I guess it is called liberty to deal in invisible coins.

September 23, 2021
By Isabelle Lee

Twitter on Thursday (click here) rolled out its bitcoin tipping feature that will allow anyone using the platform to send and receive tips in the cryptocurrency.

It is also looking to authenticate non-fungible tokens displayed on people's profiles to determine if the user actually owns them.

The bitcoin tipping feature, which was made available to select users earlier this year, will first be available to iOS users before launching in Android.

The company is also adding more payment services apart from the seven it currently has, which include PayPal and Venmo. As for bitcoin, Twitter will be using payment application Strike that is built on the Bitcoin Lightning Network. This allows users to send and receive bitcoin free and instantly, the company said....

However.

September 24, ,2021

By Shalini Nagarajan

China's central bank (click here) declared all cryptocurrency-related transactions illegal on Friday, and said foreign exchanges are banned from providing services to Chinese residents, in its strongest crackdown move yet on the digital asset industry.

Coins such as bitcoin and ether "are not legal and should not and cannot be used as currency in the market," the People's Bank of China said in a statement.

Virtual currencies do not have the same legal standing as fiat currency as they are issued by non-monetary authorities and use encryption technology, it said.

Bitcoin dropped 5.7% to about $41,110 in the wake of the announcement, according to data from CoinDesk. Ether lost 9% to hit $2,788, ada declined 3% to $2.16 and Ripple's XRP moved 7% lower to 92 cents. Dogecoin fell 8% to 20 cents....

In Russia, it's own cryptocurrency is sanctioned due to ransomware. It is the perfect crime. Completely outside the parameters of standard financial markets and banks. Is Russia's cryptocurrency for ransomware terrorism? It operates outside the definition of the civil world and uses infrastructure against itself. That is terrorism.

September 21, 2021

The United States (click here) has imposed sanctions on a Russian-based cryptocurrency exchange over its alleged role in facilitating illegal payments from ransomware attacks.

The Treasury Department action on September 21 targeted SUEX, in what officials said was the first sanctions leveled against a cryptocurrency exchange laundering money for cybercriminals.

This year, ransomware attacks have targeted companies and critical infrastructure, including a major U.S. pipeline and a meatpacker. There was also an attack on the software firm Kaseya that impacted some 1,500 businesses.

Ransomware payments surged last year to over $400 million, more than four times their level in 2019, according to the U.S. government.

But those payments represent only a fraction of economic harm caused by cyberattacks, which have disrupted critical sectors, including financial services, health care, and energy.

“Ransomware and cyberattacks are victimizing businesses large and small across America and are a direct threat to our economy,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen....

Russia earned the first in history sanctions against a cryptocurrency. Will the perpetrators ever be brought to trial? No. Russia does not cooperate with extradition. 

September 21, 2021
By Issabelle Lee

The US Department of the Treasury (click here) on Tuesday revealed it will sanction Russian-owned Suex for its role in laundering financial transactions for ransomware actors, marking the first time the agency has ever blacklisted a cryptocurrency exchange.

An analysis of transactions of Suex showed that over 40% were associated with illicit actors, according to a department announcement, adding that the crypto exchange also facilitated illicit funds from at least eight ransomware variants.

Tuesday's designation would generally ban all US citizens from engaging in transactions with Suex, a private company based in the Czech Republic.

The agency's Office of Foreign Assets Control warned players in the space that it "has imposed, and will continue to impose, sanctions on these actors and others who materially assist, sponsor, or provide financial, material, or technological support for these activities."...

The Russian crypto is actually breaking Russian law with what would seem impunity.

August 10, 2020

By Roger Huang

Russia recently signed a new cryptocurrency law (click here) that while stopping short of the previous ban on cryptocurrencies, still imposed stringent restrictions on its use in as form of monetary currency. This followed an earlier regulatory filing that essentially associated any activities involving cryptocurrencies as criminal, and placed them under the lens of anti-money laundering regulations.

Starting January 1st, 2021, cryptocurrencies will be allowed in Russia, though they will not be allowed to be used in exchange for any goods or services. There may be more regulation coming in upcoming sessions, but as of now, it seems that Russians can mine, trade cryptocurrencies for other cryptocurrencies on exchanges, and own cryptocurrencies without any legal issues — so long as they don’t spend it on other goods and services within the domestic economy....

