Wednesday, June 24, 2020

My Favorite Congresswoman Just Won A Slam Dunk

 

I had no idea even Trump was a fan. He is like, run for the Senate, you will win.

She would win!' Trump says AOC could take Chuck Schumer's Senate seat


Jamaal Bowman, AOC Wins Show Progressives Are Ascendant in NYC

Did AOC Tweet That Businesses Should Be Shut Down Until the Election?
 
Ocasio-Cortez overcomes Wall Street foes to win primary  Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman and David Solomon of Goldman Sachs were among the finance industry leaders who backed Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s challenger, former CNBC journalist Michelle Caruso-Cabrera.  ....... Hanging in the balance were the political futures of two of the most powerful New York Democrats on Capitol Hill — Eliot Engel, 73, chair of the House foreign affairs committee, and Carolyn Maloney, 74, chair of the House oversight committee.......   In the 12th congressional district, which includes Manhattan’s Upper East Side and parts of Queens and Brooklyn, Ms Maloney was leading narrowly with 41.5 per cent of the vote, compared with Suraj Patel’s 40 per cent, with all of the precincts reporting  ......  Mr Biden ahead by 14 points. 



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EU leaders talk tough to Beijing over long list of unmet promises European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says EU-China relationship ‘not an easy one’ after first meeting Points finger at Chinese for cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns and warns of negative consequences over Hong Kong security law
Coronavirus: worldwide cases top 9 million as WHO warns pandemic is accelerating Outbreak peaking in number of big countries at same time, reflecting change in global activity of virus UN health body calls for ramped up production of life-saving drug dexamethasone




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Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Is It To Be Kamala?

The top quality of a VP candidate is they should be able to assume the presidency at the drop of a hat. Most presidents have been Governors or Senators. She is a Senator. She has run for president. She has a national perspective.

In this Floyd season, a black Indian woman (yes, her first and middle names are Indian: Kamala Devi) would be apt. 

Her background in criminal justice is a big plus. She knows the stuff that is hot. 

India is fast emerging to be the top US ally, almost ready to replace Britain. 

Biden was toast until he was resurrected by black voters in South Carolina. A more energetic black base would have given Hillary a victory in 2016. 

I am excited she might be Biden's pick. 

It is time for a woman. It is time for a black woman. It is time for an Asian, an Indian. 

Kamala Harris - Wikipedia
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Kamala Harris For The People 





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The Second Great Depression At least four major factors are terrifying economists and weighing on the recovery. ........  In Texas, the bars are packed. And in Vermont, the stay-at-home order has been lifted. People are still frightened. Americans are still dying. ........  no one knows enough about consumer sentiment and government ordinances and business failures and stimulus packages and the spread of the disease to make solid predictions about the future ........  The Trump administration and some bullish financial forecasters are arguing that we will end up with a strong, V-shaped rebound, with economic activity surging right back to where it was in no time. Others are betting on a longer, slower, U-shaped turnaround, with the pain extending for a year or three. .........  absent dramatic policy action, a pandemic depression is possible ..........  the American economy will generate $8 trillion less in economic activity over the next decade than it projected just a few months ago, and that a full recovery might not take hold until the 2030s. ......... At least four major factors are terrifying economists and weighing on the recovery: the household fiscal cliff, the great business die-off, the state and local budget shortfall, and the lingering health crisis. ..........   Nearly 40 percent of low-wage workers lost their jobs in March. More than 40 million people lost their jobs in March, April, or May. .........  The bad: It left out roughly 15 million people in immigrant families, many of whom were working essential jobs stocking grocery shelves, delivering takeout, and drawing blood in hospitals. And the ugly: The big helicopter drop was a onetime thing, and the unemployment-insurance expansion was time-limited. ..........   The Paycheck Protection Program and other federal initiatives shoved an oxygen mask on many companies. But the PPP was scaled to help businesses through a short, intense disruption, though the economy is expected to remain sluggish for months and months. ..........   Students are not willing to pay as much for online learning as in-person instruction. .................    The federal government does not have to balance its ledger year to year, and perpetually spends more than it takes in. Yet every state but Vermont and most cities and towns are required to remain in the black. Right now, sales taxes, real-estate-transfer taxes, income taxes, fines and fees—they are all collapsing, leaving local governments with a budget gap expected to total $1 trillion next year. Without help from Washington, this will necessarily mean massive service cuts and job losses: namely, an estimated 5.3 million job losses. ..............    The shrinking of the government at the state and local level has already started ...........  A fiscal cliff for families. Rolling business failures. A budget crisis for state and local governments. Each is bad enough. Each might be a big-enough headwind to tip the economy into recession alone. But the last element is the true alpha and omega of our worst-case scenario: the catastrophe of the American government’s management of the novel-coronavirus pandemic. ............    it wasted the time these extreme measures bought, because the government failed to set up a strong test-and-trace regime. ........  Countries including South Korea and New Zealand crushed the coronavirus. The United States merely patted it down. The country is reopening with the disease still spreading and maiming and killing, as several states experience a dramatic surge in caseloads. ............   Never getting the pandemic under control means never unleashing the economy. Just look at the casinos in Las Vegas: open, yet half-empty. ........    localities might end up having to return to extreme social-distancing measures over the summer and fall. And it means fear and mistrust: depressed consumer confidence, ruined faith in government, and concerns about the economy’s ability to recover. ........... Ending the pandemic would have been the single best thing the federal government could have done to preserve the country’s wealth, health, and economic functioning. The Trump administration, in its hubris, obstinacy, and incompetence, failed to do it. .............  Congress could extend unemployment insurance, offer new help to flailing businesses, send monthly cash grants to poor families, offer fiscal relief to the states, and implement a nationwide test-and-trace program.

