Florida's population is 21.2 million people.

DeSantis "economy first" has failed the people. How many shops are closed because the proprietor is ill?

December 3, 2020

Florida’s Department of Health (click here) on Friday confirmed 10,177 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s known total to 1,039,207. This is the second consecutive day that that state has added more than 10,000 cases.

Also, 120 new resident deaths were announced, bringing the resident toll to 18,994. That figure represents the most deaths announced in a single day in Florida since Oct. 15 when 141 resident deaths were reported....

May 22, 2020

By Berkeley Brean

Rochester (NY) - Some of the saddest stories (click here) News10NBC has heard over the last two months are from the families who never got a chance to say goodbye to their loved ones before they died from COVID-19.

But even for the families that did, the circumstances they were faced with just compounded the tragedy....

...In the mid-'90s, Croop retired and started his own IT personnel business called Croop LaFrance. He also had a horse farm in Penfield....

...In late-March, he started feeling sick, and this shows how quickly COVID-19 works.

On Friday, April 3, he went to urgent care. On Saturday, he was in the hospital and tested positive for the virus. On Sunday, he was on oxygen in the ICU at Strong Memorial Hospital. On Monday, he died....

It is not legal for people to spread this virus. It is causing people harm.

Airlines need to be regulated in regard to SARS-Cov-2 and the resulting illness COVID-19. People are entering aircraft negative for the virus and leaving positive. (click here)

President-Elect is going to run into strong headwinds for 100 days if he does not mandate the wearing of masks. There needs to be a federal executive order mandating mask-wearing. There can be no voluntary request expecting cooperation, that won't happen. There needs to be an Executive Order and the right for cities to enforce it with fines.

EXECUTIVE ORDER NUMBER 20-244 (click here) (Phase 3; Right to Work; Business Certainty; Suspension of Fines.)

In this instance, with Miami, there were reasons to believe danger would enter the city with the holiday celebrations. They instituted a requirement to wear masks in the city and a $50 fine if those offered masks refused them. In evaluating the effectiveness of the program it sounds as though they are prepared to go to court to protect citizens.

Why put mayors through these struggles in a court of law? Just issue an Executive Order backed by US HHS.

 

November 24, 2020

By Martin Vassolo

After an executive order from Gov. Ron DeSantis (click here) led the city of Miami Beach to stop enforcing its COVID-19 mask mandate, the city has authorized police to start issuing citations to anyone who refuses to wear a facial covering leading up to Thanksgiving and over the weekend.

Under the city’s new enforcement plan, police will only issue a citation if the violator refuses to wear a mask provided to them. The policy change, announced Tuesday by city manager Jimmy Morales, goes into effect Wednesday and will last at least through the weekend.

The citations will carry a $50 fine, to be collected when legally allowed. Police will enforce the order in commercial corridors citywide.

“We will evaluate the effectiveness of the effort this weekend to determine if and how to best continue with the individual citations,” a city spokeswoman said in a statement....

The new Secretary of Health and Human Services has to correct the lies.

January 31, 2020

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II (click here) declared a public health emergency for the entire United States to aid the nation’s healthcare community in responding to 2019 novel coronavirus.

“While this virus poses a serious public health threat, the risk to the American public remains low at this time, and we are working to keep this risk low,” Secretary Azar said. “We are committed to protecting the health and safety of all Americans, and this public health emergency declaration is the latest in the series of steps the Trump Administration has taken to protect our country.”

The emergency declaration gives state, tribal, and local health departments more flexibility to request that HHS authorize them to temporarily reassign state, local, and tribal personnel to respond to 2019-nCoV if their salaries normally are funded in whole or in part by Public Health Service Act programs. These personnel could assist with public health information campaigns and other response activities....

Joe Biden wants to end the spread of this virus within the first 100 days of his presidency. That won't happen with volunteer efforts, the virus is dangerous and the politics make complete voluntary compliance impossible. 

December 1, 2020
By Jason Lawrence

Providence - Gov. Gina Raimondo (click here) defended the state’s two-week “pause” on Thursday, citing data that she said offered “no good news.”

