
"Given the ICRC's role as a neutral intermediary in what is a highly complex operation, the ICRC is not in a position to comment further at this time.
If Being an Ignorant Asshole is Part of Aging, Bill Maher Must Be Getting Along in Year
"Television host and political comedian Bill Maher on Friday downplayed Jada Pinkett Smith's medical condition saying that she should consider herself "lucky" that she only has alopecia.
"If you are so lucky in life as to have that be your medical problem, just say 'thanks God,'" Maher said during his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher. "It's not life threatening. It's part of aging."
Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
Let's Not Forget Colin. Apparently the NFL Has. The Most Consequential Kneeling Since Monica Lewinsky.
If Russia has Lost Lithuania, They Have Lost ... Lithuania. However, It is Still a Nice Gesture.
Lithuania says it has cut itself off entirely of gas imports from Russia, apparently becoming the first of the European Union's 27 nations using Russian gas to break its energy dependence upon Moscow.
“Seeking full energy independence from Russian gas, in response to Russia’s energy blackmail in Europe and the war in Ukraine, Lithuania has completely abandoned Russian gas,” Lithuania’s energy ministry said in a statement late Saturday, adding that the measure took effect in the beginning of April.
Lithuania managed to reduce imports of Russian gas to zero on Saturday, a move seen a milestone in achieving energy independence in the former Soviet republic of 2.8 million, the ministry said.
“We are the first EU country among Gazprom’s supply countries to gain independence from Russian gas supplies, and this is the result of a multi-year coherent energy policy and timely infrastructure decisions,” Minister of Energy Dainius Kreivys said.
“From this month on — no more Russian gas in Lithuania. Years ago, my country made decisions that today allow us with no pain to break energy ties with the aggressor. If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too!"
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Invasions Have Consequences
Everybody Loves a Winner.
In the five weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, the policy response from the West has grown increasingly expansive. A direct military confrontation with Russia, in the form of a NATO-imposed no-fly zone, was ruled out from the start. Everything else now seems to be on the table. From Washington, cash is flowing: $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine, including several billion dollars to purchase military equipment. Some four thousand and six hundred Javelin anti-aircraft missiles, more than half the total purchased by the Pentagon in the past decade, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, have been sent to Ukraine in the past month.
Famously neutral Switzerland and Sweden have strayed from their usual positions; Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a controversial eleven-billion-dollar project. The Central Bank of Russia, whose activities were restricted by an alliance of Western countries last month, is the largest and most significant economic entity ever sanctioned. A status quo that had long tolerated Putin and his oligarchs is showing some signs of shifting. For many weeks, it was taken as an article of faith that no U.S. official would say anything to hint that Washington meant to foment a regime change in Moscow. Then, on March 26th, President Biden travelled to Warsaw and, addressing a crowd of thousands, said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power!”
Ukrainian military success has been one reason for these changes. “Before the war, the Biden Administration was trying to deter it by threatening sanctions,” Daniel Fried, who was Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and is now at the Atlantic Council, told me. “They assumed the Russians would be militarily victorious. That assumption is now questionable. It is now an open question as to who wins. Let that sink in for a minute. Russia attacks Ukraine, it’s an open question as to who succeeds. That’s a kind of ‘Oh, shit, really?’ moment.”
Rouble Trouble. Or Is It Ruble Truble? Clearly Putin Wants a Strong Ruble, Even If Ordinary Russians Suffer.
One thing worth noting is that Russia’s economic officials appear to be more competent than its generals. Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of Russia’s central bank — a role equivalent to that of Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve — is especially well regarded by her peers abroad. Nabiullina reportedly tried to resign after the invasion started, but Putin wouldn’t let her leave.
Unwilling as she may have been to stay in her job, Nabiullina and her colleagues pulled out all the stops to defend the ruble. They raised the key interest rate — more or less equivalent to the federal funds rate in the United States — from 9.5 to 20 percent, to induce people to keep their funds in Russia. They also imposed extensive controls to prevent capital flight: Russians have faced restrictions on moving their money into their foreign bank accounts, and foreign investors have been prohibited from exiting Russian stocks, and more.
But there’s a mystery here. No, it’s not puzzling to see the ruble recover given such drastic measures. The question is why Russia is willing to defend its currency at the expense of all other goals. After all, the draconian measures taken to stabilize the ruble will probably deepen what is already looking like a depression-level slump in Russia’s real economy, brought on by surprisingly wide and effective sanctions imposed by the free world (I think we can resurrect that term, don’t you?), in response to its military aggression.
