Post by mhbruin on Apr 12, 2022 9:19:09 GMT -8
US Vaccine Data - We Have Now Administered 566 Million Shots (Population 333 Million)
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California Precipitation (Updated Tuesday April 5)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
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Santa Goes Down the Chimney Because It Soots Him.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
Do TucKGBer's Reports Sound Better in the Original Russian?
Tucker Carlson ofFox News Traitor Television must be so proud. He has achieved his life long dream. He has become the most watched American television commentator - on Russian television. Carlson achieved that milestone by his continuous and effusive praise for Vladimir Putin. And Russian TV has returned the favor.
On Sunday, Jim Acosta of CNN took note of Carlson's pro-Putin propaganda. While responsible journalists worldwide were documenting the war crimes being committed by Russian troops on Putin's orders, Carlson was attempting to whitewash the matter and absolve Putin of any guilt by advancing the utterly baseless assertion that Ukraine was staging some of the scenes of horror. Carlson didn't present a single shred of evidence of his grotesque accusation. But he was, nevertheless, "dead certain" of it, as he told his gullible viewers.
Acosta delivered a seething commentary that exposed Carlson's treasonous betrayal of American interests and, more importantly, the welfare of the Ukrainian people who are being slaughtered by Putin's genocidal militia. Acosta said that...
Acosta: With reports about Russian atrocities mounting, the truth about Putin's invasion is beyond dispute. Much of the world has agreed that Putin's army has committed war crimes by blatantly attacking civilians in Ukraine. Unless you happen to get your news in Russian. Then there's Tucker Carlson, who has accused news outlets of lying about what's really happening in Ukraine.
Carlson: If news organizations are eagerly promoting lies about a war in progress, what can the rest of us believe? What can we know is true? And honestly, it's hard to know what is true. We can be sure Russian soldiers have committed atrocities. There are countless pictures of that. Some must be real. But we can also be dead certain the war is not, despite what they tell us, a childish tale of good versus evil. This is Eastern Europe, after all. Everything is a lot more complicated than it looks on America TV.
Acosta went on to note that Carlson's caustic lecturing was "A reminder that this is the same commentator who said in 2019 that he was rooting for Russia over Ukraine." And then getting to the core of Carlson's repulsiveness, Acosta said that...
"Last week Tucker Carlson tried to imply that some of what you are seeing has been fabricated and amplified by news organizations. That sounds a lot like what we heard from Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who said that bodies of Ukrainian civilians lining the streets of Bucha were, quote, a forgery aimed at denigrating the Russian army."
Previous Guy Knows the Worst People
Trump has an uncanny ability to find the most unqualified crackpots, dissemblers and candidates with histories of alleged abuse for his endorsements. Shocking, I know, that Trump would gravitate to such candidates.
September 11th Only Happened One Time. (The Attack, Not the Date) Pearl Harbor Only Happened Once.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has a new defense of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol: It happened only once.
On Sunday, the far-right lawmaker tweeted a video of herself ranting at NBC News congressional reporter Scott Wong. The journalist had asked her whether she thought it was a mistake for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to remove Republicans from the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
“The American people are fed up with this over-dramatization of a riot that happened here at the Capitol one time,” Greene said in the video, arguing that her constituents are more concerned about border security, inflation and high gas prices.
“They are sick and tired of Jan. 6. It’s over, OK?” she added.
Apparently Cam Doesn't Know When to Be Quiet. Should Cam Clam Up?
Quarterback Cam Newton, the former NFL MVP whose return to the Carolina Panthers went south last season, is still playing for Team Clueless when it comes to his thoughts on women.
In a recent podcast, Newton griped about women who can’t cook, don’t know when to stop talking and can’t cater to a man’s needs. In 2022. In a public forum.
Newton was praising the example set by his parents on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast Sunday when he veered into sexist territory.
The free-agent player held forth on his definition of a “bad bitch.” He emphasized that he says “bitches in a way not to degrade a woman,” but to play off “what they deem is a boss chick.”
“A woman for me is handling your own, but knowing how to cater to a man’s needs,” he continued.
Women brag about being a “boss bitch,” he said, “but you can’t cook. You don’t know when to be quiet. You don’t know how to allow a man to lead.”
Tweeting for Tesla
In early November 2013, the news wasn't looking great for Tesla. A series of reports had documented instances of Tesla Model S sedans catching on fire, causing the electric carmaker's share price to tumble.
Then, on the evening of Nov. 7, within a span of 75 minutes, eight automated Twitter accounts came to life and began publishing positive sentiments about Tesla. Over the next seven years, they would post more than 30,000 such tweets.
With more than 500 million tweets sent per day across the network, that output represents a drop in the ocean. But preliminary research from David A. Kirsch, a professor at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, concludes that activity of this sort by so-called bots has played a significant part in the "stock of the future" narrative that has propelled Tesla's market value to altitudes loftier than any traditional financial analysis could justify.
In a market in love with "meme stocks," sexy narrative is proving far more profitable than financial analysis, said Kirsch, co-author of "Bubbles and Crashes: The Boom and Bust of Technological Innovation."
"The Tesla narrative is extraordinarily powerful," Kirsch said. Despite the company's several brushes with bankruptcy, the vision of a planet-saving, world-dominating business enterprise has enabled Chief Executive Elon Musk "to keep selling stock to the public to keep it fueled. At a certain point, it does become self-fulfilling."
Whether Twitter bots are being deliberately programmed to manipulate stock trading is among the questions that Kirsch and his research assistant, Moshen Chowdhury, are trying to answer.
