Dog found zip tied rescued in Malibu YouTube :-(
The Yellowstone supervolcano destroyed an ecosystem but saved it for us ars technica (Kevin W)
How to guard against the aggressive lone star tick species Washington Post (Dr. Kevin)
British Boarding School Bans Smartphones, Hands Out Nokia Phones Instead engadget. Haha, I gave up on my Nokia dumbphones only when I moved abroad and had to use a smartphone for ride hailing.
The growing crisis of long sepsis. It leaves sufferers with fatigue and brain fog – so when will the NHS start treating it properly? Daily Mail. Long sepsis???
#COVID-19
Violet Affleck: "To confront the Long COVID crisis I demand mask availability, air filtration and far-UVC light in government facilities, including jails and detention centers and mask mandates in county medical facilities. We must expand availability of tests and treatment.… pic.twitter.com/zg4b7Z9vxy
— Dr. Lucky Tran (@luckytran) July 10, 2024
Climate/Environment
Your semen is not immune to climate change ElPais
Stark warning’ as global temperatures hit record levels for 13th month Aljazeera
Beryl leaves millions of Texans without power as dangerous heat descends on the region CNN
Amid extreme heat, US infrastructure and transportation systems buckle under pressure NBC
Oregon County Seeks To Hold Fossil Fuel Companies Accountable For Extreme Heat ars technica. Filing here.
Pakistan Withers Under Deadly Heat and Fears the Coming Rain New York Times
China?
More people around the world have a positive view of the United States than China, according to a Center survey of 35 countries. A median of 54% of adults in these nations have a favorable view of the U.S., while a median of 35% see China favorably. https://t.co/npP08xfBSt
— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) July 9, 2024
Inside China-Focused Congressional Hearings, Panic, Paranoia, and Hypocrisy Reign Antiwar.com (Kevin W)
China tightening its grip on leaky rare earth supplies Asia Times (Kevin W)
That's a story that illustrates just how big you can get on Chinese livestreaming e-commerce if you're good at it. It also illustrates just how important education is in China.
So this guy, Zhang Xuefeng, is selling consulting services to help students who'd just passed China's…
— Arnaud Bertrand (@RnaudBertrand) July 9, 2024
European Disunion
From Politico’s morning European newsletter. This is so childish:
THE EASY RESPONSE TO ORBÁN? JUST LEAN OUT: In Europe’s capitals, two schools of thought are emerging on how to deal with Hungary’s rogue Council presidency: Quiet quitting vs. overachieving.
THE QUIET QUITTERS are essentially delegators. Don’t send a political bigwig to Budapest for Council discussions. Send a faceless bureaucrat. That was the approach on display Tuesday, when only seven countries (plus Hungary) sent their industry ministers to Hungary’s first Council meeting, on Chinese EV tariffs…..
THE OVERACHIEVERS are looking for a more dramatic confrontation, boldly and creatively wielding the force of the Treaties to shut Orbán down.
Laying the groundwork: Most member countries have signed on to a Polish demand for a discussion about the legality of Orbán’s “peace mission.” They want the legal service to weigh in on the role of the Council presidency on external relations, and more details on the call for “sincere cooperation” in the Treaties, as one diplomat described the situation to Barbara Moens.
Pessimism: Ultimately, scenarios like starting the Polish presidency early don’t seem likely
ECB estimates suggest meeting current challenges will be impossible within fiscal rule space Bill Mitchell
After the French elections, New Popular Front swings to the right WSWS
Gaza
As part of its war on the #Gaza Strip, Israel has been employing several tools that result in serious human rights violations. Among these tools are dogs.
Based on Euro-Med Monitor’s documentation, here are 6 ways the Israeli army uses dogs to carry out physical, sexual, and… pic.twitter.com/RsoP5dqD7Y
— Euro-Med Monitor (@EuroMedHR) July 9, 2024
War on Gaza: How Hamas lured Israel into a lethal trap Middle East Eye (guurst). From last week, still germane.
The Philosophy of Hamas in the Writings of Yahya Sinwar Orinoco Tribune (Robin K)
‘I’m bored, so I shoot’: The Israeli army’s approval of free-for-all violence in Gaza +972
Shin Bet, Mossad chiefs to meet mediators in Qatar tomorrow for hostage-truce talks Times of Israel
Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza City as Hamas warns that escalation threatens ceasefire talks Arab News
US To Permanently Remove Pier Built Off the Coast of Gaza Antiwar.com (Kevin W)
New Not-So-Cold War
🇺🇸🇷🇺🇸🇦🇪🇺🇬🇧 Saudi Arabia threatens the G7 countries to get rid of all EU securities if they confiscate $300 billion of Russian assets – Bloomberg
According estimates, Saudi Arabia does not have many European bonds, but EU officials fear that other countries will follow a similar… pic.twitter.com/Cx5B0l2pQx
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) July 9, 2024
High-Tech American Weapons Work Against Russia—Until They Don’t Wall Street Journal
US, NATO allies to deliver ‘dozens’ of air defense systems in coming months, including 4 Patriots Kyiv Independent. Even if they all work, note that Israel has four Patriot batteries to defend its vastly smaller territory (the eight it was asked to turn over appear to be some combination of spares and decommissioned ones).
NATO should not be party to Ukraine conflict — Erdogan TASS. This is sure to go over well. Not that Erdogan’s position is a surprise, just his plan to say it to a hostile audience.
Kremlin responds to Kiev hospital attack allegations RT
“Bombshell” Report Claims Russian Casualties “Much Higher Than Thought” – Debunked? Simplicius
Big Brother is Watching You Watch
Imperial Collapse Watch
Leaders head to Nato summit amid Biden doubts and concern for Ukraine Guardian (Kevin W)
NATO Has to Change. Here’s How. New York Times
NATO to expand defense industrial cooperation to Indo-Pacific Nikkei
NATO extending tentacles into Asia-Pacific will only end in failure Global Times
China Deploys Y-20 Long Range Airlifters For Joint Military Drills with Belarus on NATO Border Military Watch
Biden Agonistes
‘No one is picking up the phone’: Joe Biden’s fundraising confronts new hurdles after debate CNBC
INSIDE THE ROOM — The House Democratic Caucus meeting about President Joe Biden's political standing is starting to empty out.
One House Democrat supportive of Biden told me it "felt like a funeral."
There is definitely no consensus on Biden. Lots of talk about how difficult…
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 9, 2024
Poll finds Biden damaged by debate; with Harris and Clinton best positioned to win Politico
Behind the Curtain: Dems who could decide Biden fate Axios
More proof the knives are out. Lambert featured this in Water Cooler but important not to miss. Dr. Pitts is a Democrat and this is NBC:
Parkinson's expert Dr. Tom Pitts says President Biden is suffering from a neurodegenerative disease:
"That's one of the hallmarks of Parkinson's, is rigidity and Bradykinesia, slow movement, and he has that hallmark… I could've diagnosed him from across the mall." pic.twitter.com/VPQEitvZHk
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) July 9, 2024
Some Democrats Rally to Biden’s Defense, Buying Him Time Wall Street Journal. Headline framing not subtle!
Days after his big Biden interview, George Stephanopoulos says the man won’t make it through 4 more years in office Business Insider
2024
Trump approval rating tops 50% as he leads Biden on voters’ top two issues: poll Fox
Gunz
Hiltzik: The federal government gets serious about gun deaths Los Angeles Times (Dr. Kevin)
AI
64% of people not happy about idea of AI-generated customer service The Register
OpenAI and Arianna Huffington Are Working Together On an ‘AI Health Coach’ The Verge. This could just as easily go under The Bezzle. Corporate-paid health coaching was not effective (per various studies, and those bennies were often more substantial, such as subsidizing gym memberships) but AI will somehow make a failed experiment succeed?
64 office buildings in NYC could become new housing Gothamist
The Bezzle
BREAKING: @FTC releases "interim" report on #PBMs.
"Thousands of cancer patients depend on these medicines to survive; the PBMs marking up those drugs by up to 4,000 percent the average acquisition cost is enormously significant."https://t.co/CJ2GyvKWne
— Ted Okon (@TedOkonCOA) July 9, 2024
The remarkable thing here is not that there are errors. Every system has them. It’s the scale of error that makes this fraud at a massive scale.
50% (~$8billion) of United’s health revenue may come from diagnosis codes that don’t apply to patients. https://t.co/BxJWpYBCMv pic.twitter.com/RqFDerX5Sb
— Anish Koka, MD (@anish_koka) July 9, 2024
Class Warfare
Critically Acclaimed Books Were Unavailable at New York Public Library as Budget Woes Hit June Buys THE CITY. Citizen-need oriented reporting!
End Austerity: A Global Report on Budget Cuts and Harmful Social Reforms in 2022-25 CADTM (Micael T)
Antidote du jour (via):
And a bonus (Chuck L):
Penguin leaps to safety as ice breaks pic.twitter.com/iGv4M1XScM
— Nature is Amazing ☘️ (@AMAZlNGNATURE) July 7, 2024
See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.
206 comments
Comments are closed.
BREAKFAST IN PALESTINE
(melody borrowed from Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Deep Blue Something)
Our last meal old and moldy and rotten
I know where it was gotten
A garbage scrounger’s cart . . .
We hide for fear their soldiers might see us
Their legendary meanness
In full view everywhere . . .
My kids all want breakfast in Palestine
Their skin is raw from sleeping on sand
We have no food and no money to buy it
We may well die right here on this spot
It’s raining, the skies are dark and gloomy
Our last meal meal runs right through me
We’re begging from the throng . . .