Dream On. The Chinese Populace Don't Get to Question Anything.
The worst-case scenario for China's Xi is one in which Putin not only loses the war in Ukraine, but loses his grip on power. While the Russian leader has devoted significant resources to stamp out political opposition at home, the combined humiliation of military defeat and prolonged economic malaise could lead to widespread discontent. As domestic pressure grows, China will have little recourse to stave off a transfer of power in Moscow, even if Xi continues to show diplomatic support. Were the Russian leader to fall, moreover, his “no limits” partnership with Xi would become a relic of history, and the Chinese populace could begin to question its leader’s choice to cozy up to Putin in the first place.
Donbas is Far From Done For
Ukraine has held strong west of the purple separatist territory because of an elaborate network of defensive trenches. That’s why Russia wants to encircle those defenders in a pincer maneuver, surrounding them from the north and south. From the north, they were stuck at Izyum for weeks, but finally broke through two days ago. In the south, they’re getting chewed up in Mariupol.
However, as tough as Izyum was for Russia, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk will prove to be tougher nuts to crack. Izyum was a town of 47,000. Sloviansk is larger, 111,000, and Kramatorsk, the regional capital, has a population of 157,000. They’ve also had a lot of time to dig in, building the very kinds of entrenchments that have proven successful on the Donbas front lines.
A detailed account of the military situation in Ukraine
Can't Get a Car? Don't Blame Canada. Blame Vlad the Invader.
For more than a year, the global auto industry has struggled with a disastrous shortage of computer chips and other vital parts that has shrunk production, slowed deliveries and sent prices for new and used cars soaring beyond reach for millions of consumers.
Now, a new factor — Russia’s war against Ukraine — has thrown up yet another obstacle. Critically important electrical wiring, made in Ukraine, is suddenly out of reach. With buyer demand high, materials scarce and the war causing new disruptions, vehicle prices are expected to head even higher well into next year.
The war’s damage to the auto industry has emerged first in Europe. But U.S. production will likely suffer eventually, too, if Russian exports of metals — from palladium for catalytic converters to nickel for electric vehicle batteries — are cut off.
“You only need to miss one part not to be able to make a car,” said Mark Wakefield, co-leader of consulting firm Alix Partners’ global automotive unit. “Any bump in the road becomes either a disruption of production or a vastly unplanned-for cost increase.”
Supply problems have bedeviled automakers since the pandemic erupted two years ago, at times shuttering factories and causing vehicle shortages. The robust recovery that followed the recession caused demand for autos to vastly outstrip supply — a mismatch that sent prices for new and used vehicles skyrocketing well beyond overall high inflation.
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Welcome Back My Friends to the War that Never Ends
Russia and Japan are officially at war.
Let that sink in: 76 years after the combat of World War II ended, talks to finally declare peace between Russia and Japan collapsed late last month.
The two nations never reached a treaty because Russia refused to give up four islands the Soviet Union seized off the north coast of Japan in 1945. The Washington Post reported Thursday that thousands of Japanese people who fled the islands after that long-ago invasion are now seeing their dream of returning home dashed by the new tension over the war in Ukraine. Russia said it would withdraw from peace talks over the disputed territory in response to sanctions imposed by Japan after the invasion of Ukraine.
It's a classic example of the "frozen conflicts" that have persisted in regions around the world long after the fighting stops.
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Dig, Baby, Dig
The Biden administration announced in an executive order Thursday that the president had invoked the Defense Production Act, which could boost mining by directing the Defense Department to support feasibility studies for mining projects.
“The basic idea is that it’s funding to stimulate exploration and further investment in understanding what the options are for producing these materials here at home domestically,” said Jessika Trancik, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Institute for Data, Systems and Society. “That’s going to boost energy security.”
Finding the raw metals needed to produce batteries is quickly becoming a key bottleneck in the supply chain for electric vehicles and other battery-intensive technologies key to the energy transition, experts said. The hunt for battery metals has already sparked recent investment in companies that are trying to come up with new ways to find and extract the precious materials.
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Who Won the Week?