Their inquiry comes as Musk has been signaling an intention to use his wealth and gigantic Twitter following to influence the platform's future direction and policies. After buying nearly 10% of Twitter last month, Musk announced that he'd be joining the board, but Twitter revealed Monday that he'd changed his mind for unspecified reasons. Musk is a Twitter phenomenon, constantly posting tweets for his 80 million followers that range from standard to outrageous to juvenile to profane.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
Supply You Own Joke About Russian Influencers.
Trevor Noah has unfortunate news for Russian influencers who’ve been cutting up their Chanel bags to protest the company’s withdrawal from their country: “Chanel’s already got your money.”
“While the rest of the world is focused on the Ukrainian victims of Putin’s war, many Russian Instagram influencers, well, they feel like they’re the real victims of what’s happening in Ukraine,” the “Daily Show” host said Monday.
A number of Russian social media stars have recently posted videos of themselves destroying their designer handbags after Chanel suspended operations in Russia. Chanel also asked customers in global stores to declare that items they purchased would not be used in Russia.
“This doesn’t hurt Chanel,” Noah said. “You think when you’re cutting up that purse, Coco Chanel is in Monaco on a yacht feeling it like a designer voodoo doll?”
(The comedian added that yes, he is aware the brand founder is actually dead).
I Guess If Moses Called Down Frogs on Egypt, It Isn't a Stretch to Think Jews Control the Weather
On Monday, the Republican National Committee went to bizarre lengths to paint President Joe Biden as antisemitic, only to have the effort backfire.
It occurred after the president announced he had nominated former federal prosecutor Steve Dettelbach to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
It happened to be a nice spring day in Washington, and Biden mentioned in passing that Dettelbach “was responsible for the weather.”
That inspired someone at the RNC to conflate what Raw Story correctly called a “corny joke” into something a lot more sinister by pointing out that the nominee is Jewish.
Although many people might wonder why the RNC felt it necessary to mention Dettelbach’s religion, those familiar with antisemitic tropes will note that “Jews control the weather” is an actual conspiracy theory.
Apparently He Wants a Bigger Target on His Back
Just as he was emerging as a top target of the House committee investigating the Capitol attack, former Trump lawyer John Eastman took a trip to Wisconsin.
Eastman, a right-wing lawyer who drafted a plan for former President Donald Trump to cling to power by falsely claiming then-Vice President Mike Pence could reject legitimate electors during the 2020 presidential election, was part of a small group of Trump allies who secured a private meeting last month to try and convince the Republican leader of the Wisconsin state Assembly to decertify President Joe Biden’s win, multiple sources familiar with the meeting told ABC.
On March 16, Eastman and others spent nearly two hours behind closed doors pressuring Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to nullify the 2020 election and reclaim the electors awarded to Biden, the sources said, which legal experts say is impossible.
Eastman was subpoenaed by the congressional committee looking into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in November. He had been bucking the panel’s request for documents, claiming attorney client privilege, until a federal judge recently ordered most of them turned over.
Eastman in the meeting urged Vos to decertify the election, sources familiar with the meeting said. According to Jefferson Davis, a Wisconsin activist pushing to reverse Biden’s victory who was also in the meeting, Trump’s former lawyer pushed Vos to start “reclaiming the electors” and move forward with “either a do over or having a new slate of electors seated that would declare someone else the winner."
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Most People Seem to Think It's Over, But Some People are Paying Attention
Some U.S. universities have begun reinstating indoor mask mandates on campuses as COVID-19 cases steadily rise again.
On Monday, American University announced that masks would be required in campus buildings, except if people are alone, in their rooms with only their roommates, or if they are eating or drinking.
In recent days, a handful of other universities have reimplemented similar measures, including Columbia, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and Rice universities.
As the highly contagious omicron BA.2 subvariant of the virus has been spreading in the U.S., coronavirus cases nationwide have ticked up around 10% over the last week, reports Reuters.
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Invasions Have Consequences
Today's Must-Read Military Update
Heavy rains have arrived across the two remaining axes in Ukraine—Kherson in the south and Donbas in the east. And with that, don’t expect much territory to change hands.
With maps and video
What's the Definition of Insanity?
Here is the report that a large Russian column 12.8 kilometers long has been destroyed north of the town of Izyum. Reports of heavy fighting for the village of Toposkoye southwest of Izyum. This looks like Putin ordered a military equivalent of a Hail Mary pass, hoping to cut off the Ukrainian forces arrayed against the two puppet states Putin created in the Donbass in 2014.
How Dangerous Is the War?
Tax Free? Tanks a Lot
It is thought that Russia has lost hundreds of tanks within two months of invading Ukraine.
Military experts put the losses down to the advanced anti-tank weapons which western nations have given to Ukraine, and to the poor way Russia has used its tanks.
How great are Russia's tanks losses?
Ukraine's armed forces say Russia has lost more than 680 tanks.
Meanwhile, Oryx - a military and intelligence blog which counts Russia's military losses in Ukraine on the basis of photographs sent from the war zone - says Russia has lost more than 460 tanks and over 2,000 other armoured vehicles.
According to the Rand Corporation and the IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies), Russia had about 2,700 main battle tanks in total at the start of the conflict.
How effective have anti-tank weapons been?
The US supplied Ukraine with 2,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles at the start of the conflict and has since sent at least 2,000 more.
Javelins can be fired so that the missile explodes on the top of a tank, where the armour is weakest, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
A lot of Russian tanks are fitted with reactive armour which absorbs the impact of missiles.
However, Javelins are fitted with two warheads. One blows away the reactive armour, and the second pierces the chassis underneath.
The UK has also sent at least 3,600 Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon missiles (NLAW).
These are also designed to explode as they pass over the relatively exposed turret top of tanks.
