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Today: 64 articles and 226 comments as of 21:33.
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Allahu akbar: Turks hold Hagia Sophia triumphal march
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 3: Non-WoT
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2 17:58 swksvolFF [5] 
5 21:06 gorb [4] 
2 16:06 Woodrow [1] 
5 20:01 M. Murcek [1] 
4 22:22 Cromoth Sheatch5463 [3] 
3 19:26 Clem [1] 
1 16:42 Bobby [3] 
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7 22:36 Cromoth Sheatch5463 [8]
4 13:14 SteveS [3]
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4 19:53 Ulolump Grumble1426 [4]
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3 12:30 AlanC [6]
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Man gunned down on Upper West Side — NYC’s third fatal shooting in eight hours
[NYPOST] A man was shot and killed on the Upper West Side early Saturday — the third fatal shooting in the city in an 8-hour span.Police found the 58-year-old victim, who has not been identified, near W. 101st Street and Amsterdam Avenue just after midnight with a gunshot wound to the chest, police said.

He was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
He's dead, Jim!
according to police.

The NYPD is still searching for the shooter.

Earlier Friday, Ancil Blackman, 39, was shot in the face in front of the Miller Evangelical Christian Union Church on President Street in Brooklyn around 5:30 pm.

In a third fatal shooting, Jaheim Guinn, 17, was shot in the head outside his Dean Street apartment around 10:20 pm.

In a non-fatal shooting early Saturday, a 26-year-old was struck in the leg at around 3 a.m. at the intersection of Hendrix Street and Belmont Avenue in East New York, cops said.

He walked into Brookdale Hospital, where he told workers he heard gunshots and was in pain — and then realized he’d been shot, according to authorities.



Posted by: Fred || 07/26/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


-Obits-
John Saxon dead at 83: versatile actor best known for roles in Enter The Dragon and Nightmare On Elm Street passes away from pneumonia
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/26/2020 00:27 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  John Saxon passed away from pneumonia? I'm shocked! They can tell the difference between pneumonia and COVID-19? does that meant the pandemic, is just about over? Or that the test has gotten much more accurate?

Will wonders ever cease?
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 07/26/2020 3:56 Comments || Top||

#2  Don't worry. Pneumonia can result from COVID-19, so the records will be adjusted "accordingly".
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 8:37 Comments || Top||

#3  Bummer. Was just reading his bio last week.
Posted by: Woodrow || 07/26/2020 16:23 Comments || Top||

#4 
Posted by: Woodrow || 07/26/2020 18:24 Comments || Top||

#5 
Posted by: Woodrow || 07/26/2020 18:25 Comments || Top||


Regis Philbin, US television personality and host, dies at 88
[Al Ahram] Regis Philbin, the genial host who shared his life with television viewers over morning coffee for decades and helped himself and some fans strike it rich with the game show ``Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,'' has died at 88.

Philbin died of natural causes Friday night, just over a month before his 89th birthday, according to a statement from his family provided by front man Lewis Kay.

Celebrities routinely stopped by Philbin's eponymous syndicated morning show, but its heart was in the first 15 minutes, when he and co-host Kathie Lee Gifford _ on ``Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee'' from 1985-2000 _ or Kelly Ripa _ on ``Live! with Regis and Kelly'' from 2001 until his 2011 retirement _ bantered about the events of the day. Viewers laughed at Philbin's mock indignation over not getting the best seat at a restaurant the night before, or being henpecked by his partner.

"Even I have a little trepidation,'' he told The News Agency that Dare Not be Named in 2008, when asked how he does a show every day. ``You wake up in the morning and you say, `What did I do last night that I can talk about? What's new in the paper? How are we gonna fill that 20 minutes?'``
Posted by: Fred || 07/26/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  RIP Regis. Former sidekick of Joey Bishop as well (going back many snows).
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 0:12 Comments || Top||

#2  Got his start in San Diego at KOGO (now KGTV)
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2020 9:05 Comments || Top||

#3  Philbin died of natural causes..., but his death certificate listed cause of death as COVID-19 right?
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 07/26/2020 14:31 Comments || Top||

#4  Always seemed like a nice guy. RIP, you and John Saxon.
Posted by: Woodrow || 07/26/2020 16:25 Comments || Top||


-Short Attention Span Theater-
Kicked Off The Plane Isn't A Karen
[Hot Air] - It sounds like the media is getting a bit too obsessed with the whole "Karen" thing these days. The woman who got into an argument with the birdwatcher in Central Park could potentially fall into the general Karen category if further investigations don’t reveal that the birdwatcher started it. The situation was still worth a couple of laughs and it certainly generated more than its fair share of clicks.

But the story that made the rounds yesterday from an airport in Ohio doesn’t seem to fit that mold at all. According to published reports and a video from another passenger, a White woman on the plane refused to put on her facemask. After starting an argument with one of the flight attendants, she was removed from the flight, with the rest of the passengers breaking out into applause.

