Wow. Just read a news flash over on CNN concerning how TP has a bank account in China? No wondering now, thanks to investigative reporting provided by The New York Times. Wow. Just wow.


https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/20/polit...rds/index.html

Take That Amy!

Francis becomes first pope to endorse same-sex civil unions

Blue Bell Creameries
 

A Texas grand jury charged Paul Kruse, Blue Bell Creameries' former CEO and president, was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy in connection with an alleged cover-up of the company's 2015 listeria outbreak, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.



Kruse, who served as the company's CEO and president from 2004 to 2017, was charged with seven counts of wire fraud and conspiracy for an alleged scheme to cover up what the company knew about the listeria contamination in Blue Bell products, according to the Department of Justice.

"We firmly believe the charges will be dismissed because they are untimely," said Chris Flood, who represents Kruse. "We look forward to a jury hearing what really happened in 2015 and Blue Bell's response to the unfortunate events."

Blue Bell said it would be inappropriate for the company to comment on Kruse's legal situation since he is no longer with the company.

According to the indictment, Kruse allegedly directed employees to remove potentially contaminated products from store freezers without notifying retailers or consumers of the real reason. Kruse instructed employees to tell customers who asked about the removed items that there was an "unspecified issue with a manufacturing machine," the indictment alleges.

Blue Bell did not issue an immediate recall of the products nor did the company inform customers about the listeria contamination, according to the indictment.

"US consumers rely on food producers and suppliers to ensure the safety of the nation's food supply.The charges announced today show that if an individual violates food safety rules or conceals relevant information, we will seek to hold them accountable," said Judy McMeekin, associate commissioner for regulatory affairs at the Food and Drug Administration, in a news release."We will continue to investigate and bring to justice those who jeopardize public health."

The ice cream was linked to 10 listeria cases in four states and resulted in three deaths in Kansas. In May, the company pleaded guilty to two misdemeanors for distributing adulterated food products and agreed to pay $19.3 million in fines for shipping contaminated ice cream during the 2015 listeria outbreak. The company shut down all its plants in 2015 cleanings and updates, according to the news release.

Listeriosis is a potentially fatal infection caused by the germ listeria, which is found in soil, water, raw milk and some animals like poultry and cattle. Unlike many other germs, it can grow in the cold temperature of a refrigerator or in a food processing plant.


Source: msn.com
Website: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/us/fo...id=mailsignout
Date: October 22, 2020

Banksy’s Show Me the Monet sells for almost $10-million at auction

Banksy’s playful take on a famous Impressionist painting has sold at auction for £7.6-million (US$9.8-million), the second-highest price ever paid for a work by the British street artist.

Show Me the Monet sold to an unidentified bidder at Sotheby’s in London on Wednesday evening, surpassing its upper pre-sale estimate of £5-million.

In the 2005 work, Banksy added abandoned shopping carts and an orange traffic cone to Claude Monet’s image of water lilies in his garden at Giverny.

Alex Branczik, Sotheby’s European head of contemporary art, said the work was one of the “strongest and most iconic” Banksy works to appear at auction.

Banksy, whose real name has never been officially confirmed, began his career spray-painting buildings in Bristol, England, and has become one of the world’s best-known artists.

But what if future generations think it's dumb as dirt and badly painted. Then what? No refunds after 30 days without sales slip.

____________________________________

Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner threaten lawsuit over COVID billboards...
 

Sophie Lewis Sat, October 24, 2020, 8:15 AM PDT

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are demanding that an anti-Trump group removes billboards in Manhattan's Times Square that feature their images alongside criticism of the White House's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, according to The Lincoln Project.

The group of longtime Republican strategists, who prominently oppose the re-election of President Trump, said the billboards highlight Ivanka Trump and Kushner's "indifference" to the suffering of Americans who have lost their lives due to "their reckless mismanagement" of the pandemic.

One billboard shows Trump, a senior advisor to the president, smiling and gesturing to statistics showing that over 33,000 New Yorkers and over 221,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. The photo appears to be taken from a tweet she sent in July to promote Goya beans. A second billboard features Kushner, who is also a White House advisor, next to body bags and a quote that Vanity Fair reported he said during a meeting in March: "[New Yorkers] are going to suffer and that's their problem." Kushner allegedly made the statement during a March 21 White House meeting with a private-sector group about the nation's pandemic response. The Vanity Fair article claims Kushner criticized Governor Andrew Cuomo for failing to procure enough Personal Protective Equipment for his state.

In a letter tweeted by The Lincoln Project on Friday night, attorney Mark Kasowitz, who has worked for the president in the past, called the billboards "false, malicious and defamatory." He claims Trump "never made any such gesture" and Kushner "never made any such statement." "If these billboards are not immediately removed, we will sue you for what will doubtless be enormous compensatory and punitive damages," he wrote.

Kasowitz's law firm did not immediately respond to CBS News' request for comment.