Governor Whitmer please don't let these important vaccines be wasted.

To find the expiration date for Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (click here) released to the United States Government, locate the lot number, printed on the carton and vial. Enter the lot number in the field below and press "Submit."

Most health care workers check expirations dates chronically as they administer medications to patients including IVs.

These vaccines could be used for the booster doses, a need of the elderly after the FDA approved its use. However, it would be remiss to allow these doses to be set aside for booster administration when there is such a new directive at nearly the same time as the expiration date.

September 23, 2021
By Hayley Harding

More than 300,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines (click here) are on the verge of expiring in Michigan as demand for shots wane right as the state stares down what appears to be a fourth surge of cases.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services estimates that about 161,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and between 143,000 and 146,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine expire near the end of this month, said Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for the health department.

Eighteen months into the pandemic, 1 in 10 Michiganians have tested positive for COVID-19. One in 485 have died. And for months now, the number of people getting first doses of a vaccine has been dropping to a trickle.

The number of shots getting into people’s arms has been below 100,000 since the weekend of June 26, down from an April peak of 679,409 doses administered. Excluding this week, for which numbers are not yet completed, providers have been administering an average of 70,000 doses a week for three months, according to state data....

Hiding in plain sight.

Ethics is what occurs as a profession carries out it's legal rights. I don't know how long the Republican party spurned ethics, but, they don't carry legal weight so much as moral weight, so why bother. As long as the Republican Party is overwhelmingly viewed as righteous in a religious dogma then there would be no question about their high ethical standards.

8 hours ago, September 24, 2021

After months of toiling away in secret, (click here) Arizona's election audit has come to a close. Cyber Ninjas, the group leading the audit, is set to announce its findings on Friday and Insider obtained a draft copy of the audit results. They show no significant discrepancies between the official Maricopa County tally and Cyber Ninjas' recount....

Below is rather intensely clarifying journalism by Chris Hayes. It strikes at the heart of many of the confusingly dangerous agendas of the right-wing. All Republicans that cooperate with Trump and carry his agenda are equally as guilty of having designs to end the USA democracy and quite possibly democracy in any country.

When states are demanded to recount they need to fight back and sue the very entity that requested it for attempting to defraud the election process with false claims to an audit. I might also state while demanding these audits entities like Cyber Ninja are making money. This is their sick and demented way of making a living, by attacking democracy.

Besides the Secretaries of State fighting back against the FRAUD of organizations such as Cyber Ninjas, there is the issue of defamation of character of political figures such as President Biden. For as long as I can remember political assaults on a candidate's character such as a ballooning head of Speaker Pelosi that demonizes her and assaults her character when she is recognized as a highly respected Catholic as well as a political leader was viewed as "All in the name of politics." That is an interesting way of coping with defamation of character far beyond what is ethically acceptable. It needs to stop and unfortunately, elected officials need to have their own attorney on retainer to be able to refer such issues appropriately. It would be a campaign expense assigned to campaign funds.

The defamation of character that Sky News pulled off in manipulating the news reporting of the Boris-Joe meeting in the Oval Office is NOT "All in the name of politics." It was well-thought-out defamation of character for the purpose of not only unseating a duly elected president but, also bringing to question the idea that democracy itself is toxic to the people. If a freely elected President is incompetent and there is no sincere method of removing him, then democracy has failed the people.

While this all seems laughable to the people involved and they get on with their day, it is highly toxic to the ELECTION PROCESS and to democracy itself. Political leaders and freely elected officials need to fight back and demand the courts' rule in favor of such defamation and bring an end to this hideous allowance in our political environment.

Speaker Pelosi can speak to the incredible expense that goes along with these free for all defamation of character issues. Her campaign budget ballooned along with the opponent's cartoonish defamation of character ads. This level of HATE cannot and should not be tolerated. These highly defaming issues STICK to cause problems later on as in an insurrection whereby Speaker Pelosi was a target of the hate carried that day. 

The USA democracy is precious to many citizens and needs to be treated as such. 

 

An earlier entry today on this blog stated "Sky News" was treating President Biden harshly. That still stands.

President Biden is more than agreeable to taking questions at the spur of the moment at the request of his guest in the Oval Office, Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

This is the entire meeting with the press in the Oval Office and it went quite well until the end when the press corps couldn't contain themselves and began shouting.

