Monday, January 31, 2022
Ho boy, Beans blowing out "Heat"
115-86, 2:15 left to play. I almost--I mean I came this close--to wondering in print when I thought the "Raptors" had blown us out if that was the start of a belated swoon that "Heat" fans have seen ever since 2014. Now I am wondering in print.
*
The Bidens rung up Russia before the U.N. Security Council today. Russia "scoffed", in the Times' words. You have to put Ukraine's reaction completely aside for the following statement to be in touch with reality: I like how proactive the Bidens have been on this issue. They, and Britain also, have called Russia out repeatedly--and Russia hasn't even invaded yet! It will be embarrassing for Vladimir Putin to invade now after all of this "scoffing." That is really turning the tables on Putin. "You're going to invade"; "No we're not"; "Yes, you are"; "No we're not." "We did." "Toldja!" If Russia doesn't invade so we look like fools, who cares? Maybe we embarrassed Putin into not invading.
That assessment is not in touch with Ukraine's reality. They are convinced that we are goading Putin into invading. I cannot think like a Russian thinks, nor as a Ukrainian manifestly (Ukraine's Foreign Minister said today, "Who knows what is in Putin's head?" Answer: Read the map.), and until today I was really queasy about Ukraine not wanting our "help." But today we got the Russians on the record at the U.N.:
[Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia] said it was the Americans who were the provocateurs, “whipping up tensions and provoking escalation,” as he insisted that Russia had no plans to invade Ukraine.
Normally, I do not trust official America on Russia. We have lied repeatedly to and about the Soviet Union and Russia. Ambassador Nebenzia spoke to Ukraine's fears and to my mistrust:
“You are almost pulling for this,” he said, looking at [American Ambassador to the U.N. Linda] Thomas-Greenfield. “You want it to happen. You’re waiting for it to happen, as if you want to make your words become a reality.”
But here we have the Brits' assessment in addition to our own. And most importantly both assessments are based on incontrovertible satellite imagery that you and I can see for ourselves. If an invasion is not imminent why are there 100,000+ Russian troops, and military hardware massed on Ukraine's border?
Today's Security Council session was in the Times' report ...the highest-profile arena for the two biggest nuclear military powers to sway world opinion over the escalating tensions involving Ukraine.
And it seems to have changed the mind, or clearly at least the tone, of at least one official in Kyiv:
“Russia several times announced they do not want war,” Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said in a video briefing for reporters. “Russia can prove those words by immediately decreasing its military, political and economic pressure on Ukraine. It can abandon ideas of destabilizing the situation inside Ukraine with invented protests, cyberattacks and efforts to disrupt normal life.”
That is exactly right!
Mr. Nebenzia pointedly left the meeting before it was over, as Ukraine’s ambassador, Sergiy Kyslytsya, was speaking.
Does Ukraine recognize that it is making the same fatal misjudgment that Uncle Joe made of Uncle Alf right before Barbarossa, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union?
“We called for this meeting to allow the Russians to give us an explanation of what their actions are. They didn’t give us the answers that any of us would have hoped that they would provide.”--U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Lol, no, no, no. The Americans called this session proactively to get Russia on the record. It's brilliant statecraft by the Bidens. Usually, it's invasion, arraign before the Security Council in that order. What's Putin going to say at the U.N. after he invades!
While [Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield] emphasized Washington seeks a peaceful outcome,...if the Russians invaded Ukraine, “none of us will be able to say we didn’t see it coming.”
Exactly. Brilliant work by the Bidens. *Obviates the last part of Jan. 28's post.
Thank you, Omicron
For the two weeks Jan. 17 through 30 cases (99.5% of which are O) are down a whopping 35%. Hospitalizations are also off 85. Deaths are up 28%. Since the death interval is ~four weeks that is sensible. Deaths are still rising because cases on December 30 were still rising. We are, though, getting nearer to the beginning of the O wave in the U.S., which began in mid-December. Deaths are going to keep going up for about two more weeks before starting to fall for good.
The seven-day (Jan. 24 through 30) averages tell a very similar story:
Cases:
On average 519,421 per day.
Hospitalizations:
143,902/day.
Deaths:
"Very similar" because it looks like Deaths have begun their descent, doesn't it? Reporting artifact: Sunday and Monday are reporting lag days, the 30th was a Sunday, it is in fact lower by 48 than no lag-Saturday and Friday. Plausible that Deaths tonight, for today will be slightly lower. Average daily deaths over a week were 2,524 yesterday. Given the clear history of cases in the U.S. and in other countries, notably South Africa, it is unlikely that Deaths will reach the Trump peak of 3,342.peak. That is one hand clapping, and barely that. The responsibility for Omicron, and for Delta, is 100% on the Bidens.
Sunday, January 30, 2022
FT LA “Rams” 20 SF “49’ers” 17
Los Angeles deserved to win that game. The San Fran defense, so stalwart in the last three games played, couldn’t stop Matthew Stafford on the two drives that got them to 17-14 and then the game-tying drive to send it to O.T. The “Niners” running game, which punched holes in the “Rams” front line in the regular season ending game here, was non-existent today. The LA coaching staff obviously made adjustments. And, well, Garoppolo was Garoppolo at the worst possible time. So a magic end-of-season and playoff run ends for the “49’ers”, and it deserved to end. They have to get a better QB.
20-17, 1:46. GAROPPOLO TIME!
🎶 Garoppoli, Garoppolo, Garoppoli, Garoppolo!
To the top we'll go, Garoppoli, Garoppolo! 🎵
HT LAR 7 SF 10
LAR DOMINATING the stat line: 14-6 1st downs, 20:19-9:41 t.o.p., but...As we saw in, I don't know, one of SF's games, Garoppolo passes infrequently (on accounta he isn't good at it) but when he does it's for big yardage. He's averaging 17 yds/completion, the "Lions" former QB 9. A good rule in choosing a QB is not to take Detroit's.