A dark day, the rubble tends to smolder
You can’t mistake the odor
Of funerals not done . . .
My kids all want breakfast in Palestine
Their skin is raw from sleeping on sand
We have no food and no money to buy it
We may well die right here on this spot
We hide when jets fly over for bombing
Where will the soldiers come from?
We just want a head start . . .
We hide for fear their soldiers might see us
Their legendary meanness
In full view everywhere . . .
My kids all want breakfast in Palestine
Their skin is raw from sleeping on sand
We have no food and no money to buy it
We may well die right here on this spot
My kids all want breakfast in Palestine
Their skin is raw from sleeping on sand
We have no food and no money to buy it
We may well die right here on this spot
My kids all want breakfast in Palestine
Their skin is raw from sleeping on sand
We have no food and no money to buy it
We may well die right here on this spot
Sad to say, most people I come into contact with these days lack the empathetic imagination to be moved by your poignant verses. What sickens my soul is that on July 24th my gov’t will be celebrating the man, demon, who is, in large measure, responsible for those “skies that are dark and gloomy”
The plan is to give him even more than the 55 standing ovations in 45 minutes Bibi got last time. The Dems will, of course, join the GOP on this, like last time.
AIPAC Congressional-minders will be handing out Viagra pills like Halloween candy at the event, since most of these old goats do not get up that often, as a rule.
Just leaving this here for sharing with naysayers re Biden…
https://x.com/TopRankInvestor/status/1810884226625196368
From farce to pωrn.
Nice rack!
What an antidote, so majestic.
And dangerous. If that thing decided to charge you, as they have done to selfie hunting Yellowstone tourists, it could do some serious damage with one good head butt.
Bullwinkle J. Moose?
Waiting for him to pull a rabbit out of his hat if a car suddenly appears.
“Oh, that uh, that there’s an Elk. Yeah, yeah, I borrowed it off a buddy of mine. He took my house, I took the the elk. It’s a good looking animal, ain’t it?”
That was a ? mark. :-)
“NATO should not be party to Ukraine conflict — Erdogan”
It should be noted that the biggest contributor of soldiers for NATO after the US is Turkiye. There is no way that Erdogan wants to see NATO become a direct party to the war in the Ukraine as treaty obligations would require them sending their military to the Ukraine and confronting Russia in the Black Sea. For Turkiye, this would sheer insanity and it would wreck their economy as well. Washington would be happy with this result which is all the more reason why Turkiye wants to steer NATO clear of any involvement with this war-
https://www.statista.com/statistics/584286/number-of-military-personnel-in-nato-countries/
NATO shouldn’t even exist, should have been dissolved with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, is now very obviously belligerent and seeking to expand and escalate conflicts rather than prevent them per its mandate, has become about promoting insecurity and demolishing peace, also against its mandate, has overstepped and even reached the South China Sea, and perhaps one could argue it has also become solely about the destruction of Russia, as proven when they rejected Russia joining despite it having adopted democracy and capitalism. The only reason I can imagine Turkiye is now wanting any part of it is perhaps in the reformist hopes of being able to influence a different outcome. And, actually, the fact Turkiye contributes the most after the US is probably also holding NATO back from further aggression.
Well, Paragraph 5 or Section 5 of the NATO treaty says that if a member is attacked the other members will decide how they (individually) will react. Turkiye is free to decide not to intervene, if some NATO state takes damage. I’m surprised more people haven’t read the text. Of course, the other member states would not be happy, but he’d be in complete compliance with his obligations.
Re: 972’s ‘I’m bored, so I shoot’: The Israeli army’s approval of free-for-all violence in Gaza
Do NOT miss this one.
This article left me almost speechless, even in light of what we already know about this conflict. It also illustrates the degree to which Palestinians have been “othered.” Worse than mere “human animals,” they are openly treated by Israel’s armed forced as vermin to be eradicated.
Filled w/disgust and rage at Israel these days — and I’m Jewish!
My grandfather was Jewish and I’ve briefly lived in Israel as a child. (Didn’t like it.) Reading the article made me think that some people were born to make anti-Semitic stereotypes true.
Judaism is not as (theorerically) universalist as Christianity or Islam or Buddhism. and (IMO) this fosters in-group chauvinism that feeds upon itself and spreads like cancer.
imo.
indeed, chauvinism is a pitfall of tribalism
as you prob know, diaspora jews have a rich history of universalism –
the more enlightened way to cope w/persecution, if only from self-interest!
;-)
Certainly there is a mass suffrage aspect to the big 3 (Tibetan Buddhism; the old school Buddhism is still around and functions like most sub continent religions), but this is just a 21st century version of the problems created when you create divides that can be enforced. Southern Baptists split from the other Baptists over slavery.
Biden is not Jewish. If you let methodist 14 year Olds who liked Atlas Shrugged steal they would do the same thing. The Israelis are just repeating the same cruelty they hear in their self exiled hell hole.
The question is why aren’t there Jewish “red necks” (the kind with trucks that weigh more than tanks and virgin truck beds) in the US? They just moved to Israel after various conflicts, always after.
Reminiscent of a scene from Holocaust or Life Is Beautiful.
The only beautiful thing about this is that it shows that some Israeli soldiers do have a conscience and are willing to inform or make the world aware of these atrocities.
They may have been helpless when these crimes were taking place but they are trying to do something as they are able. With the conflict still ongoing, perhaps their words can help to effect a change.
Some months ago, in response to an op-ed in the NYT, I made the same point, that to treat Palestinians the way they do, the Israelis would have to see then as “others.” I was somewhat surprised that my reply was not published. Any such criticism was not acceptable and considered anti-Semitic in MSM.
Don’t take it personal. Over the past few days I had comments deleted, one with nearly 200 “likes”, and another this morning with 125. I was surprised that they were published at all.
The
fraudsmiscodingsfrauds inherent in the health business demonstrate yet again how any potential weakness will be exploited regardless of human impacts.Without sanctioned inducements, that industry would be much smaller. Toss in the pharma gougers and that represents a significant percentage of what people call the US GDP. There appears to be large and growing latent revenue recognition risk in both groups, showing that stock valuations are grossly overstated.
How much more of the stock market, for example, relies upon such obvious malfeasance?
How many who have pensions or retirements invested have their futures tied to those questionable business models?
The companies throughout that value extraction chain, including their enablers, all appear to be overdue for some disastrous declines, awaiting only politicians willing to act for the people instead of against them.
Can anybody explain how that miscoding/fraud works? I’m not from the USA and I have no idea what was going on.
Not in USA either, but had the unfortune of working with HL7* based system for a while, so my guess would be the health care provider is intentionally using a wrong code** in communication with the insurance provider, so that the insurance company will pay for a more costly treatment than what was actually provided. Thus allowing the health care provider to pocket the extra.
Well, not the actual provider, but the investment company that runs the health care facility.
* Health Level 7 (also affectionately known as “Hell, level 7”) a kind of standard for IT systems to exchange information about diagnoses and treatment of a patient for US private insurance purposes. About as abysmally bad design as the US health care system in general.
** most things have been codified to keep the messages simple. The codification tends to contain only what insurance companies have agreed to cover, so it’s a pain in the proverbial behind to adjust the system for a single payer or pure health status communication.
In my neck of the woods it is called “up-coding” and is not as blatant as reported in the article, with hospitals likely able to somewhat justify it, even as a small error…
Er, penguins can swim (Leopard seals notwithstanding)…. :-)
I thought of that too but from the pretty high aerial shot, we can’t see how high the ice sheet is above the water. If that penguin wound up in the drink, he might not have been able to scramble back on to the ice.
They’re extremely good swimmers and can launch themselves out of the water and over ice shelves like missiles (there are plenty of videos of this).
Most wild animals do try to husband energy against possible food scarcity in future, and I’m sure launching yourself out of the water takes a lot of it. So I expect there was still a good reason to stay dry if possible, even if it wasn’t a life or death drama.
Looks like he charged the point of that ice sheet where it was pivoting and thus in contact longer with the main sheet of ice. Would a human think to do that? I don’t think that in future he will be so inclined to wander away from his pod. Not a good survival strategy that.
Why does a penguin cross the road in Oamaru?
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Road_Sign_Penguins_Crossing_NZ.jpg
I think we watched them cross around 9 PM one night, it ain’t as if you can see penguins in the wild all that often, pretty cool.
Run JB run!! Whew! made it this time….
What’s that cracking sound Dr Jill?
Just Hunter shooting up his bedroom in the basement again.
He lives here?
> “That’s one of the hallmarks of Parkinson’s, is rigidity and Bradykinesia,
In the “Look, I’ll cut the malarkey …” fundraising advert that is served to me multiple times during each Alexander Mercouris commentary, I think I see this rigidity in the way JRB moves his hands and arms, which seem to be practically inert except for some pivoting at the elbows. It looks IMO very unnatural. I get the impression of a “human marionette.”
As Dr. Pitts’ medical interpretation gets more attention, I wonder whether Biden’s appearances in future adverts will be adjusted to try to conceal the movement anomalies. This really is a job for, as has been proposed, AI and deepfakery.
It had been reported awhile back that that the secret service was told to surround Biden as he walked to his plane so the cameras couldn’t see his stiff walk. If he really does have Parkinson’s then that adds an even more sinisted dimension to this because they have been concealing a chronic disease.
