Interesting News, Articles & Stuff

[kel]

Here we go, the wind down and marginalisation of covid has started, now it's "just like flu", I must admit that they are changing the narrative much sooner than I anticipated... ahh, there's a sting in the tail... wait for it... "A virus called RSV"

Covid: The UK is Europe's virus hotspot - does it matter?

Winter is approaching with infection levels higher than elsewhere, so is the UK in trouble?

www.bbc.co.uk

Oh and of course, don't forget to violently stab the NHS with yet another manufactured vote of no confidence (how else are they going to get people to accept privatisation of healthcare)

"The NHS has, compared with other nations, much less capacity to absorb extra demand."

edit: had a little look around and it's looking like RSV is going to be in the news a lot more in the coming months, gov websites updated - how I am not sure, quite a few murmurs here and there, but this from the BMJ seems to be setting the stage. Goodby covid, hello RSV.

RSV: The year the respiratory infection “took its gloves off”

The covid pandemic is having some unexpected repercussions, not least an unseasonal spike in respiratory infections in children. Matthew Limb looks at the scale of the problem and what health services are doing Respiratory syncytial virus activity was very low in many countries in the autumn...

www.bmj.com

 

[florduh]

Oh and of course, don't forget to violently stab the NHS with yet another manufactured vote of no confidence (how else are they going to get people to accept privatisation of healthcare)

 

[arb]

US officials increasingly believe directed-energy attacks are behind Havana Syndrome cases, report says

Deeerrrrrrrrrp

 

[kel]

I don't think a lot of people here in the UK realise what the reality is going to be like. I don't know this, just an impression I get.

I haven't had any healthcare for years and years... my repeated experience is that GPs and their 'medications' just cause more problems than they solve. A&E a completely different story, or at least it was last time I was there.

 

[florduh]

US officials increasingly believe directed-energy attacks are behind Havana Syndrome cases, report says

Deeerrrrrrrrrp

• Sen. Marco Rubio said that suggesting the symptoms are psychosomatic is "quackery."

Yes, psychosomatic disease, a thing that actually exists : Quackery

A Russian space laser that causes headaches and tummy aches: Not Quackery

I like the logical leaps here. A handful of people get sick. From there, we leap to this definitely was an attack by another country. With a weapon that defies the known laws of physics. This is an extraordinary claim, requiring an extraordinary amount of evidence. Right now, there's as much evidence for space lasers making CIA agents sick as there is for TikTok witches putting curses on them.

 

[arb]

Yes, psychosomatic disease, a thing that actually exists : Quackery

A Russian space laser that causes headaches and tummy aches: Not Quackery

I like the logical leaps here. A handful of people get sick. From there, we leap to this definitely was an attack by another country. With a weapon that defies the known laws of physics. This is an extraordinary claim, requiring an extraordinary amount of evidence. Right now, there's as much evidence for space lasers making CIA agents sick as there is for TikTok witches putting curses on them.

Seems there's a audience for space lasers AND witchery.

 

[cybrguy]

Absolutely right on the fucking money...

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1446512629401493522

 

[macbill]

Lava blocks the size of buildings falling from La Palma volcano

By Silvio Castellanos and Juan Medina LA PALMA, Spain (Reuters) -Blocks of molten lava as large as three-storey buildings rolled down a hillside on the Spanish island of La Palma while a series of tremors shook the ground on Sunday three weeks after the volcanic eruption. There were 21 seismic...

www.rawstory.com

 

[macbill]

Florida had nation’s worst COVID-19 death rate during summer surge

Florida suffered the most deaths overall and per-capita.

floridapolitics.com

 

[kel]

Following on from the biggest news story ever about the british policeman stealing Jaffa Cakes, the BBC obviously spotted my sarky derisive comment and are now reporting hinting on a tiny fraction of what is known about the horrifying REALITY of the british police:

Police Scotland: Dozens of officers face sexual misconduct allegations

More than 100 Police Scotland officers have been investigated over allegations made since 2017, figures show.

www.bbc.co.uk

but wait... encouraging the erm... 'cultural activities' the higher eschelons of our society love to engage in, the met isn't taking any action against their close friend and ally:

Epstein: Met to take no action after Prince Andrew review

A source close to the duke said it had "come as no surprise" the Met had decided to drop its probe.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[florduh]

Florida had nation’s worst COVID-19 death rate during summer surge

Florida suffered the most deaths overall and per-capita.

floridapolitics.com

Based on the amount of traffic here this Columbus Day weekend, I can tell you one reason why. Going out in public in Florida lately is like going to a COVID buffet where you get to sample different variants from around the country.

Since June 20, 18,040 Floridians were reported to have died of COVID-19, according to the data.

In the same period, the second highest death toll was found in Texas, 14,032. California had the nation’s third highest COVID-19 death toll during that period, with 6,338 reported deaths; followed by Georgia, 5,307; and North Carolina, 3,472.

Since June 20, 84 out of every 100,000 Floridians were reported to have died of COVID-19, according to the CDC data. That rate, adjusting for Florida’s large population, is the worst in the nation.

18,000 people died in FL just this summer?! What an insane number.

 

[kel]

Hmmm... isn't Florida a classic retiree state? i.e. a significantly older (and more vulnerable) population?

I have never been there, never even been to the US, but even I am aware of this...

edit: by retiree state, I mean lots of older people *move* there to retire!

 

[Razhumikin]

Hmmm... isn't Florida a classic retiree state? i.e. a significantly older (and more vulnerable) population?

I have never been there, never even been to the US, but even I am aware of this...

Florida has the 2nd highest proportion of elderly people by state, but this is not why COVID deaths are so high there. COVID is so bad in Florida because the republican leadership is actively fighting against implementing any useful measures. By contrast, Maine, which is proportionately the oldest state, is doing significantly better in its fight against COVID.

 

[macbill]

Israeli archaeologists uncover 'world's largest' Byzantine-era winery

Israeli archaeologists on Monday uncovered a Byzantine-era, industrial-scale wine complex which produced some two million litres of the drink annually and was the world's "largest" such centre at the time.The facility in Yavne, south of Tel Aviv that was a Jewish settlement during biblical times...

www.rawstory.com

 

[kel]

Florida has the 2nd highest proportion of elderly people by state, but this is not why COVID deaths are so high there. COVID is so bad in Florida because the republican leadership is actively fighting against implementing any useful measures. By contrast, Maine, which is proportionately the oldest state, is doing significantly better in its fight against COVID.

That sort of meaningful comparison, with properly constructed statistics evaluating multiple factors to make a compelling and clearly demonstrable and understandable argument would be much more interesting imo

I wonder how the economics of this pan out, here in the UK you could be forgiven for thinking it is all about relieving the financial burden of the erm, so-called 'economically unviable' on the state, so killing off people in care homes, mandated DNR orders on people who need care like the disabled and those with learning difficulties, getting rid of pensioners to help with the eye-watering pension deficit, are all huge wins in the Neoliberal playbook. In their eyes 18,000 dead is fucking GREAT!

 

[florduh]

Florida also has built a tourism economy. For the State to survive, millions of people from around the world need to climb into a steel tube and fly here. I think that made us uniquely vulnerable to the pandemic. And not only because of disease spread either.

The base of the economy here is low paid hospitality jobs. Jobs that barely pay enough to afford rent. So obviously, not a lot of money leftover to save for a rainy day (or year...or almost two years) when all the layoffs started. Which reminds me...

Sept: Eight Million Removed From UI. Only 194,000 New Jobs.

A devastating September for unemployed workers.

www.peoplespolicyproject.org

The stated purpose of cutting these benefits was to get people back to work. The idea was that pandemic unemployment benefits have been keeping people from accepting jobs and that cutting the benefits would therefore result in large employment gains.