♭ I got a feelin', San Fran's goin' to the Super Bowl♯
KChoke! Cincy to Super Bowl
What was that about quarterback play?
Patrick Mahomes threw his second interception in overtime on the "Chieves" first possession and Cincinnati (10-7) took it down to the KChoke 13 yard line to kick the field goal, knocking the favored "Chieves" (12-5) out of the Super Bowls.
Another OT!
Man, great games in these playoffs though. KC kicked a FG to knot it. Good drive by Mahomes.
KC 21 Cincy 24, 6:04 4Q
This'd be a significant upset. Man, QB play in the National Concussion League. *facepalm* "Chieves" Mahomes is excellent but has thrown an INT today. Cincy's Burrows has the makings of excellent but also has thrown an other-way. Roethlisberger and Brady have retired (and we pray that Asshole Aaron Rodgers follows)--that creates a real void in QB play.
FT 3OT Miami 120 Toronto 124
Boy oh boy, I saw the final last night, but read it as 124-100 (this weather has addled every part of my being); thought that was awfully high-scoring for a game that was in the sixties halfway through the 3Q; saw that the only offense was Jimmy who had 37 and a 3W, and was about to write that that was a typical box score for a blown-out team in the Association, but was tired and went to bed.
Triple OT. Didn't see that. "This one's over": Per usual practice here, wrong. The shooting was horrific, 40.5% (32%), Duncan was a Donut 0/5 (0/5), Tyler was not a hero but a HerrO, 5/22 (3/14)--it was a Saturday Night Horror, and still we almost won. Good team the "Heat", good, good team.
Spo rode the only horse he had, an oft-lamed thoroughbred called Irritated Big Toe, who he drove hard for 52'. A full game played in the Association is calculated at 36'; Bam, 14 and 16 with 6 T.O.'s, Gabe, 17 and 4 asts (he can't play point) and Tyler, each played 45. PJ played 41.
Saturday, January 29, 2022
61-71, 6:28 3Q "Heat" Full T.O.
Nope, we can't shoot beans 43.65 (27.3%). Donut is back 0/4 (0/4). Jimmy's the whole team offensively, 26 on 9/14 (1/3).
Snow Angel
My daughter in Providence, in the midst of a blizzard, is not feeling any listlessness. Nor her pup dog JJ!
JJ is from Texas and he did not know what to make of snow when he first experienced it in Bristol, Rhode Island a few years ago. He’s gotten himself acclimated to it now! 😂
I went to sleep at a normal time last night, certainly before midnight. I awoke today at 11:11 a.m., which is four or five hours on the other side of normal. Not feeling it I went back to bed until 12:23 p.m.
Last week a beloved former client, with whom I have exchanged "Good morning" texts every day for years, didn't answer to days of my greetings. She finally responded, "Uncle, sorry, the cold made me forget."
I wonder if there is something to the cold being the culprit. Well, first of all, it is not "cold" by any normal person's winter standard, but it is a drastic, abrupt temperature drop for us Miamians. You do forget your normal routine; your mind is on this other thing that it is not used to having to spend time on. Relative cold leads to hibernation in bears. People nest, right? I think there is something to it. I'm still listless and I've had one Diet Pepsi, one colada of Cuban coffee, and one adderall.
Friday, January 28, 2022
Paging Jeanie Buss
L.A.’s other team, the “Lakers” continue to underperform. They lost again tonight, at Chazz, lost last night at Philly; didn’t have LBJ either game and Fucking Frank Vogel held Anthony Davis out tonight because he played him 31’ in the 18-point blowout in Philly. Vogel, 31' and 0' is not load management, it's just fucking stupid. Meanwhile the first lede on tonight's game was "Westbrook Runs Out of Gas." Fucking Frank played Russ 37' tonight and 34 last night.
FT MIA 121 LAC 114
Irritating Big Toe led all scorers with 26 and added 9 asts. Bam led all rebounders with 12. (Second was Justise with 10 :o). Gabe Vincent was second to Jimmy with 23. Gabe played PG tonight and only had 3 asts. He shot consumately though, 8/16 (7/12). Goodness. Swish Robinson was 6/9 (4/7) for 16. That’s Fo’ games in a Ro’ Fo’ DeBo! “Heat” rollin’, 32-17.
*
The Biden administration have an Inspector Clouseau competence affliction. They fuck up even relatively simple things: they can't withdraw from a war--Put the Bidens in charge of D-Day and they'd have landed in Cameroon--they can't stay ahead of a virus even when spotted a lap's lead. Now, imagine this: They're pissing off Ukraine when they're trying to help Ukraine. They have both Russia and Ukraine pissed off at us. It's embarrassing. (Clouseau was always right in the end, though.) *See Jan. 31 post.
MIA +7, 3:11 "Heat" full T.O.
Yeah, Eric doesn't want to let the "Clips" get any closer. A three-possession game with 3:11 left? That's gobs of time. I don't think LAC has enough, though. No Kawhi, nobody to take charge. They're 26-25. They can make a liar out of me but I just don't see them winning this one.
Big Toe Jimbo Plays!
And the return of Justise. MIA leads LAC 28-19 end 1. It doesn't matter who Miami plays or who they play against, this season, well into the second half now, they just beat you.
Big Toe had 10 to lead all scorers. Justise played three mins and missed all three shots he took.
Miami HEAT
@MiamiHEAT ·
You’ve probably noticed it without noticing it - this Miami HEAT team has a formula. And it's a formula similar to our magical 2019-20 run to the Finals.
Huh? Who is that, Strus? What does that even mean? #2, Duncan and Bam are the "formula"? Not Jimmy, Kyle and Bam? How weird.
@MiamiHEAT ·
2h
You’ve probably noticed it without noticing it - this Miami HEAT team has a formula. And it's a formula similar to our magical 2019-20 run to the Finals.
Huh? Who is that, Strus? What does that even mean? #2, Duncan and Bam are the "formula"? Not Jimmy, Kyle and Bam? How weird.