"Javelin and NLAW are very potent," says Nick Reynolds, research analyst in land warfare at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). "Without this lethal aid, the situation in Ukraine would be very different."
How much are Russian tactics to blame?
Nowadays, the Russian army operates through Battalion Tactical Groups (BTGs), which are self-contained combat units made up of tanks, infantry and artillery.
The precise composition of these units may vary, but generally they comprise a large number of armoured vehicles but relatively few infantry troops.
"Russia has relatively few troops to call on," says Phillips O'Brien, a professor of strategic studies at St Andrews University, "so BTGs are a way of creating a fighting unit with lots of punch.
"They're designed to attack quickly with lots of firepower. However, they have very little protection in terms of infantry personnel to escort them and to retaliate if the armoured column comes under attack," he says.
"That makes the Russian army like a boxer who has a great right hook and a glass jaw."
Prof O'Brien says a lack of Russian air patrols means Ukrainian troops have found it easy to get into positions to ambush Russian tank columns.
"Russia didn't get air supremacy at the start of the conflict," he says, "and so they cannot patrol the skies, spotting Ukrainian army movements.
"That means Ukrainian troops have been able to get into good fire positions for ambushes, and they have been able to do a lot of damage this way."
How much is down to Russian incompetence?
According to Oryx's figures, half of the tanks Russia has lost have not been destroyed or damaged by the enemy but have been captured or abandoned.
Experts put this down to logistical failures, and incompetence by Russian troops.
"You've seen pictures of Russian tanks being dragged off by Ukrainian farmers' tractors," says Prof O'Brien.
"Some of those tanks were abandoned because they ran out of fuel. That's a logistical failure. Some got stuck in the springtime mud, because the high command invaded at the wrong time of year."
"Russia's ground forces are made up of a lot of conscripts and recruits. That makes them, in world terms, a low to medium-quality fighting force," says RUSI's Nick Reynolds.
"Many tanks have been abandoned because of bad driving. Some have been driven off bridges. Others have been driven into ditches so that the tracks have come off. The ability of the troops to use their equipment has been lacking.
"But often, soldiers have simply abandoned their vehicles and fled. So the will to fight has also been lacking."
The Ukrainian government has even issued instructions on how citizens should turn in abandoned military vehicles.
Authorities also confirmed that anyone who found such "combat trophies" did not need to declare them for tax purposes.
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
I Am Sure Oz Has Already Dumped All the Sane Beliefs Shown
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There Is a Caravan At the Mexican Border, Trying to Get Cross. It's US-Made Guns.
Mexico claims that half a million guns flow south from the US every year. Can a lawsuit against American gun manufacturers stem the tide?
Hundreds of violent incidents, now form a key part of a lawsuit brought by the Mexican government against US-based gunmakers and wholesalers, including Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt, Glock and Ruger.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal courthouse in Massachusetts - where several of the companies are based - argues that the "flood" of illegal guns in Mexico "is the foreseeable result of the defendants' deliberate actions and business practices".
The companies have argued that Mexico cannot prove that the violence detailed in the lawsuit is their fault, and have claimed US law shields them from liability over the misuse of their products.
This week, oral arguments are to be heard in court from both sides for a judge to decide whether the case can continue.
Though experts are doubtful that the lawsuit will achieve its primary aims - $10bn in damages, an end to "inflammatory" marketing practices allegedly appealing to criminals and requirements for "smart" safety technology - it has already been a publicity coup for the Mexican government.
More than a dozen US states - including California and New York - have expressed their support for the Mexican government's case, as have lawyers representing Antigua and Barbuda and Belize.
The case is shining a light on an issue Mexico says has long been ignored by the manufacturers and most Americans.
"This doesn't just affect Mexico," Guillaume Michel, head of legal affairs at Mexico's embassy in Washington, told the BBC. "It also has consequences for the US."
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I'm Not a Big Ethanol Fan, But ...
President Joe Biden will announce Tuesday another step to try to reduce prices for drivers who have been paying more to fill up their tanks: expanding the availability of biofuels.
While visiting an ethanol plant in Iowa, Biden will announce the administration plans on allowing gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend to be sold during the summer, according to senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Called E15, the blend can cost 10 cents per gallon less on average at the 2,300 gas stations where it's sold, the officials said.
Regular gas is averaging around $4.11 a gallon compared with $2.86 a year ago, according to AAA, and Biden is under political pressure to show he is doing what he can to ease the price pain at the pump.
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What Goes Up, Must Come Down. Unless It is Prices.
Consumer prices climbed further into the stratosphere in March and the only consolation is that the painful bout of skyrocketing costs may have peaked.
Inflation hit a fresh 40-year high as continuing surges in gasoline, food and rent costs more than offset moderating prices for used cars.
The consumer price index leaped 8.5% annually, the fastest pace since December 1981, the Labor Department said on Tuesday, likely cementing Federal Reserve plans for an unusually large half-point interest rate hike early next month. That increase is up from 7.9% in February and inflation now has notched new 40-year highs for five straight months.
Gasoline prices were the chief culprit, jumping 18.3% and accounting for more than half the overall rise in costs. Average unleaded gas set a record $4.33 a gallon last month before easing to $4.11 by Monday, according to AAA. Pump prices were up 48% from a year earlier.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stoked last fall’s inflation surge by reducing Russian oil supplies and intensifying supply chain bottlenecks, especially for energy, wheat and other commodities shipped from the region.
Meanwhile, worker shortages in the U.S. are prompting companies to boost pay sharply to attract job candidates, leading them to lift prices to maintain profit margins.