On a regular basis, the foreign media is taking snippets of video and PRETENDING  as though it is a factual event to PROVE President Biden is old, frail, and incompetent. THEY ARE LYING.

I take issue with the way some foreign media is promoting the idea that President Biden is not a candidate for future office and in fact, should be replaced ASAP and perhaps Trump was the actual winner in 2020. 

KNOCK IT OFF.

I have no problem bringing these issues to this blog and have the INJUSTICE of it all aired here.

President Joseph Biden is the legitimate president of the USA and if that FACT results in poorer ratings to "infotainment" media such as Sky News, then that is unfortunate. Boo-hoo, boo-hoo. Need a crying towel?

I am curious and might have to research it a bit, but, was Sky News purchased by Murdoch? If it was, it is all too OBVIOUS that Murdoch simply hates the USA democracy and will undermine it even from afar. 

IDIOTS ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

In watching that video in the previous entry nothing should be lost on the content of the information the three men gave to the press.

The COVID-19 virus has wreaked havoc on the UK. Their NHS was overwhelmed by the invasion of the virus and the fact the country is made up of nearly 67 million people dependent on good care. I think the medical professional stated clearly that in order to ADDRESS THE BACKLOG of needed procedures the country has to invest in updating and purchasing state-of-the-art equipment to move it along.

I read a very heart-rendering article that addressed a man that was struggling to combat a severe threat to his life and the NHS was literally prioritizing people in treatment outside of the COVID-19 deadly intent on people of all ages. He was brought to tears in his condition because while he has received good service from the NHS, he was finding it difficult to sustain some of the delays. At the time this interview took place he was receiving treatment. The point is that while the press corp is carrying urgent messages that are preceived as political rather than real, their purpose is to carry such tragedy to the highest levels of alertness and have it addressed. 

That responsibility of the press is a noble one and also presents quite falsely as a method of promoting one political agenda. In the UK, the press must carry the message of the people and they do quite successfully. I think the Prime Minister has come to terms with that fact and openly reassures the press that they are heard. There are fewer adversarial relationships with the press and what is perceived as such by the Prime Minister, is met with a smile.

I do not believe the public has come to complete terms with the COVID-19 tragedy in the USA. The virus and its outcomes including vaccines are still part of a political dogma that is hurting the country and quite frankly businesses as well. The method the press uses in carrying information to the people and then emphasizing their response sometimes as front-page information is vital to democracy and is not a preference for one political party or another. Newspapers and news media is about dialogue and impacting what is important to the country to survive and move forward. Those media sources that choose an agenda vs. a dialogue should be ridiculed because it is a violation of ethics.

In this news conference with Boris and others.

The technique Boris uses is more than fascinating. The degree the UK uses USA jargon is interesting, including President Biden's "Build Back Better" is more than interesting.

That said, the technique Boris Johnson uses with the press is a new twist on Passive-Aggressiveness. It might work for him. He is after all Prime Minister.

It is easy to tell during the press conference it is hardly a chummy relationship with the press that is shared with Prime Minister Johnson. However, his approach is one of friendliness and flattery. He attempts to bond with them by first knowing the names of the newspapers they work for and the current engagement by the paper in social issues that sparked the question. it is hardly adversarial and more socially balanced. It provides an interesting and I think productive relationship on both sides of the question.

However.

At the same time, Prime Minister Johnson is bonding with the press and flattering their content of social conscience he also links it to the tax increases he is proposing. So, in other words, "Get your act together press corp., we are finally addressing all the pressing issues of the day and it is going to cost money, so promote the tax increases or change/abandon your agenda."

Fascinating.

This is not the approach of President Biden. He is more direct, a matter of fact, and somewhat casual. President Biden has always prided himself, as a legislator and Vice President, in being easy to approach and a bit casual as Middle-Class people often are in their demeanors. President Biden has never and continues to never "put on airs" of any superior entity, so much as a man of the people. Most unions would find President Biden to be exactly that. A man that not only understands the Middle Class but, actually identifies with them.

I might add, it seems as though this hesitancy to return to work is also evident in the UK. Prime Minister Johnson toward the end of the speech talks about jobs and their availability and how the focus is to give an opportunity to young people.

 

There is no one to blame for the disastrous press briefing.

I will comment on this further this afternoon when I have time on my hands.

