Month: June 2020

Closing Thought–30Jun20

This pandemic has proved to be a bitch for us mere mortals……the loss of employment and such has done nothing to improve the inequalities of our system…..

The idea of a minimum income goes back as far as the 1500s…..

The idea of an unconditional basic income has three historical roots. The idea of a minimum income first appeared at the beginning of the 16th century. The idea of an unconditional one-off grant first appeared at the end of the 18th century. And the two were combined for the first time to form the idea of an unconditional basic income near the middle of the 19th century.

History of basic income

Even the US is thinking along the UBI line…..

Public support for a national universal basic income has grown significantly in the last decade, and recent studies indicate that Americans are now split with roughly equivalent support for and against UBI. Indeed, some scholars argue that the damage caused by COVID-19 has revealed a fragile and inequitable economy and that the recent one-time payment should become a regular feature to give everyone basic financial security going forward. 

Other scholars are less convinced, maintaining that partial or conditional UBI would not reduce poverty and inequality and that a system sufficiently generous to ensure a basic standard of living for all would be prohibitively expensive. These critics assert that it is more efficient for the government to invest in better quality public services and improve existing social welfare systems.  

Universal Basic Income After COVID-19

Now one country has grab the bull by the horns and worked for the people……Spain.

Spain has done something that goes a way to helping the mere mortals of the nation…….they have now a minimum income…..

Spain’s cabinet has approved the creation of a national minimum income, according to a government spokesperson.

Deputy Prime Minister Pablo Iglesias told a news conference on Friday the creation of a minimum income worth €462 (£416.92) a month will target some 850,000 households or 2.5 million people.

The government would pay the monthly stipend and top up existing revenue for people earning less so that they receive at least that minimum amount every month, he said.

The minimum income would increase with the number of family members, up to a maximum of €1,015 (£916.30) each month. The programme would cost the government about €3 billion a year.

Mr Iglesias said: “Today is a historic day for our democracy. Today this government is showing that its political choice is social justice and that it takes the [Spanish] Constitution seriously.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spain-national-minimum-income-universal-basic-coronavirus-ubi-economy-a9538606.html

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The Reign Of Terror

What do we mean by the term “Reign of Terror”?

A period of remorseless repression or bloodshed……the most famous Reign of Terror was that during the French Revolution…..a period of the French Revolution, from about March, 1793, to July, 1794, during which many persons were ruthlessly executed by the ruling faction.

… the Terror was a brief but deadly period where Maximilien Robespierre, the Committee of Public Safety and the Revolutionary Tribunals condemned thousands of people to die under the falling blade of the guillotine.

The realities of the Terror were more complex. The Reign of Terror was not driven by one man, one body or one policy. It was a child with many parents, triggered and driven by different forces and factors.

The Reign of Terror

Anyone that knows a little history will know of the barbarity committed during the French Revolution….what about the Reign of Terror here in the good old US of A?

Yes Irene there was a Reign of Terror here…..and NO it is not some condemnation of the Trump admin….ever hear of the Palmer Raids?

…

on January 3, 1920—Americans woke up to discover just how little their own government regarded the cherished Bill of Rights. During the night, some 4,000 of their fellow citizens were rounded up and jailed for what amounted, in most cases, to no good reason at all and no due process, either.

Welcome to the story of the Palmer Raids, named for their instigator, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. Though largely forgotten today, they shouldn’t be. They constituted a horrific, shameful episode in American history, one of the lowest moments for liberty since King George III quartered troops in private homes.

The terror during the night of January 2-3, 1920, shocked and frightened many citizens. In her 1971 book, America’s Reign of Terror: World War I, the Red Scare, and the Palmer Raids, Roberta Strauss Feuerlicht wrote:

https://fee.org/articles/the-palmer-raids-america-s-forgotten-reign-of-terror/

But for those that would like more information on these violation by the US government….https://www.history.com/topics/red-scare/palmer-raids

And this not the first time of which actions by the government…..This wasn’t the first time the government in Washington had trampled the Bill of Rights. No less than the administration of John Adams, an American founding patriot, briefly shut down newspapers and dissenting opinion with its Alien & Sedition Acts of 1798. Abraham Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus and arrested thousands of political opponents in Northern states.

The sad thing is that it is all but forgotten with all the “patriotic” BS….it is history and to ignore it means that it could happen again….and again…..

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What Is The Cost of Covid-19?

Another doctor’s appointment today…..so I do not know when I will be back……so I thought I would leave out with a post on the pandemic and its treatment.