In a subsequent statement, The Lincoln Project said the billboards would not be taken down, calling the outrage "comical." "While we truly enjoy living rent-free in their heads, their empty threats will not be taken any more seriously than we take Ivanka and Jared," the statement said. "Jared and Ivanka have always been entitled, out-of-touch bullies who have never given the slightest indication they have any regard for the American people. We plan on showing them the same level of respect." "We consider it important that in Times Square, the crossroads of the world, people are continuously reminded of the cruelty, audacity and staggering lack of empathy the Trumps and Kushner have displayed towards the American people," it added.

The Lincoln Project did not immediately respond to CBS News' request for comment.

Jared and Ivanka have always been entitled, out-of-touch bullies who have never given the slightest indication they have any regard for the American people. We plan on showing them the same level of respect.

There were more than 83,000 confirmed coronavirus cases reported Friday, marking a new record high for a single day in the U.S. The latest surge is pushing the number of infections to more than 8.4 million and increasing the death toll past 223,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University.

‘Peddle Your Scare Tactics Elsewhere,’ Lincoln Project Lawyers Shoot Back at Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner...
 

Legal threats from Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner aimed at the Lincoln Project’s Time Square billboards that associates them with the Trump administration’s failed COVID-19 response isn’t scaring the anti-Trump organization one bit.

“Please peddle your scare tactics elsewhere. The Lincoln Project will not be intimidated by such empty bluster,” attorney Matthew Sanderson wrote in a lengthy response to Trump and Kushner’s lawyer, Marc E. Kasowitz.

The billboards on the corner of 44th Street and Broadway in the heart of Times Square feature the president’s daughter and son-in-law, with one of Ivanka Trump smiling and gesturing towards the national and New York state numbers of COVID-19 deaths, and the other of Kushner smiling alongside a quote that reads “[New Yorkers] are going to suffer and that’s their problem.”

The Lincoln Project — a political action committee formed by Republicans whose goal is to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump — posted the letter from Kasowitz Friday evening, calling it, “Nuts!” and quickly responded with a statement, saying in part, “Jared and Ivanka have always been entitled, out-of-touch bullies who have never given the slightest indication they have any regard for the American people. We plan on showing them the same level of respect.”

But Sanderson’s comments went further in a three-page response to Kasowitz Saturday night, saying that Trump and Kushner are “public officials” and have been such “since President Trump, in a gross act of nepotism, awarded” them White House positions in 2017.

“Americans have the right to discuss and criticize their public officials freely,” Sanderson wrote. “Public officials have periodically tried, as Kr. Kushner and Ms. Trump do here, to evade accountability and muzzle dissent by threatening or filing defamation lawsuits against critics. Fortunately, substantial constitutional protections are afforded to those who speak out about public officials.”

Sanderson goes on to point out that the Lincoln Project’s billboards are, “in any event, are entirely accurate.”

The Other World-Altering Event Happening Next Week

An important date is coming up. On November 4, the day after the election, the United States will earn a dubious distinction: It will become the only country in the world to formally exit the Paris agreement. In the historic global climate change deal, struck in 2015, 189 countries agreed on nonbinding domestic targets to keep global temperatures well below a disastrous 2 degrees Celsius.

The Paris deal marked a breakthrough in that it encouraged rapidly growing nations like China and India to take action to combat climate change alongside United States and Europe, historically the world’s largest sources of emissions. Rather than set universal emissions cuts, it allowed each nation to determine their contributions. The countries’ initial pledges were considered a starting point—the expectation was that everyone would return to the negotiating table in 2020 with more ambitious cuts to carbon pollution.

Trump allies like Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have hinted they may also exit the Paris agreement.
In 2017, President Trump, surprising no one, announced his intent to withdraw the United States from the agreement. There was a silver lining: Instead of inspiring a complete unraveling of the plan, his threat had the opposite effect—no country exited the agreement, and in fact 38 more countries have joined since 2017.

Yet the future stability of the Paris deal still depends heavily on whether the United States stays in. Trump allies like Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have hinted they may also exit. November 2020 was supposed to be a pivotal month when countries returned to the negotiating table to evaluate their progress and make new goals. COVID-19 delayed the annual international climate meeting until 2021, but even in the chaos of the pandemic, other major economies have ramped up their climate ambitions. China recently announced its goal to be carbon neutral by 2060. India has raised its goal to install 450 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, double its goal it set in Paris for 175 gigawatts in 2022. And the European Union just officially adopted a net-zero carbon pollution target for 2050 as binding law.

Since his 2017 announcement, Trump has been repeating two dangerous lies about US participation in the deal: His first lie was that the agreement would come at immense cost to Americans while other major polluters would contribute nothing; his second was that the United States has already exited the accord. “The Paris Accord, I took us out because we were going to have to spend trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly,” Trump said in the extensive climate section of the debate.

About that: First of all, Trump didn’t actually withdraw—rather, the United States will in the Paris deal until November 4 because of a required three-year waiting period. Second, it’s absurd to imagine that the United States, as the biggest and richest polluter somehow got shortchanged in the agreement. This isn’t the United States bending to the will of the United Nations; instead, the United States basically guided the terms of the agreement. The cost Trump is ostensibly alluding to—President Obama’s pledge of $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund for developing nations—is to help other nations cut pollution and fight climate impacts. Those investments would undoubtedly help the United States, as well: As we’ve seen this year, from hurricanes to western wildfires, the United States is not immune to experiencing climate crises at home.

