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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
July 17, 2020
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit civil rights organization that documents the activities of hate groups across the U.S., added a new entry to its database of extremists: White House senior adviser Stephen Miller.
Miller was added to the organization’s website on Wednesday, with the SPLC noting that President Donald Trump’s trusted confidante “is credited with shaping the racist and draconian immigration policies of President Trump,” including the zero-tolerance policy that led to thousands of children being separated from their families.
Miller also shaped the White House’s early Muslim ban, pushed for the president to attempt to end the popular Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and advised moves to halt the issuance of green cards for immigrants using the coronavirus pandemic as a means to do so, SPLC said. ............(more)
https://truthout.org/articles/southern-poverty-law-center-adds-stephen-miller-to-its-list-of-extremists/
SPLC adds Stephen Miller to its list of extremists
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit civil rights organization that documents the activities of hate groups across the U.S., added a new entry to its database of extremists: White House senior adviser Stephen Miller.
Miller was added to the organization’s website on Wednesday, with the SPLC noting that President Donald Trump’s trusted confidante “is credited with shaping the racist and draconian immigration policies of President Trump,” including the zero-tolerance policy that led to thousands of children being separated from their families.
Miller also shaped the White House’s early Muslim ban, pushed for the president to attempt to end the popular Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and advised moves to halt the issuance of green cards for immigrants using the coronavirus pandemic as a means to do so, SPLC said. ............(more)
https://truthout.org/articles/southern-poverty-law-center-adds-stephen-miller-to-its-list-of-extremists/
July 17, 2020
Trump’s presidency is a potentially fatal self-inflicted wound on America
Published 7 mins ago on July 16, 2020
By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute- Commentary
When schoolchildren across the United States began their summer break, President Donald Trump had more than two months to bring the coronavirus crisis under control in time for schools to reopen for the fall. But, instead of tackling the virus’ spread head-on, he did what most observers expected of him: he politicized the pandemic and acted as though he were the sole victim of the virus. If Trump’s message can be distilled into a single idea, it is that if we simply do not acknowledge that the virus is ravaging the nation, we can go about with business as usual and re-elect Trump in November.
Unfortunately for Trump, that plan is so far not quite working, and even pollsters biased in his favor are showing a grim election outcome for the president. But Trump’s loss is not necessarily our gain. Americans are dying from the coronavirus at a rate not seen in any other part of the world. The Washington Post points out that, “If you adjust per capita, then, Florida’s outbreak is currently about 70 times worse than that of the worst-hit country in Europe.”
The most infuriating aspect of the American response to the coronavirus is that other nations have clearly laid out a commonsense strategy that has worked so much better for them—enabling them to return to as much of a pre-pandemic “normal” as is possible under the circumstances. A prime example is Germany, where schools have been partially open with some online and some in-person instruction and remain responsive to outbreaks that may occur.
....(snip)....
Trump’s plan for the coronavirus is to have no plan because to a significant percentage of Americans, having a plan would be akin to tyranny. So, if there is a plan, it is to make the virus go away—not in reality but from our view. .............(more)
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/07/trumps-presidency-is-a-potentia/
Trump's presidency is a potentially fatal self-inflicted wound on America
Trump’s presidency is a potentially fatal self-inflicted wound on America
Published 7 mins ago on July 16, 2020
By Sonali Kolhatkar, Independent Media Institute- Commentary
When schoolchildren across the United States began their summer break, President Donald Trump had more than two months to bring the coronavirus crisis under control in time for schools to reopen for the fall. But, instead of tackling the virus’ spread head-on, he did what most observers expected of him: he politicized the pandemic and acted as though he were the sole victim of the virus. If Trump’s message can be distilled into a single idea, it is that if we simply do not acknowledge that the virus is ravaging the nation, we can go about with business as usual and re-elect Trump in November.
Unfortunately for Trump, that plan is so far not quite working, and even pollsters biased in his favor are showing a grim election outcome for the president. But Trump’s loss is not necessarily our gain. Americans are dying from the coronavirus at a rate not seen in any other part of the world. The Washington Post points out that, “If you adjust per capita, then, Florida’s outbreak is currently about 70 times worse than that of the worst-hit country in Europe.”
The most infuriating aspect of the American response to the coronavirus is that other nations have clearly laid out a commonsense strategy that has worked so much better for them—enabling them to return to as much of a pre-pandemic “normal” as is possible under the circumstances. A prime example is Germany, where schools have been partially open with some online and some in-person instruction and remain responsive to outbreaks that may occur.
....(snip)....