What was witnessed at a press opportunity between Boris and Joe was because the press is very unstructured at the White House. There was nothing but yelling.

Sky News also needs to find manners when it comes to their chronic harassment of President Biden.

The two NATO leaders have been conditioned differing regard to their approach. Boris engages the press with flattery and friendship while Joe rather not deal with it at all. That is what was witnessed Ms. Sky News and nothing else. 

It also would seem that everyone who has a chance is attempting to ignite President Biden’s shuddering handicap. So, yelling has become a real blood sport with the press or any hostiles in the room.

Joe Biden is the legitimate President of the USA and he is completely capable and competent. The Haitian refugees need to get attention and the beginning is an increase in the number of refugees allowed in the USA. President Biden signed the order for that to happen several days ago. The responsibility for carrying out assessment of the Haitian refugee problem now falls to the State Department and its processes. 

There are two peoples stressed for refugee status, the Afghans and Haitians. I think the USA has already taken its full complement of Afghans. Haitian refugees need to be addressed. 

A new emergency in nuclear power, financial stability of companies that dismantle them.

The US House Representative and the Senators need to take this mess to the floor for an emergency provision to end the use of this reactor. Lake Michigan has not been kind to the shoreline and there is sincere danger at the center of this dismantling.

The reactor must be removed. There is no sense in anything nuclear where this is located. 

At one time decades ago the reactor was a very distant energy source and pollution in the lakes was common and still dangerous. But, since this reactor was built the character of the shoreline has changed and provides a significant GDP to the states surrounding them. The reactor is now considered a huge mistake with little insight into the potential of the Great Lakes to be tourist havens. The reactor must come down sooner than later and that is a fact. The federal government needs to step in to end this disaster of an energy source.

September 22, 2021

By Carol Thompson

Covert Township - A blockade of I-beams sunk deep into the beach (click here) serve as a stark barrier between industry and recreation along Lake Michigan's southern shore.

On one side is Van Buren State Park, where visitors swim, boat and sunbathe on the stretch of Great Lakes sand. On the other is Palisades Power Plant, a nuclear energy facility that has produced electricity for decades and has become a new source of controversy.

Palisades is slated for closure in the spring. Its owner, New Orleans-based Entergy Nuclear, seeks to transfer Palisades to a New Jersey company that is gobbling up shuttered nuclear plants, promising to decommission them swiftly and on a strict budget.

But environmental groups and Michigan's top law enforcement official doubt the company can fulfill those promises. Holtec International's plans raise "significant health, safety, environmental, and financial concerns for residents of the state," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel wrote to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in a February petition.

As part of decommissioning Palisades, Holtec intends to let nuclear waste sit in storage on the site abutting Lake Michigan. And if the company gets approval to build an interim storage facility in the southwest United States, it could ship that waste on barges over the storied Great Lake.

What will the Supreme Court misogyny do to cases involving some of the best in the country.

September 15, 2021
By Mary Clare Jalonick, Will Graves and Michael Balsamo

Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles (click here) told Congress in forceful testimony Wednesday that federal law enforcement and gymnastics officials turned a "blind eye" to USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse of her and hundreds of other women.

Biles told the Senate Judiciary Committee that "enough is enough" as she and three other U.S. gymnasts spoke in stark emotional terms about the lasting toll Nassar’s crimes have taken on their lives. In response, FBI Director Christopher Wray said he was "deeply and profoundly sorry" for delays in Nassar’s prosecution and the pain it caused.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion — widely considered to be the greatest gymnast of all time — said that she "can imagine no place that I would be less comfortable right now than sitting here in front of you." She declared herself a survivor of sexual abuse.

"I blame Larry Nassar and I also blame an entire system that enabled and perpetrated his abuse," Biles said through tears. In addition to failures of the FBI, she said USA Gymnastics and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee "knew that I was abused by their official team doctor long before I was ever made aware of their knowledge."...

At least most of the country now agrees, including the peer group of the Supreme Court.

LAWLESS

September 11, 2021

By Oma Seddig

The Supreme Court opened the door to fierce backlash (click here) when a narrow majority of justices in a ruling last week upheld a strict Texas law that bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

From President Joe Biden to advocacy leaders, critics have knocked the court's decision, arguing it flouts the constitutional right to an abortion established nearly 50 years ago under Roe v. Wade. That Supreme Court decision, along with other major abortion rulings since, protect the right to an abortion until pre-viability, or the point when a fetus can survive outside of the womb, which most experts say occurs around 24 weeks of pregnancy.