“It’s clear that we should’ve been spending the last four years doing more,” says Jake Schmidt, an expert on international climate negotiations and senior advisor to the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund. Yet in spite of Trump’s hostility toward the Paris agreement, the United States has made some progress over the last four years. The Michael Bloomberg and Jerry Brown-led group America’s Pledge estimated that emissions reduction goals made by cities, states, and companies could cut US emissions by a third by 2030

For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.
An important date is coming up. On November 4, the day after the election, the United States will earn a dubious distinction: It will become the only country in the world to formally exit the Paris agreement. In the historic global climate change deal, struck in 2015, 189 countries agreed on nonbinding domestic targets to keep global temperatures well below a disastrous 2 degrees Celsius.

The Paris deal marked a breakthrough in that it encouraged rapidly growing nations like China and India to take action to combat climate change alongside United States and Europe, historically the world’s largest sources of emissions. Rather than set universal emissions cuts, it allowed each nation to determine their contributions. The countries’ initial pledges were considered a starting point—the expectation was that everyone would return to the negotiating table in 2020 with more ambitious cuts to carbon pollution.

Trump allies like Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have hinted they may also exit the Paris agreement.
In 2017, President Trump, surprising no one, announced his intent to withdraw the United States from the agreement. There was a silver lining: Instead of inspiring a complete unraveling of the plan, his threat had the opposite effect—no country exited the agreement, and in fact 38 more countries have joined since 2017.

Yet the future stability of the Paris deal still depends heavily on whether the United States stays in. Trump allies like Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan have hinted they may also exit. November 2020 was supposed to be a pivotal month when countries returned to the negotiating table to evaluate their progress and make new goals. COVID-19 delayed the annual international climate meeting until 2021, but even in the chaos of the pandemic, other major economies have ramped up their climate ambitions. China recently announced its goal to be carbon neutral by 2060. India has raised its goal to install 450 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030, double its goal it set in Paris for 175 gigawatts in 2022. And the European Union just officially adopted a net-zero carbon pollution target for 2050 as binding law.

Since his 2017 announcement, Trump has been repeating two dangerous lies about US participation in the deal: His first lie was that the agreement would come at immense cost to Americans while other major polluters would contribute nothing; his second was that the United States has already exited the accord. “The Paris Accord, I took us out because we were going to have to spend trillions of dollars and we were treated very unfairly,” Trump said in the extensive climate section of the debate.

About that: First of all, Trump didn’t actually withdraw—rather, the United States will in the Paris deal until November 4 because of a required three-year waiting period. Second, it’s absurd to imagine that the United States, as the biggest and richest polluter somehow got shortchanged in the agreement. This isn’t the United States bending to the will of the United Nations; instead, the United States basically guided the terms of the agreement. The cost Trump is ostensibly alluding to—President Obama’s pledge of $3 billion to the Green Climate Fund for developing nations—is to help other nations cut pollution and fight climate impacts. Those investments would undoubtedly help the United States, as well: As we’ve seen this year, from hurricanes to western wildfires, the United States is not immune to experiencing climate crises at home.

“It’s clear that we should’ve been spending the last four years doing more,” says Jake Schmidt, an expert on international climate negotiations and senior advisor to the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund. Yet in spite of Trump’s hostility toward the Paris agreement, the United States has made some progress over the last four years. The Michael Bloomberg and Jerry Brown-led group America’s Pledge estimated that emissions reduction goals made by cities, states, and companies could cut US emissions by a third by 2030.

Still, the world is a long way off from meeting its commitments in Paris. Carbon pollution has temporarily fallen during the COVID crisis, but the economic recovery will matter more for whether the world is still on its worst-case, business-as-usual path. It would be easy for a Biden administration to rejoin the Paris deal in January, but they would have much more work to do to repair relationships and trust in American leadership. And he has even more to do on the domestic front to repair Trump’s war on climate science. Just yesterday, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration removed a chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration after he asked climate-skeptic political appointees to adhere to the agency’s scientific integrity policy.

“It’s hard when you have the world’s largest market and a major global player either sitting on the sidelines,” says Schmidt. “Or in Trump’s case, doing everything he can to pull things backward.”

https://www.motherjones.com/environm...sday-scenario/

I can't post the video or pics but here's a link.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/202...was-found-lost

Video shows cops dragging Black mother out of SUV, cops post picture saying her son was found ‘lost’


Rice’s video appears to show at least two officers bashing in the windows and then one officer repeatedly hitting the driver with a baton. Officers then pull a second adult out of the vehicle, and then seconds later appeared to remove the child from the backseat.

The video, shot by 30-year-old Aapril Rice, was filmed from the rooftop of Rice’s home. In the video, dozens of riot-geared officers swarm the diagonally stopped car, smashing the windows all around with their batons. They rip the front door open and, while at least two officers continue swinging their batons, drag the driver out of the car and onto the concrete about 15 feet away from the vehicle.