Hitler was worse than is Trump, but Trump came closer to killing American democracy. And he comes still.
Barbarossa was Adolph Hitler's fatal miscalculation. But as Zhukov was turning the Russian war against Germany, Japan struck at Pearl Harbor. President Roosevelt immediately declared war--on Japan alone, not on Germany and Italy. And Hitler hesitated. Dec. 9th passed, then the 10th. Finally megalomania got the best of him--he would not be beaten to the first punch--and on the 11th he declared war on the U.S. in the Reichstag. Shirer puts it succinctly:
Adolph Hitler, who a bare six months before had faced only a beleaguered Britain in a war which seemed to him as good as won, now, by deliberate choice, had arrayed against him the three greatest industrial powers in the world...--The Rise and Fall (900).
If there be merit in consistency at least the Russian dream had been in Hitler’s mind since Mein Kampf. America, never. Germany never posed a direct threat to the United States. She could not possibly have won a war against the U.S. in the 1940's, war technology at the time did not make it conceivable. He couldn't even invade Great Britain! How was he going to invade America? What was he thinking? He had all of Europe up to the steppes "a bare six months before." He could have gone on playing whack-a-mole on Britain until she was bombed back into the Stone Age.
Since 1945 you have been able to play atomic whack-a-mole on another country. You can obliterate that country. But to occupy and to hold that country you still have to invade. America can only be occupied and held by an insider. That was, may still be, Trump.
Marmalade Skies
Thursday, January 27, 2022
I took a screenshot of this so that nobody would have the thought that I was making it up. Can I say that that is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard of in my life? That covers a lot of ground…Yes. If you try to put yourself in the other person's shoes, in this case a repressed, horned-out Victorian, I could see covering up piano legs for a resemblance to women's legs, that is, aimed at repressed, horned-out Victorian men. But as dildo's for women, are you fucking shitting me? That is so absurdly preposterous, so utterly obsessive (Shrink presenting Rorschach image :“You’re pre-occupied with sex.” Patient: “Well, you’re the one with the dirty pictures.”) it is floridly nuts, in-fucking-sane.
Duncan Robinson was ultra-confident last night. I just watched highlights. When he was brick-laying he was not hang dog or slump-shouldered, he was impassive. But last night his body language was expressive, expressive of joy and confidence. Three straight games he has posted excellent numbers. Maybe he’s got it back.
Dion the Peon, The Coquette, the New TikTok Aesthetic
This may become my daughter's breakthrough vlog. It is cutting edge. It is thoughtful. It is informative. It is intelligent. It is analytical. It is like a Great Teachers video. It is beautifully and professionally edited. Most of all it is fun. My daughter was inspired by the theme and got much satisfaction from producing it. That's what you want for your child.
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
KEEP THE TEAM!
You know the closest NY got tonight? 8. They never led and the closest they got was 8.
FT MIA 110 NY 96
My internet, 'puter and phone, was slow tonight. I could not track this game.
New York is not half bad--for being from New York. The "Knicks" were 23-25 coming in.
Duncan Robinson had another sensational game, game high with 25 points on 9/13 (7/11). The Duncan of our wet dreams. Duncan only played 26'. From the look of the box score this one really must have got out of hand: Everybody but U.D. played, even O.Y played two minutes (two). Tyler, back from protocols, was team high playing 33'. Jimmy, P.J., Tyler in that order were next high to Duncan in points, all over 20. Oh! I didn't see this--The Composer was a Donut tonight (every night you need one?), 0/8 (0/6) in 21'. JEEZ! C-Mart was another one, maybe you need two, 0/4 (0/2) in 25'. Our two future statues a combined 0/12 (0/8). Caleb does other things, sticky hands, good defender, just not tonight. He had 3 rebbes, one ast, and one block. Still no Kyle. Gabe Vincent started at point, was team high in minutes played with 33, had 5 asts, which was less than half our starting center's! Bam had 11 to go with 8 rebbes. Only 6 points for Point-Bam. Weird looking box score. We miss Kyle, that is obvious. Gabe cannot play the point.
The "Heat" shot preposterously well, 50% (43.2%), 90.9% from the line.
Did We Miss Biden’s Most Important Remark About Russia?
(Thomas L. Friedman, NYT)
...when Biden told President Vladimir Putin that Russia has something much more important to worry about than whether Ukraine looks East or West — namely, “a burning tundra that will not freeze again naturally.”
...Siberia had a totally freakish, hyper-extreme weather event — a forest fire that firefighters had to stomp out with their boots because the local water sources were all frozen.
Just the worst. He's just the worst.
On the first: Good, that is the responsible thing for the Federal Reserve to do. On the second, fuck Wall Street. They have no interest in peoples economics. All they care about is profits and dividends. Inflation eats at people's salaries. The jobless rate is peoples economics. Where the Dow is is not.
Democrats can seat a justice without G.O.P. support under rules that shield Supreme Court nominations from a filibuster
See? There are a lot of exceptions to the Senate’s filibuster rule. Manchin and Sinema opposed an exception for the most important legislation in an democracy, voter protection, not from stodgy deference to sacred Senate tradition, but because they don’t want Black people voting.
Is Old Music Killing New Music?
Old songs now represent 70 percent of the U.S. music market. Even worse: The new-music market is actually shrinking.
Those who make a living from new music—especially that endangered species known as the working musician—should look at these figures with fear and trembling. All the growth in the market is coming from old songs. (emphasis in original)
That is what I cannot understand. Nature abhors a vacuum, right? Capitalism certainly abhors a market vacuum. Why isn't "the working musician" giving his/her audience what they want to hear?
The 200 most popular new tracks now regularly account for less than 5 percent of total streams...The current list of most-downloaded tracks on iTunes is filled with the names of bands from the previous century, such as Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Police.