The court's refusal to block the Texas law "unleashes unconstitutional chaos," Biden said last Thursday, hours after the decision was handed down. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit this week in an attempt to block the six-week abortion ban.

"This is the loudest alarm yet that abortion rights are in grave danger, in Texas and across the country," Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in response to the ruling....

Can we please get this right.

For once parents and children are receiving a tax break from the USA government rather than million-billionaires and enormously sized companies with bad employee policies.

If this is tied to the refusal of the Republicans to either pass a budget or a CR then the country should know by every Democrat exactly who their victims are.

September 22, 2021
By Tami Luhby

Though the Internal Revenue Service (click here) sent out the third monthly child tax credit payment last week, some families are still waiting for the funds.

Angry parents have contacted CNN, taken to Twitter and posted to other online sites complaining that they did not receive the money on Sept. 15 as expected. Eligible families can get up to $300 for each child up to age 6 and up to $250 for each one ages 6 to 17.

The agency, which distributed $15 billion in credits to about 35 million families last week, acknowledged Friday that "some individuals" had yet to receive their September payments, though they were sent ones for July and August. It also noted that these parents may not be able to see the status of the payment on the IRS' child tax credit portal....

Mary Trump and the New York Times are great Americans

To begin this is all about his next attempt to be president. This has got to be the biggest joke going. Donald John Trump is a treasonist and was the entire time he was in office. From the very first visit at the White House of the Russian Foreign Minister and his entourage all the way to identifying with the mob of January 6, 2021. There is no basis for any lawsuit. NONE!

It would be best if the New York Times and Mary Trump would get rid of this mess as soon as possible so he can't ride the gravy train belonging to others and to end the campaign before it gets started.

THE ALARM was heard loud and clear and most of the country was grateful for it. There is absolutely no damages here that Congress doesn't already have. This is simply ridiculous.

Donald John Trump wants to overthrow the USA Constitution and make himself king. He isn't interested in work. Being President of the USA demands some degree of work even on a slow day, but, he isn't interested in the work, ONLY the room and board and all the staff he can muster to do his chores for him.

As the chosen one I am sure he believes the fallout shelters afforded the President of the USA were made just for him and his brood. He is convinced, in a political sense, he will rise again and this is part of the delusion he BELIEVES.

Call in mental health experts as a reason to dismiss the lawsuits. Trump has been and is delusional. There is no basis for the lawsuits. None. They did the country a great service and should be applauded for their bravery. The New York Times did nothing but find every bit of information available to them in the public realm and compose an article to create an understanding of the profound disregard by Trump for the country. He is and always was an opportunist. Being in the private sector he was mostly out of reach and Michael Cohen can attest to it. But, what he did once in office is completely unforgiveable.

September 22, 2021

By Sarah Al-Arshani

Former President Donald Trump (click here) sued his niece Mary Trump, The New York Times, and three of its reporters over coverage of his tax records, the Daily Beast reported.

Trump filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in Dutchess County, New York, which claimed his niece and the Times came up with an "insidious plot" on how to get his records for reporting on his tax history.

The Times reporters named in the suit are David Barstow, Susanne Craig, and Russ Buettner, who won a 2019 Pulitzer Prize for their 18-month investigation into Trump's finances.

Damages requested from the Times and Mary Trump will be determined at trial but are "believed to be no less than One Hundred Million Dollars," the Daily Beast reported....

I demand OSHA investigate Amazon for very DANGEROUS demands of it's delivery drivers.

So, Bezos thinks side mirrors are evil, huh? And drivers are able to use telepathy to control drivers that cut them off. That is a real trick. The real issue here is the salary the drivers are bringing home. This is a ROBBING TECHNIQUE to bring monies back to Amazon. Every driver, past and present, at Amazon (even if they are no longer employed there), MUST have all their "Amazon Deductions" returned to them WITH THE PREVAILING INTEREST RATE.

Besides being very dangerous for Amazon drivers and the public using the roads, this is harassment of employees doing a vital job. IT IS AN UNFAIR LABOR PRACTICE. If it isn't for delivery drivers the USA would have shut down entirely (which might have been better, ie: New Zealand) during the pandemic.