The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported on the bogus social media posts by the Fraternal Order of Police, including one showing Young’s son and reading: “We are not your enemy. We are the Thin Blue Line. And WE ARE the only thing standing between Order and Anarchy.” The Fraternal Order of Police, like cowards, has not responded to inquiries from either the Post or the Inquirer about the video and their bullshit propaganda use of a 2-year-old child whose innocent mother they abused.

The photo the Fraternal Order of Police used was taken literally moments after police smashed and attacked this kid’s mother, yanked her out of the car, and separated the child from his mother for hours.

This post by
@GLFOP
is a lie. My firm
@MinceyFitzRoss
represents this boy and his mother. This photo was taken moments after police attacked their vehicle, busted out the windows, ripped the mother from her car and assaulted her.

Looks like Philly PD smashed the windows of a passing vehicle that was trying to turn around, then dragged the parents out and beat them on the ground in front of their terrified children. [@MrCheckpoint]

Fake Driver's Licenses Flooding into US
 

Counterfeit documents are giving criminals a license to commit a host of offenses, including terrorism, U.S. officials say -- and young adults who are lax with their personal information may be their biggest enablers.

In the first six months of 2020, Customs and Borden Protection officers seized nearly 20,000 counterfeit U.S. driver’s licenses at Chicago’s O’Hare airport alone, according to a report.

The 19,888 licenses and other fake documents were included in 1,513 overseas shipments, mostly from China and Hong Kong, CBP said, according to FOX 5 in New York City. Others were from South Korea and Britain.

https://www.foxnews.com/us/fake-driv...mpression=true

COVID-19 Vaccine
 

Large urban hospitals across the U.S. are rushing to buy expensive ultra-cold freezers to store what’s likely to be the first approved Covid-19 vaccine. But most rural hospitals can’t afford these high-end units, meaning health workers and residents in those communities may have difficulty getting the shots.

https://www.statnews.com/2020/11/11/...vid19-vaccine/

Amazon-Subsidiary Ring Recall
 

San Francisco (CNN Business)Amazon-subsidiary Ring is recalling hundreds of thousands of video doorbells after receiving reports of them catching fire.

The potential fire hazard impacts around 350,000 2nd generation Ring doorbells sold in the United States and roughly 8,700 more sold in Canada, according to a notice posted by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) on Tuesday. The $100 doorbells were sold on Ring's website and on Amazon (AMZN) between June 2020 and October 2020, according to the CPSC.

"The video doorbell's battery can overheat when the incorrect screws are used for installation, posing fire and burn hazards," the notice said.

According to the notice, Ring has thus far received 23 reports of doorbells catching fire and causing property damage, as well as eight reports of minor burns.

"The safety of our customers is our top priority," Ring spokesperson Emma Daniels said in a statement, adding that the company is working with the CPSC and has contacted customers affected by the recall with updated device installation instructions. "Customers do not need to return their devices,"she added.

Ring users can check whether their doorbells are impacted by the recall at this link on the company's support website, by entering the model and serial number printed on the back of the device.

Ring, bought by Amazon in 2018, has been caught up in controversy in the past. Last year, it announced partnerships with more than 400 police departments across the United States to give law enforcement easier access to videos recorded on its doorbells. The partnerships allowed police to submit requests for video recordings for certain locations to help with active investigations.

But privacy advocates slammed the move, saying at the time that it threatened to create a 24/7 surveillance program.

More recently, in September, Ring unveiled the Always Home Cam — a $250 drone with an attached camera that can automatically fly around your house and stream video to your smartphone.



Source: cnn.com
Website: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/10/tech/...cNKSZifw2rghRQ
Date: November 11, 2020

COVID-19
 

Microsoft warned Friday that the company witnessed efforts by Russian and North Korean hacking groups to target pharmaceutical companies and coronavirus vaccine researchers.

The announcement is part of a wider effort by the company to take action against these attacks.

“In recent months, we’ve detected cyberattacks from three nation-state actors targeting seven prominent companies directly involved in researching vaccines and treatments for Covid-19,” Tom Burt, the corporate vice president of Customer Security and Trust at Microsoft, wrote in a blog post.

“The targets include leading pharmaceutical companies and vaccine researchers in Canada, France, India, South Korea and the United States.”

Burt wrote that the three advanced persistent threat groups involved were a Russian group known as “Strontium” and two North Korean groups known as “Zinc” and “Cerium.”

https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecu...rgeting-groups

Ticketmaster
 

Monday's news that pharmaceutical company Pfizer's early results on a new COVID-19 vaccine showed a 90% efficacy rate on an initial clinical trial have given concert professionals hope that the business can start mounting a return in 2021. As part of that preparation, Ticketmaster has been working on a framework for post-pandemic fan safety that uses smart phones to verify fans' vaccination status or whether they've tested negative for the coronavirus within a 24 to 72 hour window.