Trump’s response to Bolton: No, you’re the threat The coordinated attack is ultimately an attempt to counteract Bolton’s central thesis as he promotes his book: Trump poses a threat to the country. 

People hold signs on Brooklyn Bridge during a protest against police brutality and racism in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd in New York, US, on June 13, 2020 [Caitlin Ochs/Reuters]

OPINION/RACISM If Black Americans were to seek asylum, they could qualify I have evaluated countless refugee cases. The oppression Black Americans face in the US would qualify as persecution. ........  people become refugees because they are oppressed. Their rights are violated because of discrimination. ........  A searing report from The Sentencing Project to the UN found the US in violation of Article 2 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights for pursuing policies that allow racial disparities in its criminal justice system. ...........  Black people are nearly twice as likely to be imprisoned as Hispanic people and five times more likely than white people. One in 10 Black children spends part of their childhood with one parent behind bars. ...........  What accounts for mistaken links between race and crime is more an outcome of urban poverty and racialised policing, which forces individuals into a vicious cycle of crime and incarceration. At the same time, racial bias - implicit and explicit - causes white Americans to overestimate crime committed by Black people, contributing to racial profiling. The fact that African Americans are victims of crime disproportionately more than other groups is usually overlooked. ............   Redlining - policies which limit access to means of upward mobility such as banking, insurance, better schools and housing, through the practice of districting neighbourhoods - although banned, still affects Black communities. ..........   Systemic income inequality has made white Americans 20 times richer than Black Americans. Black communities face stark inequalities in both healthcare and education. Implicit bias and racial disparities cause Black Americans to receive lower-quality healthcare than white Americans. In schools in minority and Black communities that are chronically underfunded, Black students are suspended and expelled from school at a rate three times higher than white students and school policing makes Black students more vulnerable to the criminal justice system and higher dropout rates. ............. "the historical, cultural and human depth of racism still permeates all dimensions of life of American society". .........  The US may pride itself on being a bastion of human rights, but it is clear Black Americans are not receiving their fair treatment, access or share. The country needs to undertake major policy reforms immediately if it is to wipe this shameful stain from its democratic reputation.  

NY Democrats brace for primary night stunners  “The sum total is that if turnout is high you could see incumbents losing their seats.”  .......   The progressive star has spent more than $6 million defending her seat this cycle and has one of the largest campaign operations of any House member.   

Coronavirus cases surging in Florida and Texas as states barrel ahead with reopening plans "When young people get infected, they go home and they infect their parents," said Dr. Charles Lockwood. "They will kill people by giving vulnerable people the virus."   



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Monday, June 22, 2020

Coronavirus News (165)

Motorola, LG Commit to Making Some of the First Cheap 5G Phones  The 5G is provided by the Snapdragon X51 5G modem where you have sub-6Hz support and max download speeds of 1.2Gbps ........... We could see a Moto G 5G at some point too.  


Qualcomm Snapdragon 690

Trump is losing it The incumbent US president launched psychological warfare in Tulsa. .........  If the US elections were held today, he would lose "bigly", and that is just driving him crazy. .........  anointing himself a "war president" to fight the pandemic. .........   referred to himself as the "law and order" president during the civil unrest ...... He even played God's special messenger during the early days of the civil unrest, brandishing a copy of the Bible he had not read in front of a church he had not attended to defend a faith which was not under threat. ...........  The pandemic has taken the lives of 120,000 Americans and rising. The economy is in the deepest recession since World War I, and society is in turmoil. Even religious leaders are not buying into his insecure machismo. ..........  what began as a bleeding of support a few months ago has now turned into serious hemorrhaging. ........   Trump slammed the "shameless hypocrite", "sleepy Joe" Biden, warning if he is elected president, "our country would be destroyed". And he dissed the "radical left" Democrats, especially "hate-filled, America-bashing" Ilhan Omar and "socialist" Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. He also demonised the "negative", "radical", "fake news" media, and the subversive radical left that holds Biden hostage. .............  the relatively poor attendance of his much-publicised rally turned the hype into humiliation. .........  Clearly, many of his supporters are not dying to hear his grievances and falsehoods during the pandemic. ....... An increasing number of Republicans, including former generals and aides, are deserting his sinking ship; some out of fear for the party, not to mention the country's future in case of a Trump second term. Some reckon he poses a "danger to the Republic". This leaves the incumbent president no choice but to double down on incitement against his opponents, before defections snowball.  ....... A desperate and humiliated Trump may do just about anything.