The NY Supreme Court, for ordering the Trump Organization to obey (like a dog) a subpoena issued by NY Attorney General Letitia James’ office within 30 days
President Biden: tells Russia that Putin "cannot remain in power"; releases fine budget; taps oil reserve to lower gas $; and look at that 5.7% GDP for 2021---best since 1984
Astronaut Mark Vande Hei, for entering the history books with the single-longest space flight by a NASA astronaut: 355 days
Americans over 50 and the immuno-comprised, as the FDA approves a second Covid booster shot for them as the subvariant BA.2 becomes the dominant strain
Judge Barbara Bellis, for holding slime peddler Alex Jones in contempt for not appearing for a deposition in the Sandy Hook lawsuit against him---he'll be fined $25k per day until he complies
Ukraine: as Russian troops get poisoned in Chernobyl's 'red forest' and sabotage themselves, Zelensky and his forces continue romp-a-stomping Putin's "mighty" military
Karma, as the previous president's glitchy "Truth Social" app sees a 93% drop in signups and traffic, notching one more business failure for his portfolio. Heckuva job, Devin!
The group of scientists who announced they'd decoded the sequence of a single human genome from one end to the other, offering up hope for major new medical breakthroughs
Christian Smalls, the fired NYC Amazon employee who led the effort to successfully establish the first U.S. union in the union-hating corporate behemoth's 27-year history
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What is the Sound of One Hand Clapping on Mars?
Researchers studying recordings made by microphones on NASA's Perseverance rover found that sound travels much slower on Mars than it does on Earth. In a study published in Nature on Friday, the team said it looked at recordings dating back to February 19, 2021, the day after the rover arrived on the planet.
Using recorded sounds generated by the rover — like shock waves from the rover's laser that was used to cut rocks, and flight sounds from the Ingenuity helicopter — the researchers were able to compare the Martian sounds to Earth sounds. They determined that sound travels 100 meters per second slower on Mars than on Earth.
In addition, the researchers realized that there are two speeds of sound on Mars — one for high-pitched sounds and one for low-pitched sounds. This would "make it difficult for two people standing only five meters apart to have a conversation," according to a press release on the findings.
The unique sound environment is due to the incredibly low atmospheric surface pressure. Mars' pressure is 170 times lower than Earth's pressure. For example, if a high-pitched sound travels 213 feet on Earth, it will travel just 26 feet on Mars.
While sounds on Mars can be heard by human ears, they are incredibly soft.
But NASA scientists think Mars may become more noisy in the autumn months, when there is higher atmospheric pressure.
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Spring Cleaning at Guantanamo
An Algerian man imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center for nearly 20 years has been released and sent back to his homeland.
The Department of Defense announced Saturday that Sufyian Barhoumi was repatriated with assurances from the Algerian government that he would be treated humanely there and that security measures would be imposed to reduce the risk that he could pose a threat in the future.
The Pentagon did not provide details about those security measures, which could include restrictions on travel.
Barhoumi was captured in Pakistan and taken to the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2002. The United States eventually determined he was involved with various extremist groups but was not a member of al-Qaida or the Taliban, according to a report by a review board at the prison that approved him for release in 2016.
U.S. authorities attempted to prosecute Barhoumi in 2008 but the effort was dropped amid legal challenges to the initial version of the military commission system set up under President George W. Bush.
Barhoumi's release brings the total held at the U.S. base in Cuba to 37 men, including 18 who have been deemed eligible for repatriation or resettlement in a third country.
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Does Previous Guy Think Ukraine is Sending Drugs? Crime? Rapists?
Hundreds of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion of their country have arrived at the Mexican border city of Tijuana to seek US asylum and more are expected, a Tijuana city official and a volunteer told CNN on Saturday.
"Approximately at this moment in Tijuana, there are about 1,500 Ukrainians," said Enrique Lucero, director of migrant affairs for the city. "We had a surprising influx in the past four days, mainly because after the conflict we started seeing arrivals as of March 11," and the numbers of people arriving have grown greatly since, Lucero said.
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↓ 2.8% Cases, two-week change
↑ 17.4% Deaths, two-week change - I have no idea what is going on with NBC's data.