...Assuming all of the reports from both the airline and the passengers are correct, this unnamed woman probably deserved to be booted off the flight. She claimed to have a medical condition making masks unsafe for her to use but didn’t bring any documentation to support that claim.
If you can't wear a mask, wear a face shield.
Also, she had been argumentative with the staff from the moment she arrived at the boarding gate, insisting on being boarded before everyone else, though she seemed physically fine.

The airlines have established and clearly posted their rules about face masks. Whether you agree with those rules or not is obviously up to you, but that’s a requirement to fly during the pandemic era. If you can’t go along with that you’ll probably need to make alternate transportation arrangements.
Somebody should sue the airlines - sociopaths have their rights too!
...The main reason I brought this story up, however, is the eagerness everyone seems to display in labeling this woman a Karen. While entirely unofficial and part of internet memes far more than the standard rules of English, a "Karen" is generally understood to be a White woman who instructs others, usually minorities, on how they should be behaving and/or threatens to call the police on these same people for presumably minor offenses not worthy of taking up the time of local law enforcement. That’s why I brought up the Central Park Karen. She fills the bill, at least according to the information we have so far.

But this lady wasn’t doing anything of the sort. She was hassling the flight crew and airline workers at the gate. She was refusing to follow the rules and creating a scene. Because of that she was booted from the flight and suffered the verbal abuse of her fellow passengers. It wasn’t a good look for her, but she simply doesn’t meet the criteria for being "a Karen." Just saying...
Obviously a name is needed
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/26/2020 05:03 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  needs a name


How about Democrat?
Posted by: AlanC || 07/26/2020 14:56 Comments || Top||

#2  How about "Kingfish?"
Posted by: Fred || 07/26/2020 18:45 Comments || Top||

#3  "Well, uh, Andy...."
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 19:26 Comments || Top||


Zap the weeds!
Posted by: 3dc || 07/26/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  So kool!
Albedo, and leaf shape recognition.
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/26/2020 0:19 Comments || Top||

#2  Hmm. I'm trying to establish part of a lawn right now. I could surely use a smaller version of one of these.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 0:45 Comments || Top||

#3  skid, the weeds are taller than the veggies that are growing underneath
Posted by: Chris || 07/26/2020 1:55 Comments || Top||

#4  the downside is they have to allow the weeds to establish themselves enough to get to a height where this is effective

keep chasing that 'organic' label
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 || 07/26/2020 8:18 Comments || Top||

#5  Gorb - I'm all over this one. Wait until September, when temperatures get near or just below 70 F on average. Then get the following stuff at Home Depot - topsoil, peat moss, grass seeds (I go w/ fescue) and five gallon joint compound buckets. Mix the first three together in another container, then dump it into the 5-gallon bucket and add water to the point it's moist (not waterlogged). Do this a couple more times until it's full. Cap that shit and let it sit in the sun if you can, but it'll start sprouting after two or three weeks, sometimes sooner. Break up that part / parts of your lawn so it's not wicked hard packed soil, then spread it out over those parts of the lawn and aim for 12 sprouts per square inch, then cover it with all peat moss (birds don't like peat moss). It'll take root in a few weeks. Water it lightly before 10 AM and heavy after 4 PM for at least six weeks and do not miss a day of doing that (like I did w/ the back lawn in the spring - huge wasted effort there on my part). Once you can cut that grass three times (let it get to 3" before cutting it), you can cut back to daily watering. Coverage per bucket's about 30 to 50 square feet.
Posted by: Raj || 07/26/2020 10:46 Comments || Top||

#6  Thanks, Raj. I'm going to look into this. Someone was thinking when they figured this out! :-)
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 12:48 Comments || Top||

#7  Gorb - I got this tip indirectly from a greenskeeper at one of the local golf courses, so there ya go.
Posted by: Raj || 07/26/2020 13:45 Comments || Top||

#8  Sounds like a good tip, Raj. Here in San Diego, the problem is often the high clay content, not allowing proper drainage. Answer? Rototill gypsum into the soil - that helps break up the clay. Do same in tree rootball holes
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2020 14:05 Comments || Top||

#9  If you need to break up the soil quickly, try this
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2020 14:48 Comments || Top||

#10  If you have a little more time to deal with compacted or clay soil than Frank G’s gentleman, plant daikon/tilling radishes.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2020 15:30 Comments || Top||

#11  :-) Always with the reasonable advice, TW
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2020 15:53 Comments || Top||

#12  Frank G - I take it the high clay content inhibits root growth primarily due to its density, right? There may be other factors (Ph levels) involved, but that looks like the obvious one.

I'll check out the other tips you and trailing wife gave me - I have holes in the back yard that I'm gonna start patching after Sept. 15th or Oct. 1st, but if average temperatures are at 70 F, it's not good for growing grass, at least not fescue strains in the dreaded Northeast.

Oh, gorb - do NOT fertilize that new grass when you throw it down - you'll cook it with the chemical burn. Just do mulch cuts when you mow those areas, so it's a natural fertilizer.
Posted by: Raj || 07/26/2020 16:00 Comments || Top||

#13  Nice lawn care technique there, Frank G!
Posted by: Raj || 07/26/2020 16:07 Comments || Top||

#14  For what it's worth, I'm also all over composting techniques and methods; I'll throw out some big-ass comments on a more applicable thread.
Posted by: Raj || 07/26/2020 16:10 Comments || Top||

#15  Nice lawn care technique there, Frank G!