A quick update…..cases–2.6million  deaths–126,000

More FYI for the masses……..

We have heard so much about this virus….we know how many people have contracted the virus and how many have ultimately died from the sickness…..but what have we heard if you actually catch the virus what will it cost the person/insurance to fight off the pandemic?

First what will it cost the person for the Covid-19 test?

the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced that Medicare will reimburse providers up to $100 per test, depending on the test. Newer COVID-19 tests that give results more quickly may cost providers more than the early tests. A number of private providers, including some that take no insurance, are charging substantially more than $100 for COVID-19 tests.

Five Things to Know about the Cost of COVID-19 Testing and Treatment

You have had your test and dammit it came back positive….now how much will treatment cost?

Gilead Sciences is out with its much-anticipated price for a drug to treat COVID-19 patients: For a five-day treatment course of remdesivir, figure $3,120 for the typical US patient with commercial insurance, reports the Wall Street Journal. That would be the amount the drugmaker would charge the hospital, not the patient’s out-of-pocket expense. The price is lower, $2,340, for those covered by government health care programs such as Medicare. Remdesivir made big headlines in April when a study showed that it could reduce hospital stays for coronavirus patients from 15 days to 11 days. All governments in the developed world, including the US, will be charged $390 per dose, while those in the developing world will receive discounts, per STAT News. The price for US insurers comes out to $520 per dose.

Patients would get two doses on their first day, then one dose on subsequent days. The most common treatment course is five days, though some patients (maybe 5% to 10%) would require a 10-day course. For the longer course, the cost would be $4,290 at the government price and $5,720 for US insurers. Gilead’s price has been highly anticipated because it could set a precedent for other drugs to follow, and STAT notes that the figures generally fall within expectations. On the plus side, it should save hospitals money by allowing them to release patients earlier; on the other hand, it’s not a cure, just a way to shorten hospital stays, and future drugs—perhaps this steroid—could prove more effective and make remdesivir less sought-after.

Better have insurance or the Poor House will await your entry.

Why would it be so expensive?

Remdesivir, the antiviral drug that appears to reduce the recovery time for hospitalized Covid-19 patients, has a price tag: $3,120 for the typical five-day regiment for a patient on private insurance. Gilead, the drug’s manufacturer, announced the news on Monday.

The drug has been one of the most promising treatments, reducing the hospital stay for Covid patients by several days in early trials. Remdesivir has been around for a while, but, as you might recall, drug discovery experts have always thought this was the most promising avenue for an effective treatment to come on the market quickly: repurposing an existing drug to fight Covid-19. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the emergency use of remdesivir in May.

But here in America, where even people who have health insurance coverage can often face high medical bills, the news of the drug’s promise was quickly followed by the question: Yeah, but what’s it going to cost?

Now we have an answer — or the start of one, at least. Let’s get into it.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/6/29/21307528/voxcare-remdesivir-price-coronavirus

And people say that Medicare For All is not the answer to adequate health care……they are WRONG!

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In The Year 2025

NO! It is not the hit tune from Zager and Evans…that was In The Year 2525…..sorry to be a bummer.

China thumps its chest….USA thumps its chest…..and unless all this macho bullshit ceases then there could be an accidental war by 2025….unless calmer heads prevail.

More than two decades after the fact, the reasons why the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) avoided total war, let alone a nuclear exchange, during their armed conflict in the autumn of 2025 remain a source of dispute. What is clearer is why the Sino–American Littoral War broke out in the first place, and the course it took. Years of worsening U.S.–China relations, supercharged by the 2020 COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China, and long fueled by endemic Chinese cyberattacks on American businesses and individuals, military jockeying in the South China Sea, and Beijing’s influence and propaganda campaigns, had created a deep reservoir of ill will and distrust of the other in each country.

https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/06/us-china-conflict-how-accidental-war-could-break-out-in-2025/

A “Littoral War”?

In military and naval warfare, littoral combat is operations in and around the littoral zone, within a certain distance of shore, including surveillance, mine-clearing and support for landing operations and other types of combat shifting from water to ground, and back.

We can ignore the elephant in the room……but that will not change a thing.

As tensions keep growing progressively worse, experts in US-China relations say that the risk of any specific incident escalating into a war is much greater than in years past, saying that intergovernmental communication needs to be shored up.

Every encounter, every US warship sent into the South China Sea, is another risk, and communications are getting worse and worse, leading a Chinese thinktank to  counsel efforts to keep chains of communication open, warning relations could get very childish without that.