986,162 Total confirmed deaths
New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Apr 2 | ||
| Apr 1 | 26,106 | 584 |
| Mar 31 | 25,980 | 605 |
| Mar 30 | 25,732 | 626 |
| Mar 29 | 25,218 | 644 |
| Mar 28 | 26,190 | 700 |
| Mar 27 | 26,487 | 690 |
| Mar 26 | 26,593 | 697 |
| Mar 25 | 26,874 | 705 |
| Mar 24 | 27,235 | 732 |
| Mar 23 | 27,134 | 753 |
| Mar 22 | 27,545 | 787 |
| Mar 21 | 28,657 | 861 |
| 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 16, 2021 | 78,292 |
| At Least One Dose | Fully Vaccinated | % of Vaccinated W/ Boosters | |
| % of Total Population | 76.9% | 65.5% | 44.8% |
| % of Population 5+ | 81.7% | 69.6% | |
| % of Population 12+ | 86.5% | 73.9% | 46.4% |
| % of Population 18+ | 88.3% | 75.4% | 48.2% |
| % of Population 65+ | 95.0% | 89.0% | 67.2% |
California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday March 22)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
| Percent of Average for this Date | 2 Weeks ago | 3 Weeks ago | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 79% (62% of full season average) | 84% (61%) | 87% (60%) |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 69% (54%) | 74% (53%) | 76% (51%) |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 65% (51%) | 71% (51%) | 70% (48%) |
| Snow Water Content - North | 46% | 55% (52%) | 59% (53%) |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 55% | 59% (64%) | 58% (66%) |
| Snow Water Content - South | 52% | 60% (66%) | 54% (63%) |
This is the First Time Average Deaths Are Below 600 Since August 4, 2021.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
At Least They Bought Teslas and Not Gas-Guzzling Hummers. Environmentally-Conscious Scum, Stealing from those Who Needed the Money.
They bought Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Bentleys.
And Teslas, of course. Lots of Teslas.
Many who participated in what prosecutors are calling the largest fraud in U.S. history — the theft of hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money intended to help those harmed by the coronavirus pandemic — couldn’t resist purchasing luxury automobiles. Also mansions, private jet flights and swanky vacations.
They came into their riches by participating in what experts say is the theft of as much as $80 billion — or about 10 percent — of the $800 billion handed out in a Covid relief plan known as the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP. That’s on top of the $90 billion to $400 billion believed to have been stolen from the $900 billion Covid unemployment relief program — at least half taken by international fraudsters — as NBC News reported last year. And another $80 billion potentially pilfered from a separate Covid disaster relief program.
The prevalence of Covid relief fraud has been known for some time, but the enormous scope and its disturbing implications are only now becoming clear.
Was Ginny the Power Behind the Throne? (I'll Bet Previous Guy Wanted a Throne.)
Ever since she became a welcome guest at Trump’s residences, Thomas—an influential and longtime conservative activist, and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas—had perfected a proven formula of enthralling and manipulating the president’s emotions and mood. On multiple occasions throughout the Trump era, Thomas would show up in the White House, sometimes for a private meeting or a luncheon with the president. She often came armed with written memos of who she and her allies believed Trump should hire for plum jobs—and who she thought Trump should promptly purge—that she distributed to Trump and other high-ranking government officials.
The fire lists were particularly problematic, as they were frequently based on pure conjecture, rumor, or score-settling, where even steadfastly MAGA aides were targeted for being part of the “Deep State” or some other supposedly anti-Trump coalition, according to people who saw them during the Trump administration. The hire lists were so often filled with infamous bigots and conspiracy theorists, woefully under-qualified names, and obvious close friends of Thomas that several senior Trump aides would laugh at them—that is, until Trump would force his staff to put certain names through the official vetting process, three sources familiar with the matter said.
This is Not Kosher
Court documents say Thomas Develin, 24, posted photos of himself posing with a semi-automatic handgun on March 11 while he was working as a private security guard for Columbus Torah Academy in east Columbus. The posts were found on the social media platform, Discord.
According to the court documents, Develin posted statements that said, "I'm at a Jewish school and about to make it everyone's problem," and, "The playground is about to turn into a self-defense situation."
They Aren't Even Bothering to Cover It Up
Ukrainian troops are finding brutalized bodies and widespread destruction in suburbs of the capital as Russian soldiers withdraw and Moscow focuses its attacks elsewhere, including missile strikes Sunday that targeted fuel and ammunition supplies in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Associated Press journalists in Bucha, a small city northwest of Kyiv, saw the bodies of at least nine people in civilian clothes who appeared to have been killed at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs. The AP also saw two bodies wrapped in plastic, bound with tape and thrown into a ditch.
