Archive for 2020
March 8, 2020
SPACE: NASA: Boeing software team had too much power over Starliner capsule. Compare the 737 Max.
GREEK TROOPS OPEN FIRE ON REFUGEES WHILE VIGILANTES ATTACK AID WORKERS AND THE MEDIA. “The situation in the no-mans-land between Turkey and Greece is becoming increasingly more violent and desperate for the refugees. Reporters on a tour heard gunshots despite the Greek government denying the use of anything except tear gas to stop the refugees.”
THE EMPTY CHAIRS IN FRONT OF THE RUSSIAN EMBASSY IN THE NETHERLANDS: Survivors of the people killed when a Russian-made missile shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) in 2014 placed them there. The empty chairs, of course, represent their deceased loved ones.
Reuters:
Rows of white chairs were placed in front of Russia’s embassy in The Hague on Sunday in a quiet protest by families of those who were shot down with Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, on the eve of the trial – in absentia – of four men accused of murder for their involvement.
The trial starts tomorrow.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a press release today outlining the U.S. position. His statement is succinct but here’s a key point:
…All of those indicted are members of Russia-led forces in eastern Ukraine. We call upon all States to cooperate in efforts to establish accountability, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2166.
This trial is a critical moment in the search for justice for the families and friends of the 298 individuals who lost their lives on July 17, 2014.
Several media organizations reported last November that electronic intercepts (by Ukraine’s SBU intelligence agency) confirmed officials in Moscow (including a deputy prime minister) were in contact with two of the men under indictment. This BBC report has the critical details and names names.
I wrote a column about the Flight MH17 disaster (published July 24, 2014).
MH17’s fatal interception has opened eyes. For several good reasons, to include photos of SA-11 mobile launchers departing Ukraine for Russia, numerous experts believe a Russian-made SA-11 surface-to-air missile shot down MH17.
The missile itself is only one component of a complex weapon system. Militiamen do not simply find an SA-11 launcher, functional missiles, control vans, radar and other communications equipment. The Kremlin had to authorize the delivery of the SA-11 system to its militia proxies.
That was my conclusion at the time — at a minimum Russia had to be providing logistical, maintenance and intelligence support to the separatist missile unit. Of course Kremlin propagandists claimed the incident was a CIA plot to discredit Russia and justify NATO expansion.
Follow this link to find technical and historical information on the SA-11 and its variants.
IT’S INTERESTING WHEN PEOPLE DIE; GIVE US DIRTY LAUNDRY: ‘She’s actually smiling:’ MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace and guest discuss coronavirus that could become ‘Trump’s Katrina.’
Flashback: “In short, Katrina gives them a way to talk about Iraq without talking about Iraq. No wonder Gwen Ifill smiles the ‘inner smile.’”
UPDATE: Chuck Todd: Coronavirus Can Be to Trump Like Iran Hostages Were to Carter.
Related: In early February, Politico condemned the Trump administration’s travel restrictions to China:
The Trump administration’s quarantine and travel ban in response to the Wuhan coronavirus could undercut international efforts to fight the outbreak by antagonizing Chinese leaders, as well as stigmatizing people of Asian descent, according to a growing chorus of public health experts and lawmakers.
The World Health Organization’s top official on Tuesday repeated concern that moves that interfere with transportation and trade could harm efforts to address the crisis, though he didn’t directly name the United States. Meanwhile, unions representing flight attendants, nurses and teachers criticized the administration on Tuesday for not being forthcoming about what kind of screening and treatment individuals will undergo, and some members of Congress say they’re concerned the efforts could stoke racial discrimination.
* * * * * * * *
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Tuesday that widespread travel bans and restrictions weren’t needed to stop the outbreak and could “have the effect of increasing fear and stigma, with little public health benefit.” Union leaders separately called for a coordinated government response and warned authorities against profiling people of Asian descent while addressing the threat.
The virus has sickened some 20,900 people worldwide and killed at least 427, almost all in China. The FDA late Tuesday granted emergency authorization to distribute a diagnostic test for the virus to public health laboratories around the country. The move eliminates the need to confirm cases by sending samples to the CDC’s headquarters in Atlanta.
As spotted yesterday in a Twitter thread by Yossi Gestetner of the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council, who has further thoughts.
(Updated and bumped.)
WHAT WORKED IN 1918: Early Quarantines and Closures.
The US urban experience with nonpharmaceutical interventions during the 1918-1919 pandemic constitutes one of the largest data sets of its kind ever assembled in the modern, post germ theory era.
…Although these urban communities had neither effective vaccines nor antivirals, cities that were able to organize and execute a suite of classic public health interventions before the pandemic swept fully through the city appeared to have an associated mitigated epidemic experience. Our study suggests that nonpharmaceutical interventions can play a critical role in mitigating the consequences of future severe influenza pandemics (category 4 and 5) and should be considered for inclusion in contemporary planning efforts as companion measures to developing effective vaccines and medications for prophylaxis and treatment.