Trump’s plan for the coronavirus is to have no plan because to a significant percentage of Americans, having a plan would be akin to tyranny. So, if there is a plan, it is to make the virus go away—not in reality but from our view. .............(more)
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/07/trumps-presidency-is-a-potentia/
July 16, 2020
A tourist staying in Puerto Rico allegedly spit on a grocery store employee who asked him to put on his face mask — and then wound up getting hit right in the face.
Univision reports that police say a man named William Martin Drew went to an Econo grocery store in Rincón, Puerto Rico on Tuesday night while wearing a mask that was dangling around his neck and not covering his face.
“The cops are coming right now to get this piece of sh*t arrested!” he said while pointing at the employee.
Drew also claimed to have been hit by a golf club, although police made no specific mention of a golf club in their report on the incident. ...........(more)
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/07/man-spits-on-grocery-store-worker-who-asked-him-to-wear-a-mask-and-immediately-gets-hit-in-the-face-police/?
Asshole tourist asked to wear mask in PR, spits on employee, gets punched.
A tourist staying in Puerto Rico allegedly spit on a grocery store employee who asked him to put on his face mask — and then wound up getting hit right in the face.
Univision reports that police say a man named William Martin Drew went to an Econo grocery store in Rincón, Puerto Rico on Tuesday night while wearing a mask that was dangling around his neck and not covering his face.
“The cops are coming right now to get this piece of sh*t arrested!” he said while pointing at the employee.
Drew also claimed to have been hit by a golf club, although police made no specific mention of a golf club in their report on the incident. ...........(more)
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/07/man-spits-on-grocery-store-worker-who-asked-him-to-wear-a-mask-and-immediately-gets-hit-in-the-face-police/?
July 16, 2020
(Guardian UK) California’s dramatic rolling back of reopening after a surge in coronavirus cases has left businesses scrambling to make sense of conflicting orders. And for some, it has meant closing up shop all over again.
On Monday Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, ordered all bars to shut down and all restaurants, movie theaters and museums to halt indoor operations. In the 30 counties on the state’s monitoring list, indoor operations at places of worship, fitness centers, hair salons, barbershops and malls were also ordered to shut.
In Alameda county, home to Oakland, public health officials took measures a step further over the weekend by prohibiting outdoor dining after three weeks of alfresco drinks and sidewalk meals. For local businesses, the reversal – which followed updated guidance from the state as to which counties could reopen more swiftly – came as a tough blow.
“We were actually making some money by having the outdoor dining open,” said Sarah Kirnon, owner of Caribbean restaurant Miss Ollie’s in downtown Oakland. “We had some really great days, and it was like, oh my God, we’re back to some kind of normalcy. Now that’s being taken away from us.” ............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/15/california-coronavirus-shutdown-businesses-restaurants
'Things ain't going back to normal': Californians reel as shutdown hits again
(Guardian UK) California’s dramatic rolling back of reopening after a surge in coronavirus cases has left businesses scrambling to make sense of conflicting orders. And for some, it has meant closing up shop all over again.
On Monday Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, ordered all bars to shut down and all restaurants, movie theaters and museums to halt indoor operations. In the 30 counties on the state’s monitoring list, indoor operations at places of worship, fitness centers, hair salons, barbershops and malls were also ordered to shut.
In Alameda county, home to Oakland, public health officials took measures a step further over the weekend by prohibiting outdoor dining after three weeks of alfresco drinks and sidewalk meals. For local businesses, the reversal – which followed updated guidance from the state as to which counties could reopen more swiftly – came as a tough blow.
“We were actually making some money by having the outdoor dining open,” said Sarah Kirnon, owner of Caribbean restaurant Miss Ollie’s in downtown Oakland. “We had some really great days, and it was like, oh my God, we’re back to some kind of normalcy. Now that’s being taken away from us.” ............(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/15/california-coronavirus-shutdown-businesses-restaurants
July 16, 2020
How quickly will there be a vaccine? And what if people refuse to get it?
Experts are hopeful a coronavirus vaccine could be released early next year – but that doesn’t mean things will return to normal
(Guardian UK) Scientists around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus – and many believe at least one could be released early next year. According to the World Health Organization, about 23 vaccines are in clinical evaluation, and more than 130 are in development.
Biotech firm Moderna and the National Institutes of Health said their vaccine provoked a desired immune response in 45 individuals; it will move on to larger-scale testing at the end of the month. The University of Oxford, which has paired with drugmaker AstraZeneca to create another vaccine, said it was anticipating “positive news” on early trials of its drug.
The mumps vaccine, widely considered the fastest ever developed, took four years. Experts explain what goes into developing a vaccine – and what comes next.
How optimistic are you that we’ll have a vaccine in early 2021?
Angela Rasmussen: I’m optimistic. It’s not necessarily going to be the perfect vaccine. We might find early evidence that some of these vaccines are at least partially effective, and that’s enough for now because the need is so great.