But even as the governor addressed the state’s troubling trends in hospitalizations and fatalities,...

...“The next time you think its fun or funny to have a party,” Raimondo said, “I ask you to think about what it’d be like if your mom, or your wife, or your husband, or your best friend wound up in a field hospital.”...

November 24, 2020

By Jordyn Grzelewski and 

Ford Motor Co. confirmed Tuesday (click here) it has purchased a dozen freezers intended to store doses of a COVID-19 vaccine once one becomes available.

The Dearborn automaker did not immediately have more details to share, but said the procurement of the ultra-cold freezers was the first step in outlining a broader vaccine distribution plan, which the United Auto Workers has called on Detroit's automakers to establish as numerous pharmaceutical companies prepare to bring to market the COVID-19 vaccines they've developed. The news of Ford's purchase was first reported by Reuters.

"The health and safety of our workforce is our top priority," Kelli Felker, Ford's global manufacturing and labor communications manager, said Tuesday. "So we have ordered a dozen freezers to make a COVID-19 vaccine available to our employees on a voluntary basis when it becomes available. Beyond that, the situation is really fluid."...

December 1, 2020

Verrazzano Narrows Bridge (NY) Swaying in high winds on November 30, 2020!

My GUESS is that interruption in lighting cables would be the first indication of serious problems. Repeated episodes would require serious inspections.

Shame on Republicans. It should be the Democratic candidates in Georgia reporting voter fraud, not Trump.

Mail-in ballots should be sufficient enough to prevent the deceased from voting. It also should spark a return to sender movement that can lead to the removal of names from the voter rolls. Whether "just moved" or the former occupant is deceased a return to sender ballot should trigger it's own investigation to determine the true voter roles. Tracing property taxes and/or state income tax filing should solve the problem.

This year there are going to be more deceased voters than other years because of the pandemic.

December 3, 2020
By Nicole Cart

Paulding County, Ga. - A Florida attorney (click here) is at the center of a new state investigation after elections officials say he recently attempted to register to vote in Georgia and instructed other Florida Republicans on how to do it .

Bill Price is seen in a now-deleted Facebook Live video, speaking to the Bay County GOP members in Florida on Nov. 7th. It was about half an hour after the election was called for the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed the video is being investigated and released the following statement Thursday:

“Make no mistake, individuals who attempt to undermine the integrity of Georgia’s elections will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Raffensperger. “Those who move to Georgia just to vote in the Senate runoffs with no intention of staying are committing a felony that is punishable with jailtime and hefty fines. They will be found, they will be investigated, and they will be punished.”...

October 8, 2020

By Henry Redman

In the last decade, (click here) millions of registered voters across the country  have been removed from voter rolls. In 2019, Ohio removed more than 460,000 voter registration files from its list. Georgia removed 313,000 people from its rolls in October 2019 alone, and in Michigan, from 2011 to 2018, 1.2 million voters were removed from voter lists. 

This practice, known as list maintenance, is required by a federal law — the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA - click here).  

Some of those removals came after voters moved or died, and it’s in the best interest of states to keep their lists updated...

H.R.2 - National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (click here)103rd Congress (1993-1994)

Trump's friend that he sympathizes with is a PIMP.

Ghislaine Maxwell kept a catalog of GIRLS for all the men that would be invited to visit Epstein's properties compliments of his jet.

HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN?

Oh, wait. Epstein attracted high profile people in power in every sector of life because he exuded WEALTH. 

Here is some news. This level of exploitation of women and girls anywhere in the world is absolutely never tolerated anymore. This will never be tolerated in any country or in any lifestyle again!

No different than any other aspect of Trump's life, there is something to hide. Get this, there should be sympathy for Maxwell because Epstein is dead. No sympathy for the victims, but, an abundance of sympathy for the woman that was Epstein's PIMP.

November 23, 2020
By Ben Wieder and Kevin G. Hall

In a new interview, (click here) the president doubled down on and further contorted his remarks from two weeks ago.

