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December 2021

by Bernard Wed Dec 1st, 2021 at 07:25:04 PM EST

Your take on this month's news

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December 2021 | 214 comments (214 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
EUROPE
by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Dec 1st, 2021 at 07:25:33 PM EST
Re: December 2021 SURGE (none / 0)
Data governance: new EU law for data-sharing adopted
The [Data Governance Act] introduces rules for data marketplaces in the form of intermediation services where companies can share their data voluntarily. Neutrality obligations have been introduced to make such marketplaces a trustworthy environment. Many businesses currently prefer not to share their data for fear of misuse or breaching privacy obligations.

Data intermediaries that comply with the requirements of the DGA can ask to be listed in a public register; a way to foster trust and make compliance easier for smaller companies.

A similar approach was adopted for data altruist entities, individuals, or organisations that make data available for the common good, medical research, or fighting climate change.

"We are concerned about how a weak definition of altruism in this agreement could allow companies to over-use vague, altruistic grounds to push consumers to share their data," said Jelena Malinina, digital and health policy officer at the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC).

LEAK: Draft impact assessment sheds some light on upcoming Data Act, 22 Nov
The Regulatory Scrutiny Board rejected the Data Act
The Netherlands publishes non-paper on upcoming Data Act, 5 Oct

archived GAIA+ GDPR, INSPIRE directive, NIS directive, Digital Services Act, Digital Markets Act, 'Non-papers' in Brussels, DICTION CORNER

by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 12:05:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 SURGE (none / 0)
Norway fines dating app Grindr $7.16M [NOK 65M] over privacy breach
The Norwegian Data Protection Authority said it imposed its highest fine to date because the California-based company didn't comply with the EU's tough data protection regulations. Norway isn't a member of the 27-nation bloc but closely mirrors EU rules.
contract of adhesion d/b/a terms of use with "privacy settings"
In 2020, Norway's Consumer Council filed a complaint against Grindr for disclosing information about its users, including GPS locations, IP addresses, ages, gender and their use of the app, to several third parties for marketing purposes. That allowed users to be identified and third parties to potentially share personal information further.
by Cat on Thu Dec 16th, 2021 at 12:20:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 FDI (none / 0)
EU unveils 'Global Gateway' €300 billion global infrastructure plan
Maria Demertzis, a leading economist and deputy director at Bruegel think tank, warned the European Commission not to make this about competition with China.

"It does not have to crowd out Chinese investments," she told DW. "I very much hope that it does not aim to, or is perceived as an attempt to displace China in one way or another. Nobody wins from that."

EC | Questions and Answers on Global Gateway, NDICI-Global Europe, EFSD+, IPA III, Interreg, InvestEU and Horizon Europe
Is Global Gateway a response to the Chinese Belt and Road initiative and how does it relate to others?
[...]
Initiatives such as the Build Back Better World and Global Gateway will mutually reinforce each other.
by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 01:21:13 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 FDI boomerang (none / 0)
Dombrovskis: China's Lithuania blockade hits other EU exports
"Apparently Chinese customs is not processing goods from other EU countries if they contain parts from Lithuania."
< eyebrow >
Dombrovskis said the Commission was using political and diplomatic channels to try to resolve the dispute and that he had spoken directly with China's EU envoy about the matter. But should those efforts fail, he said his staff was preparing a complaint with to reform the [PREPOSTEROUS] World Trade Organization.
by Cat on Fri Dec 24th, 2021 at 07:51:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 FDI boomerang (none / 0)
Russian court slaps Google, Meta with MASSIVE fines
The Tagansky District Court ruled that Google repeatedly neglected to remove the banned content, and ordered the company to pay an administrative fine of about 7.2 billion rubles (about $98.4 million). Google said it would study the court documents before deciding on its next steps.

Later Friday, the court also slapped a fine of nearly 2 billion rubles ($27.2 million) on Meta for failure to remove banned content.

Russian courts had previously imposed smaller fines on Google, Facebook and Twitter this year, and Friday's rulings marked the first time the size of the fine was calculated based on revenue.

the NEW! 10% the NEW! Haugen trauma
Roskomnadzor said Google and Meta were specifically accused of violating the ban on distributing content that promotes extremist ideology, insults religious beliefs and encourages dangerous behavior by minors, among other things.
by Cat on Fri Dec 24th, 2021 at 08:15:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 FDI boomerang (none / 0)
If you figure $100,000 for an offshore content checker job, 30 million bucks would have bought Google 100 of them for three years. Would that have been enough to catch the banned content?
by asdf on Sat Dec 25th, 2021 at 12:32:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 FDI (none / 0)
Peter Thiel hires disgraced ex-Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz
"Kurz, 35, will serve as a global strategist for California-based Thiel Capital beginning in the first quarter of 2022."
Former far-right Austrian chancellor Kurz, who left office amid corruption allegations, set to join Peter Thiel investment firm
"He plans to commute between Europe and Thiel Capital's U.S. headquarters, Reuters reported, citing the Austrian tabloid Heute. His pay package is reportedly far larger than the €300,000 ($340,000) salary he received as chancellor."
by Cat on Thu Dec 30th, 2021 at 10:35:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
War on Christmas, EU edition (none / 0)
EU accused of trying to cancel Christmas! Advice on inclusive language dropped after criticism
The European Commission was forced to perform a U-turn Tuesday after its guide to internal communication was accused of trying to cancel Christmas and launching an attack on "common sense."

The 30-page guide on how to use more gender-neutral, LGBTQ+ friendly language in the Commission was unveiled by the equality commissioner, Helena Dalli, in late October.

The internal document was picked up on by the Italian tabloid il Giornale, which led to a torrent of abuse on social media as well as from a senior official in the Vatican, far-right politicians and a former EU commissioner.

As a result, Dalli was forced to backtrack. "Concern was raised with regards to some examples provided in the Guidelines on Inclusive Communication, which as is customary with such guidelines, is [a] work in progress," the Maltese commissioner tweeted. "We are looking into these concerns with the view of addressing them in an updated version of the guidelines."

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 07:00:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: War on Christmas, EU edition (none / 0)
On the other hand, I think that Israel's War on Christmas is still going on. But Scotland's War on Christmas is over, and Christmas won.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 07:15:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: War on Christmas, EU edition (none / 0)
Christmas won, but Hogmanay rules.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 04:19:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 lepers (none / 0)
Germany imposes coronavirus lockdown for unvaccinated people
"Merkel also said that the government would look into how long people can be considered 'fully vaccinated' given immunity wanes over time, 'as it is also discussed on the EU level.'"
German leaders approve new COVID curbs for unvaccinated, Scholz and Mutti
Merkel said an ethics committee will be asked to draft legislation to make vaccination compulsory, with the Bundestag debating and voting on the issue early in the new year.

Scholz, who is expected to be announced as Germany's new chancellor next week, said getting vaccinated is "how we get out of this crisis" and "if we had a higher vaccination rate, we wouldn't be discussing this now."

maybe undetected BioNTech-Pfizer breakthrough vaccine cases, the price of gas in CHINA, possibly Nord Stream 2 sanctions
by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 07:03:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 lepers (none / 0)
Norway on guard over [SARS-CoV-2 o]micron [variant] as dozens test positive after Christmas party
More than half of some 120 people present have tested positive -- even though they were reportedly all vaccinated -- and it's feared many may have contracted the Omicron variant. If confirmed, it would be the biggest single ["]outbreak["] of the variant in Europe.
[...]
Wth much remaining unknown about the new variant, the Norwegian government said new national and regional restrictions would take effect from Friday. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere the strictest measures were regional and would apply to Oslo -- a city of nearly 700,000 -- and surrounding districts.
[...]
Nationally, anyone entering Norway must be tested within 24 hours, either at the border, at a public test station or by self-test. If a rapid test comes back positive, a traveller must take a PCR test within 24 hours, the government said.
by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 07:27:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 lepers (none / 0)
ekathimerini | Covid policy U-turns
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis took it upon himself to make Covid-19 vaccinations mandatory for people aged 60 and over. ... The conservative leader knows that the measure will cause some political damage, although he secretly perhaps hopes that it will eventually not have to be implemented (the constitutional legality of the measure is also questionable) should the 100-euro monthly fine prove to be a strong enough motivator.
[...]
Greece is logging a very high daily death toll, forced the government into making this belated policy U-turn. After all, Mitsotakis and his government ministers have passionately argued against mandatory vaccinations in the past. ...They did not - and still don't - have the political courage to make vaccination compulsory for police and military officers, the clergy and other civil service staff.
[...]
True to form, opposition SYRIZA has made endless U-turns that, politically and socially speaking, border on the ridiculous. Alexis Tsipras, the ex-prime minister, and senior SYRIZA officials attacked the conservative administration when it tried to lure young people to get vaccinated by offering economic incentives. ...
BLOOMBERG | Greece Imposes $114 Monthly Fine on Unvaccinated People Over 60
by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 11:07:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 lepers (none / 0)
Desperate time mandate desperate measures, when SARS-CoV-2 omicron dominates "several [?] variants including the delta variant" and innumerable "breakthrough vaccine" cases.
by Cat on Tue Dec 7th, 2021 at 05:02:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 lepers (none / 0)
Foreigners in Russia outraged by new medical checks
The amendment states that foreign professionals, their family members living in Russia and any foreigner who wants to stay in the country for an extended period of time have to be tested every three months for infectious diseases, including syphilis, HIV, leprosy, tuberculosis, and COVID-19. They are also required to take a drug test and must submit their fingerprints and a biometric photo to the authorities.

Children over 6 to be tested for drugs and syphilis
The new rules will also apply to all children over the age of 6. If someone tests positive for any of the specified diseases, they will not be granted a visa, and any existing visa will be revoked. They will be designated "undesirable," and ordered to leave the country. Foreigners are already required to present a negative HIV test when applying for a work visa or a residence permit to stay in Russia for longer than 90 days.

The Russian government has not explained what it intends to achieve with the new regulations.

by Cat on Mon Dec 20th, 2021 at 07:14:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
Emmanuel Macron accused of trying to `rehabilitate' Mohammed bin Salman
Human rights groups have criticised Emmanuel Macron's planned meeting with Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, which will mark the first one-on-one public meeting of a major western leader with the crown prince since the state-sponsored assassination of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

For three years since the 2018 murder, western heads of state have avoided direct one-on-one meetings with the crown prince in the kingdom. The US president, Joe Biden, has even avoided speaking to the future king in what has widely been seen as an attempt to avoid conferring legitimacy on the de facto ruler.

But Macron's move suggests at least one major western leader is ready to formally re-establish ties to the crown prince directly, less than a year after US intelligence agencies released a report stating they believed that Prince Mohammed had approved the murder of Khashoggi.

"Whatever strategic interest France has in Saudi Arabia, nothing can justify their legitimisation of a ruler who kills journalists, threatens activists, imprisons women human rights defenders, slaughters Yemeni civilians, and deceives the international community. Macron diminishes himself and his own country as he stoops to partnership with MBS," said Agnès Callamard, a French national who serves as Amnesty International's secretary general.

by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 09:07:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 R2P (none / 0)
Croatia slammed by Council of Europe anti-torture committee over migrants
"Council of Europe's Committee for the prevention of torture (CPT) published a report on Friday (3 December) detailing Croatian police border violence against migrants crossing from Bosnia, following Zagreb's attempts to block the body's work."
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 01:52:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 deck chairs (none / 0)
Austria: Karl Nehammer set to become new chancellor
Why another change at the top of Austrian politics?
[Interior Minister Karl] Nehammer's appointment comes after a day after the current party chief Sebastian Kurz, who is implicated in a corruption scandal, said he was stepping down from the role.

Kurz's departure had a domino effect, prompting Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, who was only appointed to the role in October, to offer to quit so that the post of chancellor and head of the party could be held by one person.

and a counter-culture vlog
Die Raten Verlassen Das Sinkende Schiff!!!,(EN, DE)
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 04:27:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 deck chairs (4.00 / 2)
Yeah, when Kurz took over the people's party he filled all positions he could get his hands on with his henchmen. Obviously the fifty-something loyal party soldiers that missed out on the promotions in favor of barely thirty coke kids weren't thrilled and the party is full of structures that aren't easily accessible from the national leadership. And that's a large part of the Austrian state structure, from civil servants to the judicial system.
Turns out newspaper oligarchs don't like to see textual evidence of them manipulating elections on the TV and no one outside the Kurz orbit was really invested in making it go away.
by generic on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 08:08:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 deck chairs (4.00 / 2)
Der Standard asks why Italian politics is dealing with COVID so much better than Austria.
Kaputtes System? Im Kampf gegen Corona steht unser südliches Nachbarland deutlich besser da als Österreich. Das Zauberwort heißt "Grüner Pass". Aber das ist längst nicht der einzige Unterschied
The author doesn't point out that having better politics than Austria is not a very high bar.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 08:46:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic* Großer Zapfenstreich (none / 0)

running time 01:27:40, valedictory @ 00:20:00

anglosphere press translations
AP syndicate, Germany's Merkel at farewell ceremony: Don't tolerate hate
"Merkel was honored with a traditional military musical performance and march in front of almost all the country's political elite -- save for the far-right Alternative for Germany, who weren't invited."
RFI, After 16 years of rule, Angela Merkel says goodbye with Nina Hagen song
"playing an eclectic mix of music of her own choosing that has intrigued the nation" brace by a "search for subtext and hidden messages" (Guardian, 29 Nov; France24, 3 Dec)
Sputnik, Party Like It's 1939: German Chancellor's Send-Off Compared to Nazi Rally
Godwin anthology

* "The Post-Heroic Legacy of Angela Merkel",  Bloomberg. 9 June 2021

by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 08:32:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
oh. dear. shade (none / 0)
@ 1:10:54
Q: ... Are you going to miss Angela Merkel?
There are definitely qualitities that she has, I will miss, perhaps her successor will have some of those qualities as well, but her modesty, her restraint, her enormous personal integrity. I think sometimes people in Germany take it for granted, but the sense that she is absolutely incorruptible and that the blandishments of power and material success really don't matter to her. That's not the case with all leaders even leaders in democratic countries. And those are things that I think that I will definitely miss. I think her steadiness in a crisis, her pragmatism, her ability to do plain talking when it's needed. You remember at the beginning of the pandemic when she gave some of her speeches to German citizens, she told them things as basic as how to wash their hands well, and I think she is often appreciated more abroad than at home for some of those qualities. As you may remember, she received an academic distinction in the U.S. this past summer for her communication, her crisis communication. There's one other quality, and maybe I'll just relate my own little personal encounter, with [unintelligible] at the very start of her political career [...] and I mentioned a very famous book, Europeans are from Venus, Americans are from Mars, and she asked for a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down that title. ... She wrote it down by herself.
[...]
Q: Melissa Crain, where do you see Angela Merkel this time next year?
CRAIN: I can tell you where I don't see her. I don't see her going through a revolving door like the one that her predecessor walked through to become Gazprom lobbyist. I do think that she will use her voice and her authority and her great esteem to try to convey messages where they count. We know that she was very close to Barack Obama. I don't see her writing million-euro memoirs, but I definitely do see her trying to do what he occasionally does which is to weigh in on important matters.
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 09:58:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: oh. dear. shade (none / 0)
Angela Merkel to pen political memoir
On Friday her longtime aide Beate Baumann announced that together, she and Merkel will be working on her political memoirs. Merkel "does not want to retell her entire life," Baumann told Der Spiegel magazine. "She wants to explain her key political decisions in her own words, and look back on her life's journey."

German Chancellor Reportedly Mulls Pulling Support for Nord Stream 2 in Case of Russia-Ukraine War, according FT

by Cat on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 12:04:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic* Großer Zapfenstreich (none / 0)
Germany's Greens approve three-party coalition deal
The new center-left government will be headed by the Social Democrat (SPD), the Greens and the neoliberal FDP.
archived After Merkel: German Elections 2021
predictions
by Cat on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 06:46:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic honeymoon (none / 0)
Germany's foreign minister under pressure over Nord Stream 2 sanctions, butters up Poland
The energy link is not only supported by former chancellor Gerhard Schröder [!], now chair of Nord Stream's board of directors, but also the centre-left party's branch in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, where the local population hopes to draw economic advantages once gas starts running underneath the Baltic Sea.