This was linked in comments yesterday.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-07-09/column-heres-why-biden-should-be-tested-and-the-results-should-be-made-public
Boy, the “expert” diagnosticians are comin’ out of the woodwork now. You have to wonder who gave the OK to let the dogs out after 5 years of silence.
Dr. Marc Siegel was commenting on biden’s “gait” regularly way back when Tucker Carlson had his nightly Fox show. The silence was deafening and Tucker got fired…
Ted Rall suggested Biden had dementia back in March 2020.
I don’t understand the feigned surprise about his dementia. It’s been obvious for a long while, and it don’t take no doctor. The only dismay might come the fact that since the debate debacle, it’s become completely impossible to pretend otherwise. It’s a perfect Emperor’s New Clothes story analogy.
. . . ” 6 ways from Sunday ” . . .
But it doesn’t ( if I understand correctly) his cognitive abilities.
By hiding the Parkinson’s they have allowed everyone to presume it’s dementia which it might not be.
So I’m unclear why they would hide something that affects millions of people and not use it to their advantage.
Yup the smartest people in a very small room
I think you have it backwards. They are offering us a Parkinson’s diagnosis with a short cover-up period as a limited hangout, to mask their collusion in hiding his dementia since at least 2019. The party and media have had their credibility utterly shattered, but more sacrifices will be needed if they want to redeem themselves.
This is exactly what I’m leaning towards too. It feels like the narrative is being unspooled and this is what they’re going with. I think that raises as many questions as it answers (how long? who knew and for how long? how bad? who has been running the show? just for starters.) I anticipate once the inner circle starts saying it, they’ll claim medical privacy and the dems with tell us we have to move forward, unburdened by what has been, vote for whatever loser they barf up, and pretend it was all a bad dream.
Dementia is a likely/certain consequence of Parkinson’s.
As Parkinson’s progresses, the person develops Lewy Body dementia. It’s different from Alzheimers. From the Mayo Clinic:
Lewy body dementia is the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease. Protein deposits called Lewy bodies develop in nerve cells in the brain. The protein deposits affect brain regions involved in thinking, memory and movement. This condition is also known as dementia with Lewy bodies.
Lewy body dementia causes a decline in mental abilities that gradually gets worse over time. People with Lewy body dementia might see things that aren’t there. This is known as visual hallucinations. They also may have changes in alertness and attention.
Please no Making Shit Up. Lewy bodies can accompany Parkinson’s or Alzheimers, but not necessarily.
https://www.apdaparkinson.org/article/understanding-parkinsons-disease-dementia-lewy-bodies/
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/lewy-body-parkinsons#about-parkinsons-disease
Parkinson’s and many other movement disorders absolutely more likely than not will develop severe cognitive defects. Also, even in the earlier stages, they are plagued with often crippling emotional issues – and in a significant group of patients severe disabling hallucinations.
…just what we want in the guy with access to the nuclear codes.
And all the people around him who could come clean on Joe’s condition are busy lying and dissembling to keep riding the gravy train.
All the old Presidents on the money
They do the fiat dance don’t you know
If they move too quick (oh whey oh)
They’re falling down like a domino
All the bazaar men are in denial
They got the money bet on him, not DOA
Old crocodiles (oh whey oh)
They snap their teeth on your prognosis in prime time
Foreign types without stateside pipes say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like you got Parkinson’s
Blond FLOTUS takes in his forays
They spin around and they cross the floor
They’ve got the moves (oh whey oh)
You watch him nearly drop they give you more
All the young adults so sick of books
They like the video games and assorted digital hooks
When the debate buzzer rings (oh whey oh)
He’s walking like he’s got Parkinson’s
All the watchers in the masters debate marketplace say
Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh
Walk like you got Parkinson’s
Slide your feet up the street bend your back
Shift your arm then you pull it back you bet
Life is hard you know (oh whey oh)
So strike a pose in a Corvette
The Donald should challenge Joe to a dance-off.
That would be must-see TV. Kamala could call out the moves:
Mambo cha-cha to the left! [laughs]
Grapevine to the right!
Now do the yellow school bus dance!
Include Vladimir and call it…
‘Dancing with the Czars’
btw, the old mano y old mano line was previously set by Donald, that Joe couldn’t hit a golf ball more than 50 yards.
Wasn’t Kamala the “border czar” at some point?
Yeah, that was before she became #47.
Saw one of her pressers down under in Central America, with her message being ‘Just Stay’
It apparently wasn’t convincing enough…
Trump has challenged biden to a golf match:
ole joe’s spokesperson responded:
Yup. Par for the course.
I don’t think Biden could survive another 20 strokes.
Golf itself is barely surviving, an 18 hole course closes up shop for good every four days in these not so united states.
Well I wouldn’t have used that description for what Joe is doing. And except for convict the description of Trump absolutely applies to Biden. (Do you become a convict at conviction or at entrance to prison once appeals have failed?)
Despite their cute snippy response do you think they understand they just gave Trump a win?
ChrisFromGA – Perfect! Kamala’s opportunity to flex some skill. Grapevines would demolish ‘ol Joe.
I find it unseemly when any doctor does a diagnosis from video. He may be right, but, it’s not right.
IM Doc posted yesterday or the day before that dementia can be diagnosed across the room.
Oh sure, millions of the rest of us are doing it too, for obvious reasons. I just find it unprofessional.
Extremely. And supports the idea that doctors are godlike superbeings who wouldn’t want a history, bare minimum. Which foments the view that “doctors don’t know everthing! (So no reason to listen).” Which, I mean, if you talk to doctors they talk about how much they don’t know.
You can also have misdiagnosis when it’s done in haste, even by neurologists.
An older family member had a reasonably sudden loss of cognitive function and was admitted to hospital. The neurologist asked the family what they had observed, and when they told him, he replied that they had “told me lots of things, none of them useful” aka caring bedside manner.
He opted for discharge, and told the family to make sure the patient had a few tests including MRI. This doctor had come to the conclusion that the family member either had Alzheimers or Parkinsons. And that the family, obviously not too bright, had missed all the signs for months if not years.
Except, that after a few seizures, it turned out that the family member was diagnosed with encephalitis. The family hope to run into this neurologist some day, to give him a bollocking.
Please see the longer comment above. Your comment is WAY off base. As just one example, for the most recent Internal Medicine review course – the entire group was shown 25 videos of patients and asked to give a diagnosis. We were then segregated into groups based on strengths and weaknesses picked up in this exercise.
In the university where I was on the faculty for decades, a large part of the finals for multiple rotations was watching videos of patients and then listing off diagnoses.
There are multitudes of medical diagnoses that are patently obvious with just video or even audio input alone. For example, it takes about 5 seconds of listening to Diane Rehm to know with certainty that she has spasmodic dysphonia.
What I find deeply concerning is what is coming out now – many media physicians have noticed this years ago – and talking about it amongst themselves. In my opinion, it would have been much more “professional” for them to have tracked this down 2 years ago – rather than the cluster that is going on right now.
Fine, so assemble all those findings in a paper and release it. Don’t go on TV in between drug commercials (Ask your doctor about our miracle drug that can kill you!) and do that. Because Biden’s people can come right back with somebody saying the opposite, and then where are we?
Can you show me any medical professional in the past 2 weeks since the dam broke stating that he does not have any problems? I sure do not recall seeing one.
The sad fact of the matter is this is so obvious that it would be hard to find someone stating that all was OK.
I will repeat again – this was obvious years ago, was being whispered about years ago my medical people, and nothing was said or done. And then we experienced this social psychology phenomenon in the past 2 weeks of the dam breaking. All of a sudden, everyone is talking about it. In my opinion, this is a critical issue – what is wrong with my profession and our society at large that allowed the willful lying like this.
I noticed it in 2020.
Festinating gait, bradykinesia, mask-like facies, loss of associated movement,resting tremor
You’re gonna love this new innovation called telemedicine…/s
My old stats prof used to describe the inter-ocular shock test. It meant that the data were so oblivious that they hit you between the eyes. Sounds like this is a case.
A very important part of the Dr. Pitts statement is when he states that any medical practitioner should have been able to see the signs that were there even 4 years ago. He then even takes it a step further – that students could identify it.
I will assert that I have failed at least two students in my memory on internal medicine finals for missing findings such as what Biden has – indeed – Biden is much more severe than the exam patients were.
I do not fault any practitioner for not getting the exact diagnosis – but it has been obvious for years that both cognitively and physically something very bad was happening to him. In general, he has been obviously showing the textbook decline expected to be seen with multiple different neurodegenerative disorders. It would be impossible to pinpoint the exact one without actually physically examining the patient. But the overall issue of cognitive and motor decline is clear for all to see on the videos. It has been clear for years that he has no business using a riding lawn mower – much less being the President.
I view this as yet another stain on my entire profession. This was as obvious as it could be – I have been discussing this in the comments here repeatedly – yet none of our national medical voices said a word, either in the media like Dr. Gupta – or medical leaders. Shame on them all.
There is yet another very troubling issue going on. If this is indeed Parkinson’s Disease or supranuclear palsy – any patient in this condition would be on medication for this. And yet these meds are not to be found on Biden’s released medical records. So there are two and only two choices as to what is going on if this is truly the diagnosis – A) His doctors are committing gross malpractice OR the patient is refusing the meds or B) He actually has been on these meds and they falsified their statements to the press about his current med list (largely because the presence of those meds on the list would raise ALL SORTS of issues). If anyone can think of any other options, I am all ears. But as a practicing physician of three decades, those are the choices. Where are the reporters?