Excluding volatile food and energy items, so-called core prices rose 6.5% annually in March, the largest advance since August 1982.
But on a monthly basis, core prices increased 0.3%, the slowest increase in six months and a sign such prices may be easing, Contingent Macro Research says.
Both Wells Fargo and Barclays reckon inflation likely peaked in March. A fading pandemic should help ease supply snarls and labor shortages this year, economists have said.
But don’t celebrate quite yet. “The descent in inflation is going to be painfully slow,” says Wells Fargo economist Sam Bullard.
And the war could extend the supply troubles and outsized price gains longer than anticipated, says Barclays economist Pooja Sriram. Barclays estimates yearly inflation will still be 6.4% in June and 4.4% at the end of the year.
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This Would Be Great News, If People Could Find Electric Cars for Sale.
A recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults about their attitudes and shopping behaviors in regards to electric vehicles found that rising fuel prices have garnered unprecedented interest in EVs among a wider array of consumers than ever. In fact, over the last month TrueCar experienced a 380% increase in EV prospects year-over-year and a 180% jump year-over-year for hybrids.
The survey found that the proportion of consumers who say they are "extremely likely" to purchase an EV increased by 50% from July 2021 (from 14% to 21%). "Now, budget-minded shoppers have joined the technophiles and environmental stewards who represented many of EVs' early adopters," said Mike Darrow. "Throughout the last month we've seen a huge spike in electric vehicle and hybrid prospects on TrueCar sites. As for the EV that has been most popular, we're seeing Kia's EV6 as the vehicle with the highest scarcity," he said.
With fuel prices at an all-time high, 57% of survey respondents say they are now more likely to consider an EV due to those rising costs. Of those planning to make a purchase in the next six months, two-thirds say they are now more likely to consider an EV.
Even so, consumers still have varying levels of interest in EVs. Men remain more likely to purchase an EV than women (59% vs. 45% likely), but interest among both groups has increased since July 2021, and the gender gap has narrowed. The age groups most likely to consider an EV have moved younger in that timeframe, with 20–29-year olds now the most likely to consider an EV.
Although EV consideration has grown significantly, there are still meaningful concerns around the related issues of charging and range. Access to charging remains key: 70% of those who say they are unlikely to purchase an EV do not have access to charging at home. And of these, two-thirds cannot install a charging station at home, making a dense public infrastructure critical for widespread adoption.
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The Abortion Pill Battle is Heating Up
As conservatives states have enacted strict abortion bans and ramped up regulations on abortion clinics in recent years, many patients have relied on another avenue to the same end: abortion pills.
But now, with the Supreme Court poised to overturn or significantly or pare back Roe v. Wade, the pills are increasingly in conservative lawmakers’ crosshairs, too.
Medication abortions accounted for the majority of abortions in the United States in 2020, according to data released earlier this year by the the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports reproductive rights. This marked the first time that abortion pills were the most common choice in the U.S. since the Food and Drug Administration approved one of them, mifepristone, in 2000.
Abortion rights advocates see medication abortion as a way to get around state laws that put stringent limits on procedural abortions and aim to close brick-and-mortar clinics. Telehealth startups focused on reproductive health are hoping to help expand access by mailing abortion pills directly to people’s homes or post office boxes. But abortion opponents see the pills as a threat to their goal of ending abortion in America, and are adding new restrictions with bigger criminal penalties.
These new laws, combined with structural barriers, such as poverty or a lack of internet access, are complicating the reach of medication abortion in a potential post-Roe world.
“Medication abortion is going to be critical,” says Elizabeth Nash, who tracks state abortion legislation for the Guttmacher Institute. “The reality that we are expecting is that there will be more gestational age limits on abortion across the country. And that means that some people will travel to states that have abortion access. But for other people, they may seek abortion through the internet. And so ensuring that there is at least some availability of care is incredibly important.”
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The Unfriendly Ghosts
Not This
WHAT ARE GHOST GUNS?
They are privately-made firearms without serial numbers.
Generally, firearms manufactured by licensed companies are required to have serial numbers – usually displayed on the frame of the gun – that allow officials to trace the gun back to the manufacturer, the firearms dealer and original purchaser.
Ghost guns, however, are made of parts and are then assembled together. The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what is known as the lower receiver. Some are sold in do-it-yourself kits and the receivers are typically made from metal or polymer.
This
WHAT DOES THE RULE DO?
It changes the definition of a firearm and will require federal firearms dealers to add serial numbers to ghost guns that come their way.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has, for years, said that unfinished lower receivers don’t meet the legal definition of a firearm. And there is nothing illegal about building your own firearm.
It’s legal to make your own firearm if it’s for your personal use and you don’t intend to sell it. But if you open a business selling guns, you need a federal firearms license.
Under the new rule, the definition of a firearm would change to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun. The rule also would require those parts to be licensed and include serial numbers. Dealers would also need to run background checks before a sale — just like they do with other commercially made firearms.
The requirement applies regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or by 3D-printers.
It also will compel federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths who take in firearms without serial numbers to add serial numbers. That means, for example, if someone sells a ghost gun to a pawn broker – or other licensed dealer – the dealer must put a serial number on it before selling the gun to someone else.
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Know What They Called the Russian Ruble Last Week?