Scholz [!] indicated that he would not leave it to his Green coalition partners to dictate his government's language around Nord Stream 2.

New German Foreign Minister Fires Russia a Warning Over Ukraine, according to BLOOMBERG
"Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty are not negotiable," Baerbock said Thursday after talks with her French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris, urging European Union and NATO partners to work to avoid military escalation
Baerbock makes inaugural visit to Poland
by Cat on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 12:19:47 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic honeymoon (none / 0)
OpEd | US Unveils Legal Trigger for War With Russia
If passed, the GUARD law (Guaranteeing Ukraine's Autonomy by Reinforcing its Defense) will increase lethal military aid to the US-backed Kiev regime by $450 million for the forthcoming year. That is on top of the $300m already allocated for the Ukrainian armed forces in the new US military budget for 2022.

The rhetoric used in the text of the [draft] bill is unhinged...

by Cat on Sat Dec 18th, 2021 at 12:48:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic honeymoon (none / 0)
'Feminist' foreign policy -- what does that mean?
Annalena Baerbock is Germany's first female foreign minister. According to the new government's coalition agreement, she wants to pursue a "feminist foreign policy." But opinions differ as to what that actually means.
[...]
"Feminism tries to smash structures that rely on violence," [Kristina Lunz, founder of the von der Leyen "Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy"] told DW. She cites the fight against terrorism as one example: 90% of terrorists operating worldwide are men. She believes the reason for this is that society promotes aggressive behavior in boys, while raising girls to be more passive. These "patriarchal structures," she thinks, contribute to most terrorists being men.
[...]
The concern is that the chancellery will continue to take care of the "big players" like the United States, China, France, the EU and Russia, while leaving smaller fish to the Foreign Ministry.

[MEP Viola von Cramon] criticized former Foreign Minister Heiko Maas for allowing himself to be, as she put it, "demoted" in this way. She hopes that Annalena Baerbock will bring more strength to the Foreign Ministry, and not just hand everything over to the chancellery.
[...]
Both von Cramon and Masalle agree that Germany's new foreign minister has already adopted a much harder stance towards Russia and China, and appears to be committed to the idea of a [inclusive trrst] foreign policy agenda.

It's a void.
by Cat on Fri Dec 24th, 2021 at 04:15:53 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic honeymoon (none / 1)
You mean Deutsche Welle is a void, right?
You're not actually dissing the whole idea of a feminist foreign policy?
I'm not saying that Baerbock will acheive anything in that direction, but we can judge her later.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II
by eurogreen on Fri Dec 24th, 2021 at 04:44:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic honeymoon (none / 0)
Feminism smashes structures that rely on violence, eh? Even when you're talking about politicians?
by asdf on Fri Dec 24th, 2021 at 05:47:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic void (none / 0)
Today the POTUS signed the 61st edition (2022) of the National Defense [sic] Authorization Act. This summary although dated 16 December appears to capture the state of play at the "moment" before the conference committee gets emend it. Notwithstanding the ESCALATING price of freedom at Guantanamo Bay, in eastern Europe, and o'er Indo-Pacific seas of concern, Allies will be delighted to learn, eventually, that the USA is fully committed to wardrobe equality on the battle fields of EUCOM, AFRICOM, INDOPACOM, CENTCOM, NORTHCOM, and SOUTHCOM
Requires the Department of Defense to conduct oversight of the military services in their uniform selections to ensure there is no gender bias in uniform design or selection, and requires payments if like uniform items cost more for one gender or another.
gratuitous gestures toward "justice reform" within the MCA of 2006, and  12 weeks parental leave as well as a Basic Needs Allowance for service members.
by Cat on Mon Dec 27th, 2021 at 07:57:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic honeymoon (none / 0)
POLITICO.eu.com | EU slaps sanctions on Russian mercenary group Wagner
Wagner first attracted international attention in 2014 when it supported pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
[...]
A press release by the Council of the EU said that "the Wagner Group has recruited, trained and sent private military operatives to conflict zones around the world to fuel violence, loot natural resources and intimidate civilians in violation of international law, including international human rights law."

The eight individuals are "are involved in serious human rights abuses, including torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and killings, or in destabilising activities in some of the countries [Syria, Sudan, Mozambique, CAR] they operate in," the release said.

competition
by Cat on Mon Dec 13th, 2021 at 08:07:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic honeymoon (none / 0)
U.S. LNG Cargoes Flock To Europe Amid Record-High Gas Prices
Ten LNG tankers from the U.S. have already declared Europe as their destination while another 20 cargoes appear to be crossing the Atlantic en route to Europe, the shipping data showed. At least another ten LNG cargoes have been diverted from Asia to Europe as European LNG prices are now much higher than the prices in Asia, industry sources told Reuters earlier this week.

In recent days, natural gas prices in Northwest Europe have jumped to over $57 per million British thermal units (MMBtu), up by nearly one-third from last week. Prices in Europe are now around $24/MMBtu higher than the benchmark LNG price in Asia, per Bloomberg estimates.
[...]
According to data from German operator Gascade, cited by Reuters, flows of natural gas from Russia on the Yamal-Europe pipeline via Belarus to Poland and Germany have been falling since the start of the weekend, stopped completely on Tuesday, and then reversed direction from Germany east to Poland.

archived US LNG as Foreign Policy Instrument, spot market, the course Germany has set
by Cat on Thu Dec 23rd, 2021 at 05:34:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December post-heroic* Großer Zapfenstreich (none / 0)
Germany's new Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht faces difficult tasks: Stay frosty.
"Lambrecht does not have any previous expertise in or contact with the military and defense policy sector," said Ulrike Franke, a defense expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "This may not be ideal, it is, however, also not unusual and was also the case for Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and [previous CDU Defense Minister] Ursula von der Leyen. One does not necessarily need such a background to be a good minister."
[...]
Some conflict seems pre-programmed. Reporters were quick to dig up quotes from 2014 when Lambrecht, considered at the left-wing end of the SPD's political spectrum, expressed her opposition to the German military acquiring armed drones. That issue has festered among the Social Democrats for years, with many rank-and-file members bitter about the party's acquiescence to Merkel's plans to procure them in the last coalition. The issue appears now to have been settled in the new coalition contract: the Scholz government has decided to buy armed drones as long as they are only used to protect German soldiers.
by Cat on Tue Dec 14th, 2021 at 01:07:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 uncategorized (none / 0)
French Presidential Candidate Zemmour Attacked at Villepinte Rally - Reports
"Zemmour, an author and TV commentator, announced his presidential candidacy on November 30. The 63-year-old stands out among the right as more hardline than veteran politician Marine Le Pen."
Fighting breaks out as French far-right candidate Zemmour launches 2022 bid with rally
He held his first event at an exhibition centre in Villepinte, a suburb of Paris where thousands cheered every mention of reducing immigration and booed every reference to Macron.

"The stakes are huge: if I win it will be the start of winning back the most beautiful country in the world," Zemmour told the crowd.
[...]
Socialist party head Olivier Faure blamed Zemmour for what he said had been an assault on peaceful campaigners. "Does anyone have any doubt now what motivates the Villepinte activists?" he tweeted. A crew from the popular but critical Quotidien nightly TV news show were also booed and removed by security, with hostility to the media a feature of the speeches at the event.

[US] Senators weigh online protections cyber security for [federal judges' families and] lawmakers' personal public info
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 11:18:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 Olympic boycott (none / 0)
Sex toy ads removed from ice at Olympic curling qualifier
EasyToys and the World Curling Federation said on Friday that they have reached a deal to return the livestream to the United States and Japan, where broadcasters decided that references to the company were too racy for the [#EqualityForAll] curling audience. The event in the Netherlands will determine the last remaining spots in the Beijing 2022 curling fields.
by Cat on Fri Dec 10th, 2021 at 09:16:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 border (none / 0)
Inger Støjberg: Denmark's ex-immigration minister convicted over illegal asylum seeker policy
Inger Støjberg was found guilty in a rare impeachment trial and sentenced to 60 days in prison on Monday. The court found that the former minister had neglected her ministerial duties "intentionally or through gross negligence"....[and] providing parliament with "incorrect or misleading information" and agreed that the order had violated Danish law and the European Convention on Human Rights. It was the first time the Court of Impeachment had been convened in Denmark in 26 years.
[...]
MPs will now decide whether she can continue to serve as a member of the 179-seat Folketing
awkward
In 2016, she initiated the policy of separating minors from their ["]partners["] over concerns that the relationships may have involved forced marriages.... The ["]women["] who were under 18 -- Denmark's legal age of marriage -- said they had consented to their marriages.
[...]
Considered an immigration hardliner, Støjbergalso introduced a 2016 law that required newly arrived asylum-seekers to hand over valuables such as jewellery and gold to help pay for their stays in the country.
by Cat on Mon Dec 13th, 2021 at 07:28:26 PM EST
[ Parent ]
December 2021 COVID Trade War UPDATE! (none / 0)
Novavax's [Nuvaxovid™] vaccine becomes the fifth jab to be approved for use in the EU
"We welcome today's European Commission decision reflecting the first authorization of a protein-based COVID-19 vaccine for the people of the E.U.," said Stanley C. Erck, Novavax's CEO.
[...]
The European Commission has already signed a contract with Novavax for the advance purchase of 200 million doses of its vaccine once it has been approved by the EMA. [...] Indonesia and the Philippines have already approved Novavax's jab, while Japan has agreed to buy 150 million doses. Novavax says it has also filed for approval in Britain, India, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and with the World Health Organization.
archived Why Rousseff-Uclef did not apply for FDA license, Fri Aug 6th, 2021, Mon Mar 29th, 2021, Tue Mar 3rd, 2020
by Cat on Mon Dec 20th, 2021 at 06:53:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 grandpa energy (none / 0)
'Grandpa' Draghi Sees Italy as Stable Even If He's Not Prime Minister

  • He said Italy has fulfilled all the commitments it had undertaken to receive its initial share of EU post-pandemic funding.
  • There is no need for now to revise down growth forecasts on account of the spread of the omicron variant but the government is ready to step in to support the economy if needed.
  • He said big energy producers that are making "fantastic profits" from current high prices must play their part in helping families hit by the crunch.
  • He warned that the EU must continue engaging with Russia as it has no tools, economic or otherwise, to deter it while the NATO alliance has shown it has "different strategic priorities, centered on the indo-pacific quadrant." < wipes tears >
  • As it evaluates the future of phone carrier Telecom Italia SpA, the government's priorities are protecting "jobs, infrastructure --meaning the network -- and technology."
Italy's Draghi Says Europe Has No Capabilities to Impose Sanctions on Russia in Gas Field
by Cat on Wed Dec 22nd, 2021 at 02:25:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Gerhard, Francois and the others... (none / 0)
by Bernard (bernard) on Fri Dec 24th, 2021 at 10:00:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Those evil Russian spies (none / 0)
The article itself is behind a paywall, but I think the headline suffices to show how sick Western politics has become
Virus, spie e vaccini: così la missione "Dalla Russia con Amore" ha permesso al Cremlino di difendersi dal virus e realizzare Sputnik. Ingannando il governo italiano
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Dec 28th, 2021 at 08:32:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Those evil Russian spies (none / 0)
well, the situation here still is pretty psychotic.

28 hours ago | Remarks by President Biden at COVID-⁠19 Response Team's Regular Call With the National Governors Association

THE PRESIDENT:  Asa* -- thank you very much, Asa.  Look, there is no federal solution.  This gets solved at a state level.  I'm looking at Governor Sununu on the board here.  He talks about that a lot. And then it ultimately gets down to where the rubber meets the road, and that's where the patient is in need of help or preventing the need for help.

23 hours ago | CDC cuts isolation time for Americans who test positive from 10 days to 5.
pre-omicron: delta COVID care workers only
quarantine: 10 days
test neg/re-entry/mask: 7 days IF neg, 5 days IF labor shortage

pre-omicron: any delta COVID contacts
quarantine: 10 days, IF no-vax; 0 days, IF vaxed
test neg/re-entry/mask: 10 days

omicron COVID positivity
quarantine:

  • triple-vax: 0 days
  • breakthru/no-low vax: 5 days
test neg/re-entry/mask : 10 days, IF triple-vax; 5 days, IF breakthru/no-low vax

41 min ago | US move to shorten COVID-19 isolation stirs confusion, doubt

[France] Health Minister Olivier Veran said the rule changes will be aimed at warding off "paralysis" of public and private services. By some estimates, France could be registering more than 250,000 new infections per day by January.

Italy, meanwhile, is considering doing away with a quarantine altogether for those who have had close contact with an infected person as long they have had a booster shot. Projections indicate as many as 2 million Italians could be put in quarantine over the next two weeks as the virus spreads.

The U.S. airline industry applauded the CDC move.

* Gov. Asa Hutchinson, Arkansas, plaintiff in 27 states, et al. v. US Dept of Labor, OSHA

by Cat on Wed Dec 29th, 2021 at 12:07:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Those evil Russian spies (none / 0)
Problem is, his regulation from early November that federal employees get vaccinated is now a the Supreme Court. A general vaccination requirement would be enough to trigger a revolution.
by asdf on Wed Dec 29th, 2021 at 02:03:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
problem recognition (none / 0)
archived
Federal Register has published
EO 14042, Ensuring Adequate COVID Safety Protocols for Federal Contractors (9 Sep 2021, pub'd 14 Sep)
EO 14043, Requiring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination for Federal Employees (9 Sep 2021, pub'd 16 Sep); Federal Register has published
COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing; Emergency Temporary Standard, 490 pp (5 Nov 2021), NB. ambiguous findings of "scientific" fact and law; * et al. v OSHA et al (6 Nov 2021); errata: Biden administration suspends enforcement of business vaccine mandate (1 Dec 2021)

::

Successive administrations ("federalists") have eroded public trust in the beneficence of a centralized bureaucracy, epitomized by or personified in each POTUS.

Subsequently, the immediate obstacle ("problem") to obtaining "public health and welfare" (TITLE 42) qua "national security" appears to some to be  solely vested in the current POTUS, rather than the US Congress or even poorly apprehended rules of engagement ("US Constitution") to COMBAT a "grave danger" (cf. OSHA ETS regulation) posed by one communicable disease.

Unfortunately for some of us, the incumbent administration has in a relatively brief period sabotaged the very authorities--"scientific," constitutional, statutory, and practical--prepared for review by the SCOTUS in defense of extraordinary disruption of real and imagined civil rights hitherto enjoyed by "rational self-interested actors" resident in the USA (EO 14042, EO 14043) and anywhere else on the planet.

WHEREAS the necessity or urgency of "Biden's mandates" are now obviously moot points of credible "grave danger," posed by iterations, mutations, and revised estimates of SARS-CoV-2 circulating workplaces, has passed through executive capitulation into the realm of (un)certain social cohesion; and local regulation of public health obviate the POTUS belated concession to state' sovereignty;

one academic question pertaining to the scope of presidential prerogative (which even cheeto did not defile, contrary to yella press expectations) remains for SCOTUS to deliberate before deciding consolidated appeals.

As a practical matter, "revolution" of either the violent or coercive sort by < reckless eyeballin'> deputies to enforce socially acceptable behavior is already under way.

by Cat on Wed Dec 29th, 2021 at 05:56:03 PM EST
[ Parent ]
If Saxony was a country.... (none / 0)
...they would be near the top of the COVID statistics.

(Actually, I checked it myself, and Thuringia is even higher).