I forgot to add. This issue is clearly not just in the medical realm. Biden was not charged by the special prosecutor Hur NOT because there was a lack of evidence BUT because he was too infirm to face or understand the charges against him. I have had this sort of thing repeatedly happen to elders in my care over the years. It is indeed a very ominous sign.
Instead of taking this seriously, our media and medical experts laughed it off as a joke. In the most amazing display of hypocrisy I have seen in a long time, the same US House Reps that were literally blasting Hur in committee are now rushing to push Biden off the stage. There is absolutely no shame anymore in this country.
I will repeat – had the doctors in the national spotlight who knew there was a problem, handled this professionally 2-3 years ago, the media and the Democratic Party would not be in the mess it is today.
Again – shame on them all.
Shame on them for destroying Ukraine and funding and arming the Gaza genocide. Sometimes I think this is all a distraction from that.
It’s a serious issue for them. Money is at stake.
But, yes…Talking about the Ukraine and genocide isn’t going to help them in Nov.
The question is, how the MSM and controllers and the CIA, Secret Service, etc would have handled it? Declare the doctor crazy and have the medical association remove the license?
“A very important part of the Dr. Pitts statement…”
Superbly important comments by IM Doc.
Sad state of politics in the US
Status of “Our democracy” is scary.
…it has been obvious for years that both cognitively and physically something very bad was happening to him.
What also should be blindingly obvious is that, if biden was leading Trump in the polls, the silence would continue.
The malfeasance has been so pervasive, I sincerely doubt that, even if biden was to reach dianne feinstein level of incapacity, the code of silence would have been broken if biden was “ahead.”
Maybe his Park meds aren’t listed, because he might be participating in a private clinical trial. New super levedopa drug, or something. .
Thanks for info. I really appreciate your comments.
I just saw a clip of Biden addressing the NATO Summit, he had his hands clamped on the podium sides, with only one movement of his right hand to make one point. No more of his typical dual hand position.
“New students at Eton, the poshest of Britain’s elite private schools, will not be allowed smartphones”
The article talks about banning the use of cellphones during the school day ‘in an effort to minimize disruption and improve classroom behavior’ but it would not be just for this reason. As the article mentions, this is the school which breeds Prime Ministers and high rollers. So can you imagine if somebody was hacking the smart phones of those kids and recording their conversations and some of the stuff that they talk about? It would not look good if a future Prime Minister had to answer why when he was at Eton, why he was talking about getting the army to shoot any strikers and protestors. Can’t recall the details now but it was leaked a few years ago that this was exactly the sort of thing that they talked about in these elite schools.
Not sure they would be embarrassed, might be more a badge of honor in their eyes. Hillary was inquiring if we could not “drone” Assange during the Obama administration, and she was not in high school then, she was Secretary of Sate.
“Hillary was inquiring if we could not ‘drone’ Assange during the Obama administration…”
There is no evidence for this.
The fact that she said once that she “didn’t remember” saying that is proof enough for me.
“The fact that she said once…”
There is no evidence for any such comment being made by Secretary Clinton. That is and should be enough, before trying to harm a person.
By “person”, are you referring to Hillary?
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/10/hillary-clinton-julian-assange-229123
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6DXDU48RHLU
This video was when I realized the deeply immoral nature of Hillary Clinton.
She’s capable of anything bad and should be exiled to a small cold island off the coast of Alaska.
The dumbing down is for the pleebs:
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-48533999/ (2019)
Silicon Valley parents banning tech for their kids
Some of the creators of the apps and technology we spend so much time on are now on a mission to keep it away from their kids.
Colleen Hagerty meets two dads – and tech experts – with different views on screen time at schools.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/silicon-valley-parents-are-raising-their-kids-tech-free/ (2018)
Why many Silicon Valley parents are curbing their kids’ tech time
I think there is a certain class of people, politically sensitive or vulnerable, who rather should not be anywhere near iphones – such as CEOs and C-suite execs, diplomats, government officials, etc. If their children have iphones then I can see how this becomes a security vulnerability for their parents (and states or corporations). And I would think most of the kids at Eton are probably in this category, let alone grabbing compromat for future use as you mention.
Afaict if the Scandinavian or other OECD rich nations implement social democracy, the US abides it & doesn’t interfere in their internal politics.
But in the Americans (besides Canada, eh), if any nation attempts to implement social democracy like for instance Medicare4All, the US will mislabel you as far-Left Commies, & the CIA may collaborate with local rightwing forces to attempt a coup/regime change.
Perhaps this a legacy of the Monroe Doctrine? The US Power Elite does not want their neighbor nations actually genuinely improving their citizens’ living standard, when they have no intention of doing so for Muricans.
I am heartened that currently a few West Hemisphere nations are strong enough to elect social democratic parties, genuinely implement social democratic policies, & not get Regime-Changed by the Imperial USA. Shout out to Lopez & Sheinbaum in Mexico, Petro in Colombia, & Lula da Silva in Brazil. I wish such a party/leader was in power in the USA. These examples give me some hope in my heart, despite my head noting that per that Princeton study the US is a non-democratic oligarchy, etc.
Maybe it’s because they don’t really use Swedes for cheap labour, on site or as immigrants, as far as I know. So their (former?) social democracy does not threaten any real American interest. It would if coupled with an anti-American foreign policy, of course. I don’t think the power of a good/bad example is a factor. If it were, a better-ran Sweden would be just as “threatening” as a better-ran Mexico.
This is really out of date. After CIA ordered the murder of Olof Palme, the social democratic welfare state was extremely quickly done away with. Education, healthcare, transportation, communication, energy production, distribution and sales, just about everything important in a functional welfare state has been privatized and crappified.
Just to give you a flair of the current state-of-affairs in Sweden. It turns out that the food retail chains like ICA has raised the prices far above any increases in purchasing prices, resulting in record profits. Meanwhile, poor people can‘t afford food. The Minister of Finance in Sweden told the poor people to „get better at finding special offers“.
https://www-aftonbladet-se.translate.goog/ledare/a/Oo87kl/sommarlovet-ar-dyrt-for-ensamstaende-foraldrar?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=de&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Thanks for the details. I did say “former?” since I was aware it had degraded in recent decades; just how far it degraded was not clear to me. Still might be better in this regard than more traditionally market-obsessed Anglo-Saxon countries?
That’s true. You still don’t go bankrupt because you need a surgery in Sweden. As of now.
On the other hand, children don’t learn to read, write or count. The engineering universities have introduced an extra preparatory math-year just to get people up to standard to get through the engineering programs. This is really shameful on a deep level from a former very good engineering country.
We will see what lovely surprises the NATO-membership, the occupation treay with the US and the militarization of the eceonomy will bring.
prevention of an alternative right off the coast of usa is the nutshell reasoning behind 60 years of usa policy towards Cuba, in fact.
thats also why us freedom loving amurkins were forbidden from visiting Cuba and seeing for ourselves until just a short while ago(still pretty restricted)
“But in the Americas (besides Canada, eh), if any nation attempts to implement social democracy like for instance Medicare4All, the US will mislabel you as far-Left Commies, & the CIA may collaborate with local rightwing forces to attempt a coup/regime change.”
This is incorrect. For instance, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Costa Rica, at least, have universal health care systems. Oh, Mexico has universal health care as well.
my mexican friends tell me that they get excellent healthcare in mexico…so much so that they go back if they need anything major done.
yet another reason to demonise them, i suppose…cant have the gringos learning how bad they have it.
This was the scene in the aftermath of a supervolcanic eruption in Idaho, approximately 1,600 kilometers (900 miles) away. It was an eruption so powerful that it obliterated the volcano itself, leaving a crater 80 kilometers (50 miles) wide and spewing clouds of ash that the wind carried over long distances, killing almost everything that inhaled it. This was particularly true here, in this location in Nebraska, where animals large and small succumbed to the eruption’s deadly emissions.
The Yellowstone supervolcano destroyed an ecosystem but saved it for us ars technica (Kevin W)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heck of a tale and a reason to visit Nebraska to see the fossil site where the deal went down…
If something similar happened today at one of our watering holes with wi-fi and recharging ports, they’d find human skeletons clutching smartphones, searching for bars with their heads tilted slightly down.
It’s been awhile between devastating volcanoes blowing up real good.
I went fishing in the early 1980’s on Lake Taupo in NZ, a sizable 238 sq mile crater of water, and my fishing guide line was marked in colors for different depths, I think they were biting on pink that day.
Little did I know then, that I was at the scene of decline, after the most recent supereruption on this orb there, about 25,000 years ago…and it’s still active.
More than likely, some Illionaire’s hidey-hole in NZ has remnants of the volcano on the ground above their bunker~
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oruanui_eruption
I read that one result of that supervolcanic eruption in Idaho was that it left eventually a rich layer of soil which is why it was easy to grown potatoes in that State. Somebody joked that if Yellowstone ever went off, then in a coupla hundred thousand year that McDonalds would be sourcing potatoes from the Yellowstone region for their fries.
Idaho is well off in natural hot springs, wonder why…
https://www.idahohotsprings.com/hot_springs/idaho_hot_springs.htm
You just described Craters of the Moon national monument in Idaho. One of my favorite places in the world. You can go inside caves there, but also all over that southern Idaho region. The hot springs are because of the volcanic activity underneath, and are common for cross country skiers to stop at. Or, were common 30 years ago, I don’t know anymore if that happens.