I encountered this phenomenon myself recently at a retail store, where the youngster at the cash register was singing along with Sting on “Message in a Bottle” (a hit from 1979) as it blasted on the radio. A few days earlier, I had a similar experience at a local diner, where the entire staff was under 30 but every song was more than 40 years old. I asked my server: “Why are you playing this old music?” She looked at me in surprise before answering: “Oh, I like these songs.”
So...?...
The entire business model of the music industry is built on promoting new songs. ...Yet all the evidence indicates that few listeners are paying attention.
Okay, I see what this "new reporter" is doing. This is college thesis writing. Half of this paper is giving a thousand examples of evidence that there is a problem because he's not sure why there is a problem.
...
Can you imagine how angry fans would be if the...NBA Finals were delayed?
Yeah, I can actually. Dude, are you clueless?
...
... The people running the music industry have lost confidence in new music. ... ...that is exactly what’s happening. The moguls have lost their faith in the redemptive and life-changing power of new music. How sad is that?
Oh here we go, the problem is the music industry. It's their job to find the Next Big Thing--and it's out there!--but the industry moguls are stuck in their ways and not doing their jobs. It's a circular argument which avoids what the working new musician is doing, and not doing. It's putting the shoe on the wrong foot. The question is "Why are the 'working musicians' not inspiring listeners?"
...
The problem isn’t a lack of good new music. It’s an institutional failure to discover and nurture it.
See? Oh my God. No, no, no--wrong foot again. Substitute "popular" for "good" and you've got the same old wrong foot. There is undoubtedly "good" new music, the problem for the new music industry and the musician working in new music is that nobody's listening. Buddy, instead of asking the staff at your diner “Why are you playing this old music?” ask her, "Why aren't you playing this new music?" She will look at you in surprise before answering: “Oh, I don't like those songs.”
Not worth your time, or mine.
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
As West Warns of Russian Attack, Ukraine Sends Different Message
The ‘‘stay calm” posture has left analysts guessing about its leadership’s motivation, but some say that after eight years of war, the country simply calculates the risks differently.
Yeah, no kidding a different message....
[Some analysts] attribute it to the country’s uneasy acceptance that conflict with Russia is part of Ukraine’s daily existence.
Stop. Is this "If rape is inevitable, lay back and enjoy it"? I am not being sarcastic. Is Ukraine adopting Moscow's "posture" when faced with Napoleon? Abandoning Moscow worked against Napoleon.
Already this week, Ukraine’s defense minister has asserted that there had been no change in the Russian forces compared with a buildup in the spring; the head of the national security council accused some Western countries and news media outlets of overstating the danger for geopolitical purposes; and a Foreign Ministry spokesman took a swipe at the United States and Britain for pulling the families of diplomats from their embassies in Kyiv, saying they had acted prematurely.
"Accused," "took a swipe." Okay, guys, U.S. and NATO guys: You need to give this serious thought. If, for WHATEVER reason, Ukraine does not want our help, then we should not give it. There is still doubt, I suppose, whether these are Ukraine's true feelings or whether they are Russia's tools. Surely, it cannot be too hard to determine genuineness. You have the defense minister, the head of the national security council and a foreign ministry spokesperson all saying similar things. Who is saying the opposite?
This week’s proclamations came after an address to the nation last week by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, in which he asked, “What’s new? Isn’t this the reality for eight years?” On Tuesday evening, Mr. Zelensky weighed in on the embassy withdrawals, insisting that this “did not mean unavoidable escalation,” according to the Interfax news service.
And the president. A critical mass of Ukraine's leadership is coming down on one side only. If this is disingenuity, then Russia already has Ukraine. For U.S./NATO purposes, it's the same diff, I don't know how you can go against all of this.
How to interpret the threat from Russian troops and equipment massed at Ukraine’s border is a subject of intense debate. Ukraine’s own military intelligence service now says there are at least 127,000 troops on the border, significantly more than were deployed by Russia in the spring buildup.
...
Even so, in an interview on Monday with the Ukrainian television station ICTV, Ukraine’s defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, seemed to wonder what all the fuss was about.
...what all the fuss is about--Nice!
“Today, at this very moment, not a single strike group of the Russian armed forces has been established, which attests to the fact that tomorrow they are not going to invade,” Mr. Reznikov said. “That is why I ask you to not spread panic.”
There are different reasons for the disconnect in messaging between Ukrainian officials and their American counterparts, analysts say. Mr. Zelensky must be deft in crafting a message that keeps Western aid flowing, does not provoke Russia and reassures the Ukrainian people.
Okay, I reject that.
And after eight years of war with Russia, experts say, Ukrainians simply calculate the threat differently than their Western allies. ...
“We understand the plans and intentions of Russia; for us crying out from fear is not necessary,” Oleksii Danilov, the head of Ukraine’s national security and defense council, said in an interview with the BBC published Monday.
Mr. Danilov and others in the Ukrainian government argue that sowing panic and disarray within Ukrainian society is as much a part of the Russian strategy as any eventual military action. So showing fear, even if there is a basis for it, is only handing their enemies a victory before a single shot is fired.
Okay, I can (barely) understand that. Stalin didn't "cry out from fear" in the just-as-obvious buildup to Barbarossa either. A little "panic and disarray" in Ukrainian society is warranted here. But Ukrainians, tell us what you want us to do. U.S./NATO: There is RISK here for you. If Russia does invade, these Ukrainian worthies can point blame at YOU.
“The No. 1 task of Russia is the shattering of the internal situation in our country,” Mr. Danilov said. “And today, unfortunately, they are doing this successfully. Our task is to do our jobs in a calm and balanced environment.”
So you've got this, Mr. Danilov? Very well, keep calm and carry on.
Monday, January 24, 2022
Thank you, Omicron?
Okay. Now. NYT has an article on the head of WHO's European region saying that because Omicron spreads so quickly, and without the levels of devastating consequence, it has actually conferred natural immunity on far more people in the world than the vaccines have, and thus...here's the motherfucker's own words:
“Omicron offers plausible hope for stabilization and normalization.”