Ghislaine Maxwell regularly took topless photos of girls (click here) who visited Jeffrey Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion and kept an album of the photos on her desk in Epstein’s home.

That’s according to excerpts from a June 1, 2016, deposition of Juan Alessi, the former maintenance man and house manager of Epstein’s Palm Beach mansion, unsealed Friday from a 2015 defamation lawsuit brought against Maxwell by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has said that she was manipulated and sexually abused by Epstein and that Maxwell and that Epstein directed her to have sex with a number of their prominent friends.

Alessi described Maxwell as being very “avid” about photographs.

“She had this high-tech camera,” Alessi said. “She was constantly taking photographs.”...

Little did anyone know, but, Mitch McConnell was plotting to begin a civil war. That was Mitch McConnell. Trump's minion.

S.Res.601 - A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate (click here) that order must be immediately restored to the cities of the United States so that citizens may have peace and the legitimate grievances of peaceful protestors may be heard and considered.

It never got off the ground, but, the evidence to the intent is a matter of record.

Latest Action:	Senate - 06/02/2020 Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text: CR S2651)

Summary: S.Res.601 — 116th Congress (2019-2020)

A summary is in progress.

There needs to be changes to the PPP.

The businesses that went out of business regardless of the PPP were exploited by the financial sector. Literally, the banks that made the loans put the recipients into bankruptcy.

When PPP was passed by Congress the program didn't tie the hands of the US Treasury in order to facilitate the distribution of the funds. Well, Munchkin decided the monies going to the small businesses weren't going to be as much help as the Democrats expected. PPP was a Democratic plan. The next time these programs are repeated there needs to be a far better outcome to the businesses receiving the funds. In other words, a quality control office needs to be in touch with ALL     the recipients to be sure the monies went to the right businesses and they were sufficient enough to MAINTAIN the viability of the small businesses.

There are many, many bankruptcies in the country costing the US economy all the jobs that went along with those failures. An investigation must ensue and justice brought to these people. It will take a couple of years to conclude an investigation that size, but, where we go again. The Obama administration had these issues as well and it took his staff some time to weed through all the tricks of the trade.

Secretary Yellin is going to need a staff that can assist those that received funding from PPP. Literally, Secretary Munchkin gave monies to PPP participants with one hand and took it back with the other to the very financial sector it was never designed to help.

VICIOUS is the only word that comes to mind to express the hatred Munchkin has for "the little guy." They never had a chance.

This failure of the PPP is a national shame. The people never fully received the benefits of this program and currently have lost jobs to bankruptcies anyway.

When will Republicans learn that manipulation of language and definition to facilitate their own priorities is just as illegal as if it were written in stone?  

December 3, 2020
By Kevin G. Hall, Ben Wieder and Nicholas Nehamas

The Paycheck Protection Program, (click here) a small-business lending facility created by the Trump Administration and Congress amid the pandemic, has generated more than $18 billion in fees for the nation’s banks, according to a new data analysis by McClatchy and the Miami Herald.

Since its creation in April, banks have helped funnel more than $525 billion in forgivable government-loans to small businesses willing to keep their doors open and their workers employed. The program hasn’t just helped struggling businesses, as it appears to have thrown a lifeline of sorts to banks that have seen their lending activities and loan portfolios under pandemic strains.

JP Morgan Chase & Co., the biggest bank in the country, led all banks in both loans and fees, lending an estimated $29.3 billion in PPP loans and earned fees just over $1 billion. It was followed by Bank of America Corp., which lent out $25.5 billion in PPP money and generated fees of more than $947 million. Those two far outpaced the third-largest lender by value, Wells Fargo & Company, which processed about $10.5 billion in PPP loans with fees of nearly $427 million....

This is why Ron DeSantas and Donald John Trump should never be involved in government.

A Pulmicort inhaler went missing. So what has that got to do with anything? It is how and why it went missing that is of interest.

A patient with asthma called the local pharmacy with a corporate name to request a refill of the vital inhaler, Pulmicort. A few days later this American went to pick up said inhaler with a credit card in hand but alas the counter person stated, “You already received this in Florida.”

The American states, “Florida?” 