Currency
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New Cases 7-Day Average | Deaths 7-Day Average | |
| Apr 11 | ||
| Apr 10 | 28,927 | 500 |
| Apr 9 | 28,339 | 509 |
| Apr 8 | 28,169 | 516 |
| Apr 7 | 26,286 | 471 |
| Apr 6 | 26,595 | 496 |
| Apr 5 | 26,845 | 533 |
| Apr 4 | 25,537 | 537 |
| Apr 3 | 25,074 | 572 |
| Apr 2 | 25,787 | 576 |
| 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 |
| 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 April 5)
There was some rain in the Nor Cal. A little more in the ten-day.
| Percent of Average for this Date | |
| Northern Sierra Precipitation | 74% (62% of full season average) |
| San Joaquin Precipitation | 66% (55%) |
| Tulare Basin Precipitation | 62% (53%) |
| Snow Water Content - North | 46% |
| Snow Water Content - Central | 55% |
| Snow Water Content - South | 52% |
Santa Goes Down the Chimney Because It Soots Him.
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Today's Worst Person in the World Nominees
Do TucKGBer's Reports Sound Better in the Original Russian?
Tucker Carlson of
On Sunday, Jim Acosta of CNN took note of Carlson's pro-Putin propaganda. While responsible journalists worldwide were documenting the war crimes being committed by Russian troops on Putin's orders, Carlson was attempting to whitewash the matter and absolve Putin of any guilt by advancing the utterly baseless assertion that Ukraine was staging some of the scenes of horror. Carlson didn't present a single shred of evidence of his grotesque accusation. But he was, nevertheless, "dead certain" of it, as he told his gullible viewers.
Acosta delivered a seething commentary that exposed Carlson's treasonous betrayal of American interests and, more importantly, the welfare of the Ukrainian people who are being slaughtered by Putin's genocidal militia. Acosta said that...
Acosta: With reports about Russian atrocities mounting, the truth about Putin's invasion is beyond dispute. Much of the world has agreed that Putin's army has committed war crimes by blatantly attacking civilians in Ukraine. Unless you happen to get your news in Russian. Then there's Tucker Carlson, who has accused news outlets of lying about what's really happening in Ukraine.
Carlson: If news organizations are eagerly promoting lies about a war in progress, what can the rest of us believe? What can we know is true? And honestly, it's hard to know what is true. We can be sure Russian soldiers have committed atrocities. There are countless pictures of that. Some must be real. But we can also be dead certain the war is not, despite what they tell us, a childish tale of good versus evil. This is Eastern Europe, after all. Everything is a lot more complicated than it looks on America TV.
Acosta went on to note that Carlson's caustic lecturing was "A reminder that this is the same commentator who said in 2019 that he was rooting for Russia over Ukraine." And then getting to the core of Carlson's repulsiveness, Acosta said that...
"Last week Tucker Carlson tried to imply that some of what you are seeing has been fabricated and amplified by news organizations. That sounds a lot like what we heard from Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, who said that bodies of Ukrainian civilians lining the streets of Bucha were, quote, a forgery aimed at denigrating the Russian army."
Previous Guy Knows the Worst People
Trump has an uncanny ability to find the most unqualified crackpots, dissemblers and candidates with histories of alleged abuse for his endorsements. Shocking, I know, that Trump would gravitate to such candidates.
September 11th Only Happened One Time. (The Attack, Not the Date) Pearl Harbor Only Happened Once.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has a new defense of the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol: It happened only once.
On Sunday, the far-right lawmaker tweeted a video of herself ranting at NBC News congressional reporter Scott Wong. The journalist had asked her whether she thought it was a mistake for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to remove Republicans from the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
“The American people are fed up with this over-dramatization of a riot that happened here at the Capitol one time,” Greene said in the video, arguing that her constituents are more concerned about border security, inflation and high gas prices.
“They are sick and tired of Jan. 6. It’s over, OK?” she added.
Apparently Cam Doesn't Know When to Be Quiet. Should Cam Clam Up?
Quarterback Cam Newton, the former NFL MVP whose return to the Carolina Panthers went south last season, is still playing for Team Clueless when it comes to his thoughts on women.
In a recent podcast, Newton griped about women who can’t cook, don’t know when to stop talking and can’t cater to a man’s needs. In 2022. In a public forum.
Newton was praising the example set by his parents on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast Sunday when he veered into sexist territory.
The free-agent player held forth on his definition of a “bad bitch.” He emphasized that he says “bitches in a way not to degrade a woman,” but to play off “what they deem is a boss chick.”
“A woman for me is handling your own, but knowing how to cater to a man’s needs,” he continued.
Women brag about being a “boss bitch,” he said, “but you can’t cook. You don’t know when to be quiet. You don’t know how to allow a man to lead.”
Tweeting for Tesla
In early November 2013, the news wasn't looking great for Tesla. A series of reports had documented instances of Tesla Model S sedans catching on fire, causing the electric carmaker's share price to tumble.
Then, on the evening of Nov. 7, within a span of 75 minutes, eight automated Twitter accounts came to life and began publishing positive sentiments about Tesla. Over the next seven years, they would post more than 30,000 such tweets.
With more than 500 million tweets sent per day across the network, that output represents a drop in the ocean. But preliminary research from David A. Kirsch, a professor at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, concludes that activity of this sort by so-called bots has played a significant part in the "stock of the future" narrative that has propelled Tesla's market value to altitudes loftier than any traditional financial analysis could justify.
In a market in love with "meme stocks," sexy narrative is proving far more profitable than financial analysis, said Kirsch, co-author of "Bubbles and Crashes: The Boom and Bust of Technological Innovation."
"The Tesla narrative is extraordinarily powerful," Kirsch said. Despite the company's several brushes with bankruptcy, the vision of a planet-saving, world-dominating business enterprise has enabled Chief Executive Elon Musk "to keep selling stock to the public to keep it fueled. At a certain point, it does become self-fulfilling."
Whether Twitter bots are being deliberately programmed to manipulate stock trading is among the questions that Kirsch and his research assistant, Moshen Chowdhury, are trying to answer.