Lack of leadership 'greatest threat' in coronavirus fight  WHO warns pandemic accelerating as it reports record daily global case rise while outbreak surges in Brazil, India.


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This X-Ray Map of the Entire Sky Is a Psychedelic Dreamworld If you thought space was black, think again. ........  Most of the bright X-ray objects, around 77 percent, are active galactic nuclei, or supermassive black holes that are actively absorbing material at the center of galaxies. In between, there are clusters of galaxies that give off shining halos due to trapped gas caused by huge concentrations of dark matter. ....... “With a million sources in just six months, eROSITA has already revolutionized X-ray astronomy, but this is just a taste of what’s to come”   

RESEARCHER: SECOND COVID WAVE MAY BE PSYCHOLOGICALLY DEVASTATING A RESURGENCE MAY "PROVOKE A WHOLE NEW AND PERHAPS DEEPER SENSE OF FEAR AND UNCERTAINTY."   ...........   “I think a second wave would be devastating for a lot of people........ There is a sense that we have been through a really terrible, traumatic time, and we are now in a phase of reopening and recovery.”  ...........  the U.S. never really beat its first outbreak, compared to other countries which stamped it out decisively. It’s all part of one, long, unconquered pandemic. ........  living in lockdown has led to an increase of reported anxiety and depression   
YOUR CORONAVIRUS ANTIBODIES MIGHT FADE AFTER JUST A FEW MONTHS NEW RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE CORONAVIRUS MIGHT BE EVEN MORE PERNICIOUS THAN WE THOUGHT. ............  the antibodies our bodies develop against COVID-19 can fade away in just two to three months — especially for those who had mild cases. .............   That poses a problem for governments that banked on developing herd immunity — resistance to future infections at a societal scale ........ doling out “immunity passports” will only complicate the situation ..........  
 



Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen via video link in Beijing on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

European Union leaders urge Xi Jinping to drop Hong Kong national security law, or risk ‘negative consequences’ ‘China risks very negative consequences’ if it imposes national security law, says European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen But she sidesteps questions as to the exact measures the EU would take .........   Xi, on his part, fended off the EU’s categorisation of China as a rival, pledging to work together with the bloc on cooperation and upholding multilateralism. ........  “The European Union is in touch with our G7 [Group of Seven] partners on this, and we have made our position very clear to the Chinese leadership today and urge them to reconsider,” she said. “Of course they have a different standpoint than us, but this is our very clear standpoint we conveyed to the Chinese leadership.” ...........   “We continue to have an unbalanced trade and investment relationship … ....  the Chinese leader focused on partnership with the EU at a time when Beijing is facing ongoing confrontation with Washington. ........  “China is a partner, not a rival,” Xi told the EU leaders, according to Chinese state media. “China and the EU do not have fundamental conflicts, and cooperation is far bigger than competition.” ............  China and the EU, Xi said, “should respect each other, create common grounds and accept the differences”. ..........  Hong Kong’s national security law is like ‘anti-virus software’, top Beijing official says

CDC: SECOND WAVE OF COVID-19 COULD BE EVEN WORSE A WAVE OF CORONAVIRUS COINCIDING WITH FLU SEASON COULD PUT AN "UNIMAGINABLE STRAIN" ON THE US HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.  .........  a second wave of coronavirus during the next flu season could be catastrophic — even potentially eclipsing the severity of the first wave. ..........  “There’s a possibility that the assault of the virus on our nation next winter will actually be even more difficult than the one we just went through....... And when I’ve said this to others, they kind of put their head back, they don’t understand what I mean.”  ..............    “We’re going to have the flu epidemic and the coronavirus epidemic at the same time” ...........  Luckily, this first wave came after the last influenza season had mostly faded. ..........  urged the importance of social distancing, and said that COVID-19 testing needs to be scaled up massively. .........   The words of warning seem to have fallen deaf ears. A number of US states have decided to gradually reopen, just as the total number of cases and deaths in the country is approaching its peak. ...........  the importance of getting flu shots so that hospitals won’t be hit as hard