Authorities said they were documenting evidence as Ukraine’s military reclaims territory and discovers indications of execution-style slayings to add to their case for for prosecuting Russian officials for war crimes.
The United States warned that Russia had kill-lists of people they wanted eradicated once they took control, and apparently it included even small town mayors. In one little settlement, the mayor was murdered along with her son and husband—the latter tossed into a sewer to bloat and decompose. It’s always dangerous to dehumanize an enemy, but you really do have to wonder what kind of people would report to this wanton cruelty. They didn’t even carry off their own dead, like the paratroopers rotting in Hostomel from the first days of the war. It’s unfathomable. Carting off war loot was more important to them.
I Guess He Cannot Imagine Hiring a Woman For Her Brain.
People Go to Rallies to Listen to this Drivel?
Previous Guy Stiffs Another Worker
Former President Donald Trump helped himself to photos taken by his administration’s White House photographer to publish his own book of the images currently selling for as much as $230, The New York Times reported.
Initially, photographer Shealah Craighead had planned to publish her own book of her own work — as has been the case after the end of every administration since Ronald Reagan left the White House. In what appears to be a first for former presidents, Trump demanded a portion of the advance for Craighead’s book in exchange for promoting it, according to the Times.
Then, he decided to go ahead with his own project to publish a book of Craighead’s and other White House photographers’ photos.
Trump’s 317-page book, published in December and titled “Our Journey Together,” doesn’t include a single photo credit for any of the images, the Times noted, which would be highly unusual for any book, and particularly for one by a former president.
Instead, at the end of the book in a blanket acknowledgement, Trump thanks “all the phenomenal White House photographers,” and lists them by name, including Craighead, even though her photos make up most of the book (though readers would have to guess which ones).
Craighead has now opted to drop her own book plans and has declined to discuss her decision or her relationship with Trump throughout the book journey.
I Wonder If His Defense Will Be, "I Was Proving the Vaccines Are Safe"
A 60-year-old man allegedly had himself vaccinated against COVID-19 dozens of times in Germany in order to sell forged vaccination cards with real vaccine batch numbers to people not wanting to get vaccinated themselves.
The man from the eastern Germany city of Magdeburg, whose name was not released in line with German privacy rules, is said to have received up to 90 shots against COVID-19 at vaccination centers in the eastern state of Saxony for months until criminal police caught him earlier this month, the German news agency dpa reported Sunday.
The suspect was not detained but is under investigation for unauthorized issuance of vaccination cards and document forgery, dpa reported.
He was caught at a vaccination center in Eilenburg in Saxony when he showed up for a COVID-19 shot for the second day in a row. Police confiscated several blank vaccination cards from him and initiated criminal proceedings.
It was not immediately clear what kind of impact the approximately 90 shots of COVID-19 vaccines, which were from different brands, had on the man's personal health.
Sununu News, Isn't New News. (Try Saying That 5 Times)
GOP Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire said Donald Trump is “crazy” and joked that if the former Republican president was admitted to a mental hospital, “he’s not getting out.”
Sununu skewered Trump during the Gridiron Club’s spring dinner Saturday night, an annual Washington gathering featuring skits and speeches from Democrats, Republicans and journalists that are expected to “singe” but “not burn” the capital's political elite.
“He’s (expletive) crazy!” Sununu said.
Sununu also spoke of being left astonished by an encounter with Trump when the former president was visiting New Hampshire for a political rally.
After greeting Trump at the airport, Sununu said Trump insisted he ride with him to the venue. Sununu said that Trump spent most of the ride obsessing over his polling numbers, but at one point broke his train of thought to point out that all the people holding American flags along the motorcade route were his fans.
Trump pointed to one man with a flag and sign before Trump returned to the topic of polling, Sununu recalled.
“I can’t help but notice the guy he pointed at, the sign he’s holding says, '(F---, Trump!),” Sununu joked.
Maybe the Russians Think the Red Cross Are a Bunch of Nazis, and Russia Is Protecting Ukrainians
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Saturday said the operation to help people leave the besieged city of Mariupol was continuing, hours after Russia said it had failed and blamed the organization.
Russia's defence ministry said aid convoys had not been able to reach Mariupol on Friday or Saturday and blamed "destructive actions" by the ICRC, Interfax news agency said.