Tune in next winter when we show you how to clear snow off your driveway with detonator cord.
Better Living Thru Chemistry!
Posted by: SteveS || 07/26/2020 16:23 Comments || Top||

#16  LOL - yeah, Raj, it's the density, plus some areas are expansive clay (hello cracked foundations!) For my trees, I dug the rootball holes twice as big (std practice) and soaked a couple bags of gypsum over a couple days - it helps break the clay electrical bond between particles IIRC (an anti-floculant)
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2020 16:59 Comments || Top||

#17  :-) Always with the reasonable advice, TW

But not near as much fun.

Good thing that gopher didn't decide to dig under the house.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 17:37 Comments || Top||

#18  I wonder how this would work on urban rioters...
Posted by: CrazyFool || 07/26/2020 18:02 Comments || Top||


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro tested negative for COVID-19, credits hydroxychloroquine for recovery; Israel 2nd wave less dire than1st
[IsraelTimes] Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro announces he has tested negative for the new coronavirus (aka COVID19 or Chinese Plague)
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
more than two weeks after being diagnosed on July 7, attributing his recovery to an unproven malaria drug.

"RT-PCR for Sars-Cov 2: negative. Good morning everyone," the 65-year-old tweets, along with a photo of himself smiling and holding a packet of hydroxychloroquine, whose effectiveness against COVID-19 has not been demonstrated in clinical trials.

He doesn’t say when he took the latest test.

The president, who has routinely downplayed the virus he calls a "little flu" but which is currently ravaging his country, spent nearly 20 days self-isolating at his official residence in the capital Brasilia, the Alvorada Palace.

During that time he underwent at least three more virus tests, all positive.

Three polls released this week showed the leader dubbed a "Tropical Trump" would win re-election in 2020, despite his controversial handling of the virus crisis.

The pandemic has went kaboom! in Brazil, the country with the most infections and deaths from COVID-19 anywhere in the world except the United States.

The Latin American powerhouse has registered nearly 2.3 million cases of the new coronavirus and more than 84,000 deaths, and the numbers have continued to rise rapidly.


Virus death rate in ‘second wave’ less than half that of initial outbreak
[IsraelTimes] Though Israel has seen a much greater number of coronavirus infections in the “second wave” of the pandemic, the percentage of those killed by COVID-19 is markedly lower.

While the death rate was 2.1 percent during the intitial outbreak, it is now 0.8%, Ran Balicer, an epidemiologist and executive at Clalit Health Services, tells Channel 12 news.

Balicer says possible explanations for this are that authorities are now detecting a larger number of asymptomatic carriers and are doing a better job of protecting at-risk groups. Hospitals have also improved their ability to treat those sick with the virus.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  While the death rate was 2.1 percent during the intitial outbreak, it is now 0.8%

I don't know where he took this number from - it's not supported by worldometer. And, in any case, we had 10 people on ventilators in the beginning of the month and it's 94 now.
p.s. According to ibid, less than 1% of Israelis have anti-covid antibodies.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/26/2020 4:04 Comments || Top||



#4  hydroxychloroquine, whose effectiveness against COVID-19 has not been demonstrated in clinical trials

[w]hose? HCQ is a person?

"has not been demonstrated in clinical trials." Media onslaught against HCQ continues. Yes, perhaps technically true, but if it worked....

Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 8:45 Comments || Top||


-Land of the Free
NASSCO Awarded $10 Million Contract for Bonhomme Richard Clean-Up
[gCaptain]The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a $10 million contract modification to General Dynamics NASSCO for the clean-up and dewatering of the USS Bonhomme Richard, which caught fire at Naval Base San Diego earlier this month.

The $10 million cost-plus-fixed-fee modification contract will cover emergency firefighting support, dewatering, safety and initial clean-up efforts.

The USS Bonhomme Richard, a Wasp-class amphibious assault ship, suffered a devastating fire on July 12 while undergoing maintenance. The fire started in a lower deck before spreading to upper decks and the vessel’s control tower. Several fire fighters and U.S. Navy sailors suffered minor injuries battling the fire.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed by November 2020.
Then the decision will be made (or already made) to repair or scrap the 25 year old hull.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 07/26/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  GD lightning?
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 0:22 Comments || Top||

#2  The original damage is ...what? An 'Act of God" that happened in their shipyard so they aren't responsible?
Posted by: magpie || 07/26/2020 14:13 Comments || Top||

#3  Nope - berthed pierside at Navy Base San Diego, which is adjacent to the NASSCO ship yards
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2020 14:22 Comments || Top||


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Russia flexes 'growing power' of its Navy with huge parade involving 200 warships in St Petersburg as Vladimir Putin promises 40 new vessels equipped with hypersonic weapons
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/26/2020 07:31 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  As long as one were to discount Naval Aviation and Undersea Warfare that is.
Posted by: Cesare || 07/26/2020 10:13 Comments || Top||