Re: Post Sepsis Syndrome
Thank you for the link to this article. It is the first time I have heard of the syndrome. I had sepsis twice: the first time from an animal bite, the second time from an infected IV while a patient in a major hospital (Mass General). Both times I went into septic shock and nearly died.
The second time I had sepsis was especially hard. I was in the hospital for almost a month. I never completely recovered afterwards. I have had chronic fatigue and other cognitive and physical symptoms for many years. No doctor has discussed post sepsis syndrome with me.
I also had severe mononucleosis twice, once in my early teens and later during graduate school. Both times, it took years to feel somewhat normal again. Those long term problems weren’t addressed by any doctor either.
Possible lasting damage to the immune system from sepsis (as well as mononucleosis) needs to be seriously studied. I can only wonder how it might have contributed to my current terminal illness.
Wowsers, how awful that you had to struggle with all of that and now your current health problems.
It’s amazing to me that no doctor warned me about post sepsis syndrome. I was just sent home from the hospitals both times (barely alive) and told to follow up with my primary care doctor. I was uninsured so I was expendable, I guess.
An important warning about sepsis that I learned today is that having it once makes getting it again more likely. So any NCers who have had sepsis once, be as aware as possible. You are at greater risk. Quick treatment is vital in order to survive.
My doctors waited much longer than they should have to begin treatment when I showed obvious symptoms. Again, that was most likely because I had no insurance.
Please remember that you are always thought about.
Lena, my heart is torn with your distress, I patch it over with you inside.
>War on Gaza: How Hamas lured Israel into a lethal trap
The real irony is that Israel walked willingly into a trap of Hamas’ making.
I have seen reports to the contrary. Specifically the reporting of Ben Swann at Truth-in-Media’s web site (the basis for his reporting are all public Israeli sources). Interestingly, when Max Blumenthal was on a live stream with Jimmy Dore recently, they were discussing the Haaretz admission that the Hannibal Directive was activated on 10/7, which the Grayzone had reported on long before the Haaretz article. When JD mentioned Ben Swann’s reporting you could visibly see Max recoil. He wasn’t willing to dip his foot in that cesspool, yet.
Time will tell, even if it’s decades later, what the real circumstances were that day. I certainly can’t tell. But to even contemplate that what happened was not a “trap” but a decision to stand down because the aims/policy could be advanced by the Hamas attack are just too explosive right now in this environment, an environment were the MSM won’t even report on the Haaretz Hannibal Directive story.
https://truthinmedia.com/episode/how-did-october-7th-happen/
re: War on Gaza: How Hamas lured Israel into a lethal trap
Oh yeah, that’s the trap where a subservient, subdued and inferior (coughslavecough) people “cause” a lynchmob and rampaging genocide every time they get uppity and do literally anything at all to resist or improve their conditions, like step outside the plantation for even a minute. The one where they must be collectively taught a lesson about their place else they might get ideas about freedom and self-determination and such.
>US To Permanently Remove Pier Built Off the Coast of Gaza
AP previously reported that the UN was investigating whether or not the US-built pier was used in the Nuiserat massacre. Video that surfaced online showed an Israeli military helicopter operating near the pier during the operation, and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society said some of the Israeli troops who carried out the raid arrived in an aid truck.
What could be more emblematic of the current status of U.S.’s standing in the world than this fandango. While China builds high-speed rails and has massive infrastructure projects all over the world to make people’s lives better, the U.S. spends multiple 100’s million dollar to cobble together a structure than not only is going to be disassembled shortly after it was completed, costing many more millions, but was actually used to accomplish the opposite goal of its stated purpose.
And apparently the process incurred US casualties.
<After the French elections, New Popular Front swings to the right – WSWS
The situation in France’s corrupt political establishment is a travesty of the real state of political relations. In France and internationally, there is overwhelming popular opposition to imperialism, fascism, genocide, police state rule, and social inequality. The struggle against Macron and Le Pen cannot be artificially limited to the parliament but must find expression in a genuine revolutionary program for the class struggle.
I agree with WSWS on the diagnosis but not the prognosis. When WSWS states that mobilizing the left-wing sentiment among masses of workers and youth on demands that express the masses’ objectively revolutionary opposition to capitalism they are using threadbare terms that will never create a resurgent communist/socialist movement a la late 19th and early 20th century Western political history.
We are living in a techno-feudalistic world, one that has different characteristics, ones that Michael Hudson, Yanis Varoufaki, Guido Preparata, have described in their books/writings. This is the a world of AI, one where the National Security State has means at it’s kinetic and propagandistic quiver that prior “revolutionaries” never dreamed of.
Alexander Mercouris has talked about how unstable the coalition is that was used to defeat Le Pen because of the mutually antagonistic personalities of those in that coalition. To get the point across, he said to imagine a coalition in the UK that included people like Tony Blair and Jeremy Corbyn and how stable that would be. This is going to be an ongoing story as to how France is going to manage to put together any sort of working government but I take great satisfaction knowing that Macron is gong to have a front row seat for all this. Chaos is not always a ladder for some.
Is it too much to dream that the left and the right will at least form a tactical alliance?
Think of the good that could be accomplished. For example, in France, they could roll back Macron’s pension reform act.
The first step is for both sides to deprogram themselves. AOC and MT-G have more in common than they realize. (Insert joke here.)
They absolutely have much in common. Although what they share is no joke. They represent obedient servitors of empire. AOC and Ilhan Omar are campaigning for Biden even after their performative denouncing of the ongoing the Israeli genocide. You have to admire their ability to sublimate what has to be creating cognitive dissonance; or maybe it’s some genetic characteristic that predisposes some people to sociopathic behavior.
https://www.amazon.com/Servitors-Empire-Studies-Asian-America/dp/1937584860
Well. M-TG got caught trading stocks just like Pelosi and the rest of the creeps. Instead of doing her job. And she’s been awful quiet lately, so maybe they got to her, too.
So the solution is techno-socialism?
‘Lord Bebo
@MyLordBebo
🇺🇸🇷🇺🇸🇦🇪🇺🇬🇧 Saudi Arabia threatens the G7 countries to get rid of all EU securities if they confiscate $300 billion of Russian assets – Bloomberg
According estimates, Saudi Arabia does not have many European bonds, but EU officials fear that other countries will follow a similar example.’
Did it really take Saudi Arabia to clear their throat to make the geniuses at the EU wake up to the fact that if they stole that money, that a majority of countries would pull their investments out of the EU? Sure they are under heavy pressure from Washington to do so but the US has only a small fraction of that money in their own country and has only stolen a token amount so any people pulling their investments out of the EU would probably put it into the US instead. So maybe the EU used the Saudi warning to shut down this whole idea and which Washington could not deny.
The war in Ukraine is really US’s war on Europe. US just got confirmation that Saudi Arabia is game. Saudi Arabia is not attached to EU in any non-withdrawable way.
Putsch yourself in the position of those brave souls in the Donkey Show that demanded Genocide Joe (or is it really Commander who somehow switched bodies with Biden when nobody was looking?) be put down… there is a real likelihood none of them will get Xmas cards this year from you know who.
“Days after his big Biden interview, George Stephanopoulos says the man won’t make it through 4 more years in office”
Four more years? He is talking about Biden being President until near the end of this decade – January 2029 to be exact – if he did actually stay which he does not think possible. The guy looks like he would be hard pressed to make it until January of next year. The media until recently have been playing a big game of ‘let’s pretend’ the past four years as in let’s pretend that old Joe is actually fit for office. But after the debate, they were shocked, shocked that actually he is running on empty. Would it be so bad if the main stream media just disappeared?
Look, they’re already openly including him in high level meetings, its obvious he’s more of a cog than anybody could have anticipated, and Prince Regent Hunter is obviously being groomed to be great, like dad.
Apparently Biden turned to his son while they were in the Oval office talking about Trump and said that he’ll be damned if he sees a convicted felon in the White House.
The Hunter story just keeps on giving. Someday, somebody is going to write this thing. How in the hell is he anywhere near the WH at this point? Has he blackmailed his father and mother? Have they created a monster? At least the other brother has the sense to lay low.
Very dry, Benny, very dry.
Dear Beau….
They can’t have too much opposition research focused on Kamala.
Essentially, that’s who anybody that is voting for Biden is voting for.
They’re not voting “for” Biden, they’re voting against Trump. And this issue would be a lot less charged if Kamala wasn’t the one a heartbeat away.
Betcha a hundred that HRC is maneuvering into the batters box, somehow.
Some of the black older women voters may have Kamala on the mind.
I keep getting reminded in that respect how much this election is rhyming with the recent UK one. Did anybody really vote affirmatively to Kier Starmer?
Robert Hur is chuckling to himself.
Well dear Reverend… based on conversation with family and others about the entire situation lately, I have heard everything from “if allegations that Biden has X are debunked that MUST mean he’s fit to be president” to “presidents have been lying to the public about their health for the last 100 years at least so what does it matter that Biden is doing it now?”
Since the scales fell from my eyes in 2007 I have had few illusions about our dying empire. Since Bernie became a sheepdog I have had little hope there were any good leaders available to guide our country through this challenging time. I have no problem accepting that whether Biden stays in office, he runs again, or he doesn’t, that whomever is “elected” for the next term will not be a good leader.
But I do have a problem with people in power cramming these situations down on me and then claiming it was my choice. I do have a problem with people claiming that there is nothing to see here. And I do have a problem with Good People telling me when I can officially acknowledge problems exist in the US. And I do have a problem with people like Georgie Snufflelapagaus saying out loud something he knew for years and claiming it’s some kind of revelation.