The tendency is to temporize, but time lost is lives lost when an epidemic is underway. If you’re going to close schools and quarantine eventually, it makes sense to do it sooner rather than later. A lot of institutions — including my own — seem to be assuming they’ll have to do it, but trying to put off that day.
There’s plenty of anti-children viciousness on the loose these days, from those who butcher their children in the womb, to those who disfigure their kids’ bodies and hormonally wreck them with “gender re-assignment” surgery. Terrifying them with boogeymen visions of apocalyptic “climate change” is lower on the scale, but it’s not nothing. Rather, it’s a calculated enormity designed to employ kids as cultural land-mine exploders and then to count on normal parents’ wishes to protect and shelter their offspring by promising to do whatever it takes to calm them down. That “whatever it takes” involves destroying Western civilization doesn’t seem to bother them.
I blame the Frisbee Ion.
PRETENDING TO BE THE “MODERATE” CANDIDATE, YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG: Biden Steps In It Big Time as He Weighs In on California’s Job-Killing #AB5 Law, Gets Blasted by Voters.
Earlier:
● This is Not a Moderate Position: Joe Biden tells boy we should eliminate the use of plastics.
● Joe Biden Just Lost Any Claim to Being a Moderate With His Embrace of the Green New Deal. As Brandon Morse warned at Red State, “At this point, America has two options in 2020. It’s either Donald Trump or socialism. There doesn’t seem to be an option outside of these two.”
● Biden ‘100 percent’ supports nationwide plastic bag ban.
● Biden Obliviously Tells Press that Fossil Fuel Execs Should Be Jailed.
And of course: AOC Says Joe Biden Is Too ‘Conservative’, Would ‘Not Be in Same Party’ Outside of America.
NY’S NEW PLASTIC BAG BAN POSES CONVENIENCE, COST AND HEALTH RISKS.
Perhaps de Blasio is hoping that annoyance over it will distract voters from this: Major crimes in NYC unexpectedly surge after bail reform law.
BUT IT’S FOR THE CHILDREN: That’s what liberals so often say in defense of their favorite policies, so why don’t they support the traditional family? After all, the data shows unmarried, cohabiting couples with kids encourage greater social, economic and political inequality.
GREAT MOMENTS IN PROJECTION: The outrage of Donna Brazile.
‘Ronna, go to hell! This is not about — No, go to hell! I’m tired of it!’ Brazile shouted on air, to the chagrin of her Fox News interviewers.
Cockburn wonders if Brazile takes particular offense at McDaniel’s allegation because she has her own experience in trying to rig the Democratic process.
Read the whole thing.
CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: There Is a ‘Tipping Point’ Before Coronavirus Kills.
Hong Kong records third coronavirus death: health authorities.
Moscow city: people ignoring coronavirus self-isolation rules could face prison.
Italy takes drastic measure of locking down northern economic hubs to curb coronavirus.
Grand Princess cruise ship headed for Oakland; US death toll at 19.
Coronavirus: UN Asks 9 Countries to Delay Peacekeeper Rotations.
Vietnam’s coronavirus cases jump to 29: health ministry.
Iran reports 49 new coronavirus deaths, highest single-day toll.
Stephen Moore: ‘Economy will roar back to life’ when coronavirus is contained.
Quarantined at home now, U.S. scientist describes his visit to China’s hot zone.
Coronavirus Data Is Still Misleading. Here’s What the Latest Numbers Don’t Tell You. “When the existing prevalence of a virus is high and endemic, the rise in incidence of testing can create the appearance of a rise in incidence of a virus.”
Uber, DoorDash and Others Discuss Fund for Drivers Affected by Coronavirus.
SUPER GAFFE-O-MATIC ’76: Joe Biden calls Sanders supporters ‘Bernie brothers’ and social media lit up.
And the Gaffes Just Keep Coming: Biden Keeps Forgetting Obama’s Name on the Campaign Trail.
MY FORMER STUDENT, USMC MAJOR CHRIS DAVIS, sends a link to this GoFundMe for the family of USMC Major Tyler Tidwell, who is fighting ALS. Maj. Davis writes:
Never in a million years did I think when I completed the ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge” 5yrs ago, that the disease might effect me much beyond my distant affections of Lou Gehrig, himself. . . I was very, very wrong:
Tyler was a giant, in every single way, to me and my Naval Academy classmates; physically intimidating and full of raw emotion and enthusiasm – we looked up to him. It absolutely breaks my heart to imagine what this unforgiving disease is doing to his body, and by extension, his beautiful Family. If you have the means, please donate. ?? More importantly, keep Tyler in the forefront of your thoughts as he fights, as one would expect of a Marine.
I donated. (Bumped).
SUNRISE AT CHERRY POINT: U.S. Marine KC-130J Super Hercules aerial tankers sit staged on the flight line at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. The photo was taken in 2015, but it seems appropriate for Daylight Savings Time Sunday.
QUALITY HAS NOT BEEN JOB ONE: Congressional panel says Boeing has ‘culture of concealment.’