COVID COULD BE MAKING PEOPLE SO LONELY THAT THEY’RE GETTING SICK IT'S NOT JUST YOU.  .......  the toll extended isolation takes on our minds and bodies. ........  Extended loneliness can have serious psychological impacts, like exacerbated depression, anxiety, and increased irritability ....... “We have to deal with our environment entirely on our own, without the help of others, which puts our brain in a state of alert, but that also signals the rest of our body to be in a state of alert.” ...........   Loneliness has been linked to all sorts of medical problems, like cognitive decline in old age, cancer, and heart disease  

How Britain stole $45 trillion from India And lied about it.  .......  Drawing on nearly two centuries of detailed data on tax and trade, Patnaik calculated that Britain drained a total of nearly $45 trillion from India during the period 1765 to 1938. ...............   $45 trillion is 17 times more than the total annual gross domestic product of the United Kingdom today. ..........   Prior to the colonial period, Britain bought goods like textiles and rice from Indian producers and paid for them in the normal way - mostly with silver - as they did with any other country. But something changed in 1765, shortly after the East India Company took control of the subcontinent and established a monopoly over Indian trade. .........   The East India Company began collecting taxes in India, and then cleverly used a portion of those revenues (about a third) to fund the purchase of Indian goods for British use. In other words, instead of paying for Indian goods out of their own pocket, British traders acquired them for free, "buying" from peasants and weavers using money that had just been taken from them. ...............  It was a scam - theft on a grand scale. Yet most Indians were unaware of what was going on because the agent who collected the taxes was not the same as the one who showed up to buy their goods. ..........  Some of the stolen goods were consumed in Britain, and the rest were re-exported elsewhere. The re-export system allowed Britain to finance a flow of imports from Europe, including strategic materials like iron, tar and timber, which were essential to Britain's industrialisation. Indeed, the Industrial Revolution depended in large part on this systematic theft from India. .........  anyone who wanted to buy goods from India would do so using special Council Bills - a unique paper currency issued only by the British Crown. And the only way to get those bills was to buy them from London with gold or silver. So traders would pay London in gold to get the bills, and then use the bills to pay Indian producers. When Indians cashed the bills in at the local colonial office, they were "paid" in rupees out of tax revenues - money that had just been collected from them. So, once again, they were not in fact paid at all; they were defrauded. .............  London ended up with all of the gold and silver that should have gone directly to the Indians in exchange for their exports. ...........  even while India was running an impressive trade surplus with the rest of the world - a surplus that lasted for three decades in the early 20th century - it showed up as a deficit in the national accounts because the real income from India's exports was appropriated in its entirety by Britain. ..............  Some point to this fictional "deficit" as evidence that India was a liability to Britain. But exactly the opposite is true. ............  India was the goose that laid the golden egg. .........  Meanwhile, the "deficit" meant that India had no option but to borrow from Britain to finance its imports. So the entire Indian population was forced into completely unnecessary debt to their colonial overlords, further cementing British control. ..........  Britain used the windfall from this fraudulent system to fuel the engines of imperial violence - funding the invasion of China in the 1840s and the suppression of the Indian Rebellion in 1857. And this was on top of what the Crown took directly from Indian taxpayers to pay for its wars. As Patnaik points out, "the cost of all Britain's wars of conquest outside Indian borders were charged always wholly or mainly to Indian revenues." ..........  not only the industrialisation of Britain but also the industrialisation of much of the Western world was facilitated by extraction from the colonies. ........ If India had been able to invest its own tax revenues and foreign exchange earnings in development - as Japan did - there's no telling how history might have turned out differently. India could very well have become an economic powerhouse. Centuries of poverty and suffering could have been prevented. ..........  The conservative historian Niall Ferguson has claimed that British rule helped "develop" India. While he was prime minister, David Cameron asserted that British rule was a net help to India. ..........  according to a 2014 YouGov poll, 50 percent of people in Britain believe that colonialism was beneficial to the colonies. .........  during the entire 200-year history of British rule in India, there was almost no increase in per capita income. In fact, during the last half of the 19th century - the heyday of British intervention - income in India collapsed by half. The average life expectancy of Indians dropped by a fifth from 1870 to 1920. Tens of millions died needlessly of policy-induced famine. .......... Britain didn't develop India. Quite the contrary - as Patnaik's work makes clear - India developed Britain. ...... We need to recognise that Britain retained control of India not out of benevolence but for the sake of plunder and that Britain's industrial rise didn't emerge sui generis from the steam engine and strong institutions, as our schoolbooks would have it, but depended on violent theft from other lands and other peoples.

Lord Louis Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, and his wife, Lady Edwina Mountbatten, ride in the state carriage towards the Viceregal lodge in New Delhi, on March 22, 1947 [File: AP]

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