I don't care if Amazon is stating this so-called technique results in few accidents. That is a lie. The drivers probably use their side vision a lot without activating the cameras. There is no way a person driving down a road isn't using their side mirrors. NOT USING SIDE MIRRORS RESULTS IN CUTTING OFF OTHER DRIVERS. 

Does anyone think car manufacturers put mirrors on the car for decoration? They don't. There are real reasons for all the safety features of a vehicle. I am not saying every driver on the road uses side mirrors, but, they are there for a reason. What Amazon is looking at is the "idea" that facing forward prevents rear-end accidents.

OSHA also needs to investigate whether the driver can see out a rear view mirror. While OSHA is at it, inspect the warehouses and loading platforms, as well as mental health policies and how often they are invoked and insurance, is necessary to treat the diagnosis.

Amazon is highly guilty of unfair labor practices and preventing the ability of a union to represent its employees. This is one of the reasons why Amazon stood in the way of the union vote. They target employees as part of their profit structure.

September 20, 2021
By Sarah Jackson

Amazon (click here) drivers say they are being punished for some driving habits that are considered safe and others that are beyond their control, Motherboard reported.

Drivers told Motherboard that the AI-powered cameras in Amazon's delivery vans unfairly penalized them for things such as looking at side mirrors, adjusting the radio, and even getting cut off in traffic by someone else.

"It's upsetting, when I didn't do anything," a Los Angeles delivery driver told Motherboard. "Every time I need to make a right-hand turn, it inevitably happens. A car cuts me off to move into my lane, and the camera, in this really dystopian dark, robotic voice, shouts at me."...

It is time a US President spoke about the core beliefs of the American people.

The officers knew this was a tragic relationship. They had no right to prevent them from being together.

Gabby Petito's death has been ruled a homicide and validated by the FBI. I believe Brian Laundrie is still missing. It is my understanding the van the couple was traveling belonged to Ms. Petito.

September 21, 2021

By Catherine Garcia

Remains discovered Sunday in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest (click here) are those of Gabby Petito, a 22-year-old social media influencer who was reported missing earlier this month, the Teton County Coroner confirmed on Tuesday.

The FBI field office in Denver said Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue performed the autopsy on Tuesday, and ruled the initial manner of death as a homicide, pending the final results.

Petito went missing while on a road trip with her fiancé Brian Laundrie to the national parks in the western United States. Laundrie, 23, is a person of interest in the case, but police have not been able to interview him and his family in Florida says they haven't seen him since Sept. 14.

Petito's remains were found on the eastern edge of Grand Teton National Park, and the FBI is asking anyone who may have come in contact with Petito or Laundrie there or visited the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area between Aug. 27 and Aug. 30 to contact law enforcement.....

September 20. 2021

By Kyle Dunphey

Melissa Hulls can still hear Gabby Petito’s voice. (click here) On Aug. 12, the visitor and resource protection supervisor at Arches National Park, heard a call come over her radio of a possible domestic assault, stemming from an argument in Moab between Petito and her fiance, Brian Laundrie.

Hulls arrived to find the couple pulled over by a Moab police officer inside the park. Knowing that in a domestic violence situation the female usually feels more comfortable talking with another female, she focused on Petito, who at that point was sitting in the back of a police cruiser.

“I can still hear her voice,” Hulls said in an exclusive interview with the Deseret News. “She wasn’t just a face on the milk carton, she was real to me.”

Hulls pictures the sobbing 22-year-old sitting in the back of the cruiser. She knows her mannerisms, just from the roughly hour-and-a half interaction....

 

That is a terrifying title. Yet, it is real.

Health officials reported the state’s seventh child death from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic and raised alarms about a string of deaths in unvaccinated pregnant women.

What state has this reality?

The state is lead by a Republican governor.

It has a state GDP of 99.76 billion US. That is nearly it's highest. The highest GDP was a little more than 104 billion.

This far into the pandemic and vaccines the state's hospitals have not been able to keep up with the spread.

That reality in a state within the lower 48 states of the USA is pathetic. There is no excuse for all this disease, hardship and poverty.

September 9, 2021

Mississippi (click here) is closing its only remaining parking garage field hospital set up to treat coronavirus patients during the delta variant surge, but it is still relying on out-of-state workers to help increase ICU capacity in state hospitals, officials said Wednesday.