Anna Durbin: I think we’re going to (understand) the efficacy for one, or maybe two candidates by the end of 2020 to the beginning of 2021 at the pace things are going. I’m more concerned with the ability to produce enough for everybody who needs it. ..........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/16/coronavirus-vaccine-covid-19-experts
How quickly will there be a vaccine? And what if people refuse to get it?
How quickly will there be a vaccine? And what if people refuse to get it?
Experts are hopeful a coronavirus vaccine could be released early next year – but that doesn’t mean things will return to normal
(Guardian UK) Scientists around the world are racing to develop a vaccine against the coronavirus – and many believe at least one could be released early next year. According to the World Health Organization, about 23 vaccines are in clinical evaluation, and more than 130 are in development.
Biotech firm Moderna and the National Institutes of Health said their vaccine provoked a desired immune response in 45 individuals; it will move on to larger-scale testing at the end of the month. The University of Oxford, which has paired with drugmaker AstraZeneca to create another vaccine, said it was anticipating “positive news” on early trials of its drug.
The mumps vaccine, widely considered the fastest ever developed, took four years. Experts explain what goes into developing a vaccine – and what comes next.
How optimistic are you that we’ll have a vaccine in early 2021?
Angela Rasmussen: I’m optimistic. It’s not necessarily going to be the perfect vaccine. We might find early evidence that some of these vaccines are at least partially effective, and that’s enough for now because the need is so great.
Anna Durbin: I think we’re going to (understand) the efficacy for one, or maybe two candidates by the end of 2020 to the beginning of 2021 at the pace things are going. I’m more concerned with the ability to produce enough for everybody who needs it. ..........(more)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jul/16/coronavirus-vaccine-covid-19-experts
July 15, 2020
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- It was 15 years ago this week that the Republican Party almost took an exit ramp on the long, dark highway from Richard Nixon’s Southern Strategy to Donald Trump’s white nationalism.
On July 14, 2005, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman stood before the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and issued a mea culpa. “By the ’70s and into the ’80s and ’90s, the Democratic Party solidified its gains in the African-American community, and we Republicans did not effectively reach out,” Mehlman said. “Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to to tell you we were wrong.”
Mehlman went on to make a case that Democrats were taking Black voters for granted and that Republicans offered policies, on school choice and more, that could help Black families. As President George W. Bush’s emissary, he had some credibility. Bush had won about 4 in 10 Hispanic votes and had recently appointed Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state, succeeding Colin Powell. After Barack Obama, they remain the two highest-ranking Blacks in federal government history. ...........(more)
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/gadfly/trump-s-party-cannot-survive-in-a-multiracial-democracy
Trump's Party Cannot Survive in a Multiracial Democracy
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- It was 15 years ago this week that the Republican Party almost took an exit ramp on the long, dark highway from Richard Nixon’s Southern Strategy to Donald Trump’s white nationalism.
On July 14, 2005, Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman stood before the annual convention of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and issued a mea culpa. “By the ’70s and into the ’80s and ’90s, the Democratic Party solidified its gains in the African-American community, and we Republicans did not effectively reach out,” Mehlman said. “Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here today as the Republican chairman to to tell you we were wrong.”
Mehlman went on to make a case that Democrats were taking Black voters for granted and that Republicans offered policies, on school choice and more, that could help Black families. As President George W. Bush’s emissary, he had some credibility. Bush had won about 4 in 10 Hispanic votes and had recently appointed Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state, succeeding Colin Powell. After Barack Obama, they remain the two highest-ranking Blacks in federal government history. ...........(more)
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/gadfly/trump-s-party-cannot-survive-in-a-multiracial-democracy
July 15, 2020
Due to COVID-19, the beloved self-serve travel perk is no more. Here’s what you can expect to wake up to instead
by Nadja Sayej Jun 15, 2020, 1:40pm EDT
There’s a particular pleasure to the travel ritual of waking up in crisp hotel sheets, meandering downstairs, and finding a fully stocked breakfast buffet splayed out before you.
Then there’s the exploratory lap to inspect the offerings: everything from chafing dishes of scrambled eggs and pancakes to, depending where you are in the world, soup, porridge, sushi, farm cheese, flatbread, noodles, and always, always miniature boxes of Kellogg’s cereal. Grab the tongs and fill your plate with a scone, a sliver of cantaloupe, and a curl of mortadella; pile a bowl with a mess of something hot and grainy, and top it with a sprinkle of sweet, salty, fishy, or all of the above. Your travel day has just started, and yet here it is, already made.