Many details of the plan, which is still in development phase, will rely on three separate components -- the Ticketmaster digital ticket app, third party health information companies like CLEAR Health Pass or IBM's Digital Health Pass and testing and vaccine distribution providers like Labcorp and the CVS Minute Clinic.

Here's how it would work, if approved: After purchasing a ticket for a concert, fans would need to verify that they have already been vaccinated (which would provide approximately one year of COVID-19 protection) or test negative for coronavirus approximately 24 to 72 hours prior to the concert. The length of coverage a test would provide would be governed by regional health authorities -- if attendees of a Friday night concert had to be tested 48 hours in advance, most could start the testing process the day before the event. If it was a 24-hour window, most people would likely be tested the same day of the event at a lab or a health clinic.

https://www.billboard.com/articles/b...-concerts-plan

Lezlie Lowe

AUTHOR, NO PLACE TO GO: HOW PUBLIC TOILETS FAIL OUR PRIVATE NEEDS

There are not enough public bathrooms. And I mean free, municipally cared-for public spaces where anybody can go, no questions asked. In most Canadian cities, what we have are lots of public bathrooms in commercial spaces, such as coffee shops, malls and restaurants. But those don’t necessarily meet everyone’s needs in terms of access, unlike a public bathroom that is on-street, ideally open 24 hours and free. We need to have a reckoning about the fact that publicly available washrooms in Starbucks or McDonald’s don’t actually meet the needs of everybody. If you are unhoused and haven’t had a shower for three days, you’re not likely to be able to use that bathroom. You’re more likely to get kicked out.

When you hear planners talk about cities, it’s fantastically aspirational. I’m glad we’re talking about walkability and liveability and aging in place. But you literally cannot have any of those things without public bathrooms. If there were more of them, people could spend more time using cities. Malls typically have really nice bathrooms, and lots of them, and the reason is so people stay longer.

Pfizer COVID Vaccine
 

United Airlines on Friday began operating charter flights to move shipments of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccination ahead of a mass inoculation program expected to begin in late December, according to a report.

The flights are the first step in a global supply and distribution network, which is being prepared to spring into action when the vaccine is approved by regulators.

The airline has been granted special permission by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to fly with increased quantities of dry ice, to keep the vaccine cold.

Pfizer's vaccination must be stored at minus 70 degrees Celsius.

The specific chartered routes being flown were not specified by the Wall Street Journal, which reported the news.

But it was revealed that United intends on flying cargo flights between the Belgian capital, Brussels, and Chicago's O'Hare airport to support distribution of the vaccine, according to a November 24 letter from the FAA viewed by the Journal.

Brussels and Chicago are both convenient international airports for Pfizer's plants in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and Puurs, Belgium, where the final assembly of the vaccine takes place.

Chicago is also close to Pfizer's distribution site in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, which is being expanded in preparation for the vaccine roll out.

The company has another distribution site in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Pfizer also plans dozens of cargo flights and hundreds of truck trips each day once approval is given by authorities.




Vaccine doses for Europe will be produced at sites owned by BioNTech - Pfizer's German partner - as well as in Pfizer's manufacturing site in Belgium.

In the US it will be produced in Michigan, at the Kalamazoo plant.

Covering two square miles, it is the largest manufacturing site in the world for Pfizer.

An estimated 2,200 Pfizer employees work in the town of Portage, where the plant is located on the outskirts of Kalamazoo, home to 53,000 people.

The vaccine's components will criss-cross the United States.

It will start with raw material production in St. Louis, Missouri.

The drug substance then will be purified in Andover, Maryland, before being shipped to Portage, Michigan.

In Portage, the drug is combined with other raw materials.

'Bulk vaccine will then be transferred to an aseptic filling line where it will be filled into a sterilized vial and capped. It will then undergo 100 per cent inspection before it is transferred to the packaging lines,' according to a press release from Pfizer.

The FAA said in a statement on Friday that it was supporting the 'first mass air shipment of a vaccine,' and that it is working with airlines to safely transport COVID-19 vaccines.

United had asked the FAA to be allowed to carry more dry ice than is typically allowed on flights, in a bid to keep the vaccine cool.

The FAA said it would allow United to carry 15,000 pounds of dry ice per flight, which is five times more than normally allowed - dry ice is controlled on passenger planes because of concerns about leaks of carbon dioxide, which may not be detected mid air.

Pfizer have created suitcase-size boxes packed with dry ice to keep its vaccine doses cold, the paper reported.

It means they can ship the vaccine quicker, by eliminating the need for large temperature-controlling containers.




Who will be first in line to be vaccinated against Coronavirus?

* Health workers will be first in line to be vaccinated

* Those most vulnerable to the targeted infection are a high priority: It includes 12 million critical health, national security and essential workers

* 110 million people at high risk from the coronavirus: This includes those over 65 who live in long-term care facilities, or those of any age who are in poor health, or who also are deemed essential workers

* Those living where the outbreak is currently worst will also be a priority

* Volunteers taking part in the final stage trials of vaccine testing who receive dummy shots will be given the real thing once an injection is created

* The remaining general U.S. population of 205 million other people would come later



Video - https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/preview/mol/2020/11/21/8356848119521690731/636x382_MP4_8356848119521690731.mp4


Pfizer's vaccine, one of several being developed, is giving hope to billions of people around the world.

