saturday, day 131

“The woke movement faces a similar debacle. As they become more hyper-liberal in their values, formerly liberal societies are becoming more fearful and authoritarian. Renouncing the idea of truth for the sake of some hopeful political project isn’t just immoral. It doesn’t work.”
– John Gray, July 2020

A cautionary tale for today’s ‘woke’ movement
A superb film about the NYT man who lied for Stalin casts light on today’s cultural convulsions
BY JOHN GRAY

 

Saturday,  July 25th, 2020

Coronavirus vaccine: The first Phase 3 vaccine trial in the US is expected to begin next week

Fauci: Vaccine likely won’t be ‘widely available’ until ‘months’ into 2021  Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House’s coronavirus task force, on Friday said a COVID-19 vaccine likely won’t be widely available until months into next year. “I think as we get into 2021, several months in, that you would have a vaccine that would be widely available to people in the United States,” Fauci told The Washington Post. Fauci said he believes it is “likely” there will be “tens of millions of doses” of a potential vaccine available by the beginning of next year, however, adding that he expects answers about whether one is safe and effective by the end of 2020 or by early 2021. Source: CNBC

Two statues of Christopher Columbus are removed from Chicago’s Grant Park and Arrigo Park, in the city’s Little Italy. Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot said these temporary removals are a response to demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police. Injuries and arrests resulted when, last Friday, July 17, police officers clashed with protesters who attempted to topple the Grant Park statue. Activists have argued that monuments of Columbus, blamed for the genocide and exploitation of Americas’ Indigenous people, should not be on public display. Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police criticized these removals. (BBC)

Hong Kong reports 123 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. The new cases include 115 cases that were locally transmitted, making it another record for three consecutive days. (Reuters)

India reports 49,310 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, another record high since pandemic began. (Hindustan Times)

Victoria reports its highest one-day increase in COVID-19 deaths, with seven new deaths reported in the last 24 hours. (The Age)

China orders the closure of the United States Consulate in Chengdu, in retaliation for the United States closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas. (BBC)

Vietnam bans the import of wildlife and wildlife products in an effort to prevent new pandemics. (BBC)

Republicans wrap week’s unemployment renewal debate with no agreement  Republicans wrapped a week of coronavirus relief bill discussions on Friday seemingly no closer to an agreement. The GOP has spent the week discussing the next CARES Act and the unemployment boost that expires at the end of the month, but haven’t agreed with a party-wide approach to replace it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) announced Tuesday that the party would seek another round of $1,200 stimulus payments and leave out the $600/week unemployment boost. However, a meeting of Senate GOP leaders and Trump administration officials signaled there was still disagreement within the party and with the administration. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called the lack of consensus “simply unacceptable.” McConnell said he hoped to reach an agreement “in the next few weeks.” Source: Bloomberg

Federal agents continue to police Portland protests  At least 18 people in the past week have been arrested as federal agents continue to crack down on protests in Portland, Oregon, the Department of Justice said Friday. People protesting racism and police brutality have been met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and alleged “kidnapping” by federal agents, some of them unidentified. Agents were recently recorded shoving volunteer medics to the ground as they tried to aid injured protesters. Homeland security officials have defended the agents by showing pictures of a trash can shield and gas masks some protesters were apparently carrying. Former department officials have roundly decried DHS’s actions. President Trump has announced he’s deploying more agents to other cities, but to help with routine crime fighting instead of protest crackdowns. Source: CNN

The End

Template
Massachusetts

Days since beginning of lock-down:
Cases per day:
Peak new cases per day:
Deaths per day:
Peak deaths per day:
Percent of population that has been infected:
Highest percent of infected in population in world for a region above 5 million people-
New York state:

Massachusetts

Days since beginning of lock-down: 130
Cases per day (average): under 200
Peak new cases per day (average): 2200
Deaths per day (average): under 15
Peak deaths per day (average): 170
Percent of population that has been infected: 1.7%
Highest percent of infected in population in world for a region above 5 million people-
New York state: 2.2%

Positive test rate:
tests conducted per million residents per day:

Hospitalized(average): 370
ICU (average): 60
Intubated (average): 30

 

friday, day 130

Template
Massachusetts

Days since beginning of lock-down:
Cases per day:
Peak new cases per day:
Deaths per day:
Peak deaths per day:
Percent of population that has been infected:
Highest percent of infected in population in world for a region above 5 million people-
New York state:

Massachusetts

Days since beginning of lock-down: 130
Cases per day (average): under 200
Peak new cases per day (average): 2200
Deaths per day (average): under 15
Peak deaths per day (average): 170
Percent of population that has been infected: 1.7%
Highest percent of infected in population in world for a region above 5 million people-
New York state: 2.2%

Positive test rate:
tests conducted per million residents per day:

