#16
#12 And I'm sure all the "good cops" demanded that he be removed from the force and never covered for him.
On a somewhat related note, has there been any news on the mass resignations of all the "patriotic" FBI agents in the wake of the revelations of a trumped up case against Flynn?
I've no doubt that they're leaving in droves and we just haven't heard anything yet.
[Mass Private Blog via ZeroHedge] Recent events have come to light about hospital surveillance that should concern everyone.
Big Tech is using the pandemic as an excuse to turn hospitals into mirror images of law enforcement's real-time crime centers.
When Google announced that they were donating 10,000 Nest cameras to hospitals, my jaw dropped.
"With these Nest Cams, nurses and doctors will be able to check in on patients, supplementing in-person checks. This means there will be a reduction of physical contact, and therefore less of a need for personal protection equipment (PPE), which has fast become a scare resource."
What makes Google's donation so jaw dropping is how Big Tech companies are using the pandemic to make them appear magnanimous.
"With both contact tracing and the Nest Cam solution, however, Google needs to rebuild a reputation as a privacy concerned company due to the sensitive nature of both projects. It's not going to be an easy task, but one that should remain at the forefront of all such efforts."
Because nothing says reputation builder, like putting real-time surveillance cameras in patients rooms. Not only will hospitals record patients but they will record, nurses, doctors, hospital staff and anyone else who enters a patients' room. That also includes minors, so no one will be safe from Big Brother's prying eyes.
As The Guardian discovered, it also sends that information to Google servers.
"However, Nest admits that when connected to Google's "Works with Nest integration" system, which allows other devices such as ceiling fans, washing machines and car sensors to integrate with Nest's products, it does share personal information with Google."
Why would Google donate 10,000 Nest cameras to 6,146 hospitals? Because they are hoping that the staff and patients will grow accustomed to being surveilled 24/7, and they hope hospitals will eventually purchase a Nest Aware subscription.
Nest cameras also record audio, making them the perfect hospital surveillance tool for law enforcement. Although a Google search of 'total hospital police departments in the U.S.' turned up nothing, we know that there are more than 6,000 hospitals and there are more than 17,000 law enforcement agencies in the U.S.
So if we were to make a conservative guess and say that at least half of America's hospitals have police departments, that puts the number at roughly 3,075. Does anyone really think that 3,075 hospital police departments will return Google's Nest cameras after the pandemic?
They will if the public fusses enough.
A recent Wall Street Journal article warned that hospitals are also using thermal imaging to scan everyone entering hospitals....
Giving our most sensitive medical information to a sh!tty opaque oligarch firm whose entire business consists of mining our behavioral data in order to dominate the behaviorally-targeted advertising market.
BCG vaccine doesn't protect against COVID-19, Tel Aviv U researchers find
[Jpost] The BCG vaccination administered during childhood does not protect against COVID-19 in adulthood, a new study by researchers at Tel Aviv University, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has concluded, according to The Hindu.
The finding is significant as a previous study, yet to be peer reviewed, found that countries which had universal childhood BCG vaccination programs had fewer coronavirus cases and deaths than countries which did not have a vaccination program, suggesting that the BCG vaccination had conferred protection again COVID-19.
Israel's population served as an excellent natural sample for the study, as a national immunization program which ran from 1955 until 1982 ensured that children born in Israel were routinely given the BCG vaccination. However, since 1982 only immigrants from countries with high prevalence of tuberculosis have been given the vaccination. Researchers were therefore able to compare the rate of coronavirus infection in the two groups.
Coronavirus cases continue to rise in Latin America
[AA.TR] Two South American countries reported more cases and deaths Monday from the novel 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... as the continent continues to grapple with the pandemic.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Peru rose to 94,933 with 2,660 recorded in the last 24 hours, according to the country’s Health Ministry.
A total of 2,789 people have died from the virus, including 141 over the same period.
At least 28,621 people have recovered.
Meanwhile, ...back at the the conspirators' cleverly concealed hideout Montefiore's foot was still stuck and the hound had completely soaked his uniform with slobber... the corpse count in Ecuador climbed by 63 to 2,799, according to the Health Ministry.
The number of confirmed cases in the country rose by 400 to 33,582.
After originating in Wuhan, China last December, COVID-19 has spread to at least 188 countries and regions, with Europa ...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum... and the US currently the worst hit.
The pandemic has killed more than 317,000 people worldwide, with over 4.7 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 1.7 million, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University of the US.
[AA.TR] Thomas Thabane, prime minister of the southern African nation of Lesotho, announced Monday he will step down from office amid allegations over his role in his estranged wife's murder, local media reported.