I think these courtiers are so focused on managing our decline and preventing revolution in the US that when everything finally does explode we’ll see Robespierre and Danton 2.0. If I survive that I hoop to see all the enablers from the Clinton years fit for their hangman apparel and guillotine collars first.
Re: After the French elections, New Popular Front swings to the right – WSWS
While I fully expect the NPF to swing to the right, that article had very little of it. The only swing to the right there seems to be them trying to buddy up with Macron. Of course that is a rightwards move, but not a very big one and, for LFI at least, probably tactical. Or did I miss something?
I’m also not sure what “working class opposition” to the state they are blocking through this attempted alliance.
It seems to me that if the article’s author had anything specific to point to on either count, he would have. I suppose it’s still very early.
I may be wrong, but I can’t recall anyone on the actually existing left ever measuring up to the ideologically pure standards of the Trotskyists at the WSWS. The phrase “utopian socialists” was invented for them, I think. Their stuff is often good when they stick to fact-based critiques of conservative policy or liberal apologists for empire. But anyone on the political left who might engage in tactical pragmatic compromise in any way is a sell-out. That especially seems to apply to anyone giving any credence whatsoever to anything on the “Right.” But notice that no one on the “Left” or in the “Center” measures up either. It’s a lonely island they inhabit.
That was my impression as well. I guess I was wondering if there was a Trotskyist or otherwise WSWS-approved party or movement in France that they thought was being impeded by the NPF’s maneuvers. Apparently not, it’s all Stalinists, social democrats and middle class populists.
I’ve been mostly done with them for some years. I went to a David North (aka David Green, owner of Mehring Books with 20 non-union employees) lecture in 2017 at a nearby University on the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution (it was a coup). A Russian family spoke on their personal fearfulness during the Soviet era. One of the younger members said that Stalin had killed half of their family. DN had the hubris to say they didn’t know the history. His outfit doesn’t listen very carefully, though I have spoken to other crew members who were less rigid.
You’d think that being a Trotskyist, he would be only too pleased with people saying bad things about Stalin. It’s not like they brought up civil war-era Red atrocities against workers and peasants…
“OpenAI and Arianna Huffington Are Working Together On an ‘AI Health Coach’ The Verge.
Like I said the other day: Huffpo = SillyConHo
Orban trolling? What is he fishing for? You don’t know? He says he is trying to find a means to end the war in Ukraine. I see no reason to doubt his sincerity. What about the disapproval of the EU leaders you wonder? So do I. They appear to be demanding lock-step conformity to a continuation of the war until they get their way. What is that you ask? Weaken Russia.Break it up. Open the way to cut those pesky Chinese down to size. You think that is delusional? Many do, including me, but the EU, and the US, do not allow different opinions. What about freedom of speech? Isn’t that allowed in the US if not in the EU? You really are out of touch.Speech is only free if you agree with the approved and officially promulgated narrative. That is the new definition. In the US any dissenting opinion is only allowed in the “alternative media.” Does right thinking American pay attention to that? Actually the long ago novel, Fahrenheit 45, answered that question. question the “narrative” and you are killed or hounded out … well, anyway, someway, you are silenced. Ridicule and phony charges of this or that work well also. For example, did you read even excerpts of Biden’s speech to the NATO conference. Pure narrative. Maybe Biden believes it. Maybe some others as well. Alternative media has presented quite a different story. I considered the war over when the agreement was initialed in Istanbul. It was. Then NATO really put its oar in and the “narrative”, an obvious load of fresh steaming b-ll sh-t was dished out at near warp speed.
Poor Ukraine. Its leaders bought the absurd notion that NATO, the US, the EU had its best interests at heart. Orban? I choose to believe that, raison d’etat aside, he has a conscience, empathy. The immolation of Ukraine is a tragedy. The responsibility for its continuation is a crime.
Do not put words into our mouth. You are RAPIDLY accumulating troll points by depicting this site of saying things we never said.
“Speed Limiters Now Mandatory in All New EU Cars”
So what happens if you are driving down a highway when you suddenly see several cars getting themselves into fender benders. And to get past it, you slam down the accelerator to speed past this evolving multiple car accident when you suddenly hear your car say to you-
‘I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.’
decelerate and exit, stage right. Accelerate into and past an evolving crash?
Not an option my gutless four banger nor my head nor heart would ever choose, much less execute.
My verve and panache left the building with El Vez.
The good news? I always am diving a used car at least a decade to 15 years old, so the specter of a tech-laden web-interfaced vehicle will never come to pass at this late stage of my mortal coil…
For the moment, the mandatory intervention is an annoying beeping – which cannot be disabled permanently, only each time you start the car. For the moment….
We already take issue with the automatic stop-start feature in our car that kills the engine at traffic lights / junctions and then restarts when you touch the throttle. Our car is a diesel car so this stupid feature thrashes the battery and reduces its life plus there is a noticeable delay in the car moving off which is dangerous pulling out into traffic. Apparently the delay is deliberate because US drivers experienced a lot of unintended acceleration events (resulting in a massive recall for Audi) but it is exacerbated by the stop-start feature. As a result, we turn the stop-start feature off reflexively every time we start the car. The beeping will no doubt be added to the list if we ever buy another new car.
Ferrari and Porsche are not happy.
In fairness to how fast could you really go anyhow?
I could do maybe 90 to 100 on Hwy 99, but I’d get pinched behind traffic often enough to bring my speed down. In LA maybe you could do the same in a few spots, but again congestion is likely.
Having a fast car is not all that.
Oh, agreed. It’s pretty ridiculous what some buy for the road these days, because, yeah, even if you use one third of the potential, you’ll lose your license soon.
The one time someone drove me on an Autobahn (admittedly a long time ago), he went at about 100 MPH. I had the impression that was pretty normal when traffic was not too bad.
That’s a different world-the Autobahn. I remember doing 95 in the fast lane once and a speck in my back mirror became a couple of blazing headlamps almost immediately, urgently requesting me to pull over so it could continue on at say 130 mph.
80 mph is the highest speed limit i’ve seen in the USA, in Utah.
Maybe a few vehicles were going 90, not many.
Huh. When I had to run around in the Rhine Valley area back in April, traffic on the main bahns (where there was minimal construction or congestion) held at about a comfortable 160(kph), and the left lanes were around 180; leftmost ‘passing’ was closer to 200-210, and even at 240 (the utter limit of my courage in the rental Skoda), it was frequently necessary to vacate the edge lane to avoid being an obstacle to a guy going fast.
So yeah, 100mph is pretty much the bottom edge on the stretches (rarer and rarer) still in suitable condition.
My experience on the Autobahn was just after Reunification. A Trabant in the right lane being passed by a truck in the second lane being passed by a VW Golf (small cars, Opel, etc) and the fast lane with VW Passats (medium sized cars). Few fast movers but saw several folks who bumped into each other pulled off on the left shoulder sorting things out.
Great in theory, awkward in practice (at times).
Oh, a Trabant! This may sound nuts, but a Romanian in NYC still goes on about how much she loved her Trabant….either despite or because she had to take its engine into the house on winter nights.
On a related note, I suspect that cars will no longer function as a haven for adolescents like they used to. Before my 18’th birthday, my first car, which I paid from working as a bag boy at Winn Dixie grocery store, was my ticket to privacy and some lubricious explorations. Now cars will probably be wired to hear/see everything so that you get a jolt before hitting that “accelerator” past what is age appropriate.
I suspect you’re right, all the teens through early 40’s in my family and extended family don’t drive, don’t want to, don’t see the appeal, and in some cases actually very grudgingly drive and complain about it, or learn to drive very late. It’s interesting, but I see it as smart too – why get into a contraption that has oodles of blind spots to go at a speed such that your brain can’t process the sensory variables or which you can’t humanly react to, not to mention drivers are nuts out there, unpredictable, unsafe and ragey.
https://nypost.com/2024/07/10/us-news/texas-sonic-manager-daniel-shrewsbury-allegedly-killed-by-customer-after-getting-into-an-argument-over-counterfeit-money/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I mostly spend semollions to hopefully get a reaction from the clerk, who now has pretty good counterfeit detection tools other than that stupid pen.
Small electronic counterfeit detectors feed in the note and tell the clerk yea or nay in an instant…
This is your cue to ask the clerk how many counterfeits do they see in a week?
They are kinda experts in the field, and every last one has seemingly waited their entire career for somebody to take notice of their skills, and they’ll tell you ‘4 or 5 last week’ quite often.
We have a fair amount of cash fanciers on NC, go ahead and ask next time, I think you’ll be shocked at how much counterfeit money is in circulation.
Wow:
I want him to do whatever he decides to do
E tu, Pelosi?
Pelosi gives a “non-ringing” endorsement, while the “Squad” back Biden “forcefully.”
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/why-are-aoc-and-the-squad-backing-biden-so-forcefully.html
My two political tea leaf readers saw that the same way, that Pelosi is telling Biden he needs to re-decide.
Most of the bad Biden financial stuff is out in the open (but may not have been put together over time in the most compelling manner). One of my two contacts said expect any sexual dirt on Biden that has not been deployed to be rolled out soon.
On the Tucker Carlson telegram channel a year ago a short movie with a person very much looking like Biden was whipping a girl hanging from a tree.
We will see if this video will surface again and confirming it is Biden.
I believe it is. Perfectly in character of him. Nasty, as Hudson characteized him in his latest video with Nima.