Their inquiry comes as Musk has been signaling an intention to use his wealth and gigantic Twitter following to influence the platform's future direction and policies. After buying nearly 10% of Twitter last month, Musk announced that he'd be joining the board, but Twitter revealed Monday that he'd changed his mind for unspecified reasons. Musk is a Twitter phenomenon, constantly posting tweets for his 80 million followers that range from standard to outrageous to juvenile to profane.
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Today's Best Person in the World Nominees
Supply You Own Joke About Russian Influencers.
Trevor Noah has unfortunate news for Russian influencers who’ve been cutting up their Chanel bags to protest the company’s withdrawal from their country: “Chanel’s already got your money.”
“While the rest of the world is focused on the Ukrainian victims of Putin’s war, many Russian Instagram influencers, well, they feel like they’re the real victims of what’s happening in Ukraine,” the “Daily Show” host said Monday.
A number of Russian social media stars have recently posted videos of themselves destroying their designer handbags after Chanel suspended operations in Russia. Chanel also asked customers in global stores to declare that items they purchased would not be used in Russia.
“This doesn’t hurt Chanel,” Noah said. “You think when you’re cutting up that purse, Coco Chanel is in Monaco on a yacht feeling it like a designer voodoo doll?”
(The comedian added that yes, he is aware the brand founder is actually dead).
I Guess If Moses Called Down Frogs on Egypt, It Isn't a Stretch to Think Jews Control the Weather
On Monday, the Republican National Committee went to bizarre lengths to paint President Joe Biden as antisemitic, only to have the effort backfire.
It occurred after the president announced he had nominated former federal prosecutor Steve Dettelbach to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
It happened to be a nice spring day in Washington, and Biden mentioned in passing that Dettelbach “was responsible for the weather.”
That inspired someone at the RNC to conflate what Raw Story correctly called a “corny joke” into something a lot more sinister by pointing out that the nominee is Jewish.
Although many people might wonder why the RNC felt it necessary to mention Dettelbach’s religion, those familiar with antisemitic tropes will note that “Jews control the weather” is an actual conspiracy theory.
Apparently He Wants a Bigger Target on His Back
Just as he was emerging as a top target of the House committee investigating the Capitol attack, former Trump lawyer John Eastman took a trip to Wisconsin.
Eastman, a right-wing lawyer who drafted a plan for former President Donald Trump to cling to power by falsely claiming then-Vice President Mike Pence could reject legitimate electors during the 2020 presidential election, was part of a small group of Trump allies who secured a private meeting last month to try and convince the Republican leader of the Wisconsin state Assembly to decertify President Joe Biden’s win, multiple sources familiar with the meeting told ABC.
On March 16, Eastman and others spent nearly two hours behind closed doors pressuring Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos to nullify the 2020 election and reclaim the electors awarded to Biden, the sources said, which legal experts say is impossible.
Eastman was subpoenaed by the congressional committee looking into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in November. He had been bucking the panel’s request for documents, claiming attorney client privilege, until a federal judge recently ordered most of them turned over.
Eastman in the meeting urged Vos to decertify the election, sources familiar with the meeting said. According to Jefferson Davis, a Wisconsin activist pushing to reverse Biden’s victory who was also in the meeting, Trump’s former lawyer pushed Vos to start “reclaiming the electors” and move forward with “either a do over or having a new slate of electors seated that would declare someone else the winner."
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Most People Seem to Think It's Over, But Some People are Paying Attention
Some U.S. universities have begun reinstating indoor mask mandates on campuses as COVID-19 cases steadily rise again.
On Monday, American University announced that masks would be required in campus buildings, except if people are alone, in their rooms with only their roommates, or if they are eating or drinking.
In recent days, a handful of other universities have reimplemented similar measures, including Columbia, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins and Rice universities.
As the highly contagious omicron BA.2 subvariant of the virus has been spreading in the U.S., coronavirus cases nationwide have ticked up around 10% over the last week, reports Reuters.
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Invasions Have Consequences
Today's Must-Read Military Update
Heavy rains have arrived across the two remaining axes in Ukraine—Kherson in the south and Donbas in the east. And with that, don’t expect much territory to change hands.
With maps and video
What's the Definition of Insanity?
Here is the report that a large Russian column 12.8 kilometers long has been destroyed north of the town of Izyum. Reports of heavy fighting for the village of Toposkoye southwest of Izyum. This looks like Putin ordered a military equivalent of a Hail Mary pass, hoping to cut off the Ukrainian forces arrayed against the two puppet states Putin created in the Donbass in 2014.
How Dangerous Is the War?
Tax Free? Tanks a Lot
It is thought that Russia has lost hundreds of tanks within two months of invading Ukraine.
Military experts put the losses down to the advanced anti-tank weapons which western nations have given to Ukraine, and to the poor way Russia has used its tanks.
How great are Russia's tanks losses?
Ukraine's armed forces say Russia has lost more than 680 tanks.
Meanwhile, Oryx - a military and intelligence blog which counts Russia's military losses in Ukraine on the basis of photographs sent from the war zone - says Russia has lost more than 460 tanks and over 2,000 other armoured vehicles.
According to the Rand Corporation and the IISS (International Institute for Strategic Studies), Russia had about 2,700 main battle tanks in total at the start of the conflict.
How effective have anti-tank weapons been?
The US supplied Ukraine with 2,000 Javelin anti-tank missiles at the start of the conflict and has since sent at least 2,000 more.
Javelins can be fired so that the missile explodes on the top of a tank, where the armour is weakest, according to manufacturer Lockheed Martin.