Which revives the debates:
Would the people of the world have been better off letting COVID with all of its variants burn through? Exhibit A, India with Delta. It sure would have been more quickly over had we let it run its course! If there was a scientist sitting next to me as I type this he would force me down and take a shit on my head. WE DON'T KNOW HOW LONG O-CONFERRED NATURAL IMMUNITY LASTS OR IF IT PROTECTS AGAINST THE NEXT VARIANT! I understand that. Would you concede that vaccine protection had a half-life and that we needed to get boosters and that O is better than previous variants at evading the vaccines? Somehow, in their scientific way, they would not concede that. All of our mitigation efforts, aside from the vaccines, had the following effect: a-t-t-e-n-u-a-t-i-o-n of the virus. Of course masks and social distancing didn't cure anybody of COVID, didn't make anybody immune to getting COVID--we were told they didn't protect the wearer/distant socializer so much as they protected others from getting the virus from those of us practicing mitigation. What they did was slow the spread of the virus, not stop it, slow it. Cue old joke of cop beating guy: "Now do you want me to stop or just slow down." Would you concede, scientists, that TIME has never been on humanity's side with this thing? (Somehow they wouldn't)
Here's another question for you, scientists: Do our vaccines actually confer immunity against COVID? And scientists, for once in your fucking discourses on this I want you to use the terms "vaccine" and "immunity" as non white-coated, i.e. normal, people do. Here is the template: "Vaccine" means polio vaccine; vaccines "work," i.e. they 99.44% prevent infection, consequences, transmission, repeat rise.(Normal people have this misconception that vaccines work because you're injected with a teeny-tiny bit of a drastically weakened virus so that our immune systems recognize it as an invader and are still able to kill it. In fact, live virus shots are extremely dangerous. Only the earliest first-generation polio vaccines used live virus, and we did not receive any live virus COVID vaccines.) "Immunity" means one shot when you're six years old and you're good to go for life. Got it? Now, with that guidance on approved usage do the COVID vaccines confer immunity? NO. The vaccines didn't teach our cells advanced self-defense techniques. What our vaccines do is prevent the COVID cell's spikes from latching onto, penetrating, and infecting our cells. The vaccines do this by--DO NOT SHIT ON MY HEAD AGAIN, I am talking CONCEPTUALLY here now!--tefloning our cells so that the spikes don't attach. And what happened to your teflon-coated pots and pans at home? The teflon wore off eventually. Hence the need for booster shots. (My recollection however is that teflon kept the eggs from sticking to our frying pan a lot longer than six fucking months!).
Ask the question from a different perspective: If the coronavirus vaccines immunized, in the common understanding, the vaccinated how could the vaccinated spread it--even to other vaxed? Because one, the virus mutates so quickly and drastically, but two, and at the bedrock level, vaccines don't kill the coronavirus.
If I told you that right now you have the polio virus swimming around in your gut, you'd call me a liar and take a shit on my head wouldn't ya? Look it up Pilgrim, you do. I got immunized against polio when I was six, my immunity never waned, I haven't ever been on crutches or in an iron lung. Why is COVID different? They're both viruses, aren't they? Yes, they are. COVID is different because the mechanism of transmission is different from polio. Do you know how you get paralytic polio? I hope you're not eating because polio requires direct fecal-oral transmission. Eww. Besides somebody shitting in your mouth how would that ever happen? Kids. Swimming pools. Swimming holes. Kids shit in the river, you come swimming merrily along, gulp, if that shitty kid had polio, you do now. (Almost.) That's how FDR got it. Almost because the polio virus has to get into your BLOOD, like AIDS. It was HARD to get polio or AIDS. Scientists to this day, sixty-six years after the polio vaccine, do not *quite* understand how the polio virus makes that jump in bodily fluids.
Compare with COVID, how do you get COVID? Ka-CHOO! Pork chop, pork chop, greasy, greasy, you can get COVID easy, easy. I've been vaxed dos and boosted. I still may have it; You, and you and you and you still may have it, it's there live and in person in our bodies, just in our noses not our lungs. Masking and social distancing are superb in preventing infection. The vaccines are superb against hospitalization and death but they don't 99.44% prevent infection or hospitalization or death. Immunity to normal people means "I can't get it, nah-nah boo-boo, stick your head in my doo-doo." The COVID vaccines don't confer immunity in that common understanding. Omicron for the vaxed is a little like being vaxed with live virus COVID-Lite. How many times have you read exasperated scientists ask rhetorically "What do you people want? Immunity from infection or protection against death?" The first time I read an exasperated scientist ask that I would have shit on her head if she were sitting next to me. WE WANT BOTH, MO-RON! "Well, too bad, so sad, you can't have 99.44% of either."
So how good were we, scientists that is? Did we beat nature? How much death did the vaccines prevent? Several hundred thousand? Yeah but. 5.6M worldwide have been killed by COVID. In the U.S., a quarter million lives saved? Yeah but almost 1M Americans have died. “We know that increased vaccination and infection are strengthening our defenses against Covid. I’m more optimistic about our ability to tame the pandemic than at any point since its emergence. Unless, of course, a worse variant emerges, with the infectivity of Omicron and as deadly as Delta.”-Thomas Frieden, a former head of CDC. Oh yeah that, the Doomsday Variant. Omicron is preventing multiples of the deaths that the vaccines have but will its protection wane? Will it be effective against a nee Doomsday Variant? For the people who received the vaccines they were near-true miracle drugs. For the unvaxed, which is the vast majority of the world's population, they did little.
For that vast majority, thank you Omicron. For now.
NATO Steps Up Readiness in Eastern Europe to Reassure Allies
The alliance is sending more jets and ships to the region. The decision comes as Britain joined the U.S. in withdrawing the families of diplomats in Kyiv, moves that the Ukraine government called premature.
? I don't know why Ukraine would call the withdrawal of diplomats' families premature. ?