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Tue Dec 28th, 2021 at 08:52:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: If Saxony was a country.... (none / 0)
"Consider next the economic system appropriate to an oligarchy."
by Cat on Wed Dec 29th, 2021 at 12:16:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
All quiet (none / 0)
...on the Eastern front.

by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Dec 30th, 2021 at 06:08:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
PFEFFLE'S BREXIT
by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Dec 1st, 2021 at 07:25:50 PM EST
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
Boris Johnson struggles to turn on Downing Street Christmas lights and tells people, "Don't cancel Christmas parties and kiss whomever you like."
by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 11:43:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 03:20:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
UK Health Security Agency, "Myocarditis and pericarditis after COVID-19 vaccination: guidance for healthcare professionals", 29 Nov 2021
"It is a living document and will be reviewed and updated as further data becomes available."
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 03:29:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
Prof Prem Sikka: Why the privatisation of the UK energy market has been a disaster
Just six companies, namely British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON UK, npower, ScottishPower and SSE, control 77% of the UK household energy market. EDF energy is a subsidiary of the French-state controlled company Électricité de France. EON and npower are controlled from Germany. ScottishPower is controlled from Spain. The government encouraged smaller companies to enter the retail market. Until recently up to 70 companies competed in the retail market to sell energy to households and businesses.

One of the aims of privatisation was to separate production and retailing of energy but that is not how it turned out. ...

by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 05:04:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Johnson and Scotland (4.00 / 2)
The National
The buffoonery of Prime Minister Boris Johnson has turned Tories in Scotland into a ­ratings disaster. The poll says four in five Scots (80%) are dissatisfied with the way ­Johnson is doing his job, while just 16% are satisfied. This is the worst ever ­polling of a British prime minister in modern times and may be feeding into another ­historic change. The days when London rule felt safe, secure, benign, and ­comforting have ended. The twin blows of Brexit and the pandemic have holed the Tory ship below the waterline.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 10:03:42 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 fun with numbers (none / 0)
twitter pre-print

UK Health Security Agency, "COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report Week 48," 28 November 2021

We present data on COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations[,]* and deaths by vaccination status. These raw data should not be used to estimate vaccine effectiveness as the data does not take into account inherent biases present such as differences in risk, behaviour and testing in the vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. Vaccine effectiveness is measured in other ways as detailed in the `Vaccine Effectiveness' Section.

Based on antibody testing of blood donors, 98.1% of the adult population now have antibodies to COVID-19 from either infection or vaccination compared to 20.2% that have antibodies from infection alone.
[...]
vaccinated and unvaccinated populations. Vaccine effectiveness is measured in other ways as
detailed in the `Vaccine Effectiveness' Section.
Based on antibody testing of blood donors, 98.1% of the adult population now have antibodies
to COVID-19 from either infection or vaccination compared to 20.2% that have antibodies from
infection alone.

* oxford (US-Engl., Shrunk and White) comma
by Cat on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 08:15:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Brexit dividends (none / 1)
by Bernard (bernard) on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 08:50:16 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
Thousands of trees to be felled as climate change helps diseases spread evolutionary preshures: a parable
  • a fungus called Hymenoscyphus fraxineus, originated in ASIA and spread to Europe by international commerce
  • Phytophthora ramorum, a fungal-like [?] organism of unknown ORIGIN
  • Phytophthora pluvialis another "fungus-like" organism  afflicting PARASITES in Cornwall, UK and Oregon, USA
by Cat on Thu Dec 9th, 2021 at 09:48:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Beginning of the End For Boris? (none / 0)
Party's Over? Johnson Given a 'Kicking' in British Local Vote

The Conservatives had won every previous election for the mostly rural area of central England since the constituency was created in its current form in 1983. Conservative lawmakers have been dominant in the region for nearly 200 years.

Several lawmakers in the party had predicted the Conservative Party would lose the by-election, but many were surprised by the extent of the loss.

They went from a 23,000 majority to a 6,000 vote loss.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Fri Dec 17th, 2021 at 03:44:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
NHS (none / 0)
WSWS
Families in the UK were offered "do not resuscitate" notices for their children with learning-disabilities during the pandemic, amid the extreme pressures on the National Health Service (NHS) caused by the government's policy of herd immunity.

The Telegraph 's Investigations team published interviews with two parents this Sunday whose teenage sons were asked about Do Not Attempt CPR (DNACPR)/Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) notices.

The Telegraph? What's happened to them?
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Thu Dec 30th, 2021 at 11:57:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 hospital hazard intrigue (none / 0)
Sage data suggests Omicron patients leave hospital sooner, illustrated. 30 Dec
ecent Sage reports have stressed that we're still waiting on a major piece of information: the average stay in hospital for Omicron patients. It could be a game-changer. If the stay halves, the Covid-handling capacity of the NHS doubles and the risk of hospitals being overwhelmed falls quite a lot.
[...]
A Sage paper dated 22 December [scrubbed] had some distribution graphs showing how many days Covid patients were spending in hospital. From this data, it's possible to calculate the average length of hospital stay, by age.

The Spectator data team has done so (methodology here) and it shows a significant drop in hospital stay for all ages: now about five days for all over-50s. This is less than half the previous time the over-80s were in hospital for, with significant reductions for all age groups.

reference
UKSA, "Omicron daily overview: 30 December 2021," 30 Dec
Counts of cases with confirmed S-gene, cases with confirmed S-gene Target Failure (SGTF) by TaqPath Laboratory PCR assay. SGRF refers to non-detectable S-gene and ≤30 CT values for N and ORF1ab genes (ie. "probable omicron" infection; cf. FDA "gene drop-out" pattern), especially unvaccinated hospital admissions.

Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling-Ops group, "SPI-M-O Consensus statement on COVID-19," 22 Dec

Whilst the estimates for the reduction in risk of hospital admission with omicron currently range from 15% to 80% lower than with delta, SPI-M-O has low confidence in any specific figure. At present there are few older people in the data used to estimate the severity of omicron and relative severity may differ between age groups. A 20% reduction would result in four times as many hospitalisations as an 80% reduction and would therefore require a very different policy response to achieve the same outcome.

Ferguson et al., "Report 50: Hospitalisation risk for Omicron cases in England", Imperial College, 22 Dec. SAGE collection

Stratifying hospitalisation risk by vaccination state reveals a more complex overall picture, albeit consistent with the unstratified analysis. Most intriguing is an apparent difference between those who received AstraZenca (AZ) vaccine versus Pfizer or Moderna (PF/MD) for their primary series (doses 1 and 2). Hazard ratios for hospital attendance with Omicron for those who received PF/MD as their primary vaccination schedule are similar to those seen for Delta in those vaccination categories, while Omicron hazard ratios are generally lower than for Delta for those who received AZ as their primary vaccination. Given the limited samples sizes to date, we caution about over-interpreting these trends, but they are compatible with previous findings that while protection afforded against mild infection from AZ was substantially reduced with the emergence of Delta, protection against more severe outcomes was sustained (2,3).
by Cat on Fri Dec 31st, 2021 at 01:25:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]
England gets its priorities right (none / 0)
Guardian
England could fit an air purifier to every classroom for half the price of the new royal yacht, a move which scientists and campaigners say would significantly reduce the spread of Covid in schools.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Fri Dec 31st, 2021 at 04:24:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
POST-TRUMP'S USA
by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Dec 1st, 2021 at 07:26:06 PM EST
You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
Texas to implement second major abortion law
Medication abortions -- not to be confused with the ["]morning-after pill["], also known as Plan B®, that prevents pregnancy -- are commonly used during the earliest stages of pregnancy.
reference
mifepristone
"also known as RU-486 ['morning-after pill' or 'Plan B'], is a medication typically used in combination with misoprostol to bring about an abortion during pregnancy.... It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines.[7] Mifepristone was approved by Health Canada in 2015 and became available in Canada in January 2017.[8] Cost and availability limits access in many parts of the developing world."
Planned Parenthood
contraception pharmacology (eg. levonorgestrel EC, ulipristal acetate) compared to abortifacient pharmacology
IUDs are contraceptives, not abortifacients: a comment on research and belief
depending on the type of intrauterine device and the drug dose

archived restriction as to Reason® Wed Sep 8th, 2021

by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 01:40:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
rules of behavior in orbit to protect national security and defend growing commerce
"By blasting debris across space, this irresponsible act endangered the satellites of other nations, as well as astronauts in the International Space Station," Harris said in convening the inaugural meeting of the National Space Council under her leadership.
[...]
The administration also pledged to "enhance the security and resilience of space systems that provide or support U.S. critical infrastructure from malicious activities and natural hazards," according to the document, which cites the need to "bolster space situational awareness sharing and space traffic coordination."

by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 06:38:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
herd immunity UPDATE!
The new testing policy, which goes into effect early next week, will require international air travelers to present a negative COVID-19 test within 24 hours of their flight, regardless of vaccination status or nationality.
[...]
The Biden administration plans to issue guidance allowing the more than 150 million Americans with private health insurance to be reimbursed for at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests. ... to distribute an additional 25 million free tests to community sites in order to expand access to at-home tests in underserved communities.
[...]
Monica Gandhi, an infectious diseases expert at the University of California, San Francisco, said enhanced testing [MANDATES] make sense from a political perspective, but not necessarily from a public health one, because current tests are imperfect -- they're either too sensitive, or not sensitive enough.  

"I think the administration wants to look like they're 'cracking down.' That's because we have lower vaccination rates than many countries of our income level," Gandhi said.

by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 07:15:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
Everyone should find someone who loves them like Monica Ghandi loves the novel Coronavirus SARS-2.
by generic on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 07:46:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
I know! Ghandi is great. Ghandi is generous. 25M additional free tests! landssakes, are the budget hawks gonna be miffed by the additional expense!

Consider the 2020 Census of underserved communities! Subtract the number of fully vaccinated members of underserved communities... who are unemployed. How many times per week would those employed members of underserved communities be required by their employers to test themselves and others, IF they don't submit to mRNA vaccination as required by EO 14043 and EO 14042?

by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 01:15:50 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 02:26:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Too little, too late (none / 1)
Not entirely clear that it would help all that much, even if perfectly implemented. We had free rapid tests for all of this year until last month and, well:

I guess abolishing the program didn't obviously help?

by generic on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 09:25:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Too little, too late (none / 0)
true dat.
Cumulative US Sars-CoV-2 infection Jan-Dec 2020/Jan-Dec 2021 are nearly identical.
by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 11:14:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
my bad (none / 0)
2021 cumulative US COVID-19 cases is actually higher than 2020 as is cumulative COVID-19 deaths (YoY, 3 Dec)
Our Data
Due to limited testing, the number of confirmed cases is lower than the true number of infections.
by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 11:47:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Will it matter? (none / 1)
CDC director confirms FDA in talks to streamline authorization of omicron-specific vaccine
"Yeah, you know, much of that I would have to defer to the FDA, but they're already in conversations about streamlining the authorization of this, of an omicron-specific vaccine, partially because much of the vaccine is actually exactly the same, and, really, it would just be that mRNA code that would have to change," Walensky answered.
[...]
Among some of the considerations the FDA is reportedly eyeing would be allowing drugmakers for studies, in the case of vaccines, to examine hundreds [!] of people and their immune responses in comparison to COVID-19 test trials[?] that rely on waiting for COVID-19[?!] to be detected and include thousands of participants, according to the newspaper.
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 09:36:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Observe (none / 0)
ancient broken window theory in practice
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 11:06:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Will it matter? (none / 0)
Fauci: It's 'when, not if' definition of ["]fully vaccinated["] will change
the definition of what it means to be fully vaccinated is a matter of semantics. What matters is the emerging evidence that a booster dose offers more protection than the initial series.
[...]
[Pfizer-BioNTech/BioNTech-Pfizer] data, which was announced in a press release and not peer reviewed, showed a booster shot raised the levels of neutralizing antibodies high enough to block the variant, meaning the additional dose would add more protection against milder infections caused by omicron.
2 weeks ago: 55 years to process vaccine data, 'fully vaccinated' definition not yet changing to include boosters
by Cat on Wed Dec 8th, 2021 at 11:35:40 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 1)
Biden health team ruled out free Covid tests for all over cost, logistics
The decision to forgo a European-style approach to testing -- which hinges on the government buying and widely distributing rapid tests -- has sparked days of backlash, putting the White House on the defensive over its newest plan for containing the virus.
mythical Defense Production Act
The cost of regularly sending all Americans at-home tests could quickly skyrocket and become unsustainable, officials said, pointing to the nearly $50 billion "test and trace" program that the U.K. put in place for a country that's one-fifth the size.
Tory-linked firm involved in testing failure given new £347m Covid contract
"This article is more than 1 year old"
Tory peer complains of 'personal' attacks from Labour over Covid contracts, 8 Nov 2021
by Cat on Fri Dec 10th, 2021 at 03:00:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
APsplainin "buy first, get-paid-later" SARS-CoV-2 test kits
"It's not likely to yield the same level of accessibility that people in other countries have," said Cynthia Cox of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation. Cox, who tracks the U.S. health system in comparison to other advanced countries, points out that consumers in the United Kingdom [!] can pick up free rapid tests at the pharmacy or have them delivered to their homes.
[...]
Omicron is not the only reason testing is taking on renewed importance. Anticipated approval of antiviral pills that COVID-19 patients can take at home is also expected to increase demand for fast tests that can provide reliable results. Officials have yet to provide operational details of the Biden plan, with formal guidance due Jan. 15. But the administration is confident it can overcome problems that have BEDEVILED U.S. testing from the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
OBSCURE! Title 42
APsplainin How a Kennedy built an anti-vaccine juggernaut amid COVID-19
An investigation by The Associated Press finds that Children's Health Defense has raked in funding and followers as Kennedy used his star power as a member of one of America's most famous families to open doors, raise money and lend his group credibility. Filings with charity regulators show revenue more than doubled in 2020, to $6.8 million.
the book
Since the pandemic started, Children's Health Defense has expanded the reach of its newsletter, which uses slanted information, cherry-picked facts and conspiracy theories to spread distrust of the COVID-19 vaccines. The group has also launched an internet TV channel and started a movie studio. CHD has global ambitions.
Title 42, National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986
Part B: Additional Remedies - Sets forth procedures under which the person who filed a petition for compensation under the program may elect to file a civil action for damages.

Provides that no vaccine manufacturer shall be liable in a civil action for damages arising from a vaccine-related injury or death: (1) resulting from unavoidable side effects; or (2) solely due to the manufacturer's failure to provide direct warnings. Provides that a manufacturer may be held liable where: (1) such manufacturer engaged in the fraudulent or intentional withholding of information; or (2) such manufacturer failed to exercise due care. Permits punitive damages in such civil actions under certain circumstances.

a civil action, PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS FOR TRANSPARENCY v. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, 16 Sep 2021
by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 03:29:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, CPI edition (none / 0)
"weights for the Consumer Price Index will be calculated based on consumer expenditure data from 2019-2020."
by Cat on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 01:40:52 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 1)
Biden: "I got involved -- I wasn't any great shakes -- but got involved in the civil rights movement. Desegregating restaurants, that kind of thing."
Everyone over the age of 12 studying "critical race theory" in practice: Biden lies
by Cat on Mon Dec 20th, 2021 at 12:17:15 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
archivedestimates in a range, at least five limitations

CDC sharply drops estimate of Omicron prevalence in U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention significantly revised its model of the breakdown of Covid-19 variants on Tuesday, estimating the Omicron strain accounted for about 58.6 percent of U.S. cases as of Dec. 25.
[...]
The public health agency's previous estimate that the rapidly spreading variant accounted for 73.2 percent of cases nationwide on Dec. 18 is now revised down to 22.5 percent -- a significant drop that falls outside the agency's earlier 95 percent ["]prediction interval["], or likely range where future analysis will fall, of 34 to 94.9 percent [BWAH!] of all cases.
by Cat on Wed Dec 29th, 2021 at 01:29:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 1)
The initial jump to 73% was completely moronic. That anyone dared to publish this is a sorry sign of intellectual property. 😖

'Sapere aude'
by Oui (Oui) on Wed Dec 29th, 2021 at 11:41:10 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
Since Monday the US press corpse has been working overtime to dress Casey principles in Roe "rights"--rather than due process and undue burden--while resurrecting Ol' Miss Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health from the ashes of preternatural powahs of Texass BOUNTY HUNTERS to dictate case law, "super-precendents," and suspicious Axes of Amici to SCOTUS associates.