A lot of Russian tanks are fitted with reactive armour which absorbs the impact of missiles.
However, Javelins are fitted with two warheads. One blows away the reactive armour, and the second pierces the chassis underneath.
The UK has also sent at least 3,600 Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon missiles (NLAW).
These are also designed to explode as they pass over the relatively exposed turret top of tanks.
"Javelin and NLAW are very potent," says Nick Reynolds, research analyst in land warfare at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). "Without this lethal aid, the situation in Ukraine would be very different."
How much are Russian tactics to blame?
Nowadays, the Russian army operates through Battalion Tactical Groups (BTGs), which are self-contained combat units made up of tanks, infantry and artillery.
The precise composition of these units may vary, but generally they comprise a large number of armoured vehicles but relatively few infantry troops.
"Russia has relatively few troops to call on," says Phillips O'Brien, a professor of strategic studies at St Andrews University, "so BTGs are a way of creating a fighting unit with lots of punch.
"They're designed to attack quickly with lots of firepower. However, they have very little protection in terms of infantry personnel to escort them and to retaliate if the armoured column comes under attack," he says.
"That makes the Russian army like a boxer who has a great right hook and a glass jaw."
Prof O'Brien says a lack of Russian air patrols means Ukrainian troops have found it easy to get into positions to ambush Russian tank columns.
"Russia didn't get air supremacy at the start of the conflict," he says, "and so they cannot patrol the skies, spotting Ukrainian army movements.
"That means Ukrainian troops have been able to get into good fire positions for ambushes, and they have been able to do a lot of damage this way."
How much is down to Russian incompetence?
According to Oryx's figures, half of the tanks Russia has lost have not been destroyed or damaged by the enemy but have been captured or abandoned.
Experts put this down to logistical failures, and incompetence by Russian troops.
"You've seen pictures of Russian tanks being dragged off by Ukrainian farmers' tractors," says Prof O'Brien.
"Some of those tanks were abandoned because they ran out of fuel. That's a logistical failure. Some got stuck in the springtime mud, because the high command invaded at the wrong time of year."
"Russia's ground forces are made up of a lot of conscripts and recruits. That makes them, in world terms, a low to medium-quality fighting force," says RUSI's Nick Reynolds.
"Many tanks have been abandoned because of bad driving. Some have been driven off bridges. Others have been driven into ditches so that the tracks have come off. The ability of the troops to use their equipment has been lacking.
"But often, soldiers have simply abandoned their vehicles and fled. So the will to fight has also been lacking."
The Ukrainian government has even issued instructions on how citizens should turn in abandoned military vehicles.
Authorities also confirmed that anyone who found such "combat trophies" did not need to declare them for tax purposes.
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Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
I Am Sure Oz Has Already Dumped All the Sane Beliefs Shown
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There Is a Caravan At the Mexican Border, Trying to Get Cross. It's US-Made Guns.
Mexico claims that half a million guns flow south from the US every year. Can a lawsuit against American gun manufacturers stem the tide?
Hundreds of violent incidents, now form a key part of a lawsuit brought by the Mexican government against US-based gunmakers and wholesalers, including Smith & Wesson, Beretta, Colt, Glock and Ruger.
The lawsuit, filed in a federal courthouse in Massachusetts - where several of the companies are based - argues that the "flood" of illegal guns in Mexico "is the foreseeable result of the defendants' deliberate actions and business practices".
The companies have argued that Mexico cannot prove that the violence detailed in the lawsuit is their fault, and have claimed US law shields them from liability over the misuse of their products.
This week, oral arguments are to be heard in court from both sides for a judge to decide whether the case can continue.
Though experts are doubtful that the lawsuit will achieve its primary aims - $10bn in damages, an end to "inflammatory" marketing practices allegedly appealing to criminals and requirements for "smart" safety technology - it has already been a publicity coup for the Mexican government.
More than a dozen US states - including California and New York - have expressed their support for the Mexican government's case, as have lawyers representing Antigua and Barbuda and Belize.
The case is shining a light on an issue Mexico says has long been ignored by the manufacturers and most Americans.
"This doesn't just affect Mexico," Guillaume Michel, head of legal affairs at Mexico's embassy in Washington, told the BBC. "It also has consequences for the US."
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I'm Not a Big Ethanol Fan, But ...
President Joe Biden will announce Tuesday another step to try to reduce prices for drivers who have been paying more to fill up their tanks: expanding the availability of biofuels.
While visiting an ethanol plant in Iowa, Biden will announce the administration plans on allowing gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend to be sold during the summer, according to senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Called E15, the blend can cost 10 cents per gallon less on average at the 2,300 gas stations where it's sold, the officials said.
Regular gas is averaging around $4.11 a gallon compared with $2.86 a year ago, according to AAA, and Biden is under political pressure to show he is doing what he can to ease the price pain at the pump.
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What Goes Up, Must Come Down. Unless It is Prices.
Consumer prices climbed further into the stratosphere in March and the only consolation is that the painful bout of skyrocketing costs may have peaked.
Inflation hit a fresh 40-year high as continuing surges in gasoline, food and rent costs more than offset moderating prices for used cars.
The consumer price index leaped 8.5% annually, the fastest pace since December 1981, the Labor Department said on Tuesday, likely cementing Federal Reserve plans for an unusually large half-point interest rate hike early next month. That increase is up from 7.9% in February and inflation now has notched new 40-year highs for five straight months.
Gasoline prices were the chief culprit, jumping 18.3% and accounting for more than half the overall rise in costs. Average unleaded gas set a record $4.33 a gallon last month before easing to $4.11 by Monday, according to AAA. Pump prices were up 48% from a year earlier.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has stoked last fall’s inflation surge by reducing Russian oil supplies and intensifying supply chain bottlenecks, especially for energy, wheat and other commodities shipped from the region.
