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[#1]

[OwlTalk]

I couldn't either, but caught Chris Cilizza's summary / opinion of it on the CNN website--- it was enough for me.

[finickypatternshop]

A narrow river separates my little city from a US city of the same name. These numbers are for the district both cities are in.

Here - population around 120,000 - Covid cases per 100,000 - 1.7 

There - population around 38,000, Covid cases per 100,000 - 166 

They have had 6 deaths, we have had 0.

Glad the border is closed.

[JMOldeVintage]

While doing a general search of Florida News this morning, one of my results from a newspaper with the "lure" of - paraphrased - "Why Florida's 1 Million Covid case number is Misleading". Now the paper will not let me read - no allowances but maybe because I'm in Florida? - but I find the headline sickening. Okay, so they want the Mouse & all the other attractions to start bringing in more revenue? They don't think the number is too bad since there are 22 Million or so residents? I think about the data showing that about 40% of covid cases go undiagnosed since the people have no symptoms though of course they can Transmit the disease, so maybe they think the "herd immunity" theory is working? If Florida is any indication, YES, Canada NEEDS to keep the border closed.

[kaslkaos]

Thank you, yes. A vaccine/s will help all of us. Next year will be better. Real herd immunity will allow us to be good neighbours again. 

[JMOldeVintage]

Following a link to a May, 2020 article on NPR about Trump's dislike for "Section 230"

https://www.npr.org/2020/05/30/865813960/as-trump-targets-twitters-legal-shield-experts-have-a-warni...

He's on the "230 War Path" again, but it did get me to wondering. Never mind "forums" where people discuss/debate, sites such as Twitter where in "x # of characters" people get to express an opinion. What about Reviews of items on Amazon, or for that matter any site? What about a site such as Etsy (or eBay, etc.) being a "safe harbor" site allowing people to post/sell their knock-off stuff whether it's brand new or handmade? Would these sites suddenly become responsible for the items being sold, they the deep-pocket could be sued for damages/money lost by "XYZ Corp." because they let shop owners list, sell & therefore allow everyone to make money dishonestly?

[kaslkaos]

I don't know enough about this to discuss, but it's a tricky one, who's responsible for another's behaviour, etc.  I think the algorhythms & profit models make social media (& shopping sites) complicit, but we also need space to speak freely to one another as humans (including offending others)

[JMOldeVintage]

@kaslkaos - After Florida's "hanging chad debacle" in 2000, our County went with paper ballots, filled in and scanned by machines. Some had gone with strictly electronic machines, but that quickly phased out. Which makes sense since how do you do a "hand recount" on electronic ballots unless it prints out something? That sort of backwards actually & having the voter fill out the paper makes sense.

But then there are things Florida cannot get right - one being their online Unemployment Services. Early this week it was reported that many people who took Thanksgiving Day to fill in their weekly info got booted out of the system or other snags that delayed funds. Now the news saying that when the Fed $$ stop at the end of this year - even if a Floridian due the money, if the State's on-line system wouldn't let them in or has them classified "pending approval", they Will Not Receive the funds, period. No grace period even due to State Error. Another "wow moment" from "The Sunshine State". 

[PillowDetails]

One thing I can't understand about the recounts and complaints of fraud - I understand that the ballots are separated from the envelopes, and the actual ballots don't have signatures or any Voter information.

What am I missing?

[JMOldeVintage]

@PillowDetails - I've never understood that either. After our Mail In Ballots were checked as "correctly completed" on the envelope exterior; then our signatures "checked & confirmed", I'd always assumed the envelope was separated from the ballot. Sure, they might keep the envelopes in case there were ever questions, audits, etc. but my ballot (how I voted) was a secret. 
Either that is the problem with Trump, etal. wanting to suddenly check signatures - or - I need to remind myself of the "true" definition of the word "assume".

[PacificKnots]

It is all about making money.  He has figured out how to make money in losing the Presidency.   Every time he talks about fraud those who believe the system is stacked against them donate money.

[JMOldeVintage]

Trump Tweet this evening:

"Mail-In rejection rate was minuscule compared to what it used to be. Ken Starr Meaning that massive numbers of bad votes were pouring in!"

I almost want to laugh. The percentage of rejected ballots couldn't possibly have had anything to do with various Outreach Groups, etc. informing the voters of all the nuances of mail in voting? Oh my. But I guess someone has to take over for Rudy. 

[PacificKnots]

To bad they could not accept a simple solution for the low rejection rate.  For example, all sides of the political spectrum took the time to read the instructions and followed them.

[JMOldeVintage]

Well it's nice to know that Texas Government has absolutely nothing else to worry about:

"The state of Texas, aiming to help Donald Trump upend the results of the US election, decisively won by Joe Biden, said on Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit against the states of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin at the US supreme court, calling changes they made to election procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic unlawful.

The extraordinary and probably long-shot lawsuit, announced by the Republican attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, was filed directly with the Supreme Court, as is permitted for certain litigation between states."....

If memory serves, Texas not only limited the number of ballot drop-off boxes in each County but refused to amend their rules on mail-in voting since they did not consider an individual's concerns about the virus to be an acceptable excuse. So a thirty-something diabetic could not vote by mail but had to vote in person. 

