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Vice President Kamala Harris began a week-long trip in Ghana today. The vast majority of the US corporate news media and cable won’t cover this and certainly not in any appreciable depth. ⁦‪Roland Martin‬⁩ will. Download the ⁦‪Black Star Network‬⁩ app.

#RolandMartinUnfiltered #Mastodon #usa #BlackMastodon #BlackOwnedMediaMatters

RT @TheRickyDavila
100 year old Grace Linn compares Florida GOP’s book banning to book burning in Nazi Germany. She’s the widow of a WWII veteran. Preach!

In memory of Nick Knox, American longtime drummer for the influential psychobilly punk rock band the Cramps, born on this day in 1953, Cleveland, Ohio.

Photo by Youri Lenquette

#punk #punks #punkrock #punkdrummer #NickKnox #thecramps #history #punkrockhistory #otd

CDC posts US deaths weekly. Deaths were 2060, which extrapolates to 100,000+ deaths per year. This is higher than last week (1753) but lower than two weeks ago (2102). We have an uncertain future.

So, @drewfromtv is doing a ChatGPT show tonight. There's some humor in unhip deejay talk froman artificial voice between segments. But, thumbs down from me, the guy who likes barely conversant community radio deejays. Drew has musical taste. I'm not certain his Pandora does.

RT @kellyyanghk
This is what facism looks like. Look at the books they’ve removed! Just look! twitter.com/flfreedomread/stat

Why is the world silent on SARS-CoV2-19?
It isn’t really, but the media and health agencies are. What do we know?

1. This is an airborne virus that lingers for hours in the air. Improving air circulation with proper filtering can help this.

2. This is a vascular virus, meaning the cardio-vascular system of your body. Because the cardio-vascular system touches every part of your body, and this virus can infect ANY part of your body, it means it can infect everything. It can infect your blood, your skin, your brain, your lungs, your liver, your kidneys.

3. Damage caused by this virus is cumulative, and the cumulative damage it causes can lead to long term health issues, varying depending on what was infected, referred to as Long Covid.

4. Covid has been shown to impact and damage your immune system, making people infected more vulnerable to not just Covid reinfections, but any other virus that your immune system normally protects you from. A cold or flu after Covid infections will be worse than prior to the infection, as your body loses capacity to fight those infections.
5. Because of all this, the more infections you fight off, the more likely you end up being immunocompromised, and potentially disabled to some degree. Covid is a virus that can kill you but is much more likely to give you a lifelong disability. Instances of other diseases also rise with Covid infections – people who’ve had Covid are more likely to be diagnosed with heart conditions, brain conditions, diabetes, and high levels of blood clots in your system that can hamper organ function, even cause heart attacks and strokes.

6. The risk of long-term symptoms and disability is high and increases with each infection. Suggestions from doctors and scientists who’ve been studying this suggest as high as 10% (1 in 10) on a first infection, which that rising with each subsequent infection. (depending on where you look, the first infection number will vary, but regardless appears to be significant enough to warrant concern, especially with subsequent infections.)

Note that while guidance on these things may change over time, and as more and more people are infected, we’ll have a much better understanding of percentages and odds, this is all well known and clear. We know that mask wearing (Quality N95 or better respirators), proper air circulation and filtration reduce the chances of transmission, and vaccination reduces the chances of death or disability. Also note that reduces does not mean eliminates. The smart way to deal with Covid-19 is to avoid infection, as even a single infection is likely to be life altering, More so than a previous infection, with each infection increasing the likelihood more than the last.

Another worthwhile consideration is the rate of mutation. Coronaviruses are well known for rapid, massive mutation – there are thousands of variants running around that we know about. Some are less deadly/disabling, some are more so, some are less transmissible, and some much more than others, and some are less affected by vaccine protections. We’re currently in a situation where without proper precautions and mitigation, we’re going to see a gradual economic downward trend, since the number of people who can’t contribute to the workforce is growing, and with them, the number of people who participate in the economy shrinking. This is a trend that will continue for as long as we continue to ignore the dangers.

At some point we may find a sterilizing vaccine, proper prevention, but until we do, this is going to remain a pandemic – one that has killed countless people. In the US alone, officially Covid 19 has killed more people than wars. Not A war, all wars, foreign and civil.

If we want to save the economy, we must save people. Little known fact, people ARE the economy. The more people we have that are healthy, working, and participating in the economy, the stronger the economy.

#COVID19 #LongCovid #InfectiousDisease #CovidIsNotOver #CovidIsNotMild #StaySafe

"They'll talk to ya and talk to ya and talk to ya about individual freedom. But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em." – "Easy Rider" (1969) #quotes

Oh, man. This comic — from 1993 — could NOT be more relevant today. As usual, Bill Watterson hits it out of the park.

#Banks #Banking #Bailout #AntiCapitalism

37 years ago today
Candy Apple Grey is the fifth album by the punk rock band Hüsker Dü, released on this day in 1986 and also includes the singles "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" and "Sorry Somehow".

#punk #punks #punkrock #hüskerdü #history #punkrockhistory #otd

We are living in a fact-free soundbite misinformation monetization culture which makes it very easy for Fox and a guy who calls himself “God” and all the other fakers in between both to coexist and peddle foolishness and call it facts.

Spread facts not fools.

#FactsNotFools

#BlackMastodon #Mastodon

National Academies: We can’t define “race,” so stop using it in science. Use scientifically relevant descriptions, not outdated social ideas. arstechnica.com/?post_type=pos

"In humans, race is a socially constructed designation, a misleading and harmful surrogate for population genetic differences, and has a long history of being incorrectly identified as the major genetic reason for phenotypic differences between groups. Rather, human genetic variation is the result of many forces—historical, social, biological—and no single variable fully represents this complexity. The structure of genetic variation results from repeated human population mixing and movements across time, yet the misconception that human beings can be naturally divided into biologically distinguishable races has been extremely resilient and has become embedded in scientific research, medical practice and technologies, and formal education."

RT @alyankovic
I’ve been a huge fan of @TheSimpsons since 1989, but in my completely unbiased opinion, I have to say this is the best couch gag they’ve ever done.

RT @kellyyanghk
Two books on the @nytimes Bestsellers List!!! 🥹🥹🥹 When I was growing up, there were no stories like FINALLY SEEN & NEW FROM HERE. NONE about kids who looked like me. We did not get to write them. So this week just means EVERYTHING!!! Thank you to all my readers —I love you!!❤️

A reminder to non-Americans: assigning Pi Day to 22nd July is not only more accurate than 3.14 (22/7 is 3.14285), it's also more likely to annoy Americans.

@Some_Emo_Chick In circa 1990, members of a band were trying to get comped into the 7th St entry for a show. I don't remember the show as sold out or critically acclaimed.

"But, we're charting!"

And, it was true. They were charting. They just didn't have the cred of local heros who never charted.

I think they paid the $8.

I'd say who, but sadly they never got to an "I told you so" moment where they got the respect they likely deserve.

That was a rare time I interacted with band members who were actually charting.

Evening light. I took this shot a few years ago on a walk close to where I live. I waited until my wife reached the end of the path because I wanted to include a person in the shot. How could you resist those leading lines and shadows?

Prorated, the weekly death toll has dipped just below 100,000 per year. It's still the third leading cause of death.

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