Clerk, “Yes.”

The American states, “ I have never been to Florida, especially now.” 

Counter person asks the pharmacist for directions as to what should be done. Pharmacist looks at the screen and states, “Hm. It was dispensed without a copay and without cost. There was nothing charged for this inhaler in Florida." Let me see if the insurance will still cover it. The insurance will cover it. I can give you one now.” This, of course, was all in the spirit of excellent customer service.

The American stated, “No, don’t do that. I am worried about the inhaler dispensed in my name in Florida with no copay. I will call later for a refill.” With that the American went home and called the corporation offices customer service. 

After a very lengthy hold on the phone a person came on the line. The American was concerned for what was a wrongly dispensed inhaler. It was discussed between the two people and it was decided there was a theft of the inhaler in Florida.

After some scrutiny of the situation it was also decided a pharmacist could have dispensed the inhaler in a customer’s name without charging the insurance company and using it for his own purposes.

Currently the investigation into the missing inhaler is being taken seriously. It was a theft of an expensive inhaler. The American has lost nothing in reporting the theft. The scenario leading to the theft is that a corporate pharmacist working at a local store is Covid-19 positive, requested a steroid inhaler from his doctor, was not provided any such prescription, stayed on the job and self-dispensed a steroid inhaler for his treatment.

This minor theft, without insurance cost less than $1000.00, is very troubling. A COVID-19 positive pharmacist stayed on the job dispensing medications and interacting with people. This is the kind of disaster that happens when a Governor and USA president act irresponsibly in caring for their people. With more and more professionals becoming infected because of contact with the public they start to self-treat and risk exposing more people.

The CDC and NIH MUST establish a home care regime for treatment of COVID-19 that includes steroid inhalers and quite possibly blood thinners. The thing is this, the hospitals in the "red zones" are becoming if not already overwhelmed. There is staff becoming ill. It is more realistic to treat patients at home under quarantine if they can tolerate it. Oxygen can be ordered for the home environment if the patient is stable and able to eat and drink to maintain a well-nurouished state. Something like this really needs to be looked into because hospitals and their staff are at odds to deal with all these new patients.

This risk taking must stop and the only way this rampaging virus will come under control is by shutting down the country for a short period of time, as exampled by New Zealand and England.

A short shutdown is nothing compared to the continued spread of the virus. Once the spread is stopped, life can begin to return to what we used to call normal, if there is enough of the economy left to actually provide jobs.

Justice Department investigation...

 ...of a wealthy donor to Donald John Trump provides a window on these donors. It boggled the mind as to why these reasonably successful people would support and vote for Trump.

The new Attorney General needs to continue those investigations and any relationship with foreign powers.

The donors have reasons to support Trump that are harmful to national security. Anyone attempting to influence such an American for president is suspect of “compromise.” Compromise of both domestic and international dynamics.

There is no way any lawyer can deny Donald John Trump has compromised the USA during his four years. That has to be a high priority to end, including Russian oligarchs with deep pockets wanting economic connections to the USA. Oligarchs are not needed in the USA, they are laundering money while providing jobs to unwitting Americans. The Russian invasion needs to end. No oligarch is an independent investor, they are owned by Russia. At least China is transparent about their ownership of their wealthy.

The compromise MUST end. Prosecution may or may not resolve the problem. 

Away until tomorrow.

 I fine President-Elect Biden’s choices for his administration very exiting. All of them. I think Janet Yellen is pure genius. As the Federal Reserve Chair she instituted policies that worked for the Middle Class. I can’t wait to see her administration decisions, including perhaps the first woman on the $20 bill.

Away

I am away tonight and from what I can tell most of America is, too. Two weeks from now will be devastating. Hospitals are already overwhelmed from the most recent virus wave. There needs to be preparedness from the Thanksgiving viral wave. It tools like people are about 50/50 in regard to mask wearing. Some of the younger adults like to “fashion up” and wear masks that match their attire.

That said, I want to comment on the added members to the Biden Coronavirus Task Force. 