In the US, the FDA will meet on December 10 in an emergency session, to be live streamed, where they will discuss authorizing the vaccine's use.

Pfizer requested emergency use on November 20.

How much vaccine is available and when is a moving target, but initial supplies will be scarce and rationed.

Last week Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed - the US government's program for coordinating distribution and administration of the drug - said that 4.1 million doses would be initially distributed.




Pfizer has been conducting dry runs of each step, from vaccine delivery to opening Pfizer's GPS-tracked special containers to vaccine storage, Perna said.

The vaccine will be free for Americans. It was unclear whether those with Green Cards or in the country on visas would be included.

Arguments are brewing over who will pay. The federal government is covering a significant chunk of the cost, but states say they need extra funds to pay for associated costs of monitoring and administering the vaccine.

Perna said they were aware that the 6.4 million doses were not even enough to vaccinate all of the country's 20 million health-care workers, let alone the U.S. population of 330 million.

But he said 'a steady drumbeat' of additional doses will be delivered as manufacturing capacity ramps up in each successive week.

About 25 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine may become available in December, 30 million in January and 35 million more in February and March, according to information presented to the National Academy of Medicine at the end of November.

Recipients will need two doses, three weeks apart.

The CDC will meet on Tuesday to decide on recommendations for who should get it first, based on the data and known side effects.

Healthcare workers and vulnerable populations, such as those in nursing homes, are likely to get the first doses, followed by seniors.

It is believed that the general population will receive the vaccine around April.


Source: dailymail.co.uk
Website: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...gARi8MCTMbH2u8
Date: November 27, 2020

This is going to be one heck of a never-before-seen global mobilization.

It’s going to be interesting to watch this play out.

Pfizer's Coronavirus Vaccine Arrives in the U.S.
 

The first doses of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine candidate have been flown to the U.S. from Belgium, a source familiar with the United Airlines COVID Vaccine Readiness Task Team planning confirmed to NBC on Saturday.

On Friday, The Wall Street Journal reported that United commenced chartering flights to send doses of the vaccine to the United States. In a statement to The Hill on Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also confirmed that it was "supporting the first mass air shipment of a vaccine."
A source told the network the FAA is allowing United to carry 15,000 pounds of dry ice per flight, which is five times more than the permitted limit.

Pfizer's vaccine must be kept at below-freezing temperatures to maintain the efficacy of the dosages.

United would not confirm details of the flight to The Hill but said it would "support a vaccine distribution effort on a global scale," noting its shipment run is through the United Cargo division of the airline.

Pfizer's vaccine candidate was developed in partnership with the German biotechnology company BioNTech, and last week, Pfizer applied for emergency use authorization with the Food and Drug Administration. The vaccine will be distributed once it is approved.

According to a Financial Times Saturday report, the United Kingdom is slated to approve Pfizer's vaccine as early as next week.



Source: thehill.com
Website: https://thehill.com/policy/transport...s-from-belgium
Date: November 28, 2020

Coronavirus stimulus: Lawmakers unveil $908 billion bipartisan relief proposal

The bipartisan group of lawmakers — including Manchin, Senators Mark Warner (D., Virg.), Bill Cassidy (R., La.), Susan Collins (R., Me.), Mitt Romney (R., Utah) and several others — say their plan aims to find common ground on some of the most pressing issues, and it could be used as a framework for the next stimulus package.

“It would be stupidity on steroids if Congress left for Christmas without doing an interim package as a bridge,” said Warner.

You don't suppose Warner was referring to Susan Collins when he said stupidity on steroids do ya? Nah, I'm sure it was just a figure of speech!

51 years later
 

Zodiac Killer's cipher finally known after amateur codebreakers solve it, according to California FBI office.

Link to CNN story: https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/11/us/zo...rnd/index.html

MSNBC: Trump's Pardons are Worth a Second Impeachment Inquiry
 

I just read over on MSNBC that one way to protect American's from another reign of terror by T---p is to immediately hold Impeachment Hearings another time because this time, they can bar him from holding office ever again.



LINK: https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/trump-...id=msd_topgrid

Associated Press Update on criminal investigations concerning T---P
 

Criminal probe, legal fights await Trump after White House
AP -- Michael R. Sisak, 19th of November 2020 (updated news article).

A few miles south of the namesake tower where Donald Trump began his run for president, New York prosecutors are grinding away at an investigation into his business dealings that could shadow him long after he leaves office in January.

The probe led by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. is one of several legal entanglements likely to intensify when Trump loses power — and immunity from prosecution — upon leaving the White House.

Trump faces two New York state inquiries into whether he misled tax authorities, banks or business partners. Two women alleging he sexually assaulted them are suing him. Some Democrats are calling for the revival of a federal campaign finance investigation that appeared to end under U.S. Attorney General William Barr.

It isn’t known whether any investigation has gathered sufficient evidence to charge Trump with any crimes.