#2  The Varyag couldn't make the parade since the Russians couldn't figure out how to build it and sold the hull to the CCP.
Posted by: Mercutio || 07/26/2020 11:16 Comments || Top||

#3  Ukraine sold the unfinished Varyag. It was built in Mykolaiv.
Posted by: Cromoth Sheatch5463 || 07/26/2020 22:17 Comments || Top||

#4  And those 200 "ships" probably didn't equal the tonnage of one US carrier battle group.
Posted by: Cromoth Sheatch5463 || 07/26/2020 22:22 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
North Korea declares state of emergency after Kim Jong Un meets advisers to discuss secretive county's 'first coronavirus case'
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/26/2020 00:29 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  So is he alive now? How can they tell? Is he fatter than before?
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 2:54 Comments || Top||

#2  He’s not dead yet?
Posted by: Glenmore || 07/26/2020 10:23 Comments || Top||

#3  So "one case"? How about this, then:
North Korea Locks Down Border Area After Acknowledging "Vicious" COVID-19 Outbreak
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2020 14:21 Comments || Top||


Cyber
1,000 Twitter Workers Had Access To Internal Tools That Hackers Could Exploit
Venture Beat.

This story is still happening even if lots of media outlets would prefer it went away.

As of earlier this year, more than a thousand Twitter employees and contractors had access to internal tools that could change user account settings and hand control to others, two former employees said, making it hard to defend against the hacking that occurred last week.

Twitter and the FBI are investigating the breach that allowed hackers to repeatedly tweet from verified accounts of the likes of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Twitter said on Saturday that the perpetrators “manipulated a small number of employees and used their credentials” to log into tools and turn over access to 45 accounts. On Wednesday, the company said that the hackers could have read direct messages to and from 36 accounts, but it did not identify the affected users.

The former employees familiar with Twitter security practices said that too many people could have done the same thing, more than 1,000 as of earlier in 2020, including some at contractors like Cognizant.

Twitter declined to comment on that figure and would not say whether the number had declined before the hack or since. The company was looking for a new security head, working to better secure its systems and training employees on resisting tricks from outsiders, Twitter said. Cognizant did not respond to a request for comment.
Posted by: charger || 07/26/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Europe
Car hits pedestrians in Berlin; at least 5 injured
[YNet] - At least five people were injured in the German capital early Sunday morning after a car drove off the road and into pedestrians.

The incident occurred shortly after 7 a.m. in Berlin's Hardenbergplatz, outside the Zoological Garden train station, the DPA news reported.

Berlin's fire department said in a Twitter update that some of the pedestrians sustained serious injuries and that a rescue helicopter was deployed to help. Further details were not immediately available.
Update from Deutsche Welle at 12:10 p.m. EDT:
Later, Berlin police said the 24-year-old driver lost control of the car when turning left because he was likely speeding.

He was taken into custody and a manslaughter investigation has been opened.
The vehicle was a Mercedes with an Estonian license plate.
Based on this, the article is moved to Page 3: Non-WoT.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/26/2020 04:25 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Scheiße. Bad enough, but hopefully not another X-mas market-like incident.
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 8:35 Comments || Top||


Fifth Column
Tear Gas Device for Home Use Is Selling Fast
I was holding out for a Ma Deuce, but this may have to do.
[ClaimsJournal] A supplier of tear gas to the police and the military is experiencing a surge in demand for a launcher it makes for home use as consumers anxious about civil unrest arm themselves for self defense.

Byrna Technologies Inc.’s Byrna HD resembles a pistol and comes in seven colors — including hot pink and desert tan. It can fire a solid ball about the size of a quarter or ones filled with a blend of tear gas and pepper spray.

"The general level of apprehension among the population as a whole has led many people to seek means of protecting themselves and their families in the event that there is a breakdown or a fraying of the fabric of civil society," the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the event? The event is now.


Posted by: Matt || 07/26/2020 12:55 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Beats waiting for cops who won't come.
Posted by: Iblis || 07/26/2020 13:08 Comments || Top||

#2  Got another order of ammo coming in. Not too worried about the tear gas.
Posted by: DarthVader || 07/26/2020 13:31 Comments || Top||

#3  I like the idea of shooting a signal flare at the one carrying the two gallon plastic gas container.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/26/2020 13:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Keep a list of who you sold them to. They will be used by Antifa soon.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 15:20 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Donald Trump celebrates victory over 'Big Pharma' after signing executive order to vastly reduce the cost of prescription drugs by up to 50% and says insulin has gone from 'big dollars to pennies'
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/26/2020 07:41 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Insulin is ridiculous. Used to be like $12 a vial for human insulin in 1986, now it's like $400. Same manufacturing methods as before.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 13:00 Comments || Top||

#2  Joe Man-Chin's daughter in on it? Oh, wait. That was EpiPens
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2020 13:19 Comments || Top||

#3  Winning!
Posted by: Woodrow || 07/26/2020 16:04 Comments || Top||

#4  Trump pulled his punches, Pelosi said in a statement. 'After promising that he would 'negotiate like crazy' for lower prescription drug prices, it is clear that President Trump meant not negotiate at all,' she said, adding that if Trump is serious about lowering prices he should tell Senate Republicans to pass her bill.