One member is a celebrated nurse, Jane Hopkins. This is seeing what the bedside nurses’s see and will improve the understanding of effectiveness of the PPE. She will be able to speak to the patient and family need when hospitalized.

Another member is Native American Jill Jim. The outcomes in regard to prevention have been dismal. The Native Americans, including Alaska Natives need a person that understands the depth of their cultural, what exactly that means to have meaningful prevention. It is also insight to the ability of these tribes to administer medical regimes and if unable what needs to be done immediately so those infected has good outcomes. Are they getting the medications such as an anti inflammatory, etc.

The last person is a college professor, Dr. Michael’s. He has an on the ground view of colleges and universities and how they work to prevent viral spread. There will probably be string recommendations if not an Executive Order to protect America’s brain trust. 

These three additions to the team also how vaccine distribution and administration can work in all of the settings. So, all in all the Biden Coronavirus Task Force should be able to get the job done. 

There may be a need for a cyber czar to coordinate and record the entire process to prevent duplication and accelerate Best Practices to as many Americans as possible in as short a time as is feasibly possible.

I very much like the new additions to the task force and lol forward to a good outcome for all Americans.

Just a word about the people exposed and appearing to have a chronic illness after recovering from the virus. There is going to be permanent damage, especially in patients surviving before anti inflammatory therapeutics were begun.

This virus disrupts cells setting a huge immune into action. The virus also causes a clotting cascade because of the cell rupture. We also know it likes to use the nervous system as an entry point and for replication. Former COVID-19 patients will likely have a wide variety of complaints. Some complaints will be recoverable over time others chronic and disabling, including organ transplants such as lungs. I stated early on it would be best if physicians and surgeons through their professional organizations set up a central databases(es) to track the outcomes of post COVID-19 with continuing complications. The idea behind such databases is to record for all what symptoms look like and what, if any, therapeutics work and/or provide comfort.

I hope everyone has had a very safe holiday. Good night.

This harassment of the USA courts will continue unless someone calls this what it is...

...perjury to corrupt. The Trump legal team, with the full approval of the president, is seeking a judge that will lean into the falsehoods of their filings and drive the election into the US House and/or the US Supreme Court.

Giuliani stated they are continuing because they are looking to find someone that will listen to them. Judge after judge has done nothing but listen to them. Giuliani isn't looking for a judge to listen, but, to act on his presentation of an opportunity to corrupt the election.

Attorneys are supposed to approach any court with sound evidence. Over and over there is nothing to the allegations being made and the tactics are out of line with the reality of these elections.

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ran a wonderfully honest, compassionate, and caring campaign. At no point in time did either of these great Americans indulge in corruption or lies. They held to their message to bring the USA out of this pandemic while protecting as many American lives as possible. We need them in the Executive Branch of this government.

It is time to stop this nonsense and provide peace of mind to the American people. If perjury is explained to Mr. Giuliani I am sure he will begin to understand the peril of his path.

November 28, 2020
By Cameron Peters

President Donald Trump (click here) continued to misleadingly cast doubt on the results of the 2020 presidential election — which was won three weeks ago by President-elect Joe Biden — in the early hours of Saturday morning. But with lawsuit after lawsuit failing in courts, and the federal election certification deadline approaching, Trump is quickly running out of road to attempt overturning the election.

The president’s latest legal defeat came Friday when a three-member appeals court rejected a Trump campaign suit against Pennsylvania election officials that alleged the state engaged in “unconstitutional discrimination” against Trump voters in a scathing, unanimous decision that found the president’s lawsuit had “no merit.”

Specifically, the suit asked two things of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals: to reverse a lower court decision blocking Trump’s legal team from amending its complaint to include claims that poll watchers were barred from observing the vote counting process, and to issue an injunction “to prevent the certified vote totals from taking effect.” (Pennsylvania certified its election results on Tuesday.) The court granted neither.

In its decision, the court highlighted the Trump legal team’s lack of evidence of its claims, and rebuked the lawyers for making “vague and conclusory” allegations, and for requesting a remedy “grossly disproportionate to the procedural challenges raised.”...