All I'm hearing from them is incredulity, possibly impatience with both sets of counsel. Probably because SOTOMAYOR dominates criticism of the arguments.

ORAL ARGUMENT, audio (EN)
ORAL ARGUMENT, transcript (EN)

by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 09:16:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
APsplainin US constitutuonal questions to which the odious congress offers no answers
Barrett had told senators [NO] that Roe v. Wade did not fall in the category of a "super precedent," [FALSE] described by legal scholars [including BARRETT] as cases that are so settled there are no calls to revisit them.
archived Fri Sep 10th, 2021, Day2, Part 3 Anti-RBG Watch
Yet as a conservative Christian, she insisted one's own views don't play a role. "It's not the law of Amy," she told senators. "It's the law of the [most ignorant, litigious nation on planet]"

This week, Barrett pressed the lawyers to explain why women couldn't simply give up babies for adoption, now that safe haven laws exist in the states. "Why didn't you address the safe haven laws and why don't they matter?"

During this UNPRECEDENTED 2 hour hearing, each associate invited adversaries to rationalize pleadings for "workable" alternatives to 24-week viability threshold, IF "overrule" of status quo--Casey tests of economic and scientific undue burdens--were to prevail. Recall if you will, that hilarious error, when RIKELMAN contradicted ROBERTS' reference to international law of viability, epitomized by CHINA and the DPRK , instead of international < wipes tears > restrictions as to Reasons®
Asked about the disconnect between the Senate hearings and the court arguments, Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and now the Judiciary Committee chairman, acknowledged the hearings have their limits, but refrained from judgment until the court issues its ruling.
by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 08:55:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
University D'Oh Bulletin (none / 0)
Klobuchar says 'best way' to protect abortion rights is to codify Roe v. Wade into law
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 09:45:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: University D'Oh Bulletin (none / 1)
Wait until somebody notices that there are already systems in place that monitor the contents of municipal sanitary sewer systems for the purpose of detecting drug abuse, COVID cases, and blocked pipes. Pretty good chance they will be able to detect miscarriages as well. Murderers caught!
by asdf on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 04:52:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: University D'Oh Bulletin (none / 1)
No need for fancy systems. They have already prosecuted over 1.000 women for having had miscarriages.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 05:34:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
ahhhh yessss (none / 0)
ye olde "pool testing" method of criminal of investigating means, motive, and opportunity.
by Cat on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 06:13:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
channeling Charlie again (none / 0)
Progris riport 1 martch 3.
Dr Strauss says I shoud rite down what I think and remembir and evrey thing that happins to me from now on. I dont no why but he says its importint so they will see if they can use me. I hope they use me becaus Miss Kinnian says mabye they can make me smart. I want to be smart. My name is Charlie Gordon I werk in Dormers bakery where Mr Donner gives me 11 dollers a week and bred or cake if I want. I am 32 yeres old and next munth is my brithday. I tolld dr Strauss and perfesser Nemur I cant rite good but he says it dont matter he says I shud rite just like I talk and like I rite compushishens in Miss Kinnians class at the beekmin collidge center for retarted adults where I go to lern 3 times a week on my time off. Dr Strauss says to rite a lot evrything I think and evrything that happins to me but I cant think anymor because I have nothing to rite so I will close for today... yrs truly Charlie Gordon. ...
by Cat on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 06:21:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: University D'Oh Bulletin (none / 1)
Friday News Dump w/o Dec 11 in which the fwee press' post-cheeto, FIFTH WAVE campaign to impugn and divide SCOTUS impartiality by "shadow docket," ultra-liberal ultra-conservative "ideological leanings" and simple-ass "scorecard" headlines unraveled.

Here, christ SOTOMAYOR dissent STRIKES A BLOW against a BLM signature grievance by defending qualified immunity.

Here, weekly disposition of applications and petitions disclose voluntary RECUSALS

Here, SCOTUS dismisses DOJ's "improvident" application for cert, US v Texass; and

Here, SCOTUS grants in part Whole Women's Health standing actually to litigate in the 5th Cir the constitutional merits of of its own suit, enjoining the entire states' court officers, which US district court Judge Jackson improperly granted.

GORSUCH, J., announced the judgment of the Court, and delivered the opinion of the Court except as to Part II-C. ALITO, KAVANAUGH, and BARRETT, JJ., joined that opinion in full, and THOMAS, J., joined except for Part II-C. THOMAS, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part. ROBERTS, C. J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, in which BREYER, SOTOMAYOR, and KAGAN, JJ., joined. SOTOMAYOR, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, in which BREYER and KAGAN, JJ., joined.

Morale of the story? US Americans handle due process.
archived Sun Sep 5th, 2021

by Cat on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 01:12:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: University D'Oh Bulletin (none / 1)
Incidentally, 1st Circuit Judge Patricia Millett wrote a unanimous 68-page opinion revoking in part cheeto's prerogative to embargo executive correspondence that also revealed the political and legislative history of executive privilege.

And the senate passes a resolution to revoke in part EO 14043

by Cat on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 01:25:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: University D'Oh Bulletin (none / 1)
JB is no FDR ... that chance he will not get! No political capital.

When FDR clashed with the SCOTUS--and Lost

The outpouring of millions of ballots for the Democratic ticket reflected the enormous admiration for what FDR had achieved in less than four years. He had been inaugurated in March 1933 during perilous times ...

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 09:33:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]
no brain trust (none / 0)
plenty of crackers tho' in congress.
so there's that.
by Cat on Sun Dec 12th, 2021 at 12:03:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: University D'Oh Bulletin. REBOUND! (none / 0)
The Thomas court < wipes tears >
Thomas joined three of his colleagues to dissent in the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey
EPIC SPLIT DECISION!
Held: The judgment in No. 91-902 is affirmed; the judgment in No. 91-744 is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and the case is remanded.

JUSTICE SCALIA, joined by THE CHIEF JUSTICE, JUSTICE WHITE, and JUSTICE THOMAS, concluded that a woman's decision to abort her unborn child is not a constitutionally protected "liberty" because (1) the Constitution says absolutely nothing about it, and (2) the longstanding traditions of American society have permitted it to be legally proscribed. See, e. g., Ohio v. Akron Center for Reproductive Health, 497 U. S. 502, 520 (SCALIA, J., concurring). The Pennsylvania statute should be upheld in its entirety under the rational basis test. Pp. 979-981.

O'CONNOR, KENNEDY, and SOUTER, JJ., announced the judgment of the Court and delivered the opinion of the Court with respect to Parts I, II, III, V-A, V-C, and V, in which BLACKMUN and STEVENS, JJ., joined, an opinion with respect to Part V-E, in which STEVENS, J., joined, and an opinion with respect to Parts IV, V-B, and V-Do STEVENS, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, post, BLACKMUN, J., filed an opinion concurring in part, concurring in the judgment in part, and dissenting in part, post, REHNQUIST, C. J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, in which WHITE, SCALIA, and THOMAS, JJ., joined, SCALIA, J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment in part and dissenting in part, in which REHNQUIST, C. J., and WHITE and THOMAS, JJ., joined

Chief Justice John Roberts was left out in the cold when he repeatedly suggested the court could move the viability line without completely overturning the precedent.
[...]
Critics were then shocked when Thomas first related abortion to eugenics, but now that idea is more commonplace in the movement to ban abortion.
[...]
Thanks to procedural guidelines from Covid-19 [?], Thomas -- who was once silent in arguments for 10 years -- now asks the first question [!!] in every argument session.
What were the questions? SCOTUS oral argument transcripts, 2010-2021
It is in no way guaranteed that Thomas would write the opinion in Dobbs even if he has seniority [tenure, 1991-present] in the majority, but the possibility is indicative of his new position of power on the high court and his influential career that has shaped the high court's direction over the last 30 years.
needs moar "original" sex offender, definitely more "liberal" O'CONNOR, KENNEDY, and SOUTER ideological nuance for millenials

archived let the yella press pick yer villains

by Cat on Sun Dec 12th, 2021 at 02:55:34 AM EST
[ Parent ]
SIDEBAR to proscribe "We" interests (none / 0)
Roe v Wade (1973)
In the first trimester of pregnancy [1*-12 wks], the state may not regulate the abortion decision; only the pregnant woman and her attending physician can make that decision. In the second trimester [13-26 wks], the state may impose regulations on abortion that are reasonably related to maternal health. In the third trimester [ >27 wks], once the fetus reaches the point of "viability," a state may regulate abortions or prohibit them entirely, so long as the laws contain exceptions fthe or cases when abortion is necessary to save the life or health of the mother.
Casey details as to state regulate pregnancy ensue...

* When exactly does pregnancy begin? ask public property owners wielding ultrasound guns.

by Cat on Sun Dec 12th, 2021 at 03:41:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
SIDEBAR We the "state actors" (none / 0)
Newsom borrows Texas abortion law legislature's logic < wipes tears >
Rather than targeting abortion providers, Newsom wants to empower Californians to go after "anyone who manufactures, distributes or sells" assault weapons or untraceable `ghost gun' kits. "If the most efficient way to keep these devastating weapons off our streets is to add the threat of private lawsuits," Newsom said in a statement, "we should do just that."
WHISTLEBLOWERS! DEPUTIES! BOUNTIES!
I have directed my staff to work with the Legislature and the Attorney General on a bill that would create a right of action allowing private citizens [?!] to seek injunctive relief, and statutory damages of at least $10,000 per violation plus costs and attorney's fees, against anyone who manufactures, distributes, or sells an assault weapon or ghost gun kit or parts in the State of California."
archived L'etat c'est We the People
by Cat on Mon Dec 13th, 2021 at 08:35:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
SIDEBAR We the "state actors" (none / 0)
Florida Man unveils legislation to let parents sue schools that teach critical race theory
DeSantis announced the Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (WOKE) Act, which he said in a statement would be "the strongest legislation of its kind in the nation and will take on both corporate wokeness and Critical Race Theory."
7 National examples of Critical Race Theory
The bill, which also allows parents to collect attorney fees, includes a similar provision as a Texas bill restricting access to abortion, which permits citizens to sue people who provide and aid in the provision of abortions. Plaintiffs there can also collect attorney fees.
3 attempts to teach Critical Race Theory in Florida
by Cat on Thu Dec 16th, 2021 at 12:48:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: University D'Oh Bulletin, "mandates" (none / 0)
still unravelling ...
WE THE PATRIOTS USA, ET AL. V. HOCHUL, GOV. OF NY, ET AL.
denied
DR. A, ET AL., APPLICANTS v. KATHY HOCHUL, GOVERNOR OF NEW YORK, ET AL.
denied

USAToday's approving rehab of "shadow docket" instruments if presented by SOTOMAYOR, ROBERTS, KAVANAUGH, The Anti-RBG, KAGAN, BREYER--but filtered through remarks of the obviously crypto-catholic "swinger" GORSUCH.

"Sometimes dissenting religious beliefs can seem strange and bewildering. In times of crisis, this puzzlement can evolve into fear and anger," Gorsuch wrote in dissenting from the decision to not block the mandate's enforcement. "One can only hope today's ruling will not be the final chapter in this grim story," he continued.
by Cat on Mon Dec 13th, 2021 at 11:59:53 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: University D'Oh Bulletin, "mandates" (none / 0)
still unraveling ...
[MISOGYNIST "Louisiana-based"] Fifth Circuit OVERTURNS ["]nationwide["] injunction vaccine mandate prohibiting EO 14042, 14043 health care workers [vaccination]
But the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals -- which hears appeals from the federal courts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas -- was unconvinced that the lower court justified its injunction's [nation-]wide scope.
Articles of OBSCURE Confederacy:(unilateral | narrow) US district court jurisdiction has been on SCOTUS "(shadow | emergency) docket" back burner throughout TRUMP ERA ICE raids
"The question posed is whether one district court should make a binding judgment for the entire country," wrote the panel of three judges, who issued an unsigned "per curiam" opinion representing their views as one voice.

Noting that the Fifth Circuit has permitted one federal judge to issue nationwide policies[sic] in a 2015 immigration lawsuit filed by the state of Texas, the appellate panel differentiated the present vaccine mandate case from the immigration one, where there exists a "constitutional command for `uniform' immigration laws."

archived incorporation doctrine and appellee "venue shopping" AL, AZ, GA, LA, ID, IN, KY, MS, MT, OH, OK, SC, UT, and WV ("14 states")
With this injunction overturned, the Biden administration's vaccine mandate remains in effect in 25 states. The 14 states suing in the case before the Fifth Circuit, and 10 states that successfully sought an injunction for the mandate in late November, are temporarily exempted. Additionally, Texas was granted an exemption from the mandate by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk later on Dec. 15 in a separate federal lawsuit.
by Cat on Fri Dec 17th, 2021 at 06:46:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: University D'Oh Bulletin, "mandates" (none / 0)
still unraveling ...
[6th Cir] Court allows Biden employer vaccine mandate to take effect
Twenty-seven Republican-led states joined with conservative groups, business associations and some individual businesses to push back against the requirement as soon as OSHA published the rules in early November. They argued the agency was not authorized to make the emergency rule, in part because the coronavirus is a general health risk and not one faced only by employees at work.

The panel's majority disagreed.

"Given OSHA's clear and exercised authority to regulate viruses, OSHA necessarily has the authority to regulate infectious diseases that are not unique to the workplace," Judge Julia Smith Gibbons, who was nominated to the court by former President George W. Bush, a Republican, wrote in her majority opinion

MASSACHUSETTS BUILDING TRADES COUNCIL; BENTKEY SERVICES, LLC; PHILLIPS MANUFACTURING & TOWER COMPANY; COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY, et al. v US DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, OSHA, et al.
On Emergency Motion to Dissolve Stay.
Multi-Circuit Petitions for Review from an Order of the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Decided and Filed: December 17, 2021
Before: GIBBONS, STRANCH, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges.
[...]
STRANCH, J., delivered the opinion of the court in which GIBBONS, J., joined.
GIBBONS, J. (pg. 38), delivered a separate concurring opinion. LARSEN, J. (pp. 39-57), delivered a separate dissenting opinion.
[...]
The ETS requires that employees be vaccinated or wear a protective face covering and take weekly tests but allows employers to choose the policy implementing those requirements that is best suited to their workplace. The next day, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit stayed the ETS pending judicial review, and it renewed that decision in an opinion issued on November 12. Under 28 U.S.C. § 2112(a)(3), petitions challenging the ETS--filed in Circuits across the nation--were consolidated into this court. Pursuant to our authority under 28 U.S.C. § 2112(a)(4), we DISSOLVE the stay issued by the Fifth Circuit for the following reasons.
archived Sat Oct 9th, 2021, Sun Nov 7th, 2021
by Cat on Sat Dec 18th, 2021 at 08:43:49 PM EST
[ Parent ]
6th Cir consolidated cases in re: OSHA (none / 0)
17 Dec 2021, index, abridged
by Cat on Sat Dec 18th, 2021 at 08:47:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
CLASH of Circuit Courts (none / 0)
scheduled three (3) days after the contested effective date of OSHA regulation of EO 14043, 14042; date of ruling TBD, quite possibly kicking the can of injunctions DENIED petitions into the fall term.

ORDER LIST: 595 U.S., 22 Dec
NAT. FED'N OF INDEP. BUS., ET AL. V. DEPT. OF LABOR, OSHA, ET AL; OHIO, ET AL. V. DEPT. OF LABOR, OSHA, ET AL.

