Ed Casabar @edcasabar@qoto.org

#IDMastodon yearend 2022 Recap @NEJM N-95 😷, Closed spaces 👀Bivalent 💉must as we are moving forward to 2023 .XBB are still on the move . Persons who received the BA.5-containing bivalent booster had better neutralizing activity against all omicron subvariants (especially against BA.2.75.2, BQ.1.1, & XBB) than those who received either one or two monovalent boosters
📌https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2214293
📌https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc2214302

Do you know how many times I've heard over the past few days how much the media is failing to follow the money in this story about the newly elected Rep. George Santos? This story makes it clear that's exactly what happened.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/12/29/north-shore-leader-santos-scoop/

So let's follow the money, shall we? Starting with Mr. Santos' latest filing for The Devolder Organization, which is apparently responsible for his sudden unexplained wealth.

http://search.sunbiz.org/Inquiry/CorporationSearch/ConvertTiffToPDF?storagePath=COR%5C2021%5C0601%5C00184778.Tif&documentNumber=L21000206150

The organization lists its address as 336 N. Babcock St. Ste 104, and says another organization at the same address but Ste 101 is there called D&D International Investment Services Inc.

Both are affiliated with an individual named Devaughn Dames, who appears to be both a physician and a CFO somehow. He's also very passionate about spreading his knowledge about how to handle your money wisely. His linkedin page mentions both companies. He also seems to be an IT expert; previous domains include https://web.archive.org/web/20160518071721/http://www.manageditsolutions.net/about.html

One of Mr. Dames' email addresses (dev.dames at gmail) was used to register the vanity domain devaughndames[.]com. Firefox didn't like what that site tried to do when I visited it, but it loaded an empty page that had the heading "Financial Educational Services." But the pop-up takes you to a domain called myuwe.net, which is for an entity called United Wealth Education.

Now, UWE is full of stock photos and videos, and there isn't much there about who runs it. And after spending a few minutes on this site, you'll probably come away with the conclusion that the site is tied to some type of scam.

Well, if you look up the name of what Myuwe.com used to be called -- Financial Educational Services -- you'll see they were shut down JUST THIS YEAR by the US Federal Trade Commission for being a giant pyramid scheme that bilked people out of more than $213 million.

How's that for following the money? :) Wait, I'm not done yet.

雪の京都。Snowy Kyoto. #Fotomontag #photomonday #photography

A plea to journalists covering the Fediverse:

If you want to pitch a story and the only people you can think of to talk to are Gargron and the Journa Host admin, please don't.

Instead, use the time you saved to learn more about how this network functions, who the people behind ActivityPub are (and what that even is), who the people keeping instances running are, who the people moderating instances are; you can even get your hands dirty by digging through the Mastodon GitHub issue queue and learn why exactly some design decisions ended up the way they did, it's all right there!

Mastodon is not off-brand Twitter. You do this entire community a massive disservice by painting it as such, and you do our profession a disservice by expressing a complete lack of curiosity about this community before you report on it.

Thank you.

As you read this, remember that once sworn in as a Member of Congress you have a security clearance and the right to participate in classified briefings. Does the @HouseGOP@twitter.com trust George Santos with that responsibility? I certainly don't. https://nyti.ms/3Vt0YVd

Thinking about #Ireland this morning. A sense of scale is lost but this natural #RockFormation shaped like a bowl was absolutely huge. It formed a lip and I’m standing outside th bowl and had to scale the side to get the shot. Really amazing.
#LandscapePhotography #Photography #Nature #NaturePhotography #Ocean #Waves #Sunset #LongExposure #PhotoOfTheDay #TravelPhotography

The best #Aurora display I've ever experienced. #Iceland, October 2018.

#Photomonday
#Fotomontag
#AuroraBorealis
#Photography
#NightPhotos
#LongExposure

A Full Circle Rainbow over Norway https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221227.html #APOD

Reminder that if you're feeling lonely today, see this hashtag:

➡️ #JoinIn

There are lots of people (myself included) keeping each other company on there, with all kinds of posts from hot chocolate recipes to historical photos to horses covered in tinsel to just general thoughts and chatter.

You can use the hashtag however you want, serious or fun, and anyone using the tag is welcoming of replies and discussion so it's a great way of striking up a conversation.

See you there! ☃️

@annaoj I'm years overdue to find a new home for my photos (I have paintings @ manmadeghost.com), but here's a representative sample. Thanks and best wishes to you with your own #photography!

There seems to be a new hashtag with a purpose. It seems to be for a time when someone wants to invite immediate replies at perhaps a moment when someone could use virtual company. Or feels a bit down. Maybe for a bit of cheering up. #JoinIn is that tag. But this is for a #FYI .

The light at #sunset was gorgeous at #vestrahorn in #iceland I loved how the tall grasses caught the light.
#photography #PhotoOfTheDay #LandscapePhotography #Nature #NaturePhotography

Question for those who say prosecuting a former president sets a dangerous precedent: Isn’t it more dangerous to set a precedent that a former president will never face accountability for breaking the law and inciting an insurrection?

You can donate directly to the defense of Ukraine:

https://u24.gov.ua/

It's tax-deductible in the US, too.

For every boost this post gets, I'll add a buck to my next donation.