Prosecuting a former president would also be an unprecedented step in a country that has sought, since its founding, to sweep aside a departing commander-in-chief’s alleged transgressions in favor of a peaceful transition of power.

“With the country so sharply polarized in 2020, would a legal battle ultimately be seen as political retaliation? That is a difficult calculation,” said Meena Bose, executive director of the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency at Hofstra University.
Trump has said that he has the “absolute right” to pardon himself for any federal offenses, but the concept remains untested because no president has ever attempted to do so. A 1974 Justice Department opinion said presidents could not pardon themselves because that would violate the “fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case.”

Trump has used his pardon power to help out friends and high-profile defendants in the past, commuting the sentence of longtime friend Roger Stone in July and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich in February, and has suggested he could do more of the same before his term ends.

Vance’s investigation is particularly troublesome for Trump because it involves possible state-level charges that could not be wiped away with a presidential pardon.

Vance, a Democrat, hasn’t disclosed the details of his probe, citing grand jury secrecy rules, but his office has said in court filings that it is related to public reports of “extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization.”

Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, told Congress that Trump often inflated the value of his assets when dealing with lenders or potential business partners, but deflated them when it benefited him for tax purposes.

While Trump has been in office, the investigation’s progress has been hampered by court fights over whether prosecutors could get access to his tax returns, or whether a president has any immunity from a state investigation. One appeal related to the records battle is now before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Vance’s office declined to comment. It isn’t clear whether the long-running probe is close to conclusion, or months or years away from any resolution.

A message seeking comment was left with a lawyer for Trump. In the past, Trump has called Vance’s investigation “a continuation of the witch hunt — the greatest witch hunt in history.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James is also investigating whether Trump’s company lied about the value of its assets to get loans or tax benefits, though her probe is civil — not criminal — in nature. Trump’s son, Eric Trump, spoke by video with investigators last month after losing a court fight to postpone the deposition until after the election.

There were new revelations Thursday that both James and Vance had also subpoenaed documents related to tax deductions taken by Trump’s company related to business consulting fees paid to his daughter, Ivanka Trump.

Part of Vance’s criminal investigation pertains to payments made during Trump’s 2016 campaign to porn actress Stormy Daniels and model Karen McDougal to prevent them from publicly alleging they had extramarital affairs with him.

Cohen pleaded guilty to orchestrating the payments, which Manhattan federal prosecutors said amounted to illegal gifts to Trump’s campaign. They identified Trump in court filings as having directed Cohen’s efforts, but he was not charged. Trump has denied the affairs and said any payments were a personal matter, not a campaign expense.

The Justice Department has a longtime policy stating that it is unconstitutional to prosecute a sitting president in federal court.

There is also the potential that a Democrat-led Justice Department could pursue matters left uncharged in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference, such as allegations Trump obstructed justice.

President-elect Joe Biden, a Democrat, has said that he would not direct his Justice Department to pursue charges against Trump — nor would he stand in the way of investigations it might take up on its own.

“I am not going to make that individual judgment,” Biden told reporters in August.

Some Democrats have cautioned that indicting Trump could enrage the nearly 74 million Americans who voted for him, complicating Biden’s promised effort to heal the nation’s political divisions. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, a Democrat, has warned of the “potential cost to the nation” from prosecuting a former president.

Richard Nixon was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford, after resigning in 1974 over the Watergate break-in in an effort by Ford to end the fallout from an all-consuming political scandal. Bill Clinton, on his final day in office, struck a deal with special counsel Robert Ray to avoid prosecution over perjury allegations that led to his impeachment. He agreed to give up his law license for five years and pay a $25,000 fine for lying in a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Paul Rosenzweig, a former senior counsel in the Clinton investigation, argues that potentially criminal behavior stemming from Trump’s time as a businessman would make him an exception to the practice of not prosecuting former presidents.

“Never before have we had a president, who has been credibly accused of criminal activity from before his presidency,” he said.

Once out of office, Trump won’t be able to point to his busy schedule as a reason to delay civil lawsuits, like ones brought by E. Jean Carroll, a former magazine advice columnist, and Summer Zervos, a restaurateur and contestant on his old TV show, “The Apprentice.”

Carroll says Trump raped her in the mid-1990s in a New York department store. Her lawsuit says Trump’s denial of the allegation — including that she was “totally lying” to sell a memoir — defamed her. Carroll is seeking a DNA sample from Trump to see if it matches material found on a dress she says she wore during the alleged attack.

Zervos says Trump kissed and groped her when she sought to talk to him about her career in 2007. Trump denied her allegations and retweeted a message calling Zervos’ claims a hoax.

Trump’s lawyers have maintained that Zervos’ defamation suit should be delayed until he’s out of office. That’s now only about nine weeks away (eta: it's less than 3 weeks now).

LINK: https://apnews.com/article/donald-tr...949bc577858f6e

CNN: Carl Bernstein nails it, yet again.
 

Carl Bernstein: This is the ultimate smoking gun tape

CNN Newsroom

Legendary Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein reacts to audio obtained by the Washington Post of President Donald Trump pushing Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" votes to overturn the election results in the state.