Consideration of the applications (21A244 and 21A247) for stay presented to Justice Kavanaugh and by him referred to the Court is deferred pending oral argument. The applications are consolidated, and a total of one hour is allotted for oral argument. The applications are set for oral argument on Friday, January 7, 2022.
ORDER LIST: 595 U.S., 22 Dec
BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF U.S., ET AL. V. MISSOURI, ET AL.;
BECERRA, SEC. OF H&HS, ET AL. V. LOUISIANA, ET AL.
Consideration of the application (21A240) for stay presented to Justice Kavanaugh and by him referred to the Court is deferred pending oral argument. Consideration of the application (21A241) for stay presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is deferred pending oral argument.
yella sheet constitutional crisis story
by Cat on Thu Dec 23rd, 2021 at 03:25:06 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: University D'Oh Bulletin (none / 0)
FDA makes abortion pills permanently available through mail and ["]telehealth["] by removing in-person restriction clinical examination
The FDA had temporarily allowed the medication to be available in such methods after a federal judge ordered it due to the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about virus exposure in health care settings. Now, the agency says it will leave those new policies in place - a key move by the Biden administration as the Supreme Court considers monumental cases that could limit abortion rights across the country.

The FDA, which first approved medical[sic] abortion in 2000, had always required the pills could only be prescribed after an in-person visit with a doctor physician. Women who are up to 10 weeks pregnant could received the medication.

Who is a "health provider"?
An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonprofit research institute focused on health care, found that only [state] licensed physicians can prescribe abortion medication in 33 states as opposed to advanced practice clinicians such as nurse practitioners, physician assistants, or nurse-midwives.
reference
Mail-order abortions are now available in the U.S. What does that mean for American [menstruating persons]?, Oct 2018: chemical abortion, Plan C, WHO.int, and Aid Access (NL)

archived garden noem "Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategy" (REMS) , Thu Mar 13th, 2014, Mon Nov 4th, 2013, Tue Jan 22nd, 2008, Wed Apr 25th, 2007

by Cat on Fri Dec 17th, 2021 at 07:39:29 PM EST
[ Parent ]
BONUS (none / 1)
Krammick, "RU 486 and the Politics of Drug Regulation in the United States and France". Cornell International Law Journal. 1992
The drug's French manufacturer, Roussel-Uclaff, has stated that it has no current plans to apply to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a license to market the drug in the United States. 14 The reasons for the French company's refusal to market the drug in the United States, however, extend beyond the threat of boycotts.

This Note will focus on the political, legal, and regulatory dynamics underlying the contrasting stories of the availability of RU 486 in France and its non-availability in the United States. This Note suggests that the crucial difference in the two pictures is that the French government through active governmental intervention in the pharmaceutical market has insulated the issue of drug availability and public health from political and religious views on abortion, whereas the U.S. government has not....

oh.
by Cat on Fri Dec 17th, 2021 at 08:04:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
one scenario
Justices Samuel Alito, Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett all pressed advocates on the court's history of overturning precedent in cases like Plessy v. Ferguson. Alito even noted that "the south built up a whole society based on the idea of white supremacy" relying on the court's decision in Plessy. "It was improper reliance," he added, "it was reliance on an egregiously wrong understanding of what equal protection means." (A version of Godwin's law states that an argument ends after any side makes a comparison to Hitler. In legal conversations, Plessy -- a decision in which eight of nine justices put the full force of the Constitution behind race discrimination for 50 years -- is Hitler.)
NYC Vaccine Mandates Just Like Jim Crow in the Deep South
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 01:35:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
2020 Census re-apportionment d/b/a as "Democrats Fear Congressional Shakeup as 19 House Dems Will Not Seek Reelection"
Of the departures, 11 House Democrats have announced they will retire from public office: Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR); G.K. Butterfield (D-NC); Jackie Speier (D-CA); Michael Doyle (D-PA); David Price (D-NC); John Yarmuth (D-KY); Ron Kind (D-WI); Cheri Bustos (D-IL); Filemon Vela (D-TX); Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ); and Eddie Bernie Johnson (D-TX).

Additionally, 11 House Republicans have announced they will not seek reelection in 2022.

by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 02:19:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, local edition (none / 0)
LEGISLATURE PLANS SPECIAL SESSION ON REDISTRICTING, VETOES
Gov. Larry Hogan, R, established the citizens commission, which featured balanced political party membership, earlier this year. That commission submitted a congressional map to Hogan that has very different boundaries [not really] from those of the current map, which passed in 2011 following the 2010 U.S. Census.

The legislative commission, which, like the Legislature, had a Democratic majority, recommended a map that would include part of Anne Arundel County in the Eastern Shore's District 1 [represented by ultra-Maglev].
[...]
While there are disagreements over which state owns the title of most gerrymandered, Maryland's 2011 map went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where justices said partisan gerrymandering is not an issue for the federal courts.

Maryland law gives six days while the Legislature is in session, excluding Sundays, to approve or veto the maps; if Hogan does not sign or veto a map, it will become law.

Round-up, the press schedule not the pesticide
Democrats hold nearly all the cards, with large enough super-majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly to brush aside Republican complaints and override a threatened veto by Gov. Larry Hogan, who has vowed to reject any map he deems "unfair." ~ Bryn Stole/The Baltimore Sun
[...]
Anti-gerrymandering central committee system activists say the window for members of the public to register to testify on redistricting is too narrow. The opportunity to sign up, through the General Assembly website, opened at 9 a.m. Thursday [2 Dec] and will close at 6 p.m. Friday [3 Dec]. ~ Bennett Leckrone/ Maryland Matters
archived The plot thickens
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 02:35:33 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
2nd Stacey Abrams governor bid sees new tests, intrigues
Nse Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project, a voter mobilization group Abrams founded, pointed to gains by Black and more liberal candidates in some Georgia municipal elections this year, although more conservative candidates prevailed in some Atlanta suburbs. Those elections are nonpartisan [?], although party affiliations are often widely known.

"The truth of the matter," Ufot said, is the elections proved "Virginia is not Georgia."

true

archived Fri Nov 2nd, 2018
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 03:38:08 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, 2020 census (none / 0)
archived 2020 Census undercounted some Detroit neighborhoods by 8%
"If you extrapolate that to the rest of the city, and if the rest of the city was undercounted at a similar rate, you would have a magnitude in the tens of thousands of people who are not counted," said Jeffrey Morenoff, U-M professor of sociology and public policy, and faculty affiliate of Poverty Solutions initiative, during a news conference Thursday.
[...]
The analysis comes from U.S. Postal Service data for 10 neighborhoods and canvassing in five of those census blocks, along with 2015 to 2019 American Community Survey data. In "stable" neighborhoods, or those with with low rates of vacancy and higher homeownership, the audit found that occupancy rates are six to 15% higher than 2020 census rates.
programmatic gains (losses)
According to census data released in August, the state's largest city saw continued population loss for the seventh decade in a row. The population declined 10.5% to 639,111, the decennial results showed. Still, the loss is less than it was a decade ago. Between 2000 and 2010, Detroit saw its population plummet by 25%. ... The data showed an uptick in the non-Hispanic white, Hispanic or Latino and non-Hispanic Asian population as well.
futile 1990, 2000, 2010 challenges
The U.S. Census Bureau will give governments the opportunity to request a review of 2020 housing counts for potential processing errors Jan. 3, 2022 through June 30, 2023. The deadline for the bureau to provide results of those cases is Sept. 30, 2023.
archived a small sampling of addresses, ACS Data Users Conference
by Cat on Mon Dec 20th, 2021 at 12:41:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
EPIDEMIC! not that one, the other one.
Advocacy blitz targets Medicare coverage of obesity treatment
Advocates say the drug carveout stems from lingering cultural stigma around obesity and a societal view that weight problems are a personal failure. Obesity was recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association in 2013, and the incidence of obesity has grown over time. The bipartisan bill, sponsored by Ron Kind, D-Wis., in the House and Thomas R. Carper, D-Del., in the Senate, has 117 co-sponsors between the two chambers.

About 42 percent of U.S. adults were considered obese in 2018, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity is a risk factor for many other top chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Annual obesity-related medical costs are estimated at $147 billion to $210 billion.
[...]
The drug industry is also deeply invested in the obesity field, and it stands to gain access to the $102 billion Part D drug market if the Medicare ban is lifted. Insulin and weight loss drug manufacturers like Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly donate cash to many advocacy groups, politicians and medical research projects associated with obesity treatments, including Kind and Carper. ... "Senator Carper's Treat and Reduce Obesity Act has a robust group of bipartisan cosponsors and widespread support from groups representing American families struggling with obesity," a spokesman for Carper said. "UNLEASHING federal Medicare dollars for treatments against obesity would help millions of Americans lead longer and healthier lives."

reference
FDA requests the withdrawal of the weight-loss drug Belviq, Belviq XR (lorcaserin) from the market
-- Why Was Belviq Recalled?
FDA | Questions and Answers about FDA's Initiative Against Contaminated Weight Loss Products
-- Why was Fen-Phen recalled?
Fentanyl-related compounds and derivatives: current status and future prospects for pharmaceutical applications
novel substituents into the fentanyl structure a/o 2014
by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 06:23:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid (none / 0)
Hagan, "E66.01 and Our My Culture of Shame," 11 Dec
The request for a nonformulary drug required an associated International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) diagnosis. Groaning as I typed "obesity," I knew the search result I would select: "morbid (severe) obesity due to excess calories" (E66.01). Although "other obesity" (E66.8) and "obesity, unspecified" (E66.9) were also options, they lacked a more precise obesity classification, and I worried that they might not be convincing enough to justify an authorization for an expensive drug ["an injectable glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogue"]. Resigning myself to choose E66.01, I could almost see the contempt for the patient dripping off the screen. What was the "due to" modifier adding? If an explanation was needed, why not
diabetes mellitus?
"severe obesity, due to long-term exposure to an environment full of nutrient-poor and calorie-dense foods, along with activity-sparing technology, leading to reduced daily energy expenditure, with resultant permanent dysregulation of the part [?] of the neuroendocrine system controlling energy balance"?
[...]
As a clinician who had known him for years and struggled with obesity throughout my own life, surely I had fared better in conveying empathy for his struggle and had added some nuance to the discussion?
"the part" of "activity-sparing technology"
Cohen and Spiegelman, "Cell biology of fat storage" (2016)
GLP-1 agonists: Diabetes drugs and weight loss
Diabetes drugs in the GLP-1 [receptor] agonists class include:

  • Dulaglutide (Trulicity), taken by injection weekly
  • Exenatide extended release (Bydureon), taken by injection weekly
  • Exenatide (Byetta), taken by injection twice daily
  • Semaglutide (Ozempic), taken by injection weekly
  • Semaglutide (Rybelsus), taken by mouth once daily
  • Liraglutide (Victoza), taken by injection daily
  • Lixisenatide (Adlyxin), taken by injection daily
by Cat on Sun Dec 12th, 2021 at 02:06:14 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: "activity-sparing technology" (none / 0)
1-800-GET-THIN owner found guilty in $250 million fraud trial
The sleep studies were used to find a second reason, a so-called [!] comorbidity [AKA disease], to justify the lap-band procedure [AKA bariatric surgery] for obese patients.
by Cat on Fri Dec 17th, 2021 at 05:07:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
Jacobin | It's the US Government's Immigration Policy[sic] That's Illegal
That is 42 USC, a collection of OBSCURE federal laws pursuant to public health and welfare--not merely stipulating refugees' qualified admissions, functions of a surgeon general or even Social Security administration prescribed, enacted, and amended by the US Congress--but delegating prerogatives to every president since 1944.

Also cited is the UN Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (1967) as if U.S. government obeys international law

by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 05:57:55 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, AUKUS edition (none / 0)
Rohingya refugees sue Facebook Meta for $150B
Refugees in the U.S. filed the case in California superior court, and Rohingya refugees in Europe filed a similar case in the U.K.

"Facebook[sic] is like a robot programmed with a singular mission: to grow. And the undeniable reality is that Facebook's growth, fueled by hate, division, and misinformation, has left hundreds of thousands of devastated Rohingya lives in its wake," the complaint states.

Myanmar court sentences ousted [Nobel Peace Prize] leader [laureate] Suu Kyi to 4 years
by Cat on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 06:02:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, AUKUS edition (none / 0)
ransom d/b/a human rights FKA vaccine loans FKA patent waiver FKA America First
`It's a sore spot': Why officials are raising questions about Biden's vaccine donations
[former NM gov, former UN amb Bill] Richardson spoke with military leaders about the logistics behind getting U.S. doses into the country and the importance of freeing [American JOURNALIST!!1! Danny] Fenster despite his sentence of 11 years in prison, those people said, adding that Richardson was in constant communication with the State Department during the visits. Fenster flew home to the U.S. with Richardson Nov. 16. And a deal to send U.S. doses to Myanmar is currently under consideration by the Biden administration and COVAX, the global vaccine equity effort, according to those people and a senior Biden official.
[...]
The notion that politics or diplomacy could play a role in determining which countries receive vaccine donations sparks broader concerns than fairness.
[...]
To date, the U.S. has shipped more than 275 million vaccine doses overseas -- more than all other countries combined. But that only covers a small percentage of the billions of people in low- and moderate-income nations who lack inoculation. And the U.S. practice of earmarking donations to specific countries -- a practice also carried out by Europe and other wealthy countries ["mostly muslim" GCC?] -- has complicated COVAX's operations on the ground, according to global health advocates and U.S. officials working on the global effort to vaccinate the world.
by Cat on Wed Dec 8th, 2021 at 10:46:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, AUKUS edition (none / 0)
The Truth of Biden's Fraudulent Democracy Summit, Cato fellowship memo
U.S. leaders want India to become an active member of a containment policy directed against China. Both the Trump and Biden administrations lobbied aggressively to convert the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, commonly known as the Quad, which has Japan, Australia, India, and the United States as members, into a military alliance for that purpose. Although the Quad has conducted a growing number of joint military exercises, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has thus far refrained from making that policy commitment, but Washington's courtship continues. Brazil is a key economic and political player in the Western Hemisphere, and Washington is especially concerned about President Jair Bolsonaro's government and its growing economic ties with Russia and China. Given this geopolitical context, Biden administration officials will not allow defects [!] in either country's domestic governance to be an obstacle for [US] strategic objectives.
archived Tue Dec 7th, 2021
by Cat on Sun Dec 12th, 2021 at 04:11:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, AUKUS edition (none / 0)
by Cat on Sun Dec 12th, 2021 at 08:51:57 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
San Francisco's vaunted tolerance dims amid brazen crimes
Pramanik, a project manager who moved to the U.S. from India in her teens, cheered Trump's failed reelection bid but says she realized too late that Democratic activists have hijacked her city.

"If I say I want laws enforced, I'm racist," she said. "I'm like, `No, I'm not racist. There's a reason I live in San Francisco.'"

Which is ...a movie or a song? wait. Don't tell me. To be nearer to the most powerful woman in the world?
by Cat on Sun Dec 12th, 2021 at 04:02:45 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
Top cop of Minneapolis to step down
mission accomplished, gold watch
archived public safety
by Cat on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 09:00:00 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
Citing 'ongoing genocide,' Biden announces diplomatic boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics
"The athletes on Team USA have our full support," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. "We will be behind them 100% as we cheer them on from home. (But) we will not be contributing to the fanfare of the Games."

Psaki cited China's "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses" as primary reasons for the move. She said the administration did not want to prevent athletes from competing but still wanted to signal its disapproval of China's actions.