Hospitalized(average): 370
ICU (average): 60
Intubated (average): 30

 

“The woke movement faces a similar debacle. As they become more hyper-liberal in their values, formerly liberal societies are becoming more fearful and authoritarian. Renouncing the idea of truth for the sake of some hopeful political project isn’t just immoral. It doesn’t work.”
– John Gray, July 2020

A cautionary tale for today’s ‘woke’ movement
A superb film about the NYT man who lied for Stalin casts light on today’s cultural convulsions
BY JOHN GRAY

Friday, July 24th, 2020

Derek Chauvin, the police officer who is expected to face charges over the killing of George Floyd, faces new felony charges along with his wife Kellie. (CBS News)

List of mass shootings in the United States in 2020

Fifteen people are injured, six seriously, in a mass shooting at a funeral home in Chicago, Illinois. One person is in custody, but a motive remains unclear. (NBC News)

Redskins temporarily rebrand as ‘Washington Football Team’ On Thursday, the team formerly known as the Washington Redskins rolled out a long-awaited rebrand, except it wasn’t the name change anyone was waiting for. The team will be known as “Washington Football Team” through the 2020 season and presumably until it comes up with a more permanent replacement for the name it ditched for its racist connotations, ESPN reports. Images leaked to ESPN show a logo-less burgundy and gold uniform and an image reading “Washington Football Team, est. 1932” in the same colors. Sources tell ESPN the team hopes to eradicate its name physically and digitally over the next 50 days, and will use the new name and uniforms for their first game of the season on Sept. 13. Source: ESPN

The National Football League issues a mandate requiring all fans to wear face masks at stadiums during the upcoming season. (ESPN)

Major League Baseball begins its season after a four-month delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic(ESPN)

U.S. hits 4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 The U.S. reached a grim milestone on Thursday, with more than 4 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 nationwide. Cases have recently skyrocketed in along the Gulf Coast, especially in Florida and Texas. Hospitalizations have also surged, and many hospitals in smaller cities have reported that their intensive care units are full or nearly full. Confirmed case counts are trending upward in 39 states. The U.S. has confirmed more than 143,000 deaths due to the coronavirus pandemic since the outbreak first began spreading in February. The country passed 2 million confirmed cases on June 10, and 3 million cases on July 7. Source: The New York Times

The Cabinet Office of Japan plans to declare that the country’s economy has entered a recession after 71 months of growth. (Asahi Shimbun)

Hong Kong reports 118 new COVID-19 cases, a new record in two consecutive days. The new cases include 111 cases that were locally transmitted. (Reuters)

Baghdad International Airport reopens for commercial flights after months of closure during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Arab News)

Tokyo reports its highest one-day increase in COVID-19 cases, with 366 new cases reported in one day. (Bloomberg)

Japan reports its record number of new COVID-19 cases for two consecutive day, with 980 new cases reported. (Kyodo News)

The End

thursday, day 129

Thursday, July 23rd, 2020

Mayor Ted Wheeler is tear-gassed in downtown Portland, according to video from a New York Times journalist. The video shows Wheeler, wearing goggles and a face mask amid a crowd of people, holding his nose and closing his eyes in distress as a cloud of tear gas drifts by him. It is unknown at this time who is responsible for deploying the tear gas and there is nothing to indicate the mayor was targeted. (CNN)

Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announces that there will be a investigation into the Justice Department’s use of force against protesters. (CBS News)

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signs a law banning various forms of chokeholds. (Hastings Tribune)

Trump says he’s canceling Jacksonville portion of the Republican National Convention President Trump announced on Thursday evening that he has canceled the Jacksonville, Florida, portion of the Republican National Convention because “the timing for this is not right” and he has to “protect the American people.” The convention, slated for late August, was originally going to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina. After GOP officials and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) could not agree on social distancing measures, it was decided that party business would still take place in Charlotte, but the parties and programs were moved to Jacksonville. Trump told reporters that he received plans for the nominating convention on Thursday afternoon, “but I looked at my team and I said the timing for this event is not right, just not right with what’s happened recently.” The formal nominating process will still proceed in Charlotte, Trump said, and he will give some sort of acceptance speech. Source: The Washington Post

Senate passes defense bill stripping Confederate names from Army bases The Senate passed a $741 billion defense bill, 86-14, on Thursday that forces Confederate names to be removed from Army bases. The bill passed with a similarly overwhelming majority in the House, meaning President Trump won’t be able to veto the measure. Protests over police brutality and racism in the U.S. led to calls to remove statues of Confederate leaders from around the U.S. and to take their names off bases. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) formalized that effort with an amendment to the defense spending bill after the idea of renaming the Confederate bases was passed with a voice vote. President Trump previously said he would not even consider renaming the bases, including Fort Bragg and Fort Hood. Source: Politico

The End