Have you read your bill yet, Ms. Pelosi?
Posted by: Bobby || 07/26/2020 18:02 Comments || Top||

#5  It has to be passed first, then she can read it.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 21:06 Comments || Top||


USPS Fails Mail-In Ballot Test
CBS News decided to test the system upon which the government will entrust the sanctity of the ballot this November. And the U.S. Postal Service flubbed it.

This is not about gaming the system, or voter fraud, or stuffing the mail with fake ballots from illegal aliens. This is about the competency of the USPS to deliver official ballots sent through the mail on time, and to the right people. They proved that the 100 million or more Americans who plan to mail in their ballots should not expect their vote to be counted unless they mail it weeks prior to the election deadlines in each state.

And even then there’s no guarantee it will be processed and counted.

The parameters of the test were simple and straightforward. CBS mailed 100 ballots to locations across Philadelphia in an experiment to see how long it took the ballots to arrive. A post office box was set up to receive the returned ballots.

A few days later, another 100 ballots were mailed to another 100 locations in the city. The results should frighten Democrats who claim they are all about "every vote being counted."

A week after initial ballots were sent, most ballots appeared to be missing from the P.O. box.

"I don’t see anything back there for you," a postal worker told Dokoupil when he received the mail. "That’s all I have back there right now."

After asking for a manager and explaining the situation to them, the votes were found.
"They had them somewhere else," the postal worker said.

Ho-hum, well, no one is perfect. That’s the point, isn’t it?

The mysterious problems at the local post office also included missorted mail.

"We got a birthday card from Mike to Ronnie," Dokoupil said, as he read a postcard mistakenly placed in "CBS This Morning’s" P.O. box. "Have a sweet b-day. Get it? There’s a bee on top."

The postcard, along with another piece of missorted mail, was then sent to the correct recipient.

In the end, the tally of late, misdirected, and missorted mail should concern anyone interested in the integrity of our elections.

Out of the initial batch mailed a week earlier, 97 out of 100 votes had arrived. Three simulated persons, or 3% of voters, were effectively disenfranchised by mail by giving their ballots a week to arrive. In a close election, 3% could be pivotal.

Four days after mailing the second batch of mock ballots, 21% of the votes hadn’t arrived.

According to Postal Service recommendations, "voters should mail their return ballots at least one week prior to the due date."

However, nearly half of all states still allow voters to request ballots less than a week before the election.

Democrats who are pushing this notion that a mail-in election won’t be any different from an in-person election should listen to the voters who are far more grounded in reality.

"I’m scared that it might get lost in the mail," potential voter Kim Tucker said. "I just want to make sure that my vote is submitted, like, I see that it’s submitted, that it actually counts."

The November election is shaping up to be the mother of all clusterfarks. At every level — federal, state, and local — election officials are sounding the alarm. The system was not built to handle 120 million mailed ballots. Processing and protecting those ballots is beyond the abilities of almost every state.

The concern is not only over the integrity of the ballot. The avalanche of legal challenges to the results will almost certainly run for years and may even delay state and local legislatures from sitting.

Democrats will bring all of this on themselves. It’s a shame that the rest of us are going to suffer for their stupidity.
Stupidity? I don't think so. More some evil combination of mental and social problems such as a lust for power, a need to assert their opinons on others and getting their rocks off seeing the effect it has as some kind of validation of their warped views, not trusting others to be able to think, ignorance of the long-term (and even short-term) effects of their desires, an inability to understand consequences or foresee reactions other than what they imagine, an inability to handle reality or use history as a guide, the belief that people of today are somehow different from people of other times, and no moral compass when it comes to achieving their goals (and the resulting blatant cluster hypocrisies), which won't do anyone any good even if they manage to achieve them. And they don't seem to care about the world they will leave to even their children. Everything that doesn't go as planned is certainly the fault of anyone but themselves so they don't have to apologize for it, instead they just turn to the next soon-to-be fiasco. And never learn.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 01:05 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Democrats will bring all of this on themselves. It’s a shame that the rest of us are going to suffer for their stupidity.


Stupidity?I don't think so.






It's Rick Moran at PJMedia.

The whole mission of people like him and organizations like Salem Media is to convince the Right that the left means well, and is simply incompetent, not evil.

"See? There's no need to fight back! They're just a buncha crazy kids! All you need to do is click on our articles and everything will be fine! Now go back to sleep."
Posted by: charger || 07/26/2020 21:04 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
CDC: One-third of COVID-19 patients who aren't hospitalized have long-term illness
h/t Hot Air
[NBC News] - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged Friday that a significant number of COVID-19 patients do not recover quickly, and instead experience ongoing symptoms, such as fatigue and cough.