Health officials also reported the state’s seventh child death from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic and raised alarms about a string of deaths in unvaccinated pregnant women. State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs said eight pregnant women with coronavirus have died over the past four weeks....

That's right, it is the glorious state of Mississippi. The article below is ten years old, but, I am confident that are still issues with food security in Mississippi.

November 8, 2011
By Christofor Husted

The number of Americans who use food stamps (lick here) is now close to 46 million, or 15 percent of the population. The government program that provides food stamps is formally known as SNAP, for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. And the number of people who depend on it to buy groceries has grown substantially, even since the recession was officially declared over, back in June of 2009.

The state of Mississippi has the highest percentage of its population — 24 percent — on food stamps of any state in the country. (It's also the most obese state, with 7 of 10 adults in the state either overweight or obese.) That means the government is feeding one Mississippian in five right now.

All Things Considered host Robert Siegel yesterday interviewed John Davis, director of the SNAP program in Mississippi, to find out why so many people count on food stamps there.

"The economic downturn of course is a contributing factor," Davis tells Siegel. "And we know that from a historical standpoint anytime there is a decrease in the job availability, there's going to be an increase in our program."...

Of course, it is the economic downturn, EXCEPT, there never is an economic downturn in Mississippi. The economy of Mississippi is always an economic downturn. That is why the State of Mississippi has 24 percent of the people on SNAP also known as Food Stamps.

So, now babies are dying and is anyone surprised?

The Michigan Republican Legislature says the pandemic is over. Talk about lack of intelligence.

It is believed Whitmre is going to sign this mess because it is in the budget bill. That's right, the state budget is held hostage to the Michigan legislatures political dogma. Whitmer should be putting a very big veto across this budget and tell the legislature to do better. That veto would result in an override of it and the law within the budget would pass anyway.

I think the budget provision will be challenged by cites and probably successfully. As a matter of fact wasn't a similar attempt at killing people attempted by Florida's governor What's His Name? The courts did not endorse, oh, yeah, DeSantis, DeSantis' idea of good governance.

September 21, 2021
By Dave Boucher

Michigan public agencies (click here) may not require employees or customers be vaccinated against COVID-19 while state and local health officials cannot enact or enforce mask rules for K-12 students under provisions of a budget bill that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and legislative leaders say will be approved. 

The nearly $70-billion budget proposal also mandates the state publish detailed justification for any future pandemic orders.

Senate Bill 82, a budget measure that emerged from closed-door negotiations between legislative leaders and Whitmer's administration on Tuesday, includes nearly 1,000 pages outlining funding for all state departments next financial year. It passed the Senate with unanimous support. 

"We wanted to negotiate. Those negotiations were in good faith, they were bipartisan. They were very productive. They weren't always easy, but I'm pleased with how the budget ended up," Whitmer said, speaking Tuesday afternoon from outside the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island.

This is absolutely amazing and should be the envy of every governor in the country.

California ranks as one of the largest states in the country and their ability to handle this virus is astounding. Could it be that the wackos that back Trump are fewer in number? Possibly. But, Governor Newsome has done a really good job with this and has every reason to be the center of attention at the next national governor's meeting.

Seriously.

September 21, 2021

California (click here) has the lowest coronavirus case rate of any state, federal figures show, illustrating the progress made in the ongoing battle against the highly infectious delta variant.

The state has been among the national leaders in that metric for the last week, as the number of newly confirmed coronavirus infections continues to tumble from a peak earlier this summer. But while infections have plummeted in highly-vaccinated Bay Area and Southern California, hospitals are struggling to keep up with a crush of cases in the Central Valley, underscoring how vaccines are so critical in combating serious illness.

California’s new case rate per 100,000 people is less than half of neighboring states, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some hard-hit states have more than quadruple California’s numbers....

...as good as it gets...

There is a reality no one seems to be inclined to discuss and that is the fact the NGOs are not providing information to the USA military as far as their locations and personnel in Afghanistan. Having that information would definitely put a pause and huge question mark over this deadly attack.

Before I go any further, let me say the relatives and friends have my complete sympathies for the people lost in this attack, especially the children. These are human lives lost and that is inexcusable for any free people that use military forces to secure their country.