House to vote on Uyghur bill amid diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics
sanctions amended to 2022 NDAA to complement sanctions amended to the 2021 NDA and Consolidated Act of 2021 and punitive Hong Kong, Taiwan democracy defense statutes
The State of Democracy in the United States

related US diplomacy, unspecified "immediate actions"
Malala Yousafzai urges US to take action for Afghan women and girls

Speaking to reporters in Washington, D.C., Yousafzai addressed the need for Afghan girls to have access to education, noting that Afghanistan is the only country that does not allow secondary education for women.
[...]
Yousafzai also shared a letter from a teenage girl sent to President Biden saying that if universities and schools remain closed in the country, Afghan girls will suffer the most.
[...]
"So this is the message of Afghan girls right now, and we want to see a world where all girls can have access to safe and quality education, and we hope that the U.S. together with the U.N. [United Nations] will take immediate actions to ensure that girls are allowed to go back to their schools as soon as possible, women are able to go back to work and all the humanitarian assistance that is needed for education there is provided," Yousafzai said.
US Marines, APPL tablets, hydro-electricity, potable water, grain, or cash USD? You be the judge.
by Cat on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 11:07:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, related US diplomacy (none / 0)
GOP senators introduce bill targeting Palestinian 'martyr payments', FKA whole life insurance
vigorously disrupting the policy of the Palestinian Authority to pay a salary to families of alleged Palestinian terrorists who are killed or imprisoned by Israeli forces -- so-called "martyr payments."

The draft bill, called the Taylor Force Martyr Payment Prevention Act, would open up foreign banks to American sanctions if they are found to knowingly process the martyr payments.
[...]
[Qatar National Bank and Masraf Al Rayan] along with Qatar Charity, are the subject of at least two U.S. lawsuits brought forward by American victims of terrorist attacks in Israel, who claim that the banks and charity knowingly facilitated financial activities of terrorist groups.

by Cat on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 11:24:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 0)
The U.S. Air Force Has Doubts About the F-35, 6 Dec
The billion-dollar question here is really whether or not developing another new fighter could result in an overall reduction in cost without creating a reduction in capability. It seems feasible that firms like Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, who are both currently responsible for stealth aircraft in America's stable, are better suited now for the challenge of developing an economical stealth fighter than at any time in the past.
by Cat on Wed Dec 8th, 2021 at 10:52:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 0)
The F-35 is obsolete.  Drones can do the mission on the Low End with greater accuracy and less cost.  On the Top End China's hypersonic aircraft can launch and then outrun US air-to-air missiles.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
by ATinNM on Thu Dec 9th, 2021 at 04:06:23 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 0)
You miss the salient points.

US arms manufacturers are still flogging next-gen F-35 tech to DoD  purchasing agents, funded by the odious.

by Cat on Thu Dec 9th, 2021 at 06:47:43 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 1)
I've been lately sensing some kind of change in the thinking regarding both military aircraft and ships: more and more commentators seem to think that maybe having only "jacks of all trades but master of none" in the fleet is not so good idea after all.

So the tendency may be to turn back towards having specialized platforms for different tasks, since it seems in the end give more actual tactical clarity and flexibility than having lots of "multi-role" under-performers.

They look good on presentations, but eventually do not really deliver. And they always, always cost more than their single-role brethren, so you always get less of them.

by pelgus on Thu Dec 9th, 2021 at 07:25:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 1)
One airplane to do everything. That was the idea behind the F-4 Phantom back in the 1960s: Supersonic all weather fighter bomber interceptor ground attack carrier launch sector defense photo reconnaissance air superiority.

Manned airplanes are for re-fighting the wars that the current colonels got their promotions in. Meanwhile, there is an all-out global firefight on the Internet that is almost completely un-noticed.

by asdf on Fri Dec 10th, 2021 at 01:50:21 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 1)
US military has been buying pig's ears for decades.  The Abrams main battle tank spends most of its time in the motor pool being fixed.  When it does run it's useless in the field since, at 70+ tons, it is road bound.  That's why the Marine Corps dumped the things.


She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
by ATinNM on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 03:52:14 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 1)
Finland picks Lockheed Martin for fighter jet purchase, the best possible deal and selection
"The price-quality ratio is good," he said at an afternoon press conference, flanked by Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) and military top brass. Military officials said that the F-35 had received by far the highest score in an internal evaluation process.
[...]
She noted that the two Left Alliance ministers had sought a commitment that the projected price tag of €10 billion would not be exceeded. The planes themselves are to cost just under half of the overall package.... along with another 1,500 person-years of work indirectly [t]he deal will bring an estimated 100 manufacturing and assembly jobs for Finnish defence contractor Patria in the towns of Jämsä and Nokia.
[...]
By choosing Lockheed, Finland opted to remain with a US manufacturer, as it has for nearly three decades. In early 1992, just after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Finland decided to buy 57 F-18 Hornet fighter jets from US firm McDonnell Douglas.
Lockheed Martin Signs Contract for 64 F-35 Fighters With Finland
In October 2020, the US Congress was notified about a possible deal with Finland on F-35s and related weapons and equipment. Apart from the F-35s, the Finnish Defense Ministry also considered four other options, including the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon, and Saab Gripen.
by Cat on Fri Dec 10th, 2021 at 10:49:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 1)
Yeah, most people were afraid of this. Ever since F-35 was one of the options regardless of not being in any way suitable for Finnish needs, it kinda was obvious the people with hard-on for NATO wanted it.

Still no-one expected 64 with weapons package being available with that price. And there's still strong suspicion the 250 million per year allocated for actually flying them will cover the costs.

But if 10 billion worth of hangar queens is what the best and the brightest in this country want for a "credible defense", that's what they'll get.

by pelgus on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 12:30:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 0)
10 billion (number with lots of zeros at the end) / 6000 worker-years = the workers will each get paid 1.6 million Euros per year. Not bad.
by asdf on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 01:46:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Look what the cat dragged in (none / 0)
by generic on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 10:36:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 1)
UAE suspending F-35 discussions with US: ["Abraham Accords"], 14 Dec
50 F-35 Lightning II aircraft, 18 MQ-9B: "The White House referred comment on the deal to the State Department."
[$23B:] Blinken says US ready to proceed with sale of F-35s to UAE, 15 Dec
A UAE official told Reuters on Tuesday that the nation would suspend talks over "technical requirements, sovereign operational restrictions, and cost/benefit analysis." The official added that the U.S. is still the UAE's "preferred provider" of the weapons and that discussions "may be reopened in the future."

The Wall Street Journal previously reported that the sale could be impacted by the UAE's growing ties to China, which sparked concerns that Abu Dhai might allow China to access the technology.

by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 02:46:51 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 0)
US Navy fires laser weapon in Mideast amid [Houthis'] drone boat threat
The test Tuesday [14 Dec]  saw the USS Portland test-fire its Laser Weapon System Demonstrator at the target in the Gulf of Aden, the body of water separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula. ...The Portland, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock, has its home port in San Diego. The ship is deployed as part of the Essex Amphibious Ready Group that's now in the Mideast.
by Cat on Thu Dec 16th, 2021 at 12:08:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix psycho, sunk cost edition (none / 0)
Senate sends $768B defense policy bill to Biden, 89-10
Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate joined forces to push the bill's budget topline by $25 billion. Many lawmakers argued Biden's $715 billion request for the Pentagon portion of the budget, though still an increase from the previous level locked in during the Trump administration, should be much higher to keep up with inflation and match military gains made by China and Russia.

The final deal authorizes $768 billion for national defense programs. That total includes $740 billion for the Pentagon and $27.8 billion for nuclear weapons programs that fall under the Department of Energy.

R2P: "an institution distinct from the UN"
by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 06:58:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 1)
US Air Force Permanently Deploys First F-35s in Europe in Response to `Resurgent Russia'
Over 730 F-35s have been built to date, with the programme having an estimated lifetime cost of more than $1.7 trillion - making the jets the most expensive weapon ever built.
The first US Air Force F-35s to be permanently stationed abroad have arrived in the UK, with a party of four F-35As touching down at their new home base at RAF Lakenheath in southeastern England on Wednesday.
[...]
"Our coalition forces train and fight in the most dynamic theatre, requiring the most advanced platforms," Gen. Jeff Harrigian, commander of Allied Air Command, was quoted as saying of the planes' delivery.
[...]
Lockheed Martin announced in September that it eventually hopes to deploy some 450 F-35 Lightning II aircraft across 13 permanent bases in Europe in the coming years, with the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, Norway, Belgium, Poland and Denmark already fielding the aircraft or expected to field them in the near future.
by Cat on Sat Dec 18th, 2021 at 12:40:00 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (4.00 / 2)
At least here they are safe from drops into the Pacific.

by generic on Sat Dec 18th, 2021 at 09:27:32 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid, sunk cost edition (none / 0)
Also safe from being dependent from Russia for their killing machines. The US will absolutely not use this agreement as a lever to try to control, say, purchases of anti-aircraft missile systems.

Cough.

by asdf on Mon Dec 27th, 2021 at 12:22:19 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: You can't fix stupid. (none / 0)
Health expert: Surge in COVID-19 cases should no longer be 'major metric' of pandemic
But we really need to focus on hospitalizations and deaths now,' [Ashish K. Jha, dean of Brown University and a former Harvard health expert] said.
NEXT YEAR: nurse:patient ratios, clinical competence, and substitution of SNOMED algos for medical practice in sundry "congregate settings"
by Cat on Mon Dec 27th, 2021 at 05:22:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
by Bernard (bernard) on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 06:46:27 PM EST
[ Parent ]
slow moving indivijools (none / 0)
988 suicide phone hotline getting $282M to ease July [2022] launch
Suicide had been the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, claiming more than 47,000 lives in 2019, but dropped to 11th in 2020, mainly due to the coronavirus pandemic, which killed at least 345,000 Americans and became the nation's No. 3 killer.
archived National Suicide Hotline Improvement Act of 2018
by Cat on Mon Dec 20th, 2021 at 05:31:47 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Remember to act surprised (none / 1)

Whistleblowers who leaked documents about these have been  jailed.

by Bernard (bernard) on Sun Dec 19th, 2021 at 01:45:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Remember to act surprised (none / 1)
Well, duh! When you bomb places, you kill civilians. It's a simple fact that nobody wants to hear about when they are involved in "humanitarian interventions".

It's the ugly image of war that western militaries and media go to great extent to hide from their citizens. It's all about well oiled machinery launching majestic cruise missiles to the night in a show of unstoppable force instead of charred, mutilated bodies amongst the rubble of apartment blocks in the other end.

by pelgus on Sun Dec 19th, 2021 at 02:31:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 1)
by Bernard (bernard) on Sun Dec 26th, 2021 at 07:23:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
Already addressed in Germany

by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Dec 26th, 2021 at 07:33:45 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
I think those sorts of gotcha questions are a little bit troubling. It clarifies that an improperly written poll can give wildly inaccurate results.

Or maybe they are good, and should be included in every poll to filter out the people who are either not paying attention or completely illiterate.

by asdf on Mon Dec 27th, 2021 at 12:18:05 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
 WORLD 
by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Dec 1st, 2021 at 07:26:20 PM EST
[INCONTINENCE ALERT] (none / 0)
Omicron [variant] drives new urgency for global pandemic treaty
But countries disagree whether the agreement should be a legally binding treaty.
where's muh patent waivers?
by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 11:21:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
APsplainin Omicron-stricken South Africa may be glimpse into the future past
New COVID-19 cases in South Africa have burgeoned from about 200 a day in mid-November to more than 16,000 on Friday. Omicron was detected over a week ago in the country's most populous province, Gauteng, and has since spread to all eight other provinces, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said.

Even with the rapid increase, infections are still below the 25,000 new daily cases that South Africa reported in the previous surge, in June and July.
Genomic data for samples collected in May 2021 are available for all 9 provinces, and 70% of 739 genomes from May were the Beta variant (Fig 2). The Alpha, Delta and Eta variants account for 6%, 14% and 1% of the May genomes. For June 2021, genomic data are available for 5 provinces, with 603 sequences available on GISAID. Genomes sequenced (n=603) from samples collected in June 2021 shows 36% Beta and 49% Delta variant frequency with the Alpha variant accounting for 6% (Fig 2).
"What we must re-emphasize is that while our scientists and those in Botswana were the first discover and report on the variant, no one knows where it originated," Phaahla said.
SA | National Institute for Communicable Diseases
by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 07:45:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
NO EVIDENCE THAT 501.V2 VARIANT IS MORE DANGEROUS THAN UK VARIANT, 24 Dec 2020
We have, however, noted the statement delivered yesterday by the Secretary for Health in the United Kingdom, Matt Hancock, and must register our concern that some of his utterances have created a perception that the variant in SA has been a major factor in the second wave in UK. This is not correct. There is evidence that the UK variant developed earlier than the South African variant. To give some historical context, on 14 December, the UK reported to the WHO that a variant had been identified and traced back to 20 September 2020 in Kent, South East England- approximately a month be- fore the South African variant appears to have developed. This variant has a mutation occurring at a site common with the South African variant (the 501), although they are two completely independent lineages. The UK variant is thought to be driving the second wave that the UK are experiencing currently.
[...]
Dr. Zwelini Mkhize, Minister of Health
by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 07:58:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 08:14:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 "disease modifying" Rx (none / 0)
Study can't confirm lab results for many cancer experiments
"The truth is we fool ourselves. Most of what we claim is novel or significant is no such thing," said Dr. Vinay Prasad, a cancer doctor and researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who was not involved in the project.
where the profit principle collides with genetic, spontaneous, or acquired neutropenia afflicting "the most" vulnerable "immunosuppressed/immunocompromised" consumer-patients on the planet and

SAR-CoV-2


VOI, VOC, VOHC as well as bacterial, fungal, and parasitic organisms for which either no specific prophylactic, therapeutic agent, or cure is common knowledge  
by Cat on Tue Dec 7th, 2021 at 06:13:37 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
NICD | COVID-19 VACCINE BREAKTHROUGH CASES FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE GETTING SICK OR TESTING POSITIVE AFTER VACCINATION, AND HOW ARE WE KEEPING TRACK OF SUCH CASES?
The vaccines are not 100% effective, so we would expect breakthrough infections. The majority of these will be mild. For the Sisonke study, so far 94% of breakthroughs were mild, 4% moderate and 2% severe.

When the rate of infection is very high there will be more breakthrough infections. Once population immunity levels rise with increased vaccination, there will be less transmission of the virus and fewer breakthrough infections. Any events that happen after vaccination must be reported so that these can be investigated. There is a Medsafety app and details can be found by visiting medsafety.sahpra.org.za.

South African Medical Research Council: SAMRC | Report on Weekly Deaths in South Africa, 29 Dec 2019 - 27 Nov 2021, illustrated
One approach to aid understanding of the emerging COVID-19 mortality is to compare the estimated weekly excess deaths with the number of COVID-19 deaths reported by the Minister of Health as shown in the figure below. This comparison is hampered to some degree by the fact that the excess deaths are classified by week in which the death occurred; the reported COVID-19 deaths are classified by date the numbers are reported to the Department. If all excess natural deaths were due to COVID-19, and all COVID-19 deaths were perfectly identified and reported, the two series would be identical. The number of estimated excess deaths has begun to decrease, consistent with the trend in the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths. Although more data are needed on the underlying causes of death, this observation is strongly supportive that a significant proportion of the current excess mortality being observed in South Africa is likely to be attributable to COVID-19.
by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 08:10:20 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 1)
Taliban bans forced marriage of women in Afghanistan
The development was hailed as a significant step forward by two leading Afghan women, but questions remained about whether the group would extend women's rights around work and education.

"This is big, this is huge ... if it is done as it is supposed to be, this is the first time they have come up with a decree like this," said Mahbouba Seraj, executive director of the Afghan Women's Skills Development Center speaking from Kabul on a Reuters Next conference panel on Friday.
[...]
Seraj said that even before the Taliban took over the country on August 15, Afghan politicians had struggled to form such a clear policy on women's rights around marriage.

"Now what we have to do as the women of this country is we should make sure this actually takes place and gets implemented," said Seraj.

65M women could lose abortion rights in Supreme Court case
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 01:05:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 1)
US and EU condemn Taliban over 'summary killings' and demand investigation
Early this week Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report that it says documents the summary execution or enforced disappearance arrest of 47 former members of the Afghan National Security Forces, other military personnel, police and intelligence agents "who had surrendered to or were apprehended by Taliban forces" from mid-August through October.