Warnings about the state of the US-China relationship have been growing for months, with an ugly trade war, and recent threats by President Trump to totally decouple the US economy from China adding to the mounting risks.

The two major powers got into this situation through mutual acrimony, and it would take a lot of cooperation for the two of them to repair the relationship for the sake of avoiding a costly war. It’s clear no one would benefit from a war, but it’s not clear there is interest in repairing ties.

(antiwar.com)

Another situation to watch……the India-China clashes…..

China and India — the two most populous countries in the world, and both nuclear-armed — are now engaged in the most dangerous border crisis since they fought a war in 1962. For now, hopes that cooler heads would prevail in Beijing and New Delhi appear misplaced.

At issue is the western sector of the disputed border, between Indian-controlled Ladakh and Chinese-controlled Aksai Chin. The escalating troop deployment, tension, and death toll have pushed tensions to their highest levels in over 50 years. While both China and India have shown a clear interest in de-escalation and dialogue — demonstrated by their relatively calm and non-escalatory statements after the deadly skirmish on June 16 — the latest developments mark a new low in bilateral ties. Restoring a fraught peace now will be easier said than done.

China’s Strategic Assessment of the Ladakh Clash

Appears that China is the force that should be watched and eventually dealt with….but sanctions will do NOTHING to avoid a possible war.

But all indications are the the US is stumbling its way ingto a war with China……

With tensions between the US and China at an all-time high, experts warn the two powers are closer to a military confrontation than ever before. A war with China should be unthinkable in Washington since the conflict could be catastrophic to the entire world as the threat of it erupting into a full-blown nuclear war is very real. But with a deteriorating trade relationship, tension over the Covid-19 pandemic, increased US Navy activity in the Pacific, new sanctions aimed at Chinese officials, and hostile rhetoric coming from the Trump administration, the unthinkable is becoming more and more likely.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced new sanctions on Friday aimed at “current and former” Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials, accusing them of violating Hong Kong’s autonomy. Hong Kong has served as a stage for recent US meddling, with Washington openly supporting the protests that rocked the city since March 2019. The Trump administration accused Beijing of violating Hong Kong’s autonomy with a new national security law made for the city, a bill designed to quell protests.

Stumbling Towards Catastrophe: The New Cold War With China

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Finally! (Flag Update)

Closing Thought–29Jun20

I have written about the state of Mississippi and its attempt to change the state flag with the CSA symbol on it…..https://lobotero.com/2020/06/27/mississippi-flag-again/

And I’ll be damned….after many many decades of trying to change the racist symbol……the legislature finally did the right thing…..

It’s almost done: Mississippi lawmakers on Sunday passed a bill to change the state flag. After voting Saturday to suspend legislative deadlines and file the bill, the GOP-controlled state legislature held debates on the bill Sunday and voted, with the House passing the bill 91-23 and the Senate then opening its own session and ultimately passing the bill 37-14. The Mississippi Clarion-Ledger has a detailed timeline of how the day went. The bottom line: The current flag, which features the Confederate battle emblem and is the last remaining state flag to include the Confederate flag symbol after others dropped it, will be scrapped. A nine-member commission will start the process of selecting a new flag, and residents will vote on that new flag in November. If rejected, the process will start over again and another vote will be held in November 2021.

The bill prevents the Confederate battle emblem from being included on any future designs. The state’s Republican governor, Tate Reeves, who on Saturday agreed for the first time to sign the bill, said Sunday that he won’t do so immediately. “The governor does not want to rush this moment in history for our state,” a spokesperson said. “Once the legislature sends the final bill to his desk and he’s had the opportunity to review it, Gov. Reeves will sign the bill in the coming days.” Though polling had shown until earlier this month that a majority of state residents wanted to keep the flag as-is, the latest polling shows 55% of Mississippians are ready for a change, CBS News reports. “Big salute to EVERY university in this State that helped,” tweeted Kylin Hill, the Mississippi State All-SEC running back who, per AL.com, threatened to sit out the season if the flag was not changed. The NCAA, SEC, and Conference USA all decided not to hold championships in the state if the flag was not changed.

The governor has stated that if passed he would sign the bill of the change……we will see if that was just idle BS or he truly wants the state to move out of the past.

What flag will they use….a historic flag or design a new one?

I am proud of Mississippi for finally doing the right thing.  Now the state needs to keep progress moving forward.