194,000 jobs is equal to less than 3 percent of the people who were removed from the UI rolls in September. At this rate, it would take 3.5 years for jobs-added to equal the number of people who lost their pandemic UI benefits.

The thing is, we knew this was going to happen based on States like FL that cut benefits over the summer. There was no boost in new employment. Given that fact, I can only assume that cruelty was the only goal with these cuts. Neoliberalism is an anti-human death cult. A cult almost everyone in power belongs to.

 

[kel]

Those unemployment figures are incredible, the deaths associated with that have got to far exceed those from covid - just a guess - but surely?

Neoliberalism is an anti-human death cult. A cult almost everyone in power belongs to.

Absolutely... from the clown's* mouth, over-population is the world's no. 1 issue:

Global Population Control - Boris Johnson

Global over-population is the real issue It is a tragic measure of how far the world has changed – and the infinite capacity of modern man for taking offence – that there are no two subjects that can get you more swiftly into political trouble than motherhood and apple pie. The last time I...

www.boris-johnson.com

* putting to rest the age old argument that clowns are actually evil forever!

 

[florduh]

Absolutely... from the clown's* mouth, over-population is the world's no. 1 issue

The population level isn't a problem on its own. The problem is sustaining that population currently requires pumping millions of tonnes of a known greenhouse gas into the atmosphere every day. Obviously this accelerates the greenhouse effect. I like that the solution to this problem isn't rolling out alternative energy sources to fossil fuels. It's just getting rid of humans.

Also, we live in a world of plenty. We just handle that plenty in a really dumb way, all to protect the lifestyles of our corporate elite.

A kid working at Dunkin' Donuts had a normal human response to having to throw away tons of perfectly fine food into the trash. He donated the trash-destined donuts to firefighters and the homeless. This caused Dunkin' corporate to give him the Ned Beatty Speech from "Network".

"You have meddled with the primal forces of Nature, fifteen year old boy, and You. Must. ATONE!"

 

[kel]

Well, it would be better if we looked after those humans we already have and stopped reproducing so freaking much!

I am not comfortable with murdering someones grandma for profit ... even if it is couched in abstract terms like saving the economy or balancing the pension deficit!

As for...

perfectly fine food

Are you sure about that?

It certainly doesn't qualify as food in my store cupboard - more like cancer inducing sugar bombs!

Oops sorry, I do agree with the point about wastage - wholeheartedly!!

 

[Planck]

194,000 jobs is equal to less than 3 percent of the people who were removed from the UI rolls in September. At this rate, it would take 3.5 years for jobs-added to equal the number of people who lost their pandemic UI benefits.

Is this the new math 3% * 3.5 =100

 

[macbill]

Already, 18 weather disasters costing at least $1 billion each have hit the U.S. this year​

An analysis by independent climate research group Climate Central shows the average time between billion-dollar disasters has dropped from 82 days in the 1980s to just 18 days on average in the past five years (2016-2020).

 

[florduh]

Is this the new math 3% * 3.5 =100

194,000 new jobs is less than 3% of the currently unemployed. If the economy only adds new jobs at that rate (194,000/month), it would take about 3.5 years to get every unemployed person into a new job.

Of course, there will hopefully be months with higher job growth. But the cuts to pandemic unemployment benefits were supposed to spur job growth. Instead, September was one of the worst months this year.

 

[macbill]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1448139659838590981

Catholic Troops Can Refuse COVID Vaccine, Archbishop Declares

“No one should be forced to receive a COVID-19 vaccine if it would violate the sanctity of his or her conscience,” Broglio wrote.

www.defenseone.com

FDA authorizes an e-cigarette for first time, saying benefit for smokers outweighs risk to youths​

 

[macbill]

New Word

 

[kel]

For those wondering as I did...

lal'ō-kē'zē-ă ... la-lo-KEY-zee-uh