The facts are plain this seems to be the best and most careful effort the USA mlitaray can put forward. There is no other method that has proven to do the job better. Realizing all that, is it safe to say this entire drone mess is a wet dream and not a real method of removing the enemy to secure the national security of the USA. We have drone pilots falling by the wayside with all sorts of emotional and mental disroders after they worked in this capacity with the USA military.

Now. This issue is the fault of a whole lot of people including the USA Military Industrial Complex that thrives on new ideas to kill people. The drone issue first started as a surveilance mechanism and someone somewhere decided that "Why don't we put bombs on them to kill the enemies we are seeing in surveilance. Like, why wait?" Wet dream. Not researched or validated to provide a solid knowledge base to the SAFE and CONCISE operation of the drone. They just cut it loose to kill and suffer the concequences afterward. What do generals say, "Our troops are not dying."

The future of surveillance in Afghanistan is going to change. Drone will be shot down so why send them at all? Right now as I write this the Taliban are torturing and killing Afghans THE TALIBAN BELIEVE are aprt of the resistence that would provide intelligence to the USA military, right or wrong.

The intelligence that the USA military receives will have to be through allies such as Pakistan, the country that housed Osama bin Laden for 15 years or so. The USA did not belong in Afghanistan and will never return. There is no reason to return to that country because the Afghan people and it's current government are not a direct threat to the USA. It will take a lot for that country to qualify as a threat again. It will have to do something worse than North Korea to fall into that category. Personally, I think the area will consolidate to form a EU type of alliance to combat Daesh and end any threat that will abolish the religion of Islam. There is a lot of that stuff that has been going on for a long time. Hezbollah, Syria, Iran the Shia Crescent and the rest, including the Saudi war with Yemen. 

Before Americans go off half-cocked about improving the drone technology to spy on Afghanistan, the entire national security of the USA has to be assessed and the region of this country put into perspective. The BEST assault against the further governance of the Taliban is to shut down the POPPY culture and crops of that region. We know that the Haqquani Network was supporting the Taliban through opium sales. That has to stop.

As far as this drone strike and the intelligence that went into it, the entire paradyme of the drone is flawed. Grossly flawed and that has been the case since it was first introduced as a real solution to any problem the USA has. I might add, one of the most sophisticated drones in the fleet ended up crashing in Iran and Iran put it on display. Why did that happen? Because the USA military did reconnaissence in Iran when they had no right to do it. So, the tinker toys are a little to tempting to the commanders and the USA pays a whole lot of greenbacks for them. That incident also resulted in lost technology.

The drones are not going to be the answer. The USA State Department and mlitary need to work together to answer that dilemma. I have no further comment.

September 21, 2021

By Eric Schmitt

U.S. military officials have insisted (click here) since the last American troops withdrew from Afghanistan last month that they would be able to detect and attack Islamic State or Qaeda threats in the country from afar.

But an errant drone strike that killed 10 civilians, including seven children, in Kabul on Aug. 29 calls into question the reliability of the intelligence that will be used to conduct the operations.

U.S. commanders concede that the missions will be more difficult without a military presence in the country. But new details about the drone strike, which the Pentagon initially said was necessary to prevent an attack on American troops, show the limitations of such counterterrorism missions even when U.S. forces are on the ground.

“The U.S. has a terrible record in this regard, and after decades of failed accountability, in the context of the end of the war in Afghanistan, the U.S. should acknowledge that their processes have failed, and that vital reforms and more independent outside scrutiny is vital,” John Sifton, the Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, said in an email....

"Good Night, Moon"

Full moon

13.9 days old

99.2 percent lit

September 18, 2021
By Dustin Jones

For those in the Northern Hemisphere, (click here) summer will come to an end next Wednesday. Slowly but surely since the middle of June, days have been getting shorter. With the arrival of the autumn equinox comes cooler weather and a change of color amongst the trees. And Monday, two days before the official start of fall, the harvest moon.

For three days, moonrise will come shortly after sunset, but the harvest moon will reach its peak illumination at 7:54 p.m. ET Monday. Historically this lunar event provided farmers a little extra light to harvest their crops. However, unlike the equinoxes, which take place at the same time each year, the harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. Which means it can fall in September or October, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac.

But that's not all that changes with the last full moon of the summer. You may recall glancing up at the night sky and noticed the moon varies in size from time to time. That's because the its orbit around the Earth isn't a perfect circle, NASA explains....