It is up to the residents of Flint. They need to understand what is occuring to protect their rights.

There will be an "opt-out" filing but then a resident will need their own lawyer to sue in court. There are approximately 96,000 residents of Flint. Simple math means the settlement will deliver about $6700.00 per resident. For a family of four that is a settlement of $26,800. Every family is going to be different. Some were hit harder than others. Applications to the settlement will be weighed according to the severity and will bring greater amounts of settlement. Every resident may not necessarily receive a settlement either.

At this point, the city and the people have to decide about the settlement and/or whether they want to move forward with lawsuits. The lawyers will tell residents to take the settlement and move on. The residents have to come to a consensus on what the city's direction will be. 

Property taxes in Flint can increase if the city does not accept the settlement. It is a difficult decision and there is no guarantee taxes won't go up, but, it won't be due to this liability. There is a lot to consider. In all honesty, Flint did not bring this on itself, but, the liability is still there. Snyder's administration made a huge mess. This can be the beginning of reclaiming Flint. I am curious about the cost of insurance for Flint if there is a settlement.

November 27, 2020

By Amy Diaz

Flint – Attorneys involved in the Flint Water Litigation provided an overview of the $641.25 million water settlement Nov. 23 on the City of Flint Facebook page (click here).

This information session followed the proposal of a $20 million contribution to the settlement by the city’s insurer. Flint City Council is set to vote on the city joining the settlement at the Nov.23 city council meeting.

Present at the live session was Attorney Rick Berg, Attorney Sheldon Klein, Assistant City Attorney William Kim, City Attorney Angela Wheeler, and Director of Communications Marjory Raymer.

Berg presented an overview of the lawsuit settlement at the beginning of the meeting.

He shared four key points for residents to understand:

- Berg said the city’s insurer has provided all of the money for the settlement, meaning the $20 million will come at no cost to the city or the residents.

- He said that more money can be recovered through lawsuits against the EPA, and the two engineering companies that have indicated they would not settle: Veolia and LAN.

- If the City Council does not approve the settlement, Berg said “the city will be at risk for thousands of dollars in lawsuits, if not millions of dollars.” He said the $20 million that has been negotiated from the insurance company won’t be contributed, and the city “will be in the same boat it’s in right now.”
Berg said it was important for residents to make sure to get information from reliable sources, and shared the following links:

- After Berg presented an overview of the settlement, Raymer asked the attorneys to respond to questions that were being asked in the comments of the live video:...

...Klein said residents can opt out of the settlement and file their own lawsuit, which he said is “an extremely risky course,” or object to the settlement and tell the judge why it shouldn’t be approved.

“The court will consider all of that before deciding whether to approve it. Assuming it is approved, then there will be your opportunity to submit your claim and provide documentation,” he said.

Once the claims are submitted, Klein said someone will review them and make sure the documentation is correct, and then the money will be paid out.

“We’re on a very aggressive schedule to make that happen,” he said. “It’s not gonna happen tomorrow. It’s going to take a little bit of time to process the tens of thousands of claims, and give you an opportunity to understand and make your decisions.”...

Donald John Trump is an impeached president whom has already exhibited untrustworthy behavior regarding Ukraine.

Donald John Trump is a chronic liar. He and his entire staff during his four years, including his family, should be placed on a far lower level of intelligence access than trustworthy former presidents. I just don't see a man that prefers Russian national security over that of the USA at all worthy of being included in the intelligence services.

There is no precedent that would include an impeached president in national security information. 

November 27, 2020
By Ken Dilanian

Washington - When David Priess was a CIA officer, (click here) he traveled to Houston, he recalls, to brief former President George H.W. Bush on classified developments in the Middle East.

It was part of a long tradition of former presidents being consulted about, and granted access to, some of the nation's secrets.

Priess and other former intelligence officials say Joe Biden would be wise not to let that tradition continue in the case of Donald Trump.

They argue soon-to-be-former President Trump already poses a danger because of the secrets he currently possesses, and they say it would be foolish to trust him with more sensitive information. With Trump's real estate empire under financial pressure and his brand suffering, they worry he will see American secrets as a profit center....