LINK: https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/...in-sot-vpx.cnn


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I'm so glad we still have people in our society who have tons of experience in prior times, like back during the Watergate scene in Washington DC.

Will the GOP call for his immediate resignation?
Will TP be brought up on charges, serious charges for tampering with the vote and asking for other elected officials to overthrow American democracy?

Carl Bernstein makes the case for why this recorded phone call is solid evidence of a sitting president willing to commit crime, no matter the cost to others, at the expense of American democracy, at the expense of the safety and security of American citizens.

OMG, this is SO upsetting.

In other news: Nancy Pelosi is elected Speaker of the House, today.

NYTs OpEd
 

LINK: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/04/o...rgia-call.html

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Thought I would leave a link to an excellent Op-ed ftom The New York Times, while we wait for the final outcome concerning senate run-off election results.

I agree with the oped im that there needs to be law created to punish those who cheat and tamper with elections for those who seated with executive powers. The author of the oped makes the case for holding elected officials accountable.

In the meantime...


Go Warmock, Go Ossoff! Go Georgia Voters!!!

It looks like the Democrats have it, but no one will make the official call. Gah!

John Ossof mother was born and raised in Sydney Australia "My town YAY"
If he wins he will be the first, to enter US politics,with close personal connection to Australia.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-a...06-p56s01.html

Ex-DC police chief to T---P: "shut the hell up and get out of the way!"

https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/...mp-sot-vpx.cnn

In other viral news flashes; Yay for Ossoff & Warnock!!!

Thank heavens for the hard work of Stacy Abrams and the Black and Latino outreach for coordinating and immobilizing the vote in Georgia.

Just the act of calling his minions to engage in this siege is TREASON ~ this is not a demonstration ~ it's domestic terrorism . I've been in the Capitol bldg. the walls reek of honor. I felt so proud to walk those hallways. The fact that this mob of unamerican Trump supporters have the enter the Capitol is criminal.

I am overjoyed that Warnock & Ossoff both won!!! I knew we had a chance but given that the polls lately seem to have inflated Democrats' standing I wasn't sure.

Thank you Georgia voters! You not only made sure that your state is well-represented but you have made a huge difference in what Biden & the Democrats will be able to do.

Big thank you to Stacey Abrams and all the other organizers who have worked so hard for years and years to mobilize the vote and overcome all the Republican attempts at voter suppression to make this possible!

I agree with ~ocean that what is happening in the US Capitol today is treason and domestic terrorism. Anyone backing this and trying to claim the election was fraudulent is a traitor to the United States of America and Democracy. The Capitol is indeed hallowed ground.

The voters have spoken. Our votes count. Democracy won. And we must never, ever stop fighting.

I agree with Bulldog: we got to keep up the Good Fight to ensure that our democracy remains in tact.

Btw, it is good to see you on the forum boards today, Bulldog.

:tea:

I find that the pro-Trump insurrectionists are being allowed to just wander off into the night much more unsettling than the fact that they attacked the Capitol today. There certainly was a lot of non-policing in one of the worlds most militarized cities. This version of democracy is a comfortable and welcoming space for white supremacist violence. It has left me speechless.

Dozens of women have been arrested and handcuffed for sitting outside senate offices in protest during the Kavanaugh hearings

Black people, disabled people and protestors of all kinds peacefully praying, walking, singing in the name of justice inside the Capitol these past 4 years were dragged out in wheelchairs, mocked by the police, and beaten

Disabled people have been dragged out of their wheelchairs as they were arrested by the Capitol Police during healthcare bill protests.

The examples are endless.

It's just lucky for these terrorists that none of them pulled a George Floyd and tried to pass a phony twenty dollar bill to buy cigarettes. Because then the cops get serious.

If I didn't know better I would think police forces in the US exist primarily to enforce the race/class divide & not actually to protect public safety. Well they will protect white supremacist safety.

Today has shown the police don’t need de-escalation training, they choose who to escalate on, that’s not a training issue. Police don’t need unconscious bias training, they are conscious of their bias.

Historically protestors can't get anywhere near the capital. You would get your head cracked open if you got near some barrier. There are videos of the police opening the barrier for these rioters today. They are letting this happen. Can we imagine why?

Unsure what white privilege is? White privilege is being able to storm the heart of US democracy with nary a rubber bullet in sight.

Should anyone still doubt the inequality of justice in the US, today should clear that up for you.

The police literally did nothing today except take down an inconvenient barrier and pose for some selfies with white supremacist terrorists who were storming the Capital building. Then law enforcement just let them all go.

Right now my concern is for black and brown essential workers trying to get home tonight after curfew. The police will show no mercy there.

$721,531,000,000 defense budget revealed to be powerless against white people

https://www.click2houston.com/resize...JR2FG6ZA34.JPG

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US Capitol Police in D.C. opened gates for yesterday's terrorists.

Video shows police opening the guard gates for the rioters

If this is actually what it appears… it means this was orchestrated on some level.

Click the link to see the video. Very disturbing.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/202...o-Mob-Not-Good