This, on the lighter side:

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weird-news/former-israeli-space-security-chief-says-extraterrestrials-e...

[kaslkaos]

the weird news deserves it's own thread, posting below--collective covid brain?

[deeshandmades]

US Supreme Court declines to take up appeal filed by a Republican congressman who asked the court to nullify the certification of Biden as the winner in Pennsylvania.

[kaslkaos]

Not The Onion.... what in heck???  Well, I think we all are in need of a bit of distraction these days....

A former chief of the Israel Defense Ministry’s space directorate says that humans have been in contact with extraterrestrials from a "Galactic Federation" and that President Trump is aware of this and was previously "on the verge of revealing" extraterrestrials' existence. 

Haim Eshed made the revelation in an interview published in Israel’s Yediot Aharonot newspaper Friday in Hebrew, parts of which were published in English by The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. 

"The Unidentified Flying Objects have asked not to publish that they are here, humanity is not ready yet," the 87-year-old former space security chief said, referring to the group of extraterrestrials as a "Galactic Federation."

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Eshed added in the interview that the aliens sought to research "the fabric of the universe" and that a cooperation agreement had been signed with humans, which includes a secret underground base on Mars, where there are American astronauts and alien representatives, according to the Post. 

"There is an agreement between the U.S. government and the aliens. They signed a contract with us to do experiments here," Eshed said.

Eshed, who led Israel’s space program for 30 years and is a three-time recipient of the Israel Security Award, said Trump had previously been "on the verge of revealing" information on the extraterrestrial group but was asked not to in order to prevent "mass hysteria."

"They [the Galactic Federation] have been waiting until today for humanity to develop and reach a stage where we will understand, in general, what space and spaceships are," Eshed said. 

More...... (not behind a paywall)

https://thehill.com/homenews/news/529300-israels-ex-space-boss-trump-was-on-the-verge-of-revealing-e... 

Not

[JMOldeVintage]

As someone raised a Catholic, when the Church came out a few years ago, to an extent sort-of acknowledging the possible existence of Alien Life, my mind immediately thought "well they probably have proof". Seriously, that was my first thought. 
I'm one of those people who simply assumes we are not the only "intelligent life" out there. But when doing a broad sweep of news yesterday the NBC article jumped out at me & it's interesting that other sources also reporting the story. 
However, this could be an interesting topic to discuss over the dinner table - if you're "brave enough" to be mixing and mingling with outside family members over the holidays but need to avoid hard-political news.

[kaslkaos]

Alien life, somewhere, somewhen, is likely...I'm still filing this one in the silly box.

But, I read Three Body Problem (Chinese sci-fi futurism) and there encountered the "Dark Forest Theory" (one of many that try to tackle why, if life exists, why haven't they said hello yet).  It basically surmises that any lifeform that gains technology to leave their solar system will either conquer or be conquered...if their is life it has already arrived and colonized you, or it is out there being very very quiet.  Sleep well....

[bluetina]

@kaslkaos I read those books. Quite brilliant!

[kaslkaos]

@bluetina be still my heart, really?  They are a window into a culture, the same but different--extremely thought provoking--in fact, I will never be the same again. I found his analysis of cultural reactions to threats very real, not happy about that, but it is what it is. Political genius. And the Dark Forest Theory, eek, hard to unthink that one.

[bluetina]

@kaslkaos 

I agree, very thought provoking. Those are the sort of books that stick in your brain. 

[JMOldeVintage]

Well, Trump tweeting away today. 

"Germany has consistently been used by my obnoxious critics as the country that we should follow on the way to handle the China Virus. So much for that argument. I love Germany - Vaccines on the way!!!" -  Like a little kid doing a "nah-nah-nah" taunt?

"STOCK MARKETS AT NEW ALL TIME HIGHS!!!" - Well that's a comfort to people waiting in food lines so they can eat.

"We will soon be learning about the word “courage”, and saving our Country. I received hundreds of thousands of legal votes more, in all of the Swing States, than did my opponent. ALL Data taken after the vote says that it was impossible for me to lose, unless FIXED!" -  "No". No you didn't. What part of the word, of the short sentence doesn't he understand?

"No candidate has ever won both Florida and Ohio and lost. I won them both, by a lot! # Supreme Court" -  Well there is a first time for everything. And I must say (as a Floridian) that I'm grateful for the results in other States.

[JMOldeVintage]

It's sort of a "never say never" topic. Remember reading articles on the number of "actual dimensions" that could be out there; or that we/Earth are in a parallel universe due to the affects of the 'big bang'. Then the theory that people such as Einstein or Tesla had access to "eons" of knowledge since they knew how to connect to the atoms that made up the brains of now deceased scholars.
Now of course my descriptions typed here are over-simplified and don't do justice to what might be a worthwhile proposal. But imo science and curiosity about even the more outrageous sounding topics can be worth pursuing. 
 

[JMOldeVintage]

"At 10:00 P.M. on Election Evening, we were at 97% win with the so-called “bookies”."

Yup, this is a tweet from the POTUS.

[kaslkaos]

If all goes well, we'll need to find someone else to talk about soon....