Without profoundly clear satellite data and/or evidence there can be no pointing fingers at Israel

November 23, 2020

Dubai - Iranian state television (click here) says scientist that Israel alleged led a military nuclear program in early 2000s ‘assassinated.’

Engaging an armed caravan is not the style of Israel. Kindly remember the 2nd in charge of al Qaeda was recently killed. I think Israel took responsibility for that death.

There was a confrontation of the caravan which included exchanges of gunfire. That is a group of armed individuals confronting Iran. A group that well-armed with the knowledge of the movement of a particular nuclear scientist sounds more like a domestic attack than from outside the country. I remind Hezbollah has access to extensive weapons and will distribute them to groups within Iran. So, there is no clear indication Israel was involved at all.

This scientist is more of a signal that others have knowledge of any Iranian covert nuclear program than a real loss to the Iranian nuclear program. The reason nuclear scientists in Iran have bodyguards is that no one would be a nuclear scientist in Iran given the successful past assassinations.

That said, Iran will not hesitate to increase tensions in the Gulf of Oman, especially along the Straights of Hormuz.

The tensions within the Strait is not new. There were two incidences in 2019. So, this is nothing new.

Any military aggression in the Straits compromises ship movement and that involves the entire area. It is difficult to run significant actions in the area because of the countries dependence on that waterway. Changing the status is grave and should not be engaged out of some idea of defensive maneuver.

Iran's population is 81.1 million people. Currently, SARS-CoV-2 has caused infections in at least a little more than 169,000 in 465 cities. I think that is more the concern of Iran than engaging in any confrontation.

26 November 2020

Written bySecretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)

• For the third consecutive day, (click here) the Health Ministry’s engineered statistics set a record in the number of dead and those critically ill.
• Iraj Harirchi, regime Deputy Health Minister: The increase in the number of hospitalizations and deaths is worrying. It is excruciating that COVID-19 is the leading cause of death in the country and in many provinces.
• Chairman of the regime parliament’s Health Commission: ‌ We wanted the cities to be fully quarantined for 15 to 30 days. It happened with delays, and only for two weeks. One-third of the employees are going to work, and the banks and parks are open. The traffic is not much different in many major cities and even in Tehran. Do those who are making the decisions have a presence in society?
• Shiraz University of Medical Sciences: 42 people died in the past 24 hours, and the death toll reached 2,314. We have 2,297 patients, of which 386 are in ICU....

I wish everyone a peaceful Thanksgiving.

 For me, it will be spent as a party of two with the social butterfly, my 85-year-old mother. I have been very proud of her. She has turned down three different invitations to attend much larger and uncertain Thanksgiving Day dinners.

I have prepared a small turkey and all the fixings. She is looking forward to it.

Everyone this blog touches have a safe holiday.

Be well. That is the most important reason this Thanksgiving.

Ice on lakes and rivers will become less trustworthy.

Earth is warming and unfortunately, that absolutely effects ice structures both permanent and temporary.

Ice presents fun, competition, and culture to many Americans, including Native Americans. None of that has to be sacrificed if the method of freezing water is safe while still answering the qualified use. If running water under the ice is needed for cultural rituals a manmade facility can be engineered to provide that demand.

These temporary ice facilities provide a smooth ice surface if built and managed correctly. In some ways, we should be asking ourselves why did we allow the danger in the first place?

November 20, 2020
By Veronica Penney

New research (click here) on the connection between climate change and winter drownings has found that reported drowning deaths are increasing exponentially in areas with warmer winters.

The study, published on Wednesday in the journal PLoS One, looked at drownings in 10 countries in the Northern Hemisphere. The largest number of drownings occurred when air temperatures were just below the freezing point, between minus 5 degrees Celsius and 0 Celsius (between 23 degrees Fahrenheit and 32 Fahrenheit).

Some of the sharpest increases were in areas where Indigenous customs and livelihood require extended time on ice. Across the countries studied, children under the age of 9 and teenagers and adults between 15 and 39 were the most vulnerable to winter drowning accidents....