If this was intended to mean, ‘think again’, would Biden take it otherwise than face value? And if Jill took it differently, would she bring it up to joe? Imo it would have to be a 2×4, or a humongous bribe, to have any chance of getting thru.
“NATO extending tentacles into Asia-Pacific will only end in failure” Global Times
For the fail upwards crowd, this is not a problem. Their comfort will be accounted for.
It’s the other people in the world who will suffer.
Until that changes, the bad ideas will keep on coming.
Does that mean NATO has to buy three or four Ford class carriers, and support ships, to “contribute their share”?
Indo-Pacific has two oceans, not just one!
Can US deliver those carriers, even if payed in full?
As I have mentioned before, I don’t get out much, preferring my crop of potatoes, onions, garlic, corn, pole beans, etc, to society. But does not the DNC, as one of the USA’s two major parties, have as its primary job, the identification, the nurturing, the marketing, of national politics leaders? The people, the senators, congress people, president, who will insure that the nation is on the path to prosperity for every citizen.
Well, they have failed miserably. It was their job to monitor Biden’s mental and physical state and to act on that knowledge. Early. Not one month before the Convention, four months before the election. They are an incompetent and useless, if not actively seditious, bunch of @#&%.
But, as our Flora is wont to say, my 2cents.
But I must protest. The DMC does a great job of identifying future national political leaders – and then eliminating them so that they cannot threaten the present ones. That is why after all these decades you still have your Schumers, your Pelosis, your Bidens and your Feinsteins with no way to get them out of power unless feet first.
Donor class marionette?
You are ignoring The Iron Law of Institutions. Per rationalwiki.org, blogger John Schwarz wrote:
The Democratic National Committee is made up of just such people.
“China Deploys Y-20 Long Range Airlifters For Joint Military Drills with Belarus on NATO Border”
Can you imagine what would happen if NATO ships started to hassle the Chinese in the Pacific only to hear Belarus announce that they have invited the Chinese to set up an advanced military base on the Belarus-Polish border? NATO would have a meltdown as it would mean that this Chinese base would operate as a tripwire force in that country. I do not know what objections NATO would come up with but no doubt they would be saying that it is irresponsible to have foreign troops stationed near another country’s borders.
The PRC should stage some nuclear capable fighter bombers (IRBM’s) in Belarus, and set up Belarus aircraft to “share” them like the US does with Germans and Dutch!
Also Kim could lend a few infantry brigades to Putin to give them live fire training!
We have to run Biden, he is the only one that can keep Trump from ruining NATO!
China is now mass-producing engines for long-range large-capacity aircraft, including stealth aircraft. Entirely domestic. An important advance:
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202312/1303342.shtml
December 10, 2023
China’s first mass-produced WZ-16 engines delivered
By Liu Xuanzun
– ‘AFL-CIO Backs Biden as Labor Leaders Stay Silent – Biden Cancels NEA Speech after Union Locks Out Staffers – Teamster Prez to Face Protests at RNC’ – Mike Elk
Wow. That’s a lot of the problems with “organized labor” in the US packed into one headline. Impressive.
So the common refrain I get from Dating App is that I can’t live my life in fear. Someone said I sound obsessed with COVID, and the blow landed, and I realized it is true: I’m performing all aspects of public health in our individualized public health regime, so of course I am obsessed with it. And the same would be true if I had to perform my own public health for clean water, for example, but our public health legacy has freed me from that burden.
What an absolute debacle this response is to an ongoing Pandemic.
But lived experience is on balance creating a positive feedback look for no mitigations or recognition, because by and large, most people get it and think they recover. Few are ending up on ventilators relative to wild SARS2, few are dying relative to the early days. The acute symptoms for many seem to be mild enough that it seems that the disease itself is mild; That isn’t true with HIV, and it seems that it is not true here, either, although with different disease endpoints we don’t fully appreciate yet.
Smoking is many ways is similar. People didn’t drop dead from smoking. But check any life insurance application, and the number one determinate of policy cost: smoking or non-smoking. Full stop. The most consequential decision you can make in your life in regards to life insurance purposes is if you choose to smoke. Clearly the actuaries have picked up something, neh?
And decades later, we found that without a doubt, smoking kills. Cancer, strokes, heart attacks.
But it took a public health campaign to dissuade people from smoking, until it became an elite signal to be a non-smoker, until smoking became a dirty working class tell.
And so SARS2, which likely has serious long term consequences from repeat infection, but with those consequences only suffered in the moderate to long term, is a situation where we seriously need real public health deployed, or we’re all absolutely complete f**ked.
And here we are.
Until public health fails, you don’t really begin to appreciate how important it is in the modern state or how it touches every faucet of your life. Until it’s gone, you don’t notice its absence. (Although I guess most people lol still don’t notice.)
I am now dealing with someone who superficially seems intelligent but exhibits memory problems. Can’t tell whether due to only faking listening sometimes or Covid brain.
Also you are not finding good people on dating apps. I put up a link yesterday to a Zero Covid community on Reddit. Why don’t you ask there how they find other Covid conscious people to socialize with and date in the real world?
Or drugs or a major stress that you are not aware of. (Probably fake listening.)
(If I seem to post without finishing a thought or not recorrecting autocorrect mistakes, this is because my phone will post for me if I set it down for a couple of minutes. Been meaning to test in another browser. Cannot explain why Perlw hasn’t edited the tweet that begins “More people around the world have a positive view of the United States than China…” when they could have copy-pasted from the quote in the tweet!)
I didn’t expect that I would, but I thought this would be the last hurrah before I hang up my Dating App spurs, as I’m tired of Match Group’s rent extraction, damn them all, and just accepting single life.
You enter a Pandemic with the social relationships that you have, such as they might be. Thankfully I’m an introvert and honestly found most social functions, particularly without alcohol, tiring and boring.
And COPD! I have a friend with that dreadful condition. I nagged her for years about smoking. What do I say now? I had another friend who died from it, he was a carpenter but never smoked.
What will be said about Covid, someone told us so? I need to hide.
Before I started wearing my goggles in addition to my industrial respirator, I had COVID rash all over my face, chest, and arms. I have finally gotten rid of the rash. Now I have figured out that my goggles have air vents. It isn’t a problem except when the train comes into the subway station and the rush of wind pushes bad air into my goggles. Am I willing to eat at a restaurant? No. Am I willing to do something social like attend a Dodgers baseball game? No. Am I interested in strolling through a crowded shopping mall and catching a bite to eat at the food court? No.
>>>So the common refrain I get from Dating App is that I can’t live my life in fear.
This applies to all dating apps/written personals since the beginning of time, you have to set out your “red lines” in your profile.
You are just wasting your own time by interacting w/people who violate your litmus tests—whether it’s about food preferences or Covid.
Yes, as the male, I must initiative, should someone actually accept a “like” from me, which is generally rare anyway. And my opening is simply whether they’re COVID safe. I have some prewritten copy I paste if they ask what I’m talking about, in case I save someone grief later in their life. Mostly it’s a fascinating sociological study if I engage further, but generally if its
1. a nurse, I’m told I have no idea what I’m talking about, good bye (and can be quite vicious about how clueless I really am, as a not-a-medical-professional; elitism much? and can you imagine that bedside manner from a nurse? Long-COVID patients can!)
2. not a nurse, I’m living in fear
So there isn’t much depth to study. The derision is odd, though, why even reply? If someone’s life so difficult that passing judgement upon someone is energizing?
Who knows. I don’t take it personally, of course. In the end, SARS2 is real. It can’t be willed away. No number of dismissive comments to me change what’s happening.
Believe me, I wish they did. I’d accept derision every day if that ended the Pandemic for me.
No such luck.
And I didn’t get to reading this until now, and as I suspected, recognizing the dangers of smoking was an enormous public health push:
From Column: How a surgeon general’s warning and a Supreme Court ruling may place gun control on the front burner
(bold mine)
And that COVID is being treated exactly the opposite way is a tragedy, the consequences of which we’ll live with for decades.
I’d say it is unconscionable; that applies to so much that’s going on today, from genocide, to flirting with nuclear war, to ignoring a prospective H5N1 Pandemic, covering up for a president with a significant cognitive disability, it feels underwhelming to write.
Re: “I’m performing all aspects of public health in our individualized public health regime”
This is what I have been doing as well…and very diligently for the last 4 years and then I finally got sick with covid a few weeks ago for the first time which felt quite demoralizing. All that work of sacrificing meals with friends/family indoors, masking everywhere, avoiding indoor activities as much as possible felt pointless. But really it made we realize you simply can not do public health on an individual level- it will fail at some point…the dice will inevitably roll the wrong way. If you have to interact with the world in any way whatsoever, which most of us do, thanks to the nature of our work, RTO requirements, and/or this irrational insistence by higher ups that all meetings be in person as much as possible (why!!)… your vigilant efforts to protect yourself from covid will fail because public health simply can not be done on a personal level. Does this mean I give up on all precautions? Well now that I have officially had covid, I should assume I have immune dysfunction now and categorize myself in the “vulnerable”, potentially immunocompromised group and need to be as cautious as I was before (while simultaneously trying to let go of my anger at what a frustrating, corrupt, disappointing mess our public health system is)!
Great comment, thank you. Agreed on all points.
On reinfection, I read at some point that, if SARS2 does indeed hurt the immune system, then it’s important to give that system time to recover before it gets hit with another infection–I think it was six months. So even though it’s tempting to throw caution and the mask to the wind, and even though you might be immune to the variant you just caught for 6 to 8 months (by which time it’s usually been replaced by a new variant anyway), you are potentially more vulnerable to damage from other infections, including other SARS2 variants, in the meantime. Sadly, that means being cautious some more, which is hard to stick to.