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Deja Vu (Again)–1968

These days we are witnessing a possible turning point in American society…..I say ‘possible’ because I have witnessed the people let social issues be dictated by the people that do not want change in any way.

In summer of 1967, African Americans protested, marched, and rioted in cities across the country. The unrest convinced President Lyndon Johnson to set up the Kerner Commission, which spent about six months doing research, visiting slums, and holding hearings. In 1968, they published a provocative report that civil rights leader Jesse Jackson recently called “the last attempt to address honestly and seriously the structural inequalities that plague African Americans.”

“Segregation and poverty have created in the racial ghetto a destructive environment totally unknown to most white Americans,” the Kerner report said. “What white Americans have never fully understood — but what the Negro can never forget — is that white society is deeply implicated in the ghetto. White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it, and white society condones it.”

https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2020/06/09/872402262/what-a-1968-report-tells-us-about-the-persistence-of-racial-inequality

There is more similar with 1968 and 2020 than most people realize….

Racial tensions, clashes between police and protesters, a general sense of chaos — 1968 and 2020 seemed to have a lot in common. Observers wrote about how Trump’s use of “law and order” rhetoric echoed Richard Nixon and George Wallace in 1968. The comparison makes broader sense, too: 1968 was a destabilizing year in American politics, marked by Civil Rights protests, uprisings born out of racist oppression, assassinations, violence at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago (classified later as a “police riot”) and protests against the Vietnam War. Racial tensions and inequality were at the center of the instability that year, with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. sparking uprisings in cities across the country.

But 1968 isn’t the only chapter in American history that’s relevant to the current crisis. America has a long history of racial injustice, which makes it difficult to isolate any one precedent for the current environment. History has a way of building on itself; the injustices of one generation are passed on to the next, even as incremental progress is made. This is why I want to share with you three other episodes that also help contextualize the moment we’re in now. They, like 1968 and the broader Civil Rights movement, highlight the depths of violence and injustice that black Americans have faced, and explain why everyday political processes have failed to bring about lasting systemic change.

1968 Isn’t The Only Parallel For This Political Moment

I started my protest days in the 1970s and the races were closer together then than now….and that is a shame that our system has consistently screwed the black population.

Now is the time for radical politics….so says Princeton’s Eddie Glaude, Jr (a professor from  my neck of the woods)……

A common reaction to these displays of violence and injustice in the past weeks is: This is not who we are. But what if that isn’t true? What if this is exactly who we are? That’s a far more uncomfortable idea to grapple with — and, if accurate, it demands far more radical solutions to America’s current malaise.

There are few people who have wrestled with these questions more deeply than Eddie Glaude Jr., the chair of Princeton University’s department of African American studies and author of books like Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Souland Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.

“In order to address this cultural practice of racial inequality, we have to narrate America differently,” Glaude Jr. says. “We have to confront the ugliness of who we are — and who we have been — so that we can imagine ourselves otherwise.”

https://www.vox.com/2020/6/9/21279536/radical-politics-george-floyd-protests-police-brutality-black-lives

I agree we need truly RADICAL politics if we want the change the direction of this country toward division….and then without it the divisions will continue to widen and the more inequality will become entrenched in society.

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What Is Happening To The GOP?

This GOP is not the party that my grandfather supporter back in the 50s…..since the mid 60s it has been moving further and further away from the policies it supported back in the day.

But has Trump done anything to make the GOP a stronger party?

I say no….the reason is just watch the party nowadays….they do not seem to jump to defend the president…..only a few sycophants.

Politico reporter Jake Sherman explained in a PBS “Washington Week” discussion that it has become clear Republicans aren’t defending Trump anymore.

“Republicans have just basically decided, as we put it in Playbook, almost to just pat him on the head – Pres. Trump that is – and move on with their day. They’re no longer really twisting themselves in pretzels to defend him,” Sherman said Sunday.

Instead, they’re replying to reporters asking questions with, “we didn’t really see that” or claiming they need more information. While they still haven’t moved to be brave enough to criticize Trump, refusing to defend him is a huge step for Republicans who protected the president from a legitimate impeachment investigation.

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/06/republicans-have-decided-they-arent-twisting-themselves-in-pretzels-to-defend-trump-anymore-report/

First I would not get too excited at this lack of defense….some of those are facing stiff elections and will do what they can to look as if they are showing some spine….they will slip back if they win.

Second there is another worrying situation within the GOP….those ultra far right candidates….

Openly fascistic candidates are gaining ground within the Republican Party, which is moving ever further to the right even as the working class and large sections of the middle class move to the left, as expressed in the demonstrations against the police murder of George Floyd.