AstraZeneca's data is not measuring up to reality.

If AstraZeneca has data that proves certain age groups and/or gender do exceptionally well with their form of vaccine; I would urge the company to redirect it's application to the FDA to specify the groups doing well on the vaccine. 

There is no catastrophe here so long as AstraZeneca can state the facts clearly prove effective in specific types of clients. With that, the company should restart it's investigation into a broadly effective vaccine that is proven for all people.

This is a highly dangerous virus and if AstraZeneca has a vaccine that is effective with specific populations it cannot simply disregard that as mistakes. It is okay to have specialized vaccines, especially at the beginning of the research which is only months old.

November 25, 2020
By Rebecca Robbins and Benjamin Mueller

...The regimen (click here) that appeared to be 90 percent effective was based on participants receiving a half dose of the vaccine followed a month later by a full dose; the less effective version involved a pair of full doses. AstraZeneca disclosed in its initial announcement that fewer than 2,800 participants received the smaller dosing regimen, compared with nearly 8,900 participants who received two full doses.

The biggest questions were, why was there such a large variation in the effectiveness of the vaccine at different doses, and why did a smaller dose appear to produce much better results? AstraZeneca and Oxford researchers said they did not know.

Crucial information was also missing. The company said that the early analysis was based on 131 symptomatic Covid-19 cases that had turned up in study participants. But it did not break down how many cases were found in each group of participants — those who received the half-strength initial dose, the regular-strength initial dose and the placebo....

I told you they were crackpots. They confuse aurhority of power with qualified opinion. It is malpractice of law.

They are subverting governance. What kind of decision allows guaranteed illness and possible death to become part of the USA democracy? Freedom and liberty that achieves adverse outcomes is not freedom or liberty.

The five crackpots from the Supreme Court decided it was their responsibility to decide the health and well being of citizens practicing their religion with indoor air dangers. The five crackpots, Alito, Gorsuch, Coney-Barrett, Thomas, and Kavanaugh, are not qualified to decide public health issues.

This is not a factious virus made up by Governor Cuomo to inhibit the practice of religion. Health Department officials that study the virus, it’s toll on citizens, and methods to stop THE SPREAD are to be upheld in their practices and not ignored to leave people to become ill, suffer and die.

The five crackpots are not qualified to override the sound decisions of a state or city’s health department because some other crackpots within the religious groups, Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel, an Orthodox Jewish congregation is crying about civil liberties at a time when the highest numbers of cases and deaths are being recorded in this country!

When a board of health presents itself and it’s policies with clear, concise data and sound science the Supreme Court has no right to disregard those policies. No right!

There are rock-solid examples in countries the size of New York that proves quarantine WORKS. So, this decision is ideological, disregards current science including remedies, and has no respect for human life.

Let me guess, Republicans, right? They might even be racists for all we know. Supreme Court Justices that put RELIGIOUS BELIEF before MEDICAL FACTS are malpractice of their status. These five crackpots would give Jim Jones permission to kill.

November 24, 2020
By Rebecca Randall

...Cell phone data (click here) was an early indicator that Sunday morning church attendance slowed significantly in the spring. According to a new model published in Nature, it also reveals the disparities in which segments of the population were able to stay at home and reduce exposure.

Researchers at Stanford University found that churches were among the top five sites for coronavirus transmission, alongside restaurants, gyms, cafes and snack bars, and hotels. According to an analysis of anonymous cell phone data, these places tended to have more visitors and longer visits. In all, the model calculates that visits to these sites accounted for 70 percent of transmitted cases during the first several weeks of the pandemic.

The study used mobility data from cell phone users in 10 large US metro areas throughout March and April. They calculated the transmission rate in various neighborhoods by overlaying US Census data with the density of infected individuals in those locations. (They compared it to the New York Times’ COVID-19 case tracker and found the model to be an accurate prediction.)

Even though black churches have generally been the most cautious about reopening, residents in black and Hispanic neighborhoods who met in person during this time carried a greater likelihood of transmission largely due to their higher mobility and more frequent visits to crowded places....