"Reported cases must be investigated promptly and in a transparent manner, those responsible must be held accountable, and these steps must be clearly publicized as an immediate deterrent to further killings and disappearances," the countries - which include Canada, New Zealand, Romania, Ukraine and several European nations - said in the statement.
[...]
Today's Taliban leaders, keen to gain international respectability, have pledged their regime will be different. But the new government has continued to carry out violent punishments, and the United Nations has expressed concern about "credible allegations" that the Taliban has carried out ["]reprisal killings["] since its victory, despite the promises of amnesty for the fallen government's troops.

Amid violent reprisals, Afghans fear the Taliban's 'amnesty' was empty
archived US Leaves Afghanistan to Terrorism, Taliban hang dead body in Afghan city's main square
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 11:54:18 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 Russia (none / 0)
Record for monthly COVID virus-linked deaths in October
A report by Rosstat on Friday brought the overall number of virus-linked deaths between April 2020 and October 2021 to over 537,000 -- almost twice the widely-cited toll reported by Russia's state coronavirus task force to date. Rosstat uses broader criteria in its tallying system than the task force.

According to the report, out of nearly 75,000 deaths in October, 58,822 were directly caused by confirmed COVID-19; 9,912 other deaths were likely caused by the virus, but it wasn't confirmed by a test. In 1,141 cases, the virus "significantly" contributed to fatal complications of other diseases, and 5,018 people tested positive for the virus but died of other causes.

mandatory vaccination, travel restriction, quarantine, health passes, SURGING inflation
About 40% of Russia's nearly 146 million people have been fully vaccinated, even though the country approved a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine -- Sputnik V -- months before most of the world.

Two people who returned to Russia from South Africa on Friday tested positive for COVID-19 and their test samples are being studied to determine whether they have the new omicron variant, Russian authorities said.

The two have been hospitalized, Russia's public health watchdog Rospotrebnadzor said in a statement. It wasn't immediately clear whether their condition required hospital care or they were admitted to a hospital for additional testing because of the variant.

Dec. 3: What you need to know today
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 05:36:37 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 Russia (none / 0)
FEDERAL SERVICE FOR SUPERVISION IN THE FIELD OF CONSUMER RIGHTS PROTECTION AND HUMAN WELL-BEING, 3 Dec 2021
  • Confirmed cases of new coronavirus infection COVID-2019 in Russia
  • Fact sheet on the situation and measures taken to prevent the spread of diseases caused by the new coronavirus
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 05:45:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Cruise ships are back (none / 0)
CNN
Ten cases of Covid-19 have been identified on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship disembarking in New Orleans, the city said.
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 05:41:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Cruise ships are back (none / 1)
They're letting the people off the ship if they test negative. Which has been pretty conclusively shown to not be a conclusive indication of negativity.
by asdf on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 09:18:39 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
Emerging Haifa Syndrome
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 09:53:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 1)
The WSWS has a long article about how China is fighting COVID.
For comparison, the cumulative number of people quarantined in China during the entire pandemic is slightly larger than the number of people who have died of COVID-19 in the United States.

[...]

For example, the central government requires each city to have the capacity to test its entire population within a short time frame. This means two days for cities with populations under 5 million, and within three to five days for cities with populations above 5 million.

(compare Psaki)
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Mon Dec 13th, 2021 at 08:48:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
contact and trace archive (none / 0)
Mon Feb 3rd, 2020, the paradigm
by Cat on Mon Dec 13th, 2021 at 10:13:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 COVID Trade War UPDATE! (none / 0)
Glut: Why India's largest vaccine maker is cutting production
"We have more than the 1.8 billion vaccine doses required to fully vaccinate the 950 million eligible adults," Dr. N K Arora, chief of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), told DW.
[...]
The Covishield vaccine accounts for nearly 90% of the 1.33 billion doses administered in India so far. India's other major vaccines include the the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech's Covaxin, and Russia's Sputnik-V.
[...]
The private healthcare sector, which has millions of unsold vaccine doses, has started offering its stocks at heavily discounted rates to bulk buyers. However, the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 and the NTAGI are still deliberating whether a booster dose is necessary or not.

"There is a predominant feeling that when the booster is administered, it should be of a vaccine based on a platform different from that of the first two doses. I can understand SII's anxieties but a final decision has not yet been made," a top government official who wished to remain anonymous told DW.

value-priced candidates
The SII has since said that it has resumed exports to COVAX for distribution to low and middle-income countries.

"SII also produces other vaccines such as Covovax," Vineeta Bal, a scientist with the National Institute of Immunology, told DW. "They could increase Covovax production and decrease Covishield production, because Covovax can be used in some age groups below 18 years old," she added.

by Cat on Tue Dec 14th, 2021 at 01:27:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
"The ceremony of signing joint documents has ended."
now Putin, Xi press conference LIVE STREAM, 15 Dec 2021
live audio translation(s)
by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 06:07:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Dec 16th, 2021 at 09:07:11 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
by generic on Mon Dec 20th, 2021 at 03:42:13 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
LIVING OFF THE PLANET
Environment, Energy, Agriculture, Food
by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Dec 1st, 2021 at 07:26:40 PM EST
Re: December 2021 post-COP26 (none / 0)
Renewable energy has 'another record year of growth', says IEA
About 290GW of new renewable energy generation capacity, mostly in the form of wind turbines and solar panels, has been installed around the world this year, beating the previous record last year. On current trends, renewable energy generating capacity will exceed that of fossil fuels and nuclear energy combined by 2026.... However, this level of growth is still only about half that required to meet net zero carbon emissions by mid-century.
IEA | Renewables 2021, exec summary, illustrated
We forecast that China will reach this target four years early thaFatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said: "This year's record renewable energy additions are yet another sign that a new global energy economy is emerging. The high commodity and energy prices we are seeing today pose new challenges for the renewable industry, but elevated fossil fuel prices also make renewables even more competitive."

According to the IEA report, published on Wednesday (1 December), renewables will account for about 95% of the increase in global power-generation capacity from now to the end of 2026, with solar power alone providing about half of the increase.nks to the availability of long-term contracts, improved grid integration, and the cost competitiveness of onshore wind and solar PV compared with coal generation in many provinces. The trajectory of renewable capacity growth over the 2021-26 period indicates that renewable power growth in the European Union as a whole is set to outpace what the current National Energy and Climate Plans (NECPs) envision for 2030. This trend supports the ambition of reaching the stronger targets being finalised under the "Fit for 55" programme. Rapid deployment is being driven by member countries implementing larger auction volumes, corporations contracting for more renewable electricity, and consumers continuing to install large amounts of solar panels.

IEA Analysis / Browse all reports

archived Will China's move against coal power improve its image in EU? in After Merkel: German Elections 2021

by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 12:12:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 "mandate" (none / 0)
Biden signs [executive] order for federal government to achieve net-zero by 2050
Delaware senator[Tom Carper] went on to say cooperation from states [!] will be necessary to achieve the goals outlined in the [executive] order.

"States [!] should follow the federal government's lead and implement their own emissions reduction plans," he said, adding that passing the Democratic spending package would enable the federal government to provide support to states toward those goals.

Executive Order on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability, "whole-of-government approach" 2008 level
by Cat on Wed Dec 8th, 2021 at 11:26:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 1)
by asdf on Sun Dec 12th, 2021 at 03:51:07 AM EST
[ Parent ]
F5 and Apocalypticism (none / 1)
Kentuckians will understand ...

One thing we have to remember is that the world is fallen. The Bible says that when man fell into sin, all of nature was cursed. In other words, it was impossible for a sinful man to live in a perfect environment of paradise, so all of nature is cursed.

Hurricane Katrina could lead to a spiritual rebirth of a sinful New Orleans, adding, however, that he doesn't believe the devastating storm was a punishment from God for what he sees as the city's ties to satanic worship and sexual perversion.

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sun Dec 12th, 2021 at 07:38:59 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS (none / 0)
Lx Palmx volcano: Fresh lockdowns amid record-breaking 85 days of activity
On Monday, a third of the island's residents were once again ordered to stay at home due to "extremely adverse" air quality.

Around 24,500 citizens in Lxs Llanxs de Aridane, Iel Pasx, and Tazacorte were told to shut their windows and turn off air conditioning units to avoid inhaling toxic fumes. Schoolchildren were also told to remain inside as all outdoor activities were suspended.

Death and Devastation: US Midwest Recovers After Nightmarish Tornadoes RAVAGE American Cities

archived ppm safety story developing ...

by Cat on Mon Dec 13th, 2021 at 07:15:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 potable water 4 sale (none / 0)
Michigan, study shows
Like the rest of the country, over the last 40 years Michigan has seen rising water costs. Other than health care, the cost of water service in the U.S. has, on average, increased at a faster rate than other essential goods and services, the report notes. Since 1980, the average cost of water service -- drinking water, sewage, and storm water costs -- in Michigan increased 188% when adjusted for inflation, compared to increases of 285% in Detroit and 320% in Flint, researchers found.

by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 07:29:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Dec 23rd, 2021 at 11:52:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
 LIVING ON THE PLANET 
 Society, Culture, History, Information 
by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Dec 1st, 2021 at 07:26:54 PM EST
Re: December 2021 COVID cocktail UPDATE! (none / 0)
Weinreich et al., "REGEN-COV Antibody Combination and Outcomes in Outpatients with Covid-19," 2 Dec
Covid-19-related hospitalization or death from any cause occurred in 18 of 1355 patients in the REGEN-COV 2400-mg group (1.3%) and in 62 of 1341 patients in the placebo group who underwent randomization concurrently (4.6%) (relative risk reduction [1 minus the relative risk], 71.3%; P<0.001); these outcomes occurred in 7 of 736 patients in the REGEN-COV 1200-mg group (1.0%) and in 24 of 748 patients in the placebo group who underwent randomization concurrently (3.2%) (relative risk reduction, 70.4%; P=0.002).
[...]
CONCLUSIONS
REGEN-COV reduced the risk of Covid-19-related hospitalization or death from any cause, and it resolved symptoms and reduced the SARS-CoV-2 viral load more rapidly than placebo. (Funded by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04425629. opens in new tab.)
archived WHO Fri Sep 24th, 2021 monoclonal approval
by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 01:01:49 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
Science, A prominent virologist warns COVID-19 pill could unleash dangerous mutants. Others see little cause for alarm, 7 Nov
Molnupiravir, which Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics developed from an earlier, experimental antiviral, works by interfering with viral replication, littering the viral genome with mutations until the virus can no longer reproduce.... The drug's ability to mutate RNA has raised persistent fears that it could induce mutations in a patient's own genetic material, possibly causing cancer or birth defects; studies so far have not borne out those fears.
[...]
On 30 November, a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee will review possible emergency use authorization for molnupiravir in the United States.
archived Miracle in Japan, [EMA] EU says Merck's [molnupiravir] pill can be taken in emergencies, FDA advisers narrowly endorse Merck's Covid-19 drug, molnupiravir 13-10 PF-07321332
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 01:15:51 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 COVID cocktail UPDATE! (none / 0)
[SARS-CoV-2]omnicron [variant] complicates [marketing] at-home Covid pill [in USA]; UK, EU marketing omitted
The FDA will likely specify which "high risk" populations should have access to the Merck-Ridgeback Biotherapeutics pill if they contract Covid-19. That still will leave [licensed medical] doctors and other providers [of WHAT?] on the hook for making ["]judgment calls["] on whether to prescribe the pill -- and to do it within five days of a patient showing symptoms -- in order to realize the potential benefits.
supply chain controversy: US licensed pharmacists do not prescribe Rx; they compound, fulfill, dispense pharmaceutical products.
But supplies of the pill will likely be limited at first. The federal government has purchased 3.1 million courses of molnupiravir, which it will acquire between the date of FDA authorization and early next year. It has the option of purchasing an additional two million doses later, if needed.

A senior federal health official said if authorized, the pills bought by the federal government will be provided free of cost to localities[sic] that can distribute [market] them through health departments, community health centers and pharmacies [marketing channels]. "We continue to work with jurisdictions to plan for distribution and use of these products that will be consistent with clinical guidelines [medical diagnostic criteria] and recommendations for who should receive them," the official said.

"death panelists" or "equity" avengers?
In Merck's trials, however, the pill was only tested on unvaccinated adults, which makes some health experts wonder if the pills will only be available to that group. With an unvaccinated population at just over 99 million people, according to the Centers for Disease Control, three million doses is "a drop in the bucket," said Eunice Neeley [MD, PHP], a preventive medicine specialist and primary care provider based in New Orleans, Louisiana.
[...]
Carlos del Rio [MD], an executive associate dean and infectious disease specialist at the Emory School of Medicine, said that the pills "should work" against other variants because of how they stop the virus from replicating. But it will be important to collect more clinical data to be sure, he added.
[...]
If pharmacists don't participate [diagnose COVID-19], patients might have to make doctors appointments, delaying when they can begin the regimen.
novel EUA launch? From prescription pad to store shelf
To get FDA approval to change a prescription drug's classification to ["over-the-counter"] OTC [medicine], the product's manufacturer must prove its medication's safety and efficacy.11 Generally drugs can become OTC if:
  • They have low potential for misuse and abuse.
  • They are used for self-diagnosed conditions.
  • They can be used safely and effectively without a health care provider's instruction.
  • They can be adequately labeled.
In late-stage clinical trials, molnupiravir was shown to be about 30 percent effective at preventing hospitalization in at-risk patients, compared to a placebo. For comparison, [monoclonal] antibody treatments [intravenous or subcutaneous injection] that are administered in clinics and hospitals are about 70 percent effective.
wut
The most important thing, they argue, is stopping future infections before they happen. "This will not help us out of the pandemic because it is a treatment and not a prevention," said [Dorry] Segev[MD, PhD]. "The way out of this pandemic is prevention."
too late! NEXT! ...
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 05:34:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 COVID cocktail UPDATE! (none / 0)
US drugstores squeezed by vaccine demand, staff shortages
pharmacists worry another job might soon be added to their to-do list: If regulators approve antiviral pills from drugmakers Merck and Pfizer to treat COVID-19, pharmacists may be able to diagnose infections and then prescribe pills to customers
[...]
On top of that workload and [filling] routine prescriptions, many drugstores also have been asking pharmacists to ["]counsel["] patients more generally on their health Rx dosage and adverse indications or about [medical insurance plan pricing of brand name and generic drugs for] chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure.
[...]
[proprietor pharmacist Theresa] Tolle noted that it is not clear yet how pharmacists will be reimbursed for the time they take to diagnose and prescribe. That will have to be clarified, especially if cases surge again and drugstores need to add even more ["]workers["] to help [do WHAT?].
David Brailer's "consumer-patient" complaints
Sherri Brown, a city employee in Omaha, Nebraska, was searching for a vaccine booster dose, but two nearby pharmacies didn't have appointments available and a third didn't have the brand she wanted. She wound up getting a shot at a county-run clinic on Friday.
This is a marketing plan that will not end well, if it even launches this decade, and not only because Mr Murphy hasn't synthesized his own reporting: CVS Health to close hundreds of drugstores over next 3 years
archived Mon Aug 21st, 2006
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 03:07:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 COVID cocktail UPDATE! (none / 0)
market-based solutions to market-based problems
Ire over pharmacy middlemen fuels lobbying blitz
While there is little agreement among PBM opponents about what actions Congress should take, industry lobbyists are offering a menu of options for Democrats to consider, such as requiring [Pharmacy Benefit Managers] PBMs to pass on more of the rebates they negotiate with drugmakers to consumers or employers. They could also ban a common practice called spread pricing in which PBMs charge health plans [insurance carriers] more than they pay to the a pharmacy corporation dispensing a drug, and pocket the difference.
[...]
JC Scott, who leads the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, the trade group for PBMs, said targeting his members might be good politics and take the focus off drugmakers during a critical moment in the debate, but it would not lower drug costs.
[...]
Although dozens of PBMs exist, the industry is consolidated, with three of them -- CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and OptumRx -- controlling nearly 80 percent of the prescription market. Health insurers, employers and [federal and states'] government hire PBMs to manage prescription benefits for their health [employees' commercial medical insurance group] plans -- putting them at the center of a supply chain consisting of drugmakers, insurers and pharmacies.