All that said, I think that when viral circulation levels are low, meeting with small groups with no precautions is low-risk. Luckily, right now it’s summer, so about the only thing circulating is SARS2, so it’s the best time to take a risk. But be sure to be fully recovered; I’ve also read that rest is important to clearing the infection and avoiding long-term effects. Good luck to us all!
Good luck to us all indeed!
And yes, doing my best to not overdo it, def fearful of long covid… after taking a slew of immune supplements, I plan to start some things for the brain/neuroinflammation, etc.
And you are right, piling on more infections when the immune system is still a mess is a huge recipe for trouble!
Great comment and you have my sympathies. It is definitely hard being in the last 5% or so who mask regularly. Recently in my area, SARS2 circulation levels have been low and I have gone mask-free, except at work where I mask in part out of solidarity with someone else. Haven’t caught anything (that I know of), but I probably will return to caution in the fall or if another wavelet arrives.
Personally, I found the pandemic highly educational regarding infections in general, and now I can’t understand why people don’t try to avoid some of the illnesses they tend to get over the course of a year (parents are obviously in more of a bind, what with daycares and schools being bug-transfer zones). I hate being sick and I get some pretty hefty symptoms (colds have always entailed two days off school or work), so I’m delighted to find a better way to avoid them than to wash my hands regularly and open doors with my feet. But clearly I’m a weirdo; everyone else takes a painkiller and goes on with their day, infecting all those around them (or maybe just the superspreaders do that; hopefully the COVID-related research identifies exactly how these things spread). And on it goes…
From ‘No one is picking up the phone’: Joe Biden’s fundraising confronts new hurdles after debate
So what do you get? The bundler is buying access to Biden, or Trump, or the politician. What’s the bundlee get? Social capital? Indirect or direct access to Biden, ect as well if the cheque is big enough?
Regardless, “bundling” is basically access buying by the wealthy, full stop.
Buying access.
Yes, a friend said bundlers are treated like God. Also big donors expect a one one one or at least a small group meeting with the candidate. Biden has so been kept in tissue paper he has not been giving them at all, or as bad, in perceived-to-be-too-big-sessions AND with a teleprompter.
MMT & Bill Mitchell, the two are inextricably linked. Yet on his site this sentence;
‘However, it is clear from the analysis and my own calculations that significant austerity will be required in areas of expenditure not related to these challenges.’
I’m left wondering, can’t they just run the printers? What am I missing?
The EU has fiscal rules.
“Kremlin responds to Kiev hospital attack allegations”
Should it be pointed out that if this was a Russian missile which hit that hospital, that there would be no building left? The ruins suggest something smaller – such as a Ukrainians air defense missile not that anybody would care. On the TV news last night, they showed an image of a Russian missile streaking down as if suggesting that this was the one that hit the hospital instead of from some archive – or an AI image come to think of it.
Check out Simplicius’s latest post for videos at the end of Russian missiles doing real damage. Yeah, if that was intentional from Russia, that little wing would be gone, like the destruction you see in Gaza.
I’ll be the first to say the Nazis did it intentionally. Budanov is one evil dude. The timing before the NATO meeting is too coincidental.
Yesterday on Daniel Davis’ podcast he discussed this with Larry Johnson, who said the missile that hit the hospital was a US NASAM. They had video of the bombs going off in Kiev, and the trajectories were totally different; The Russian missiles came straight down while the NASAM had more of a horizontal movement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-JJeFpDR3o
But Johnson makes the same point that you did. If it had been one of the Russian missiles there would have been nothing left of the building and a lot more people would have died. He is of the opinion that this was a failed missile intercept repurposed as an opportunity to make the Russians look bad rather than incompetence or inability on the part of Ukraine.
Meanwhile Matthew “ratface” Miller over at State is going on about how horrible the Russians are for attacking a hospital while ignoring that there are no hospitals left in Gaza.
What a loathesome little world those people inhabit. One can see why decent people never want to take those jobs and the filth always rises to the top.
‘I’m bored, so I shoot’: The Israeli army’s approval of free-for-all violence in Gaza
Armon Goeth, Schindler’s List (1:39): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0DqnUk90lo (1:39)
Words fail me.
wandering through news intermittantly during smake and coffee breaks, since around 4am…and, among other things, was this:
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/07/09/day-one-natos-endgame-appears-to-be-nuclear-war/
nothing new, to me…nor to y’all, of course…but damn.
so when i wasnt takin a smoke of coffee break…the little cd player in my head kept repeating George McGovern:
https://www.c-span.org/video/?3437-1/senator-george-mcgovern-1972-acceptance-speech
still among my all time favorite politicians.
talk about roads not taken,lol…and here we are, 52 years later…ruled by skeksis, but with no forthcoming turtle like counterparts to finally merge with them and bring balance.
it’s nice to hear that the US Government is getting serious about “Gun Deaths” but it would be even nicer if it got serious about Covid Deaths which were officially 10,000 in February.
Or actually stopped arming the world.
Jeez, IIRC they were 70,000 or 71,000 for all of 2023. Versus 20,000 or low 20,000s for the flu.
A gunman killed by Yellowstone national park rangers, as he fired a semiautomatic rifle at the entrance of a dining facility with about 200 people inside, had told a woman he had held at gunpoint earlier that he planned to carry out a mass shooting, park officials said on Tuesday.
Park rangers shot and killed the man during the attack on Thursday morning. Yellowstone officials identified the lone shooter on Tuesday as Samson Lucas Bariah Fussner, 28, of Milton, Florida.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/09/yellowstone-gunman-planned-mass-shooting
~~~~~~~~~~~~
National Parks are the one place you better not discharge your gat, as you’ll be arrested. Gunslingers are allowed to transport their weaponry through the NP’s though.
Our National Parks which are pretty safe from an armed robbery or assault with a deadly weapon standpoint-but almost completely lacking in NPS personnel in dealing with active shooter with mass murder on his mind. Last time I was at the Sherman Tree, there were about 40 people milling about, and Moro Rock would be even more gruesome of a scene, for at the top there is also room for about 40, but with sheer drops of a thousand feet on either side, as in no escape.
United Healthcare is one of the worst insurance companies I’ve ever had to work with. They denied a patient’s claim so as always we called to follow up. Was put on hold for 20 min after going through a long menu only to be told by the automated voice we would be faxed a separate phone number to call with a code that would only be valid for 10 minutes if we wanted the pleasure of speaking with an actual human being.
Hung up, received the fax, called the number, entered in the code, and eventually a human representative answered who sorted things. And from there I immediately drafted a letter to all my United patients notifying them that I would be leaving the network and no longer accept their insurance plan. Like with most insurance companies, it was fighting tooth and nail for reimbursement but that whole wait for a fax with a special code before we will attempt to fix your problem was the last straw.
A physical therapist told me recently that United Healthcare is one of the largest employers of health care providers in the country, possibly the world. I was mildly horrified to hear this since of all the insurance companies I’ve had to work with, they were by far one of the worst, with Aetna and Cigna being a close second.
About KSA threatening to dump all EU-zone securities it holds of EU confiscates the Russian money it currently holds hostage . . . kudos to KSA for upholding the Law Based Financial Order against the Rules Based Financial Order.
I wonder whether it is a quid-pro-quo with Russia, to prevent them from providing the Houthis with better anti-ship missiles, which Russia had previously been suggested it might do.
Here’s a thing called Press Reader which has reprinted what I believe is the NYT story on Pakistan Withers Under Heat etc. But the reason I am linking to it is that when one “scrolls”, the screen moves horizontally.
This is the first time I have ever seen horizontal movement from scrolling.
https://www.pressreader.com/
“Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been accused of not disclosing a yacht trip to Russia and a private helicopter flight to a palace in President Vladimir Putin’s hometown, among a slew of other gifts and loans from businessman Harlan Crow.”
Clarence Thomas just doesn’t care anymore. He’s saying – go ahead and complain, I can’t be touched.
This makes it harder for the dead enders denying Russian influence on the US.
Sounds to me like Mr Thomas has become an embarressment and is being fixed up for impeachment.
You did have looked at the list?
I don’t see anything indicating Russian influence. It is listed under Harlan Crow. So unless Harlan Crow is a Russian agent….?
> Poll finds Biden damaged by debate; with Harris and Clinton best positioned to win
TINA starts rolling out the favourable polling – 2016 rematch on the way – unless Trump does a ‘James Holden’ but there will be still be a Trump on the ticket as VP (betting seems to signal Ivanka).
The Bezzle: PBM’s and Medicare Advantage up charges.
As I remember, China has trials dealing with this kind of corruption and the occasional death sentence would be levied.
Biden: I was impressed watching the evening news the frank discussion of the “donors.” To clarify it for myself I just substitute “donor” with “oligargh”, that is much better.
Economic activity is not governance. It seems to me, the USA does not have a government. We live in the age of war lords.
Brute force and mental coercion allows for the illusion of “governance.”
May I please borrow “oligargh”? Whatever its origins, it intrigues me.
file under Bezzle, PBMs edition: Wendell Potter’s Healthcare Uncovered substack article on the FTC and PBMs.
FTC: Big Insurance’s PBMs “Profit at the Expense of Patients by Inflating Drug Costs and Squeezing Main Street Pharmacies”
https://healthcareuncovered.substack.com/p/ftc-big-insurances-pbms-profit-at