KYIV — NATO said on Monday that some member countries were putting their forces on standby and sending additional ships and fighter jets to Eastern Europe to reassure allies in the region, as Britain joined the United States in ordering families of diplomats out of Ukraine, citing “the growing threat from Russia.”
The moves signaled rising fears of a potential Russian military intervention in Ukraine, as well as increasing concerns about the Kremlin flexing its muscles further afield. Russian troops and equipment are pouring into neighboring Belarus for planned exercises next month that U.S. officials fear are not only directed at Ukraine, but also intended to intimidate NATO countries on Belarus’s western border like Poland and the Baltic countries.
I read about the Belarus deployment yesterday I guess. Didn't know what to make of it cuz didn't know where Belarus was in relation to Russia, Ukraine and the West. I get it now.
Biden: Out the Appeaser, in the Confronter
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III has put 8,500 American troops on “high alert” for possible deployment to Eastern Europe, as NATO and the United States braced for a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon announced on Monday.
Most of the 8,500 troops would take part in a NATO response force that might soon be activated, said John F. Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman. The remaining personnel would be part of a specific U.S. response to the deepening crisis, Defense Department officials said, most likely to provide assurance to American allies in Eastern Europe who are fearful that Russia’s plans for Ukraine could extend to the Baltics and other countries in NATO’s so-called eastern flank.
Most of the 8,500 troops would take part in a NATO response force that might soon be activated, said John F. Kirby, the Pentagon spokesman. The remaining personnel would be part of a specific U.S. response to the deepening crisis, Defense Department officials said, most likely to provide assurance to American allies in Eastern Europe who are fearful that Russia’s plans for Ukraine could extend to the Baltics and other countries in NATO’s so-called eastern flank.
Good. I'm glad to see this.
Biden Weighs Deploying Thousands of Troops to Eastern Europe and Baltics
The president is also considering deploying warships and aircraft to NATO allies...
In a meeting on Saturday at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, senior Pentagon officials presented Mr. Biden with several options that would shift American military assets much closer to Mr. Putin’s doorstep, the administration officials said. The options include sending 1,000 to 5,000 troops to Eastern European countries, with the potential to increase that number tenfold if things deteriorate. Mr. Biden is expected to make a decision as early as this week
Sunday, January 23, 2022
OT
With :08 left Mahomes completed a 25-yard pass to the Buffalo 31. With :03 to play, KC kicked a F.G. to tie. Oh my GAWD!
TOUCHDOWN "BULLS"!
They were in big trouble. Allen took care of that. TD pass. Oh! They went for 2, too! And made it. 29-26, 1:54.
FT MIA 113 LAL 107
"Lakers" made it close. Pride. "Heat" led by 19 after 3 and by 23 three times in the 4th, the last with 8:38 to play. With 2:34 left LAL closed to 5. How about that? From 23 to 5 in 6'. And then to 4 at 1:07. Goodness gracious. LAL outscored us 37-24 in the period--and it wasn't cuz the subs played. LeBron played 40', had 33 pnts on 12/22 (1/8) 8/11 F.T.s, and 11 rebbes. He took seven more shots than the nearest teammate, Russ with 15.
Guess who played more mins than LBJ? DONUT! (?) And he was no donut tonight, team high in mins, 42, pnts, 25, on 8/13 (6/11). Jimmy had a 3W, 20, 10, and 12 in 39'. Jimmy out-rebounded Bam who had 8.
Kyle and Tyler out again. Big O DNPCD. "Heat" now 30-17, LAL 23-24.
Oh my goodness...
The "Heat" (hardy har-har) lead the "Lakers"...Get this, 69-52 at halftime. Humiliation of LeBron.
Bay Buccanneer Bruce Brady Upset?
Los Ang-eleeze leads 27-13 end 3Q in Tampa. The winner of this contest has the pleasure of playing the "49'ers." "Bucs" were a 3 point favorite. Frigging Upset City in the National Concussion League.
Recent Assholes
This award should be named for Todd Graham. In fact, it should include his wife Penni and be renamed the Todd Graham Family of Assholes Award. Todd should receive Lifetime Achievement recognition, for Todd Graham has been an Asshole all of his professional life. That profession is scholarly tackle football.
Most recently Todd took his assholes to the University of Hawaii. Todd resigned on Jan. 14 for "health reasons" (We hope he is unwell.) following a slew of transfers (including his son Michael!) and testimony taken before the Hawaii state senate from former and current players and their families. A former described Todd as "the worst guy I've ever met in my life." A current player recounted Todd saying that the state of Hawaii was a "third world country" because a vending machine did not have Dr. Pepper! Todd, you see, is from Texas, the Womb of Assholes, where Dr. Pepper is tres chic.
Todd began his career as asshole in Texas at high schools. He got his first college head coaching gig at Rice in 2006. After a successful season Todd signed a contract extension with a significant raise. Days later he resigned to take the head coach position at Tulsa. Todd stayed four years at Tulsa, having great success, including an upset win at Notre Dame. Todd then left to become the head coach at Pitt.
Todd did not like Pittsburgh, which he had never visited before accepting the job, Penni did not like Pittsburgh--too cold--and after one season Todd asked the Pitt athletic director for permission to interview for the job at Arizona State, where it's hot. That permission was declined. Todd hung up the phone on the A.D., Steve Pederson. When Pederson personally went to Todd and Penni's home and knocked on the door, they refused to answer. Todd resigned, flew to Arizona, and was named head coach. He informed his Pitt players that he was resigning in a text message. One of them tellingly reacted, "It's been all a lie this whole time. Everything he told us has been a lie." After he left Pitt he continued to badmouth the school and city, saying that the one mistake he made "was taking the job in the first place." Todd became the most despised man in college football.
This sun devil had initial success coaching the "Sun Devils" (He was a success everywhere he coached before Hawaii.) going 8-5, 10-4 and 10-3 in his first three years. Thereafter his teams fell off and after six years and a 7-6 record in 2017 Todd was fired.