As many as a third of patients who were never sick enough to be hospitalized are not back to their usual health up to three weeks after their diagnosis, the report found.

"COVID-19 can result in prolonged illness even among persons with milder outpatient illness, including young adults," the report's authors wrote.

The acknowledgement is welcome news to patients who call themselves "long-haulers" — suffering from debilitating symptoms weeks and even months after their initial infection.

"This report is monumental for all of us who have been struggling with fear of the unknown, lack of recognition and many times, a lack of belief and proper care from medical professionals during our prolonged recovery from COVID-19," Kate Porter, who is on day 129 of her recovery, wrote in an email to NBC News.

The CDC report is based on telephone surveys of 274 COVID-19 patients. Ninety-five of those patients, or 35 percent, said they "had not returned to their usual state of health" when they were surveyed, which was at least two to three weeks after their first test.

Many with long-term symptoms are otherwise young and healthy: Among those surveyed between ages 18 and 34, about 20 percent experienced lasting symptoms.
It's just a flu - ignore it and it'll go away.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 07/26/2020 04:55 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  My daughter's mother-in-law was sick for a month with flu-like symptoms in March-April, took the antibody test three weeks ago and was told she never had COVID. She's 70.

Just an anecdote...
Posted by: Bobby || 07/26/2020 16:42 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Undercover morality agent SPITS at teenage girls, asks 'where's your owner' and says 'I'll f*** your mother' after seeing them without hijab in Iran
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/26/2020 07:44 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  That would so fit in with the Portland/Seattle KAREN crowd on masks.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/26/2020 9:06 Comments || Top||

#2  The story I shared the other day was a guy in a grocery store being spit on by a gal happened out here in Larger Prairie Town, KS.

Arrested, charged with disorderly conduct - I'd go with stalking and assault - point is, if it happens out here I wonder how widespread the Volunteer Morality Police phenomenon is.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 07/26/2020 17:58 Comments || Top||


-PC Follies
Minnesota couple is banned from Walmart after wearing swastika face masks as woman rants: 'If you vote for Biden, this is what we're going to have, socialism!'
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/26/2020 07:40 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well, at least they were able to properly identify the National Socialist Workers Party for who they were, unlike hundreds of credentialed 'educators'.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/26/2020 9:07 Comments || Top||

#2  https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2020/07/26/04/31204380-8560873-image-a-3_1595733283697.jpg

True
Posted by: Woodrow || 07/26/2020 16:06 Comments || Top||


Moment woman MACES a couple picnicking at a California dog park because 'they weren't wearing face masks while eating lunch'
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/26/2020 07:39 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In some states you need something like a CC license to carry mace.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 13:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Kind of inevitable once you accept the premise that other people can and should be making your decisions for you.
Posted by: Iblis || 07/26/2020 13:07 Comments || Top||

#3  That Karen kurva...what a POS.
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 14:47 Comments || Top||

#4  Also DM: people without masks are self centered, psychopathic, and violent.

*DM can't decide whether to report mace or pepper spray. Pepper spray comes in a variety of flavors and strengths, but I understand mace is putting the hammer down.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 07/26/2020 19:00 Comments || Top||

#5  Cops call the LE grade stuff Liquid Jesus, as in "Jesus wept... "
Posted by: M. Murcek || 07/26/2020 20:01 Comments || Top||


WNBA, NY Liberty players leave court during national anthem
[NYPOST] The New York Liberty and Seattle Storm made a statement before tipping off the WNBA season on Saturday.Both teams left the court during the national anthem as a sign of peaceful protest and held a 26-second moment of silence for Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old black woman who was killed at her home by Louisville police. Each player also had Taylor’s name on the back of their jerseys.

"We are dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor, an outstanding EMT who was murdered over 130 days ago in her home," Liberty player Layshia Clarendon announced at mid-court, alongside Storm star Breanna Stewart, before the opening tip-off at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. "Breonna Taylor was dedicated and committed to uplifting everyone around here. We are also dedicating this season to ’Say Her Name" campaign, a campaign committed to saying the names and fighting for justice of black women — black women are so often forgotten in this fight for justice, who don’t have people marching in the streets for them. We will say her name. Sandra Bland. Atatiana Jefferson. Dominique Remy Fells. Breonna Taylor. We will be a voice for the voiceless."



Posted by: Fred || 07/26/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  WNBA...lol, yeah, right. My man cave is just loaded with WNBA merchandise. /sarc
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 0:14 Comments || Top||

#2  The heck with sports. I tossed every sports-related shirt and paraphernalia long ago, and don't even by their crap when it's 90% off.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 0:40 Comments || Top||

#3  This was always the next step. Taking a knee has gone vanilla, so the disrespect must be ratcheted up.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 07/26/2020 1:17 Comments || Top||

#4  Atatiana Jefferson ... stage name? anagram? misspelling of LaTatiana Louisey D'Jefferson?
Posted by: Lumpy Mussolini7603 || 07/26/2020 1:38 Comments || Top||


#6  Atlatl Jefferson
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 || 07/26/2020 8:09 Comments || Top||

#7  It's difficult to imagine the WNBA getting less popular than it already is, but there it is - great job, folks!