Thomas Thabane, 80, has been under pressure for months to step down after he was accused of being involved in the murder of his wife, 58-year-old Lipolelo Thabane, three years ago.
Thabane addressed his constituency in Ha Abia, in the capital Maseru saying he is stepping down as prime minister but not as leader of his party the All Basotho Convention (ABC), according to a report by South African news site EWN.
Last week, Lesotho’s coalition government led by Thabane collapsed after alliance partners pulled their support.
Earlier today, deputy leader of Lesotho’s new coalition partner Motlalentoa Letsosa of the Democratic Congress (DC), said the state council had accepted the nomination of Moeketsi Majoro as the new prime minister who will be sworn in on Tuesday.
The DC signed a deal with Thabane’s ABC to form a new coalition after Thabane’s government collapsed in parliament last week.
According to Lesotho National Assembly Speaker Sephiri Motanyane, Thabane was supposed to resign as prime minister by May 22.
Earlier this year, Maesaiah Thabane, 42, the outgoing prime minister’s current wife, was formally charged with Lipolelo Thabane’s murder.
Thabane and Lipolelo separated in 2012 and their divorce proceedings were ongoing when she was killed.
She was rubbed out near her home in Maseru in June 2017, just two days before Thabane’s inauguration as prime minister. "Today, we take care of all family business"
[YNet] - England has reported the lowest level of deaths in nursing homes as a share of total COVID-19 fatalities compared to other European nations, a document from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) showed on Tuesday.
The EU report compared figures made available by national authorities in European countries. It did not explain why the number of deaths in facilities for elderly largely varied across Europe but stressed under-reporting of COVID-19 cases in care homes "has been a common feature" throughout the pandemic.
[France24] The Mediterranean resort town of Ayia Napa in Cyprus is known for its boisterous parties. Each summer, thousands of young foreign tourists pack the dance floors of its nightlife district after a day at the beach.
But the pandemic silenced the exuberant Napa Strip district as the island nation of Cyprus went into a lockdown to halt the spread of the coronavirus. Now nightclub owners wonder when social distancing rules will be eased enough for the party to resume — and what those new parties will look like.
"We know at nightclubs, young people will go to dance and have a good time. But then you have to tell them that they have to keep 2 meters (6 feet) apart from each other?" asked Charalambos Alexandrou, the spokesman for a group representing local clubs, bars and restaurants.
Across southern Europe, in places where tourism drives much of the economy, officials are weighing how to entice travelers to come back, even while the pandemic remains a threat. Juggling the sometimes-competing needs of health and business, authorities are introducing measures to reassure visitors that taking a holiday is safe again.
Still, those are not likely to solve the quandary facing Ayia Napa’s nightclub businesses.
Alexandrou said this will be "a season of trying to survive," not seeking a profit.
Guests eyeing a vacation in Portugal, another major southern European holiday destination, will probably look beyond a hotel’s online reviews to see if it has the “Clean&Safe” seal now being awarded by local tourism officials. The seal indicates that the establishment, be it a hotel, restaurant or other venue, has enacted recommended hygiene and safety procedures to protect against the virus.
Whatever those procedures are.
Posted by: Bobby ||
05/19/2020 8:17 Comments ||
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#3
This is turning out to be a bureaucrat's wet dream.
[YNet] - "The past decade has been warmer than usual and it's getting warmer each year, for longer periods and with more extreme weather as a result," said Prof. Uri Shanas from The University of Haifa Faculty of Sciences at Oranim College. "Scientists' predictions are coming true right before our eyes. Global warming is here, it's no longer the future." These guys really hated their thunder being stolen buy epidemiologists for the last few months.
#3
#1 Yes, "my numbers are more magical than yours" goes back to pre-biblical times.
There's an app book for that. And a chapter, and a verse:
Numbers 12:6
"And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream." Fiat Ferguson!
It was warmer in Roman times. That allowed more evaporation from the oceans which meant more rain. That meant a wetter middle east. Like one that could support a 10,000 man Roman force that sieged Masada. They had a nice mule train that ran 24/7 to a spring a few miles away. That spring today couldn't support that many men, but could then. 'Cuz it was wetter and warmer.
#13
"Scientists' predictions are coming true right before our eyes."
I don't think right now is the time to be invoking scientists' predictions
Posted by: Bob Grorong1136 ||
05/19/2020 11:43 Comments ||
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#14
two rainy winters in a row have now raised the level of the Sea of Galilee to the highest level in several decades
nice graph of this at the website below
http://www.savethekinneret.com/
Posted by: lord garth ||
05/19/2020 12:33 Comments ||
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#15
"Experts say SOME_EVENT *may* occur"
Man, that phrase is really starting to cheese me off. No one ever mentions likelihood. I *may* win a coin flip. I *may* win the Lottery. Monkeys *may* fly out of my butt. These events *may* happen but they all have different likelihoods associated with them and some of them simply are not worth worrying about.