Meanwhile, worker shortages in the U.S. are prompting companies to boost pay sharply to attract job candidates, leading them to lift prices to maintain profit margins.
Excluding volatile food and energy items, so-called core prices rose 6.5% annually in March, the largest advance since August 1982.
But on a monthly basis, core prices increased 0.3%, the slowest increase in six months and a sign such prices may be easing, Contingent Macro Research says.
Both Wells Fargo and Barclays reckon inflation likely peaked in March. A fading pandemic should help ease supply snarls and labor shortages this year, economists have said.
But don’t celebrate quite yet. “The descent in inflation is going to be painfully slow,” says Wells Fargo economist Sam Bullard.
And the war could extend the supply troubles and outsized price gains longer than anticipated, says Barclays economist Pooja Sriram. Barclays estimates yearly inflation will still be 6.4% in June and 4.4% at the end of the year.
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This Would Be Great News, If People Could Find Electric Cars for Sale.
A recent survey of 1,000 U.S. adults about their attitudes and shopping behaviors in regards to electric vehicles found that rising fuel prices have garnered unprecedented interest in EVs among a wider array of consumers than ever. In fact, over the last month TrueCar experienced a 380% increase in EV prospects year-over-year and a 180% jump year-over-year for hybrids.
The survey found that the proportion of consumers who say they are "extremely likely" to purchase an EV increased by 50% from July 2021 (from 14% to 21%). "Now, budget-minded shoppers have joined the technophiles and environmental stewards who represented many of EVs' early adopters," said Mike Darrow. "Throughout the last month we've seen a huge spike in electric vehicle and hybrid prospects on TrueCar sites. As for the EV that has been most popular, we're seeing Kia's EV6 as the vehicle with the highest scarcity," he said.
With fuel prices at an all-time high, 57% of survey respondents say they are now more likely to consider an EV due to those rising costs. Of those planning to make a purchase in the next six months, two-thirds say they are now more likely to consider an EV.
Even so, consumers still have varying levels of interest in EVs. Men remain more likely to purchase an EV than women (59% vs. 45% likely), but interest among both groups has increased since July 2021, and the gender gap has narrowed. The age groups most likely to consider an EV have moved younger in that timeframe, with 20–29-year olds now the most likely to consider an EV.
Although EV consideration has grown significantly, there are still meaningful concerns around the related issues of charging and range. Access to charging remains key: 70% of those who say they are unlikely to purchase an EV do not have access to charging at home. And of these, two-thirds cannot install a charging station at home, making a dense public infrastructure critical for widespread adoption.
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The Abortion Pill Battle is Heating Up
As conservatives states have enacted strict abortion bans and ramped up regulations on abortion clinics in recent years, many patients have relied on another avenue to the same end: abortion pills.
But now, with the Supreme Court poised to overturn or significantly or pare back Roe v. Wade, the pills are increasingly in conservative lawmakers’ crosshairs, too.
Medication abortions accounted for the majority of abortions in the United States in 2020, according to data released earlier this year by the the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports reproductive rights. This marked the first time that abortion pills were the most common choice in the U.S. since the Food and Drug Administration approved one of them, mifepristone, in 2000.
Abortion rights advocates see medication abortion as a way to get around state laws that put stringent limits on procedural abortions and aim to close brick-and-mortar clinics. Telehealth startups focused on reproductive health are hoping to help expand access by mailing abortion pills directly to people’s homes or post office boxes. But abortion opponents see the pills as a threat to their goal of ending abortion in America, and are adding new restrictions with bigger criminal penalties.
These new laws, combined with structural barriers, such as poverty or a lack of internet access, are complicating the reach of medication abortion in a potential post-Roe world.
“Medication abortion is going to be critical,” says Elizabeth Nash, who tracks state abortion legislation for the Guttmacher Institute. “The reality that we are expecting is that there will be more gestational age limits on abortion across the country. And that means that some people will travel to states that have abortion access. But for other people, they may seek abortion through the internet. And so ensuring that there is at least some availability of care is incredibly important.”
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The Unfriendly Ghosts
Not This
WHAT ARE GHOST GUNS?
They are privately-made firearms without serial numbers.
Generally, firearms manufactured by licensed companies are required to have serial numbers – usually displayed on the frame of the gun – that allow officials to trace the gun back to the manufacturer, the firearms dealer and original purchaser.
Ghost guns, however, are made of parts and are then assembled together. The critical component in building an untraceable gun is what is known as the lower receiver. Some are sold in do-it-yourself kits and the receivers are typically made from metal or polymer.
This
WHAT DOES THE RULE DO?
It changes the definition of a firearm and will require federal firearms dealers to add serial numbers to ghost guns that come their way.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has, for years, said that unfinished lower receivers don’t meet the legal definition of a firearm. And there is nothing illegal about building your own firearm.
It’s legal to make your own firearm if it’s for your personal use and you don’t intend to sell it. But if you open a business selling guns, you need a federal firearms license.
Under the new rule, the definition of a firearm would change to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun. The rule also would require those parts to be licensed and include serial numbers. Dealers would also need to run background checks before a sale — just like they do with other commercially made firearms.
The requirement applies regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or by 3D-printers.
It also will compel federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths who take in firearms without serial numbers to add serial numbers. That means, for example, if someone sells a ghost gun to a pawn broker – or other licensed dealer – the dealer must put a serial number on it before selling the gun to someone else.
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Know What They Called the Russian Ruble Last Week?
Currency
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