Prediction - there won't be a WNBA in two years.
Posted by: Raj || 07/26/2020 10:21 Comments || Top||

#8  They keep it as a diversity sop
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2020 11:11 Comments || Top||

#9  About the only thing with a more minuscule fan base is women's soccer.
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 11:16 Comments || Top||

#10  Well, the WNBA is kind of "judgement proof". No one pays attention already so you can't boycott them effectively.
Posted by: Mercutio || 07/26/2020 11:21 Comments || Top||

#11  /\ Good point. Rather difficult to boycott something to which few pay any attention anyway.
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 11:26 Comments || Top||

#12  So the next time any US team plays China in an international match, are the US players going to stand for the Chinese anthem and walk out for the Star-Spangled Banner?
Posted by: Matt || 07/26/2020 11:26 Comments || Top||

#13  NBA surely might.
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 11:26 Comments || Top||

#14  When leaving the bench isn't woke enough,what's next,shit on the flag at center court?
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 07/26/2020 12:17 Comments || Top||

#15  If team management condones this behavior and the league condones it, then it's a lost cause. I'm already waiting for the NFL to start so I can not watch it.
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 12:21 Comments || Top||

#16  Who exactly is surprised?
Posted by: Woodrow || 07/26/2020 16:26 Comments || Top||

#17  I thought only family and girlfriends attend the games.
Posted by: swksvolFF || 07/26/2020 18:00 Comments || Top||

#18  John Cardillo on Twitter

Average NBA salary: $7,700,000

Average WNBA salary: $116,000

These are the people lecturing us on equality.
Posted by: bbrewer126 || 07/26/2020 18:56 Comments || Top||

#19  Maybe I should join the WNBA ....
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 21:08 Comments || Top||


Government
White House Slams SCOTUS Decision Putting Nevada Entertainment Ahead Of Churches
[Zero Hedge] A divided Supreme Court on Friday evening rejected a request by a rural Nevada church to lift a 50-person cap on religious services.

In a 5-4 ruling, the justices denied the request from the Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley, a Christian church located outside the state's capital, Carson City, to be held to the same COVID-19 restrictions that allow bars, casinos, gyms, and restaurants to operate at 50% of capacity.

Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley said the attendance cap on religious services was an unconstitutional violation of its First Amendment right to express region freely. It emphasized the willingness to comply with social distancing rules and also asked to be treated like everyone else.

Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, joined the court's four liberal justices in refusing the church's request without explanation. The majority did not elaborate on their decision.

In a strongly worded dissent accompanied by Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, Justice Samuel Alito wrote it was no surprise that "Nevada would discriminate in favor of the powerful gaming industry and its employees, ...but this Court's willingness to allow such discrimination is disappointing."

"We have a duty to defend the Constitution, and even a public health emergency does not absolve us of that responsibility, Alito wrote.

He continued, "For months now, States and their subdivisions have responded to the pandemic by imposing unprecedented restrictions on personal liberty, including the free exercise of religion."

Alito added Washington does not have the ability "to disregard the Constitution for as long as the medical problem persists."

Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote,

"In Nevada, it seems, it is better to be in entertainment than religion. Maybe that is nothing new. But the First Amendment prohibits such obvious discrimination against the exercise of religion."

David Cortman, senior counsel for Georgia-based Alliance Defending Freedom representing the church, told AP News that "the government treats churches worse than casinos, gyms, and indoor amusement parks in its COVID-19 response, it clearly violates the Constitution," adding that he was very disappointed in the ruling....
[So, how's the conservative John Roberts working out?]
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Regarding Freedom of Speech and intolerance, yesterday I entered a comment regarding the judgement of one or two of the newer mods and the comment was heavily censored undoubtably by the party in question.

Question: Is the new policy here that no mod can be questioned or critiqued is no longer allowed? If so, how disgraceful and the site has lost its way, and is way over due for house cleaning.
Posted by: Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 || 07/26/2020 0:17 Comments || Top||

#2  "Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, joined the court's four liberal justices in refusing the church's request without explanation. The majority did not elaborate on their decision."

Why, tough to defend your decision? Sickening.
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 0:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Wow, if not from an anon user this might be worth some discussion.
Posted by: Skidmark || 07/26/2020 0:21 Comments || Top||

#4  Are you that anonymous commenter who only seems to come here to complain about the moderators, Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589? I’m afraid that, in the interest of not having long, boring discussions every time, we accept that our moderators are imperfect — nonetheless, like sports referees their calls are final, even when it could be argued that they were wrong.

But note that we hold ourselves to the same standard of behaviour — we’ve each at some point found it necessary, on reflection, to spam cop or delete one of our own comments as crossing the line.

That said, if you are willing to add your judgement to ours, please poke your head into the O Club and drop me a note with your contact information — goodness knows we could use help collecting articles from some of the regions that haven’t been getting proper attention recently, and I’ll be happy to start your training.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2020 1:19 Comments || Top||

#5  Being ruled over includes not being owed an explanation. Know your place.
Posted by: Rex Mundi || 07/26/2020 1:20 Comments || Top||

#6  Know your place.(#5) (What is my place???)