A Red Cross convoy traveling to the Ukrainian port turned around on Friday because it had become impossible to proceed with its mission to begin evacuating civilians, the ICRC said.
"The humanitarian operation to facilitate the safe passage of civilians out of Mariupol is ongoing. The situation on the ground is volatile and subject to rapid changes," an ICRC spokesperson said by email.
"Given the ICRC's role as a neutral intermediary in what is a highly complex operation, the ICRC is not in a position to comment further at this time.
If Being an Ignorant Asshole is Part of Aging, Bill Maher Must Be Getting Along in Year
"Television host and political comedian Bill Maher on Friday downplayed Jada Pinkett Smith's medical condition saying that she should consider herself "lucky" that she only has alopecia.
"If you are so lucky in life as to have that be your medical problem, just say 'thanks God,'" Maher said during his HBO show Real Time with Bill Maher. "It's not life threatening. It's part of aging."
Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
Let's Not Forget Colin. Apparently the NFL Has. The Most Consequential Kneeling Since Monica Lewinsky.
If Russia has Lost Lithuania, They Have Lost ... Lithuania. However, It is Still a Nice Gesture.
Lithuania says it has cut itself off entirely of gas imports from Russia, apparently becoming the first of the European Union's 27 nations using Russian gas to break its energy dependence upon Moscow.
“Seeking full energy independence from Russian gas, in response to Russia’s energy blackmail in Europe and the war in Ukraine, Lithuania has completely abandoned Russian gas,” Lithuania’s energy ministry said in a statement late Saturday, adding that the measure took effect in the beginning of April.
Lithuania managed to reduce imports of Russian gas to zero on Saturday, a move seen a milestone in achieving energy independence in the former Soviet republic of 2.8 million, the ministry said.
“We are the first EU country among Gazprom’s supply countries to gain independence from Russian gas supplies, and this is the result of a multi-year coherent energy policy and timely infrastructure decisions,” Minister of Energy Dainius Kreivys said.
“From this month on — no more Russian gas in Lithuania. Years ago, my country made decisions that today allow us with no pain to break energy ties with the aggressor. If we can do it, the rest of Europe can do it too!"
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Invasions Have Consequences
Everybody Loves a Winner.
In the five weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine, the policy response from the West has grown increasingly expansive. A direct military confrontation with Russia, in the form of a NATO-imposed no-fly zone, was ruled out from the start. Everything else now seems to be on the table. From Washington, cash is flowing: $13.6 billion in aid for Ukraine, including several billion dollars to purchase military equipment. Some four thousand and six hundred Javelin anti-aircraft missiles, more than half the total purchased by the Pentagon in the past decade, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, have been sent to Ukraine in the past month.
Famously neutral Switzerland and Sweden have strayed from their usual positions; Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a controversial eleven-billion-dollar project. The Central Bank of Russia, whose activities were restricted by an alliance of Western countries last month, is the largest and most significant economic entity ever sanctioned. A status quo that had long tolerated Putin and his oligarchs is showing some signs of shifting. For many weeks, it was taken as an article of faith that no U.S. official would say anything to hint that Washington meant to foment a regime change in Moscow. Then, on March 26th, President Biden travelled to Warsaw and, addressing a crowd of thousands, said, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power!”
Ukrainian military success has been one reason for these changes. “Before the war, the Biden Administration was trying to deter it by threatening sanctions,” Daniel Fried, who was Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama and is now at the Atlantic Council, told me. “They assumed the Russians would be militarily victorious. That assumption is now questionable. It is now an open question as to who wins. Let that sink in for a minute. Russia attacks Ukraine, it’s an open question as to who succeeds. That’s a kind of ‘Oh, shit, really?’ moment.”
Rouble Trouble. Or Is It Ruble Truble? Clearly Putin Wants a Strong Ruble, Even If Ordinary Russians Suffer.
One thing worth noting is that Russia’s economic officials appear to be more competent than its generals. Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of Russia’s central bank — a role equivalent to that of Jerome Powell at the Federal Reserve — is especially well regarded by her peers abroad. Nabiullina reportedly tried to resign after the invasion started, but Putin wouldn’t let her leave.
Unwilling as she may have been to stay in her job, Nabiullina and her colleagues pulled out all the stops to defend the ruble. They raised the key interest rate — more or less equivalent to the federal funds rate in the United States — from 9.5 to 20 percent, to induce people to keep their funds in Russia. They also imposed extensive controls to prevent capital flight: Russians have faced restrictions on moving their money into their foreign bank accounts, and foreign investors have been prohibited from exiting Russian stocks, and more.