reference
WHO.int, "Medicines Reimbursement Policies in Europe" (2018), 200pp

An increasing number of countries in the WHO European Region have concluded managed entry agreement (MEAs). These are contractual arrangements between a pharmaceutical company and a public payer that enable reimbursement of a medicine, subject to specified conditions. A variety of different types of MEAs exist, which can be classified, in principle, as either finance-based (such as simple discounts or price-volume agreements) or performance-based (linked to health outcomes); the former are applied more frequently. Common indications covered by an MEA are oncology, rheumatology, hepatitis C and diabetes. In general, MEAs tend to be confidential - at least those aspects relating to the prices and discount arrangements.
Federal and states' HHS agencies underwrite expense of CMS price schedules for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiares enrolled public insurance plans, administered by commercial insurers licensed by the states.
archived Tue Jan 30th, 2018
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 06:57:46 PM EST
[ Parent ]
archived topical break point (none / 0)
Sun Jun 13th, 2021: FPMA | Biopharmaceutical industry welcomes COVID-19 vaccine-sharing pledges but warn challenges remain to urgently address vaccine inequity
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 07:11:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 "self-diagnosed" (none / 0)
The symptom that tells you you've caught omicron
"Many of those infected have reported having a scratchy throat as opposed to a sore throat."
by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 06:01:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 ancient history (none / 0)
South Korean Dictator Dies, Western Media Resurrects a Myth
General Chun Doo Hwan was the corrupt military dictator that ruled Korea from 1979-1988, before handing off the presidency to his co-conspirator General Roh Tae Woo.  Chun took power in a coup in 1979, and during his presidency he perpetrated the largest massacre of Korean civilians since the Korean war. He died on November 23rd, in pampered, sybaritic luxury, impenitent and arrogant to the very last breath. ...
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 01:43:41 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 ancient history (none / 0)
Means, motive, and opportunity wrought by technology translated from 3000-year-old cuneiform chronicles.
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 06:06:02 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 ancient history (none / 0)
Occam's reciprocating saw
"'It's a little fascinating with detector finds that you can imagine quite a lot', Prentz said."
by Cat on Mon Dec 6th, 2021 at 07:47:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (4.00 / 2)
We are only at the start of a change in military technology putting the introduction of indirect fire artillery, the machine gun, and barbed wire - aka 'The First World War'

The Air and Missile War in Nagorno-Karabakh: Lessons for the Future of Strike and Defense

As numerous recent reports have argued, these [drones] were game-changing. Azerbaijani drones provided significant advantages in ISR as well as long-range strike capabilities. They enabled Azerbaijani forces to find, fix, track, and kill targets with precise strikes far beyond the front lines. UAVs were operationally integrated with fires from manned aircraft and land-based artillery but also frequently used their own ordinance to destroy various high-value military assets. Open-source reporting suggests that drones contributed to disabling a huge number of Armenian tanks, fighting vehicles, artillery units, and air defenses. Their penetration of Nagorno-Karabakh's deep rear also weakened Armenian supply lines and logistics, facilitating later Azerbaijani success in battle.

The Armenian military was the standard Cold War mix of tanks and armored infantry backed by artillery.  Azerbaijani drones ripped it to hell and gone.

But the Military Industrial Complex marches on:

Yet while drones played a large role in this conflict, their capabilities ought not be exaggerated. These platforms are very vulnerable to air defenses that are designed to counter them--defenses Armenia did not have in adequate numbers.

And elan and Will to Combat can overcome machine gun fire.

Bah

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 04:09:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 1)
The conflict also provides yet another reminder about the importance of passive defense. We see this time and time again with both sides operating out in the open, static or moving slowly; poorly camouflaged; and clumped in tight, massed formations.
Pretty much describes a carrier group, I wonder when the various navies will notice.
by asdf on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 05:42:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 1)
That's the $64,000 question.  My guess?  They'll notice and come-up with some BS about why it doesn't matter.

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre
by ATinNM on Mon Dec 13th, 2021 at 09:00:22 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: 2021 "religious dysphoria" UPDATE! (none / 1)
Christianity continues to decline among US adults
according to a Pew Research Center survey released Tuesday.

Currently, self-identified Christians of all types make up about 63% of the population. This includes Protestants, Catholics, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Orthodox Christians. That number is down 12 points from 75% in 2011, a continuation of a downward spiral in the 21st century.

According to the study, about three-in-10 adults (29%) identify as religious "nones," people who describe themselves as atheists, agnostics or "nothing in particular" when asked about their religious identity
[...]
The decline in Protestantism is equal between evangelicals - believers who describe themselves as born again - and non-evangelical, with both sects seeing a 6-point decline. In contrast, Catholics have held steady after suffering a downward trend between 2007 and 2014. Gorski believes immigration is holding that number firm.

Report: Socialism attacks hurt Dems with Latinx voters, 2021
PEW | Faith Among Black [African and Caribbean immigrants], 2021

archived Tue Dec 8th, 2020, Fri Apr 5th, 2019, Fri Jul 20th, 2018, Thu Sep 6th, 2012

by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 05:27:21 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: 2021 "religious dysphoria" UPDATE! (none / 0)
NASA enlists theologians to assess how we would react to alien life
The program aims to answer questions that have baffled us since the begging of time such as what is life? What does it mean to be alive? Where do we draw the line between the human and the [a-word]? What are the possibilities for sentient life in other places?
reference
Should NASA have given $1.1M to a theology institute?, 2016
In 2014, NASA gave $1.1 million to the Center of Theological Inquiry, an independent institution "rooted in Christian theology." The grant supports an initiative to study "the societal implications of astrobiology." Surprisingly, it took more than a year for anyone to complain.
[...]
Since 1998, part of the Astrobiology Program's role has been to address the societal implications of the field, mostly through a series of initiatives at the Library of Congress (although there's also an astrobiology-themed, NASA-funded student debate competition. Most recent topic: "Resolved: An overriding ethical obligation to protect and preserve extraterrestrial microbial life and ecosystems should be incorporated into international law.") The Library has a Chair in Astrobiology and hosts dialogues about astrobiology-and-society issues.
IMDB | Contact, 1997
by Cat on Sun Dec 26th, 2021 at 07:53:30 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: 2021 "religious dysphoria" UPDATE! (none / 0)
APsplainin US Catholic clergy shortage eased by recruits immigrants from Africa
Africa is the Catholic church's fastest-growing region. There, the seminaries are "fairly full," said the Rev. Thomas Gaunt, director of Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, which conducts research about the Catholic church.

It's different in the U.S. where the Catholic church faces significant hurdles in recruiting home-grown clergy following decades of declining church attendance and the damaging effects of widespread clergy sex abuse scandals.
[...]
Abanulo oversees two parishes in rural Alabama. His typical Sunday starts with an English-language Mass at Holy Family Catholic Church in Lanett, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) from Birmingham along the Alabama-Georgia state line. After that, he is driven an hour north to Wedowee, where he celebrates one Mass in English, another in Spanish.

praise be John Paul II
"He just breaks out in song and a lot of his lectures, he ties in his boyhood, and I just love hearing those stories," said Amber Moosman, a first-grade teacher who has been a parishioner at Holy Family since 1988.
[...]
Abanulo was ordained in Nigeria in 1990 and came to the U.S. in 2003 after a stint in Chad. His first U.S. role was as an associate pastor in the diocese of Oakland, California, where his ministry focused on the fast-growing Nigerian Catholic community. Since then, he has been a hospital chaplain and pastor in Nashville, Tennessee, and a chaplain at the University of Alabama.
[...]
When Maria Sheri Rukwishuro was told she was being sent from the Sisters of the Infant Jesus order in Zimbabwe to West Virginia to work as a missionary nun, she asked her mother superior, "Where is West Virginia?" She was scared, worrying about the unknowns.

"What kind of people am I going to? I'm just a Black nun coming to a white country," Rukwishuro told The Associated Press from Clarksburg, West Virginia, where she has been teaching religious education to public and Catholic school students since arriving in 2004.

Mitch O'bama School of diplomacy
Abanulo, who moved to Alabama in 2020, admits he was initially apprehensive about his latest posting, which meant exchanging a comfortable role as university chaplain for two rural parishes.

"People were telling me 'Father, don't go there. The people there are rednecks,'" he said. But after a year, and a warm reception, he says he now tells his friends, "There are no rednecks here. [There are no bluenecks.] All I see are Jesus necks."

by Cat on Mon Dec 27th, 2021 at 08:55:44 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 1)
Today is the semi-annual celebration of the explanation of the difference between sidereal and solar time. Almost missed it!
by asdf on Wed Dec 22nd, 2021 at 12:21:04 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
ON THIS DATE
by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Dec 1st, 2021 at 07:27:10 PM EST
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
Today -100: December 2, 1921: Of [up-risings FKA] food riots, nickels, and candy
VIENNA MOBS LOOT HOTELS AND STORES; ATTTACK AMERICANS
---
Rob guests, tear jewels from ears, and hurl bedding and furniture to street
---
FLAG SAVES COL. MILLER
---
Rioters rush through city wrecking stores and banks and the stock exchange
---
OUTBREAK STARTED BY REDS
---
Began during [peaceful?] demonstration of workmen in front of parliament against high cost of food
APsplainin
by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 02:28:58 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: 8 December 1921, progress! (none / 0)
There's a strike at Chicago meat-packing houses against a 10% wage reduction, and rioting of supposedly 100,000 people. The "women folk" of the strikers place themselves between the strikers and the mounted police. They use pepper against the cops and their horses, and children scatter tacks ahead of the motorcycle cops. Cops shoot into the crowd, as was the custom. A black scab is thrown into the grossly named sewage stream Bubbly Creek and paving blocks are thrown at him until he drowns.
ancient BLM edition
by Cat on Wed Dec 8th, 2021 at 11:00:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
12/2 Rebellion (none / 0)
UN HQ Surrounded by Police Responding to Man Armed With Shotgun - Video
Never forget
TENSE STANDOFF AT UN
"The unnamed man, who is in his 60s, was pacing on First Avenue between East 42nd and 45th streets late Thursday morning and was believed to be suicidal, cops said."
by Cat on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 06:21:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
"bona fide" imperial hero obit (none / 0)
Lawmakers remember Bob Dole
by Cat on Sun Dec 5th, 2021 at 08:17:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
Eighty years after Pearl Harbor, survivors of Japanese American internment camps remember ordeal

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, authorising the incarceration of all persons of Japanese origin suspected of being traitors. In the end, nearly 120,000 were deported to "relocation centres". Entire families were locked up behind barbed wire for up to three years.

Japanese-American Internment During World War II | National Archives |

'Sapere aude'

by Oui (Oui) on Sun Dec 12th, 2021 at 08:08:16 AM EST
[ Parent ]
archived reparations (none / 0)
What was the question?
by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 05:37:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 ancient history (none / 0)
by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 05:38:38 PM EST
[ Parent ]
22 December 1971 (none / 1)
Humanitarian NGO Médecins Sans Frontières is founded by a small group of French doctors and journalists.
by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Dec 22nd, 2021 at 08:39:28 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
 PEOPLE AND KLATSCH 
by Bernard (bernard) on Wed Dec 1st, 2021 at 07:27:26 PM EST
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
by Bernard (bernard) on Thu Dec 2nd, 2021 at 07:38:54 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Finally, I feel seen. (none / 0)
archived We Need to Talk
by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 05:04:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: Finally, I feel seen. (none / 0)
archived Sun Nov 28th, 2021
by Cat on Sat Dec 4th, 2021 at 02:54:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 poll smoke! (none / 0)
I&I/TIPP Poll of 1,013 registered voters conducted online from Dec. 1-4 by TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence: new low
by Cat on Thu Dec 9th, 2021 at 08:42:59 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 poll smoke! (none / 0)
OFF THE LOWS, 15 Dec
NEW! Hill/HarrisX (Dec 6-7) poll released on Tuesday
n=926 registered voters
by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 05:57:09 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 poll smoke! (none / 0)
Poll Shows Kamala Harris Overwhelmingly Likely to Be the Next Democratic Presidential Nominee
Politico-Morning Consult Poll (Dec 11-13)
n=1,998 registered voters of which 916 registered dems of which 286 (31%) Kamala Harris 2024 DNC primary candidate
by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 06:50:52 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 poll smoke! (none / 0)
by Cat on Wed Dec 15th, 2021 at 07:02:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 poll smoke! (none / 0)
NEW! off the low
Biden approval rating at historic low in NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll
n=1400 of which 1,310 registered voters of which 37%, or 484, unaffiliated registered voters
by Cat on Mon Dec 20th, 2021 at 06:16:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 fleets of mass destruction (none / 0)
UAE signs deal for 80 French Rafale fighter jets: officials
The UAE, one of the French defence industry's biggest customers, also agreed to buy 12 Caracal military transport helicopters, the French presidency said in a statement.
[...]
The agreement was signed by Dassault Aviation director-general Eric Trapier as Macron held talks with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed on the first day of a visit to the Gulf. By snapping up Rafale planes, built by Dassault Aviation, the UAE is following the lead of Gulf rival Qatar, which has bought 36 of the craft, and Egypt which ordered 24 in 2015 and 30 earlier this year.
BLOOMBERG | €17B ($19B)
The long-delayed accord was announced in a statement from the French presidency following a meeting between Macron and the UAE's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, known as MBZ, on the sidelines of the Dubai Expo.
[...]
As well as the fighters produced by Dassault Aviation SA, the UAE is also buying 12 Caracal military helicopters from Airbus SE. The UAE's Mubadala wealth fund signed separate deals totaling another €10 B during the trip.

Dassault Aviation shares jumped as much as 10.5% in Paris, the most in more than a year. Thales SA, which provides missile guidance systems, rose as much as 3.7%.

by Cat on Fri Dec 3rd, 2021 at 06:04:32 PM EST
Re: December 2021 Are you deaf or wut? (none / 0)
Spielberg: "I don't know if anybody really questioned it. I don't remember anybody saying `You've got to subtitle it. I felt that subtitling the Spanish was disrespectful to the second language of this country."
by Cat on Wed Dec 8th, 2021 at 10:06:53 PM EST
Re: December 2021 make-overs (none / 0)
with Dominican, Cuban, and Panamanian concealers by Max Sondheim

'In the Heights' is an award-winning hit. Its predecessor, 'West Side Story,' shocked audiences.

"West Side Story," a direct predecessor to "In the Heights" for its similar focus on Latinos Spanish-speakers in New York, was greeted much less warmly when it began its own Broadway run in 1957. Audiences and critics alike were discomfited by the violence colorism and juvenile delinquency portrayed in that musical, yet another adaptation of "Romeo and Juliet" that trades rival families for WARRING street gangs choreography -- one Puerto Rican and another White. (A new movie version of "West Side Story" directed by S>even Spielberg is set to be released in December.)
by Cat on Thu Dec 9th, 2021 at 10:10:48 PM EST
[ Parent ]
1958 shocked audiences (none / 0)
by Cat on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 02:26:11 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Washington Heights (none / 0)
and playbills my mom saved in a box for nearly 40 years
by Cat on Sat Dec 11th, 2021 at 02:30:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Re: December 2021 GRAPHIC WARNING (none / 0)
by Cat on Wed Dec 8th, 2021 at 11:12:02 PM EST
Re: December 2021 (none / 1)
by generic on Sat Dec 25th, 2021 at 04:33:05 PM EST
Re: December 2021 (none / 0)
by Cat on Mon Dec 27th, 2021 at 03:39:05 PM EST
December 2021 | 214 comments (214 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)


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