In Georgia’s Republican primary election June 9, a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy campaign was the leading candidate for the party’s nomination in the 14th Congressional District, a seat held by Republican Tom Graves, who stepped down after five terms in office. The district, which comprises the northwest corner of Georgia, along the Alabama and Tennessee borders, is considered a safe Republican seat.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, co-owner of a local construction company, won 41 percent of the vote, more than double the vote of her closest competitor, John Cowan, a neurosurgeon and businessman. Greene is heavily favored to win the August 11 runoff election.

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2020/06/15/repu-j15.html

Like I said…..worrying situation for a once proud party that is sinking into the muck and mire of far right politics.

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Afghanistan Can Be Deadly!

I know…NO SHIT Professor!

There is other ways that it is deadly other than the Taleban and friendlies and IEDs……

It seems that someone put bounties of American soldiers…..and that someone was RUSSIA…..

United States intelligence agents believe that Russia offered Afghan militants bounties to kill U.S. soldiers and other coalition troops during peace talks between the U.S. and the Taliban, The New York Times reports. The talks were part of an effort to wind down U.S. military presence in the Middle Eastern nation, but the covert effort by Russia appears aimed at undermining them. U.S. intelligence officers reportedly reached the startling conclusion months ago and have been debating a response since. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the matter, as has the White House National Security Council, but neither has made a direct response. Islamist militants and their associates killed 20 U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan in 2019, and intelligence officers believe that the insurgents did collect bounties from Russia, but it’s unclear how many of those deaths are considered paid for by Russia.

Read it at The New York Times

Our president was told this back in March by our intel agencies…..

US troops, killed by paid assassins? Maybe so, if this story holds any water. A Russian military spy unit has secretly paid Taliban-linked militants to kill coalition forces in Afghanistan—something President Trump learned about months ago but chose not to act, US officials tell the New York Times. According to US intelligence, the Russian unit shuttled bounty money to Islamist militants (or armed criminals who work with them) back in 2019. Trump and the White House’s National Security Council examined the issue in late March and mulled various options, like making a diplomatic complaint or escalating sanctions, but the White House has not yet responded. This, of course, could become political dynamite if it’s confirmed.

“If true, this is outrageous conduct by Russia,” tweeted Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif), who suggested that Trump might be “beholden to Putin” as he puts “US troops’ lives at risk by doing nothing.” But there are problems. Only a few coalition troops died in Afghanistan amid a wave of attacks in 2019, and just four Americans were killed in combat there in 2019. And if it’s true, why would the Russians do it? Officials say it might be an attempt to derail US-Taliban peace talks or get revenge for Russian mercenaries killed by US troops in a 2018 battle in Syria. Meanwhile, the Kremlin is keeping mum and the Taliban has issued a flat denial. And the revelation has triggered “intense debate” at the White House about how to respond, the Washington Post reports

INTENSE DEBATE?

And in 4 months no one has any idea how to respond?

An Intense debate and Trump knew nothing about this……

President Trump on Sunday denied that he had been briefed on reported US intelligence that a Russian military intelligence unit secretly offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan, and he minimized the allegations against Moscow. American intelligence officials concluded months ago that Russian officials offered rewards for successful attacks on American service-members last year, at a time when the US and Taliban were holding talks to end the long-running war, per the New York Times. Trump, in a Sunday morning tweet, said “Nobody briefed or told me” or Vice President Mike Pence or chief of staff Mark Meadows about “the so-called attacks on our troops in Afghanistan by Russians.” “Everybody is denying it & there have not been many attacks on us,” he said, per the AP.

The White House issued a statement Saturday denying that Trump or Pence had been briefed on such intelligence. Trump’s director of national intelligence, John Ratcliffe, also said neither the president nor vice president was “ever briefed on any intelligence alleged” in the Times’ report. Trump’s tweet came a day after Joe Biden said that the report, if accurate, was a “truly shocking revelation” about the commander in chief and his failure to protect US troops in Afghanistan and stand up to Russia. Russia called the report “nonsense.” “This unsophisticated plant clearly illustrates the low intellectual abilities of the propagandists of American intelligence, who instead of inventing something more plausible have to make up this nonsense,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said. A Taliban spokesman said the militants “strongly reject this allegation” and are not “indebted to the beneficence of any intelligence organ or foreign country.” Trump responded to Biden on Twitter, saying “Russia ate his and Obama’s lunch during their time in office”

If the president was not briefed then who was having the intense debate?