But there’s a mystery here. No, it’s not puzzling to see the ruble recover given such drastic measures. The question is why Russia is willing to defend its currency at the expense of all other goals. After all, the draconian measures taken to stabilize the ruble will probably deepen what is already looking like a depression-level slump in Russia’s real economy, brought on by surprisingly wide and effective sanctions imposed by the free world (I think we can resurrect that term, don’t you?), in response to its military aggression.
Dream On. The Chinese Populace Don't Get to Question Anything.
The worst-case scenario for China's Xi is one in which Putin not only loses the war in Ukraine, but loses his grip on power. While the Russian leader has devoted significant resources to stamp out political opposition at home, the combined humiliation of military defeat and prolonged economic malaise could lead to widespread discontent. As domestic pressure grows, China will have little recourse to stave off a transfer of power in Moscow, even if Xi continues to show diplomatic support. Were the Russian leader to fall, moreover, his “no limits” partnership with Xi would become a relic of history, and the Chinese populace could begin to question its leader’s choice to cozy up to Putin in the first place.
Donbas is Far From Done For
Ukraine has held strong west of the purple separatist territory because of an elaborate network of defensive trenches. That’s why Russia wants to encircle those defenders in a pincer maneuver, surrounding them from the north and south. From the north, they were stuck at Izyum for weeks, but finally broke through two days ago. In the south, they’re getting chewed up in Mariupol.
However, as tough as Izyum was for Russia, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk will prove to be tougher nuts to crack. Izyum was a town of 47,000. Sloviansk is larger, 111,000, and Kramatorsk, the regional capital, has a population of 157,000. They’ve also had a lot of time to dig in, building the very kinds of entrenchments that have proven successful on the Donbas front lines.
A detailed account of the military situation in Ukraine
Can't Get a Car? Don't Blame Canada. Blame Vlad the Invader.
For more than a year, the global auto industry has struggled with a disastrous shortage of computer chips and other vital parts that has shrunk production, slowed deliveries and sent prices for new and used cars soaring beyond reach for millions of consumers.
Now, a new factor — Russia’s war against Ukraine — has thrown up yet another obstacle. Critically important electrical wiring, made in Ukraine, is suddenly out of reach. With buyer demand high, materials scarce and the war causing new disruptions, vehicle prices are expected to head even higher well into next year.
The war’s damage to the auto industry has emerged first in Europe. But U.S. production will likely suffer eventually, too, if Russian exports of metals — from palladium for catalytic converters to nickel for electric vehicle batteries — are cut off.
“You only need to miss one part not to be able to make a car,” said Mark Wakefield, co-leader of consulting firm Alix Partners’ global automotive unit. “Any bump in the road becomes either a disruption of production or a vastly unplanned-for cost increase.”
Supply problems have bedeviled automakers since the pandemic erupted two years ago, at times shuttering factories and causing vehicle shortages. The robust recovery that followed the recession caused demand for autos to vastly outstrip supply — a mismatch that sent prices for new and used vehicles skyrocketing well beyond overall high inflation.
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Welcome Back My Friends to the War that Never Ends
Russia and Japan are officially at war.
Let that sink in: 76 years after the combat of World War II ended, talks to finally declare peace between Russia and Japan collapsed late last month.
The two nations never reached a treaty because Russia refused to give up four islands the Soviet Union seized off the north coast of Japan in 1945. The Washington Post reported Thursday that thousands of Japanese people who fled the islands after that long-ago invasion are now seeing their dream of returning home dashed by the new tension over the war in Ukraine. Russia said it would withdraw from peace talks over the disputed territory in response to sanctions imposed by Japan after the invasion of Ukraine.
It's a classic example of the "frozen conflicts" that have persisted in regions around the world long after the fighting stops.
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Dig, Baby, Dig
The Biden administration announced in an executive order Thursday that the president had invoked the Defense Production Act, which could boost mining by directing the Defense Department to support feasibility studies for mining projects.
“The basic idea is that it’s funding to stimulate exploration and further investment in understanding what the options are for producing these materials here at home domestically,” said Jessika Trancik, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Institute for Data, Systems and Society. “That’s going to boost energy security.”