Because he had become the most despised man in college football Todd was unemployed in 2018 and 2019. In 2020 the University of Hawaii made the mistake that Rice, Tulsa, Pitt, and Arizona State had made and hired the asshole. When he resigned noted college football expert Bruce Feldman tweeted:
Have heard from several coaches tonight reacting to the Todd Graham situation at Hawaii. This was from one of them: “He’s a bad human being. The truth is finally coming out on him.” https://t.co/EaBsxtMrpi
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) January 8, 2022
Bad human beings are what make Recent Assholes such a popular series! So Todd, Penni, for all your doo-doo, this award is for you.
San Francisco Gold
"This is a gritty team. It's a salty team, and we just keep bouncing back."-tight end George Kittle.
Indeed, they are. They are also an underdog lover's dream. Three straight underdog wins on the road, two against pro football's most-storied teams.
"We find ways, whether it's running, passing, defense stepping up big, special teams today. That's what makes a good football team. That's what we are."-quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Indeed, they do. I was watching Rocket League with my son, a huge Aaron Rodgers fan, yesterday and told him how impressed I had been watching the "49'ers" highlights of the last two weeks. "Yeah, well, I don't think Aaron Rodgers is worried about Jimmy Garoppolo." Later that night when the game went final I texted him, "Toldja SF was good." He was at a friend's house watching a fight and hadn't heard.
"HOLY FUCK SF!" he replied. Me:
"Garappolo blows but not unlike people with impaired senses they compensate. Aaron had good stats but he couldn't manage but 10 measly points against that SF D. The "Niners" are timely--the play of the game was that blocked punt TD with 4:41 to play. And then Garoppolo and the O did just enough to get in position to, and did, win the game.
And apropos of that, San Francisco became only the fourth team since 2000 to win a playoff game without scoring an offensive touchdown.
Saturday, January 22, 2022
FT SF 13 GB 10
The KEY play was made by SF's D. With 4:41 left, holding a 10-3 lead, GB had to punt on 4th and 19 at their own 12. And then this happened.
My of my, what a team these "49'ers" have become! I shall repeat what I wrote four days ago. I don't know who SF plays next but I wouldn't want to be whoever it is.
On Jan. 18 the undersigned wrote inter alia:
...
... I saw a sensational team in SF. They came back from a 17-0 deficit to win in OT. Shitty QB but the rest of the team, their running game, their tight end, their defense--I was fucking impressed. Could not understand how such a team lost seven games DURING THE REGULAR SEASON. The "Rams" were 12-4 going into the game, SF 9-7. Now intrigued, I then watched highlights of their wild card playoff win at Dallas. 12-5 Dallas (Granted the "Cowboys" played more like a 5-12 team.).The SF QB still sucked but again they pulled off the upset on the road.
I don't know who the "49'er's" play next but I wouldn't want to be whoever it is.
And Green Bay and Aaron Rodgers have got their hands full on the "frozen tundra." The "Niners" and "Pack" are tied 10-10 with 3:44 left in the game. SF's shitty QB at least is not an o-fer any longer. He's currently 9/17 with one INT...And now that Frisco defense has forced Green Bay to punt with 3:40 left. My lands, San Fran. SF with the ball now and I'm gonna keep tracking it...
COVID-19 BIDEN+367
It's official! President Biden has exceeded his death toll in mishandling Omicron from his death toll in mishandling Delta. 
There is good news in the COVID-19 stats tonight. You guessed it, cases continue to fall:
That O spike at the end represents 2,152 ave. daily deaths in the past week. At its peak on September 24, Delta deaths were 2,099. Congratulations, Mr. President on your latest failure. But wait! There's more failure ahead. With the death interval of about a month today's deaths correspond roughly to the case load on Dec. 22. Cases peaked about 5x's higher (see below). We can expect Omicron deaths to continue their near-vertical ascent and to surpass easily peak all-time daily average deaths of 3,342.
Precipitous drop. Precipitous and continuous since Jan. 15, 805,069 ave. daily cases. Jan. 22: 705,776.
Britain Says Moscow Is Plotting to Install a Pro-Russian Leader in Ukraine
In a highly unusual public statement, backed by U.S. officials, London named the putative head of a potential puppet government...
(NYT)According to the British assessment, Russian planners were considering installing a former member of the Ukrainian Parliament named Yevgeniy Murayev as leader of a pro-Kremlin puppet government in Kyiv. Once a member of the Russian-backed Party of Regions, Mr. Murayev is now head of a political party called Nashi, part of a constellation of opposition parties opposed to Ukraine’s pro-Western parties. Last September, a massive banner with his photograph was hung on the facade of Federation of Trade Unions building on Kyiv’s Independence Square with the slogan “This is our Land.”
...
It is not clear from the British statement whether Russia had informed Mr. Murayev that he was being considered as a possible future leader of Ukraine.
Sounds like something you'd do, Rooski!
But after a journalist with a British newspaper tipped him off about the revelations, he posted a photo of himself to Facebook posing as James Bond with the comment, “Details tomorrow.”
But after a journalist with a British newspaper tipped him off about the revelations, he posted a photo of himself to Facebook posing as James Bond with the comment, “Details tomorrow.”
...
In Washington, officials said they believe the British intelligence is correct. Two officials said it had been collected by British intelligence services. Within the informal intelligence alliance known as “Five Eyes,” Britain has primary responsibility for intercepting Russian communications, which is why it played a major role in exposing Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
...
All four of the other Ukrainians named in the communiqué once held senior positions in the Ukrainian government and worked in proximity to Paul Manafort, former President Donald J. Trump’s campaign manager, when he worked as a political adviser to Ukraine’s former Russian-backed president, Viktor F. Yanukovych. After Mr. Yanukovych’s government fell in 2014, they fled to Russia.
...