But now the breakfast buffet is, with all certainty, a thing of the past. In the early days of COVID-19’s spread, a number of the larger hotel chains like MGM Resorts, Hilton, Marriott, Four Seasons, and InterContinental temporarily stopped food service — including breakfast — altogether. Now, as the lodging industry strives to find more long-term COVID-conscious solutions, the buffet seems to be first on the chopping block.
Because though a bountiful platter of muffins or an artfully arranged display of cold cuts are alluring, such communal food presentations are also the perfect setting for spreading viruses. A team of scientists in Japan recently put one buffet under an ultraviolet light to illustrate how easily a virus can spread across tongs, drink pitchers, food tray lids, silverware, and glasses. Basically, all of it. ...........(more)
https://www.eater.com/2020/6/15/21288048/end-of-hotel-breakfast-buffet-travel-dining
The End of the Breakfast Buffet
The End of the Breakfast BuffetDue to COVID-19, the beloved self-serve travel perk is no more. Here’s what you can expect to wake up to instead
by Nadja Sayej Jun 15, 2020, 1:40pm EDT
There’s a particular pleasure to the travel ritual of waking up in crisp hotel sheets, meandering downstairs, and finding a fully stocked breakfast buffet splayed out before you.
Then there’s the exploratory lap to inspect the offerings: everything from chafing dishes of scrambled eggs and pancakes to, depending where you are in the world, soup, porridge, sushi, farm cheese, flatbread, noodles, and always, always miniature boxes of Kellogg’s cereal. Grab the tongs and fill your plate with a scone, a sliver of cantaloupe, and a curl of mortadella; pile a bowl with a mess of something hot and grainy, and top it with a sprinkle of sweet, salty, fishy, or all of the above. Your travel day has just started, and yet here it is, already made.
But now the breakfast buffet is, with all certainty, a thing of the past. In the early days of COVID-19’s spread, a number of the larger hotel chains like MGM Resorts, Hilton, Marriott, Four Seasons, and InterContinental temporarily stopped food service — including breakfast — altogether. Now, as the lodging industry strives to find more long-term COVID-conscious solutions, the buffet seems to be first on the chopping block.
Because though a bountiful platter of muffins or an artfully arranged display of cold cuts are alluring, such communal food presentations are also the perfect setting for spreading viruses. A team of scientists in Japan recently put one buffet under an ultraviolet light to illustrate how easily a virus can spread across tongs, drink pitchers, food tray lids, silverware, and glasses. Basically, all of it. ...........(more)
https://www.eater.com/2020/6/15/21288048/end-of-hotel-breakfast-buffet-travel-dining
July 15, 2020
White couple charged with assault after being filmed beating a Black hotel worker, who says they....
A white couple have been arrested and charged with assault after being caught on camera beating a Black hotel worker, who also said the pair called her a "monkey" during the June 26 attack.
The Stonington, Connecticut Police Department released a statement Monday, saying that US Marshals and the New York City Police Department had taken Philip Sarner, 39, and Emily Orbay, 28, into custody.
The couple have been accused of beating up Crystal Caldwell, a front-desk employee at the Quality Inn in Mystic, Connecticut. ...........(more)
https://www.insider.com/white-couple-charged-video-beating-black-hotel-employee-racist-slur-2020-7?
July 15, 2020
Crocodile Rock?
(WFLA) – A man who makes his living performing with alligators in Orlando is finding himself trying to calm the animals during the coronavirus pandemic.
Michael Womer, a St. Petersburg native known as the “Gator Crusader,” says the lack of visitors to his gators is making them “anxious.”
Womer has been singing and reading to his gators to calm them down.
“They don’t know exactly what’s happening, but they do register something is going on,” Womer explained. ..............(more)
https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-man-sings-to-relax-anxious-gators-during-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR26UbJMgwRDKxDac9Dk392b6O1yMBBzh9NLjCPirx1IF2ZQLEXmQ_RUHQU
Florida man sings to relax anxious gators during pandemic
Crocodile Rock?
(WFLA) – A man who makes his living performing with alligators in Orlando is finding himself trying to calm the animals during the coronavirus pandemic.
Michael Womer, a St. Petersburg native known as the “Gator Crusader,” says the lack of visitors to his gators is making them “anxious.”
Womer has been singing and reading to his gators to calm them down.
“They don’t know exactly what’s happening, but they do register something is going on,” Womer explained. ..............(more)
https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/florida-man-sings-to-relax-anxious-gators-during-pandemic/?fbclid=IwAR26UbJMgwRDKxDac9Dk392b6O1yMBBzh9NLjCPirx1IF2ZQLEXmQ_RUHQU
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Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit, MI
Member since: Fri Oct 29, 2004, 12:18 AM
Number of posts: 77,080