Truly a country lead by amateurs.

And that amateurish BS gets people killed….

The bounties Russia allegedly put on US troops in Afghanistan led to at least one US soldier’s death, sources tell the New York Times. President Trump has denied reports that he was briefed on the plot, in which Russia promised to pay the Taliban if they killed American troops, but the Times‘ sources say US intelligence officers and Special Operations forces in Afghanistan told superiors about the scheme as early as January. The plot allegedly played out in 2019, and after the US spies and commandos recovered a large amount of US cash during a raid on a Taliban outpost and followed up that find with interrogations of captured militants and other criminals, the intelligence community came to its conclusions about the bounty plot. Officials have since then been reviewing combat casualties over an 18-month period; the Washington Post‘s sources say “several” deaths are believed to have come as a result of the scheme.

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The Saharan Dust

First….I take MoMo for her walk at 5 am because it is a bit cooler…that is until this morning…..at 5 am it was 90 degrees with 85% humidity….just a flippin’ joy. (sarcasm)

Now onto the Big News for the Coast……

This weekend the massive dust cloud that originated from the Sahara should make it to our neck of the world….the problem is we may not get much spectacular sights for it is forecast to be overcast for most of the week.

So I will post photos if I get a chance….until then how about some facts about this “cloud”……

Expansive dust clouds arise from the sun-baked Sahara each year, making the 5,000-mile journey across the Atlantic Ocean to the southern United States. While these dust plumes tend to stay intact while traveling across the ocean, they typically diffuse by the time they hit the Caribbean. But this year, things are different.

This month’s dust cloud is more resilient than usual—its dust is so opaque and thick that it can be clearly seen from the International Space Station, while its predecessors have been ghostly and faint from space. Astronaut Doug Hurley photographed the cloud from the ISS on June 21, tweeting, “We flew over this Saharan dust plume today in the west central Atlantic. Amazing how large an area it covers!”

These dust plumes, called the Saharan Air Layer (or SAL) are born when severe wind storms strike the Sahara. Entering the Atlantic Ocean at the Intertropical Convergence Zone, the plumes catch on to the trade winds, which run east-west along the equator.

The dust is already covering Caribbean skies, and Gulf Coast states like Texas and Louisiana should expect to confront this vast cloud on Wednesday and Thursday. Before the cloud enters the US here’s what you should know about the plumes.

https://www.popsci.com/story/environment/sahara-dust-plume/

That is all I have for this Sunday….hopefully you learned a bit and were entertained…..come Monday it is back to the news in the spotlight…..

Be Well…..Be Safe…..

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Miami Has A Great Idea!

Those darn masks!

There are those Trump supporters that fight wearing the mask tooth (which few have any) and nail…..some say God will protect them….if that is true then why do they need all those goddamn guns?

I mean really?

None of those people are that good looking and the masks are a public service by hiding their faces.

Plus they piss and moan about masks but few have done the same about the massive food price increases…why?  Oh yeah most of these are on the EBT card and do not really care since the government pays their food bill for them.

Okay that rant is done….now on to the Miami thing.

The numbers of Covid-19 cases has skyrocketed in Florida as well as other states….and Miami’s city council has grab the problem by the horns and done something…..

The city of Miami will begin fining repeat offenders up to $500 for not wearing a mask in public, citing the surge in COVID-19 cases across the state of Florida.

A first offense could net a fine of $50; a second, $150. Those who persist in refusing to wear a face-covering could be arrested, as a last resort.

“The only way to ensure compliance in some way shape or form is you have to have a heavy hand,” City Manager Art Noriega said Thursday.

Still, those who refuse to pay their fines will not have to face the wrath of any collection agency, the paper noted, and the emphasis will purportedly be on education, not enforcement

https://www.businessinsider.com/miami-issue-fine-for-not-wearing-mask-in-public-2020-6

A good idea but why make it a toothless proposal?

For the idiots will just keep doing what they are doing….making things worse for the rest of the population.

I say SCREW THE IDIOTS…make it a full blown fine payable in 10 days or it doubles.

I think that is a better education than what is being offered…..at least Miami is trying to do the healthy thing……https://people.com/health/miami-to-close-beaches-issue-500-fines-to-those-not-wearing-masks-amid-coronavirus-surge/

Now the rest of the damn state needs to follow suit and stop listening to the idiot in the governor’s seat and the moron in DC.

WEAR THE DAMN MASK!

Image

Any Thoughts?

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