[Jpost] Flights from Europe and other parts of the world began to be halted between February 26 and March 4 – but not from the US. Only beginning on March 9 did Israel block its borders to anyone who came from abroad who couldn't complete 14 days of quarantine in Israel.
The remaining nearly 30% of infections in Israel were imported from Europe and elsewhere: Belgium (8%), France (6%), England (5%), Spain (3%), and 2% each from Italy, the Philippines, Australia and Russia.
STERN NOTED that another important finding is that “we very clearly see a reduction in transmission as of March 20, which is when the lockdown was implemented in Israel – which means the social distancing measures worked… The lockdown saved lives.”
Moreover, the study showed that “super-spreaders” were responsible for most of the coronavirus cases in Israel – around 80% of cases were infected by only between 1% and 10% of patients, or at “super-spreading events, such as large parties or other social gatherings.”
Stern believes that no more than 1% of the Israeli population contracted the virus – “a far cry from herd immunity.”
She said that closing borders and social distancing are two obvious and very important measures that would need to be implemented in any future spike. However, “we have developed tools that will allow us to cope, in real time, with the next outbreak that may occur.”
Note that if Trump had shut down the air hub in NYC in January all hell would have flooded the Legacy Infotainment Enterprises with their honor the Governor and Mayor screaming unending diatribes.
#3
As much as my governor (Baker - MA) is an asshole for slow walking every damn thing about 'reopening the Mass. economy', at least he's not Cuomo, Newsom or Whitmer.
#10
Vespasian Ebboting9735, judging by the number of false racial hoaxes and fake sexual harrasment claims bouncing around these days I think the best word for someone that wants to be a victim of something that didn't happen would be Democrat.
#1
Lots of local officials are asking space tourists to stay away but local businesses see a great chance to bootstrap their way out of the lockdown. The way Florida has been going, the space tourists and local businesses will win.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/19/2020 8:26 Comments ||
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#1
Boeing noted the The cost to launch a vehicle into space in 2015 was $5,000 to $10,000 per pound. It then began to work on a reusable space plane which would decrease that expense to as little as a few hundred dollars per pound. It looks as though Boeing has succeeded.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/19/2020 10:02 Comments ||
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#3
RE #1: The Atlas 5 rocket that the X-37 rides in costs over $100 million per launch, is expended and uses Russian main engines. In all, no way a good deal.
In the best case orbit, Atlas 5 costs about $2500/pound to LEO. The X-37 flights cost closer to $10,000/lb since it doesn't use the full capability of the Atlas 5.
Mostly PR fluff. Still a snapshot of vaccine development. Expect massive Chinese hacking attemps.
[Newsmax] Moderna Inc. said on Monday its experimental COVID-19 vaccine showed promise in a small early-stage trial, with the vaccine producing virus-neutralizing antibodies similar to that found in recovered patients.
The company's vaccine is at the forefront of the efforts in developing a treatment for the fast-spreading virus and last week, won the U.S. health agency's "fast track" label to speed up the regulatory review. Moderna expects to start a larger late-stage trial in July.
Eight patients who were administered Moderna's vaccine were found to have antibody levels similar to those in blood samples of people who have recovered from COVID-19, according to early results from the study conducted by the National Institutes of Health.
All 45 participants in the study were given three different doses of the vaccine and Moderna said it saw dose-dependent increase in immunogenicity, the ability to provoke an immune response in the body.
"We are investing to scale up manufacturing so we can maximize the number of doses we can produce to help protect as many people as we can from SARS-CoV-2," Moderna Chief Executive Officer Stéphane Bancel said.
#4
It's a safe bet that the usual shoddy regard for intellectual property rights will be completely out the window in the case of a Chinavirus vaccine. It will be appropriated in classic marxist fashion "for the good of all mankind."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/19/2020 11:08 Comments ||
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[CollegeFix] A similar message greets readers of Harvard University’s Crimson student newspaper. “Dear Incoming Freshmen: Take a Gap Year!” writes student Jonathan Katzman, an editor with the paper.
“I have one piece of advice for incoming freshmen. Don’t come. Yet. Harvard is a wonderful place and we are excited to have you. But right now, the Harvard experience is a shell of its typical self,” Katzman writes.
“Don’t be fooled by emails sent by the administration. The academic experience on Zoom is fundamentally flawed — no amount of summer planning will fix it,” he added. “More importantly, the social experience is non-existent. As the chances of an atypical fall seem more and more likely, freshmen are presented with a pretty good alternative: deferring college for a year.”
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.