Finding the raw metals needed to produce batteries is quickly becoming a key bottleneck in the supply chain for electric vehicles and other battery-intensive technologies key to the energy transition, experts said. The hunt for battery metals has already sparked recent investment in companies that are trying to come up with new ways to find and extract the precious materials.
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Who Won the Week?
The NY Supreme Court, for ordering the Trump Organization to obey (like a dog) a subpoena issued by NY Attorney General Letitia James’ office within 30 days
President Biden: tells Russia that Putin "cannot remain in power"; releases fine budget; taps oil reserve to lower gas $; and look at that 5.7% GDP for 2021---best since 1984
Astronaut Mark Vande Hei, for entering the history books with the single-longest space flight by a NASA astronaut: 355 days
Americans over 50 and the immuno-comprised, as the FDA approves a second Covid booster shot for them as the subvariant BA.2 becomes the dominant strain
Judge Barbara Bellis, for holding slime peddler Alex Jones in contempt for not appearing for a deposition in the Sandy Hook lawsuit against him---he'll be fined $25k per day until he complies
Ukraine: as Russian troops get poisoned in Chernobyl's 'red forest' and sabotage themselves, Zelensky and his forces continue romp-a-stomping Putin's "mighty" military
Karma, as the previous president's glitchy "Truth Social" app sees a 93% drop in signups and traffic, notching one more business failure for his portfolio. Heckuva job, Devin!
The group of scientists who announced they'd decoded the sequence of a single human genome from one end to the other, offering up hope for major new medical breakthroughs
Christian Smalls, the fired NYC Amazon employee who led the effort to successfully establish the first U.S. union in the union-hating corporate behemoth's 27-year history
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What is the Sound of One Hand Clapping on Mars?
Researchers studying recordings made by microphones on NASA's Perseverance rover found that sound travels much slower on Mars than it does on Earth. In a study published in Nature on Friday, the team said it looked at recordings dating back to February 19, 2021, the day after the rover arrived on the planet.
Using recorded sounds generated by the rover — like shock waves from the rover's laser that was used to cut rocks, and flight sounds from the Ingenuity helicopter — the researchers were able to compare the Martian sounds to Earth sounds. They determined that sound travels 100 meters per second slower on Mars than on Earth.
In addition, the researchers realized that there are two speeds of sound on Mars — one for high-pitched sounds and one for low-pitched sounds. This would "make it difficult for two people standing only five meters apart to have a conversation," according to a press release on the findings.
The unique sound environment is due to the incredibly low atmospheric surface pressure. Mars' pressure is 170 times lower than Earth's pressure. For example, if a high-pitched sound travels 213 feet on Earth, it will travel just 26 feet on Mars.
While sounds on Mars can be heard by human ears, they are incredibly soft.
But NASA scientists think Mars may become more noisy in the autumn months, when there is higher atmospheric pressure.
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Spring Cleaning at Guantanamo
An Algerian man imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center for nearly 20 years has been released and sent back to his homeland.
The Department of Defense announced Saturday that Sufyian Barhoumi was repatriated with assurances from the Algerian government that he would be treated humanely there and that security measures would be imposed to reduce the risk that he could pose a threat in the future.
The Pentagon did not provide details about those security measures, which could include restrictions on travel.
Barhoumi was captured in Pakistan and taken to the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2002. The United States eventually determined he was involved with various extremist groups but was not a member of al-Qaida or the Taliban, according to a report by a review board at the prison that approved him for release in 2016.
U.S. authorities attempted to prosecute Barhoumi in 2008 but the effort was dropped amid legal challenges to the initial version of the military commission system set up under President George W. Bush.
Barhoumi's release brings the total held at the U.S. base in Cuba to 37 men, including 18 who have been deemed eligible for repatriation or resettlement in a third country.
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Does Previous Guy Think Ukraine is Sending Drugs? Crime? Rapists?
Hundreds of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's invasion of their country have arrived at the Mexican border city of Tijuana to seek US asylum and more are expected, a Tijuana city official and a volunteer told CNN on Saturday.
"Approximately at this moment in Tijuana, there are about 1,500 Ukrainians," said Enrique Lucero, director of migrant affairs for the city. "We had a surprising influx in the past four days, mainly because after the conflict we started seeing arrivals as of March 11," and the numbers of people arriving have grown greatly since, Lucero said.
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