Are you that anonymous commenter who only seems to come here to complain about the moderators(#4) After informative comments were censored for no reason, there was no longer a logical reason to reason.
Posted by: Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 || 07/26/2020 1:33 Comments || Top||

#7  Being ruled over includes not being owed an explanation. Know your place.

Fuck that shit, Rex Mundi. I explained above. and have done so before. You know me and all the other moderators — we were all here as commenters for years before Fred asked us to become moderators. You want to be a moderator? Just say — we’ll happily make use of you, and divide the workload.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2020 1:45 Comments || Top||

#8  ^ Will do if I can moderate all Portuguese comments when my online language course has been completed.
Posted by: Ebbomoger Speaking for Boskone4589 || 07/26/2020 2:24 Comments || Top||

#9  "Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative,

More often than not when the decision matters less.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 3:01 Comments || Top||

#10  @5 Being ruled over includes not being owed an explanation. Know your place.

Hopefully in regard to SCOTUS not explaining their decision?
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 3:02 Comments || Top||

#11  Will do if I can moderate all Portuguese comments

I don’t think we’ve had any in Portuguese, either Portugal or Brazil, but if, while we wait, you could feed us War on Terror articles in English from those countries, that would be marvelous. We’ve been neglecting Europe since I had to give it up the round-ups as too much.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2020 3:11 Comments || Top||

#12  Hopefully in regard to SCOTUS not explaining their decision?

Oh. It sounds like I misinterpreted Rex Mundi’s target, and owe him an apology for snapping at him. Thank you for pointing that out, gorb.
Posted by: trailing wife || 07/26/2020 3:14 Comments || Top||

#13  Hopefully I'm right. I'd hate to see Rex with one end of a periwinkle wand sticking out of each ear. :-)
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 3:24 Comments || Top||

#14  it seems the solution would be to install a bar behind the pulpit
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 || 07/26/2020 8:11 Comments || Top||

#15  Bingo on Sunday after a brief service.
Posted by: Airandee || 07/26/2020 8:38 Comments || Top||

#16  Even though Roberts is a Grade A scoundrel, that four other justices think the same is really something else.
Posted by: Clem || 07/26/2020 8:57 Comments || Top||

#17  Should Trump win, the next supreme court nomination process, after RBG books her River Styx cruise, will make Kavanaugh's look like a Sunday social.
Posted by: Warthog || 07/26/2020 10:08 Comments || Top||

#18  Regarding Freedom of Speech and intolerance, yesterday I entered a comment regarding the judgement of one or two of the newer mods and the comment was heavily censored undoubtably by the party in question.

Shit like that's happened to me over the years; the rational sort would ask the following question first - did I just post something that makes me look like an irrational asshole? That answer has a 93% chance of being yes.
Posted by: Raj || 07/26/2020 10:30 Comments || Top||

#19  The other 7% of the time it's something I wrote.
Posted by: gorb || 07/26/2020 12:52 Comments || Top||

#20  and yes, I've Smokeyed myself. With reason
Posted by: Frank G || 07/26/2020 13:18 Comments || Top||

#21  They say justice should be blind, well, it is.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 07/26/2020 15:24 Comments || Top||

#22  Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, joined the court's four liberal justices

And god king of the fisa fraud judges. Tar and feathers would be appropriate. Mind you our pissy republicants don't have the balls to impeach him.
Posted by: Woodrow || 07/26/2020 16:30 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2020-07-26
  Allahu akbar: Turks hold Hagia Sophia triumphal march
Sat 2020-07-25
  Taliban ready for intra-Afghan dialogue immediately after Eid
Fri 2020-07-24
  Federal officers in Portland may have been permanently blinded by lasers
Thu 2020-07-23
  Photo Appears to Show Black Lives Matter Supporters Holding Down and Kneeling on Neck of White Baby
Wed 2020-07-22
  At Least 14 People Wounded In Mass Shooting Outside Funeral in Chicago
Tue 2020-07-21
  BLM Beats Conservative Michelle Malkin With Clubs In Denver
Mon 2020-07-20
  Turkey says 27 IS suspects arrested in Istanbul
Sun 2020-07-19
  Minneapolis: ‘It’s 24-Hour Crime’
Sat 2020-07-18
  Jordan’s top court dissolves country’s Muslim Brotherhood
Fri 2020-07-17
  Nigeria: 602 Boko Haram terrorists surrender
Thu 2020-07-16
  Video footage from Iranian port after 7 ships caught fire
Wed 2020-07-15
  Explosion as fire breaks out at Iranian industrial complex
Tue 2020-07-14
  BLM activist claimed in ultra-viral tweet that racist messages were left on his car. Video shows he placed them there himself
Mon 2020-07-13
  Florida man crashes into Catholic Church,
sets it on fire with worshipers inside
Sun 2020-07-12
  Turkish military seizes strategic summit in Iraqi-Kurdistan


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