If the British assessment is accurate, it would not be the first time the Kremlin tried to install a pro-Russian leader or interfere in Ukraine’s government. In 2004, Russian efforts to fraudulently sway a presidential election set off what became known as the Orange Revolution, which forced a redo election that led to the defeat of Mr. Yanukovych, who was the Kremlin’s favored candidate.
Lolol.
In 2013, when the Kremlin pressured Mr. Yanukovych, who eventually was elected president, to back out of a trade pact with the European Union, Ukrainians again poured into the streets. Mr. Yanukovych was eventually driven from power, prompting Mr. Putin to order the annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and instigate a separatist war in eastern Ukraine.
You know why it's so hard for normal people to understand Russians? Russians are abnormally stupid.
Green Bay 7 San Francisco 0, 6:41 2Q
Jimmy "Donut" Gar0pp0l0, SF's QB has thrown for 0 yards and completed 0 of four attempts.👌
Futility Bowl II "Tetons" 16 "Bungles" 19
Can anybody pass the ball anymore in the National Concussion League?
Ryan Tannehill completed three of his 24 pass attempts to the guys in the pumpkin stretch mark clothes. Joe Burrow threw one to the guys in blue. Burrow was sacked nine times--and he played for the winners! Ghastly offenses agayne in the playoffs.
Speaking of boring: When the Manchester Revolution began there was a Big Four in Premier League soccer; then a Big Six; then a Big Two. Last season and this however there has been a Big One and a Little 19. City were held today at Southampton, 1-1. God's Team has won 18 of their 23 league matches thus far, losing only twice and drawing three times. Liverpool is potentially (two games in hand, one tomorrow) six points behind the leaders and defending champs. I don't know anybody who thinks City realistically can be caught with 15 matches left.
Does Riley Think This Team Can Win a Championship?
The top seven teams in the Eastern Conference are bunched together within 3.5 games of one another. The top three, BKLYN, Chi., and Mia. are separated by 0.014.
Does Pat Riley think this "Heat" roster, when at full strength, has enough that it can win a seven game series over BKLYN with KD, Kyrie, and James on the floor at the same time?
The NBA title holders, Milwaukee, are 1.5 out of first, one game behind the "Heat" and "Bulls." Is the "Heat" so equipped that it could win a seven game against the "Bucks"?
A Finals series against last season's runner-up Phoenix?
The "Warriors"?
I say no. What say ye, Pat?
Friday, January 21, 2022
"Heat" management get a thing stuck in their head--Whiteside can't play; Richardson can; Justise can; the Big O will sit when Bam comes back; Donut will start when both Jimmy and Bam are back; Jimmy Butler's a superstar; Jimmy's clutch--and they can't get it out of their heads. It's like they hallucinate. Yurtseven is Whiteside incarnate (Were that he was!). When Bam came back, the first game O was a DNPCD. The second game Spo put him in for seven seconds. Tonight, seven minutes. Which is progress.. They look at Jimmy and they see Michael Jordan hitting that shot over Craig Ehlo. No matter how many times Jimmy fails to convert down the stretch they go back to the well...Listen to me, bitching about Erik Spoelstra's playing decisions when the fucking team is one of the surprises of the entire season and with tonight's loss is 29-17. I'm an idiot, but I've got a keyboard and a blog.
HT ATL 60 MIA 51
Jimmy is 1/4 for 2 points but no technicals so far. Donut is 2/5 (1/4) 7points in 14 mins, and he started. The Composer is team-high with 15 on 6/11 (3/7). "Hawks" shot fifty-nine and a half from the field. Don't think I'm gonna be tracking this one from here out +'s and -'s.
The "Heat" are in ATL tonight. Still without Kyle ("personal reasons") and Tyler ("COVID protocols"). I wish to hell the NBA would require teams to be more particular than "personal reasons" when multiple games are missed. This is three in a row for Kyle. I wish Donut would miss some games for "personal reasons". Or any reason.
I am Very Impressed With Russia for This
GENEVA — The United States and Russia agreed on Friday to keep diplomacy alive in their standoff over Ukraine, even as both sides continued to raise the military stakes on the ground.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, in a hastily scheduled meeting in Geneva that the United States would provide written responses next week to Russia’s demands that the West scale back its military presence in Eastern Europe.
Both sides said that the diplomats planned to speak again after that, and they left the door open to another conversation between President Biden and President Vladimir V. Putin to try to resolve the crisis.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken told his Russian counterpart, Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, in a hastily scheduled meeting in Geneva that the United States would provide written responses next week to Russia’s demands that the West scale back its military presence in Eastern Europe.
Both sides said that the diplomats planned to speak again after that, and they left the door open to another conversation between President Biden and President Vladimir V. Putin to try to resolve the crisis.
It does not advance the interests of a Russian invasion for there even to have been this meeting in Geneva, much less others. The Russian military does not benefit from time, it is hindered by it. Both Lavrov and his deputy had said before these rounds of talks began that they were not going to be dragged out. Now they have been, and that is credit to Russia.
The underlying dispute here is too upsetting to me to recount again. As quickly and briefly as I can, it goes back to the '90's and James Baker's lie to Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO would not expand East "one inch" beyond East Germany. NATO is now on the doorstep to Russia's doorstep. Russia feels threatened. I understand Russia's umbrage at being lied to and the fait accompli with which they were presented at a time when they were too weak to protest too vehemently. All of this I have written previously and I have always added the following: Understanding how Russia feels does not make their feeling of being threatened less irrational. The United States is not going to attack Russia. Does that really need be said? We are not gradually encircling Russia with purpose of sneak attack a la Barbarossa.The Russians want a written commitment (Baker's lie was oral) from the United States that it will not expand one more inch, i.e. into Ukraine. The U.S. and NATO have (orally) flat out rejected that. In December Russia submitted a written proposal to Secretary Blinken and expected a written response. None has been forthcoming from the U.S. According to this report Blinken said that the U.S. would respond in writing next week.
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